According to Public Policy 

professor Brendan Nyhan, fake 
news may have a more complex 
impact on the American public 
than 
experrts 
previously 

thought.

For the last several years, 

Nyhan has been working on 
a 
comprehensive 
study 
of 

U.S. fake news consumption, 
aiming to determine the scope 
and influence of fake news 
on the political leanings of 
Americans. Nyhan presented 
the 
facts 
and 
implications 

of 
his 
research 
Monday 

afternoon at the School of 
Information’s seminar “Who 
Reads Fake News?” About 
25 faculty members were in 
attendance. 
Media 
literacy 

has been of interest to many 
on campus in the wake of the 
2016 election. Last fall, the 
University offered a one-credit 
class on fake news to at help 

students dispel bias in the 
media, while computer science 
researchers 
are 
building 

an 
algorithm 
deisgned 
to 

detect fake news better than 
human reviewers. 

Introducing his research, 

Nyhan said he wanted to 
investigate 
the 
tangible 

University 
of 
Michigan 

expenditures 
on 
research 

reached a record high for 
the third year in a row in 
fiscal year 2018, and the school 
remained No. 1 in research 
volume 
across 
all 
public 

universities for the eighth 
year in a row, according to the 
National Science Foundation.

The 
report 
stated 
the 

volume of research at the 
University increased by 4.4 
percent from fiscal year 2017 
— from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 
2018, the volume of research 
at the University totaled $1.55 
billion.

The 
highest 
volume 
of 

research was at the Medical 
School, with $624.4 million 
dedicated 
to 
the 
school, 

followed by Engineering, LSA 
and the Institute of Social 
Research, all of which had 
research expenditures totaling 
greater than $100 million.

In a press release from 

Michigan 
News, 
University 

President Mark Schlissel said 
the No. 1 research volume 

With the renovation of the 

Michigan Union estimated to 
continue until early Winter 2020 
and renovation of the Central 
Campus Recreational Building 
beginning in 2021, these facilities 
will 
remain 
closed 
due 
to 

construction.

The University of Michigan 

Board of Regents approved both of 
these 
multimillion-dollar 

renovation 
projects, 
most 

recently the CCRB in September. 
The temporary closing of these 
facilities affects students across 
campus, including those who 
worked in these locations.

The 

estimated $85,200,000 Michigan 
Union 
Renovation 
Project 

includes updates to the building’s 
exterior, increased student space, 
improved disability accessibility, 
an expansion to the Counseling 
and Psychological Services space 
and gender-neutral bathrooms. 
The CCRB project has a $150 
million budget and will create a 

new 200,000 square foot space for 
recreational sports and exercise.

The University Unions and 

Recreational Sports — a subset 
of the CCRB — are both large 
providers of student employment. 
Susan Pile, the senior director 
of the University Unions, said 
approximately 
100 
students 

worked at the Union, excluding 
the 
employees 
of 
leased 

operations such as Starbucks or 
Panda Express.

Every 
year, 
Student 

Life 
employs 
about 
4,000 

students in part-time, work-study, 
and temporary positions. These 
positions encompass customer 
services, rec sports, Michigan 
dining, information technology 
and more.

According 
to 
Director 
of 

Recreational Sports Mike Widen, 
Recreational Sports as a whole 
employs more than 600 students 
per year.

Student employees at the Union 

were informed of the renovation 
plans years before the building 
closed for construction.

“We knew a few years prior to 

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, November 27, 2018

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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 38
©2018 The Michigan Daily

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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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit

CAMPUS LIFE
Closure of 
‘U’ buildings 
affects work 
for students

Former Chief Official White House
Photographer takes on resistance 

NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily

Pete Souza, former Chief Official White House Photographer for the Obama Administration, signs copies of his book “Shade” after speaking at Rackham Auditorium 
Monday night. 

