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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Thursday, April 7, 2016 — 3A
attendees.
“The
Rothschild
Global Health Scholars will help
us expand our global programs
for students, both undergraduate
and graduate, who intend to build
their careers to work-study and
research in places around the
world.”
Among the most significant of
the symposium events included
a Wednesday talk by keynote
speaker Vanessa Kerry, CEO and
co-founder of the Seed Global
Health Service Partnership and
daughter of U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry.
Her speech, titled “Promoting
Workforce
Development:
The
Importance
of
Nurses
and
Midwives,” focused on Seed,
which
deploys
U.S.
health
professionals
to
strengthen
health care and provide health
service to countries with limited
access worldwide.
Kerry also discussed what
she described as an inequitable
worldwide
distribution
of
health care, geographic shifts in
health care workers and faculty
shortages in health care leading
to limited nurse training — tying
them all to the importance of
innovation in spreading nursing
throughout the globe.
“The idea is simple,” she told
attendees. “We’re called Seed
Global Health because we’re
planting seeds through education,
with the idea that if you plant one
seed, you are going to get a force
of educators that will continue
to plant and grow and cultivate a
new generation.”
Nursing senior Emily Boltey
attended the event and had
a poster in Tuesday’s event
showcasing her work on breast
cancer. She said she especially
enjoyed Kerry’s talk about the
Seed organization and creating
global health partnerships.
“It’s been really nice how
they’ve emphasized the role
of nursing in global health
since nursing is such a large
workforce,” Boltey said. “I really
like how (Kerry) emphasized
the importance of increasing the
partnership between physicians
and nurses.”
Overall, Kerry stressed the
need for global initiatives in
health care to improve the
educational
opportunities
for
nurses and the availability of care
for those in countries with less
accessible medical practices, an
idea reiterated frequently in the
following student and faculty
lectures.
Ellen Lavoie Smith, director
of the School of Nursing Ph.D.
program, said the event was
important in promoting nursing
as a global initiative, especially
with regard to the expansive
network of students who have
graduated
from
the
School
of
Nursing
and
have
used
their education to encourage
worldwide health initiatives.
“It’s really exciting for me to
be able to think about how does
this all apply to the kinds of
things that I’m interested in and
my research program,” Smith
said. “And how can I, in turn,
encourage my students that I
mentor one-on-one but also the
students in the program as a
whole to be able to think about
global opportunities.”
Clinical
Associate
Prof.
Stephen Strobbe, winner of the
symposium’s
faculty
poster
award for his research within
the Washtenaw Health Initiative
opioid project, echoed Smith’s
sentiments and said the event
increases
recognition
about
health concerns being both local
and global.
“We have a number of shared
priorities around the globe, and
this is one way for us to be able to
share information, interventions,
successes and to collaborate and
work together to address these
global problems and to improve
global health,” Strobbe said.
“Happily, the University School of
Nursing has been on the leading
edge of global health responses
and this is another example of our
collaborative efforts.”
Nursing senior Asa Smith,
who had a poster in Tuesday’s
event showcasing his research on
HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, said
he enjoyed presenting his work
because it allowed him to gain
research experience and will help
him narrow down his focus for a
Ph.D. program.
“From my perspective, it’s a
really great opportunity to work
on research projects, put together
a poster and really own a part of
research and really take that into
your own hands,” Smith said.
“I’m looking to just see about
learning some more information
about the global aspects. It’s just
good to keep cognizant about
global issues from a nursing
perspective.”
Nursing alumni and former
roommates Lori Prentice and
Shirley Dunbar, both of whom
graduated from the School of
Nursing in 1957, also attended the
events Tuesday and Wednesday
and said they were particularly
interested in the growth of the
field. Prentice said she wants to
see the field of nursing expand
and contribute more to the global
experience.
“It makes me smile and
broadens my mind about what’s
going on in nursing,” Prentice
said. “There are always sick
people, and there are always
needs. If there’s always needs,
there’s always nursing of some
sort. When I graduated 60 years
ago, we didn’t have this global
experience.”
The
event
will
continue
through Thursday morning and
early afternoon, with further
discussions and lectures related
to global health.
NURSING
From Page 1A
being admitted to the University of
Michigan.
