ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-THREE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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TIRE-D?
NAVY YARD SHOOTING
Students safe after deadly shooting in Washington Three ‘U’ students who work in Navy Yard not harmed in armed attack By TAYLOR WIZNER Daily News Editor
After at 13 people were shot and killed Monday morning in Washington D.C.’s Navy Yard area, three students in the Michigan in Washington Program who work in the area as interns were reported to be safe, according to a post on the program’s public Facebook group. The mass shooting began at 8:20 a.m. at Building 197, part of the main headquarters for the Naval Sea Systems Command, which buys, builds and maintains ships, submarines and combat systems. About 3,000 people, many civilians, work at the headquarters, which is located in the heart of D.C., less than four miles from the White House and two miles from the
Capitol. In a Facebook post this morning, MIW noted that the students, who work in the National Defense University’s Eisenhower Center in Navy Yard, were safe and no longer at the compound. In an e-mail sent to MIW alumni, a program staffer confirmed the students were safe, and said each student will continue to update program leaders on their whereabouts. “Two of the three students are at the Navy Yard but are safe, and another, who was on her way to work at Navy Yard, has been detoured on her shuttle bus to Fort McNair, and the bus has extra security en route now,” the e-mail said. The gunman, killed by police, was identified as Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old former Navy reservist from Fort Worth, Texas. Alexis, an employee at a defense contractor, used his pass to get into the Washington Navy Yard and began shooting bullets in hallways and firing from a balcony on workers in an See SHOOTING, Page 5
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Amanda Brown, Battalion Assistant Operations Officer for Michigan Naval ROTC, works out by North Hall Monday afternoon.
ADMINISTRATION
‘U’ to renovate reactor Decommissioned nuclear reactor makes way for classrooms By JENNIFER CALFAS Daily Staff Reporter
After beginning the decommission process of the Ford Nuclear Reactor in 2004, the University’s Board of Regents
are set to approve a $11.4-million transformation of the building into a repurposed classroom and laboratory center. In a communication to the regents, Timothy Slottow, the University’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, said the University will demonstrate that the radioactive levels of the facility, located on Bonisteel Blvd. on North Campus, fits the standards of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission before beginning the reno-
vation and expansion plans. The project will add 5,200 square feet of space for laboratories, testing areas, offices and support spaces for the Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences Department. Since the building will no longer house a nuclear reactor, the building’s name may change to the “Nuclear Engineering Laboratories” upon approval by the regents. Ronald Gilgenbach, chair and Chihiro Kikuchi Colle-
giate Professor in the Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences Department, said the renovations will allow the program to expand into muchneeded research space. Since the program’s research funding has increased over the years, Gilgenbach said the current laboratory facilities do not meet the faculty’s needs. However, with this building’s thick-shielded walls and expansive space, it will serve as the See REACTOR, Page 5
TUNNEL VISION ANN ARBOR
PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH
Council looks at divesting from fossil fuel funds
Students to gather input on search for next pres.
Postponed vote may alter pension make-up By WILL GREENBERG Daily Staff Reporter JAMES COLLER/Daily
LSA Freshman Louis Hagopian longboards down Washington Heights towards Mary Markley residence hall Monday.
CRIME
UMPD: Solicitors are impersonating students Police cite several incidents of fraud in SE Michigan By ARIANA ASSAF Daily Staff Reporter
University Police are warning the campus community of fraudulent solicitation attempts in some southeast Michigan neighborhoods. Solicitors pretended to be University students who needed money for class trips, University Police said. Some said they were part of the Communications Department, while others said that they were from the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. University Police Chief
WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 75 LO: 62
Joseph Piersante said it’s very unlikely that the people going door-to-door are legitimate University students. He said the University rarely, if ever, uses door-to-door fundraising methods. The most common methods for University fundraising are alumni outreach or mailings. If University affiliates do go door-to-door, they are required to provide legitimate University identification and information for a contact for follow up. The first report, which came to University Police on Aug. 28, said people who claimed to be University students were soliciting funds for an overseas trip to London. A second instance of soliciting was reported on Sept. 8.
This time, the solicitors were attempting to sell magazine subscriptions in order to fund a Communications Department trip. “I don’t know if that’s a coincidence or what,” Piersante said. “But these scams aren’t unusual. In this particular case (scammers) are targeting the University.” While these particular solicitations were door-todoor, Piersante said that both door-to-door and phone solicitors often try to raise money for charity groups they say benefit veterans or police survivors. Police are not currently aware whether or not these solicitors have been successful in raising any money, and Piersante said the police don’t See SOLICITORS, Page 5
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At the Ann Arbor City Council meeting Monday night, council members reconsidered the Ann Arbor Energy Commission’s resolution to divest the city’s pension fund of certain fossil fuel industries, but they postponed a vote on the matter. The original resolution, proposed at the Sept. 2 meeting, was one vote short of approval. Council decided to carry over the topic to Monday’s meeting to reconsider the issue after it failed to pass earlier in September. Council again opened discussion to vote on the resolution but eventually ended in postponing the item. The presented resolution, which was drafted by the Energy Commission, asked that council recommend ending any further investment of pension funds to fossil fuel industries. The resolution explains the city’s duty to support and maintain the public health of residents and also cites Ann Arbor’s Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2025. Council members generally expressed interest in supporting the resolution but were hesitant to vote for the mea-
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sure because the move could result in a potential financial loss for the employee pension fund. Early on in the discussion, Councilmember Mike Anglin (D–Ward 5) reminded the council that the resolution was not a mandate to the pension board but still “urged” the council to divest. Council members discussed the viability of divesting from fossil fuel industries if the city adopted the policy. Generally, council members expressed concerns for the future of pension funding. Councilmember Stephen Kunselman (D–Ward 3) said he was wary of “meddling” in the pensions, noting the economic woes of Detroit over the summer in part due to that city’s pension obligations. Nancy Walker, executive director of the employees’ retirement system, told council members that the pension board hasn’t taken an official position on the issue. However, a preliminary analysis of index funds found that none that are completely free of fossil-fuel investment. “Organizations, such as pension funds, that do have fiduciary duty really struggle with how to balance that fiduciary duty with what look like an increase in cost,” Walker said. Six members of the public asked council to consider divestment, including two students and a University professor. Individuals cited divestments in the past See COUNCIL, Page 5
Vol. CXXIII, No. 132 ©2013 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
Group recognized by regents will advocate student concerns By RACHEL PREMACK Daily Staff Reporter
After demand for official student input in the search for the next University president, a student committee recognized by the University’s Board of Regents met yesterday for the first time. The committee was instituted to add a student voice to the next president with the presidential search that is lead by the presidential-search advisory committee, according to Engineering graduate student Michael Hand, a Rackham Student Government representative and committee member. It is comprised of 12 student leaders from a variety of campus organizations. Campus leaders have previously called for student representation on the 16-person advisory committee that gathered to selected UMPSC’s successor. In 2002, the 16-member committee that hired Coleman included two students: Matt Nolan, the student government president, and Lisa Jackson, a then-doctoral student. Though the committee will gather student input, the students are not directly involved in the search. The new student committee will garner student opinions on desired qualities of the new president via a five-question survey e-mailed to the entire student body and through See SEARCH, Page 5
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A ARTS...........................6A
SPORTS......................8A SUDOKU.....................2A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A
News
2 — Tuesday, September 17, 2013
MONDAY: This Week in History
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers Before You Were Here
TUESDAY: Professor Profiles Profiles
THURSDAY: CampusProfiles Clubs Alumni
He’s got chemistry Brian Coppola teaches chemistry, is an editor of several scientific journals,and is the associate chair of education development and practice. Coppola holds degrees from the University of New Hampshire and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and was named an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in 2001. What made you want to pursue chemistry? I had an absolutely awesome teacher in the sixth grade, Mrs. Marie Smith, who really kick-started my interest in science in general. I liked the subject in high school,
NICHOLAS WILLIAMS/Daily
LSA sophomore Chiara Kalogjera-Sackellares chalks the Diag to advertise the Circle-K mass meeting Monday.
CRIME NOTES
but it was my introduction to organic chemistry in college, and starting research as an undergraduate, that finally sealed the deal. How have Ann Arbor and the University changed since you came to town in 1986? The physical structure of the University has changed a great deal in almost 30 years. Not only are there new buildings, but many of the older ones have been remodeled. And while the campus was always a beautiful place, the exterior landscapes and other structures and the increase in
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
WHERE: University Hospital WHEN: Monday at about 6:10 p.m. WHAT: Food items were allegedly taken from the cafeteria without payment. The 52-year-old subject was escorted out of the premises by an officer.
Writing on the wall WHERE: Bursley Residence Hall WHEN: Sunday at about 1:50 p.m. WHAT: A threatening message was carved into a door. There is a possible suspect. The student was relocated.
Gettin’ handsy Laptop woes WHERE: 900 North University WHEN: Monday at about 1:30 a.m. WHAT: A 21-year-old student was arrested after grabbing a pedestrian and was taken to the UM Emergency Department for observation. The victim was not injured.
FRIDAY: Photos the Week Week Photos of the 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com
PROFESSOR PROFESSING
CHALKIN’
Food fight
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WHERE: Shapiro Undergaduate Library WHEN: Sunday at 5:30 p.m. WHAT: A laptop was thought to have been stolen from the third floor of the library. The investigation revealed it did not occur on University property and was thus directed to Ann Arbor police.
MORE ONLINE Love Crime Notes?
Get more online at michigandaily.com/blogs/The Wire
MLK exhibit
Mhealthy event
WHAT: A year-long interactive exhibit featuring historic documents and images associated with the work of Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights activists. WHO: University Library WHEN: Today from 7 a.m to 10 p.m. WHERE: Duderstadt Center
WHAT: The play day and wellness clinic is open to all students and staff. Heathy snacks, games, information booths and program registration groups will be available. WHO: Campus Information Centers WHEN: Today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. WHERE: Ingalls Mall
Arts expo
Costume show
WHAT: Featuring studio glass art housed at the University of Michigan, Dearborn, the collection includes pieces made by key influential artists working in the medium, including Dominick Labino, Marvin Lipofsky and Richard Ritter. WHO: Gifts of Art WHEN: Today from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Cancer Center
WHAT: Featuring costumes from last year’s productions in the gallery. WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: Today at 12 p.m. WHERE: Media Union in the Duderstadt Center CORRECTIONS l Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com.
closed-off streets for pedestrian space have benefited the campus environment greatly. Something that has not changed at all is how terrific the student body is at the University of Michigan. This is one of our singular strengths. University students are socially engaged, incredibly diverse in their experiences and interests and they have their collective noses poked into all sorts of interesting things, often on a global scale. Even after all this time, I continue to be impressed by all the things our students are involved in and how much of real substance they accomplish. — ROBERT ARNELLA
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
1
Iowa as recently voted the least-indebted state in the country, with an average of $2,904 credit card balance per citizen, according to CBS. The highest balances are in Alaska, with an average of of $4,706.
