The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com NEWS BRIEFS TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. Four grants given to reduce toxins in the Great Lakes The U.S. Environmental Pro- tection Agency has awarded four grants totaling over $3.6 million for projects designed to reduce exposure to mercury and other toxins for people eating Great Lakes fish. State health departments in Michigan, Minnesota and Wis- consin about nearly $1 million each. Cornell University got about $600,000 for a project to reduce toxic exposure among urban anglers in the Great Lakes region. The grants came from the Great Lakes Restoration Initia- tive, an Obama administration program that focuses on some of the most persistent environmen- tal problems affecting the lakes, including toxic pollution, inva- sive species and habitat loss. PA regional administrator Susan Hedman said Wednesday that despite significant progress, 10 percent of babies born along the north shore of Lake Supe- rior had mercury levels above the agency's dose limit. FORT MYERS, Fla. Florida legislator enters rehab center for substance abuse Florida Republican Rep. * Henry "Trey" Radel, who plead- ed guilty to a misdemeanor charge of cocaine possession and received a year's probation, said Thursday he has checked him- self into a rehabilitation center. The freshman lawmaker said in a statement that he is seek- ing treatment and counseling in a Florida center for his drug and alcohol abuse. "It is my hope, through this process, I will come out a bet- ter man," Radel said. "I will work hard to gain back the trust and support of my constituents, friends mand most importantly, my family." On Wednesday, Radel called a late-night press conference to announce that he is taking a leave of absence from Congress and donating his salary to char- ity. CENTENNIAL, Colo. Colorado shooter's case postponed for insanity evaluation The judge in the Colorado the- ater shootings case on Thursday indefinitely postponed the trial of James Holmes so attorneys can argue whether he should undergo further psychiatric evaluation. Holmes' trial had been sched- uled to begin with jury selection in February. Holmes, 25, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges of killing 12 people and injuring of 70 during a packed midnight showing of a Batman film at a suburban Denver theater in July 2012. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. WARSAW, Poland Activists upset by lack of progress at U.N. climate meet Hundreds of environmental activists walked out of U.N. cli- mate talks on Thursday, saying they were deeply disappointed by the lack of results with just one day remaining. Wearing "Polluters talk, we walk" T-shirts, the activists streamed out of Warsaw's Nation- al Stadium, where rich and poor countries were arguing over who should do what to fight global warming. The two-week session in the Polish capital was never expected to produce any big decisions or breakthroughs, but the protesters said in a statement that the talks were "on track to deliver virtually nothing." -Compiled from Daily wire reports BBUM From Page 1 In his monthly report to the board, CSG President Michael Proppe, a Business senior, stressed the importance of swiftly addressing the issues raised by the campaign. While briefing the board on #BBUM, Proppe acknowledged the movement brings to light an experience that the majority of University students do not have. "This is not an experience that I will ever have," he said. "It is not an experience that 95 percent of our student popula- tion will ever have." The University's enroll- ment of Black undergraduates dropped from about 7 percent in 2006 to 4.65 percent in 2013. In 2006, Michigan vot- ers approved Proposal 2, a ban on affirmative action in higher education. Although the University has worked to create alternate recruitment programs for underrepresent- ed minorities, the programs have not been able to stanch the decline in Black and Native American enrollment. His- panic enrollment has fallen as a percentage of the overall stu- dent body but remained fairly constant in terms of absolute numbers since the student population has grown overall. To improve the University's diversity education, Proppe said LSA should change its Race and Ethnicity require- ment to include classes offered by the Program on Intergroup DINING From Page 1 are available at an extra cost of $143, $420 and $558, respec- tively, per term. While Fall 2014 and Spring 2015 off-campus meal plans have yet to be announced, Uni- versity Housing Spokesman Peter Logan said he tentatively expects to have 50-, 75- and 125-block plans with different amounts of Dining Dollars. Additionally, University Housing will make significant changes in the function of Din- ing Dollars and Blue Bucks. Beginning in Fall 2014, Din- ing Dollars will be accepted at 25 locations inside and outside of residence halls. Blue Bucks will be disconnected from meal plans and will be available for purchase at any time by stu- dents, faculty or staff. The use of Blue Bucks will be expanded to items other than food, such as books and equipment rent- als. Currently, Dining Dollars can be used only at residential dining halls, cafes and conve- nience stores. Blue Bucks are accepted in those places as well as at University Unions, athlet- ic stadiums, library cafes, laun- dry rooms and dozens of other on-campus locations. Logan said feedback from the Residence Hall Association and members of the University Housing Student Advisory and Input Group was considered in the process of developing the new meal plans. "Most students have Relations. Since eligible class- es for the requirement must be at least three credits, the two-credit IGR classes do not currently qualify to fulfill