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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, February 1, 2011 -- 5
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, February 1, 2011 - 5
BUILDING
From Page 1
person.
"In the residence halls, there
are lounges named after people of
color but ... there are no academic
or non-academic facilities named
after a person of color," Matlock
wrote.
According to the University
Housing website, within the Uni-
versity's residence halls there are
11 "minority-cultural lounges"
out of a total of 50 lounges. These
include the Rosa Parks Lounge
in Stockwell, Mahatma Gandhi
Lounge in Oxford and Martin
Luther King Jr. Lounge in Burs-
ley. There are also three "multi-
cultural theme lounges" in three
different residents halls, the web-
site states.
According to a University
Housing document titled "The
Purposes and Histories of Mul-
ticultural Theme & Minor-
ity-cultural Lounges," the
minority-cultural lounges - the
first of which was created in the
early 1970s - are meant for use
by the multicultural councils and
the Minority Peer Advisor pro-
grams in the residence halls.
"The programming and other
activities of the lounges are
directed toward federally recog-
nized students of color living in
the residence halls. These lounges
were created to provide students
of color the opportunity to inter-
act with one another in a relaxed
and open environment. They are
havens for support, solidarity and
sharing among students of color
and those interested in their con-
cerns," the document states.
The document also states, "It is
the goal of University Housing to
maintain these facilities as part
of its overall effort to support the
appreciation of diversity within
human populations, stimulate
intercultural interaction and
* understanding and provide sup-
portive environments for all stu-
dents."
University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald wrote in an e-mail
interview that there are few
opportunities to name buildings
after people, and it's not inten-
tional that only one building on
campus is named after a minority.
"By and large, buildings at the
University are named in honor of
past presidents and major donors
who have helped substantially to
underwrite the costs of construc-
tion," Fitzgerald wrote.
Nina Grant, director of the
University's Office of Multi-Eth-
nic Student Affairs and the Trot-
ter Multicultural Center, wrote
in an e-mail interview that she is
proud the center is named after "a
distinguished person of color."
"We are glad to be part of the
University's many and varied
efforts to advance racial and cul-
tural understanding and appre-
ciation - far beyond names
associated with buildings," she
wrote.
Jessica Thompson, the opera-
tions and event coordinator at
the Trotter Multicultural Center,
said she is honored to work in the
only University building named
after an African American.
"I feel, being an employee of
the Trotter Multicultural Center,
that I've got to fully give my all
here," Thompson said. "I've got
to really make this center known
on campus."
Thompson said the build-
ing being named after someone
belonging to a minority group is
a source of inspiration, not some-
thing to be criticized.
"It just indicates that there is
much more progress that is need-
ed," she said. "I wouldn't say I'm
disappointed, but if anything, it
should definitely indicate to all of
us here at the University of Mich-
igan that we've got to continue to
do better."
Engineering senior Sean Pres-
ton, president of the University's
chapter of the National Society of
Black Engineers, said he under-
stands why so few buildings are
named after minorities. He said
when he thinks about buildings
being named for people, the first
thing that comes to mind is indi-
viduals who have made signifi-
cant donations to the University.
"I'm not really surprised, but
with regards to the future, I think
that the first step is to get signifi-
cant people at the University ... so
we have significant contributors
to the University who are African
American," Preston said.
Still, Preston said it's more
important to increase underrep-
resented minority enrollment at
the University rather than focus
on who campus buildings are
named for.
"Personally, I would rather see
more people here from under-
represented communities than
buildings," he said. "I'd be more
interested in seeing people come
to the University as hired (admin-
istrators) or tenured faculty than
buildings. (Buildings are) the
next step."
Currently, underrepresented
minority student enrollment
is at 10.6 percent of the Uni-
versity's freshman class - an
increase from last year's 9.1
percent, according to a Oct. 25,
2010 Michigan Daily article. But
according to the article, the rise
may be attributed to a change in
the gathering and reporting of
data as mandated by the Higher
Education Opportunity Act.
LSA junior Ryanna Robin-
son, president of the community
service student group the Black
Volunteer Network, said she
isn't surprised there is just one
building named after a minority.
She added that this lack of rep-
resentation reflects the campus
community's deficiency in recog-
nition of minority individuals.
