I E Itt4t C n ,' atIV

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Friday, April 4, 2014

michigandaily.com

AND WE DANCED

Coleman says
'U' backs worker
safety accords

Outrage Dance performs at the upstART festival Thursday at the Power Center.
CAMPUS IFE
SpringFest to inclue
several -musical acts

University will
call on licensees to
sign agreement on
working conditions
By MAX RADWIN
DailyStaff Reporter
A day after a handful of pro-
testers convened in the Flem-
ing Administration Building to
protest the University's con-
tracts with apparel suppliers,
University President Mary Sue
Coleman announced a new set
of guidelines designed to ensure
worker safety in Bangladesh - a
major textile producing coun-
try.
Coleman stated Tuesday that
all University licensees - com-
panies that produce products
using the University's branding
- must adhere to the Accord on
Fire and Building Safety or pres-
ent their own guidelines that
are of an equivalent rigor. The
accord is an agreement between
the nation's trade unions and
factory managers designed to
improve safety at manufactur-
ing facilities.
Over the past several years,

the University's chapter of Unit-
ed Students Against Sweatshops
has been working to increase
the awareness of working condi-
tions in B angladesh's factories.
The student organization has
hosted "die-in" protests on the
Diag, talks by Bangladeshi and
Indonesian sweatshop workers
and led a "naked" protest Mon-
day to raise awareness of the
conditions of worker unions and
garment factories both locally
and overseas.
In the fall, Coleman referred
the issue to the President's
Advisory Committee on Labor
Standards and Human Rights,
which advises the University
about its policies regarding the
companies that manufacture
all items with the University's
emblems. The committee that
recommended that "the Uni-
versity of Michigan reiterate
to ALL its licensees the impor-
tance of honoring its code of
conduct including the guaran-
tee of health and safety of work-
ers."
"When (companies) produce
their apparel, they don't really
look out for their workers' rights
there at all," said Public Poli-
cy junior Maya Menlo, USAS
Worker Rights Consortium

Board representative and mem-
ber of the President's Advisory
Committee on Labor Standards
and Human Rights, "It's some-
thing that we try to mobilize
students around because we
don't want, for instance, a U of
M T-shirt being produced in a
factory that's about to collapse.
We don't want blood on our
hands. And more than that, we
care about the equality of work-
ers in general."
The poor and unsafe working
conditions in many of Bangla-
desh's factories came to interna-
tional attention last April when
an eight-story facility collapsed
and killed more than 1,000
workers.
In a release Thursday, Cole-
man lauded organizers for
thoughtful consideration of the
issue.
"We expect that all licens-
ees provide workers a safe and
healthy working environment
regardless of what country
they are working in to produce
goods," Coleman said. "I am
impressed by USAS's commit-
ment to the wellbeing of the
workers in Bangladesh."
The release also noted that
the University joins nine other
See APPAREL, Page 3

MUSIC Matters
announces official
plans for annual event
By MICHAEL SUGERMAN
Daily StaffReporter
The Windy City keeps blow-
ing musical acts into Ann Arbor.
First, Chance the Rapper per-
formed in Hill Auditorium
March 22. Now, another up-and-

coming Chicagoan rapper will
make an appearance for MUSIC
Matters' end-of-year celebration,
SpringFest: Vic Mensa.
Mensa will open for 2 Chainz,
who MUSIC Matters announced
last week would headline their
capstone concert.
Engineering senior Shankara
Bharadwaj, MUSIC Matters'
talent and concert chair, said
signing Mensa as a SpringFest
performer was a reflection of the
artist's increasing popularity -

following a "huge" set at Austin's
10-day South by Southwest festi-
val, among others.
"With 2Chainz, we identified
that we wanted someone who
was at the peak of his career right
now," Bharadwaj said. "When we
were sitting down and talking
about opening acts, we wanted
to bring in an act that was on the
rise in the hip-hop world. And
Vic really fits that bill."
LSA senior Gianna Marx, the
See SPRINGFEST, Page 3


GOVERNMENT
Schauer picks
Oakland official
as running mate

County Clerk Lisa
Brown advocates for
women's, LBGTQ
rights in the state
By ALLANA AKHTAR
Daily StaffReporter
With November's gubernato-
rial election a few months away,
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's
Democratic opponent Mark
Schauer has officially selected
a running mate.
Schauer, a former congress-
man from Battle Creek Mich.,
chose Oakland County Clerk
Lisa Brown to join his ticket as
the Democratic candidate for
lieutenant governor. Though
she had been the speculated
choice for several weeks, Schau-
er held three separate press
conferences in Southfield, Flint
and Grand Rapids Thursday to
officially announce his pick.
"Lisa shares my values and
priorities for making education
our top economic priority, and
working to make Michigan's
economy fairer for the middle
class," Schauer wrote in a press
release. "Make no mistake, Lisa
Brown will make a terrific Lt.
Governor."
Brown was elected as the
Oakland County Clerk/Regis-
ter of Deeds this past Novem-
ber. Prior to that, she served as
a state representative for Mich-
igan's 39th district from 2009
to 2012.
Brown was born in Detroit