2
About 15,000 University of Michigan students are considered “food insecure,” meaning they’re “unable to acquire adequate food … because they had insufficient money and other resources for food.” >> SEE OPINION, PAGE 4
3
Forbes magazine released its list of the richest Americans for the year, led by Bill Gates for the twentieth time. Runners up include CEOs Warren Buffet and Larry Ellison, CBS reported.
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Drug resistant bacteria is proven common killer CDC sends message about germs that are hard to fight
available in the 1940s, and today of the last lines of defense against dozens are used to kill or suppress hard-to-treat bugs. the bacteria behind illnesses rangGerms like those have prompted ing from strep throat to the plague. health officials to warn that if the The drugs are considered one of the situation gets much worse, it could greatest advances in the history of make doctors reluctant to do surATLANTA (AP) — For the first medicine, and have saved countless gery or treat cancer patients if antitime, the government is estimating lives. biotics won’t protect their patients how many people die from drugBut as decades passed, some from getting infections. resistant bacteria each year — more antibiotics stopped working “If we’re not careful, the medithan 23,000, or about as many as against the bugs they previously cine chest will be empty” when SHARI VIALPANDO-HILL/AP those killed annually by flu. vanquished. Experts say their overdoctors need infection-fighting La Union resident George Enriquez, left, and Pablo Romero of Las Cruces, N.M. survey the damage along Sentenario Street The Centers for Disease Control use and misuse have helped make drugs, said CDC Director Dr. Tom and Prevention released the numthem less effective. Frieden. ber Monday to spotlight the growIn a new report, the CDC tallied It’s not clear that the problem ing threat of germs that are hard to the toll of the 17 most worrisome is uniformly growing worse for treat because they’ve become resisdrug-resistant bacteria. The result: all bugs. Some research suggests, tant to drugs. Each year, more than 2 million peofor example, that MRSA rates may Finally estimating the problem ple develop serious infections and have plateaued and a separate sends “a very powerful message,” at least 23,000 die. CDC report released Monday in dated what had been a drought- have pounded the area since Frisaid Dr. Helen Boucher, a Tufts Of those, the staph infection JAMA Internal Medicine found parched state. day. University expert and spokesMRSA, or methicillin-resistant that serious MRSA infections In eastern New Mexico, Mar“The water is getting into the woman for the Infectious Diseases Staphylococcus aureus, kills about declined 30 percent between 2005 tinez was to stop in Santa Rosa, sewers now. We’re having a lot Society of America. “We’re facing a 11,000, and a new superbug kills and 2011. a community with a population of backup from that,” Castaneda Sudoku Syndication catastrophe.” about 600. That bacteria withstand http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ MRSA bacteria have been the of 2,800. Local officials are seek- said. Antibiotics like penicillin and treatment with antibiotics called target of many hospital infection ing a disaster declaration because In southwestern New Mexico, streptomycin first became widely carbapenems — considered one control efforts. These germs often flooding washed out roads and the Gila Cliff Dwellings National live without symptoms on the skin, buckled pavement last week. Monument remained closed. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — but also can cause skin or tissue “It felt like the storm of the Heavy rains raised the Gila River infections, and become more dan- New Mexicans remained on high century for the second time this by 15 feet Sunday, prompting the alert Monday to possible flash year,” interim City Administra- closure of a road to the monument. gerous when they enter the bloodflooding as rain was expected to tor Raymond Mondragon said in The monument’s acting superstream. EASY continue during the next few days, Serious, invasive MRSA adding more runoff to already a telephone interview before the intendent, Rodney Sauter, said governor’s visit. the river near the monument had declined in all settings for a total of swollen rivers and streams. Heavy hail pounded the city dropped but power to the visitor 80,461 infections in 2011, the jourThe tiny community of Mogol- earlier in the summer, damaging center was knocked out after a tree nal report found. Most were linked lon in southwestern New Mexico roofs that are now leaking, he said. fell across an electrical distribuwith health care in people who’d was isolated after weekend rains Officials warned of the poten- tion line. He said trees and other recently been hospitalized or destroyed the paved road leading tial of flooding because even mod- debris littered the river bank. received other medical treatment. to it. About 16 residents live per- erate rainfall can push swollen “We’re still dealing with a flash manently in the former mining rivers out of their banks and nor- flood watch. It’s better now but But for the first time, the more than town nestled in the mountains. mally dry washes quickly fill with we’ve had multiple surges since 16,000 infections picked up in com“The water washed away the last week,” Sauter said. munity settings outnumbered the road and pretty much made it a fast-moving water. But parts of the state should get However, he said the 700-year14,000 infections that began in the creek bed,” said Joe Tafoya, a state a breather as rains Tuesday were old cliff dwellings aren’t threathospital. Department of Transportation expected mostly in the north-cen- ened because they’re about 180 A 2005-2010 study in the same supervisor in nearby Cliff. tral mountains and eastern por- feet above the flood plain. Authorities were trying to get tions of the state, said Christopher journal suggests that pig manure Some areas have received close might be a cause of some mostly a bulldozer “to get a road at least Luckett, a meteorologist with the to 10 inches of rain since last less serious MRSA infections in scraped off to see if people want to National Weather Service in Albu- Tuesday. More than 4 inches fell querque. in parts of Albuquerque, marking people living near fertilized farm come out,” he said. Food, water and sanitary sup“Comparing this week with last the wettest September on record fields. plies will be airlifted to the comThe study is based on patients munity on Tuesday, according to week, we’re definitely going to be for the state’s most populous city. So far, one person has died from Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger Enrique Knell, a spokesman for quieting down,” Luckett said. In the west-central community in the flooding. The body of a Health System. but the authors said Gov. Susana Martinez. Details of of Grants, two schools were closed 53-year-old man was found over the MRSA link is plausible because the mission were being worked early as a precaution in case roads the weekend in southern New antibiotics are widely used on pig out, he said. in low-lying areas become water- Mexico’s Sierra County. AuthoriThe governor traveled to sever- covered, Grants Police Lt. John ties say Steven Elsley of Phoenix farms and other livestock opera© sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com TREMENDOUS. tions to enhance animal growth, al communities Monday to inspect Castaneda said. Many students died after his car was washed into and the drugs are found in pig damage from the flooding since travel to and from school by bus. a ravine and carried away. last week when heavy rains inunRunoff is high from rains that manure. Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com!
Southwest storm causes destruction and death Flash floods in New Mexico cause damage, takes at least one life
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News
Tuesday, September 17, 2013 — 3
U.N. confirms poison gas was used in Syrian city
NEWS BRIEFS KINGSFORD, Mich.
U.P. airport gets large federal grant Kingsford’s Ford Airport in the western Upper Peninsula is getting a $114,000 federal grant for improvements to its safety equipment, terminal and runway. U.S. Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow announced the grant Monday. The Michigan Democrats say the aid will support the regional economy and increase air safety. The funds come from the Federal Aviation Administration. Part of the grant will pay for the purchase of firefighting and snow removal equipment. It also will cover the cost of rehabilitating the main terminal building, runway and taxiway.
PONTIAC, Mich.
Jail guard accused of sex with prisoner An Oakland County sheriff’s deputy has been charged with criminal sexual conduct on accusations that he had sex with a prisoner. The sheriff’s department says the 24-year-old woman voluntarily had sex with Deputy Garry D. Jackson but says Michigan law makes sexual contact with prisoners a crime because they can’t give consent. The 52-year-old deputy has been a jail guard since 1997. He was arraigned Monday on a charge of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, which can carry a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. He’s free on a $5,000 personal bond. The Associated Press left a phone message for Jackson seeking comment Monday afternoon.
NEW YORK
Summers leaves Fed race, stocks rise Wall Street was happy to see Larry Summers go. Stocks rose on Monday after Summers, who had been the leading candidate to replace Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, withdrew his name from consideration. Summers, a former Treasury secretary, was viewed as being more likely to rein in the government’s massive stimulus program, which has kept interest rates low and boosted corporate profits. Stocks were also helped by news that U.S. factory output rose 0.7 percent in August, the most in eight months. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 118.72 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 15,494.78. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 9.61 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,697.60. The Nasdaq composite fell 4.34 points, a fraction of a percent, to 3,717.85, pulled down by a loss in Apple.
VERACRUZ, Mexico
34 dead in tropical depression The remnants of Hurricane Ingrid and Tropical Storm Manuel drenched northeastern and southwestern Mexico with torrential rains Monday, flooding towns and cities, cutting highways and setting off landslides in a national emergency that federal authorities said had caused at least 34 deaths. The Mexican government said the country had not seen a similar weather crisis since 1958, when the country was simultaneously hit by two tropical storms, also on separate coasts. The governor of the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz announced that 12 people died when a landslide smashed into a bus traveling through the town of Altotonga, about 40 miles northwest of the state capital. More than 23,000 people fled their homes in the state due to heavy rains spawned by Ingrid, and 9,000 went to emergency shelters. At least 20 highways and 12 bridges had been damaged, the state’s civil protection authority said. —Compiled from Daily wire reports
Rockets with chemical agent found at military base ANDREW MEDICHINI/AP
The Costa Concordia ship lies on its side on the Tuscan Island of Giglio, Italy,Monday. An international team of engineers is trying a never-before attempted strategy to set upright the luxury liner.
