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October 27, 2016 - Image 3

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2-News
3-News

Thursday, October 27, 2016— 3A
News & Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

University spokesperson Rick

Fitzgerald said in an interview
Wednesday
administrators
are

focusing their efforts on improving
diversity of all types, including
racial and economic, as well as on
admitting first-generation students
and students from a wider variety
of high schools. He acknowledged,
however, that efforts to increase
African-American
enrollment

fell short of the University’s
expectations.

“It’s a difficult process of trying

to focus on improve diversity at the
University,” Fitzgerald said. “But
it’s an area that we continue to
work on, within the law of the state
of Michigan.”

As a whole, the undergraduate

enrollment of minority students
increased
from
11.4
percent

last fall to 12.3 percent of the
undergraduate student body. In
2005, the year before Michigan
voters passed Proposal 2 —a
measure
effectively
banning

affirmative action in admissions
processes — minority enrollment
accounted for 13.7 percent of the
student body, according to a report
issued by the University.

Fitzgerald highlighted efforts

aimed at bringing low-income
students
to
the
University

including the HAIL scholarship,
which guarantees four years of
waived tuition and fees for eligible
students. The first cohort from the
program enrolled in this year’s
freshman class.

“The first year of our HAIL

scholarship experiment was very
successful.” Fitzgerald said. “We
brought in 262 HAIL scholars
from all around Michigan. Now
this
effort
primarily
targets

socioeconomic diversity because
that’s what the state law allows us
to do.”

Schlissel said in an October

interview with the Daily, however,
many of the DEI’s measures,
including the HAIL program
and other efforts focused on
recruitment
and
enrollment,

depend on funds that have yet to be
raised.

“Our hope is a significant portion

of the $85 million (in DEI funds)
will come from philanthropy,” he
said.

This year’s freshman class of

6,689 students is a significant
increase from last year, when the
University enrolled 6,071 incoming
freshman.

Fitzgerald said this 618-student

increase in the freshman class was
part of a yearlong intentional effort
by the University to expand the size
of the student body.

Overall enrollment for the Ann

Arbor campus rose 2.4 percent
from last year, bringing the total
number of undergraduate students
to 28,983 and graduate students to
15,735.

Out-of-state
students
now

comprise 48.4 percent of the
student body, as compared to 46.5
percent in 2015. In-state enrollment
dropped by 254 students, now
making up 51.6 percent of all
students.

In a Wednesday press release,

the director of undergraduate
admissions, Erica Sanders, said

that the admissions department
reviewed 55,504 applications — an
increase of around 7 percent from
last year.

Of
the
55,504
applications

received, the University offered
15,871 students admission. In total,
6,689 students enrolled with a yield
of 42.1 percent.

The number of first-generation

students also spiked by 8.5 percent,
and the number of Pell Grant
recipients increased to 17 percent
of freshman, up from 15.3 percent
last year.

In September, Schlissel said

administrators
prioritized

improving financial accessibility,
even as tuition costs increased by
3.9 percent for in-state residents
and 4.4 percent for out-of-state
students.

“What we do always in balance

tuition increases with an increase
in financial aid,” he said. “That’s
the way we keep working at
diversifying the student body.”

The University press release

report financial aid rose overall by
10.8 percent this year, allotting $170
million for need-based financial
aid. Many such measures are
included in the University’s new
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
strategic plan released earlier
this month. Though out-of-state
students are offered less financial
aid, Schlissel said new admissions
still contribute to overall diversity.

We’ve grown a little bit in

the non-Michigan students ... to
diversify the student body,” he said.
“We’re looking at students of all
socioeconomic statuses around the
country.”

ENROLLMENT
From Page 1A

the venue, said the campaign
had reached out to him about
hosting Wheaton, adding he
was enthusiastic about the
event as a fan of Wheaton and a
supporter of Clinton.

“The stakes are huge for

this election, and we want to
be involved in any way that we
can,” he said.

For a large portion of his

remarks, Wheaton focused on
mental health policy, an issue he
said has personal significance
for him as someone who has
suffered from severe depression
and anxiety for most of his life.
He emphasized that mental
illness should be treated with
the same level of seriousness as
any other health issue.

“There’s a lot of people

that
I’ve
encountered
who

think that if I was just a little
stronger, just worked a little
harder, just fought a little more
it would be OK,” he said. “You
would never tell a person with
a broken leg to just walk on it
until it didn’t hurt anymore.
You wouldn’t tell a person with
diabetes to just stop having
diabetes, be tougher. But that’s
the way we treat mental illness
in our society.”