the requirement. IGR courses are intimate, student-driven classes that dis- cuss gender, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion and sexual orientation, among other culturally relevant top- ics. Proppe added that the Uni- versity should continue to lis- ten to students, as they have on thegeneral-admission policy for football games, the Munger Residence Hall and the presi- dential search advisory com- mittee - to gauge student voice and concern about diver- sity and related topics. Proppe added that he looks forward to working with the board to find real solutions. "Students are tired of talk- ing; students want to see some action," Proppe said. On behalf of the board, Regent Denise Ilitch (D) said the administration is work- ing on programs to better approach problems facing diversity on campus. Although Ilitch said the pro- cess ofimplementing programs may take a while, she said the board shares the same passion to solving the problems as the students. "We're as frustrated as the students, but we're very com- mitted to these topics," Ilitch said. The next meeting of the Board of Regents is scheduled for Dec. 19. responded positively - espe- cially in light of the dining renovations and new options that will be available at South Quad," he wrote in an e-mail. "Student surveys over several years indicated that these plans result in the highest levels of satisfaction." Logan added that he has been in contact with other universities across the country to discuss students' meal plan preferences - with unlimited meal plans largely preferred. Engineering sophomore Matt Chudoba, who currently lives in Bursley Residence Hall, said he supports the unlimited meal plans. As a freshman liv- ingin Mary Markley Residence Hall, Chudoba said the 125- block meal plan provided more than enough Dining Dollars, Blue Bucks and meals, but the same plan is not as effective in Bursley. However, LSA sophomore Kaia Parenti thought the unlimited meal plans will be unnecessary for some. With her 150-block meal plan, she has only used two-thirds of her meals, and spends Dining Dol- lars and Blue Bucks a couple of times a week. While Parenti said she will purchase a Silver or Gold Plan next year to save money, she said she thinks a plan with fewer meals and more Din- ing Dollars would be a better option for some. "It really depends on where I'm living but I think overall, I wish I could get more Dining Dollars," she said. "Twenty- five is nothing. It's going to last me two weeks." SERVICE From Page 1 ing firm. The report suggested Accenture was "taking over financial and IT management" at the University. "I assure you that this is sim- ply not true," Slottow wrote in his e-mail Wednesday. "Well trained University of Michigan employ- ees with deep expertise are man- aging our day-to-day finance and IT operations." Additionally, since Rowan Miranda, associate vice president for finance, previously worked for Accenture, Slottow said Miranda took himself out of the selection process "to eliminate any pos- sibility of real or perceived bias." The report had accused Miranda of a conflict of interest because of the involvement of his former employer in the Shared Service Center's creation. Addressing concerns that lower-income women were par- ticularly burdened as part of the transitional staff, the statement said that planned Shared Service Center staff shares similar demo- graphics with the rest of the Uni- versity's staff positions. Three separate forums led by Laurita Thomas, associate vice president for human resources, were held during the week to pro- vide more detailed information about the center's organization and transition process. The cur- rent structure of the center will feature six functional lead posi- tions and about 20 other leader roles. Interim LSA Dean Susan Gelman reiterated in an e-mail interview that there will be no layoffsin the transitional pro- cess and voiced her support for staff members' moving to the center. "In my view, this was the most urgent of all the concerns that have been raised regarding AST, and it is tremendously reassur- ing that our staff will continue to have a place within the univer- sity," she wrote. Friday, November 22, 2013 - 3 During the public comment portion of Thursday's Board of Regents meeting, two faculty members and one graduate stu- dent expressed concerns about the Shared Services Center. Women's Studies Prof. Celeste Brusati, Rackham student Eliza- beth Walker and Women's Studies Prof. Maria Cotera all touched on similar points. Their comments were mostly concerned with the possible dehumanization of fac- ulty members and lack of commu- nication and interaction between faculty and students. In her address to the regents, Walker said she chose the Uni- versity's graduate program over other competitive higher educa- tion institutions because of the interactions she had with staff on campus when she visited. "I want you to realize that by doing this program you'll be tak- ing something vital from my edu- cation," Walker said. "There is no possible way the staff could con- tinue their level of service in a dif- ferent location." VIDEO GAME out and doing things in real life, School, the School of Informa- From Page 1 as well as the knowledge of the tion, the College of Engineering, health-care provider," Meade the School of Public Health and said. the College of Pharmacy. bridge the gap between the hos- Acquiring the funding and In light of recent cuts to fed- pital and home environments. intellectual resources for the six eral support for research, Meade "This acknowledges both the projects outlined in TICTOK was said the grant provided encour- issues of the spinal cord injury an interdisciplinary effort, with agement to everyone involved in and the priority of