Concordia finally upright Ill-fated cruise ship upright after 19-hour operation GIGLIO ISLAND, Italy (AP) — Engineers have declared the crippled Costa Concordia cruise ship completely upright after a 19-hour operation to pull it from its side where it capsized last year off Tuscany. Shortly after 4 a.m. Tuesday, a foghorn rang out on Giglio Island and the head of Italy’s Civil Protection agency, Franco Gabrielli, announced that the ship had reached vertical and that the operation to rotate it was complete. Applause rang out among firefigters in the tent where Gabrielli and other project engineers made the announcement. Officials said there was no apparent pollution in the waters around the ship as a result of the operation. Using a vast system of steel cables and pulleys, maritime engineers on Monday gingerly winched the massive hull of the Costa Concordia off the reef where the cruise ship capsized near an Italian island in January 2012 and were poised to set it upright in the middle of the night. After 15 hours of slowerthan-expected progress in pulling the heavily listing luxury liner to an upright position, engineers said they finally hit
the tipping point they eagerly were awaiting. Shortly before midnight, the Concordia was raised by 25 degrees -- after that, engineers said, the effect of gravity started giving the rotation a boost. Then engineers quit operating the pulleys, and by using remote controls, carefully began opening valves to let seawater start filling huge ballast tanks that had been welded onto the already exposed side. The weight of the water in the tanks helped pull the cruise liner up much faster. “We’re in the final phase of rotation,” said Franco Gabrielli, the Italian government official who is overseeing the operation. “We have passed the 24 degree mark and now are filling the tanks with water,” he told journalists early Tuesday. Originally, engineers had been confident complete rotation might take as little as 10 hours, and be reached by early evening Monday. But the timetable quickly went off plan. First, an unpredicted early morning thunderstorm pushed back the start time. Then the wreck resisted for three hours before it allowed itself to be wrested off the jagged rocks that were embedded into one side of the hull after the Concordia had hit another reef close to Giglio Island’s coastline, took on water through a 70-meter-long (76-yard-long)
gash, and eventually capsized a few hundred meters (yards) away onto another reef. There it lay on its side until Monday’s daring engineering operation pulled it free. “Things are going like they should, but on a timetable that is dragging out,” Gabrielli chief of Italy’s Civil Protection Agency, said earlier on Monday. Never before has such an enormous cruise ship been righted. Salvage workers struggled to overcome obstacle after obstacle as they slowly inched toward their goal of raising the crippled ship 65 degrees to the upright position. At one point, some of the cables dragging the ship’s hull upright went slack, forcing engineers to climb the hull to fix them. The Concordia itself didn’t budge for the first three hours after the operation began, engineer Sergio Girotto told reporters. The initial operation to lift the ship moved it just 3 degrees toward vertical. After 10 hours, the crippled ship had edged upward by just under 13 degrees, a fraction of what had been expected. After some 6,000 tons of force were applied — using a complex system of pulleys and counterweights — Girotto said “we saw the detachment” of the ship’s hull from the reef thanks to undersea cameras.
Egyptian army officers petition military chief to run for president el-Sissi responsible for ousting Morsi amid unrest in nation CAIRO (AP) — A group of professionals and former army officers launched Monday a petition urging Egypt’s military chief, who ousted the country’s first freely elected leader, to run for president, highlighting the yearning for a strongman to take charge after nearly three years of turmoil. The campaign for Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is propped up by a pervasive personality cult, based on his success in uprooting an Islamist ruling elite. Still, there has been a faint pushback from new political groups calling for a civilian leader for the nascent democracy —despite little public tolerance for criticism of the military and a deepening sense of nationalism. In his one major political speech after removing Islamist President Mohammed Morsi on July 3, el-Sissi said he had no political aspirations. Soon after, a military spokesman denied reports the general would run for office. But the spokesman added that nothing would stop el-Sissi from doing so if he retired. The clamor for him to run in presidential elections expected in early 2014 has only grown, demonstrating the dramatic seesawing Egypt has undergone since the 2011 revolution toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak,
a former military man. In part the calls are fueled by a powerful anti-Islamist fervor after Morsi’s one year in office, when bitterness grew over what many saw as attempts by his Muslim Brotherhood to monopolize power and take the country in a more extremist direction. State media and sympathetic television stations have helped fan the el-Sissi sentiment. Pop songs praising him and the military flood the airwaves. Posters of el-Sissi in his dark glasses and military cap are plastered around the streets. Videos of him addressing troops or training with them have become a staple on TV. In the upscale Cairo district of Garden City, sweets shop owner Bahira Galal says she has been doing a brisk business with her new chocolates bearing el-Sissi’s picture. “I support el-Sissi in my own way, especially after millions went out in the streets, everyone in their own way, supporting him,” she said. Millions turned out for protests that began June 30 demanding Morsi’s removal, prompting el-Sissi to oust the Islamist leader. Morsi’s supporters have continued protests demanding his reinstatement, even as a security crackdown has jailed thousands of Islamists. Detained since his ouster, Morsi faces trial on charges of inciting the killing of protesters, and prosecutors are preparing other charges, including insulting the judiciary. El-Sissi has said he was only acting in response to the
people’s demands, dismissing charges of orchestrating a coup. El-Sissi installed an interim, civilian government that is paving the way for elections. El-Sissi has cultivated a popular image for himself — that of a strongman who acted to save the nation and, at the same time, a soft-spoken figure with the interests of the people at heart. That has helped restore the prestige of the military after the much criticized period when generals held direct power for more than a year and a half after Mubarak’s fall. Those generals came from an older generation than el-Sissi and have since been shunted aside. The new petition campaign announced Monday brands itself “complete your good deed” — urging el-Sissi to take the next step and run. Organizer Rifai Nasrallah, a judge, said the goal was to collect 30 million signatures to convince the general to give in to “popular will.” “Don’t forget that you told the Egyptian people to ask and you will respond. Here we are asking you to be president of Egypt,” Nasrallah said at the launch gathering at a Cairo hotel, addressing el-Sissi. The campaign is modeled after Tamarod, or Rebel, which spearheaded anti-Morsi protests after claiming to have gathered 22 million signatures demanding his ouster. Younan Gerges, who is running the campaign in Cairo, denied it is funded by security agencies or the military, or even major businessmen.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Careful not to blame either side for a deadly chemical weapon attack, U.N. inspectors reported Monday that rockets loaded with the nerve agent sarin had been fired from an area where Syria’s military has bases, but said the evidence could have been manipulated in the rebel-controlled stricken neighborhoods. The U.S., Britain and France jumped on evidence in the report — especially the type of rockets, the composition of the sarin agent, and trajectory of the missiles — to declare that President Bashar Assad’s government was responsible. Russia, Syria’s closest ally, called the investigators’ findings “deeply disturbing,” but said it was too early to draw conclusions. The Syrian government’s claims that opposition forces were responsible for the attack “cannot be simply shrugged off,” Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin insisted. The conclusions represented the first official confirmation by impartial scientific experts that chemical weapons were used in Syria’s civil war, but the inspectors’ limited mandate barred them from identifying who was responsible for the Aug. 21 attack. “This is a war crime,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council when he presented the report. “The results are overwhelming and indisputable. The facts speak for themselves.” Ban called it “the most significant confirmed use of chemical weapons against civilians since Saddam Hussein used them” in Halabja, Iran, in 1988, and “the worst use of weapons of mass destruction in the 21st century.” The deep division between Western backers of rebels seeking to overthrow Assad and Russian and Chinese supporters of the regime has paralyzed the U.N. Security Council since the Syrian conflict began 2 1/2 years ago. Even though the United States and Russia agreed Saturday on the framework to put Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile and precursors under international control for future destruction, their top diplomats were at odds Monday over a new Security Council resolution that would make the deal legally binding — and whether there should be a reference to possible military enforcement if Syria doesn’t comply. After months of negotiations, the U.N. inspectors went to Syria to visit the sites of three alleged chemical attacks earlier this year and were in the capital of Damascus on Aug. 21 when reports and videos began surfacing of a shelling attack in which victims experienced shortness of breath, disorientation, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, weakness and a loss of consciousness. They finally gained access to three towns where the Aug. 21 attack occurred, and on one occasion their convoy was hit by sniper fire, but the inspectors were nonetheless able to collect a large amount of material and talk to survivors and witnesses. “The environmental, chemical and medical samples we have collected provide clear and convincing evidence that surfaceto-surface rockets containing the nerve agent sarin were used ... in the Ghouta area of Damascus,” their report said. “The conclusion is that chemical weapons have been used in the ongoing conflict between the parties in the Syrian Arab Republic, also against civilians, including children, on a relative-
ly large scale,” they said. “This result leaves us with the deepest concern.” The rebels and their Western and Arab supporters have blamed Assad’s regime for the attack in the rebel-controlled area of Ghouta. The Syrian government insists the attack was carried out by rebels. The U.N. report mentions the Ghouta areas of Ein Tarma, Moadamiyeh and Zamalka, all of which were featured in videos of victims that emerged after the attack. The U.N. report did not mention how many people were killed in the Aug. 21 attack. The U.S. says more than 1,400, but other death toll estimates have been far lower. The report cited the following evidence to support its conclusions: — Rockets and fragments were found to contain sarin. “Several surface-to-surface rockets capable of delivering significant chemical payloads were identified and recorded at the investigated sites,” the investigators said. — Close to the impact sites, in the area where people were affected, inspectors collected 30 soil and environmental samples — far more than any previous U.N. investigation — and in a majority of the samples, “the environment was found to be contaminated by sarin,” its byproducts, and “other relevant chemicals, such as stabilizers.” — Blood, urine and hair samples from 34 patients who had signs of poisoning by a chemical compound provided “definitive evidence of exposure to sarin by almost all of the survivors assessed.” — More than 50 interviews with survivors and health care workers “provided ample corroboration of the medical and scientific results.” “The large-scale use of sarin, the direction of the rocket attacks, and kind of rockets used in the attacks all point to use by Assad’s forces beyond reasonable doubt,” said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association. “The conclusions reached by the United States and European governments would now appear to have received corroboration by a source the Russians and Syrians will have trouble discrediting,” Kimball said. The inspectors described the rockets used to disperse the sarin as a variant of an M14 artillery rocket, with either an original or an improvised warhead. The report said the rockets that hit two of the suburbs — Zamalka and Ein Tarma — were fired from the northwest, but it didn’t say who launched them. The inspectors did not provide a location for the rockets’ launch site, but Qassioun Mountain, where the Syrian military is known to have bases, is roughly northwest of both suburbs. “This was no cottage industry use of chemical weapons,” Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said. “To put it in perspective, just on those rocket samples that they were able to examine, they had a payload of a total of 350 liters, which is 35 times the amount that was used in the Tokyo subway” in 1995, he said, adding that the inspectors also confirmed “that the quality of the sarin was superior” both to that used in Tokyo and also to what was used by Iraq against Iran. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power noted that chief inspector Ake Sellstrom said the weapons “were professionally made.” “It defies logic that the opposition would have infiltrated the regime-controlled area to fire on opposition-controlled areas,” she said. “Only the regime could have carried out this large-scale attack.”
