es,” but rock bands were finding
less and less space in bars and
clubs.

At this point Ryder moved to

Ann Arbor, finished his degree
at the University and opened up
PJ’s Records—an experience he
described as a “graduate degree
in music.” In the early ‘90s, he
decided to move back to Detroit,
where the scene was on its way
back to health, churning out acts
like the White Stripes, Eminem
and Kid Rock.

Ryder bought the then-dilapi-

dated Lager House in 1995.

Things have changed a lot

since he bought the place and
the city seems to be back on
the upswing. Today there’s a
“healthy scene,” Ryder said, with
shows happening almost every
night, if you know where to look.

“There’s this whole other level

that’s constantly churning with
activity,” he said. “And it to me
it doesn’t seem like it’s slowing
down. If anything it’s picking
up.”

The Birthplace of Techno
In the mid ‘80s, halfway

between Ann Arbor and Detroit,
three teens at Belleville High
School were trying something
different. Juan Atkins and class-
mates Kevin Saunderson and
Derrick May, collectively known
as the “Belleville Three,” are
widely credited for creating
the beginnings of what is today
called Detroit Techno.

In an e-mail interview, Atkins

said it all began when he talked
his grandmother into buying
him a Korg MS-10 synthesizer,
a keyboard-like instrument that
creates electronic bass sounds,
when he was a senior in high
school. With that gift, he built
and layered sounds, making
music not grounded in physical
instruments, but out of a digital
realm.

“I would define techno as

being electronic music made or

conceived with computers and
what have you- electronic equip-
ment, synthesizers,” he wrote.

Today the synthesized, elec-

tronic sound that came out of
Atkins’ early experiments would
not seem out of place at a house
party. But at the time, using com-
puters to bring the mechanical
sounds to life was an entirely
new endeavor.

Atkins’ friends encouraged

him to record the new sounds he
was experimenting with and in
1981 the trio opened their down-
town disco, the Music Institute,
where they could play their songs
for an audience.

Atkins produced prolifically

throughout the ‘80s, working
under the name Model 500, and
when recording with collabora-
tor Rick Davis, Cybotron. Cybo-
tron’s single, “Techno City,”
introduced the term “techno” to
brand their futuristic, electronic
beat.

By the late ‘80s, Detroit techno

had found an enthusiastic audi-
ence overseas, and many Detroit
artists found themselves touring
in Europe.

Alvin Hill, who has lectured at

the University, has been a DJ for
over 30 years and said Detroit’s
place in the history of techno has
been critical to his development
as a musician.

“When I think of techno, I

think of Detroit techno because
that was my first introduction
to the word,” Hill said. “Detroit
techno is very much a reflection
of the city itself: urban, industri-
al, futuristic.”

Hill explained that his involve-

ment in the techno world began
when he first met Derrick May of
the Belleville Three. They spoke
about opening up a club togeth-
er, and while those plans never
came to fruition, Hill ended up
staying in contact with May,
running May and Saunderson’s
record labels in the early ‘90s.

Hill said when he met May,

clubs and record stores were
the place to go for aspiring DJs.
Detroit’s clubs were “where

music was happening,” and were
what ultimately pushed him to a
career as a DJ.

“The more I was out at clubs,

the more I thought just how
cool DJs were,” Hill said. “They
took this music and blended it
together and created this sort of
journey.”

The Belleville Three’s experi-

mental sounds defined the first
wave of Detroit techno, the genre
developing a more blank sound in
the mid ‘90s, with DJs like Carl
Craig defining the second wave.

Today’s Detroit DJs have a

quite different experience from
DJs of the past. Hill explained
that the lines between DJ, pro-
ducer and music-maker have
blurred as the equipment for
those jobs becomes more widely
available and user-friendly.

“In the 80s, DJs were DJs,

there was no expectation that
you were going to create music.
But now I think it’s very hard to
be a DJ if you do not create your
own music,” Hill said. “Also in
the ‘80s if you wanted to DJ, you
had to have records, now you can
just have to have a hard drive.”

But accessibility isn’t neces-

sarily a good thing for the techno
industry, Atkins said. Easier pro-
duction methods are a boon for
quantity, not necessarily quality.

“I think you have a lot of pro-

ductions out there coming from
people who shouldn’t really be
making music,” he said. “How-
ever, the technology has allowed
them to make songs and I think
that what we are feeling now is
an onslaught of all of this crap
music.”

Techno’s Detroit roots make

the city a special place for EDM
fans today.

“I think that because this

movement was started in Detroit
and we are from Detroit, it made
Detroit a kind of revered place in
electronic music circles,” Atkins
said. “I think that just recently
have we been getting the acco-
lades that we deserve from the
city of Detroit and the people of
Detroit.”

port from the University, and
there’s been great participation
in the programs from people
that are passionate all across
the university,” Berg said. “It’s
been great getting input from
across the University and a
broad spectrum of stakehold-
ers.”

The PBA 2.0 upgrade allows

users to make pledges and
track the success of their goals
as well as includes personal-
ized information about each
user’s impact on greenhouse
gas emissions, waste, dollars
saved and more.

