2A - Monday, October 27, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
2A - Monday, October 27, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
Lhit Michigan DAMl
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SOLkIDARITY FOREVER
'U' clerical works vote to unionize
Forty years agothis week certain, though there were some $38 million in appropriations for
(Oct. 30,1974) concerns about turnout. the University.
University clerical workers
voted in a runoff election to
determine whether they would
unionize.
The week-longelection process
was triggered by a vote the month
before between three options
- no unionization, joining with
the United Auto Workers, or the
American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees
- in which none received the
majority of the vote necessary for
the decision. The runoff election
only featured a choice between
no union and the UAW.
Union officials claimed that a
yesvote onthe UAW wasvirtually
Thirty years ago this week
(Oct.27,1984)
In a letter to University staff,
University president Harold
Shapiro and Morton Hilbert,
chair of the Senate Advisory
Committee on University Affairs,
encouraged employees to donate
to the campaign against state ,
ballot measure Proposal C. The
measure would move taxes back
to the levels they were at in
December of 1981 and mandate
voter approval for any future tax
changes.
According to the letter, the
change would result in a loss of
RUBY WALLAU/Dally
Ann Arbor middle school student Connor Water-
man carves a pumpkin with Engineeringjunior Mark
Tetarbe during Dance Marathon's pumpkin carving
event at the Cube on Sunday.
T.V. recap
BY CATHERINE SULPIZo
Daily Arts Writer
Catherine Sulpizo sums
up what happened in
episode two of "The
Affair", looking at the
character of Noah and how
he defies categorization
as a stereotypical male
character. Sulpizo also
examines the relationship
Proposals
BY LIA VALLINA
Opinion blogger Lia Vallina
tells readers to vote against
Proposals 1 and 2 in the
November election. Both
concern the legalization of
indiscriminate wolf hunts
in Michigan. Currently,
wolves can only be killed
if they are a threat to
livestock or pets.
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
Cancer lecture Author
WHAT: Laura Mamo, San
Francisco State University
health equity professor will
discuss how cancer can be
viewed through the lens
of gender and sexuality
politics.
WHO: Institute for
Research on Women and
Gender
WHEN: Today at 4:00 p.m.
WHERE: 2239 Lane Hall
Recovery
discussion
WHAT: Matt Statman,
program manager of the
University Health Service's
Collegiate Recovery
Program, will facilitate
a dialogue featuring
University students in
recovery from substance
abuse and addiction.
WHEN: Today from 4:30
p.m to 6p.m.
WHERE: Rackham
Assembly Hall
discussion
WHAT: Women's Studies
Prof. Gayle Rubin will
discuss her body of work on
queer theory and feminism
along with English Prof.
Valerie Traub.
WHO: Author's Forum
WHEN: Today at 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Hatcher Grad
Library, Room 100
Lit.lecture
WHAT: Robert Crawford,
University of St. Andrews
professor of modern
Scottish literature, will
speak on poet T.S. Eliot and
the challenges of writinghis
biography.
WHO: Department of
English Language and
Literature
WHEN: Today at 4 p.m.
WHERE: Angell Hall 3222
Twenty years ago this week
(Oct.28,1994)
Medical School alum Dr.
Benjamin S. Carson, most famous
for separatingthe Binder Siamese
Twins in a 1987 surgery, gave a
speech in Hale Auditorium on
"overcoming barriers and helping
today's youth reach their full
potential."
The University welcomed
Carson back as the first speaker
in the First Annual Spotlight
on African American Alumni,
sponsoredby the African American
Student Programs Task Force.
- SHOHAMGEVA
_ THREE THINGS YOU
SHOULD KNOW TODAY
Gay marriage will be
recognized at the federal
level in six more states,
the AP reported Saturday.
The recognition follows the
Supreme Court's decision
to not take up appeals in
favor of gay marriage bans
in those states.
The Michigan football
team didn't have an
enjoyable Saturday
afternoon in East Lansing.
In a high-stakes game, the
Wolverines fell apart in the
second half of a 35-11 defeat to
the Spartans to drop to3-5.
