ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Friday, September 12, 2014
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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CAMPUS LIFE
Students return to renovated Trotter Upgraded facilities come after strong student input By AMABEL KAROUB Daily Staff Repoter KATHERINE PEKALA/Daily
ROTC students stand guard at the Diag flag pole as part of a campus-wide effort to remember 9/11.
Campus community pays tribute on 9/11 anniversary
Students cover Diag in 2,977 American flags for those who lost their lives By EMILIE PLESSET Daily Staff Reporter
The American flag near the Ingalls Mall flew at half-mast Thursday above 2,977 miniature
flags spread across the Diag to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The recently founded student group Young Americans for Freedom organized the memorial as part of the “9/11: Never Forget Project.” Each flag honored one person who lost their life in the attacks. Eighteen Wolverines lost their life on 9/11. The memorial aims to help incoming students — most of
whom were in lower elementary school or younger in 2001 — visualize the scope of the attacks. “Many college freshmen were only four years old when the attacks happened and they don’t have a real memory of the attack,” said LSA freshman Grant Strobl, chairman of the University chapter of Young Americans for Freedom. “Once they realize that each flag represents a victim of the attacks it becomes real.” Many University students and
faculty walking through the Diag stopped to reflect on the anniversary and take pictures of the memorial. “It’s an event meant to bring the community together and unite us and not to ever separate us,” said Law School student Rachel Jankowski, a YAF adviser. Members of the University’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps also commemorated the anniversary of the attacks with a changSee TRIBUTE, Page 3A
Fresh paint and and upgraded facilities welcomed almost 100 students Thursday to the University’s Trotter Multicultural Center. In January, the University allocated $300,000 for renovations at Trotter Center after the University’s Black Student Union lobbied the administration for upgrades, among other demands. The building hosted its first open house Monday after construction projects were completed over the summer. “Although it emerged out of the Black action student movements of the 70s, it has evolved in its vision to cater to all students, without losing sight of the importance of signaling students of color,” said Rackham student David Green. The Trotter walls were newly painted in vibrant gold and
brown tones, the wood floor was covered with a patterned rug and colorful, abstract paintings lined every side of the room. The beauty of the building did not come cheap. Rackham student Portia Hemphill said someone who had not been to Trotter before the renovation would not understand the drastic difference in the décor. “If you looked at it before you would know there’s a huge difference,” Hemphill said. “This room is much more warm and inviting, there are new pictures to make the room feel like a safe haven, a safe space, a warm, inviting climate.” Green said the renovation is not purely aesthetic, but also of people involved in the center and minds leading it. “Not only do we have a new director, not only do we have a new programming board, but we have a new philosophy and a new mission,” Green said. “To always think about what the students need and how we can best meet those needs as a way to fulfill the promise of the See TROTTER, Page 3A
DETROIT
Urban farming’s growing popularity draws students Programs focus on access to fresh food and revitalization By NEALA BERKOWSKI Daily Staff Reporter
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
University President Mark Schlissel discusses North Campus issues, the Munger Graduate Residences project and college athletics at Michigan among other issues at his first fireside chat at the Michigan Union Thursday.
Schlissel hosts first fireside chat in Union
University President discusses diversity, athletics on campus By SHOHAM GEVA Daily Staff Repoter
Though the room didn’t have a fireplace, University President Mark Schlissel held his first fireside chat Thursday afternoon with about 30 students in the
Willis Ward Lounge of the Michigan Union. Fireside chats are discussions with the University president for a group of randomly selected students, a tradition begun by University President Emerita Mary Sue Coleman. During the hour-long event, Schlissel fielded questions from students on a variety of topics, including the Munger Graduate Residences project and North Campus culture, and asked them
questions of his own on topics like athletics. “I’m trying to find ways to reach out and learn about what the student experience is like here, and what I can do to protect the things that are really good, and to fix the things that aren’t quite working right,” he told students at the start of the chat. LSA senior Joseph Jozlin asked Schlissel about the balance between student input and See FIRESIDE, Page 3A
While homegrown food is nothing new to the city of Detroit, a new wave of enthusiasm for urban farming is entic-
ing longtime residents and University students alike to start growing. Detroit, which continues to grapple decades-old issues of blight and vacant lots, has plenty of land prime for farming. Urban farming has become increasingly popular in the last 10 to 20 years, allowing Detroiters to grow the city new roots through agriculture. The farms and gardens are being used to
help the city not only as a food source but also by connecting community members. The trend has garnered both regional and national media attention as the conversation on how to repurpose unoccupied urban properties continues. Although the movement towards agriculture in Detroit is called “urban farming,” many of its participants are technically garSee FARMING, Page 3A
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
CSG unable to fund LEAD Due to legal reasons, scholarships must be funded by alumni By WILL GREENBERG Daily News Editor
The devil is in the details. Originally part of Central Student Government President Bobby Dishell’s campaign platform last spring, the additional funding destined for the LEAD
Scholars program from CSG has been canceled due to legal constraints. LEAD is a scholarship program from the University’s Alumni Association, which provides merit-based scholarships to minorities. Under the 2006 Michigan Civil Rights Initiative — better known as Proposal 2 — the University itself is not allowed to give scholarships as an affirmative action initiative. However, because the Alumni Association is a 501(c)
(3) separate from the University, they have been providing these scholarships themselves to help improve diversity on campus. Dishell, a Public Policy junior, said he originally believed that because CSG is also its own 501(c)(3) that its funds could be given to the LEAD as part of Dishell’s efforts to reach out to underrepresented demographics. However, Dishell learned from the University’s Office of See LEAD, Page 3A
BUTT IS BACK Tight End recovers ahead of schedule, makes timely return for Wolverines
WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 61 LO: 42
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 125 ©2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A SUDOKU.....................2A OPINON......................4A
ARTS........................... 5A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A S P O R T S M O N DAY. . . . . . . . . .1 B