At the end of each semester,
University
of
Michigan
students are asked to submit
evaluations for the courses
they have taken in that term.
One of the most important
metrics
for
introductory-
level courses is how much
interest they generate in the
field. Rankings are based on
the percentage of students
who answered some form of
“yes” when asked, “Did this
course increase interest in
the field?” The top results for
introductory classes are listed
below:
ASIANLAN
125:
First
Year Japanese I (94 percent)
Ranked
highest
on
the
list, First Year Japanese I is
designed for students with no
prior Japanese knowledge and
focuses on the fundamentals
of learning a new language.
According to Mayumi Oka,
director
of
the
Japanese
language program, this first-
year course stresses several
key skills of the language.
“We do reading, writing,
speaking and listening,” Oka
said. “We teach everything
like conversation and how
to write characters, and we
introduce Japanese culture.
Culture is very important.”
The class focuses on an
understanding
of
Japanese
culture as well. According
to
Kinesiology
freshman
Xincheng
Yuan,
the
class
generates
interest
by
appealing to the U.S. interest
in different facets of Japanese
culture.
“I think Japanese culture
is popular in America with
anime and manga and those
games,” Yuan said. “I think
many people are trying to
learn about these in Japanese
to better play the things that
they like.”
LHSP
125:
College
Writing (88 percent)
With various sections of this
course including “Writing and
Seeing,” “Writing Genres,”
“Monsters and Beasts” and
more, this course in the
Lloyd Hall Scholars Program
offers several unique lenses
while also providing a base
of writing skills. According
to Shelley Mannis, professor
of “Our TV, Our Selves: The
Rhetoric
of
Television,”
the various sections allow
students to use writing to
analyze the world around
them.
“A big part of this course,
too, is helping students learn
how to find real conversations
happening
in
the
world
around things that they’re
interested in,” Mannis wrote
in an email to The Daily. “In
After
four
new
Councilmembers
were
sworn
into office Monday night, Ann
Arbor
City
Council
failed
a
resolution 7-4 to amend the Office
of Sustainability and Innovation’s
budget and appropriate funds for
new climate and sustainability
programs, and to scale-up existing
programs.
City
Councilmembers
Julie
Grand,
D-Ward
3,
Zachary
Ackerman, D-Ward 4, Chip Smith,
D-Ward 5 and Mayor Christopher
Taylor voted in favor of the
resolution.
The
failure
comes
after
the
resolution
was
first postponed during the Oct. 15
meeting in which councilmembers
could not come to a general
consensus on the issue.
Rackham
students
Jennifer
Carman and Samantha Basile are
both involved with climate change
action both in their studies and
participation
in
environmental
groups both on campus and within
Ann Arbor. Both Carman and
Basile are residents of Ward 1.
Basile said passing the resolution
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O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
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CAMPUS LIFE
The Black Student Union
held an event and exhibit
in Mason Hall on Monday
to commemorate the fifth
anniversary
of
#BBUM,
which
stands
for
“Being
Black at the University of
Michigan.”
The
display
included a large poster where
students could share what
it means to be Black at the
University of Michigan in
colored chalk.
On
Nov.
19,
2013,
BSU
launched
a
movement
that
brought
Black students’ experiences
at the University to light,
with
the
viral
hashtag,
protest
and
institutional
demands. BBUM represents
a
watershed
moment
of
viral
student
activism
on
campus. A “hood ratchet”
party organized by Theta
Xi, a predominantly white
fraternity,
catalyzed
the
BSU’s launch of the hashtag
used in 10,000 tweets in its
first two days.
LSA
senior
Kayla
McKinney, president of BSU,
said the event was intended
to give students a space to
reflect on the past five years
since the hashtag began and
also on the history of Black
students at the University in
general.
“They did a demonstration
similar to this (five years
ago),” McKinney said. “This
was right after the Trayvon
Martin trial, racist incidents
on campus, so Black students
just needed a place to voice
what was going on.”
This dialogue gave way
to seven demands addressed
to
the
University.
