CELEBRATING OUR ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Thursday, November 13, 2014
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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SKETCHY SUBJECTS
CAMPUS LIFE
MSU prof. presents UHS health survey data RITA MORRIS/Daily
Teresa Huang draws a turkey vulture on display in the Natural History Museum for an Ann Arbor Arts Center class Wednesday afternoon.
National College Health Assesment provides data on wellness of students By MAYA SHANKAR Daily Staff Reporter
GOVERNMENT
Ban on benefits for samesex partners overturned Decision rules law as unconstitutional in the state By CLAIRE BRYAN Daily Staff Reporte
Detroit Judge David Lawson has overturned the ban on samesex partner benefits from schools and local governments.
The AP reported Wednesday that Judge Lawson ruled the Michigan law unconstitutional coming after he issued an injunction against the law in July of last year. The law, signed by Governor Snyder in 2011, mandated that public employers cannot give medical and other fringe benefits to partners of employees unless the partner is married or legally dependent on that person.
Jay Kaplan, an attorney at American Civil Liberties Union Michigan, said the law was a unique one. “This law is the only law like this in the country,” Kaplan said. “Michigan is the only state where they passed a law like this.” The law stated that a “‘public employee’ means a person holding a position by appointment or employment in the government of this state; in the government
of one or more of the political subdivisions of this state; in the public school service.” The preliminary injunction issued in 2013 prevented the enforcement of the law until a final decision was made, Kaplan said. “What happened today was the judge issued a final judgment on this case saying he is determined that this law is unconstiSee BAN, Page 4A
Larry Hembroff, Ph.D., former director for the office of Survey Research in the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University, spoke at University Health Service on Wednesday to discuss the results of the 2014 National College Health Assessment. The NCHA is a nationally recognized survey from the American College Health Association that is designed to “provide a snapshot of behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs of students with regard to health and wellness,” Hembroff said. The survey also provides the University with information to assess how far along they are to achieving the Healthy Campus 2020 goals — a collection of wellness standards for university health systems paralleling the federal program,
Healthy People 2020. The University conducted the survey in 2006 and 2010 as well, but the most recent survey, conducted February 2014, included graduate students for the first time. Hembroff discussed the top three reported academic impediments among both undergraduate and graduate students. The report stated that the top three reported impediments are stress, anxiety and sleep difficulties. Alcohol use did not make the top 10 list for either graduate or undergraduate students. Hembroff said it’s a common misconception that alcohol and drug use are major barriers to academic success. The percentage of students who report being diagnosed for anxiety or depression has increased slightly from 2010, and there are higher reports of students feeling lonely and anxious, especially among undergraduate students. When students were asked which were the most “traumatic or very difficult to handle” situations they have had to face, 53 percent of undergrads responded that it was their academics. “You have to remember, you See UHS, Page 4A
FOOTBALL
CAMPUS LIFE
Hoke : ‘M’ is an ‘academic university’
Rival schools use different approach to student gov.
Bye week a chance to rest and recover for injured players By ALEXA DETTLEBACH Daily Sports Editor
No one has explicitly said it, but it’s clear the bye week couldn’t come at a better time for the Michigan football team. The Wolverines, winners of two straight and one win away from a postseason bid, are dinged up and in need of a Saturday away from football. Big names like fifth-year senior quarterback Devin Gardner and junior wide receiver Devin Funchess have been playing through injuries for much of the season, while junior wide receiver Dennis Norfleet and freshman defensive tackle Maurice Hurst Jr. were new additions to last week’s injury list. Gardner’s lingering injury, tracing back to the Penn State game, has made him hesitant
to take chances with his feet — something that made him dangerous when he was healthy. Funchess’ toe injury inhibited the burst he flashed early in the season as Michigan’s top playmaker. Recently, he’s had trouble with dropped passes, something a few days off could help fix mentally. “Bye week gives (us) a chance to rest some guys,” said Michigan coach Brady Hoke. “The health of Devin Gardner keeps improving (and), with all those guys who’ve played a lot, there’s a lot of guys playing beat up a little bit and that’s just the way it is in football.” Following the bye, Norfleet should return to the field, according to Hoke. Last week, he didn’t travel with the team to Evanston. HOKE RESPONDS: Michigan athletics was in the news again, and it wasn’t for its on-field performance. This time, it was because of comments made by the UniverSee HOKE, Page 4A
ABIGAIL KIRN/Daily
Mike Furlough, HathiTrust’s executive director, presents at the HathiTrust conference in the Rackham Auditorium Wednesday afternoon.
HathiTrust series explores benefits of print digitization Nine-day program discusses use of online collections By CARLY NOAH Daily Staff Reporter
When the University entered into contract with Google to digitize its library 10 years ago, librarians ran into the problem of how to preserve the large vol-
umes of digital books. Thus, the HathiTrust was formed, a partnership of the University and nearly 100 other institutions that works to share and collect large quantities of digitized works. On Wednesday afternoon, a gathering of approximately 40 prominent faculty, including former University Provost Paul Courant, librarians from South Africa and African Studies, English, History and Anthropology scholars from the University
had discussed the implications of digitization and the organization of libraries internationally. As part of a nine-day program titled “African Studies in the Digital Age,” Wednesday’s installment in the series was divided into three sections evaluating the benefits of digitizing print documents. HathiTrust is, in the simplest sense, a digital collection of books available to the general See HATHITRUST, Page 4A
the food b-side
Student leaders across the Big 10 voice variety of interest areas By ALYSSA BRANDON Daily Staff Reporter
Over the past year, students have been making their voices heard on campus, and the University community has started to evaluate the role Central Student Government plays in working on causes of varying sizes. So far this year, students have been vocal about the football student ticket policy and pricing, the controversy surrounding former Athletic Director Dave Brandon and the University’s sexual assault prevention measures and policies. Students have also brought national issues to campus, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the situation in Ferguson, Mo. Last week, the assembly passed See CSG, Page 4A
A look at how, why and where ‘U’ students get their local grub blah blah
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 26 ©2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A SUDOKU.....................2A OPINION.....................4A
SPORTS....................... 5A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A B-SIDE ....................1B