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One-hundred-sixteen years ofeditoriadfreedom
Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 117
Monday, May 8, 2006
Summer Weekly
©2006 The Michigan Daily
o r
Hotline sparks
'U' employee
backlash
U U-talk urges President for Medical Affairs
Robert Kelch and Executive
employees to report Vice President and Chief Finan-
workplace violations cial Officer Timothy Slottow
- the hotline aims to stream-
By Molly Bowen line channels for reporting issues
Daily Staff Reporter such as "theft, accounting fraud,
HIPAA infractions, research
Last week the University intro- compliance issues and other
duced a new hotline for reporting violations of state and federal
"questionable behavior" in the laws."
workplace. But now, many fac- This somewhat clarified the
ulty and staff are questioning the vague wording in the first e-mail
intentions of the hotline. for Howse.
In an e-mail sent last Monday, "If they were to define or limit
University officials urged faculty the use of the hotline to these
and staff on all University cam- specific situations, that, I think,
puses to report "illegal,unethical would be much more understand-
or unsafe behavior" by calling able," he said. "But it seems to
the University's new toll-free me that hotlines of this character
hotline, U-talk. should not be seen as a substitute
On Tuesday, the University for confidence-sensitive or trust-
rescinded the statement, claiming worthy managers."
that the e-mail was sent in error Law Prof. Richard Friedman
and also further clarifying the said the University is avoiding
intent of U-talk. taking responsibility by relegat-
"The earlier message was sent ing management of the hotline to
prematurely, before the plaining a private company.
group completed its work," a "This inevitably reduces the
second e-mail explained. "The e- University's own accountability,"
mail as sent did not clearly define Friedman said in an e-mail.
the program's intent, nor did it History Prof. John Carson
provide enough detail about its expressed concerns that callers
implementation." could report incidents anony-
This message validated con- mously, making the system prone
cems that members of the com- to abuse.
munity have expressed about "As long as employees are
the University's new reporting encouraged, in a rather general
mechanism. way, to report anything in any
"I was quite puzzled as to what realm that they find suspicious,
would be going oninthe University the possibilities for abusing the
that would justify such a measure;' system seem high, and degrada-
said Law Prof. Robert Howse after tion in the fabric of trust within
reading the first e-mail. the community seems likely,"
According tothe seconde-mail Carson said in an e-mail.
- co-signed by President Mary University spokeswoman Julie
Sue Coleman, Executive Vice See HOTLINE, Page 2
AAPD names
If approved by the city council, Barnett:
Jones will move to Ann Arbor after six years
as chief of Sterling Heights police
By Kelly Fraser
Daily News Editor
There's a new chief in town.
Barnett Jones, the current police chief in Sterling Heights,
was hired as Ann Arbor's next police chief, city administrators
announced Monday.
If approved by the city council at its May 15 meeting, Jones will
begin work June 1 as the city's first black police chief.
"PHOTOS BY ANGELA CESERE/
LEFT: The S. Industrial location where donations are accepted. RIGHT: The remains of the PTO thrift shop.
PTO Thri'ft finds a new home
Employees replace inventory lost during
last month's fire through donations from
local businesses and residents
By Mariem Qamruzzaman
Daily Staff Reporter
Almost a month after a fire destroyed the entire inventory
of the PTO Thrift Shop on State Street, the cause of the fire
remains unknown. But this hasn't stopped community members
from moving forward in efforts to reestablish the local favorite.
While preparing for the opening of the new building, locat-
ed at 2280 S. Industrial Highway, employees and local resi-
dents are working to replenish the lost inventory.
"We have had a ton of people donating things, from cloth-
ing to household items," two-year employee Grace Logan
said. "People from all over have been helping out."
Local businesses,~including Meijer, the Ann Arbor Recy-
cling Center and Peaceable Kingdom, donated clothing racks
and display cases.
Employees are also trying to refurbish the store with essen-
tial items.
"We have enough to open our new store," Logan said. "We're still
working on getting racks to hang the clothes, garbage bags and a credit
card machine to be able to run the store. As far as inventory, I think
we're doing pretty well."
Although the store has received many donations from the commu-
nity, the store's owners are paying $5,000 a month for its temporary
space at 2275S. Industrial Highway.
Nancy-Lynn Sharpless, president of the store's board of directors,
obtained the location 18 hours after the fire.
Employees said they hope to move into the new building prior to the
official opening date, scheduled for June 1.
To expand the store, the board of directors signed a contract for the
new location in March, more than a month before the fire, Sharpless
said. See PTO THRIFT, Page 2
city's first black police chief
Jones will also have additional adminis- not happy with that."
trative duties as the safety services admin Jones replaces Daniel Oates, who left the department last Novem-
istrator, who oversees the city's fire and ber to accept the job of police chief in Aurora, Colorado. Oates told
emergency-management departments. the Daily in October he was leaving to gain experience in a larger
NAACP member Riana Anderson said community and department.
that Jones's appointment was encoura,, After the initial search, city administrators narrowed the list of pos-
ing, but that the AAPD must reform how sible candidates for Oates's replacement to five before selecting Jones.
it treats black students at the University in Department of Public Safety director Bill Bess, who interviewed the
order to improve relations with the black candidates, said Jones's energy and experience impressed the group.
community. "He's a 24/7 police chief," Bess said.
"It's good to see any progression Although the police departments of Sterling Heights and Ann
made within communities of color, but Arbor are comparable in size with about 250 employees each, work-
one of the main concerns we have is the treatment of African ing with a campus the size of the University will be a new challenge
American students by the AAPD," she said. "If that fact (that for Jones.
the police chief is black) is the only thing that changes, we are City Council member Leigh Greden See AAPD, Page 2