“It’s not enough to provide
access to first-generation students,”
said Dilip Das, assistant vice
provost for academic affairs.“We
have to provide an opportunity
for them and other disadvantaged
students to flourish in the same
way advantaged students expect to
flourish when they come here.”
At one workshop, Dwight Lang,
a faculty adviser to first-generation
students,
said
first-generation
students are at the highest risk of
dropping out.
“I always worry about those kids
in the fall,” Lang said. “If they don’t
feel connected to the university
quickly, they are at risk of leaving.”
In
another
workshop,
Rod
Freidhoff, Engineering Advising
Center Director, noted that a
prevalent theme was show to better
involve faculty in the process of
creating an environment where
these students can thrive.
“Do we ever see students
paralyzed by the number of choices
presented to them?” he asked.
This
idea
of
mentorship
continued to be a recurring theme
throughout the day. Many speakers
agreed mentorship was the best
and most practical way to integrate
disadvantaged students into the
University,
saying
mentoring
could give these students a sense
of belonging in such a competitive
environment.
Deborah
Greene,
University
public affairs and media relations
representative, said during the
event she thought professors taking
interest in these students is key to
the students’ experiences.
“When a professor begins to take
interest in first-generation students
they begin to think, ‘I didn’t know
anyone was really willing to invest
time and care in me,’ ” she said.
In addition to the workshops,
many
University
organizations
came to the event to show students
how to get involved on campus. Pilot
— a program offering leadership
and development opportunities to
students in struggling communities
around Michigan — was one such
organization, and Pilot member
Dakotah Feil, an Engineering
sophomore, said the group is
excited to welcome all first-
generation students who want to
get involved.
“The majority of our members
are
first-generation
students,
and we do a lot of work with
underrepresented
students
on
campus, so we’re really looking for
new members,” she said. “We’re
just looking for passionate people.”
apartment
complexes
near
campus, the building is planned
to feature a study lounge, fitness
room, sky lounge and outdoor sky
terrace. Similar to other apartment
buildings
such
as
ArborBlu,
Landmark and Zaragon, it will
have
micro-apartments,
studio
and multi-bedroom units available
for rent with prices ranging from
$900 to $4,770. There will also be
53 off-street parking spaces, as well
as a Zipcar, which will be offered to
residents according to the updated
site plan. Additional bedrooms were
also proposed in the updated site,
bringing the total to 343 beds.
The space, located at 611 E.
University Ave., next to Zaragon
Place Apartments, is proposed
to have entrances on both East
University Avenue and on Church
Street according to the updated
site plan. The site was originally
multiple properties on both East
University Avenue and Church
Street, but will be combined into
one property should the plan be
approved by the city of Ann Arbor.
City Planner Alexis DiLeo said
she sees this project as one of
several that will remove properties
and redevelop the area, instead of
the more common development of
green underdeveloped spaces.
“This proposal, as well as most of
the recent development throughout
the city, would indicate that the city
is no longer just being developed
and is now being redeveloped,”
DiLeo said. “Redevelopment often
takes people by surprise. Most
expect that a vacant lot will be
developed some day, but they do not
often anticipate an existing one- or
two-story building, or a house, will
be demolished to make way for a
larger development.”
Councilmember Kirk Westphal
(D–Ward 2) said he understands the
reasoning behind another student
high-rise being built on campus.
“From my standpoint, I’d sure
rather folks be able to live near
where they need to go rather than
drive there,” Westphal said. “If
there still is in fact a healthy market
for this type of housing, most people
I speak with agree that close to
campus is the best place for it.”
The
Ann
Arbor
Design
Review Board, which consists
of
two
landscape
architects,
two architects, one planner, one
developer
and
one
contractor,
reviewed the site in February and
offered feedback to the developers.
Their main reservations of the
proposal were the excess private
vehicle entrance space as well as the
consistency between this building
and the local area.
“The proposed development is
not consistent with the tower tops
of the block or the South University
character area,” a statement from
the board reads. “The South
University area has the greatest
concentration
of
pedestrians
anywhere in the city, their comfort,
safety and needs must be prioritized
over private parking.”
There have also been some public
concerns about the rapid pace of
neighborhood growth in Ann Arbor
in general over the past few years,
but Westphal said he believes that
the public will see this location is
the best option.
