Posts by Julie Rowe
Sen. Ted Kennedy introduces bill to expand national service programs
By Julie Rowe, written on Sep. 12, 2008
Sen. Edward Kennedy will soon introduce bill which aims to recruit 175,000 Americans into national service in the areas of health care, education, energy and the environment.
The “Serve America Act” is the first major piece of legislation Kennedy has introduced since being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May, The Boston Globe reported.
“Time and again we’ve learned that large numbers of Americans are ready, willing, able, and even eager to be involved in service, and that all we have to do is ask them to do so,” Kennedy, D-Mass., said in a statement. “The Serve America Act will ask. It will connect every generation through service, and enable them to help tackle a wide range of national challenges, from the dropout crisis that plagues our schools to the lack of health care in our neediest communities to the energy and environmental crises that threatens our planet.”
The bill would increase the number of national service program participants to 250,000.
Sen. John McCain, along with Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), proposed the expansion of the AmeriCorps to 250,000 volunteers in 2001 with the “Call to Service Act,” although McCain has not yet added a national service plan to his 2008 presidential campaign platform.
Obama’s national service plan, outlined on his website, proposes more than tripling the number of AmeriCorps volunteers to 250,000 and doubling the number of Peace Corps members to 16,000 by 2011. His plan would also see the creation of several new service organizations, including:
-Classroom Corps, a group of volunteers to help K-12 students and teachers
-Green Jobs Corps, providing disadvantaged youth with training, job and service opportunities working with energy-efficient technologies
-Health Corps to supplement public heath outreach programs
-Homeland Security Corps, a group of volunteers who would work in disaster and emergency response programs
-Veteran Corps, to provide hospitals, nursing homes and homeless shelters with volunteers to assist veterans
His plan also called for middle and high school students complete 50 hours of community service each year. College students would be given a $4,000 tax credit for completing 100 hours of community service in one year.
Freon spill at Main St. and Huron St.
By Julie Rowe, written on Sep. 11, 2008
Both lanes of eastbound Huron St. between Fifth Ave. and Main St. were closed for a few hours this afternoon while the Ann Arbor Fire Department and Hazardous Materials team contained a spill of the refrigerant Freon an alley.
At 12:00, three women called 911 after walking past an alley behind National City Bank because they were experiencing difficulty breathing. They were treated by paramedics and released at the scene.
When firefighters and police arrived on the scene, the cordoned off a full city block to contain the spill, which AAFD Battalion Chief Robert Vogel said originated from a damaged refrigerator. The refrigerator, he said, was a prop used by the Performance Network Theater.
The spill was contained within an hour and 15 minutes, Vogel said.
Thieves take 5,000 pounds of lead bricks from Duderstadt Center
By Julie Rowe, written on Jul. 2, 2008
Two hundred lead bricks were reported stolen from outside the North Campus library. The bricks, painted blue and weighing 25 pounds each, are used to contain radiation in scientific experiments.
The bricks were stacked in the loading dock area of the Duderstadt Center and were taken sometime between 8 p.m. last Friday and 5 p.m. Monday, said Department of Public Safety Lt. Bob Neumann told the Ann Arbor News.
More commuter colleges are adding residence halls, including the University of Michigan at Flint
By Julie Rowe, written on Jun. 29, 2008
Georgia State University, once populated solely by commuter students, built dorms on campus to increase enrollment. It worked. The school built luxury residence halls, added to their athletic programs and increased student activities.
”Students say it makes it a ‘real university,”’ Georgia State President Carl Patton told the Associate Press while sitting in the campus’ airy student center. ”What they mean is, ‘You have sports, you have an honors program, you have fraternities and sororities, you have freshman housing, you have places to eat on campus and you have a theater to go to.”’
University of Michigan administrators hope the first residence hall on the Flint campus, approved last year and scheduled to open this fall, will have similar effects. Administrators want to increase enrollment in Flint from 6,500 to 8,000 students by 2010.
