The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, March 20, 2014 - 3A
SAFERIDE
From Page1A
the opportunity to create this
app, he teamed up with Shrestha
to make it a reality.
One of the issues McGarth
hoped to address was the com-
paratively long waits students
often endure for SafeRide to
arrive. With the app, students
can now receive alerts for when
their ride is on its way. This
allows students to continue
working in the library while
they wait, McGrath said, instead
of having to wait outside for long
periods of time.
McGrath and Shrestha
approached LSA junior Emily
Lustig, chair of CSG Campus
Safety and Security Commis-
sion, for help in promoting it the
campus community.
Lustig said the app is an ini-
tiative that will help increase
safety of students on campus.
She said other new initiatives
such as the Night Owl bus have
been helpful in transporting
students who are off campus,
but the SafeRide app will be
more focused on students on
campus.
Lustig also serves as party
chair for Make Michigan, a
party running in the upcoming
CSG elections. She brought the
app to other Make Michigan
leaders to further the collabora-
tive process ofimplementingthe
app.
Public Policy junior Bobby
Dishell, Make Michigan presi-
dential candidate and current
vice president of CSG, spoke
about the work the party did to
help implement Campus Saf-
eRide as part of its campaign
promises.
"We think it's going to make
campus a lot safer, and we're
happy that Make Michigan was
able to help bring this to cam-
pus," Dishell said.
McGrath and Shrestha said
the response to the app has been
positive overall since its launch.
"It's been really great creat-
ing something that we thought
students would like and based
on the feedback, it honed to
what we wanted," Summit said.
Since the launch, they have
already tweaked some features
in response to student feed-
back. McGrath said these minor
changes deal with making alerts
more pronounced and clear.
Students can visit campussa-
feride.com to send in feedback
and get directions on how to
download the app.
RETIREMENT
From Page 1A
their respective positions.
"I'm reluctant to say we're
going to falter," Wilbanks said.
"It's important of course to rec-
ognize we are losing longevity
and very long influence on the
part of two members of the del-
egation. They have been great
friends of the University and
they've always been ready to roll
up their sleeves and work tire-
lessly on behalf of many of the
issues we care about deeply. But
I'm also prepared to say those
who will follow in their shoes are
going to be eager to be effective
as quickly as possible."
She added that the Universi-
ty's government affairs team will
immediately begin developing
relationships with the new mem-
bers, just as they have done with
any new addition to Michigan's
congressional delegation. Wil-
banks said the members of the
entire Michigan congressional
delegation are assets of the state
and its public institutions.
"Of course they have differing
views and many have differing
priorities, but I don't think you
ever want to fail to stay connect-
ed and to be sure that your mes-
sage - the advocacy we think
is important on any number of
issues - is shared with every
member of the delegation," she
said. "How they approach those
policies and priorities is of course
up to them, but we cannot fail in
maintaining and strengthening
every relationship we have."
Wilbanks cited federal
research funding as a top con-
cern. Over the past few years,
the funding was threatened by
sequestration measures. Federal
support makes up 62 percent of
the University's research budget.
Though Wilbanks said Levin
and Dingell have been helpful
in lobbying on behalf of the Uni-
versity's research interests, she
added that maintaining funding During her time as vice presi-
is a challenge that spans across dent of governmental relations,
terms and administrations - a Wilbanks said she has worked
difficulty that will continue in closely with both of the can-
the future. didates and is confident either
But even with two top-tier could serve the University's
retirements, the University and interests well.
the state have several power- "These are all smart people
ful legislators to lean on. Two and many we've had a relation-
Republicans, Rep. Dave Camp ship in the past. I'm not sure I'm
(R-Midland) and Rep. Mike Rog- ready to concede we'll miss a
ers (R-Brighton), chair influ- beat," she said.
