optiMize; University alum David
Merritt, founder of Merit Good-
ness; and Michael Finney, senior
economic adviser to Republican
Gov. Rick Snyder, all participated.
The University is home to sever-
al programs focused on entrepre-
neuship, including the Center for
Entrepreneurship, the Samuel
Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute
for Entrepreneurial Studies and
Medical Innovation Center.
The panelists agreed that
innovation and entrepreneurship
have become increasingly impor-
tant over the last few years due
to the interdisciplinary nature of
problems facing the world today.
“Today’s world demands grad-
uates prepared to be highly col-
laborative problem solvers ready
to tackle big challenges,” Zurbu-
chen wrote.
Sorensen,
who
co-founded
the
entrepreneurship-focused
student organization optiMize
while he was a student on cam-
pus, encouraged students to get
involved in the world around
them and pursue their ideas.
“Students need to ask ‘why not
me?’ and innovate to solve (the
problems)!” Sorensen wrote.
Even for students who major
in a subject seemingly uncon-
nected to entrepreneurship and
innovation, Zurbuchen wrote
that thinking like an entrepre-
neur is still necessary.
“(Entrepreneurship) (is) also
more than just starting a busi-
ness,” Zurbuchen wrote. “It’s
a necessary state of mind that
views opportunity in a chal-
lenge.”
Similarly, Zurbuchen said stu-
dents do not necessarily need to
be part of a startup business to
get involved.
“Not everybody needs to be
a startup founder!” Zurbuchen
wrote. “It’s about seeing and
growing innovation, even in big
companies.”
Merritt, a former Michigan
basketball player who started
his own business, recommend-
ed researching the market and
connecting with the commu-
nity to create a solid group of
customers and followers.
“Find people that believe
what you believe,” Merritt
wrote.
“People
buy
‘why’
maybe even more than ‘what.’ ”
While the panelists also
noted that the process often
involves
failure,
LaPierre
wrote that failure does not
always result in negative con-
sequences.
“Failure
isn’t
inherently
bad,” LaPierre wrote. “Fail
fast, move on and learn from
your mistakes. And share your
learnings with others.”
Merritt added a slightly dif-
ferent take — he said he defined
failure not as failing to reach
a goal, but as not making the
attempt in the first place.
“Success is giving it all you
have,” Merritt wrote. “It’s not
a destination, it’s appreciating
the process. The failure is in
not trying.”
In a ddition to the social
innovation opportunities on
campus, Zurbuchen said there
are over 10 University projects
focused on Detroit and other
regions in Michigan.
Speaking to the state as a
whole, Finney, Snyder’s senior
economic adviser, wrote that
Michigan is growing various
technology industries, such as
information technology, bio-
technology and agriculture.
He also wrote that Michigan is
a great location for technology
industries due to the concen-
TWITTER
From Page 1A
rently the chaplain and executive
director of the Muslim Chaplaincy
at the University of Toledo.
During his speech, Tarsin dis-
cussed spiritual empowerment
and concepts of unity and diver-
sity.
“I think that one of the beautiful
things about places like the Uni-
versity of Michigan, and just kind
of the commitment to diversity as
a whole, is that people can agree
on really broad primary principles
and values,” he said. “For example,
helping those in need, not harming
one another, live and let live and
working together on areas of over-
lap and agreement.”
Tarsin
also
noted
Islam’s
emphasis on personal freedom.
“I believe, as a Muslim, as an
educator within Islam, is that
everyone is free to choose their
belief, their walk of life and I really
believe that believing in that free-
dom of expression, that freedom
of choice, is a thing that is a part of
our religion,” he said.
At the event, Zain Shamoon, a
Michigan State University student,
delivered a spoken word perfor-
mance.
Shamoon discussed the right to
choose one’s own path and the con-
nections that bind all people, as well
as an interactive song referencing
cultural staples from the 1990s.
MSA President Saher Rathur, an
LSA senior, said the organization
provided her a Muslim community
on campus.
