The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, January 31, 2014 - 3
GIBBONS
From Page 1A
the Dec. 19 meeting described by
Ablauf.
Regardless of whether foot-
ball officials were aware of the
disciplinary investigations or
OSCR's subsequent sanctions,
legal experts told the Daily that
OSCR could have informed foot-
ball officials at any point during
the disciplinary investigation and
proceedings.
As previously reported by the
Daily, the outcomes. of disciplin-
ary proceedings in relation to vio-
lent or nonforcible sex offenses
are not protected by the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy
Act, a federal law that describes
handling and privacy protocols for
student records.
But the law also doesn't pre-
vent the University from sharing
details of any disciplinary record
internally if administrators deem
it necessary, according to Frank
LoMonte, executive director ofthe
Student Press Law Center.
"Even under FERPA, you can
share disciplinaryoutcomes inter-
nally if there's a business need
to know," LoMonte said. "That
would be a classic example of the
kind of disciplinary information
that could be shared regardless of
FERPA."
FERPA states that it does not
prohibit a school agency from
"disclosing such information
to teachers and school officials,
including teachers and school
officials in other schools, who
have legitimate educational
interests in the behavior of the
student."
It's not clear whether OSCR
directly informed athletic
officials about Gibbons' case.
University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald declined to comment.
LoMonte said athletic officials
are covered by this provision,
as they should be understood to
have an interest in the behavior
of students in their program.
Documents reviewed by the
Daily show that Gibbons was
found responsible for sexual
misconduct on or before Nov. 20.
OSCR officials could have noti-
fied the Athletic Department of
this finding prior to Michigan's
Nov. 23 game at Iowa, in which
Gibbons played.
"It is routine for universities
to share within themselves dis-
ciplinary information when it
relates to an activity of another
department that needs to be
aware of that outcome," said
Mark Goodman, a media law
professor at Kent State Univer-
sity. "I would argue that an ath-
letic department, when a claim
involves a student-athlete, is a
logical place for the outcome of a
proceeding to be communicated
to."
RACE
From Page 1A
answer to how you begin those
conversations is you bring more
faculty in who are teaching these
courses, who are well-resourced,
who are not visitors, who are not
adjuncts, but who are actual fac-
ulty."
University alum Amber Wil-
liams,the community development
program manager at the Trotter
Multicultural Center, organized
Thursday's event. She said she was
happy to have someone address
issues of race, especially in light of
the recent events on campus.
"Forsomanypeople,someofthe
experiences that she talks about
and issues that she talks about hit
close to home," Williams said.
Though Harris-Perry addressed
serious issues, audience members
applauded, snapped, cheered and
laughed throughoutthe lecture.
Engineering senior Breoshshala
Martin said she enjoyed Harris-
Perry's speech because of its
"down-to-earth" approach to dis-
cussing the lecture's themes.
"It was really good to come here
and hear her perspective on it,"
Martin said. "She wasn't talking
over your head, she was just really
personable with us."
The speech comes nearly a week
after the University's Black Stu-
dent Union met with University
administrators to discuss issues
surrounding minority inclu-
sion and diversity at the Univer-
sity raised by the group's #BBUM
Twittercampaign in December.As
a result, the University pledged to
allocate $300,000 to the Trotter
Center for renovations, which are
yet to be determined.
WAGE
From Page 1A
recently but historically, around
minimum wage, it takes some-
thinglike this to get an increase
done."
In its initial announcement,
Raise Michigan outlined three
main goals for its campaign:
raising the minimum wage from
its current rate of $7.40 per hour
to a figure between $9 and $10
per hour, raising the minimum
wage for restaurant servers and
tying the minimum wage to the
inflation index.
To place the question on the
ballot, the group would have to
gather either 258,088 voter sig-
natures if the ballot question is
for a new law, or 322,609 voter
signatures if the question is a
proposed amendment to the
Michigan Constitution.
Minimum wage has been a
popular topic state-wide and
nationally. Tuesday night, Pres-
ident Barack Obama announced
during his State of the Union
address that he will be signing
an executive order to raise the
minimum wage of new federal
contractors to $10.10.
