In
light
of
sub-zero
temperatures
and
extreme
wind
chills
predicted
for
Wednesday and Thursday, the
University of Michigan has
decided to cancel all events and
classes on campus, beginning
12 a.m. Wednesday and intends
to resume activity 7 a.m. Friday.
This will be the third time in 40
years the school has closed due
to weather.
The
University
Record
announced
classes
were
canceled
at
3:30
p.m.
on
Tuesday.
The last time the University
halted activity was in February
2015, due to a winter storm that
resulted in 18 inches of snowfall.
Before that, there was a closure
in 2014 due to extremely cold
temperatures,
specifically
a
wind chill of minus 30 degrees.
The first time the University
closed was in January 1978
due
to
climate
conditions.
Weather projections estimate
a wind chill of nearly minus
40 degrees for Wednesday and
part of Thursday.
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer
declared a state of emergency
early Tuesday morning.
The
decision
to
cancel
classes comes after of closures
on
campus
and
of
local
businesses around Ann Arbor
on Monday. University student
groups, such as the Michigan
Student
Power
Network,
also took to advocating for a
campus closure through their
#UMichColdShoulder petition,
which
currently
has
over
13,000 signatures. The petition
also encouraged students to
call Schlissel as well as other
University administrators.
The
University
joins
Michigan State University and
Wayne State University, as well
as other public universities in
the state, in canceling classes
due
to
extreme
weather
conditions. The delay prompted
a
flurry
of
social
media
posts critical of University
administration,
particulary
Schlissel, although the official
announcement was signed by
Provost Martin Philbert; Preeti
Malani, chief health officer;
Laurita Thomas, chief human
resources officer; and Eddie
Washington, executive director
of the Division of Public Safety
and Security.
LSA
sophomore
Kirsten
Lanigan expressed her surprise
at the class cancellation.
“It
definitely
was
an
unexpected pleasant surprise,”
Lanigan said. “I was definitely
not sure whether a state of
emergency would be enough
for Schlissel to cancel, but it’s
nice that he was willing to
stoop to our level and pity us as
students.”
Lanigan said getting to class
in this weather would have
been difficult due to living off-
campus.
“It definitely would have
been a really big struggle to get
to campus,” Lanigan said. “I’m
not sure exactly what I would
have done because I definitely
live the distance where any of
my classes would have been
more than 10 minutes away and
it would have been dangerous,
so
I’m
really
happy
they
canceled.”
Though the University has
ultimately decided to cancel
classes, disabled, injured and
commuting
students
have
already been feeling the harsh
effects of the weather for days.
LSA
freshman
Madeline
Walsh has a torn ACL, an injury
that makes it difficult for her
to get around campus. Walsh
said the University has been
doing a good job of getting
the pathways clear in a timely
fashion.
“Slipping was a very real
possibility, but the snow hasn’t
been too bad,” Walsh said.
“They’re doing a pretty good
job of keeping it off the most
important sidewalks, so getting
to the more populated areas
hasn’t been too bad.”
Amir
Baghdadchi,
senior
associate director of University
Housing Association, told The
Daily in an email the University
staff
works
tirelessly
day
and night to maintain the
campus conditions and keep
the sidewalks walkable for all
students.
“We have a full Facilities
team that is always ready, at
all hours, with shovels and
snow machines,” Baghdadchi
wrote. “Instead of ‘shutting
down’ during the cold, our
efforts ramp up, because cold
can disrupt so many systems,
LSA senior Aly Nedell is
taking a course titled The
Italian Mafia this semester.
Any other student might elect
to take Italian 240 out of pure
curiosity, or to fulfill the
distribution requirement in
the humanities. But Nedell is
receiving credit for this course
as her language requirement.
Nedell took three years
of Italian in high school but
placed
into
the
beginner
Italian 101 course after taking
her University of Michigan
foreign language placement
exam. After taking a portion
of the course and dropping
it, fearing poor performance
would lower her grade point
average, Nedell was told by
her academic adviser that she
would have to take Italian 102
in order to compensate for
not completing Italian 101.
Unable to find information
about
alternatives
online,
she met with her academic
adviser, who led her in the
direction of petitioning the
requirement. Soon after, she
began exploring the process
of finding an alternative to the
LSA language requirement.
