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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
CELEBRATING OUR ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Trip comes after
Snyder recommends
2 percent increase
for higher education
By GENEVIEVE HUMMER
Daily Staff Reporter
University
President
Mark
Schlissel spent Tuesday afternoon
in Lansing meeting with mem-
bers of the state Senate and House
Appropriations Subcommittees on
Higher Education.
Schlissel and several other state
university leaders, including the
chancellors of the University’s
Flint and Dearborn campuses,
addressed Gov. Rick Snyder’s
higher education budget recom-
mendation during the meeting,
with a focus on his proposed
funding to higher education.
Schlissel voiced appreciation
for Snyder’s proposed 2 percent
increase in higher education
funding and the state’s contin-
ued interest in the University’s
work.
In the first budget of Snyder’s
term, colleges and universities
saw a 15 percent cut to higher
education funding. Though Sny-
der has increased funding levels
incrementally each year, the cuts
came during a time when high-
er education funding already
faced a declining trend. Univer-
sity President Emerita Mary Sue
Coleman frequently made simi-
lar trips to Lansing to emphasize
the importance of state funding.
Schlissel noted that Michigan
residents support higher educa-
tion as “a pathway to prosper-
ity,” a belief he observed while
traveling around the state last
summer before beginning his
term as University president.
During Tuesday’s meeting,
he said he was impressed by the
state’s beauty, history and focus
on the future. He added that
residents’ pride in state univer-
sities and colleges was apparent
over the course of the trip, dur-
See FUNDS, Page 3A
Revival of #UMDivest
initiative calls for
examination of ‘U’
investments
By EMILY MIILLER
Daily Staff Writer
Students Allied for Freedom
and Equality — the University
chapter of the activist group Stu-
dents for Justice in Palestine —
read a new divestment resolution
Tuesday during the Divestment
and Sanctions Symposium. Orga-
nizers intend to bring before the
Central Student Government.
The resolution calls for CSG
to support the creation of a com-
mittee through the University’s
Board of Regents to examine the
ethics of the University’s invest-
ments, specifically in companies
that allegedly facilitate the viola-
tions of Palestinian human rights.
The resolution calls on the regents
to divest University endowment
holdings from Caterpillar Inc.,
The Boeing Company, G4S and
the United Technologies Corpo-
ration.
SAFE advocated for a similar
divestment resolution last March
that failed to pass in CSG. The
vote brought hundreds of individ-
uals both supporting and oppos-
ing the divestment resolution to
the Michigan Union during the
CSG vote.
LSA senior Sami Shalabi, a
member of SAFE, said the group is
trying to approach the resolution
differently this year.
“We’re
mainly
steering
towards focusing on the compa-
nies that are socially irrespon-
sible,” Shalabi said. “We’re trying
to take the emotion out of it and
present facts.”
Following the reading, there
was an opportunity for those in
attendance to provide their input
WILLIAM LYNCH/Daily
LSA sophomores Nicole Khamis and Danielle Rabie debate with LSA freshman Jordan Katz at the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) symposium about
#UMDivest at North Quad on Tuesday.
See DIVEST, Page 3A
University prof.
establishes system
to increase student
risk-taking
By CARLY NOAH
Daily Staff Reporter
When Education Prof. Barry
Fishman walks into one of his
classes, he uses a program called
GradeCraft in which students
begin with a grade of 0 percent and
have the ability to build up their
grade as high as they desire.
This is a far cry from typical
first-day-of-class speeches, Fish-
man, who is also a professor in the
School of Information, explained.
Most professors tend to tell their
students that they begin class with
an A+ and the grade is theirs to
lose.
“It’s
incredibly
problematic
because once someone says that,
all you can do is lose points,” Fish-
man said. “So say you do a fabulous
job on your first paper and get a 99
percent. While that’s great, you
don’t have 100 percent anymore
and you never will again.”
GradeCraft, an online learning
platform created at the University
and designed to complement sites
such as CTools and Canvas, pres-
ents a potential solution to this
problem by making grades some-
thing to win.
According to Fishman, there
are two types of learning environ-
ments that involve gaming and the
classroom: what he calls “gami-
fication” and having a “gameful
classroom.”
Gamification is taking an exist-
ing system and giving it game-like
features to force people into doing
specific tasks. Fishman does not
support this method of teaching,
and compared it to the advertising
incentive methods used by airline
companies.
“Maybe you don’t love Delta Air
Lines but you’ve got a lot of fre-
quent flyer miles so you’re going
to fly Delta,” Fishman explained.
“They’ve got you because you’re
kind of trapped in their points sys-
tem.”
He called this method ineffec-
tive because it does not allow for
people to take the course of action
they actually desire.
In contrast to gamification, the
See GRADES, Page 3A
Governor’s plan
includes renewed
emphasis on
community c ollege
By EMMA KINERY
Daily Staff Reporter
Following statewide elections
in which higher education was
a point of debate, this article is
the second in a series examining
the changing landscape of higher
education funding in Michigan,
and what those changes mean for
four-year universities.
When
Gov.
Rick
Snyder
delivered his State of the State
address in January, he discussed
career technical training pro-
grams, associate’s degrees, dual
enrollment and other higher
education pathways.
“One of our goals is to be
number one in skilled trade
training,” Snyder announced in
the address.
However, while he made a
point to emphasize these pro-
grams in the address, the gov-
ernor did not mention any of the
state’s four-year colleges and
universities.
Snyder’s focus on options
beyond
four-year
universi-
ties isn’t new. Over his tenure,
among other initiatives, the
governor has introduced a new
apprenticeship program in the
state. As part of the GOP agen-
da, this legislative session has
featured bills to increase dual
enrollment opportunities for
high school students.
See HIGHER ED, Page 3A
Ackerman to face
incumbent member
in August’s Ward 3
Democratic primary
By EMMA KERR
Daily News Editor
In a city where the City Council
wards split Ann Arbor’s student
population five ways, LSA senior
Zachary Ackerman declared his
candidacy Tuesday for a seat on
the Ann Arbor City Council.
Ackerman, a Democrat and
Ann Arbor native, will run in
Ward 3 for a seat currently held
by Councilmember Stephen Kun-
selman (D–Ward 3).
In an interview with The Michi-
gan Daily, Ackerman said by age 15
he had already found a passion for
local government and was inspired
by his experience shadowing Ann
Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor
(D), then a city councilmember.
Ackerman said his interest in
civic engagement played a key
role in moving him toward run-
ning for city council.
Now 21 years old, Ackerman
See COUNCIL, Page 3A
A look at how, why and where
‘U’ students get their local grub
The Statement
» INSIDE
In Lansing,
Schlissel
lobbies for
state funds
GOVERNMENT
SAFE launches campaign
to encourage divestment
ACADEMICS
Platform aims
to shift basis
for class grades
ANN ARBOR
Sndyer promotes career
and technical education
LSA senior
announces
run for seat
on Council
INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 74
©2015 The Michigan Daily
michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A
OPINION.....................4A
SPORTS ......................7A
SUDOKU..................... 3A
CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A
THE STATEMENT..........1B
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