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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Friday, January 20, 2017 — 3

students @ michigan

median family 

income of 
a student is 

1 in 10 students are 
from the top 1% of 
income distribution

$154,000

UofM Students

Social Mobility

and

Michigan was

ranked

last

in overall 

social mobility

 among 

highly selective 
public colleges

share of students 
from the top 1%

#1 - Michigan 9.3%

#2 - UT Austin 5.4%

#3 - Georgia 5.1%

plans in Flint. For the first time, 
students from more than one UM 
campus will be able to team up to 
generate solutions in the Challenge. 
This extra layer of diversity of 
thought 
and 
multidisciplinary 

collaboration can only help the 
students better understand the 
situation on the ground.”

Paula Nas, interim director of 

University Outreach at UM-Flint, 
said the partnership between 
the Center for Social Impact 

and UM-Flint has been off to a 
productive start. She also added 
everyone involved is excited to 
collaborate on team pitches, and is 
receptive of diverse ideas.

“Last summer, we approached 

the Center for Social Impact to see 
if they would like to partner with 
UM-Flint and choose a project in 
Flint this year,” Nas said. “They 
were very receptive and have been 
working very closely with us to 
collaborate. We had our kickoff 
in Flint (Jan. 18) and the students, 
faculty and staff are thrilled to 
have the opportunity 

to 

SOCIAL IMPACT
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health care and 85 percent in the 
private sector, so that generates 
additional income and sales tax 
revenue,” Ayanian said.

Ayanian said the Healthy 

Michigan Plan included features 
not part of typical Medicaid 
programs, including the caveat 
that people over the poverty 
level were required to contribute 
two percent of their income 
toward their coverage, as well 
as 
financial 
incentives 
for 

patients to make healthy lifestyle 
changes, such as eliminating 
smoking and changing eating 
habits.

“When 
the 
Michigan 

legislature approved the Healthy 
Michigan plan in the fall of 2013, 
they created certain features 
that are not typically part of 
Medicaid coverage,” Ayanian 
said.

Gov. Rick Snyder dedicated a 

portion of his State of the State 
address on Tuesday to speaking 
about the benefits of Healthy 
Michigan and said he believes 
the plan has been successful in 
providing access to health care 
for many of the Michigan’s most 
impoverished citizens.

“We 
have 
640,000 

Michiganders in this program,” 
Snyder said. “It has provided 
over 2.8 million primary care 
visits, over 400,000 preventative 

care visits and it’s saving us 
money.”

Snyder also said he anticipates 

forthcoming changes to health 
care and would like to see 
Healthy Michigan serve as a 
model policy for the rest of the 
country.

“There’s going to be changes 

in health care,” he said. “The 
important thing is we need to 
let them know that Healthy 
Michigan is a model that can 
work for the rest of the country. 
We look forward to reimagining 
health care for all Michiganders 
and our entire country with 
Michigan being a leader in that 
dialogue.”

President-elect Donald Trump 

ran on a platform of repealing 
and replacing “Obamacare” amid 
problems of nationally rising 
costs in insurance premiums and 
prescription drugs.

Congressional 
Republicans 

have 
yet 
to 
introduce 
a 

comprehensive replacement plan, 
but it is speculated that Rep. Tom 
Price (R–Ga.), Trump’s pick to 
head the Department of Health 
and Human Services, could be 
influential in future health care 
policy decisions.

Price is a notable opponent of 

the Affordable Care Act and as 
a representative, he introduced 
the Empowering Patients First 
Act in 2015 as an alternative 
to “Obamacare.” Under Price’s 
plan, individuals would receive 
age-adjusted tax credits when 
purchasing insurance and the 

plan would allow insurers to 
sell policies across state lines 
in an effort to drive down costs 
by 
making 
insurance 
more 

competitive.

LSA junior Collin Kelly, chair 

of the University’s chapter of 
College Democrats, is a proponent 
of Obama’s health care law and 
said there are benefits for college 
students such as himself being 
able to stay on his parents’ health 
care plan.

