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Thursday, April 9, 2015
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Nearly 100
students, faculty
members gather to
reflect on tragedy
By SAMIHA MATIN
Daily Staff Reporter
Nearly 100 University students
and faculty members gathered
Wednesday night on the Diag to
honor the 148 lives lost in the al-
Shabaab militant group attack on
Garissa College in Kenya.
At the candlelight vigil, which
was hosted by the African Students
Association, attendees held candles
for 148 seconds of silence — repre-
senting each life lost — before they
stood on the steps of the Hatcher
Graduate Library to recite poems
and speeches. Though the students
believed the number to be 148,
conflicting news reports listed the
number of deaths as either 147 and
148.
The victims of the attack in
Kenya were mostly students. This
was not the first time al-Shabaab
attacked Kenya. In 2013, the mili-
tant group killed 69 people in Nai-
robi’s Westgate Mall. The attacks
increased after Kenyan military
troops were sent to Somalia, al-Sha-
baab’s base, four years ago to fight
against the group.
At the vigil, many students
voiced their concerns about the
lack of media coverage of the
attack. In a speech, LSA senior
Olubisi Ajetunmobi, president of
the African Students Association,
attempted to personify the students
whose lives were lost, reflecting
on the trending Twitter hashtag
#148isnotjustanumber.
“The students were brothers, sis-
ters, friends and loved ones whose
lives were cut short by this murder-
ous act,” Ajetunmobi said. “While
the world stands by and ignores
what is happening, we need to
University reverses
decision to not play
controversial
film at UMix
By EMMA KINERY
Daily Staff Reporter
After a letter circulated by
concerned students caused the
University to cancel a showing
of the film “American Sniper,”
the Center for Campus Involve-
ment will still show the film at
its regularly scheduled UMix
event Friday night, according
to a statement by E. Royster
Harper, vice president for stu-
dent life.
Earlier today, CCI announced
the organization would show
the film at a separate time, and
the film “Paddington” would
replace the film’s slot at UMix.
However, according to Harper,
the movie will be shown at the
originally scheduled location at
UMix, along with the alterna-
tive “Paddington” movie. “Pad-
dington” will be screened at
another location on campus.
“It was a mistake to cancel the
showing of the movie “Ameri-
can Sniper” on campus as part
of a social event for students,”
she said. “The initial decision to
cancel the movie was not con-
sistent with the high value the
University of Michigan places
on freedom of expression and
our respect for the right of stu-
dents to make their own choices
in such matters.”
“We
recognize,
however,
that some students are uncom-
fortable with the content of the
movie, and appreciate that con-
cern,” she added.
The decision follows the cre-
ation of a student-generated
petition Wednesday that called
for the University to reverse
its previous move to cancel the
showing.
Before
Harper’s
state-
ment, CCI announced plans
to reschedule the showing of
“American Sniper” at the Uni-
Administrators
talk changes to LSA
R&E requirement,
diversity issues
By ANASTASSIOS
ADAMOPOULOS
Daily Staff Reporter
A Residential College mini-
course focused on the “Black
Lives Matter” protests concluded
Wednesday with a panel featur-
ing University President Mark
Schlissel and Angela Dillard, LSA
associate dean of Undergraduate
Education.
Black Lives Matter is a nation-
wide
movement
started
in
response to multiple deaths of
unarmed Black men in encoun-
ters with police officers over
the past several months, notably
involving the cases of Michael
Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric
Garner in New York. The mini-
course was intended to foster dis-
cussion both about the incidents
and the protests, as well as talk
about broader issues of inequity
in the United States. It was open
to faculty and community mem-
bers as well as students.
The course has hosted several
other guest speakers, including
Shaka Senghor, an author and
motivational speaker, and Detroit
activist Ron Scott. Wednesday’s
seminar provided an occasion
for attendees to ask questions
and express their opinions about
issues regarding diversity on
campus, particularly LSA’s Race
and Ethnicity requirement. Sev-
eral students drafted several pro-
posals to change the requirement
last year, and the LSA Curricu-
lum Committee is currently look-
ing into plans to review it.
Dillard’s presentation focused
mainly on the history of the
requirement, as well as how a
series of events last year, such as
the #BBUM movement, provoked
initial discussion about reconsid-
ering it.
The #BBUM Twitter cam-
paign launched in November
2013 by members of the Black
Student Union and was intended
to express the experiences of
Black students at the University.
At final fireside
chat, University
executives talk
future initiatives
By GENEVIEVE HUMMER
Daily Staff Reporter
Sexual assault on campus
dominated
the
conversation
Wednesday at University Presi-
dent Mark Schlissel’s final fire-
side chat of the year.
During the chat, which allows
randomly selected students the
opportunity to ask any ques-
tions of their choosing, Schlissel
said the University will likely
unveil modifications to the
University’s sexual misconduct
policy in the fall. He said these
changes could potentially focus
on ensuring students are well-
represented throughout the dis-
ciplinary process and that they
stay on top of their school work
during the process.
“One thing, in particular,
we’re concerned about is there
are issues of representation dur-
ing the process, and after the
process, as well, helping students
to get caught up … to provide the
interface for the academic side of
the house to the greatest extent
possible allows you to continue
the setting of a very difficult
period of time,” he said.
E. Royster Harper, vice presi-
dent of student life, also attend-
ed the chat. Harper outlined
several steps the University was
taking to improve the Univer-
sity’s existing policies.
She listed increased outreach
to student groups, adding staff
to the Sexual Assault Prevention
and Awareness Center and ana-
lyzing results from the student
survey on sexual misconduct that
was distributed this semester.
Student creates
application to
show ratings on
LSA course guide
By COLLEEN HARRISON
Daily Staff Reporter
Rather than flipping back
and forth between RateMy-
Professors.com and the LSA
Course Guide, LSA senior
Mitchell Gildenberg created
a Google Chrome plug-in that
displays the site’s teacher rat-
ings on the course guide.
The application is called
“University of Michigan Cour-
seguide+,” and students can
download it from the Chrome
Web Store. Once students
download the plug-in, they
will see the professors’ rat-
ings listed under their names
upon opening the LSA Course
Guide.
Rating
categories
include overall rating, average
grade, helpfulness, clarity and
easiness.
Gildenberg
said
when
scheduling last year, he noticed
See VIGIL, Page 3A
See SNIPER, Page 2A
See EXTENSION, Page 3A
See SCHLISSEL, Page 3A
See RC, Page 3A
DELANEY RYAN/Daily
LSA junior Rabia Kadwani joins a candlelight vigil on the Diag Wednesday night to honor the 148 killed in the terrorist attack on Garrisa College in Kenya.
DELANEY RYAN/Daily
University President Mark Schlissel discusses sexual assualt on campus, among other issues, at his final fireside chat
of the year at the Union Wednesday.
INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 99
©2015 The Michigan Daily
michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A
OPINION.....................4A
SPORTS...................... 5A
SUDOKU..................... 2A
CL ASSIFIEDS............... 5A
B - S I D E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B
NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM
Student launches petition to allow movie showing
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WEATHER
TOMORROW
HI: 58
LO: 31
CAMPUS LIFE
ADMINISTRATION
ACADEMICS
‘American
Sniper’ will
play after
complaints
RC class hosts
‘U’ president,
associate dean
Vigil honors 148 student
lives lost in Kenya attack
Extension
built for
Rate My
Professors
Schlissel: ‘U’ to improve
sexual assault procedures