versity in on its Facebook page
Wednesday.
“The
Center
for
Campus
Involvement
understands
that
there
are
many
perspectives
regarding
the
film
American
Sniper,” the statement read. “...
We are planning to screen Ameri-
can Sniper separately from the
upcoming UMix event, in a forum
that provides an appropriate space
for dialogue and reflection.”
Tuesday morning, after dis-
covering UMix — a University-
sponsored social event held most
Friday nights — was planning to
show the film “American Sniper,”
LSA sophomore Lamees Mekka-
oui wrote to the Center for Cam-
pus Involvement regarding her
concerns about the film’s showing.
Directed by Clint Eastwood,
“American Sniper” is based on
the autobiography of U.S. Navy
Seal Chris Kyle, who gained rec-
ognition for having the most con-
firmed kills by a sniper in U.S.
military history during his ser-
vice in Iraq.
While some see it as a film as
a testament to American nation-
alism, others, like Mekkaoui, felt
the film inspired anti-Muslim
sentiment and did not think it
was appropriate to show at UMix,
which is generally a positive and
safe alternative to other Friday
night activities.
“The reason why the film was
disturbing to be played at UMix
is because UMix is supposed to be
fun and inclusive, and the movie
‘American Sniper’ raised a lot of
controversy from all sides of the
spectrum,” Mekkaoui said. “It’s
clearly not something that could
be fun and inclusive. It just doesn’t
go with Build-A-Bear and inflat-
able laser tag, those things just
don’t go with ‘American Sniper.’ ”
Wednesday evening, Univer-
sity spokesman Rick Fitzgerald
said it is unclear whether the
“American Sniper” screening will
still include a panel discussion, as
promised initially by the CCI.
Mekkaoui said the panel dis-
cussion is central to her support
of the University’s decision to
show both films.
“I’m really thankful to CCI for
taking quick action in order to
make sure that the voices of stu-
dents were heard on campus and
that CCI really acknowledged
and made them feel like they
mattered,” Mekkaoui said.
In response to the controver-
sy, Michigan football coach Jim
Harbaugh wrote in a tweet that
he plans to watch the film with
his team.
2-News
2A — Thursday, April 9, 2015
News
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THREE THINGS YOU
SHOULD KNOW TODAY
In this week’s B-Side,
The Michigan Daily
profiles
Xylem,
the
University’s
undergraduate
student-run literary magazine,
including its composition and
submission processes and
other aspects of its operation.
FOR MORE, SEE B-SIDE
2
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
Medical
school aid
WHAT: Back by popular
demand, a workshop will
be held to help students
prepare to apply to
medical schools.
WHO: The Career Center
WHEN: Today from 1 p.m
to 2 p.m.
WHERE: The Career
Center
Japan’s 3/11
Triple Disaster
WHAT: A lecture will
explore the Great East
Japan Earthquake and the
impact it had on media.
WHO: Center for
Japanese Studies
WHEN: Today from
12 p.m to 1 p.m.
WHERE: School
of Social Work
CLARIFICATION
In the April 8 issue of The
Michigan Daily, the byline
of the author of the piece
“Investigational Equity:
Student challenges University
sexual assault policies” did not
appear in print. Senior News
Editor Emma Kerr wrote the
piece.
Please report any
error in the Daily
to corrections@
michigandaily.com.
The National Football
League has hired the
first
full-time
female
referee,
ESPN
reported.
Sarah Thomas was named
one of nine new offcials
on
Wednesday.
She
has
previously
worked
on
exhibition games.
1
Louis Benech
WHAT: Renowned
landscape designer
Louis Benech will give a
presentation on his work.
He has carried out over
300 projects around the
world.
WHO: Penny W. Stamps
School of Art and Design
WHEN: Today from 5:10
p.m to 6 p.m.
WHERE: Michigan
Theater
Three
U.S.
soliders
were
shot
by
an
Afghan colleague on
Wednesday, CBS reported.
