The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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Wednesday, November 23, 2016 — 3A

premarital sex, including religion, 
individual values and culture. The 
data from the survey indicated 
that 56 percent of students feel 
their parents’ religion influences 
how they view health issues.

Respondents 
represented 
a 

wide range of religions, such 
as Christianity (50.41 percent), 
Judaism (5.69 percent), Hinduism 
(3.25 percent) and Islam (0.81 
percent). 

One student, who asked not 

to be named due to familial 
concerns, said her parents grew 
up in south India and have 
conservative 
Christian 
views 

about relationships and marriage.

“My parents don’t believe 

in premarital sex because of 
the Bible, because of religious 
reasons,” she said. “They don’t 
want guys to be a distraction 
when it comes to school.”

However, she noted that her 

parent’s opposition to premarital 
sex, she is sexually active, hiding 
her relationships and atheism 
from her parents.

“I don’t talk to my parents 

when it comes to that kind of stuff 
because they are conservative,” 
she said. “They don’t even want 
me to see a gynecologist.”

For many teens and young 

adults, sex education takes place 
primarily through conversations 
with peers. Views of premarital 
sex 
are 
context-dependent, 

influenced by the environment in 
which individuals are brought up 

and the friends with whom they 
surround 
themselves, 
making 

a campus enviornment host to 
many different views.

Headrick 
credits 
her 

willingness to talk about sex to 
the communities she’s involved 
in, including her role as peer 
facilitator at the University’s 
Program on Intergroup Relations 
— a social justice education 
program — and position as 
president of the Eugene V. Debs 
Cooperative House.

“I tend to surround myself with 

people who are open to talking 
about things,” Headrick said. “In 
general, it is very stigmatized, 
but you can find pockets where 
it’s celebrated and encouraged to 
communicate about sex.”

For there to be a reduction 

in the stigma she sees around 
sex, Headrick said, there needs 
to be an understanding of why 
premarital sex is important.

“First of all, if you are thinking 

about marrying someone, you 
should have sex before so you 
know that you are going to enjoy 
your lifetime of sex,” Headrick 
said. “I think it’s an important 
part of your life, and if you end 
up with someone you are not 
compatible with, that would be a 
bummer.”

However, Babbitt, who plans 

to pursue a career in full time 
ministry 
after 
graduation, 

said for those that practice 
the 
teachings 
of 
the 
Bible 

devoutly, 
premarital 
sex 
is 

wrong and should be saved for 
marriage. While Babbitt opposes 
premarital sex partly because of 
her religious beliefs, she also said 

she thought sex can be damaging 
to relationships and should be 
postponed.

“I have witnessed so many 

couples get caught up in sex and 
don’t end up resolving issues,” 
Babbitt said. “There is increased 
jealousy and problems. I think a 
lot of problems come up when a 
couple starts having sex.”

The survey results also found 

that many students are not 
engaged in open communication 
with their parents on a number 
of health topics, including sexual 
health — only 4.35 percent of 
those surveyed said they talk 
with their parents about sexual 
activity “very often,” while 36.52 
percent said they never talk 
with their parents about sexual 
activity.

Respondents attributed this 

lack of communication largely to 
the fact that they have different 
views than their parents and that 
they would rather talk to peers or 
medical professionals.

In contrast to the overall trend, 

Babbitt said she feels like she can 
talk openly to her parents about 
issues surrounding sex despite 
their differing viewpoints. While 
Babbitt said her parents do not 
oppose 
premarital 
sex, 
they 

support her decision to postpone 
having 
sex 
until 
marriage, 

support she said she feels lucky 
to have.

“I tell my parents everything,” 

Babbitt said. “If I told my parents 
I was having sex, they would be 
concerned because they know 
how dead set I am on this. They 
wouldn’t be upset that I actually 
had sex.”

SURVEY
From Page 1A

as spies; that’s why they kill us,” 
Yousuf said.

