3A - Thursday; September 4, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
3A - Thursday; September 4, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
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Ann Arbor, MI 48109
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MEGAN MCDONALD
PETER SHAHIN and DANIEL WANG KATIE BURKE
EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
- Little eld o dreams
CARLINA DUAN, TERESA MATHEW, RYAN MOODY AND NOUR SOUBANI IMICH GAN N COLOR
Anew year, a new open MiC letter from the editors
very sunny afternoot
bat and wiffle ball
walk out onto the gn
backyard. At one end I
had placed a temporary
home plate, a fixture so
common in my yard that
the grass underneath
seemed permanently
flattened. I'd walk up, left
foot in the batter's box
first, then right foot. A
tap of the bat on the far
corner of the plate. A check
swing. As I pulled the bat
back behind my head,
the grass of the yard gave w
surrounded by filled bleach
fans. Thousands of them. Ye
not the Comerica Park of the
the infield of Wrigley Field
My backyard was now W
the site of the Little Leagu
Every year, the best
teams from around the
in Williamsport for not ju
tournament,butonespeciale
devotes an entire two week
12-year-olds. And there was
more than to step up to th
millions of viewers watch a
graphic showed up on the
Harris," it would read, along
of hits, batting average, hom
ESPN liked to include fun fac
my favorite sports movie: Fie
This was the field of dream
endlessly hit whiffle balls ove
backyard, I'd imagine it was t
sixth, bases loaded, down by
the grand slam I just hit won
the powerhouse team from Ca
little town of Grosse Pointe.
greatest Little League in the
Little League was the con
my hometown, where the
talk was always about who w
and who would pitch the ne
spectators lined the fences
watch the local finals. Wher
goal for the 12-year-old tear
Win the district, then the sta
the region and journey to Wi
For me, the dream was
even began. For the first tim
as a kid, plastic career, I was cut from the postseason
n hand, I would tournament team that would represent the
een grass of my city. The chance for me to introduce myself
with the team lineup on SportsCenter with
a "My name is David Harris and my favorite
baseball player is Bobby Higginson" was
gone forever.
No team from Grosse Pointe had made it all
the way since 1979. This team, too, would fall
short,endingthe dreamofyouthSportsCenter
glory for 12 more kids. The 455 miles between
DAVID Grosse Pointe and Williamsport seemed so
HARRIS much farther.away.
Youth sports are among the greatest of
lesson-teachers. Lessons of winning and
losing, humility and graciousness, successes
vay to an infield, and failures. And sure, I learned all of that.
hers of cheering But more than anything, I learned to dream.
t this infield was It was the dream of victory that drove me
Detroit Tigers or as I rode my bike to every practice. Coming
that I so adored. to the University was once a dream too. Soon
illiamsport, Pa., enough, dreams of being a Nobel-winning
se World Series. scientist or Supreme Court justice ensued, as
Little League it's these grandiose dreams that spawn over
world convene the course of our lifetime and draw out the
st any baseball path we attempt to follow. One day I'll dream
noughthatESPN of owning a house, with a backyard, and my
s of coverage to own son running around the grass hitting
nothingI wanted wiffle balls in every direction.
e plate and have I would take my baseball glove to every
s ESPN's batter Major League Baseball game as a kid. I dreamt
screen. "David of snagging a ball hit into the stands. I left
with my number empty-handed every single game, endlessly
e runs, and since awaiting my chance to catch the ball that
ts about the kids, never came. But to reduce the splendor of the
ld of Dreams. game to the failure to collect a souvenir is a
s itself. And as I disservice to everything experienced.
r the fence in my A dream is not a measure for success or
he bottom of the failure, nor a straight course from point A to
'three runs, and point B. But to dream is the significance of
the game against life. As Prospero says in Shakespeare's "The
alifornia, and the Tempest", "We are such stuff as dreams are
Mich., was the made on, and our little life is rounded with a
United States. sleep."
mmunal event of Eight years later, the dreams of 12
school cafeteria hometown kids would come true. And with
on the day before eyes glued to the screen, my youngestbrother,
xt game. Where 10 years old at the time, watched ESPN as
of the fields to the team from Grosse Pointe took the field at
e every year the Williamsport. Next year is his chance to live
m was the same: the dream, whether or not the journey ends
te, and then win in Williamsport.
Welcome back to Michigan in
Color, a space for People of Color
(PoCs) on the University of Michigan
campus to facilitate change by
sharing their stories and voices.
