The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, January 31, 2011 - 5A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, January 31, 2011 - 5A
AFROTC sgt. known for fostering
an inviting atmosphere on campus
From Page 1A
Christon said her most memo-
rable experiences at the Univer-
sity have been witnessing cadets
swearing to support and defend
the Constitution at graduation.
She said her second-most memo-
rable moment was witnessing
cadets paint a message for her on
The Rock on the corner of Hill
Street and Washtenaw Avenue.
"For them to care enough to
do that - that was the greatest
gift ever ... thousands of people
don't get that opportunity to
get their name on the rock," she
said.
Christon also discussed how
she enjoyed counseling the
cadets as they prepare to enter
the Air Force after graduation.
"It's been a privilege to be
there for them, to help guide
them and help them understand
what the Air Force expects of
them."
Engineering senior Brad Oat-
men, a cadet in the AFROTC,
said that Christon has been a
driving force and mentor for all
students in the program.
"She keeps us in check
because she knows what's actu-
ally going to happen out there,"
Oatmen said. "She's kind of the
eyes and ears of experience that
we don't have."
The close-knit nature of the
University's AFROTC helped
Christon feel at home on cam-
pus.
"You develop a special bond, a
PROTEST
From Page 1A
have their voices heard.
"People are actually standing
up for their rights," Mattar said.
According to Mattar, the cri-
sis in Egypt is mainly the result
of frustration among young peo-
ple who are unable to find jobs in
the country's poor economy.
Mattar added he believes the
protests in Egypt will lead to
more citizen-led political reform
movements across the Middle
East.
"It's already having a ripple
effect," Mattar said. "But we
don't know what the outcome
in different countries is going to
be."
Mattar added he was encour-
aged by the number of people
who attended the event on Fri-
day.
"The number of people
around here is just shocking to
me," Mattar said.
Mohamed El-Sayed, an asso-
ciate professor in the College of
Engineering, led the group of
protesters in an Arabic chant.
El-Sayed said the chant trans-
lated into English as, "Down
for Mubarak's regime, long live
Egypt."
El-Sayed added that he
believes the crisis in Egypt
is representative of a lack of
democracy and acorruptregime.
"(Mubarak) has been in power
for 30 years," El-Sayed said.
"There is no democracy that
allows somebody to rule for 30
years."
Like Mattar, El-Sayed said he
was impressed with the turnout
and clear student interest in the
issue.
"It just shows that (students)
are fully aware of what's going
on," El-Sayed said.
LSA senior Noha Moustafa
also commended the turnout at
the protest, calling it "a testa-
ment to the student activism
that is on this campus."
Moustafa, another member of
the Egyptian Students Associa-
tion, said she supports the Egyp-
tian citizens who have decided to
expresstheir pent-up frustration
with Mubarak's administration.
"I'm glad that the people are
finally able to do something
about the oppressive regime,"
Moustafa said.
TERRA MOLENGRAFF/Daily
Master Sgt. Karen Christon, a staff sergeant with the University's Air Force ROTC,
at her retirement ceremony in the Michigan League on Friday, Jan. 28.
special closeness, here," she said.
Capt. Jonathan Liscombe, an
assistant professor at the Uni-
versity's AFROTC who worked
with Christon for the past year
and half, said he'll miss working
with her.
"She's one of those rare
employees that will lift everyone
up, no matter what is going on
in the day," Liscombe said. "She
always has a smile on her face,
so it naturally puts a smile on
mine."
Liscombe continued, "From
day one she introduced herself to
me as Sgt. Christon, and she gave
me a big hug. That's very rare,
especially in the military where
it's really formal."
LSA senior Thomas Barger,
an AFROTC cadet, said Christon
helped him feel comfortable in
the program.
"She has such a personality
about her," Barger said. "It's not
just that she's a hard worker ...
She's not intimidating, she's very
approachable, and she's always
joking with people, always
laughing, always kind of teasing
you a little bit, but always with
something positive to say."
