ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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TA I L G AT E T U E S D AY S
CRIME
‘U’ reviews emergency procedures after alert LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Microbiology lab technician Constance Bahr and Medical School student Matt Foley participate in one of the games offered at the MHealthy Tailgate Tuesday on Ingalls Mall.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Resolution protests police violence in Ferguson, Mo. Proposal also looks at police brutality on college campuses By TANAZ AHMED Daily Staff Reporter
At its weekly meeting Tuesday, Central Student Government introduced a resolution
to stand in solidarity with the people of Ferguson, Mo. against police brutality. The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson on Aug. 9 has sparked widespread controversy and continued national coverage. Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson police officer, shot and killed Brown, a Black teenager who was allegedly unarmed. In the weeks following the shooting,
Ferguson residents protested racist and violent police actions. The proposal, penned by Rackham student Rae Scevers, a Rackham Graduate School representative, noted other examples of police brutality to illustrate the prevalence of violent police procedures. “The killing of Michael Brown came less than a month after the brutal New York Police killings
by chokehold of an older Black man, Eric Garner and just a week after Los Angeles police beat to death for 10 minutes 37-year-old Latino parent Omar Abrego,” the resolution read. The legislation also discussed the impact of police brutality on college campuses across the country. It noted an incident at the University of California, See FERGUSON, Page 3A
Following false alarm last week, professors evalute preparedness By MAX RADWIN Daily Staff Reporter
Though last Wednesday’s emergency alert notifying students that someone was armed in the Chemistry Building turned out to be a false alarm, the event raised questions regarding the University’s preparedness for situations in which the lives of students, faculty and staff are in danger. Some professors felt that they were adequately prepared for the situation Wednesday and for similar emergencies that might occur in the future. But others had reservations. Scott Campbell, the Constance F. and Arnold C. Pohs professor of telecommunications and an asso-
ciate professor of communication studies, said faculty approach the possibility of a gunman or similar threats with preventative measures, not combative ones. When he was in his office before class Wednesday and received a message about the situation in the Chemistry Building, Campbell said all he could do was pay closer attention to his e-mail to get further instruction from campus security, and to respond to queries from his students about whether there would be class. The reported gunman turned out to be a Navy ROTC student in street clothes who was transporting a rubber model of a practice gun out of its case, which is against protocol. But if Campbell had been teaching a class when a shooter or similar threat presented itself, he said he wasn’t sure what he would do. “We haven’t really had specific sessions or workshops where we get together for specific training See EMERGENCY, Page 3A
ANN ARBOR
ACADEMICS
Schlissel talks town-gown partnership
Global survey places ‘U’ as top public institution
University President aims to have open communication with city’s leaders By EMMA KERR Daily Staff Reporter
As University President Mark Schlissel settles in on campus and in Ann Arbor, he brings with him a new perspective on how the University should interact with the city. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Schlissel said he views Ann Arbor as an asset and an ideal location for the University. But he is also aware of the tension that has existed in past years between the city and the school, aggravated by the University’s land purchases, which results in a loss of property taxes for the city. He said he hopes to see future town-gown interactions characterized by “transparency and open communication” to prevent the deterioration of the relation-
ship between Ann Arbor and the University. “There is a friction but I think some of it is more misunderstanding than friction,” Schlissel said. “We’re not here to be predatory land owners; we have tons of land.” The University owns an estimated 1,719.2 acres of property within the city limits of Ann Arbor, which has a total of 18,272.6 acres according to the city’s environmental coordinator. This estimate does not include the University’s recent purchase of the Edwards Brothers property, but does include property owned by the University for water. While the University currently owns approximately 9.4 percent of Ann Arbor land, Schlissel said he does not expect any large land purchases in the near future. “The University is in a great position because we already have tons of land, and I don’t think we really have to acquire significant amounts of land to do all of the growth that we can afford for quite some time,” he said. See TOWN-GOWN, Page 3A
QS World Rankings ranked Michigan 23rd among all universities By STEPHANIE SHENOUDA Daily News Editor LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
State Rep. Adam Zemke (D-Ann Arbor) speaks during the Washtenaw County Medical Society Forum at the Ann Arbor City Club Tuesday.
County Medical Society hosts hopeful politicians State and national candidates present campaign platforms By STEPHANIE DILWORTH Daily Staff Reporter
The Washtenaw County Medical Society hosted an all-candidate forum Tuesday
night at the Ann Arbor City Club featuring individuals running for state and national level political seats in the upcoming November election. Each candidate gave a presentation followed by an audience Q&A, moderated by Dr. Jim Mitchiner, an emergency physician at St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Hospital. He is also a member of the WCMS Executive Council and chair
of its legislative committee. Candidates for the State House, State Senate and U.S. Congress attended the event, including State Reps. Gretchen Driskell (D–Saline), Jeff Irwin (D–Ann Arbor) and Adam Zemke (D–Ann Arbor), State Senate candidate John Hochstetler (R), State Sen. Rebekah Warren (D–Ann Arbor), and U.S. congressioSee POLITICIANS, Page 3A
The University maintained its title as the top U.S. public university as determined by the QS World Rankings.. The same list ranked the University as 23rd among all higher education institutions, moving down one spot from last year. Since 2004, the QS World Rankings have evaluated universities around the world on the basis of academic reputation, employer reputation, student to faculty ratio, citations per faculty and the proportion of international faculty and students. The University was among 14 other U.S. institutions — most of them private schools — to crack the top 30. The QS rankings come just one week after the University ranked 29th in this year’s U.S. News and World Reportsurvey of the nation’s top colleges, falling one spot since the 2014rankings. By their estimaSee SURVEY, Page 3A
Michigan in Space The Statement Magazine explores space research at the University.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 138 ©2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A SUDOKU.....................2A OPINION.....................4A
ARTS........................... 5A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 B