FOR MORE, SEE SPORTSMONDAY
The trial for four
members of Florida
A&M University's
marching band is set to
begin Monday, the Orlando
Sentinel reported. The four
face accusations of hazing in
the 2011 death of drum major
Robert Champion.
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Concert and Religious
music lecture discussion
WHAT: Preceeding a
concert of Vietnamese
music, Vn-Anh Vanessa
Vf and Alexander Cannon,
both of Western Michigan
University, will discuss
Vietnamese music at large.
WHO: Center for Southeast
Asian Studies
WHEN: Today from 7:15
PM. to 9P.M.
p.m. 109p..
WHERE: Musuem of Art,
Helmut Stern Auditorium
WHAT: Attendees will
discuss how one's actions
and words matter to God.
WHO: Apostolic One
WHEN: Today at 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Pierpont
Commons, Center Room
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DETROIT
From Page 1A
operated as an independent non-
profit since 1998 and without
municipal support for a number
of years. The value of the DIA's
works of art and other city assets
were appraised in response to
creditors who wanted to know
their value.
After Emergency Manager
Kevyn Orr ordered the appraisal
of the DIA collection in August
2013, advocates for the DIA went
to Michigan Attorney General
Bill Schuette, who determined
that the art is held in "public
trust" and cannot be sold to sat-
isfy creditors. Orr said he had no
particular plan to sell the art and
only needed to know its value as
a part of the restructuring pro-
cess.
The DIA became the center-
piece of the negotiations spear-
headed by U.S. District Judge
Gerald Rosen that resulted in the
grand bargain. Under this agree-
ment, funding from the DIA, the
state as well as nonprofit and
for-profit organizations would
prevent the sale of DIA artwork
and reduce cuts to pensions.
Under this plan, the DIA would
be removed from city ownership
and placed outside the reach of
creditors. -
However, creditors argued
that failure to sell the art unfair-
I I
ly' discriminated against them
compared to the pensioners.
This issue has been resolved,
with major creditors signed on to
deals in which they are compen-
sated in other ways.
The Grand Bargain
The "grand bargain" was
necessary to get the unions and
retirees on board with the city's
bankruptcy plan. Without it,
dividends paid out to unsecured
creditors would have been unat-
tractively low to retirees.
Judge Steven Rhodes, a bank-
ruptcy judge for Michigan's
Eastern District Court, indicated
early in the case that he might
not confirm a plan with direct
draconian cuts to pensions.
Creditors
The city of Detroit owes bil-
lions of dollars to creditors.
Part of the challenge of the plan
of adjustment was . organiz-
ing these creditors into class-
es, specifying how the city is
intends to treat each class and
coming to an agreement about
what they are getting from the
city, such as cash, bonds or noth-
ing at all.
Major creditors such as Syn-
cora and Financial Guaranty
Insurance Co. are no longer
opposed to their plans with the
city. Both Syncora and FGIC
settled for a combination of
cash from bonds and develop-
ment rights. Syncora settled for
$25 million along with credits
to purchase Detroit real estate
while FGIC settled for $74 mil-
lion cash from bonds, also with
real estate credits, the Free
Press reported. Syncora also
received parking facilities and
an extension of their operating
lease on the Detroit-Windsor
tunnel while FGIC received the
site of Joe Louis Arena. Some
small creditors have still not
come up with agreements, but
it is unlikely that they will be
able to stop the confirmation of
Detroit's plan.
Bonds
In 2005, then-Mayor Kwame
Kilpatrick had the city issue
"certificates of participation"
as a mechanism for funding
pensions and getting around
the debt limit, which the city,
had reached. Syncora and FGIC
insured these COPs.
After the city argued that the
COPs were illegal and proposed
giving a low recovery rate to the
investors who bought into them,
FGIC filed a lawsuit against
Detroit's proposal to exit bank-
ruptcy, saying it was illegal dis-
crimination.
There are a variety of bond
types, but every major class has
signed off on what they are set
to receive. Some of them are
receiving new bonds in the same
amount while others are getting
a "haircut" depending on which
class they are in.
