2A — Thursday, February 19, 2015 News The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110. Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press. JENNIFER CALFAS Editor in Chief 734-418-4115 ext. 1251 jcalfas@michigandaily.com DOUGLAS SOLOMON Business Manager 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 dougsolo@michigandaily.com Newsroom 734-418-4115 opt. 3 Corrections corrections@michigandaily.com Arts Section arts@michigandaily.com Sports Section sports@michigandaily.com Display Sales dailydisplay@gmail.com Online Sales onlineads@michigandaily.com News Tips news@michigandaily.com Letters to the Editor tothedaily@michigandaily.com Editorial Page opinion@michigandaily.com Photography Section photo@michigandaily.com Classified Sales classified@michigandaily.com Finance finance@michigandaily.com EDITORIAL STAFF Lev Facher Managing Editor lfacher@michigandaily.com Sam Gringlas Managing News Editor gringlas@michigandaily.com SENIOR NEWS EDITORS: Shoham Geva, Will Greenberg, Amabel Karoub, Emma Kerr, Emilie Plesset, Michael Sugerman ASSISTANT NEWS EDITORS: Anastassios Adamopoulos, Tanaz Ahmed, Neala Berkowski, Alyssa Brandon, Nabeel Chollampat, Gen Hummer, Emma Kinery, Lara Moehlman, Carly Noah, Irene Park Aarica Marsh and Derek Wolfe Editorial Page Editors opinioneditors@michigandaily.com SENIOR EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS: Claire Bryan and Matt Seligman ASSISTANT EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS: Regan Detwiler, Michael Paul, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Mary Kate Winn BLOG EDITOR: Tori Noble Max Cohen and Jake Lourim Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITORS: Max Bultman, Daniel Feldman, Rajat Khare, Erin Lennon, Jason Rubinstein, Jeremy Summitt ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITORS: Chloe Aubuchon, Minh Doan, Jacob Gase, Kelly Hall, Zach Shaw, Brad Whipple Adam Depollo and adepollo@michigandaily.com Chloe Gilke Managing Arts Editors chloeliz@michigandaily.com SENIOR ARTS EDITORS: Jamie Bircoll, Kathleen Davis, Catherine Sulpizio, Adam Theisen ARTS BEAT EDITORS: Alex Bernard, Karen Hua, Jacob Rich, Amelia Zak Allison Farrand and photo@michigandaily.com Ruby Wallau Managing Photo Editors SENIOR PHOTO EDITORS: Luna Anna Archey, James Coller, and Virginia Lozano ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITORS: Amanda Allen and Paul Sherman Emily Schumer and design@michigandaily.com Shane Achenbach Managing Design Editors Ian Dillingham Magazine Editor statement@michigandaily.com DEPUTY MAGAZINE EDITORS: Natalie Gadbois STATEMENT PHOTO EDITOR: Luna Anna Archey STATEMENT LEAD DESIGNER: Jake Wellins Hannah Bates and copydesk@michigandaily.com Laura Schinagle Managing Copy Editors SENIOR COPY EDITORS: Emily Campbell and Emma Sutherland Amrutha Sivakumar Online Editor amrutha@michigandaily.com Kaylla Cantilina Managing Video Editor Carolyn Gearig Special Projects Manager BUSINESS STAFF Madeline Lacey University Accounts Manager Ailie Steir Classified Manager Simonne Kapadia Local Accounts Manager Olivia Jones Production Managers Jason Anterasian Finance Manager THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY The Michigan Daily’s music columnist Adam Theisen discusses the the potental rivalry between Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar for “Greatest Rapper Ever.” >>SEE THE BSIDE, PG. 3B 2 CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Gifts of Art performance WHAT: The classic string trio, Trio Barbuto, will perform music that explores classic string music literature. WHO: Gifts of Art WHEN: Today from 12:10 p.m to 1 p.m. WHERE: University Hospital Main Lobby Off-Campus Housing Fair WHAT: This housing fair will give students an opportunity to explore off- campus housing options. WHO: Beyond the Diag WHEN: Today from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, Pendleton Room Michigan’s Got Talent WHAT: Watch 12 different acts competing to win the Michigan’s Got Talent title. WHO: Center for Campus Involvement WHEN: Today from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. WHERE: Michigan League Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@ michigandaily.com. Twenty-two years after his death, Random House Publishing has announced the publish date for two new Dr. Seuss books, USA Today reported. The author’s widow and his secretary found the new stories and sketches. 