The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, October 31, 2014 - 3A
ENROLLMENT
From Page 1A
students may be less likely to seek
a campus job.
While Steve Mangan, Univer-
sity director of dining, wrote in
an e-mail that he didn't feel com-
fortable speculating about the
cause of the trend, he said there
has been a noticeable change over
the past few years in the availabil-
ity of student workers.
"This year has been particular-
ly challenging to fill the number
of positions we need at the begin-
ning of the fall term, specifically
for dining and recreational sports
and positions in the Unions," said
University Housing Spokesman
Peter Logan in an interview.
The University's Student Life
Auxiliaries, which includes
University Housing, University
Unions and Recreational Sports,
facilitates approximately 4,000
jobs for students per year, includ-
ing summer positions. Six hun-
dred jobs are offered for students
in University Housing, 1,800
jobs in Michigan Dining, 600 in
University Unions, 700 in Recre-
ational Sports and 200 in Confer-
ence and Event Services.
over the past two years Student
Life Auxiliaries have increased
the number of job opportunities
as theyhave enhanced dining ser-
vices and facilities and increased
the number of positions within
the unions and Recreational
Sports.
To meet those needs and
address declining student avail-
ability for campus jobs, Student
Auxiliaries have undertaken a
more aggressive effort to recruit
students this year, hosting three
job fairs, using direct mail and
stationing student ambassadors
at summer orientation to answer
the questions of students and par-
ents.
"(These efforts) have not
brought forth the number of
applicants we would like to have
in the student auxiliaries to get
started in the season," Logan
said.
In August, Michigan Dining
hired approximately 150 non-stu-
dent temporary workers to help
make up from empty student job
positions and an increased need
as the new Central Campus din-
ing operation opened in South
Quad.
Logan said one explanation for
the trend could be as the num-
ber of freshman applications
increase, admissions standards
rise and the types of students
who attend the University are
even more focused on excellingin
their academic and extra-curric-
ular pursuits.
"It just may be as Michigan
has become more competitive,
the students we are receiving are
perhaps more inclined to put aca-
demics first," he said.
Ifthis trend continues, whatev-
er the reasons, Logan said it could
have important consequences.
"Not having as many students
as we need can influence our
operational cost," he said. "We
need a considerable student work-
force to help us with our delivery
of services and programs."
Outside of Student Auxiliaries,
the Office of Student Employ-
ment posts more than4,000 job
opportunities, including work-
study and non-work-study posi-
tions. Those employment rates
have remained fairly stable, rang-
ing from a high of 3,775 and alow
of 3,573 occupied positions.
The Work-Study program,
funded by the U.S. Department
of Education, provides part time
jobs for students to assist them
in paying for tuition. These jobs
could range from teaching read-
ing in a preschool classroom to
working as a lab assistant or at a
University library.
"Student employees provide
an important portion of the local
workforce, whether Work-Study
or non-Work-Study," Susan Frier-
son, assistant director for Student
Employment wrote in an e-mail
interview. "Like all staff every-
where, they contribute to the
workflow of offices and organiza-
tions, both on and off campus."
Education senior Joe Cooling
funds his tuition through income
he earns from his campus jobs,
as well as scholarships from the
University's Office of Financial
Aid, summer job income and
some student loans.
"I would definitely say it has
been a financial need to fund my
education," he said.
LSA junior Victoria Rilett also
funds the entirety of her tuition
with an LSA merit scholarship
and the income she earns from
campus and summer jobs.
Rilett works 12 hours a week,
split between the Towsley Chil-
dren's House, the Center for
Educational Outreach and as a
student assistant for the Lloyd
Hall Scholars Program.
Rilett worked 50- to 60- hour
weeks this summer in a psychol-
ogy lab through the University's
Undergraduate Research Pro-
gram and at Pizza House to earn
enough to pay this semester's
tuition.
"The culture of my town is that
you have a job, all of my friends
had jobs, I've had a job since I was
16 years old," Rilett said. "I didn't
realize how wealthy certain peo-
ple are and how much that would
affect their college experience."
