~Iieffic44an &11j Ann Arbor, Michigan Tuesday, October 23, 2012 michigandaily.com UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION University gets record number of applicants WVith 6,171 sityProvost Philip Hanlon said in an interview last month. new students, "The applicant pool among non-residents has ballooned," freshmen class is Hanlon said. "In fact, we expect the applicants for resi- smallest since 08 dents to go down as the demo- graphics of the state shift." By PAIGE PEARCY and The freshmen class repre- PETER SHAHIN sents 1,900 high schools, 46 Daily News Editor and Daily Staff states and 60 countries. At Reporter press time, the numbers of freshmen from in-state and Though a record number of out-of-statewere not available. students applied to the Uni- A total of 43,426 students versity this year, the fresh- are enrolled in the University's men class that started school programs. The total enroll- in September is the smallest ment at the University set a it has been in years, according record high this year with a to the University's enrollment i.7-percent increase from last data released Tuesday. year, marking the fourth con- The freshman class is the secutive annual increase. smallest since 2008 with 6,171 Applications also increased students, 80 students fewer to a record-high with 42,544 than last year's class and 325 submissions, surpassing last fewer than 2010's class, which year's record by 7.5 percent. boasted a University record This spike is generally attribut- 6,496 students. However, the ed to the University's adoption decrease in students is still of the Common Application, higher than University's target which two years ago. number of 5,960 students for Ted Spencer, the Univer- an incoming class size, Univer- See APPLICANTS, Page 7 L SA senior Amanda Tracy sits in an aisle of Annenberg Auditorium in Weill Hall while watching the final presidential debate Monday night. Interest wanes in last debate At watch party, already-decided voters less focused on policies By ANDREW SCHULMAN Daily Staff Reporter As an already-decided voter, the differences between the for- eign policies of President Barack Obama and Republican presi- dential nominee Mitt Romney in Monday's debate mattered little to Krystal Williams, a Rackham graduate student. In the Annenberg Auditorium at the Ford School of Public Pol- icy, most of the 200 students in attendance seemed to agree with Williams's sentiment. Compared to the first debate three weeks ago, students didn't seem to engage as much throughout the last matchup between Republi- can presidential nominee Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama Monday night. There was less cheering, less clappingand more side conversa- tions un-related to the election. For many, the last debate was not so much a chance to hammer out a final decision, but a chance to affirm a choice they already made weeks ago. "By this debate, I already knew, honestly," Williams said. "But it was helpful for me to get a better gist of where they were individually with their policies." Only 5 percent of the audience reported that they were unde- cided, compared to the majority of students who responded that they alreadysupported Obamaor Romney, according to an iClicker poll staged by event organizers. Public Policy graduate student Haven Allen - chairman of the Domestic Policy Corp, the group that organized the watch party - said he agreed that the dimin- ished enthusiasm may be due to the fact that many students have already determined their vote. He anticipated that some stu- dents had grown weary of the election process, the repetitive attacks by each candidate and the See DEBATE, Page 6 SENATE ASSEMBLY Faculty meet with regent candidates Senate Assembly questions three of 10 contenders for board By AUSTEN HUFFORD Daily StaffReporter About 50 members of the University's Senate Assem- bly gathered at their monthly meeting to question candidates for the University's Board of Regents at a forum held in Palmer Commons Monday afternoon. Candidates discussed a wide range of topics, includ- ing whether the University's focus should be on research or teaching, the number out-of- state students at the Univer- sity, tuition hikes and the role of athletics at the University. While there are 10 candi-_ dates running for positions on the board, only four attended the forum: Republican Rob Steele, Democrats Mark Bern- stein and Shauna Ryder Diggs, and Eric Borregard, the Green Party's candidate. The group was presented with a ques- tion and each candidate was allowed one minute to answer. Due to the format of the event, candidates did not get a chance to respond to each other. Each was quick to highlight their connection to the Uni- versity: Steele, Bernstein and Diggs are all alumni, and Bor- regard said his son attended the University. The candidates acknowl- edged that one of the most important responsibilities as regent would be to select the University's next president, as University President Mary Sue Coleman plans to retire in 2014. They discussed how the new president should balance the diverse needs of the University and successfully manage the ever-changing budget. Steele said the new president must also provide creative solutions for declining state and federal budget appropriations, while Diggs said he or she must also lead by consensus and encour- age efficiency to conserve the University's resources. Bernstein said the next president must address the transformative changes in See REGENTS, Page 6 State Rep. Rick Olson (R-Saline) protests the "Republican War on Women"'panel with University students on Monday. Protest eru-pts in response to forumo n wo-men's rights IN MEMORIAM Prominent journalist, Daily alum, Leon Jaroff dies at 85 Notable science reporter founded Discover magazine By DANIELLE STOPPELMANN Daily Staff Reporter Former Michigan Daily edi- tor Leon Jaroff, the founder of Discover Magazine and a former senior editor at TIME magazine, died after a four-year battle with throat cancer. He was 85. Peter Jaroff, his son, confirmed his death. Jaroff, a University alum who served as the Michigan Daily's managing editor in 1950, was known for his strong work ethic and compassion for reporting. Jaroff's gusto for writing was evident in his professional jour- nalistic success, Peter Jaroff said. "He loved language, he loved to write, he really loved his work and he tried to do something he always wanted to do," he said. "He would get very excited about things he was working on, things he was writingabout. Itwas ajoy See JAROFF, Page 6 Panel discusses 'Republican War on Women' By BETHANY BIRON ManagingNews Editor At a forum on women's rights on Monday afternoon, tension among attendees seemed to mirror the rising discord and polarization within Congress on gender politics this election cycle. A crowd ofabout150 students, faculty and Ann Arbor residents packed into the Hatcher Gradu- ate Library to listen to promi- nent feminist figures discuss the plight of American women amid a transforming political culture. The event, titled "The Repub- lican War on Women," spurred outcry amongstudents and local officials who expressed concern, that the University was demon- strating a liberal bias and defy- ing campaign finance laws by using public funding to support a partisan event. LSAseniorRachelJankowski, chair of the University's chapter of College Republicans, drafted a letter to University Provost Philip Hanlon, urging Univer- sity officials to cancel the forum and noted that legal action may be taken against the University. "As a woman and the chair of the College Republicans, I am incredibly offended that the University of Michigan has the audacity to promote such a blatantly fallacious forum," she wrote in the letter. "This is an insult to every woman who has ever supported the Republican Party and its candidates, and See PROTESTS, Page 7 WEATHER HI:76 GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 orne-mail TOMOR ROW LO: 56 news@michigandaily.com and let us know. 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