CELEBRATING OUR ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Friday, March 13, 2015
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
ANN ARBOR
Poorly lit off-campus areas spark concerns With lighting moratorium now lifted, students lobby for changes ANDREW COHEN/Daily
Noam Bedein, head of the Sderot Media Center, presents Israeli children’s drawings about the realities of living under rocket fire during a talk at the Michigan Union on Thursday.
Israeli speaker highlights fear in border city Sderot ‘What would you do in 15 seconds?’ discusses impacts of rocket fire By LARA MOEHLMAN Daily Staff Reporter
If you were given 15 seconds to seek shelter from an approaching rocket, what would you do?
For Israelis living in Sderot, a city near the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip, this question is not a hypothetical one. Noam Bedein, a native Israeli photographer, is the director of the Sderot Media Center, a nonprofit media advocacy center dedicated to spreading the individual voices of Sderot to the international media and public. His presentation “What could YOU do in 15 seconds?” on Thursday evening drew roughly
30 people to the Michigan Union. Last October marked Sderot’s 15th year under Qassam rocket fire from Hamas. Bedein said that since August of 2005 — when Israel gave up the Gaza strip territory — more than 24,000 rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel. Bedein focused on the normalizing effect that the constant threat of rockets has had on Israeli societies such as Sderot. “I came to this town to become
a student, not knowing too much about this rocket reality,” Bedein said. “I noticed how there’s no public office, government office or press center to speak out for the residents. I’ve established the Sderot Media Center to try becoming a voice and face of the region, pursuing this ongoing rocket reality, which somehow became acceptable.” In a photograph he shared with the audience, a playground See SDEROT, Page 2
By ANASTASSIOS ADAMOPOULOS and ANDREW ALMANI Daily Staff Reporters
Ann Arbor might soon see the light. During the Feb. 17 Ann Arbor City Council meeting, the City Council adopted a resolution that lifted a moratorium on the installation of new lighting that had been in effect in since 2005. The moratorium has been in effect since fiscal year 2006 and was adopted due to the increasing costs of DTE Energy lighting. With the moratorium lifted, several student governments are considering proposals to evaluate off-campus lighting after hearing student concerns about off-campus safety. There are two owners of off-campus streetlights in Ann Arbor — the city and DTE.
WELLNESS
CAMPUS LIFE
Campus group takes on local health issues
RIME works with clinics to increase awareness among low-income patients By NABEEL CHOLLAMPAT Daily Staff Reporter
Approaching its second year on campus, the student organization Redefining Innovation in Medical Engineering has devoted time to a diverse array of projects, from helping rural communities in India to working on health policy solutions for the Metro Detroit area. RIME is focused on providing medical solutions to patients in lower-income markets, according to Engineering freshman Colin Halow, a member of the group. This year, the group is planning to refocus its efforts locally. They are currently working with three clinics in the area — the HUDA Clinic, Cass Clinic and Hamtramck Clinic. Harish Kilaru, RIME cofounder and co-president, said he helped found the organization last year to develop medical devices for rural areas. Last year, RIME’s target area was in rural India. The group created a device that could diagnose jaundice, a yellow discoloration of the skin, from outside the skin. According to Kilaru, however, the device had issues
WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 53 LO: 27
with actual implementation. “We realized it’s very difficult to design a product for a market that you can only visit once or twice a year,” Kilaru said. “It’s hard to understand what they value, and we had a lot of assumptions that we couldn’t validate until we went to the country.” This experience led the group to switch gears and focus closer to home. Projects in the works for this year include a rewards system to incentivize patients to refer others to clinics by offering discounts at places like the Salvation Army and food pantries. “We want to see whether the rewards are enough to incentivize people to tell their friends to go to the clinic,” Kilaru said. “We’re trying to increase the number of low-income patients that are utilizing primary care, and that issue stems from the fact low-income patients don’t often know where the clinic is.” The group is also developing a website for patients and providers that will provide information about which services are offered at individual clinics. The group’s members include undergraduates as well as graduate students. RIME is funded through Innovate Blue, and also received funds from last year’s Optimize Social Innovation Challenge on campus. Halow said he thought the organization’s work, especially the shift in focus to more local See HEALTH, Page 3
