The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Thursday, December 1, 2016 — 3A

over 
the 
next 
two 
years, 

according to its website. The 
organization did not respond 
to a request for comment on 
funding that has been raised so 
far.

Gov. Rick Snyder (R), who 

joined Duggan to announce 
the expansion, said in a press 
release that the program is now 
the largest program of its kind 
in the nation.

“Michigan’s largest city is 

now also the largest city in the 
United States to guarantee all its 
young people the opportunity to 
earn a college degree tuition-
free,” he said.

For students to qualify for 

free tuition to two- or four-year 
programs, they must earn at 
least a 3.0 grade point average 
and score 21 on the ACT exam 
or 1,060 on the SAT. Students 
must have spent all four years 
of high school living in Detroit 
and attending a DPS school to 
qualify for four-year funding, 
and at least their junior and 
senior years to qualify for two-
year funding.

From the 2015 graduating 

class, 183 DPS students were 
provided 
funding 
to 
attend 

college programs in Michigan, 
according to the Detroit Promise 
program’s 
website. 
Twenty-

three enrolled at the University 
of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

LSA 
sophomore 
Sidney 

Arrington was awarded $275 
in funding from the Detroit 
Promise in 2015 to supplement 
her studies. She said she feels 

the expansion of the program 
builds on the availability of 
opportunity for Detroit students 
to ultimately contribute to the 
growth of the city.

“I think the expansion of the 

program is an excellent idea,” 
she said. “Higher education 
is very important and it is not 
fair for students to struggle 
financially to pay for college 
when they are trying to better 

themselves and ultimately give 
back to society.”

In the release, Duggan stated 

that the Detroit Promise is 
important in enabling Detroit 
students to overcome boundaries 
that would otherwise prevent 
them from growing through 
higher education.

“This program is one of 

the 
most 
significant 
ways 

we 
are 
removing 
barriers 

to 
opportunity 
for 
young 

Detroiters so they can realize 
their 
full 
potential 
in 
life 

without the burden of student 
debt,” Duggan said.

Similarly, 
LSA 
sophomore 

Calahna Butler, who received 
financial aid from the program, 
said ability to pay tuition is a 
one major roadblock between 
Detroit students and higher 
education and expansion of the 
program will allow students to 
find new opportunities.

“It’s a chance for many 

students in Detroit to experience 
life outside the city,” she said. 
“Money is a major concern 
when applying to colleges, and 
knowing that they can have a 
chance at a four-year institution 
without having to worry about 
tuition is a blessing.”

DETROIT
From Page 1A

In addition to ensuring the 

clinic was suitable for medical 
eye care, the team designed 
the container keeping in mind 
variation in climate zones, 
cultural 
practices 
and 
the 

potential for the container 
to play a social role in the 
community in which it is 
placed.

Kathy 
Velikov, 
associate 

professor 
of 
architecture, 

was 
also 
involved 
in 
the 

development 
of 
the 
clinic 

and said eye care is one of 
the focuses of Burke’s “Deep 
Monitoring” project due to its 
non-invasive way of assessing 
vision 
health. 
The 
project 

began with a goal of finding 
actionable ways to address 
chronic care needs in remote 
and underserved populations.

“A lot of people in remote 

locations don’t have access 
to 
vision 
care, 
they 
don’t 

have access to prescription 
eyeglasses,” Velikov said. “It 
actually reduces their quality 

of life, it makes them unable to 
work and simply by diagnosing 
someone’s vision and providing 
things like eyeglasses really 
transforms people’s lives.”

Velikov added the clinic is 

more than just a repurposed 
container; instead, it serves 
as a self-powering and self-
sustainable social space.

Recent Taubman graduate 

Dan Tish, who traveled to 
Jamaica last month to oversee 
the installation of the clinic 
prototype, 
echoed 
Velikov’s 

sentiments 
on 
the 
clinic’s 

multidisciplinary uses.

“It was exciting to see the 

clinic finally in operation at the 
end of October and start to be 
a hub for the community,” Tish 
said. “Every time we were there 
and the doors were open, it was 
like a magnet for people to come 
in — lots of times because no 
one in the community had ever 
received an eye care exam.”

Recent Taubman graduate 

Kallie 
Sternburgh, 
who 

is 
working 
on 
future 

developments of the clinic, 
particularly those that could be 
deployed in the United States 
for areas such as Highland 
Park in Detroit, said the clinic 
provides a longer-term solution 
to care deficiencies.

“Involving the community 

off the get go and having 
the container be such a high 
visibility point as a prototype 
for our first version of this was 
very important,” Sternburgh 
said. 

CLINIC
From Page 1A

the ability to drink on board 
provides a completely different 
experience.

