michigandaily.com
Thursday, May 24, 2018

INDEX

Vol. CXXVII, No. 118 | © 2018 The Michigan Daily 
michigandaily.com

NEWS ....................................
OPINION ............................... 
ARTS/NEWS .........................
MiC.........................................
SPORTS................................

MICHIGAN IN COLOR
Morning Alarm

“My people are famous.” 

Though news of life in Syria 

seems far away, it’s closer 

to home than you think.

>> SEE PAGE 9

NEWS
LEO Update

Dearborn and Flint push 

for more equal wages 

between campuses.

>> SEE PAGE 2

OPINION

Spring Semester 
Refelction

Reema Baydoun talks 

about the break between 

semesters. 

>> SEE PAGE 5

ARTS

Courtney Barnett 
returns

Her second album is darker 

and more honest than 

other releases.
 >> SEE PAGE 6

SPORTS
Baseball walks off 
against Iowa

Michigan edges out

Hawkeyes in a defensive 

battle in the Big Ten

Tournament

>> SEE PAGE 11

inside

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4
6
9
10

Students to launch new straw
bale house on Campus Farm 

T
eam will unveil 
sustainable design 
next week 

By ALICE TRACEY

Summer Daily News Editor

A University of Michigan green 
building class plans to unveil a 
sustainably-built, straw-bale house 
located at the Campus Farm next 
Monday, May 29. Led by Joseph 
Trumpey, an assistant professor of 
art in the School of Art & Design 
and natural resources in the School 
for Environment and Sustainability, 
the team of about 20 students began 
construction on May 2 and has since 
spent six days a week at the build 
site, many of the students living in 
nearby tents. The straw-bale house 
will be the first official student-
constructed building in Ann Arbor.
Last spring, Trumpey’s green 
building class built a straw-bale 
structure at the U-M biostation in 
Pellston, Mich. Though the two 
buildings are similar in design, the 

first is smaller, with a 20-by-20-feet 
interior and a different roof design. 
Some 
students, 
like 
Taubman 
junior Wendy Zhuo, worked on the 
project in Pellston and enrolled in 
Trumpey’s course again this year. 
Zhuo said she enjoyed being able 
to help with funding and grants 
this time, rather than doing purely 
hands-on work as she did last spring.
“It’s nice being on the back side of 
stuff and seeing more of the project 
instead of just starting the build,” 
Zhuo said.
The project is supported by about 
20 donors. Most of the money for the 
straw-bale house initiative comes 
from University-affiliated sponsors, 
including the Planet Blue Student 
Innovation Fund and the Third 
Century Initiative. The remaining 
funds and materials come from 
other donors, like Turner Electric.
Trumpey 
hopes 
the 
new 
building will serve as a community 
gathering spot and a focal point for 
the Campus Farm, which has few 
other buildings on site. In the future, 
classes and meetings will take 
place in the straw-bale building, as 

will sustainability-focused events 
hosted by Michigan Dining, one of 
Trumpey’s partners.
According 
to 
Trumpey, 
the initiative is an exercise in 
sustainable agriculture. Trumpey 
values green living; in fact, both 
the Pellston and Ann Arbor straw-
bale structures are smaller-scale 
versions of his own home: a solar-
powered straw bale building that 
has housed Trumpey and his family 
for almost 10 years.
Like Trumpey’s home, the straw-
bale house will be completely off the 
grid, relying fully on solar power 
generated by a 1.5-kilowatt array 
of roof panels attached to eight 
golf-cart 
batteries. 
Additionally, 
the house is built of sustainable 
materials, mostly straw and mud.
“Being able to use a lot of local, 
low-energy natural materials is 
really the heart of this,” Trumpey 
said, 
adding 
that 
he 
even 
collaborated with Campus Forestry 
to harvest wood for the structure’s 
scaffolding.

Classes to 
start before 
Labor Day
2020’s academic year 
to start on August 31

By RACHEL CUNNINGHAM

Summer Daily News Editor

The 
University’s 
academic 
calendar year will begin before 
Labor Day in 2020, according to a 
statement released by Spokeswoman 
Kim Broekhuizen.
This 
is 
the 
first 
time 
the 
University’s schedule will begin 
before Labor Day according to the 
available academic calendars on the 
Office of the Registrar’s website 
that go back to 2003.
According to the statement, the 
fall term will begin Aug. 31 and end 
Dec. 21. Winter term will begin Jan. 
6 with commencement May 2.
With the new start date, there 
will be a one-week break between 
the end of summer semester and 
the beginning of the fall semester, 
according 
to 
Broekhuizen’s 
statement. There will be two weeks 
between the fall and winter semester, 
with Spring Break running from Feb. 
27 until March 7 and no classes the 
day before Thanksgiving. Fall Break 
dates will remain the same.
Regent Andrea Fischer Newman 
(R) said in an email interview the 
University changed the schedule so 
final exams would end earlier.
“The way the calendar worked 
that year finals would not have ended 
until Christmas Eve,” Newman said. 
“So rather than make students stay 
in Ann Arbor until Christmas Eve, 
the University pushed back the start 
date of the school year.”
Newman also explained costs 
regarding the new start date will not 
change.
The 
University 
has 
not 
yet 
determined the dates for the 2021-
2022 academic school year.

ALEC COHEN / DAILY

ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Academics

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