Wheaton also encouraged

the
audience
to
vote
for

Democrats down the ballot
during the event, emphasizing

the
importance
of
lower-

level elections along with the
presidential election.

“The road to the White

House starts at your school
board level,” he said. “The way
that you shape your counties
and you shape your states is
through the local elections.
We have to plant the seeds
for Democratic voters in the
future.”

The most recent Michigan

Daily
election
poll
of
a

sample of students showed
steady support for Clinton on
campus,
with
70.3
percent

of respondents favoring the
democratic nominee.

Michigan as a whole has

leaned toward Clinton for the
past several polling cycles and
is not considered a swing state,
though Trump and Clinton were
previously close in Michigan’s
polling numbers. The most
recent RealClearPolitics polling
average showed Clinton leading
Republican nominee Donald
Trump by 10 points.

Nonetheless,
Wheaton

stressed the importance of
encouraging people to vote
for Clinton come Election Day
because of the contrast he sees
between the two candidates.

“You just turn on the TV,

and you see this despicable
and
disgusting
man
being

awful to women and awful to
immigrants and being awful
to basically everyone who is
not him,” he said. “Then we

have this amazing woman who
has literally spent her entire
career fighting for women and
children. That’s why we have
got to get out and we have got
to cast our votes for Hillary
Clinton and Tim Kaine.”

Engineering
junior

Austin Dumm who said he
is a supporter of Clinton and
Wheaton, echoed Wheaton’s
sentiments on getting out the
vote.

“I’m a big fan of Wil Wheaton

and a big fan of the Clinton
campaign,” he said. “I think he’s
entirely accurate in everything
he’s saying. If we get out there,
we are going to win this. I think
it speaks to the community of
Ann Arbor that he is here and
that we have this much support
for him.”

Ann Arbor resident Gregg

Briggs also said he enjoyed
Wheaton’s
remarks
on
the

importance of voting in local
and state elections, saying he
hopes it will aid in creating a
more bipartisan legislature.

“I really appreciated his

ability to speak about the real
issues out there,” he said.
“And all of the other effects
that go beyond the individual
Trump or Clinton, but down
ticket races and how it is going
to spread out and hopefully
bring back our democracy into
something that is going to work
across differences instead of
just screaming at each other.”

WHEATON
From Page 1A

Detroit”
column,
which

received national recognition.
Members of his family were
in attendance at Wednesday’s
event.

Charlton volunteered with

the
Army-Navy
Wheelchair

Basketball
game
and

co-founded
the
Wolverine

Support Network in 2014, an
organization
that
provides

confidential
peer
support

groups to students with the
goal of destigmatizing mental
health issues. As well as being
president of CSG, Charlton
also served as president of
the Student Athletic Advisory
Committee.

Regent
Mark
Bernstein

(D), who presented Charlton
with the award, emphasized
Charlton’s focus on inclusion
and access during his time as
CSG president.

“The
agenda
(Charlton)

presented every month as CSG
President was about inclusion,
about access, and frankly, just
making our campus a more
just, fair, and compassionate
place
for
our
students,”

Bernstein said. “(Charlton) did
this as a person that brought
great humility and grace to
that work, and I’m grateful to
him.”

In remarks at the event,

Charlton said efforts to engage
in
sincere
dialogue
about

disability are the first step
toward inclusion.

“This willingness leads to

openness, and this openness
leads to a connection which
transcends
differences,”
he

said.

Wednesday’s ceremony was

also part of the 26th Investing
in
Ability
celebration
on

campus, an annual month of
events increasing awareness
of
disability
issues
and

recognizing the contributions
of individuals with disabilities
to the University and the
community. As part of the
recently launched Diversity,
Equity & Inclusion Plan, this
year’s
Investing
in
Ability

month
featured
discussions

on
how
diversity
includes

disability.

Law School lecturer Jack

Bernard, chair of the Council
for Disability Concerns, who
spoke at the event, said this
focus was consistent with the
overall concept of diversity.

“Diversity is not just one

spectrum, but includes all the
ways of knowing and being
and … this is what gives us the
strength to be the best we can
be at the University,” Bernard
said.

Other speakers focused on

the significant progress at
the University in providing
resources
and
access
for

individuals with disabilities, as
well as current opportunities
and challenges in addressing
the issue on campus.

Stuart Segal, director of

the Office of Services for
Students
with
Disabilities

who was in attendance at the

ceremony,
highlighted
the

lack of awareness regarding
disability on campus in an
interview with the Michigan
Daily, saying that 94 percent
of students registered at the
office have “invisible” or non-
apparent disabilities that are
often overlooked, like mental
health
conditions,
learning

disabilities, ADHD or having
an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

“The
importance
of

Investing
in
Ability
and

this event is exposing the
University community to the
breadth of disability issues
and how prevalent disabilities
are not only on campus, but in
our wider community and our
country.”

