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reduced to more inferior roles
and limited in the interactions
they could have with men on
screen.
“The
new
authorities
showed hostility to women’s
participation
in
cinema,
which is seen in the guidelines
that they wrote codifying the
representation of women in
the films,” Ganjavie said.
The post-1979 Iranian film
industry also adjusted to
the guidelines by changing
how intimacy and a woman’s
role in society were — in a
way that was often discreet
and based upon traditional
Iranian culture.
“Poetry is used to depict
eroticism and there are many
similar approaches used by
Iranian directors,” Ganjavie
said. “Iranian cinema is very
indebted to and was shaped
by poetry.”
To illustrate his point,
Ganjavie showed a clip from
the 1999 film “The Wind
Will Carry Us” in which a
man uses poetry to show his
affection for a woman.
Given the restrictions on
physical contact, symbolism
has become a central part
of how Iranian cinema in
general
conveys
moments
of intimacy, according to
Ganjavie.
For Art & Design alum
Parisa Ghaderi, an Ann Arbor
resident, the lecture provided
insight into how symbols
can be a powerful tool in
describing love between two
people.
“I think it was interesting
for me to kind of decode
the imagery he was talking
about,”
Ghaderi
said.
“I
remember I was thinking
about these concepts before,
but he helped decode all of
this imagery and now I will
try to see what the approach
is of a director is to show love
scenes.”
Ganjavie
said
understanding how Iranian
cinema
tackles
issues
of
intimacy
can
provide
a
lens to better understand
how notions of love are
perpetrated in American and
European films. Hollywood,
he said, has an outsized
ability to craft the ways in
which people interpret these
acts of intimacy taking place.
“Contrary to the common
belief
that
kissing
is
a
universal desire, a majority
of cultures do not accept it as
a common way of expressing
emotion,” Ganjavie said.
Cross said he found this
point, and Ganjavie’s lecture
as a whole, to be a useful
thesis on how cinema is a
powerful tool beyond being a
medium of entertainment.
“Cinema is a very useful
way to talk about culture and
art and thoughts in general,
regardless of whether it is
Iranian culture or another
area of the world,” he said.
FILM
From Page 1
January, followed by visits from
her, her daughter and President
Barack
Obama.
Flint
Mayor
Karen Weaver also received a
speaking spot at the Democratic
National Convention in July.
UM-Flint
freshman
Abbey
Johnson said she believes Bill
Clinton’s
visit
is
significant
because it demonstrates that the
Clintons care about issues facing
everyday Americans.
“I think it’s really important
that he came here,” she said.
“With the Flint water crisis, it
shows not only the Democrats
but everyone that he really cares
and that Hillary cares what is
happening all over the country,
especially in Flint.”
U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D–Flint)
said Hillary Clinton helped Flint
gain the national attention it
needed to help resolve the crisis.
“During the middle of the New
Hampshire
primary,
Hillary
Clinton left New Hampshire, put
politics aside and came to the aid
of the people of Flint,” he said.
“She elevated this case, our story,
to the national prominence that it
deserved.”
Kildee also pointed to the
Water Resources Development
Act
passed
in
the
House
last Wednesday, which is an
amendment
providing
$170
million in federal funding for
Flint.
During Weaver’s introduction
of Bill Clinton, she said Flint is
privileged to have remained in
the purview of a former president.
“How excited can Flint be to
have never, ever been forgotten
by
this
two-term
elected
Democratic president,” she said.
Though Michigan has not voted
for a Republican presidential
candidate since 1988, both parties
have expressed the importance of
the Michigan as a battleground
state in this election. The most
recent RealClearPolitics polling
average has Clinton 5.3 points
ahead of Trump in the state, one
of her lower polling numbers in
Michigan since March.
In acknowledgement of that,
Bill Clinton closed with a request
for the audience to register voters
and encourage people to vote
for Hillary Clinton as the Oct.
11 voter registration deadline
approaches.
“You’ve got a week and a day
to register new voters,” he said.
“You’ve got to go and talk to your
friends and neighbors.”
FLINT
From Page 1
adequate but not fast-paced
enough for the student body.
