the cost of this computer package
is included in the cost of first-year
tuition for Art & Design students
— which is sometimes covered by
financial aid.

“Our students have a larger

budget for financial aid,” she said.
“The cost of being a freshman
in the School of Art & Design is
greater than the cost of being a
freshman in, say, LSA. And the
difference is that our students
are required to buy a computer
package. So it’s included as part
of their budget — if a student
qualifies for financial aid, then
they get aid for their Art & Design
tuition (including the computer
package).”

She said students are given

a four-year warranty for their
purchase of the package, which is
discounted through the Computer
Showcase, so the laptop should be
a one-time expense while they are
attending the University.

McDaniel added that the Art

&
Design
computer
package

is
necessary
because
every

discipline
within
the
school

requires a significant amount of
computer-based work. She said
standardizing the package puts all
students on an equal playing field.

“When
everybody
has
the

same equipment, it’s a little bit
like wearing a uniform,” she said.
“(The package) doesn’t mean
that there is perfect equity, but
it’s one more step (towards equal
opportunity).”

Ross
School
of
Business

students are not required to
purchase a laptop but are warned
that they will likely be at a
disadvantage in both class and
group work if they do not own a
personal computer. The Business
School’s website says that while
students do have access to several
public-use labs around campus,
they should consider the fact that
space in those labs will be limited.

Similarly,
the
School
of

Information does not have any
specific
laptop
requirements.

Education and Information Prof.
Barry Fishman said decisions
about what technology is required
for classes are left up to the
instructor.

Furthermore,
neither
the

School of Music, Theatre & Dance,
the School of Kinesiology nor the
College of Engineering require
students to obtain a personal
computer.

Monika
Dressler,
director

of LSA Instructional Support
Services,
said
in
an
e-mail

interview that LSA does not
have a laptop policy and does not
require students to own their own
computers.

“While some instructors do

encourage students to use laptops
in their classes, other faculty
discourage or even ban the use of
laptops or other mobile devices
because they find them disruptive
and distracting for students,” she
said.

The digital divide and equity

of access

Dressler acknowledged that

lacking access to a personal
computer can be difficult for
students, but she echoed Harper’s
sentiment that the University
has done its best to make up for
potential disparities in resources.

“LSA does understand there is

differential access to expensive
technologies
and
expensive

resources among the student
body,” she said. “This is true
of
textbooks,
co-curricular

activities, as well as computer
technology; and is part of a larger
issue of access that LSA is deeply
concerned about.”

She said the potential of a

“digital divide” is what drives
University investment in facilities
like the Angell Hall Computing
Site — known as the Fishbowl
— and other computer labs, and
University Housing’s investment
in the inclusion of computing
sites and “community learning
centers” in all residence halls. She
added that LSA is committed to
providing sufficient equipment to
support students’ completion of
their coursework.

Dressler said in LSA classes

that have decided to use laptops
for collaboration or in-class work,
LSA ISS encourages faculty to
ensure that all students are able to
participate through group work so
that any students without laptops
can engage.

She also noted that students

can check out a laptop from LSA
Instructional Support Services for
this type of in-class use. According
to the LSA ISS website, there are
three equipment loan centers
on Central Campus — in Mason
Hall and the Modern Language
Building, from which “students
enrolled in an LSA course may
check out a wide variety” of
equipment for short-term use.
Long-term loan requests require
additional paperwork.

In an e-mail interview, Kedra

Ishop, associate vice president for
enrollment management at the
University, said students should
not and do not appear to feel
discouraged from taking classes
in technology-heavy fields — even
if they lack access to relevant
technology.

“The
colleges
and
schools

work hard to direct students to
resources and our application
numbers
to
technology-rich

majors don’t suggest that students
are not pursuing their areas
of interest because of a lack of
access,” she said.

Fishman
said
the
“digital

divide”
is
clearly
and

fundamentally an equity issue
because students with personal
laptops have a much easier time
getting their work done.

