“All 
business, 
employers, 

hospitals 
and 
schools 
and 

universities should be making plans 
and appropriately preparing for 
this disease,” Khaldun said. “We’ve 
been working very closely with our 
partners across the state for several 
weeks on these preparations.”

At least eight states including 

Washington, 
California 
and 

New York are declaring states of 
emergency in response to local 
outbreaks. 

When asked if schools across 

the state would be closed down, 
Whitmer said no decisions had been 
reached yet. Several dozen colleges 
across the country have canceled 
in-person classes in response to the 
virus, including Harvard University 
and Ohio State University. 

A petition circulated on Tuesday 

calling 
on 
the 
University 
of 

Michigan to follow suit. As of 11 p.m. 
on Tuesday, the petition has nearly 
4,000 signatures. 

“Why are we being reactive 

instead of proactive?” the petition 
reads. “We should not wait for the 
first confirmed case of 2019-nCoV 
in Ann Arbor to take action. That’s 
the kind of mistake that’s put many 
areas in a dire state. This is a plea for 
the University of Michigan to move 
classes online now.”

The University’s Office of Public 

Affairs did not respond immediately 
to request for comment.

In an email to students on 

Tuesday, the Center for Global and 
Intercultural Study’s senior health 
and safety adviser Rachel Reuter 
said there is a “strong possibility” 
that CGIS will cancel its spring and 
summer study abroad programs 

due to concerns over coronavirus. 
University of Michigan officials will 
decide whether to cut the programs 
by the end of the week, according to 
the email.

Reuter noted the spread of the 

virus to more than 100 countries 
and the rapid increase in the 
number of cases.

“As a result many countries, 

including the US, are considering 
or 
have 
already 
implemented 

responses that include restrictions 
on mobility, cancellation of public 
events and the temporary closure 
of educational institutions to help 
slow the spread of the virus,” Reuter 
wrote. “As a result of the rapidly 
evolving situation, officials from 
across the University of Michigan 
are meeting to determine whether 
or not to cancel spring/summer 
study abroad programs, and we 
fully expect to provide you with a 
decision by the end of this week at 
the very latest.”

CGIS offers more than 140 

programs in over 50 countries and 
allows participants to fulfill degree 
and language requirements while 
studying abroad. 

The continued spread of the virus 

has led to a series of cancelations and 
restrictions of University programs 
abroad for countries with a Level 
3 Travel Health Notice from the 
Centers for Disease Control, which 
urges avoidance of all nonessential 
travel. In January, the University 
issued a travel restriction for China, 
discontinuing University-affiliated 
travel to the country and only 
allowing graduate students to travel 
with an approved safety plan. The 
school followed up with a travel 
restriction for South Korea in late 
February, expanding to include Iran 
and Italy. 

In an email sent to LSA students 

on March 8, LSA Dean Anne 
Curzan noted the disruption caused 
by the travel restrictions.

“Winter study abroad programs 

in countries with a CDC Level 3 
Notice have been canceled, and 
we will be working with affected 
students 
to 
try 
and 
arrange 

completion of coursework through 
alternative means,” Curzan wrote. 
“We will continue monitoring 
the situation so that we can make 
appropriate 
arrangements 
if 

additional countries rise to CDC 
Level 3. We will send out updates 
as soon as possible about spring/
summer study abroad programs.”

Reuter also warned students to 

refrain from buying airline tickets.

“I know how difficult and 

frustrating this is, but given the 
gravity of the situation regarding 
COVID-19 and our dedication to 
providing students with a healthy, 
safe and academically enriching 
study 
abroad 
experience, 
the 

University needs this time to gather 
relevant information and consider 
many factors in order to make as 
judicious a decision as possible,” 
Reuter wrote.

Students have struggled to adjust 

their plans in response to the travel 
restrictions.

LSA sophomore Hanna Smith 

was signed up for the Spanish 230 
program in Granada, Spain — which 
allows students to complete their 
final two required semesters of the 
LSA foreign language requirement 
— but now the fate of this program 
is uncertain. Smith said while 
she understands the need to take 
precautions, she needs the credits 
from the program.

“It 
would 
be 
unfortunate 

because myself and a lot of 
people have to fulfill a language 
requirement, besides the fact that 

it would be an amazing experience 
to be able to go,” Smith said. “But 
also I do recognize the severity of 
the situation and while it is really 
unfortunate that I might not be 
able to go, I understand it’s more 
important to take precautions.”

LSA junior Rayna Shamah was 

planning on studying abroad in 
Costa Rica during the upcoming 
spring term and Turks and Caicos 
for summer term to complete 
the language and natural science 
requirements. Shamah, who said 
she also planned to graduate a 
semester early in order to save on 
tuition costs, now doubts that she 
will be able to graduate early due to 
the CGIS cancellations.