Michigan in Color (MiC) was
launched on Martin Luther King,
Jr. Day, Jan. 20, 2014, by three
women of color - Rima Fadlallah,
Jerusaliem Gebreziabher and Kayla
Upadhayaya, with two initial goals:
to help individuals and groups see
beyond their own experiences, and
to feel and embrace power from
other communities of color across
the University of Michigan campus.
Since its inception, MiC has had
a powerful, widespread impact.
People who had never picked up
The Michigan Daily before were
reading it consistently. Professors
were selecting MiC pieces to initiate
discussions in class. MiC writers
started receiving responses from
readers from across the country and
the world that reflected on their own
issues as PoCs. For the past nine
months, MiC has radically raised
discussions and awareness about
issues that are important to PoCs.
People listened. They still are.
But MiC isn't just about getting
people to take notice; we address an
unmetneed.Aneedfor allstudents to
be valued, affirmed and heard. With
every publication, MiC proves that
even though our stories as people
of color deviate from mainstream
narratives, our stories are worthy of
words, ink, time and space. In fact,
our stories are oftentimes made
valuable because they stray from the
dominantnorm.
MiC is a crucial space on this
campus - a space for PoCs to
celebrate what is rarely celebrated
and to take comfort in what we often
feel pressure to defend. It is a space
where PoCs do not have to strip or
censor our stories of the ache, shame,
or pain we carry before sharing them
with the world. Our contributors
aren't required to dissect their
narratives into "logical" bite-sized
pieces to prepare them for public
consumption. As The Michigan
Daily's first section where the
creators, editors, and publishers are
exclusively People of Color, we aren't
here to be politically correct. This is
our truth, and these are our stories.
MiC is not here to be shiny, or
fierce, or revolutionary. It is here
to tell honest stories that shovel
beneath the heart. And by doing so,
Michigan in Color has allowed us to
jump through windows of curiosity,
rage, wonder. It becomes fierce and
revolutionary because it is honest
storytelling; it is honest listening
that pushes, challenges, questions,
affirms - and that combination
unlatches all the windows.
MiC offers storytelling that does
not claim to be anything other than
narratives from the mouth, the
brain, the heart. For us, the best
part about storytelling is that while
you will never have the exact same
experience as someone else, you
have the power to weave together
something from your own world that
connects and supports and builds
upon your own experience. We hope
MiC will foster a space of connection
for our readers, as well as a place of
empathy, listening and generosity.
Last year MiC defined itself and
carved its space on campus. This year,
we will take a new step. Stories can be
told with words - but they can also
be told with art, music, pictures, and
so many more mediums. We want to
create new multimedia avenues for
our voices to speak and to be heard.
Throughout the year, we will be
introducing new visual and artistic
elements to Michigan in Color with
platforms for cartoons, illustrations,
poetry and song. We want MiC to
be more than a newspaper column;
we want it to become a dynamic
community - a support network for
communities of color on campus,
one that provides opportunities for
individual and collective growth
through the sharing of our stories,
one that pushes us beyond the space
to listen, challenge, empathize and
grow.
We want all our readers to see
that there is no one way to be any
color, any ethnicity, any identity.
MiC is a space for stories to be told.
We do not speak for all - we speak
for ourselves, and these narratives
have a right to be heard. Let us tell
them proudly.
We are the new Michigan in Color
editors, and these are our stories:
I'm Carlina Duan, and I'm here
because I want to help build an
accessible, powerful space on cam-
pus that uses narrative to pummel
past doors. As a first-generation
Chinese American, I'm often stuck
switching between codes of "Ameri-
can" versus "Chinese," navigating
feelings of strangeness and small-
ness, while simultaneously hatching
wonder and joy. For me, my identity
as a Chinese American woman is as
stunning as it is confusing. As a stu-
dent on this campus, I want to talk
about the confusion. I want to talk
about what gets skimmed over or
pressed into flatter shapes. For me,
Michigan in Color is urgent. It has
the ability to amplify honest conver-
sations surrounding issues of race,
ethnicity, and personhood. It has
the power to dimensionalize and
heal, teaching us all how to stretch
- and, ultimately, how to grow.
