The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Monday, January 13, 2016 — 3A
University rewards
encourage healthy
behavior in
employees
According to a University press
release, MHealthy announced
the start of its annual rewards
program, which aims to motivate
faculty and staff members to
better their health. From weight
management and exercise classes
to mental and emotional well-being
classes, it provides participants
with resources to reach this goal.
After completing a health
questionnaire, employees will
receive $50 as well as a health
report outlining helpful resources
and information to encourage
healthy behaviors in recipients.
The 2016 program introduced
several new initiatives, including
Learn to Live Tobacco Free
Program and MHealthy personal
training.
Detroit auto show
introduces drunk
driving simulation
Ford’s Driving Skills for Life
team introduced impaired driving
simulations at the North American
International Auto Show, reported
MLive. Participants attempted to
walk in a straight line and shoot
basketballs in an arcade-style hoop.
The goal was to provide
attendees with the opportunity
to experience impaired driving
without taking the road and putting
themselves and others in danger.
The drunk driving simulation
consisted of suits made from braces
strapped on attendees’ knees,
elbows and neck, and weights
wrapped around their wrists and
ankles, according to MLive.
Earmuffs and special goggles
impaired hearing and vision. When
simulating drug use, the goggles
flash LED lights and a vibrating
glove is added to the suit.
Driving Skills for Life visits
different high schools and driving
courses to discourage students
from impaired driving and to train
them in defensive driving as well.
Report shows
decrease in state
revenue
A report released by the House
Fiscal Agency suggests net
revenues in the state of Michigan
will be $354.1 million less than
projected in May for the 2015-
2016 fiscal year, the Detroit Free
Press reported. For the 2016-2017
fiscal year, combined revenues
are expected to be down by
$226.9 million.
The report offered one
explanation for this downward
trend: $112 million in business
tax credits — originally meant to
be cashed in during 2015 — will
remain in Michigan companies
until later this year.
Although combined revenues
are less than estimated, the
general fund and School Aid
Fund revenues were higher than
expected. The report says the
increase in the fund was also
caused in part by higher-than-
expected income tax growth.
The report, along with two
others, will be considered
by state officials before the
development of Gov. Rick
Snyder’s (R) sixth budget.
University offers
Anger Management
Series
The Faculty and Staff Assistance
Program (FASAP) will provide
a four-week series dedicated to
developing anger-management
techniques, according to a
University press release.
The class aims to help staff
and faculty manage stress
and cope with anger more
effectively as well as to gain a
better understanding of anger
responses. The series begins
Jan. 13 and ends Feb. 3 from
11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in
the Administrative Services
Building.
—CAMY METWALLY
NEWS BRIEFS
film depicted a series of imag-
es that represented Locke’s
stance on culture and race-
based attacks among citizens.
During the event, Locke
said he made the film to show
Black culture from different
perspectives, specifically by
connecting Black culture with
trade relationships in China.
“This project takes a stance
on the culture at large, but spe-
cifically Black culture,” Locke
said. “It shows relationships in
China on a global scale, such
as trading oil, trading weap-
ons and what that means for
people.”
The event also featured a
panel discussion with three
University faculty members:
Education Prof. Robert Sellers,
vice provost for equity, inclu-
sion and academic affairs, Law
Prof. Amanda Alexander and
Architecture Lecturer Craig
Wilkins.
“I thought the panel was
very engaging and I learned
a lot,” Ngongi said. “I really
didn’t know about the commu-
nity and the planning process
for diversity.”
Sellers told the crowd that
diversity was important in all
fields, noting thinking about
different
perspectives
can
bring new ideas to the table.
“Sometimes,
we
assume
the point of view that we are
looking at is somehow truth
or objective or the only way to
look at it,” he said. “When one
thinks about building perspec-
tives, we need to reinforce the
notion to have as many differ-
ent points of view in play to
help us develop the very best
ideas.”
He also pointed to different
majors as a source of different
perspectives that can affect
opinions and approaches to
issues of diversity.
“If you don’t take into con-
sideration the different and
unique experiences of individ-
uals, then you run the risk of
designing a really nice beauti-
ful building that can do much
more harm than good in terms
of its usage,” Sellers said.
Sellers additionally cited
the diversity strategic plan-
ning process currently under-
way on campus, in which
University
President
Mark
Schlissel
called
upon
the
University’s colleges to cre-
ate plans to address diversity
within their respective units.
He said this planning process
gives the opportunity for each
school to improve inclusion.
“The nature of this Uni-
versity is such that, in any
particular unit, some of the
units will actually have the
types of relationships in place,
and there are others who
haven’t,” Sellers said. “The
planning process provides the
opportunity to make those
constituents
develop
those
relationships and have input
on how this University should
work with diversity.”
