“One of the main points that
I’m trying to come at is it’s
not about choosing sides, but
it’s about being honest with
yourself and trying to learn
about all the different sides
and trying to connect to
something human.”

LSA
freshman
Timothy

Mayer said he was drawn
to the event for its unique
attempt to promote unity
through music. He said while
he enjoyed the performance
overall, he thought there was
an apparent lack of discussion
on peace and inclusion.

“I don’t think it did as much

as it could have,” Mayer said.

LSA sophomore Kevin Wolf

said he enjoyed the concert,
but
also
echoed
Mayer’s

thoughts concerning the lack
of discussion of unity and
inclusion.

“I thought it was great.

I thought there was a lot of
positive energy,” Wolf said.
“I’m a big Matisyahu fan.”

But in particular on the

topic of inclusion and peace,
Wolf said he noted a lack of
attention.

“I wish it came through a

little more,” Wolf said. “He
was a little quiet, so to speak,

during the show. He didn’t
really say hi to the audience.”

He did note, however, that

a subtle message of unity was
depicted in a collaborative
song between Azzam and
Matisyahu.

LSA junior Seif Saqallah

expressed a similar sentiment,
saying the performance could
have been stronger had the
two performed more numbers
together.

For
LSA
sophomore

Natasha
Desai,
a
MUSIC

Matters
member,
the

performance
was
overall

impressive.

“Honestly one of the best

shows ever,” she said. “He
was so into his music. He was
so into everything he was
doing.”

Matisyahu
declined

comment
immediately

following the event.

In March, he said the

concert would not take a
specific political stance on
any issue, but would instead
focus on fostering acceptance,
peace and love.

“You can talk about love,

you can talk about politics,
you can speak about right and
wrong, but when it comes to
art and to music, it bypasses
all of it and resonates inside
of you and makes you feel a
certain way,” he said.

communication.

“There was less and less

communication
and
open

dialogue,” SACUA member John
Lehman, a professor of biology,
said. “We want to make sure
faculty has a very good dialogue
with (the Athletic Department).”

Manuel said he wants to make

every effort to connect with
faculty and the campus.

“If I see something in the Daily

or in the Record that I’d like to
attend, I will,” Manuel said. “Part
of it is my own interests in doing
what I can to get out into the
community and be visible to talk
to faculty and students about what
they’re doing.”

Manuel also said he believes

faculty
and
athletics
should

support one another, as well as
students.

“One thing you’ll find out about

me is I’m not there because there’s
PR, I’m there because I think we
all need to find a way to support
what each other are doing,”
Manuel said.

At a SACUA meeting in

November
2014,
University

President
Mark
Schlissel

discussed
the
challenges
of

admiting and working with
student athletes to the point of
graduation, saying, “We admit
students who aren’t as qualified,
and it’s probably the kids that we
admit that can’t honestly, even
with lots of help, do the amount
of work and the quality of work
it takes to make progression

from year to year,” he said.
“These past two years have
gotten better, but before that, the
graduation rates were terrible,
with football somewhere in the
50s and 60s when our total six-
year rate at the University is
somewhere near 90 percent, so
that’s a challenge.”

SACUA
and
Manuel

additionally heavily discussed
the difficulties student athletes
face in balancing their respective
sport and schoolwork. Manuel
said
he
believes
schoolwork

should be the primary focus
for athletes, listing five things
from student athletes: academic
success, athletic success, growing
as a young adult, following the
rules and having fun.

He
also
touched
on
the

recent controversy surrounding

concussions and student athletes.
A recent University study on
concussions found male football
players are at a 75-percent risk
for concussion, and 78 percent of
concussions occur during games,
as opposed to practices.

“By fun, it doesn’t mean easy,”

he said. “It means fun doing all of
that and being a student, athlete
and person, and growing and
learning in this environment,”
Manuel said.

On
campus,
University

practices
regarding
handling

concussions during football games
draw criticism, after the 2014
game against Minnesota in which
then-Kinesiology
sophomore

quarterback Shane Morris was
sent back in to play after hitting
his head, an injury that was
confirmed as a concussion after
the game.

“I’m
not
involved
in
the

decision-making as it relates
to when somebody is able to
participate after the concussion,
and I’m aware enough to know of
the extent of the research that’s
reported publicly,” Manuel said. “I
do not consider myself, nor will I
ever consider myself, an expert at
it. I will rely heavily on the medical
staff to make the determination
about students’ ability to continue
playing in a game or when they
come back.”