I'm Ryan Moody, and I'm here
because I am tired of me and my
friendsbeingsilenced and dismissed
as oversensitive. For me, the desire
to be understood, disprove negative
stereotypes, and avoid offending
others prevents my speaking can-
didly outside of the few spaces creat-
ed by and for people of color. Instead,
I am often telling a white-washed
version of my truths. Though each
person has unique life experiences, I
think that we, as PoCs, are all linked
by common pressures that restrict
the ways in which we express our-
selves. Michigan in Color is working
to repair that dynamic. I'm excited
to help build and maintain one of
the few spaces on campus where
I have seen people of color be and
thrive unfiltered.
I'm Teresa Mathew, and I'm here
because I want all people of all colors
and heritages to know that they
deserve to forge their own identities
and tell their own stories. I'm tired
of people thinking that because they
can look at me and classify me as
Indian they can ascribe everything
they think that identity means (a love
of Bollywood, elaborate weddings,
Hinduism) to me. Guys, literally
none ofthose things are true. For me,
Michigan in Color is a furnace. We
will ignite fires and blaze our truth,
bringing light and warmth to those
who have been left out in the dark.
I'm Nour Soubani, and I'm here
because I've learned that not telling
our own stories erases us. As a Pales-
tinianAmericanmyidentity wasone
that people, didn't even recognize -
"Palestine? What's that?" - and so it
becamesomethingIfeltIhadtohide,
something I couldn't even under-
stand for myself, let alone explain to
someone else. Only when I was sur-
rounded by people who wanted to
talk about and listen to Palestinians
did I have a chance to truly embrace
who I was and where I came from,
and that has given me awell of inspi-
ration and courage on which I draw
often. For me, MiC is necessary; it is
critical for our survival. I'm a MiC
editor because I believe in the trans-
formative power our stories have to
heal us and those who listen to us.
We need to talk about who we are
and what our identities mean, to find
strength and passion in our strug-
gles and resistance and bravery. By
speaking our truths uninterrupted
and unapologetically, we can come
to know ourselves, our sorrows and
sadness, our triumphs and our pain
- and love and appreciate all of it.
So for all of you PoCs who see this
as something you want to be a part
of, now is your time. This can be your
space, ifyou wantto make itso. If you
would like to join the Michigan in
Color team as a regular contributor,
please contact us at michiganincol-
or@umich.edu to request an appli-
cation. Similarly, if you're interested
in contributing to the space, but not
as a regular contributor, feel free to
e-mail us to request more informa-
tion. We welcome your voice. We
hope you'll continue to read, reflect,
and join our MiC community.
This is an active space, so get
ready, University of Michigan. We
are passing the MiC.
Carlina Duan is an LSA senior,
Teresa Mathew is an LSA senior,
Ryan Moody is a Engineering senior
and Nour Soubani is a LSA senior.
lliamsport.
over before it
e in my baseball
- David Harris can be reached
at daharr@umich.edu.
Read
o this, actually. This isn't
important. Doubtless there are
other things - chemistry textbooks,
news stories, 18th-century English novels,
brilliant yet ridiculously
dense academic works that
make your eyes glaze over
- you should be reading
right now. For time's sake,
just skip the rest of this
column and go read them.
Why? Sometimes the
syllabus says so and that's ERIC
justification enough; after FERGUSON
all, you will miss some
things in college if you
don't get into the habit of doing the readings.
At the very least, you'll actually know what's
coming out of your fingertips while working
on a term paper 24 hours before the deadline,
frantically pumping out text to meet the page
requirement. If you just can't take the time to
read because you're busy volunteering for a
nonprofit in Detroit or agitating in the Diag
on your social justice issue du jour, fine -
you're probably reading up on and learning
about those things, and that's good enough
for me.
Well, almost good enough. If you're
passionate about any issue at all, chances
are you want to do something about it. And
fortunately for you, it's election season once
more. You should participate, but recognize
at the same time that there will be issues at
stake you know little about. There is nothing
wrong with that - to some extent, each and
every person is a mountain of ignorance -
but for the sake of your future and that of
everyone around you, don't just go vote on
Election Day without seeking out information
on the issues beforehand. Being informed is a
responsibility you can't afford to ignore.
Who you choose to represent you and the
decisions you make to favor or oppose state
Supreme Court candidates or ballot measures
(Prop 1, Prop 2, et cetera) will affect the
lives of others. Any political scientist would
tell you the act of one more random person
casting their vote matters little due to the
statistical improbability of that vote deciding
the election. However, the consequences of
failing to "do the reading" on the issues on
which you vote - and even ones not on the
ballot - are damning in the long run, while
the benefits of doing the reading are great.