Other
award
recipients

were
recognized
for
work

in a variety of fields, from
advocating for increased focus
on disability in medical school
curriculum to establishing the
Archive of Data on Disability
to Enable Policy and Research
at
the
Inter-university

Consortium for Political and
Social Research.

Jai Holt, colleague of award

recipient
Alison
Stroud,
a

research technician lead at
ICPSR, said investing in ability
in all aspects of the University
makes the community stronger
and serves as a model for other
campuses.

“I want to see University

of Michigan be a diverse
community that has input from
a variety of members. That will
fortify us to be stronger,” Holt
said.

NEUBACHER
From Page 1A

Griffin Luce has been around

the highest levels of hockey for
most of his life. His grandfather
played with Michigan coach Red
Berenson in the NHL, and Luce
himself spent the last two years
playing on the United States
National
Team
Development

Program’s Under-17 and Under-18
teams, considered to be the most
elite collection of hockey talent in
the country for those age groups.

But this year, Luce — a freshman

defenseman under Berenson at
Michigan — has found himself in
a bit of an adjustment period with
the Wolverines.

“Obviously getting used to

the pace of play in college at
the beginning of the year — it
wasn’t a challenge, but it took
some time,” Luce said. “But now
that I found the role that I know
that I need to play, I think I just
(need to) continue to do that in
practice every day and get as much
feedback from the coaches as
possible.”

That role, as described by Luce,

is a “shutdown guy.” He goes onto
the ice with a goal of neutralizing
the other team’s best players with
his size and physicality.

So far, Luce has filled that role

rather nicely. He has proven his
physical ability with multiple
bone-crushing hits throughout
the young season. But he has fallen
victim to a few penalties when
that physicality went too far, and
that’s something that he’ll have to
improve on in the future.

“There’s definitely a fine line,”

said senior defenseman Nolan
De Jong. “I think he’s the kind
of guy we want to tread that line.
You don’t necessarily have to have
the last word, because we play
hard between the whistles, and
that’s something that Coach really
stresses to us. But he’s the kind of
guy that guys should be scared to
go in the corners with.”

Added Luce: “I call it focused

intensity
and
controlled

aggression — having controlled
aggression as opposed to just
being reckless out there and taking
penalties. Picking your spots is
big, too. If the team needs a big
hit or something, not going out
and trying to headhunt guys, but

let the play come to you and take
advantage of that opportunity
when it presents itself.”

The main area where Luce has

yet to come into his own is on
the offensive end. In fact, when
he isn’t laying opponents out
on the ice, Luce may not leave a
huge impression at all. But for
defensemen, that isn’t necessarily
a bad thing.

“Defensemen are judged on

their mistakes,” Berenson said.
“Forwards always get judged on
their good plays, so it’s just about
unfair for defensemen. But Griffin
is a player who, when you don’t
notice him in a game, that’s when
he’s playing his best.”

Luce obviously has some work

to do before he is a top defenseman
for Michigan. He has taken some
unadvisable penalties this year
and has taken part in his fair
share of shoving matches after the
whistle.

But so far, his size and

physicality have paid dividends.
And if his family and personal
history are any indication, it’s a
good bet that the rest of Luce’s
game will shape into form, and he
will be fully adjusted soon.

USNTDP alum’s grandpa played with Berenson in NHL

MIKE PERSAK
Daily Sports Writer

Freshman defender Luce adjusting
as newcomer to Berenson’s squad

adolescents generally have a
strong reward drive and the
cognitive control mechanisms in
the brain aren’t fully developed
until you get older,” Gearhardt
added.

Because
of
knowing
this

fact, Gearhardt said that food
companies take advantage of
youth by aggressively marketing
to them, which poses harmful
effects to college students as they
don’t have parental oversight on
their food choices.

“During this age period you

are
also
more
independent

and you don’t have as much
parental oversight on what you
eat,” Gearhardt said. “The food
companies take advantage of this
by aggressively marketing to this
age group and almost all of these
foods are very rewarding, but
bad for your health in the long-
term.”

All of this research, Gearhardt

said the idea that people with
obesity bring it upon themselves
through consciously eating fast
food while knowing of its risks
is a misunderstanding of the
broader societal problems in the
media and in corporations that
lead to the epidemic.

