The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Monday, April 18, 2011- SA

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, April 18, 2011 - 5A

RABHI
From Page 1A
the common goal of improving
Washtenaw County.
"I had different conceptions
of what it was that happened
between commissioners and
how business got done," Rabhi
said. "After only a few days
on the job, I realized that the
commissioners are not scary or
intimidating people and that
they are just trying to make this
community a better place for
everyone."
Rabbi added that his relative-
ly young age has proven to be an
advantage during his first term.
"Because I am brand new
and have not had the same level
of experience that many of
my peers have, I can approach
things with a slightly differ-
ent perspective," Rabhi said.
"In many ways I think that the
diversity of experience on the
board allows for a well-func-
tioning board."
A "well-functioning" board
CEREMONY
From Page 1A
and colleges. After the Univer-
sity announced last month that
Snyder would be speaking, about
100 students took to the Diag to
express their disagreement with
the choice. Prior to the protest,
a student-led petition in oppo-
sition to Snyder as the speaker
" gained more than 4,230 signa-
tures.
Despite the possible protests,
Jessica Barr, events assistant
for University and Development
Events, said no signs will be
allowed in the stadium since they
a are never allowed for any Big
House event.
"We do adhere to the security
guidelines that are in place for
Michigan Stadium during the
SURGERY
From Page 1A
"On her hospital hearing
test, it was suggested to me that
there might be something going
on other than just a routine ear
infection or something else in the
ear," Lesperance said.
Lesperance found that an
enlarged vestibular aqueduct
between the inner ear and the
skull was causing Samantha's
hearing problem. But the CT scan
also unveiled another, unrelated
problem: amass had developed on
the left side of Samantha's brain.
Though the tumor was benign,
Lesperance said doctors decided
to operate before it could grow

is needed this year as Rabhi and
the commissioners attempt to
manage the county's $20.9 mil-
lion budget shortfall. Rabhi said
he knows the deficit will mean
cutting programs, and therefore
the board must look into making
effective modifications and cost
reductions.
"I see it as making our gov-
ernment more compact in order
to make it run more efficiently
by eliminating redundancies,"
Rabhi said. "But of course
you can't find $20.9 million of
redundancies, so some things
are going to have to be cut."
In addition to working on bal-
ancing the budget, Rabhi said
his first four months in office
have been focused on communi-
ty outreach within his district.
He added that he is planning to
have weekly or bi-weekly cof-
fee hours with his constituents
starting in May.
As he becomes more accli-
mated to the board, Rabhi said
he is enjoying his job because he
feels he is making a difference in
the community.

Yoasef babhi, a member of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners,
poses fsr a portrait outside Antell Hall on Friday.

"As weeks become months,
I feel increasingly certain that
I made the right choice in run-

ning for office," Rabhi said. "My
voice is important and is being
listened to."


football season," Barr said. "But
it's not advanced security."
Despite the differences in
security from last year, the main
change on this year's agenda is to
make the ceremony more envi-
ronmentally friendly. In an effort
to be more "green," the Uni-
versity cut 21 pages out of each
commencement program, saving
hundreds of thousands of pages
overall.
In addition, the University has
eliminated hot dogs from conces-
sion menus in favor of more local
and sustainable options. About
35 percent of graduates are also
expected to wear gowns made out
of recycled plastic bottles.
Mike Shriberg, education
director of the Graham Environ-
mental Sustainability Institute
and a lecturer in the Program in
the Environment, enlisted three
any further.
"Sometimes the neurosurgeon
will just watch (a tumor), but if
it's something that has a risk to
grow bigger, or if there would be
too many side effects from it ... a
patient would want to get a biop-
sy," she said.
At this point in her daughter's
prognosis, Lee Ann said her mind
was working at "100 miles an
hour."
"I was wondering if (the diag-
nosis) was a mistake ... or possibly
life threatening," she said.
In the weeks preceding
Samantha's surgery with Cormac
Maher, a pediatric neurosurgeon
at UMHS, Lee Ann said Saman-
tha was surprisingly courageous
despite her parents' anxiety.

students from his class to help
the University develop green
initiatives at commencement by
evaluating previous practices and
developing changes.
"(The students are) not just
looking at this year, they're look-
ing at long term, how (to) ... make
commencement a zero-waste
event," Shriberg said. "So they've
got some bigger ideas in terms of
increasing the amount of com-
posting, increasing recycling and
reducing materials that go in."
While some students were
involved in making the ceremony
more environmentally sustain-
able, LSA senior Jillian Rothman
will be partaking in a different
way. Rothman was selected to
be the student speaker at com-
mencement, after her speech was
reviewed by a group of faculty,
students and alumni.
"She knew she was goingto the
hospital, she knew she was going
to get stitches and she knew she
was going to get as many popsi-
cles as she wanted," Lee Ann said.
"She was excited to show off her
scar."
Lee Ann recalled that the sur-
gery yielded a quick recovery.
After a four-day stay at Mott, Lee
Ann said her daughter returned
to school three weeks later and
resumed her day-to-day activi-
ties.
According to Lee Ann, her
daughter's resilience has allowed
her to transition back to a mostly
normal life. Having dealt primari-
ly with child patients, Lesperance
said children are especially adept
at coping with illness.