folks being contributions from the Medical the research. Kony has reportedly been in talks with Kenyan president Subject of massive manhunt believed to be in the southeast NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Central African Republic's government said Thursday that Joseph Kony, anaccusedwarcriminalhuntedby African troops and U.S. advisers, is believed to be in the country's remote southeast and has been talking with the president. U.S. officials and others expressed doubt the reported talks represent a breakthrough in efforts to bring himto justice. Kony, who has been indicted on charges of crimes againsthumani- ty, has evaded capture for decades and was the subject of viral video seen by more than 100 million people last year produced by the advocacy group Invisible Chil- dren. His fighters with the Lord's Resistance Army are known for hacking off the lips and ears of their victims, and turning young girls into sex slaves. Reports over the years have claimed that the brutal jungle gangster was hiding in Sudan's Darfur region or in a remote corner of volatile Central Afri- can Republic, where LRA fight- ers have killed at least 33 people since January and abducted more than 100 others. Central African Republic government spokesman Gaston Mackouzangba said Thursday that Kony is now believed to be in the town of Nzako. None of the groups searching for Kony reported any indication that Kony was really there. "The president said he had spoken by telephone with Joseph Kony who wants to lay down his arms," Mackouzangba told The Associated Press. "The negotia- tions are ongoing." The government also said it had sent medicine to Kony at his request. The African Union envoy in charge of pursuing the LRA said Wednesday that many reports indicate Kony is seriously ill. The State Department said Thursday that U.S. authorities are aware that CAR officials have been in contact "for several months" with a small LRA group "that has expressed interest in surrendering." The U.S. said it's clear the LRA is facing sig- nificant pressure from African military forces hunting for LRA fighters and Kony. "At this time, we have little reason to believe that Joseph Kony is part of this group," the State Department said, adding that Kony and his senior com- manders have used "any and every pretext to rest, regroup, and rearm, ultimately returning to kidnapping, killing, displacing and otherwise abusing civilian populations." The Resolve, a U.S. aid group that carries out anti-LRA work, said the report of talks with Kony is based on a series of engage- ments between an LRA group near Nzako and local authori- ties. A few mid-level LRA lead- ers say they are interested in settling peacefully in the area, said spokesman Michael Poffen- berger. "They have referred to involvement from 'the big boss' but there has been no evidence of actual involvement from Kony in this process. On the contrary, there is some indication that the group may be acting independent of his direction," said Poffen- berger, whose group helps run the LRA Crisis Tracker, a website that charts LRA attacks. The spokesman for Uganda's military also said Thursday that he's pessimistic that the reported contact with Kony or his fight- ers will bear fruit. Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda said Uganda supports in principle any initiative by Cen- tral African Republic to engage in talks with Kony, but he noted that it's the third time there have been reports of such efforts. Uganda has about 2,500 troops working to find Kony in CAR and the surroundingregion, Ankunda said. The U.S. also has about 100 special forces sta- tioned across central Africa who are helping advise in the hunt for Kony. Uganda's military is the prin- cipal player in the multi-coun- try hunt for Kony, who kidnaps men, women and children, forc- ing some to become fighters and others to become sex slaves. The LRA, which originated in Uganda in the 1980s as a popu- lar tribal uprising against the government, has waged one of Africa's longest and most brutal rebellions. @MICHIGANDAILY I @THEBLOCKM SURVIVOR From Page 1 etal myths,suchras theidea chat male survivors are gay or weak, have hindered survivors reaching out. Struve believes that social-stigmas associated with sexual abuse have caused men to think that they can hide their traumatic experience and can recover on their own. "The definition of masculin- ity in our culture really cre- ates a strong disincentive for any man to come forward and to say that he has been victim- ized," Anderson said. While Alterman, Anderson and Struve have extensively researched and discussed this topic, many students who attended the event were shocked about the storieswand statistics discussed. Rack- ham student Mallory Fuhst described that this event expanded her perspective of sexual abuse. Others, such as Rackham student Ramon Martinez, praised the willingness and strength the panelists had to share their stories. "It's a real issue," he said. The Online Revolution: Learning without Limits Tue (Dec 10 1@4PM1 ~Art ille Teatre Wa g een Drama Center BECOME ONE OF US! JOIN THE DAILY! michigandaily.com/join-us FE AT U RING c usraco-founder & co-CEO Daphne Koller We are at the cusp of a major transformation in higher education. In the past year, we have seen the advent of massive open online courses (MOOCs). In this interactive talk, Prof. Koller will discuss this far-reaching experiment in education, including examples & preliminary analytics. She will also discuss why this model can support an improved learning experience for on-campus students, & provide access to education to students around the world. Register today engin.umich.edu/form/mellorlecture20l3 JAMES R. MELLOR LECTURE SERIES 4 MICHIGAN ENGINEERING UNIVETYOFMIHGAN