‘The University of Michigan
Athletics Department announced
Sunday night it was ending
its
“consulting
relationship”
between Rhonda Faehn and the
Michigan women’s gymnastics
team.
Faehn, a former senior vice
president of USA Gymnastics
who left amid the fallout of the
Larry Nassar scandal, joined the
coaching staff on Thursday, Jan
10.
In the Department’s public
statement
disclosing
the
termination of Faehn’s contract,
the
University’s
Director
of
Athletics Warde Manuel provided
the following remarks:
“I have come to the conclusion
that it is not in the best interest
of the University of Michigan
and our athletic program to
continue the consulting contract
with Rhonda Faehn. It was the
wrong decision, and I apologize.
Our student-athletes are our
highest priority and I want to
do everything in my power to
support them fully and put the
focus back on their athletic
performance.”
The
announcement
came
hours
after
Michigan’s
Board of Regents expressed
disappointment
and
concern
regarding the new hire to the
Detroit Free Press.
“I do not support the hiring
of Rhonda Faehn, and believe
While We Were Away is a new
University of Michigan student-
run podcast and part of the Prison
Creative Arts Project (PCAP), tells
the stories of formerly incarcerated
people and their experiences
coming home.
LSA senior Hannah French,
producer and co-founder of the
podcast, said While We Were Away
began when she and classmates
noticed a lack of resources and
support for those re-entering
society. She said the podcast aims
to give a voice to former prisoners.
“When we learned how many
few resources there were for people
coming home, we realized that
could be our area,” French said.
“Inside prison is an oral culture,
but outside, once you come home,
there really aren’t people to tell
your stories to anymore because it
is such a difficult decision whether
to even tell someone that kind of
past.”
Kathryn Condon, University
alum and co-founder of While
We Were Away, said in an email
she hopes the podcast will open
people’s minds and create empathy
for ex-convicts.
“I hope that others can listen
to this and relate on some level,”
Condon said . “Whether they
have been to prison or not, and
feel empathy for a really tough
transition that men and women
sort of silently face on their own
most of the time.”
A woman interviewed for the
podcast, who wished to remain
anonymous due to privacy and
safety concerns, was arrested at
age 23 after falling in love with a
Sicilian gangster. She spent 18 years
in prison after being convicted of
multiple crimes, including murder.
In this article, she will be referred
to as Billy.
When Billy was released from
prison, much of her life had passed
by. She was unsure what her next
steps should be.
“Coming out in my 40s and in
menopause, I was feeling like I was
washed up,” Billy said. “What do
you do at that age to start from the
beginning?”
According to a study done by
the Bureau of Justice Statistics
that began in 2005 and followed
404,638 former prisoners from 30
states, within 5 years of release 76.6
percent of the ex-prisoners were
rearrested.
Billy said she did not want to be
another number. She wanted to
start living a different life rather
than resorting to old habits and,
ultimately, winding back up in
prison.
“I was really trying to get inside
my inner self to find out who I
was, and I didn’t want to turn
around and be a statistic and be a
revolving door,” Billy said.
With the beginning of the
2019
winter
semester,
the
Interfraternity
Council
and
the newly formed Ann Arbor
Interfraternity
Council
are
gearing up for 2019 Winter
Rush alongside their member
fraternities. Four fraternities at
the University of Michigan— Delta
Sigma Phi, Delta Tau Delta, Delta
Upsilon and Psi Upsilon — hold
membership in both bodies.
In September, six fraternities
disaffiliated from the IFC, creating
the AAIFC. The fraternities cited
a new housing code from the
Ann Arbor City Council and the
University’s decision to implement
formal winter rush beginning
January 2020 as part of a plan
to strengthen their First Year
Experience plan.
Jean Lloyd, Delta Tau Delta
brand communications manager,
said in an email the chapter’s
membership in both the IFC and
AAIFC does not create conflicts,
because both councils have similar
policy expectations.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, January 14, 2019
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Faehn fired
after athletic
department
called out
First-generation students navigate
University financial aid system
DESIGN BY JACK SILBERMAN
GYMNASTICS
Athletic Director Warde Manuel: “It
was the wrong decision, and I apologize.”
ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Editor
Students reflect on experiences with tuition packages, unclear guidelines
Many first-generation students
at the University of Michigan say
they find the financial aid process
difficult to navigate, despite the
resources available at U-M.
Social Work student Mallory
Sprague said the financial resources
for first-generation students are
not heavily advertised, but they
ultimately allowed her to participate
in five study abroad programs
during her time at the University.
“As a student and later as
an adviser, I found that a lot of
people didn’t know the extent of
the resources we have access to,”
Sprague said.
Sprague explained she wished
the aid was more accessible to
students.
“I expected the financial aid
system to be tricky and resistant,
but it has been surprisingly easy
to navigate,” Sprague said. “I only
wish that some of the funding
opportunities were more widely
advertised.
From Oct. 29 to Nov. 2, 2018, the
University hosted First Gen Week
to educate the community about
obstacles first-generation students
face and foster a sense of community
among first-generation students.
LIAT WEINSTEIN
Daily Staff Reporter
DAP takes
control of
contested
new panel
ACADEMICS
Coalition criticizes Blue
Ribbon discussion after
Cheney-Lippold scandal
CLAIRE HAO
Daily Staff Reporter
MAX KUANG/Daily
Billy at her house during an interview with The Michigan Daily.
Prison Creative Arts Project tells
stories of the formerly incarcerated
Student-run podcast “While We Were Away” aims to reduce stigma for ex-convicts
EMMA STEIN
Daily Staff Reporter
Program record
With 80-60 win over
Northwestern on Sunday,
Michigan moved to 17-0,
setting a new program record
for wins to open the season.
» Page 1B
Direct Action for Palestine (DAP),
a coalition of students formed “to
organize for Palestinian liberation”
in
response
to
the
Cheney-
Lippold and Peterson letter of
recommendation controversy, took
control of the Blue Ribbon Panel
Friday morning in protest of the
panel and the University’s sanctions
addressing the controversy. The
event, held at Pierpont Commons
and attended by about 40 students
and faculty members, was meant
to be a continuation in a series of
panels on the intersection between
faculty responsibility and political
thought.
After
the
panel’s
opening
comments explaining it was a
recommending body charged with
listening to community input,
the floor was open to any speaker
who wished to address the panel.
The DAP leader, who asked to be
referred to by the pseudonym Rami
Abdullah, took the microphone
and turned his back on the panel,
announcing to the audience that
DAP was taking over the event.
Frats hold
positions
in both IFC
& AAIFC
CAMPUS LIFE
Organizations join
multiple councils after
local rule changes begin
ALEX HARRING
Daily Staff Reporter
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news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 52
©2019 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 B
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