After arriving on campus her
freshman year, she said she real-
ized the type of money her peers
were spending on dinners in
restaurants, movie tickets and
clothes was different from her
own.
"The hard part was I had alot
of friends whose parents would
pay for them to go out and go
shopping and buy dinner and my
parents don't do that," Rilett said.
"I needed to get a job or find dif-
ferent friends."
LSA sophomore Noah Holton-
Raphael does not have a job on
campus. He receives $300 a
month from his parents for per-
sonal expenses, including food,
trips, activities and clothing,
though he worked this past sum-
mer in the food service industry
to save money for these types of
expenditures.
"I haven't needed a job, as of
yet, but I'll probably be getting a
job next semester," he said.
Despite anecdotal evidence
that changing family incomes are
influencing student employment,
there is a lack of available data to
offer a conclusive explanation.
The University's enrollment
figures do not include data on
family income, since the Free
Application for Federal Student
Aid is the entity that collects
information on an applicant's
family income.
The most recently available
figures report the families of 76
percent of the University's out-
of-state undergraduates earn
more than $150,000 annually,
compared to 72 percent in 2002.
For in-state students, 59 percent
of in-state students in 2002 had
family incomes greater than
$150,000. By 2012 that number
shrank to 50 percent, according
to figures from the U.S. Depart-
ment of Education listed in the
University's most recent Office
of Budget and Planning alma-
nac.
Though this data does not
paint the entire picture, since
applicants who did not apply for
financial aid through FAFSA are
included in the category of family
incomes over $150,000, the num-
bers do illustrate a rough view of
the student body's socio-econom-
ic composition.
"For in-state students, we're
actually seeing increased socio-
economic diversity," University
Provost Martha Pollack said in
an interview in early October. "It
hasn't really gotten worse, but
where we haven't seen a change,
is out of state."
However, the data does not
disaggregate incomes over
$150,000. University spokesman
Rick Fitzgerald said the Univer-
sity does not collect separate data
on family income, apart from
the information it receives from
FAFSA.
"There is no appropriate way to
ask students what their family's
income is," he said.
In recent years, the University
has ramped up financial support
for in-state students, financed in
part by out-of-state students who
enroll at the University and can
pay the full tuition cost.
Still, the University has
pledged to improve affordability
and University access as part of a
larger effort to increase student-
body diversity.
"It certainly affects the nature
of the community if we don't pro-
vide adequate financial aid, and
the student body as aconsequence
on average becomes wealthier
and wealthier," Schlissel said in
an October interview with the
Daily. "Because that doesn't lead
necessarily to the kind of diver-
sity that will help your education
be as good as it can be."
HALLOWEEN
From Page 1A
weight and frequency, type and
amount of alcohol consumed.
Desprez said it is important
to acknowledge that drinking
is not a partof everyone's social
life.
"It's always okay not to
drink, and we actually have a
lot of students on campus who
don't drink and for lots of dif-
ferent reasons," Desprez said.
"Some don't drink because of
religious reasons, some don't
drink because they're on medi-
cine, some don't drink because
they're on probation and some
don't drink because they're in
recovery."
To provide alternative
opportunities this weekend,
PULSE, Sexperteam, Diversity
Peer Educators and the Expect
Respectcampaign are sponsor-
ing a Halloween tailgate on the
Diag Saturday. The event will
feature a photo booth, games,
free food and face painting.
Christina Gerazounis, a
health educator at Univer-
sity Health Service and staff
adviser to PULSE, said vari-
ous student organizations,
including many sponsoring the
Halloween Diag tailgate, have
spent the week "reverse trick-
or-treating" with participants
distributing candy, T-shirts,
water bottles and safe sex kits
to students on campus.
"They are engaging students
on campus on how they plan to
have a safe and fun Halloween
weekend," Gerazounis said.
"And so the biggest point is to
actually engage them and hear
from them instead of them just
taking free stuff."
ELECTIONS
From Page 1A
which candidates, including
gubernatorial candidate Mark
Schauer, U.S. Senate candidate
Gary Peters, congressional can-
didate Debbie Dingell and state
Senator Rebekah Warren, are set
to speak.
