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Ann Arbor, Michigan

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

michigandailycom

PUBLIC SAFETY
Freshman
found dead
in Baits II
residence

JAMES COLLER/Daily
Joshua DuBois, a former faith adviser to President Barack Obama, speaks about his book, The President's Devotional, at the Ford School Monday. Dubois also
spoke and answered questions regarding the role religion plays in the Oval Office.
Former pres.advisor talks faith

ob
g

)ama's spiritual ity, Joshua DuBois, President
Barack Obama's.former advisor
uide discusses on faith-related topics, provid-
ed a contrast.
recent book DuBois spoke a before a
packed auditorium at the Ford
y YARDAIN AMRON School of Public Policy with an
Daily StaffReporter air of sincerity and venerable
confidence.
ough he worked in a White In 2008, DuBois was 26 years
often characterized old and working for the Obama
niority and confidential- campaign as a commonplace

legislative correspondent when
he sent the president an inspi-
rational e-mail with a spiritual
quote from Psalms and a poem
from Wendell Berry.
"I wondered who was think-
ing about his soul," DuBois
said. "You know, who was help-
ing him cultivate that aspect
of himself separate from his
formal work running for presi-
dent."

Obama enjoyed the devo-
tional so much that he asked
DuBois to send one every day.
He later chose DuBois to head
the Office of Faith-based and
Neighborhood Partnerships in
2009, making the 27 year old
the youngest head of a White
House office in history.
Fast-forward six years and
more than 1,000 emails, DuBois
See FAITH, Page 3

UMPD: No threat
to public safety,
no injuries found
during autopsy
By TAYLOR WIZNER
Daily News Editor
University Police are investi-
gating the death of a freshman
student who was found deceased
in his Baits II Residence Hall
dorm room last night.
UMPD identified the stu-
dent as Music, Theatre & Dance
freshman Thibault deSaint-
Phalle, an 18-year-old male from
California.
At about 12 a.m. Monday, a
well-being check was requested

for deSaintPhalle, who Uni-
versity Police say had not been
seen by friends all weekend.
When Housing Security offi-
cers entered the student's dorm
room, they found the 18-year-old
deceased in his bed.
University Police say there is
currently no indication that the
death represents a public safety
threat, but is being investigated
nonetheless.
The Washtenaw County Med-
ical Examiner conducted an
autopsy on deSaintPhalle this
afternoon and found no injuries.
The toxicology results of the
autopsy are still pending, and
the process could take several
weeks.
Police declined to comment
on the person who requested the
well-being check.

B
Thi
Hous(
by se


SENATE ASSEMBLY
Faculty body
discusses IT
consolidation

Members express
concern regarding
effects of cutbacks
BySTEPHANIE SHENOUDA
Daily StaffReporter
Despite a modest turn out,
there was no shortage of con-
versation at the Senate Assem-
bly's monthly meeting, which
was held at Palmer Commons
Monday night.
Following a quick approval
of previous minutes and the
agenda, Astronomy Prof. Sally
Oey addressed the group about
IT Rationalization, a "parallel
effort" to the shared services
initiative, scheduled to roll out
2014.
Though not implemented yet,
the administration's plan is to
consolidate IT services offered
throughout the different
departments within the Uni-
versity as part of their efforts to
improve efficiency and cut $120
million in costs by 2017. The
project aims to decrease redun-
dancy by generalizing IT staff.
While Oey - a member of
the Senate Assembly Commit-
tee on University Affairs - said
there's room for standardiza-
tion within some of the Uni-
versity's IT departments, she
expressed concern about how
the cutbacks would impact
departments with more spe-
cialized technological needs.
Representing the Department
of Astronomy, Oey also said she
feels the needs of her depart-
ments are "falling through the
cracks" and the effects the unit
is already feeling are "exceed-
ingly painful."
A representative from the
University of Michigan, Dear-
born campus said she was sur-
prised to learn these rollbacks

hadn't already taken place on
the Ann Arbor campus, since
Dearborn already implemented
these changes on that campus
without staff input.
SACUA member Finn Larsen
said he understood the con-
cerns but wasn't surprised the
administration had chosen to
consolidate IT support staff
because "personnel is where
the money is."
Though some concerns about
rationalization are not yet
resolved, there are plans under-
way to invite Chief Information
OfficerLaura Patterson to an
upcoming assembly meeting
so the group can express their
concerns to the University's
technology czar.
When Social Work prof.
Karen Staller, chair of SACUA,
asked the group if they felt their
deans had been open with them
about the consolidation pro-
cess, the reply was a brief out-
burst of laughter. Department
administrators were issued
a gag order last week, which
insisted that they do not talk
about how individuals would be
effected by the Shared Services
Center, a similar effort.
The meeting continued on
with a follow-up discussion
of benefits, introduced at last
month's meeting when Lau-
rita Thomas, vice president of
human resources, answered the
faculty's questions regarding
the changing benefits policies.
Adjunct Law prof. Scott Mas-
ten led the follow-up discus-
sion, which ultimately resulted
in the unanimous passing of a
resolution addressing the com-
mittee's communal frustration
with the administration's lack
of transparency.
Larry Jones, a non-voting
representative for University
retirees, said he wholeheart-
See CONSOLIDATION, Page 3

