for so long and that the rent is getting raised on them but that’s sort of the unfortunate downfall of being a small busi- ness,” she said. Bathish said in his experi- ence, many students aren’t necessarily interested in sit- ting and eating when they go to Amer’s. “A lot of the students are on the go anyway so the reduced seating won’t affect them,” Bathish said. LSA senior Stephanie Choi, echoed Schuman’s sentiments. “It definitely got smaller, a bit more crowded; it’s a differ- ent experience from usual.” Choi added she hopes small business like Amer’s stick around. “They’re very unique and Ann Arbor-esque,” she said. Bathish said he wanted to assure students nothing was cut from the menu, and the quality of the food will remain the same. He said he’s confi- dent that these renovations won’t affect business. “My formula has always been the same: same quality of food, same distributors,” Bathish said. “As long as the overhead stays the same, I plan on being here for another 28 years.” Chief Information Officer announces retirement Laura Patterson, the University’s chief information officer and associate vice president for Information and Technology Services, announced her retirement Thursday after 23 years of working at the University. In an e-mail to Information and Technology Services staff members, Patterson wrote, “As we complete the implementation of NextGen Michigan and work begins in earnest on the goals and initiatives outlined in the new IT strategic plan, I believe it is the perfect time to pass the torch to a new leader.” Patterson’s role consists of overseeing the leverage of information technology across the University’s three campuses and health system. Though Patterson will not officially step down until tihis summer, she will work with University President Mark Schlissel in the meantime to recruit the next CIO. Cit y of Detroit investigates DPS buildings Detroit mayor Mike Duggan (D) announced safety inspections of all Detroit Public Schools buildings Wednesday evening in response to complaints from teachers and parents about the poor state of safety in schools, the Detroit Free Press reported. Many teachers took part in “sickout” protests staged earlier this week during which mass teacher absences forced some schools close for three days. Duggan promised both legislative reform and concrete solutions to reportedly hazardous conditions in DPS buildings such as extremely cold buildings, mold and rampant mice. Legislation introduced Thursday by Gov. Rick Snyder upset many state Democrats who called the plan unsatisfactory. The bill proposed a nine-person interim school board charged and hiring a superintendent until a new school board is elected next November. “It doesn’t go far enough to address our concerns,” State Rep. Brian Banks (D–Detroit) told the Detroit Free Press. “This is just going to be another form of an emergency manager.” Jesse Jackson expected to attend Flint water rally Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. will attend a rally over the Flint water crisis taking place this Sunday at Heavenly Host Church in Flint, MLive reported. Jackson has previously condemned the state’s handling of the crisis in an opinion piece published in the Chicago Sun-Times earlier this month, writing that Gov. Rick Snyder considers Flint residents “disposable.” A recent spike in Legionnaires’ disesase in Flint sparked national outrage and calls from public figures, including Michael Moore, Erin Brokovich and Tim Gremiel, state House Democratic leader, who are calling for Snyder’s resignation if he knowingly participated in the contamination. Ithaca College president steps down after protests Tom Rochon, president of Ithaca College, announced his resignation Thursday. Ithaca was among the campuses rocked by racially charged protests this winter, and according to NPR, faculty and staff expressed in a vote they had no confidence in Rochon’s ability to effectively manage racial dialogues on campus and respond to students of color. Rochon hired a chief diversity officer, but students continued to criticze him for failing to foster relations with Black students. Rochon’s resignation will be effective next July. — RIYAH BASHA NEWS BRIEFS The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com News Friday, January 15, 2016 — 3 AMER’S From Page 1 who identify as having non- white skin, this area of study holds a particular importance. “I think it’s a very interest- ing area,” he said. “Being a for- mer U-M faculty professor, it’s an area we don’t often empha- size among the residents and in other training areas. It doesn’t get the resources that it should and if you look at the demo- graphics of this country, we certainly need to be spending more time understanding skin of color.” According to December 2012 U.S. Census Bureau statistics, by the year 2060, approxi- mately 57 percent of the popu- lation will describe itself as one the non-white ethnic groups. Already, there is a majority of people globally who have dark- ly pigmented skin. Among the most common reasons for people with skin of color to see a dermatolo- gist are dyschromias, which are disturbances in pigmenta- tion. Dr. Alexis said how dark- er pigmentations might make a person more susceptible to conditions like hyperpigmen- tation, keloids, alopecia, lupus and many others. However, he also noted that increased levels of melanin among these indi- viduals, responsible for deter- mining skin and hair colour, in these people actually serve as protection against photoaging, skin damage done by UV rays, and skin cancer in some cases because they provide a natural UV shield. LSA freshman Ari Spellman, a member of the Undergradu- ate Research Opportunity Pro- gram, attended the event in hopes of learning more about dermatology. “I have really little experi- ence with medicine,” Spellman said. “I thought it was very interesting to hear the basics of dermatology and about the differences in dermatological issues between skin of color and skin of lighter pigmenta- tion.” These differences between ski of color and skin of lighter pignentation can also be ampli- fied by cultural variances in skin care, grooming, percep- tions of beauty and alternative medicine practices, according to Alexis. He highlighted dif- fering treatment methods that are used to combat various skin ailments as examples of this, each of which possess the potential to benefit a patient though some risks and side effects could also exist. Alexis said his mother is his inspiration to study dermatol- ogy and the nuances of treat- ment based on skin color. “My mother was probably the first Black dermatologist in Toronto,” Alexis said. “I was inspired by a number of prominent African American physicians who I had the good fortune to meet.” featured speakers from civil rights activist Cesar Chavez to last year’s lecturer Marc Lamont Hill, a prominent activist and journalist. This year, Naomi Tutu will take the stage