ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Monday, February 22, 2016
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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ACADEMICS
CSG makes progress on release of course evals AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Burton resident Raymond Blake speaks about how he has seen the effects of the water crisis firsthand as a volunteer for Catholic Charities at Flint on Friday.
In Flint, impacts of crisis apparent in day-to-day life
Residents discuss frustration with government, burden on families By LARA MOEHLMAN Daily Staff Reporter
As national media attention and a state and federal declarations of emergency over
Flint’s water crisis draw eyes to the city’s community, residents are tasked with continuing to live within the city’s bounds, feeling the crisis’ effects. On a Friday afternoon, Saginaw Street — the city’s main drag — is quiet, with several residents walking into the restaurants and shops that have survived the economic hardships that have plagued the area since the closing of a nearby General Motors plant almost
seventeen years ago. On the University of MichiganFlint campus, a few students linger in the Harding Mott University Center watching T.V. on communal screens, eating or paging through thick textbooks. Signs around campus tell students the water is OK and safe for them to drink. Students rely on state-issued purifiers on each faucet and drinking fountain to protect them from any possible lead in the city’s water supply
while on campus. Cody Worswick, a sophomore computer science major from Marysville, Michigan considers himself fortunate. Before enrolling at the University’s Flint campus, his mother was aware of the dangerous water quality within the city’s limits, he said, and bought him a filter, which he uses for all of his drinking water. Worswich said he doesn’t See FLINT, Page 3A
After FOIA, body has data but must wait for University approval By JACKIE CHARNIGA Daily News Editor
LSA senior Cooper Charlton, Central Student Government president, said Sunday that course evaluation data could be released for student use as early as fall 2016. The organization has gained the data from a Freedom of Information Act request, Charlton said, but cannot release it until it secures approval from the Provost’s office. CSG has been advocating for the release of course evaluations since Charlton’s party, Make Michigan, took office this fall. Charlton said two committees led by Sean Pitt, LSA junior and CSG chief of staff, and Anushka Sarkar, LSA junior and CSG
SPORTS
RESEARCH
Michigan wins B1G title, ends 12-year drought Wolverines keep intensity up all week, hold off Indiana for victory By COLE ZINGAS Daily Sports Writer
Saturday night, in a unified leap, the Michigan women’s swimmers, divers, coaches, trainers, and the Big Ten Championship trophy splashed into the pool at Canham Natatorium, capping off a victory years in the making. Over the course of the fourday Big Ten Championship meet, the Wolverines beat out the 12 other Big Ten teams and claimed their first Big Ten title since 2004. “The only way to put that in words is to cry for joy,” said Michigan coach Mike Bottom. The Wolverines dominated the meet, leading from the second day on. After the 100-yard freestyle, in which freshman Siobhán Haughey set a pool record with a time of 47.71
and senior captain Ali DeLoof finished third, the meet was all but over. And after the 200-yard butterfly, with two events still remaining, the Wolverines had put themselves out of the reach of second-place Indiana, the only team within 400 points of the Wolverines. However, DeLoof didn’t always know that Michigan would accomplish this much. Three years ago, DeLoof was a freshman struggling through weeks of 20 hours of practice in the pool. It was Bottom’s first year with the program, and the team finished sixth in the Big Ten. DeLoof helped the team to improve over the next two years — placing fifth in the Big Ten in 2014 and third in 2015 — but taking the next step was still somewhere in the distance for the Wolverines. “We imagined it at the beginning of the year, but it was always just a possibility,” said sophomore Clara Smiddy. Even just a few days ago, DeLoof — who was named firstteam All-Big Ten on Saturday — didn’t know if she would be See SWIMMING, Page 2B
chief programming officer, have submitted reports to the office of the Provost regarding the construction of a new course evaluation instrument and a new release policy. If approved, the University of Michigan will release the course evaluation data. This is the first time CSG has submitted a FOIA request for course evaluations since 2011, according to Pitt. He wrote in an e-mail that the recommendations formed by the committees will be considered by the University in determining what information will be collected and released from course evaluations, and are not directly related to the FOIA request. In 2011 and prior, the Michigan Student Assembly, now known as CSG, regularly filed Freedom of Information requests to release course evaluation data for a course selection advice site. Pitt said though these efforts have fallen See EVALUATIONS, Page 2A
‘U’ project funded by NASA for Mars trip Researchers could contribute to future travels to the planet By KEVIN LINDER For the Daily AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Terry Thompson, School of Public Health assistant professor, speaks about water access and communities of color during a panel at Hatcher on Friday.
Panel looks at links between race, access to clean water Noting current events, speakers emphasize impact on citizens By RACHEL COHEN Daily Staff Reporter
On Friday, a group of panelists from Flint, Detroit, Highland Park and Muskegon Heights spoke at the University to discuss water access and management in
communities of color as part of an event for Black Heritage Month. Each panelist had a different expertise including research, science, political and activist backgrounds. All of the panelists agreed, however, that water is a public good that should be available for every person to access. Leon Howard, program manager in the Office of MultiEthnic Student Affairs and moderator of the event, said the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs wanted this event to
address concerns about water access in communities of color and to delve into why the management of water has tremendous impacts on communities. “We wanted to do a panel focused on water access and management in communities of color because of what was going on in Flint and other places across the state when it comes to being able to access safe water,” he said. One of the topics of the panel was the ongoing effect of water crises as well as long-term See PANEL, Page 3A
NASA recently funded a University of Michigan design for spacecraft thrusters as part of its Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP). The NextSTEP program encompasses various projects, all aimed at bringing humans closer to manned missions to Mars. The project at the University is led by Aerospace Engineering Prof. Alec Gallimore, who was named the next Engineering dean Thursday. His design, called the X3, is the thruster component of a larger propulsion system called the XR-100, which is the project of major aerospace engineering firm Aerojet Rocketdyne. NASA awarded $6.5 million to Aerojet Rocketdyne for the XR-100, $1 million of which has been given for work on the X3 thruster See NASA, Page 3A
Making a splash Michigan won the 2016 Big Ten women’s swimming and diving title
» INSIDE WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 38 LO: 18
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NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM Freshman Haughey guides M to title MICHIGANDAILY.COM/SECTION/SPORTS
INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 78 ©2016 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A CLASSIFIEDS...............A
SUDOKU.....................2A ARTS.....................5A S P O R T S M O N D AY. . . . . . . . 1 B