Business Prof. Dave Wright

said the impact of athletics on the
University’s brand is extremely
high — and as such, the Athletic
Department
holds
significant

power
in
determining
the

perception of the University.

“All of us collectively work

really hard for the brand and the
reputation of this University, and

we are really blessed and honored
to work for a school that really
is the leaders and best at both
athletics and academics,” Wright
said. “That’s a rare breed. I can
screw up in the classroom, botch
a piece of research or whatever
and we get a little attention in my
area but not much. Nothing can
change the brand quicker than
some of the high-profile athletes
and coaches.”

After
the
discussion
with

Manuel, SACUA discussed the
Office of Institutional Equity
appeals policy and drafted a
resolution for Faculty Senate.
Weineck said the current OIE
appeals policy allows faculty
to appeal sanctions but not to
appeal investigation findings of
the OIE investigations. Since the
new sexual misconduct policy,
announced in March to go into
effect in July, allows students file
grievances with both sanctions
and findings, SACUA members
said the same procedure should
apply to faculty.

“Currently, people can grieve

the sanctions but not appeal the
findings, which we think is a bit of
a mismatch,” Weineck said.

The resolution states the desire

for faculty to have a parallel
or similar grievance policy to
students. The Faculty Senate will
vote on the resolution at the next
meeting on April 18.

SACUA
also
elected

Engineering Prof. Bill Schultz,
current vice chair, to Chair of
SACUA for the next academic
year. Schulz ran against Lehman
and won in a 5-3 vote. In addition,
Wright was appointed to be the
next vice chair.

3-News

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Tuesday, April 5, 2016 — 3

Detroit, Flint
to receive $55
million in federal
aid

Detroit and Flint will receive

$55 million from the federal
governement for the demolition
of blighted buildings from the
U.S. Department of Treasury,
the Detroit Free Press reported.

The funds are a part of

a $74.5 million package of
“Hardest Hit” funds given to
the state to help stabilize the
housing market.

From the funds, $41.9 million

will go to Detroit and $13.9
million will go to Flint, both
for demolition purposes. The
remaining $18.6 million will be
allocated to help homeowners
who are struggling with their
mortgages.

Michigan initially received

$498 million from the Hardest
Hit Fund when the program
was first introduced in 2010
following housing price declines
and high unemployment. The
most recent funding brings the
state’s total federal dollars to
$572.5 million.

Gov. Rick Snyder said in a

press release Monday the funds
are important in aiding the
residents of cities suffering
from deteriorating buildings.

“These funds have been

critical in helping people
stay in their homes,” he said.
“And avoid foreclosure while
helping Detroit, Flint and
other cities across our state
eliminate blight and revitalize
neighborhoods.”

Business professor
recieves Golden
Apple Award

Accounting Assistant Prof.

Ryan Ball received the the Ross
School of Business’ first Golden
Apple Award, the University
Record reports.

The Golden Apple Award

is the only student selected
teaching award on campus
and is given out by Students
Honoring Outstanding
University Teaching.

The award is given to

undergraduate and graduate
faculty who actively seek to
encourage student engagement
in the classroom. Students
are able to nominate a faculty
member of their choice. The
nominees are later voted on by
SHOUT.

The award was inspired by

Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurkanos
who mentored students
during his time here on how to
organize their lives.

As this year’s winner, Ball

will deliver the “Last Lecture.”
The event encourages faculty
to deliver a lecture as if it were
their last in an effort to engage
and inspire students.

Concealed gun
permit applications
see increase

Several counties across

Michigan have reported
increases in the number of
applications for concealed
gun licences, with significant
increased in Macomb, Wayne
and Oakland counties, the
Detroit Free Press reports.

From March 1 to March 24,

the number of concealed pistol
licences increased by more than
10,000 residents. In total, the
state has 528,320 residents who
are licensed to carry concealed
weapons.

The increasing trend began

in December following a change
in state law, which reduces the
time it takes to receive a permit
and removed three-member
county boards which approved
or denied the permits.

County officials, gun shop

owners and concealed pistol
license instructors say the
uncertainty during presidential
election years also increase
applications as people fear
impending changes in policy

— LYDIA MURRAY

NEWS BRIEFS

2-News

HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily

Athletic Director Warde Manuel discusses the importance of communication between faculty and the Athletic
Department at the SACUA meeting in the Fleming Administration building Monday.

SACUA
From Page 1

permits and are often targeted
by
government-sponsored

repressive
action
and

xenophobic stigma, making it
difficult for those like Hassan
to find work and assimilate.