Though Christon said she's
looking forward to the next
chapter in her life, she'll miss
being at the University.
"I never even knew anything
about football before being here
at Michigan," she said. "(Now)
I've become a Wolverine to my
heart ... It's just the camaraderie
here at Michigan - it's conta-
gious."
FIRE
From Page 1A
Lanza said.
Rachford, who was not
a student at the University,
graduated from Ann Arbor's
Community High School in2009
and was a member of the div-
ing team at Ann Arbor's Pioneer
High School.
LSA sophomore Patton
Doyle, who was on Pioneer High
School's swim team with Rach-
ford, said Saturday evening Rach-
ford was a very valuable member
of the team.
"He was a great guy," Doyle
said. "This is a horrible thingthat
happened."
The second person found
unconscious - a non-University
student named Tyne Mosbey-
is in critical condition at Butter-
worth Hospital in Grand Rapids,
hospital officials confirmed late
last night.
Lanza said authorities are not
sure whether the residence met
fire safety standards or if it had
workingsmoke detectors.
"It's hard to say right now," he
said Saturday.
Lanza said Saturday evening
the fire department is waiting
to find out specific details of the
incident. AAFD did not return
multiple calls by The Michigan
Daily as of Sunday evening.
The department will most
likely release results of the inves-
tigation Monday, Lanza said on
Saturday.
Lanza also said he believes
the fire spread as much as it did
because of the time it originated.
"At that hour of the morning,
I'm sure everybody was asleep, so
it probably went unnoticed for a
while," he said.
One neighbor who lives near
the house, who wished to remain
anonymous, said she had seen
people entering and exiting
Rachford's house on Saturday at
about 3 a.m. Another neighbor,
who also requested anonymity,
said he had also heard and seen
activity inside and around the
house atthattime.
Eight other neighbors inter-
viewed Sunday said they were
awoken by the sound of sirens at
about 5 a.m.
None of the neighbors who
commented said they had met the
individuals living in the house
that caught fire. A few neighbors
said Rachford, the unidentified
injured woman and two or three
other young adults moved into
the house this past fall.
- Daily Staff Reporter
Kaitlin Williams and Daily
News Editor Joseph Lichterman
contributed to this report.
Panhel talks women's leadership
At discussion, Dean
of Students urges
sorority leaders to
band together
ByKIMBERLY PAGEAU
About 200 executive board
members of the University's
Panhellenic Association sorori-
ties attended a seminar titled
"Women Leading Women" yes-
terday afternoon to discuss the
importance of women leadership.
Held at the Michigan League
Ballroom, the event was exclu-
sively for sorority executive board
members. In addition to discuss-
ing women's leadership, par-
ticipants focused on teamwork.
Laura Blake Jones, the Univer-
sity's dean of students, spoke to
the group about obstacles women
leaders face today and how
women can overcome them.
Following Jones's speech, the
panel broke up into various ses-
sions for each executive position.
LSA junior Sarah Smith, Panhel's
vice president of public relations
and a Michigan Daily columnist,
said though some women have
different official titles, they often
perform the same duties in the
chapters.
"The event is a chance for
sorority leaders to meet and col-
laborate with each other on issues
that all these chapters are facing,"
Smith said.
Mary Beth Seiler, director of
University Greek Life, said in an
interview at the event that Panhel
holds a Women Leading Women
event every year.
This year's event was different
CONFERENCE
From Page 1A
cussion about Japan, the Associa-
tion of Southeast Asian Nations,
China, Korea and India. It also
held panels about technology, cor-
porate social responsibility and
energy and the environment.