Opinion
4 — Tuesday, September 17, 2013
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An unexpected silver lining
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FROM THE DAILY
Are all donations equal? Donors’ wishes should align with student preferences
P
lans to develop a new graduate student residence hall were met with potential resistance from some graduate students at a town hall meeting on Sept. 11. University officials spoke with graduate students at a forum Wednesday dedicated to discussing what will likely be called the Munger Residence Hall, a new dormitory funded by a $110-million donation from University alum Charles Munger, who also bankrolled a similar residence hall at Stanford University. Despite enthusiasm from the administration, the building’s seven-resident unit layout and potential prices disenchanted graduate students in attendance. However, when these criticisms were voiced, E. Royster Harper, vice president of student affairs, emphasized Munger’s own intention with the dormitory, and the administration’s need to respect those wishes. Moving forward, the University needs to do a better job balancing the wishes of donors with student needs. When the University broke the news of Munger’s donation in April — the largest gift to the University prior to Stephen Ross’s early September donation — administrators outlined a vision for a complex that would bring together students from different academic backgrounds in an attempt to “make graduate study less isolated,” as University President Mary Sue Coleman put it. Munger’s well-intentioned mission, however, has begun to outwweigh the interests of students themselves. One of the ways the Munger planned on creating this interdisciplinary community was by building seven-resident apartments with shared living space. At the town-hall session, however, graduate students — the targeted tenants of the complex — reacted negatively to the “experimental” concept, arguing that this attempt at creating community-style living isn’t the right fit for upper-level students. Graduate studies often require intense focus, and students in graduate programs are closer to starting families than their undergraduate counterparts. Despite the attempt at building community, seven-person housing units might not be the most productive way to foster the dialogue that Munger wants to build. The price of living in the residence hall is also concerning — especially considering students would be sharing space with so many people.
Current price approximations for the residence hall are about $1,000 per month. While this price might keep the University competitive with the recent rise of luxury apartments in Ann Arbor, it’s far from an affordable option for graduate students, especially those already managing student-loan debt. “When you’re still working from, in a lot of cases, a research stipend or something like that, you have to be pretty frugal with what you’re spending on housing,” Rackham student Michael Hand, Rackham Student Government representative, said at the meeting. In light of rising housing prices in the city, the University’s role in housing should be providing an affordable option. The vision of the donor shouldn’t impede the ability to finance students’ education. The University has received many significant donations in the past year, from Ross’s recent donation to gifts from the Zell family. Of course, the University community is grateful for the continued support from alumni; however, these donations are offered and planned long before they’re announced to the entire University. Instead of focusing on unveiling these donations with pomp and circumstance, the University should be working toward bridging the gap between donors and students long before building plans are released.
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A
Hungry for more
s I walked down South University Avenue yesterday, I counted one liquor store, two pizza parlors, four bars and countless restaurants. State Street didn’t look much different either. Despite what seems like an abundance of food options, stories of hunger are an all-too-real, but rarely discussed, reality on campus. Student Food ZOE Co., a pop-up produce stand seeking to provide STAHL fresh, affordable fruits and vegetables to the student body, conducted a survey in 2012 of grocery shopping and eating habits among students. According to their research, 15,000 Michigan students are considered “food insecure,” meaning students were “unable to acquire adequate food … because they had insufficient money and other resources for food.” Whether that’s because the grocery stores within walking distance are too expensive or the more affordable supermarkets are difficult to reach without a car remains unclear. Either way, as a result nearly 12.6 percent of those considered food insecure frequently experience hunger and many others rely on empty-calorie meals like ramen and Easy Mac. The University isn’t alone, though: Food insecurity plagues other campuses across the country. Michigan State University, San Diego City College, University of Central Florida and a host of others have all identified hunger as an issue. However, unlike the University, these schools, along with University of California, Los Angeles, Grand Rapids Community College and University of Michigan, Dearborn, have been proactive, starting either food banks or free bag-lunch programs in response
to high hunger rates among their students. Given the University’s concern for students’ health and well-being, we should do the same. The University has already committed to providing healthier food options by starting the MFarmers’ Market in the Michigan Union and sourcing more nutritional options in University-run stores, like U-go’s and Pierpont Commons. Unfortunately, these options are not always at student-friendly prices. Considering the magnitude of the problem, the University should embark on a study to identify the reasons for the University’s high food-insecurity rates. Figuring out the barriers to food access is a first step. In an e-mail interview, Margot Finn, a lecturer of food studies at the University, asks critical questions: “Is it too hard to get on the city bus routes that go to grocery stores? Are bikes and zip cars too expensive? … (Are) stores like (Revive) and the People’s Food Co-op either too expensive or also too inconvenient? … Is it because real estate near campus is too expensive, so they’d have to charge Babo prices? Is there simply not enough student demand — between dorm cafeterias and the ubiquity of relatively cheap prepared food?” Once the University has defined the scope of the problem, it will be better equipped to assess options and possible solutions, such as a food bank, a free bag lunch program or rideshares to the grocery store. I trust that such a research-oriented and innovative university will come up with a creative and multi-faceted solution. I do realize the problem is systemic of something larger — rising income inequality and tuition rates that leave students strapped for cash and forced to push basic needs to the back burner. Let’s hope the University can start to make a difference.
Stories of hunger are an all-too-real reality on campus.
— Zoe Stahl can be reached at zoestahl@umich.edu.
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s much as it pains me to admit it, a guilty pleasure of mine the last three years has been the website Total Frat Move. Yes, it’s juvenile, terrible humor that promotes everything bad about college — but, hey, that doesn’t JAMES mean it isn’t BRENNAN still funny. Last Thursday night, as I was partaking in this particular indulgence, I stumbled upon a somewhat more serious — though still humorously written — article about sorority rush at the University of Alabama. According to this story,which links to a report published in The Crimson White, Alabama’s student newspaper, two black women failed to receive a bid at any sorority this fall, reportedly because of their race. Upon seeing the title to this particular story, I quickly concluded exactly what I was about to read. Because of some sort of de facto racism, all of the sororities at Alabama refused to bid any black girls and the conservative-leaning TFM writer was going to conjure some typical response dismissing all claims of racism more complex than a Klan member burning a cross. Instead, I was very pleasantly surprised. What actually happened was many of the top sororities at Alabama saw these two girls as highly qualified candidates for membership — noting their high levels of involvement, great performance in school and prestigious families. As they began the bid process though, their alumnae advisors informed them that if they were to extend a bid to a black woman, funding and support
would be removed from the chapter. OK, so maybe “pleasantly surprised” was a poor choice of words — clearly, this is still a horrendous occurrence of modern-day racism. But there’s a silver lining to this story that can’t be ignored. As it turns out, a large number of members in multiple sororities actively fought their influential alumnae, asserting that the women were ideal candidates and it was wrong to drop them based on their race, spending hours in their chapter house crying over the path their alumnae strong-armed them into taking. Most importantly of all though, multiple girls from multiple houses have sought out reporters to reveal these injustices, fully knowing the personal risks they took in doing so. Despite being privileged members of society — due to both their race and their social status — these girls fought against the status quo and behaved in a way that broke my own preconceived notions about sorority girls in the south. Even in a part of the country that can retain a great deal of prejudice, I can still take pride in my generation choosing not to discriminate based on race. I’m not going to paint this picture too simply, as clearly there was more going on here than women being coerced into dropping black recruits. These girls could have protested more, and I’m certain there were some girls — or even entire houses — who didn’t fight this discrimination at all. Moreover, there are conflicting claims of fraternities threatening to disaffiliate with integrated houses as well — raising further questions about
discrimination in the University of Alabama Greek system. Regardless, the women who voiced their dissent and reported the discrimination still deserve our applause. To all of you women who stood up during your recruitment process and blew the whistle on the whole situation, I want to express my admiration and pride in what you’ve done. You may face serious criticism from your alumnae, your peers and even some of your sisters, but just remember that the boos are coming from the cheap seats. And even as you face this adversity, don’t leave your chapters — they need you now more than ever. As Jimmy Hood, the first black student in Alabama history, once said, “One person can make a difference if that one person is committed to making a difference.” The last few years of your time in college may be difficult, but the change you’re starting will be worth it. Finally, to the alumnae who bullied these girls into dropping two well-qualified young ladies based on race, I have this to say: 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of desegregation at the University of Alabama, when Jimmy Hood and Vivian Malone were famously stopped in person by Alabama Gov. George Wallace. I don’t need to tell you who the heroes and villains in this story are. Think very carefully about your next moves. If you choose to take the same path as Wallace, then I’m certain he’ll be holding a spot for you on the ash heap of history.
The change you’re starting will be worth it.
