Michigan students to know when
they’re free.”
Sean
DeMonner,
executive
director of Teaching and Learn-
ing for Information and Technol-
ogy Services, said buying the app
in August constituted a valuable
investment for the University.
“In the process, we concluded
that there was some value that we
were interested in learning from
Aashay and Zakir,” he said. “How
they had thought about this prob-
lem, how they had formulated a
solution — we came to a conclu-
sion to purchase the holdings of
the company they had formed.”
Kumar
and
DeMonner
declined to disclose the Univer-
sity’s purchase price.
The University is planning to
add the application’s mechanisms
to its CTools gateway pages,
according to Kumar.
DeMonner said the Univer-
sity’s current online tools such
as Wolverine Access and CTools
don’t include modern social fea-
tures, like Buzzn.
“We’re interested in trying to
understand how students think
about these features and capabil-
ities, also seeing if we can apply
those learnings to services avail-
able from the University,” he said.
Kumar and Tyebjee have been
friends since meeting during
Welcome Week in 2012. Since
neither originally knew much
about coding, they outsourced
the iPhone and Android beta test
version of the application. After
the beta launched in April 2013,
the students hired two more
developers that summer to create
a more developed version, which
launched in 2014.
The two had been in contact
with Engineering Dean David
Munson since they began work-
ing on the app.
“He’s always open to talking to
students,” Kumar said. “He told
us to just build it because that’s
when we were going to see if this
would be useful or not.”
Munson eventually brought
the students’ idea to the Uni-
versity’s attention, resulting in
a meeting between Kumar, Tye-
bjee and Laura Patterson, the
University’s chief information
officer.
After
the
University
pur-
chased the app, Kumar and Tye-
bjee shut down the iPhone and
Android
versions.
DeMonner
said the acquisition was part of
an effort to learn more from the
University’s students.
“We’re also trying to get better
at interacting with the student
body in general,” he said. “We’re
trying to better understand how
they think about technology, how
they want to use technology, and
trying to make sure that input is
reflected in our services.”
Kumar said he and Tyebjee
started to really work on the app
when they realized the product
could be useful to many students.
“We originally thought this
was just our issue, but as we talk-
ed to more people, we realized
that this could be useful for the
general Michigan population,”
he said.
For Kumar, the most use-
ful part of the app is “Groups,”
which allows people to make
groups with their roommates
or others — allowing the app to
automatically show when every-
one is busy.
LSA senior Alec Pinchak, who
used the Buzzn mobile applica-
tion before the University pur-
chased it, said Buzzn was useful
and easy to work with.
“I use it a lot to meet up with
people I work with, as well as
friends,” he said. “It’s really con-
venient and simple to use.”
APP
From Page 1A
2A — Wednesday, January 14, 2015
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
THREE THINGS YOU
SHOULD KNOW TODAY
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
Chris Christie outlined
his agenda in a State of
the State Address on
Tuesday in Trenton, New
Jersey. Christie, who many
suspect will run for Presi-
dent, highlighted his accom-
plishments as governor, The
New York Times reports.
1
TUESDAY:
Professor Profiles
THURSDAY:
Student Voices
FRIDAY:
Photos of the Week
MONDAY:
This Week in History
WEDNESDAY:
In Other Ivory Towers
Leadership
workshop
WHAT: Students can
attend this introductory
course to improve and
identify leadership skills.
WHO: Human Resource
Development
WHEN: Today from 9
a.m. to 12 p.m.
WHERE: Administrative
Services Building
Mixed media
performance
WHAT: Performer
Joseph Keckler translates
modern experiences into
a variety of mediums
including monologues,
videos and songs.
WHO: Institute for the
Humanities
WHEN: Tonight at 8 p.m.
WHERE: Kerrytown
Concert House
North Korea’s
juche myth
WHAT: Brian Myers,
a Professor at Dongseo
University, sets out to refute
the consensus that Kim Il
Sung’s Juche doctrine is
central to North Korean
ideology.
WHO: Nam Center for
Korean Studies
WHEN: Today from 4 p.m.
to 6 p.m.
WHERE: School of Social
Work Building
Ford school
lecture
WHAT: University of
California President Janet
Napolitano will discuss poli-
tics and public service. The
event will be livestreamed.