“It has so many provisions 

that are so helpful, especially 
for people like me,” Kelly said. 
“Staying on my parent’s insurance 
until I’m 26 is huge; I wouldn’t be 
able to afford it if that wasn’t the 
case.”

In an ideal world, Kelly said he 

would like to see “Obamacare” 
amended and the country move 
toward a single-payer health care 
system, in which the state covers 
health care costs.

“It just gets down to certain 

values you feel, that like people’s 
health should almost be a right 
and shouldn’t be some privilege 
where if you’re born into poverty 
or born in certain communities 
just by chance you can’t take care 
of your health,” Kelly said.

Kelly said he believes the 

Affordable Care Act has been a 
success and he hopes Congress 
will reconsider keeping it in place, 
or at the very least replace it with a 
plan similar to “Obamacare.”

“Hopefully 
there’s 
enough 

pressure on that they keep 
it, because seven years in, it’s 

working and it’s now a part of not 
just our health care system, but 
our economy and government and 
it’s a part of people’s lives,” Kelly 
said. “We can’t just get rid of that 
with no solid replacement.”

Engineering freshman Lincoln 

Merill, publicity chair of College 
Republicans, said in an email 
interview with the Daily he 
believes the Affordable Care Act 
should be repealed and replaced 
with a better system.

“It needs to be repealed, but 

at the same time it also needs to 
be replaced with an improved 
healthcare system that allows 
greater competition and therefore 
drives down prices for everyone,” 
Merrill wrote.

According to Merrill, the faults 

of the health care act as it stands 
is the lack of competition within 
the health insurance industry. 

“Some companies didn’t want 

to have to cover some people 
and so they dropped out of the 
program altogether. Because there 
are so few companies left, prices 
are rising at alarming rates due 
to the low competition - as high 
as over 100 percent in Arizona,” 
Merrill wrote. “These high costs 
and high deductibles, coupled 
with the lie of ‘if you like your 
doctor, you can keep your doctor,’ 
which is false because so many 
companies won’t insure people, 
created a healthcare system 
with a good intention, that is 
providing health insurance for 
everyone, but critically flawed 
in execution.” 

GOP
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senior and CSG communications 
director, said.

“The hope there is that friends 

of these students or other members 
of the organizations that these 
students are in will nominate them 
and be able to speak to the way that 
their leadership has impacted this 
climate in a positive way,” Shea said.

Chosen students are highlighted 

in a Facebook post on the CSG page 
featuring a photo along with a bio of 
their accomplishments. 

Shea also noted the survey was 

publicized through social media 
when the idea for “200 for 200” first 
came out, and nominations are still 
being accepted.

According 
to 
Cahen, 
the 

Bicentennial Planning Commission 
reviews the survey entries and 
nominees will be selected every 
Monday and Friday. He said the 
commission tries to choose student 
leaders who do not always get 
recognized for their actions.

“We’re 
looking 
for 
people 

who are involved in essentially 
a variety of communities on 
campus and show dedication to 
both the University and affiliate 
communities but may not always 
have the recognition that they 
deserve,” Cahen said.

LSA senior Alexjandria Edwards 

was one of the first five students 
featured in the “200 for 200” photo 
series and has been involved in a 
wide variety of organizations on 
campus.

CSG
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Awareness Center since 2010,” 
Fitzgerald 
wrote. 
“During 

her 
time 
on 
campus, 
U-M 

has emerged as a vanguard 
institution, leading the country 
with a visible and significant 
commitment to comprehensive 
approach to sexual misconduct 
prevention and response. We 
are deeply grateful for her many 
contributions and we wish her 
well with this new opportunity.”

In 
an 
email 
to 
SAPAC 

employees, 
Rider-Milkovich 

wrote she will begin her new 
role 
as 
the 
Senior 
Director 

of 
Prevention 
for 
EverFi, 

an 
educational 
technology 

innovator that works to empower 
students and adult learners with 
experience that will aid them in 
attaining success, on Feb. 5.

