2C — Fall 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Game over for Michigan Time
LSA sophomore Lexi Michaels
wasn’t expecting to be late to her
Psychology 280 exam. In fact,
she thought she was early. But
when she walked into the testing
accommodations room a few
minutes after 2:30 — she’d run
there right from her last class —
she realized the exam was not
being administered on Michigan
time, and everyone else had
already started.
“My expectation was that
it would (start on Michigan
time),
because
that’s
what
most of my classes and exams
start on, even if they’re in a
testing accommodations room,”
Michaels said. “And it didn’t. I
walked in really flustered. I was
like, ‘Are they going to let me take
the exam?’”
After
the
initial
scare,
everything turned out fine for
Michaels. She was still given a
full two hours to take her exam,
and no one was angry at her for
coming in late. However, start
time confusion is common at the
University of Michigan, and the
administration has decided it’s
time to take action.
Starting May 1, no University
classes will run on Michigan
time, the 10 minute late-start built
into most undergraduate classes
at the University. Michigan time
is a University tradition that
dates back to the 1930s. Students
and professors used to time their
classes according to the chimes of
the Burton Tower at the beginning
of each hour, and Michigan time
was officially adopted to allow
students to get from class to class
without being late. Now, to allow
for students to get to back-to-back
classes, all classes will stop 10
minutes before the hour.
Though administrators have
been talking about removing
Michigan time for many years
now — University Provost Martin
Philbert said there have been
conversations since he came to
the University in 1995 — this is the
first time anything conclusive has
passed. The change will start in
May for the Spring and Summer
terms, so any unexpected kinks
can be worked out before the Fall
2018 semester.
“The freshmen will come in
not knowing a time we had it,”
Philbert said.
According to Philbert, it was a
“tradition born out of necessity.”
Now,
however,
some
see
the
once-crucial
tradition
as a hindrance. Many newer
University schools never adopted
it, and Patricia Hurn, dean of the
School of Nursing, told The Daily
in an email Michigan time was
never an option for the Nursing
School.
“The major reason our classes
have not used Michigan Time
is because we are a clinical
discipline,” Hurn wrote. “So we
very early on aligned our class
times, specifically the on-the-
hour start time, with the time
of our clinical partners. None
of these partners recognize or
utilize ‘Michigan time.’”
Problems
arise
when
University units aren’t operating
on synchronized schedules, and
because programs like Nursing
don’t have the option of Michigan
time, Philbert thinks going to
“clock time” is the most logical
course of action.
One of the major issues the new
system aims to fix is the shortage
of
classrooms.
When
some
schools are on Michigan time and
others are not, classrooms are
unavailable for up to 10 minutes at
the end of the hour.
“We have the need for more
classrooms,”
Philbert
said.
“We have more sections, which
require more rooms, and some of
these rooms require specialized
services. So by aligning time, we
free up the number and types of
classrooms available.”
University
spokesman
Rick
Fitzgerald said the University is
also hoping the switch will make
collaboration
among
different
schools and departments easier.
“I’d say one of the hallmarks
of our campus is cross-University
collaboration,” Fitzgerald said.
“From school and colleges and
departments
and
different
units who are constantly cross-
pollinating all of our efforts, and
this really facilitates that… We’re
just eliminating one of those
stumbling blocks.”
Though there are clear benefits
for faculty and administrators,
students are uncertain about the
upcoming change. Michaels, even
after her exam confusion, thinks
Michigan time works well. She’s
concerned professors will have a
difficult time stopping 10 minutes
short of the hour.
“I really like Michigan time.
I think it makes so much sense,
especially when you have back-
to-back classes,” she said. “It gets
your day rolling. I think that (this
new system) is just a cause for
disaster. I think that professors
are way more aware of starting 10
minutes late because they haven’t
started yet, but if they have to end
10 minutes early, they’re not going
to know to stop.”
While Michaels understands
this could eventually be a good
system, the thought of working
through
the
transition
next
semester is daunting.
“It’s going to be a huge
transition and it’s going to mess
a lot of people up with their
schedules,” Michaels said. “I don’t
think this is a good idea, but that’s
just because I’m used to Michigan
time and I think that this is
working well so I don’t see why
you should change what’s already
working and what people like.”
On the other hand, Philbert
said he’s received a lot of positive
feedback about the change from
students and faculty.
“Especially
through
Vice
President Royster’s office, we
have worked with many student
organizations,” Philbert said. “In
my experience there’s been an
enormous sigh of relief that we’re
all going to be operating on the
same expectations of starting and
finishing.”
Students call out CSG
guide as unreasonable
The University of Michigan’s
Central Student Government
released
a
Campus
Affordability Guide Saturday
and
has
since
received
backlash from many members
of the student body. The online
publication was widely touted
as a “guide to cost-effective
living
at
the
University,”
and lists a few dozen tips for
students to cut down on costs
in the face of rising living
costs.
Suggestions such as cutting
down
on
housekeeping
services, laundry delivery or
limiting
impulse
purchases
left
low-income
students
incredulous.
In a Facebook post that has
been shared 27 times as of
Thursday evening, LSA senior
Zoe Proegler expressed her
dissatisfaction with the way
CSG approached affordability
on campus.
