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Anm Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, February 6, 2014
michigandaily.com
FOLLOW THE MONEY
GOVERNMENI
Funds for
higher ed.
increase in
new budget
Lawrence Porter, the assistant national secretary of the Socialist Equality Party, speaks about the political conspiracy behind Detroit's bankruptcy on behalf
of international Youth and Students for Social Equality in the League Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Liquor store closes doors
Gov. Rick Snyder's
budget for public
universities grows
by $80.3 million
By SHOHAM GEVA
Daily StaffReporter
On Wednesday, Michigan Gov.
Rick Snyder (R) announced his
executive budget proposal for the
2015 fiscal year in a presentation
to a joint session of the Senate
and House Appropriations Com-
mittees.
The budget, which totals
$52.1 billion, includes significant
increases in several areas such as
K-12 education, as well as propos-
als for tax relief and assistance
for Detroit during bankruptcy its
proceedings.
Public universities were rec-
ommended to receive a substan-
tial 6.1-percent funding increase
amounting to $80.3 million,
which represents both the larg-
est increase in higher educa-
tion funding since 2001 and a
structural reversal from the
15-percent decrease in education
funding Snyder proposed in 2011
during his first year as governor.
State Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-
Ann Arbor) said the increase in
education funding, along with
proposed tax relief measures,
represented some of the major
differences between the gover-
nor's latest budget proposal and
those from previous years.
"You can tell it's an election
year with how different this bud-
get is from the previous budgets
I've had the opportunity to vote
on," Irwin said. "We're actually
seeing education get the money;
we're actually seeing tax relief
being targeted more broadly
rather than just at wealthy indi-
See BUDGET, Page 3A
B
0
By
"S
plast
Fron
ary. J
lue Front shop inventory this past week, Blue
Front locked its doors to the
wner says rent Ann Arbor community after
more than two decades of busi-
was too high ness.
The 701 Packard Street con-
HILLARY CRAWFORD venience store, recognizable by
Daily StaffReporter its blue awning and cone-shaped
roof, sold beer, wine and other
TORE CLOSING" signs convenience items. In 2005,
ered the door of the Blue owner Suresh Bhagat bought
t party store in Janu- the establishment, which was
After selling the last of its founded in 1988.
Bhagat acknowledged that
although rent has not changed
in the last few years, business
has declined. Inability to make
up for the price of rent was a
primary factor in the store's clo-
sure.
"Rent was too high - that's
why I closed the store," Bhagat
said. "That's it."
Robert Kesto, who owns two
University-area liquor stores,
said smaller businesses like Blue
Front lack the luxury of being
able to lower their prices and
make up for the losses.
"You can't lower your prices
so much to stay in business on
campus, because rent is so high,"
Kesto said. "So you have to run it
as if there's no competition."
Kesto owns Champions Party
Store at 1227 South University
Avenue and State Street Liquor
at 340 South State Street.
See STORE, Page 3A
HEALTH
HEALTH
CVS'removal
of tobacco gets
mixed reviews
Students weigh in
on the convenience
store's historic move
By MICHAEL SUGERMAN
Daily Staff Reporter
CVS Caremark, the nation's
largest second-largest drug
store chain, announced
Wednesday that it would stop
selling tobacco products in its
7,600 stores by Oct. 1, becom-
ing the first drugstore chain to
adopt such a policy.
Under the new policy, CVS
estimated that it will lose out
on approximately $2 billion of
annual tobacco-related rev-
enue. However, this figure is
only a fraction of its $123 bil-
lion in annual sales, according
to reports from 2012.
Mike DeAngelis, director of
public relations for CVS Care-
mark, said the financial losses
linked to tobacco sales aren't
a huge concern, adding that
health is the company's main
focus.
"Pharmacies are becom-
ing more involved in chronic
disease management to help
patients with high blood pres-
sure, high cholesterol and dia-
betes," he wrote in an e-mail
interview. "All of these condi-
tions are made worse by smok-
ing and cigarettes have no place
in a setting where healthcare is
delivered."
Robert Winfield, the Uni-
versity's chief health officer,
said reducing access to tobacco
products will positively affect
communities nationwide. He
called tobacco a "substantial
killer" and said any means to
reduce its use could be benefi-
cial.
Winfield acknowledged that
CVS's decision to take tobacco
off the market won't stop every-
one from smoking, but this kind
of policy coupled with commu-
nity pressure may change the
minds of some smokers.
"When we were deciding
to have the campus become
smoke-free, we knew that we
would be addressing the com-
munity issue because we were
going to change the environ-
ment and make it a less wel-
coming place for people to
smoke," Winfield said. "The
fact that CVS is choosingto not
See CVS, Page 3A
CAMPUS LIFE
Greek orgs.,
PULSE host
health fair to
aid students
Program aims to
increase awareness
about diversity of
services available
By JULIA LISS
Daily StaffReporter
As studentsbraved the blustery
weather, others manned stations
throughout Central Campus dedi-
cated to promoting health and
we.lness.
The Greeks for Wellness divi-
sion of PULSE, a student-run
organization sponsored by Uni-
versity Health Service, held a
health and wellness fair Wednes-
day afternoon. Called "7 Wonders
of the Wellness World," the event
featured stations around Central
Campus focusing on major health
issues that college students often
face.
The stations focused on seven
significant health issues for stu-
dents, including mental health,
academics, body image, sexual
health, healthy relationships,
nutrition and exercise.
The stations were spread out
See GREEK, Page 3A
TRACY K/Oaily
Michigan forward Glenn Robinson III scored 23 points to lead the Wolverines toa 79-50 win over Nebraska.
Student disabilities office
celebrates 40th anniversary
Panelists discuss
center's progress,
future initiatives
By CHARLOTTE JENKINS
Daily StaffReporter
The Office of Services for
Students with Disabilities is
celebrating its 40th anniversary
thisyearwith aseries of presen-
tations. SSD collaborated with
the Career Center Wednesday
to present "Navigatingthe Road
to Work: Making the Connec-
tion Between Students with
Disabilities and Employment."
The event, which was held in
Hatcher Graduate Library, fea-
tured panelists from the Uni-
versity and companies to advise
students with disabilities.
Ashleigh Maynor, career
consultant at the Career Center
and liaison between SSD and
the Career Center, helped initi-
ate the collaboration between
the two offices.
"I noticed students coming
into the Career Center with alot
of questions about talking about
disability with an employer,"
Maynor said.
Maynor said she hopes the
event will begin a collaborative
initiative that will educate the
University community about an
increasingly common issue.
She added that the program
See DISABLED, Page 3A
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