Alexander,
who
works
with the Inside-Out Prison
Exchange Program, touched
on how the University is relat-
ed to Detroit.
“We’re 45 minutes from the
Blackest city in the US,” Alex-
ander said. “The question is
how do we create access for
Detroiters— make them not
just feel included but wel-
comed, valued and cherished.”
She said many faculty mem-
bers don’t bring up diversity
in their classrooms over con-
cern of being criticized for
not addressing the topic with
nuance.
“A lot of our colleagues are
afraid,” Alexander said. “They
are afraid to address ques-
tions of race or diversity in the
classroom for fear that they
will end up on a blog some-
where.”
Wilkins,
a
professional
architect and urban design-
er who is the director of the
Detroit Community Design
Center, said architects should
learn to collaborate and relate
diversity with their designs
because many individuals are
not concerned with aesthetics.
“You have to talk to differ-
ent audiences and get specific
in ways in which those tangi-
ble things mean something to
you,” Wilkins said.
In an interview after the
event,
Rackham
student
Elinge Ngongi said the panel
provided her with a unique
view on her own Puerto Rican
and Black heritage.
Urban Planning Prof. June
Manning Thomas, who mod-
erated the event, said the
aim was to create a space to
address diversity and inclu-
sion.
“What we wanted to do is
enter into a consultation about
what the issues are of particu-
lar interest to Taubman Col-
lege faculty and students and
the whole idea of diversity,
equity, inclusion, as well as the
legacy of Taubman,” Thomas
said.
Rackham student Scott Fox,
who is studying urban plan-
ning and helped organize the
event, said he thought the con-
versation was both helpful and
thought-provoking.
“It was a good experience
to have faculty from various
perspectives talk about the
specific planning process and
breaking down how we can
make these conversations hap-
pen,” Fox said.
PANEL
From Page 1A
plan by next fall.
“At the end of the day, we will
have down about 100 crowd-
sourcing sessions,” Simpson
said. “This is starting bottom
up.”
Many attendees at the event,
however, were skeptical of the
multifaceted design. Rackham
student Oleta Johnson said
when she approached her advi-
sors in the College of Pharmacy,
they had no idea they were sup-
posed to be collecting the data.
“I see a lot of movement but
no actual planning,” she said.
“There’s a lot of emphasis on
we’re going to talk to the stu-
dents and then do whatever. I
also still don’t know how a lot of
the faculty feel about this.”
Attendees also discussed a
variety of diversity issues on
campus, including hiring prac-
tices, gender inclusive bath-
rooms, mandating dialogues on
race for incoming freshmen and
expanding the Detroit Connec-
tor’s services.
Social Work student Mary
Naoum said she thought the
Connector was central to stu-
dent work toward advancing
diversity.
The Connector was tem-
porarily discontinued in June
2015, but has since beenrevived
and is seeking grant funds for
its continuation.
“Recently, in an effort with
the School of Social Work to
expand course opportunities
in Detroit, I sent out a survey
to my classmates and the feed-
back I got back about challenges
to doing courses despite their
interests was a lack of trans-
portation,” she said. “So it’s not
just me, it’s not just students
who live in Detroit, it’s students
University-wide who want to
do this work in Detroit, but are
limited by transportation.”
A portion of the conversa-
tion also discussed questions
raised in a Michigan in Color-
piece published Tuesday in
The Michigan Daily. The piece
criticized funding mechanisms
for the the diversity initiative,
charging that there are cur-
rently no funds allocated spe-
cifically to it.
In response to the piece and
other related concerns raised
at the event, Rob Sellers, vice
provost for equity, inclusion
and academic affairs, cited Uni-
versity resources that he said
have already been allotted to
diversity programs. He noted
in particular the Trotter Multi-
cultural Center’s relocation and
the Wolverine and HAIL schol-
arship programs.
He said ultimately, a defini-
tive budget for diversity-related
initiatives could not and should
not be determined yet.
“We don’t want to assign a
dollar amount until the (diver-
sity) plan is in place,” he said.
“We want the plan to drive the
dollar amount, and to have a
number doesn’t make sense for
us without knowing what the
actual plan is.”
Additional town halls are
scheduled for this Wednes-
day and in coming weeks. The
DEIT also announced during
Tuesday’s event that they plan
to organize more opportunities
for students and faculty mem-
bers to contribute to the plan.
TOWN HALL
From Page 1A
climate talks, which are the most
substantial climate agreement
since the 1992 Kyoto Protocol.
Obama also said foreign pol-
icy must focus on stopping the
spread of global terrorist groups,
while not wasting American
resources.
