When 
Rackham 
student 

Surojit Sural, Ph.D. candidate 
in molecular and integrative 
physiology, was deciding on 
leaving his home country 
of 
India 
for 
Japanese 

or 
American 
doctorate 

programs, 
he 
chose 
the 

University of Michigan for 
what he said was its prestige, 
location 
and 
financial 

support. 
His 
peers 
were 

accepted 
to 
high-ranking 

European universities, but 
also chose American schools 
due to their financial aid 
benefits.

However, 
under 
the 

Republican tax plan which 
recently passed the House, 
two of three student tax 
credits would be eliminated 
and tuition waivers Ph.D. 
candidates 
earn 
through 

teaching and research would 
become 
taxed. 
Supporters 

of the propsal argue the tax 
cuts will be beneficial for 
businesses, the middle class 
and economic growth, as tax 
cuts have been a major issue 
for the Republican party in 
recent weeks. 

While 
Sural 
plans 
to 

graduate in the summer of 
2018 and will not be affected 
if the bill goes through, he 
acknowledged 
how 
deal-

breaking this would have 
been for him had the bill 

When 
the 
parliament 

of Catalonia, a region in 
northeastern 
Spain, 
voted 

this past September to hold 
a 
region-wide 
referendum 

on whether or not Catalonia 
should become independent 
from Spanish governance, the 
question of its future became 
a 
matter 
of 
international 

importance.

Faced with such a divisive 

current 
event, 
professors 

instructing courses in the 
newly 
developed 
Catalan 

course 
sequence 
in 
the 

University 
of 
Michigan’s 

Department 
of 
Romance 

Languages and Literatures 
started to work discussion 
of the referendum into class 
time.

Susanna 
Coll-Ramirez, 

the 
assistant 
director 
to 

the 
Elementary 
Language 

Program 
in 
the 
Romance 

Languages 
Department, 

moved to the United States 
from Catalonia 18 years ago. 
She said in 2011 she was asked 
to develop a 400-level class 
in the Spanish curriculum 
on the Catalan language and 
culture.

After sufficient enrollment 

rates and positive student 
feedback, the class was given 
a permanent spot in the 
Spanish curriculum as a one-
semester course for students 

who have already taken three 
300-level 
Spanish 
courses. 

From there, another section 
was added and the sequence 
continued to grow until the 
Catalan courses became their 
own 
sequence, 
no 
longer 

strictly Spanish classes but 
instead cross-listed.

“Now 
it’s 
not 
under 

(Spanish) anymore, it’s also 
Catalan so it has its own 
name,” 
Coll-Ramirez 
said. 

“It’s Catalan but it’s cross-
listed with Spanish so it’s 
Catalan and Spanish. The 
prerequisites, because it’s a 
291 class, is that the students 
have had Spanish 277 so 
students still come with a 

very good level of Spanish.”

LSA senior Abbey Derechin 

is currently taking a Catalan 
course 
with 
Coll-Ramirez. 

She said she was interested 
in taking the course because 
her family has roots in the 
Catalonian region.

“My uncle is from Catalonia 

and I’ve always wanted to 
learn his native language, 
I guess, because I’ve been 
taking Spanish since seventh 
grade so I can speak with him 
in Spanish but I wanted to 
be able to speak with him in 
Catalan as well.”

Ryan Szpiech, an associate 

professor in the departments 
of 
Romance 
Languages 

and Literatures and Judaic 
Studies, 
said 
along 
with 

familial ties to the region 
like Derechin has, students 
have 
heard 
the 
name 

Catalonia more often after the 
referendum. Szpiech believes 
this will allow the Catalan 
program 
to 
grow 
while 

other larger languages won’t 
because there are no current 
political events happening in 
these larger countries with 
more native speakers. 

“Catalan 
is 
not 
a 
big 

language 
worldwide,” 

Szpiech said. “By comparison, 
Portuguese, another romance 
language, 
is 
far 
more 

abundant as far as native 

More 
than 
130 
student 

organizations will take part 
in Giving Blueday on Tuesday, 
the most in the four years that 
the event has been held. Giving 
Blueday, a 24-hour University-
wide 
donation 
campaign, 

raised $5.5 million from more 
than 7,300 donors last year.

Scheduled to coincide with 

Giving Tuesday — a global day of 
charity following Black Friday 
— Giving Blueday encourages 
members of the University 
community 
to 
donate 
to 

organizations, 
programs, 

schools and scholarship funds. 
Only donations made by phone 
or online on Nov. 28 will count 
toward the total.

Katy Wallander, associate 

director 
of 
Student 

Philanthropy, 
said 
student 

organizations 
which 
will 

participate 
typically 
raise 

between $1,000 and $2,000.