“If the programs were canceled 

I would definitely not be able to 
graduate early, because I would 
need those 12 credits to graduate,” 
Shamah said. “I was extremely 
disappointed. I think the main 
reason is just because it’s kind of 
early. I know the University wants 
to take care of its students, that’s the 
main priority, but we don’t know 
anything about the virus, if it’s a 
seasonal virus. It’s just really early.”

Shamah said she hoped the 

programs would not be canceled 
but also said she understood the 
precautions the University is taking. 

“They’re once in a lifetime 

experiences,” Shamah said. “We’re 
not going to be able to live with a 
host family again, especially during 
college.”

Managing News Editor Leah 

Graham can be reached at leahgra@
umich.edu. Daily News Editor 
Liat Weinstein can be reached 
at weinsl@umich.edu and Daily 
News Editor Alex Harring can be 
reached at harring@umich.edu.

FE ATU RE

2A — Wednesday, March 11, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News

TUESDAY:
By Design 

THURSDAY:
Twitter Talk

FRIDAY:

Behind the Story

MONDAY:

Looking at the Numbers

WEDNESDAY:

This Week in History 

March 11, 1965: University officials announce plans 
for closure of admissions gate for freshman applicants

University of Michigan 

officials 
announced 

yesterday 
they 
are 

no 
longer 
accepting 

freshmen for next fall. 
A 32 percent increase in 
freshman 
applications 

over 
last 
year 
caused 

the earliest closure of 
admissions in University 
history.

Approximately 
12,300 

high 
school 
seniors 

applied to the University 
for admission next fall. 
Officials expect the total 
number of applications 
to exceed 13,000. Despite 
an increase of 20 to 25 
percent in the number of 
state high school seniors, 
the University received 
an 
additional 
increase 

of only 10 per over last 
year in the number of 
applicants.

The 
University 
is 

increasing 
next 
year’s 

freshman 
class 
by 

600 above the number 
admitted for the last fall 
term. The freshman class 
for next year will total 
4,800, 
an 
increase 
of 

approximately 1400 over 
two years ago.

The 
enrollment 
will 

total 
approximately 

30,900, as disclosed by 

the Office of Academic 
Affairs in December. The 
out-of-state students will 
number about the same 
percent of the student 
body as last year.

The 
effect 
of 
the 

additional 600 students 
on 
classroom 
and 

laboratory crowding, as 
well as on the hiring of 
new faculty for next fall, 
depends on the budget 

still undetermined by the 
state legislature.

An 
increase 
in 
the 

freshman class of 600 and 
the subsequent increase 
in 
applications 
was 

anticipated last fall by the 
admissions office, Bryon 
L. Groesbeck, assistant 
director of admissions, 
said. The added increase 
in applications caused the 
closing of admissions at 

this time.

The 
increase 
in 
the 

number of applications 
from Michigan residents 
and out-of-state students 
has been about equal.

All qualified Michigan 

residents who applied to 
the University before Feb. 
1, have been admitted. 
Those who apply now are 
being placed on a waiting 
list.

The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during 
the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is 
available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the 
Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long 
subscriptions are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription 
rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. 

ERIN WHITE
Managing Editor 
 ekwhite@michigandaily.com

SAYALI AMIN and LEAH GRAHAM 
Managing News Editors news@michigandaily.com

Senior News Editors: Barbara Collins, Claire Hao, Alex Harring, Ben Rosenfeld, 
Emma Stein, Liat Weinstein
Assistant News Editors: Francesca Duong, Julia Forrest, Brayden Hirsh, Jasmin 
Lee, Hannah Mackay, Parnia Mazhar, Alyssa McMurtry, Emma Ruberg, Julia 
Rubin, Michal Ruprecht, Arjun Thakkar

EMILY CONSIDINE and MILES STEPHENSON
Editorial Page Editors tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Senior Opinion Editors: Alanna Berger, Brittany Bowman, Zack Blumberg, 
Timothy Spurlin, Joel Weiner

JOHN DECKER and JULIANNA MORANO
Managing Arts Editors 
 arts@michigandaily.com

ALLISON ENGKVIST and ANNIE KLUSENDORF
Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com

MAGDALENA MIHAYLOVA
Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com 

Deputy Editors: Emily Stillman, Marisa Wright

MADISON GAGNE and SADIA JIBAN
Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com

Senior Copy Editors: Olivia Bradish, Sophie Kephart, Silas Lee, Olivia Sedlacek, 
Ellie Scott

TIM CHO and SIMRAN PUJJI
Managing Online Editors 
 webteam@michigandaily.com

Senior Web Developers: Parth Dhyani, Abha Panda, Rohan Prashant, Jonathan 
Liu

ALEC COHEN and ELI SIDER
Managing Video Editors video@michigandaily.com

Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Zoha Bharwani, Lora Faraj, Ayomide 
Okunade, Gabrijela Skoko
Assistant Michigan in Color Editors: Cheryn Hong, Anamkia Kannan, Vaishali 
Nambiar, Sean Tran, Angela Zhang