“This beautiful, state-of-the-art housing for students will enhance the campus, while helping U-M-Flint achieve its goal of increasing enrollment,” University President Mary Sue Coleman said in a press release.
Increasing enrollment would add revenue to the University’s purse and could have a positive effect on the poor economy of Flint, which is still suffering the loss of automotive manufacturing jobs.
As GSU transitioned to a more traditional campus, restaurants and other businesses followed. When Temple University in North Philadelphia more than doubled the number of enrolled students because of the addition of residence halls, an $80 million complex with student housing, a movie theater and a shopping center was built in what was once a “decaying neighborhood” according to the Associated Press report.
“University housing in downtown Flint will be a part of the vitality of downtown and beyond,” said Regent Olivia Maynard, who lives in Flint, in a press release.
Obama personally apologizes to University alum denied seating during Detroit speech
By Julie Rowe, written on Jun. 19, 2008
After two Muslim women were told they weren’t allowed to sit behind the stage at a campaign speech because they wore headscarves Monday, Sen. Barack Obama called the women to personally apologize today.
One of the women, University alum Shimaa Abdelfadeel, said volunteers told her no one with anything on their heads — including scarves and baseball caps — were allowed to sit behind the stage.
Abdelfadeel and her friend who was also told to sit elsewhere, Hebba Aref, sent The Michigan Daily this statement:
At the rally for Senator Obama in Detroit on Monday, June 16, two volunteers denied us seating behind the stage the Senator would soon take. The volunteers informed us that we were not allowed to sit in that area due to the hijab, the headscarf that each of us was wearing.
This incident was unfortunate and extremely disappointing. Senator Obama has called us each to personally convey his deepest apologies and acknowledge that this was inexcusable. We both immensely appreciate the Senator’s phone call and his commitment to remedy this issue. We commend him for displaying qualities befitting an effective President. We acknowledge that this injustice has been taken seriously and that Senator Obama does not tolerate discrimination against Arabs, Muslims or any community. We are assured that he and his staff are committed to upholding the principles of justice for all peoples and bringing about change we can believe in. The infringement on our rights occurred and has been addressed; now we are ready to move forward. We will continue to support Senator Obama in his campaign and wish him the best as the race continues.
Regards,
Shimaa Abdelfadeel
Hebba Aref
Obama released the following statement:
I reached out to Ms. Aref and Ms. Abdelfadeel this afternoon. I spoke with Ms. Abdelfadeel, and expressed my deepest apologies for the incident that occurred with volunteers at the event in Detroit. The actions of these volunteers were unacceptable and in no way reflect any policy of my campaign. I take deepest offense to and will continue to fight against discrimination against people of any religious group or background. Our campaign is about bringing people together, and I’m grateful that Ms. Abdelfadeel accepted our apology and I hope Ms. Aref and any who were offended accept my apology as well.
Eastern Michigan University chooses its next president
By Julie Rowe, written on May. 12, 2008
By Charles Gregg-Geist
Daily News Editor
The next President of Eastern Michigan University will be current University of Michigan at Dearborn Provost Susan Martin, The Ann Arbor News reported Sunday. The EMU Board of Regents will officially offer Martin the job Wednesday, Chairman Tom Sidlik told The News.
Before arriving at the University’s Dearborn campus, Martin was the associate vice president for academic affairs at Grand Valley State University. She has also served as the Michigan commissioner of revenue, deputy state treasurer and assistant auditor general.
Each of the four finalists for the position made appearances at public forums last week. The EMU board of regents made the decision to offer Martin the position after meeting privately over the weekend.
The other candidates were Kenneth Burnley, director of the Education Leadership Center at the University’s School of Education, Michael Flanagan, superintendent of public instruction for the state, and 22nd Circuit Court Judge Donald E. Shelton.