“It would be nice at times if
we could speak more quickly,”
Schultz said. “We’ve already
done a little bit of that through
our Twitter account, which
did get a fair number of hits.
Maybe if we did more, we’d get
more hits.”
Prof. Silke-Maria Weineck,
LSA representative on the
committee,
praised
Central
Student
Government’s
response to the flyers and set
its public statement response
times as a goal for SACUA to
strive for.
“I brought up the rapid
response
question
(on
the
agenda),”
Weineck
said.
“What
concerned
me
was
that when the story broke
in
The
Washington
Post,
they mentioned that Central
Student
Government
had
issued a statement condemning
the posters and flyers. … It
took until Friday for our email
message to arrive.”
Many
members
of
the
committee, noted they were
not very fluent with social
media lexicon or the scope
of Twitter, though they also
expressed a desire to learn
if it would help decrease the
committee’s response time.
Prof.
Stefan
Szymanski,
committee member from the
School of Kinesiology, stressed
the importance of an effective
and consistent plan for social
media and suggested that the
item be addressed in future
meetings of SACUA and the
Senate
Assembly.
Senate
Assembly the overall faculty
body that meets once a month.
After
discussing
rapid
response,
SACUA
also
talked about a Tri-Campus
Governance
Resolution
written
by
Prof
Lehman,
committee member for LSA.
Schultz noted that UM-Flint
History Prof. John Ellis and
Robert Fraser, former SACUA
board member and current
associate director for graduate
programs
at
UM-Dearborn,
came to the SACUA board last
week asking for support in
developing the “relationship
of the faculty as a whole and
the regional campuses’ central
governments.”
Wright said he saw the
resolution as an effort to get
the University to strengthen
its relationship with UM-Flint
and
UM-Dearborn,
instead
of primarily addressing the
concerns
they
originally
came to SACUA with about
their own campuses. At a
previous
SACUA
meeting,
faculty from the Flint campus
expressed
concerns
with
the lack of transparancy the
administration has with the
faculty.
“The
two
issues
are
‘Are
their
internal
faculty
governing systems working or
dysfunctional?’, then the other
issue is the relationship with
us, with the Senate Assembly
on campus,” Wright said. “If I
go back about three different
times in their revision, they
inserted that second issue to
study the relationship with
us.”
Lehman
said
what
he
heard at the meeting with the
petitioners was not all that was
reflected in their edits to his
resolution.
“When I listened to the guys
at Flint around the table, they’re
basically saying, ‘We’d like to
have some type of an outside
look at what’s happening here
with fresh pairs of eyes to help
us calibrate ourselves, quite
frankly, as to whether or not
we really are being abused
to the degree we think we’re
being abused and whether or
not the administration is really
running counter to the rules,’
” Lehman said. “That’s what
I took out of what they were
saying.”
Syzmanski,
regardless
of how it came to be in the
resolution, said he saw the
relationship between the three
campuses as something worth
addressing.
“I don’t think we should
preempt the discussion by
saying, ‘Well we’re not going
to even include this in the
resolution,’ ” Syzmanski said.
“It should be somewhere in the
commission.”
SACUA
From Page 1
Lives Matter movement.
On Monday and Tuesday,
large student protests drew
over 600, with many calling
for the University to take more
immediate action to resolve
climate issues and criticizing
the
University’s
Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion initiative.
The initiative, a year-long effort
to create a strategic plan for
diversity on campus, is slated to
launch on Thursday.
Both the College of LSA and
University
President
Mark
Schlissel also hosted events in
response to the posters during
the week, which drew close to
three hundred students total.
During the forum he hosted
Sunday, Schlissel told students
he thinks the success of his
presidency depends on his DEI
plan and improving the racial
climate on campus.
McCoy
said
for
him,
responding to the newest fliers
means supporting the other
minority groups being targeted.
“Whoever has been posting
these
fliers,
they’ve
said
something to us and many
different groups of people,” he
said. “So I think at this point,
it’s supporting everyone who’s
affected and everyone who’s
offended in whatever way I can.”
