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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, November 13, 2015
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Institutional racism
must be acknowledged
By THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Editorial Board
The University community is no
stranger to protests in recent years with
several student groups calling for the
administration to improve race relations
and increase diversity on campus.
Therefore, the events of this past week
at the University of Missouri should be
of no surprise to anyone paying attention
to the realities that Black students face
each and every day on college campuses
across the nation. But therein lies the
problem: Not enough people are paying
attention. Too many deny the existence
of institutional racism.
That must change now.
The School of Social Work People of
Color Collective led a demonstration on
the Diag Wednesday evening to stand
in solidarity with the Black community
at
the
University
of
Missouri.
Hundreds of University community
members gathered to share personal
experiences and show their support.
The demonstration comes after months
of racial tension on Missouri’s campus,
which culminated in the resignation
of the Missouri system’s president,
Timothy Wolfe, on Nov. 9.
A prominent student activist group at
Mizzou, Concerned Student 1950 — which
refers to the first year Black students
were admitted to the university — led an
aggressive push for Wolfe’s resignation
after it became evident he was incapable
of dealing with racism on campus. The
group also called for a formal apology
from Wolfe along with eight other
demands of the administration. These
efforts echo similar actions taken by the
University of Michigan’s Black Student
Union, which led a protest in January
2014 that garnered national attention
about issues of race on college campuses.
In the cases of both Missouri and
Michigan, student groups criticized
the
inaction
of
their
respective
university administrators and called
for reform to increase education about
race in course curricula, enrollment
of ethnic minorities and accessibility
to safe spaces on campuses, such as
multicultural
centers.
There’s
no
denying the differences in the cultural
climates at the University of Missouri
and on our campus. But the overarching
commonalities
in
these
demands
illustrate the urgent need to address
the institutional racism ever-present
in our nation that takes shape in many
forms: lack of minority representation
and inclusivity on college campuses,
discriminatory criminal justice policy
and voter registration laws, police
brutality and so much more.
This week, our University hosted the
Diversity Summit to collect opinions
on how to devise a campus-wide plan
to improve inclusion and diversity on
campus. These efforts — along with those
aimed at increasing minority enrollment,
expanding education about race in
curricula and improving the Trotter
Multicultural Center — demonstrate a
legitimate attempt to stimulate a broad
conversation about race on campus and
create tangible change. But there’s a
long, long way to go. For starters, the
entire campus community must listen
to, sympathize with and learn about the
very real and urgent struggles that Black
students — and all students of color — face
in 2015. In other words, wake up and pay
attention.
Detroit Police
assistant chief to
assume role in early
2016, pending vote
By SHOHAM GEVA
Daily News Editor
There’s a new chief in town.
The city of Ann Arbor
announced
Thursday
that
James White, an assistant
police chief with the Detroit
Police Department, has been
appointed the new Ann Arbor
Police Chief. The selection
pends approval by the Ann
Arbor City Council, which will
vote on the recommendation
at their meeting Monday.
White will replace John
Seto, current chief of the Ann
Arbor Police Department, who
announced his retirement in
May. Seto was appointed chief
of police in 2012, and served
for 25 years with AAPD. He
has since accepted a job with
the University as the director
of Housing Security.
City Administrator Steve
Powers, who is responsible for
making the recommendation,
wrote in a press release that
White’s skill set prepared him
well for the job.
“I’m
confident
that
James’ broad management
experience and abilities will
be an asset to the Ann Arbor
Police Department, which has
a well-earned reputation for
excellence,” he wrote. “James
has a keen understanding of
law enforcement challenges
and opportunities and I’m
confident he will serve the
Ann Arbor community well.”
If
approved
as
chief,
White will have to face the
ongoing
controversy
over
the fatal shooting of Ann
Arbor resident Aura Rosser a
year ago by an AAPD officer.
