State Street's Work Gallery gees green Arts, Page 8 li ii a ai(:;4 H ,1TOI Ann Arbor, Michigan Friday, November 2, 2007 michigandaily.com ADMISSIONS AFTER AFFIRMATIVE ACTION Minority enrollment dips slightly 'U' says numbers don't reflect full effects of Prop 2 By EMILY BARTON Daily StaffReporter The number of underrepre- sented minorities dropped in this year's freshman class, according to final enrollment data released yesterday. The class is the first one select- ed after Proposal 2 banned the use of race in University admis- sions almost a year ago. Underrepresented minorities made up about 11 percent of this year's freshman class, compared with 12 percent last year. The number of black students in this year's freshman class dropped by 8.8 percent from last year's class, while Hispanic enroll- ment dropped by 12.6 percent and Native American enrollment dropped by 13.8 percent. University spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham said the impact of Proposal 2 isn't clear yet because the ban didn't take effect until January, which was halfway through the admissions process. Many applicants were reviewed using affirmative action. Cunningham said the Universi- ty is working to improve outreach because it's likely that minority enrollment will continue to drop based on what happened at other colleges after their states passed similar legislation. "We remain cautiously opti- mistic to maintain diversity among our students," she said. See ENROLLMENT, Page 7 Scott Boerma, the new director of the Michigan Marching Band, used todirect the band at Eastern Michigan University. MAX COLLINS/Daily NEW MAN ON THE LADDER DECLINING MINORITY ENROLLMENT Percentage of underrepresented minorities in each year's freshman class 20 F New marching band director has spent 22 years writing music By ZOE BAMBERY Daily StaffReporter Scott Boerma's life has always revolved around the steady drumbeat of marching bands. Hegrew up watching his father direct high school marching bands, and fol- lowed in his coordinated footsteps. After spending two decades directing various marching bands - most recently, the band at Eastern Michigan University - Boerma now occupies the conductor's ladder at the Big House on football Satur- days. It's his first season as the director of the Michigan Marching Band. His first experience with the Uni- versity came while he was pursuing his masters degree in music at the School of Music just over 10 years ago. While at the University, Boerma stud- ied with Pulitzer Prize-winning compos- er William Bolcom and wrote a number of pieces for the marching band. Boerma is slated to teach courses next semester irr music education while finishing up his doctorate in musical arts at Michigan State University. After graduating from the University, Boerma worked as the band director at Lampshire High School in Madison Heights, Mich. for four years. He then directed the Novi High School marching band for six years. Boerma said he would be reluctant to go back into high school band directing because of its interference with his com- position. "Being a public school teacher is all- consuming," he said. "For a year (after- See DIRECTOR, Page 7 -u 15 c N10, 0 5c S o ° o 0 0 0 0 oYear MENTAL HEALTH AT THE UNIVERSITY More students seek help Officials not sure why depression reports are on rise By ARIKIA MILLIKAN Daily StaffReporter University mental health agen- cies have scrambled in the last several years to provide treatment to a rising number of students seeking psychiatric treatment. Studies from across the country have shown a sharp increase in reports of stress and depression among college students. S Todd Sevig, the director of the University's office of Counseling and Psychological Services, said the percentage of students seeking help from CAPS has increased in recent years, including by 13 per- cent from 2006 to 2007. According to the National Col- lege Health Assessment, which surveyed almost 95,000 college students across the country last fall, 42.3 percent of participants reported feeling so depressed last year that it was difficult to func- tion; 9.4 percent seriously con- templated committing suicide. The University's mental health agencies have hired additional staffers and rolled out new ini- tiatives aimed at maintaining a healthy campus, all the while ask- ing themselves a question: Why are today's students so stressed and depressed? Rachel Glick, the director of adult psychiatry for the Universi- ty's Psychiatric Emergency Ser- vice, a mental health service based See DEPRESSION, Page 7 DEPRESSION BY THE NUMBERS Pret42.3 Percent of students last fall who felt "so depressed that year that it (was) difficult to function" 9,4 Percent of students last fall who reported "seriously considering suicide" Percent increase in students seeking help from CAPS, the University's Coun- seling and Psychological Services, since last year The new projector at the University's Exhibit Museum of Natural History replaces a system that was so old the museum had trouble reselling it. At renovated planetarium, more realistic star shows MSA ELECTION CATCH-22 Public policy seat still up in the air It's unclear whether assembly can apportion seats By DAVE MEKELBURG Daily News Editor Despite a Michigan Student Assembly vote to award a seat to the Ford School of Public Policy at Tuesday's meeting, it appears that the school still might not receive a seat on the assembly in this month's election. Candidate application material released Wednesday by MSA did not include applications for a Pub- lic Policy seat. MSA's constitution says every school in the University should bel represented on the assembly. But MSA's compiled code says the apportionment of seats must be based on the most recent enroll- ment data from the registrar. The most recent data the registrar has is from winter semester, when the public policy school had no undergraduate program. Now, it does. Although MSA voted on Tues- day to follow its own constitution and award the public policy school a seat, there's some confusion about whether MSA can reappor- tion seats on its own. Election Director Ryan Bouchard said MSA does not have the authority to tamper See MSA, Page 7 Tom sh Start be giver of light Way fr Museun Geddes. After torrow's opening the planetarium will re-open with a new state-of-the-art digital pro- ow narrated by jection system and curved walls to create a more realistic experience Liam Neeson for visitors. PlanetariumDirector MattLinke By JULIE ROWE said the planetarium's old technol- For the Daily ogy was so outdated that the muse- umstruggled to sell it. The museum ing tomorrow, students will raised $100,000 to replace it. n the chance to fly millions The new Uniview system is an t-years beyond the Milky improvement over the previous om a chair in the Exhibit projection system, which used a n of Natural History on stationary star ball in the center of Avenue. the room and slide projectors along 'two months of renovations, the four square walls to cast images of the night sky. The new technol- ogy features a single digital projec- tor with a fish-eye lens that fills the 18-foot diameter dome with images of the cosmos. Linke called the projection sys- tem "a very unique presentation tool with applications we haven't dreamed of yet." The switch from projected star charts to a digital sky will give the audience an experience more like pilotinga flight simulator than gaz- ing up at the night sky. Linke said when he hosts shows See PLANETARIUM, Page 7 TODAY'S WEATHER HI: 56 GOT A NEWS TIP? 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