2A - Thursday, January 23, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 2A - Thursday, January 23, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom MONDAY: TUESDAY: WEDNESDAY: THURSDAY: FRIDAY: This Week in History Professor Profiles In Other Ivory Towers Alurni Profiles Photos of the Week (The Jidii lan 0aUlj 4213 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com PETER SHAHIN KIRBY VOIGTMAN Editor in Chief easiness Manager 734-418-4115 eat. 1251 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 pjshahit@michigandaily.com kvoigtman@michigandailyecom Managing Beyonce's brand University alum Howard Brag- man, who currently resides in Los Angeles, has been in the pub- lic relations industry for over 30 years. Heffounded the well-known firm Fifteen Minutes Public Rela- tions in 2005. He serves as a public relations consultantfor many syn- dicated programs, including ABC News and Entertainment Tonight. How did your experience at University help prepare you for your career in public relations? Well, I really went to Michigan thinking I wanted to be a doctor. Then when I was in freshman chemistry with 900 other people who all thought they wanted to CRIME NOTES Soggy circuits SI WHERE: Art and Architec- WH ture Building Rec WHEN: Tuesday at around WH 9:55 a.m. 10:3 WHAT: A University- WH owned laptop was found frot damaged after an apparent uns liquid spill. Police do not that believe the incident to have bee been purposeful or mali- car cious. fron be a doctor, I realized I possibly didn't want it as much as they did, and I sort of stepped back and I followed my heart. My heart was number one, journalism. I had been on the paper in high school, and really liked journalism and journalistic style writing. You appeared on Good Morn- ing America and praised how Beyonce handled the scandal surrounding her lip-synching the National Anthem. What is your take on her recent sur- prise album release? Well, I think you've got to be big enough to make a surprise a surprise. If it was an artist we didn't care about, or hear about, or if it wasn't a good album, it wouldn't mean anything. But if you know you've got the goods, and you know you've got the fan base, it just means that you want to try different things and you want to evolve. How has the rise of social media and the increased accessibility of news transformed your career over the past thirty years? It didn't just form my career. It changed my career. And, that is, it wasn't important early on, but as my life continued, I evolved with the times. -KRISTENFEDOR Newsroom 734-418-411s opt.3 Corrections corrections@michigandaily.com Arts Section artasmihigandaily.cm Sports Section sports@michigandaily.com Display Sales dailydisplay@gmail.com Online Sales onlineads@michigandaily.com News Tips news@michigandaily.com Letterstothe Editor tothedaily@michigandaily.com Editorial Page opinion@michigandaily.com Photography Section photo@michigandaily.com Classified Sales classied@michigandaily.com Finance finance@michigandaily.com Art and Design freshman Gabby Meyer sets up a project for her 4D class in the Penny Stamps School of Art and Design on Wednesday. CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES hopping spree HERE: North Campus reational Building HEN: Tuesday between 0 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. [AT: A wallet was stolen m a locker that was left upervised. It is possible t charges have already o made on the credit ds presumably taken m the wallet. Film screening EEB seminar . jKw ancha i P raip ana, WHAT: North Quad's WHAT: Nyeema Harris leader of a pro- monthly Documentary Film will discuss her research government faction, Night will feature "Nostal- around how species interact was shot in Bangkok a day gia for the Light," a movie with their environments after Thailand's prime about Chile's Atacama and each other. minister declared the city Desert - the driest place on WHO: Ecology and Evolu- to be under emergency rule, Earth. Free popcorn will be tionary Biology department The Guardian reported provided. WHEN: Today at 4:00 p.m. WHO: North Quad WHERE: Chemistry Build- Wednesday. EDITORIAL STAFF Katie Burke Managing Editor kgburke@michigandaily.com letnifettaltas ManaingoewEoditar jcayfaa@michigandaitycom SEION REWS EDITORS:Ian DllnghamSam Gringlas,WllGenbergacel Premack adStephanieShenouda ASSISTANT NEWS EDITORS: Allana Akhtar, Yardain Amron, Hillary Crawford, Arnie Davis, Shoham Geva, Amabel Karoub, Thomas McBrien, Emilie Plesset, Max Radwin and Michael Sugerman Megan McDonaldand Daniel Wang Editorial PageEditors opinioneditors@michigandaily.com SENIOR EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS: Aarica Marsh and Victoria Noble ASSISTANT EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS: Michael Schramm and Nivedita Karki Greg Garno and Alejandro Zitiga ManagingSportsEditors sportseditors@michigandaily.com Enn nOS EDITORS: Max Cohen, Alexa Dettelbach, Rajat Khare, Jeremy Summitt ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITORS: Lev Facher, Daniel Feldman, Simon Kaufman, Erin Lennon, Jake Lourim and Jason Rubinstein Joht Lynch and Jplynch@meichigandaiyhom Akshay Seth ManagingArtstEditors aks emihigandaily.coe SENIOR ARTS EDITORS: Giancarlo Buonomo, Natalie Gadbois, Erika Harwood and ASSTNT ARTS EDITORS: Jamie Bircoll,Jackson Howard,Gllian Jakaband Maddie Thomas Teresa