CELEBRATING OUR ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
BREAK IN REVIEW
HEALTH
Regulators relax blood donation restrictions Blood Battle chair says changes are a step in the right direction
By NABEEL CHOLLAMPAT ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Since The Michigan Daily’s last print edition, demonstrators held a “die-in” outside Winter Commencement and students organized a vigil for Pakistani students killed by the Taliban. Read those stories and others on page 5A.
GOVERNMENT
Governor to focus on jobs, roads during second term In new year, state to consider education funding, LGBTQ proposal By ALLANA AKHTAR Daily Staff Reporter
Last week, Republican Gov. Rick Snyder was sworn in for another four years as Michi-
gan’s chief executive. During his inaugural address, Snyder expressed enthusiasm about his first term and optimism for his second. “We were a broken state,” he said. “We are a comeback state now, a state that is growing and thriving.” Snyder called his efforts to improve the state’s economy and bring Detroit out of bankruptcy as significant accomplishments during his first term as gover-
nor. However, he said there is more to accomplish in his second term. As discussed in his speech, here are five things to keep track of during the governor’s second term. Road improvements The Snyder Administration’s main focus is to develop a plan to increase funds for Michigan’s roads and infrastructure. Last month, the state legis-
Council passes zoning change for Main St. lot By EMMA KERR Daily News Editor
The Ann Arbor City Council unanimously voted Monday to regulate future building construction on the corner of Main Street and William Street, changing the zoning of the property from D1, core downtown area, to D2, or downtown interface area. Because there were previously no lots zoned as D2 within the Main Street character district, which provides additional regulations for buildings in that area, a new rule was also created that
limits the heights of buildings to 60 feet on the south side and 120 feet on the north side when they are both in the Main Street character district and zoned D2. Property owners and investors, not the local government, determine the types, designs and quality of buildings built in downtown Ann Arbor. Residents of Ann Arbor, however, took to City Council Monday night to voice opinions for and against proposed regulations for the property at Main Street and William Street. The property is currently owned by DTE Energy, though there are no plans for construction on the site at this time. Councilmember Jane Lumm (I–Ward 2) said she hopes this preventative measure, which came out of a two-year-long process of reviewing downtown zonSee ZONING, Page 3A
After a ban that lasted more than 30 years, gay and bisexual men will soon be able to donate blood. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recommended a change to the blood donor deferral period for men who have sex with men, or MSM. Previously, MSM were indefinitely barred from donating blood. Now, they are only prohibited from doing so within one year of their last sexual contact with a male. The American Association of Blood Banks, America’s Blood Centers and the American Red Cross issued a joint statement on Dec. 23 endorsing the proposal which stated the “current lifetime deferral is unwarranted.” This is largely due to the effectiveness with which donated blood is now tested for diseases. Under current policy, all blood donations are tested for many infectious diseases, including HIV, Hepatitis B and C and
P H O T O S TA F F O N H O L I D AY
ANN ARBOR
Regulation to restrict building heights for some downtown properties
lature approved a ballot initiative to pump an estimated $1.3 billion into transportation by increasing the state sales tax and removing the sales tax on motor fuel. The proposal will be on the May 2015 ballot. Of the $1.3 billion, $1.2 billion will be allotted to renovating roads, and $112 million will go toward public transit. The bill passed through the State House and Senate with See SNYDER, Page 3A
Daily Staff Reporter
ACADEMICS
Course to foster dialogue on U.S. health care system By IAN DILLINGHAM Magazine Editor
Imagine using “House of Cards” as your political science education.
Members of the School of Public Health are launching a course this semester that they hope will engage students in a unique dialogue about the U.S. health care system based, in part, on lessons from the entertainment industry. Firstyear medical and dental students will be required to take the course. The six-week online class beginning Jan. 12, titled “Understanding and Improv-
ing U.S. Healthcare,” is the brainchild of Matthew Davis, professor of public policy, pediatric and communicable diseases and internal medicine, and Public Health graduate student Michael Rubyan, the course producer. Students from any department on campus — as well as those at the University’s Flint and Dearborn campuses — are able to enroll in the course, See COURSE, Page 3A
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
By TANYA MADHANI Daily Staff Reporter
Last month Elim Chan, a Music, Theatre & Dance graduate student, became the first female winner of the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition, a competition sponsored by the Prince of Wales to introduce young conductors to the professional stage. Initially competing against 225 other conductors, Chan and 19 other students were selected to fly to London and compete in the final three rounds with the London Symphony Orchestra. “Looking back it still feels kind of surreal,” Chan said. “For a long See AWARD, Page 3A
In the end, Jim Harbaugh got the job he always wanted. » INSIDE
» INSIDE
GOT A NEWS TIP?
Prince Charles presents symphony conducting award
SportsWednesday
The Bonderman Fellowship: a chance to travel the world.
HI: 9 LO: 1
Rackham student wins elite music competition
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
The Statement
WEATHER TOMORROW
CAMPUS LIFE
My father, brother, and I crawled under a barbed wire fence to sneak a peek at a secret beach in Kaupo, an isolated part of the Island of Maui in Hawaii.
Online platform opens class for Flint, Dearborn students
Syphilis. LSA senior Samantha Rea, chair of the University’s Blood Battle, said the recommendation for change is encouraging, but still not enough due to the persisting regulation on MSM to wait a year after male sexual contact to donate. The Blood Battle is an annual event held by Blood Drives United, a University student organization. Last year, BDU started an initiative called Bleeding for Equality to raise awareness about the FDA’s blood donation policy pertaining to MSM. “It’s a step in the right direction, and it’s exciting that they have considered changing the policy,” Rea said. “We still don’t think it’s enough because it still discriminates based on sexual orientation.” The FDA enacted the ban on homosexual males and bisexual blood donors in 1983 as an early response to the AIDS epidemic. According to the Center for Disease Control, MSM are more affected by HIV than any other group in the United States. At the end of 2011, 57 percent of persons living with HIV in the United States were gay or bisexual men. According to a December article in The New York Times, blood can now be better tested See BLOOD, Page 3A
NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM Top of the Park to change location this summer MICHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS
INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 41 ©2015 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A
CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A T H E S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . 1 B S P O R T S W E D N E S DAY. . .1 C