One U.S. solider was killed
during the shooting while the
other two were wounded. It
took place during an embassy
meeting.
3
M-Fly
WHAT: A team of
engineering students
will discuss their work of
creating a radio-controlled
airplane.
WHO: University of
Michigan Retirees
Association
WHEN: Today from 3:15
p.m to 4:15 p.m.
WHERE: Wyndham
Gardens Hotel
Film
screening
WHAT: 2014 documentary
film “Cambodian Son”
shows the journey of Kosal
Khiev from prisoner in
America to world-class
poet in Cambodia.
WHO: International
Center
WHEN: Today from 6 p.m
to 10 p.m.
WHERE: Palmer
Commons, Forum Hall
IRENE KIM/Daily
LSA freshmen Marah Brinjikji and Lane Tobin try to find the
frequency of a rotating string at Randall Laboratory on
Wednesday afternoon.
GOOD VIBRATIONS
TUESDAY:
Campus Voices
THURSDAY:
Twitter Talk
FRIDAY:
Photos of the Week
WEDNESDAY:
In Other Ivory Towers
MONDAY:
This Week in History
FDR Lecture
WHAT: A lecture will
be held that explores
America before the entry
to WWII and how Presi-
dent FDR faced a coun-
try that was against the
involvement of war.
WHO: Osher Lifelong
Learning Institute
WHEN: Today from
10 a.m to 11:30 a.m.
WHERE: Rave Cinema
American
public opinion
WHAT: Guest speaker
prof. Jack Citrin will give
a lecture on the varying
identities in American
public opinion.
WHO: Center for Political
Studies-Institute for Social
Research
WHEN: Today from 4 p.m
to 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Institute for
Social Research, 1430
President draws
on experience to
discuss genetics
By DYLAN BENNETT
For the Daily
When about 150 Biology 172
students opened their notebooks
on Wednesday, the lecturer at the
head of the class was not their
usual professor; it was University
President Mark Schlissel.
Schlissel discussed personal-
ized medicine and the human
genome as a guest lecturer
Wednesday morning in Rackham
Auditorium.
Biology Lecturer Laury Wood
invited Schlissel to teach her
Biology 172 class for a day. Schlis-
sel’s lecture took the place of
Wood’s regular Wednesday lec-
ture. Before the lecture, Wood
said her students were looking
forward to hearing from Schlissel
since they had spent time in class
studying the human genome.
Schlissel’s lecture drew on his
lengthy career in the sciences.
He graduated from Princeton
University with a degree in bio-
chemical sciences and earned
both an M.D. and Ph.D. from the
Johns Hopkins University School
of Medicine, where he also served
as a faculty member later in his
career. He also served as dean
of biological sciences at the Uni-
versity of California, Berkeley,
from 2008 to 2011 and has years
of research experience in biology.
Before he assumed the presi-
dent,
Schlissel
was
a
noted
researcher in the field of immu-
nology. A focus of his work cen-
tered on how immune cells form
in bone marrow. In 2013, he pub-
lished five papers while provost at
Brown University, and during this
time continued to work with his
last Ph.D. students at Berkeley.
As he walked into Rackham,
Schlissel said he was excited to
have the opportunity to teach,
especially about a subject he is
passionate about and in which he
has a lot of experience.
“I love to teach, and I was
invited by a faculty colleague
earlier in the year who thought it
would be both fun for me and fun
for the students, and I jumped at
the chance,” Schlissel said.
At the start of his lecture,
Schlissel noted that it was his
first time teaching a class at the
University.
“I intend to do some more of
this as the years go by, but thanks
for being my guinea pigs,” Schlis-
sel said.
Several of Schlissel’s com-
ments centered on recently devel-
oped biological research tools
used to understand the basic
functioning of cells and organ-
isms. Schlissel said these tools
are now used to combat disease
and improve human health.
“It really represents one of the
future trends in clinical care,”
Schlissel said.
To gain a sense of the audi-
ence’s future career plans, Schlis-
sel asked how many students plan
on applying to medical school. A
majority of the student audience
raised their hands.