Senior Sports Editors: Aria Gerson, Bailey Johnson, Ben Katz, Jacob Kopnick, 
Anna Marcus, Rian Ratnavale
Assistant Sports Editors: Connor Brennan, Lily Friedman, Lane Kizziah, 
Brendan Roose, Kent Schwartz, Molly Shea 

Senior Video Editor: Joseph Sim

Senior Social Media Editors: Jessie Norris, Mya Steir, Kristina Zheng 

Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building

420 Maynard St.

Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327

www.michigandaily.com

ARTS SECTION

arts@michigandaily.com

SPORTS SECTION

sports@michigandaily.com

ADVERTISING

dailydisplay@gmail.com

NEWS TIPS

news@michigandaily.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

tothedaily@michigandaily.com

EDITORIAL PAGE

opinion@michigandaily.com

ANITA MICHAUD

Business Manager

734-418-4115 ext. 1241

ammichau@michigandaily.com

ELIZABETH LAWRENCE

Editor in Chief

734-418-4115 ext. 1251

esla@michigandaily.com

PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION

photo@michigandaily.com

NEWSROOM

734-418-4115 opt. 3 

CORRECTIONS

corrections@michigandaily.com

THEO MACKIE and ETHAN SEARS 
Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com

Senior Arts Editors: Jo Chang, Elise Godfryd, Zoe Phillips, Jonah Mendelson, 
Ally Owens
Arts Beat Editors: Samantha Cantie, Dana Pierangeli, Andrew Pluta, Cassandra 
Mansuetti, Anish Tamhaney, Sophia Yoon

SHERRY CHEN and CHRISTINE JEGARL
Managing Design Editors 
design@michigandaily.com

Senior Design Editor: Lizzy Rueppel

MAYA MOKH and ANA MARIA SANCHEZ CASTILLO
Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com

JOHN GRIEVE and BEN KORN 
Managing Social Media Editors

Editorial Staff

Business Staff

RYAN KELLY

Sales Manager

Senior Photo Editors: Keemya Esmael, Asha Lewis, Miles Macklin
Assistant Photo Editors: Olivia Cell, Ryan Little, Emma Mati, Alexandria 
Pompei, Alexis Rankin

MOLLY WU
Creative Director

SAMANTHA SMALL and SONYA VOGEL
Managing Podcast Editors

LILLY HANSON 

Senior Account Executive

ANALISE DOORHY 
Senior Account Executive

TARA MOORE 

Senior Account Exeucutive

ALEC COHEN/Daily

Students and Ann Arbor residents wait in line to register to vote as volunteers offer water, pizza and other snacks outside of the Ann Arbor City Hall Tuesday afternoon.

VIRUS
From Page 1A

Michigan has 125 delegates, the 

largest number of all states voting 
Tuesday, which includes Missouri, 
Mississippi, North Dakota, Idaho 
and Washington and will be divided 
proportionally between Biden and 
Sanders. The former Vice President 
was also declared the winner of 
both the Mississippi and Missouri 
primaries early Tuesday evening. 
To win the Democratic nomination, 
a candidate needs at least 1,991 of 
the 3,979 pledged delegates.

Following Super Tuesday, a large 

number of endorsements from 
Michigan political figures endorsed 
Biden, including Gov. Gretchen 
Whitmer, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist 
and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.

Players on the national stage 

once included Sen. Kamala Harris, 
D-Calif., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, 
D-Minn., former New York City 
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and 
former South Bend Mayor Pete 
Buttigieg. All suspended their 
presidential 
campaigns 
and 

endorsed 
Biden. 
Shortly 
after 

CNN declared Biden the winner 
in 
Michigan, 
Missouri 
and 

Mississippi, former Presidential 
candidate Andrew Yang endorsed 
Biden’s campaign.

Business student Jeh Mory was 

at the Students for Biden watch 
party on Tuesday and spoke 
about the former vice president’s 
chances of winning the Democratic 
nomination. 

“I feel pretty optimistic about the 

future,” Mory said. “These wins are 
important and going ahead, I think 
it bodes well for Biden’s chance 
of getting a delegate majority and 
getting the nomination.”

Kinesiology 
junior 
Courage 

Ekwonye was also at the Students 

for Biden watch party. He noted 
Biden’s appeal to Republicans as 
well as Democrats. 

“I’m 
a 
conservative. 
I 

traditionally don’t agree with the 
majority of Joe Biden’s views, 
but there’s something about Joe 
Biden that separates him from the 
Bernie Sanders wing,” Ekwonye 
said. “Even though he has ideas 
outside of the American tradition, 
he still cares very much about this 
country. It seems that the Bernie 
Sanders campaign comes off as not 

BIDEN
From Page 1A

See BIDEN, Page 3A

Spike in applications from prospective first-year students leads to earliest end to admissions period