and attended Andover High
School in Bloomfield Hills,
Mich. She earned a bachelor's
degree from Michigan State
University and a J.D. from the
Detroit College of Law.
State Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann
Arbor), who served with Brown
during her time in the House,
said her affability is an impor-
tant asset for the campaign.
"I've seen her smart savvy
wit, her dynamic personality- I
like her a lot, personally," Irwin
said.
Brown is perhaps best known
for her June 2012 remarks on
the state House floor when
she was silenced by the state
Republican House leadership
for using the word "vagina." In
a speech denouncing legisla-
tion that would place additional
restrictions on abortion pro-
viders, she said, "Mr. Speaker,
I'm flattered that you're all so
interested in my vagina, but 'no'
means'no.'
Brown garnered national
media attention from the inci-
dent and received praise from a
host of pro-choice and women's
rights advocates.
She was also one of four
county clerks who granted
marriage licenses to same-sex
couples after a federal judge
overturned Michigan's con-
stitutional same-sex marriage
ban, despite the threat of a stay
on the ruling from Michigan
Attorney General Bill Schuette.
State Rep. Adam Zemke (D-
Ann Arbor) said, throughout
her career, Brown has fought
See BROWN, Page 3

JAMES COLLER/Daily
NASA researcher Al Globus discusses possible future of orbital space settlements Thursday at Chesebrough Audi-
torium. The discussion was part of a speaker series by the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space
club.
NASA researcher explores
idea of space colonization

New minor
will look at
law, justice
relationship
Sociology-based
program provides
new options
for students
By BRIE WINNEGA
Daily Staff Reporter
Combining interests in law and
social justice just got easier.
Beginning in Fall 2014, the
University's Department of Soci-
ology will offer students the
opportunity to pursue a minor in
Law, Justice and Social Change.
The new minor will give stu-
dents a way to explore the rela-
tionship between law and society,
as well as the ways in which
society is affected by the inter-
actions between institutions and
social groups. Requirements for
the minor include a prerequisite
introductory course and the com-
pletion of 15 credits from a combi-
nation of other available courses.
However, those barred from
pursuing the Law, Justice and
Social Change minor include soci-
ology majors with a subplan in
Law, Justice and Social Change,
Crime and Justice minors and
Community Action and Social
Change minors.
Sociology Prof. Sandra Lev-
itsky, who teaches two of the
minor's main courses, said she
was surprised when multiple
students expressed an interest
in both her Law and Society and
Social Movements courses.
"When I first started teaching
these courses I expected to see
See MINOR, Page 3

Discussion looks
at feasability of the
futuristic endeavor
By AMABEL KAROUB
Daily StaffReporter
Space: the final frontier?
Well, that's what Al Globus, a
NSA researcher, thinks, any-
way.
Globus is a strong advocate
of space colonization. At a lec-
ture Thursday night hosted by
Students for the Exploration
and Development of Space,
he told students why living
in space is the next step for
humanity.
At the beginning of the lec-
ture, Globus pulled up space
residence designs from the
1970s. The plans looked like
they were taken directly from
the science-fiction film "Ely-
sium" - fully equipped with

mansions and a peaceful river.
Globus said, technology wise,
such proposals are not ridicu-
lous, but amatter of cost.
"This is the place to live,"
Globus said, referring to the
renderings. "There's a baseball
field and a golf course!"
Globus gave three main
reasons why space settlement
would be worth the high cost:
survival, growth and wealth.
In terms of survival, Globus
said it is only a matter of time
until an asteroid or some other
fatal event wipes out humans
on Earth.
"Someday, something really
bad is going to happen to the
Earth and we're all going to
die," Globus said. "Before then,
we'd like to have space settle-
ments so that not all of human-
ity is exterminated."
Discussing the possibility
for growth, Globus referenced
how the land on Earth is virtu-
ally all owned by someone, but

the area available for orbital
settlements is practically lim-
itless.
"Somewhere between 100
and 1,000 times the surface
area of the Earth - that's how
much living area you'd get,"
Globus said. "The solar system
could easily support trillions of
people this way."
As for power and wealth,
Globus said there were great
possibilities to generate energy
and materials. In space, solar
energy is equal to 625 million
times the amount available
on Earth. Thousands of small
asteroids in our solar system,
contain materials worth tens
of millions of dollars each, Glo-
bus said.
Having articulated the rea-
sons space colonization should
be a priority, Globus proposed
funding opportunities that
would also advance technol-
ogy, tourism, solar power and
See SPACE, Page 3


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