1 Lunar celebration WHAT: Celebrate the Lunar New Year, the year of the Sheep. Music, Chinese translation and free food will be available to participants. WHO: North Quad WHEN: Today from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. WHERE: North Quad, Space 2435 The NFL has found a New England Patriots staffer who tried to get an unapproved football into the “Deflategate” game, ESPN reported. A locker room attendant tried to sneak a “kicking ball” into the game. 3 Conference poster workshop WHAT: Participants in this workshop will learn how to create professional- looking conference posters. WHO: Teaching and Technology Collaborative WHEN: Today from 1 p.m to 3 p.m. WHERE: Hatcher Graduate Library, 206 Advertising speaker WHAT: Advertising executive Jose Miguel Sokoloff will speak about his award-winning marketing campaign against guerrilla warfare in Colombia. WHO: Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design WHEN: Today from 5:10 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Theater ON THE WEB... michigandaily.com THE WIRE Cambridge scholarship BY CARLY NOAH University student Ana Guay was named a recepient of the Gates Cambridge Scholarship out of 755 initial applicants. TUESDAY: Campus Voices THURSDAY: Twitter Talk FRIDAY: Photos of the Week WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers MONDAY: This Week in History PAUL SHERMAN/Daily Chime master Heather O’Neal helps Ann Arbor resident Nina Rosenzweig play the chimes during a chime concert at Kerrytown Market Wednesday. University alum proves that Wolverines nationwide are still excited about their new coach. “I just saw an elderly Michigan alum in a coffee shop in San Jose. I said ‘Go Blue.’ He smiled and replied, “We got Har- baugh!” “Did you know the past 5 U.S. presidents earned #LiberalArts degrees? Happy #PresidentsDay! via @SmartColleges” — @umichLSA The College of Literature, Science, and Arts celebrated President’s Day by sharing some presidential Each week, “Twitter Talk” is a forum to print tweets that are fun, informative, breaking or newsworthy, with an angle on the University, Ann Arbor and the state. All tweets have been edited for accurate spelling and grammar. The University graduate program congratulated students for receiving a high number of Fulbright honors. “Not trying to brag, but @ UmichStudents received more Fulbrights than any other U.S public university. #leadersandbest” LOOK AT OUR #TWEETS (please) CHIMING IN THE WIRE University tops Peace Corps list BY GENEIEVE HUMMER For the 15th consecuitive year, the University has placed on the top of the Peace Corps’ list of top- volunteering universities, producing 51 volunteers. DELANEY RYAN/Daily Award-winning director Gabriel London speaks at a reception before the screening of his film “The Life and Mind of Mark Defriest” at Rackham Graduate School Wednesday. Lawsuit focuses on footing drain disconnection program Ann Arbor residents challenge sewage mitigation efforts for homes By LAURA SCHINAGLE For the Daily Ann Arbor residents Anita Yu, John Boyer and Mary Raab sued the city last year over the legal- ity of a program requiring home- owners install sump pumps in private residences. In the original complaint, filed in February 2014 as Yu v. City of Ann Arbor, the plaintiffs alleged that the program inflict- ed uncompensated burdens and monetary costs. The plaintiffs are seeking monetary compensation, as well as injunctive relief and a statement that the drainage pro- gram violates their right to due process. Though a Washtenaw County Circuit Court judge ruled last week not to sanction the city after the plaintiffs alleged court pro- ceedings were drawn out unnec- essarily, the legal battle over the policy is far from finished. Launched in 2001, the city’s footing drain disconnection pro- gram was intended to reduce stormwater flow to the sanitary sewer system, which had caused sewage backup problems in homes throughout the city. To divert water from the sanitary sewer system to the stormwater drainage system, the program mandated that the footing drains in residents’ homes be discon- nected and replaced with sump pumps. The suit implies that the city engaged in questionable prac- tices in adopting and executing the program. Among other com- plaints, the plaintiff claims the city gave favorable treatment to certain private contractors by granting them the exclusive right to install the required footing drains on private properties. On Feb. 12, the court heard the plaintiffs’ oral argument in which they called on the judge to sanc- tion the city for unreasonably drawn out legal proceedings. The plaintiffs sought monetary