Mathewand Paul Sherman Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com ASSSoTANTPHOTEoDTOR s:Aisornndyrand oeNicholas Willams Carolyn Gearig and Gabriela Vasquez Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com SENIOR DESIGN EDITORS: Amy Mackens and Alicia Kovalcheck Carlina Duan MaaiexEditor statement@michigandaily.com STATEMENT PHOTO EDITOR: Ruby Wallau STATEMENT LEAD DESIGNER: Nicholas Cruz Mark Ossolinski and Meaghan Thompson ManagingCopyEditors copydesk@ michigandaily.com SENIORCOPYEDITORS:MariamSheikhandDavidNayer Austen Hufford online Editor ahufford@mnichigandaily.com BUSINESS STAFF Amal Muzaffar Digital Accounts Manager Doug Solomon University Accounts Manager Leah Louis-Prescott classified Manager Lexi DerasMO Local Accounts Manager Hillary Wang National Accounts Manager Ellen Wolbertand SophieGreenbaum Production Managers Nolan Loh Special Projects Coordinator Nana Kikuchi Finance Manager Olivialones Layout Manager The richigan oDal N ( 074o 5 ) shed e dayt "id "a thefl"ad ier terms by students at the Universty of Mihign One copy isavalale re fhrg o al readers. Additional copies may Winer ter u a rthoups )s$ s0yartonS temert hrouApnetr i s . n tyaila tes be prepaid The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press. WHEN: Today at 7 p.m. WHERE: North Quad, Space 2435 ing, room 1200 Mary Sue's Music lover biggest fanboy WHERE: University Hos- pital WHERE: The President's WHEN: Monday between Residence 6 a.m. on January 11 and 8 WHEN: Monday at around a.m. 10:43 p.m. WHAT: A CD player was WHAT: A subject was reported missing, possibly found walking around the taken, from a cart on the President's Residence and sixth floor of the hospital. refused when asked to stop. There are currently no sus- He was not affiliated with pects. the University, and was MORE ONLINE Love Crime Notes? Get moreonline at michigandaily.com/blogs/The Wire Lecture series Fair trade WHAT: In this week's Penny Stamps Distin- guished Speakers series, Michael Graves will speak. Graves, who began his career in architecture in the 1960s, has had a storied career with projects such as the Portland Public Service Building in 1980. WHO: School of Art & Design WHEN: Today at 5:10 p.m. WHERE: Michigan The- ater lecture WHAT: Sarah Besky, author of The Darjeeling Distinction, will explore the interaction between the fair trade movement and the plantation system. She will discuss how fair trade can undermine local welfare systems. WHO: University Library WHEN: Today at 4:00 p.m. WHERE: Hatcher Library Daily Arts Writers visited three glass smoke shops in Ann Arbor to examine the "tobacco" bongs and bowls that these local businesses have to offer. s" FOR MORE, SEE T E BSIDE PG.1B Olin College students designed a marshmal- low cannon to shoot Jet-Puffed Marshmallows toward people's faces, Popu- lar Science reported Wednes- day. The cannon can fire six marshmallows in less than 10 seconds. i OMO labeling the focus of pending state legislation Gov. Snyder backs plan to give Detroit $350 million St jo Con PRO In the lation, to Han to requ contain inered ates consider ining Maine, in. in requiring disclosure VIDENCE, RI. (AP) - absence of federal regu- states from Rhode Island vaii are considering laws; uire labels on food items ning genetically modified .ients. WHAT IS YOUR A l CLUB PIZZA U BEST OF ANNI immIn Currently, only Connecticut industry-backed Grocery Man- and Maine have laws requiring ufacturers Association puts the labels for genetically modified number between 70 and 80 per- food. But those requirements cent. won't kick in until other states Genetic modifications to a adopt their own rules. Bills to plant can improve its quality, do just that are expected in hardiness or resistance to pests more than two dozen states. or disease. Scientific studies Seventy percent of processed have found no evidence that foods contain at least one ingre- GMOs are more harmful than dient made or derived from foods without genetic modifi- genetically modified crops, cations, but those pushing for known as GMOs, according to label requirements point to the the nonprofit Center for Sci- value in the information itself. ence in the Public Interest. The "I don't know if it's harmful or unhealthy, but it's something people have a right to know about," said Rhode Island state Rep. Dennis Canario, a Demo- crat sponsoring a labeling bill. © "They put calories on a pack- age. They put the fat content. If the ingredients have been genetically altered, shouldn't that be listed on there some- M FAN APPAREL VOTE TODAY! where?" The proposals are opposed ARBO1 2014 by biotechnology companies and many agricultural groups, who say genetic engineer- ing has yielded more sustain- able, affordable and productive farming around the globe. Busi- ness groups worry that labeling requirements would raise costs A for food producers - and ulti- 4 J mately consumers - and raise unnecessary fears. 8 "This is mainstream agri- culture," said Karen Batra, a 6 3 spokeswoman with BIO, a bio- technology trade association. "It is how our food is grown, and 4 it's how the vast majority of our commodity crops are grown. 