WHO: Ford School of Public
Policy
WHEN: Today from 4 p.m.
to 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Power Center
Steve Forbert
concert
WHAT: The Mississippi
singer-songwriter will be
performing songs from his
latest album, “Over With
You.”
WHO: Michigan Union
Ticket Office
WHEN: Tonight at 8 p.m.
WHERE: The Ark
A WINTER WALTZ
Bones found
By Lara Moehlman
Mastodon bones were
found two hours away from
campus in Bellevue Town-
ship. The bones have been
brought to the University to
be analyzed by students and
faculty. They will also be
added to University research
collections.
ON THE WEB...
michigandaily.com
THE WIRE
Mini interviews
WHAT: Students are
invited to attend a
workshop discussing
Multiple Mini Interviews
and how schools use them.
The workshop will feature
team projects and ethnical
questions.
WHO: The Career Center
WHEN: Today from 12 p.m.
to 1 p.m.
WHERE: The Career Center
ROTC
cadets
fulfill
multiple
roles
on
campus,
as
both
students
and
soldiers-in-
training.
Take
an
inside
look at the physical training
required and hear from the
newest student commander.
>> FOR MORE, SEE THE STATEMENT
2
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327
www.michigandaily.com
JENNIFER CALFAS
Editor in Chief
734-418-4115 ext. 1251
jcalfas@michigandaily.com
DOUGLAS SOLOMON
Business Manager
734-418-4115 ext. 1241
dougsolo@michigandaily.com
Newsroom
734-418-4115 opt. 3
Corrections
corrections@michigandaily.com
Arts Section
arts@michigandaily.com
Sports Section
sports@michigandaily.com
Display Sales
dailydisplay@gmail.com
Online Sales
onlineads@michigandaily.com
News Tips
news@michigandaily.com
Letters to the Editor
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Editorial Page
opinion@michigandaily.com
Photography Section
photo@michigandaily.com
Classified Sales
classified@michigandaily.com
Finance
finance@michigandaily.com
EDITORIAL STAFF
Lev Facher Managing Editor lfacher@michigandaily.com
Sam Gringlas Managing News Editor gringlas@michigandaily.com
SENIOR NEWS EDITORS: Shoham Geva, Will Greenberg, Amabel Karoub, Emma Kerr,
Emilie Plesset, Michael Sugerman
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITORS: Tanaz Ahmed, Neala Berkowski, Alyssa Brandon, Nabeel
Chollampat, Gen Hummer, Emma Kinnery, Lara Moehlman, Carly Noah, Irene Park,
Lindsey Scullen
Aarica March and
Derek Wolf Editorial Page Editors opinioneditors@michigandaily.com
SENIOR EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS: Claire Bryan and Matt Seligman
ASSISTANT EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS: Regan Detwiler, Michael Paul, Melissa Scholke,
Michael Schramm, Mary Kate Winn
BLOG EDITOR: Tori Noble
Max Cohen and
Jake Lourim Managing Sports Editors
sportseditors@michigandaily.com
SENIOR SPORTS EDITORS: Max Bultman, Daniel Feldman, Rajat Khare, Erin Lennon,
Jason Rubinstein, Jeremy Summitt
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITORS: Chloe Aubuchon, Minh Doan, Jacob Gase, Kelly Hall,
Zach Shaw, Brad Whipple
Adam Depollo and
adepollo@michigandaily.com
Chloe Gilke Managing Arts Editors chloeliz@michigandaily.com
SENIOR ARTS EDITORS: Jamie Bircoll, Kathleen Davis, Catherine Sulpizio, Adam
Theisen ARTS BEAT EDITORS: Alex Bernard, Karen Hua, Jacob Rich, Amelia Zak
Allison Farrand and
photo@michigandaily.com
Ruby Wallau Managing Photo Editors
SENIOR PHOTO EDITORS: Luna Anna Archey and James Coller
ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITORS: Amanda Allen, Virginia Lozano, Paul Sherman
Emily Schumer and
design@michigandaily.com
Shane Achenbach Managing Design Editors
Ian Dillingham Magazine Editor statement@michigandaily.com
DEPUTY MAGAZINE EDITORS: Natalie Gadbois
STATEMENT PHOTO EDITOR: Luna Anna Archey
STATEMENT LEAD DESIGNER: Jake Wellins
Hannah Bates and
copydesk@michigandaily.com
Laura Schinagle Managing Copy Editors
SENIOR COPY EDITORS: Emily Campbell and Emma Sutherland
Amrutha Sivakumar Online Editor amrutha@michigandaily.com
Kaylla Cantilina Managing Video Editor
Carolyn Gearig Special Projects Manager
BUSINESS STAFF
Madeline Lacey University Accounts Manager
Ailie Steir Classified Manager
Simonne Kapadia Local Accounts Manager
Olivia Jones Production Managers
Jason Anterasian Finance Manager
The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by
students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may
be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110.
Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates
are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must
be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press.
SEXUAL ASSAULT
The University of Virginia has
reinstated its chapter of the Phi
Kappa Psi fraternity after a police
investigation did not find any evi-
dence of the alleged gang rape
detailed in a controversial article
in Rolling Stone Magazine, The
Cavalier Daily reported Monday.
UVA President Teresa A. Sulli-
van announced the decision after
Charlottesville Police Depart-
ment officials told the univer-
sity they did not find “substantive
basis to confirm that the allega-
tions raised in the Rolling Stone
article occurred at Phi Kappa
Psi.”
“We welcome Phi Kappa Psi,
and we look forward to working
with all fraternities and sorori-
ties in enhancing and promoting
a safe environment for all,” Sulli-
van wrote in a statement.
Columbia University under
investigation for mishandling
sexual assaults
Columbia University officials
confirmed that the school is par-
ticipating in two federal investi-
gations by the U.S. Department
of Education’s Office for Civil
Rights over the school’s han-
dling of sexual assault and
harassment cases, The Columbia
Spectator reported.
The Department of Educa-
tion is reviewing Columbia’s
compliance with Title IX, which
prohibits
discrimination
on
the basis of gender and Title II,
which prohibits discrimination
by public entities on the basis of
ability.
The investigations opened
Jan. 8 following federal com-
plaints filed against the univer-
sity by 23 Columbia and Barnard
College students last spring
alleging violations of Title II,
Title IX and the Clery Act.
Columbia and Barnard join
a list of 93 universities under
investigation for their handling
of sexual misconduct cases,
including
the
University
of
Michigan.
— JING JING MA
Read more online at
michigandaily.com.
UVA reinstates fraternity
BRIAN BECKWITH/Daily
LSA junior Michelle Huang and Information junior
Josh Blumberg ballroom dance at WinterFest at the
Michigan Union Tuesday.
Two hundred people
were evacuated and
one
firefighter
died
when smoke filled a
metro station in Washington,
D.C. The source of the smoke
is still unknown and the
station
was
temporarily
closed, CNN reported.
industry
resurgence.
In
his
speech, Obama cited the indus-
try’s recovery as an example of
America’s recovery post-econom-
ic recession.
Vice President Joe Biden vis-
ited the Auto Show Jan. 15, 2014.
There, he spoke of similar themes
of recovery in the auto industry
and praised automakers for cre-
ating middle-class jobs amid eco-
nomic downturn.
University alum Tom Finelli
initially planned to pursue aero-
space engineering, but when he
graduated in 1992 there were not
many jobs in the field. After a few
career moves, and returning to
school for his business degree,
he became the vice president of
purchasing and supplier quality
for FCA.
“Michigan
and
the
metro
Detroit area have a lot to offer,
even outside of the opportuni-
ties within Chrysler,” he said.
“We have really made an effort to
promote not only Detroit but the
state of Michigan and the advan-
tages that young people have
by living here. You can see here
everyday in the city of Detroit the
rebirth that is going on.”
Finelli said like Detroit, the
auto industry is on the rise — and
as the companies grow, so does
their demand for workers. The
job market has continued to grow
so extensively in Southeastern
Michigan that it’s becoming diffi-
cult for FCA to find enough talent
in the area, he added.
University alum Brian John-
son, the executive business plan-
ner in Purchasing and Supplier
Quality for FCA, echoed Finelli’s
sentiments and stressed that stu-
dents don’t need to leave the state
to find jobs. He made reference
to the book “Acres of Diamonds”
by Russel Connell, which he said
“talks about this guy that goes
and searches the whole world to
find his diamonds when they’re
really right under his feet.”
“I kind of equate that to the
automotive industry; what we have
in Detroit where there’s a great
opportunity for students that are
graduating here,” Johnson said.
