Orientation Edition 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
City policy could ban hot dog vendors
By SARA LYNNE THELEN
Daily StaffReporter
Mar. 11, 2008 - By the end of this
month, the city of Ann Arbor will
begin enforcing an ordinance that
prohibits parking vehicles on pub-
lic sidewalks. Though the policy
may seem mundane, it could spell
doom for longtime campus staples
like hot dog vendors and other side-
walk snack shacks.
The ordinance has been on the
books since 1947, but it hasn't been
consistently enforced.
Ann Arbor City Council mem-
ber Stephen Kunselman (D-Ward
3) said he decided the law needed
to be enforced because of repeated
complaints he's heard about the
vendors. He cited an example of a
taco stand that ran a generator so
loudly last year that blind students
couldn't hear the beep that signals
when it's safe to cross the street.
Sylvia Nolasco, who runs Pilar's
Tamales on the corner of South
University and East University
Avenues with her husband, said the
ordinance took herby surprise.
"I do this for a living, and to be
given two months notice on what
I'm going to do is not fair," said
Nolasco.
Nolasco said city officials have
not taken her opposition to the plan
seriously.
"I just want somebody to e-mail
me back or call me and say, 'go to
hell,' " said Nolasco, a mother of
three young children. "I don't want
to be ignored. I have a voice - you're
there to help me, you are my repre-
sentative, you are my mayor to help
me, or to say look: this is how it is.
Don't keep passing the buck."
Kunselman said he isn't opposed
to street vendors, but only wants
to reverse the ordinance if vendors
ensure their carts don't obstruct
sidewalks and avoid the "tacky" aes-
thetic of staying parked for weeks.
"Nothing's happening until the
people who have been here 24/7 are
gone," he said. "Then we can start
dialogue."
Miriam Lindsey operates a hot dog stand outside her apartment building in Ann Arbor.
Prof loses bid for Czech presidency
Police find possible marijuana
plants in campus greenhouse
con
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Feb. 18
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Svejnar might parliament members received a
"significant monetary payoff" to
sider another run support the incumbent.
Svejnar said part of the reason
1 home country he ran was to combat rampant
bribery in the Czech government.
By JULIE ROWE After he finishes his sabbatical,
Daily StaffReporter Svejnar plans to return to his posi-
tion at the University. In addition
8, 2008 - Although Ross to his post at the Business school,
of Business Prof. Jan Sve- Svejnar is also the director of the
'as narrowly defeated by International Policy Center in the
bent Vaclav Klaus for the Ford School of Public Policy and
ency of the Czech Republic an Economics professor in LSA.
-iday, Svejnar said he con- Klaus' victory was not unex-
his showing a "major suc- pected, but Svejnar held wide-
spread support with citizens and
ially the election's under- legislators.
vejnar gained support from A poll conducted in December
ficant number of parliament suggested only 28 percent of Czech
ers with varied political citizens would have voted for Sve-
tons. jnar in a public election. But, a poll
lay's election marked the from earlier this month showed 55
parliament's second attempt percent of Czechs preferred Sve-
ose a president. In the first jnar to the incumbent. .
n, held Feb. 8 and 9, neither Svejnar's support is largely due
late had the 140 votes nec- to the American-style campaign
to hold a majority. During he has led. Because the president is
lection, Klaus received 139 chosen by the parliament and not
nd Svejnar received 113. in a direct public election, Czech
second time around, two presidential hopefuls usually cam-
r supporters changed their paign by speaking with legislators,
nces, leaving Klaus with 141 but Svejnar spent a great deal of
o Svejnar's 111. time speaking to citizens.
ny Czech officials, including Svejnar's daughter, LSA senior
r, said they believe the two Laura Svejnar, said the strategy
helped her father's campaign.
"It was a risky thing to bring an
American-style campaign,because
he didn't know how it would be
perceived, but it went over really
well," she said.
Laura Svejnar said her fam-
ily was excited by her father's
success, but was not expecting
him to win. Instead, she said the
campaign process was meant to
introduce Svejnar as a possible
candidate for future presidential
elections. Svejnar has served as
an advisor to government officials
in the past, but hasn't held public
office.
Svejnar said he will consider
the possibility of running for the
presidency in the future, but hasn't
made a decision yet.
"A lot of people expect me to, but
depending on the circumstances, I
may or may not run." Svejnar said.
"I wouldn't rule it out."
Although the past three months
have been exciting, Svejnar said
he looked forward to returning to
Ann Arbor.
"The good thing is that it has
had a major, positive effect on
democracy in Central and Eastern
Europe," Svejnar said. "And the
other positive effect is that I can
come back and be with the stu-
dents and faculty at Michigan."
Suspected cannabis
found among student
botany projects
By LISA HAIDOSTIAN
Daily StaffReporter
Feb.20.2008 -AstudentinaPrac-
tical Botany class may have gotten a
bit too practical in the greenhouse.
A staff member at the Matthaei
Botanical Gardens, where the class
meets, found 11 "very small plants
that appear to be cannabis" in the
greenhouse, Department of Safety
spokeswoman Diane Brown said.
The apparent cannabis was
found on a table along with several
other plants being grown by stu-
dents. Police have no suspects.
"We don't know at this point if
it was a student in the class or if
it was someone else who put the
plants there or started the plants
or was growing the plants," Brown
said.
LSA sophomore Annie Bern-
stein, who's enrolled in the class of
about 80 students, said she didn't
think anyone else used the room
where students grow plants.
Instructors give students seeds
to plant, she said, butthey also have
the option of bringing their own.
While the greenhouse is large,
there isn't much supervision, Ber-
nstein said.
"We can grow basically what-
ever we want," she said.
The greenhouse is only acces-
sible during class hours, according
to Bernstein.
"It's not like people are going off
and doing their ownthings secretly
- we're all in the same room," she
said. "I don't know what time they
would do it."
Students will sometimes joke
about growing marijuana, but
although students are told at the
beginning of the semester not to
grow anything illegal, the possibil-
ity of growing cannabis isn't talked
about much. Deep down; though,
students know it's a possibility.
"It's kind of the elephant in the
room," she said.
The questionable plants are cur-
rently being tested, Brown said.
Manufacturing illegal drugs
is a felony charge. The penalty if
someone is found and convicted is
a four-year prison sentence and/or
a $20,000 fine.