“When I was in high school I
wasn’t really part of any Muslim
community and I didn’t really
have Muslim friends growing up,”
Rathur said. “When I came here
I had heard about this MSA and
about how it’s very active and the
people are great. So I was like,
‘Okay, might as well try it out,’
and I did, and I just never stopped
going to their events.”
MSA also collaborates with
MSA
organizations
at
other
schools. This past semester, they
held a joint dinner with MSU as
well as a weekend retreat with
Ohio State University.
LSA junior Farah Alam, MSA
sisterhood social chair, said the
organization aims to be inclusive.
“Something you can really con-
nect on is our faith,” Alam said.
“For the most part this is a priority,
so finding other people that share
the same belief system, and com-
ing together, is just a good way to
get a better college experience.”
Alam added that this year’s
event differs from previous years.
“Many years ago, back when
our holy month of fasting, Rama-
dan, was in the summer (it moves
up two weeks every year), it used
to be a big dinner to commemo-
rate and break our fast with family
and friends,” Alam said. “Now it’s
become a social dinner that every-
one looks forward to every year.”
LSA junior Dana Mosa-Basha
is not a member of MSA, but said
she attended the event to support
her friends who are members. Like
most guests, Mosa-Basha wore a
traditional ensemble to the event.
“I’m involved because I go to
school here and I’ve met a lot of
people along the way,” Mosa-Basha
said. “They have a bunch of events
throughout the year so I really like
to go. They have 18 board members
and each one has different tasks
and things to do, so it’s a really
wide array of events, so I like to go
to everything they have.”
BANQUET
From Page 1A
2-News
2A — Monday, February 9, 2015
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
THREE THINGS YOU
SHOULD KNOW TODAY
The
Michigan
men’s
basketball
team lost at Indiana
Sunday
afternoon,
70-67.
Sophomore guard Zak Irvin
led the Wolverines with
23 points. The loss was
Michigan’s third in a row.
>> FOR MORE, SEE SPORTSMONDAY
2
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
A
man
suspected
of
crashing his truck through
the gate of the U.S. Cost
Guard Station in Grand Haven
and making a threat about an
explosive in his truck is now in
custody, The Ann Arbor News
reported. It is being called a
“domestic act of terrorism.”
1
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are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must
be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press.
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Controversy
surrounding
Harper
Lee’s new novel has
left the author “hurt and
humiliated” according to her
lawyer, The New York Times
reported. Some critics have
claimed that Lee was duped
into releasing the novel.
3
ON THE WEB...
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‘Thrones’ game
BY KIM BATCHELOR
Telltale Games released
the
second
“Game
of
Thrones” game to PlayStation
and Xbox earlier this month.
The episode is called “The
Lost Lords” and follows
House Forrester after the
Red Wedding. In the game,
the player’s choices decide
the fate of the characters.
THE FILTER
Raising funds
BY NEALA BERKOWSKI
Semester
in
Detroit
hosted a fundraiser Friday
for Detroit activist Grace
Lee Boggs’ hospice fund.
The event featured a recent
film about Boggs’ life and
included a discussion on
activism and challenges fac-
ing Detroit.
NEWS
Country music
WHAT: Nadine Hubbs’
book “Rednecks, Queers,
and Country Music” will
be discussed along with a
group of panelists including
Charles Garrett, Karyn
Lacy and Gayle Rubin.
WHO: Institute for Research
on Women and Gender
WHEN: Today from
4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: 2239 Lane Hall
Miguel Algarin
performance
WHAT: Founder of the
Nuyorican Poets Café
Miguel Algarin will perform
poetry with a Detroit artist.
WHO: Department of
American Culture
WHEN: Today from
4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Michigan
League, Henderson Room
Voice recital
WHAT: Graduate and
undergraduate voice
students will present their
most recently prepared
repertoire.
WHO: School of Music,
Theatre & Dance
WHEN: Today at 6:45 p.m.