LSA freshman Eli Simons, a
Biology 172 student, said he was
fascinated by Schlissel’s profes-
sional background in biology.
“I think its really exciting that
we have someone who is so expe-
rienced in this growing field that
is likely the future of many cures
of different diseases,” Simons
said. “The fact that he is president
of our school adds a lot of gravitas
to what he has to say.”
Another student in the class,
LSA freshman Michael Stan-
do, said he was particularly
impressed by how Schlissel took
the time to interact academically
with students.
“I think it’s nice he spends
his time with the student body,”
Stando said. “People actually see
him as a person rather just a fig-
ure.”
Schlissel lectures biology
class on the human genome
Matthaei Botanical
Gardens staff cuts
down plant
By KATIE PENROD
Daily Staff Reporter
After 80 years at the Matthaei
Botanical Garden, the Univer-
sity’s American agave plant
was cut down before a group of
spectators Wednesday morn-
ing.
According to Mike Palmer,
the garden’s manager of horti-
culture, the American agave is
monocarpic, meaning that after
flowering, the plant naturally
dies. Most plants grow for 25
to 30 years before flowering.
This specific agave grew for 80
years before it flowered over
the summer, making it a rarity,
Palmer said.
Palmer said after years of
slow growth, the plant reached
six feet in height and eight feet
in width, and it began to show a
flower stalk last year.
“We don’t know why it took
80 years, but it started sending
up a flower stalk a year ago in
April and it was very exciting,”
Palmer said. “But also we know
what happens when an agave
flowers; it eventually dies, so
that was kind of sad.”
According to a University
press release, University alum
Alfred Whiting brought the
plant to Ann Arbor from New
Mexico in 1934. The plant is
native to Mexico and the south-
western United States. It was
kept in a pot for 30 years before
being moved to the garden in
the 1960s.
Palmer said after the stalk
became
visible
last
April,
the plant began to grow at a
rapid rate. At this time, it also
became a popular attraction
for the garden; last year, visitor
traffic increased by 50 percent
after the agave bloomed.
“It grows so slow for 80 years,
then when it switches over to
flowering, the hormones and
everything in the plant changes
and it begins to send up this
unique flower stalk,” Palmer
said. “It was shooting up at six
inches every 24 hours. It went
right up to the glass and then
we took the glass off so it could
grow above the glass. It’s 28
feet tall.”
Palmer said the American
agave is “officially dead,” and is
being cut down due to the dan-
ger it would pose if it were to
fall over.
Though the plant is now
dead, Palmer said it will live
on in two ways. For one, the
Botanical Gardens will reuse
its seeds to plant a new agave.
Second, the plant’s stalk has
been given to a music profes-
sor who is planning on making
flutes from the material.
Palmer noted the unique
nature of the plant and that it
differs from the plants people
typically interact with in their
daily lives.
“This speaks to me about the
fragility of the ecosystem and
the life that these plants have.
I think this plant has given
people more to think about,” he
said.
American agave plant dies
after first bloom in 80 years
Zingerman’s CEO Ari
Weinzweig used to be enrolled
in the Stamps Art & Design
“#DYK Ari Weinzweig
majored in #art while at the
University of Michigan?
#UMichTalks”
— @umich
“New app from @UM_SPH gives users
the chance to look at their past and get in
touch with their DNA.
-@umich
A new app from the School of
Public Health gives users the
opportunity to learn more about
their specific genes.
Each week, “Twitter Talk”
is a forum to print tweets
that are fun, informative,
breaking or newsworthy,
with an angle on the
University, Ann Arbor and
the state. All tweets have
been edited for accurate
spelling and grammar.
Rep. Debbie Dingell spoke highly of
women’s role in public policy during
her time at the Ford School last
Thursday.
“The Ethics of Caring - that’s
what women bring to public
policy. Great to join future
leaders at @fordschool today!”
— @RepDebDingell
FOLLOW US!
#TMD
@michigandaily
“
“
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