ential and prestigious house - Additionally, Kall and Wil-
committees and Michigan's banks said if elected, Debbie
soon-to-be senior senator, Deb- Dingell, John's Dingell's wife and
bie Stabenow (D-Mich.), chairs the Democratic candidate run-
the Senate's Agriculture Com- ning to fill his seat, will likely
mittee. carry on the brand and networks
In a statement to the Daily, formed during her husband's
Stabenow lauded Levin and record-breaking length of ser-
Dingell's commitment to the vice in the House.
state as she prepares to carry on Debbie Dingell spoke at the
where they left off. Rackham Auditorium last week
"Carl Levin and John Dingell to encourage more women to run
dedicated their lives to public for political office.
service," she wrote. "They have But despite the inevitable
been champions on so many change in leadership, Kall said
issues important to the people the transition might matter less
of Michigan, from standing up than it would have during other
for the auto industry to protect- periods of history before addi-
ing our Great Lakes, to mak- tional congressional regulations
ing college more affordable for placed limits on a legislator's pet
students. It has been an honor projects.
to work with them to fight for The retirements also arrive as
Michigan families." many long serving members of
Last month, Stabenow facili- the House and Senate are exiting
tated the passage of the Farm amid a culture of partisan rancor.
Bill, one of the few major bi-par- "It's part of a larger trend
tisan pieces of legislation to pass nationally, of the increasing
through both houses in recent political partisanship nationally
months. Kall said her steward- that's causing people to think
ship of the bill and the presence they can more change outside of
of President Obama in East Lan- Congress," he said. "It's slower
sing for the bill signing, serve as governing almost to a halt and
testaments to Stabenow's own ultimately a lot of the losers of
influence. such a process are the American
Though the two announced people."
candidates angling for Levin's The departures also occur on
Senate seat - Rep. Gary Peters the tail end of an economic reces-
(D-Bloomfield) and Terri Lynn sion that required federal action
Land, the Republican contender to bailout Detroit's auto industry
and former Michigan Secretary - a move pushed for and won in
of State - would be new to the partby Levin and Dingell.
upper house of Congress, Wil- "This is a key turning point,
banks said becoming acquainted not just in Michigan, but nation-
with the winner would not pose ally," he said.
much of a challenge.
JUDICIARY
From Page 1A
presidential title, though he ran
for the position of vice president.
Engineering sophomore Selina
Thompson ran for director of
administration yet was seated
as vice president. Engineering
sophomore Anna Shrestinian did
not appear on the ballot, but was
seated as director of administra-
tion.
The Michigan Daily reported
that Engineering senior Kenneth
Mull, the former vice president
of UMEC, said in a Jan. 22 e-mail
to Lady, one of the plantiffs, that
Engineering sophomore Diego
Calvo, won the election but with-
drew over winter break.
This could have validated Liu's
assumption of the presidential
seat; however, it would violate
Article III of the UMEC Consti-
tution. In the event of a vacated
seat, according to Article III, the
Executive Board should appoint
an interim officer to be approved
by a vote of the General Council.
UMEC did not make any such
motion following Calvo's resigna-
tion. The alleged vacancy of the
seat is still unclear, as Calvo was
notyetsworninoas presidentwhen
he resigned.
Petitioners argued that the
UMEC constitution is in violation
of the all-campus Constitution
articles regarding equal protec-
tion and democratic represen-
tation. They claimed graduate
students should not be involved
URBAN POLICY
From Page 1A
the event.
Located among the foothills
of the Appalachian Mountains,
Youngstown was a center for
steel production until the indus-
try began to decline in the 1970s.
Urban planners have recently
approached the city about look-
ing for ways to redevelop a mid-
sized city from a once larger
metropolis.
Among the program's
strengths, she said, are its vision
of citizen engagement, clearly
written plan, strong institutional
support, ability to create capac-
ity and, most notably, acceptance
of its decline to a smaller city.
However, the program is chal-
lenged by population loss and
decreasing resources, the dif-
ficulty in establishing for whom
the main district exists and
an inability to overcome racial
dynamics.
