Posts by Dave Mekelburg
MSA Musings — The presidential resignation meeting, 12-4-07
By Dave Mekelburg, written on Dec. 5, 2007
Zack Yost resigned the Michigan Student Assembly presidency at last night’s meeting.
The meeting was held in Hussey Room of the Michigan League instead of MSA chambers. For those of you confused by the switch, it was not an attempt to hide the meeting, but in fact, it was done to accomodate the large expected audience. And the audience was certainly large.
About 90 people sat in chairs, lined the walls and crowded the back door to get a glimpse of Yost. This is a far cry from the average three to five onlookers at meetings.
A sign-up sheet was passed around for anyone who wanted to speak during the community concerns portion at the start of the meeting, and about seven people put their names on the list.
Yost, normally a significant presence before meetings, was noticeably absent from the full room. He walked in about 12 minutes after the meeting’s 8 p.m. planned start time. He came in wearing a large overcoat and his entrance silenced the agitated crowd.
He approached his chair, threw off his coat and aggressively banged his gavel despite an already silent audience. He appeared upset and his voice wavered before he loudly and hurriedly called the meeting to order.
After a few minor changes to the agenda, Yost asked to address the assembly. He stood up and walked to a podium that was set up in a front corner of the room. He then delivered the speech. For a video of the speech click here.
Despite appearing upset when he entered the room, Yost spoke firmly and loudly during the speech. At times, he was nearly yelling, especially when he spoke about how much he loves the University.
Several MSA representatives teared up while Yost was speaking, and a few were sobbing hard.
When Yost finished speaking, he hugged Mohammad Dar, the vice president who is now assuming the presidency, and told him, “You go get ‘em, you understand me?” He then whispered a few more words in Dar’s ear and walked out the door.
As Yost walked out, Dar was being sworn in, and a significant portion of the audience began slowly making their way out of the room.
After Dar was sworn in, a brief recess was called, despite the pleas from MSA Rep. Liana Mulholland, who — rightly — said that the audience would leave with a recess. Roughly half of the representatives left the room during the recess to hug Yost, who was waiting outside.
For about 20 minutes, Yost chatted with well-wishers and friends before leaving with his parents through the side staircase.
The 90-person audience fell to 11 — plus two reporters from The Michigan Daily — once the assembly reconvened.
The people who had signed up to address the assembly regarding Yost apparently left, as well. There were no community concerns speakers addressing Yost’s situation.
MSA Musings — A frosty meeting, 11-27-07
By Dave Mekelburg, written on Nov. 28, 2007
As the temperature plummeted outside last night, the atmosphere in the Michigan Student Assembly chambers was getting equally chilly. For those of you that haven’t yet checked out the story, you should probably take a look now.
Last night’s MSA meeting started off relatively smoothly, and the pre-meeting calm was unusual given elections start tonight at midnight. After a brief update from election director and LSA senior Ryan Bouchard, the community concerns portion of the meeting, where constituents and representatives can address the assembly, began.
It was here that MSA Rep. Kenneth Baker dropped his bomb on the assembly. After Baker read his prepared statement regarding the Facebook.com group that insulted MSA Rep. Tim Hull, lines were drawn in the sand.
Some representatives, including MSA reps. Stella Binkevich and Randal Seriguchi, spoke out against Baker for making the information public. Others, like MSA Rep. Liana Mulholland, defended Baker’s decision to speak during the meeting. Most of the discussion focused on whether Baker should be using time at the Tuesday night meetings for issues like this. After Seriguchi echoed Binkevich’s concerns, a few representatives snapped in approval.
The debate over the issue ended after LSA junior Maricruz Lopez, the Defend Affirmative Action Party, related the Facebook group to the KKK, saying the discrimination against the disabled with the group was akin to that of the hate group. She also said that an apology wouldn’t change the fact that the group was created, just as an apology couldn’t change the American annexation of Hawaii.
MSA Musings — No Passing Judgment Meeting, 11-13-07
By Dave Mekelburg, written on Nov. 14, 2007
The agenda for last night’s Michigan Student Assembly meeting was unusually light, with no resolutions to vote on and a short list of community concerns. But that doesn’t mean things didn’t get heavy.
During the community concerns portion of the meeting, MSA Rep. Kenny Baker made an impassioned speech detailing the faults of the current assembly. He defended MSA Rep. Tim Hull, who has come under fire for his letter to the editor in Monday’s Daily, in which he accuses MSA of having an exclusive, elitist culture.
Baker then said the legal troubles of MSA Rep. Anton Vuljaj were becoming a distraction for the assembly, and that if Vuljaj is found guilty, he must resign.
Baker finished his speech by saying the assembly had lost touch with the student body, as evidenced by the mere 10 percent of the student population that have turned out for the last two elections. Baker also said the assembly had become unable to affect real change with the University administration, using the assembly’s inability to slow down rising tuition rates while the administration undertook expensive building projects as an example of their lack of sway.
MSA Musings — Beat the Buckeyes… or else Meeting, 11-6-07
By Dave Mekelburg, written on Nov. 7, 2007
Correction appended: Advice Online is a website designed to allow students to have access to class evaluations.
For most University students, supporting the football team against Ohio State is a natural part of campus life. Why then, did it take a narrow 21-13 vote to pass a resolution supporting a week of pep rally events in preparation for the game at last night’s Michigan Student Assembly meeting?