In addition to direct engage-
ment, many candidates realize
that while students may not be
watching as much TV as they
used to, social media and video
sharing platforms are an increas-
ingly effective tool to mobilize
the millennial generation voter.
"YouTube humor videos may
now have opening political ads
tied to the congressional dis-
trict," wrote Peter Levine, direc-
tor of the Center for Information
and Research on Civic Learning
and Engagement at Tufts Uni-
versity, in an e-mail interview.
"There have even been ad place-
ments within video games."
While he said campaigning in
this way will catch the attention
of more students, Levine added
that "door-to-door and face-to-
face campaigning have always
been effective with young people
and remain most important."
While communicating effec-
tively with students is important,
candidates also acknowledge
SNYDER
From Page 1A
Higher Education Funding
When Snyder took office in
2011, he faced a severe $1.4 bil-
lion shortfall in the state budget,
which resulted in a controversial
15-percent cut to higher educa-
tion funding.
Since then, he has, gradually
raised state funding for education
every fiscal year until it meets the
original rate, raising it 3.1 percent
in 2012, 2.2 percent in 2013 and
6.1 percent in 2014. Schauer, cam-
paigning as the "education gov-
ernor," focused his campaign on
Snyder's initial cuts, arguing that
the Governor has taken too long
to return to pre-cut levels and
promising a efforts to reverse the
cuts if elected. However, univer-
sities across the state, including
Michigan State University, the
University of Michigan and East-
ern Michigan University, have
responded well to Snyder's series
of increases after the initial cut.
In addition, Snyder has altered
the way that appropriations will
be allocated to universities in
2015. The plan for 2015 will fac-
tor in key criteria such as admin-
that it is just as important to
focus on the issues that college
students are most passionate
about.
Dolan, Levine, and LSA senior
Gabriel Leaf, chair of the Univer-
sity's chapter of College Repub-
licans, agree that the issues
affecting college students most
are fiscally related.
Accordingto the Campus Vote
Project, a national campaign run
by the Fair Elections Legal Net-
work to make voting more acces-
sible to students, average state
funding for higher education
has declined about 23 percent,
or $2,026 per student since the
recession in 2008. Dolan added
that certain social issues, such as
pay equality for women and anti-
discrimination policies for the
LGBTQ community, are of great
concern to students as they pre-
pare to enter the workforce.
While these issues will
impact college students more
directly than any other demo-
graphic, opinions differ over
whether issue-based mobiliza-
tion is a factor when college stu-
dents decide for whom they are
goingto vote.
"Young people vote on a can-
didate because of their stance on
one or two issues," Leaf wrote.
He contends the issues they
consider when voting are often
influenced by the beliefs of their
parents.
Levine, however disagreed:
"It's rare for someone to be moti-
vated by only one issue unless
it functions as a tie-breaker
(between candidates)."
He does agree with Dolan that
students vote for candidates with
whom they share certain beliefs,
such as ideology and political
party.
Despite the candidates' best
efforts, it may be optimistic to
believe that students who vote
next Tuesday will be the best
informed on the issues and the
candidates.
"For many of us, this is our
first election cycle and it is hard
to stay well-informed," Leaf
wrote.
Levine said campaign aware-
ness varies, but voters are par-
ticularly less informed when it
comes tostate and local elections
as these are "poorly covered in
the media that young people
read."
While how, and with what
arsenal, candidates reach out to
college students differs, Dolan,
Levine and Leaf all said the stu-
dent vote is invaluable.
Dolan characterized the
stakes by quoting Debbie Dingell,
Democratic nominee for the U.S.
Representative seat left vacant
by her husband.
"Young people are 25 percent
of our population and 100 per-
cent of our future."
WHITE
From Page 1A
cal engineering and computer
science and obtained her Juris
Doctor from the University of
Washington in 1991. She com-
pleted her Master of Laws degree
at George Washington University
Law School in 1996. Recently, she
received her master's degree in
Strategic Studies from the U.S.
Army War College in Carlisle Bar-
racks, Penn.
