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Hri' atil
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, November 11,2014
michigandaily.com
CUT THE RIBBON
GOVERNMENT
Dingell set
to receive
high award
for service
University President Mark Schlissel, students and faculty prepare to cut the ribbon for the grand reopening of Mitchell Field on Monday. "" ' N k" ~
CRIME
Blue Bus-related icidents
prompt safety concerns
Obama bestows
retiring rep. with
Presidential Medal
of Freedom
By RACHEL PREMACK
Daily News Editor
President Barack Obama
announced Monday that he will
award U.S. Rep. John Dingell
(D-Mich.) the Presidential Medal,
of Freedom, the highest civilian
award an American citizen can
win.
After 58 years of representing
Southeast Michigan in Washing-
ton, D.C., Dingell officially became
the longest-serving member of
congress in history last year. His
district comprises Ann Arbor,
Ypsilanti, much of Downriver
Detroit and other townships in
Southeast Michigan. Dingell will
retire next year, and his wife Deb-
bie Dingell, currently a Wayne
State University trustee and for-
mer General Motors lobbyist, was
elected last week to succeed him.
She will be the third consecutive
member of the Dingell family to be
elected to Congress, as John Ding-
ell's father served from 1932 until
his death in 1955.
In a statement on his Facebook
page Monday evening, Dingell said
he was humbled by the recogni-
tion.
"There are few words that could
accurately describe my thoughts
and feelings in receiving this won-
derful honor," he said. "It is espe-
cially meaningful to me to receive
this recognition alongside such a
distinguished and diverse group
of individuals thattrulyrepresents
the ideals and values that have
made this nation great."
Dingell's stance-in Congresshas
been characterized as moderate
andliberal. He is staunchdefender
of the environment, having helped
pen historic legislation such as the
Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act
and National Environmental Pol-
icy Act. He also advocated for the
Affordable Care Act.
More recently, in a January
interview with The Michigan
Daily, Dingell discussed the need
to ease college students' struggles
with student loans and raise the
minimum wage.
"That's one of the biggest prob-
lems when I talk to the people I
see and serve," Dingell said on the
topic ofstudent loan debt.
The Presidential Medal of Free-
dom was established in 1963 to
honor those who have contributed
to "the security or national inter-
ests of the United States, or world
peace, or cultural or other signifi-
cant public or private endeavors."
As of Nov. 20, 2013, the last update
of the Medal'swebsite, Obamahad
awarded 61 medals.
Previous recipients of this
award under Obama include for-
mer President Bill Clinton, scien-
tist Steven Hawking, former South
Driver training
protocols doubled
over past year
By MAX RADWIN
Daily StaffReporter
Since June,two members ofthe
University community - a student
and a staff member - have died
from University bus accident-
related injuries, raising concerns
about the safety policies in place
for University drivers.
With a total of six bus-related
accidents, deaths or instances of
negligencehavingoccurred inthe
last year and a half, a spokesper-
son at the University's Parking and
Transportation Services said they
are always working to improve
their methods of instructing driv-
ers - including the implemen-
tation of a three-phase training
system last April - to ensure that
drivers are well equipped to oper-
ate transit vehicles. -
In October, a University bus hit
24-year-old engineering graduate
student Derek Tat while he was on
his bike.In June, University Hous-
ing employee Nancy Sanders was
hit by a University bus and died
from the resulting injuries.
Last year, there were four bus-
related incidents of driver error.
In September 2013, a University
bus crashed into and destroyed an
unoccupied bus shelter on the cor-
ner of Fuller Street and Bonisteel
Boulevard, and during that same
month, three students fell out of
the back of a University bus on
its way to Michigan Stadium. In
October 2013, a University bus
got stuck in a turnaround next
to the Michigan Union. Then, in
November 2013, a University bus
driver was arrested for driving his
vehicle off-route and abandoning
it while he went into his house for
severalihours.
JeffBidwell,whobecame direc-
tor of PTS in April2013, said train-
ing protocols have doubled since
then so that incidents like those
thathave occurredinthe pastyear
and a half can be avoided.
"My first priority was to look
at how we were doing training
and see if there was anything we
could improve or revise," he said.
