If University of Michigan
College
of
Engineering
researchers
continue
to
prototype
their
innovative
work, you might soon be
receiving
packages
from
someone other than a mailman
— instead, a robotic bird.
The University will be the
first institution to program
and test “Cassie,” a robot with
the mobility of a bird and
the potential to transform
efficient energy usage. The
robot, created by the Agility
Robotics program at Oregon
State
University,
will
be
arriving at the lab belonging
to Jessy Grizzle, professor of
electrical
engineering
and
computer science. Grizzle has
also worked on robot bipeds
— machines that use two legs
to walk — similar to Cassie,
which takes the form of a large
bird. Grizzle is well-known
throughout
the
nation
for
his work on bipeds and has
collaborated with Oregon State
University before — which is
why Cassie will be tested by his
lab.
Grizzle
said
Cassie’s
inventors did not plan on
its
aviary
appearance,
but
tweaked their design when
mathematics proved that the
robot would perform better
with this form.
“Agility
Robotics
started
City
Council
voted
unanimously
Tuesday
to
postpone an initial vote on an
ordinance intended to protect
Ann Arbor’s undocumented
residents, citing a need to
tighten exceptions originally
provided in the ordinance.
The ordinance comes after
an executive order signed
by President Donald Trump
in January providing for the
removal of federal grants for
“sanctuary
jurisdictions,”
which the order defines as
jurisdictions that refuse to
assist
federal
agencies
in
identifying
and
detaining
undocumented
immigrants.
Additionally, implementation
memos for the order released
Monday expanded the federal
government’s
authority
to
allow lower jurisdictions to
carry out the duties of federal
immigration agencies.
At the Feb. 6 meeting
of City Council, members
unanimously
passed
a
resolution directing the city
administrator to review the
executive order and “provide
advice
regarding
possible
options or actions the city
might take to protect the
rights of the city and persons
within its jurisdiction.”
The ordinance proposed
Tuesday
would
prohibit
city employees from asking
residents
about
their
immigration
statuses,
but
provides several exceptions to
the prohibition. According to
the ordinance, city employees
would be permitted to inquire
into a resident’s immigration
status while assisting federal
law
enforcement
in
the
investigation of a criminal
or civil offense, or while
processing
an
arrested
person.
Ann Arbor resident Jessica
Prozinski said the exceptions
defeated the original purpose
of the ordinance, opposing it
on those grounds.
“The resolution, I believe,
had good intentions, as far as
strengthening Ann Arbor’s
don’t-ask-don’t-tell
policy,”
she said. “This resolution, I
think, has actually become
During
Central
Student
Government’s
Tuesday
meeting, a resolution to support
the
creation
of
a
Middle
Eastern and North African
racial category on University
of Michigan documents passed
unanimously.
LSA
Rep.
Devin
Jones,
SAFE member — one of the
four authors who identifies
as ME/NA — brought up the
discrepancies in how he was
classified in the U.S. census and
other
demographic
surveys.
Though
he
is
Palestinian
and the other authors of the
proposal were Lebanese, Jones
said they were all technically
classified as “white.” Jones
argued
the
demographic
surveys did not take Middle
Eastern heritage into account.
“In 1944, all Arabs were
marked as white in the United
States because whiteness was
a prerequisite for citizenship,”
Jones said. “That changed in
1952, but the status for Arab
Americans and others who are
Middle East and North African
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, February 22, 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. 35
©2017 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
Engineering
professor to
test bipedal,
robotic bird
Debbie Dingell highlights impact of
Affordable Care Act to crowd of 100
See ROBOT, Page 3A
ROBERT BUECHLER/Daily
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D–Dearborn) discusses the impact of the Affordable Care Act on students at Weill Hall on Tuesday.
RESEARCH
Jessy Grizzle, in collaboration with those
at Oregon State, will test the prototype
RASHEED ABDULLAH
Daily Staff Reporter
Current political discourse in GOP could repeal act which provides medical care to millions
Rep.
Debbie
Dingell
(D–
Mich.) accompanied a panel
at the University of Michigan
Ford School of Public Policy
Tuesday night to discuss the
impacts
of
the
Affordable
Care Act. The panel, hosted by
the University of Michigan’s
chapter of College Democrats
along with Progressives at the
University of Michigan, also
answered public questions to
an audience of approximately
100
students,
faculty
and
community members.
Panelists began by laying
out
facts
about
the
ACA
itself,
explaining
that
20
million previously uninsured
Americans
gained
health
insurance because of the act.
In
Michigan,
the
“Healthy
Michigan” plan reduced the
number of uninsured citizens
by 50 percent, allowing nearly
700,000 people in Michigan
to
gain
health
insurance,
according to Dingell.
The panel comes during a
time of concerns surrounding
a
possible
repeal
of
the
ACA from GOP lawmakers.
Panelists described the idea
of “repeal and replace” as
more of a slogan than a plan
JORDYN BAKER
Daily Staff Reporter
See CSG, Page 3A
CSG passes
resolution
for ME/NA
recognition
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Middle Eastern authors
said they had to put ‘white’
on demographic forms
RHEA CHEETI
Daily Staff Reporter
JOSHUA HAN/Daily
Ann Arbor resident Kathy Griswold speaks about road crossings at a City Council meeting on Tuesday.
Concerns over federal funding delays
immigration ordinance at City Council
Residents and council believe previous legislation had too many exceptions
ANDREW HIYAMA
Daily Staff Reporter
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
See CITY, Page 3A
See DINGELL, Page 3A
Coach Jim Harbaugh traded
in his headset for a microphone
Tuesday night to judge the
annual Mock Rock charity
talent show at the University
of Michigan Power Center for
the Performing Arts, where
more than 200 students and
community
members
came
to
watch
student
athletes
help raise money for the local
mental health organization
Fresh Start Clubhouse.
Mock Rock is an annual
fundraising event organized
and led by the Student-Athlete
Advisory
Committee
and
the Ginsberg Center where
each year, the organizations
determine a local beneficiary
to donate the funds the show
raises to a place they feel
aligns
with
the
students’
passions.
Various
varsity
student-
athlete teams came together
to create original talent acts to
perform in front of their peers
to help fundraise money.
Last year, the organizations
chose to donate all proceeds
See ATHLETES, Page 3A
Student
athletes
perform
for charity
CAMPUS LIFE
Annual talent show,
benefit Mock Rock judged
by coach Jim Harbaugh
DYLAN LACROIX
Daily Staff Reporter
Looking in the Mirror
statement
The Push to Change History on Campus