The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, November 10, 2014 - 3A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, November10, 2014- 3A
DETROIT
From Page 1A
ing its residents for their engage-
ment and activity throughout the
proceedings.
"A large number of you told
me that you were angry that
your City was taken away from
you and put into bankruptcy,"
he wrote. "I heard you. I urge
you now not to forget your anger.
Your enduring and collective
memory of what happened here,
and your memory of your anger
about it, will be exactly what will
prevent this from ever happen-
ing again. It must never happen
again."
In a press conference follow-
ing Judge Rhodes' decision, Gov-
ernor Rick Snyder, Mayor Mike
Duggan, Emergency Manager
Kevyn Orr, City Council Presi-
dent Brenda Jones, lead mediator
Judge Rosen and CourtAdminis-
trator David Weaver thanked the
court and each other for coop-
eration.
"I think what you saw today
was the best of us," Orr said.
"The best of Detroiters, the best
of Michiganders, the best of
Americans."
Rosen said the amount of
cooperation between the three
branches of government will be
the legacy ofthis bankruptcy and
that the goal was not for this case
to precedent setting.
"I think the legacy of this
bankruptcy will be teamwork,"
he said. "All the folks you see
up here at one point or another
@hroughout the bankruptcy
worked together."
Duggan said Detroiters are
already able to feel some of the
positive changes to city services
with the plan of adjustment, add-
ing that "every Detroiter owes
Judge Rhodes a debt of grati-
tude." The city has been imple-
menting some of these changes
over the past five or six months,
and will also add an additional
police officers and 200 firefight-
ers. Last week, Detroit had its
fastest EMS response time in 12
years.
ELECTIONS
From Page 1A
ate, securing at least seven new
seats, including the seat of every
other retiring senator - in some
states, results will be determined
by a second runoff vote - and
a majority in both branches of
Congress.
That sweep means that Peters
will be entering a significantly
different Senate than the one
Levin will leave at the end of
December. Levin is the current
chair of the Armed Services
committee, one of the senate's
most powerful and prestigious,
and the fourth most senior mem-
ber overall.
"Now, because the Republi-
cans control the Senate, it'sgoing
to be an entirely different sce-
nario," said Aaron Kall, director
of the University's Debate Team
nd expert on election politics, of
Peters' prospects in the Senate.
"It's a completely differ-
ent kind of scenario going in as
the minority party, and I think
(Peters) is certainly going to try
to chart his own path, in doing it
from a different perspective."
Levin's legacy - and ensur-
ing it was continued - was a
significant focus throughout the
campaign for Democrats. At a
rally leading up to the election
in October, U.S Rep. Sandy Levin
(D-Royal Oak), Carl Levin's
brother, emphasized the impor-
tance of keeping the seat Demo-
cratic, referencing the fact that
Democrats have struggled to
turn out voters during the mid-
term elections.
"You can sum it up this way,"
Levin told the crowd. "2016 can
wait. And that's especially true
as to who's going to be the sena-
tor. My brother ... he's up North
campaigning for this ticket and
*we owe him gratitude. He never
gives up fighting. This is what all
of us face - who's going to carry
on his work of 36 years?"
When it comes down to their
policies, Sen. Levin and Peters
share both similarities and a few
In the closing arguments of
Detroit's bankruptcy trial Oct.
27, the city's legal representa-
tion asked Rhodes to confirm
Detroit's broadly consensual
plan that would discharge $7 bil-
lion in claims and reinvest $1.7
billion in the city.
The court also decided the
cuts to pensions are reason-
able, despite some employees
who argued their pensions were
protected under the Michigan
Constitution, and city assets like
works in the Detroit Institute of
Art could be sold to pay for pen-
sions. Rhodes said he wouldn't
be surprised if some pensioners
appealed the decision but he pre-
dicts the likelihood of success on
an appeal is about 25 percent. He
added that court must acknowl-
edge that these cuts will lead to
hardship, in some cases severe,
but that sacrifice is necessary in
order for the city to be fixed.
Everyone involved in the plan
will be "making sacrifices to con-
tribute to this process and the
city's future," Rhodes said.
The DIA settlement was also
declared favorable for the city
and creditors. The court agreed
with the DIA's argument - the
art is held under a public trust
and that certain pieces of donat-
ed artwork had specific restric-
tions ontheir transfer.
"The DIA stands at the center
of the city as an invaluable bea-
con of culture," Rhodes said, "To
sell the DIA art would forfeit the
city's future."
