ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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T S BE
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2K16 ANN ARBOR
Taxi service refuses ride to visiting blind prof. University cuts ties with company following repeated complaints
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
People mingle at the grand opening of Blau Hall on Oct. 21.
KEVIN BIGLIN
Ross restructures supply chain management masters program
Daily Staff Reporter
On his way to attend an accessibility event hosted in Ann Arbor by the University of Michigan Council for Disability Concerns in early December, the Ann Arbor Metro Airport Shuttle denied service to Stephen Kuusisto, a Syracuse University education professor who is blind. Kuusito said he was denied service because he had his guide dog with him. Days before traveling to Ann Arbor, while still at home in Syracuse, Kuusisto phoned Ann Arbor Metro Airport Shuttle based on a suggestion
Top-ranked curriculum updated to keep pace with changing job market CAITLIN REEDY Daily Staff Reporter
Due to evolution within the demands of the supply chain industry, the University of Michigan Ross School of Business recently updated its Master of Supply Chain
Management Program. The enhanced program is expected to better prepare students for the future and help the MSCM to maintain its ranking among the top five best programs in the country. Business Dean Scott DeRue said in a University press release that maintaining the
program’s prestige will help future generations of students stay updated in an evolving field. The program will help graduates in future job searches as well as create more intimate relationships with industry partners. “With these new offerings, we are preparing the next
generation of leaders for the dynamic and complex supply chains of tomorrow,” DeRue said. One central change to the program includes shortening it from 12 months down to 10 months. Previously, students obtained summer internships, See ROSS, Page 3A
from a University list of approved services. Despite being recommended by the University, the taxi owner told Kuusisto he would not give him a ride with his guide dog. “The guy was perfectly cheerful, until I mentioned I was blind and have a Seeing Eye dog,” Kuusisto said. Kuusisto said the University took the taxi company off the list of recommended services immediately following his incident, and sent the service a cease-and-desist letter to stop them from using the University’s logo. The University may have separated itself from the See TAXI, Page 3A
University researchers determine Minimum State acts wage in MI the most popular emojis worldwide to play at
GOVERNMENT
sees small increase
Ann Arbor salaries largely unaffected by scheduled 40-cent hike CALEB CHADWELL Daily Staff Reporter
Ringing in the new year brought good news for employees throughout Michigan when the state minimum wage increased by 40 cents — from $8.50 to $8.90 per hour — as a part of the Workforce Opportunity Wage Act. The state bill, which passed in 2014, aims to gradually increase Michigan’s minimum wage from the 2014 rate of $7.40 an hour to $9.25 by the beginning of 2018. With the current increase to $8.90, Michigan has the 15th-highest state minimum wage in the country, according to the Detroit News. Stagnating wages were a theme of the recent presidential election, with one in every five Americans worried about wage reduction, according to a 2015 Gallup poll. President-elect Donald Trump has said he supports an hourly minimum wage of $10, but thinks states should decide what exact number it should be See WAGE, Page 3A
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ELECTION
Crying-laughing face, heart and heart-eyes face outshine the rest SOPHIE SHERRY & RIYAH BASHA Daily News Editors
The world can’t stop laughing — or at least over text. The crying-laughing face is the world’s most popular emoji, researchers at the University of Michigan and Peking University determined in a joint study, according to a University press release published in December. Emojis — ranging from simplistic smiling faces to animals to flags to eggplants— have been seen more recently with the rise of smartphones and social media sites, allowing users to simply place an image instead of spelling out longer messages or reactions. The University study examined emoji usage from 3.88 million active users from 212 different countries and regions from Sep. 1 to Sep. 30, 2015. Nearly one-third of the active users analyzed in the data study consisted of users in the United States, though Brazil and Mexico also held heavily dominant users. Wei Ai, a doctoral student at the University’s School of Information, authored the study report, one of the first large-scale analyses of emoji usage. “(Emojis) are becoming the ubiquitous language that bridges everyone across different cultures,” Ai said in
the press release. The red heart and heart-eyes face ranked second and third, respectively. The study also factored cultural attitudes and norms into emoji usage. The researchers found that users from different countries had considerable divergence in emoji usage, variance which was mainly related to differences in cultural backgrounds.
Texters from countries highly valuing individualism such as Australia, France and the Czech Republic sent more happy emojis. In societies more concerned with uncertainty, such as those in Portugal, Chile and Peru, however, users tended toward emojis expressing negative feelings. The widespread use of emojis presents an opportunity for researchers in fields ranging
from linguistics to data science. According to the study, emojis are shared worldwide, and research questions previously restricted by language and geographic barriers can now be studied using the icons. “Research questions that previously rely on smallscale user surveys can now be answered through analyzing large-scale behavioral data,” the study reads.
DA N C E B R E A K
ARNOLD ZHENG/Daily
Engineering student Alexander Mize and School of Music, Theatre, and Dance student Lilliana Talwatte showcase their swing dancing skills at M-Swing’s Open Swing Night in the Michigan League on Wednesday.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 2 ©2016 The Michigan Daily
inaugural festivities
Two high school bands prepare for performance at Trump inauguration MATT HARMON Daily Staff Reporter
Two Michigan-based drill teams — the Mid America Cowgirls Rodeo Drill Team and the Michigan MultiJurisdictional Mounted Police Drill Team and Color Guard — along with Michigan high school bands and orchestras, will be performing in President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration parade later this month. The Presidential Inaugural Committee released the performance selections on Dec. 30 for Trump and his Vice President-elect Mike Pence’s inauguration ceremony, which will take place Jan. 20 in Washington D.C. following the candidates’ official inauguration. “People from every corner of the country have expressed great interest in Presidentelect Trump’s inauguration and look forward to continuing a salute to our republic that spans more than two centuries,” said PIC CEO Sara Armstrong in a press release. See TRUMP, Page 3A
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS....................7