ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Monday, February 10, 2014
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
D AT E A U C T I O N
GREEK LIFE
Fraternity brothers displaced after fire Four students sent to UMHS after SAE incident early Saturday morning
VICKI LIU/Daily
Art and Design senior Darius Shelton and LSA freshman Capr’Nara Kendall auction off a date with LSA sophomore Leslie Morgan at the Sister 2 Sister masquerade charity date auction in the Union Ballroom on Saturday.
Daily Staff Reporter
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Former basketball captain discusses business growth David Merritt has created fashion line and social initiatives By AMRUTHA SIVAKUMAR Deputy Magazine Editor
Two statues representing the University’s desire for academic and athletic excellence adorn
both sides of the Michigan Union’s main entrance. However, University alum David Merritt, former co-captain of the Michigan basketball team, wants to show students that it’s possible to bridge the gap between the two. Merritt visited the University Friday to offer entrepreneurial students advice on how to go about building their ventures
and start-ups. Though he was hesitant to call himself an expert in entrepreneurship, Merritt turned his experiences and mistakes in the classroom and on the court into tools students can learn from. The talk was hosted by the Center for Entrepreneurship as a part of its Entrepreneurship Hour series, in conjunction with the Michigan Engineering Com-
By JACK TURMAN
mon Reading Experience. Titled “Doing Well and Doing Good,” the discussion focused on doing business while making a social impact. Originally from Detroit, Merritt earned an academic scholarship to the University and enrolled with the hope that he would be able to play on the men’s basketball team. See BUSINESS, Page 3A
A fire broke out at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house early Saturday morning, sending four people to the hospital. According to a release, the Ann Arbor Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 1408 Washtenaw Ave. at 5:37 a.m. The address provided in the report corresponds to the location of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Four fraternity brothers were released from the hospital after precautionary visits for possible smoke inhalation, according to Business sophomore Brett Mizzi, SAE president. Upon arrival, fire crews found a fire in a coat closet. First responders rescued 20 residents from the building, including the four taken by ambulance. Crews were able to control the blaze within 20 minutes, keeping it
contained to the front area of the building. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The fraternity house suffered smoke damage on all floors and fire damage to approximately one half of the square footage on the first floor, AAFD Battalion Chief Steven Lowe said. Mizzi said the University helped fraternity brothers affected by the fire find alternate housing in hotels while the house is being repaired. However, many of the brothers have relocated to Varsity Management apartments on a monthly lease. “They’re all taken care of,” Mizzi said. Fire and police agencies from Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township, Pittsfield Township, Superior Township and University Police assisted, and no firefighters were injured. Sigma Alpha Epsilon is no longer recognized by the University after allegations of hazing led to the fraternity’s expulsion from the Interfraternity Council in 2011. In November, two males were stabbed near the house during an altercation, resulting in minor injuries.
CAMPUS LIFE
ANN ARBOR
Transfers to ‘U’ contend with new challenges
City council to consider new smoking restrictions
Gathering of students and administrators discusses academic rigor and support
New ordinance will reinforce, expand existing regulations
By KRISTEN FEDOR Daily Staff Reporter
Change is never easy, but the goal is to make it a little less hard. Students and administrators engaged in an open dialogue at the Commission on Transfer Student Resources’ first Transfer Student Symposium Saturday in the Michigan Union. The day included testimonials from a panel of transfer students and collaborative development of possible plans for the future. The commission presented data from a survey it conducted, sent out to about 3,000 transfer students, which brought to light
areas of concern. The data showed that transfer students struggle most with the academic transition, regarding properly transferring credits and understanding the difficulty of the classes they signed up for. Of the 19 percent of transfer students who responded to the survey, the top challenges cited were time management and the rigor of University classes. At the discussion, the participants also expressed concern with the short length of orientation for transfer students. LSA senior Tyler Mesman, chair of the Commission on Transfer Student Resources, said the overload of information in a few hours is often overwhelming. Toward the end of the symposium, attendants were asked to write down goals on index cards. The goals of administrators and students mainly dealt with easing this academic tranSee TRANSFERS, Page 3A
By MATT JACKONEN
LILY ANGELL/Daily
Daily Staff Reporter
Members of the Leim Irish Dance Club perform at their annual event Dance of the Celts on Friday.
Irish dancing club puts on event to keep culture alive Student group performs annual Dance of the Celts By BRIE WINNEGA Daily Staff Reporter
The Léim Irish Dance group put on its annual performance Friday night at
the Mendelssohn Theatre in front of a crowd of friends, family and other students. The group was founded in 2000 as a platform for experienced Irish dancers to foster their love for the dance and to spread their passion to other students who wished to learn it. Léim hosts one major performance every year and is involved in other
small-scale events, including a performance on the Diag to promote Irish traditions on St. Patrick’s Day. This year’s show, titled “Dance of the Celts,” featured two acts with seven dances each. Engineering senior Marcus Deloney, executive producer of Léim, said the group See DANCING, Page 3A
Smokers in Ann Arbor may soon find their cigarette breaks a little bit more tedious. A recently proposed ordinance in the Ann Arbor City Council would ban smoking near bus stops and city building entrances — a move that public health advocates say would cut down on instances of second hand smoke and protect non-smokers. The new ordinance reinforces and expands on an existing ordinance in Washtenaw County that prohibits smoking near building entrances, ventilation systems and windows. However, under the county See SMOKING, Page 3A
Hawkeye Heartbreak Lack of inside presence, poor shooting doom Wolverines in Iowa
WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 14 LO: -2
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» INSIDE
INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 64 ©2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A SUDOKU.....................2A OPINION.....................4A
CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A S P O R T S M O N DAY. . . . . . . . . .1 B