ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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CAMPUS CONTEXT
One year in, Schlissel says diversity plan moves ahead
RITA MORRIS/Daily
First-year Law student Shirin Makhkamova sets out candles over the block ‘M’ on the Diag to honor lives lost and in peril in the Syrian refugee crisis on Tuesday.
Student groups organize vigil for Syrian refugees Speakers focus on humanizing those affected by the crisis By TANYA MADHANI Daily Staff Reporter
University students and Ann Arbor residents gathered on the Diag on Tuesday at a vigil for
Syrian refugees. The University’s Muslim Graduate Students Association and Muslim Law Students Association held the vigil to honor Syrian refugees who lost their lives and those who are still struggling to reach a safety. The flood of Syrian refugees into Europe has sparked debate in recent weeks as world leaders struggle with how to handle the influx of people fleeing unrest in their home country.
Third-year law student Omar El-Halwagi, co-president of MLSA, said he and the president of MGSA decided to hold the vigil to call attention to issues impacting Muslims globally. “There is no greater human rights crisis right now than the Syrian refugee (crisis) and we’re all watching it unfold,” El-Halwagi said. “We’ve been watching it unfold for years. We finally felt there was enough momentum to get something
By TANYA MADHANI Daily Staff Reporter
In the fall of 1993, then-LSA freshman Dimitri Nakassis was flipping through a course pack to decide which classes he wanted to take when he stumbled upon two courses that piqued his interest: Introduction to Field Archeology, and Intro to Greek Art and Architecture. Twenty-two years later, Nakassis’ research on Mycenaean Greek society — which represents the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece — and the relationship between its nobility and working class earned him the 2015 MacArthur Fellowship. He is one of 24 individuals to receive the fellowship, a stipend of $625,000 that is often referred to as the “genius grant.” This year’s
Daily Staff Reporter
University President Mark Schlissel and his administration have spent the last academic year working to roll out new policy initiatives regarding several campus issues — most notably athletics, diversity, alcohol abuse and Greek life. This week, The Michigan Daily reviews the events that got the ball rolling. Today, we consider Schlissel’s work to address campus diversity, namely through the gradual unveiling of his administration’s strategic campus plan to be released by the
SPIDE R-WOMAN
‘U’ alum given MacArthur for research about ancient Greece winners also include Atlantic correspondent Ta Nehisi-Coates and playwright and actor Lin Manuel Miranda. “It’s part of a bigger project of trying to understand Mycenae society, not just by looking at the people in the palace and not just looking at the palace, but also by looking at what’s happening outside the palace,” he said. “So, if you wanted to understand Ann Arbor, you couldn’t just look at the University campus, right?” Much of Nakassis’s study is dedicated to researching ancient Greek linear tablets, which are scripts that recorded the earliest form of the Greek language. The tablets are administrative palatial documents that note the events at the palace and the individuals present. “Like a lot of students, I wasn’t really sure what to major in,” Nakassis said. “Initially my plan was to double major or have a double concentration in history or economics. I was in my room at Markley and I was See GENIUS, Page 3A
By EMMA KINERY
done.” El-Halwagi said he hopes students become better informed on the issue so that it will be more likely they will take action in the future. “We have the next generation of leaders attending this school and they need to be able to be aware of what’s going on,” he said. “I also think college campuses are really ripe for activism and advocacy. By being able to put on See VIGIL, Page 3A
ACADEMICS
Dimitri Nakassis wins $650,000 to pursue study focused on classics
President slated to roll out strategic initiative on inclusion by spring 2016
end of this year. The overview: Diversity has long been a battle-tested issue at the University. Currently, minority enrollment lies at 11.53 percent — and in recent years, students have continually lobbied the University to make the campus more welcoming to minority students, both in terms of social climate and admissions. The changes: University President Mark Schlissel has worked to address the school’s apparent lack of diversity by introducing a campus-wide strategic plan, which he will unveil at the end of this school year (also the end of his second year in office). Most recently, this has included launching the HAIL Scholarship, which offers full-ride tuition for highachieving, low-income students. Initiatives through the Office of Student Life have also sought to heavily incorporate students in catalyzing culture shift at the See SCHLISSEL, Page 3A
HIGHER EDUCATION
Coleman appointed next AAU president President emerita to lead association of 62 research universities By SAM GRINGLAS Managing News Editor
EMILIE FARRUGIA/Daily
LSA senior Aubrey O’Neal scales the side of the School of Dentistry during Michigan Parkour practice on Tuesday.
RESEARCH
Small interventions shown to decrease youth drinking Study says emergency room talks could change risky behavior By LYDIA MURRAY For the Daily
The results of a recently released five-year trial from the University of Michigan Injury
Center discovered that short interventions by hospital staff or computer programs correlated with decreases in underage alcohol consumption. Patients ages 14-20 admitted to the emergency department were asked to report on their drinking behaviors, and researchers evaluated whether or not their behaviors were considered risky. Those whom researchers found to be “risky drinkers”
were then randomly assigned to receive a short intervention by means of a therapist or a computer program. Associate Psychiatry Prof. Maureen Walton, one of the study’s lead authors, outlined the research metrics: “We asked them three questions about how many drinks per week they have and how many days per week that they drink, See EMERGENCY, Page 3A
University President Emerita Mary Sue Coleman has been named president of the Association of American Universities. The appointment is effective June 1. Coleman succeeds Hunter Rawlings III, who led the organization since 2011 and announced his plans to retire from the post in May. “Hunter Rawlings has done an exceptional job as AAU president in advancing our collective impact as research institutions,” Coleman wrote in a statement. “I am eager to continue the work of elevating the American research university as essential to our nation’s prosperity, security, and well-being.” See COLEMAN, Page 3A
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A look at the Greek life crisis WEATHER TOMORROW
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INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 1 ©2015 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A ARTS...................5A
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A T H E S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . .1 B