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September 15, 2015 - Image 1

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The Michigan Daily

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michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, September 15, 2015

CELEBRATING OUR ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

In Iowa speech,

Obama announces
initiative to adjust

FAFSA deadline

By EMMA KINERY

Daily Staff Reporter

With the aim of helping more

Americans see college as an
affordable
option,
President

Barack
Obama
announced
a

new initiative to align the Free
Application for Federal Student
Aid due date more closely with
college applications.

Obama’s
plan,
which
he

announced
Monday
in
Iowa,

would potentially move FAFSA’s
application date to October —
rather than its current January
due date, which falls months after
students have already applied to
college. The changes will go into
effect in the 2017-2018 fiscal year.

FAFSA is a mechanism to check

students’ eligibility for federal and
state government scholarships,

grants and loans. It is also used by
higher education institutions to
determine how much financial aid
to allot students.

Packing college acceptances

with delivery of financial aid
packages is something that the
University has been working
toward in the last year. In an
interview with The Michigan
Daily
earlier
this
month,

University
President
Mark

Schlissel said these efforts could
result in “modest incremental
changes
in
the
direction
of

diversity.”

As a result, Kedra Ishop,

associate
vice
president
for

enrollment
management

at
the
University,
sees
the

announcement as positive for both
higher education institutions and
students.

“The president’s order makes

the financial aid timetable much
more palatable for families and
will broaden what they think is
possible for themselves,” she said.
“This is a win-win for both our
University and our students and

GOVERNMENT

See FAFSA, Page 3

SACUA meeting
addresses diversity

plan, excessive

alcohol consumption

By GENEVIEVE HUMMER

Daily Staff Reporter

More classes might be offered

only early Friday morning next
semester — and it is no accident.

University Provost Martha

Pollack presented two key issues
Monday for the Senate Advisory
Committee
on
University

Affairs’ consideration: diversity
and
student
drinking.
One

suggestion she made to SACUA
members in regard to quelling
campus
drinking
involved

increasing
the
number
of

large
enrollment
classes
on

Friday mornings, in addition
to encouraging faculty to give
short talks about the dangers of

excessive alcohol consumption
in class.

On the topic of quelling

excessive
student
drinking,

Pollack said faculty involvement
could play an important role.

Art & Design Prof. Anne

Mondro, a SACUA member, said
it might be helpful if faculty
suggested dry events to students
in class.

“Let us say, ‘Hey, here’s a

whole list of other events that are
happening.’ ” she said.

Greek and Latin Prof. David

Potter, a SACUA member, said the
solution must involve changing
the school’s image and culture.

“One of the difficulties is that

students come here with the
expectation of partying,” Potter
said. “They’re told this is a four-
day school.”

Before classes commenced

last week, the University rolled
out a package of new initiatives
designed to combat drinking on

ROBERT DUNNE/Daily

LEFT: Washtenaw County Commissioner Yousef Rabhi makes an official announcement of his candidacy for state representative to the 53rd
Michigan House District at Buhr Park Children’s Wet Meadow Project on Monday. RIGHT: Rabhi hugs Ann Arbor resident Margie Teall, a 12-year
city councilmember, after his announcement.

IN THE R ACE

ACADEMICS

Administrators lack

nuance to reach
target audience
with mass event

By THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Editorial Board

For the first time in University

of Michigan Greek life’s 170-year
history, chapter members from all
four councils — Interfraternity,
Panhellenic,
National
Pan-

Hellenic
and
Multicultural

— were required to meet with
administrators
last
Thursday

evening to discuss party culture
and how it affects perceptions of
our school. With problems such as
sexual assault and alcohol abuse
disproportionately affecting Greek
life members, it’s obvious some
sort of action is required. However,
administrators should not be led
to believe that holding a large
meeting, during which they talked
at instead of with members, was
a productive use of time. Instead,
they should realize they failed
to engage their target audience
and made little, if no progress in
initiating needed reforms.

Each chapter was required

to send at least 70 percent of its
members to the meeting at Hill
Auditorium or else face a semester
of social probation, a letter to their
national organization and a $1,000
fine. Perhaps due to this attendance
requirement, the mass meeting
was met with some resistance.
Members of the crowd disrupted
University
President
Mark

Schlissel and other members of the
administration with loud coughs

and laughter when issues such
as alcohol abuse, sexual assault
and other problems pertaining to
Greek life were discussed.

