and suggestions regarding the res-
olution.
LSA sophomore Nicole Kha-
mis, a member of SAFE, said she
believes a University ethics review
committee should already exist.
“After we divested from South
Africa, when that happened, if you
look in the University records,
what they wanted to do was to
create a committee to look at
our investments,” Khamis said.
“Unfortunately, that hasn’t been
the case, and that doesn’t exist.”
The resolution cites United
Nations
Security
Resolution
242 and various University poli-
cies, including the University’s
divestments from South African
apartheid in 1978 and tobacco
companies in 2000, as the reason-
ing for creating the committee.
If the committee is formed and
decides the University should
divest from the companies, the
four corporations would be given
a year’s warning to change the
policies deemed unethical. The
University
would
discontinue
investing in the companies if
these changes were not imple-
mented.
Apart from SAFE, members of
the University’s Divest to Invest
group gathered on the Diag ear-
lier this month to call for the Uni-
versity’s divestment from fossil
fuels.
However, according to Univer-
sity spokesman Rick Fitzgerald,
the threshold for passing a divest-
ment policy is purposefully diffi-
cult to reach.
“The bar is set intentionally
high ... to somewhat insulate
the investment office from the
political winds that could change
from one direction to the other,”
Fitzgerald said in an interview
last year. “So the bar for consider-
ing divesting is set intentionally
very high and requires this broad
pervasive sentiment throughout
University community to even be
considered.”
Prior to the reading of the
resolution, various booths pro-
vided information on the history
of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
and information about the SAFE
movement.
Khamis said the symposium
sought to raise awareness and
understanding about the conflict,
as well as encourage students to
instigate change.
“It’s about what you can do
right now,” Khamis said.
LSA senior Daniel Hurwitz-
Goodman, a member of Jewish
Voice for Peace, attended the
event in support of SAFE and the
divestment movement.
“I think that the idea of hav-
ing education and feedback at the
forefront is an important aspect
of getting something like this
actually passed rather than just
talked about,” Hurwitz-Good-
man said.
While he’s also spent time
addressing
four-year
schools,
these initiatives have caught the
attention of educational institu-
tions around Michigan, many of
whom are wondering what this
new emphasis will mean for their
future.
Give and take?
In public appearances over his
tenure, the governor has stressed
that his focus is on bringing more
career readiness to the states’
higher education offerings, not
taking something away.
Speaking at his annual educa-
tion summit last March, Snyder
said he wants higher education to
adopt a broader approach in pre-
paring students for the workforce.
“(Michigan education) is too
often focused on a diploma or a
degree, and not saying, ‘Are you
career ready?’” he said at the time.
In a public appearance in
Macomb late last year, Snyder said
the idea individuals need a college
degree has been reinforced too
much, and he wants to swing the
balance back, The Macomb Daily
reported.
“The part we messed up is that
we didn’t say with equal fervor and
equal passion (to teens) that you
should also look at skilled trades
and you should look at career tech-
ed … the whole country messed up
on this issue and we were a part of
messing up on this issue.”
Many higher education poli-
cymakers and university officials
across the state say they are opti-
mistic about that idea of an addi-
tion, not a replacement, especially
in regards to how those programs
are funded in the state budget.
In Snyder’s fiscal year 2016
budget recommendation this Feb-
ruary, he doubled the amount of
money allocated to skilled trades
programs — from $10 million to
$20 million. However, appropria-
tions for universities and colleges
also received an increase of 2 per-
cent, in line with previous increas-
es over the past few years.
Cynthia Wilbanks, the Univer-
sity’s vice president for govern-
ment relations, said in an interview
before the budget’s release that
she did not believe universities
would have to make concessions
as a result of increased attention to
trades programs.
“I am very reluctant to iden-
tify the governor’s focus as being
singly focused, and an either or
proposition where winners and
losers are identified as coming
out of that kind of a discussion,”
Wilbanks said. “I prefer to think
about the governor’s comments as
not an either-or opportunity, and
I think that’s really important.
What I think people will try to
do on occasion is divide and con-
quer: if we just put more resourc-
es into this area of education,
that means someone else is going
to lose out. And I do not believe
that is the intention of the gover-
nor and other policy makers.”
State Rep. Amanda Price (R–
Holland), chair of the House
Education Committee, said she
sees skilled trades programs as
a way to better match student
needs.
“Some people are going to
feel that their skills are served
better by four-year universi-
ties, and they want to go in that
direction,” she said. “A lot of
kids … they know they’re going
to work with their hands, or
know they’re going to work in
the skilled trades and then that’s
a better fit for them. So I think
it’s finding what is the best fit for
that individual, as opposed to a
zero-sum game.”