In April 2015, the family arrived 

in Michigan and was resettled 
in Ypsilanti by Jewish Family 
Services of Washtenaw County. 
While Yousuf was able to find 
full-time work at a local cleaning 
company and attend classes at 
Washtenaw Community College, 
a language barrier and the need 
to care for their children — the 
oldest is in first grade — made it 
difficult for Zahra to find her own 
employment.

But while Zahra struggled 

to find a job, another local 
community 
member 
was 

unwittingly creating one. One year 
before the family’s arrival to the 
United States, Ann Arbor resident 
Brea Albulov had begun sewing 
baby slings for her children after 
finding the commercial options 
unsatisfying. When acquaintances 
began asking if they could buy her 
slings, Albulov realized she could 
start a business and founded Hope 
Carried in February 2015.

As orders mounted in the fall 

of 2015, Albulov was not only in 
need of helping hands, but was 
also increasingly unsettled by 
the 
unfolding 
Syrian 
refugee 

crisis. While listening to an 
NPR interview of an Afghan 
humanitarian activist who was 
struggling to find work after fleeing 
to the United States as an asylee, 
Albulov saw an opportunity to 
empower displaced individuals.

“While giving money is always 

helpful 
because 
people 
need 

resources, providing a job can 
change a poverty cycle,” Albulov 
said. “There’s a whole subcategory 
of people who want to work but 
can’t.”

After contacting Jewish Family 

Services and Freedom House of 

Detroit — both of which resettle 
refugees in Southeast Michigan 
— Albulov began hiring refugee 
women as contractors to produce 
her baby slings, including Zahra.

Albulov 
handles 
orders 

through a website and packages 
and ships orders from her home, 
dropping off fabric and picking up 
completed slings once or twice a 
week from each woman’s home. 
She said this has allowed them to 
secure paid employment despite 
linguistic and cultural barriers, 
while also still being able to care 
for their young children at home.

Hope 
Carried 
currently 

employs five refugee seamstresses. 
Including Zahra, three are from 
Afghanistan, one is from Iraq and 
one is from Africa. Albulov said 
she intends to expand her hiring 
to all women who lack economic 
empowerment for varying reasons.

Speaking for Zahra, who is not 

fully proficient in English, Yousuf 
said Hope Carried has helped his 
wife adjust to their new life.

“It was hard for us, especially 

for my wife,” Yousuf said. “(Hope 
Carried) is really helping me and 
the whole family … as long as 
(Zahra) is busy, I’m happy.”

Other refugees employed at 

Hope Carried have similar stories.

Arriving 
in 
Michigan 
six 

months ago after fleeing Kabul 
in 2013 because her family was 
threatened for working in the local 
media, Zobaida said her job has 
allowed her to support her family 
in a way that wasn’t possible in 
Afghanistan. She requested to 
only be identified by her first name 
due to safety concerns.

“Before I didn’t have any jobs 

… my first job was to work with 
Brea,” Zobaida said. “It’s really 
hard for us. I have to work and 
help my husband to pay back our 
loans.”

The company has shipped 

more than 1,400 orders in the 
past year, with most customers 
coming through referrals. Albulov 

said she is preparing to launch 
a Kickstarter campaign to hire 
additional workers and purchase 
fabric in wholesale.

She noted that the current 

political 
climate 
surrounding 

backlash against refugee arrivals 
to the United States has added 
a sense of importance to her 
company’s mission, adding that 
she would continue hiring refugee 
women regardless of any potential 
backlash against her company. 
Rhetoric used in President-elect 
Donald Trump’s campaign has 
caused ongoing uncertainty and 
fear in the resettled refugee and 
advocacy community, especially 
over the past few weeks. For 
his first 100 days, Trump has 
prioritized 
extreme 
vetting 

for those from “terror-prone” 
countries. Which countries those 
would include has not been fully 
specified. 

“There was a period where 

I didn’t intentionally promote 
the 
fact 
that 
(my 
workers) 

were refugees,” Albulov said. 
“But with such backlash, it 
actually 
motivated 
me 
more 

to be really specific about who 
we’re intentionally empowering, 
because I think that when people 
talk so loud about not welcoming 
them, there needs to be a voice 
that’s shouting equally about 
welcoming them.”

