ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
ADMINISTRATION
New chief of UMPD picked after long search Former lieutenant Robert Neumann has been with the police since 1985 By WILL GREENBERG and SAM GRINGLAS Daily News Editors
Robert Neumann, previously a University Police lieutenant, has been selected as the University of Michigan Police Department’s next chief. The appointment is effective immediately. According to a Tuesday press release, Neumann was chosen from a pool of more than 150 applicants. He has served with the UMPD since 1985 and was one of the original six officers to first be sworn into the force in 1990. He became a lieutenant in 1999. Neumann graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy as well as Eastern Michigan University’s School of Police Staff and Command. He is also a Civil Air patrol captain serving as personnel officer and professional development officer
with the Willow Run Composite Squadron and serves on the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority Accident Review Board. “I am humbled and honored to accept this opportunity,” Neumann said in a statement. “Having worked in the department since before it became a sworn police agency, I’ve participated in an incredible transformation of safety and security services at the University. This is a wonderful community in which to work.” In a statement, Eddie Washington Jr., executive director of the Division of Public Safety and Security, lauded Neumann’s contributions to the UMPD. “Bob’s years of successful experience in working with many campus leaders, students and other law enforcement agencies as well as managing several units within the UMPD, contributed to his strong candidacy for this position,” Washington said. “I admire that Bob consistently provides proven integrity and fairness to every situation.” Neumann succeeds current Chief Joe Piersante, who was named chief operations officer for See UMPD, Page 3A
PATRICK BARRON/Daily
Protesters gather on the Diag Tuesday to raise awareness for the recent outbreak of violence against peaceful demonstrations this past week in Venezuela.
Protest exhibits solidarity Over 100 gather to support antigovernment efforts in Venezuela By ALLANA AKHTAR Daily Staff Reporter
While scores of Venezuelans have taken to the streets of Caracas amid anti-government protests, more than 100 people gathered on the Diag Tuesday to show their solidarity with the movement. Last week, three people were killed when Venezuelan security forces used tear gas and weapons to break up the street demonstrations in opposition
to former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s socialist successor, President Nicolás Maduro. On Tuesday, security forces arrested opposition leader Leopoldo López. The 42-year-old economist and Harvard University graduate surrendered himself to soldiers after delivering a heartfelt speech that inspired numerous demonstrations. In response to the unrest in Venezuela, two University students created “SOS Venezuela,” a Facebook event posted less than 24 hours in advance of the Diag rally. The event aimed to raise awareness of the government’s violent intervention in response to the mostly peaceful student-led protests. LSA sophomore Fabiana Diaz and Engineering fresh-
man Fernando Mezquita, the event’s creators, said they felt they needed to bring attention to these protests since the Venezuelan government’s Internet service provider has intermittently blocked the spread of information on Twitter and Facebook. “With all that’s been going on, we’ve been watching the news and we’ve been watching the web with everything that’s been posted and we really feel a sense of patriotism, to say the least, that we have to do what we can to help the situation,” Mezquita said. Born and raised in Venezuela, Mezquita has ties to many people still in the city and facing adversity caused by the government.
“I know people who have been directly affected by what’s going on,” he said. “The streets are covered with tear gas daily, people hear shots in the streets at all times, there are parts of the city that are completely unable to be transited due to burning cars, militia, guards just blocking the. It is total chaos at this point.” Diaz said the protest was successful in bringing the issue to the University community’s attention and spurring dialogue. “I think the event created a lot of awareness, not just for the University students, but in general,” she said. “I think these voices that were heard today are going to keep carrying on; See PROTEST, Page 3A
BUSINESS
GOVERNMENT
BBQ eaterie to fill empty space along E. Liberty
Dingell talks wildlife refuge significance
Tomukun Korean BBQ to connect to established noodles restaurant next door
Congressman hails University’s 10-year partnership with ecology group
By CHRISTY SONG Daily Staff Reporter
Empty since March, the space vacated by the Grand Traverse Pie Company will house a new eaterie by April. Tomukun Noodle Bar business partners Renee Jin, Scott Meinke and Thomas Yon plan to open a Korean barbeque restaurant on East Liberty Street. The new restaurant, named Tomukun Korean Barbecue, is tentatively scheduled to open in April. “Korean barbecue in general is more of a communal experience,” he said. “It’s a place where you go with a few of your See EATERIE, Page 3A
ALEX GALEL/Daily
Barbara Ransby, a professor of Gender & Women’s Studies and African American Studies & History at the University of Chicago, speaks during a sit-in for racial justice in the Shapiro Undergraduate Library Tuesday.
Sit-in calls for racial justice across University system Students occupy UGLi to raise awareness By CAROLINE BARON Daily Staff Reporter
The United Coalition for Racial Justice’s “Speak Out” sit-in event continued the campus discussion on the University’s racial climate as speakers,
alumni and students converged on the Shapiro Undergraduate Library Tuesday night. The sit-in was hosted by the UCRJ, which ran from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., featured free food, speeches, student-organized teach-in sessions, hip-hop performances, film screenings and action planning. It concluded Wednesday morning with coffee and breakfast. The evening opened with an introduction by former Uni-
versity President James Duderstadt and a keynote speech from University alum Barbara Ransby, a professor of history and African-American studies at the University of Chicago. Ransby, a scholar and activist, led several movements on campus while earning her doctorate in History at the University, including a 12-demand reform package advancing racial diversity and inclusiveness. These See JUSTICE, Page 3A
By ALLANA AKHTAR Daily Staff Reporter
The longest-serving member of Congress visited campus Tuesday to commemorate the University’s 10-year partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. Rep. John Dingell (D— Mich.) joined alumni, faculty and students from the School of Natural Resources and the Environment in the Dana Building for a press conference to laud the collaboration’s success. The event was prompted by the Detroit River IWR’s recent
hiring of Catherine Dennis, a SNRE alum. Dennis will join three other SNRE alumni hired by the Detroit River IWR in the last 10 years. The speakers at the conference included SNRE Dean Marie Lynn Miranda, SNRE Prof. Bob Grese and John Hartig, Detroit River IWR refuge manager. The University’s partnership with the Detroit River IWR began, just three years after the project first commenced. The SNRE also partners with the Detroit River IWR for graduate training by sending students to the site to do field-based work and using the Detroit River IWR’s resources to teach critical concepts in landscape architecture. The Detroit River IWR is the only international wildlife refuge in North America and one of the major metropolitan wildlife refuges in the country. See WILDLIFE, Page 3A
title IX today how gender is still in play for female athletes at the ‘U’
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 71 ©2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A SUDOKU.....................2A OPINION.....................4A
ARTS........................... 5A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A T H E S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . .1 B