Business graduate student
Carrington Renfield-Miller, the
conference co-chair, wrote in an
e-mail interview that the confer-
ence drew 217 people, including
students, alumni and area profes-
sionals. The event was sponsored
by the Ross School of Business's
Student Government Association,
the school's Center for Interna-
tional Business Education and the
University's Center for Chinese
Studies and the University's Cen-
ter for Japanese Studies among
others.
than previous years', Seiler said,
because a group of experts from
the University and Ann Arbor
community came to speak dur-
ing the breakout sessions. One of
the experts, University Assistant
General Counsel Maya Kobersy,
spoke to the sorority presidents
aboutrisk management and liabil-
Sity issues. 5
Before the breakout sessions;
began, Jones emphasized how
women can benefit from working
together.
"The value and relationships
of sisterhood that this group so
clearly espouses and embodies
has been a big part of my success,"
she said.
Following the event, Jones said
she hopes her own professional
experiences can inspire women.
"As a woman who has worked
in leadership roles for a long time,
it's rewarding to be able to give
back and encourage others to
think about all the possibilities
that are offered to them."
Jones said throughout her
career, she'sworked hard to prove
she's more than just compassion-
ate and empathetic - traits she
said were stereotypically associ-
ated with women in the work-
place. However, she added that
women need to find a balance
between being too nurturing and
too stoic.
"Some of the things that I put
in my speech have rung true in my
career," Jones said. "I've seen col-
leagues of mine who are women
who went so far to avoid that ste-
reotype that they've come across
... as not feeling and uncaring."
Still, in her speech, Jones said
it is often hard for women to stray
from what is traditionally expect-
ed of them.
"There's still powerful scripts
that exist in our society (in terms
of) stereotypes for women," Jones
said. "Deviating from what's still
considered to be the norm for
women can be costly."
Over the course of her time
in the workplace, Jones told the
attendees that women have come
a long way in terms of employ-
ent opportunities.
"You know that your future
has always included the oppor-
tunity to be mothers, daughters,
sisters and friends," Jones said
"Your Michigan experience and
today's opportunities that exist
for women also means you can be
doctors,lawyers, teachers, college
presidents, corporate executives,
the Speaker of the House (and)
state senators."
The University community
contains prime examples of
women leaders, Jones said. She
specifically mentioned University
President Mary Sue Coleman and
E. Royster Harper, the Univer-
sity's vice president for Student
Affairs, as inspirational women.
"(Coleman) embodies the fact
that more and more women are
in executive positions on college
university campuses across the
country," Jones said.
Though women have made tre-
mendous strides in recent years,
they are still subject to certain
stigmas and prejudices, Jones
said. To overcome these challeng-
es, she said she believes women of
this generation need to continue
to capitalize on the bonds and
foundations that were built by
previous generations of women.
"As women we do need to be
champions and supporters of each
other," she said.
- Daily Staff Reporter Claire
Hall contributed to this report.
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Ghanta spoke before the Uni-
versity's Board of Regents meet-
ing on Jan.20 asking for financial
support for the conference. Ghan-
ta wrote in an e-mail interview
last night that they didn't receive
any funding for the event from the
regents.
In an interview after speaking
on a panel about China, Marty
Kahn, CEO of the Ann Arbor-
based business ProQuest, said the
University's longstanding com-
mitment to the conference reflects
its presence on the global stage.
"It's really startling how inter-
national the University of Michi-
gan is," Kahn said.
Kahn, whose company sells
databases in China, added that it's
important for students to "recog-
nize that the global economy is
not just a flow of goods, but the
flow of ideas."
Venkatesh Prasad, a group
and senior technical leader for
Ford Motor Co., spoke during
the technology panel. He said in
an interview at the event that he
is pleased with the opportunities
the conference offers for Univer-
sity students.
"I think this is a really rich
experience for those students
(and) for those who come as pan-
elists," Prasad said. "The past
meets the present to create the
future."
Business graduate student MJ
Kamal, said in an interview at the
conference that he enjoyed the
event and its broad appeal.
"It's a nice break from every-
thing else," Kamal said. "It's very
good for students who are not in
the Business School."
- Daily News Editor
Joseph Lichterman
contributed to this report.
A.