State Rep. Jeff Irwin (D–
Ann Arbor), who serves on the
Appropriations subcommittee on
Higher Education, said while he
did not think that the increased
attention
towards
alternative
higher education routes would
have an impact on university
funding, it’s hard to ever be sure.
“I don’t personally see a direct
conflict between that and uni-
versity funding,” he said. “Of
course there’s always a conflict
between any funding line and
another. I would see that more
as a conflict than say, our cor-
rections expenses.”
Speaking before the budget
recommendation release, Dale
Tahtinen, vice president of gov-
ernment relations at Michigan
Technological University, said
he thinks the impact on a uni-
versity’s budget would depend
on the focus of that university’s
programs.
“Hopefully
(the
financial
impact) will be minimal, but
it may have an impact, prob-
ably on some more than others
depending on what they offer,”
Tahtinen said.
MAT2
The governor’s push for
career education has manifest-
ed in several distinct ways.
During his State of the State
address, Snyder highlighted one
of his earliest initiatives — the
Michigan
Advanced
Techni-
cal Training Program. MAT2
launched in 2013, after the gover-
nor observed a similar program
during a 2012 visit to Germany.
Ryan Hundt, a senior program
manager for the Michigan Eco-
nomic Development Corpora-
tion’s Talent Enhancement unit,
runs MAT2, which combines
both job training and in-class-
room learning. He said when it
comes to Michigan, the program
is the first of its kind.
“There have been apprentice-
ship programs around the state
and around the country for quite
some time,” he said. “The MAT2
program was modeled on the
German dual education system,
and the German dual education
system kind of blends compo-
nents of a traditional classroom
setting with employer on-the-job
training.”
What makes the MAT2 pro-
gram unique, he said, is that it is
employer-driven, based on con-
necting students with potential
future employers, rather than
only teaching job skills.
MAT2 currently is involved
in three community colleges on
four college campuses: Macomb
Community College at their south
campus in Warren, Oakland Com-
munity College on the Auburn
Hills and Orchard Ridge cam-
puses, and Henry Ford College in
Dearborn.
More than 90 students are cur-
rently enrolled.
In 2013, MAT2 had partnered
with Oakland Community Col-
lege and Henry Ford Community
College and only offered a mecha-
tronics program, with just 31 stu-
dents enrolled. In 2014, with the
governor’s support, the programs
expanded to include Macomb
Community College, adding a
technical product design program,
an information technology pro-
gram and enrolling more than an
additional 60 students.
This year, MAT2 plans to
expand to both include a new
technician program, and move
outside of the Southeast Michigan.
“We’re planning on partnering
with Lansing Community College,
Kalamazoo Valley Community
College, Delta College in Saginaw,
North Central Community Col-
lege in Petoskey and Baker College
in Cadillac,” Hundt said. “We’re
hoping that MAT2 is not just an
educational and training model for
Michigan, but we’re hoping that it
can be replicated throughout the
U.S. at some point as well.”
Hundt said he saw several ben-
efits to the governor’s focus on the
skilled trades, including increased
awareness of them as options.
“It also makes programs like
MAT2 seem like a viable educa-
tional aid career option,” Hundt
said. “Especially for students that
may not necessarily know what
they’d like to do after high school,
or they may be interested in a par-
ticular field but they don’t neces-
sarily want to go off to a four-year
college or a university.”
Participant Rebekka Neumann
said she fell in this category, and
was encouraged by her teachers
and robotics team coaches to join
the MAT2 program after gradua-
tion.
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
ing which he met with leaders of
startup companies born out of
University research and a hand-
ful of local non-profits.
Schlissel stressed the Uni-
versity’s deep connection to the
state, highlighting its commit-
ment to meeting 100 percent
of demonstrated financial need
for all in-state students. He said
that commitment has made the
University more affordable than
it was five years ago for in-state
students that demonstrate finan-
cial need.
This was a point Coleman
made in a February 2013 speech
to the House Appropriations Sub-
committee on Higher Education.
Snyder’s budget proposal that
year also provided for modest
funding increases for public state
universities; Coleman said this
allowed for continuing improve-
ment of the University’s financial
aid programs.
“Only one (University) bud-
get item is sacrosanct and that
is financial aid; here we are add-
ing dollars,” she said. “This year
alone, we invested $137 million
for financial aid. We are very,
very deliberate when targeting
savings on campus — the kind of
precision you might experience in
an advanced course in nano-engi-
neering or microsurgery.”
Schlissel also cited the Uni-
versity’s collaborations with the
state’s automotive, technology,
urban planning and insurance
industries. For example, he noted
the University is currently work-
ing with government and educa-
tion officials to build a 32-acre
mobility transformation center
to develop automated, driverless
vehicles.
will graduate from the University
in December — a semester late due
to a brief stint working as a depu-
ty field director for Rep. Debbie
Dingell’s campaign during the sec-
ond half of 2014.
