‘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

GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail 
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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