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Tuesday, February 24, 2015
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Vol. CXXIV, No. 73
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WEATHER
TOMORROW
HI: 20
LO: -3
Universities see
increase under
Snyder, but express
long-term concerns
By JACK TURMAN
Daily Staff Reporter
Following statewide elections in
which higher education was a point
of debate, this article is the first in
a series examining the changing
landscape of higher education fund-
ing in Michigan and what those
changes mean for four-year univer-
sities.
When current Gov. Rick Sny-
der (R) assumed office in 2011,
his administration cut 15 percent
from higher education funding.
Snyder then began a series of
incremental increases to higher
education for each subsequent
year — a 3.1-percent raise in 2012, a
2.2-percent raise in 2013, a 6.1-per-
cent raise in 2014 and a 2-percent
raise in 2015 — though the final
dollar amount still remains lower
than it was when he took office.
However, much before Snyder,
under Republican and Democratic
governors alike, higher education
has seen both heavy fluctuations
and a pattern of cuts.
In interviews, state higher edu-
cation officials and legislators
said past few years’ increases, are
promising, but a long-term prob-
lem still remains.
State economics
Significant cuts to higher edu-
cation started in the late 1970s and
early 1980s due to a recession in
Michigan, according to Stephen
DesJardins, professor of educa-
tion and public policy. DesJardins
wrote “Michigan Public Higher
Education: Recent Trends and Pol-
icy Considerations for the Coming
Decade,” published in 2006.
Under
former
Gov.
James
Blanchard (D), public universities
saw an increase in state appropria-
tions in the mid-1980s. According
to DesJardins, Blanchard believed
that a postsecondary education
would stimulate both economic
growth and development.
After Blanchard finished his
term as governor, former Gov.
John Engler (R) assumed office in
1991, and the state started to strug-
gle with funding higher education,
though DesJardins noted that
Engler still managed to increase
student financial aid.
At the conclusion of Engler’s
years as governor, former Gov.
Jennifer Granholm (D) was elect-
ed in 2003. Granholm cut higher
education funding to balance the
state budget, continuing a down-
Michigan voters to
consider 1 percent
sales tax increase
on May ballot
By SAMANTHA WINTNER
Daily Staff Reporter
In January, Gov. Rick Snyder
(R) approved a plan to fund road
repairs and other infrastruc-
ture upgrades in the state. But
because the proposal must also
receive approval from Michi-
gan voters, both proponents
and critics are already prepared
to sway voters before the May
election.
Snyder’s plan, Proposal 1, has
received mixed reviews from the
state’s residents and businesses.
Supporters say they are con-
cerned with the poor condition
of Michigan’s roads. However,
others worry that increasing
the state sales tax caters to spe-
cial interests groups and will
have a disproportionate effect
on lower-income residents.
Under the plan, a whole-
sale tax on motor fuels would
replace the state sales tax on
fuel, which currently provides
funding for K-12 schools and
local municipal governments.
Revenue from that wholesale
tax would be earmarked entire-
ly for funding transportation
and related infrastructure.
Snyder’s
proposal
also
includes a 1-percent increase in
the state sales tax, from 6 to 7
percent, to replace the funding
for schools, municipalities and
other entities that would be lost
with the elimination of the sales
tax on fuel.
Though
the
legislature
passed the proposal in Decem-
ber, a sales tax change requires
an amendment to the state con-
stitution. Michigan constitu-
ents will vote on the proposal
May 5.
If passed, the legislature
anticipates the restructuring
will raise about $2 billion per
year, according to an analysis by
the Senate Fiscal Agency.
Safe Roads Yes, the ballot
committee in favor of Snyder’s
proposal, has focused on the
message that fixing the roads
is an urgent matter of public
safety.
“Any of us who drive Michi-
gan roads and bridges under-
stand just how dangerous it’s
become,” said Roger Martin, a
spokesperson for the commit-
tee. “It’s dangerous for fire-
fighters and ambulance drivers
and dangerous for police offi-
cers and sheriffs.”
First-time voters
currently required
to vote in person
for elections
ALLANA AKHTAR
Daily Staff Reporter
A bill proposed in the Michi-
gan state legislature could make
voting easier for University stu-
dents.
