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.”