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Thursday, November 19, 2015

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

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After pushback,
‘U’ continues to
mull process for
releasing data

By CAMY METWALLY

Daily Staff Reporter

Over the past few months, the

University’s course evaluations
— and whether their results will
be released to students — have
become increasingly contentious.

In
September,
the

administration announced plans
to release the evaluations after
years
of
campus
discussion

surrounding
the
initiative.

But the announcement drew
significant
pushback
from

faculty, leading to an October
vote
by
the
faculty
senate

assembly to support the delay of
the release, citing concerns with
the evaluation’s format, among
other factors. University Provost
Martha Pollack had said she
would be willing to adjust the
timeline for their release based

on the assembly’s vote.

Two committees have since

been created to examine both
the release of the evaluations
and the instrument employed for
evaluating courses — re-opening
conversations about issues like
question design and response rate
that faculty have for years.

The current system

Many of the concerns raised by

faculty and students on both sides
of the issue aren’t new; they stem
from how evaluations have been
used long-term at the University.

For many parties involved,

course
evaluations
have

important ramifications. For GSIs
and lecturers, student evaluations
are a factored into decisions about
their reappointment. For tenure-
track faculty, they are used in
conjunction with other evaluation
mechanisms to determine tenure
and promotion. Across the board,
course evaluations are reviewed
when considering nominees for
teaching awards.

Kinesiology
Prof.
Stefan

Szymanski, a member of the
Senate Advisory Committee on

ACADEMICS

See EVALUATIONS, Page 3A

Cost of attendance,

discrimination

continue to present

challenges at ‘U’

By RIYAH BASHA

Daily Staff Reporter

The Native American Student

Association,
in
conjunction

with
the
Office
of
Multi-

Ethnic Student Affairs, hosted

a public forum Wednesday on
contemporary
issues
in
the

Native American community,
both within the context of the
University and at large.

About 30 people attended

the
discussion
held
in
the

Munger Graduate Residences,
asking questions of the four-
person panel. The night’s panel
discussion was just one event in a
lineup organized for November’s
celebration of Native American
Heritage Month.

NASA’s co-chair, Isa Gaillard,

a Public Policy senior, said
the panel aimed to bolster
recognition of native students
both at the University and at
large.

“We’re looking to increase

awareness,”
he
said.
“The

(University’s) relationship with
(Native Americans) has been
historically challenged, and a lot
of that is linked to enrollment
issues as well.”

Much of the conversation

focused on obstacles related the
Native American community’s

access
to
higher
education.

Panelist Sandra Momper, an
associate professor in the School
of Social Work, said a certain
stigma still exists surrounding
Native
American
students’

ability to succeed in college.

“I was told, ‘You are not

college material,’ ” she said.

Momper also criticized the

financial aid afforded native
students. Even after making
it to a university, many are
often dismayed by additional

DAVID SONG/Daily

Lynn LaPointem, a Lakota tribe member and employee of the state Department of Education, talks about the discrimination he faced as a Native American in
higher education at Munger Graduate Residences on Wednesday.

See NATIVE AMERICAN, Page 3A

Classic rock

musical comes to
the Power Center

this weekend

By NATALIE ZAK

Daily Arts Writer

Cue the lights, the curtains and

the teenage angst: As the actors
take their positions and the music
begins, the
audience
returns
to
their

adolescence
where
confusion
and tireless
emotion
dominated
every
thought.
Addressing
themes
of

sexuality
and
abuse

in
1890s

Germany, MUSKET’s “Spring

Awakening” offers an impressive
insight into teenagers struggling
to fend off their inner and real-
world demons.

A
modern
rock
musical

adapted
from
a
late
19th

century German play, “Spring
Awakening” follows its leads
through
sexuality,
physical

abuse, diabolical authoritative
figures, sexual coercion and even
suicide. There’s little material
excluded from this profanity-
ridden musical — and that’s one
of its most appealing qualities.
Accurately
and
explosively

conveying the bundled emotion
contained in adolescent minds,
MUSKET’s production manages
to be relevant to college students.

“There’s
suicide,
there’s

sexuality, there’s coercion and
a lot of adolescence,” debut
director Wonza Johnson said.
“It’s weird for us to go back to that
because we’re so old now. As 18,
19, 20-year-olds, to go back to that
age of being 15 and experiencing
this for the first time has been
challenging.”

Johnson, a Music, Theatre &

MUSKET set
to stage ‘Spring
Awakening’

ARTS PREVIEW

See MUSKET, Page 3A

Campaign created to
oppose temporary
ban on immigrants

fleeing Syria

By EMMA KINERY

Daily Staff Reporter

In wake of terrorist attacks

in Paris that left 129 dead,
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder

joined 31 governors in vowing
to pause the entry of Syrian
refugees into their states.

Early reports indicated that

one the attackers may have
been a refugee from Syria,
though officials now say that
theory was likely incorrect.
Even so, that notion stoked
fears that ISIS fighters would
enter the country along with
the
refugees
fleeing
their

violent campaigns.

In response, LSA senior

Sarah Raoof and Public Health
students Tala Dahbour and
Reem Kashlan launched a
letter-writing
campaign
on

Facebook.
The
campaign

encourages students to visit the
“Share your Opinion” page on
the governor’s website to send
either a pre-written or personal
letter expressing opposition
to his plan to block Syrian
refugees.

So far, 190 people have

See SNYDER, Page 3A

RUBY WALLAU/Daily

LSA freshman Apoorvee Singhal participates in Garba, a community folk dance, during the annual Garba Raas
hosted by the Hindu Students Council in the Michigan League Ballroom on Wednesday.

GARBA R A A S

Campaign’s leader
considers progress,

future for Black

students on campus

By ALYSSA BRANDON

Daily Staff Reporter

Two years after the Black

Student
Union
launched
its

#BBUM Twitter campaign, the
challenges brought to light by
those who used the hashtag to
share their experiences as Black
students at the University are
still fresh in the minds of both
BSU members and the University
community.

More
than
10,000
tweets

racked up within the first two
days of the hashtag’s launch, and
soon BSU members were at the
helm of a movement that quickly
captivated
the
University’s

attention and garnered media
coverage nationwide.

Shortly after the launch of the

hashtag, several BSU members
held a Martin Luther King Jr.

See BBUM, Page 3A

Q&A

GOVERNMENT

MUSKET
Presents:
“Spring
Awakening”

11/20 and 11/21
at 8 p.m., 11/22
at 2 p.m.

Power Center for the

Performing Arts

&7-$15

For course
evaluations,
methods still
up for debate

Forum explores experiences
of Native American students

Students, faculty respond
to Snyder’s refugee stance

Reflections
on #BBUM
two years
after launch

INDEX
Vol. CXXV No. 33
©2015 The Michigan Daily
michigandaily.com

NEWS......................... 2A

OPINION.....................4A

SPORTS...................... 5A

SUDOKU..................... 2A

CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A

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