EMU’s first female president would take over from John Fallon, who was fired last summer because the school’s administration violated federal regulations by not releasing information when EMU student Laura Dickinson was found dead in her dorm room.
Public Policy prof in the running for Wayne State presidency
By Julie Rowe, written on May. 8, 2008
By Charles Gregg-Geist, Daily News Editor
University Alum and Prof. Joe Schwarz may soon add a new title to an already impressive resume. The former surgeon, Michigan Senator and U.S. Representative is now on the short list of candidates for president of Wayne State University.
Schwarz, who graduated from the Wayne State medical school, confirmed Tuesday that he is one of the three finalists for the position, Capitol Chronicles reports. Schwarz has maintained close ties with his alma mater, in recent years serving as an intermediary in a multi-million dollar dispute between Wayne State Medical School and the Detroit Medical Center. Former Senate colleagues told the Chronicles that Schwarz’s legislative experience would also benefit WSU because the school receives so much of its funding from the State.
Schwarz is currently a professor in the Gerald Ford School of Public Policy.
Dalai Lama promotes sustainability in front of ‘U’ students, faculty
By Julie Rowe, written on Apr. 22, 2008
At a lecture that has featured scientists and experts in the field of environmental sustainability in the past, the Dalai Lama told University of Michigan students, faculty and staff that environmental stewardship was a moral responsibility.
“We have to do good acts, here, now” he said. “Therefore, I think on the environmental issue, it is important to educate, to make awareness, and then to introduce a responsibility on each of us that should become part of our daily life. And then, we will really make some effect.”
The Peter M. Wege Lecture on Sustainability was his second appearance on Sunday and his fourth over the weekend. The other three lectures, themed “Engaging Wisdom and Compassion,” were sponsored by the Jewel Heart Tibetan Buddhist Center in Ann Arbor.
As examples of ways people could conserve electricity and water, the Buddhist spiritual leader said he turns the lights off when he leaves rooms and takes showers instead of baths.
Humans are responsible for the world’s problems, he said. He criticized Westerners for over-consumption of resources. If all 6 billion people on the planet consumed water and food at the rate Americans, he said, the Earth couldn’t support everyone.
“I think some lifestyles have to change, but this (is) not my business,” he said.
Throughout the weekend, the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, advocated religious tolerance. Because people are interdependent on a global scale, “the very concept of ‘we and they’ no longer exists,” he said. As a result, he called war outdated.
As the Dalai Lama called for people to be peaceful inside Crisler Arena, between 600 and 700 demonstrators waved Chinese flags and held signs questioning his commitment to peace.
Protesters accusing China of human rights violations in Tibet have called for a cancellation of the Olympics during violent anti-Chinese demonstrations in Tibet’s capital city of Lhasa.
James Qian, a sophomore at Michigan Technological University and one of many demonstrators wearing t-shirts that read, “Support Beijing 2008,” said the Dalai Lama has encouraged Buddhists to riot.
“He supports his followers attacking the Olympic flame,” Qian said. “That’s just ridiculous.”
During a meeting with reporters last Friday, the Dalai Lama said he understands the feelings of pro-Tibetan protesters but the violence is unnecessary and has caused more problems than it’s helped.
He said his view “from the very beginning” has been to continue with the Olympic Games because they will bring together different cultures from around the world.
“We need Tibetan and Chinese brothers and sisters to meet face to face from time to time,” he said during the press conference. “That is, I think, very, very important. Otherwise, sometimes we make distance and misunderstandings.”
Rackham student Liang Jiang, president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association at the University, said the rally was not in protest of the Dalai Lama, but was rather meant to eliminate misunderstanding of the situation in Tibet.
The rally, Jiang said, was “totally spontaneously organized,” and comprised mostly of college students from Michigan schools, but also included members from the Ann Arbor and Detroit Chinese communities, he said, who were told of the event through Facebook and e-mail.
