put their effort towards the cause 
should be allowed to do so.”

The dancers make up 64 teams 

with 15 to 20 students in each. 
The teams compete against one 
another in different activities, 
such as a hula-hooping con-
test, a Miss America pageant 
and a cheering contest. Teams 
are partnered with one of the 
35 families of a child with a dis-
ability, who they interact with at 
the marathon as well as at events 
throughout the year. Some fami-
lies were partnered with multiple 
teams.

DMUM, which is the larg-

est student-run non-profit in 
the state, fundraises these large 
sums because participants are 
each required to raise a certain 
amount. Dancers raise $300 and 
team leaders must collect $350, 
for example. The marathon is 
also the culmination of a year’s 
worth of fundraising activities. 
This year, teams attended a char-

ity ball, a family fashion show, a 
talent show and 26 other fund-
raising and bonding events.

To participate in the mara-

thon, dancers must remain stand-
ing for the full 24 hours. Dancers 
were provided with standing 
homework tables, a snack station, 
a photo booth and other games 
and activities during the course 
of the event. An “inspiration 
tent” was also set up for partici-
pants needing a reminder of why 
they chose to spend the weekend 
on their feet.

LSA sophomore Claire Laing, 

co-captain of the Delta Gamma 
team, returned to DMUM for 
her second year. Laing said the 
event is a great way to finish off 
the year.

“Throughout the year you 

work so hard to raise money and 
you get to interact with the fami-
lies and really see where every-
thing you’re doing is going,” 
Laing said. “To be able to come 
to the marathon and have this 
big culmination and celebration 
of all the hard work you’ve put in 
and seeing all the kids, it’s awe-

some.”

Srivastava, the DMUM execu-

tive director, said the organiza-
tion plays a role in choosing what 
area of the two hospitals funds go 
to each year.

“We have this unique oppor-

tunity to take in requests from 
lots of the different therapies and 
programs at both the hospitals, 
go through their requests and 
see exactly what they’re asking 
for and really evaluate how that 
aligns with what our mission is,” 
Srivastava said. “Then we get to 
allocate the money towards those 
programs.”

The event kicked off with 

warm-up events on Saturday, 
including an address from Uni-
versity President Mark Schlissel. 
Schlissel commended DMUM 
participants, and highlighted the 
participation of fraternities and 
sororities.

“The news media loves to 

write about problems and disas-
ters and misbehavior,” Schlissel 
said. “I want to make sure they 
write about the contribution that 
the Greeks are making to events 

like this.”

Entertainment from groups 

such as the Pompon Team, the 
Ballroom 
Dance 
Team 
and 

Groove kept dancers on their toes 
as the event drew to a close. The 
event also featured a late night 
rave complete with glow sticks 
and flashing lights, where other 
students could dance and sup-
port their friends.

Wendy 
Muzzarelli 
has 
a 

daughter in Beaumont’s therapy 
programs, for which DMUM is 
a benefactor. When asked how 
DMUM has affected her family, 
Muzzarelli teared up.

“There 
are 
no 
words 
to 

describe how these college kids 
impact our family,” she said.

3-News

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Monday, March 16, 2015 — 3A

lective; and LSA sophomore Mek-
arem Eljamal, spokeswoman and 
member of Students Allied for 
Freedom and Equality.

Davis said the event’s purpose 

was to make conversation about 
race accessible to everyone.

“Just being open to new per-

spectives is really important,” she 
said. “Sometimes you just have to 
get over that initial barrier, then 
you have wider groups’ friends 
and end up having conversations 
you never would imagine.”

Some students submitted ques-

tions anonymously through an ask.
fm page that Wilson organized and 
read from, and audience members 
also posed questions directly to the 
panel. Attendees were encouraged 
to share their opinions and per-
sonal experiences as well, either 
anonymously or in person.

The questions covered a wide 

variety of subjects, including the 
panelists’ personal experiences 
and their opinions on campus 
policies.

One issue discussed at length 

was the University’s Race and Eth-
nicity requirement, which students 
have criticized recently for not pro-
viding enough insight into issues of 
diversity on campus and nationally.

Alfarhan feared that the class-

es used to fulfill this requirement 
do not spark relevant conversa-
tion about issues of diversity.

“A lot of Race and Ethnicity 

classes at the University are very 
basic and don’t require anyone’s 
perceptions to be challenged,” 
she said. “They’re made to be very 
comfortable.”

Davis agreed that the Race 

and Ethnicity classes could be 
improved, but added that they 
provide “a good place to start” as 
opposed to no conversation at all.

Eljamal said, in her experience, 

some of the inefficiency of the Race 
and Ethnicity courses are a result 
of students being unwilling to talk.

“Some students are only there 

to get a check mark on their tran-
script,” Eljamal said. “There’s 
only so much a professor can do.”

Another topic covered was the 

University’s attitude toward diver-
sity, where the panelists expressed 
particular 
concern 
with 
the 

administration’s Detroit recruit-
ment policies, among others.

Ajetunmobi said the Univer-

sity has fallen short with recruit-
ing students from predominantly 
Black schools. She added that Cass 
Technical 
High 
School 
and 

Renaissance High School, both in 
Detroit, seem to get a great deal 
of attention while others fall by 
the wayside — resulting in a lower 
diversity overall in applications 
and, later, on campus.

“I had a lot of friends who 

didn’t even apply to Michigan 
because they didn’t think they 
could get in,” Ajetunmobi said. 
“And we need to change that.”

Alfarhan discussed her view 

of the discrepancy in interna-
tional recruitment based on her 
own experience as an interna-
tional student from Kuwait. She 
said she noticed a lack of cultural 
diversity during her international 
orientation as a freshman, which 
included a large majority of Chi-
nese students.