If you want to win others over to your
side or even just increase their awareness of
your cause, being knowledgeable is key. The
knowledge you bring to the table multiplies
when you use it to raise others' awareness.
Even better, knowledge is invaluable if you're
called upon to make a decision like the ones
every voting-age American is called upon to
make on Election Day. Besides, you'll be far
more likely to impress those around you with
what you know, and far less likely to make an
idiot out of yourself in conversation. Getting
into the habit of being informed now, as a stu-
dent, is therefore both personally beneficial
and unquestionably a good thing to do.
So read for the classes in your major. Read,
at least a little bit, for the classes you're
required to take. What you learn there might
even come in handy someday. Read up on
issues on which you have a strong opinion
- and for the love of God, don't just read the
latest ThinkProgress or Fox News article on
the issue and call yourself informed. Read the
best arguments you can find that go against
your strong opinions, and remind yourself
that some people's views justifiably differ
from yours. Read comments on the Internet
every so often, if only to remind yourself
how many people have no idea what they are
talking about. You are entitled to your own
opinion on any issue, but if you're going to
even think about affecting someone else's life
by expressing that opinion through voting or
advocacy, read. Read like the quality of your
life and the lives of everyone you know and
love depend on it - simply because they do.
-Eric Ferguson can be reached
at ericff@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Jaekwan An, Berry Belmont, Edvinas Berzanskis, David Harris,
Rachel John, Nivedita Karki, Jacob Karafa, Jordyn Kay,
Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Victoria Noble, Melissa Scholke,
Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Paul Sherman, Allison Raeck,
Linh Vu, Meher Walia, Mary Kate Winn, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe
MELISSA SCHOLKE
Unaddressed for too long
Articles describing the horrific
tragedy that occurred at Isla Vista,
California on May 23rd appeared on
newsfeeds across the nation while
the stream of hashtags feverishly
trended across Twitter.
While I fully supported the
emboldened outcry of my fellow
feminists, I hesitated before open-
ing each journalistic piece offering
coverage of the incident. Before
each click of the mouse, I wondered:
"Now, what is this article going to
say about the shooter?" Therein lies
a flaw of our news media. While
piece after piece sensationalizes
the event, the media has yet to delve
into the overreaching problems that
led up to this rampage. The name of
the perpetrator is plastered across
cyberspace, but more of a focus
should be placed on raising aware-
ness of the dangers objectification
and misogyny pose to our society.
Now, I don't mean to insinuate
news outlets are being neglect-
ful in their coverage. Rather, I'm
extremely troubled by the amount
of the news hole occupied by a sin-
gle individual. Why are news outlets
continuing to only give attention
to a man who was seeking infamy
when he committed these acts? The
motivations behind the rampage
are complex and no single issue -
whether it be mental illness, misog-
yny or objectification - is the sole
driving force behind the incident.
However, I'm bothered by the
manner in which some articles fail to
acknowledge how the tragedy at Isla
Vista illustrates a glaring epidemic
still running rampant in this
patriarchal society of ours. While
this recent incident demonstrates
the dangers of misogyny to an
extreme degree, society needs to
learn objectification and misogyny
are harmful to women on every
level. Likewise, these problems
are far too prevalent and sadly go
unaddressed in our society.
Objectification is the reduction of
a human being until they are treated
merely as an object. These young
women and men were more than
just the "beautiful blonde girls in
revealing shorts" or the "obnoxious
brutes" described in those chilling
and vengeful YouTube videos.
Yes, the man responsible for
their deaths was deeply troubled
and a vehement misogynist who
erroneously believed women owed
him whatever he desired. However,
he's a single case out of many. The
stereotypes and images polluting
our society allow individuals to
believe reducing a human's worth
to nothing more than good hair or
their physique is acceptable. When
women and a number of men are
viewed merely as objects, it's far
too easy for others to treat them
as such. Misogyny develops as a
result. These flawed beliefs lead to
the unbelievably large amount of
violence and harassment women
face on a daily basis, and they help
to explain why the United States
possesses one of the highest rates of
rape in the world.
Misogyny, objectification,
harassment and violence against
women aren't merely the ranting
of angry feminists. They're
widespread problems with dire
consequences. While these issues
shouldn't detract from the coverage
of recent events, these actions
indicate these issues have gone
unaddressed for far too long and
need to be brought to light.
Melissa Scholke can be reached
. at melikaye@umich.edu.
A
i