POSTERS
From Page 2
“I feel like if someone is being
bullied, or anything really, and
they feel lonely, that is the quickest
way that they would commit
suicide,” Pruitt said. “So my hopes
in the photos is that it creates a
sense of unity with people that
have thought of suicide or have
been bullied and so that people
that think they are alone … their
feelings go away.”
Silence Shoot’s photographs are
each in black and white, except for
a piece of red tape that covers the
subject’s mouth. Pruitt said the
tape represents the forced silence
of victims of bullying, but also
represents survivors and allies that
stand together against bullying.
Silence Shoot, which tours
around
college
campuses
in
Michigan to spread awareness, will
post the photos on their website
and Facebook page.
A
Nursing
freshman
who
requested to go by only her first
name, Kat, said she wrote “You’re
Loved” on the wooden tile to share
with others the feeling that got her
through her own depression.
“We always all have the thought
that ‘If I die, will people remember
me? Could I just disappear and
nobody would notice?’ ” Kat said.
“What people don’t realize is that
they are loved, and there’s so many
people there for them. And if they
just let somebody know that they’re
having a bad day, someone will
always be there to help you. And
that’s what friends and family are
for.”
SILENCE
From Page 2
and social media campaigns
following the discovery of the
original posters last week, with
many calling for more action from
Schlissel and noting his absence
at some of the events. According
to University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald, Schlissel was out of
town last Monday.
The protests and incidents
came a week before the launch of
the University’s Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion strategic plan, a
year-long initiative launched by
Schlissel last September, which
was also a target of criticism
during protests.
On
Monday
evening,
chalkings on the Diag criticizing
Schlissel for his response to
protests
and
student
outcry
appeared, including “Schlissel
don’t care about Black Students
unless
They
Are
Athletes,”
“We just getting started Mark”
and
“#Schlisselwya,”
which
referenced a hashtag started
earlier in the week.
The
University
has
held
several events in response to the
fliers this past week, including a
LSA-sponsored event Wednesday
and a campus-wide conversation
about race hosted by Schlissel on
Sunday. Both events discussed
the importance of continuing
conversations surrounding these
issues, aiming to foster student
discussion and input.
In his conversation with the
Daily Monday, Schlissel stressed
the need for proactive efforts to
tackle the incidents.
He said he thinks the launch of
the DEI plan, along with faculty
members
encouraging
open
dialogue in the classroom setting,
will help establish campus-wide
solidarity and communication.
“The comments I plan to
make (upon launching the DEI
plan) will be modified based
on the challenging things that
have been going on on campus
the last 10 days,” Schlissel said.
“One of our hopes is that faculty
members take advantage or try to
come up with something positive
out of this difficult circumstance
and are talking to their students
and asking how they feel about
things and providing support for
them. I know that the faculty are
thinking of ways to step forward
as a group as well.”
Schlissel
also
noted
that
the University is not alone in
these incidents, as there have
been others on campuses both
statewide and nationwide. On
Sept. 20, EMU found that racially
charged slurs were graffitied on
several academic and student
housing buildings, leading to a
call for response from university
officials.
“We
all
face
the
same
challenges, we all face the same
limitations as to response and I
think we’re all looking for ways
to show solidarity with our
students and to fight hate speech
with more speech,” Schlissel
said.
CSG President David Schafer,
an LSA senior, was present at
the meeting and said it was a
significant way to move forward
from the incidents.
Schafer also said he thought
while social media campaigns
are a strong start to responding to
these events, much like Schlissel,
he wants to see tangible action
in engaging with a variety of
student groups to ensure the
safety and welfare of all students.
“It’s more than students just
posting or tweeting on Facebook
or over social media, I think
it’s being an ally through their
actions, as we mentioned in our
statement a couple of Fridays
ago,” Schafer said. “Now we need
to match words with actions.”
LSA
senior
Julia
Gips,
president
of
LSA
Student
Government,
said
she
does
not think many students have
engaged fully with the incidents
over the past few weeks, but that
the efforts the administration is
taking so far — especially those
on social media — have been
effective.