"There's a lot we can learn
from this plan, there's a lot we
can learn about what a plan can
and cannot do as well," she said.
Dewar introduced the
Youngstown 2010 Plan, which
aimed to involve the community
in enhancing the rapidly shrink-
ing city. This differs from most
urban plans, which generally
focus on community and popula-
tion growth.
Dewar said they had to define
Youngstown's role in the new
regional economy, improve
in UMEC, as they do not pay dues
for the College of Engineeringstu-
dentgovernment.
CSJ ruled the UMEC constitu-1
tion is not in violation of the All1
Campus Constitution. According1
to the official opinion, CSJ said1
graduate students are entitled1
to representation in UMEC as
they are covered by the Collegei
of Engineering. However, gradu-
ate representation should remain
less significant than that of under-
graduates.I
Engineering graduate student
Boying Liu was appointed presi-1
dent of UMEC in the December
elections. This is a violation of
Article III of the UMEC constitu-
tion, which declares that anexecu-
tive officer must be enrolled in the
College of Engineering. Though
an engineering graduating stu-
dent, Liu is technically enrolled in
Rackham, notthe College of Engi-
neering.
Liu, in additionto the otheroffi-
cers, was appointed in an invalid
election accordingto CSJ. Accord-
ing to Article III of the UMEC
constitution, UMEC elections
should be held in conjunction with
CSG elections in November. For
unclear reasons, UMEC elections
did notctake place until December.
Additionally, information regard-
ing candidates has a deadline of
being released at least two weeks
prior to the election according to
Article III. This information was
released to prospective candidates
on Dec. 3, only two days before the
Dec. Selections.
CSJ also ruled the appointment
the city's image and enhance
the quality of life by making
Youngstown a healthier place to
live and work.
Russo, visiting research fellow
at the Virginia Tech Research
Center, was not as optimistic. He
said despite the positive econom-
ic effects of the plan, it has forced
Youngstown residents to realize
the shortcomings in their city.
"There is a type of collateral
damage that happens to a com-
munity, just not economically,"
he said. "Now there is a sort of
physical health problem, sui-
cides, a sense of community
agency, a sense of loss, a feeling
of failure, a loss of pride and a
sense of shame and all of these
things are carrying the commu-
nity."
Russo also argued that urban
planners neglected services and
infrastructure in specific neigh-
borhoods, often those that are
heavily impoverished.
"What happened was that
there were few relocation allow-
ances and there were few resi-
dents who wanted to leave their
home and the neighborhoods
that were targeted for this were
largely African American,"
Russo said.
Hunter Morrison, execu-
tive director of the Northeast
Ohio Sustainable Communi-
ties Consortium Initiative, said
one strategy the urban plan-
ners undertook was integrating
Youngstown State University
with the surrounding communi-
ty. This work was accomplished
of executive board members at
the Jan. 22 UMEC meeting was
an "egregious use of illicit power."
Engineering graduate student
Christine Zuchora, the outgoing
UMEC president, elevated mem-
bers to specific offices to which
they were not elected.
Benson said the removal of the
current Executive Board reflects
more long-term problems within
UMEC that he hopes to help fix.
"The current UMEC officers
really were caught in the middle
of things, and I was really pleased
the court made very clear that
they weren't being held account-
able," he said. "The issues with
UMEC have been long-standing."
In a statement to The Michigan
Daily, members of the executive
board that must step down wrote
they are happy UMEC can now
move on from this case.
"We are looking forward to
UMEC's reinstatement so it can
continue to support the College
of Engineering student body and
its student organizations," they
wrote.
While CSJ did not order a
constitutional convention, both
sides recognized at the hearing
that they were open to reviewing
inconsistencies between UMEC
and All Campus constitutions.
Lady said changes to the
UMEC constitution and bylaws
are still needed.
