ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Peppers’ progress
The Statement
Perhaps the most indispensable player on the Michigan football team, Jabrill Peppers is happy in Don Brown’s defense
How students on campus navigate social life without Facebook
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disconnected
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ACADEMICS
‘U’ finishes transition to Canvas after long process E. Royster Harper, vice president for student life, addresses the students of the Central Student Government about her wishes for the coming school year at the CSG meeting in the Michigan Union Tuesday.
CSG pushes for Regents bylaws to include student input in decisions Body president says more work is needed , but the resolution is a step forward JACKIE CHARNIGA Daily News Editor
Central Student Government President David Schafer, an LSA senior, spoke to the body about issues ranging from diversity to mental health support on campus
ANN ARBOR
Developer considering new South U. high-rise
at their first meeting of the semester on Tuesday, Schafer specifically highlighted the need to increase the number of staff members in Counseling and Psychological Services, noting that four more full-time members have already been added after discussions between CSG
and University Provost Martha Pollack. “Last year the ratio stood 1 to 14,000 and now it should be down to about 1 to 1,150 to 1 to 1,200,” Schafer said. “Obviously there’s still work to be done but this is a really positive development and this is a strong foundation
on which additional work and advocacy in the area of student mental health and well-being can be built.” The body also discussed new directives to focus on during the year. Schafer said six new directives were considered as See CSG, Page 3A
Students and faculty express mixed feelings about the switch JENNIFER MEER Daily Staff Reporter
Starting at the beginning of classes Tuesday, the University of Michigan’s two-year-long transition to Canvas was complete — drawing mixed reactions from faculty over the process and implementation, and overall positive impressions from students. Canvas is an online learning management system that includes features such as assignments, grades and discussion boards. Moving forward, it will be the class platform for all University
classes, replacing CTools. The switch is one part of the University’s NextGen plan — a strategy for investing in the next generation of technology and creating shared infrastructure across campus. The University piloted Canvas in the 2014-2015 school year with lukewarm responses from faculty and students, using it in 130 courses and engaging more than 10,000 students and 150 instructors. The decision to move forward with the transition was motivated by a decided need to, once the transition had begun, reduce See CANVAS, Page 3A
City residents express environmental University concerns about proposed building site top public ADMINISTRATION
Council debates Woodbury Club project during Tuesday meeting
10-story complex would offer 4, 5 and 6-person bedrooms to students RHEA CHEETI
Daily Staff Reporter
The South University Avenue business district is preparing to undergo a 10-story change. Hughes Properties is working with Hobbs + Black Architects to construct a new student housing building near the intersection of the Diag and South University. The building will offer a combination of four-, five- and six-person bedrooms to appeal to a wide range of students, and it will include commercial spaces on the ground floor. It will replace a few buildings along the north side of South University between Church Street and East University Avenue, though Espresso Royale and TCF Bank will remain standing. Over the past years, highrises such as these have been controversial, with students pointing to them as one of many examples of unaffordable rent downtown. The cost to rent in the South U. building has not been disclosed. However, rent at Landmark — another See APARTMENTS, Page 3A
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BRIAN KUANG
Daily Staff Reporter
At their meeting Tuesday, City Council voted 8-3 to approve the proposed and long-delayed Woodbury Club Apartment project three years after it was first brought before the council for approval. The Woodbury project, slated to be built on the southeast corner of Nixon Road and M-14 near North Campus, was introduced in 2013. However, approval has been consistently delayed due to pushback from neighboring residents concerned about the potential ecological damage to nearby wetlands and increased flooding risk. Dozens of city residents living in neighborhoods adjacent to the proposed development attended Tuesday’s City Council meeting to advocate against the project — a regular occurrence whenever a vote to approve the project has been brought before the council for debate in the past. Along with ecological concerns, opponents to the project expressed frustration with a perceived lack of effort by the project’s developer in engaging neighboring residents and the potential for overcrowding schools. They also pointed to a lack of accessibility to public transportation from the
proposed apartments, which they said could lead to increased traffic congestion. Ann Arbor resident Jane Kingston reiterated concerns expressed by many of her neighbors, saying the proposed project will damage the nearby wetlands and increase the risk
of flooding. “I’m really sad, and kind of mad and kind of frustrated that I’m here again to try and argue the case for this issue,” Kingston said. “We’ve been told by consultants and the people in the area that the parkland that’s there, as well
as the properties nearby will be negatively damaged in a manner that is dramatic and severe. We’re not talking about just a little bit of development impact, we’re talking about damage in a manner that is not reversible.” See COUNCIL, Page 3A
college in new report
UM ranked among 700 other top global schools in international study LYDIA MURRAY Daily Staff Reporter
CAROLYN GEARIG/Daily
Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor listens to community concerns at the Ann Arbor City Council meeting at City Hall Tuesday.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 129 ©2016 The Michigan Daily
The University of Michigan is the world’s number one public college, according to a recent report. Last year, the University ranked 30th on the QS World University Rankings, behind the public University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Los Angeles. The ranking, determined by global education company Quacquarelli Symonds, included top public and private institutions from North America, Europe and Asia. The University ranked 23rd overall among both public and private colleges. It followed several Ivy League institutions and elite universities from China, Australia, Switzerland, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The list ranked more than 700 universities, using a system analyzing academic quality, student-to-faculty ratio, employer reputation, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio and international See RANKING, Page 3A
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A CLASSIFIEDS..............6A
SUDOKU.....................2A ARTS.........................5A S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A