CELEBRATING OUR ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Thursday, October 23, 2014
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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CAMPUS LIFE
Protection of Diag ‘M’ falls flat Delay of annual Theta Xi ‘guard’ event made MSU vandalism possible By MICHAEL SUGERMAN Daily Staff Reporter RITA MORRIS/Daily
LSA sophomore Lindsey Richmond lights a candle during the candlelight vigil held by the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center on the Diag Wednesday. The vigil was held in honor of victims of intimate partner violence.
SAPAC holds candlelight vigil for violence survivors Ceremony honors those affected by partner abuse By TOM MCBRIEN Daily Staff Reporter
Editor’s note: This article contains descriptions of intimate partner violence that may be disturbing to some readers. Students can contact the Sexual Assault
Prevention and Awareness Center at (734) 764-7771 or visit its offices in North Quad. SAPAC also has a 24-hour crisis line at (734) 936-3333. While frequent campus crime alerts warn of aggressive sexual assaults by strangers, the issue of intimate partner violence is common and not as easy to see, though its effects can be just as damaging. Wednesday night, the Sexual
Assault Prevention and Awareness Center held a vigil on the Diag for those who have died as a result of intimate partner violence. About 25 people attended the vigil, listening to stories about sexual assault, lighting candles, reading a card mural made by allies and survivors of intimate partner violence, and participating in a minute of silence in honor of those who have died. SAPAC, SafeHouse Center and the School of Social
FERGUSON IN CONTEXT
GLOBAL HEALTH
Panel looks at international Ebola efforts Public health systems, religious rites considered in expert discussion By PARISHA NOVA For the Daily
The International Institute hosted a roundtable Wednesday exploring the multifaceted impacts of the deadly Ebola virus that has led to the deaths of more than 4,500 people across several West African countries in recent months. The panelists discussed the causes and consequences of the epidemic from both a local and global perspective. A. Oveta Fuller, associate professor of microbiology and immunology and associate director of the African Studies Center, delivered an introduction that touched on the nature of the virus, its usual symptoms and the need for better nutrition and health care infrastructure, not only in the countries affected by
the Ebola virus outbreak, but also in countries worldwide. “This Ebola outbreak is not the only time that we have to work together to coordinate health care and that we can’t wait to work until there are epidemics or crises like these,” she said. “We have to work in times when there are not, to have students prepared, people trained across disciplines and infrastructure prepared.” The panelists, who also included Gesslar Murray, a geology instructor at the University of Liberia and Renee Gerring, a laboratory supervisor also at the University of Liberia, discussed the daily effects of the outbreak in Monrovia. “Ebola consumes your body,” Gerring said. “It takes control over your life, your movements. People are constantly in fear. People become threats.” Gerring said people in affected areas experience daily anxieties from the threats posed by simple interactions such as handshakes and hugs. An abnormal life See EBOLA, Page 6A
Work’s New Visions organization co-hosted the vigil. LSA junior Anna ForringerBeal and LSA senior Katelyn Maddock, co-coordinators for the networking, publicity and activism program at SAPAC, said the vigil was meant to raise awareness of the realities of intimate partner violence and to express support for survivors. “It’s hard to think about intimate partner violence hapSee SAPAC, Page 6A
For the last 14 years, the Theta Xi fraternity has taken to Central Campus during the week before the Michigan State football game to protect the sacred ‘M’ at the center of the Diag from potential East Lansing vandals. Early Wednesday morning, the ‘M’ was painted green, and the 15th “Defend the Diag” effort was stymied before it had even begun. The letters “S” and “U” were spray-painted in white alongside the ‘M’ for full effect. The block ‘M’ on Michigan’s campus has been painted green. pic.twitter.com/lGFvnXeVbv— Alejandro Zúñiga (@ByAZuniga) October 22, 2014 Theta Xi’s “Defend the Diag” initiative is currently scheduled to start Thursday at 11 p.m. and conclude Saturday at 8 a.m. Diane Brown, spokeswoman for the Division of Public Safety and Security, said she was sur-
prised that the fraternity was not guarding the Diag earlier, as the event has occurred annually since she began working at the University. She said defacing the ‘M’ constitutes malicious destruction of property, which would qualify in this case as a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and up to a $500 fine. As to why the Theta Xi campout was slated to start so late in the week, rumors abound about the reason for the delay. University alum Tyler Bernstein, a former Theta Xi brother, wrote in a Facebook comment that a “political rally” — possibly in reference to the candlelight vigil protesting domestic violence held Wednesday night — conflicted with “Defend the Diag.” As a result, Bernstein wrote, the fraternity wasn’t able to set up shop until Thursday night. Current members and leaders of the Theta Xi fraternity did not respond to requests for comment on the alleged issue. University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald wrote in an e-mail interview that the administration did not have involvement in coordinating Theta Xi’s “Defend the Diag” event. See DIAG, Page 6A
ELECTIONS 2014
Terri Lynn Land focuses campaign on family issues Against Peters, Republican candidate highlights pay equality ABIGAIL KIRN/Daily
LSA senior Austin McCoy offers a historical context of the shooting and protests in Ferguson, Mo. McCoy helped in leading the “Discussion on Ferguson” in Tisch Hall Wednesday.
GOVERNMENT
Snyder’s ‘tuition restraint’ contains cost of attendance Initiative incentivizes state universities to slow fee increases By BEN ATLAS Daily Staff Reporter
When Republican Gov. Rick Snyder cut the state’s higher education budget by 15 percent
in 2011, he also reintroduced a mechanism to incentivize state universities to limit the size of their annual tuition increases. This effective cap on tuition hikes, known as “tuition restraint,” makes the state’s provision of performance funding conditional upon a university certifying it will not raise its tuition above a certain threshold.
The state capped tuition increases at 3.75 percent for the current school year in last year’s state budget, and the current budget will lower the cap to 3.2 percent for tuition next year. This stricter threshold, however, is being met with a 6.1-percent increase in state appropriations, marking the third straight year of budget See TUITION, Page 6A
By AMRUTHA SIVAKUMAR Daily Staff Reporter
As the 2014 U.S. Senate elections come around the corner, Republican candidate Terri Lynn Land will challenge U.S. Rep. Gary Peters (D) in the race for the retiring Democratic Sen. Carl Levin’s seat. Originally from Grand Rapids, Land was elected as Kent County Clerk in 1992. Though she did not win her election for Michigan State Board of Education in 2000, Land was elected as Michigan’s 41st Secretary of State in 2002 and served in the position for two consecutive terms — the maximum allowed in Michigan. During her tenure, Land was recognized for optimizing queuing times at election polling locations and improving online service options. See LAND, Page 6A
» INSIDE
the b-side A look at the Computer and Video Game Archive at the ‘U’
WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 60 LO: 40
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INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 16 ©2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A SUDOKU.....................2A OPINION.....................4A
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A B-SIDE ....................1B