— James Brennan can be reached at jmbthree@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Barry Belmont, Eli Cahan, Eric Ferguson, Jesse Klein, Melanie Kruvelis, Maura Levine, Patrick Maillet, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Harsha Nahata, Adrienne Roberts, Paul Sherman, Sarah Skaluba, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe
JESSE KLEIN | VIEWPOINT
‘Zero-tolerance’ generation
We are the sons and daughters of the children of the 1960s. Our parents led the world in protests and social activism along with drugs and free love. Their time was characterized by protests on the steps of the University of California, Berkeley, citywide marches against the Vietnam War and more political and social rebellion than any generation since the civil war. According to our parents’ generation, we’ve become complacent. We no longer stage huge protests on our college campuses, highly educated women with Ph.D.s are more likely to opt out of a highpaying job in order to spend more time with their families and we have alarmingly low voter turnout. The high point of our political involvement was the 2008 presidential election, only to swing the complete opposite direction in 2012: utter apathy. This isn’t to say social activism has completely disappeared in college students. The recent passage of tuition equality for undocumented Michigan residents and veterans demonstrates the student body’s ability to endure and affect change. But the pressure to be involved with local issues feels like a stepping stone to bigger — possibly paying — things. A resume booster, where affecting real change is simply a bonus. Prof. Scott Campbell and Associate Prof. Stephen Ward recently commented on the professionalism that activism has taken on at the University in an interview with The Michigan Daily. The wild, outof-control protests of the 60s were sacrificed, but not necessarily the social justice. However, it’s possible that the lack of disorder and disruption of these protests has lengthened the
time it takes for governments to take notice and finally change policy. Simply put, it’s easy to ignore an online petition or Facebook group, even if it’s signed by 20,000 people. A march or sit-in of that magnitude, however, would require government or police action and make national front pages. Many theories have circulated about the Millennial generation’s lack of motivation to take part in national issues. Is it the hours we spent with the television and Internet? Is it our supposedly narcissistic obsession with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram? No. I would argue something else entirely. Our generation grew up in the era of ‘zero tolerance.’ Every school guidebook, classroom syllabus and summer camp information e-mail used some form of the phrase. There was zero tolerance for bullying, swearing, drugs and alcohol, cheating, name calling, separating from the group or pretty much any rebellious behavior. Zero tolerance is a vague statement. It allows an individual to imagine the worst possible outcome from violating the rules. But it’s understood that zero tolerance doesn’t mean a chat with the school principal and a call to your parents. It means losing everything. This culture of zero tolerance created a space that was unforgiving. One mistake and you were screwed for life. Today’s youth are afraid to make mistakes and to be rebellious because of this culture. We just aren’t willing to risk everything we’ve worked for to attend a political protest that’ll most likely end up with someone in jail and make little progress anyway. If we’re going to break the rules, it’s going to be a fun way to blow off some steam. We were taught one
strike and you’re out, and that’s how we’re living our lives. Another factor is the economic downturn. Blemishes on a record can only hurt you in the uphill battle of getting a job during a time of depressingly low job opportunities. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal the rate of unemployment for adults under 25 was 15.6 percent in August — two and half times more than the unemployment rate for 25 and older. According to a CNBC article, 2012 and 2013 college graduates will earn less over the next decade than before the recession hit. Even bleaker is the rate of underemployed college graduates. According to the Economic Policy Institute, 19.1 percent of college graduates were underemployed in 2012. We’ve been conditioned to think that any demerit on our record will haunt us for the rest of our lives. There’s no patience for mistakes of youth and there are too many well-educated people for too few jobs. With so many other qualified, if not perfect, candidates, why would any business risk taking the applicant with a record or who had a meeting with the dean? While the parental generation may want youth population to stand up, many are more concerned with their individual child’s well-being and success than global well-being. Few parents would condone their child’s choice to drop out of school to join Occupy Wall Street, but many praised the youth for finally standing up for something. It’s a catch-22 that we, as Millennials, are unable to avoid — disappointing our parents and throwing away our future or be labeled dispirited and unpatriotic. Jesse Klein is an LSA junior.
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REACTOR From Page 1 “perfect” environment for more research, he said. The program will use the laboratories in the building to advance research to benefit the public, including research in medicine, nuclear measurements related to homeland security, developing safer nuclear reactors and nuclear non-proliferation, among other projects. Funded by the College of Engineering, the project will produce an average of 18 on-site construction jobs, and will be designed by architectural firm SmithGroupJJR. The design process is scheduled to begin soon, and will be approved by the board at a later date. JACQUELYN MARTIN/AP
Family and friends wait to greet staff of the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters as they are bused from the Washington Navy Yard to Nationals Park, in Washington, Monday.
SHOOTING From Page 1 atrium below. The reason for the deadly shooting is still unknown, investigators said. It is not yet clear if this was an act of terrorism. For much of the day, authorities said they were looking for a possible second attacker who may have been dressed in an olive-drab military-style uniform. But by late Monday night, officials said they were convinced the attack was the
SOLICITORS From Page 1 know for sure why this area was targeted.
SEARCH From Page 1 discussion with individual student groups, according to LSA senior Tyrell Collier, speaker of the Black Student Union and a committee member. A social media campaign will solicit additional student input. Business senior Dalia Adler, Hillel chair and committee member, said the varying economic, religious, ethnic and intellectual backgrounds will diversify student feedback. She added that as many student organizations as possible will be contacted. Collier said the committee will compile student feedback into a report, which will be presented on Sept. 26 during the advisory committee’s public
work of a lone gunman, and the security lockdown around the area was eased. The attack came four years after Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan killed 13 people at Fort Hood in what he said was an effort to save the lives of Muslims overseas. He was convicted last month and sentenced to death. In addition to those killed, eight people were hurt — three of them shot and wounded, according to the mayor. Those three were a police officer and two female civilians, authorities said. They are all expected
to survive. The decesased ranged in age from 46 to 73, according to the mayor. A number of the victims were civilian employees and contractors, rather than active-duty military personnel, the police chief said. Monday’s incident was the deadliest mass shooting on a military installation in the United States since the tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.
Piersante said they have a description of one solicitor and are working with the local police department in the targeted area to identify the suspect.
“If this continues to happen, we can work with local police departments to get communication out if we see a pattern in a geographical area,” Piersante said.
forum. Student speakers will also present at the forum and the committee is still seeking volunteers to speak. “It’s not up to us what we present,” Collier said. He emphasized that the committee of student leaders exists to receive and organize student ideas, not as a platform for the leaders’ own agendas. Kinesiology senior Jared Hunter, National Panhellenic Council president and committee member, wrote in an e-mail interview that students have listed increased transparency and accessibility to students as a desirable quality for the new president to have. “It seems as though I have continuously heard thus far that students would like the president to be more
involved and seen in student life and be a part of the universit y in that aspect,” Hunter wrote. The committee members expressed their confidence that the regents will value their input. “From my experience, one of the great things about Michigan is the general focus on, and appreciation for, the student experience,” Hand said. At a University Council meeting last week, Regent Katherine White (D) encouraged student input as she and her colleagues reviewed candidates. “We want continued information with the input that you’re going to give us, and we don’t want that to end,” White said.
—The Associated Press contributed reporting.
Construction to start on graduate dorm Innovative residence hall to house 630 students By AARON GUGGENHEIM Daily Staff Reporter
Inside the dusty window of the old Blimpy Burger location on South Division Avenue hangs a sign thanking customers for their patronage during the restaurant’s 60-year run. Now fenced off, the building and four other neighboring properties recently purchased by the University will be prepared to be demolished to make way for a $185-million graduate residence hall funded in part by a $110-million gift from University alum Charles Munger. A leaflet distributed to residents living on Thompson and Division streets near the site informed students of approaching construction days. “Please be advised that demolition and construction activities are going to be commencing this week in the block north of Madison,” the pamphlet stated. “Fencing will be installed and demolition of the existing structures along Division and Madison will take place shortly thereafter. We will have further informa-
tion in early October regarding construction details for the new Munger Graduate Housing building.” Munger, along with Stephen Ross and Helen Zell, have been part of a spate of major donors in the past few years who have donated large sums to endow specific scholarships and programs, as well as fund the construction of campus buildings. Housing resources will provide $75 million for the project. If construction stays on schedule, the building will be completed in summer 2015. Schematic designs will be unveiled before the University’s Board of Regents at their meeting on Thursday. The new residence hall will house 630 graduate students — and potentially visiting faculty — in an eight-story, 370,000-square-foot building. The building will be split into groups of seven individual bedrooms and bathrooms joined to a shared kitchen and living space meant to encourage collaboration between graduate students. Parking will not be provided to future residents. Graduate students have expressed dismay about the purported cost — about $1,000 per month — and the proposed
layout of the rooms. In an interview after Wednesday’s forum, Hank Baier, associate vice president for faculties and operations, and E. Royster Harper, vice president of student affairs, said while the residence hall was not intended to meet the needs of all graduate students, they stressed that they would work on meeting some concerns, such as cost. “We recognize that this is not for everyone, but (we) think it will be a wild success,” Baier said. However, Harper added that there were limitations to what could be changed because the project featured the heavy personal involvement of Munger, who had previously funded the construction of a graduate residence hall at Stanford University. “Certainly he has been engaged, certainly he has influenced our thinking … I would say he has been a good partner,” Harper said. With construction beginning, the University can begin looking forward to the completion of a long cycle of renovations and building projects on its residence halls that has sought to make them competitive with the offerings of other top universities.
Regents to approve schematic design of Munger Graduate Residence project Last April, the board announced the construction of a new residence hall for graduate students funded in part by a $110-million donation from University alum Charles Munger, vice president of Berkshire Hathaway. In a communication to the regents, Slottow and E. Royster Harper, vice president of student affairs, wrote that the building will be eight-stories tall to accommodate approximately 630 students “in an apartment-style layout.” The building — located on the site of the current Thompson Street Parking Structure and former Blimpy Burger restaurant — will cost approximately $185 million, funded largely by Munger and the rest by Housing resources. With an average of 264 on-site construction jobs, the building will be complete in the summer of 2015. At a forum hosted by Rackham Student Government on Sept. 11, some graduate students expressed their concerns about the new residence hall’s schematic design and living costs. Although the forum
Tuesday, September 17, 2013 — 5 produced mixed reviews of the hall, Harper said the University hopes to stay true to Munger’s vision for his flagship project. “If this were ‘just us’ and the funding were ‘just us,’ we would have some different kinds of options,” Harper said. “But I think when you are in a partnership … you make some agreements about what you’re going to offer, then we have to honor those agreements.”
will maximize success in the current capital campaign and launch future efforts to connect, inspire and build community both within and beyond the University,” Harper said in the communication. If approved, the new name will be effective on Oct. 1.
School of Education renovations to be approved
In early September, Judy Malcolm, the Office of Development’s senior director of executive communications, said in an interview May will deliver a speech about the fiscal figures for 2013. Malcolm said the University has seen a record-breaking number of donations under $25,000 over the past year. With the University’s fifth capital campaign coming up, Malcolm said any donation, whether it be comparable to University alum Stephen Ross’s recent historic $200-million gift or $10, invests in the University’s future.