“I think, as student leaders,
we hope to get other students
involved in the conversation
and not just walk past these
posters and feel appalled, but
do something about it, say
something and stand up for our
fellow classmates,” Gips said.
The chalkings were found the
same day anti-Muslim and sexist
posters were found on campus,
believed to be from a white
supremacist alt-right group.
These controversies have been
occurring on campus just days
before the launch of Schlissel’s
campus-wide Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion plan Oct. 6.
At the time of the chalkings,
Schlissel was meeting with about
about six students involved in
student government efforts on
campus at the Cube. CSG and
Schlissel were taking photos for a
social media post and statement
to be released Monday night,
stating their goals of showing
solidarity for students affected
by the postings.
SCHLISSEL
From Page 1
reducing the cost of education
as secretary of education in
Virginia.
During
Kaine’s
September
campaign stop at the University,
debt-free college was also a
central theme of his speech. He
also emphasized the contrast
between
Hillary
Clinton’s
education plan and a lack of a
specific platform from Donald
Trump on higher education.
Pence has yet to tout a college
plan, and the Trump campaign
has not released specific policy
on it. Howeer, he has placed a
particular focus on education in
Indiana, encouraging students
to enroll in technical schools,
expanding school of choice and
opposing
federally
mandated
Common
Core
education
standards.
Kaine, in contrast, supported
Virginia’s
participation
in
following
Common
Core
standards in 2009 when he was
governor.
Among
students,
though,
interest in higher education
policy was high. The influence
the
candidates’
records
are
expected to have on their votes
varied.
LSA junior James Margard
said the choice of vice presidential
candidate has a minor influence
on the way he will vote in
November. However, he said
he is not planning on watching
Tuesday’s
debate
because
a
debate because he is focusing on
the presidential candidates.
“I
am
not
planning
on
watching the vice presidential
debate because I already know
who I’m voting for,” Margard
said. “I’m voting for the president
rather than the vice president.”
Margard added that while
he thought higher education
reform was important, he thinks
there are bigger issues facing the
country in this election.
Aaron Kall, the University’s
director of debate, said the
moderator
may
agree
with
Margard’s sentiments. He said
he isn’t sure whether education
will be a topic at the debate, given
all of the other controversies
surrounding
both
campaigns
and the autonomy of debate
moderator Elaine Quijano in
formulating the debate questions.
“Nobody really knows; the
moderator has autonomy over
all the questions,” Kall said.
“It’s really anybody’s guess as to
what is of her (Quijano’s) major
concern.”
Kall
also
noted
vice
presidential
debates
usually
have
smaller
viewership
in
comparison
to
presidential
debates, and typically have a
small amount of influence on
people’s choice of candidate.
“It’s one debate that provides a
good news cycle, but historically
hasn’t had an overall major
impact on the race,” Kall said.
“There have been some very
highly rated debates with a lot
of viewer interest, but none that
had a real major impact on the
outcome of the race.”
LSA sophomore Sunji Nam
also said she the effect the debate
would have on her vote. She noted
that though she self-finances
part of her own education, she
disagrees with the concept of
tuition-free college and doesn’t
think higher education reform is
the most important issue in this
presidential election. However,
she added that she believes
tonight’s debate has the power to
influence voters.
“Normally
I
don’t
think
the
vice
presidential
debate
is
important,
but
it
could
be this year given Trump’s
unpopularity,” Nam said.
Kall echoed these sentiments,
saying that if Pence is polished
and puts on a good showing, it
could allow Trump to bounce
back from a negative debate
and news week in which his
unreleased tax returns have
dominated headlines.
“It’s a good opportunity for the
Trump campaign to kind of stop
the bleeding,” Kall said. “If Pence
can have a positive performance,
then that could consume the
news cycle in the run-up to the
next debate on Sunday as opposed
to all the negative attention that
is currently on Trump.”
The debate will air at 9 p.m.
tonight on major cable news
networks as well as C-SPAN, and
will be 90 minutes long with no
commercial breaks.
DEBATE
From Page 1
KEVIN ZHENG/Daily
Accounting Prof. Dave Wright at the Senate Advisory Committee meeting Monday.