ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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ADMINISTRATION
‘U’ defends affirmative action with court brief ROBERT DUNNE/Daily
Author Naomi Klein speaks about her most recent book “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate” at the 2015 Marc and Constance Jacobson Lecture at Rackham on Monday.
Activist Naomi Klein talks climate change, capitalism Discussion points to special interests as detriment to the collective good By DANIEL OH For the Daily
Hundreds filled Rackham Auditorium on Monday to hear
Naomi Klein, a noted Canadian author and social activist, discuss her new book, “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate.” The book discusses the detrimental path political and economic systems have carved for the environment and society as a whole. “The theme of this series is conversion … conversion of the climate, conversion of the
economy,” Klein said. “And that is at the heart of the work that I do for climate change. Climate change changes everything.” Climate change and social policy often clash when natural disasters occur, Klein said. She shared the example of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005. The storm shut down Charity Hospital, which Klein explained was “one of the only places where poor African
Americans could get health care in the city.” She noted that the hospital is still closed today as a result of negligent policies that prioritize minimizing costs over catering to constituents. “(This) is one more example of taking advantage of a crisis that was born out of a collision between heavy weather and a deep neglect of the public See NAOMI KLEIN, Page 3
ACADEMICS
By GENEVIEVE HUMMER Daily Staff Reporter
The Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs spent part of their Monday session discussing the most recent Faculty Senate meeting during which a majority of the 125 faculty members in attendance voted to support delaying the release of course evaluation data. At a SACUA meeting last month, Engineering Prof. James Holloway, the vice provost of global and engaged education, announced the University might release course evaluation data as soon as the end of this semester. Holloway’s announcement was met with surprise by SACUA members, who said they were not consulted about such a release. SACUA Chair Silke-Maria Weineck, a professor of Comparative Literature, said Monday that she was pleased with the Faculty Senate meeting’s turnout. “I think a lot of it was personal outreach and people talking to their friends,” she said. “And I think it was a really successful meeting; I’ve received a lot of positive comments from people saying they were impressed with the turnout, the substance
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of the discussion, so I think that was good.” During last week’s Faculty Senate meeting, Central Student Government President Cooper Charlton, an LSA senior, said he was still in favor of releasing course evaluation data in time for the winter 2016 semester. “We want this to be a collaborative effort,” Charlton said. “By no means are we here to shove your concerns into a corner and not listen to you. That being said, it’s a decision, ‘are we going to release these now or are we going to kick the can down the road?’ We see there’s two conversations going on: the immediate release of course evaluations as they stand, and the second conversation is, how can we come together, through the committee Dr. Holloway has suggested, to determine what the instrument looks like going forward?” Weineck said she met with Charlton after the Faculty Senate vote to discuss how students and faculty could work together on the issue moving forward. During their meeting, Weineck said she and Charlton agreed to form a committee, comprised of three faculty members and three students, to determine protocols for the eventual release of the course evaluation data. Weineck said she anticipates the committee’s work wrapping up by April 2016. Holloway will lead another committee — comprised of one faculty member, one student See SACUA, Page 2
By SAMANTHA WINTNER Daily Staff Reporter
No stranger to court cases regarding the constitutionality of affirmative action, the University submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday highlighting its opinion that such programs are invaluable to colleges that strive to increase diversity on their campuses. An amicus brief is a document in which a third party sends its opinions and additional information on a particular case for the court’s consideration. The University is the subject of two historic Supreme Court cases surrounding affirmative
action, and the University of Texas is the defendant in the current case before the court, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. In its brief, the University argues that the pursuit of diversity is a legitimate goal for universities, writing further that it supports the University of Texas in its endeavor to do so by operating race-based admissions programs. “That view accords with the overwhelming consensus of American universities, which have concluded that racial diversity benefits the exchange and development of ideas by increasing students’ variety of perspectives; promotes cross-racial understanding and dispels racial stereotypes; and helps prepare students to be leaders in a global marketplace and increasingly multicultural society,” the brief said. Law Prof. Richard Primus said in an interview Monday See AMICUS, Page 3
PUBLIC SAFETY
NORAH JONES
SACUA plans to work with CSG on course data Faculty, students will form committee to consider release of teaching evaluations
For SCOTUS case, University details impact of Prop 2 on minority enrollment
Fire breaks out behind Sava’s near vacant bldg. Abandoned structure was condemned by the City in August By ISOBEL FUTTER
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Norah Jones, a jazz singer and songwriter, performs songs from her album Little Broken Hearts at the Michigan Theater on Monday.
RESEARCH
Lecture on bipolar disorder explores links to genetics Genetic depository informs advances in treating mental health issues By ISOBEL FUTTER Daily Staff Reporter
When Heinz Prechter, founder of the American Sunroof Company, died in 2001 at age 59, his widow created a fund to advance research on mental illness he struggled with: bipolar disorder. The Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Fund started in 2001 and became associated with the University’s Depression Center in 2004. The fund engages in research on bipolar disorder, specifically through
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the Prechter Bipolar Genetics Repository, the largest privatelyfunded bank of patient samples of its kind. On Monday, the ninth annual Prechter Lecture explored the potential of genetics to inform research on bipolar disorder. Keynote speaker Leroy Hood, president and co-founder of the Institute for Systems Biology, a nonprofit biomedical research organization based in Seattle, covered the ways in which researchers can address disease based on genetic information. “Genetics do not determine your destiny; they determine your potential,” he said. Leroy said he was a strong advocate for “P4 medicine,” which applies to treatment that is predictive, preventive, personalized and participatory. He said this approach helps
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result in the earliest and best treatments possible. He said research has found people can combat their genetic dispositions through wellness, with practices such as eating well and exercising regularly. Hood also said family genomics, or the study of genetic sequences within a family, have produced interesting correlations between bipolar disorder and certain genetic triggers. “We can stratify patients in so many new and powerful ways,” he said. “Stratification is really the key to complex diseases. We can bring wellness to those who are at risk to bipolar disease and those who have other genetic predispositions.” LSA sophomore Maya Eter, a data entry assistant See BIPOLAR, Page 3
Vol. CXXV, No. 23 ©2015 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
Daily Staff Reporter
The Ann Arbor Fire Department responded to a fire Monday afternoon near a vacant building behind Sava’s Restaurant on State Street. The building, located at 212 S. State St., was unoccupied and according to firefighters at the scene, only trash surrounding the building actually burned. It’s currently unclear how the fire started. Firefighters at the scene also said the building looks exactly as it did before the fire, but since the vacant building was already deemed unsafe for entry, firefighters did not enter the building to assess potential damage further. The city previously issued a blight enforcement warning to the building’s owner, Bloomfield Hills developer Howard Frehsee, according to a September report in The Ann Arbor News. The city had determined the building was dangerous and sent its owner a notice ordering demolition of the structure. He had until Sept. 9 to comply. The fire was fully extinguished by 3:40 p.m. Samantha Wintner contributed reporting.
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