ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Ann Arbor, Michigan
TRANSPORATION
A NEW
Bus service plagued by high-profile incidents Drivers say uptick is due to influx of new drivers By JENNIFER CALFAS Daily Staff Reporter
Within the past few months, there have been a slew of incidents involving the University’s Blue Buses. A driver left a bus running and unattended for hours off campus. A bus became stuck after failing to make the small turnaround near the Michigan Union. A driver crashed into and destroyed a bus stop and two students were injured after falling out of a bus when the vehicle’s rear door malfunctioned. The Blue Bus driving staff is comprised of a 50:50 ratio of student drivers to unionized drivers, according to Jason Bidwell, Transportation Manager at Parking and transportation services. Some of the union drivers are permanent PTS staff members, while student drivers work on a temporary basis during their time at the University. Cultivating a staff is no easy task. It takes a significant amount of knowledge to drive a Blue Bus as employees are responsible for the livelihood of students, faculty and staff in transit. The University’s training
course is two weeks. The first week of training takes place in a small classroom setting where potential drivers learn about the vehicles, how to drive safely and how to interact with riders. Trainees must test at a minimum score requirement to move onto the next section. Next, trainees shadow and operate a bus with a licensed driver to gain a better understanding of each route. Since the training process is time demanding, it usually takes place at the beginning of the summer. Once drivers are accepted into their positions, they have the summer season to hone driving skills before fall semester. Over this past year, the number of student drivers has decreased, forcing some permanent drivers to work overtime. PTS executive director Stephen Dolen said student drivers’ shifts are based on their academic schedules, which can make it challenging to cover a student driver’s position when last-minute academic demands arise. “If we had a deeper bench, so to speak, to go to, it’d be more efficient and sufficient to get business covered,” Dolen said. “We need a deeper bench.” However, Dolen believes the driver shortage is not to blame for the recent incidents. Art & Design sophomore See BUS, Page 3
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Members of the Navy ROTC raise the flag in the Diag in honor of Veteran’s Day on Monday morning.
FACULTY GOVERNANCE
SACUA talks consolidation LSA heads express concern with cost-cutting process By STEPHANIE SHENOUDA Daily Staff Reporter
The latest meeting of the Senate Advisory Committee for University Affairs was spent learning about the concerns of LSA faculty and staff members regarding the recent efforts to cut costs. The reduction of vendor cuts and consolidation of support
services like finance and human resources is a part of the Administrative Services Transformation Project, an administrative initiative intended to improve financial efficiency and meet a $120-million savings goal by 2017. Following the lift of a gag order among department chairs regarding the initiative, History Department Chair Kathleen Canning summarized the concerns of LSA faculty but emphasized that she wasn’t the group’s formal representative. She discussed a letter to University Provost Martha Pollack and other administrators
authored by 16 department heads. Canning explained that most of the concerns as department chairs are procedural, including the fact that faculty and staff will have to reapply for their positions. Canning felt the process was rapid and poorly communicated, and that the situation “lacked transparency.” She added that the project has progressed without consulting faculty chairs. “We need to know who was driving the process, who owned and who’s accountable for the fall out it will cause,” Canning said. “We were subject to a gag order,
which is quite unprecedented, meaning we weren’t allowed to talk to anyone — even in our department — about this process.” SACUA member Charlie Koopmann said the silencing of employees has been a continuing trend throughout the last half of President Mary Sue Coleman’s tenure, citing various instances where employees issued a gag order. “The disability to speak is a trademark of the second half of Coleman’s presidency,” he said. See SACUA, Page 3
BUSINESS
Alumni startup aims to simplify restaurant rankings Users rank top-five restaurants on MyFab5 site By CLAIRE BRYAN For The Daily
After becoming frustrated with long Yelp reviews and misleading Foursquare rankings, recent University alums Omeid Seirafi-Pour and Calvin
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Winona LaDuke, a Native American environmental activist, is presented with a certification of her Vistiting Professorship by students of the Native American Student Association at Rackham Ampitheater on Monday.
Environmental activist talks culture’s impact Native American writer discusses community’s role in sustainable future By YIJIA ZHOU For The Daily
Drums and chants at Rackham Amphitheater on Monday evening welcomed Winona LaDuke, an American Indian environ-
WEATHER TOMORROW
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mental activist, as she spoke about the ways in which Native Americans are building a greener economy. As part of Native Heritage Month, the event was intended by its sponsors to raise awareness about Native American communities and their roles in creating a sustainable future. LaDuke talked about how people in today’s society have become addicted to fossil fuel energy, and that in order to change the situation, people
need to go back to local communities and work on sustainable energy. The Native American Student Association co-sponsored the event with a number of student organizations. LSA junior Isa Gaillard, chair of NASA, said he hopes the event illustrates Native Americans’ dedication to the environment. “We hope it will raise awareness of Native American communities and show how See ACTIVIST, Page 3
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Schemanski decided to create an easy way to find the best food in town. “I was trying to use my phone just to find a place for us to eat, and it was the same pain: I was spending like half an hour reading reviews before I could decide if a place was going to be worth it or not,” Schemanski said. Seirafi-Pour, a 2011 graduate, returned to Ann Arbor to work with Schemanski to
found MyFab5 in the summer of 2012. John Gulbronson, a 2011 Michigan Engineering graduate, joined the team in January 2013. The company is currently operating out of the University’s TechArb, a startup accelerator. MyFab5 isn’t your typical rating system. Instead of ranking restaurants on a scale, users pick their top-five restaurants within particular food See STARTUP, Page 3
MISSING STUDENT
Student returns home after he was reported missing by friends Girlfriend, mother decline to comment on where Stevens had been By MATT SLOVIN Managing Editor
At about 8:15 a.m. Monday, Engineering junior Luke Stevens, missing since early Sunday, returned via taxi to his Michigan Avenue apartment where he was last seen, according to police and friends.
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Stevens was at University Hospital with his girlfriend, LSA junior Alison O’Brien, when O’Brien was reached by phone Monday morning. “He’s fine,” O’Brien said. “He’s just really cold.” O’Brien declined to comment further. Stevens’ mother, Deborah Stevens, said her son is currently recovering, adding that she was worried when her son went missing and he had never disappeared like this before. Stevens said she would prefer not to explain her son’s disappearance on Sunday. “I just want to thank the
Vol. CXXIV, No. 27 ©2013 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
entire community for their support and for all the people that searched for him,” Stevens said. “The outcome turned out good, and we are so thankful for that.” Noah Balsmeyer, president of the University’s chapter of the Triangle Fraternity, said members of the fraternity were worried about Stevens and were in the process of forming a search party when they heard the announcement Monday morning that he was safe. “The members of triangle are very relieved to see he was See MISSING, Page 3
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS....................5
SPORTS.........................6 SUDOKU........................ 2 CL ASSIFIEDS.................6