3-News

Do you 

Stutter, 

Stammer, 

or have a 

Speech Disfluency?

 
 

Jacob Behrmann 
jbehr@umich.edu 

Jeremiah Whittington 

jjwhit@umich.edu 

Jacob, a freshman, and Jeremiah, a senior, are currently organizing 
a group of students at the University of Michigan who either have 
stuttered, do stutter, or want to learn more about stuttering. Both of 

us are stutterers and similar identity. 

3A — Thursday, February 19, 2015
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Fisseha, who was born in Ethi-

opia, helped create CIRHT and 
was able to do so in part through 
an anonymous $25 million grant 
to the University’s Department of 
Obstetrics and Gynecology. The 
program, Fisshea said, is needed 
in Ethiopia.

“Ethiopia has one of the high-

est maternal mortality ratios in 
the world, and one of the con-
tributing factors is the huge 
unmet need for comprehensive 
reproductive health care servic-
es,” she said.

The CIRHT works to train 

health care officials and future 
medical professionals, providing 
students with hands-on experi-
ence in the profession. The pro-
gram aims to develop new leaders 
who will stay on and contribute 
to the health care in Ethiopia.

Fisseha 
said 
the 
gradu-

ates’ capabilities have already 
increased. 
The 
demand 
for 

health care has also increased 
as more Ethiopian women seek 
help from the new program.

The University’s role in Ethio-

pia will also include the design 
and creation of projects intend-
ed to contribute in other ways. 
Engineering graduate student 
Ibrahim Mohedas has been at the 
forefront of one of these projects.

Mohedas has been to Ethiopia 

three times with the University, 
and has played a role in develop-
ing a prototype to help insert a 
long-term contraceptive into the 
arms of Ethiopian women, a pro-
cess that generally risks harm-
ing muscle tissue. The prototype 
would safely deliver the contra-
ceptive injection and nullify the 
risk of muscle damage when 
removed.

“The long-term goal of a 

device like this would definitely 
be to expand access to long-term 
contraceptives,” Mohedas said. 
“In the bigger picture, we’re 
looking at how to design devices 
specifically for rural areas of 
low resource settings, where so 
much of the world’s population 
is but so few medical devices 
work.”

The program also focuses on 

data collection in the country.

Public Health student Belen 

Michael spent the last summer in 
Ethiopia engaged in data analysis.

While there, Michael and fellow 

students were able to interview and 
discuss issues of fertility and repro-
duction with men and women in 
Ethiopian clinics. The data research 
is still ongoing and Michael said the 
information has provided insight 
into both medical and cultural per-
spectives in Ethiopia.

“What I got was trying to find 

this balance of being cultur-
ally sensitive, but still trying to 
bring these beneficial methods 
to women,” Michael said.

coming in and asking more spe-
cific questions about enrollment 
this year,” she said.

Similar to last year, Rhein-

gans said many people have 
waited until the last minute to 
apply for health insurance. She 
attributed the trend to those 
with lower incomes commonly 
working more than one job and 
helping take care of other fam-
ily members. Those factors make 
it harder to find the time to go 
online and thoroughly consider 
the options.

Currently, Michigan is one of 

27 states, along with the District 
of Columbia, that has chosen to 
expand Medicaid through the 
Healthy 
Michigan 
program. 

Rheingans said Michigan’s plan 
differs somewhat from those 
in other states. Unique provi-
sions include asking beneficia-
ries to make contributions to 
the program, similar to tradi-
tional health insurance, such as 
copays. After four years, benefi-
ciaries earning above 100 per-
cent of the federal poverty line 
will be asked to make more con-
tributions.

“I think some things that our 

state did in the development of 
the Healthy Michigan Plan that 
are different from other Med-

icaid programs in the country 
will make other states be more 
interested in possibly expand-
ing Medicaid,” Rheingans said.

Student volunteers with the 

Washtenaw Health Initiative, 
like Public Health student Pau-
line Do, disseminated infor-
mation about the ACA as well 
as the Healthy Michigan Plan 
across the community.

“Since Michigan just expand-

ed its Medicaid program last 
year, most people, including 
students, do not realize that 
they qualify for Healthy Michi-
gan, so that has been my main 
focus,” Do said. “Personally, I 
have only done one-to-one out-
reach, but I believe it is very 

successful.”

Unlike the general insurance 

exchange, Healthy Michigan 
does not have an enrollment 
deadline.