"Whether it is or isn't in viola-
tion of the all-campus Constitu-
tion, we're going to go through the
same process ofreworkingthemto
serve the students better,"he said.
by a partnership between the
university and the city to develop
the area within a half-mile radi-
us of campus in order to promote
shared spaces.
"As a result of that strategy
we've seen increased investment
and renovation of office build-
ings, housing, restaurants and
the like, so this has become quite
a vital area where ten years ago
it was pretty much empty," Mor-
rison said.
Another problem was vacancy
after the population drop. Out-
side of the bustling "anchor dis-
trict," the rest of the city was
failed to develop.
Ian Beniston, deputy director
of the Youngstown Neighbor-
hood Development Corporation,
said they developed a neighbor-
hood-specific strategy and are
currently using it to implement
change on the city.
Beniston added that the
creation of the Youngstown
Neighborhood Development
Corporation increased the com-
munity's capacity for change,
and underlined his optimism for
the city's future.
The final challenge was down-
sizing. When a community's
population declines, its resourc-
es and investment also decline,
which further discourages resi-
dents to move or stay in the city.
"Services that people have
come to expect get shed and
it's taken a long time for
Youngstown to figure out a way
around that problem," Morrison
said.
SIT-IN
From Page 1A
Blake Jones and CSG repre-
sentatives, including Business
senior Michael Proppe, CSG
president, behind closed doors
late Wednesday night. At press
time it was unclear whether
any decisions or compromises
had been made between the
groups.
LSA senior Suha Najjar, a Pal-
estinian American and member
of SAFE, said CSG's postpone-
ment of voting on the resolu-
tion and limitation on students'
speech was unjustifiable.
"I think yesterday what hap-
pened on this campus should
never happen," Najjar said.
"What we're hoping is to send a
message that we're the student
body and you need to listen to
us."
"As a Palestinian, I felt it was
extremely racist," she added.
"I felt like I was not important
enough to speak."
Proppe was unavailable
for comment on the sit-in and
CSG's plan of action on the
resolution due to the meeting
between himself, Jones and the
SAFE representatives.
SAFE and its allies arrived at
the Union at 6 p.m. Wednesday
to begin preparing for the sit-in.
In an e-mail sent to supporters,
SAFE told students "Bring your
study materials, food, friends.
The CSG chambers is our
'indefinite' home now." Najjar
said she plans to stay until CSG
meets the demands.
LSA sophomore Sarah
Aaoof, who attended Tuesday's
CSG meeting, echoed Najjar
and many other attendees in
her concerns with how CSG
addressed protesters' concerns.
Aaoof said CSG has a responsi-
bility to listen to the concerns
of the student body.
"I felt that the whole issue
was misrepresented as whole,"
Aaoof said. "We deserved more
time to present the issue. I felt
like it was pushed to the side
... considering there were 300
people plus, I don't think it was
handled correctly."
University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald confirmed Dean of
Students Laura Blake Jones
had "been in touch with a wide
range of students" Wednesday
regarding Tuesday's CSG meet-
ing, though he couldn't give any
further details of the meetings.
Advocates both for and
against divestment spoke at
Tuesday's meeting, though
opponents of the divestment
resolution were not present at
Wednesday's sit-in.
"I want multiple and diverse
narratives to come together
in peaceful and safe spaces on
campus," LSA junior Michele
Freed, Hillel chair, said Tues-
day. "Where all voices have a
space and are respected. This
polarizing resolution is bring-
ing about just the opposite."
Najjar said she spoke with
Jones earlier in the day about
concerns that University police
would arrest students who did
not leave the Union, where the
CSG chambers are located, by 2
a.m. when the building closes.
The sit-in began just as it
was reported that San Diego
State University's and Loyola
University Chicago's student
governments passed similar
divestment resolutions this
week.
Pro-Palestinian students at
the University have petitioned
administrators to divest from
Israel for years. However, the
University's Board of Regents
has voted against divestment
several times, most recently in
2006.
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