ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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LOCAL
City leaders divided over new Amtrak design plans SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Rob Sellers, vice provost for equity, inclusion and academic affairs, encourage successful college practices at the SuccessConnects Orientation in the Student Activities Building Wednesday.
SuccessConnects aims to assist underrepresented new students Program welcomes freshmen with resources and encouragement at orientation NEIL SCHWARTZ Daily Staff Reporter
The SuccessConnects program held its orientation for its over 150 student scholars Wednesday in the Student Activites Building. SuccessConnects is a program
guided by the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives that works with underrepresented freshman students to help them sort their way through the pool of resources available to them, as well as the academic and social challenges the University of Michigan could potentially
pose for them. It primarily seeks to serve first-generation college students, low-income students and students from underrepresented minorities. Mary Taylor, a Success Coach and program coordinator at OAMI, said her team aims to create a community for students
who may feel lost on a big campus. “We are trying to serve students who wouldn’t get served by other programs,” she said. “We are bringing the resources to them and trying to make Michigan feel much smaller.” Music, Theatre & Dance See SUCCESS, Page 3A
Four sites in Ann Arbor under consideration for new rail station SOPHIE SHERRY Daily Staff Reporter
The Federal Rail Administration and city government are moving forward with plans to build Amtrak stations at four potential sites in Ann Arbor, each with varying support from City Council members. The next step in the planning process is completing an environmental assessment report within the next two months, according to Eli Cooper, transportation program manager for Ann Arbor. Cooper said the city has sub-contracted environmental
specialists and engineers at the technology firm AECOM to gather environmental data, and he expects a draft of the assessment to be underway in October. Two of the four possible station designs are both at the location of the current Amtrak station on Depot Street. One of the design options is for an elevated station. The other is for a ground level station north of the tracks. The third possible station design, also located on Depot Street, would replace the Gandy Dancer restaurant, repurposing the building as a train station See AMTRAK, Page 3A
Actor Sean Astin speaks at College University Toyota to announces Democrats voter registration event give $22M
ACADEMICS
additions to Coursera
RESEARCH
At UM, Lord of the Rings star discusses importance of grassroots campaigning
Two new data science specializations made available to public RACHEL COHEN Daily Staff Reporter
Over the summer, the University of Michigan expanded its academic offering in an unusual aread — one that doesn’t involve sitting in an actual classroom. The University has added two new course specializations to Coursera, an online company which offers Massive Open Online Courses to learners seeking education in a certain field from an established university. Course specializations are a sequence of several courses that fall under a certain subject. The two new specializations the University is offering are Applied Data Science with Python and Data Collection and Analysis. Once these specializations are completed, students receive an electronic certificate of completion. In an email interview, James DeVaney, associate vice provost for academic innovation, wrote these specializations were approved by a faculty committee that works closely See ONLINE, Page 3A
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LYDIA MURRAY Daily Staff Reporter
The University of Michigan’s chapter of College Democrats kicked off one of its weekly voter registration drives Wednesday with a special appearance from actor Sean Astin, best known for his role as Sam in Lord of the Rings. Astin spoke to students and community members about campaigning at ground-level events. He also discussed his experiences with Hillary Clinton who he’s known since 1992, calling her one of the most passionate and hardworking people he has ever met. The event, held in the Michigan Union, was coordinated in conjunction with Hillary Clinton’s campaign in Michigan. Voter registration is one of several major outreach efforts coordinated by the University’s College Democrats during an election year. This year they plan to hold voter registration drives every week until Oct. 11, the last day to register voters in time for the November election. Collin Kelly, chair of College Democrats, said the group is holding registration drives to promote Democratic candidates on both local and state levels, along with Clinton. During the event, Astin said he came to campus to encourage volunteers at the grassroots level of the
campaign and remind them of their significance. “Those kinds of people need to know that they are not operating in a vacuum,” he said. “That they have the support of millions and millions of Americans who rely on them to do that footwork … It’s endlessly inspiring to see the optimism of students when it comes to engagement and being involved in their civic life.”
The organization and coordination of celebrity events such as this is done by the Clinton campaign itself, not College Democrats, but the campaign works to coordinate with student groups in the later stages of the process, Kelly said. Kelly said having celebrities like Astin visit campus encourages a level of excitement among student
in this election cycle and compliments the more local figures that typically come to campus. “When you have people who are really respected and wellknown to come voice their opinion allows students to follow their lead and for that enthusiasm to really catch on,” he said. For both Clinton and GOP See ASTIN, Page 3A
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Actor Sean Astin rallies Hillary Clinton supporters to register voters in the Union Wednesday.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 130 ©2016 The Michigan Daily
to ‘U’ for car project
Company releases details for driverless vehicle research KEVIN LINDER
Daily Staff Reporter
In a continued partnership with the University of Michigan, Toyota announced it will invest $22 million to fund research on driverless cars and methods of artificial intelligence. This is an expansion of the Toyota Research Institute’s April announcement, which revealed TRI will be opening a new facility in Ann Arbor. The Ann Arbor location is the third facility TRI has established in the United States, the first in Massachusetts near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the second in California near Stanford University. The most recent announcement about the newly established relationship between the company and the University stated TRI’s funding will be used to continue the University’s commitment to research on autonomous driving and artificial intelligence. The research will take place over See TOYOTA, Page 3A
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A SPORTS......................5A
SUDOKU.....................2A CL ASSIFIEDS............... 5A ARTS.....................1B