Though they acknowledged 

the 
challenges 
they’ve 
faced 

in adjusting to their new home 
in 
Michigan, 
both 
refugee 

families expressed an upbeat and 
optimistic outlook toward their 
futures.

“I want to improve my English, 

and also I want my daughter to 
have a bright future,” Zahra said.

“It’s hard for us — we’ve got to 

work every single day to pay our 
bills … but these are money for 
me,” Yousuf said, pointing at his 
toddler-aged children, who were 
running around Albulov’s living 
room. “My kids.”

REFUGEES
From Page 1A

for Parents of Americans and 
Lawful 
Permanent 
Residents, 

which allow for undocumented 
immigrants who entered the 
United States as children and 
parents of U.S. citizens to remain 
in the country and seek lawful 
employment.

In 
a 
statement 
Monday, 

University 
President 
Mark 

Schlissel stated his support for 
the continuation of DACA to allow 
students to finish their studies 
at the University, saying he had 
joined dozens of other colleges and 
universities in co-signing a letter 
urging the federal government 
to continue the protections at the 
faculty Senate Assembly meeting 
Monday.

Silvia Pedraza, professor of 

sociology and American culture, 

said if Trump is able to accomplish 
all that he has outlined, it will 
have negative effects on many 
communities.

“If he makes good on all of them, 

the next four years will be terrible,” 
she said. “It will of course be 
particularly terrible for those who 
are refugees and undocumented, 
but it will also be terrible for all 
those who know them, who care 
for them, who would like to extend 
a hand of welcome to people who 
have contributed well to our 
society.”

Pedraza said Trump’s plans to 

undo these orders play into what 
she believes is the worst possible 
situation in regards to immigration 
policy.

“Another 
promise 
he 
will 

make good on is he will dismantle 
Obama’s executive orders with 
respect to DACA, so the young 
DREAM Act children, adolescents 
and young adults and DAPA,” she 

said. “That’s all in the worst-case 
scenario.”

Washtenaw Community College 

student Ivan Flores moved from 
Mexico to the United States with 
his parents when he was 6 years 
old under his father’s work visa, 
but his visa later expired after 
his parents separated. Flores said 
while living under DACA, he exists 
in an ambiguous situation where 
he is not fully legally or illegally in 
the country.

“There’s a very weird legal 

gray area,” he said. “We are not 
here lawfully but we are not here 
unlawfully, and there’s no path in 
the system to get out of that.”

The most prominent issue Flores 

faces currently, he said, is how 
fellow students do not understand 
the uncertainty surrounding his 
situation.

“Even for the people I know and 

talk to, it’s often hard for them to 
understand,” he said. “Sometimes 

there’s 
sympathy, 
sometimes 

there’s not, but people just don’t 
understand what it’s like.”

Social Work student Maria 

Ibarra-Frayre is also protected 
under DACA after the tourist visa 
she was granted when immigrating 
to the United States when she was 
9 expired. During her time on 
campus, she has worked to help 
other undocumented students find 
a place on campus of their own and 
to expand in-state tuition rights to 
nontraditional students, saying she 
wants them to have the same rights 
as resident students.

The University granted in-state 

tuition to undocumented students 
in 2013, but the ruling only applies 
to students who have graduated 
high school within the past 28 
months, which can rule out 
transfer and graduate students.

“I feel really passionate about 

college access for undocumented 
students,” Ibarra-Frayre said. “And 

creating space where they’re safe 
and they can have some kind of 
semblance of a normal life.”

Flores 
and 
Ibarra-Frayre 

both said they fear for their 
own 
statuses 
under 
Trump’s 

administration. 
Ibarra-Frayre 

noted that everyone with DACA 
or DAPA status are registered with 
the U.S. government, providing 
information to allow for their 
deportation.

“I don’t think they really 

understand the gravity of what 
DACA does,” she said. “I don’t 
think they know that immigration 
has everything they need to know 
about me … even though, yes, it 
is really hard to deport 11 million 
people, they have the information 
of thousands of DACA students.”

