The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com News Tuesday, March 10, 2015 — 7 LOREN HOLMES/AP Michelle Phillips and her team charge down Anchorage’s 4th Avenue during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Saturday, March 7, 2015, in Anchorage, Alaska. Mushers begin thousand mile trek across Alaska for Iditarod Appeals judge to hear cases in Ferguson CHRIS TILLEY/AP Morris Bounds Sr. pauses while talking Monday, Feb. 23, 2015, in Ansted, W.Va., about a train derailment that destroyed his home near Mount Carbon, W.Va. Bounds said he is thankful to be alive after fleeing his home seconds before it was destroyed. Wisconsin Gov. signs bill ending forced union dues Weather conditions prompt change of location for the race PFAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Iditarod mushers began their 1,000-mile trek across Alaska along a new route Monday after poor trail conditions forced orga- nizers to push the race’s start north, bypassing a mountain range. Canadian rookie Rob Cooke, who hails from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, was the first musher to leave Fairbanks as fans looked on from the starting gate and along the expressway. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race usually kicks off 225 miles south in Willow. But because of a lack of snow this year, officials shifted the entire route around the Alaska Range and an area that left many mushers bruised and bloodied last year. This is only the second time Fairbanks has hosted the official start; similar low-snow condi- tions moved the Iditarod there in 2003. The finish line remains in Nome, on the state’s wind- whipped western coast. The route change eliminates mountainous terrain and a treacherous gorge. But the race now will be run on about 600 miles of river ice, and that can create a whole new set of obsta- cles. Some mushers have hinted the new path might benefit Pete Kai- ser, a young musher who recently won an all-river ice sled dog race in southwest Alaska. Kaiser dis- puted that Monday. “I don’t see it as an advantage or disadvantage for me or anyone else, really,” he said as he took a break from packing his sled before the race started. “It’s just another trail through the state, and it’s still a thousand miles, and it’s still through some rugged country,” Kaiser said. Lance Mackey is running the race with a young dog team and is handling the changes in stride. The four-time champion said the fact that most of the thousand or so dogs participating in the race have never seen this part of Alaska is “kind of cool.” “Not a dog in this yard has been on this trail or this race,” Mackey said. “Everybody’s on the same playing field in that aspect. The new route reduces the number of checkpoints in the early part of the race, but it adds stops at villages that have never been part of the Iditarod — like tiny Huslia, an Athabascan vil- lage of about 300 residents. Alaska’s fairly warm and snowless winter was caused by the same weather pattern that repeatedly dumped snow on the East Coast. It has made for poor conditions south of the Alaska Range, especially in the area of the Dalzell Gorge, considered the roughest patch for mushers and dogs. This is where many mushers were injured in crashes last year. Officials said this year’s condi- tions there are worse. Four-time champion Martin Buser said the lack of snow in the greater Anchorage area made for a challenging training season. Buser said he intends to slow his start this year after setting a blistering pace in the early part of last year’s race and then fading back. Legislation cements freedom to work, Walker says ABROWN DEER, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Monday signed into law a mea- sure that prohibits requiring a worker to pay union dues, striking another blow against organized labor four years after the state effectively ended collective bar- gaining for public-sector employ- ees. Walker, a likely presidential candidate fresh off a weekend visit to Iowa, signed the right-to- work bill affecting private-sector workers at an invitation-only cer- emony at Badger Meter north of Milwaukee. The company’s presi- dent was one of the few business owners who publicly supported the measure, which rocketed through the Legislature in less than two weeks. His sleeves rolled up and his suit jacket off, the Republican governor sat at a table with a ban- ner that said “Freedom to Work” as he signed the bill that makes it a misdemeanor to require work- ers to pay unions dues. Just before the signing, Walker said the new law “sends a power- ful message across the country and around the world.” He fol- lowed that up with a fundraising plea to supporters. “The Big Government Labor Bosses will never forgive me for taking away their power but we are doing the right thing,” Walker said in the email, noting that he had signed the law and asking for donations of $10, $100 and $1,000. Supporters have argued the law will help keep and attract new businesses that were wary of spending in Wisconsin before. But opponents say it will drive down wages and make the work- place less safe. “By signing Right to Work into law, Gov. Walker continues his crusade on the hard-working, middle-class families of Wiscon- sin,” said Phil Neuenfeldt, presi- dent of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO in a prepared statement. President Barack Obama issued a statement late Monday that called on Walker to improve working conditions through actions such as raising wages or offering paid leave. “I’m deeply disappointed that a new anti-worker law in Wis- consin will weaken, rather than strengthen workers in the new economy,” he said. A coalition of more than 400 businesses formed to oppose the bill and upward of 3,000 union members and others gathered at the Capitol in a failed attempt to block its passage. Walker was surrounded Mon- day by Republican lawmakers who shepherded the bill through the process, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald. Representatives from the state chamber of commerce, along with Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, were also on hand. “This is one more big tool to help places like Badger Meter, when they can put jobs anywhere around the world, they can put them in Wisconsin,” Walker said. Badger Meter’s chief executive and chairman Rich Meeusen said because of the law the company will place a $2.5 million piece of new water control equipment at the Brown Deer facility and that will lead to 30 to 50 new manufac- turing jobs in the state. After federal report, judge tasked with enacting reforms for municipal court JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri appeals court judge was appointed Monday to take over Ferguson’s municipal court and make “needed reforms” after a highly critical U.S. Department of Justice report that was prompt- ed by the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown. The Missouri Supreme Court said it is assigning state appeals Judge Roy L. Richter to hear all of Ferguson’s pending and future municipal court cases. The high court said Richter also will have the authority