Driver training is now a three-
phase process: First, a potential
driver learns to maneuver the
vehicle without passengers. Then
he or she has to complete in-
service training, which involves
operating routes and picking up
passengers alongside a licensed
driver. A third party administers a
commercial driver's license exam,
and if the potential driver passes,
then he or she returnsfor any final
additional training, if needed.
LSA senior Meagan Tucker,
who has been driving a Univer-
See BLUE BUS, Page 3
CAMPUS LIFE
Studentsflock
to A2 for nat'l
co-op seminar
B-BALL'S BACK
Annual NASCO
conference celebrates
history of cooperative
living arrangements
By LINDSEY SCALLEY
For the Daily
It was a cooperative presen-
tation, so the audience partici-
pated.
"What brought you folks to
co-ops? Just shout some stuff
out," said Nikki Marin Baena, a
keynote speaker and co-founder
of Cooperation Texas, a non-
profit dedicated to creating sus-
tainable employment for those
affected by social and economic
inequality.
The audience members were
quick to respond.
"Community."
"Necessity."
"Affordable housing."
"Economic justice."
"Control."
"Food."
"Kindness."
Last weekend, from Nov. 7 to
Nov. 9, 405 cooperative mem-
bers from across the United
States and Canada, about 30 of
whom came from Ann Arbor
co-ops, descended on the
Michigan Union for the North
American Students of Coop-
eration Institute, a conference
held yearly in Ann Arbor since
1977.
They came to network with
other co-ops, share ideas and
skills, and further the coop-
erative movement, a historical
movement working to return
ownership to the people. Co-ops
are houses, frequently located
near college campuses, where
residents are required to share
the responsibility for cooking,
cleaning and other household
activities.
"This principle about co-ops,
that we can decide what kind
of a world we want to have and
shape it for ourselves, is a really
big thing," Baena said.
Before and after the keynote
address, however, co-opers
lined the hallways of the Union,
occupied Au Bon Pain and Star-
bucks and wandered through
the makeshift bookshop in the
Art Lounge, which was filled
with coffee, art, buttons and 300
pounds of chocolate donated by
See CO-OPS, Page 5
TtRtSA MATHIW/Daily
Sophomore forward Zak Irvin scored 13 points during the Michigan men's basketball team's 86-43 win over Wayne
State at Crisler Center on Tuesday.
HOSPITAL
UMHS, nurses association
set peEbola pe.standards
ACADEMICS
UMMAgets
$lmillionfor
academic
integration
Grant from Mellon
Foundation to fund
several museum
education initiatives
By EMILIE PLESSET
Daily StaffReporter
The University of Michigan
Museum of Art's bank account just
got abig boost.
The AndrewW.MellonFounda-
tion, a private institution dedicat-
ed to promoting higher education
and art history, among other pur-
suits, endowed UMMA with a $1
million grant to sustain programs
that promote integration with the
University's academic community
and student experience.
Among UMMA's recent initia-
tives are the appointment of an
academic coordinator and collec-
tions assistant and the creation of
a History of Art Fellowship.
Last year alone, efforts by
UMMA to increase student aca-
demic outreach resulted in a
95-percent increase in collection
use and 13,000 students partici-
pating in the museum's education-
al programs.
See UMMA, Page 5
Agreement could
be the first of its
kind in U.S.
By TOM MCBRIEN
Daily StaffReporter
Amid statewide and national
clashes between nurses' unions,
hospital systems and state
governments on the issue, the
Michigan Nurses Association
and the University of Michigan
Health System have negotiated
a contract to offer specific Ebola
protections to nurses should the
need arise.
The contract, signed Monday
between the MNA, the largest
nurses association in the state,
and UMHS, the largest hospi-
tal system in the state, outlines
specific regulations for personal
protective equipment, referred
to as PPE, and safety training for
Ebola preparation for all UMHS
nurses. It also outlines the mea-
sures of job and salary security
that nurses who may have to
undergo quarantine or treat-
ment for Ebola can expect.
MNA Executive Director
John Karebian said the agree-
ment is a unique step forward in
the protection itaffords nurses.
"I believe this is the only
agreement of its kind anywhere
in the country, at least from
research that we've done," Kare-
See EBOLA, Page 5
WEATHER HI; 37
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