Jiang said the rally was held to draw attention to what he called distorted and biased reports of Olympic protests that paint China in an unfairly negative light. He said he hoped the Dalai Lama would take action to end violent protest surrounding the Olympics.
“The Dalai Lama has made many actions, but we’ve seen many violent behaviors and the attacks of the torch in the last few months,” Jiang said. “Some people may call him ‘Dalai Liar,’ but from our point of view, we can’t understand this. He’s been saying many good things but his followers have many doing many of the opposite.”
March Regents meeting
By Julie Rowe, written on Mar. 20, 2008
Earlier today, the University’s Board of Regents met to sign off on new University projects and listen to the reports of University officials and students’ requests.
During the meeting, Michigan Student Assembly president Mohammed Dar spoke briefly about efforts to work with the Student Health Insurance Committee on campus to improve health care coverage for students.
“As many of you know, the plan’s premium has increased in the last few years while enrollment has dropped,” Dar said. “One of the ways that our legislation seeks to partner up is to look at whether or not a minimum level of coverage for students would be appropriate.”
Dar also outlined upcoming MSA events, including next week’s Earth Week, sponsored by the Environmental Issues Commission, and the Disabilities Awareness Week.
Steve Grafton, president of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, detailed the association’s efforts to “engage alumni” and reach out to current students. Among those efforts are the “Welcome Wednesday” events held at the Alumni Center, where current students can get free coffee and bagels and get information about other AAUM programs.
“We brew fresh Starbucks and we also give away bagels, which is another testimony to the fact that if you feed them, they will come,” Grafton said.
Grafton said 938 students attended yesterday’s event — the last of the semester — and invited the regents and University administrators at the meeting to attend in the future.
During the period of the meeting reserved for public comments, Graduate Employees Organization President Helen Ho, a Communication Studies department GSI, read from a letter signed by the GEO urging the Regents to intervene in negotiations between the union and the University administration.
“Our negotiating position is fair and reasonable, and it is in the spirit of shared interests that we express to you our hope that the Board of Regents, the University administration, and GEO can reach a satisfactory resolution of these negotiations in order to avert the mutually undesirable possibility of a work stoppage,” Ho read.
College Dems serve pancakes, Granholm makes an appearance
By Julie Rowe, written on Mar. 17, 2008
Gov. Jennifer Granholm stopped by the Arbor Brewing Company last Saturday to have pancakes with the University’s chapter of the College Democrats at their annual fundraiser.
During her 20-minute spiel—delivered as she balanced atop a chair—Granholm outlined her plans to bring the renewable energy industry to Michigan, accompanied by a few thousand jobs.
She also called on the College Dems to take a stance on the status of Michigan’s national convention delegates and the possibility of a new contest.
“I would ask for you to consider as College Dems to send a resolution or something to the legislature if you think it’s important to us to have the excitement associated with a primary,” Granholm said. “It’s sort of a tiebreaker even though this whole decision is probably going to go all the way to Denver no matter what.”
The 81-year-old Congressman John Dingell, who sponsored the breakfast, spoke nostalgically about his days as a Young Democrat. His personal gift of $500 accounted for a hefty percentage of the total donations.
“I learned much of what was useful to me when I ran for Congress the first time by my experience in the Young Dems,” Dingell said. “It has stayed with me, as have the friendships I made during that timeframe. It was a wonderful thing, wonderful thing for me, and it meant an awful lot.”
The Congressman then introduced Kate Mulhern, whom he described as “very intelligent” and “very pretty” and attributed both of those qualities to Mulhern’s mother—who is, incidentally, the Governor of Michigan.
Mulhern called her mother her role-model and the hardest-working person she knows.
After a mother-daughter hug, Granholm began her speech by thanking her daughter and asking Mulhern’s peers to go easy on her.
“When she came here we were trying to hide the fact that she was the Governor’s daughter, so please don’t give her grief about it,” Granholm said.
Photos: Angela Cesere/Daily