In a communication to the regents, Slottow recommended approval of the renovation of the School of Education, which was built in 1923. The project will improve infrastructure and functionality of approximately 8,300 square feet of space, including new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, bathroom facilities and fire alarm systems. Funded from investment proceeds, the project will cost $13.6 million and will be designed by the architectural firm SHW Group. In an effort to minimize disruption of the academic schedule, the construction is set for completion in fall 2015. Division of Student Affairs to be renamed In a communication to the regents, Harper requested to change her division’s name from the Division of Student Affairs to the Division of Student Life. Harper wrote that the change would represent the department’s participation and work toward every aspect of a student’s life, including learning experiences, development, health, social justice, support and education, among other services. Compared to the current name, the new title “resonates and excites” University students, staff and parents, Harper said in the communicaiton. “The clarity of the new name
Jerry May, vice president of development, to detail year’s philanthropic success
University to sell land to NSF International The University is set to sell 51 acres of land east of US-23 and south of Plymouth Road in the Ann Arbor Technology area. According to a communication issued by Slottow, the regents will consider selling 51 acres of vacant land for $3.52 million to NSF International, a non-profit body verifies if products meet public health and safety standards. The net proceeds from the sale will go towards the general fund. NSF hopes to expand their facility on Dixboro Road, which lies underneath the vacant property. The University and NSF have worked together for nearly 70 years. The nonprofit has contributed scholarships, donations and an endowed chair for the department in the School of Pubic Health. If the board approves the sale, officials hope to close the sale by Oct. 31.
ALLSION FAHARND/Daily
Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje (D) listens to community speakers at the Ann Arbor City Council meeting Monday evening.
COUNCIL From Page 1 regarding tobacco and apartheid, and the symbolic effort to combat climate change. LSA sophomore Laura Hobbs spoke to the council in support of the resolution, noting similar divestment efforts in college towns on the West Coast. “This commitment sends a message not just to stakeholders nationwide, but also to the students in these communities,” Hobbs said to the council. “By agreeing to divest from fossil fuels, the city is showing students that Ann Arbor recognizes the harmful effects of climate change.”
Business Prof. Kai Petainen presented a paper to council in which he cautioned the proposed divestment. “You’re basically selling out of an entire sector and the fifthlargest sector in that market is that sector” Petainen said. “If you do that, it means that index funds, which hold that sector, can’t hold that sector anymore.” Petainen said other risks included increased risk for the fund overall and increased fees. While the original resolution claimed the divestment would pose “little or no risk to return on investments,” Petainen said the study was too small in scale to accurately represent the Ann Arbor employee pensions. Councilmember Sally Petersen
(D–Ward 2) suggested that, rather than divesting, council invest in clean energy and enhance green initiatives in other areas other than pensions. “If they were to go with the recommendation, I feel strongly that it would be inconsistent with this City Council’s priority for fiscal discipline,” Petersen said in an interview during a break. “Given that our pension fund is already underfunded, that cost would create further liabilities.” After much discussion, the council moved to postpone until the pension board had a chance to evaluate the proposal. The movement to postpone passed, and the council will readdress the issue at its second meeting in October.
Arts
6 — Tuesday, September 17, 2013
FILM COLUMN
ALBUM REVIEW
Roots, Costello team up on ‘Ghost’ Unlikely pairing crafts swelling ‘Wise Up Ghost’ By HANNAH WEINER For the Daily
If they both weren’t so hip, the collaboration between a 59-yearold singer-songwriter and a hiphop band might seem absurdly B hilarious. Luckily, Wise Wise Up Up Ghost, the Ghost collaborative album by Elvis The Roots and Costello and Elvis Costello The Roots, features two of the Blue Note coolest musicians from separate corners of the music industry. The music is smooth, funky, mostly what you’d predict from the combination of their sounds. Suave guitars, Costello’s characteristic vocals, sexy saxophones and driving beats are all reminiscent of a Curtis Mayfield-era soul album. The novelty of the collaboration doesn’t wear off for the entire 56 minutes, so they had to be doing something right. Career-wise for Costello, the album proves to be imaginative and progressive; pairing up with a black hip-hop band from Philadelphia directs his appeal toward a younger audience. But Costello isn’t entirely new to the world of black music genres: His music has always been laced with reggae and Motown. So for an artist that has been around since the 1970s, this matchup revives his discography after 2010’s mediocre National Ransom. Regardless of whether this choice was purely business or just plain fun, Costello and The Roots made a wise decision. Besides — what else do you do when you’ve been making music as long as these guys have?
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BLUE NOTE
“Bet you never expected this.”
The only thing missing that would make Wise Up Ghost stellar: Black Thought’s rap. What the album could be (an experimental concept album like Undun) far exceeds what it actually became. For fans of these two artists, the fantasy of Black Thought’s rhymes atop Costello’s weird lyricism sparked excitement. But after perusing the songs, listeners may feel cheapened, cheated — The Roots’s presence seems less vocal than originally perceived. Costello undeniably outshines the band; in an interview, he claimed outright that it’s not his “hip-hop album.” Which, on some level, pardons the album from its utter lack of transparent hip hop. However, at some points, Costello enters a hip-hop-esque form of singing; he exaggerates the rhymes on lines like, “Just because I don’t speak the language doesn’t mean I’m blind to the threat / But I thought there was more to forgiveness than we conveniently forget.” Sure, it’s not rapping (that might be a lot to ask of Costello), but it’s
Classifieds
charged with a hip-hop attitude, and songs like “Stick Out Your Tongue” and “Refuse To Be Saved” do feature stabbing words and lyric-heavy rhythms. Even the album art makes a nod toward the poeticism of Wise Up Ghost — mimicking the poetry editions of old City Lights book jackets, like Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl.” What’s present on the album: an uninhibited and animated Elvis Costello. Layered atop cinematic swelling strings and sharp syncopated drumbeats, Costello croons poetically about politics, among other topics. The songs are gritty, moody and full of humidity — a thick, instrumental, vintage soul album infused with subtle hip hop. Though, the album as a whole is unremarkable and a far cry from the artists’ genius works, such as The Roots’s Undun or Costello’s My Aim Is True. But for those interested in hearing Costello pontificate over Questlove’s beats, Wise Up Ghost presents a quality product.
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RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
FOR RENT
Don’t let the machine tell you what movies to watch
P
rint out your ballots, throw on your fancy clothes and start sending really presumptuous texts to your friends about how much the Oscars suck because, guys, it’s that time of year again! No. We’re still a few months away, but by AKSHAY March, the SETH Huffington Post (when a website is simultaneously synthesizing data from Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, Intrade, Betfair and Hollywood Stock Exchange, the sound of that white f lag billowing in the wind starts to feel monotonous) will have published much better articles about the awards season and you’ll have no reason to watch me make a “bloviating pundit” out of myself. So, as the Joker would put it, “I’m not a monster. I’m just ahead of the curve.” But Akshay! Halt! You haven’t seen the slew of movies that are going to be released between now and Christmas, the sanctified patch of time studios quarter away specifically to showcase the stuff they deem artsy. In the three months remaining until the official date by which a film has to be screened in Los Angeles to be eligible for an Oscar run, traditional heavyweights such as “12 Years A Slave,” “Gravity,” “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Mandela” will each have their shot at prancing around in front of critics. In that time, we’ll collectively nod, exclaim phrases like “excellent direction!” and hoist up a predetermined collection of movies we’re supposed to think deserve golden statuettes. There will be snubs. There will be outrage. But ultimately, most of those snubs will just be lonely, excluded members of The Collection. So what about shtick released earlier in the year that doesn’t fit the archetypal mold of typical Oscar fodder? What about all those hours of cinema that are going to be swept under the rug and ignored as people lose their shit over Idris Elba’s award-
worthy South African accent? The only solution is to look at 2013 more holistically, and we’re at the perfect time of the year to do so — the lull that comes between summer movie season and the labored buildup toward Oscar night. The first thing to do is not be disheartened by a film’s overall gross. Many movies, like last year’s “Killer Joe,” featuring a notoriously overlooked performance by Juno Temple, fell by the wayside because it could only muster a measly $3 million at the box office on a budget of ten. Critics and audience alike were quick to label the f lick a financial failure — which it was — and spent more time discussing why it made no money as opposed to its actual merits or lack thereof. The most obvious reason thrown up, understandably, was the film’s NC-17 rating and reliance on explicit violence.
The Weinstein brothers don’t always know what’s best. Violence is a turnoff, pure and simple. It spawns bad word-of-mouth, something the Academy hates, and gives the film a sleazy reputation. It doesn’t help if the ending leaves most people emotionally scarred for a good two to three weeks. But, the thing is, I want movies to leave me emotionally scarred. It means that what I’ve just invested two hours of my life watching is impactful to me as a person. And eventually, that’s what all good cinema is meant to do: connect with an intended audience. If connection means stabbing with violence, so be it. But “Killer Joe” did so by showing some dude beat another dude half to death with a can of soup. From there, putting butts in seats became kind of tough. And here lies our real problem: If no one’s watched the movie, how can we judge it fairly? Another case in point: “Bernie,” in which Jack Black gave
the best performance of 2011. Jean Dujardin can shove it, because the schlubby asshole from “School of Rock” took hold of my attention in a way no other actor that year ever could. In equal parts, he was hilarious and terrifying, deftly oscillating between moods of squeal-inducing kindness to squeal-inducing creepiness. Think Jonah Hill in “Cyrus,” just more gay. At the end of the day, I think the gayness is what did the film in. The character, no matter how well acted, was just too weird, his sexual orientation left too up-in-the-air, to be able to draw a steady audience, and the Academy took stern notice. Notice the common trend: Not enough people watched either film. Also, can we just pause for a couple of minutes to reflect on the fact that Matthew McConaughey was in both the discussed movies, and also in the most underappreciated film of 2013: “Mud.” Just walk around and think about how far our boy’s come from jokes about being shirtless all the time. Before I close, let’s get one thing straight: I’m not here to knock the fanatical campaigns some studio heads (their last names rhyme with Einstein) mount in an attempt to parade their babies in front of Academy voters. Yes, they tip the scales unfairly towards the type of cinema that has become a “safe” bet for producers looking to rack up silverware, but they also bolster viewing of films competing against much larger-budgeted fare. It’s a necessary evil to get people to watch something other than Michael Bay blowing shit up. But what we, as moviegoers, have to do is not rely solely on word-of-mouth to understand which films are good. If we make a conscious decision to formulate our own taste, actively searching for movies we haven’t heard of, trust me, the Academy will take stern notice. So sit back. You have a few months. The only thing I’m asking you to do is watch more movies, which is what the Oscars are all about anyway. Seth is writing in Cate Blanchett for every award on his Oscar ballot. To join, email akse@umich.edu
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Terrible grade 4 Don of radio 8 Got smart with 14 Not feel well 15 “Brave New World” drug 16 Developed a liking for 17 “American Idiot” punk band 19 James of “Gunsmoke” 20 Most insignificant 21 Hopefully helpful track info 23 Once, formerly 24 Performer who is heard but not seen 28 Thames school 30 QB’s successes 31 “__ were you ...” 32 Meat-andpotatoes bowlful 36 Mil. school 37 1996 Hillary Clinton bestseller, and what might be said about the start of 17-, 24-, 48- or 59-Across 41 “High Hopes” lyricist Sammy 42 One printing defamatory text, in England 43 Prefix with gram 44 Bars to scan, briefly 47 Boy of la casa 48 Table scraps, to the dog 51 Zero-calorie protest 55 War hero played by George C. Scott 56 Sitcom sergeant 57 Like citrus juices 59 Boob tube 62 TV’s “__ & Greg” 63 Remove from power 64 Sch. in the smallest state 65 Patronize, as a restaurant 66 Source of some psychiatry grants: Abbr. 67 Whitney or Washington: Abbr.