After leading a volunteer group
during Taylor’s campaign for
mayor last year, Ackerman said
his experience working on vari-
ous campaigns has taught him the
importance of dedication to one’s
constituents.
“You learn how to really engage
in the community and you learn
how to really be active and present,
and you learn that combination of
thoughtfulness, open-mindedness,
and a data-driven, progressive
approach to governance,” he said.
When deciding whether to run,
Ackerman considered what he
could offer to the community. He
said he aspires to be a leader, but
one that promotes civic engage-
ment rather than a personal agen-
da.
“As a civic leader, I want to
make
municipal
government
more accessible and understand-
able to constituents,” Ackerman
said. “We need to invest primar-
ily in our infrastructure and basic
services. We can’t do those things
well enough. As a community
leader, I want to make Ann Arbor
more accessible and attractive to
residents. To achieve that qual-
ity of life, we need to invest in our
people.”
Ackerman said the type of peo-
ple the city caters to and attracts
is important, and subsequently
he hopes his more youthful per-
spective will provide insights into
how the city can best attract and
keep young professionals. He also
emphasized that he is interested in
collaboration and respecting dif-
fering ideas — values he said reflect
the spirit of Ann Arbor.
Vying for the seat held by
incumbent Councilmember Ste-
phen Kunselman (D–Ward 3),
Ackerman said he aspires to bring
open-mindedness to City Council.
“I find (Kunselman) to be not
necessarily the most collaborative
person, and I think a lot of people
who work in city politics, includ-
ing city staff, and a lot of residents
would agree with that. I don’t
think he comes to the table with
a sense of open-mindedness that
I believe is necessary to help make
Ann Arbor fully functional.”
Kunselman did not wish to
comment on these remarks at this
time, but said he is planning to run
a full, competitive campaign for
re-election in the coming months.
Ackerman said one issue he
has noticed that requires more
attention is homelessness and the
resources available to create more
permanent solutions, including
shelters and affordable housing.
“We have to make sure Ann
Arbor is accessible to anyone who
wants to call Ann Arbor home,” he
said.
In addition to considering new
locations for possible affordable
housing units, Ackerman said
the Delonis Center — a shelter
that offers temporary housing
for those who need it — could
be restructured to better serve
Washtenaw County residents. The
shelter is currently funded in part
by the state, which means it has to
accept any Michigan resident.
“(The
Delonis
Center)
has
become the homeless shelter for
the greater southeast area,” Ack-
erman said. “We need to take a
look at how we fund the Delonis
Center in a way that allows us to
focus on Washtenaw County and
Ann Arbor residents so that we
can provide not only a temporary
shelter for people but also any
social support they need while on
their way to permanent housing
and a place in Ann Arbor’s work-
force.”
Ackerman said encouraging an
increase in affordable housing —
an issue he said he will approach
with a unique perspective — is
necessary in Ann Arbor.
Amid lengthy debate, City
Council has been working to
update zoning protocols, an issue
Taylor emphasized during the
mayoral race and one Ackerman
agreed still requires attention.
The construction of high-rise
apartment buildings has attract-
ed extensive debate in recent
years.
Considering both student needs
and residential needs, Ackerman
said he is prepared to come to the
table with fresh ideas and a unique
outlook in the conversation about
housing and downtown develop-
ment.
“I think there were some over-
sights in the zoning process that
began in 2007,” Ackerman said.
“Zoning can be done better to
make sure Ann Arbor stays the
historic and attractive skyline we
want — like considering a buf-
fer zone between residents and
downtown, staggering heights,
things like that.”
Ackerman also suggested find-
ing innovative approaches to
affordable housing, such as pro-
moting accessory units, or small
dwellings attached to single-fam-
ily homes that are often rented at
more affordable rates.
“This is just supplemental, but
it’s creative and communal,” he
said. “There are a lot of issues at
play when you talk about afford-
ability and the student body. “
As an employee of the Univer-
sity’s Information and Technology
Services, Ackerman said he hopes
his knowledge and perspective
will help bring Ann Arbor as a city
into the 21st century.
“In terms of road repair, there
are a lot more proactive measures
that we can take.” he said. “In
terms of problem reporting, places
like Jackson are experimenting
with civic applications for your
phones.”
Ackerman said there is a notice-
able divide among members of
Council, preventing the body from
taking more progressive initia-
tives.
“I would say that AA politics
is more factionalized than it has
been,” Ackerman said.”There are
those that want to take a forward
looking lens to municipal govern-
ment and there are those who
want to look at the short term and
what will serve their benefit in the
immediate.”
