The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Thursday, January 11, 2018 — 3
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Second year psychology graduate student Rachel Fine presents her research on the perceived loyalty of dual nationals as part of the Social
Brown Bag speaker series at East Hall Wednesday.
SOCIAL BROWN BAG
to house the new minor, if
approved.
LSA SG President Nicholas
Fadanelli,
an
LSA
senior,
reviewed A.R. 7-026, a resolution
calling upon the University
to compensate CSG members
for their time and their work.
This proposal was previously
approved, then vetoed by CSG.
On Jan. 9, CSG President
Anushka Sarkar, LSA senior,
reiterated her reasoning for
vetoing the proposal, stating
she had worries about how the
resolution would affect students
without the organization.
“I
support
the
spirit
of
the resolution and I believe
in
financial
support
in
compensation for just labor
as
we
and
other
student
governments do, but I take issue
with some of the specifics of how
the resolution would actually
impact students in CSG and the
organization’s integrity,” she
said.
Sarkar stated she would be
open to discussing other forms
of compensation that would
not
risk
exposing
personal
information or affecting internal
decisions. However, at the LSA
SG meeting, Fadanelli said he
put out an LSA executive board
statement against the proposal
as many members in LSA SG
have expressed concerns.
LSA SG also discussed a
resolution
in
support
of
a
revision
to
the
2020-2021
academic
calendar
proposed
by the Office of the Registrar,
which
would
begin
classes
before Labor Day.
Fadanelli advocated for the
proposal, stating starting the
school year one week earlier
would
prevent
final
exams
continuing through Dec. 23, as
they have in previous years.
The University of Michigan
is one of the five universities
in the Big Ten that begins after
Labor Day. The list includes
Northwestern University, which
uses the quarter system instead
of the semester system.
According to a survey of
about 800 students, Fadanelli
stated about 70 percent were in
favor of starting the academic
year a week before Labor Day,
with 20 percent opposed and 12
percent indifferent. The main
concerns with the proposal
were how it would affect spring/
summer programs and move-in
for University housing.
“The one thing we have to do
as a government is weigh the
pros and cons of a solution,” he
said.
If the resolution is passed,
students and University staff
would have two-years notice to
accommodate for summer and
move-in plans.
LSA SG also discussed a
resolution that would recognize
United States Election Day as
an academic holiday and would
discourage course exams on all
local, state and federal election
days. Wyatt Puscas, LSA SG
student advisory council for
departmental affairs vice chair,
argued
this
would
improve
student turnout at elections,
and cited studies that showed
involvement in elections at a
young age encourages continued
involvement throughout one’s
lifetime. Main concerns of the
proposal included the financial
cost of missing an entire day of
classes and whether students
would actually use the day to
exercise their civic duties.
Fadanelli
reiterated
the
University is required to have
a minimum number of days in
class and if the University were
to not hold class on Election Day,
there would simply be another
day of class added another time
in the year, perhaps in the week
before Labor Day. Other schools,
he said, may not provide accurate
parallels for the University to
model policy off of.
“Sometimes we have to be the
leaders and the best,” Fadanelli
said.
LSA SG also discussed a
resolution
advocating
for
the
improved
conditions
of
staircases within the Mason,
Angell, Tisch and Haven Hall
complex, sponsored by LSA SG
representatives Patrick Miller
and Brian Wang. Miller and
Wang expressed this complex
is one of the most visited and
decrepit locations on campus,
and that LSA SG has received
various complaints that the
stairwell, especially in the math
wing, is bordering hazardous.
The facilities director has
reportedly been responsive and
expressed interest to renovate
soon.
University; Lydia Wileden, public
policy
Ph.D.
candidate;
and
Saundra Little, a founding partner
at Centric Design Studio— a
sustainable, design-focused firm
in Detroit.
Foremost,
the
panelists
brought to light the difficulty
in standardizing a definition of
gentrification.
They
generally
agreed, though, the trend involves
strategic,
accelerated
change
in a neighborhood, and often
comprises
increasing
wealth
disaprities.
They continued to discuss
how neighborhoods shape our
lives, and examined the costs and
benefits of neighborhood change.
Detroit
and
other
large
metropolitan
areas
are
not
the only places impacted by
gentrification. To that effect,
students
themselves
can
be
involved in the gentrification
process. Gentrification in Ann
Arbor is particularly prominent,
with costs of housing surrounding
campus on the rise. A report
by The Daily last fall found the
median rent in the city increased
by 14 percent from 2010 to 2015
— the survey showed the average
monthly rent of respondents to
be approximately $772. Luxury
high rise apartments sprouting
up close to campus have some
students worried about being
priced out.
The event’s audience consisted
largely of community members
and University students interested
in gentrification and sociology.
LSA
sophomore
Grace
Lees said she attended the
symposium because it related
to her Undergraduate Research
Opportunity Program project on
neighborhood segregation and
community health.
“I think it’s really cool that U
of M hosts these events during
the
month
of
January.
It’s
evident, especially where I grew
up in Boston, that there is racial
segregation in certain areas,” she
said. “It’s such a dynamic issue
— economically, politically and
socially. I’m at this event to hear a
couple different sides.”
MLK
From Page 1
LSA SG
From Page 1
has
been
criticized
for
its
high concentration of upper-
class students —t he median
family income of a student at
the University is $154,000 —
multitudes
of
high-income
students say they find themselves
reconciling their tax cuts with
the burdens low-income students
could face. The average University
student, then, would stand to gain
approximately $2,094 in the next
fiscal year under the new tax plan.