Blight Removal
One of the requirements for
confirmation of a plan of adjust-
ment is that it be feasible. Fea-
sibility is generally interpreted
to mean the plan will work to
solve the financial problems of
the debtor. Detroit is saying it
has to use money that previously
went to pensions and creditors
to reinvest in the city in vari-
ous ways, such as blight remov-
al. The city also wants to make
other changes to increase the
quality of life in Detroit, such as
improving lighting and the city's
police and fire departments.
Part of the question of fea-
sibility is whether Detroit has
enough money to do what it
needs in order to solve these
problems and make improve-
ments to attract people to live in
Detroit and pay taxes.
Water Shutoffs
Amidst the issues of water
shutoffs across the city at the end
of the summer, many citizens
and others called for Rhodes
to issue a stop to the shutoffs,
calling them an infringement of
human rights. However, Rhodes
ruled in September that he has
no power over water shutoffs
and cannot force the city to pro-
vide water.
The water authority is shut-
ting off water to homes and
businesses because of outstand-
ing accounts on those locations,
which is what other utilities also
do. Detroit's bankruptcy did not
cause these shutoffs.
REGENTS
From Page 1A
the candidates' platforms dif-
fered little, as all candidates
expressed their desire to make
the University more affordable.
Weiser said the number one
problem facing the University
was the rising cost of tuition and
White mentioned her initiatives
to get more veterans to attend
the University.
Diversity on campus was a
focus of the discussion with a
special emphasis on racial cli-
mate on campus.
Diversity has proved to be
at the forefront of student con-
cerns, as exemplifiedby the Uni-
versity's Black Student Union's
#BBUM Twitter campaign,
created to share the difficulties
many Black students experi-
ence on campus. The campaign
garnered national media atten-
tion and paved the way for the
students to meet with University
administrators to help address
these concerns.
Steele and Weiser said help-
ing lower-income students come
to the University by making the
school more accessible and pro-
viding more grant-based aid.
White offered outreach prob-
lems to encourage qualified high
school students to apply to the
University.
Behm said he believes the
University should work within
the jurisdiction of The Michigan
Civil Rights Initiative, common-
ly referred to as Proposal 2 -
which banned the consideration
of race in admissions decisions,
among other factors - to find
ways to increase racial diver-
sity. He expressed. discontent at
how the Black population in the
state of Michigan is 14 percent
but only 4 percent of the under-
graduate population at the Uni-
versity.
"The picture of the student
body should reflect the state," he
said. "We need to improve that."
The candidates were also
asked about how they would
go about changing the culture
of sexual assault on campus to
make the University safer for
students. The Washington Post
recently ranked the University
second in number of reported
instances of sexual assault.
Behm and Weiser also men-
tioned working with the execu-
tive leadership to find policies
that would contribute to lessen-
ing the stigma surrounding sex-
ual assault on college campuses.
Steele said he would want
robust data on the issue to
inform policy changes and said
he would work with campus
police to encourage survivors to
report their assaults.
Other questions involved
divesting from fossil fuels,
working with the city of Detroit,
growing communication
between students and admin-
istrators, the shared services
center and the recent Athletic
Department controversy.
Behm and Steele were at
opposite ends during the dis-
cussion on fossil fuels, Behm
saying that he will be in full
support of divesting from fos-
sil fuels because climate change
is a fact, while Steele disagreed
with divestment and the science
behind climate change.
"I am a scientist and the data
on this issue is not robust," said
Steele. "It's not a proven theory,
there's just no question about
it."
White said the city of Detroit
is not just important for the
state, but also for the nation as it
has been a leading manufactur-
ing hub for many years. Weiser
added that though working with
the city of Detroit is important,
the University should also strive
to work with other cities within
the state that are also in chal-
lengingsituations.
"Do we tell the citizens and
the people of Pontiac, Flint,
Muskegon and Marquette -
people have been suffering in
the Upper Peninsula for a long
time also - do we tell them that
the University cares more about
the city of Detroit than them?"
Weiser said.
E
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