However, Do said individu-

als still may be able to enroll in 
the general marketplace beyond 
the initial February deadline, 
as long as they experienced a 
qualifying life event, such as a 
change in income or residence.

“The most rewarding thing 

about disseminating informa-
tion about health care coverage 
is making this process a little bit 
easier for individuals, and see-
ing people enroll with the help 
of certified enrollment counsel-
ors on the same day,” Do said.

this year its organizers took a dif-
ferent route, opting to let audi-
ence members vote for a winner 
via text message. The combined 
performance of the men’s and 
women’s track and field teams 
took second place, with the field 
hockey team taking third.

Aaron Ward, who starred for 

the Michigan hockey team from 
1990 to 1993 before winning three 
Stanley Cup trophies in the NHL 
— two for the Detroit Red Wings 
and another for the Carolina Hur-
ricanes — emceed the event.

Following the men’s rowing 

team’s performance, Ward noted 
that he would have to break his 
promise to his young daughter, 
who was expecting to see video 
footage of the event afterward. 
According to Ward, seeing the 
film’s protagonist Ariel with chest 
hair and a beard wouldn’t go over 
well.

The Michigan baseball team 

kicked the night off with an 
impressive display of uninten-
tionally improvisational comedy. 
Redshirt sophomore right-hander 
Cam Wysocki didn’t decide what 
his act would entail until the last 
possible moment, but he pulled 
some last-second strings to make 
it work.

“I came up with that about 

… this morning,” Wysocki said. 
“I’ve done the same kind of thing 
the last three years , and it’s more 
fun if I come up with it the day (of 
the event).

“That’s how you get that kind 

of raw emotion that you don’t 
really see in other acts, because 
we have no idea what we’re doing 
until we’re actually on stage.”

Neither did the five fresh-

men Wolverines whom Wysocki 
enlisted for his act, which con-

sisted of him calling up an unsus-
pecting female volunteer to sit in 
a chair at center stage. Wysocki 
serenaded her with a rendition of 
Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Love-
ly” before calling out the first-
years to push the boundaries of 
what could appropriately be done 
in mixed company — all through 
song, dance and a selfie.

Though absent due to a home 

game against Indiana, the Michi-
gan women’s basketball team 
managed to contribute. Junior 
guard Halle Wangler starred as 
a snack-food thief in a video the 
Wolverines filmed beforehand 
and showed during the event. 
Also playing leading roles were 
freshman forward Jillian Dun-
ston, who deceived her team-
mates into believing they had 
an upcoming day off, and senior 
forward Nicole Elmblad, who, 
upon discovering the rest of her 
teammates fooling around on the 
practice court, kicked off a whole-
squad “twerk” session.

“There were a few takes,” Elm-

blad told the Daily following her 
team’s 68-52 victory over Indi-
ana Wednesday night. “There 
were a couple of scenes that took 
us longer than they should have, 
especially when you have a whole 
team together trying to do a video 
thing. Everybody’s got their opin-
ion and what they want to do, but 
it was a lot of fun.”

Not to be left out, the Michigan 

marching band also orchestrated 
a relatively lengthy act that alter-
nated between sketch comedy and 
dance. As with the other groups, 
the marching band didn’t miss 
out on an opportunity to poke fun 
at itself in its depiction of a flirta-
tious interaction at band camp.

“So what?” said one band mem-

ber to another. “People are awk-
ward. Plus, we’re band kids. We’re 
all awkward.”

Daily Sports Writer Kelly Hall 

contributed reporting.

ROCK
From Page 1A

ACA
From Page 1A

offer an academic perspective on 
Israel’s geopolitical and interna-
tional challenges, but one from 
the perspective of the Israeli gov-
ernment.

“This is my job and my respon-

sibility,” Gilad said. “The Arab 
Spring that started four years 
ago created the most geopoliti-
cally challenging situation which 
we are facing as a state since our 
establishment 60 to 70 years ago.”

Gilad said Israel faces four 

forces in the Middle East that 
challenge its borders. He said 
these forces include the “Shi-
ite Axis” stretching from Iran, 
Iraq and Syria; the traditional 
moderate Sunni Muslim block 
in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan 
and the Arab Gulf; as well as the 
Hamas and the Islamic State, 
also known as ISIS.