Democratic gubernatorial
candidate Mark Schauer said
in November that if he's elect-
ed, he plans to raise the state's
minimum wage to $9.25. Thurs-
day, U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-
Mich.) and state Reps. Adam
Zemke (D-Ann Arbor) and Jeff
Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) held a
lunch meeting at Zingerman's
Delicatessen with the shop's co-
owner, Paul Saginaw, to discuss
raising the minimum wage.
In their meeting, Zemke said
nearly 85 percent of democrats
and 50 percent of republicans
support raising minimum wage.
"I think it's kind of a no-
brainer," he said. "I think if they
put it on the ballot and they
managed to get that, I think it
would pass without a problem."
While students are not the
core demographic for all these
measures - most have an
emphasis on aiding full-time
minimum wage workers - for
those who do work, there could
be several possible outcomes as
a result of the new legislation.
LSA freshman Cassandra
Martinez, who works at the Vic-
tors caf6 in Mosher-Jordan Res-
idence Hall, said for her, even a
small increase in wage would be
significant because of the fewer
number of hours students are
typically able to work.
"Even a dollar would make a
big difference because we work
like a minimum of maybe three,
four hours a week," she said.
"Everything makes a difference
at this point."
Martinez currently makes
$9 per hour, but she added that
even with that wage--which
is the new minimum that the
Raise Michigan coalition is cur-
rently proposing--making ends
meet as a student is difficult.
"Trying to live off $9 an hour
and dealing with schoolwork
and extracurriculars - like for
me, I play a club sport - and
trying to do things that I want is
really hard," Martinez said.
University alum Emily Tay-
lor, the general manager at Mia
Za's Caf6, agreed that work-
ing enough to satisfy financial
needs as a student can be dif-
ficult.
"The whole purpose of my job
my senior year was to pay rent,
and I just barely made it, and
I was working between 18-20
hours a week," Taylor said. "And
my rent was low, it was a cheap
place, and it was still only just
barely coming in."
She added that at least at Mia
Za's, the move to increase mini-
mum wage could decrease how
many new positions are open to
students, prompting instead a
shift to more hours for existing
workers.
In terms of employment at
the University, which provides
a large number of the jobs stu-
dents have, the impact might be
less severe.
In an e-mail interview, Vickie
Crupper, associate director for
Client Services in the Office of
Financial Aid, wrote that when
it comes to student jobs at the
University, there have histori-
cally been more vacant posi-
tions than willing students.
"Because each department at
the University has control over
their own operating budget, it is
difficult for our office to know
if there will be any impact," she
wrote. "After the last minimum
wage increase, the University
still had more student tempo-
rary positions available than
there were students interested
in filling them."
Overall, Houston said when it
comes to state-by-state compar-
ison, Michigan isn't the worst in
terms of minimum wage, but it's
certainly not the best.
"A lot of the states that actu-
ally have lower unemployment
than Michigan, and have high-
er small business growth, and
have similar inflation rates all
have higher minimum wages
for tipped employees and regu-
lar employees," Houston said.
"I think it's long overdue that
Michigan joins the pack."
OFFICIALS
From Page 1A
their representatives were doing
to bring about the change.
Irwin and Zemke both cited
their co-sponsorship of state
House Bill 4386 as the concrete
action they are taking to increase
wages. If passed, the bill would
raise the minimum wage in the
state of Michigan from $7.40 to
$9 per hour. While the represen-
tatives were pessimistic about
the bill's chances, Zemke said he
was hopeful that it would pass in
the future ifa Democrat wins the
gubernatorial election in Novem-
ber.
"More than just locally, I think
this is going to be a huge campaign
issue, quite frankly," Zemke said.
"My hope is that former congress-
man Mark Schauer gets elected
governor, and he has made it a
point of his campaign to increase
the minimum wage to $9.25."
Bess Anderson, who has worked
at Zingerman's for five months,
said an increase in minimum
wage would lead to a significant
improvement in people's lifestyles.
"A dollar an hour can change
my life significantly from the way
I think about grocery shopping
to what I can do for my family,"
Anderson said.
Many of the employees dis-
cussed their concerns about low
minimum wage in the context
of student loans and going back
to school, adding that minimum
wage job is not enough to pay for
higher education.
Mike Varney, who has worked
COUNCIL
From Page 1A
art projects will be made possible
by a combination of grants, private
donations and money from the city.
Changes to the ordinance were
made in response to suggestions
from a task force of City Council
members.