Overall, however, Ibarra-Frayre 

said she was most concerned 
about the real human lives behind 
the numbers — the families and 
students whose futures will be 

directly impacted by the repeal of 
DACA and DAPA.

“I thought that I could have a 

normal life with DACA, but now 
it might be gone,” she said. “I’m 
more angry than afraid … I’m 
more worried about students in 
high school who want to go to 
college who imagine a future for 
themselves that is not going to 
happen.”

Similarly, 
Flores 
said 
he’s 

worried the country’s election of 
Trump will have ramifications for 
more than immigration — and that 
given the sway Trump’s rhetoric 
has had on millions, he finds the 
future of the nation more troubling 
than his situation.

“I’m scared for the country and 

not necessarily myself,” he said. 
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a 
demagogue like Donald Trump get 
elected. The thing that scares me 
the most is how easily people are 
taken in by his lies.”

TRUMP
From Page 1A

management 
programs 
are 

also being considered on North 
Campus during Spring Break (Feb. 
25 to March 5) when campus is less 
populated.

Several Ann Arbor residents 

have 
expressed 
dissatisfaction 

with the city’s decision, protesting 
at City Council meetings and 
brandishing signs as they spoke 
out about their opposition to the 
city’s program to kill a part of the 
growing local deer population. 
However, biologists have noted 
that a deer cull would be beneficial 
for ecological sustainability, and 
officials commend the University’s 
actions and cooperation, as it would 
have been difficult otherwise to 

effectively carry out the cull.

The University is contributing 

to an estimated 15 percent of the 
total cost, less than $25,000, in 
accordance with the percentage 
of 
University-owned 
property 

within the Wards 1 and 2. Dates, 
times and locations have not yet 
been finalized, but once they are, 
DPSS will make sure that the 
community is notified and the 
appropriate signs are posted.

DEER
From Page 1A

started by Project Lazarus, a public 
health nonprofit in Wilkes County, 
N.C. The model posits that opioid 
overdose deaths are preventable 
and communities are ultimately 
responsible for managing their 
own health, aiming to combine 
ideas of public awareness, coalition 
action, data and evaluation, as well 
as community education, addiction 
treatment and provider education.

Strobbe said to reduce the 

stigmas associated with substance 
abuse, there needs to be an 
understanding 
and 
acceptance 

by community members that it 
is should be seen as a medical 
disorder that respond to treatment.

Ashton 
Marr, 
president 
of 

Washtenaw Recovery Advocacy 
Project 
and 
another 
speaker, 

described her personal experience 
of being in long-term recovery from 
opiod use.

“I’ve heard time and time 

again that it’s easier to write the 
prescription, as opposed to getting 
into conflict with somebody or 
fighting about it,” Marr said. “But 
the fact of the matter is they have 
the hand in the individual’s death 
if they let the addiction spiral. 
Doctors are in a position where they 
need to do no harm and give care to 
people, so it’s important that they 
understand how to treat addiction, 
recovery-related resources, how to 
safely prescribe to people, and how 
to treat pain.”

Marr 
also 
emphasized 
the 

importance of bystander care, 
including calling 911 and providing 
resources for help, like the sheriff’s 
office for community outreach 
where she works.

Clinical Assistant Prof. Gina 

Dahlem, a nurse practitioner at the 

University, also highlighted ways 
police officers and first responders 
are combating opioid overdoses 
locally, through administration of 
the drug naloxone.

She 
demonstrated 
how 
a 

bystander who isn’t a trained 
professional 
could 
administer 

naloxone, and said it was a crucial 
part of combatting the opioid 
epidemic.

“Naloxone reversals are critical, 

these are saving lives,” Dahlem 
said. “The next important step is 
for individuals who benefit from 
these reversals to have links with 
community peers for peer support, 
to help treatment and lifelong 
recovery.”

OPIOID
From Page 1A

Read more at 

MichiganDaily.com