“You see how these new geo-

political maps of the Middle East 
is being translated into a direct 
threat … to Israel,” Gilad said. “I 
think it is fair to say that Israel 
has too many challenges and 
some opportunities.”

He said Iran continues to 

threaten and challenge the legiti-
macy of Israel’s statehood and is 
currently the country’s biggest 
challenge in the Middle East.

“We are at a very sensitive time,” 

he said. “We believe that Iran is a 
real threat to the state of Israel and 
to the region. I think nobody would 
like to see a nuclear Iran.”

Gilad also discussed the mili-

tary action in the Gaza Strip 
carried out by the Israeli govern-
ment last July. He said the Israeli 

government is committed to a 
two-state solution to the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict, but said Pal-
estinians should also recognize 
Israel as a Jewish state.

“This is an opportunity to 

build some kind of partnership 
(between Israel) and the Sunni 
block,” he said.

Gilad 
said 
he 
approached 

I-LEAD because he wanted to 
bring the concerns of the Israeli 
government and people to the 
Jewish community in the Mid-
west.

“All the kinds of concerns that 

we have in Israel, sometimes it’s 
hard to understand them when 
you are so far, at such a distance,” 
Gilad said. “If I’ve managed to 
express some of the concerns 
that we have in Israel from all 
this very challenging geopolitical 
situation, that’s basically what I 
came to do today.”

LSA freshman Emilie Weisberg 

said she thought Gilad provided a 
balanced perspective while still 
maintaining his own opinion.

“I really just found that from 

his speech I was educated a bit 
more on the issues and it helped 
me see things from a calm, ratio-
nal perspective,” Weisberg said.

LSA junior Daniel Pearlman 

said he enjoyed how Gilad spoke 
from the Israeli government’s 
perspective.

“He spoke from the heart and 

the government,” Pearlman said. 
“Despite everything you see on 
the news about war, there’s a 
sense of optimism and there’s 
huge opportunities to work with 
Sunni moderate groups … It’s easy 
to forget there are real people liv-
ing in the Middle East and it’s not 
just a conflict.”

CONSULATE
From Page 1A

nent role on campus over the last 
year. In November 2013, mem-
bers of the University’s Black 
Student Union launched the 
Being Black at the University of 
Michigan campaign — using the 
hashtag #BBUM on Twitter — to 
draw attention to the experienc-
es of Black students on campus. 
The student organizers later 
demanded the University make 
process around a series of policy 
initiatives, including increasing 
minority enrollment.

Among initiatives currently in 

the works, Schlissel announced 
the University has begun a Stra-
tegic Plan for Diversity and said 
he plans to gather department 
chairs later this semester to 
discuss diversity and inclusion. 
He also listed plans for a cam-
puswide diversity summit in 
the fall, new partnerships with 
school districts home to under-
represented populations and a 
task force to consider hiring and 
promotion of underrepresented 
faculty.

In an interview with The 

Michigan Daily last month, 
Schlissel noted the University’s 
long-standing goal to diversify, 
but said current strategies must 
be improved.

“It really is fair to say that 

there has been a long-term com-
mitment to diversity at the Uni-
versity of Michigan, I think the 
record is really clear,” he said. 
“The problem is, our success 

hasn’t matched our aspirations 
despite people’s serious efforts 
and serious commitments.”

Martha Jones, associate chair 

of the Department of Afroameri-
can and African Studies and 
associate professor of history 
and Afroamerican and African 
Studies, attended the event and 
said she was excited by Schlis-
sel’s interest in campus-wide 
diversity.

“I thought it was a very 

bold morning and I was very 
impressed as I learned that 
our new president was going to 
make diversity one of his major 
agenda items for the term of his 
presidency,” Jones said. “What I 
saw on Monday was a president 
that seemed poised to lead us on 
a new path, and that for me was 
new and that for me was why it 
was an exciting and important 
morning.”

However, Jones said she’s 

interested to know more about 
initiatives in the works, particu-
larly ongoing strategic planning.

“I’m eager to hear more 

details as they develop,” she said.

After 
outlining 
his 
pri-

orities, Schlissel fielded ques-
tions and comments from the 
event’s attendees. According to 
a University press release, one 
attendee asked what takeaways 
attendees should communicate 
to their colleagues.

“I think it’s fair to tell them 

that there’s skepticism in the air 
because words are easy, and I 
think it’s fair to tell them that the 
president and the senior leader-
ship and the regents themselves 
are ready to be held to account,” 

Schlissel said.

