The University of Michigan’s
chapter of College Democrats
kicked off one of its weekly
voter
registration
drives
Wednesday
with
a
special
appearance from actor Sean
Astin, best known for his role
as Sam in Lord of the Rings.
Astin spoke to students and
community
members
about
campaigning at ground-level
events.
He
also
discussed
his experiences with Hillary
Clinton who he’s known since
1992, calling her one of the most
passionate and hardworking
people he has ever met.
The
event,
held
in
the
Michigan
Union,
was
coordinated
in
conjunction
with
Hillary
Clinton’s
campaign in Michigan.
Voter registration is one of
several major outreach efforts
coordinated by the University’s
College Democrats during an
election year. This year they
plan to hold voter registration
drives every week until Oct. 11,
the last day to register voters in
time for the November election.
Collin
Kelly,
chair
of
College Democrats, said the
group is holding registration
drives to promote Democratic
candidates on both local and
state levels, along with Clinton.
During the event, Astin
said he came to campus to
encourage
volunteers
at
the grassroots level of the
campaign and remind them of
their significance.
“Those
kinds
of
people
need to know that they are not
operating in a vacuum,” he said.
“That they have the support
of millions and millions of
Americans who rely on them
to do that footwork … It’s
endlessly inspiring to see the
optimism of students when it
comes to engagement and being
involved in their civic life.”
The
organization
and
coordination
of
celebrity
events such as this is done by
the Clinton campaign itself,
not College Democrats, but the
campaign works to coordinate
with student groups in the later
stages of the process, Kelly
said.
Kelly
said
having
celebrities
like
Astin
visit
campus encourages a level of
excitement
among
student
in this election cycle and
compliments the more local
figures that typically come to
campus.
“When you have people who
are really respected and well-
known to come voice their
opinion allows students to
follow their lead and for that
enthusiasm to really catch on,”
he said.
For both Clinton and GOP
Over
the
summer,
the
University
of
Michigan
expanded its academic offering
in an unusual aread — one that
doesn’t involve sitting in an
actual classroom.
The University has added
two new course specializations
to Coursera, an online company
which offers Massive Open
Online Courses to learners
seeking education in a certain
field
from
an
established
university.
Course specializations are
a sequence of several courses
that fall under a certain subject.
The two new specializations
the University is offering are
Applied Data Science with
Python and Data Collection
and
Analysis.
Once
these
specializations are completed,
students receive an electronic
certificate of completion.
In an email interview, James
DeVaney, associate vice provost
for
academic
innovation,
wrote
these
specializations
were approved by a faculty
committee that works closely
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, September 8, 2016
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INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 130
©2016 The Michigan Daily
NEWS......................... 2A
OPINION.....................4A
SPORTS...................... 5A
SUDOKU..................... 2A
CL ASSIFIEDS............... 5A
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B
The
Federal
Rail
Administration
and
city
government
are
moving
forward with plans to build
Amtrak
stations
at
four
potential sites in Ann Arbor,
each with varying support from
City Council members.
The next step in the planning
process
is
completing
an
environmental
assessment
report within the next two
months,
according
to
Eli
Cooper, transportation program
manager for Ann Arbor.
Cooper said the city has
sub-contracted environmental
specialists and engineers at
the technology firm AECOM
to gather environmental data,
and he expects a draft of the
assessment to be underway in
October.
Two of the four possible
station designs are both at the
location of the current Amtrak
station on Depot Street. One
of the design options is for an
elevated station. The other is
for a ground level station north
of the tracks.
The third possible station
design, also located on Depot
Street, would replace the Gandy
Dancer restaurant, repurposing
the building as a train station
See AMTRAK, Page 3A
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Rob Sellers, vice provost for equity, inclusion and academic affairs, encourage successful college practices at the SuccessConnects Orientation in the Student
Activities Building Wednesday.
The SuccessConnects program
held its orientation for its over
150 student scholars Wednesday
in the Student Activites Building.
SuccessConnects is a program
guided by the Office of Academic
Multicultural
Initiatives
that
works with underrepresented
freshman students to help them
sort their way through the pool
of resources available to them,
as well as the academic and
social challenges the University
of Michigan could potentially
pose for them. It primarily
seeks to serve first-generation
college
students,
low-income
students
and
students
from
underrepresented minorities.
Mary Taylor, a Success Coach
and
program
coordinator
at
OAMI, said her team aims to
create a community for students
who may feel lost on a big campus.
“We
are
trying
to
serve
students who wouldn’t get served
by other programs,” she said.
“We are bringing the resources
to them and trying to make
Michigan feel much smaller.”
Music,
Theatre
&
Dance
See ONLINE, Page 3A
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Actor Sean Astin rallies Hillary Clinton supporters to register voters in the Union Wednesday.
Party in the AA
We report from the two
biggest welcome week
parties: Ann Arbor’s
craziest cultural event
» B-Side
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
In a continued partnership
with
the
University
of
Michigan, Toyota announced
it will invest $22 million to
fund research on driverless
cars and methods of artificial
intelligence.
This
is
an
expansion
of
the
Toyota
Research
Institute’s
April
announcement, which revealed
TRI will be opening a new
facility in Ann Arbor.
The Ann Arbor location
is the third facility TRI has
established in the United States,
the first in Massachusetts near
the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology and the second
in California near Stanford
University.
The
most
recent
announcement
about
the
newly established relationship
between
the
company
and
the University stated TRI’s
funding
will
be
used
to
continue
the
University’s
commitment
to
research
on autonomous driving and
artificial
intelligence.
The
research will take place over
See TOYOTA, Page 3A
See ASTIN, Page 3A
See SUCCESS, Page 3A
City leaders
divided over
new Amtrak
design plans
SuccessConnects aims to assist
underrepresented new students
LOCAL
Four sites in Ann Arbor under
consideration for new rail station
SOPHIE SHERRY
Daily Staff Reporter
Program welcomes freshmen with resources and encouragement at orientation
NEIL SCHWARTZ
Daily Staff Reporter
University
announces
additions to
Coursera
ACADEMICS
Two new data science
specializations made
available to public
RACHEL COHEN
Daily Staff Reporter
Actor Sean Astin speaks at College
Democrats voter registration event
At UM, Lord of the Rings star discusses importance of grassroots campaigning
LYDIA MURRAY
Daily Staff Reporter
Toyota to
give $22M
to ‘U’ for
car project
RESEARCH
Company releases
details for driverless
vehicle research
KEVIN LINDER
Daily Staff Reporter