Earlier this month, several
state senators sponsored a bill
that would allow first-time vot-
ers in the state of Michigan to
vote by absentee ballot or mail.
The bill has been sent to the Sen-
ate’s Committee on Elections and
Government Reform for review.
Currently, first-time voters in
Michigan are required to vote
in person unless disabled, older
than 60 or temporarily residing
overseas.
Proponents of the new legisla-
tion said the current law presents
a problem for many University
students, who are living in Ann
Arbor during their first election
and cannot return to their home-
town to vote in person.
Steve Bieda (D–Warren), a
co-sponsor, said he hopes to
encourage voter turnout by mak-
ing voting more accessible. He
said current legislation unfairly
benefits the state’s Republicans
because college students tend to
be younger and more liberal, and
are more likely to vote for Demo-
cratic candidates.
“Frankly, I think it’s a very
partisan attempt to prevent peo-
ple from voting,” he said.
Bieda added that he is unsure
if the committee, which is made
up of four Republicans and one
Democrat, will schedule a hear-
ing for the bill. He said he pre-
dicts the bill will not receive a
hearing.
“This is one example that
we’re trying to overcome on a
useless law that doesn’t serve any
purpose other than make it more
Initiative designed
to promote human,
planetary health
By LINDSEY SCULLEN
Daily Staff Reporter
Students searching for hot
dogs in East Quad Residence
Hall on Monday were headed
for disappointment.
Monday
marked
Michi-
gan Dining’s first step toward
joining
“Meatless
Monday”
— a global movement started
in 2003 at the John Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public
Health. East Quad was the first
to try it out — throughout the
entire day, no meat was served
at the dining hall.
The initiative has reached
36 different countries and is
rooted in the idea that decreas-
ing the amount of meat eaten
is good for the health of both
humans and the planet.
LSA sophomore Katherine
Hamilton said she agrees that
Meatless Monday is beneficial
to health.
“A lot of meat isn’t real-
ly made ethically or totally
healthily and so I think giving
up meat for a day a week is just a
good idea in general,” she said.
The Meatless Monday cam-
paign’s website says going
meatless at least once a week
can make diners less likely to
develop
chronic
conditions
such as cancer, cardiovascular
disease, diabetes and obesity.
Buzz Cummings, head chef
at East Quad, agrees that meat
can increase these risks, and
said he eats with health in
mind.
“I’ve tried to eat more fruits
and vegetables because I was
diagnosed with cancer myself,”
Cummings said. “You can real-
ly satisfy someone’s diet with
Meeting is first of
several to address
2016, 2017 fiscal
year budgets
By ANASTASSIOS
ADAMOPOULUS
Daily Staff Reporter
The Ann Arbor City Council
convened Monday night to dis-
cuss the first part of the city bud-
get for fiscal years 2016 and 2017.
The meeting was the first
round of discussions on the bud-
get, and included comments from
representatives of the courts, the
fire department and the police
department, as well as City
Administrator Steve Powers.
Tom Crawford, the city’s chief
financial officer, said the city’s
general fund has not yet recov-
ered from the 2008 economic
recession.
“The general fund is still
recovering from the downturn
in a number of different ways
and it’s still going to take us more
time do that,” he said.
Crawford noted that projec-
tions for the operating budget,
which are based on both exist-
ing operations and staff requests,
show there will be an adjusted
net deficit of $1,815,978 in 2016
and of $2,550,605 in 2017. The
See ROADS, Page 3
See MEAT, Page 3
See BUDGET, Page 3
RITA MORRIS/Daily
East Quad hosts it’s first Meatless Mondays menu, where Malibu veggie burgers replace traditional meat
dishes at the Wild Fire station in the dining hall Monday.
TRANSPORTATION
ANN ARBOR
APPROPRIATIONS
GOVERNMENT
See ABSENTEE, Page 3
See HIGHER ED, Page 3
DAVID SONG/Daily
LSA sophomore Antoinette Wade portrays Ella Fitzgerald for the Black on Wax event hosted by Sigma Gamma Rho at the Michigan League on Monday.
WA X MUSEUM
Path forward
for higher
ed. funding
unclear
Bill could remove limits
on Mich. absentee voting
Committees
debate Snyder’s
road proposal
East Quadrangle pioneers
“Meatless Monday” event
City Council
talks more
funding for
police dept.