their transition to the University.
Additionally, Miars said the
Commission on Transfer Student
Resources holds “coffee hours,”
during which former transfer
students are available to advise
new students and share their
own experience and knowledge.
Though
transfer
students
meet with an academic adviser at
orientation, Klootwyk said one
session couldn’t provide any new
student with all the information
they need to know.
Michael
Hartman,
coordinator of Transfer Student
Programs at Newnan Academic
Advising
Center,
noted
that
Newnan tries to explain at
orientation the purpose of a
college adviser, in the hope that
new students will seek guidance
from their advisers during their
time at the University.
“For
transfer
students,
depending on where they’re
transferring
from,
we
emphasize that (advising) might
be different from what they’re
used to in terms of our goal is
not just to be there to help make
sure they meet their degree
requirements, but to make sure
that they get everything out of
their degree that they want,”
Hartman said.
Miars said the proportion
of transfer students who are of
lower socioeconomic is greater
than for the student body at large,
citing the fact that many choose
to transfer to the University after
attending another institution to
save money. Consequently, she
said, many transfer students
feel pressure to graduate in four
years despite having spent fewer
years at the University than most
students.
“That
pressure
manifests
itself in: ‘I need all my credits to
transfer so I can be at the same
place I was when I went to my
former institution,’” she said.
She also noted that, often
the University accepts fewer
credits than transfer students
had hoped, or accepts classes
for departmental credit and not
as the equivalent of a specific
class. As a result, both Klootwyk
and Miars said it is common for
transfer students to petition for
University credit.
Miars said students have had
success with this procedure, but
that for a while she did not know
it was an option, and she said
she is sure that other transfer
students are unaware of it as well.
Hartman said students see
a presentation at orientation
that explains the process of
transferring credits and what it
means to receive departmental
credit.
He
said
Newnan
understands
that
students
receive a lot of information
during orientation and that they
may not remember some details
from the presentation. However,
he said they hope students will
ask for clarification from their
advisors in the event that they
forget what they need to know.
Miars said the University
will make students aware of
the resources available to them,
goal, like the other elements
of SpringFest, was to engage
students through their music
improvisation.
While
musical
acts
were
performed periodically on the
event’s main stage on North
University Avenue on Friday,
other collaborative activities were
also held in the area, including a
fashion show and MTank.
The fashion show incorporated
numerous
fashion
groups
on
campus: NOiR, SHEI Magazine,
EnspiRED and Bronze Elegance.
Students lined the sidewalks on
either side of North University to
watch the show, which used the
street as a runway.
LSA
senior
Karen
Doh,
president of NOiR, said NOiR
was responsible for recruiting
models and selecting the music
and visuals to accompany their
runway walks.
“We felt like one together,”
Doh said. “It wasn’t just the motto
… It was the students and the
attendees, really cheering each
other on and supporting fashion
for a cause. It was very successful.”
Doh also noted that the models’
runway walks were organized to
represent the five groups of student
organizations
represented
at
MUSIC Matters: arts, innovation,
sustainability, social identity and
philanthropy.
For example, she said, one of the
walks involved numerous models
to represent the construct of social
identity — four models surrounded
one central model for the first
portion of the walk, and ultimately
the central person walked to the
front of the pack as an expression
of individual identity.
MTank, the other major event
on the SpringFest main stage,
showcased
numerous
student
startups and made its debut at
the event this year. Modeled
after the television show “Shark
Tank,” University-based judges, or
“sharks,” fielded startup pitches,
provided critiques and offered
monetary prizes to help further
the startups’ mission.
LSA
junior
Saad
Jangda,
co-founder of MTank, said the
group’s second iteration was a
fun way to increase visibility
for entrepreneurial efforts on
campus.
He
said
MTank
featured
companies
that
had
already
gone through more formal pitch
processes, including optiMize’s
Social Innovation Challenge and
MPowered’s 1000 Pitches event.
“An event like MTank shows
that part of entrepreneurship that
is exciting, that is creativity, that
is innovation — all in one event
where every student is walking on
campus,” Jangda said.
