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Thursday, March 24, 2016
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 95
©2015 The Michigan Daily
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WEATHER
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» INSIDE
Federal officials
urge universities to
increase accessibility
in higher ed
By CALEB CHADWELL
Daily Staff Reporter
In
a
call
with
reporters
Wednesday
afternoon,
U.S.
Secretary of Education John B.
King Jr. and Roberto Rodriguez,
deputy assistant to the president
for
education,
stressed
the
importance of colleges playing
a role in increasing access to
higher education.
“A college degree is the surest
path to the middle class for many
students, especially for students
from low-income families,” King
said. “But there are far too many
barriers preventing low-income
students from enrolling and
graduating from college.”
King said higher education
institutions have a responsibility
to
expand
opportunity
and
target support to lower-income
students, particularly Federal
Pell Grant recipients. Federal
Pell
Grants
are
need-based
grants for students given in a
maximum
amount
of
$5,815
yearly.
“These
institutions
must
ensure the degrees students
receive prepare them for the 21st
century economy and success
after college,” he said.
Currently,
King
said
only
10 percent of schools in the
country are enrolling their fair
share of Pell recipients and also
graduating more than half of
them on time. He said the United
States must do better.
While noting that department
officials realize the rising cost
of college makes it hard or
impossible for some students to
attend college, King said under
the Obama Administration the
maximum Pell Grant amount
has increased and will now be
indexed to inflation. Pell Grant
recipients now encompass 40
percent of all college students.
King also touched on Obama’s
2015 pitch to make community
college free as a key to making
higher education accessible for
GOVERNMENT
See EDUCATION, Page 2A
Astrophysicist
urges audience to
explore the sciences
By IRENE PARK
Daily Staff Reporter
Neil
deGrasse
Tyson,
an
award-winning
astrophysicist,
author and television host, visited
Ann Arbor Wednesday night for
a stop at Hill Auditorium as part
of his “An Evening with Neil
deGrasse Tyson” tour. The tour
began in January in Los Angeles
and ends Thursday in Detroit.
The
theme
of
Tyson’s
Wednesday
night
talk
was
“cosmic
perspective,”
which
Tyson defined as a view bigger
than
an
individual’s
own
perspective that offers a humbling
but enlightening outlook of one’s
place in time and space.
In his lecture, Tyson stressed
that because humans are made
of the most abundant elements
— such as hydrogen, carbon and
oxygen — they are not different
or separated from the rest of the
universe.
“We are literally stardust — if
that doesn’t make you feel large,
I don’t know what will,” Tyson
said. “We are not only in the
universe, but the universe is in
us.”
Tyson also addressed the
importance of investing in science,
technological, engineering and
math research, as well as being
comfortable seeing math and
science in popular culture. He
even suggested featuring STEM
researchers on currency, as is
done in Germany.
“(It’s) a culture that is not
afraid to display the (STEM)
brilliance of their citizens,” Tyson
See TYSON, Page 3A
Spray repellant
could impact
auto, refrigeration
industry
By ALEXA ST. JOHN
Daily Staff Reporter
The hassle of scraping ice off
your car windshield in below-
freezing
temperatures
and
snowy weather might soon be a
thing of the past.
University
of
Michigan
researchers recently developed
ice-repellent
coatings
that
have the ability to make ice
slide off materials such as
car windshields, ships and
airplanes. Made from rubber,
the spray-on technology could
have a major impact on multiple
industries affected by ice and
cold climates.
The product was developed
by Kevin Golovin, a doctoral
student in materials science and
engineering, and Anish Tuteja,
associate prof. of materials
science
and
engineering.
The
ice-repellent
coating
technology is being funded
through several federal offices
and departments including the
Office of Naval Research and
the Air Force Office of Scientific
Research.
The
Michigan
Translational
Research
and
Commercialization, a program
that provides resources to the
College of Engineering and the
University’s
Transportation
Research
Institute,
is
also
sponsoring the project.
“Living in Michigan, we see
the issue of ice everywhere, so
the need for a surface like this
was quite obvious,” Tuteja said.
The new spray-on coating
works
through
chemical
alterations
and
blending
of
rubbers,
Golovin
said,
ultimately creating a product
that has never been made or
prototyped before.
“When you have two hard
objects stuck together, they
have to rigidly snap apart, but if
With five choices
remaining, student
support varies after
Michigan primary
By LYDIA MURRAY
and CAITLIN REEDY
Daily Staff Reporters
The presidential race began
with 23 candidates. Now, only
five remain — two Democrats and
three Republicans. On campus,
students appear to lean toward
Sanders, but that is certainly not
the only view present.
The Michigan primary was
just one example of how student
voters have significantly impacted
the election cycle. Sen. Bernie
Sanders (D–Vt.) scored a surprise
win over Hillary Clinton with 50.1
percent of the vote, despite having
a 20-point deficit in the polls
leading up to the election. High
voter turnout and support among
young people — particularly
students — in part drove Sanders
to victory in the state.
On the Republican side, Donald
Trump’s victory was expected
by pollsters. Gov. John Kasich’s
(R–Ohio) had hoped to achieve
a second place finish to bolster
his position moving forward.
Though Cruz came in second,
Kasich found particularly strong
support in the areas surrounding
the
University
of
Michigan,
earning 34 percent of the overall
Republican vote in Washtenaw
Ann Arbor Twp.
pursues superfund
designation for
dioxane plume
By BRIAN KUANG
Daily Staff Reporter
Ann Arbor Charter Township
is exploring the possibility of
petitioning
the
Environmental
Protection Agency to designate a
local dioxane plume contaminating
groundwater beneath the township
as a superfund site.
Doing so would grant the EPA,
rather than the state, authority
to clean the toxic matter, a move
that’s desirable for many township
leaders due to their lack of
confidence in the state’s ability to
resolve the problem. However, Ann
Arbor officials say they are unsure
if they will support a move by the
township to do so.
Improper wastewater disposal
by Gelman Sciences, an Ann Arbor
life sciences firm, between 1966 to
1986 created a large, slow-moving
CITY
SCIENCE
See RESEARCH, Page 3A
See ELECTIONS, Page 3A
See WATER, Page 3A
AVA RANDA/Daily
LSA senior Nikki Baron makes slushies for students during Israel Day on the Diag Tuesday. The event celebrated Israel
and its various cultural aspects.
CULTUR AL CE LE BR ATION
MCKENZIE BEREZIN/Daily
Neil deGrasse Tyson, head of the Hayden Planetarium, discusses the cosmic perspective — the viewpoint that existing as part of the universe should make
one feel significant instead of insignificant — at the Hill Auditorium Wednesday.
Arts Writer Dayton Hare dives
into Seven Mile Music’s mission
the music b-side
Sec. of Ed.
emphasizes
progress of
Pell Grants
Neil deGrasse Tyson talks
human role in the universe
Students talk 2016 candidates
as nomination process proceeds
‘U’ researchers
create coating
resistant to ice
A2 officials
undecided
on petition
for EPA aid