Berg said the program cur-

rently has about 2,000 active
and certified ambassadors, 700
of whom are students.

Program
Assistant
Ryan

Gourley, program assistant for
the Planet Blue Ambassador
Program, said an sustainability
should be embedded in every-
day life.

“Right now in society, sus-

tainability is often treated as
this separate issue like it’s its
own field,” Gourley said. “Real-
ly, in an ideal world, sustain-
ability undergirds everything.
There’s no human activity that
should occur without an eye
toward sustainability. It is nec-
essary for both the survival of
our species and the continued
well-being of the planet.”

Berg said University-wide

involvement in energy, food,
water, waste and community
sustainability is critical.

“When you get this sort of

grassroots
involvement
and

input is really where you’re
going to see the real difference
made,” Berg said. “We have
this expertise in our research,

and our training and opera-
tions in sustainability is some-
thing that everyone can get
involved in, and we can make a
real impact at the University.”

Last week, University Presi-

dent Mark Schlissel voiced his
support for the initiative on his
“On the Agenda” blog.

“As a public institution,

U-M must be part of our soci-
ety’s
response
to
sustain-

ability challenges on local to
global scales,” he wrote. “This
requires meaningful commit-
ments at both institutional and
individual levels. Our Planet
Blue initiative unifies all of
U-M’s sustainability work –
spanning research, education
and campus life.”

In
November,
Schlissel

called for a review of the Uni-
versity’s sustainability goals,
the first round of which were
scheduled to for completion by
2025.

The University has seen

mixed
results
in
making

progress on the goals, which
include reducing waste, carbon
emissions and transportation
emissions.

The new PBA website, which

is funded through the Office of
the Provost and administered
by the Graham Sustainability
Institute, also includes team-
based activities for students to
compete with their friends.

Gourley
said
he
hopes

the program will eventually
become part of the campus cli-
mate.

“I would measure the suc-

cess of this program being at
a point that would render it
obsolete,” Gourley said. “We
won’t need a program like this
because people just automati-
cally choose the sustainable
option.”

3-News

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, February 4, 2015 — 3A

DETROIT
From Page 2A

PLANET BLUE
From Page 1A

UHS health educator Kellie

Carbone, a Body-Peace Corps
adviser and the event’s direc-
tor, said the program focused
on struggles with body and
appearance because it is a sub-
ject that students are often
unable to talk about freely.

“Over the years, I started

to realize there was real value
in people telling stories and I
saw there really wasn’t a plat-
form for students to do that,”
she said. “Our goal was to get
people talking and listening
to stories about struggles with
body appearance in a support-
ive way.”

“Most of the time people

suffer in silence about these
things and then they become

secrets,” she added. “But giv-
ing a people a space to open up
about that inspires people to
take a brave step and do it in
their own words too.”

At the event, Social Work stu-

dent Hannah Miller spoke about
her 10-year battle with anorexia.
She said she hoped the event
inspired the University commu-
nity to break the silence regard-
ing body disorders.

“I hope that it just spoke to

at least one person,” Miller
said in an interview after her
performance. “There tends to
be a lot of shame and stigma
associated with eating disor-
ders. I hope the event encour-
aged someone to get out there
and break that silence.”

Carbone and the Body-Peace

Corps are currently planning
events for Eating Disorders
Awareness Week at the end of
the month.

MONOLOGUES
From Page 1A

postsecondary
institutions,”

thus allowing high school stu-
dents to take college classes
while in high school. SB-37
does the inverse, allowing com-
munity colleges to enroll high
school students.

Jason
Morgan,
director

of
government
relations
at

Washtenaw Community Col-
lege, said dual enrollment for
high school students has been
an option for as long as he can
remember. The proposed bills,
however, differ from the status
quo because students would not
have to travel to community
colleges to gain credit.

“Dual enrollment is real-

ly
beneficial
for
everyone

involved,” Morgan said. “The
community colleges get addi-
tional students, the students
get college credit while they’re
in high school, and the high
schools get a chance to allow
their students to take college
classes without incurring any
additional cost to the high
school.”

In
February
2014,
the

MASCO Foundation provided
a $150,000 grant to establish
a partnership between Ypsi-
lanti public schools and WCC
so high school students could
earn an associates degree, or
at least a certificate, with their
diploma upon high school grad-
uation. He noted that the pro-
viding students the option of
dual enrollment also provides
potential economic benefits.

“The long term direction is

to encourage even more dual
enrollment with community
colleges, in hopes that students
can save money on college right
off the bat,” Morgan said.

Snyder knows the value of

dual enrollment as he earned
25 credits while attending high
school through dual enrollment
at Kellogg Community College.
These credits allowed him to
earn three degrees from the
University of Michigan by the
time he was 23.

State Sen. Goeff Hansen

(R–Hart) also introduced a bill
regarding dual enrollment for
high school students Jan. 28.
Senate Bill 38 would allow state
universities to offer academic
credit for concurrent enroll-
ment courses offered by public
high schools. Employing the
same concept behind SB-36 and
37, high school students then
would not have to leave campus
to gain credit from state uni-
versities.