“Even when you provide a full

scholarship to college, there’s all
these unintended costs of college
— so just buying books can be a
struggle,” he said. “And if you can
afford to buy all the books that are
on your course list and have them
in your dorm room, that gives
you an inherent advantage over
someone who has to go read them
on reserve all of the time. It’s the
same thing with laptops and other
kinds of technology.”

Fishman
said
instructors

should be aware of what “implicit
assumptions” their course syllabi
make about their students’ access
to certain resources, such as
technology.

He said there are many contexts

in which instructional technology
is an imperative element of the
learning process, but added that
instructors should consider how
to make the required technology
available to all students.

Limited access

LSA senior Cesar Vargas, a

senior computer consultant in
the Fishbowl, said space there is
limited, especially during peak
times and around finals, because
students both with and without
laptops come to use its study space
and other resources.

“Especially when it comes

to finals, we have to open up
the Angell Hall classrooms for
overflow,” he said.

LSA senior Kelsey Pakkala,

another computer consultant in
the Fishbowl, said even students
with laptops come there to use
expensive software the University
provides for free to students on its
computers.

“There’s SAS, SPSS, MatLab

— it’s around $150 to buy that
software,” she said. “Students
who have laptops can’t afford
that, so they come here. They’re
subscription-based (and have to be
renewed every year), but they’re
free on campus.”

Pakkala also said she frequently

sees people in the Fishbowl using
the desktops to watch TV shows
because they have bigger screens
than laptops.

Vargas said the 2013 renovations

to the site were intended to
make additional lounge space for
students using laptops, but added
that he regularly finds students
sitting at the desktop computer
spaces
using
their
personal

laptops instead.

“There are definitely a lot of

students that come up to us and
complain that they see a lot of
students in front of a desktop and
a laptop and the desktop is off
and they’re just on the laptop,” he
said. “The main problem is people
not understanding that there are
students that obviously do need
these desktops.”

He said that not having his

own personal computer to use
would certainly be an obstacle,
especially because it can be hard
to find a computer to use at campus
computing sites.

“I was a first-generation student

— I could definitely see not having
a laptop as a huge disadvantage,”
he said.

Pakkala said she believes the

University
has
gotten
better

over time at providing resources
for students without personal
computers.

“(The Fishbowl) is 24/7 almost

every day, I know the UGLi is 24/7
all of the time — during peak hours
obviously, that’s the bad times,”
she said. “There’s a lot of options
if you’re flexible with when you’re
willing to work.”

Dressler said she does not

know of any research that found
drawbacks of not owning one’s
own
personal
computer,
but

recognized the benefits of owning
a personal computer.

“One might imagine a benefit

of having one’s own computer
because it would allow a student to
work on her or his own schedule.”

LSA junior Ricardo Rubio said

he comes to the Fishbowl and
other campus computing sites to
complete all the work he cannot
get done on his iPad, which does
not have programs like Microsoft
Word and SPSS. He said he finds
the sites convenient, and that he is
always able to finish his work.

“I don’t necessarily need a

laptop,” he said. “I am able to
do everything that I need to get

done.”

Funding for technological

expenses

Fishman noted that the way

people choose to pay for college —
including loans and scholarships,
among other financial plans —
can affect how they finance the
technology they buy for school.

“You can only use some of those

resources to pay for technology if
the technology is required by the
syllabus,” he said.

Depending on how students

pay for college, Fishman said,
they may find it helpful for their
respective schools to require
certain technology rather than
suggest students obtain it.

Ishop
said
the
Office
of

Financial Aid considers many
factors in addition to the cost
of tuition when offering aid to
students.

“A student’s Cost of Attendance

is based on estimated student
budgets that include not only
tuition/fees and housing, but also
books/supplies
and
personal/

miscellaneous
expenses,”
she

wrote. “Those students who are
unable to purchase a computer
may acquire additional financial
aid to purchase a computer once
during their educational career at
the University.”

“Other
required
technology

also can be included in financial
aid,” University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald wrote in an e-mail
interview. “Students simply need
to provide documentation that the
technology is required for a class.”