Rhodes also approved all
aspects of the grand bargain -
the agreement which removed
ownership of the DIA from the
city of Detroit - and other agree-
ments like the state contribution
agreement, the LTGO settlement
and fees.
Though creditors have argued
that raising taxes or selling DIA
art could lead to creditors being
paid back more, the court decid-
ed that in compliance with Chap-
ter 9, creditors have received all
that is reasonable given the cur-
rent situation.
""It is a vast understatement
to say that the pension settle-
ment is reasonable. It borders on
the miraculous," Rhodes
wrote in the decision. "No one
could have foreseen this result
for the pension creditors when
the City filed this case. The plan's
proposal is only possible because
of the pension settlement and the
Grand Bargain."
Rhodes said raising taxes
would lead to further population
decline, and increases in prop-
erty taxes would generate little
additional revenue. In the latest
Census Bureau report, the city
dropped to having only 700,000
residents. Rhodes also agreed
that the city has made an effort
to monetize other city assets,
such as the Detroit-Windsor
Tunnel.
Bruce Bennett, the attorney
from law firm Jones Day who
is representing the city, spent a
good portion of his time at the
closing arguments discussing
the feasibility of the plan, high-
lighting the two major qualifi-
cations: that the city meets its
financial obligations and be able
to recover and provide adequate
city services.
The next'steps for Detroit will
be to improve its municipal ser-
vices, which have been unable to
protect the health and wellbeing
of Detroiters, Rhodes said.
"Detroit's inability to provide
municipal services runs deep,
and it has for years," he said. "It
is inhumane and intolerable and
it must be fixed. This plan can fix
these problems."
The court also agreed with
Martha Kopacz, a court-appoint-
ed expert, who testified that
Detroit's plan of adjustment is
feasible. Rhodes confirmed three
components of feasibility: the
longterm workability ofthe plan,
the available capital resources to
carry out the plan, and the com-
mitment of Detroit Mayor Mike
Duggan and the Detroit City
Council to implement the plan.
Attorney David Heiman
thanked Rhodes on behalf of
everyone in the courtroom, for
sense of fairness, intelligence,
poking and prodding and sense
of humor. He also said that
Detroit would not be here today
if it were not for him.
Members of IASA. the University's Indian American Student Association take dance in "Kalyara: The Sp
the organization's annual cultural dance show Friday at Hill Auditonium.
IASA
From Page 1A
choreographershad been prepar-
ing their routine since the sum-
mer.
"We started towards the end of
the summer and we finished mid-
September, so we did it in pieces,"
Rajan said. "But the whole thing
we worked on in three weeks to a
month."
Because IASA does nothave an
audition process for their cultural
dance show, members for each
group are chosen through a lot-
tery system.
"It's really hard to teach classi-
cal to people that aren't trained,"
she said. "Most people who do
classical dance have been danc-
ing for a very longtime and a lot of
girls haven't ever danced, so that
was really hard but it was really
fun and they look really good
now."
At the same time, 30 feet away
in the basement of Hill Audito-
rium, cultural show co-chairs Ria
Barad, a Ross senior, and Roshni
Kalbavi, an LSA senior, gave out
last minute directions to Show
Core, the team that helps orga-
nize and produce the IASA cul-
tural show every year.
Barad and Kalbavi were
already dressed in formal saris
three hours before the show. They
huddled with the rest of Show
Core, around a small monitor, to
check the transition graphics that
will be displayed between each
dance and presentation.
Barad and Kalbavi, who had
not known each other before
being co-chairs, have been work-
ing on the theme and execution of
Kalyara since March.
"We planned this show, but our
show would be nothing without
the students," Barad said. "We
have students putting in their
time and effort and it's their
time and effort that makes our
show good, not necessarily our
planning. It is the collaboration
of all these students that actu-
ally makes the show a success and
that's rewarding to watch every
year."
Kalbavi said the booklets for
the show were changed to reflect
the festivity theme, with the
transitions between each dances
explaining what each festival rep-
resents.
"We don't want to be a religious
show but we want to educate our
audience on different festivities
that we celebrate, because it's so
different," Kalbavi said. "I'm a
South Indian, so I celebrate Pon-
gal. But not everyone celebrates
Pongal. There were a few festivals
that I was educated on myself."
Barad said she hoped the audi-
ence in the show was exposed to
the various cultures in India.
"By sitting here, I can still learn
about India," Barad said. "There
are so many different facets of
India that even Indians don't
know. Even making these vid-
eos I've learned so much. Hope-
fully we'll see that people learn
something too while they're here
instead of just findingtheir friend
on the stage."