"I think I've had a very typical
experience here," Rothman said.
"I love Michigan a lot, and I guess
I have a lot to sayabouthow much
I love it, and I hope it represents
what most people graduating
feel."
Rothman said she recognizes
that some students are disap-
pointed with the choice of Snyder
as the commencement speaker.
However, she said she encour-
ages students to put aside their
political beliefs and appreciate
his accomplishments as a Univer-
sity alum.
"Whether or not you agree
with what he's doing with those
degrees, the fact is he's taken his
degrees and used them to con-
tinue his fight for something he
believes in," Rothman said. "We
should all be so lucky to be able to
do that with our degrees."
"They want to be healthy. They
want to go play," she said. "They
really bounce back."
Though Lesperance will con-
tinue seeing Samantha periodi-
cally over the next few years, Lee
Ann said Samantha's health is sta-
ble. She added that, more impor-
tantly, her daughter's spirits are
high.
"I'm just so happy that even
with her hearing loss, it hasn't
affected her self-confidence," Lee
Ann said. "She's just an all-Amer-
ican kid."
Samantha has even turned her
hearing problem into a fashion
statement, her mother said.
"She has very cool, groovy,
bright blue hearing aids," Lee
Ann said,

ORDER
From Page 1A
Order announced the names
of the 22 students who make up
the class of 2012 ina press release
issued Friday. As in recent years,
the organization's newest class
includes leaders from a variety of
campus organizations, including
athletic teams, service organiza-
tions and religious and ethnic
groups.
A maximum of 25 seniors are
selected, or "tapped," for mem-
bership each year by the outgoing
members to carry on the mission
of the organization.
According to a document pro-
vided by the group, Order aims to
"advance exceptional leadership
through a lifelong loyalty to and
engagement with the University
of Michigan."
The document outlined that the
group does this by workingtoward
its six core goals - bringing suc-
cessful and diverse leaders togeth-
er through membership in Order,
"creating a forum of purpose" in
which constructive dialogue can
occur, "facilitating campus syner-
gy" tobringaboutpositive change,
increasing the influence of lead-
ers on campus by better inform-
ing them about issues on campus,
building lifelong connections to
the University, to the University
and to "reflect and engage" on the
University's "values, spirit and
aspirations."
The organization has come
under fire in the past for using
Native American artifacts as part
of its operations. But in 1989, then-
Michigamua signed an agreement
in which it agreed, according to
the organization's press release, to
"eliminate all references to Native
American culture ... with one
exception being the name Mich-
igamua."''
However, in 2000, members of
the Students of Color Coalition
entered the seventh floor of the
Michigan Union tower - a space
indefinitely leased to the senior
honor society - and discovered
what it alleged were Native Amer-
ican artifacts. Members of the
Students of Color Coalition said
the discovery violated the 1989
agreement.
In documents given to the Daily
by Order, the organization reaf-
firmed its position that no such
discovery of Native American
artifacts ever occurred.
"There was never an indepen-
dent review of the break in," the
document from Order states. "Any
claim by the protestors that cul-
tural objects were in view or in use
are all 'alleged' or 'claims.'"
The 2000 incident, as well as

the group's non-disclosure of its
membership in some years, have
cast criticism on the group for
being secretive.
However, Order spokesman
James Stinson III, an LSA senior,
wrote in an e-mail interview that
the idea that the group is "less
transparent than other groups" is
a misconception.
"We have continuously offered
and will continue to offer to speak
to any individual or group that
would like to learn more about us
or our members," Stinson wrote.
Asked about the allegations
made by the Students of Color
Coalition in 2000, Stinson wrote
that Order of Angell has made
attempts to improve its relation-
ship with groups they may have
offended in the past.
"Order has done a great deal to
mend relationships with individu-
als and groups that care enough
to listen and share with us," he
wrote. "Unfortunately, there are
a small number of organizations
that continue to use us as a politi-
cal tool."
He added: "They are blatantly
discriminatory, block members of
their own communities from hav-
ing the freedom to choose their
affiliations and hide behind accu-
sations of hate instead of engaging
in real discourse."
Though Order says it often
works behind the scenes as it
does not seek recognition for its
efforts, the group took a pub-
lic stance last year in defense of
then-Michigan Student Assem-
bly President Chris Armstrong;
who is a member of Order's 2011
class. As part of it's support of
Armstrong, Stinson and fellow
Order member Alexander Wood,
an LSA senior, wrote a viewpoint
in the Daily. The viewpoint criti-
cized Andrew Shirvell, a former
Michigan assistant attorney gen-
eral, for his actions against Arm-
strong and his characterization of
order.
"Using Order of Angell as a
scapegoatcand shroud for discrimi-
nation only circumvents confront-
ing actual issues,"the two wrote at
the time in their viewpoint.
In his e-mail interview last
weekend, Stinson urged those
who may still have concerns about
the group's image to be open to
a two-way discussion with the
group.
"The only path to healing is to
open the doors, not to shun truth
or simple human dignity and
courtesy," Stinson wrote. "Our
door is open to those who are will-
ing to listen and reflect."
- Because of her membership in
the group, Editor in Chief Stephanie
Steinberg did not edit this story.

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