Ishop and Fitzgerald also said

the University is piloting a laptop
loan program in Fall 2015 with
LSA. The initiative will provide
the opportunity for incoming first-
year students with the greatest
financial need to receive a laptop
from LSA to use for the entirety
of their academic career at the
University.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, April 1, 2015 — 3A

3-News

News

director, said in an interview
Sunday that the potential demerits
could result in the disqualification
of both major parties and their
entire slates of candidates.

If this were to happen, she said

the Defend Affirmative Action
Party would win the election, and
LSA junior Keysha Wall and LSA
sophomore Katie Kennedy would
respectively become president and
vice president of CSG. In addition,
all members of each disqualified
party in the legislative branches
would be removed as well —
meaning that only DAAP and
independent
candidates
would

remain in power.

Though 22 percent of the

University student body voted
in this year’s election, the voter
turnout was actually one of the
highest returns in recent years.

DAAP received 742.05 votes —

17 percent total, which is less than
a quarter of what The Team or
Make Michigan received. Though
last week’s election was decided by
five votes, the chance that the final
outcome could be determined by
litigation — not the popular vote —
has lead some students to question

how much their participation
really matters.

LSA freshman Molly Aronson

said she felt it was her responsibility
to vote regardless of how much of
an impact doing so actually had on
the election results. However, she
added, the trials take away from the
significance of that responsibility.

“I think that this definitely

undermines
the
student
vote

because
considering
if
the

litigations go through neither of
the top two parties will actually
have control,” Aronson said. “I do
think that’s telling.”

LSA freshman Kate Stankey

expressed disappointment in the
litigation and said CSG was not
maintaining a real democracy.
She also called the process for
enforcing election code violations
as “flawed.”

“I don’t think it typically follows

the democratic government that
the CSG should,” she said.

Stankey
also
expressed

discontent
with
parties’

campaigning in the weeks leading
up to the election, adding that it
may have dissuaded students from
caring about the election.

“I don’t think many people

were
very
interested
in
the

election, especially when they
were
campaigning
and
they

were bothering a lot of students,”
Stankey said. “I think that made
the student body pretty upset.”

Stankey said the individual

candidates also deterred interest.
She
cited
The
Team’s
vice

presidential
candidate,
LSA

sophomore Matt Fidel, a current
CSG representative, due to his
attendance at the Sigma Alpha Mu
ski trip.

LSA junior Evan Gerstein said

he did not know either major
party’s platform and only voted for
people whom he knew personally.
He said campaigning on either side
had no effect on his vote, which
made him question the necessity of
the efforts.

“The presidential party vote

was separated by five, so clearly
my vote actually had an impact,
because I voted for an actual
party,” Gerstein said. “At the same
time, it didn’t really matter as
much, because I didn’t know any of
the candidates because they didn’t
campaign well. Sure I saw Make
Michigan, actually I saw more of
The Team, with their chalking
and everything, but I don’t know
the platform; I don’t know the
president; I only knew my friends
who were representatives and I
voted for them.”

Aronson
took
the
opposite

approach,
noting
that
while

students care about the selection
of the CSG president, she doubts
how much party platforms really
matter.

“To an extent, I think people

do care who the face of student
government is,” Aronson said.

The last time a party secured

executive seats through litigation
after losing the initial election
was in 2013. In that election,
youMICH’s Michael Proppe, a
current Business graduate student,
and Bobby Dishell, current CSG
president and Public Policy senior,
assumed office without having
won the popular vote.

Dishell went on to become CSG

president in 2014 on the Make
Michigan ticket. If Make Michigan
were to officially secure the seats
upon conclusion of litigation, this
would be the second consecutive
year that the incumbent party
holds office.

Law student John Lin, CSG

student general counsel and a
member of the current Make
Michigan executive team, said
the continuation of the party’s
power results from the lack of a
large priority shift for the student
population in the last few years.

“It means there’s a consistent

philosophy,” Lin said. “The Make

ELECTION
From Page 1A

once allowed into the room.
Department of Public Safety
and Security officers monitored
the entire meeting from both
inside and outside the room
and officers organized a line for
people to enter the meeting.

