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

