M-Write 
— 
a 
program 

promoting 
conceptual 

learning 
through 
writing 

housed inside the Digital 
Innovation Greenhouse in the 
Office of Digital Education 
— continues to grow as it 
introduces 
writing 
and 
a 

peer 
review 
program 
to 

introductory-level 
STEM-

oriented and social science 
courses, though this is the 
third semester of its use.

M-Write will be utilized 

in 
three 
courses 
during 

the winter 2017 semester: 
Economics 
101, 
Material 

Science 
Engineering 
250 

and Biology 174. Economics 
is the largest class that will 
use M-Write, with over 300 
students.

A computer program called 

M-Write 
II 
anonymously 

distributes prompted writings 
to three other members of the 
course for peer review. The 
program then returns the 
student commentary to the 
original student, who revises 
their work accordingly.

Anne Gere, professor of 

education and English and 
Director of the Sweetland 
Center for Writing, initiated 
the project and said the goal 
is to promote deeper learning 
through the inclusion of a 
writing component.

Around 300 gathered in the 

Lydia 
Mendelssohn 
Theater 

Thursday night to see the 2016 
National Book Award-winning 
novelist Colson Whitehead read 
passages shining light on the 
horrors of slavery from his book 
“The Underground Railroad.”

Throughout 
his 
speech, 

Whitehead explained the novel’s 
conception; he first thought of 
writing about slavery in the year 
2000, but he didn’t begin writing 
it until three years ago, when he 
felt he had matured. 

“I knew if I had started then, 

I would have fucked it up,” 
Whitehead said. “So I was like, ‘I 
will wait and write more books 
and perhaps become a better 
writer … and hopefully I will be 
more mature and able to tackle 
it.’ ”

Whitehead said he is fortunate 

to be able to use his novel and 
platform to illustrate the torture 
and abuse his ancestors and 
others suffered under slavery in 
America.

“When I was working on the 

book, I had to start grappling 
with the horrors of slavery,” 
Whitehead said. “I don’t know 
where my family came from 
… I don’t know who they were 
or where they died, but part of 
writing this book right, writing it 
good, was honoring them.” 

Whitehead 
also 
offered 

commentary 
on 
America’s 

current racial climate, stating 

the election of Donald Trump 
as president is proof white 
supremacy is still prominent in 
the country.

Whitehead said he believes 

certain passages of the book, 
such as when free Blacks are 
stopped and frisked, have greater 
meaning now.

“When the election happened, 

I did start reading different 
sections 
from 
the 
book,” 

Whitehead said. “The book sort of 
does read differently now that we 
have this sort of re-entrenchment 
of white supremacy.”

LSA sophomore Colin Page 

said he attended the event 

both because he has read “The 
Underground 
Railroad” 
and 

because one of his professors 
recommended students attend.

Page said his interest piqued 

when Whitehead talked about 
his approach to writing about the 
theme of oppression, specifically 
the parallels he drew between 
race relations during slavery and 
today.

“I specifically enjoyed when 

he talked about how he mingled 
historical aspects of the book 
with realism in order to comment 
on society and the oppression he 
sees that was prevalent 200 years 
ago, and is still unfortunately very 

prevalent today,” Page said. “He 
used the mixture of the two to 
show the duality between the two 
ages and how we’re still wrestling 
with a lot of the same issues that 
we were.”

LSA freshman Scott Bays 

echoed 
Page’s 
sentiment, 

saying his major takeaway from 
Whitehead’s lecture was his use 
of the past in his novel to draw 
parallels to and comment on 
oppression in today’s society.

“I 
thought 
it 
was 
really 

interesting how he could use 
fiction and genre to expand the 
scope of what he was saying,” 
Bays said.

The beginning of a new 

semester is traditionally a time 
of recruitment and increased 
student involvement in different 
organizations on campus. At 
Winterfest, the University of 
Michigan 
chapters 
of 
both 

College Republicans and College 
Democrats had tables to promote 
mobilization and their respective 
agendas for 2017.

With President-elect Trump’s 

inauguration 
only 
a 
week 

away, the two political groups 
are focused on how the new 
administration will affect their 
future efforts to promote various 
ideologies, as well as increasing 
student political efficacy, which 
would lead to wider involvement 
and student knowledge about 
current political events.

