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

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