The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, December 9, 2014 - 3
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, December 9, 2014 - 3
CHARLIE KOWALEC/Daily
Therapy dogs Aussie (top left), Cooper (bottom left), Bailey (top right) and Jazz (bottom right) help students destress at the Shapiro Undergraduate Library on Monday.
PUPPIES
From Page 1
sorts of sights and sounds," said
Sue Zieske, who brought her dog
Darla to the UGLi on Monday.
Zieske also mentioned the
importance of a good fit between
the owner and the dog.
"You have to have the right
dog," she said. "You wait for the
right dog to come along, a dog
that is cut out for this."
Collins and Zieske noted the
importance of a source of stress
relief during finals week.
"They are supposed to dis-
tract the students, give them a
change of pace, get them away
from exams for a little bit," Col-
lins said. "A lot of students miss
their pets at home so they real-
ly appreciate seeing an animal
FIRESIDE
From Page 1
Director Dave Brandon.
Though Schlissel said hiring a
new head coach is ultimately up
to Hackett, he thanked students
for encouraging more female rep-
resentation in the athletic staff
and said he will discuss ways to
improve gender diversity within
the program.
"I think that's a great question
for me to ask and how we think of
issues of gender and other issues
of equity on staff of the Athletic
Department," Schlissel said.
Students also discussed the
ways in which campus geogra-
phy has led to both safety con-
here."
Event organizer Jerry Nordb-
lom, a member of the Therapaws
board of directors, said the dogs
are not trained but rather exten-
sively tested. He said the dogs
love assignments like campus
visits, as visiting hospitals can
be more stressful for the canines.
However, he said the dogs vis-
ibly appreciate visiting a vibrant
college campus and being pet by
students.
Therapaws also has other
assignments in nursing homes,
hospitals, children's hospitals
and elementary schools. Chil-
dren who have difficulty reading
also sit down with therapy dogs
and read to them as part of a pro-
gram hosted b y Therapaws.
The dogs will be back on
the first floor of the UGLi on
Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Therapy dogs Aussie (top left), Cooper (bottom left), Bailey (top right) and Jazz (bottom right) help stodeots destress
AFRICA
From Page 1
at the University of Witwa-
tersrand in South Africa, pre-
sented her research on "The
Determinants of Youth Health
Outcomes in South Africa"
and focused specifically on the
relationship between second-
ary education and the preva-
lence of AIDS among youth.
DeWet said she hopes her
research helps further the
existing treatment for AIDS in
South Africa.
"In the long run, I want
it to just build on existing
knowledge about AIDS," she
said. "The time that we've
been given here to build on
this existing knowledge is so
important. In terms of the
long-term impact, I guess it
will be a collection of what
(I'll) do to promote research in
Africa, about research in our
countries."
DeWet worked at the Popu-
lation Studies Center with
her faculty mentor, Barbara
A. Anderson, to expand her
doctoral thesis on adolescent
mortality, and will continue to
conductresearchatthe Univer-
sity for another four months.
Kofi Gyan, program manag-
er at the International Family
Planning Fellowship Program,
has been a part of the program
since its early years.
"The best part was get-
ting a different perspective on
health, humanities, social sci-
ences from an African point of
view," Gyan said. "There's not a
lot that is known about Africa
than there is about this city."
cerns and a disconnect between
students on North Campus and
Central Campus.
LSA senior Alex Abdun-Nabi
spoke about Ann Arbor's cur-
rent moratorium on erecting
new streetlights on campus due
to cost concerns. He said this
poses problems for off-campus
students living in areas such as
Kerrytown and South Campus.
Schlissel said with the recent
election of Ann Arbor Mayor
Christopher Taylor, the Ann
Arbor City Council has looked
into lifting the moratorium and
increasing lighting throughout
the city.
Schlissel also commented on
the amicable relationship he
shares with Taylor, noting that
both are open to meeting regu-
larly to address the concerns of
student residents.
Students also raised issues
related to the seemingly separate
nature of North Campus.
One student with dual enroll-
ment in the Ross School of Busi-
ness and the School of Art &
Design noted the distinct cul-
tures that exist in each school
due to their geographical sepa-
ration. Others said North Cam-
pus tends to get overlooked in
discussions of overall University
improvement, raising concerns
associated with the Bursley Din-
ing Hall and the deteriorating
infrastructure of the Northwood
Apartments.
Schlissel said the discussion
to improve North Campus is a
relatively new one and students
might not see changes in the
near future. However, he said
improvements are in the works.
"It'll take a couple of years,
but the discussion to improve
the campus is happening now,"
he said.
Schlissel asked students for
suggestions to help bridge the
gap between schools and colleg-
es on North Campus and Central
Campus. One student suggested
creating interdisciplinary pro-
grams to facilitate collabora-
tions between students in both
schools.
Another topic of discussion
was the improvement of men-
tal health services on campus.
Because of the stressful nature of
final exam period, more students
seek psychological help and
therapy during the final weeks of
school than duringthe rest of the
semester-
E. Royster Harper, vice presi-
dent for student life, who also
participated'in the montly chat,
said the additional number of
students attempting to seek
treatment often results in lon-
ger wait times at Counseling and
Psychological Services.
Both Harper and Schlissel
noted that in the past the Univer-
sity has attempted to hire addi-
tional staff during these periods,
yet has underestimated the num-
ber of students seeking help this
season.
Both said the University is
currently considering increasing
the total number of counselors
and expanding CAPS as a whole.