Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Barr, a Civil Liberties Champion?

Posted by Ari Paul on 29. June 2004

Former Congressman Bob Barr (R-GA), arguably the most conservative lawmaker on Capitol Hill during his tenure there, had this to say about the growth of the American police state.

“From Boston to Sea Island, from the Pentagon to the state Capitol in Atlanta, from the small town of Winder to the major suburban county of Gwinnett, the police state has definitively arrived in America. And moves afoot both in Congress and at the local level indicate that its grip is tightening.

The fear of terrorism—indeed, the fear of the possibility of any act of violence by anyone—has prompted the undermining of civil liberties in the United States on a scale never before witnessed in our history, including during times of declared war.

The mentality giving rise since 9/11 to oppressive government power has arrived at a truly breathtaking speed. In the process, old attitudes in both major parties toward overbearing government are falling by the wayside.”

While Barr has rightfully been accused of racism, sexism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism, Barr may be the only vocal Republican who actually believes in ‘small government.’

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Summer Heating Up

Posted by Rob Goodspeed on 29. June 2004

”... Depending on whom you talk to, the 2004 Republican convention could look like Seattle in 1999. Or Chicago in 1968.

But many hope that their efforts will create a new high-watermark on the messy history of mass protest.

“I would like to see August [in New York] turn into a political ground zero,” says Jason Flores-Williams, a political writer for High Times magazine. “I want to see waves of direct actions. Streets being blockaded. Almost constant attempts to [engage] Madison Square Garden. I’d like to see 2,000 to 3,000 arrests a day. The jails overflowing. Where the story becomes the nightmare around the convention.”

To try to steal the spotlight from the Republicans, a leftist array has been forming since last summer with organizational meetings in New York. But outside of the usual suspects – the inveterate protesters – the convention is likely to draw a diverse throng, temporarily united by their beefs with the Bush administration. For example, groups as seemingly opposed as the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network and the city’s police and fire unions have filed for marching permits. ... ”

> Hartford Courant (Registration Required)
> Local organizing meeting

Here’s the RNC speaker lineup announced yesterday:

Monday, August 30, 2004
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Senator John McCain (R-AZ)

Tuesday, August 31, 2004
First Lady Laura Bush
Secretary of Education Rod Paige
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

Wednesday, September 1, 2004
Mrs. Lynne Cheney
Vice President Dick Cheney
Senator Zell Miller (D-GA)

Thursday, September 2, 2004
Governor George Pataki
President George W. Bush

Catholic College under Fire

Posted by Ari Paul on 29. June 2004

The Ann Arbor News reports:

“Ave Maria College, the Ypsilanti school begun and funded by Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan, must repay the federal government $100,000 to $300,000 because it failed to properly document student financial aid applications, according to letters obtained by The News.

The school also has been censured by the federal Department of Education, and is under investigation by the department’s Inspector General, the letters state.

The Catholic college, founded in 1998, may be liable for more repayments as the investigation proceeds, Department of Education officials say.

The department audits roughly 30 percent of all students who receive financial aid and requires universities to submit each audited student’s documentation.

Students are required to fill out a basic form with income information. When audited, they are asked to provide additional information, including a tax return for themselves or their parents, and sign a form indicating the information is accurate. Ave Maria was made aware of the audit and the need for students’ documentation in the fall, said DOE officials.

The federal letter, dated June 21, says that from 2000 through 2002, the college provided only part of the documentation required for a significant number of students.”

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Meeting on Logistics for RNC Thursday

Posted by Ari Paul on 29. June 2004

Here is a communique going around to different activist groups around Ann Arbor:

“Hey everyone, it’s time for Ann Arbor to start planning trips to New York to protest the Republican National Convention.

Come share what you know and learn more Thursday, July 1 at 7:00 at Debs Co-op at 909 East University (it’s a big red house on the corner of Oakland and East U.)

On the agenda:

  • Lodging
  • Travel
  • Discussing level of involvement
  • Forming affinity groups
  • Legal Info

Have anything to add to the agenda? Just email me, it’s open to change.

I’ll see everyone Thursday, and feel free to forward widely!”

From the Ann Arbor News

Posted by Rob Goodspeed on 29. June 2004

But you heard it first here …

U-M won’t unplug sex assault crisis line

After pressure from student activists, the University of Michigan is backing down from a plan to close a 24-hour crisis line for students who suffered sexual assault or abuse.

U-M’s about-face means the hotline will continue to be run by its Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, but it will be staffed by full-time professionals instead of student volunteers. If U-M had closed the hotline, students would have been directed to a local crisis line run by Washtenaw County’s Safe House.

The university also agreed to tap an outside expert to look at the other changes proposed for SAPAC that also drew fire from students. Those changes would allow SAPAC to focus on education, prevention and advocacy surrounding the issue of sexual abuse. Its counselors would be moved to U-M’s general counseling office.