“In general, the public has said
over and over that they believe
downtown is the best place for high-
density residential and commercial
buildings, so in terms of the scale
of the project, it fits with what the
public expects,” Westphal said.
“Of course Ann Arbor’s landscape
has changed downtown quite a
bit in the past decade, so there is
certainly concern about the pace of
that change.”
give them a chance to celebrate
their journey to recovery.”
SafeHouse
advocate
and
survivor Quinn Davis shared
her story as the featured keynote
speech of the night. Davis said
she studied abroad and worked
with
children
in
Thailand
while coming to terms with the
aftermath of rape.
“I was only a surrogate for the
rape,” Davis said. “I am too busy
nurturing myself to nurture a
toxin I did not create and never
wanted.”
Davis said she was first able
to begin the process of moving
forward by turning to dance.
She said while she has made
progress in the long battle of
moving forward, every day she
is still reminded of the assault.
“After the rape, dance was
one of the only things that felt
mostly unchanged,” she said. “It
reminded me that my body is for
me. It went from something that
I did to something that I had to
do.”
Volunteer
psychological
counselors,
who
were
identifiable by white arm bands,
were available throughout the
march to those who needed
them. Some also wore teal
arm bands and were available
for attendants who wanted to
identify as survivors and seek
counseling.
Ann Arbor resident Tom
Swider introduced the demands
of the Take Back the Night
supporters, which included “No
means no” and “We demand
safety everywhere.”
“We gather tonight to demand
recognition that sexual violence
is in our communities and unite
to take a stand against the cycle
of violence,” he said.
Before the initial speechs,
local
singer
Ashley
Franso,
student-run
dance
team
Cadence and various University
of
Michigan
clubs
and
organizations worked at tables
to provide information about
their respective missions as
well as resources they provide.
Participating
organizations
included the Sexual Assault
Prevention
and
Awareness
Center, the Spectrum Center,
Body Peace Corps, the African
American 490 Challenge and
Free Hearts, among others.
LSA freshman Kalei Glozier,
a member of Spectrum Center’s
community engagement team,
said his organization decided to
table because of the importance
of
including
the
LGBTQ
community in the conversation
around sexual assault.
“Rape
does
happen
in
the
LGBT
community,
and
sometimes it is taken as not as
important,
especially
among
gay men,” Glozier said. “We
wanted to promote safe sex and
consent.”
Margie
Pillsbury,
head
officer of the University Police’s
Special Victims Unit, gave a
speech
about
the
founding
of her unit and the role it has
with addressing and providing
resources on campus regarding
sexual violence.
“In
2015,
the
University
created the Special Victims Unit
because we realized that sexual
assault and personal crimes are
not like other types of crimes
that police investigate,” she said.
“When a person who you know
and trust violates your body by
assaulting you or raping you, it is
not so easy to just call the police
and make a report.”
She said the goal of the unit
is to investigate sexual assaults,
domestic
violence,
stalking
and child abuse, adding that
she hopes her team’s work will
make a difference concerning
prevention and support.
“We want to make things
easier for survivors so they
have the options they need and
deserve,” she added. “We want
to change the culture and be the
change agent.”
Take Back the Night student
leader Audrey Parenti, an LSA
senior, became involved in the
event after attending the rally
her freshman year. Parenti said
sexual violence is a pressing
issue on campus that needs to be
addressed.
“I think there is a lot more that
needs to be done,” Parenti said.
After
the
speeches
and
statements of demands, members
of the audience grabbed posters,
signs and balloons in preparation
for the march portion of the
event, which commenced outside
of the Michigan Union. Students
and
community
members
gathered and chanted in unison,
chanting “two, four, six, eight! No
more violence, no more rape!”
LSA senior Naoshin Khan,
co-president of an anti-human
trafficking
club
on
campus
known
as
FreeHearts,
said
events such as Take Back the
Night are important as sexual
assault and abuse is an issue that
is not receiving enough attention
at the University.
“I feel like sexual violence is
not talked about on campus,”
Khan said. “It is the duty of the
University to increase awareness
and take actions on preventing
future crimes from occurring.”
HIGH-RISE
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SYMPOSIUM
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RALLY
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SINDUJA KILARU/Daily
Dr. Vanessa Kerry speaks about her organization, Seed, at the Nursing Symposium Tuesday.