DOWN 1 Apollo 11 moon lander 2 Pink-slip issuer 3 Bugs with bounce 4 Fails to be 5 Stylish, ’60s-style 6 Hollywood’s Thurman 7 Greet someone casually 8 Uttered 9 Major heart vessels 10 Former Seattle NBAer 11 Doubtful 12 UFO pilots, in theory 13 Hair styles 18 Grammy winner Gloria 22 Halloween mo. 24 Cast a ballot 25 Dollar bills 26 Old enough 27 Bill attachment 29 Sound of disdain 32 __ tendonitis: arm muscle ailment 33 Daylong military march 34 Addis Ababa native 35 Mart opening 36 The whole thing
38 Ristorante carafe contents 39 Footnoter’s “ditto,” briefly 40 Deighton of spy-fi 44 Final syllable 45 Scratcher on a post 46 Corp. money manager 49 Father of la casa 50 Hamburger topper
52 Wedding memento 53 Hybrid tennis garment 54 Wasp venom, for one 56 “The other one, too” 57 Throw in 58 Cubs’ home: Abbr. 60 MADD concern 61 Doctrinal word ending
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BRITNEY SPEARS HAS A NEW ALBUM. ‘BREAKING BAD’ IS ENDING. JAMES FRANCO WROTE ANOTHER BOOK FOR SOME REASON. ARE THESE THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT GET YOU EXCITED? YOU SOUND LIKE ONE OF US. JOIN THE FOLD BY APPLYING TO THE DAILY’S ARTS SECTION. E-mail arts@michigandaily.com to request an application!
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Arts
ALBUM REVIEW
Blandness trumps beat on ‘MGMT’
Tuesday, September 17, 2013 — 7
FILM REVIEW
Not enough thought put into latest effort from indie group By ERIKA HARWOOD Daily Arts Writer
It would be far reaching to classify MGMT as conventional. After all, they did play what could potentially be the world’s largest B cowbell on “Letterman” a few MGMT weeks ago. Yet there is a fine MGMT line between Columbia cutting-edge experimentation and an unsettling lack of focus, and the latter seems to preside over the group’s latest selftitled effort. “Alien Days” starts the album off with the intriguing distorted, childlike voice (perhaps actually the voice of a child), eventually joined by singer Andrew VanWyngarden who leads the song into a primarily acoustic sounding track that resonates more as an enthusiasm-lacking filler. VanWyngarden softly mutters the lyrics behind the halfhearted instrumentation. Many of the songs tend to mislead with strong openings like on “Cool Song No. 2” and “AstroMancy,” which start off with distinct, individualized beats, yet once they get going falter into the same trap that plagues the rest of the album once they get going. After VanWyngarden begins his unenthusiastic lyricism, the tracks become dull and uninspired. Songs blending together can be a useful trope for creating something more cohesive and even coherent, yet it works in the exact
SONY
FELICITY?
Fantasy ‘Land’ falters By CARLY KEYES Daily Arts Writer COLUMBIA
The dogs are in the band, too.
opposite way for MGMT. The second half of the album melts together to the point where the songs become completely indiscernible. Repetitive melodies and the group’s attempt at making bizarre new-age sounds become tiresome after about seven minutes, yet the album clocks out to a solid 44 minutes and 24 seconds. Though not entirely unlistenable, it grows stale and eventually makes its way into background noise. The biggest problem with the album doesn’t necessarily fall onto a specific track but more of a broader sense of the direction MGMT has decided to follow. Their music now seems to be driven on their own logic that people expect them to be weird and psychedelic when what people really want is a genuinely good album that gives off the feeling of actual input. MGMT didn’t become MGMT because they made terrible, avant-garde bullshit, they became MGMT because they gave indie kids something a little different but still fell within the blurred
lines of pop-rock. No one expects another album full of “Electric Feel” or “Kids” or even “Congratulations.” They expect an album that exudes thought and substance, which can leave plenty of room for the bands own personal experimentation, but a compromise needs to be made between the two sides. Fortunately, MGMT has songs like “Mystery Disease” and “Your Life Is A Lie” which provide a little hope to listeners that the band still has some fire in them. The heavy percussion on “Mystery Disease” leads into a contrasting singalong style melody that stands out against the surrounding fizzling tracks. “Your Life Is A Lie” has the same repetition found throughout the album, but whether it’s the quirky lyrics or the very present cowbell, it holds its own as an identifiable track. It could be possible that MGMT is an album ahead of its time that the mere masses just don’t understand, but as it stands now, it’s a feeble attempt at an innovative record.
Who doesn’t want her very own Mr. Darcy to sweep her off her feet, caress her in his arms and tell her that she’s his C+ princess? In my eyes, it is a rare Austenland woman who doesn’t require At the the approval of Michigan a man in order Sony to feel like a princess. A woman is a whole person capable of loving herself unconditionally rather than seeking validation from someone else. In “Austenland,” Jane (Keri Russell, “Dark Skies”) is a devoted member of the contrary — the more populace portion of women who value men more than they value themselves. She worships Jane Austen’s body of work. She has memorized the first three chapters of “Pride and Prejudice,” kisses a cardboard cut-out of Colin Firth daily and totes around a bag with “I heart Darcy” in big, bold letters. But these aspects of her obsession pale in comparison to the accumulation of fairy-tale garb that consumes every inch of her bedroom.
Shunning the wise advice of her best friend, who is firmly grounded in reality, Jane drops a ton of dough and immerses herself in the ultimate Jane Austen experience, an amusement park-like setting straight out of her beloved author’s fiction. But, of course, the experience disillusions Jane who grows overwhelmed by a confusing dichotomy of veracity and fantasy. The film fulfills an audience’s insatiable need for guilty pleasures with a silly storyline so far-fetched that the movie finds a way to get the green light from a producer (Stephenie Meyer of “Twilight” fame); the film scratches the itch for this niche and, though it doesn’t make sense, it’ll make some dollars. It’s an entirely implausible scenario that drags on and on with predictable beats and trite tropes. The humor falls flat, whether it’s cheesy dialogue by Jerusha Hess, a somewhat seasoned writer but first-time director, or awkward timing by the actors. The performances satisfy, but only just. Jennifer Coolidge (“American Reunion”) plays Jane’s Austenland buddy, her stereotypical role as the flighty floozy-slash-sidekick, and it’s overkill. To its credit, the film
presents a few memorable moments, like when Jane plays a version of rapper Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” on the piano to the strong dismay of Mrs. Wattlesbrook (Jane Seymour, “Freeloaders”), the curt, uppity owner of the wacky world.
Stephenie Meyer’s version of true love. “Austenland” is a starkly hyperbolic display of the unavoidable and, at times, unbreakable attachment to fantasy. It’s a film that supports my belief that, speaking from experience, some women desire the perfect partner so desperately that they lose themselves in the process. Sometimes, you gotta live to learn. (Spoiler alert) But the saccharine and fantastical nature of the film dilutes the message when Jane ends up with her own version of “Mr. Darcy” anyway. I spoil because, as pathetic as it sounds, a self-help book would be more helpful than this movie — maybe cheaper, too.
Sports
8 — Tuesday, September 17, 2013
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Get used to seeing Butt
FOOTBALL
Wile still struggling By MATT SLOVIN
By EVERETT COOK
Managing Editor
Daily Sports Editor
The man tied for third on the No. 15 Michigan football team in receptions didn’t have the preseason expectations that redshirt freshman wide receiver Jehu Chesson did. He also doesn’t have the experience that fifth-year senior Joe Reynolds or senior Jeremy Jackson do. He’s tied for third in catches with fifth-year senior Drew Dileo, an offensive mainstay, and with sophomore Dennis Norfleet, one of the fastest and most exciting position players on the roster. The player, freshman tight end Jake Butt, is perhaps the biggest offensive surprise of the season. He was so skinny going into spring camp that fifth-year senior offensive tackle Michael Schofield thought he looked more like a wide receiver than a tight end. Now, more than seven months after spring camp, Butt is growing both into his body and a bigger role in the Wolverine offense. “I thought Jake Butt was probably our nicest surprise after spring football,” said offensive coordinator Al Borges last week. “He came in kind of light, so we assumed it would probably take a year and we would redshirt him. But he came back bigger and stronger. Jake’s always had good football awareness, even from the first day he got here. So he’s made a contribution much faster than we had anticipated after spring football.” In high school, Butt caught almost 100 passes and was a considered a top-five tight end recruit by every major scouting service in the country. He was
TODD NEEDLE/Daily
Freshman tight end Jake Butt has five catches on the year and is emerging as a red-zone target for the offense.
expected to contribute, just not right away. After choosing to enroll early, Butt arrived on campus in January, which likely made all the difference for the type of work he put in. Starting five months before the rest of the class allowed Butt to accelerate his physical development, so without that extra time in Ann Arbor, there’s a good chance he would still be on the sidelines. “When he first came in, he was a little smaller and a little skinnier and everything,” Schofield said. “He kind of looked like a receiver. Now, he’s definitely built up. I’ve seen a lot more improvement in his runblocking skills. That strength he’s added has definitely helped him to become a better runblocking tight end.” Against Notre Dame, Butt saw significant minutes and was
targeted in the red zone several times. He finished with two catches, but that game signified his emergence in the lineup. Last week against Akron, with No. 2 tight end A.J. Williams sidelined because of an ankle injury suffered against the Fighting Irish, Butt stepped into the starting role and caught two passes for 27 yards. His only big mistake was a holding call in the second quarter, but even then, Hoke thought his young tight end was doing solid work. “Jake did a pretty good job,” Hoke said Monday. “They called him for a hold that I would really like somebody to find. The (referee) must have seen it differently. I thought he just dominated the block to be honest with you. Maybe you aren’t allowed to do that, I don’t know. But overall, for a young kid, I think he did a pretty good job.”