to speak about her experiences as a race, gen- der justice and human rights activist. Tutu, the daugh- ter of South African activist Bishop Desmond Tutu, has dedicated much of her work to cultivating inclusion and rais- ing awareness about gender- based violence. OAMI will live streamed the memorial lecture publicly for the first time this year. A number of watch parties are being hosted both by student groups on campus and by alumni as far away as Cincin- nati and Washington, D.C. Helaire said it was important to the planning committee to open up access to members of the Michigan community both on and off campus. “We have a large alumni body and we want to be able to reach them with the same message,” he said. “As much as we celebrate the social jus- tice legacy with the keynote, much of what’s talked about here on campus is happening right now. Wherever you are, we want you to think about how to dialogue, network and act.” The symposium’s website offers a downloadable watch party toolkit consisting of logistical tips and ideas for discussions after the lecture. Engineering senior Saumya Khurana, community service chair for Delta Theta Psi and organizer of a watch party tye sorority is hosting in the Union, said the livestream enables more students to watch the lecture in a familiar setting. “I think it’s a great idea to watch the speech and have a space afterwards to talk about it,” she said. “I think it’s important to watch as a com- munity because there’s a lot of issues going on currently that the symposium addresses.” In addition to lectures and panels, the symposium’s pro- gram also features multiple performances and other cre- ative homages to both Mar- tin Luther King Jr. and the broader topic of social justice. Young Jean Lee, a Brooklyn- based experimental play- wright, is putting on a handful of her plays in addition to a public interview as a part of the School of Art and Design’s Penny Stamps Speaker Series. The Michigan Theater is also screening “CHI-RAQ,” Spike Lee’s film about race in Chica- go, and the Burton Memorial Tower bells will even chime famous works by African- American composers. Gena Flynn, director of inclusion at the School of Music, Theater and Dance and coordinator of a showcase Sunday, held by SMTD and featuring famed saxophonist James McBride, emphasized the importance of including creative expression in the symposium. “What’s new is that we’re bringing in an outside guest and performer really to add an opportunity to reflect on how music has been used in storytelling, and in particular, how (social justice) issues and history can be shown through music and through the arts,” she said. The symposium’s program runs from its start this week through February, but Helaire said he is determined to make its impact last throughout the year. “What I’m trying to move us towards is asking how can we make this not just some- thing that happens in January, but using it as a springboard to address issues our com- munity has,” he said. “That’s where the planning commit- tee comes in, which is made up of various units around campus. There are people in these units doing work related to social justice issues, and we want to look at how this committee can support those issues more intentionally.” SYMPOSIUM From Page 2 underrepresented individuals, but then are not taking time to understand what are their plights.” The panelists also sought solutions to strengthen minor- ity voices in the United States. Taylor stressed the impor- tance of voter turnout at every election, pointing to the 2010 Republican takeover of the state legislature. He fervently suggested that Americans work to bring people of color back to the voting booths in order to elect candidates who will bring minority desires to fruition. “Voting is both a means for empowerment and an expres- sion of empowerment,” Taylor said. “To the extent that these groups feel and experience a lack of power within society, I think that relates to a lack of confidence in the efficacy of the political system. We have to work on all fronts to fully and completely bring these groups into society in a mean- ingful way.” Panelists, such as Rack- ham Ph.D. candidate Austin McCoy, also spent chunks of time discussing voter disen- franchisement. Each speaker touched on voter ID laws and closed registration booths. Public Policy junior Swathi Shanmugasundaram, CSG representative and panelist, spoke about modern voter sup- pression tactics. “Because of gerryman- dering and redlining, we are putting all these minority populations into such a small, densely populated area under the guides that they will be represented, but they get a very small proportion of the larger scale of representa- tives,” Shanmugasundaram said. “It just doesn’t work out.” When asked who each pan- elist believes the next presi- dent will be, all but Mayor Taylor, who answered “Hill- ary,” pointed to Bernie Sand- ers or skirted the question. Regardless of candidate choice, each panelist pushed for students and young people to put pressure on all candi- dates to see and act on the fact that, as Prof. Country- man stated, “this is no longer a white nation.” LSA sophomore Shavon Edwards, who attended the event, said she enjoyed the discussion. “I’m happy with the conver- sation,” Edwards said. “I think it is really important that stu- dents get a viewpoint from the mayor. I really think that the points the panelists talked about are important for stu- dents to hear.” Symposium events in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. will continue throughout January. PANEL From Page 1 depending on which proposal is ultimately chosen. According to Jennifer Hall, executive director of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, the trust fund plays a vital role in funding affordable housing initiatives in the city. “The primary sources of revenue for the fund are gen- eral fund contributions from City Council — sales proceeds from the sale of city property and private developer contri- butions,” she said. Hall added that the devel- opment of this lot is impor- tant for the development of further projects in affordable housing in the city, noting that the AAHC is in the mid- dle of redeveloping all 18 pub- lic housing sites in the city, which include 355 apartments for affordable housing. $60 million is needed to complete this project. Ackerman agreed, saying that a healthy trust fund is needed in order for action to be taken in this area. He said other than the contribution from the Library lot, there are no other clear funding mech- anisms. LIBRARY From Page 2 MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily Amer’s Mediterranean Deli on State Street is under construction to downsize due to rising rental costs. SKIN From Page 1 INTERESTED IN JOINING THE DAILY? we have a scooter, a tennis ball and an award-winning newspaper. COME TO A MASS MEETING JAN. 19 OR JAN. 21 AT 7 P.M. IN OUR NEWSROOM AT 420 MAYNARD