“When I counted, there were 

four Africans and five Arabs,” 
she said. “And there were at least 
eighty Chinese.”

While Wilson was disappoint-

ed with the sparse attendance, 
he said those who did attend the 
event provided encouragement.

“There are some people I didn’t 

expect to come and some people I 
don’t recognize, which is great,” 
Wilson said.

In this vein, some members 

in the audience noted that those 
at the event were likely already 
somewhat knowledgeable about 
issues of diversity, whereas those 
who really “needed” to have deep 
conversations about race and eth-
nicity were least likely to attend 
on their own accord.

The panelists acknowledged 

that getting those who are poten-
tially less outwardly passionate 
about issues of diversity to attend 
events like “Let’s Talk About: 
Race” is an issue to be considered 
in the future.

Alfarhan’s response: “Don’t 

focus on who’s not showing up; 
focus on who is showing up.”

RACE
From Page 1A

struck down the ban.

University law Prof. Julian 

Mortenson 
said 
these 
cases 

are broken down into two cat-
egories. He said the first cate-
gory involves a same-sex couple 
legally marrying in a state where 
same-sex marriage is permitted, 
but moving to a state where it is 
not permitted, meaning that the 
couple’s marriage is not legally 
recognized in that state. The 
second issue involves same-sex 
couples who live in a state where 
same-sex marriage is not permit-
ted and want to get married.

“The same underlying state 

policy is preventing the legal 
recognition of marriage in either 
case, but the nature of the legal 
claims involved to the two cat-
egories of case are a little and 
potentially 
very 
different,” 

Mortenson said.

Mortenson noted that this 

case has significant implications, 
including the possibility of legal-
izing same-sex marriage in all 50 
states.

“The Supreme Court says and 

always will bind every other 
court in the country,” Mortenson 
said. “So if the Supreme Court 
says in this case, ‘It is constitu-
tional to allow same-sex couples 
to get married,’ that ruling will 

apply to every state that is direct-
ly involved in this case.”

Even though only four state 

cases are directly involved in the 
proceedings, if states not directly 
involved don’t follow this prec-
edent, they could face sanctions.

“If states don’t quit enforcing 

or repeal their bans on marriage 
equality or their bans on same-
sex marriage, it’ll be about five 
seconds before a court enters an 
adjunction in those states that 
aren’t involved in this case agree-
ing to some plaintiff’s challenge 
to the same-sex marriage ban 
that applies to their state,” he 
said.

Mortenson said he was hesi-

tant to predict the outcome of 
the case, but noted that the legal 
world has hinted at an outcome 
without the Supreme Court’s 
decision. He said if an objec-
tive stance is taken based on the 
cases, marriage equality should 
be granted.

“If you look at the cases and if 

you look at the logic of the cases 
and if you apply them faithfully, 
I think the best current legal pre-
diction is that the Supreme Court 
should rule in favor of marriage 
equality,” he said.

University law Prof. Samuel 

Bagenstos said the Supreme 
Court could take two possible 
routes to rule in favor of same-
sex marriage. He said one route 
is a broad approach.

“They 
could say when 

laws classify based on sexual 
orientation those laws trigger 
heightened constitutional scruti-
ny which would mean they would 
have to be justified by particular-
ly strong state interest and have 
to be closely connected to those 
interests,” he said. “Obviously if 
the court rules that way that will 
lead to a lot of momentum for 
anti-discrimination laws on the 
basis of sexual orientation to get 
passed.”

Bagenstos also cited a narrow-

er route to legalizing same-sex 
marriage. He said the court could 
opt for limited reasoning, saying 
the states’ justifications for pre-
cluding same-sex couples from 
marrying are irrational.

“If they did that, the legal 

implications 
wouldn’t 
be 
as 

extensive, but on the other hand, 
I’d take that the social implica-
tions would be very similar,” 
he said. “Probably, the political 
implications would be very simi-
lar.”

Bagenstos said it is difficult to 

predict which route the court is 
going to take or even how they 
are going to rule.

“I, like most people, predict 

that the court is going to say that 
same-sex couples have an equal 
right to marry as opposite-sex 
couples,” Bagenstos said. “But 
how they are going to get there, I 
don’t think anybody knows.”

Bagenstos 
noted 
Supreme 

Court Justice Anthony Kenne-

dy’s importance as a swing vote 
in same-sex marriage cases. He 
noted that in the time since Ken-
nedy joined the bench, the court 
has made progress when it comes 
to ruling on the side of gay rights, 
citing the 1993 case Romer v. 
Evans, 2003’s Lawrence v. Texas 
and Windsor v. United States in 
2013.

“In all of those cases, the court 

has ruled for the party that is 
supporting gay rights, but the 
reasoning in all of those cases 
has been very narrow,” he said. 
“The court has not articulated a 
very expansive understanding of 
the reasoning behind its pro-gay 
rights position.”

As the oral hearings near, 

many 
groups, 
including 
the 

Obama administration, have filed 
amicus briefs to the Supreme 
Court in support of same-sex 
marriage. State Rep. Jeff Irwin 
(D–Ann Arbor) was one of the 
elected officials to be included 
in an amicus brief sent to the 
Supreme Court by the Ohio and 
Michigan Democratic Parties.

Irwin said he was proud to join 

in an amicus brief that supports 
equal rights.

“Michigan’s 
ban 
on 
mar-

riage equality and Michigan’s 
ban on gay and lesbian adoption 
has been a wrong that many of 
us have been trying to right for 
many years here in Michigan.”

SCOTUS
From Page 1A

DMUM
From Page 1A

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