The fact that Butt is ahead of guys like Chesson, Reynolds and Jackson in catches might say more about their early performances than it does about his. After fifth-year senior Jeremy Gallon, Michigan needs more production out of their wide receiver corps, regardless of how the tight ends are playing. But if the progression holds, Michigan fans will see a lot of Butt much sooner than expected, and beyond. “When Jake got here in January, we recruited him obviously so we thought he had ability, but I think how he’s progressed through the program has been really positive, from the weights to the academics to all that stuff,” Hoke said last week. “I know we’re very comfortable with Jake. I think he’s got a bright future.”
The longer junior Matt Wile struggles with the Michigan football team’s punting duties, the longer the look coach Brady Hoke gives redshirt freshman Kenny Allen. That’s not to say the Wolverines have a controversy at the punter position on their hands just yet. NOTEBOOK But if Wile continues to be ineffective in next Saturday’s game at Connecticut, Allen might be receiving an increased workload. In a nail-biter against Akron last weekend, Wile managed an average of just 33 yards on four punts. Hoke said Monday that he considered handing the duties over to Allen mid-game but changed his mind because “it wouldn’t have been the right thing for (Wile) and his psyche.” Wile punted the ball out of bounds just 22 yards downfield with about nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and Michigan clinging to a 21-17 lead. Rather than pinning Akron back in its own territory, the shank allowed the Zips to start at their own 33-yard line, and they strung together an 11-play touchdown drive that forced Michigan to respond. Hoke said he won’t make an excuse for Wile because the junior is handling kickoff duties in addition to punting — Wile has been doing both for far too long for that to be a reason for his struggles. “My only analogy is it’s a lot like golf,” Hoke said. “His swing and his drop have to be constant and more consistent.” Akron’s special teams nearly managed to get a piece of one of
Wile’s boots Saturday, and Hoke said it should have been blocked. Poor protection, not anything in Wile’s technique, was to blame for that mishap, according to Hoke. “I have a lot of faith in Matt,” Hoke said. “I kind of coach the punters because … I know what to look for. He’ll be fine.” RYAN REPORT: Hoke said that redshirt junior linebacker Jake Ryan is “feeling pretty good,” adding that “every day, he gets closer.” Ryan has been out since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament on March 19 — the first day of spring camp. With the defense struggling to get consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks through the first three weeks, his return can’t come soon enough. When he does come back, Ryan will be eased into team activities. “I’m the one who’s scared to death,” Hoke said. “I don’t want to bring him back too fast. I think he has got a good gauge on how he feels.” BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD: At approximately 4:07 p.m. Saturday, just after a goal-line stand sealed the win over Akron, the coaching staff decided that Sunday would be a full-pads practice. “They were very receptive,” Hoke said of the team’s reaction to the additional day of work. “Very — I wouldn’t say excited — but they were glad to get back on the field.” Note: Hoke said that both sophomore tight end A.J. Williams (ankle), who missed the Akron game, and senior cornerback Courtney Avery (knee) are much improved. … Sophomore tight end Devin Funchess’ injury scare was just a cramp, according to Hoke. “He’s one of those guys who cramps. … He’s been that way since high school.”
“...It’s a lot like golf.”
In 15th season, Rosen looks for next step By LEV FACHER Daily Sports Writer
Mark Rosen has been the head coach of the Michigan volleyball team since 1999. He’s amassed an all-time record of 295-178 and earned 12 NCAA Tournament bids, five of which have led to Sweet 16 appearances. Despite his experience, Rosen is in unfamiliar territory in 2013. Fresh off the program’s first-ever Final Four berth in 2012, the 10th-ranked Wolverines are dealing with sky-high expectations, both from within the program and the rankings. “Our goal is a national championship,” Rosen said. “No doubt.” Rosen has already coached one team to a national championship, but not at this level — he won it all in his first year as the head coach of Division II Northern Michigan in 1994. Getting that far in the Big Ten, though, is an entirely different animal. The American Volleyball Coaches Association ranked Michigan (7-1) seventh in its preseason poll, the highest preseason ranking the program has ever received in its 41-year history. But Rosen is taking nothing for granted. “We never discuss rankings,” Rosen said. “It doesn’t come up. Those rankings don’t win us any games, and aside from that, there’s always a debate about their accuracy.” But not all the hype can be so easily dismissed. The Wolverines were also recognized on the field at Michigan Stadium on Sept. 7 during the football team’s nighttime tilt with Notre Dame, where an NCAA-record crowd of 115,109 greeted them with a standing ovation. “They reserve that opportunity for really special things,” Rosen said, recalling that he had to explain to the freshmen and sophomores on the team that being honored on the field at the Big House is not, in fact, normal. Being recognized on the field during a football game has been a longtime goal of Rosen’s, and finally getting the chance after 14 years at Michigan was validation
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Michigan coach Mark Rosen celebrated his 500th win as a head coach on Aug. 31 against Xavier.
for all the work that has gone into building up the program to its current level. “A lot of people came here before this team and didn’t get that opportunity, because they didn’t earn it,” Rosen said. If there’s anybody who has earned it, though, it’s Rosen. He earned his 500th win as a head coach on Aug. 31 in a threeset decision at Xavier. Rosen acknowledged the achievement’s significance, but deflected credit to his team and the rest of his coaching staff. “It sounds cliché,” Rosen said, “but I don’t really watch those milestones very much.” Rosen’s path to Michigan would have been difficult to predict early in his life. Growing up in Anchorage, Alaska, Rosen took a circuitous route to becoming Michigan’s sixth head coach. After earning his degree in physical education from Cal State Northridge, Rosen made coaching appearances at Northern Michigan, Boise State and Cal State Bakersfield before landing in Ann Arbor. As unlikely as Rosen’s journey from Anchorage to Ann Arbor may have been, he hasn’t had to do it alone — Rosen’s wife, Leisa, is Michigan’s associate head coach. A fellow Alaskan and former volleyball standout at Ohio
State, Leisa had known Mark casually since her high-school years. The couple began dating after a chance encounter in Los Angeles at the Final Four, which Mark attended as a coach and Leisa as a player for Ohio State. Her alma mater, though, is an afterthought at this point — she’s also been coaching at Michigan for 15 years, and her comparatively brief career as a Buckeye is far in the past. “Leisa’s a great coach,” Rosen said. “Had she not been married to me and had we not been doing this together, she would have very much gone on somewhere else to be a head coach.” The uncommon husband-wife coaching combination doesn’t strike Rosen as odd — he grew up in a similar family structure. Rosen’s father made a living as an accountant, and Rosen’s mother ran the business’ computer department. Rosen thoroughly believes that the family atmosphere is a positive for the program in terms of recruiting and the way it operates in general. “We care greatly about our players, not just as athletes but as student-athletes and as people,” Rosen said. “That’s a lot easier since we have that husband-wife, family atmosphere here.” Even though the two have been
coaching together since 1998, it hasn’t always been so easy. When Mark was the head coach at Cal State Bakersfield in the early 1990s, Leisa was denied a position as an assistant coach because the school’s athletic department wasn’t comfortable with the duo coaching together, according to Mark. Boise State thought otherwise, though, and hired Mark and Leisa as the head coach and recruiting coordinator, respectively, in 1998. After posting an 18-9 record, the couple jumped at a pair of offers from Michigan, where they’ve been ever since. The Rosens have loved their time in Ann Arbor, but having their family so thoroughly intertwined with the Michigan volleyball program presents its fair share of challenges in addition to the perks that come with it — especially for the Rosens’ two sons, Brady and Cameron. “There are benefits, of course, like when they get to be around the football atmosphere (against Notre Dame), the volleyball atmosphere,” Rosen said. But the 15-year veteran also acknowledged that the regular season can be hectic from a parenting perspective. The constant weekend road trips, weeknight games and the grind of yearround recruiting make it more
difficult to be as present as he and Leisa would like. “We try a lot during the offseason to make sure one of us is here all the time,” Rosen said. “That allows us to be a little more normal during the other eight months of the year.” Normal or not, they are at the helm of a team that, for the first time in their careers at Michigan, is a preseason national championship contender. The goal in 2013 is to take the proverbial “next step” — the leap from being a program that finds itself in the Final Four unexpectedly to being a program that expects to be there every year. Despite their consistent success throughout Rosen’s tenure, the Wolverines have never won a Big Ten championship. The biggest reason for the drought is the presence of perennial national title contender Penn State, owner of 10 conference crowns in the last 14 years. Unsurprisingly, the
Tuesday,
Nittany Lions are ranked first nationally, and have started off their season 6-1 with their lone loss coming to No. 6 Texas. “I think it’s great, because we see (Penn State),” Rosen said. “If we’re going to put ourselves in a position to win a national championship, we’re probably going to have to go through them at some point.” For the first time in his career, Rosen seems ideally positioned to win that conference title and make noise on the national stage for the second year in a row. Michigan lost only one senior following last year’s Final Four run — right side hitter Claire McElheny — giving it one of the most experienced rosters in the conference. The Wolverines have age, talent and the experience of making it to the Final Four on their side, meaning that 2013 could be the year Michigan takes that “next step” Rosen talks about so often.