ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Monday, November 23, 2015
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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SNOW MUCH FUN
GRANT HARDY /Daily
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN /Daily
LEFT: LSA sophomore Audrey Kim places a carrot on her snowman during the first snowfall of the season at Palmer Field on Saturday. RIGHT: West Quad residents attempt to hold off South Quad attackers in a West Quad vs. South Quad snowball fight on East Madison Street on Saturday night.
ACADEMICS
‘U’ navigates relationship with lecturers Union sees room for pay growth but notes above average wages, conditions By LYDIA MURRAY Daily Staff Reporter
Good — but not perfect. That’s how many University administrators and lecturers describe the current relationship
between their two groups. While this assessment acknowledges some lingering problems, especially when it comes to salaries, the climate places the University in a unique position. For the most part, the University stands in contrast to many other colleges across the country that have seen non-tenure track faculty, like lecturers, mobilizing around a number of issues — namely low pay and poor work conditions. A 2014 report by the American
Association of University Professors showed that on average in the United States, non-tenure track faculty make up 76.4 percent of instructional employees. In 2013, NPR reported that adjunct professors — another term for lecturers — are paid on average $20,000 to $25,000 per year. Those salary numbers have inspired protests at various institutions over past years, including theUniversity of California, Berkeley; Northeastern University and
Rutgers Universitysince April alone. However, the University stands out as an anomaly to those numbers. Lecturers make up 18 percent of all University instructional employees, which also include tenure-track faculty and graduate student instructors. The salaries of lecturers vary, but they earn a mean salary of $70,358 and a minimum salary of $34,000, according to the University’s 2014-2015 salary analysis. Professors earn an average salary
of $161,511. The reasons for the difference between the numbers nationally and at the University, according to both the University and lecturers interviewed for this story, is largely the Lecturer’s Employees Organization, a union formed in 2003 to confront the University on its treatment of lecturers. In 2004, the LEO negotiated its first contract with the University on behalf of the lecturers. The contract covered the Dearborn and Flint campuses in addition
to the Ann Arbor campus, and set minimum salaries with regular raises and added increased job security and benefits. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, LEO President Bonnie Halloran said the movement to form the organization was first based on the issues common to non-tenure track faculty nationwide — low pay and the lack of job security and proper benefits. Before the LEO negotiated a See ADJUNCT, Page 3A
WORLD
FOOTBALL
‘M’ Big Ten title chances still alive
Peace Corps impacted by tech. advances
Another strong day from Rudock helps Wolverines win in State College, 28-16
Online applications, social media change the experience of volunteering abroad
By ZACH SHAW Daily Sports Editor
STATE COLLEGE — As the public-address announcer’s voice echoed throughout Beaver Stadium, the No. 12 Michigan football team streamed onto the field for postgame handshakes with wide smiles and a sense of purpose. The announcer listed stats from the game, but the players weren’t listening. The 13 penalties, two turnovers and countless miscues mattered as little as the four touchdowns and margin of victory. The Wolverines (6-1 Big Ten, 9-2 overall) had just defeated Penn State, 28-16, and all that See PENN STATE, Page 3A
KRISTINA PERKINS / Daily
LSA junior Gabi Kirsch lights the Shabbat candles to begin prayers at her Shabbat dinner on Friday. Kirsch’s dinner was one of the many gatherings hosted by students across campus for ShabUM, an event organized by Hillel.
1,000 attend Shabbat dinners across campus Celebrations feature array of customs, expressions of faith By TANYA MADHANI Daily Staff Reporter
More than 1,000 students and alumni gathered Friday at 50 different locations across campus for a Shabbat dinner, which marks the Jewish
Sabbath, or day of rest. The event, called Shabbat at UM or ShabUM, was sponsored by University of Michigan Hillel and organized by a special committee. LSA senior Ali Meisel, a member of the ShabUM committee, said Hillel hosted the event to celebrate all the different ways people observe Shabbat. “When a Jewish person
thinks of Shabbat, they think of the Friday night dinner and it’s a time where people can come together at the end of a week and really enjoy each other’s company and with their family and friends, and just really be grateful for the week that has just passed,” Meisel said. Though Hillel hosts its own Shabbat dinner every Friday night, Meisel said, the point See SHABUM, Page 3A
By JACKIE CHARNIGA Daily Staff Reporter
Last month marked the 55th anniversary of former President John F. Kennedy’s speech on the steps of the Michigan Union proposing the organization of a United States Peace Corps. Many things have changed since the program’s inception in 1961, most notably the advancement of technology— which has had a profound influence on the application, deployment and service experience of Peace Corps volunteers in recent years, particularly among University participants. Application process In August 2012, the Peace Corps officially switched to an
online application process that allows applicants to apply only to regions in which they have an interest. The previous system accepted only general applications — volunteer assignment locations were later determined based on each location’s varying level of need. Jeanne Paul, who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Brazil from 1964 to 1966, said because applicants can choose which regions they apply to, certain less desirable locations may no longer have enough volunteers. She said the Peace Corps changed their method of application to appeal to more applicants with a wider variety of experiences and qualifications. “The irony here is that when you allow people to make these choices and to feel that they can determine where they’re going to go and what they’re going to do, you may be attracting people at the same time who won’t easily adjust to the communities where they’re serving,” Paul said. See PEACE CORPS, Page 3A
One more Michigan beat Penn State to set » INSIDE up a showdown with Ohio State
WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 41 LO: 23
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NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM Ann Arbor experiences record snowfall MICHIGANDAILY.COM/SECTION/NEWS
INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 35 ©2015 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A
SUDOKU.....................2A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A S P O R T S M O N D AY. . . . . . 1 B