“We all know Ann Arbor is
expensive,” Proegler wrote.
“Guides
like
this,
which
lecture
to
lower
income
students about how rich people
think poor people can change
a couple habits (or lightbulbs?)
and not be poor anymore, do
not help. Rather, they’re a slap
in the face to people who fight
every day to be here.”
A 2016 demographic self-
survey
conducted
by
CSG
in 2016 found 74.4 percent
of its members come from
households that earn over
$100,000 a year, and 37.2
percent
have
household
incomes of over $250,000.
According to a recent report,
the
University
ranks
last
in economic mobility when
compared to other top-ranked
public universities.
“It was really immediate,
the way that it hit me —
something
about
the
tone
being
off,”
Proegler
later
said in an interview. “As I
was reading it, it didn’t seem
like
something
that
had
really taken into account the
problems
of
students
who
are
experiencing
absolute
issues with accessibility and
affordability. It didn’t read like
something that would actually
be working towards improving
accessibility for students who
need it, and for CSG to push it
that way was upsetting.”
Proegler brought up the
specific points mentioned in
the article, some of which
she felt were out of touch and
potentially dangerous to the
students who would benefit
most from this guide.
“It comes up twice in those
first 50 points that students
should get rid of cleaning or
laundry service subscriptions
in order to save money,” she
said. “That, to me, doesn’t
sound
like
they’re
really
addressing students who they
intended to be targeting with
that. The whole guide seemed
to put CSG at a disadvantage
in communicating what they
were trying to do. There’s
no way you can explain to
somebody
what
a
balance
transfer is in two sentences.
And to attempt to do so, is I
think, grossly negligent.”
In a comment on Proegler’s
Facebook
post,
CSG
Vice
President Nadine Jawad wrote
she thought the numerous
comments
critiquing
the
guide
misrepresented
her
years spent working with Ann
Arbor City Council members,
students and programs, such
as the Ginsberg Center, in
order to present options for
students to live in Ann Arbor
on a budget.
RHEA CHEETI
Daily Staff Reporter
ROSEANNE CHAO / DAILY
Bicentennial event HAILstorm! reflects on
University history in fall festival finale
Students,
faculty
and
community
members
gathered together in Ingalls
Mall to watch HAILstorm!
on Friday night, the 3-D light
show that paid tribute to the
University of Michigan’s 200
year legacy. The show was
projected on the outside of
the Rackham Building, and
was deemed the pinnacle of
the University of Michigan
Bicentennial
Celebrations.
It
was
produced
by
the
Bicentennial
Office,
Bluewater Technologies and
Maxin10sity, and featured
a wide variety of high-tech
graphics
and
animation.
Along
with
the
show,
there was music, food and
festivities for spectators to
enjoy.
Gary
Krenz,
executive
director of the University
of Michigan Bicentennial,
explained
the
goal
of
HAILstorm!
was
to
take
people through the history
of the University with an
exciting presentation.
“It’s
a
3-D
projection
mapping
light
show
on
the
façade
of
Rackham,”
Krenz said. “It’s going to
incorporate all kinds of stuff
from the history, present
and future of U of M-lots of
lights, lots of motion, a huge
amount of energy. People are
really going to enjoy it.”
Krenz also reflected on the
Bicentennial celebrations as
a whole. He discussed how
even though the University
enjoys showcasing all the
good it has accomplished
over the last 200 years,
it’s also important to come
together as a community to
understand the areas where
the institution fell short.
“When
you
reach
an
anniversary like this, you
really can pull the whole
community
together
to
reflect,” Krenz said. “Part of
this is to celebrate how great
we are, but part of it is also
to think about where we’ve
made some mistakes, and
how do we think about that
as we go forward.”
Rackham student Kaitlyn
Portal
echoed
Krenz’s
statement about the value
of bringing the community
together. She also pointed
out recent racist incidents on
campus show the University
still has areas it needs to
improve on.
“I like the way that they
focused on bringing the U
of M community together,
and
identified
ways
that
we can improve ourselves-
especially recently with the
racial events on campus,”
Portal said. “I think the
campus still has issues it
needs to work on. But, I
think events like tonight’s
really show us how we come
together as a community.”
Along
with
areas
for
improvement,
LSA
senior
Aiya Saad was very impressed
with
the
Bicentennial
showcase of new technology
the University is developing.
Saad explained she looks
forward
to
seeing
the
diverse range of innovations
University
students
and
faculty create.
“I hope Michigan keeps
doing what they’re doing.
I’ve seen a lot of what people
have been working on in
different areas of campus,
and I was so amazed. I hope
to see more of that going
forward,” Saad said.
Krenz
hopes
the
Bicentennial
celebrations
allowed people to reflect
on the University’s legacy,
understand the challenges
it
has
faced
and
obtain
a
stronger
historical
awareness going forward.
ALEC COHEN / DAILY
The concluding projection of the University of Michigan bicentennial logo at the HAILstorm light show on Ingalls Mall
October 27, 2017.
AMARA SHAIKH
Daily Staff Reporter
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
“I think the campus still has issues it
needs to work on. But, I think events
like tonight’s really show us how we
come together as a community.”
MAYA GOLDMAN
Daily News Editor