The city compensates DTE for the streetlights that DTE owns, both for their use and their maintenance. The city is responsible for the maintenance of the streetlights that it owns, but still pays DTE for the energy use. According to a streetlight whitepaper created by the Systems Planning Unit in September 2013, by the close of the 2013 fiscal year Ann Arbor had 7,437 streetlights. Of these DTE owned 5,234 while the city owned the remaining 2,203. The city began using LED streetlights in 2006, according to the whitepaper. LED lights are more expensive but have fewer maintenance and energy expenses, which makes them preferable. The moratorium does not mean that new lights have not been installed or that old ones have not been replaced in the city. The condition is that these replacements and installments do not cause a net increase in streetlight costs. The resolution for lifting the moratorium was introduced by Councilmember Stephen Kunselman (D–Ward 3) and See CONCERNS, Page 3
Conference focuses on impacts of depression Annual mental health event talks increased stress on college campuses By IRENE PARK
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Daily Staff Reporter
Mat Chavez, one of the recipients of a recent GoFundMe campaign , singing on the corner of North University Avenue and State Street on Wednesday.
Campaign for A homeless couple raises almost $7,000 2
Husband Mat Chavez arrested Wed. on assault and battery charges By ANASTASSIOS ADAMOPOULOS Daily Staff Reporter
A fundraising campaign initiated by a University student has raised several thousand dollars for an Ann Arbor homeless couple. On March 1, Kinesiology junior Michael Funkhouser began an online funding campaign aimed at raising $10,000 for Mat Chavez and his wife Danielle Chavez. Mat Chavez
GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
usually plays guitar for donations on the corner of State and North University Street, outside of Walgreens. Funkhouser said he had seen the two on the street many times and had listened to Mat Chavez’s guitar playing, which he found to be very good. “I stopped to talk to him one day and I realized he had a really unique and really cool story and I started thinking of ways to help him out,” Funkhouser said. “And the next day I came back with the plan of videotaping his story and seeing if other people would take notice of it.” Since March 1 the campaign has attracted 245 donors who have contributed a total of $6,952 as of Thursday evening. Mat Chavez was arrested
NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM Greek life releases statement on inclusion MICHIGANDAILY.COM/SECTION/NEWS
INDEX
Wednesday with charges of battery and assault, the Washtenaw County Jail confirmed on Monday. He was still being held as of Thursday at 5 p.m. Ann Arbor Police declined to provide exact details of the incident, and the Chavez couple was not available for comment. However, Funkhouser said he spoke to Danielle Chavez about 20 minutes after the incident took place. “Danielle told me that another homeless man spit in her face and Mat retaliated by hitting the guy,” Funkhouser said. “The homeless man then called the police on Mat and a warrant was issued for his arrest.” Funkhouser’s description of the incident could not be conSee CAMPAIGN, Page 3
Vol. CXXIV, No. 81 ©2015 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
According to a survey conducted by the American College Health Association in 2011, 30 percent of college students have reported at some point in the previous year feeling “so depressed that it was difficult to function.” The National Mental Health Institute states that depression may not only affect a student’s ability to function, but is also major health risk for suicide and other forms of self-harm. The University of Michigan Comprehensive Depression Center hosted the 13th annual Depression on College Campuses conference on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss how student wellness, and especially depression, can be addressed to allow students to perform their best. University President Mark Schlissel, who gave the welcoming remarks for the opening keynote Wednesday, said one-third of college students suffer from some type of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, but only oneSee CONFERENCE, Page 3
NEWS...........................2 OPINION.......................4 ARTS....................5
SPORTS........................7 SUDOKU......................3 CLASSIFIEDS................6