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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.
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.
Macomb County to use foreclosure list to try to block voters
By Andy Kroll, written on Sep. 11, 2008
The Macomb County Republican Party is planning to prevent people from voting who are on a home foreclosure list in the county, the Michigan Messenger recently reported.
“We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses,” Macomb County GOP chairman James Carabelli told the Messenger.
The article goes on to say:
State election rules allow parties to assign “election challengers” to polls to monitor the election. In addition to observing the poll workers, these volunteers can challenge the eligibility of any voter provided they “have a good reason to believe” that the person is not eligible to vote. One allowable reason is that the person is not a “true resident of the city or township.”
The Michigan Republicans’ planned use of foreclosure lists is apparently an attempt to challenge ineligible voters as not being “true residents.”
One expert questioned the legality of the tactic.
“You can’t challenge people without a factual basis for doing so,” said J. Gerald Hebert, a former voting rights litigator for the U.S. Justice Department who now runs the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington D.C.-based public-interest law firm. “I don’t think a foreclosure notice is sufficient basis for a challenge, because people often remain in their homes after foreclosure begins and sometimes are able to negotiate and refinance.”
As for the practice of challenging the right to vote of foreclosed property owners, Hebert called it, “mean-spirited.”
After widespread voting controversies marred the two previous presidential elections, potential voter fraud and voter disenfranchisement have been in the news quite a bit in the past month. And with Michigan sure to be a closely contested state in November, there will surely be more stories of this type in the coming months.
‘U’ scientists lent hand in developing atom smasher
By Kelly Fraser, written on Sep. 9, 2008
By Elaine LaFay
Daily Staff Reporter
If all goes well early Wednesday morning, a beam of subatomic particles will zoom around a track deep underground in Europe and scientists will come close to answering some burning questions about the formation of matter and some of the deeper secrets of the Universe.
“We are attempting to discover the fundamental principles of matter and their interactions,” said Homer Neal, the University’s team leader for ATLAS, one of two particle detectors that are part of the larger experiment.
Scientists hope this experiment will shed light on the early moments of the Universe, which will provide answers to questions like the creation of matter and where tiny protons — particles found in the center of atoms — get their masses.
At 4 a.m. Wednesday – 10 a.m. in Geneva – someone will flip the switch of a particle accelerator called the Large Hadron Collider – a massive contraption that allows physicists to study the smallest particles in the Universe. The LHC, buried 300 meters beneath Switzerland and France, is operated by CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
It is a global undertaking that involves more than 80 countries and nearly 2000 scientists. Twenty-five of those scientists are from the University. “It’s one of the most important scientific endeavors of our time,” said Neal.
University physicists contributed to the construction of ATLAS, and many parts of the experiment were designed and built in Ann Arbor, tested and shipped over to Switzerland. The LHC is the centerpiece to the discovery of the elusive Higgs boson, a particle thought to exist throughout the universe and that is so unstable it can only last for fractions of a second before it changes into different particles.
“The Higgs boson is assumed to be responsible for giving all other particles their mass,” said Neal. “There’s an enormous amount of interest in discovering it and we should be able to discover it at the LHC.”
University scientists did work on muon detectors, specialized machines which look for the remnants of the Higgs particle, said Bing Zhou, head of the U.S. ATLAS muon detector development and construction.
She said they also hoped the LHC would harness the component of dark matter, a mysterious substance thought to compose around 95 percent of the Universe. Physics Prof. Rudolf Thun said tomorrow is only the first stage in a series of protons beams at different settings.
He said CERN would start small and work their way up to higher densities and energies in the proton beams over a period of weeks.
Regent Richner, me and the RNC
By Andy Kroll, written on Sep. 4, 2008
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Wandering the concourses here at the Xcel Energy Center Wednesday night looking for reactions to Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech, I spotted from afar University Regent Andrew Richner (R-Grosse Pointe Park) working the crowd.
Wearing the customary blue blazer, but with a hockey jersey supplied by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox underneath, Richner, an alternate Michigan delegate, gladly offered his take on Palin’s speech.
“I think she hit it out of the park.,” Richner told me. “A pretty powerful speech for someone that I’d never of — no, I shouldn’t say it that way.”
He added that he was pleased Palin mentioned Michigan in her speech, and said he thought she would be popular among Michigan citizens.
“I think she’s going to resonate with people from Michigan,” he said. “She mentioned Michigan in her speech; she referred directly to Michigan jobs.”
Soon after, as those in attendance flooded the concourses and headed for the exits, their red and blue McCain-Palin placards in hand, Richner talked about the increased attention he’d seen throughout the week given to Michigan and its economic woes.
“They’re paying attention to Michigan,” he told me, “which is — I’ve been to other conventions, I was a delegate in New York (in 2004), and Michigan has not received this kind of attention at any convention I’ve been at.”
A firm handshake and cordial “Take care” later, we went our separate ways, the two of us quickly disappearing amongst the Republican faithfuls who all appeared contented, assured — and a bit worn out.
Ann Arbor police offer reward for information in abduction cases
By Kelly Fraser, written on Sep. 3, 2008
Correction Appended: The Ann Arbor Police Department has revised the description of the suspect.
Police are still searching for a man suspected of trying to abduct two female joggers in separate incidents near campus Sunday night.
The Ann Arbor Police Department is now offering up to a $1,000 reward to anyone with information in the connection to the attacks.
The attacks occurred about an hour apart — at 8:30 p.m. and 9:40 p.m., respectively — in the area of Packard Street and Independence Boulevard.
Both joggers were able to fight the attacker off, and escaped with minor injures.
Police suspect that the same man is behind both attacks.