“The tours in Detroit are 

awesome,” Goldstein said. “It’s 
fun to be in and see the more 
beautiful parts of the city. But 

that experience doesn’t even 
compare to the one I had in 
Ann Arbor. There’s nothing 
quite like cruising down South 
State with a beer in hand.”

However, 
not 
everyone 

is happy about the recent 
decision. Business sophomore 
Andrew Berman, who interned 
for Quicken Loans in Detroit 

the last four summers, said 
traffic in the downtown area 
is bad enough without pedal 
pubs.

“There are already a lot 

of traffic issues in Detroit 
because of the lack of funds 
for the city,” Berman said. 
“Those 
pedal 
pubs 
have 

gotten in my way before and I 
imagine that they will only be 
more obtrusive if people start 
drinking on them.”

Current 
legislation 
does 

stipulate that all pedal pub 
businesses 
must 
provide 
a 

driver with a BAC of 0.00 who 
directs steering and braking. 
Some 
pedal 
pub 
business 

from Detroit addresses safety 
concerns on their website.

There are currently three 

pedal pub businesses active in 
Detroit: The Michigan Pedaler, 
Detroit Cycle Pub and The 
HandleBar. Previously, these 
businesses 
operated 
around 

the alcohol ban by acting as 
a pub crawl, stopping at two 
or three bars during the tour 
to offer ample opportunity 
for their patrons to get a few 
drinks.

“It’s 
something 
that’s 

become quite popular,” City 
Attorney 
Melvin 
“Butch” 

Hollowell said of the tours 
in an interview with Detroit 
Free Press. “We believe that, 
with the restrictions in place, 
that it will operate just fine in 
Detroit.” 

Hollowell 
noted 
that 
it 

remains unclear exactly when 
pedal pubs will be allowed to 
offer consumption on board, 

as owners will have to apply 
for a license from the police 
department.

The 
pedal 
pub 
industry 

has surprised many with its 
popularity. Proponents of the 
businesses said they believe 
they offer new opportunities 
for entrepreneurs in the city, 
as well as help local bars who 
benefit from the pedal pubs’ 
frequent stops.

“They roll through all day 

long,” said Sean Harrington, 
owner of the Town Pump 
Tavern. “They bring happy, 
fun customers. They stay for a 
few minutes, have a couple of 
drinks, maybe have something 
to eat and then they move 
along.”

COUNCIL
From Page 1A

for increased immigration laws 
and registering of Muslims in the 
United States, which Feldman 
said he believes will complicate 
foreign policy negotiations with 
leaders in the Middle East. He 
emphasized that discrimination 
against 
Muslims 
has 
been 

validated by Trump’s election to 
office.

“One of my students came 

to me in tears, which had to do 
with the fact of the different 
atmosphere 
they’re 
dealing 

with,” he said. “There is now a 
green light — that was not the 
case before. If the relations with 
the Muslim community escalate, 
that’ll be something they’ll be 
concern about.”

Feldman said Trump would 

be “wise” to follow in President 
Barack Obama’s foreign policy 
footsteps in regard to the U.S.-
Israeli partnership, despite the 
criticism Obama has received. 
During his tenure in office, 
Obama has opposed policies 
set by the government of Israeli 
Prime 
Minister 
Benjamin 

Netanyahu, such as his approach 
to 
Iran. 
Feldman 
said 
for 

Trump to successfully navigate 
U.S. 
issues 
of 
international 

diplomacy, he must change his 
political outlook.

“Trump will now, in a way, 

have to totally change his 
mindset,” he said. “He has been 
accustomed as a businessman 
— therefore, he has had an 
emphasis 
on 
winning. 
My 

argument is that he will soon 
discover that the situation in 
the Middle East is not about 
winning. In fact, the biggest 
problem that Trump will have 
is not America’s adversaries but 
America’s friends.”

The speakers also noted that 

during the campaign, Trump 
spoke 
in 
opposition 
toward 

the 
nuclear 
agreement 
the 

U.S. signed with Iran last year. 
In recent weeks, a number of 
national security experts have 
publicly urged Trump to reverse 
his unfavorable stance on the 
deal. Feldman made it clear 
that he believes the president-
elect’s business experience will 
ultimately discourage Trump 
from undermining the Iran 
nuclear deal.

“Frankly, I don’t think it’s a 

legitimate option because as a 
businessman he would know that 
there would be no better deal to 
replace it,” he said. “There is a 
possibility that Congress will 
tear up the deal with legislation 
that violates the spirit of the 
deal, without destroying it. I 
don’t think it’s going to take a 
lot to persuade him that this is a 
really bad.”

Shikaki 
emphasized 
that 

there is a chance Trump will 
adopt a stance of neglect in 
regard to foreign policy in the 
Middle East, particularly with 
Israel and Palestine.

