Posts by Chris Herring
‘U’ lecturers’ union endorses Deitch, Ilitch for Board of Regents
By Chris Herring, written on Oct. 30, 2008
Jacob Smilovitz
Daily Staff Reporter
With less than a week until Election Day, the labor union that represents University of Michigan lecturers have endorsed a pair of candidates vying to join the University’s Board of Regents.
The Lecturers’ Employee Organization threw its support behind incumbent Larry Deitch and newcomer Denise Ilitch, both of whom are Democrats from Bingham Farms.
Ian Robinson, LEO’s Ann Arbor campus co-chair and a lecturer in the Residential College, said members of his group feel connected to the regents and the work they do.
“We actually talk with the regents regularly about policy issues, so we have some real knowledge of their positions of relevance to our work,” he said.
The Graduate Employee Organization, which represents GSIs, has yet to endorse regent candidates. Neither group plans to back a presidential candidate. They each deferred that endorsement to their parent organization, the American Federation of Teachers, which supports Democratic nominee Barack Obama earlier this year.
‘U’ receives $3.8M grant for kidney research
By Chris Herring, written on Oct. 28, 2008
The Medical School’s Division of Nephrology has received a five-year, $3.8 million research grant to conduct kidney research.
The grant, from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, will allow the University to further investigate prevention strategies and develop diagnoses for those with kidney ailments.
The University, which has garnered NIDDK funding every year since 1988, was one of just seven schools to receive the grant.
Johnson & Johnson purchases ‘U’ start-up company
By Chris Herring, written on Oct. 28, 2008
HealthMedia Inc., a University of Michigan start-up company, has been purchased by pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, the University announced in a press release.
The company, which provides Web-based health advice by joining advanced technology with behavioral science, has about 140 employees. They all will stay in Ann Arbor despite the transaction.
Though details of the transaction were not disclosed, the release said the sale should net the University about $1.7 million of money that will later be reinvested into research initiatives at the University.
“This success is a good example of how the University of Michigan can be an engine for economic change and growth in the state,” said Stephen Forrest, the University’s vice president for research, in the release.
HealthMedia, founded in 1998, is a product of the University’s Tech Transfer Office. Prior to purchasing the company, Johnson & Johnson served as its customer.
University President Mary Sue Coleman has served on Johnson & Johnson’s board of directors since 2003.
ITCS officials vow to create transparency, open lines of communication
By Chris Herring, written on Sep. 24, 2008
By Matt Aaronson
Daily Staff Reporter
Alan Levy, communications director of the University’s Information Technology Central Services and Dana Fair, marketing communications specialist of ITCS, took the floor early in Tuesday’s MSA meeting to talk about increasing the flow of feedback between students and the department.
“We want to develop a process for day-to-day problems that students have,” Fair said. He explained that in order to do that, better communication with student organizations like MSA is necessary.
Each spoke a lot about being more transparent and creating more outreach. Fair insisted the first step toward that would be to establish better lines of communication.
“In terms of understanding all that ITCS is and all the services they offer, it’s not always crystal clear,” he said.
Levy used speaking his time to discuss ITCS’s “Be Aware You’re Uploading” (BAYU) program, a notification system that informs students when they might be uploading or downloading something illegally.
One representative on the assembly asked what type of information is collected and stored about students in the system. Levy responded by saying that the content of uploads is never part of the data ITCS sees or collects. He said ITCS only stores data about when uploading activity takes place and the type of software that facilitates the upload.
“Data is retained for one week, and then it is gone,” he said.
An attempted resolution proposal
Ann Arbor resident and anti-Israel activist Blaine Coleman and a woman who claimed her name was Abeer Hamza tried to propose a resolution “to boycott apartheid-Israel, and to stop apartheid on campus.”
The resolution, handed out to the assembly in a packet, listed three items in its summary: “Boycott all Israeli products,” “Take that $1 trillion you’re spending to kill Muslims, and spend it instead on rebuilding Detroit,” and “Stop 400 years of white privilege—the University should admit every black high school graduate.” As a number of assembly members got up to leave during his speech, Coleman remarked “If you’re against rebuilding Detroit, you’ll want to leave the room now.”
