Classes begin Tuesday amidst a flurry of frantic textbook purchases and last minute Meijer runs. It’s understandable if you’re a bit overwhelmed. For those who joined the annual Ann Arbor exodus in May, it’s easy to become removed from the University and local Ann Arbor happenings. However, The Michigan Daily is here to help with a recap of what transpired in the past four months and a guide of what to watch for this fall.
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court declared key provisions of President Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act constitutional (that’s right, CNN). Young adults are now covered under their parents’ health insurance until the age of 26, giving students one less thing to worry about as graduation looms. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration continues working with the federal government to set up a health exchange, and must continue despite expected opposition.
At the final hour, Congress finally renewed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. The student loan interest rate will remain at 3.4 percent, instead of doubling to 6.8 percent. Hopefully, Obama will be able to work with Congress to ensure this rate for more than just a year, preventing unnecessary gridlock and worry for students.
Back in the state of Michigan, the word “vagina” made an appearance in almost every casual conversation during the middle of June. Rep. Lisa Brown (D—West Bloomfield) was barred from speaking in the House after a debate on an abortion bill in which she said, “Finally Mr. Speaker, I’m flattered that you’re all so interested in my vagina, but ‘no’ means ‘no.’” The state Legislature also spent significant time attempting to pass voter ID laws that would counter intuitively make it more difficult to vote. Look for the Michigan legislature to try and pass more extreme and exclusionary laws — though hopefully without avail.
Here in Ann Arbor, all City Council wards had open seats, making the competition fierce — between Democrats, of course — in the primaries. Voter turnout was minimal. Sumi Kailasapathy won in Ward 1, Sally Hart Peterson defeated the incumbent Tony Derezinski, Margie Teall won in Ward 4 and Chuck Warpehoski won in Ward 5.
At the University, the Board of Regents voted to increase tuition rates by 2.8 percent for in-state students and 3.5 percent for out-of-state students for this school year.
The University Health Service is no longer accepting walk-ins. The new policy was conveniently put into place this summer when many students left, so it remains to be seen how students will react.
Look to The Michigan Daily for continued news and opinion coverage of these issues. The Michigan Daily represents you. Our staff and editorial board are always advocating for students. But, we can only do so much. Make your voice heard and send Letters to the Editor or Viewpoints to tothedaily@michigandaily.com. With your input, the Daily’s opinion page can become a forum for discussion and every student can have the opportunity to contribute to the conversation.
Correction Appended: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the University Health System changed their walk-in policy.