21 Monday, May 10, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 'U' student code amended 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 wwnamichigandaily.com ANDREW LAPIN BRAD WILEY Editor in Chief Business Manager 734-647-3336 734-764-0558 alap'"na"ca rdu aardbusiness@gmaiLcom CONTACT INFORMATION Newsroom officehours: Sun-Thrs.11 .m. -2 a.m. 734-62459 Coleman approves changes to code with minor alterations By KYLE SWANSON Daily News Editor After receiving approval from Uni- versity President Mary Sue Coleman, several changes to the leading gov- erning document for students will be put into effect in July. In a letter to Charles Koopmann, chair of the Student Relations Advi- sory Committee, Coleman wrote she would accept all of the six proposed amendments to the Statement of Stu- dent Rights and Responsibilities. However, Coleman noted two changes she wanted to make to the amendments before they are put into effect later this sum- mer. 2 "I am pleased- to report that I support all of the KYLE SWANSON Student Rela- tions Advisory Committee's recommenda- tions, with two important modifica- tions," Coleman wrote in the letter. The first modification Coleman made will changethe word "interven- tion" to "sanction," which appears throughout the third amendment to the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Coleman wrote in the letter that she wanted the change to be made because it undermined the Univer- sity's legal obligations. "The Office of General Counsel advised that the component of this proposal that replaces the term 'sanction' with 'intervention' unin- tentionally undermines the Univer- sity's significant legal obligations to hold students accountable for seri- ous misconduct proscribed by fed- eral and state civil rights laws and higher education laws," Coleman wrote. Additionally, Coleman wrote that she believed law enforcement offi- cers would better understand the word "sanction." "Furthermore, as investigative agencies are familiar with terms such as 'sanctions' rather than 'interventions,' it is to the Univer- sity's benefit to have formal policies align with the expectations of regu- latory authorities when possible," she wrote. The rest of the third amendment, which is meant to bring the language of the student code in line with the University's educational mission, was approved without changes. Coleman also accepted a modi- fied version of the fourth proposed amendment to the student code, which is meant to include an adapt- able conflict resolution option for students in certain situations. The proposed amendment listed two examples for when adaptable conflict resolution might be used - in roommate disputes or drug- and alcohol-related violations. But Cole- man removed the two examples, saying it would tie the University's hands to list the two specific situa- tions. "The Office of General Counsel advised that the sentence 'These (adaptable conflict resolution) path- ways may be available for a wide vari- ety of conflicts, including roommate disputes and/or incidents related to alcohol or drug use' codifies OSCR's process and commits the University to a particular approach by listing examples of how adaptable conflict resolution is currently being used," Coleman wrote. However, Coleman supported the rest of the amendment, which means more general language about the possibility of adaptable conflict reso- lution will be added to the revised student code. Four other amendments were approved by Coleman without any modifications, including an amend- ment to the student code amendment process and an amendment to make the student code document gender neutral. Neither amendment makes policy changes to the document; rather, they make language changes so the docu- ment is more inclusive and clearer on the current process in place. The other two amendments will make intimate partner violence a violation of the student code and will bring the student code's nondiscrim- ination policy in line with the Board of Regents' policy. The changes, which will go into effect July 1, are expected to be announced to University students when they return to campus in the fall. 0 News Tips Corrections Letterstothe Editor Photo Department Arts Section Editorial Page SportsSection Sales lassified Sales Finance aewa@m iahigaada i a ao aorcin, mil ar,daii,.conr toalteda yaqlmihigaadai y.cm phrro a m s higa r d a rry co anon;, c ia ~ a l, o apn,' aciaiazadail.a., spoyrts(meajalyc'aaa' tmdfinanc r nailanaa COURTESY OF PHILLIP SAVAGE Hydrnthermal yrocessing of wet microalgae yields a crude nil yroduct. The yrnduced fuel will need Sn undergo retining tSnrmoae imyurities. Algae provides source of bilofuel via heat, pressure EDITORIAL STAFF RyaKartje Managing Editor rkartja~ua'aarada EshwarThirunavukkarasu ManagingNewsEditor AlexSchi EditorialPageEditor ahffaumichaedu ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Nick Clift, Joe Stapleton Marksurns ManagingSportsEditor bSar k@uihed ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Ben Estes Sharon Jacobs and EmmaJeszke ManagingArtsEditors shacobsoumich.eduandeaeszke@umich.edu University researchers develop novel approach to extract oil from microalgae By ESHWAR THIRUNAVUKKARASU ManagingNews Editor With about 210,000 gallons of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico each day, the recent explosion of a British Petroleum oil rig off the coast of Loui- siana has stymied discussion of off- shore drilling and has reinvigorated interest in alternative fuel sources. Amidst mounting pressure to devel- op affordable biofuels and reduce dependence on foreign oil, University researchers have recently developed a hydrothermal process that extracts crude oil from microalgae rather than the ground. Phillip Savage, professor of chemi- cal engineering and lead investigator for the project, said he and his team of researchers sought to create a viable fuel product for widespread use. "The idea was to make a liquid fuel compatible with the existing infra- structure that is in place for transpor- tationoffuel, the distribution network and also use within existing engine technology," he said. According to Savage, the oil extrac- tion process relies on a combination of hydrothermal, chemical and biologi- cal processing that takes advantage of microalgae - simple microscopic plants that lack leaves and roots - in its natural wet state. "My laboratory, over the years, has done a lot of work on chemistry in water at high temperatures and pres- sures," he said. "So it occurred to us that the research we've been doing and the expertise we have on hydro- thermal chemistry could be applied here, becausethe algaegrow in water." Savage continued, stating thatpres- sure-cooking algae mimics the natu- ral formation of petroleum from the decay of ancient marine organisms, which are subjected to extensive heat See ALGAE, Page 7 lake roma jsfromm'aumich.edu ManagingPhotoEditor Katherine Axelsen ManagingDesign Editor ASS CIATEEDITOR:CoreenDeFever Torehan Sharman Managing Multimedia Editor tsharmat"*"mich.ed" 0 0 BUSINESS STAFF Julianna Crim HillarySzawala Meghan Rooney Jason Mahakian Seae aager Layout Maaer Produtin Manager The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is puhlished Monday through Fiday during the tall and winter termsby students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional conies nay he picked uy at the Daily's otfice tor $2. 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