Tom
Frank,
director
of
the
University’s
Center
for
Entrepreneurship, was one of
the MTank “sharks,” and echoed
Jangda’s feeling that it is important
to acknowledge and encourage
student entrepreneurship.
“I think one of the most
important things we can keep
doing as a community is that,
when
we
identify
would-be
entrepreneurs,
we
continue
to nurture them and provide
help and support through every
milestone, so that they stick with
their ventures for as long as they
have opportunities for it.”
Frank said his favorite of the
pitches came from a company
called Get Up and Go, which
makes and sells caffeinated food
products. The startup was one
of the MTank competition’s
collective
judge
favorites,
subsequently winning a $1,000
prize.
The day’s events were not
exclusive to members of the
University community — for the
second year, MUSIC Matters
also organized a program for 150
Detroit-area students to come
and participate in workshops, talk
to University students and walk
around SpringFest.
SpringFest culminated with
the Common concert, throughout
which
the
theme
of
people
working to make collaborative
change was apparent.
Video 7, a Detroit-based jazz
collaborative
that
involves
University
alum
Brendan
Asante among others, opened
for Common.
As the group was launching
into song, one of its lead singers,
Antwaun Stanley, told students,
“I want you to know tonight that
you have the ability … to change
the world.”
Common
held
students
to
a similar standard in a small
preamble to his performance of
“Glory” — a song from the movie
“Selma” that won a Golden Globe
Award and an Academy Award.
He spoke to recent waves of
racism in the form of nationwide
police brutality toward Black
people, and urged students to take
part in making a change.
“It’s going to be up to us to
change the system,” he said. “It’s
up to us to go out and change the
situation. We can’t just tweet
about it and Instagram about it, we
gotta plan and strategize and be
active out there — support groups,
vote, organize groups that will get
better education for our youth.
“As you all go out as college
students and people in the
community, the things that you
want to change, change them
yourself,” he said.
After the concert, Common
told
event
organizers
and
reporters from The Michigan
Daily that he appreciated the
cause MUSIC Matters proceeds
will go to: establishing a summer
program at the University for
Detroit youth that will launch
in the summer of 2016.
“You all are students,” he
said. “That is very important.
I appreciate you all having me
be a representative of what you
all are doing because I think
it’s super important that we
provide opportunities … for the
young people that are coming
up after us.”
“I know hip hop, for me, was
a way to express myself in ways
I never had done ever before,” he
added. “Art and music and culture
and just being able to be you
through the art is an important
thing. So if we empower our young
people to be able to do that through
MUSIC
Matters
and
other
organizations that are supporting
that, I’m telling you we’re going to
make a better world.”
Michigan
and
Lawrence
Technological University, but did
not graduate from either.
“This company and all that you
stand for were among the greatest
joys of his life,” the statement read.
“Just last month he was in Puerto
Rico to celebrate with us the grand
opening of The Mall of San Juan.
He was so proud of what this
wonderful company he founded 65
years ago has accomplished.”
Over the past several decades
Taubman — whose net worth is
estimated at $3.1 billion by Forbes
— gave over $150 million to the
University.
He also donated to multiple
other colleges, including Harvard
University and Brown University
In 1999, in his first major gift
to the University, the Taubman
College
of
Architecture
and
Urban Planning was renamed
for Taubman after he donated
$30 million. The gift was one of
the largest ever received by the
University at the time
Starting in 2007, he also gave a
total of $100 million to start up and
fund projects within the Taubman
Medical Institute, part of the
University’s Medical School. This
included initiatives such as a $56
million endowment for research
into stem-cell therapy and Lou
Gehrig’s disease. The institute
also supports a group of scholars
each year in pursuing individual
research objectives.
Last year, Taubman was one
of several donors to support an
expansion of the Taubman College,
pledging $12.5 million of the $28
million cost. The expansion was
approved by the University’s Board
of Regents last March.
At a 2008 stem cell symposium
on campus, he also announced
plans to leave $22 million to the
University’s Medical School as a
bequest after his death.