MSA President Sabrina Shingwani reminded the assembly that everyone who takes the floor at meetings is entitled to the same freedom of speech. (Though it’s unclear whether Coleman had a right to be there. More on that later)
The woman who identified herself as Abeer Hamza called Israel “a major force of destruction” and claimed that if “all the things that Israel has done” had been done by another country, the assembly “would be here every night passing resolutions.”
After the speakers finished, Shingwani told the assembly there is currently no such resolution and that the proper procedure for proposing such a resolution had not been followed.
Later, Student General Counsel Michael Benson reiterated the importance of respecting the First Amendment rights of those voicing their opinions before the Assembly. He ripped up his copy of the proposal, as another student representative already had, before yielding back his time.
As for Coleman, he left the meeting when he realized someone from MSA had notified the Department of Public Safety of his appearance at the meeting. Coleman has been told not to return to University property by campus police because of his involvement in past incidents.
On election day, voter mobilization groups complains about Ind. voter ID law
By Chris Herring, written on May. 6, 2008
A group promoting student voting rights today voiced concerns about a recently upheld Supreme Court decision that requires Indiana residents to present identification before being allowed to vote.
The voter mobilization group, New Voters Project, recently sent out an e-mail message to the media arguing that the voter ID law kept students from being able to vote in today’s election.
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that an Indiana mandate for voters to provide photo ID was not unconstitutional, and that in many ways the requirement would limit voter fraud and “ballot-box stuffing.” Democrats, who brought the case before the Supreme Court, were largely disappointed with the ruling.
Observing the divided Democrats
By Chris Herring, written on May. 6, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS — Though the unofficial theme for Sunday night’s Democratic Party fundraising dinner was party unity, those who attended the event often showed discord.
Even those who didn’t attend the actual dinner took part in the clash that took place beforehand. As about 75 people supporting Sen. Barack Obama stood outside the Indiana Convention Center where the event took place, another 50 or so yelled from the other side of Maryland Street for their candidate, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Both groups were fully decked out in their Clinton and Obama T-shirts. On the Obama side, one woman stood out from the rest, holding up a large blue sign that read “Hope.” Seven women on the opposite sidewalk held up a gold-colored balloon each, spelling out “Hillary.” The groups chanted at each other for about a half hour leading up to the beginning of the dinner, with the Obama side screaming, “Yes we can!” and the Clinton side shouting, “Yes she will!” Many of the people driving down Maryland Street during the demonstration honked, rolling down their windows so that they could indicate which candidate they were supporting by yelling his or her name out loud.
Once the event itself began, things became less raucous, but were still nearly as noticeable.
Because the room was largely divided to separate Clinton and Obama supporters — who in some cases paid $5,000 per table — certain parts of the room fell awkwardly silent at times.
When Clinton took the stage, and her image appeared on the two large projection screens on either side of the room, her supporters roared with applause. Meanwhile, more than a few Obama supporters sneered, pointing out that the New York senator still had gum in her mouth as she began her speech.
“Who chews gum during a speech when they’re trying to become the president?” one Obama supporter asked, talking to the person sitting next to him at his table.
Possibly sensing the divisions in the room, Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean, who spoke between the two Democratic presidential candidates, urged the crowd to back whoever represents the party in November, only to receive a tepid applause from a minority of the audience.
“I understand that there are people who are deeply committed to their candidate and go out to campaign and support. But the truth is, the only thing that can stop us from winning the presidency is ourselves,” he said, drawing blank stares from some attendees. “It’s hard if your candidate isn’t the one who wins. But it’s important to remember that in the long run, this is not about Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. This is about our country.”
And when Obama first came up, things seemed just as divided. Though the entire crowd of about 2,600 Indiana Democrats rose when Obama approached the podium to catch a glimpse of the Illinois senator, many Clinton supporters didn’t clap for him. Instead, they only wanted to see the candidate who in a few short months has reached almost rock-star status.
During his talk, one Clinton supporter drew ugly stares from a few of her tablemates when she clapped in agreement with Obama’s criticism of businesses who file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to avoid having to pay workers’ benefits.
Numerous Clinton supporters left the convention center prior to Obama finishing his speech at 9:45 p.m.
For what it’s worth, though, almost all of those who stayed — the Clinton side included — gave the Illinois senator a standing ovation as he concluded his speech.
Clinton, Obama talk hoops in Hoosier State
By Chris Herring, written on May. 4, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS — Though polls suggest that Indiana residents are pretty much split when it comes to choosing between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, it is relatively safe to say that Hoosiers have one thing they can agree on one thing: Basketball.