Students have struggled to
secure a seat on Council for years.
The Mixed Use party focused on
adopting a more relaxed zoning
code, and ran several several Uni-
versity students for Council in the
2013 election. In 2014, LSA fresh-
man Sam McMullen ran for a seat
on council as well. These attempts
proved unsuccessful.
This year, University alum Will
Leaf, a former co-chair of the
Mixed Use party, will run also for
a seat on council.
According to a Daily analysis
last month, 14.72 percent of Ward
3 consists of students who are
registered voters. Of the 7,000
students registered to vote, only
1,900 voted in the 2014 Ann Arbor
election.
Ackerman, however, said he
won’t be relying too heavily on
student support at the polls, but
rather hopes to reach out to com-
munity members in his ward, run-
ning a grassroots campaign and
going door-to-door.
3-News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, February 25, 2015 — 3A
COUNCIL
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second method, which is used in
GradeCraft, is known as a “game-
ful classroom.” Theorized to foster
a better learning environment in
the classroom, the model attempts
to encourage students to take risks.
“I would actually claim that all
of school is a game right now —
it’s just a terrible game,” Fishman
said. “My job is to figure out what
makes it such a terrible game and
what I can do to make it into a bet-
ter game.”
Fishman said his inspiration for
“gameful learning” can be found in
very successful video games.
“They have been designed very
well to get people very engaged and
want to try very difficult things,”
he said. “They’re set up to encour-
age you to take risks and even if
that means you’re going to fail, the
cost of failure isn’t so critical — if
your character dies, you’ll get a new
character.”
Fishman said students’ fear
of failure is what inspired him to
create an online learning system
where students can determine
their goals and grades for their
own classes.
“High school used to be prepa-
ration for college and now it’s
preparation for applying to col-
lege,” Fishman said. “The result is
you’ll end up in college and you’re
so used to be doing exactly what
you’re supposed to do that you’re
not sure how to take a risk. But
failure is super important.”
With these ideas in mind, Fish-
man created GradeCraft. The plat-
form currently serves over 1,400
students in 15 classes at the Uni-
versity and two at the University
of Michigan—Dearborn in disci-
plines ranging from kinesiology to
linguistics.
The site allows students to view
their assignments, course prog-
ress, grade predictor, badges and
teaching teams.
Students are able to choose
which assignments they want
to do and see how the preferred
assignments
will
affect
their
grade.
Fishman said the key to the
platform is the grade predictor.
The predictor allows students
to view their cumulative points
within a class and alter the assign-
ments they elect based on the
feedback they receive from their
instructor.
“Everything is optional — even
attendance,” Fishman said. “It
also allows students to have free-
dom to fail. If you don’t do well on
an assignment, you can try some-
thing else.”
Fishman said he believes the
greatest problem with students
using the site is their early anxi-
ety after assessing the amount of
work required for a GradeCraft
course. However, he said Gra-
deCraft allows instructors to look
for “cues” that may hint at a future
poor performance by the student.
“I have a different interface
that lets me see how students are
doing,” Fishman said. “It lets me
analyze at what point students
begin to fall into trouble.”
Fishman said interest in Gra-
deCraft is growing among educa-
tors from all over the world.
“We get half-a-dozen requests
per week from people who want
to use it,” he said. “We’re not
ready for the outside world to use
it yet.”
In an e-mail interview, Infor-
mation junior Monica Chen said
GradeCraft is unlike any other
online learning platform because
it fuses the concepts of competi-
tion and cooperation together.
Because the system is so complex,
the success of the program is left
largely to the professor.
“The badge system might not
be tweaked or implemented at all,
the scale of points might be too
low to inspire dedicated work,
there might not be a theme or
leveler scheme as encourage-
ment, and depth of information
as a whole might be inadequate,
among other things,” Chen said.
Rackham student Ryan Wawr-
zaszek, a former student of Fish-
man’s as an undergraduate, said
in an e-mail interview that the
benefits of GradeCraft lie in the
flexibility students have in choos-
ing what work to do outside of the
classroom.
“In Professor Fishman’s class,
every assignment was optional, so
you were able to pick and choose
which assignments seemed more
interesting to you,” Wawrzaszek
said. “GradeCraft made it easy to
plan out the semester by clearly
showing due dates, assignment
specifications, grading rubrics
and point values right at the
beginning of the semester.”
Wawrzaszek added that the
grade predictor helped him man-
age his assignments.
“It was nice to have a clear but
flexible list of assignments right
from the start and to also have an
option to do an extra assignment
or two if I didn’t do as well as I
had hoped on one of the projects I
picked out at the start,” he wrote.
GRADES
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