There are five Ann Arbor
City Council positions up for
re-election this November, but
Ward 5 on the city’s northwest
side is the only contested race.
Incumbent
Councilmember
Chuck Warpehoski (D), who has
served four years on City Council,
is
running
against
political
newcomer David Silkworth (I),
an insurance claim representative
for homeowners and businesses.
In the August Democratic
primary election, Warpehoski
defeated challenger Kevin Leeser,
a nurse in the University Health
System, garnering 2,424 votes
compared
to
Leeser’s
1,120.
Warpehoski was expected to run
unopposed in the general election
until Silkworth decided to enter
the race as an independent in July.
Silkworth
initially
began
collecting
signatures
to
run
as a Democrat in this year’s
City Council election, but after
attending the council’s meetings
and further involving himself in
local politics, he said he noticed
his ideologies did not truly align
with the sitting Democrats on
the council, deciding to run as an
independent.
Warpehoski
and
Silkworth
hold opposing views on several
issues,
including
property
development in their ward and
throughout the city.
In particular, Silkworth said
he thinks there is currently a pro-
About 15 student leaders
from
organizations
in
the
University
of
Michigan’s
College
of
Engineering
gathered Thursday night in
Chesborough
Auditorium
on North Campus to hold
a student-led review of the
University
President
Mark
Schlissel’s Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion plan.
The
forum,
sponsored
by
Engineering
Student
Government, is the first review
in the College of Engineering
to be restricted strictly to
students to discuss the DEI
plan — a five-year initiative
launched earlier this month
with the goal of improving
campus diversity. The DEI
plan includes strategies for
each individual college at the
University to cater to its own
needs for diversity.
Attendees discussed racial,
gender and identity diversity in
an effort to expand upon earlier
town halls held by the college
and further the concerns raised
in the college’s statement about
the plan previously published
in The Michigan Daily.
At a town hall organized by
the College of Engineering on
Oct. 11, Engineering Dean Alec
Gallimore and members of the
DEI planning team outlined
the college’s goals to attendees.
Engineering graduate student
Abbhinav Muralidharan said
in an interview before the
Thursday event he felt it was
productive to have a different
dynamic than forums held
in the past, especially with
no faculty or administration
present.
Thursday’s review consisted
of an open dialogue during
which
student
attendees
discussed
the
contents
of
the College of Engineering’s
strategies
for
improving
diversity — specifically the
plans for driving innovation
and
fostering
creativity
while reflecting the changing
diversity in higher education
nationwide.
Students
who
spoke
during
the
forum
remained anonymous. Speakers
vocalized concerns about what
they described as the vagueness
of
a
phrase
“compelling
reasons for diversity” as well
as the prioritization of its
main objectives and whether
the strategic objectives can
be applied to each of their
organizations in narrowing the
college’s gender and minority
gaps.
Following a fatal car crash
Tuesday near Huron High School
that resulted in one death, some
Ann Arbor residents have raised
questions about whether City
Council has deferred funding
for pedestrian safety in favor of
downtown projects — putting off
slated crosswalk improvements
for areas including the site of the
crash.
Ann Arbor Huron High School
student Qi-Xuan “Justin” Tang
was struck by a car and killed
around 7:20 a.m. on Tuesday
morning while crossing Fuller
Road, according to Ann Arbor
Police and Ann Arbor Public
Schools.
There is no definitive link
between
the
crosswalk
and
this accident, and the AAPD
has not yet released its accident
report on Tuesday’s incident.
However, local residents, like
Kathy Griswold, a former Ann
Arbor School Board member,
noted there is no lighting for the
crosswalk to Huron High School.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, October 28, 2016
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See COUNCIL, Page 2
PAUL AHNN/Daily
Samar Habib, associate researcher at the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of London, speaks about gender relations and sexuality in Islam at Weill Hall
Thursday.
Three
panelists
discussed
gender relations in the Quran,
the
decriminalization
of
homosexuality and the targeting
of Yazidi women in Iraq by the
Islamic State at a Digital Islamic
Studies
Curriculum
event
on human rights, gender and
sexuality in the Islamic World
Thursday night.
About
75
University
of
Michigan students, faculty and
Ann Arbor residents were in
attendance at the event, hosted
as part of an ongoing series
Contemporary Islamic Identities
through
the
Islamic
Studies
Department among others.
Each panelist was given 15
minutes to present their topic
before Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Shirin Ebadi, a former judge in Iran
and human rights activist, who
provided
remarks
afterwards.
Ebadi spoke Wednesday as part
of the symposium on gender and
sexuality in Islamic cultures,
emphasizing
that
providing
information on Islam is the best
way to combat Islamophobia.
Asma
Barlas,
professor
of
politics at Ithaca College, spoke
on the topic of sex and gender in
the Islamic holy book, the Quran,
by highlighting segments of the
See CRASH, Page 2
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Rackham student Abbhinav Muralidharan, Engineering Student Government President Rebekah Andrews, an
Engineering senior and Rackham student Chris Reynolds facilitate the Engineering Student Government DEI plan
review at Chesebrough Auditorium Thursday.
Michigan in Color
Three pieces exploring how:
a mother’s love crosses
oceans; dissonant reflections
do not define us; choices can
unite or divide a community
plagued by violence
» Page 3
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
See ISLAM, Page 2
The
Chicago-based
real
estate agency that agreed to
purchase the vacant Library
Lot in Ann Arbor has backed
out of a major redevelopment
plan for the Fifth Avenue and
Williams Street lot , according
to the Ann Arbor News.
The
Habitat
Company
terminated the contract after
disagreements with the city’s
requests
that
the
company
include
more
affordable
housing and energy efficient
practices in their plans for
construction.
Habitat
had
planned
to
construct a building featuring
233 apartments, office space
and ground-floor shopping, in
conjunction with CA Ventures
and Hughes Properties.
However, Habitat Chairman
Daniel Levin wrote in a letter
to Mayor Christopher Taylor
Wednesday that his company
would no longer pursue the
acquisition of the property,
which is also located next to the
Blake Transit Center.
“Although we have enjoyed
See LIBRARY, Page 2
Paul Bunyan Battle
The undefeated Michigan
football team heads up to
East Lansing on Saturday
in search of its first win at
Michigan State since 2007
» Page 7
Read more online at
MichiganDaily.com
Read more online at
MichiganDaily.com
INDEX
Vol. CXXVI, No. 18
©2016 The Michigan Daily
Development
is top issue in
Ward 5 City
Council race
Panelists talk issues of gender and
sexuality in Islam for event series
ANN ARBOR
In campaign for only contested seat,
candidates emphasize housing
SOPHIE SHERRY
Daily Staff Reporter
Researchers from three institutions talk women’s and LGBTQ rights
MATT HARMON
Daily Staff Reporter
Fatal crash
highlights
pedestrian
safety in A2
ANN ARBOR
Following Tuesday’s
accident, city residents
raise funding concerns
BRIAN KUANG
Daily Staff Reporter
Town hall aims to create more comfortable, open environment for discussion
ALEXA ST. JOHN
Daily Staff Reporter
Company
backs out
of plan for
library lot
CITY
Developers cite
disagreements with city
requests for project
LYDIA MURRAY
Daily Staff Reporter
Engineering Student Government hosts
student-led review of diversity plan