White was elected to the Board
of Regents in 1998 and reelected
in 2006. She said her initial deci-
sion to run was partly inspired by
an interest in promoting diversity
on campus.
"I was very passionate about
making sure diversity was a con-
cern for the institution," White
said.
As calls for increasing minority
enrollment echo across campus,
White said she has been listening
attentivelyto students about cam-
pus issues for years.
"I find that the young people
today are very interested in mak-
ing sure there is equality' for'
everyone in a way that I didn't
see as much when I was younger
and I didn't see it as much twenty
years ago," White said. "There is a
real demand for equality, engage-
ment and interaction. I think that
is what is really different."
White said she is passionate
about igniting change through
creating opportunities for civil
discourse on campus.
"Universities are a place where
hopefully we get people from all
different socioeconomic back-
grounds, races, countries and
states tocome together in this one
place where they can learn from
each other and share perspec-
tives," she said.
Creatingcivil discourse, exam-
ining structural problems and
aiming to have students engage
with each other are all goals
White said she has prioritized in
past terms as a regent and will
continue to prioritize if re-elect-
ed.
White has spearheaded and
established projects during her
time as regent to make in-state
tuition available for all veterans.
As of January 2014, students who
have served in the military will be
eligible for in-state tuition.
"I think it really helps to have
young people who have had dif-
ferent experiences, who are
maybe a little bit older, but have
really experienced things that the
rest of our society needs to learn
about," White said.
A priority for White through-
out her experience on the board
has been overseeing the Univer-
sity's endowment. White said she
aided in cost containment efforts,
reducing costs of the general fund
by $235 million between 2004
and 2012 and plans for an addi-
tional $120 million in reductions
by 2017.
White helped preserve the
endowment by smoothing out
returns, she said. When the
endowment returns are high the
amount of money distributed
to departments can be slightly
limited or saved. This is done so
when the endowment returns are
low there is more to distribute to
departments.
"It helps preserve the corpus of
the investment," White said. "The
theory is over time if you strain
spending, you can grow the cor-
pus more and more and there is
more available in later years."
White discussed the financial
impact of previous cuts to fund-
ing, specifically in 2011 when state
appropriations were reduced by
15 percent.
"As we get more dependent
See WHITE, Page 5A
istrative costs, the number of
students receiving Pell Grants,
tuition caps, the school's work
in research and development,
along with six-year graduation
rates, overall graduation rates
and degree completion in critical
areas.
Schools have supported the
metrics program in the past. The
criteria in previous years did not
include Pell Grants as a metric,
though, and universities, such as
Wayne State University and East-
ern Michigan University, voiced
concerns over this omission.
Without it, the universities said,
the metrics did not account for
the income gap between schools.
Snyder's addition of Pell Grants
as a measurement for eased ten-
sions.
In the conference call, Snyder
said he hopes to create a new
system similar to that of munici-
palities, which economized IT
systems' enterprise platforms.
This system would allow for bet-
ter collaboration between the
government and the universities
when negotiating budgets.
tuition, in 2011, Snyder reintro-
duced former Democratic Gover-
nor Jennifer Granholm's tuition
restraints, which put a cap on how
much a university can increase its
tuition cost every year.
The current cap in place for the
2014-2015 school year is 3.75 per-
cent. Next year the cap will drop
to 3.2 percent. To compensate,
Snyder is increasing state appro-
priations for higher education by
6.1 percent.
Equal Pay Protections
Snyder has been repeatedly
criticized by the Democrats for
not taking more action to com-
bat pay discrimination against
women. The governor, in the
conference call, emphasized that
he "work(s) hard" in all areas to
promote equal pay. Last year he
stated that he would be open to a
discussion on the issue, but so far
has not offered a specific plan.
LGBTQ Rights
Last March, a district court
ruling made same-sex marriage
Tuition Restraint legal in Michigan. In response,
Attorney General Bill Schuette
To ensure that public universi- (R) filed for an appeal and an
ties would not respond to the edu- emergency stay on the decision.
cation cuts by dramatically raising See SNYDER, Page SA
I A