NICHOLAS WILLIAMS/Daily
LSA junior Simon Rivers, coordinator of the Riding for Rosa event, leads the march from the Central Campus Transit
Center Monday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Rosa Parks Minority Lounge in Stockwell tesidence Hall.
Students honor Rosa Parks
at comm--emorative event

ANN ARBOR
City Council
debates
crosswalk
ordinance
Council approves
first reading of
changed ordinance
By MATT JACKONEN
Daily Staff Reporter
The Ann Arbor City Council
attempted to come one step clos-
er to solving the city's evident
pedestrian safety issues Monday
night.
The city council approved the
first reading of the ordinance to
repeal the city's crosswalk ordi-
nance, which has been criticized
for conflicting with the state
traffic code.
Only Mayor John Hieftje,
Christopher Taylor (D-Ward
3) and Margie Teall (D-Ward
4) voted not to approve the first
reading.
The ordinance differs from
the Michigan Uniform Traffic
Code in that Ann Arbor's code
adds that a driver must stop at
a crosswalk even ifa pedestrian
is on the curb waiting to cross a
street. The state code explains
that drivers should yield the
right-of-way when a pedestrian
is in a crosswalk on the half of the
roadway on which the vehicle is
traveling, or when the pedestrian
is approaching closely from the
opposite site of the freeway
Should the ordinance pass, the
driver of any vehicle would no
longer be legally obliged to stop
at pedestrian crossings or yield
to pedestrians waiting to walk.
It would mean that drivers must
stop only when a pedestrian is
actively crossing in a crosswalk.
Craig Hupy, the city's interim
public services area adminis-
trator, told the council that the
repeal would not change where
and how they place crosswalks,
but it would change how signs
around crosswalks are marked,
See ORDINANCE, Page 3

Lo
Ci

Th
as st
weat]
pus T
Resid
Th
mem
sary
in Si
Studs
diver
sougi
icon
On
pants
Spect
Toy
by t
Comi

)unge named for Students arrived at the Cen-
tral Campus Transit Center
vil rights leader clad in matching T-shirts bear-
ing Parks's mug shot and read-
elebrates 40th ing "#RideforRosa." They then
silently marched toward Stock-
anniversary well Hall with posters with the
same words: "Ride for Rosa."
By ALEXANDRA The Rosa Parks Lounge is
DITOMMASO one of the many cultural loung-
For the Daily es in residence halls, includ-
ing the Umoja lounge in Alica
ere was only silence Lloyd Residence Hall and the
udents marched in cold Cesar Chavez lounge in Mosh-
her from the Central Cam- er Jordan Residence Hall. The
ransit Center to Stockwell lounges are designed to be safe
lence Hall. spaces for students who are
e march was held to com- underrepresented on campus,
orate the 40th anniver- according to LSA junior Igra
of the Rosa Parks Lounge Nasir, a diversity peer educator
tockwell Residence Hall. for Oxford Housing.
ents - most of whom are At Stockwell, Toy spoke to
sity peer educators - the audience about his experi-
ht to honor the civil rights ences with social inequality
during the subdued march. and his activism work for civil
ice at Stockwell, partici- rights, LGBTQ issues and oppo-
listened to a lecture by sition of the Vietnam War.
trum Center founder Jim "I've come to believe that the
and viewed a performance struggle for any justice con-
he Educational Theater nects to all the struggles for
pany. all justice-gender justice, race

justice, class justice, religious
justice, political justice," Toy
said.
Toy said it's important to
continue fighting for justice not
just here at the University, but
also after graduation.
"This event is continuing the
work that Mrs. Park engaged in
and the work that Dr. King did,"
Toy said. "And it is here and it
is now, and it's up to us to keep
this moving."
Following Toy's speech,
ETC performed a sketch titled
"What If," which questioned
what the world would be like
without formative leaders like
Parks and Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.
LSA freshman Arielle Hehir,
a member of ETC, said the
sketch described the ripple
effect of change.
"The whole show said how
much it's needed to have one
person say 'I'm going to stand
up for this' because then you
have so many other people
joining in saying 'I can stand
See MARCH, Page 3


WEATHER HI: 47
TOMORROW LO: 35

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