The 3,000 students on campus
recieving free tuition via the new
Go Blue Guarantee, on the other
hand, hail from families with
household incomes of $65,000 or
less. At most, these lower income
brackets will recieve 150 percent
less than the average University
student. The lowest brackets
could lose as much as $384 over
the next two years.
Public Policy junior Lauren
Schandevel said the tax increases
on low-income households could
generate issues for them while
upper-class
students
remain
untouched.
“The eventual tax increase
and healthcare premium hike
on lower- and middle-income
households will make paying for
college –– and necessities like
rent, food and textbooks –– even
less likely, while the sustained
cut for higher-income households
will allow wealthier students to
purchase all of these things with
plenty to spare,” Schandevel said.
However,
Engineering
sophomore
Lincoln
Merrill,
publicity chair of the University’s
chapter of College Republicans,
said people will face different
financial impacts from the tax bill
because of factors like size of the
household. He said blaming the
differences on high or low income
is for purely political reasons.
“Overall, most people will
benefit with only a few people
not benefitting from the new
bill,” Merrill said. “However,
this has nothing to do with
high-income versus low-income
households but rather depends
on other factors such as size and
location of the household among
other factors. The claims that the
new bill will help high-income
students while hurting lower
income students are completely
false and likely have been made
on political grounds alone as even
low-income students will benefit,
in some cases more than high-
income students.”
Nursing
sophomore
Lori
Fong said her parents now make
a relatively high income, but
originally came from a lower
socioeconomic status. She said the
tax bill will only reinforce cycles
of poverty, something her family
was lucky to escape.
“If you have parents who make
a generally high income, then
you are going to be more likely to
succeed. You have that advantage
already. People who complain
about money going to lower-
income people, but then complain
about there being lower-income
people… it’s just hypocritical,”
Fong said.
Smith said articles written
usually quote people who make
around six figures, leaving little
context for those who are already
marginalized. Still, he said he
doesn’t
feel
any
resentment
toward people who will benefit
from the bill.
“I don’t feel any resentment,”
he said. I just try to inform people
of the privilege they do have, but
at the same time, not shame them.
“I just need people to think about
it.”
TAX
From Page 1
CASEY TIN/Daily
members of Friends of Ann
Arbor Wildlife in Nature, a
local
animal
rights
group,
claimed to have seen people
entering Ann Arbor parks while
sharpshooters were working,
uninformed
the
contractors
were shooting at the time.
Lisa
Abrams,
a
FAAWN
organizer,
suggested
other
homeless people may be living
near the cull areas. FAAWN
is urging the city to postpone
further cull operations until
more thorough safety protocols
are established.
City
officials
emphasize
that
the
hired
contractor,
White Buffalo, Inc., continues
to follow the safety measures
outlined
by
City
Council.
According
to
MLive,
Lisa
Wondrash,
communications
director at White Buffalo, said
the contractor is continually
observing the area to look
for any other people or safety
hazards. White Buffalo also
utilizes night-vision technology,
allowing
sharpshooters
distinguish between deer and
people or other animals. They
also
have
enacted
security
protocols, like the use of night
vision technology, to make sure
people don’t enter the cull areas
while operations are taking
place.
This is the city’s third annual
deer cull, and the contractor
aims to eliminate 250 deer by
Jan. 31. The cull will likely
continue as planned in the
coming days.
Although
the
cull
began
from
complaints
regarding
deer harming their properties
— it has always been a subject
of controversy in Ann Arbor.
Supporters, such as University
bioligists, claim it is the most
effective
way
to
prevent
car
accidents,
the
spread
of
disease,
and
ecological
damage. However, oppononents
criticize the city for not being
transparent
enough
in
its
dealings regarding the cull.
DEER
From Page 1
The University of
Michigan is not playing
around — on Jan. 13 and 14,
the University of Michigan
School of Music, Theatre &
Dance will host for the first
time the North American
Conference on Video Game
Music for its fifth annual
gathering. The conference
will feature discussions
on the different aspects of
video game music, such as
composition and music theory,
and seeks to bring together
scholars who specialize in
these topics.
The first annual
conference was hosted at
Youngstown State University
in 2014 and the conference
is now levelling up to the
University of Michigan. The
2014 conference was the
first conference to address
video game music relative to
academia. William Gibbons,
a conference organizer at the
event, spoke of the influence
such a topic can have within
the scholarly world, especially
considering the rising
popularity of video game
music studies.
“I think it’s an extremely
important event that’s
happening at a great time for
game studies. Video games
as an academic pursuit have
been increasingly popular
and increasingly relevant to
scholars, and game music
studies are starting to catch
up to that. I think it has
the potential to be a really
important event for the field,”
Gibbons said.
Music, Theatre & Dance
assistant professor Matthew
Thompson, who teaches a
minicourse at the University
on video game music and
doubles as a classical pianist,
is the lead organizer of this
year’s event. He stated the
impact of video game music
extends beyond technology
and gaming as it also utilizes
the work of traditional
orchestras across the world.
“The number one reason
that video game music exists
is to increase immersion,”
Thompson said. “Early on, the
programmers were the same
people who composed. Game
audio has progressed so much
since then, that now there are
huge music budgets for these
AAA games that are recorded
by the top orchestras in the
world and highly interactive,
complex musical scores.”
The program committee
also includes professors from
the University of Hartford,
University of Texas at Austin,
Davidson College, Ithaca
College, Ohio State University
and Youngstown State
University. The conference
will offer eight sessions,
each highlighting a different
theme and bringing forward a
variety of presenters.
ON THE DAILY: VIDEO GAME MUSIC CONFERENCE TAKES ANN ARBOR
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
The number
one reason that
video game
music exists
is to increase
immersion