“It was honestly one of the
most emotionally exhausting
experiences
as
a
student
because
there’s
so
much
research into people who
just struggle with foreign
language,” Nedell said. “But
because LSA is so regimented
with their requirements, it’s
not easy to find information
on alternatives.”
After
meeting
with
an
academic
adviser
and
completing
an
interview
stating her case, Nedell took a
90-minute Modern Language
Aptitude
Test,
which
she
described as similar to the
placement
exam
that
is
required of most LSA students
prior
to
starting
at
the
University.
“(I had) to schedule an
appointment to take an LSA
language aptitude test, but it’s
in no particular language —
it’s a fake language that you
have to try to teach yourself,”
Nedell
said.
“During
(the
exam) they provide you with
fake words, but you do what
you would normally do when
learning a language.”
The score Nedell received
on the aptitude test, in tandem
with the academic adviser’s
report, became her evidence
to
prove
she
could
not
learn and excel in language
courses. In addition to these
administered portions, Nedell
was asked to provide two
letters
of
recommendation
from past Italian professors,
explaining her inability to
learn Italian. She also wrote
an essay and submitted college
and high school academic
transcripts.
After
nearly
nine months of searching
and
requesting
permission
for an alternative to the LSA
language requirement, Nedell
was approved to take two
equivalent semesters of Italian
culture classes to satisfy the
requirement.
The
LSA
language
requirement
requires
students
to
take
four
semesters worth of language
courses in hopes the student
will
become
proficient
in a language other than
English.
Ann Arbor City Council
voted to approve a settlement
for a lawsuit filed against
the city by Councilmember
Anne Bannister, D-Ward 1,
and former Councilmember
Sumi Kailasapathy, D-Ward
1, at the Jan. 22 City Council
meeting.
Bannister
and
Kailasapathy
filed
the
lawsuit in June to invalidate
a $10 million contract Mayor
Christopher Taylor and City
Clerk
Jacqueline
Beaudry
signed with Core Spaces, a
Chicago-based
developer
which planned to construct
a 17-storey high-rise in the
Library Lot.
According to the lawsuit,
the Ann Arbor city charter
stipulates any purchase or sale
of a value exceeding $25,000
be approved by at least eight
councilmembers. Since Taylor
and Beaudry did not seek
the approval of City Council,
Bannister and Kailasapathy
argued the contract was not
valid.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
COLD AS HAIL
‘U’ PUTS A FREEZE ON CLASSES
See SNOW, Page 3A
CALLIE TEITELBAUM &
EMMA STEIN
Daily Staff Reporters
See LIBRARY, Page 3A
City signs
deal on
Library
Lot suit
ANN ARBOR
Ann Arbor decides to settle
case concerning proposed
development downtown
RACHEL LEUNG
Daily Staff Reporter
WILLA HUA/ DAILY
Students, faculty talk pros and cons
of the LSA language requirement
Mandated 4 semesters draw varying opinions across University departments
DANIELLE PASEKOFF
Daily Staff Reporter
On
Tuesday,
Professor
Mabel Wilson from Columbia
University’s
Graduate
School
of Architecture, Planning and
Preservation read an excerpt
from her upcoming book about
race
and
architecture.
The
30-minute event was part of
the University of Michigan’s
Institute for the Humanities
FellowSpeak series and explored
the racial history behind the
architecture of the Virginia
statehouse
and
Thomas
Jefferson’s history of belittling
African-American intellect.
Wilson is a Norman Freehling
Visiting Fellow at the University’s
Institute for the Humanities.
Her talk was delivered to an
intimate audience of 25 people,
mostly consisting of department
faculty and other fellows.
Gretchen
O’Hair,
administrative
assistant
and
fellows coordinator, said the
FellowSpeak
serves
as
an
opportunity for fellows to share
their research and learn from
one another.
See ARCHITECTURE, Page 3A
Professor
discusses
interplay of
race, design
CAMPUS LIFE
Visiting fellow examines
the racism in origins of
American architecture
ZAYNA SYED
Daily Staff Reporter
GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 64
©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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
michigandaily.com
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statement
Night Shift Issue
See LANGUAGE, Page 3A
MADELINE HINKLEY/ DAILY