In a statement to the Detroit
News Friday evening, University
spokesman Rick Fitzgerald called
Taubman a “great friend of the
University of Michigan.”
Over
the
course
of
his
career, Taubman faced several
controversies, namely allegations
of price fixing and misconduct. In
his capacity as the former chairman
of Sotheby’s auction house, he
was convicted of conspiring with
rival
auction
house
Christie’s
International in 2001 to artificially
inflate prices and commissions
received by both, serving close to a
year in jail.
In response to the conviction,
Taubman
did
not
deny
the
possibility of price fixing, but told
the court he wasn’t aware it was
taking place.
Additionally, in 2012 he was sued
by a former employee for multiple
counts of sex discrimination. The
suit was dropped by the employee
several weeks later.
to
educate
themselves
about
cancer prevention, detection and
treatment options — even if they
haven’t been affected by cancer.
“It’s an opportunity to learn
about breast health and the latest
advancements in detecting breast
cancer early as well as types of
breast cancer that are genetically
passed
on
from
one
family
member to another,” Laatsch said.
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D–Mich.)
delivered the summit’s opening
remarks and emphasized the
importance of continued efforts to
fight breast cancer.
“Because of the talent like we
have at the University of Michigan,
we are going to kill this disease and
make sure it stops killing people,
God willing, within the lifetime
of many of you in this room,” she
said. “The University of Michigan,
we thank you for creating this
coalition
of
people
to
come
together to learn, to educate, to
advocate, to take care of yourself,
your friends and family and make
sure that this is a community that
takes breast cancer on and tries to
eliminate it forever.”
A panel of University oncologists
also gave a presentation explaining
how doctors detect and treat
breast cancer. They focused on a
case study from cancer survivor
and former Cancer Center patient
Melonie Mitchell, who also spoke
during the event.
The panel talked extensively
about
the
treatment
options
available to patients, including
surgery,
radiation,
counseling,
breast reconstruction, supportive
care and drug therapy.
After the panel presentation,
Mitchell thanked the University
for playing a role in her treatment
and recovery from breast cancer.
“I’m thankful for U of M and
to have been here, all of the
wonderful research and all of
the wonderful practitioners and
providers,“ Mitchell said.
In
another
presentation,
Radiation Oncology Prof. Lori
Pierce,
the
University’s
vice
provost for academic and faculty
affairs, said it’s vital for the
community to understand the
modern techniques doctors are
using to fight breast cancer.
“It’s very important to know
what goes on behind the scenes,”
Pierce said. “There has been a
lot of work that has gone into
the planning of these treatments
before patients come in. We
want to make sure we optimize
the treatment for our patients
by giving them the best possible
chance of cure.”
The
summit’s
afternoon
session, titled “Continuing to
Thrive,” turned the focus from
cancer treatment to a discussion
of healthy living habits designed
to benefit all types of people —
including patients, survivors and
those without cancer.
Katherine
Goldberg,
a
culinary
specialist
with
the
University’s MHealthy Health
and
Well-Being
Services,
discussed the role a balanced,
organic diet plays in good health
and cancer prevention.
“By eating well, you don’t just
reduce your risk of cancer but so
many other types of diseases like
obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, heart
disease, macular degeneration and
diabetes,” Goldberg said.
Public Health Prof. Vic Strecher
closed the event with a talk about
the process of finding purpose,
happiness and comfort.
“Very
importantly,
in
the
cancer field, we’re starting to give
meaning-centered
therapy
or
purpose-in-life therapy to patients
who have cancer and have been
finding really super promising
outcomes on well-being,” Strecher
said. “So my own purpose is to
help other people find a purpose.”
Ann Arbor resident Jennifer
Wrisbrod,
who
is
a
cancer
survivor, said the event was the
perfect opportunity to familiarize
herself with the new research
available in the field.
“I live with the possibility of
a recurrence,” said Wrisbrod.
“It’s not behind me. It’s with me
everyday and I learned here what’s
in the future, which provides more
hope and helps me live every day a
little better.”
during Hurricane Katrina. He
later testified before the House
Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform, accusing
the
Bush
administration
of
censoring
his
public
health
research because it did not align
with its political stance.
