ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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GOVERNMENT
Michigan bill seeks to remove book taxes SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Protestors demonstrate their frustrations with Gov. Rick Snyder (R) and their demands for his recall in a march from Hutchins Hall to the Diag on Tuesday.
Crowd fills Diag in protest to recall Governor Snyder Demonstrators connect Flint water crisis to Black Lives Matter movement By RIYAH BASHA and CAITLIN REEDY Daily Staff Reporters
Nearly 100 protesters gathered outside Hutchins Hall and marched to the Diag on Tuesday
afternoon, pushing for a recall of Gov. Rick Snyder (R) in light of the Flint water crisis. The protesters marched across campus shouting multiple chants including “Flint Lives Matter” and “Black Lives Matter.” A coalition of organizations including the Ann Arbor-Flint Solidarity Network and the Ann Arbor Alliance For Black Lives initially organized the protest in response to a panel on Detroit’s bankruptcy hosted by the Uni-
versity’s Law School that was set to feature Snyder, however, The Law School indefinitely postponed the event last week, but protestors still decided to have the protest. LSA senior Cassandra Van Dam, an Ann Arbor-Flint Solidarity Network organizer, said she believes pressure from protesters motivated the Law School’s decision. “Snyder is humiliated,” she said. “It is clear that, had the
event gone on, it would have been disrupted and he would have had to answer to the human rights violations that he and his administration have committed against the people of Michigan.” “The Detroit bankruptcy event was postponed because its organizers don’t wish to distract from efforts devoted to higher priorities in the state,” the Law School’s communcaSee SNYDER, Page 3A
State representaive aims to reduce expenses for college students By CALEB CHADWELL Daily Staff Reporter
In an effort reduce the cost of college, state Rep. Robert Kosowski (D–Westland) introduced a bill to the Michigan legislature that would exempt college textbooks from the 6-percent state sales tax. The proposed legislation, House Bill 5309, would eliminate the tax from textbooks for college students who purchase them with a valid student identification card. In an interview with the Michigan Daily, Kosowski said his primary motivation for introducing this bill was to help students save money while going through school. According to estimates from
ADMINISTRATION
SUSTAINABILITY
‘U’ stops recycling glasswear in 2016
Schlissel talks mental health improvements In fireside chat, University President also discusses Greek life culture By JEN CALFAS Daily Staff Reporter
Greek life and mental health dominated the conversation at University President Mark Schlissel’s monthly fireside chat Tuesday. Held in the Michigan Union’s Willis Ward Lounge, students asked Schlissel and E. Royster Harper, vice president of student life, about specific initiatives to improve the mental health services the University offers, and the aftermath of a controversial all-chapter meeting of Greek life members in September. “I don’t think it was appropriately structured,” Schlissel said of the September meeting. “You can’t very often force people to show up and listen. I was disappointed in the fact that people didn’t listen and showed disrespect.”
In September, Schlissel required all chapters of the University’s Greek community to send at least 70 percent of their members to a meeting in Hill Auditorium, where Schlissel said Greek life culture “devalues” a University degree and voiced his disappointment in the party culture and sexual misconduct that occurs within the Greek community. LSA sophomore Clare Nienstedt, a member of the University’s Phi Beta Pi chapter, asked Schlissel if anything has improved since the meeting. She also agreed with Schlissel that the meeting wasn’t structured appropriately. Schlissel said he has since learned more about the positive attributes of Greek life, including the philanthropic work done in the community and the fact that members of the Greek community have higher GPAs then the overall average at the University. However, he said the University is still working to improve the party culture he voiced dissatisfaction with in September. “My worry is toxic behavior — See PRESIDENT, Page 3A
the College Board, students at public four-year institutions spend an average of $1,298 on textbooks and school supplies each year. The University’s Office of Financial Aid recommends University students allocate $1,048 per year for books and supplies. Kosowski said his office’s research found that the average cost of textbooks to a student is $1,300, Kosowski said. “1,300 dollars is a lot of money for a college student, if we can save them even $78 of that, it’s a positive thing,” Kosowski said. Kosowski said his office did a study in Maryland, a state that also has a 6-percent sales tax and numerous colleges, which determined the state collects about $7 million each year in textbook sales tax revenue. Kosowski said this number would be relatively similar to what could be expected in Michigan with a textbook sales tax exemption. The small decrease in tax revenue would be negligible, and See TAX, Page 3A
GREG GOSS/Daily
Change caused by decline in market, University Plant operations says
Dr. Lee Gill, associate vice president for inclusion and equity at the University of Akron, speaks about his undergraduate experience at the University at the Rackham Amphitheater on Tuesday.
Lecture highlights history of student activism on campus University of Akron diversity adminstrator delivers Black Heritage Month address By ADAM HIYAMA For the Daily
University of Michigan alum Lee A. Gill, vice president for inclusion and equity at the University of Akron, addressed a group of more than 40 students at Rackham Amphitheatre Tuesday to outline connections
between the Black Action Movement at the University during the 1970s and the #BBUM campaign launched in 2014. The hashtag and social movement surrounding its use garnered national attentionwhen thousands of people took to social media to describe their experiences being Black at the University of Michigan. Hosted by the Office of MultiEthnic Student Affairs, the event was the inaugural lecture for a slate of University Black Heritage Month events. In the lecture, Gill highlighted connections between
missions of activism during his time as a student and now. “If we had social media then, we would be saying the same things you’re saying,” Gill said, referencing the #BBUM movement. Discussing the 2003 Supreme Court ruling in Bollinger v. Grutter to uphold affirmative action at the University’s Law School, Gill referenced Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s opinion for the case in which she wrote she hoped diversity would not be an issue in 25 years. See LECTURE, Page 2A
By KEVIN LINDER For the Daily
Effective Jan. 1, the University of Michigan Plant Building and Grounds Services has suspended the collection of glass for recycling. This change comes in response to a decline of local glass recycling markets. The University’s current system is single-stream recycling, where recyclable materials such as paper and recyclable plastics are all collected in the same bin and sorted at a recycling facility. Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority has been the organization providing recycling services to the University, but due to the decline in the glass market, it has ceased its acceptance of glass materials. In an e-mail interview, Andrew Berki, who is the See GLASS, Page 3A
the statement Navigating homelessness in the Ann Arbor winter
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INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 70 ©2016 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A
SUDOKU.....................2A ARTS....................5A S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B