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Michign Union Mural

Posted by Rob Goodspeed on 29. June 2004

Here’s an interesting opportunity for artists:

Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 10:16:30 -0400
From: dslandau at umich.edu
Subject: Mural for Union

Hey, U-M artists!
We’re doing a mural for the Michigan Union!

The project is simple:
Create a 5”X5” color sketch of an artistic design relating to student life at U of M…you can create up to five designs, as long as they are all submitted to me by July 17th. Make sure to also have a note with the sketch saying what medium you want to create in, along with a brief description of what’s going on in the piece(s). Any 2-D medium is allowed.

You will be notified on July 24 which of your designs were approved. To create the piece, you will be provided with a 5”x5” canvas board for each approved design. You can then paint the board and turn it in to me by August 21. The mural—really a tile mosaic—will be installed in the 4th floor fo the Union [big square of wall near the elevators] at the end of August.

Please forward this to all your friends, and anyone else you know who would like to paint the Union!

-David Landau
President – Mural and Sculpture Club
dslandau at umich.edu

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U-M Friendster Launched

Posted by Rob Goodspeed on 28. June 2004

The U-M Alumni Association launched today a friendster-like tool targeting University alumni called inCircle. The only catch? It’s for Alumni Association Members only, and now in beta testing:

We’re sending this special issue of e-TrueBlue: Recent Grads to announce the launch of inCircle, the Alumni Association’s brand-new professional and social networking tool.

inCircle lets Michigan alumni connect online with friends and friends-of-friends based on shared interests, common acquaintances, professions, location and other user-defined criteria. Now you can network with not just your own connections but with all the Michigan alumni your friends know, too. It’s like “six degrees of separation” just for Wolverines. You’ll be amazed at the number of valuable connections you can make and how fast your personal network will grow.

A network graph shows you how you’re connected and outlines the “shortest path” to other alums you want to meet. Uses of the inCircle network include finding roommates, meeting other alums who live in a particular city, joining discussion groups and finding a new job through a friendly referral. And, unlike online social networks that are open to the general public, inCircle is a private network exclusively for Michigan alumni.

InCircle is a free benefit for U-M alumni who are current members of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan.

To access inCircle, you will need a University provided uniqname and password, which are provided free to all U-M alumni. If you don’t have a uniqname and password, you can get one online.

To get started, go to http://incircle.umalumni.com.

We’re launching inCircle to recent graduates before it is available to the general alumni population. If you notice any problems or bugs with inCircle, please post them in the “Forum” section of the site so we can address them.”

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Madstone Theaters: it wasn't just us

Posted by Brian Kerr on 28. June 2004

According to the Madstone Theaters website and the July issue of Current Magazine, the eight Madstone Theaters which remained after the Ann Arbor location abruptly folded have now been closed as well. Two of the nine erstwhile Madstones—one in San Diego, the other in Tampa—will be reopening under new management.

As an aside, the Michigan Theater is honoring outstanding Madstone Memberships.

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Fahrenheit 9/11 breaking box-office records

Posted by Ari Paul on 27. June 2004

Numbers are coming in which vindicate that the long line from Michigan Theater to Division represented a national popularity of Moore’s new movie like no other work of reality film or cinematic journalism has created before.

CNN reports:

“Michael Moore’s ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ took in a whopping $21.8 million in its first three days, becoming the first documentary ever to debut as Hollywood’s top weekend film.

If Sunday’s estimates hold when final numbers are released Monday, ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ would set a record in a single weekend as the top-grossing documentary ever outside of concert films and movies made for huge-screen IMAX theaters.

Adding the film’s haul at two New York City theaters where it opened Wednesday, two days earlier than the rest of the country, boosted ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ to $21.96 million.

‘Bowling for Columbine,’ Moore’s 2002 Academy Award-winning documentary, previously held the documentary record with $21.6 million.”

Does this, somehow indicate who Americans will be voting for (or rather, voting against) in November?

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Michigan Youth Chorale Reunion Concert This Sunday

Posted by swoll on 27. June 2004

The Michigan Youth Chorale is having a reunion concert this Sunday at Hill Auditorium from 3-5pm.

Event Info:

“Chorale Reunion Concert” : Michigan Chorales/Youth for Understanding Chorales. Reunion concert for members of these local chorales, many of whom were teens when the choirs were active in 1958-1973. The chorales’ mission was to spread international understanding by giving overseas concerts.

Tonight’s program features the world premiere of local composer and retired Detroit music teacher Carmen Cavallaro’s “Your Goodness Enters Our Lives.” The program of spirituals, classical pieces, and Broadway tunes includes rousing performances of the 4 songs with which the chorales traditionally ended their concerts, Johnson’s “Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit,” Morgan’s “An Instrument of Thy Peace,” Sibelius’s “Onward Ye Peoples,” and the spiritual “Oh, Freedom!” Accompanied by pianist Jan Riccinto and organists Don Williams and Carol Muehlig. Hill Auditorium.

Admission will be free of charge. Come check it out!

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