The answer is twofold: the Athletic Department and MSA’s Budget Priorities Committee. MSA Rep. Kenny Baker was the first to bring up concerns that the Athletic Department wasn’t providing any funding for the event, and MSA was being asked to carry a heavy financial burden. Several reps echoed his sentiments.
MSA Rep. Max Nowak, who sponsored the anti-Big Ten Network resolution last week, said this provided an opportunity for MSA to stand up against what he said was the Athletic Department continually stepping on students’ toes.
The other opposition to the proposal centered on the fact that the student group that was sponsoring the event, the Student Athlete Advisory Council, hadn’t used the proper methods to obtain funding. The council is a registered MSA student group, which means that it should go through BPC to acquire funding, which it did not.
BPC, which has recently been in the news, reviews all allocation of funding for student groups.
Because of the time-dependent nature of the event, resolution sponsor and MSA Rep. Michael Moses said they needed the money immediately and a proposal was the easiest way to ensure that fact.
In the end, the anti-Buckeye school spirit won out, and a slew of events will occur next week.
As Moses said of the resolution before the debate, “A vote for this is a vote for the University of Michigan.”
MSA Musings — Halloween Meeting, 10-30-07
By Dave Mekelburg, written on Oct. 31, 2007
It was a Halloween-themed Michigan Student Assembly meeting last night, and several members of the assembly dressed accordingly. During the meeting, a secret-ballot election took place to decide which member had the best costume.
MSA reps. Anton Vuljaj, Gibran Baydoun, Sabrina Shingwani, Nate Fink and Arvind Sohoni dressed as the Flintstones and won the coveted best costume award. According to MSA President Zack Yost, the prize would be Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
MSA rep. accused of crimes to step down from BPC chair
By Dave Mekelburg, written on Oct. 29, 2007
Michigan Student Assembly Rep. Anton Vuljaj will be stepping aside from his role as Budget Priorities Committee chair, according to a Viewpoint submitted to the Daily early this morning by MSA President Zack Yost.
Vuljaj and Engineering senior Joel Alan Schweitzer have been charged with use of a computer to commit a crime — a felony with pnealties of up to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine — and interference with an electronic communication device, a high court misdemeanor with penalties of up to two years in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The charges stem from an attack on an MSA party’s website during the March 2006 election.
Vuljaj will not be stepping down from his position as a representative on MSA.
He will be stepping down from the BPC position to take time to deal with the police and other personal matters, according to Yost’s Viewpoint.
University nominates five for Rhodes, Marshall scholarships
By Dave Mekelburg, written on Oct. 17, 2007
Correction appended: Loc Vinh Thang is a first-year Engineering graduate student, not an Engineering freshman.
Though the University’s policies for nominating and aiding candidates for prestigious scholarships like the Rhodes and Marshall have been scrutinized, the University announced Monday that it has nominated five candidates for the Marshall and Rhodes scholarships. Rhodes scholars are afforded the opportunity to study at the University of Oxford, while the Marshall scholarships cover the expenses of studying anywhere in the United Kingdom.
The Rhodes scholarship nominees are:
LSA senior Michael Cromwell
Alum Stephanie Ketchum
First-year Engineering graduate student Loc Vinh Thang
The Marshall scholarship nominees are:
Alum Colin Lee Tucker
Alum Thomas Patrick Wisniewski
Homecoming Court nominees announced
By Dave Mekelburg, written on Oct. 2, 2007
For the first time in 10 years, the University will have a true Homecoming celebration. Part of this celebration includes crowning a Homecoming king and queen.
The nominees for Homecoming King are:
LSA senior Marcus Williams
Engineering junior Cody Martin
LSA senior Steven Crompton
LSA junior Neil Tambe
Medical School student William Rhoades
LSA senior Eric Li
LSA senior Phil Drazewski
LSA senior Jen Hsu
Business School senior Michael Parke
LSA senior Jared Averbuch
The nominees for Homecoming Queen are:
LSA junior Leslie Zaikas
LSA senior Gabrielle Sims
LSA junior Jenny Howard
LSA senior Stella Binkevich
Public Policy junior Elle Beard
LSA senior Emily Gomes
LSA junior Courtney Peterson
LSA senior Yazzy Troche
LSA junior Dina Al-Joburi
LSA senior Atasi Satpathy
Central Student Judiciary nominations approved by MSA
By Dave Mekelburg, written on Oct. 2, 2007
At tonight’s Michigan Student Assembly meeting, the assembly ratified the nominees for the Central Student Judiciary. The list of names was provided to the assembly by CSJ after an intensive interview process.
The one-semester term appointees are:
LSA student Alanna Holt
Law School student C. Kirk Mangels
The two-semester term appointees are:
Law School student Marcus Bachs-Armas
LSA student Natasha Luppov
LSA student Paul Moura
Law student Sonya Mays
LSA student Brian Choice
University Research Corridor provides 68,803 new jobs, study says
By Dave Mekelburg, written on Sep. 13, 2007
In the face of rising tuition and a failing football team, University students finally have something to be proud about.
As the Daily reported on Monday, the University Research Corridor — the collection of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University — has created 68,803 new jobs for the state of Michigan, according to an independent study done by Anderson Economic Group.
The three research universities provide $12.8 billion in net additional earnings for state residents. This figure stems from the non-payroll costs, such as equipment, and the money that additional students spend in their local communities. The study assumed that most of the students would have still gone to college and that university employees would have found jobs elsewhere in the state.
Compared to counterpart corridors in states like Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York, Michigan’s contains by far the most students with 133,331 students per year.