“When I was given the

privilege to go the United
States, I just felt happy. I
felt so excited,” Hassan said.
“Because where I was living,
life was quite hard.”

In the 2015 fiscal year,

69,933 refugees out of a pool of
more than 400,000 applicants
were accepted for resettlement
in the United States by the
Department of State, with
Burma,
Iraq
and
Somalia

the three largest countries
of
origin.
Once
approved,

refugees are matched with
one
of
nine
national-level

resettlement agencies, which
then
further
divide
the

refugees among local affiliates
like the JFS of Washtenaw.
Beyond that, it’s up to the
families, with some help from
the local affiliates depending
on local processes.

Having
just
arrived
to

Michigan
in
early
March,

Hassan said he and his family
are
still
settling
into
to

their new surroundings. He

described many things — the
colder
climate,
unfamiliar

foods
and
reliable
indoor

plumbing
—
as
unique

challenges to adjust to, and
said he is still reluctant to let
his children play outside until
he is more familiar with the
neighborhood.

At JFS, when refugees arrive

in the Ann Arbor area, they
work with a case manager on a
daily basis for the next 90 days.
The overall goal, according
to Nathaniel Smith, a JFS
resettlement case manager, is
to have them be self-sufficient
by the end of that period.

“We
address
a
lot
of

different areas of the refugees’
life, getting them set up with
all the things that they need
to start functioning on their
own here,” Smith said. “For
the most part, they are close
to
being
financially
self-

sufficient after 90 days.”

Originally founded in 1978

to help resettle Jews fleeing
the Soviet Union, JFS has
worked with refugees fleeing
numerous conflicts since then,
including
Kosovars
fleeing

the Balkan Wars in the 1990s,
Somalis, Burmans, Afghans
and Syrians.

JFS
Executive
Director

Anya Abramazon said each new
wave of refugees poses unique
challenges. The most recent

wave, she said, has largely been
individuals fleeing conflict in
the Middle East and elsewhere
like Hassan, including large
numbers of Iraqis who worked
for the U.S. military.

“Few of (our earlier cases)

came from an active combat
situation where they were
facing death and loss, so the
level of trauma that we’re
seeing is very high,” she said.
“It takes time for people to
figure out how to get out of
that survival mode and just
start living their life.”

Assistance
during
the

90-day
period
currently

includes help with registering
for
proper
identification,

school
enrollment,
initial

medical
screenings
and

employment services. Follow-
up English language training
and career services are also
available for up to five years
after arrival.

With this wave, and in

recent years in particular,
Abramazon and Smith pointed
to several newer challenges.

In
particular,
Ambrazon

noted that the recent wave has
required
different
services

because many of the refugees
JFS is currently working with
are young children, who have
seperate individual needs.

“Kids
need
support,”

she said. “They need time

to
understand
the
new

environment, and for them it’s
not as much of a challenge as it
is for their parents, but it’s still
a challenge.”

Smith also said currently,

high housing costs also present
a
challenge
in
resettling

refugees in the Ann Arbor
area.

“Some of the challenges

that JFS faces when working
in
Washtenaw
County
are

perhaps the same challenges
that
other
residents
of

Washtenaw County face,” he
said, adding that JFS has a
partnership
with
McKinley

Housing to help find affordable
apartments.
“Rentals
can

be somewhat expensive in
this area and there’s often
limited availability, especially
when we get larger families
arriving.”

However, both also noted

that for many refugees, and for
their agency, the community
support
they’ve
found
in

Washtenaw has been key to
successful resettlement. JFS
relies in part on donations of
money, food and furniture
from
local
residents
and

Christian, Jewish and Islamic
faith-based
groups.
They

also have interns from the
University of Michigan and
Eastern Michigan University.
Many of JFS’s broader services

— such as a food bank and
counseling — are now available
to the whole community, not
just refugees.

“They come here because

of acceptance, because it’s a
very welcoming community,”
Abramazon said. “Nobody is
puzzled here when they hear
an accent.”

Speaking in the JFS offices

in Ann Arbor, where Hassan
has daily appointments, he
said he is optimistic for his
family’s
future.
Currently,

his children are attending
local schools. Hassan said he
plans to find work and pursue
higher education to further his
career, and eventually become
an entrepreneur.

“The first priority that I

would like to give my family
is (the opportunity) to go to
school and learn,” Hassan
said. “I want to become a great
businessman … someone who is
self-confident and can employ
people.”

REFUGEES
From Page 1

MATISYAHU
From Page 1

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