CSG speaker Christian Bashi,

an LSA senior, said Multi-
Ethnic Student Affairs staff was
available outside the meeting
room for students who felt they
needed a break from the meeting
to speak with someone.

Students Allied for Freedom

and Equality is the University’s
chapter of Students for Justice
in Palestine, an organization
that advocates for Palestinian
solidarity across campuses. One
of the group’s main initiatives is
promoting the Boycott, Divest
and Sanctions movement. As
defined by BDS, divestment calls
for institutions to divest from
companies involved in alleged
violations of Palestinian human
rights.

The
meeting
began
with

guest speaker Ali Abunimah, a
Palestinian American journalist
who writes for The Chicago

Tribune and The Los Angeles
Times, speaking in favor of the
divestment resolution.

Abunimah called the situation

in Palestine an emergency and
said social change needs to
occur. He said he did not believe
a peace process is currently
being discussed between Israel
and Palestine.

“Just a few weeks ago, the

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu was re-elected after
publicly repudiating the two-
state solution and saying he
would never allow a Palestinian
state on his watch,” he said.

Abunimah
compared

divestment from the companies
listed
in
the
resolution
to

divestment for apartheid South
Africa.

“We heard the argument

divestment is divisive,” he said.
“But, who looks back now and
says divestment in Africa was a
mistake.”

History
Prof.
Victor

Lieberman,
who
currently

teaches the course “The History
of the Arab-Israeli Conflict,”
spoke against the divestment
resolution. At last year’s meeting
concerning a similar divestment
resolution, Lieberman offered

DIVEST
From Page 1A

on topics of their choice as if it
were their last opportunity to
do so. Strobbe was learned of his
selection for the Golden Apple
award in February.

In his lecture, titled “Lessons

from an Imperfect Life: A
Premature
Last
Lecture,”

Strobbe discussed how students’
anonymous
nomination

comments were made available
to him upon his selection.

Strobbe said his purpose for

talking about the comments
was twofold. First, he said,
he wanted faculty, staff and
administrators to hear what
students said they valued in
a teacher. Second, he wanted
students to reflect upon their
comments and their collective
importance.

“Remember that if these

qualities
were
important

to you as students, they’re
undoubtedly
important
to

others, including the patients
who you will treat,” he said.

Stobbe said many of the

comments
addressed
his

approach to the difficult and
challenging themes dealt with
in his class, Mental Health and
Illness Across the Lifespan.

“My stated overarching goal

is ... to help students develop
the skills and knowledge to

talk to anyone about anything,
generally during one of the
most difficult and vulnerable
periods of their lives,” he said.

Strobbe mentioned his own

experience recovering from
drug and alcohol addiction,
and said he does not withhold
that
information
from
his

students.

“I
don’t
share
that

information as something to
draw attention to myself,” he
said. “I think it’s important for
us to humanize this solution
to
challenge
preconceived

notions of and convey a sense
of home.”

Strobbe’s former students

said his honesty distinguishes
him as an influential professor.

“His genuineness made the

whole semester easier for other
people, for us as students,
for us to be open and genuine
about mental illness or all of
these (things) that are pretty
controversial or stigmatized
… in normal conversation,”
Nursing senior Allison Kosaian
said.

Nursing senior Maggie Craft

expressed similar sentiments
about Strobbe’s teaching style.

“This kind of transparency

and being so emotionally open
is something we saw the entire
semester,” Craft said. “The
genuineness is completely who
he is.”

GOLDEN APPLE
From Page 1A

LAPTOPS
From Page 1A

Michigan/youMICH strand is very
focused on certain issues, working
on small tangible goals, whereas
the other party, The Team, and
FORUM before that, were very
idealistic, kind of going for big
moves: more culture, more social
justice.”

He noted that if Make Michigan

does maintain its win, there will

not be a large shift in the approach
to campus issues and resulting
policies
created
by
student

government.

“I think that you’re not going to

see much of a change in terms of
culture and student government
priorities,” Lin said. “Personally,
I think that’s a good thing, other
people might not.”

See DIVEST, Page 5A