During the talk, Carmona
told anecdotes related to various
public health issues, including
Guantanamo Bay, tobacco, the
AIDS epidemic and Hurricane
Katrina. He said Washington
politics
hindered
potential
solutions to all of these challenges.
Carmona
detailed
how
partisan politics and special
interests influenced both the
state and federal response to
Hurricane Katrina.
“The system (in Katrina) broke
down because of special interest
politics,” Carmona said
He
also
warned
against
appointing
surgeons
general
and
other
officials
without
backgrounds in public health.
“All clinical practitioners should
be, first and foremost, public
health practitioners,” he said. “As
public health professionals, we
deserve the most qualified person
who merits the position, not the
person who most aligns with a
political party... “We must work to
prevent the politicization of public
health. I was not the doctor of the
Republican or the Democratic
Party; I was the doctor of the
people of the United States.”
Charley
Willison,
a
first-
year doctoral student in Health
Management and Policy, said
Carmona’s
comments
were
insightful.
“I appreciated his sharing his
experiences and the importance
of growing the network of
public health as an authority to
counteract politics and help to
validate the credibility of these
institutions,” Willison said.
TAUBMAN
From Page 1A
SPRINGFEST
From Page 1A
BREAST CANCER
From Page 1A
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Monday, April 20, 2015 — 3A
CONNOR BADE/Daily
Richard Carmona, former surgeon general of the United States, speaks about the intersection of public health, politics
and his experience serving in the Bush Administration at the School of Public Health on Friday.
ROBERT DUNNE/Daily
LSA senior Olivia Hobson models for the Spring Fest fashion show on North University St. on Friday.
SURGEON
From Page 1A
TRANSFER
From Page 2A
but will not babysit students by
reminding them about transfer
student
policies
and
about
making
appointments
with
advisers.
Improving resources
Klootwyk said as LSA-SG vice
president, he has been working
to
update
University
policy
to provide admitted transfer
applicants the opportunity to
defer
enrollment,
an
option
available for freshmen applicants
that want to take a gap year.
He said he would have liked
to have had that opportunity
and that a gap year would have
enriched his education and given
him the chance to learn more
about himself before coming to
the University.
Miars said the Commission
on Transfer Student Resources
works with the administration
to improve policies that already
exist, as well as create new
programs catered to the specific
needs of transfer students.
She said finding housing has
always been a difficult process
for transfer students.
“We’re the last ones that get to
apply for on-campus housing and
typically transfer students end
up getting placed in Northwood
on North Campus,” Miars said.
The commission has been
working to try and secure more
housing on Central Campus
for transfer students to help
facilitate an easier transition
for sophomores and juniors who
may already feel removed from
social groups that their peers
have already formed.
“(We are trying to) make sure
they’re not further isolated by
being put on North Campus,”
Miars said.
Miars
said
Housing
has
reserved spaces for transfers on
Central Campus for next year.
She said the commission is
also in the process of developing
a Transfer Student Resource
Center on campus that would
be used as a study and hang out
space for transfer students where
they could meet other transfers
and receive advice.
Newnan
has
offered
the
commission
space
in
their
basement for the center, which
is still in its early planning
stages, and Miars said it has
been a very helpful resource for
the commission as well as for
transfer students in general.
“The (immediate) hope is to
create a center where we can
offer ongoing programming and
drop in advising specifically for
transfer students,” he said.
Miars
also
said
the
commission is in the process of
producing a website that pools
all transfer resources in one
place and would ultimately be
run by the University.
She
said
consolidating
resources
will
be
helpful
because it can be difficult to
find University resources online
through many different websites.
Miars said she has noticed the
administration paying a lot more
attention to transfer student
concerns in the last few years.
She said University officials have
been working to create programs
that target concerns specifically
impacting transfer students.
“Five
years
ago,
the
University of Michigan had a
bad reputation when it came to
transfer students; It wasn’t seen
as the most transfer-friendly
institution,” Miars said. “Now
they’re trying to change that and
making the effort.”