As of now, Ferris State Uni-

versity has a concurrent enroll-
ment program available to high
schools with certified teachers.
Under the proposed bill, tuition
would be free to high school
students and instead would
be funded through the public
schools.

College benefits for

veterans

In the State of the State

address, Snyder also highlight-
ed the passage of the National
Guard Tuition Assistance Act
— which provides financial aid
to members of the Michigan
National Guard attending col-
lege in the state of Michigan.

On Jan. 28, State Rep. Holly

Hughes (R–Montague) intro-
duced House Bill 4060, which
would further help veterans
by informing them during the
college admission process that
they can receive credits for
training completed while in the
military. Veterans can submit a
transcript for credits that they
may have earned and receive
appropriate credits from the
university.

Tax credits for graduates
State Rep. Andy Schor (D–

Lansing) and State Sen. Curtis
Hertel, Jr. (D–East Lansing)
both introduced versions of a
bill that would offer students
who stayed in Michigan post-
graduation a tax credit worth
50 percent of their student loan
payments that year.

A similar version of the

bill introduced at the end of
2014 stalled, but now is being
reintroduced as HB-4118. In
a statement, Schor expressed
confidence that passing the bill
could be a bipartisan effort.
Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor)
is a sponsor of the bill.

The proposed bill is based

on the Opportunity Maine pro-
gram, which allows students
who graduate from Maine col-
leges to receive an Educational
Opportunity Tax Credit.

ENROLLMENT
From Page 1A

as an administrator is to ensure
all classes are engaging for both
students and faculty.

“The environment that I’d

like to create for the faculty is an
environment that encourages col-
laboration and encourages exper-
imentation and is a place where
different types of approaches are
embraced, to see if they work,” he
said. “And if they don’t work we
will get rid of them.”

He noted that he would like

to maintain the University’s aca-
demic excellence, and added that
having a competitive faculty body
contributes to that high quality.

“University of Michigan is one

of the world’s greatest univer-
sities, and LSA is the country’s
best liberal arts college,” Martin
said. “We are the best liberal arts
college because we have the best
faculty in the country across the
board. Across all three divisions
we have world-class scholars
who are doing state of the art
research and are teaching under-
graduates every year.”

To maintain a high level of

excellence, Martin said LSA is
planning to review its Race and
Ethnicity requirement. He added
that Angela Dillard, the recently
appointed associate dean for
undergraduate education, will
spearhead this effort, working
with students and faculty to eval-
uate the requirement and amass
feedback.

He said it would be interesting

to further integrate the Race and
Ethnicity requirement into the
LSA curriculum by potentially
granting more upper-level class-
es R&E certification.

Last year, the Black Student

Union called on the University to
adopt a R&E requirement across
all of its schools and colleges as
part of their demands to address
campus climate and diversity.

On this subject, Martin also

said one of his main focuses is
diversity for undergraduate stu-
dents and among faculty. He
wants to see low rates of attri-
tion across all demographics. He
added that faculty diversity has
decreased over the last decade
possibly due to lack of strategy.

“I will be, in the next month

or so, charging a task force with
the job of radically rethinking the
way in which we do recruitment
and retention with the eye of
non-incrementally improving the
diversity of our faculty,” he said.

Martin added that he wants

to make access to the University
easier through scholarships and
financial aid. He stressed that the
University’s national standing
with regard to provision of aid
needs to improve.

LSA junior Ananya Muku-

ndan, who went to the event
because she wished to learn Mar-
tin’s mission and his plans for
improving the campus, said she
liked his discussion on diversity.

“It’s really important that we

have frank discussions about
diversity and how even faculty
have to get diversity training, not
just students, and so I really liked
hearing about that,” she said.

Martin also discussed inter-

disciplinary degrees. He noted
that LSA’s collaboration with
some schools like the School of
Education and Ross School of
Business is better than it is with
others.

He said physical distance

between LSA and the College

of Engineering, the Penny W.
Stamps School of Art and Design,
the Taubman College of Archi-
tecture and Urban Planning, and
the School of Music, Theatre &
Dance had been a problem in the
past — and added that he wants
to work closer with them in the
future. Martin also informed the
students that some LSA classes
will be taught on North Campus
starting in Fall 2015.

“I think the thing that would

be most helpful for my perspec-
tive would be for you students as

a group to think about what are
those
interdisciplinary
cross-

school undergraduate experienc-
es that would be most beneficial
to you,” he said.

LSA junior Jennifer Liu, also a

Business student, said she attend-
ed the event to learn more about
the expanding interdisciplinary
nature of LSA. As a dual major,
she said she feels there is animos-
ity and unnecessary separation
among schools.

“What he said was promising

from his point of view, but what

I would like to see is engagement
across all different colleges on
campus and I think that is going
to take a lot more time and a lot
more effort,” she said, adding
that she would like to hear from
a panel of deans from across the
University’s colleges.

“I was surprised and some-

what happy with how blunt he
was,” Liu added. “I think Dean
Martin comes across as some-
one who wants to be honest with
the students and who is here to
learn.”

DEAN
From Page 1A

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