ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
GOVERNMENT
Minimum wage efforts continue on ‘U’ campus Raise Michigan coalition calls for $10.10 per hour, echoing Obama By SHOHAM GEVA
TERRA MOLENGRAFF/Daily
Daily Staff Reporter
Brad Kelly of YRLK performs at “We Can All Change The Story: A Celebration of Hope,” a free concert for suicide prevention at Michigan Theater Tuesday.
Event inspires awareness Celebration of Hope encourages suicide prevention By ALYSSA BRANDON For the Daily
Various University student groups entertained a crowded Michigan Theatre Tuesday night with powerful performances through song, dance and spoken word in the show-
case “We Can All Change the Story: A Celebration of Hope.” The Counseling and Psychological Services Student Advisory board collaborated with Central Student Government to develop an event to advocate for the end of student suicides at the University. As attendees walked through the doors of Michigan Theater, they were met with dozens of CSG and CAPS staff members passing out wristbands, postcards and free pizza. CAPS also
had a booth where students could write encouraging words on wooden tiles to hang around campus. LSA senior Carolina Rayzel, who is a member of CSG’s Health Issues Commission and served as a member of the planning committee for the showcase, said the event aimed to educate students about psychological services available at the University. “We hope this event will start a dialogue about the stu-
dent suicide issue on campus, as well as bring an awareness to the different resources for mental health that are available on campus,” she said before the start of the program. The showcase featured local artist YRLK performing his original guitar compositions and Music, Theatre & Dance graduate students Jonathan Hulting-Cohen and Jennifer R. Ellis playing the musical piece, “Moments of Hope” on clariSee PREVENTION, Page 3A
Long before President Barack Obama visited campus last week, activists were laying the groundwork for a proposed increase in the minimum wage. A coalition of groups collectively called Raise Michigan announced plans Jan. 27 to put a question to raise the minimum wage on November’s ballot, launching a campaign which started as an exploratory ballot committee and eventually became an organized force across the state, including at the University. To put the proposal on the ballot, the group will have to collect a minimum of 258,088 signatures, which is equal to 8 percent of the voters in the last gubernatorial election, from across the state
F R E E C O N E D AY
IN REMEMBRANCE
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Student passes away in car crash while abroad LSA junior honored for her involvement in campus community By WILL GREENBERG Daily News Editor
A University student died in a car accident Monday while studying abroad in South Africa. University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald confirmed the passing of LSA junior Rachel Smylie in a statement Tuesday. Smylie was in a car with members of her study abroad group while on a spring break trip to a national park in northern Namibia at the time. He said there are no other reports of fatalities from the incident and no other University students were in her group. Smylie had been studying in Cape Town, South Africa with the Council on International Educational Exchange. While the program is run outside the University, Fitzgerald said many University
students participate in it. As a student, Smylie was highly involved in volunteer work both in Ann Arbor and Cape Town, working at the local HIV/Aids Resource Center in Washtenaw County and doing similar work in South Africa. She was also active in her sorority, Alpha Phi, serving as house manager last year. She was also selected as one of the Rho Omegas, a group that helps new members through the Greek recruitment process. Business sophomore Elizabeth Griffith, Alpha Phi president, released in a personal statement Tuesday lauding Smylie’s friendship and involvement on campus. “Rachel had an amazing spirit and a presence that captivated everyone around her,” she wrote. “She is very loved and missed dearly.” After taking his class “Memoir and Social Crisis” last fall, Smylie developed a close relationship with English Prof. Ralph Williams. Williams said Smylie would often meet him during office hours for disSee STUDENT, Page 3A
before May 28. Coalition leaders have indicated that they want to go above that threshold, with an ultimate goal of 350,000 signatures. Should the group collect enough signatures, the proposal will then go before the state legislature, which has 40 days to approve it. Evan if they don’t approve it outright and make it into a law, the initiative will go on the ballot. Engineering senior Ryan Moody and LSA junior Eleni Kastanis, who are gathering signatures in the Ann Arbor area as interns for Michigan United, one of the groups in the Raise Michigan coalition, said the coalition’s goal for the area is 10,000 signatures. Moody, who coordinates on campus efforts, said her hope is that 6,500 of those signatures will come from the University community. The pair currently has over 1,500 signatures from the area, though exact numbers are difficult to discern because the petitions are disseminated so widely. Around 500 of those have come from campus. Moody said they are confident See WAGE, Page 3A
Brandon discusses ticketing policies LILY ANGELL/Daily
Hundreds of students and Ann Arbor residents gather at the State Street Ben & Jerry’s for the annual Free Cone Day Tuesday, a tradition started in 1979.
Central Student Government hosts Athletic Director By KRISTEN FEDOR
Prof. selected for Internet Hall of Fame’s 2014 class Researcher aided online initiatives to increase global access to data By ALLANA AKHTAR Daily Staff Reporter
Douglas Van Houweling, associate dean for research and innovation at the School
of Information, visited Hong Kong Tuesday to be inducted to the 2014 Internet Hall of Fame. The Internet Hall of Fame celebrates individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the creation and progression of the Internet. The Internet Society inducts 24 members selected across 13 different countries annually. Van Houweling was inducted as a Global Connec-
tor, a category that recognizes individuals who have helped expand the Internet on a global scale. Van Houweling previously served as chairman of the board of MERIT, a Michigan statewide computing network. At the request of the National Science Foundation, he worked to rebuild its overloaded, dysfunctional network — NSFNET — that was See INTERNET, Page 3A
Daily Staff Reporter
Though the Central Student Government encouraged the implementation of new football season ticket policy, the final meeting of the year indicated more conversations with the University Athletic Department are on the horizon for the future. Athletic Director Dave Brandon and Hunter Lochmann, senior associate athletic director and chief marketing officer, spoke to the CSG assembly Tuesday night at their weekly meeting. Lochmann delivered a review of the past year, followed by a question and answer session between representatives and Brandon. Representatives questioned Brandon on an array of See BRANDON, Page 3A
photos of the year A collection of moments captured by The Michigan Daily photo staff
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 98 ©2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A SUDOKU.....................2A OPINION.....................4A
ARTS........................... 5A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A T H E S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . .1 B