AAPAC Chair Bob Miller said
although the City Council now
wants to put Percent for Art funds
back toward things such as sewer
and road repairs, thisuwas not one of
the task force's original recommen-
dations. They did, however, suggest
using some money from Percent for
Art to aid the transition away from
that program.
Miller said the City Council
would like to see AAPAC work with
the city's Capital Improvement
Plan, which will make physical
improvements to Ann Arbor. The
CIP contains a long list of planned
projects, and City Council has asked
AAPAC to make a similar list for
public art and enhanced artwork.
Lumm said to incorporate public
art into upcoming building proj-
CSG
From Page 2A
"For example, commissions
like the Detroit Engagement
Commission or the Social Justice
Commission are doing great work
and could use more money to fur-
ther their efforts," he wrote. "So
at Zingerman's for six months,
said he has heard arguments
alleging that those who work for
minimum wage are lazy because
they choose to work rather than
pursue a higher education.
"It's sort of a slap in the face
because when I look around this
table, I see every person who's
working here is the opposite of
lazy," Varney said. "Just because
the amount of money you make
per hour is lower than some-
one else's doesn't make you lazy.
In fact, I think it's the opposite.
You're doing a job that nobodyelse
wants to do for $7.50 an hour."
Sanford Bledsoe, owner of The
Espresso Bar in Kerrytown, said
though his business is young, he
has managed to pay his employ-
ees consistently above minimum
wage. He said his decision to pay
his employees an increased wage
stems from his observations of
employees at chain coffee shops.
"People who work in coffee
shops do not usually make much
money. It's eight or nine hours
standing on your feet, living off a
diet of pastries. It's not a sustain-
able job, so I said I'm going to try
and make it one," Bledsoe said.
Dingell said hearing the stories
of Zingerman's employees made
him hopeful that other businesses
will follow in their footsteps to
help improve hourly employees'
economic state.
"You've got to admire them
and you've got to admire Zinger-
man's," Dingell said. "They are
an honest, caring bunch of people
who want to see to it that we do
something which betters the soci-
ety. They also want to do some-
thing that betters the economy."
ects, AAPAC must start planning
early. The ordinance also requires
AAPAC to submit its plans for the
following year to City Council by
Feb.1, but this has not happened yet.
"When we last renewed the con-
tract in August, we were told that,
by year-end, the plan for the public
arts program would be fleshed out,
and we've seen nothing," Lumm
said.
In terms of raising private funds
outside of the CIP, Miller said, "this
is what we're trying totransfer into,
but haven't gotten there yet. We're
looking for more direction on how
to get to that point."
Lumm said being a member of
the city's insurance board provides
her with a personal reminder of the
city's infrastructure needs. She said
through her experience serving on
various art boards, she has become
confident that Ann Arbor is a city
that can successfully fund a public
arts program privately.
Miller said the main focus is to
transition the structure of AAPAC,
and it is up to the City Council to
make decisions concerningits fund-
ing.
"I'm here to move things for-
ward, "he said.
increasing the fee wouldn't guar-
antee that the new money would
come directly back to SOFC."
Kibler, who has served on
SOFC, said he enjoyed his work
on the commission, but acknowl-
edged it wasn't easy.
"There are a lot of great orga-
nizations out there," he said. "Our
help, I think, can make or break
events ... Every single decision is
tough."
Weekend roundup: Jan. 31-Feb. 2
By YARDAIN AMRON
Daily StaffReporter
With a warm front headed
into Ann Arbor this weekend
- a high of 31 degrees expected
for Saturday - you may want to
take advantage of the almost not
freezing weather and get out to
an event around town. Is your
student group hosting an event
this weekend? Tell us about it in
our comments section or e-mail
Alicia Adamczyk at aalicia@
umich.edu.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 31
CULTURE
Ann Arbor's 37th annual
Folk Festival will begin at 6:30
p.m. at Hill Auditorium and
run through Saturday night.
Friday's lineup includes Iron
and Wine, Neko Case, Jus-
tin Townes Earle, Willie Nile,
Pearl and The Beard, Thao and
The Get Down Stay Down, The
Appleseed Collective and Seth
Walker, MC. Tickets range from
$35 to $47.50 for a single night,
while series tickets range from
$60 to $85. Two-day passes are
available as well.
