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Thursday, November 6,2014
michigandaily.com
ADMINISTRATION
'U' lacks
policy for
preserving
key records
Brandon's e-mails dance with state-level regula-
tions.
could not be retrieved State law stipulates that pub-
lic records be kept and disposed
through repeated of in accordance with a formal
schedule, which requires that
FOIA requests correspondence be retained for
two years after the date of its cre-
By LEV FACHER ationbefore it can be destroyed.
Daily Sports Editor University officials, however,
claim that on-campus regula-
Of the many grievancesvoiced tions are separate and exempt
against former Athletic Director from state law.
Dave Brandon before his depar- "It's our policy that it's up to
ture Oct. 31, lack of transparency individual users to determine
was at the forefront. Brandon's their own document retention,"
consistent response to requests Fitzgerald said. "The University
for his public records, however, doesn't have a set schedule."
was in line with University pol- In a March 28, 2014 response
icy. to The Michigan Daily, Patricia
Despite the fact that Michigan Sellinger, the University's Free-
state law requires public bod- dom of Information Act coor-
ies to "protect public records dinator, indicated "there are no
from loss, unauthorized altera- responsive records" correspond-
tion, mutilation, or destruction," ing to the request submitted for
according to. University spokes- "all e-mails sent to and from
man Rick Fitzgerald, there is no Athletic Director Dave Brandon
University policy currently in between March13 and 14,2014."
place to ensure that employees A similar request for e-mails
retain communications in accor- See RECORDS, Page 3A
Alice Walker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Color Purple," speaks about friendship and writing at Hill Auditorium Wednesday.
Aice Walker highlights
ety in i
After beinguninvited
last year, author
fills HillAuditorium
By CHARLOTTE JENKINS
Daily StaffReporter
Alice Walker, the Pulitzer
Prize-winning author, poet and
social justice activist, spoke
to a packed Hill Auditorium
Wednesday night at the 20th
Annual Zora Neale Hurston
Lecture.
Walker's most notable piece
is her award-winning novel
"The Color Purple." She is also
known for her work on social
justice and feminist issues.
The University Department of
Afroamerican and African Stud-
ies and the Center for the Edu-
cation of Women sponsored the
annual lecture, which aims to
honor Hurston, a noted African
American author, by bringing
prominent scholars to campus.
Walker opened by acknowl-
edging the controversy sur-
rounding the University's
rescindment of the invitation
it had extended to her to speak
at the Center for the Educa-
tion of Women's 50th Anniver-
sary event last August. Walker
was scheduled to speak at the
event but was uninvited by the
University, allegedly because
donors for the event threatened
to cancel their funding because
of her views on the Israeli-Pal-
estinian conflict.
"As many of you know, it was
not ordained that I should be
here," Walker said. "In its own
way, I think it was divine justice
that I should be here."
Walker said she was thrilled
to speak at a lecture named for
Hurston, awell-known pioneer-
ing African-American author
and anthropologist whom
Walker said she considers a
See WALKER, Page 3A
REGENTS RACE
Democrats win
close race for
regents' seats
FUTURE STAR
Though Republicans
led early, White,
Behm elected to
governing board
By CLAIRE BRYAN
Daily StaffReporter
Though Republicans dominat-
ed most races on election night,
a seat on the University's Board
of Regents was not in the cards.
After a long and close race, Dem-
ocrats Mike Behm and Kathy
White, an incumbent, won the
two contested seats on the board
early Wednesday morning.
White led with 1,352,347
votes, followed by Behm, who
received 1,263,196 votes. Repub-
lican candidate Ronald Weiser
held 1,258,361 votes and Repub-
lican candidate Rob Steele held
1,254,325 votes.
The race changed significantly
as votes were counted through-
out the course of Tuesday night
and early Wednesday morning.
As of 2 a.m. Wednesday, Steele
led with 596,732 votes, followed
by Weiser with 594,196. But after
the heavily Democratic Wayne
County votes were counted, the
results flipped entirely, putting
White and Behm in the lead.
White is the current chair of
the board and will be serving her
third consecutive term as regent.
White balances her time
between her position as regent,
as a professor at Wayne State
University Law School, an
instructor of law at the United
States Military Academy at West
Point and a Lieutenant Colonel in
the U.S. Army Reserve.
As she continues her time
as a regent, White's priorities
lie in creating civil discourse
on campus, engaging students
and examining the University's
structural problems.
"Keeping the University of
Michigan affordable enables
students from all backgrounds,
with different perspectives, to
enrich the academic environ-
ment through their engagement
with each other," White wrote in
an e-mail Wednesday.
White said running for office
helped get her in touch with
issues voters are concerned
about.
See REGENTS, Page 3A
ANN ARBOR
Hieftje to
head last
meeting as
A2 mayor
Meeting changed
to accommodate
midterm election
By JACK TURMAN
Daily StaffReporter
Due to Tuesday's midterm
elections, the Ann Arbor City
Council meeting will be held
Thursday evening. The Coun-
cil will discuss the resolution
regarding the approval of a
purchase order to the Envi-
ronmental Systems Research
Institute and a resolution
directing City Administra-
tor Steve Powers to negotiate
with Dahlmann Corporation.
This will also be the last City
Council meeting run by out-
going Ann Arbor Mayor John
Hieftje, who will be succeeded
by current councilmember and
Mayor elect Christopher Tay-
lor.
Resolution to approve a pur-
chase order to ESRI
The Council will discuss
See CITY COUNCIL, Page 3A
EL ECTION 2014
Strong showing for G.O.P.
masks split ticket trend
Despite reelecting nationwide and won nearly
every statewide office in Michi-
Snyder, voters pick gan, there was one notable
exception: a victory for Rep.
Peters for U.S. Senate Gary Peters (D-Detroit) in the
race for Michigan's open U.S.
By BEN ATLAS Senate seat.
Daily StaffReporter Not only did Peters win, but
he also tallied more total votes
on a night when Republicans and won his race by a great-
took control of the U.S. Senate, er margin than Republican
made gains in governors' races incumbents Gov. Rick Snyder,
Attorney General Bill Schuette
and Secretary of State Ruth
Johnson.
Both common political theo-
ries as well as circumstances
unique to this election cycle
might explain this split-ticket
outcome.
Public Policy Prof. Elisa-
beth Gerber said midterm
elections tend to swing
See SPLIT-TICKET, Page 3A
WEATHER HI: 43
TOMORROW LO: 29
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NEW S ........................ 2A SPORTS.......................66A
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