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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, February 20, 2015

CELEBRATING OUR ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Regents held 
closed strategic 
session in Jan.

Professor talks presence of 
Muslims in African history

Task force 
holds open 
forum about 
honor code

RUBY WALLAU/Daily

(LEFT) Newly appointed chief financial officer Kevin Hegarty attends the February Regents’ Meeting in the Anderson Room at the Union Thursday. (RIGHT) President 
Mark Schlissel opens the Regents’ Meeting. 

Regents approve 
building projects, 
calendar changes

By GENEVIEVE HUMMER 

and ALLANA AKHTAR

Daily Staff Reporters

At the University’s Board 

of Regents meeting Thursday, 
several renovation projects and 
appointments were approved, 

including an updated plan for 
the Intramural Sports Build-
ing and the confirmation of a 
new University chief financial 
officer.

Renovations to athletic 

buildings

The regents approved a bud-

get increase for the renova-
tion of the Intramural Sports 
Building. The budget for the 
project has now been extended 
from $18.7 million to $21.4 mil-
lion. The additional funds will 

be used in part to build more 
group exercise rooms, add 
perimeter drains and install air 
conditioning.

The additional funding will 

be provided by investment pro-
ceeds and the Student Life Stu-
dent Fee for Facility Renewal.

E. 
Royster 
Harper, 
vice 

president for student life, who 
included mention of the reno-
vations in her report to the 
regents, said preserving the 
building is important. At the 

time it was constructed in 1928, 
the facility was the first colle-
giate intramural sports build-
ing in the country.

“The project will preserve 

the history of the 87-year-old 
iconic facility,” Royster said. 
“It will also promote the health 
and wellness of our students, 
faculty and staff.”

LSA senior Jacob Light, a 

member of Building a Better 
Michigan and a Residential 

Student group 
hosts event in 
honor of Black 
History Month

By EMMA KINERY

Daily Staff Reporter

The Muslim Student Asso-

ciation celebrated Black History 
Month Thursday night with a 
lecture on Islam’s roots in Africa.

The event, which was attend-

ed by about 50 people, was held 
in the Henderson Room of the 
Michigan League and features 
Associate History Prof. Rudolph 
Ware.

In his lecture, Ware outlined 

the history of Islam in Africa. 

He said that even before the offi-
cial beginning of Islam, when 
Muhammad 
traveled 
from 

Mecca to Medina on an invita-
tion to escape persecution, the 
religion has had a presence on 
the continent.

In the year 615 CE and again 

in 616 CE, Ware said Muslims 
escaped persecution by cross-
ing the Red Sea into present 
day Ethiopia and seeking refuge 
with a Christian king. However, 
over time, he said Blacks practic-
ing the religion have been alien-
ated by current Middle Eastern 
countries, leading to the earlier 
prominence of Islam in Western 
Africa often being forgotten.

Nonetheless, one sixth of the 

world’s Muslim population cur-
rently resides in Sub-Saharan 
Africa, Ware said. In Senegal, 
he said 98 percent of citizens are 

Muslim.

“The only Arab countries that 

have that percentage are Saudi 
Arabia and Yemen,” Ware said. 
“There are more Muslims in 
Nigeria than there are in Egypt, 
and Nigeria’s only 50 percent 
Muslim. There’s more Muslims 
in Ethiopia than there are in 
Iraq.”

This number is so high 

because of the tradition of 
Qur’an schools in western Afri-
ca, he said. Dating back to the 
1400s Qur’an schools were open 
to teach Muslim children math-
ematics and reading.

These schools, which still 

exist today, promoted the spread 
of Islam because certain groups 
of scholars were trained to mem-
orize the Qu’uran to the point of 
being able to reproduce it, Ware 

Six fraternities, 

sororities suspended 

for vandalism 
undergo review

By MICHAEL SUGERMAN

Daily News Editor

After six University Greek 

life chapters drew criticism last 
month for causing extensive 
damage to two Northern Michi-
gan ski resorts, discussion about 
the incidents surfaced at Thurs-
day’s meeting of the University’s 
Board of Regents.

At the meeting, Interfrater-

nity Council President Alex 
Krupiak, an LSA senior, and 
Panhellenic Association Presi-
dent Maddy Walsh, a Business 
junior, 
issued 
apologies 
on 

behalf of the Greek commu-
nity and said Greek life judicial 
proceedings have already rec-
ommended sanctions for those 
involved.

“We have been collectively 

embarrassed and humbled by 
the actions of some of our mem-
bers,” Krupiak said. “We fully 
understand how our actions 
impacted everyone involved… 

and that severe measures need 
to be taken.”