"I just think the University as a
whole needs to acknowledge peo-
ple of color more," she said.
INTERNSHIPS
From Page 1
in every school at the University
- is often one of the first stops
for students in their search for
summer internship positions.
"Certainly we're busy, and
we like it that way," Harclerode
said.
This year's search has prov-
en to be just as competitive, if
not more, than in past years,
according to Harclerode. This is
particularly the case for upper-
classmen, she said, which is the
demographic the Career Center
tends to work with most often.
While some students have
already heard back from the
places they've applied to, many
are now sending resum6s and
filling out online applications,
according to Harceirode.
Some of the most popular
areas of interest for student
interns are advertising and mar-
keting, public service and pre-
health, Harclerode said. She
added that this year she's seen
an increased interest in social
media, an internship field that
didn't exist a few years ago.
The number of students look-
ingfor entrepreneurship-related
internships has also increased,
she said, mentioning MPowered
as a program that has seen a rise
in student interest.
MPowered, a University
organization that encourages
students to explore entrepre-
neurship and create their own
companies, has become more
prevalent on campus in recent
years. Along with working with
entrepreneurship competi-
tions, MPowered also assembles
events to encourage student
innovation, including Global
Entrepreneurship Week, Start-
up Weekend and a career fair
that will take place on Feb. 9.
While the number of students
looking for summer internships
continues to be up, Harclerode
said the economy is more of a
concern for students on the hunt
this year than in the past. Stu-
dents looking for internships in
cities like Los Angeles and New
York may be concerned about
the high cost of living in those
areas, she said.
But the Career Center has
several suggestions for students
with financial concerns. Har-
clerode said students who have
apprehensions about accepting
an unpaid internship can intern
several days a week and also
work part-time or intern for the
half the summer and work the
other half.
"I'm a firm believer that an
internship shouldn't be some-
thing that is only for the haves,
and not the have-nots," she said.
One of the tools Harclerode
said students have utilized this
year is an online internship
database called the Career Cen-
ter Connector.
Kinesiology sophomore Paul
Kitti said the Career Center
Connector has been the most
beneficial tool in his search for
an internship in a sports-relat-
ed field. Kitti is looking for a
summer internship for the first
time and started his search in
December. He said he has sent
out his resume and has already
heard back from one company.
LSA junior Chatoris Jones
said she's found the online tool
extremely advantageous as well.
"It is the biggest help I've
ever had," Jones said.
The Career Center also offers
a feature called iPlan, which
allows students to visualize
all the steps of the internship
search process and to under
stand what they want to get out
of a possible internship.
Though students tend to
use the Career Center's ser-
vices later on in their college
careers, Harclerode said stu-
dents often say they wish they
had come in earlier. The Career
Center encourages students to
start taking advantage of their
resources as early as freshman
year, she said.
Jones said she feels pressure
to get an internship this sum-
mer since she's an upperclass-
man now.
"This year, especially because
I am a junior, it's extremely
competitive because I feel like
I'm running out of- time," she
said. "A message to everyone is
just to get out there and go for
it. Definitely start connecting
now."
FIRE
From Page 1
of students, sent an e-mail yes-
terday to University students
who graduated from Commu-
nity High School acknowledging
Rachford's death, and offering
condolences to campus com-
munity members who may have
known him.
"While the deceased was not
a University of Michigan stu-
dent, we know that many current
students may know them from
high school," Javier wrote in the
e-mail. "We are very sorry for
this tragic, sudden loss and we
would like to offer support."
The e-mail stated that the
University is offering assistance
to any students mourning the
loss, and pointed out resources
on campus like the University's
Counseling and Psychological
Services, as well as CAP's Ken's
Place, a support organization
for students who experience the
death of a loved one.
"Should you need support in
contacting your academic unit or
would like to speak to a counsel-
or, please let us know and we can
help to connect you to the most
appropriate resources on cam-
pus," Javier wrote.
Two other individuals were
in the house when the fire broke
out, but they were able to escape
before- firefighters reached the
house, Lanzasaid.
Lt. Mark St. Amour of the
Ann Arbor Police Department
said yesterday afternoon that he
couldn't release the names of the
other individuals involved in the
fire.
St. Amour said the AAPD is
working with other officers to aid
the AAFD in investigating the fire.
Mike Merar contributed
to this report.
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