“I think that sometimes 

students 
think 
that 
when 

you give to Michigan, it just 
goes in the same bucket, but 
really there’s such a variety of 

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, November 27, 2017

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN 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. 36
©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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B

See TAX PLAN, Page 3A

GOVERNMENT

See LANGUAGE, Page 3A

CAMPUS LIFE

Catalan courses being offered in Winter 2018:

Catalan 330/Spanish 330

 — Ryan Szpiech, Associate Professor of Spanish

Advanced Catalan Language, Culture, 

and Society

Topics in Catalan Literature and 

Culture

Catalan 441/Spanish 441

"Spanish society is, one way or another, 
suffering. Whether (Catalonia) splits or 
doesn’t split, there’s no good outcome 

to this, I don’t think.” 

DESIGN BY MICHELLE PHILLIPS

Heartbreak

The Wolverines had a chance 

to change the recent history 
of the Ohio State rivalry in 

front of them, but missed 
opportunities kept them 

from the upset victory.

» Page 1B

michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit

The 
William 
Davidson 

Institute 
— 
a 
nonprofit 

research organization which 
provides support to low- and 
middle-income countries — is 
launching a virtual, cross-
cultural 
entrepreneurship 

program 
next 
year 
for 

University 
of 
Michigan 

undergraduates from the Ann 
Arbor, Flint and Dearborn 
campuses.

The 
program, 
Michigan 

Initiative for Global Action 
Through 
Entrepreneurship, 

will 
connect 
University 

students with students from 
universities in the Middle East 
and North Africa, according 
to 
the 
University 
Record. 

Participating schools include 
the FEPS Business Incubator at 
Cairo University in Egypt and 
Benghazi Youth for Technology 
and Entrepreneurship, among 
others.

Students will work together 

to identify social problems 
such 
as 
public 
health, 

sustainability 
and 
assisting 

locals in business operations. 

See PROGRAM, Page 3A
See GIVING BLUE, Page 3A

ACADEMICS

Giving Blue- 
day looks 
to include 
hundreds

More than 130 student 
organizations will take 
part in this year’s initiative

LEAH GRAHAM

For the Daily

GOP tax plan 
a cause for
concern for
‘U’ students

Proposal includes removal of certain 
tax breaks for graduate school students

RACHEL CUNNINGHAM

Daily Staff Reporter

Program to 
engage ‘U’
in virtual 
learning

Tri-campus initiative 
encourages students to 
virtually collaborate

ERIC MA
For the Daily

Catalan vote incorporated into class 
discussions, newly developed courses

The expanding Catalan classes work to include current events in daily curriculum

MATT HARMON
Daily Staff Reporter

For sixth straight year, ‘The 
Game’ ends in Buckeyes’ favor

TED JANES

Daily Sports Writer

The Michigan football team 

couldn’t have dreamed of a 
better start, but No. 9 Ohio 
State didn’t let the dream last 
very long.

Michigan 
led 
by 
two 

touchdowns 
early 
in 
the 

second quarter, but just as Ohio 
State quarterback J.T. Barrett 
began getting into rhythm, the 
Wolverines began to blow their 
own lead.

The result? A 31-20 loss — 

the sixth-straight loss to the 
Buckeyes — and an 8-4 record 
to end the regular season.

Michigan’s mistakes arrived 

early, but their implications 
didn’t appear until it was too 
late.

Fifth-year 
senior 

quarterback 
John 
O’Korn 

overthrew open receivers all 
game. He finished with 195 
passing yards on a 53-percent 
completion rate.

Sophomore 
safety 
Josh 

Metellus dropped a potential 
second-quarter interception in 
Michigan’s red zone, and Ohio 
State scored its first touchdown 
on the next play.

Ohio State blocked redshirt 

freshman 
kicker 
Quinn 

Nordin’s extra point in the 
third quarter, and when the 
Wolverines trailed by four on a 

late fourth-quarter drive, they had to play for 
a touchdown — not just a field goal.

“We got a little complacent,” O’Korn said. 

“As players, we let the foot off the gas. This 
game didn’t have to be close. We could’ve 
ran away with it.”

The game was close indeed, because 

aside from all the missed throws and 
botched opportunities, the Wolverines’ 
offense was getting contributions from 
all over at the start.

Fifth-year 
senior 
Khalid 
Hill 

hammered across the goal line 
for the Michigan’s first score, 
and sophomore tight end Sean 
McKeon caught a touchdown 
pass early in the second 
quarter.

Sophomore 
running 

back 
Chris 
Evans 

boosted 
Michigan 

with 67 rushing 
yards, 
and 

freshman 
Donovan 

Peoples-

Jones broke five tackles 

on a 42-yard punt return that gave 

the Wolverines advantageous field positioning for their second 
touchdown.

See OHIO STATE, Page 3A

EVAN AARON/DAILY