However, this behavior did not

go unreprimanded. Alex Krupiak,
the 2015 IFC executive board
president, ended the meeting by
commenting on the disrespectful
behavior as “flat-out embarrassing”
for the entirety of Greek life. While
only a small minority of members
displayed this massive immaturity,
it demonstrated stomach-churning
ignorance toward the serious
issues facing Greek life that must
be addressed.

That said, the initiative to bridge

gaps between Greek life and the
administration
was
admirable.

However, the lack of awareness
within
the
administration

about the underlying roots from
which alcohol abuse, property
destruction and sexual assaults
stem, coupled with the “not in
my backyard” attitudes of some
students
involved
in
Greek

life, resulted in an ineffective
dialogue that sought to appeal to
emotions instead of proposing real,
substantive changes.

During
the
meeting,
the

University called on members
of Greek life to internally create
a
more
constructive
campus

culture
and
lead
progress

toward upholding school values.
However, administrators stated
they couldn’t find short-term
solutions for the cultural problems
permeating campus, and didn’t
give specific policy suggestions
that could provide a framework
for the student-led changes to
occur. While members of Greek
life ultimately decide how they

FROM THE DAILY

DELANEY RYAN/Daily

Scott Campbell, associate professor of Urban Planning and a member of the Pedestrian Safety and Access Task Force,
presented objectives on making changes to protect pedestrians to the Ann Arbor City Council on Monday.

Task force offers
proposals intended
to reduce pedestrian
fatalities, accidents

By ISOBEL FUTTER

Daily Staff Reporter

Pedestrians in Ann Arbor,

many of whom are students
and young people, are at risk of
injury according to a recent study
conducted by Ann Arbor officials.

Vision Zero — an initiative

endorsed
by
the
city’s

Pedestrian Safety and Task
Force Committee that strives
to eliminate fatalities or serious
injuries to pedestrians — was
presented to the Ann Arbor

City Council Monday night
in an attempt to address this
issue, along with survey results
reguarding pedestrian safety in
Ann Arbor. The report included
several
policy
proposals,

including improved crosswalks
and a ban on using hand-held
devices for drivers.

Though Ann Arbor crashes

involving pedestrians represent
only 16 percent of all crashes,
pedestrians account for one-third
of the fatalities and one-fourth of
all serious crash-related injuries.
The study states that Ann Arbor
averaged 55 pedestrian crashes
per year for the five-year period
2010-2014, which was a 22 percent
increase from the previous five-
year period.

Council did not vote on

the report on Monday, but

will continue to consider the
proposal at future meetings.

After 17 months of studying

Ann
Arbor’s
road
system,

pedestrian fatality and surveying
the community, the Pedestrian
Safety and Task Force created
a 59-page document report.
Linda Diane Feldt, chair of the
Pedestrian Safety and Access
Task Force, said the report was
created in an effort to have a
cohesive and effective plan for
pedestrian safety.

“There
was
disconnect

between
the
experience
of

those people walking, those in
cars, and of course, distracted
roadway users,” Feldt said.

The objectives of the report

is to improve pedestrian access,
improve understanding of traffic

Thursday’s

meeting agenda
also set to include

bond proposal

By MICHAEL SUGERMAN

Daily News Editor

For the most part, the agenda

for
Thursday’s
University

Board of Regents meeting
is pretty standard. Pending
construction projects will be
up for approval, a new round of
professors will likely be granted
tenure and the Central Student
Government president will give
his first monthly report of the
school year.

For this month’s preview,

The Michigan Daily perused
the agenda and sifted out
some of standout items on
Thursday’s agenda.

Public Health major

A resolution to create a

two-year
major
program

through the School of Public
Health, if passed, would allow
undergraduate students to
declare a public health major
as of the fall 2016 semester.

The program will focus on

“the importance of critical
thinking applied to important
health problems of the 21st
century,” according to an
action request written by
Provost Martha Pollack and
Martin Philbert, dean of the

ADMINISTRATION

See PUBLIC HEALTH, Page 3
See PEDESTRIANS, Page 3
See GREEK, Page 4

See PROVOST, Page 3

READ INSIDE

Feds update
timeline for
student aid
application

Provost: Friday class could
help stop weekday drinking

Our View: ‘Greek’
meeting fails in
call for reform

Council reviews report
on pedestrian safety in A2

Regents
consider
bachelor’s
in public
health

INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 125
©2015 The Michigan Daily
michigandaily.com

N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

A RT S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

SPORTS.........................7

SUDOKU........................2

CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

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