WHERE: Earl V. Moore
Building, Britton Recital
Hall
Please report any
error in the Daily
to corrections@
michigandaily.com.
Café Shapiro
WHAT: In the 18th
annual Café Shapiro,
undergraduate writers will
have the opportunity to
read their work in a public
space. This event allows
students to experience work
they may not encounter in
class.
WHO: University Library
WHEN: Today from 7 p.m.
to 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Shapiro Harold &
Vivian Library, Bert’s Study
Lounge
Music in the
movies
WHAT: Respected
Hollywood musician
Conrad Pope will discuss
memorable scenes and
unforgettable music from
classic films.
WHO: School of Music,
Theatre & Dance
WHEN: Today from 7 p.m.
to 9 :30 p.m.
WHERE: Rackham
Graduate School, Assembly
Hall
Geek Sublime
WHAT: A lecture will
discuss Vikram Chandra’s
first nonfiction work “Greek
Sublime” which searches
for artistic connections
between art and technology.
WHO: Digital Currents
WHEN: Today from 5 p.m.
to 7 p.m.
WHERE:Rackham
Graduate School,
Amphitheatre
TUESDAY:
Professor Profiles
THURSDAY:
Alumni Profiles
FRIDAY:
Photos of the Week
WEDNESDAY:
In Other Ivory Towers
MONDAY:
This Week in History
22 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (FEB. 10, 1993)
University investigates funding
The University’s Depart-
ment of Public Safety, the pre-
cursor to the current Division
of Public Safety and Security,
investigated the Office of
Student Affairs for allegedly
misappropriating $8,000 in
funding.
The money was originally
found missing from the Psy-
chology Annex — a complex
attached to West Quad that
housed several departmen-
tal
offices,
including
the
Department of Psychology,
the Undergraduate Research
Opportunities Program and
the Sexual Assault Awareness
and Prevention Center.
DPS Lt. Vern Baisden said
he could not comment on
which office in the annex
misused the funds.
“The
necessary
reports
have been presented to the
prosecutor and formal charg-
es are pending,” he said.
At the time, representatives
from the Washtenaw Country
Prosecutor’s Office declined
to comment on the investiga-
tion.
11 years ago this week
(Feb. 10, 2004)
The
University
Health
Service ran culture tests in
the hopes of revealing the
contagion that caused a cam-
pus-wide outbreak of viral
gastroenteritis, often known
as the stomach flu.
These tests were run even
though UHS Director Rob-
ert Winfield said the illness
might have been the Norwalk
virus — also known as the
“winter vomiting virus” — not
the flu.
A total of 83 cases of the
flu were reported on campus,
according to University Hous-
ing spokesman Alan Levy.
Similar
outbreaks
had
occurred at the University
before, the cause of which
was found to be the Norwalk
virus, exposed to students by
faulty food preparation in the
dining halls.
This outbreak was found to
only have affected those students
living in the residence halls.
—MARLEE BREAKSTONE
ROBERT DUNNE/Daily
Actor Alan Alda speaks about medical communication at University Hospital on Friday. Read more at michigandaily.com.
MAKEATHON
CHANMEE CHUNG/Daily
Engineering senior Kunal Najik works on a prototype
for a blanket for babies with jaundice during the
Makeathon at the Art and Architecture Building
Saturday.
tration of research efforts and
talent.
“Michigan has 70% of auto
R&D and the largest number of
(mechanical engineers) in the
U.S.,” Finney wrote. “Makes a
great location of tech.”
According
to
Finney,
the
state-run Michigan Economic
Development Corporation also
provides various resources to
support
entrepreneurs,
such
as capital, technology transfer
resources and incubators.
However, despite the growth
in technology as a state, Zurbu-
chen said he wouldn’t refer to
Michigan as the “new Silicon
Valley.”
“I think we should not become
a copy of something else, even
not of (Silicon) Valley,” Zurbu-
chen wrote. “We should become
the best hub we can be.”
VINICK FOR PRESIDE NT