At EverFi, she plans to launch 

the Campus Prevention Network, 
a nationwide initiative to join 
institutions that have expressed 
their 
high-level 
commitments 

to preventing health and safety 
issues on their campuses.

Rider-Milkovich 
wrote 
in 

the email she plans to take the 
skills she developed at SAPAC 
and use them to communicate 
the importance of sexual assault 
prevention to a wider audience.

“My job now will be to take 

the lessons we have learned 
together and scale them up to 
the widest possible platform so 
that students at schools that don’t 
have the capacity or resources 
of a SAPAC (or U-M) might still 

benefit from the most effective 
prevention work in the field,” 
Rider-Milkovich 
wrote. 
“This 

decision has been one of the most 
difficult of my career; it is tough 
to leave a job you know and love 
for one with great promise and a 
lot of unknowns.”

LSA senior Elizabeth Nesbitt, 

who serves as a SAPAC event 
coordinator, said she is confident 
Rider-Milkovich will continue to 
succeed in her new position. She 
also added SAPAC will continue 
to serve the student body as they 
transition to new leadership.

“I am so grateful to Holly for 

her work for SAPAC during her 
time as Director,” Nesbitt said. 
“Although it is sad to see her go, 
I know she’ll be doing wonderful 
work 
in 
her 
next 
position. 

SAPAC will continue to serve 
the University as it has and I’m 
excited to see where it heads with 
a new director.”

Rider-Milkovich 
noted 

SAPAC’s services will continue 
uninterrupted, even through the 
careful process of hiring a new 
Director.

“Vice President Harper is 

carefully considering how to 
implement the best leadership 
support 
for 
SAPAC, 
in 

consultation with me and the 
rest of the professional staff, 
while a new Director is being 
hired,” Rider-Milkovich wrote. 
“Rest 
assured 
that 
student 

voices will play an important 
role in the hiring processes. 
Also, please know that your 
groups, 
our 
programs, 
and 

SAPAC’s services to survivors 
will continue forward without 
disruption.”

has increased.

“Even though the freshman 

class is just one snapshot, one 
class, all of those (efforts) are 
moving in the right direction,” 
he said. “It’s an indication that 
we’re working on this; we’re 
making some progress, and this 
will take some time.”

In October, the University 

announced 
a 
five-year 
DEI 

plan. The plan, spearheaded 
by University President Mark 
Schlissel, offers a series of 
initiatives 
to 
improve 
the 

campus’ 
overall 
climate 
by 

encouraging the recognition and 
inclusion of students from all 
backgrounds.

Fitzgerald 
also 
mentioned 

the HAIL Scholarship Program 
— a DEI program that aims 
to reach students from low-
income families in Michigan — 
welcomed 262 recipients as of 
October.

The 
effort 
is 
still 
being 

evaluated 
for 
future 

improvements, but according to 
Fitzgerald, has been successful 
so far.

“HAIL 
is 
not 
only 
a 

scholarship program aimed at 
low-income, 
high-achieving 

students, but also a test of a new 
way of communicating with 
those students and trying to 
reduce some of those barriers 
that we know exist for lower-
income students to apply to 
a place like the University of 
Michigan,” he said.

In an interview with the 

Daily 
in 
November, 
Kedra 

Ishop, the vice provost for 
enrollment management, said 
the program is a direct effort to 
expand economic diversity at the 
University.

“The HAIL scholarship is a 

terrific example of our deliberate 
efforts to bring in people from 
different backgrounds and of 
our efforts to inform prospective 
applicants 
that 
a 
Michigan 

education can be affordable,” 
Ishop said. “And this wasn’t 
necessarily 
a 
policy-driven 

change, but more of a shift 
in messaging. We want high-
achieving students to know that 
you should still apply even if 
you are unsure of how to pay for 
college because cost should not 
be a factor. The University can 
help (your needs).”