7 9 4 There's never been a single reported medical incident relat- ed to the consumption of these 3 foods." Voters in California and 3 9 Washington rejected ballot proposals in the past two years that would have required GMO labeling. And in New Hamp- S - -shire, lawmakers defeated a 5 8 GMO labeling bill Wednesday. Among other arguments, oppo- nents said any labeling require- ments would likely face a legal challenge. Money dependent on larger deal's success, will be paid over next 20 years LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is pledging to commit up to $350 million in state funds to help Detroit as the bankrupt city tries to shore up pension funds that are billions in debt and prevent valuable city-owned art from beingsold. The Republican joined legis- lative leaders on Wednesday tot announce a proposal that would provide the money over 20 years, as long as a larger settlement is reached with labor unions and city workers concerned about pensions. The lawmakers acknowledged the plan may be a hard sell in the GOP-controlled Legislature, but they said it was better than a protracted legal fight in a city facing an estimated $18 billion in debt. The governor was quick to say the money wouldn't be a bailout, but rather a way to help Detroit quickly settle its bankruptcy and allow it to grow. He also noted the plan follows roughly $330 million that has been pledged so far by charitable foundations, largely in exchange for protect- ing works at the Detroit Institute of Arts that might otherwise be sold during bankruptcy. "If Michigan's to be a great state again, we need Detroit on a positive path to success," Snyder said. Snyder had initially warned Detroit not to expect any state money when the city filed for bankruptcy, a move he support- ed. What changed, he said, were mediators "doing good work" to bring the foundations and state together to help. He noted that the money would either be diverted from tobacco settlement funds that Michigan receives each year or come from securitizing future payments to get a lump sum up front. Snyder said the state aid would help minimize cuts to city retirees' pensions, particularly those with low incomes, but he declined to detail the impact for all 21,000 current retirees. He said details would come when the city's state-appointed emer- gency manager, Kevin Orr, filed his plan to take Detroit out of bankruptcy with the courts. That filing is due by March 1. Before Wednesday, the gover- nor had been largely mum about any potential state aid, partly because discussions between the city and its creditors with federal mediators are private. Snyder had privately gauged support among lawmakers last week for the plan - and he is fac- ing politically tricky terrain. Some legislators are worried that state financial assistance to Detroit could set a precedent if other cities collapse, while oth- ers have said they have their own spending priorities elsewhere in the state. Election-year politick- ing also could come into play, as some GOP lawmakers blame many of the city's more recent problems on a corrupt political culture in Detroit, where Demo- crats rein. In Snyder's corner, however, are top Republican and Demo- cratic leaders who agree it would be better to help resolve the bankruptcy now. Republican Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, who is from Monroe in the southeast corner of Michigan, said the proposal was "very positive, and in general is being received that way." GOP House Speaker Jase Bol- ger, from Marshall in the south- central part of the state, said winning approval for the plan "won't be easy." But he said law- makers need to consider that Detroit could either be rebound- ing in a year or "still mired in bankruptcy, dragging down the full state, asthe worldsees Detroit when they think of Michigan." Orr, who was appointed by Snyder to take over the citys finances, has said two pension funds are underfunded by $3.5 billion. A deal involving the state and foundations - bringing out- side aide to roughly $700 mil- lion - would help retirees but probably not cover all of their pensions. "We now have an unprec- edented commitment of public and private resources to help the city of Detroit fulfill its commit- ments to retirees and preserve one if its cultural jewels, the Detroit Institute of Arts," Orr said in a statement. Orr's spokesman, Bill Nowl- ing, said the plan announced Wednesday was "huge" but that challenges remain. "Nothing is certain in a bank- ruptcy until a bankruptcy judge tells you it is and an appeals court affirms it," Nowling said. Asked how the money could be earmarked for pensions when other creditors might want it, Snyder told The Associated Press that the state and charitable dol- lars amounted to incremental resources that, if no bankruptcy settlement is reached, "won't be available." But the plan has its critics. Steve Spencer, financial adviser to one of the city's creditors, Financial Guaranty Insurance Co., said it conflicts with the long-term interests of Detroit and its creditors. "We find it incredible that the city is being allowed to leave such a valuable art col- lection untouched when it can't provide basic services and is proposing to essentially walk away from its debt obligations," Spencer said. Meanwhile, the judge han- dling the city's bankruptcy, Ste- ven Rhodes, reminded lawyers during a hearing Wednesday that the clock was ticking toward a March 1 deadline for abroad plan to bring Detroit out of bankrupt- cy. In his strongest words yet, he urged the city and creditors to keep negotiating. A p ..