“I not only need your ideas, I 

need your criticism,” he said. “I 
need you to poke me with a stick. 
I need you to hold me and the 
leadership team and the regents 
to account, so that we have the 
conversation again and again.”

Pharmacy 
student 
Kristye 

Russell, who attended the event, 
said she is concerned how the 
plan would meet the needs of 
graduate and professional stu-
dents enrolled in schools out-
side of the Rackham Graduate 
School.

“The biggest challenge is 

going to be getting an initia-
tive to roll out that is going to be 
widely adopted and accepted on 
campus by everybody and that 
is going to meet everybody’s 
needs,” she said.

Jones said Schlissel’s talk 

focused primarily on campus cli-
mate issues, which she said are 
less quantifiable, but equally as 
relevant as admissions and hir-
ing statistics.

“Our climate issues need to 

be understood and addressed so 
that faculty, students and staff 
all feel welcome, safe, encour-
aged and at the center of the life 
and learning that goes on here,” 
she said.

Esrold Nurse, LSA assistant 

dean for undergraduate educa-
tion and executive director of 
the Newnan Academic Advising 
Center, attended the breakfast 
and agreed that changing the 
campus climate is important.

“All students need to feel wel-

comed in our community,” Nurse 
wrote in an e-mail interview. 

“Prospective (underrepresented 
minority) students need to see 
the University as a place which 
acknowledges differences and 
embraces it.”

Nurse said Schlissel’s ideas 

are key for laying important 
groundwork on the issue.

“Yet to ensure progress, the 

President’s ideas will require 
immediate and specific plans 
to take us from ideas to action 
and must by necessity involve 
all schools and colleges, faculty, 
staff and students in the develop-
ment of those plans,” he wrote.

LSA senior Cesar Vargas, who 

attended the event, is a first-gen-
eration college student. He said 
students need to build a greater 
understanding of the socioeco-
nomic diversity at the University.

“In today’s day one of the big-

gest taboos people have a hard 
time talking about is social 
class,” Vargas said. “One way to 
approach that is to inform people 
about the disparities that occur 
within the educational system.”

Sandra Gregerman, director 

of the Undergraduate Research 
Opportunity Program, wrote in 
an e-mail interview that she felt 
Schlissel made his commitment 
to diversifying the campus clear.

“The 
tenor 
and 
emotion 

shared by President Schlissel 
was deeply appreciated by some-
one who has been working on 
these issues for a long time, and 
his call to ‘nudge’ him and share 
concerns, ideas, and critiques 
demonstrated his deeply felt and 
personal commitment to creat-
ing a more diverse and inclusive 
campus community,” she wrote.

DIVERSITY
From Page 1A

ETHIOPIA
From Page 1A

the city acted reasonably in its 
defense and that the plaintiffs 
did not show sanctions were 
warranted.

In an interview with The 

Michigan Daily, Elias would 
not speak to specific allega-
tions the plaintiffs have made 
against the footing drain dis-
connection program, but said, 
“We’re confident in the legal-
ity of the program.”

Preluding his ruling, Judge 

Timothy Connors, the Washt-
enaw County Circuit judge, 
said he respects the parties’ 
use of the available legal tools 
to pursue their goals. Connors 

highlighted two fundamental 
principles of the court — pro-
tecting witnesses from undue 
harassment 
or 
embarrass-

ment, and ascertaining truth. 
Connors said he took those 
principles into account, and 
exercised judicial restraint in 
his decision to deny the plain-
tiffs’ motion for sanctions.

Mermelstein 
said 
he 

believes the circuitous nature 
of this case goes against the 
principle to ascertain truth.

“The big problem is that 

we’re supposed to have all kinds 
of protections that we have in 
federal court that we don’t have 
here,” Mermelstein said.

Mermelstein said deposi-

tions in the case are scheduled 
to begin in March.

LAWSUIT
From Page 2A

similar cases.

“Most of the cases get very 

little attention,” he said.

LSA 
freshman 
Sabrina 

Zayec, who attended the 
screening, said her initial 

reaction was disappointment 
in the justice system.

“You see a lot of these 

problems and reports done 
in third-world countries and 
Guantanamo Bay but you 
don’t see the abuse that was 
reported in the Florida State 
Prison,” Zayec said.

PRISON
From Page 2A