CELEBRATING OUR ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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PIPELINE PROTEST
GOVERNMENT
State groups await ruling on same-sex marriage
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Ann Arbor Resident Sue Brewington speaks to protestors of the Keystone XL Pipeline protest outside of the U.S. Federal Building on Tuesday.
ACADEMICS
By CARLY NOAH
Court: HathiTrust does not violate copyright law Four years later, Authors Guild filing against digital libraries is closed By LINDSEY SCULLEN Daily Staff Reporter
A lawsuit filed by the Authors Guild in the fall of 2011 against five HathiTrust Digital Library
institutions, including the University, formally concluded Jan. 6. According to Mike Furlough, the University’s executive director of HathiTrust, the lawsuit has been formally settled. HathiTrust is a coalition that compiles millions of digitized titles from its 100-plus academic and research library partners and the University is one of its founding members. Its website, hathitrust.org, gives users
around the world the ability to conduct full-text searches of its 13 million volumes. It further preserves works —many of which would otherwise only be available in their print copy forms — by maintaining them online and provides book access to people with certified print disabilities. The original lawsuit cited allegations of copyright infringement against the University and four other HathiTrust contribu-
SCOTUS has yet to announce decision to hear Michigan’s case Daily Staff Reporter
tors — Indiana University, University of Wisconsin, Cornell University and the University of California system. Similarly, the Authors Guild filed an additional lawsuit against Google for its digitization of works. The Authors Guild filed the lawsuit believing that these universities’ digital HathiTrust collections infringed upon copyright laws, citing the fact that See HATHITRUST, Page 4A
The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to announce plans to hear a case challenging Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage and many same-sex marriage advocacy groups across the state are expressing their frustration. While the U.S. Supreme Court has passed on hearing a same-sex marriage case from Louisiana, the court has yet to announce any information about the four cases from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, including the challenge to Michigan’s ban, DeBoer v. Snyder. The U.S. Supreme Court will have two more conference days this month, Jan. 16 and Jan. 23, in which these possible cases will be discussed. Jay Kaplan, project staff attorney for the American Civil Liber-
DETROIT
TECHNOLOGY
Industry execs hail resurgence at Auto Show University alums encourage students to pursue careers with automakers By PAIGE PFLEGER Daily Staff Reporter
The 2015 North American International Auto Show shifted into drive in Detroit on Monday, showcasing driverless cars, fully electric vehicles and an automotive industry beginning to rebound. For several companies — including Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, formerly known as Chrysler — the presence of University alums runs deep. Two former GM chief executive officers, Roger Smith and Frederick Henderson, are University alums, as well as Hal Sperlich, a former president of Chrysler. Inside Cobo Hall on Tuesday,
several employees of FCA emphasized the opportunities in the state’s automotive industry available to University students. Though former University students work for a host of Detroitbased companies involved in the automotive industry, representatives from FCA were most immediately available on the floor of the Auto Show. “Detroit is the birthplace of the automotive industry,” said University alum Erica Crane, a communication lead for FCA at its Jefferson North Assembly Plant. “Being at the Auto Show today, it was clearer than ever to me that it’s going to be a huge part of the city’s future,” Crane added. “I know I want to be a part of that, and U of M students tend to be on the cutting edge of things like technology, engineering, and even the liberal arts. Those skills can all be applied in the automotive industry.” President Barack Obama visited the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant Jan. 6 to laud the auto See AUTO, Page 2A
ties Union of Michigan’s LGBT Rights Project, said he is hopeful that the U.S. Supreme Court will take Michigan’s marriage case to hear on appeal. The Michigan marriage case, along with cases in Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio, is currently up for consideration by the Supreme Court. “Now is the time for the United States Supreme Court to weigh in and to provide finality of the issue of marriage equality for all 50 states,” Kaplan said. “It’s time for the remaining states (like Michigan) which do not permit marriage equality to join the fold and a favorable decision from the Supreme Court can provide both that clarity and finality.” Last spring, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman struck down Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage, a decision which was appealed after the state issued a stay on the ruling. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the lower court’s ruling and upheld the ban in a decision announced by the last November. The three-member panel of See COURT, Page 2A
‘U’ acquires student-run scheduling technology
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Sarah Zearfoss, dean of the University’s Law School, speaks on the issue of race in regards to admission at the Central Student Government meeting in the Michigan Union Tuesday.
CSG agrees to help fund police brutality speakout Past resolution called for event, student activism, dialogue By TANAZ AHMED Daily Staff Reporter
The University’s Central Student Government began its first meeting of the semester
by passing a resolution to fund Wednesday’s Police Brutality Speakout. Sarah Zearfoss, senior assistant dean for admissions at the University’s Law School, also attended the Tuesday night to discuss initiatives to recruit a diverse class of students. Tuesday’s resolution requests $300 from CSG’s Legislative Discretionary account to fund the Police Brutality Speakout, sponsored by CSG,
the Black Student Union and Students of Color of Rackham. The money will fund room rental, audio-visual equipment and refreshments. Last semester, CSG passed a resolution calling for a conversation on campus safety and police brutality. Wednesday’s Police Brutality Speakout is a product of that resolution. CSG’s initiatives were in response to events in Ferguson, See CSG, Page 2A
What was once Buzzn, a mobile application, will be phased into CTools By NABEEL CHOLLAMPAT Daily Staff Reporter
The University has acquired Buzzn, a social networking application created by LSA senior Aashay Kumar and University alum Zakir Tyebjee, who graduated in 2014. The application allows students to upload their course and extracurricular schedules to find shared free time to meet up with friends. Kumar said they created the app for exclusive use by University students. “There’s obviously Facebook, but it wasn’t as exclusive to Michigan as we wanted it to be,” he said. “You couldn’t know your class schedule. We wanted to create something that would allow See TECH, Page 2A
» INSIDE
the statement A look at how ‘U’ social sciences contribute to national security
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 45 ©2015 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION..................... 3A SPORTS......................6A
SUDOKU.....................2A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A T H E S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . 1 B