ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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HEALTH
CAPS adds after-hours call line for counseling CLAIRE ABDO/Daily
Ann Arbor resident Lloyd E. Shelton, left, founder and president of the Students with Disabilities and our Allies group, speaks about the difficulties he has had getting around during the winter at the Ann Arbor City Council meeting at Larcom City Hall on Monday.
Council votes on changes to snow removal ordinance Residents with disabilities say changes don’t go far enough By ISOBEL FUTTER Daily Staff Reporter
Despite recommendations from the Pedestrian Safety and Access Task Force, the Ann Arbor
City Council voted Monday to retain current regulations stipulating the amount of snow allowed to build up on sidewalks — currently set at one inch. The council did vote to give only one warning per season before issuing a citation for failure to remove snow. Previously, residents were given a warning per snow event. Language will also be eliminated that provided “police discretion” in issuing snow removal citations.
Furthermore, while previously residents had 24 hours to remove snow from sidewalks, there will be an 18-hour period before residents are issued a warning or citation. The council heard the task force’s recommendations during a work session on Sept. 14. After the task force released an extensive study on pedestrian safety in the city, the authors led the council through the report and outlined potential
amendments to current ordinances designed to make Ann Arbor a safer city for pedestrians. The ordinance regarding snow and ice removal was a particular focus for the task force. In addition to altering the policy dictating citations, the changes also clarify that property owners are responsible for clearing snow and ice from bus stop and crosswalk approaches. See CITY COUNCIL, Page 3
Service to connect students with licensed psychologist over the phone By KATIE PENROD Daily Staff Reporter
As of Monday night, conversations about mental health are now constantly accessible beyond the traditional hours offered by Counseling and Psychological Services. Partnering with a company called ProtoCall, CAPS will now give students the option to call a mental health hotline after its office in the Michigan Union closes at 7 p.m. The hotline will be open whenever CAPS is not — including weekends and school holidays. The phone number will be the same number as the CAPS main line and will connect the caller to a ProtoCall licensed psychologist. According to CAPS director Todd Sevig the idea for the
ACADEMICS
CAMPUS LIFE
University allocates $5 million for humanities
edX set to host several online, open ‘U’ classes Expansion builds on University’s past experience with Coursera By GENEVIEVE HUMMER Daily Staff Reporter
The University is delving deeper into the age of digital learning with the launch of at least 20 new courses on edX, a nonprofit massive open online course provider, over the next two years. Finance, learning analytics and data science ethics will be the topics of three of the first courses. In a press release, University Provost Martha Pollack said Monday the announcement is evidence of the University’s commitment to digital education. “Michigan is redefining public residential education for the 21st century,” she wrote. “With this new partnership we are accelerating our experimentation in digital learning and reaffirming our commitment to leadership in learning analytics. It’s wonderful to see the growth of faculty-led initiatives that provide new modes of learning and rich opportunity for cutting edge scholarship.” EdX’s chief executive officer, Anant Agarwal, expressed similar excitement about the University’s decision to partner with the organization during a recent visit to campus. “We are honored to welcome
WEATHER TOMORROW
program has been in the works for a few years. He said though the University hospital provides a psychiatric emergency room at all hours, this service could help struggling students who don’t feel they need to rush to the hospital. “Maybe it’s not quite an emergency but it would be really helpful to talk with a counselor at that moment,” he said. “That’s the inspiration. As I’ve asked students these last two or three years, across the board, everybody has said that would be really helpful.” Sevig said the purpose of the hotline is to provide a resource for students every moment CAPS is not open. The phone line will not be available when CAPS is open, he said, because students can access the in-person services at those times. LSA senior Allie Williams, a member of CAPS Student Advisory Board, said ProtoCall has a presence on more than 100 college campuses and has helped more than 2 million students See CAPS, Page 2
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the University of Michigan to edX,” Agarwal said, according to a release. “As one of the most prestigious public research institutions in the U.S., and a pioneer in digital learning and learning analytics, Michigan will be an important collaborator with edX both in technology and research contributions. We are delighted to now offer Michigan’s highly engaging MOOCs, in a wide variety of subject areas, to our 5 million edX learners around the world.” EdX was founded in 2012 by scientists at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The nonprofit’s courses are free and available to anyone that has Internet access. This is not the University’s first brush with digital education. In 2012, the University — along with the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, Princeton University and two Stanford computer science professors — co-founded Coursera, a for-profit company that offers massive open online courses. The University’s partnership with Coursera will continue. James Hilton, the vice provost for digital education initiatives, said edX and Coursera will complement each other well. “EdX and Coursera provide very different models with different sweet spots for experimentation,” he said in a release. “We are thrilled that our faculty will be able to take advantage of both platforms to push the boundaries of See EDX, Page 3
New initiative aims to encourage collaboration across departments By JACKIE CHARNIGA Daily Staff Reporter
HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily
SACUA chair Silke-Maria Weineck, a professor of comparative literature, discusses the preparation for the March Faculty Governance Conference in the Fleming Building on Monday.
SACUA expresses ongoing concerns with course data Faculty body also talks University decision to release only base salaries By GENEVIEVE HUMMER Daily Staff Reporter
Faculty concern over the release of course evaluation data continues to grow. After last week’s meeting, the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs received an e-mail invitation from University Provost Martha Pollack to appoint a member to a task force being formed to evaluate the possibility of
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releasing the data. Members of student government have also been invited to appoint a member. “It’s important that both students and faculty have a strong voice on this task force and are not just decorative items,” SACUA Chair SilkeMaria Weineck, a professor of comparative literature, said in an interview following the meeting Monday. At last week’s meeting, SACUA members were surprised to learn from James Holloway, the vice provost for Global and Engaged Education, that the University was planning to release course evaluation data as soon as this semester.
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Biology Prof. John Lehman, a SACUA member, suggested constructing a second committee comprised solely of students, faculty and survey experts. Lehman said the student government representatives he has spoken to are receptive to faculty concerns, and are willing to create new evaluation questions that better suit faculty and student needs. “There are no students who feel as passionately about the need for those particular questions to be public as to the degree of passion that was expressed by some faculty against it, and that’s widely recognized, that’s so See SACUA, Page 3
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The University is allocating more than $5 million to fund a new initiative in the humanities. The funding will provide University faculty members working in the humanities additional opportunities to collaborate across University departments, the Office of the Provost announced last week. The Michigan Humanities collaboration aims to create new research opportunities by funding projects that will gather resources from different departments. Projects will pull largely from the study of human culture and thought, including language, literature, philosophy, history and the arts. Teams of faculty researchers — led by faculty in the humanities — will partner with librarians, undergraduates, graduate and postdoctoral fellows to develop new models of research with the hope of publishing across multiple types of media. Peggy McCracken, a professor of French, women’s studies and comparative literature, is acting as the collaboratory coordinator. “I knew that the project had been proposed, and now that the funding has come through we’re See HUMANITIES, Page 3
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