Both women provided similar physical descriptions of the man: a white male about 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet tall, 25 to 45 years old, with a medium build, facial stubble, graying dark hair a missing or chipped front tooth and a hairy chest.
In the first incident, the attacker was wearing navy blue swim trunks with an orange band and no shirt.
In the second incident, the attacker was wearing blue jeans and a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt.
Anyone with information in the case should call the AAPD tip line at (734) 996-3199.
Michigan GOP: Obama = Granholm
By Andy Kroll, written on Aug. 29, 2008
As election season nears a fever pitch in Michigan in the coming months, look for the state’s Republican Party to connect Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm in much the same way as the McCain campaign likened Obama’s celebrity to that of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.
Saul Anuzis, chairman of the Michigan GOP, recently posted on his popular blog, “That’s Saul, folks!” that “Michigan voters know firsthand what happens when you elect inexperienced, smooth-talking politicians with rock-star appeal: Absolutely nothing.”
He continued:
For six years we’ve been listening to Governor Jennifer Granholm give good speeches and watching her pose for well-scripted photo ops, but Michigan voters have gotten nothing for their efforts. In Granholm’s six years in office, Michigan has the single-worse unemployment rate in the nation, one in every 20 homes is in foreclosure, and not one of the five new major automotive assembly plants being built in the United States are located in the birthplace of the world’s auto industry.
Governor Granholm, without exception, is the worse Democrat governor in recent memory, and that Democrats would trot her out for national television interviews shows how unprepared they are to accept the mantle of leadership and move our country forward.
If you like what Jennifer Granholm has done for Michigan, you’ll love what Barack Obama will do to America!
It’s not a surprising move; in fact, what’s surprising is that the Obama-Granholm connection hasn’t been made more often so far.
With Michigan certain to be a hotly contested state between now and Election Day (especially now that McCain didn’t pick Michigan-friendly Mitt Romney as his VP), these kinds of connections and more will be rife throughout the state coming from both parties.
Michigan’s hate crime law could see an expansion
By admin, written on Jul. 24, 2008
Michigan’s current hate crime law might see an expansion if state Rep. Paul Condino, a Democrat from Southfield, and other Lansing lawmakers get their way.
Condino announced yesterday that he would introduce a bill at the beginning of August to create a more comprehensive version of the state’s existing hate crime law.
If passed, Condino’s version of the bill would mean that crimes against gays, lesbians, and people with disabilities could now be legally charged as hate crimes. The House Judiciary Committee chairman’s bill would also mean that hanging a noose and burning a cross could be considered property crimes in a court of law.
Though the legislation isn’t likely to be discussed until after the November elections, talk of Condino’s new bill came almost exactly two months after the Detroit based Triangle Foundation found that hate crimes against individuals in the lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual communities were up by more than 133 percent in Michigan for 2007.
According to the Triangle Foundation’s Youth Initiatives Coordinator Brett Beckerson, though, the LGBT advocacy group has never used Michigan’s current hate crime definition to calculate any of its statewide statistics.
“We define a hate crime just like the FBI defines it,” Beckerson said in an earlier interview. “If you googled or looked up the word hate crime in the encyclopedia, that’s how we’d define it.”
Greater LGBT inclusion into Michigan hate crime law is something that the group has been working towards since 1997 according to Beckerson, but it will probably be another few months before any serious talks of Condino’s bill will take place.
City council postpones student apartment complex
By admin, written on Jul. 22, 2008
At a meeting of the Ann Arbor City Council held last night, council members voted to postpone their decision on the construction of a new student-housing complex set to be built off of Maple Road on the west side of the city.
Known as the “42 North” project, the proposed complex would house 640 people in apartments designed to hold four or five occupants. The new complex would also allow each resident to have an individual parking space.
Though the City Council voted 10-1 to reject the same project back in January, apartment complex developers reworked their initial plans and presented them for a second time on Monday.
City council members discussed and reviewed the newest set of construction plans at last night’s meeting, but the latest postponement was meant to give Ann Arbor city officials more time to work out remaining details with project developers.
Stormwater and sewer drainage near the new apartments was the latest issue raised by nearby neighbors of the potential complex at Monday’s meeting.
City Councilwoman Joan Lowenstein (D- Ward 2) said a number of Ann Arbor residents were concerned about drainage issues, particularly because the proposed complex would sit on the highest point in the entire city.
“A lot of areas east of the proposed location have had problems with basement flooding and sewer backups,” Lowenstein said. “So they have concerns and I don’t really know if they are justified at this point or not.”
Lowenstein said many of the residents were concerned that the new apartments could exacerbate some of the problems that nearby residents already have.
Desmond Tutu will lecture on campus in October
By Charles Gregg-Geist, written on Jul. 16, 2008
Desmond Tutu, 1984 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the first black Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, will lecture on campus October 29. Tutu will give the Wallenberg Lecture after receiving the Wallenberg Medal from University President Mary Sue Coleman.
Tutu is best known for his efforts to end South African apartheid as the head of the South African Council of Churches. He championed international disinvestment to weaken the South African government, and led protests that were critical in freeing Nelson Mandela from prison.
Mandela later appointed Tutu chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is widely acknowledged as having played an important role in encouraging harmony in the South Africa when Apartheid ended.
He was also an outspoken critic of Nazism and Communism. The Wallenberg Medal is awarded annually in honor of Architecture Alum Raoul Wallenberg. Wallenberg was sent by Sweden to Budapest, Hungary in 1944, and is credited with saving as many as 15,000 Hungarian Jews from Nazi death camps by issuing them passports identifying them as Swedes awaiting repatriation. He is thought to have been killed in a Moscow prison in 1947.