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Ann Arbor, Michigan
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RESEARCH
Nat’l Medal of Science awarded to Ford prof. AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Customers line up outside the new Blimpy Burger location on South Ashley Street before the restaurant’s grand re-opening Friday.
Classic A burger joint picks up where it left off 2
By MICHAEL SUGERMAN Daily Staff Reporter
Rich Magner, the owner of Blimpy Burger, was in the kitchen. He opened the fridge to check on the hamburger meat, which he and his employees still prepare the old-fashioned way: handgrinding it. Once he finished checking the beef, he returned to his vat of onion ring coating, mixing in vinegar and then pouring in a barrel of raw onions. He then
strained the onions before covering them in seasoning and a dry rub. At one point, he turned away from the work and said with a weary grin, “Let’s be honest. The bottom line is that we’re tired.” Blimpy re-opened Friday at 304 South Ashley Street — just over a year after closing its original location on South Division and Packard. The University purchased the property for $1.075 million to construct the $180-million
Munger Graduate Residences. Though it was a rainy, gray morning, nearly two dozen
“It means a lot of things to a lot of people” lined up outside of the burger joint before its opening at 11
a.m. Over the next two hours, the flow of traffic was consistent, with about 40 people in line at any given moment. Magner said they considered closing for an hour Friday to recuperate before opening up shop again for the dinner rush. But really, it’s just business as usual. The restaurant is plastered with polar bear paraphernalia. The most prominent item is a standing, humansized stuffed bear christened See BLIMPY, Page 3A
Robert Axelrod takes interdisciplinary approach to social science inquiry By IAN DILLINGHAM Daily News Editor
President Barack Obama’s Friday announcement of this year’s recipients of the National Medal of Science included, among nine others, University Prof. Robert Axelrod. The award is “our Nation’s highest honors for achievement and leadership in advancing the fields of science and technology,” according to a White House press release. The President will honor Axelrod and his fellow medal recipients with an Oval Office ceremony and dinner. “These scholars and innovators have expanded our understanding of the world, made invaluable contributions to their fields, and helped improve countless lives,” Obama said in a White House press release. “Our nation has been enriched by their achievements, and by all the scientists and technolo-
gists across America dedicated to discovery, inquiry, and invention.” In a Friday interview, Axelrod said he was informed of the award by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy earlier this week. He added that he was especially excited to be the first political scientist to be honored with the award. Axelrod is currently spending the academic year at the U.S. State Department as a Jefferson Science Fellow, a program that promotes cooperation between scientific experts and the government. His areas of focus are national security policy and mathematical models of politics, making his work very interdisciplinary. He encouraged students to branch out and take classes across the University to get a truly interdisciplinary and well-rounded education. “Don’t settle on a focus for your career or your major too early,” he said. “Look around at all kinds of stuff at the University … Find a good teacher and take a course almost regardless of what they’re teaching. Follow your nose in terms of what interests you. You don’t have to explain those interests to anyone else — that’s something that’s See MEDAL, Page 3A
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
ANN ARBOR
Students learn from top seed accelerator
Council to discuss crosswalk ordinance
Silicon Valley business incubator offers office hours to entrepreneurs
a room at TechArb in downtown Ann Arbor to hear the talk and visit office hours with YC officials. MPowered Entrepreneurship hosted the event. LSA senior Saad Jangda, vice president of programs for MPowered, said YC’s visit to the University shows that Michigan’s entrepreneurial icons are noting the University’s startup savvy. “This is big,” Jangda said. “And I keep telling everyone it’s big because it means that people have started noticing that Michigan is a place for entrepreneurship. It’s something we’ve been trying to do for 10 years now.” “It’s not just about Silicon Valley anymore, it’s about the Silicon Mitten.” YC is rated first among business accelerators by publications such as TechCrunch and Forbes. Its three-month-long program provides seed funding, which covers a startup’s expenses See ACCELERATOR, Page 3A
By RACHEL PREMACK Daily News Editor
The Silicon Valley startup business incubator that invested in Reddit, Airbnb and more than 700 other tech companies visited Ann Arbor Friday to hear student pitches and discuss entrepreneurship. Qasar Younis, a partner from Y-Combinator, which accepts less than 3 percent of applicants to its intensive seed accelerator program, as well as Jesse Vollmar, a co-founder of a YCbacked startup, spoke about how to compose a solid team of founders, campus entrepreneurship resources, the value of not working for a corporation and other related topics. More than 100 students crowded into
ROBERT DUNNE/Daily
Student-athletes and their families gather to see the Michigan Football Team Friday outside Schembechler Hall.
Student-athletes support team with Rutgers sendoff
Group gathered as football team battles historic losing streak By CLAIRE BRYAN Daily Staff Reporter
After a tumultuous week for the Athletic Department, the athletic community gathered together to show their support for the football team with a formal send off. Student-athletes, coaches,
athletic administrators and alumni gathered in Schembechler Hall Friday afternoon to cheer on the football team as they boarded the buses to Piscataway, New Jersey for Saturday’s game at Rutgers University. The energy was positive at the indoor field. Pompoms were passed out to students as they created a tunnel down the center of the field. Members of the baseball and volleyball teams came dressed in uniform. “We thought it would be a
great way to show our support for our football team, cheer them on, let them know we got their back and that we are here as a family,” Associate Athletic Director David Ablauf said. The Student Athlete Advisory Council, a committee consisting of representatives from each varsity and club-varsity sport on campus to encourage the student-athlete experience, organized the send off. Similar send offs and homecomings happen often for teams, usually when See SUPPORT, Page 3A
City to revist 2013 legislation to improve pedestrian safety By EMMA KERR Daily Staff Reporter
This week’s Ann Arbor City Council meeting will feature discussion on the implementation of last year’s controversial crosswalk ordinance, a new resolution altering the fees associated with dog ownership, and an updated countywide ordinance aiming to better control and eliminate harmful pollutants within the city through further restriction, among other zoning changes. First Reading: Crosswalk ordinance Following extensive discussion last year regarding pedestrianvehicle interactions, Stephen Kunselman (D–Ward 3) is sponsoring an ordinance that would amend the crosswalk ordinance currently See COUNCIL, Page 3A
Blacked out Rutgers scored its first Big Ten victory, beating Michigan, 26-24
WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 63 LO: 40
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INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 6 ©2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A SUDOKU.....................2A OPINION.....................4A
ARTS........................... 5A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A S P O R T S M O N DAY. . . . . . . . . .1 B