Because of that, both candidates have invoked the sport in their stump speeches while campaigning throughout the state, which votes Tuesday.
Speaking Wednesday night before about 15,000 students at Indiana University, Obama said one of his first duties as president would be to replace the White House’s bowling alley with something that fit his style better.
“I’m going to take out the bowling alley and put in a basketball court and play some Hoosier basketball,” he said, drawing thunderous ovation from a crowd that views basketball similar to the way Michigan fans think of football.
Talking about the economy here last night, Clinton said she’d allow the nation to “play both defense and offense” as president “which is particularly appropriate for people in such a great basketball state as this.”
“We’re going to play defense by going after single benefit that remains in the tax code that gives one penny of your tax dollars to any business that moves a job out of Indiana to a foreign country,” she said.
Clinton then said that America would go back on offense with her as commander in chief. “We’re going to get back offense to create jobs and create wealth and get more people a shot at the American dream,” said Clinton, adding that she would invest more in the manufacturing industry if elected.
She then said she’d call a “timeout” on NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, so the plan could be renegotiated for the future. Clinton said the agreement, viewed negatively in some areas that were once heavily industrial areas, has cost Indiana many of the 45,000 manufacturing jobs it has lost since 2000 because of outsourcing.
Athletic Dept. reverses field, rescinds new football ticket policy
By Chris Herring, written on Mar. 24, 2008
Facing criticism for a new policy that would have given incoming freshmen seating priority over some graduate students at football games, the Athletic Department has now scrapped the plan.
Originally, the policy would have given first priority to undergraduate seniors and then to graduate students who obtained degrees from the University. The thing that infuriated some, though, was what priority other graduate students would have received. Through the original plan, grad students who obtained degrees at others schools would have had the lowest priority — even below incoming freshmen.
According to the e-mail, sent earlier this afternoon to the student body, the policy will now give priority to students with the most credit hours.
The Athletic Department said one policy change would remain. Because of student ticket demand, the department will not offer partner tickets for a student’s spouse, child or domestic partner as it has in the past.
Student tickets are on sale at www.MGoBlue.com/tickets until this Friday, March 28 at 5 p.m.
Kevorkian running for Congress?
By Chris Herring, written on Mar. 12, 2008
Jack Kevorkian, the 80-year-old most famously (or infamously) known for assisting many of his patients with suicide, could run for Congress.
This piece in The Oakland Press, which Kevorkian told that he planned to run as an independent in Michigan’s 9th Congressional District, has raised eyebrows since it was published earlier today.
The former physician was sentenced to 10 to 25 years of prison after he was found guilty of second-degree murder — a charge that stemmed from an assisted suicide he filmed and showed on television. He spent eight years in prison before being released last year, when he was paroled.
Kevorkian, who would need at least 3,000 signatures by mid-July to appear on the November ballot, told The Oakland Press the nation needs “some honesty and sincerity instead of corrupt government in Washington.”
He’d be running in the 9th Congressional District, where incumbent U.S. Rep Joe Knollenberg has held the seat for eight terms. Knollenberg is running for reelection.
City Council awards liquor license to local golf course
By Chris Herring, written on Feb. 5, 2008
By Sara Lynne Thelen
Daily Staff Reporter
The Ann Arbor City Council awarded the city’s Leslie Park Golf Course a liquor license last night, denying Kerrytown shop Everyday Cook and Wines a license in the process.
Council members voted 8-2 to award Leslie Park Golf Course the license.
Prior to the vote, Mary Campbell and Ron Sober, owners of Everyday Cook and Wines, urged City Council members to consider how their shop and Kerrytown as a whole could benefit by obtaining a liquor license.
Having a liquor license would have allowed Everyday Cook and Wines to sell liquor and given the shop’s customers the right to consume liquor there.
Ultimately, though, the council members voted to give the license to Leslie Park Golf Course instead, saying it would benefit more people there.
Because the liquor license is cheaper than normal — it only cost $2,000 — both the golf course and the Kerrytown shop were incredibly interested in obtaining it. Seven other shops had applied for the license.
The license will give a boost to Leslie Park Golf Course, which has struggled along Huron Hills Golf Course over the past few years. Together, a 2006 report projected that the courses could lose the city of Ann Arbor $4 million over the next six years.