While the University College 

Republicans 
are 
“thrilled” 

about 
President-elect 
Donald 

Trump’s victory, according to 
LSA junior Enrique Zalamea, 
president of the organization, 
they plan to focus largely on local 
Michigan state politics during 
the winter semester. They have 

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, January 13, 2017

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail 
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 8
©2016 The Michigan Daily

N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

M-Write tool 
expanded to 
intro, STEM
curriculum

Students, activists protest expected 
Planned Parenthood defunding

See STEM, Page 3

60,000 people were served by Planned 
Parenthood of Michigan (PPMI) last year.

WHAT IS PLANNED PARENTHOOD?

- safety-net provider
- steps in where providers stop accepting Medicaid patients 
- Medicaid reimburses services PP provides 

WHO IS MOST AFFECTED?

- low income households 
- rural areas

>25% 

Less than a quarter of MIchigan’s counties 
have no OB/GYN doctor. PPMI is often the 
only place patients can access health care.

WHO USES IT?

WHO HAS ACCESS?

DEFUNDING PLANNED PARENTHOOD: 

REPERCUSSIONS AND STATISTICS

DESIGN BY KATIE BEUKEMA

Planned Parenthood funding is currently in the process of being repealed, sparking concerns both locally and nationwide.

ACADEMICS

Expansion of program to include bio, 
material science and economics classes

EMILY MIILLER
Daily Staff Reporter

Congressional Republican initiative spurs discontent from campus community

On 
Jan. 
5, 
Speaker 
of 

the 
House 
Paul 
Ryan 
(R) 

announced a budget bill that 
would begin to repeal President 
Barack Obama’s health care law 
and would include language 

that 
would 
strip 
Planned 

Parenthood of more than half 
of a billion dollars in annual 
federal funding.

“Planned 
Parenthood 

legislation would be in our 
reconciliation bill,” Ryan said at 
a press conference.

Republican 
lawmakers 

have tried for years to strip 

the 
reproductive 
health 

organization 
of 
its 
federal 

funding, particularly since it 
faced an investigation by the 
House Committee on Oversight 
and Government Reform in 
2015 dealing with the purported 
illegal sale of fetal tissue.

Although the investigation 

found no evidence of illegal 

acts, 
it 
placed 
Planned 

Parenthood and its Democratic 
allies on the defense. Ruth 
Lednicer, Planned Parenthood 
of Michigan director of media 
and communications, said in 
an interview the protestors are 
active even at the traditionally 
liberal Ann Arbor locations.

CARLY RYAN

Daily Staff Reporter

See GOP, Page 3

Dems, GOP
strive for 
inclusive 
‘U’ policies

CAMPUS LIFE

Campus political groups 
reflect on their goals 
for the upcoming year

HEATHER COLLEY

Daily Staff Reporter

KEVIN ZHENG/Daily

Novelist Colson Whitehead kicks off the University of Michigan Bicentennial Theme Semester with a reading of his 
book “The Ungerground Raildroad” at the League on Thursday.

Colson Whitehead discusses parallel 
between current events and slavery

The award winning author also read passages from famous novel to 300 gathered

CALEB CHADWELL

Daily Staff Reporter

A mindful approach 

Michigan quarterback 

Wilton Speight uses the 

lessons he learned from his 

high school coach to help 
him to bounce back from 

mistakes.
» Page 8

michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit

See DEFUNDING, Page 3

It’s 
possible 
Michiganders 

could soon see the reduction or 
even elimination of the state’s 4.25 
percent income tax, as discussions 
on different proposals in both 
the state House and Senate are 
underway.

House Bill 4001, which would 

reduce the 4.25 percent tax to 3.9 
percent in 2018 and then reduce 
the tax by another 0.1 percent 
each year over a span of 40 years 
until the income tax is eliminated, 
was introduced by state Rep. 
Lee Chatfield (R–Levering) on 
Thursday.

Additionally, state Sen. Jack 

Brandenburg 
(R–Harrison 

Township) is also expected to 
soon introduce his own income 
tax 
elimination 
plan 
in 
the 

Michigan 
Senate 
that 
would 

eliminate the income tax over 
five years, the Detroit News 
reported. Brandenburg declined 
an interview with The Michigan 
Daily.

Edward Cho, University of 

Michigan economics professor, 
presented some of the general 
advantages and disadvantages that 

See TAX, Page 3

Legislature 
considers 
income tax 
elimination

GOVERNMENT

Bills have potential to 
decrease tax over years, 
sparking mixed reactions

CALEB CHADWELL

Daily Staff Reporter