Many
of
the
demands
—
most
notably,
the
perennial
ask for 10 percent Black
enrollment — are reiterations
of
changes
sought
by
previous
Black
Action
Movements. These reforms
include
more
affordable
housing, a revamped Race
Community
gathers to
reflect 5 yrs.
after BBUM
Gender identity explored through
performances at SHIFT showcase
NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily
Mandy Coterillo, Alumni Chair of Zeta Omega Eta and co-host of SHIFT hugs an attendee of SHIFT at the League Monday evening.
Black Student Union exhibit mirrors
original actions, demands from 2013
SAYALI AMIN
Daily Staff Reporter
200 people attend art event in League hosted by Redefine and Zeta Omega Eta
Featuring a mix of visual art,
written word and performances by
University of Michigan students
with a diverse range of gender
identities,
the
annual
SHIFT
talent showcase was held Monday
to explore and celebrate the theme
of gender.
Co-hosted by Redefine, a student
organization dedicated to creating
platforms for the intersection of art
and social justice, and Zeta Omega
Eta, a non-traditional sorority
focused on the advancement of
feminist ideals, the event first
allowed attendees to browse a wall
of visual art at the entrance of the
room that showcased drawings,
photographs, poetry and prose.
The artwork had a variety of
messages presenting the artists’
experiences of gender, from its
intersection with ethnicity to
societal gender pressures.
Kendall Sidnam, co-president of
Redefine and one of the organizers
of the event, emphasized the
mission of Redefine to provide a
space for artists at the University
to express themselves.
“To be able to have a safe
and brave space where they
can showcase their art without
judgment and with full support
and accessibility ... Having a space
that’s solely devoted to them and
their work and their talent is
really important for them to feel
supported in whatever identity
they have,” Sidnam said.
The organizers later shifted
into the performance portion
of event with a video asking
University students about genders
norms they’d like to see changed
and what gender empowerment
meant to them. Launching from
these ideas, one of the emcees, LSA
senior Mandy Coterillo, explained
the idea of the “gender unicorn” to
the audience.
“The
gender
unicorn
is
divided
into
gender
identity,
gender expression, sex assigned
at birth, physically attracted to,
and emotionally attracted to…”
Coterillo said. “The unicorn works
in a spectrum.”
The performances that followed
CLAIRE HAO
Daily Staff Reporter
The University of Michigan
Senate
Assembly
convened
Monday
afternoon
in
the
Michigan League to discuss
the implications of electronic
voting
and
participation
in
future meetings as well as what
responsibilities
University
faculty hold regarding letters of
recommendation.
After opening the meeting
with
announcements,
Senate
Assembly Chair Neil Marsh,
professor
of
chemistry,
opened the floor for discussion
about electronic voting and
participation in future Faculty
Senate
meetings.
Remote
participation would be achieved
through video chat platforms
like Bluejeans or Skype. The
discussion was a response to
concerns that quorums rarely
occur due to the participation
minimum
of
100
faculty
members. As a result, there
have only been three instances
in which a faculty quorum has
been able to vote on issues since
2004.
“We never get a quorum,
Assembly
expresses
support for
online vote
ACADEMICS
Faculty gov. also voices
concerns over clarity of
letter writing policies
SARAH THONG
For the Daily
DID THIS COURSE CAUSE INTEREST IN THE FIELD?
ASIANLAN 125
First Year Japanese I
LHSP 125
College Writing
DANCE 100
Intro to Dance
ARTDES 115
Studio: 2D
SPANISH 101
Elementary Spanish
EARTH 113
Planets and Moons
BIOLOGY 101
Energy, Food, & Environment
PSYCH 111
Intro to Psychology
COMPLI 100
Global X
EECS 183
Elem. Programming Concepts
ASTRO 127
Naked Eye Astronomy
ASTRO 107
The Dark Side of the Univ.
94%
88%
87%
82%
82%
82%
81%
80%
80%
79%
79%
79%
CASEY TIN/Daily
Course evaluation data reveal most
popular introductory-level classes
Twelve courses top list of those which most increase interest in subject matter
ATTICUS RAASCH
Daily Staff Reporter
See COURSES, Page 3
Resolution
for climate
funds fails
in Council
ANN ARBOR
Newly sworn in members
provide deciding votes
after hours-long debate
RACHEL CUNNINGHAM
Daily Staff Reporter
See COUNCIL, Page 3
See ASSEMBLY, Page 2
See SHIFT, Page 3
See BBUM, Page 3
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