ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Friday, January 12, 2018
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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ACADEMICS
EECS dept. struggles to keep up with high demand
CASEY TIN/Daily
Beyond the Numbers: ‘U’ suicide data can identify campus trends Student suicide data helps admin improve mental health resources on campus JORDYN BAKER Daily Staff Reporter
Engineering junior Anna Learis spends the majority of her time on the University of Michigan’s North Campus. She says learning in a less active environment than Central Campus, coupled with the difficulty of the engineering curriculum, can create a rather stressful environment for some students. As a group leader for Wolverine Support Network, a participant in mental health monologues at Active Minds and a student who has spoken at local high schools about mental health, Learis spends a lot of her time advocating for
improved mental health resources. One example of this is two years ago when Learis founded Mentality Magazine, the first mental health publication on any campus in the nation. Her experience in working with students who may be going through mental health issues has shown her the large need for on campus support systems. Attention to these issues is part of what encouraged the Counseling and Psychological Services added a Wellness Center on North Campus to allow for better access to students who may feel isolated from mental health resources on Central Campus. Earlier this month, the Associated Press surveyed the nation’s 100 largest public
universities for their annual data on student suicides. Out of the four universities surveyed within the state of Michigan, the University was one of three collecting this data, along with Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University, while Central Michigan University either does not have data or does not regularly collect such statistics. According to Sarah Daniels, Associate Dean of Students, current records of student suicide date back to approximately 2010, however, Daniels could not comment on whether or not records exist prior to this. Daniels explained that because the Dean of Students office does serve as the primary contact point for those
affected by the death of a student, the data the University currently holds in relation to student suicide is a subset of information on all student deaths. “We receive data in a number of different ways or receive information about the death of our students in a number of different ways and then we provide support and care and assistance,” Daniels said. Specific ways the Dean of Students office obtains information may include notification from the Ann Arbor Police Department, a family member, or a report filed of an incident. Though this data isn’t necessarily analyzed by the University, it can be used to See SUICIDE, Page 3
Waitlists of hundreds have students worrying about completing requirements ALEX COTT
Daly Staff Reporter
University of Michigan Electrical Engineering and Computer Science courses have developed extensive waitlists due to growing enrollment rates, graduate students registering for undergraduate classes, and limited numbers of faculty — giving students stress about being able to complete their requirements on time. The department’s administration is working to hire more fulltime faculty and acquire larger lecture halls to meet the high demand, but have struggled to succeed. Currently, the EECS department is comprised of 143 faculty, 1,882 undergraduate students and 1,094 graduate students, high enrollment numbers that have increased significantly over the past decade. Seth Pettie, professor and associate chair of the electrical engineering and computer science department, confirmed the department is aware of the waitlist issues
affecting undergraduate students and stated it has become a recent problem due to the program’s high demand. “If you look at our enrollment numbers, they go up linearly and year by year,” Pettie said. “They have been going up for the last 10 years and of course (registration) wasn’t a problem 10 years ago and things have become more acute in the last year.” Just within the Computer Science and Engineering major of EECS, enrollment has grown exponentially within the last five years. According to Brian Noble, chair of the computer science and engineering department, the number of undergraduates with declared CSE majors has doubled, increasing from 748 in Fall 2013 to 1,457 in Fall 2017. The CSE undergraduate degrees granted has subsequently increased from 211 during the 2012-2013 academic year to 520 during the 20162017 academic year. However, the size of CSE faculty has not See EECS, Page 3
Regent Weiser discusses impact of UN Vacancies Michigan at Model United Nations conference Medicine plaguing
CAMPUS LIFE
Residence Hall Assoc.
Citing an unwelcoming environment, executive resigns during meeting DANIELLE PASEKOFF Daily Staff Reporter
The University of Michigan Residence Halls Association gathered on Thursday night in Couzens Residence Hall to discuss funding for various student groups, as well as the vacant positions currently on their executive board created by the unexpected resignations of two members, one of whom cited an unwelcoming environment as a motivation. The assembly heard from a diverse group of student representatives from several organizations on campus, and voted on new legislation regarding the selection of residence hall representatives for next year. Speakers from Omega Psi Phi fraternity and the Taiwanese American Student Association (TASA) both presented information on their respective groups and submitted requests for funding from RHA. From upcoming fundraisers to compensating for past expenditures, speakers expressed the advantage of accruing residence halls’ See RESIDENCE, Page 2
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RESEARCH
Israel condemnations cited by Weiser as “ugly” aspects of the United Nations AMARA SHAIKH Daily Staff Reporter
On Thursday evening, over seven hundred delegates, staff members and advisors gathered together in the University of Michigan’s Rackham Auditorium for the 31st Model United Nations at the University of Michigan Conference Opening Ceremony. The conference is run by University undergraduates, and offers high school students from 37 high schools across the country an opportunity to deepen their understanding of international affairs. The keynote speaker for the opening ceremony was University Regent Ron Weiser, and his speech highlighted “the good, the bad and the ugly” of the United Nations. Weiser, who also served as the U.S. ambassador to Slovakia from 2001 to 2005, began by discussing the history of the United Nations in regards to former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” speech, which outlined the future of nations committed to peace during World War I. He also emphasized how the United States embodied those points as it helped to shape the U.N. after World War II. “The United States, now under the leadership of FDR, returned to Wilson’s grand strategy — to a construction of a rules-based order in which the United States and other democracies would prosper,” Weiser said. Weiser then discussed the universality present in the U.N.,
which he viewed as a doubleedged sword. He explained while the inclusiveness of the U.N. allows for actions against threats — such as sanctions — to be taken, it conversely allows countries unsolicited uses of the veto power. “On a strategic level the U.N. poses a structural flaw of universality in participation because great powers can use veto (power) to barter action against themselves,” Weiser said. “For example, during the Cold
War, the Soviet Union used the veto power 68 times, and the U.S. used it 61 times. On the other hand, universality is occasionally a significant plus, most recently the UN Security Council passed sanctions against North Korea.” Weiser considered other positive aspects of the United Nations such as the legitimacy of the Security Council, the strength of technical agencies and the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees’ aid
to over 50 million refugee families and more. Weiser also pointed out many of the flaws that he viewed as the negative elements of the U.N. Some of the issues he noted were weak performance management culture, inadequate resourcing and implementation of mandates and lack of transparency. The “ugly,” according to Weiser, was visible in the U.N.’s lack of investigation into claims of sexual misconduct as well See WEISER, Page 3
JOSHUA HAN/Daily
Ronald Weiser speaks on current pressing issues worldwide including political tensions and problems regarding the United Nations at Rackham Auditorium Thursday.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 55 ©2018 The Michigan Daily
conducts IBS study
Partners with BioAmerica on controlled clinical trial, new diagnostic therapy KATE JENKINS Daily Staff Reporter
Last Monday, Biomerica Inc. announced it would be partnering with Michigan Medicine on clinical trials for their Irritable Bowel Syndrome Diagnostic Guided Therapy. IBS is a symptom-based disorder that may cause pain, constipation and bloating in the bowels. The syndrome affects between 25 million and 45 million patients in the United States, according to the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders. Biomerica’s diagnostic therapy, InFoods®, aims to help physicians identify certain foods that may be removed from a patient’s diet to alleviate IBS symptoms and discomfort. It may be used with drugs currently on the market because it is not considered a drug, but rather a form of therapy. According to Dr. William Chey, director of medical services for the Michigan Bowel Control Program at Michigan Medicine, since IBS is a syndrome, not a disease, it could potentially be managed with this therapy. “(IBS is) defined by See MEDICINE, Page 2
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS....................7