Krupiak added that students 

have already faced the Student 
Organization Advancement and 
Recognition’s judicial process. 
The system referred cases to 
the chapters’ respective stu-
dent governing body, the Greek 
Activities Review Panel.

GARP is the judicial branch 

for 
the 
University’s 
Greek 

Councils — the Panhellenic 
Association, the Interfraternity 
Council, the National Pan-Hel-
lenic Council and the Multicul-
tural Greek Council.

Hearings 
are 
currently 

underway and Krupiak said 
GARP has recommended sanc-
tions, which are currently under 
review by Dean of Students 
Laura Blake Jones.

“The only way to move for-

ward completely from this is 
to ensure that every member 
understands the consequences 
of his or her behavior,” Krupiak 
said.

“We also recognize that, 

regardless of if an individual 
caused damage or not, each 
member had a responsibility 
to be an active bystander,” he 
added. “Failing to do so caused 

Body discussed 
diversity, higher 
education during 

meeting in A2

By GENEVIEVE HUMMER

Daily Staff Reporter

Members of the University’s 

Board of Regents convened in 
the Michigan Union on Thurs-
day afternoon for their month-
ly public meeting. In January, 
the regents also met in Ann 
Arbor, but in place of an open 
meeting, they gathered for 
closed strategy sessions.

In a January interview with 

The Michigan Daily, Univer-
sity President Mark Schlis-
sel said the retreat focused 
on philosophical discussions 
around what it means to be 
an excellent university and 
to brainstorm ways in which 
the University can continue to 
improve. He said the regents 
continue to bring an important 
perspective to the University’s 
policy-making process.

“The regents are incredibly 

engaged in the governance 
of the University,” he said. 
“They’re really the connection 
between professional academ-
ics like me and this huge public 
that we serve.”

In an e-mail interview after 

the strategic session, Regent 
Katherine 
White 
(D–Ann 

Arbor) noted that no official 

decisions were made at these 
meetings, but said the session 
gave the board a chance to 
focus on broad topics related 
to higher education.

“The retreat contrasts with 

our monthly meetings, which 
are focused on the topics that 
need 
immediate 
attention,” 

White said. “Our strategic ses-
sion was a good opportunity to 
focus on the future of higher 
education. It also gave us a 
chance to welcome new regent 
Michael Behm and get to know 
him better.”

Apart 
from 
White, 
no 

other regents were available 
for comment for this article. 
Five regents did not respond 
to e-mail inquires from the 
Daily. Regents Denise Ilitch 
(D–Bingham Farms) and Larry 
Deitch 
(D–Grosse 
Pointe) 

declined interview requests 
due to scheduling conflicts.

White said the closed strate-

gic session provides the board 
a chance to speak openly about 
how to improve the University, 
an opportunity not afforded at 
the monthly meetings.

“Again, this is our one 

chance a year to turn our atten-
tion to asking ‘What if?’ types 
of questions and to step away 
from the topics that demand 
our attention on a monthly 
basis,” White said. “It is good 
governance to have an oppor-
tunity to do a little blue-sky 
thinking and have very candid 
discussions.

Students weigh 

possible addition to 
Student Rights and 

Responsibilities

By TANAZ AHMED

Daily Staff Reporter

The Central Student Govern-

ment’s Student Honor Code Task 
Force held a forum Thursday 
night to gather student input for 
a new University-wide student 
honor code.

CSG President Bobby Dishell, 

a Public Policy senior, estab-
lished the task force earlier this 
month to compose a code per-
taining to academic integrity, 
individual behavior and student 
rights. The goal of creating a 
code is to complement the pre-
existing Statement of Student 
Rights and Responsibilities, a 
University document that out-
lines appropriate responses to 
inappropriate student behavior.

The forum was open to stu-

dents 
across 
campus. 
Aside 

from CSG members, 10 students 
attended the event.

CSG Vice President Emily 

Lustig, an LSA senior and the 
task force chair, led the forum.

According to Lustig, some 

student leaders opposed the 
Statement of Student Rights and 
Responsibilities when it was first 
approved and said the honor 
code would give students a space 

ADMINISTRATION
STUDENT GOVERNMENT

ZACH MOORE/Daily

Associate History Prof. Rudolf Ware speaks about Islam in Black America at the Michigan League Thursday. 

See GREEK LIFE, Page 3
See REGENTS, Page 3

See SESSION, Page 3
See HISTORY, Page 3
See FORUM, Page 3

UT administrator approved 
as University’s next CFO 

Greek life 
chapters 
could face 
sanctions

INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 70
©2015 The Michigan Daily
michigandaily.com

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A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

SPORTS.........................7

SUDOKU....................... 3

CL ASSIFIEDS.................6

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