Before renovations, the Union held a job 
fair for new employment opportunities

SAYALI AMIN
Daily Staff Reporter

Pete Souza speaks before sold-out Rackham audience on Obama versus Trump

 
On Jan. 22, 2017, two days after 

President 
Donald 
Trump 
was 

inaugurated into office, former 
White House photographer Pete 
Souza posted a picture on Instagram 
of President Barack Obama sitting 
on his desk with red curtains in the 
background with the caption “I like 
these drapes better than the new 
ones. Don’t you think?”

This photo came shortly after 

Trump redecorated his office with 
gold ornate drapes. After posting 
the picture, Souza recalls someone 
commented he was “dropping 
shade” at Trump.

 After looking “shade” up in the 

dictionary, he agreed.

“Yep,” Souza said. “That’s exactly 

what I’m doing.” 

 Souza’s series of “Shady” 

Instagram posts have since been 
compiled into a book titled “Shade: 
A Tale of Two Presidents,” which he 
discussed before a packed Rackham 
Auditorium 
Monday 
night 
at 

the University of Michigan. The 
photobook he presented consists of 
headlines referencing the Trump 
administration on the right side, 
juxtaposed by a photograph of the 
Obama Administration on the left.

 Over the course of the night, 

Souza highlighted several of his 
most pertinent moments with the 
Obama 
administration, 
ranging 

from iconic photographs of the 
former president with children to 
the worst day in Obama’s presidency 
to his hopes for the future.

 Souza’s report in photojournalism 

spans decades before being Obama’s 
White House photographer. In 
the early 1980s, he worked for the 
Chicago-Sun Times and in 1983 
became a junior White House 
photographer at the request of the 
Ronald Reagan administration’s 
senior photo editor. 

While Souza noted he wasn’t 

initially sure if he should take the 
position, he decided it would be an 
incredible opportunity to pass up.

 “I was not politically aligned 

with Reagan,” he said. “I was 
essentially being hired by the 

JULIA FANZERES

Daily Staff Reporter

The 
Senate 
Advisory 

Committee 
on 
University 

Affairs met Monday to discuss 
students’ resolutions to combat 
climate change, as well as 
converse with guest speakers 
about initiatives the University 
of Michigan administration is 
employing to improve student 
and faculty life on campus.

The 
meeting 
began 

with 
a 
discussion 
of 
the 

recent 
Central 
Student 

Government 
resolution 
to 

encourage the University to 
achieve 
carbon 
neutrality 

by 2035. CSG recently asked 
SACUA to join this effort to 
persuade the University to 
establish 
clear 
benchmarks 

and goals on its commitment 
to carbon neutrality. 

SACUA 
debated 
the 

accuracy of statistics cited in 
the CSG proposal, mentioning 
the 
necessity 
to 
ensure 

the 
proposal 
used 
reliable 

facts. After deliberation, the 
assembly agreed to support the 
goals of the proposal, but did 
not endorse it until it has been 

Assembly 
addresses 
enviroment 
resolution

ACADEMICS

CSG asks faculty body to 
clarify ‘U’ commitment on 
carbon neutrality by 2035

DANIELLE PASEKOFF

Daily Staff Reporter

MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily

Public Policy professor Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist, discusses his research into who reads fake news and the 
role of Facebook in exposing people to it in a seminar at North Quad Monday. 

Ford prof. discusses impact of fake 
news on 2016, 2018 election cycles

Nyhan asserted media influence on elections more complex than many make out to be 

BEN ROSENFELD
Daily Staff Reporter

U-M no. 1 
in research 
volume for 
eighth year 
 

RESEARCH

Expenditures on public 
universities research up 
along with federal funding 

MOLLY NORRIS
Daily Staff Reporter

See RESEARCH, Page 3
See ASSEMBLY, Page 3

See PHOTOGRAPHER, Page 2
See EMPLOYMENT, Page 3

Follow The Daily 
on Instagram, 
@michigandaily

See ELECTION, Page 3

