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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