The shooting has prompted
multiple protests in the city,
ANN ARBOR
FROM THE DAILY
Wake up
and pay
attention
During event,
employees give
feedback on
August report
By SAMANTHA WINTNER
Daily Staff Reporter
Many of the University’s
recent
efforts
to
improve
diversity
on
campus
have
focused
on
the
student
experience,
such
as
hostingdialogues
on
campus
climate
and
packagingadmissions
and
financial aid decisions in an
effort to enroll more low-
income students.
However,
a
dialogue
hosted Thursday by the Staff
Committee on Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion focused entirely
on staff and faculty.
The
event,
part
of
the
University’s
week-long
diversity
summit,
largely
centered
around
a
report
released in August by the
staff committee, which was
charged with gathering data
and crafting recommendations
on staff hiring, promotion and
work climate.
Darlene Nichols, a committee
member and the foundations
and grants librarian at the
University,
said
the
report
found that about 75 percent
of the staff surveyed felt good
about working at the University.
GREG GOSS/Daily
Ann Arbor resident Ady Powell performs during the during the Poems for Change event hosted by the
Groundcover News U-M Student Group on Thursday.
POEMS FOR CHANGE
Hundreds attend
event hosted by
Students for Choice
By CAITLIN REEDY
Daily Staff Reporter
Amid an ongoing national
debate over abortion rights and
Planned
Parenthood,
about
300 students gathered in the
Michigan Union on Thursday
night for the third annual
Abortion Speak Out.
The event, which invited
people to share their personal
experiences with abortion, was
hosted in collaboration with
the 1 in 3 Campaign, a national
group that aims to make
abortion a less taboo topic.
“I thought it was very
powerful and I’m so grateful
that all of these people were
so brave and able to share their
stories,” said LSA junior Kelsey
Almony, a member of Students
for Choice. “And I hope that
other spaces can be created like
this for other people to share
their stories.”
During the speak out, only
individuals who had an abortion
were permitted to share, and
organizers placed restrictions
on recording or social media
Basement Arts
stages Martin
McDonnaugh’s
acclaimed play
By GRACE HAMILTON
Daily Arts Writer
“The
Pillowman”
is
a
complex play about violence,
politics and the power of art.
Confidently confronting issues
such as child
abuse
and
fratricide, the
work is a feat
for both the
playwright
and
his
audiences.
It is perhaps
even more of
a
challenge
for the actors
who must plumb the depths
for
their
representation,
particularly when those actors
work under the constraints of
limited resources and limited
time.
“Come and expect to laugh.
And then leave shaken to your
core,” School of Music, Theatre
& Dance senior and director
Jacob Sam Rich said of “The
Pillowman.”
Comedies can’t get any
darker than this.
Basement Arts, a student-
run
theater
organization
that
has
provided
free
entertainment
to
the
University for over 20 years,
has never shied away from
challenges such as these.
In fact, the group actively
seeks
cutting-edge
work
that continues to push the
boundaries of both its own
previous
productions
and
the rest of the University’s
theater world. Most audiences
can’t get enough of it; some of
their notable productions like
“A Very Potter Musical” and
“Me and My Dick” have even
reached national success.
This Saturday, Basement
Arts is putting on its production
of Irish playwright Martin
McDonagh’s “The Pillowman”
with a cast of four. After its
debut in 2003, the play has
been produced on Broadway
and London’s West End and
earned the 2004 Oliver Award
for Best New Play.
The play is set in an
Dark, challenging
meta-comedy in
‘The Pillowman’
ARTS PREVIEW
CAMPUS LIFE
See SPEAK OUT, Page 3A
See PILLOWMAN, Page 3A
See CHIEF, Page 3A
See DIVERSITY, Page 3A
DELANEY RYAN/Daily
Darlene Nichols, foundations and grants librarian at the University Library, facilitates a discussion on diversity in
staff and faculty at the Michigan League on Thursday.
The
Pillowman
Walgreen
Drama Center
Nov. 13 and 14,
7 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Free
Council to
approve new
police chief
on Monday
Staff, faculty discuss
steps to bolster ‘U’
workplace diversity
Women share experiences at
third annual Abortion Speak Out
INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 29
©2015 The Michigan Daily
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