If you've been postponing
a trip to see "Inside Llewyn
Davis" or "American Hustle"
at the State Theater, you might
want to get on that because this
weekend is the last of the films'
run.
But if movies aren't your
thing, check out Pulitzer Prize-
winning photographer and pro-
fessor David Turnley's timely
exhibit on Nelson Mandela at
the Duderstadt Center. The dis-
play will be open from 12 p.m. to
6 p.m. and will cover the years
Turley spent with Mandela and
his family.
SPORTS
Men's Ice Hockey will take
on No. 9 Wisconsin at 6:30 p.m.
at Yost Arena, looking for their
third straight win. Women's
Gymnastics will also take on
rival Michigan State at Crisler
Arena beginning at 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1
CULTURE
The folk festival enters its
second day at Hill Auditorium
beginning at 6:30 p.m. The
lineup is equally respectable as
Friday's, with headliners Patty
Griffin, Ingrid Michaelson and
Michigan-native actor Jeff Dan-
iels.
The Michigan Theater will
host a special Indian dance
competition, Dandia Dhamaka,
at 6:30 p.m. College teams from
across the country will be com-
peting for a $3,000 grand-prize.
Tickets are $10 to $18.
If you're looking to save a few
dollars, 1981 science fiction thrill-
er "Escape From New York" is
playing at the State Theater as a
midnight special. Tickets are only
$7.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2
CULTURE
Are you a fan of the Mtppets?
Well you're in luck, because "The
Muppet Movie" is playing at 1:30
p.m. at the Michigan 'T'heater.
Oscar-nominated animated short
films will follow at 4:30 p.m.
Obama urges new training
program for fed. workforce
President reiterates
importance of job
improvement
WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) -
Stressing the importance of hav-
ing job-training programs that
work, President Barack Obama
on Thursday ordered a "soup to
nuts" review of federal work-
force training initiatives and
pledged to copy the most suc-
cessful ones.
Emphasizing themes from
his State of the Union address,
Obama cast improved job train-
ing as central to his efforts to
make it easier for people to move
up into and stay in the middle
class. At a General Electric
engine factory near Milwaukee,
he signed a presidential memo
directing Vice President Joe
Biden to lead the review, and to
work with cities, businesses and
labor leaders to better match
trainingto employer needs.
"Not all of today's good jobs
need a four-year degree. But the
ones that don't need a college
degree do need some specialized
training," Obama said.
Obama said he wants a "soup
to nuts" review because not all
federal job-training programs do
what they're supposed to. He said
he wants to move the government
away from a "train and pray"
approach to job training, where
"you train workers first, and then
you hope theyget ajob."
The findings from the review
will be applied later in the year
to a competition to award $500
million in existing funds to
design programs that pair com-
munity colleges with industry.
Obama called on Congress
to be more reliable in funding
proven programs, while vowing
not to let congressional inaction
stand in the way.
"There are a lot of folks who
do not have time to wait for Con-
gress," Obama said. "They need
to learn new skills right now to
get a new job right now."
House Republicans pushed
back in a letter from Speaker
John Boehner, R-Ohio, and
other GOP leaders to Obama on
Thursday, arguing that Biden's
review was duplicative because
the Government Accountability
Office identified redundancies
in a comprehensive review it
completed in 2011. They urged
Obama to press the Demo-
cratic-led Senate to vote on a
House-passed bill to consolidate
programs and link training to
available jobs.
White House press secretary
Jay Carney couldn't explain how
Biden's review would be differ-
ent from the GAO's, but he said
that whenever Biden "is put in
charge of an effort like this, it
gets done, and it will be effec-
tive."
At a high school later in Ten-
nessee, Obama renewed his call
for Congress to fund an expan-
sion of pre-kindergarten pro-
grams, and touted his pledge to
ensure almost all students have
access to high-speed Internet.
"I want to build on what
works. But to do that, we've got
to reach more kids, and we've got
to do it faster," Obama told stu-
dents at Nashville's McGavock
Comprehensive High School.
Obama also announced
Thursday he's secured com-
mitments from major U.S. com-
panies to support efforts to
increase hiring for the long-term
unemployed, a lingering prob-
lem as the U.S. economy gradu-
ally recovers from recession.
Obama told CNN that Walmart,
Apple and Ford are among the
companies that will participate
in a White House event Friday to
outline the partnership.
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