ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL
Facing windchills around -30 degrees, University cancels all classes on Tuesday By STEPHANIE SHENOUDA and MAX RADWIN Daily News Editor and Daily Staff Reporter
For the first time since 1978, the University has canceled classes Tuesday due to extreme weather, University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald confirmed Monday evening. According to the National Weather Service, temperatures will be at a high of 2 degrees, with a wind chill reaching -30 degrees and winds reaching up to 20 miles per hour. Campus buildings — including dining halls and libraries — will remain open. University transportation services will continue operating as normal, though delays should be expected. This announcement marks the first time that the University has cancelled classes due to weatherrelated circumstances since Ann Arbor was hit with 19 inches of snow in 1978. University Police spokeswoman Diane Brown said University Police will be taking extra efforts to keep response times low to limit the amount of time that people spend outside in the cold. After Fitzgerald confirmed the decision, University Provost Martha Pollack, Chief Health Officer Robert Winfield and Laurita Thomas, associate vice president for human resources, sent a memo to faculty
ADAM GLANZMAN/Daily
Students walk through the diag Monday, following an announcement by University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald that classes would be canceled for the first time since 1978.
and staff encouraging flexibility and telecommuting if possible for Tuesday. “Campus operations will continue,” the memo said. “However, while staff should plan to report as usual, we ask that supervisors be flexible and make reasonable accommodations for these extreme circumstances. Travel may be hazardous, especially on foot
or by bus, and we ask that all of our colleagues remain sensitive to safety concerns. Parking and Transportation Services is increasing bus frequency to help minimize wait times.” The memo added that staff who are “unable or choose not to” travel to campus Tuesday should contact their supervisors to use vacation time or unpaid time off.
Medical School Prof. Charles Koopmann, a member of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, said he feels it’s “unfortunate” that staff on main campus have to come in or be forced to take a day of vacation. However, he said he believes that the medical campus should remain open, which, according to the memo, will operate normally.
“The University needs to get a well organized plan for something like this and should remarkably improve communications,” Koopmann said. After the controversy over not closing campus during the Polar Vortex earlier this month, Pollack sat in on the Senate Advisory Committee for University Affairs meeting Jan. 13 to discuss the Univer-
sity’s decision to not cancel classes. “By the time it became clear that we were facing an extraordinary weather event, we realized that we didn’t have appropriate mechanisms to close the University even if we wanted to,” Pollack said. During that meeting, Pollack said the University planned to establish a committee to address emergency situations, including weather, that merit the cancellation of classes. Though that committee was formed and held one meeting last week, Fitzgerald said the decision to cancel classes Tuesday was made independently of that committee, in consultation with the the Office of the Provost, Winfield and Thomas. “This is a decision that was made based on the unique circumstances that are being presented with the weather forecasts for tomorrow,” Fitzgerald said. “This is not a reflection of any new protocol.” Business senior Michael Proppe, CSG president, said he believes the dangerous conditions Tuesday warranted the historic measure. “It’s really going to be cold tomorrow, I think the University made the right call,” Proppe said. “When it’s -25 degrees out with the wind chill and you have students walking 10, 15, or 20 minutes to class, it can be dangerous to have skin exposed in that kind of weather.” Proppe said he was surprised because such a decision is “unprecedented,” but added that he knows the University has students safety at the forefront. “Though CSG did not play an active role in today’s decision, executive members brought up the school’s lack of a severe weather See SNOW, Page 3
‘U’s new social media director pushes ahead Sunstrum, a former state social media specialist, focuses on diverse platforms By JENNIFER CALFAS Managing News Editor
When the University’s Board of Regents announced the selection of Mark Schlissel as the University’s 14th president, one new staff member sat among the audience
members in the Michigan Union, vigorously updating the University’s social media sites. While Nikki Sunstrum, the University’s new director of social media, didn’t get a press conference on her arrival, she did fill an empty spot in the University’s Global Communications Office. Sunstrum was selected for the position after a year-long search. She previously served as the state of Michigan’s social communications coordinator and started in her new position on Jan. 6. In her state position, Sunstrum oversaw more
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
than 149 social media accounts and curated regular live chats and town hall forums. Jordan Miller, the University’s former social media director, resigned in December 2012 amid allegations that she lied about completing her bachelor’s degree. Sunstrum received her bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University and her master’s from Aquinas College. While the University was unable to specify how much Sunstrum would be paid, Miller earned about $100,000 See MEDIA, Page 3
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Nikki Sunstrum, the University’s newly appointed director of social media, discusses her plans to use Twitter, among other platforms, to engage with students.
FACULTY GOVERNANCE
HOSPITAL
CSG pushes to In last Senate Assembly, allow Dining Coleman discusses AST Dollars at Hillel Students hesitant about using Blue Bucks at offcampus location By KRISTEN FEDOR Daily Staff Reporter
At the Jan. 21 Central Student Government Assembly meeting, Engineering junior Andy Modell, a CSG representative, proposed the idea to use Dining Dollars for meals served at Hillel. Currently, students can only use Blue Bucks or cash to pay
WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 14 LO: 5
for Hillel meals, excluding free Friday-night dinners, which are open to everyone. Hillel is a foundation that provides programming for Jewish students on campus and serves kosher meals. For a student on a regular residence hall meal plan, Hillel charges $10 for lunch and $12 for dinner. If students with a religious exception choose to forego the traditional meal plan, they can opt for an alternate Hillel meal plan. These students pay the same amount as a student on the average residence hall meal plan, receiving guaranteed meals twice a day, six days per week at See HILLEL, Page 3
After botched rollout, Coleman says shared services still important By ANDREW ALMANI Daily Staff Reporter
In her final Senate Assembly meeting, University President Mary Sue Coleman addressed a multitude of faculty concerns, including the implementation of the Shared Services Center, employee wages and diversity at Palmer Commons Monday. The University is in the process of implementing a variety of cost-cutting initiatives, including the con-
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troversial Administrative Services Transformation, a cost-cutting initiative which includes the implementation of the Shared Service Center that will consolidate some University departmental staff in a central location. In terms of its expenditures, Coleman said the University is much larger than most other public higher education institutions. She cited the University of California – Berkeley’s budget of $2.1 billion — a much smaller amount than the University’s $6.1 billion budget — as an example from a similar highly ranked public institution. Coleman added that the overarching University of California system performs
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many of the administrative tasks at Berkeley that the University has to perform autonomously on campus. “It is not apples to apples to look at the scope of work, the span of control, of individuals work on the Berkeley campus and the Michigan campus,” Coleman said. Coleman said it is important to limit growth and taper spending. “We know we’ve got to stay affordable and accessible, she said. While members of the faculty have voiced opposition to the University’s consolidation efforts, Coleman said the plan affects her as well. “My own staff in my office has been cut significantly, See AST, Page 3
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Customers on Main St. can donate to UMHS In joint initiative, several bars team up for philanthropy By AMABEL KAROUB Daily Staff Reporter
While students frequent the Main Street bars and restaurants for their food and atmosphere, they now have a new reason to head to downtown. Through the Dine and Donate program, patrons can donate to several charities within the University of Michigan Health System at local bars. See MOTTS, Page 3
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