to overhaul court policies to ensure defendants’ rights are respected and to “restore the integrity of the sys- tem.” Ferguson Municipal Judge Ron- ald J. Brockmeyer resigned Mon- day, saying through a spokesman that he was stepping down to promote public confidence in the court and help Ferguson “begin its healing process.” The Ferguson City Council met in closed session Monday evening, but members left without taking questions and a city spokesman didn’t disclose the purpose of the meeting. Ferguson City Manager John Shaw was escorted to his vehicle by a police officer with- out fielding questions, and Mayor James Knowles III declined com- ment to The Associated Press afterward except to say that the city on Tuesday would begin seeking Brockmeyer’s permanent successor. Richter will take charge of the court on March 16. The Supreme Court said it also is assigning staff from the state court admin- istrator’s office to aid Richter in reviewing Ferguson’s municipal court practices. “Judge Richter will bring a fresh, disinterested perspective to this court’s practices, and he is able and willing to implement needed reforms,” Chief Justice Mary Russell said in a written statement. “Extraordinary action is war- ranted in Ferguson, but the Court also is examining reforms that are needed on a statewide basis,” Rus- sell added. The change comes after the Jus- tice Department released a report last week that cited cases of racial profiling and bigotry by police and chided what it described as a profit-driven municipal court sys- tem in the predominantly black St. Louis suburb where Brown, 18, was shot by a white Ferguson police officer on Aug. 9. The shoot- ing prompted protests in the St. Louis area and across the nation. A St. Louis County grand jury and the U.S. Justice Department both declined to bring charges against Officer Darren Wilson, who resigned from the depart- ment. The Justice Department report said Wilson acted in self- defense when he shot Brown. But the Justice Department said Ferguson’s police and court sys- tems functioned as a money-mak- ing enterprise that heightened tensions among residents. The federal report noted that Fer- guson was counting on revenues from fines and fees to generate $3.1 million, or nearly one-quar- ter of its total $13.3 million bud- get for the 2015 fiscal year. LSA junior Tiffany Brocke took the previous version of the MCAT in August 2014, and has no plans to retake the new one. However, she said the changes in the test, particularly the new emphasis on sociology and psy- chology, will likely benefit stu- dents. “I think it’s important for doc- tors to have an understanding of people as social animals and how complex the mind is as well as the physical body,” Brocke said. “I do think it’s important to evaluate that understanding of people on a personality level, so I think it’s a positive change overall.” In addition to demanding more endurance and a broader material base from test takers, the new MCAT test will also serve as a challenge for medical school admissions officers. Chiu noted that for the next few years, medical school admissions offic- es will be tasked with compar- ing applications from students who have taken the old MCAT to those who have taken the new version. “This is going to be a chal- lenge for medical schools to fig- ure out how they compare test scores across the two exams,” Chiu said. “But remember that the new exam is meant to help medical schools make even bet- ter decisions, so as much as pos- sible they’re going to be looking for ways to use that new score to inform better decisions about applicants.” The new test will be scored differently from the previous 1-15 and 3-45 scale. Each section will range from a low score of 118 to a high score of 132. Total scores will range from 472 to 528. Changes in the MCAT’s demands reflect broader adjust- ments in the demands of medi- cal schools. The University’s Medical School recently revised its admissions requirements to include a humanities-based experience and to encourage applicants to learn necessary material in unique and alterna- tive ways. Steven Gay, assistant dean of admissions at the University Medical School, said he believes the MCAT is being updated in response to changes that have already starting occurring in pre-medical education. “I’m very pleased that the MCAT is trying to mirror what schools find are very important characteristics to have as you go to medical school,” Gay said. Brocke, the LSA junior, echoed Gay’s opinion on the changes, saying she believes the entire process is becoming more holistic. “Overall, I think it reflects a trend of looking at the applicant as a person and much less as a set of numbers and achievements and extracurricular activities,” Brocke said. LSA freshman Krishna Vemu- lapalli said he disagrees with the MCAT’s added focus on humani- ties-related topics. “I think the humanities is something that students should learn on their own, rather than being tested on for medical school,” Vemulapalli said. Chiu said the more demand- ing exam should not discourage pre-med hopefuls. “Pre-med students are a highly motivated group of students, so it’s unlikely that this more chal- lenging exam will deter them from aspiring to medical school,” he said. MCAT From Page 1 Injured woman recalls 2013 attack BOSTON (AP) — A woman testifying from a wheelchair Monday in the Boston Marathon bombing trial recalled shielding her husband from the sight of his mangled leg, being pushed to the ground by a bystander frantically trying to extinguish the flames on her body and coming to grips with becoming a double amputee. Jessica Kensky said she and her husband, Patrick Downes, each lost a left leg in the 2013 attack. After more than 18 months of surgeries and consultations with doctors around the country, she came to the painful conclusion that her right leg would have to be amputated, too, she said. “I did not want to become a bilateral amputee,” Kensky said. “I wanted to paint my toenails, I wanted to put my feet in the sand, and I wanted to do all these things. To lose the second leg was a gut-wrenching, devastating decision.” Kensky’s account came dur- ing the third day of testimony in the federal death penalty trial of bomber Dzhokhar Tsar- naev, whose own lawyers have acknowledged his involvement but insist he was influenced by his older brother, Tamerlan, who was killed during a getaway attempt days after the bombings. Jurors also watched a timeline video compiled by the FBI using surveillance video from stores and restaurants near the mara- thon finish line. The video, which shows both brothers’ movements around the time of the bombings, focuses on Dzhokhar and shows him carrying a backpack up until he gets to the front of the Forum restaurant, when he is shown dropping the bag from his shoul- der. One frame then shows the backpack at his feet. The back- pack is in a crowd of people and just feet from children stand- ing on a metal barrier, including 8-year-old Martin Richard, who was killed, and his younger sis- ter, Jane, who lost a leg in the blast. Boston bombing survivor testifies from wheelchair