Classical, which performed
fourth, mixed their soundtrack
with both classical Indian
rhythms and modern music, such
as the instrumental version of
MIA's "Bad Girls."
"We have fusion dances, for
example, that put together songs
that I didn't think could ever be
played the same minute," Barad
said. "Songs that appease your
parents and songs that probably
make them skeptical and it's just
amazing to see the students put
this together."
notable differences.
Levin made foreign policy a
major focus of his tenure, serving
on the Armed Services Commit-
tee and related committees on
intelligence and national securi-
ty. He has also worked on a vari-
ety of economic policy issues: he
is a senior member on the Small
Business and Entrepreneurship
Committee and the co-chair of
the Senate's Auto Caucus. He
also serves as the co-chair of the
Great Lakes Senate Task Force.
Earlier this year, along with
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich-
igan) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
(D-New Hampshire), Levin
and Peters introduced a bill to
provide more capital for small
businesses to grow and expand,
reflecting their shared economic
focuses on small business.
Peters ran on a platform
that also included raising the
minimum wage, supporting the
Affordable Care Act, pay equity
and protectingthe environment.
Like Levin, he has emphasized
the Great Lakes as part of his
environmental protection plat-
form, holding a tour at the start
of his campaign to talk to local
businesses about their relation-
ships with the Lakes.
Throughout the campaign,
Peters did not focus on for-
eign policy, but in a September
e-mail interview, Zade Alsawah,
deputy communications direc-
tor for the Peters campaign, said
Peters viewed sending troops
to war "the toughest decision
a Member of Congress could
make," and referenced his 12
years of experience in the U.S
Navy Reserve.
However, Kall said due to the
nature of the current Senate
many of those policies, shared
with Levin or not, may not be
feasible for Peters, at least for
his first few years.
"Once he gets to the Senate,
with the new map and the new
reality and the Republicans in
charge, I think that many of
his prominent agenda items are
going to have to be scaled back
a little bit, and if legislation is
passed in Congress, it'll have to
be more conciliatory," he said.
Several of those issues, mini-
mum wage in particular, did
not make it through Congress
this legislative session when the
Senate was under Democratic
control.
While Peters won't have the
seniority and corresponding
influence Levin has, he was the
only Senate candidate to cam-
paign with the president, stand-
ing on the stage with him at a
Detroit rally three days before
the election. Kall said that
choice could give him an advan-
tage in terms of influence from
another source.
"As far as the new senators
go, he could have the best rela-
tionship with the president,
because while others were -
because of the president's low
approval ratings and sentiment
in the country - not willing to
embrace the president, he was
out front by himself."
WHEELCHAIR
From Page 1A
insurance representative at the
University of Michigan Health
System. "It's an opportunity to
make the University of Michi-
gan campus more veteran and
disability friendly."
The event, which was free
to the public, included perfor-
mances by the University Dance
and Cheer teams as well as
the 338th Army Band between
each quarter. Additionally, the
University Tri-Service Color
Guard performed the National
Anthem.
Vietnam veteran Mike Lant-
ry, a University alum and former
Michigan football player, was
honored as the game's Grand
Marshal. After his discharge
from the Army, Lantry walked
onto the football team as a 23
year-old freshman and played
under Bo Schembechler in the
early 1970s. Lantry later played
for the Dallas Cowboys.
"I'm really proud that I'm a
veteran," Lantry said. "So lit-
tle has been talked about, it's
always been about football. It's
nice to be acknowledged as a
veteran and I really appreciate
that."
Hoff said the University com-
munity has embraced the event
more than in previous years.
Before the game started, about
40 student athletes met with
Lantry, Severn and Schulte,
including University Basket-
ball Coach John Beilein and the
men's basketball team, who dis-
cussed game strategies with the
players.
"It's a great way to celebrate
Veterans' DAy," Hoff said. "It
brings together our University
of Michigan students, it brings
together our general public and
it's one of the rare opportunities
that they get to meet some of
these veterans and actually get
o pass/fail options
o small classes with 18-20 students
o digital animation, color theory,
prototyping and much more....
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In conjunction with Dead Man Walking,
the School of Music, Theatre & Dance
welcomes author Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ,
for two events:
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!
@MICHIGANDAILY
Sally Fleming Master Class
"Dead Man Walking, the Journey Continues"
November 13 at 3 PM - Rackham Auditorium
Free and open to the public
Post-Show Discussion following the Thursday evening
performance of Dead Man Walking
MUSIC,THEATRE & DANCE
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