“The
dominant
narrative

is that it is all just a matter of
willpower, and while we need to
all be responsible to try and make
the best choices for our health,
the current food environment
makes it extremely hard to have
a
healthy
relationship
with

food,” Gearhardt said.

The issue of fast food is also

currently a topic of discussion
on campus beyond Gearhardt’s
lab:
The
Sustainable
Food

Systems Initiative held its third
annual symposium, “Fast Food
for Thought” Tuesday, where 10
faculty members from different
departments delivered a series
of mini-lectures on food and
agriculture.

Overall, Gearhardt said she

hopes
that
FASTLab’s
work

will change how people view
substance addiction and that,
with more time and effort, there
may be improvements in public
health nationwide.

“Policy
approaches
that

have worked with substance
addictions,
like
restrictions

on marketing and taxes, may
be effective in re-shaping our
environment to encourage a
culture of health,” Gearhardt
said. “I hope that our work
reduces
the
stigma
that

individuals who have higher
BMIs now face.”

RESEARCH
From Page 2A

“We definitely believe some

thoughts weren’t captured due
to that fact,” she said, adding
that her goal for the meeting will
be to bring more student-based
concerns to the table.

In an interview after the

meeting, she said she hoped
the forum would engage more
students about the plan because a
student-hosted space would create
a more casual environment. She
said she’d heard from students that
having administrators hold events
made them feel they weren’t able
to speak freely.

“We’re having the DEI review

to go over the plan with more
people so we know who we are
representing and to capture more
thoughts,” she said. “We would
like to capture the thoughts that
may not have been expressed
during the administration one due
to the weird dynamic of a non-
neutral facilitation.”

Student dissatisfaction or lack

of engagement with University
events on the plan has been present
in multiple colleges throughout
the University, including for the
College of LSA. At several forums
hosted by LSA, student attendance
was noticeably low in comparison

with the overall size of the
college’s student body.

As well, during DEI launch

events and recent protests over
both a series of anti-Black, anti-
Islam and anti-LGBTQ posters
discovered on campus and a
planned debate on the merits of
the Black Lives Matter movement,
multiple students also expressed
criticism about aspects of the plan.

At a protest over the planned

Black
Lives
Matter
debate

outside of the Michigan League
in September, LSA freshman Asia
Green said she didn’t feel talking
to administrators was an effective
way to cause change.

“There are not enough events

hosted,
not
enough
forums,”

Green said. “All of the people up
higher always talk about how
they want to promote diversity
and inclusion but nothing is being
done.”

During Wednesday’s meeting,

Andrews also said she was
concerned
about
the
overall

recognition
of
engineering

students in the DEI plan, saying
she has voiced her concerns
with E. Royster Harper, the vice
president for Student Life, about
representation
of
engineering

students on campus.

She said because engineering

is prominently represented in the
University’s student population,

they should be included when
administrative
decisions
are

made regarding dining options
and activities on North Campus,
noting that art students and
freshmen were also affected both
those decisions.

Other
ESG
members,
like

Engineering
junior
Breanna

DeCocker, agreed.

“What a lot of people consider

the University is Central Campus,”
DeCocker
said,
adding
the

University can leave out art, music
and engineering students.

Engineering junior Madhav

Sharma, an ESG member, said
the lack of representation could
be attributed to the amount of
coursework engineering students
face, leaving little time for social
activities, noting many schools
have this problem.

“I don’t think it’s even possible,”

Sharma said, referring to a more
active engineering school.

Engineering
sophomore
AJ

Ashman, an ESG representative,
noted the recurrence of the anti-
Black, anti-Islam and anti-LGBTQ
posters on campus, saying he’d
heard from students who wished
to see more tangible action than a
statement of solidarity. He urged
students to take action when they
see other students being attacked.

“It’s your problem too — it’s an

attack on everyone,” he said.

change in the Middle East.

Public
Policy
and

Taubman graduate student
Michelle Rubin said she felt
Ebadi’s
lecture
provided

a unique space on campus
to discuss issues not often
addressed in her experience
at the University.

“I think (lectures like this

one) definitely help campus
climate, help to bring people
together
for
a
dialogue

that’s not really happening
a lot of places and bringing
cross-disciplinary students
together,” Rubin said.

Social
Work
student

Ariana Sulejman said she
enjoyed
hearing
about

these issues from Ebadi’s
viewpoint as a woman who
grew up in the Middle East.

“I’ve
never
really

heard about these types
of things from someone
who’s actually from the
Middle East, so getting that
perspective was amazing,”
she said.

ISLAM
From Page 1A

Read more at MichiganDaily.
com

HOCKEY

ESG
From Page 1A

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