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‘U’ expands program to pilot CTools replacement
RITA MORRIS/Daily
University President Mark Schlissel discusses concerns about Greek life and its role on campus with students during the March Fireside Chat on Monday in the Michigan League.
Schlissel addresses recent Greek life controversies Students also pose questions about diversity during fireside chat By GENNIVEVE HUMMER Daily Staff Reporter
University President Mark Schlissel discussed controversy surrounding several Greek life ski trips during his monthly fire-
side chat Monday afternoon. During the chat, Schlissel presented the roughly 30 students in attendance with a question of his own. “A couple of the fraternities and sororities on the January break, the MLK weekend break, did some mayhem at some resorts they were staying at,” Schlissel said. “How do we set up a culture where there are ways to have a good time without being criminal?” Engineering senior David
Hershey said Central Student Government’s push for a student honor code could be one solution. The honor code would serve as an addition to the Statement on Student Rights and Responsibilities, aiming to hold students to a higher standard of integrity and respect. “The attempt behind it is to make it so that students are accountable to their fellow students to some extent,” he said. “At some basic level we all want the face of the University to be a
positive one because our future is based upon this university.” Engineering sophomore Evan Field, president of Delta Kappa Epsilon, voiced his support for the sanctions recently placed on several fraternities and sororities, but said educational initiatives should be central to disciplinary processes going forward. Schlissel agreed, but also stressed that concrete penalties become necessary at a certain point. See FIRESIDE, Page 3
Next round of Canvas testing will include 7,000 students By CARLY NOAH Daily Staff Reporter
CTools may yield to a new online learning platform over the next few years, but current students won’t likely be around for the transition. Created by a consortium of institutions, including the University, CTools launched in 2004 and has been in use since. However, a new system, Canvas, has seen steady progress toward implementation since it was first piloted at the University in the fall of 2014. The Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, along with working faculty groups, have spent the past year discussing the switch as part of the NextGen Michigan initiative, which seeks to modernize the University’s
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Updated MCAT to include more subjects, longer testing times Test revision to start in April, reflect changing medical school preferences By NABEEL CHOLLAMPAT Daily Staff Reporter
Last month, registration opened for the new version of the Medical College Admission Test, better known as the MCAT. The updated test, developed by the American Association of Medical Colleges, will focus more on experimentation and practicality. The AAMC will first administer the new test on April 17. The old exam was last taken on Jan. 23. According to the AAMC, the four updated 95-minute sections include Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems; Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems; Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior; and Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills. The test is expected to last about 7.5 hours — contrasting a previous three and a half time span. Testing time has increased due to the addition of a fourth section, as well as the longer length of each section compared to the previous exam. According to a January report in The New York Times, the additional test-
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ing time necessitates more stamina and focus. Eric Chiu, Kaplan Test Prep’s executive director of pre-medical programs, said the changes will ultimately permit the exam to test application of material, for example, in an unprecedented way. “The MCAT is undergoing not just a change in the content areas covered and the length of the exam, but also in terms of how it tests science content and, in particular, application and integration of that knowledge in a different way,” Chiu said. He added that the new emphasis should aid students in their careers as doctors. “It’s the type of skill pre-meds will need once they get to medical school,” Chiu said. “That’s how their medical school classes and, someday, how they will act as doctors really apply content knowledge from lots of different science areas to real-life scenarios.” The changes include recommendations that students take 11 semesters of prerequisite courses, compared to the previous eight. Sociology, psychology, biochemistry and statistics are now included in this list. The exam will also place more focus on chemistry and physics in the context of biological processes, which may require students to take additional coursework in that realm. See MCAT, Page 7
Information Technology Services. A February report from the faculty team responsible for evaluating the switch, the Digital Innovation Advisory Group, cited changes in digital education as the main rationale for the switch. “CTools development has unfolded around the creation of tools to manage digital assets in a reactive manner,” the report said. “Canvas, in contrast, has been conceived from the ground up to provide a more cohesive learning experience.” In an interview last month, University Provost Martha Pollack said the University so far has not yet made a formal decision on transitioning, but data from pilots has been promising. However, she said she expects CTools to remain in use until April 2016 at the earliest. This semester, the University is partaking in a second round of piloting with a larger audience. Pollack said the pilot includes a total of 123 instructors and 7,000 students in 112 classes throughout 15 schools and colleges. See CANVAS, Page 3
UMHS to expand guidelines for genetic counseling Health System to collaborate with insurer to examine medical practices DAVID SONG/Daily
Music, Theatre & Dance junior Sophia Deery improvs during the Dance and Identity Workshop at the Trotter Multicultural Center Monday evening.
Dance workshop connects identity, body movement Trotter Multicultural Center hosts Abraham.In.Motion By ALYSSA BRANDON Daily Staff Reporter
A small group of students seated on the floor of Trotter Multicultural Center listened attentively Monday night as Jeremy Neal, a principle dancer from the critically acclaimed dance company Abraham. In.Motion, introduced himself. “My name is Jeremy and I identify as a queer artist, as a listener and as a friend,” he said to the group. Neal led participants in the Dance and Identity Workshop, an event co-hosted by the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs
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and the Trotter Center. First, Neal asked the group to consider how dance movements can connect with one’s own identity, focusing the event on the ties between individuality and movement. “Being able to understand your identity through movement can make a better nonverbal communicator, which is a very important skill to have,” Neal said. During the dance workshop, Neal asked students to improvise dance movements that corresponded with the spelling of their names. In another exercise, the students took turns “sculpting” themselves using the body of their partner. Kinesiology sophomore Kamaria Washington participated in the dance workshop and said she thought the exercises were both fun and enlightening.
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“I loved it,” Washington said. “It was a great way for me to freely dance, and it was amazing how Jeremy tied in how you identify yourself and how you want others to identify you with dance.” Neal said he wanted the participants to get comfortable with body parts they do not normally use. “It was a combination of getting them to really think about moving their bodies in ways that hadn’t thought about before, and also it was way to get them to open up and explore different ideas,” he said. Sophia Deery, a junior in both LSA and the School of Music, Theatre and Dance, who interned with Abraham. In.Motion last summer and was a main organizer of the workshop, said the event was created as a platform for members See DANCE, Page 3
Vol. CXXIV, No. 77 ©2015 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
By ISOBEL FUTTER Daily Staff Reporter
When actress Angelina Jolie opted for a preventative double mastectomy in 2013, the move spurred an increase in the number of people seeking genetic testing and counseling. Now, the insurance provider Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the University Health System have established a collaborative to improve and create more guidelines for genetic testing, which can screen patients for genes linked to an array of illnesses and conditions. The Genetic Testing Resource and Quality Consortium aims to investigate and improve current genetic testing practices. David Share, senior vice president of Value Partnerships at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, said he believes genetic testing will positively impact patient care in Michigan. “Such testing has the potential to add great value to the care of people with conditions, or at risk for conditions, with a genetic component, which can affect their future health and also future treatment,” Share wrote See GENETICS, Page 3
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