ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Friday, September 5, 2014
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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HAPPENING TODAY: INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT MARK SCHLISSEL FRESH PRODUCE
ADMINISTRATION
Old issues pending as Schlissel settles in JAMES COLLER/Daily
Vicki Zilke, a farmer from Milan, Mich., sells some of her fresh produce to UMHS researcher Mary Ellen LeBlanc at the North Campus Research Complex Thursday afternoon as part of the M Healthy Eat Smarter: Fresh Produce series.
New ‘U’ pres. will soon contend with Trotter relocation and shared services By YARDAIN AMRON Daily Staff Reporter
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
StatusOwl brings the party Student-launched application posts real-time ratings for local bars By HILLARY CRAWFORD Daily Staff Reporter
StatusOwl, a new iOS application launched by two University graduates last week, is working to change the way people party. Students can use the app to both post and follow real-time
updates on private and public venues in the area. In addition to posting statuses, users can rate drinking establishments on entry line length and occupancy level. Currently, 40 local bars are searchable on the app. To gauge each post’s accuracy, “up” and “down” buttons appear so that others can agree or disagree with the current status assigned to a particular establishment. The app also syncs with Facebook, making it easier to share private events like house parties only with friends. Users also have the option to send
friend requests through the app. StatusOwl’s founders include University alums Aakash Jobanputra and Samir Thanedar, and Engineering senior Asif Aziz, who was also responsible for developing and producing the social media platform from scratch. “We’re a real time guide for night life,” Jobanputra said. “Everyone can go on StatusOwl and see what’s going on and honestly make better decisions about where they’re trying to go.” The idea for StatusOwl was
born on a wintry night, shortly after local authorities shut down a fraternity party. Not wanting to risk a walk in the cold to get to another party that wasn’t a sure bet, Jobanputra and Thanedar said they wished they had live updates of the campus’ goings-on, apart from Facebook event pages that remained relatively static. As graduates, Jobanputra and Thanedar are working on their project full time. Aziz has also pushed StatusOwl to the forefront of his priorities and is taking a semester off to help See STATUSOWL, Page 3
Fewer than two months have passed since University President Mark Schlissel moved into the president’s office in the Fleming Administration Building, and his plate is already full. Last year was one to remember, with big issues springing up across the Diag. In the fall, students from the University’s Black Student Union launched the #BBUM Twitter campaign that trended nationally and challenged the University to improve campus climate and address minority enrollment. In the spring, the U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation into the University’s handling of allegations of sexual misconduct and the administration was prompted to respond to the concerns of faculty and staff after the University opted to consolidate
more than a hundred departmentlevel staff to a shared services center. But while Schlissel is still getting his bearings, University units pushed ahead through these challenges over the summer. The Trotter Multicultural Center, which was a focus of BSU’s protests, smells of fresh paint and sawdust from recent renovations — an achievement of the BSU’s dialogue with the administration. The $300,000 renovations are just a temporary fix, and plans to move Trotter to a more central location, which the BSU originally demanded, are also in motion. Jackie Simpson, the new director of the Trotter Multicultural Center, said that while she hasn’t met with Schlissel personally, he did make the cross-campus walk from the Fleming Administration Building to Trotter a few weeks ago for a tour. Schlissel said it was a “nice place, old building,” according to Simpson, who said a new Trotter is still three to five years away. The process though, has already begun: an architecture firm has been hired and monthly focus groups to gather student feedback on the type of See ISSUES, Page 3
FUN IN THE SUN
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
After appointment, VP plans for successful term After unforseen circumstances, Lustig outlines new initiatives, goals By TANAZ AHMED Daily Staff Reporter
When University students filled out their online ballots for Central Student Government officers last spring, LSA senior Emily Lustig wasn’t on the presidential ticket.
However, Lustig assumed office as CSG’s vice president Tuesday. LSA junior Meagan Shokar, who was elected along with Public Policy senior Bobby Dishell in April, resigned Friday due to a medical condition. Within days, Dishell and Shokar tapped Lustig to fill the vacant slot and their choice was approved Tuesday by the CSG Executives Nominations Committee. Though the leadership transition was abrupt, Lustig said CSG has been an integral piece of her college experience.
“I started off my freshman year as a rep on the assembly and that was phenomenal,” she said. “I really got a feel for how resolutions work, how to gauge student interest and how to really represent the student constituents as you’re supposed to as an assembly rep.” Although 30 of 40 CSG representatives voted in favor of Lustig’s appointment, some CSG members felt the nomination and selection process failed to consider input from the entire student body. See VP, Page 3
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Engineering junior Guaniun He enjoys the last bit of summer weather by playing frisbee on the North Campus diag Thursday.
TECHNOLOGY
BUSINESS
Students try on wearable tech. before MHacks
App. limits romantic options to ‘U’ students
Myo armband allows users to control technology with muscle power By NEALA BERKOWSKI Daily Staff Reporter
Although it may seem like the technology of the Iron Man suit is generations away, students got
WEATHER TOMORROW
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a hands-on look at new wearable technology Thursday night. Shift, a non-profit and living space centered on entrepreneurship, hosted this opportunity Thursday night at their house on Oxford Road. About 40 students tried on the Myo armband, which allows users to control their surroundings through hand gestures. Business senior Alex Lee, Shift’s general manager, said the See TECH, Page 3
Friendsy users must have college ID to sign up By JULIA LISS Daily Staff Reporter
Tuesday evening, a new social app called Friendsy launched on campus with a mission: to foster friendships and romance. The app has features similar to Tinder and Yik Yak, but is limited to members of the University community by requiring all users to register with their University of Michigan e-mail addresses. Friendsy users are shown each other’s profiles with a few
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pictures and some basic information, including class standing, gender and major. They are anonymously allowed to express interest in another user without the other user finding out, unless the match is mutual. Unlike Tinder, there is not a hot-or-not dynamic. Users can choose to indicate that they would like to become friends, hookup or date the other user. The app was developed by two students at Princeton, Mike Pinsky and Vaidhy Murti, who started brainstorming ways for students to meet new people outside of their social circles. They launched the first version of Friendsy on the Princeton campus in 2013. The University is one of the campuses that is
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included in a push for Friendsy to reach 50 colleges. There are currently 10,000 users and 150,000 mutual matches. Though Pinsky and Murti’s friendship developed organically when they met while watching a Yankees game in the Princeton student union, they recognized that most students don’t simply approach new people. At other universities with Friendsy, more than 60 percent of mutual matches have been requests for friendship. The other chunk includes requests for hook-ups and dates. Overall, Pinsky said one of their goals is to avoid situations where people are set up for rejection.
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“It removes the social risk of going up to someone and putting your neck on the line,” Pinsky said. Once someone requests to connect with you, either as a friend, hookup or to date, you receive a notification and can request a “hint” about that person. The app will then show you a list of people who fit the criteria of the hint — for instance, if a sophomore requests to “friend” you, you will see a list of all University sophomores on Friendsy. If you don’t connect with the person who selected you, you will never learn their identity. Engineering junior Greg Stearns, a campus rep for Friendsy, said one main differSee FRIENDSY, Page 3
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