“Priority number one is pro-
tecting the American people
and going after terrorist net-
works,” he said. “We also can’t
try to take over and rebuild
every country that falls into cri-
sis. That’s not leadership; that’s
a recipe for quagmire, spilling
American blood and treasure
that ultimately weakens us. It’s
the lesson of Vietnam, of Iraq
—
and we should have learned it by
now.”
Domestically, the president
announced a plan to travel across
the country to raise support for
policies that will increase coop-
eration within Congress.
“But, my fellow Americans,
this cannot be my task
—
or any
President’s
—
alone,” he said.
“There are a whole lot of folks
in this chamber who would like
to see more cooperation, a more
elevated debate in Washington,
but feel trapped by the demands
of getting elected,” he said. “And
over the course of this year, I
intend to travel the country to
push for reforms that do.”
Obama ended the address
with a call to end partisan and
other identity-based divisions
within the country in order to
uphold the American brand
of democracy, but said he was
hopeful about the future.
“That’s the country we love,”
he said. “Clear-eyed. Big-heart-
ed. Optimistic that unarmed
truth and unconditional love
will have the final word. That’s
what makes me so hopeful about
our future. Because of you. I
believe in you. That’s why I
stand here confident that the
State of our Union is strong.”
Looking at the upcoming
legislative year, Pasek said he
doesn’t think there is much
Obama can do until after the
election in November.
“He’s already doing a lot via
executive orders and things of
that sort,” he said. “But I don’t
see much movement in Congress
to pass things that are Obama-
like, at least before the election.
After the election it’s possible
that outgoing members of Con-
gress and Obama will be able to
get some stuff done during the
lame duck session.”
In reaction to the address,
School of Information senior
Madeline Jursek, chair of the
University’s chapter of College
Republicans, said while she dis-
agreed with the president’s for-
eign policy stances, there were
several domestic policies that
resonated with her.
“While I don’t agree with
everything that Obama said
tonight, as a millennial Repub-
lican, there were some policies
that I agreed with, “ she said.
“The idea of dedicating more
resources to cancer research
definitely resonated with me.
One of the major policies that I
did not agree with the president
on is foreign policy and nation-
al security. I personally feel
that we need to take a stronger
stance against ISIS in order to
protect our nation from future
terrorist attacks.”
Public Policy senior Max
Lerner, chair of the University’s
chapter of College Democrats,
said he appreciated the presi-
dent’s emphasis on civic engage-
ment.
“As young people, when we
see legislators or governors or
presidents doing things that
we disagree with, a lot of it
is because we don’t civically
engage the way we should, we
don’t vote at high enough rates,
we don’t make our voices heard
loud enough, and I think that’s
part of what the president was
calling for tonight,” Lerner
said. “And what’s going to be so
important heading into the 2016
presidential election.”
UNION
From Page 1A
marily concerned with deter-
mining whether the case fell
under federal jurisdiction. She
said his questioning and inves-
tigations served to evaluate
this issue.
Sanzotta said Powers cited
several legal reasons to sup-
port the motion being subject
to federal jurisdiction in court,
namely the USDA’s role in the
deer cull as a federal agency.
She added that she was con-
cerned civil rights were being
violated by the cull due to the
court’s method of dismissing
the case, and that public safety
concerns remained.
“I’m sick about it in the very
center of my being because I
think it’s a horrible bloodbath
that is unnecessary,” Sanzotta
said. “I’m afraid for my own
family; we use the parks all the
time.”
CULL
From Page 2A
Williams illustrated the
accomplishments made last
semester, which included get-
ting an international student
advisor on staff at the Newn-
an Center, and conducting
research on international stu-
dents’ transition into student
housing as well as their feel-
ings about social inclusion.
She also discussed her com-
mission’s goal for the semester
to expand resources to nontra-
ditional students.
“We’d like to hire a nontra-
ditionals advisor to Newnan,
similar to what the transfers
have done,” she said. “Or at
least designate a current advi-
sor to nontraditional student
needs, establish a transfer
student scholarship, at least
in LSA, we are also planning
an international student job
fair that’s to take place in fall
of 2016.”
Plans moving forward
CSG representatives also
outlined the progress of initia-
tives from last semester and
discussed election dates for
the upcoming semester.
Public Policy junior Thom-
as Hislop, a CSG represen-
tative, spoke about plans to
launch the Prescription Drug
Misuse Campaign, a project
proposed last semester to
draw student awareness to the
dangers of drug use on cam-
pus.
The launch is expected to
occur between March 6 and
12.
“The idea so far is to have a
video with student advocates,
and students for recovery have
been great with working with
us, pledge boards, we’re going
to have expert panelists, we
are also going to have a media
campaign,” Hislop said.
CSG
From Page 2A
GREG GOSS/Daily
Law Prof. Amanda Alexander speaks about the importance of urban planning during the Agents of Change exhibition at the Duderstadt Gallery on Tuesday.