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July 18, 2019 - Image 1

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The Michigan Daily

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Thursday, July 18, 2019

INDEX

Vol. CXXVIII, No. 118
© 2019 The Michigan Daily

NEWS ....................................
OPINION ...............................
ARTS......................................
MiC.........................................
SPORTS................................

MICHIGAN IN COLOR
Language of love

MiC editor Aly Charf writes

a poem dedicated to her

Nana and Tata, who both

died in the last two years



>> SEE PAGE 9

NEWS
Affordability

University community

examines increased tuition

and fees for 2018-19 year


>> SEE PAGE 3

OPINION
The Democrats

Akaash Tumuluri discusses

internal divisions within the

Democratic Party ahead of

the primary election


>> SEE PAGE 4

ARTS
Nevertheless

New feminist film festival

founded by University

alum proves the future is

female
>> SEE PAGE 7

SPORTS
Baseball

Three Wolverines are

competing in the Cape

Cod Baseball League this

summer


>> SEE PAGE 12

inside

2
4
6
9
10

$200,000 project
set to be completed
by fall semester

At the center of the University
of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus,
where the Diag’s two largest
paths cross, lies a bronze block
‘M’ set in granite in the ground.
The monument was donated by
the University’s class of 1953 as a
gift to then University President
Harlan Hatcher. During the fall
and winter semesters, thousands
upon thousands of students, staff
and visitors pass the block ‘M’
every day, but few dare to tread
on it directly.
“Campus legend has it that
if you step on the M you will
flunk your first blue book exam,
hence the many people who
diligently avoid trodding on the
marker,” the University’s cultural
attraction description says.
Students revere the ‘M’ as
an icon of the University, so
when construction began on
the artifact in early July, they
noticed. LSA sophomore Alexis
Irlbeck said the construction
is necessary, but joked it was
alarming.

“For one, I would really hope
that none of the construction
workers
were
poor
little
University of Michigan students
working for the summer and
having to work that closely to
the block ‘M,’” Irlbeck said.
“Obviously, it’s a good thing. It’s
going to look all nice and brand
new, but it is kind of sad that it’s
all covered up by construction
right now. Hopefully, that is not
going to be the case when all the
freshmen come in September.”
The construction is being done
by outside contractor J. S. Vig
Construction and is scheduled
to be complete by the time
classes begin for the Fall 2019
semester, according to University
Spokesman
Rick
Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald also told the Daily the
project’s total cost is $200,000,
half of which is being covered by
donor funds.
The project entails replacing
the concrete beneath the M as
well as the stone surrounding
it. In an email press release,
the University said the selected
stone was chosen to uphold the
historical look of the landmark
while enhancing its durability.
“The Giallo Veneziano stone
material that will be installed
matches the existing stone and
the current shape and pattern
will remain the same,” the release
said. “The new stone panels will

be considerably thicker and are
expected to hold up much better
to Michigan’s extensive freeze-
thaw cycles.”
Irlbeck works as a Campus
Day Leader, showing prospective
students around campus in the
spring as an ambassador for
the University. Irlbeck tells her
groups about the block ‘M’ legend
by gathering them in a circle
around the marker like one would
share a story by the campfire.
“What I just tell everybody
is not to step on the block ‘M,’
but if you do, there is one way to
reverse the curse,” Irlbeck said.
“So, I’ll turn around and point at
Hatcher.”
Irlbeck then explains to her
groups the curse’s only anecdote
is if the afflicted runs from the
steps of the Hatcher Graduate
Library to kiss the pumas on the
Biological Sciences Building and
run back. The sprint must also
happen within the first and last
tolls of the Bell Tower at midnight
— which is both physically and
logistically impossible because
the Bell Tower no longer rings
after 10 p.m. — and the runner
must be naked, which is illegal.
Whenever she tells the story,
Irlbeck said she feels like she’s
“including”
students
in
the
University community.

Nonpartisian
election plan
fails by 1 vote

City Council votes
down Mayor Chris
Tylor’s proposal
at meeting

On
Monday,
Ann
Arbor
City
Council discussed an override of
Mayor Christopher Taylor’s veto of a
resolution that would put an initiative
on whether or not the city’s elections
should be partisan on the November
2019 election ballot. The council
ultimately fell one vote short of the
eight votes necessary to override the
veto.
Before the contentious vote, the
council welcomed Michael Cox, the
new Ann Arbor police chief. Cox said
he looks forward to working for and
with the community.
“Thank
you
all
for
showing
confidence in me to lead this great
city and police department,” Cox said.
“I can’t wait to work with both the
citizens of Ann Arbor and the police
officers here.”
During
public
comments,
four
people spoke about boycotting Israel.
Multiple
councilmembers
shared
their own views on the issue and
how the Ann Arbor Human Rights
Commission should handle it.
Councilmember
Ali
Ramlawi,
D-Ward 5, spoke about how the Ann
Arbor Human Rights Commission
should look at human rights issues
across the world. Other members
of the council, such as Julie Grand,
D-Ward 3, and Zachary Ackerman,
D-Ward 3, discussed how they feel
Jewish identities and spaces are often
attacked by protestors in Ann Arbor.
City Council then discussed the
override of they mayor’s veto on a
ballot initiative. Currently, Ann Arbor
elections are partisan, and the ballot
initiative resolution introduced on
July 1 would allow voters to decide
if Ann Arbor elections should be
nonpartisan.

ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Read more at michigandaily.com

OLIVIA SCOTT
Daily Staff Reporter

Read more at michigandaily.com

michigandaily.com

Students reflect on ongoing
block ‘M’ construction in Diag

KARTIK SUNDARAM/Daily
The Block M undergoes construction that is scheduled to be completed the time classes begin for the Fall 2019 semester.

MELANIE TAYLOR
Summer News Editor

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