LSA senior Sean Javares-

Dajour Smith, who identifies 
with a lower SES, said he does 
not think the University is 
integrated in regard to different 
SES. He said he thinks the 
University “compensate(s)” for 
admitting students from a lower 
SES by admitting students from 

out-of-state who will pay full 
tuition.

“There 
are 
still 
students 

coming from out-of-state, from 
that higher SES,” he said. “(The 
University is) doing that to make 
up the difference with the state 
giving less funding. There’s been 
budget cuts.”

The University faced a 21.6 

percent funding cut from the 
state in 2011. In 2015, University 
officials cited an increase in 
tuition dollars to make up for 
the decrease in funding. Though 

they did not cite an increase in 
out-of-state enrollment, these 
numbers also continue to rise. 
Meanwhile, state funding has 
recently begun to approach pre-
2011 levels.

Smith 
understands 
why 

more 
out-of-state 
students 

are being accepted given the 
circumstances, but said students 
from a lower SES are being 
neglected. 

“They might have a focus on 

us, but at the same time, I think 
that they’re targeting out-of-
state students,” he said. “They’re 
giving them priority. As a result 
of that, you’ve got students from 
inner cities, urbanized suburbs 
and rural areas who kind of get 
left out of the picture.”

Another program aimed at 

improving economic diversity on 
campus, Wolverine Pathways, 
seeks to be a more long-term 
initiative, in which middle-
school 
and 
high-school 

students from nearby areas like 
Ypsilanti and Southfield will 
have the chance to earn a full 
scholarship to the University. 
Through the program, students 
will work with tutors and other 
mentors who will help prepare 
them to apply to the University.

The University is also a 

founder of the American Talent 
Initiative, which launched in 
the fall and aims to increase the 
number of low-income students 
attending 
top 
American 

universities.

Fitzgerald also noted the net 

price of attending the University 
— the cost of attendance minus 
financial aid — is lower than 
the 
national 
average, 
and 

significantly lower than some of 
the University’s competitors such 
as Michigan State University, 
in-state, 
and 
Northwestern 

University, out-of-state.

Additionally, Fitzgerald also 

said, referencing The Upshot 
report, a University of Michigan 

education often leads to a higher-
paying job.

According 
to 
the 
report, 

Michigan came in third out of 25 
highly selective public colleges, 
with a median student income of 
$68,700 at age 34.

“That 
underscores 
what 

some other reports, including 
the Department of Education’s 
college scorecard, said about 
being a good value, a good 
investment, because it pays off,” 
Fitzgerald said. “The median 
salary for our graduates following 
graduation, some reports show as 
much as $25,000 higher than the 
national average.”

In general, Fitzgerald said, 

the University is moving toward 
improvement.

“Even with all of those things 

that we know are not where we 
want to be with socioeconomic 
diversity … that is a component 
of the DEI strategic plan, and 
all kinds of diversity,” he said, 
“including 
socioeconomic 

diversity, is something that we’ll 
continue to work on.”

From a student perspective, 

Smith thinks the best tactic 
may be to increase enrollment 
of students from lower-income 
families 
and 
having 
these 

students be ambassadors.

“If 
they 
gave 
us 
more 

opportunity, we’ll spark their 
imagination and the perception 
of U of M being inacceptable to 
low income students — maybe 
we’ll be able to dispel that myth, 
maybe we’ll be able to break that 
down,” he said. “I think their 
greatest asset and 
outreach 

program is to let more of us in. 
We’re the greatest ambassadors 
they could have.”

Smith explained he was 

surprised to have received 
the amount of financial aid 
that he did, and that students 
from a lower SES may not be 
aware of the opportunities the 
University offers.

INCOME
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Read more online at 

michigandaily.com

Read more online at 

michigandaily.com

SAPAC
From Page 1

If they gave us 

more opportunity, 
we’ll spark their 

imagination

DESIGN BY: NOAH SHERBIN