“The opportunity that exists in the
automotive industry is huge.”
FCA is one of many employ-
ers that actively recruit Univer-
sity students. Crane found her
job after participating in Chrysler
internship program.
“There’s so many jobs, even if
they’re not in automotive, that are
connected to automotive,” she said.
“At the Auto Show, I ran into fellow
U of M students who were report-
ers, who were product specialists,
who were there for all sorts of dif-
ferent functions, all because it was
an automotive-based event.”
AUTO SHOW
From Page 1A
judges, who began hearing oral
arguments from both sides last
August, ruled in a 2-1 decision.
Numerous marriage-equality
interest groups have expressed
their frustration with the U.S.
Supreme Court’s lack of action
pertaining to same-sex mar-
riage.
Michigan Attorney General
Bill Schuette issued a statement
Friday after the U.S. Supreme
Court did not announce a deci-
sion. Schuette has vowed to
enforce the state’s ban.
“I am hopeful the court will
eventually take up this issue and
optimistic they will choose to
do so at their next conference,”
Schuette said. “The sooner the
United States Supreme Court
makes a decision on this issue
the better it will be for Michigan
and America.”
Emily Dievendorf, executive
director of the advocacy organi-
zation Equality Michigan, said
the state of Michigan is more
than ready to join the 36 other
states where same-sex marriage
is legal.
Brad O’Conner, vice presi-
dent of the Jim Toy Community
Center, said the wait for many
Michigan couples, for both in-
state and out-of-state licensure,
has been difficult and emotional.
“With the arc continuing to
bend toward justice in the Unit-
ed States, we look forward to the
day when all families, not just
here in Michigan, but nation-
wide are recognized under the
law,” he said.
COURT
From Page 1A
3
Correction appended:
A previous version of
“SACUA discusses changes
to Information Technology
policy,” which ran Jan. 13,
incorrectly reported the
nature of the conversation
on LSA faculty grievances.
SACUA discussed bringing
LSA procedures in favor of a
more uniform policy.
CORRECTIONS
Please report any error
in the Daily to corrections
@michigandaily.com.
JOIN THE
MICHIGAN
DAILY
COME TO
OUR MASS
MEETINGS @
420 MAYNARD
ON
Wed., Jan. 21
Thurs., Jan. 22
Sun., Jan. 25
Mon., Jan. 26
at 7:30 p.m.
WE
HOPE TO
SEE YOU
THERE
We’re
accepting
applications
in all
sections.
NEWS.
SPORTS.
OPINION.
ARTS.
PHOTO.
VIDEO.
DESIGN.
COPY.
Mo. in which unarmed Black
teenager Michael Brown was
shot by a white police officer,
sparking a nationwide debate on
racial stereotyping and police
violence.
Later in the meeting, Zear-
foss, the Law School assistant
dean, discussed minority enroll-
ment at the University dur-
ing the time allotted for guest
speakers at CSG meetings.
Zearfoss discussed the his-
tory of minority enrollment at
the University, including a time-
line of U.S. Supreme Court cases
related to affirmative action and
the state of Michigan’s 2006
passage of Proposal 2, which
banned the use of affirmative
action in admissions.
“Racial diversity improves
the dialogue on campus and the
learning environment,” she said.
In recent months, several
events have called on the Uni-
versity to improve its efforts to
recruit and enroll minority stu-
dents, including protests and
campaigns organized by the
BSU.
Zearfoss said the Law School
makes a concentrated effort
to recruit a diverse applicant
pool by personally reaching out
to potential students, visiting
campuses and waiving applica-
tion fees. However, these efforts
have not yielded a significantly
diverse enrollment.
“All of the steps we take are
useful and helpful but it will
never substitute the more direct
route of just taking race into
account,” she said. “So, it will
always be something we have to
continually give attention to and
examine to see what we can do
better.”
CSG representatives had the
opportunity to ask Zearfoss
questions after she finished
speaking.
CSG President Bobby Dishell,
a Public Policy senior, asked
about the potential implemen-
tation and impact of pipeline
programs, outreach programs
designed to prepare targeted
students for higher education.
Zearfoss said pipeline pro-
grams would not be effective for
ensuring diversity in a program
as competitive as the Univer-
sity’s Law School.
“I think making personal con-
nections is the key for us,” she
said.
CSG
From Page 1A
michigandaily.com