sanc- tions for “the fees and costs occa- sioned by the continued burden in this case of protecting them- selves from a seeming attack by the City.” In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Anne Warrow, the city’s project manager, main- tained that the footing drain dis- connection program was based on legitimate studies that con- sidered the welfare of Ann Arbor residents. The plaintiff’s attorney Irvin Mermelstein said in an interview that this was not the case. “These people didn’t study anything,” he said. “They knew exactly what they were doing.” The two plaintiff parties — Boyer and Raab, who live together, and Yu — said they did not experience sewer-related problems before pumps were installed in their homes under the program. The lawsuit’s key com- plaint, Yu says, is that due to a dis- ability, cannot maintain a sump pump without a contractor, and the city has not compensated her for this burden. Likewise, Boyer and Raab cited uncompensated burdens, including recurring flooding and the necessary instal- lation of a $600 backup hydraulic pump. When the case was first filed in the Washtenaw County Cir- cuit Court, the city attempted to remove the case to federal court. However, the plaintiff countered with a motion to send it back to state court, which was granted. A series of motions followed, including unsuccessful motions to reassign the case to another judge and to disqualify the city’s legal counsel, Abigail Elias. Last Thursday, Elias argued Movie screening highlights issues within prison system Director Gabriel London chronicles life of escape artist Mark DeFriest By ALAINA WYGANT Daily Staff Reporter The student organization Human Rights Through Edu- cation hosted a showing on Wednesday of “The Mind of Mark DeFriest,” a documentary that follows a prison escape art- ist, along with a Q&A session with the movie’s director. The film will appear on Show- time in March and won the Best Documentary Feature award at the Lone Star Film Festival. In the film, DeFriest, a cur- rent inmate at a Californian prison, was originally incarcer- ated for theft, a four-year sen- tence, in 1981. However, due to frequent escape attempts, his sentence was increased. Now with 34 years in prison behind him, 27 of which were spent locked in solitary, DeFri- est has a chance at obtain- ing parole thanks to the film, whereas before he would have likely stayed in prison until his death. In an interview, Gabriel Lon- don, the film’s director, said he thought the film built up momentum around the case. “The film itself catalyzed a lot, and the audience catalyzed a lot, too,” London said. “When the film was released, his parole date was 2085, and now I think there’s a very real possibility he’s going to get out of prison.” He said he first heard of DeFriest while working on another prison documentary. Noticing he was one nonviolent offender among many violent offenders locked in solitary con- finement, he found the letters DeFriest had written while in prison, and began tracking his story. London said his focus with the documentary was on examin- ing how individuals arrive in the criminal justice system. “We imprison very freely,” London said. “The federal system, for example, the majority of its prisoners are nonviolent.” DeFriest was first put in soli- tary confinement while under- going a psychiatric evaluation, according to the film. During his subsequent time in solitary confinement in several prisons, London said DeFriest was denied clothing, and was also accosted with water from a hose. The film also points to torture and gang rape DeFriest underwent at the hands of other prisoners. Theater and Drama Prof. Ash- ley Lucas, director of the Uni- versity’s Prison Creative Arts Project, also joined London for the Q&A, answering questions about a slightly different issue — the role of creativity in prison. Prisons are boring, she said. During his incarceration, DeFriest made keys, painted, carved soap and wrote poetry, among other activities. Law Prof. Samuel Gross, editor of the Law School’s National Reg- istry of Exonerations, also spoke before the film screening about the topic of exoneration. He said the attention DeFriest’s case has garnered from the documentary is the exception when it comes to Sudoku Syndication http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ 1 of 1 11/12/08 1:08 PM SUDOKU HARD 7 8 5 9 4 5 2 3 4 3 6 8 6 3 9 7 2 4 1 7 6 2 8 9 RUNNING ON ICE. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com See LAWSUIT, Page 3A See PRISON, Page 3A