He said if Trump chose to 

ignore the current governments 
and policies in the region, 
it would further erode the 
current push toward a two-state 
solution. The two-state solution 
envisions independent Israeli 
and Palestinian states and is the 
mainstream U.S. approach to 
solving the conflict.

“This would be like giving the 

current government a yellow 
light to doing what it sees as 
fit,” he said. “A policy of neglect 
would mean turning a blind 
eye to the current government, 
which could be very bad.”

Shikaki said he strongly hopes 

the 
Trump 
administration 

will 
not 
drastically 
change 

the current method of conflict 
management 
in 
the 
Middle 

East, and will instead follow the 
Obama administration’s lead. 

“To continue the management 

efforts, he has given indications 
at times that he will try to be 
neutral in order to make a deal,” 
Shikaki said. “If he strays from 
neutrality, this would be the end 
of the two-state solution, either 
directly or through the policies 
that he would encourage.”

Feldman 
echoed 
Shikaki’s 

sentiment that Trump may not 
remain neutral about conflict in 
the Middle East but instead may 
ignore it altogether.

“It will take him some time 

for him to understand that the 
whole world is listening to what 
the U.S. president has to say,” 
Feldman said. “I feel this issue 
will not be a high priority for the 
administration. My impression 
is that he will have much more 
urgent issues on his plate. In 
the immediate, he has to figure 
out what to do with his domestic 
promises.”

Public Policy senior Ellen 

Loubert said she felt worried 

about 
Trump’s 
temperament 

when faced with important 
negotiations of foreign policy in 
the Middle East. She added that 
she appreciated the event and 
encouraged other students who 
have been thinking about the 
next presidential administration 
to 
attend 
discussions 
that 

promote 
diverse 
ideas 
and 

perspectives as often as possible. 

“It’s really concerning that 

(Trump) is totally xenophobic 
and uninformed,” she said. “It’s 
important to play nice with 
other countries because we all 
live on the same Earth. There’s 
no escaping that. It’s like a 
closed eco-system; you can’t do 
something without it affecting 
other parts. I’m glad that they 
talked about that, and really 
appreciated the discussion.”

LSA 
junior 
Mohamad 

Zawahra 
said 
he 
attended 

Wednesday’s event because, as 
a Muslim American, he wanted 
reassurance following Trump’s 
election. After listening to the 
panel, he said he is hopeful 
that President Obama will be 
able 
to 
give 
President-elect 

Trump advice on how to handle 
diplomatic affairs.

“It’s obviously scary at first, 

especially 
being 
a 
Muslim 

American,” Zawahra said. “I 
think a lot of what they said at the 
panel was reassuring because 
they made it all a little bit more 
real and they said that President 
Obama is going to take him 
under his wing and teach him 
the ways of diplomacy. It was a 
good to get a feel of what needs 
to be done moving forward, 
especially in the Middle East.”

In response to the possibility 

of 
President-elect 
Trump 

implementing 
some 
of 
the 

immigration 
policies 
he 

promoted during the campaign, 
Zawahra said that he has faith 
in Congress keeping the White 
House in check.

“It all comes down to me 

having faith in Congress doing 
what’s right,” Zawahra said. 
“The idea of such a law on 
immigration doesn’t feel like it 
can go through without a hiccup. 
Realistically I don’t think it can 
go through but if it did I think 
there would be backlash among 
the Muslim community and 
non-Muslims that would get up 
in arms about that and recognize 
it as a violation against human 
rights.”

TRUMP
From Page 1A

COURTESY OF BRIAN LINDSAY

Passengers of the Handlebar pedal pubs pose next to them in Detroit.

“This program is one 

of the most significant 

ways we are removing 

barriers”

million during the following. 
Giving Blueday is a part of the 
broader Victors for Michigan 
campaign, which aims to raise 
$4 billion for the University, 

including a goal within the 
campaign of $1 million for 
student support.

The University has increased 

overall 
philanthropy 
efforts 

as support from the state of 
Michigan to the University’s 
General Fund has declined 
from 80 to 16 percent of the 

fund over the last 50 years. 
Tuition and fees for students 
have been also on the rise in 
past decades.

The University is working 

on increasing financial support 
for students and is hoping to 
use some of the donations from 
Giving Blueday in this effort. 

GIVING
From Page 1A

“It was exciting 

to see the 

clinic finally in 

operation.”

“They roll 
through all 

day long. 
They bring 
happy, fun 
customers.” 

“We believe 

that, with the 

restrictions in 

place, that it will 

operate just fine in 

Detroit”

PL ACE HA S A PU RPOSE

HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily

Dan Gilmartin, executive director and CEO of the Michigan Municipal League, discusses why placemaking is an 
important economic development strategy in Weill Hall Wednesday.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @MICHIGANDAILY

