Tuesday 
night, 
at 
least 

three racist emails were sent 
out to University of Michigan 
Computer 
Science 
and 

Engineering 
undergraduate 

students.

The subjects of the first 

two 
emails 
was 
“African 

American Student Diversity” 
and the third read “Jewish 
Student Diversity.”

The first two emails read: 

“Hi n*****s, I just wanted to 
say that I plan to kill all of you. 
White power! The KKK has 
returned!!! Heil Trump!!!!”

The third reads: “Hi you 

fucking filthy jews, I just 
wanted to say the SS will rise 
again and kill all of your filthy 
souls. Die in a pit of eternal 
fire! 
Sincerely, 
Dr. 
Alex 

Halderman.”

The emails were sent by 

three 
separate 
University 

uniqnames — all of which 
are 
administrators 
of 

the 
listservs, 
potentially 

indicative the listservs via the 
University’s online contact 
server, 
MCommunity, 
may 

have been hacked. 

University spokesman Rick 

Fitzgerald could not provide 
further 
information, 
but 

confirmed the University had 
been apprised of the situation. 

Kathryn Edin and Luke 

Shaefer presented their book 
“$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost 
Nothing in America” — which 
won the 2016 Hillman Prize 
for Book Journalism and made 
The New York Times’ list of 
“100 Notable Books of 2015” — 
to approximately 600 visitors 
Tuesday night at Rackham 
Auditorium, followed by a 
book signing.

Edin, a professor at the 

Bloomberg School of Public 
Health, has been conducting 
research in American poverty 
for 
more 
than 
20 
years. 

Shaefer is a professor of social 
work at the University of 
Michigan and director of the 
Poverty Solutions initiative, 
which seeks strategies to 
prevent and alleviate poverty.

The book tells stories of 

real people who live on $2 
per day, depicting their poor 
living 
conditions. 
Shaefer 

described the book revealing 
the effects of changing public 
policy on families, looking 
specifically to low-wage work 
and affordable housing.

According to Shaefer, the 

most 
meaningful 
part 
of 

writing the book was the 
opportunity to meet people 
and go places he had never 
seen before. He pointed out 
how stratified and separated 
today’s society is.

“In many ways, we are 

disconnected, 
those 
with 

means and those without,” 
Shaefer said. “It is almost like 
we are living parallel lives. 
We are in the same places, but 
never in the same spaces.”

Currently the authors are 

working 
with 
filmmaker 

Jennifer Redfearn to turn 
the book into a documentary. 
They showed her the places 
they had visited themselves 
while working in the field. 

“This has been such a 

remarkable 
experience 

because 
we 
have 
just 

happened in on situation after 
situation that just amplify the 
themes of ‘$2 a day,’ ” Edin 
said.

The authors also spoke 

during the event about the 
story of a woman they only 

Councilmember Julie Grand 

(D–Ward 3) expressed her 
desire to clarify the city’s 
Tobacco 21 ordinance is still 
in effect Monday at a City 
Council meeting, despite an 
opinionissued 
by 
Michigan 

Attorney General Bill Schuette 
claiming the ordinance is in 
conflict with state law.

The 
ordinance, 
which 

was passed Aug. 4 and went 
into effect Jan. 1, raises the 
minimum 
age 
for 
tobacco 

purchase from 18 to 21.

“It’s been widely reported 

that an opinion issued by the 
attorney general last week has 
invalidated our Tobacco 21 
ordinance, and that is simply 
false,” Grand said. “While the 
attorney 
general’s 
opinion 

does have implications for the 
actions of those who work for 
state agencies, he does not 
have the power or authority 
to 
invalidate 
our 
local 

ordinances.”

Schuette’s opinion is not the 

only opposition the ordinance 
has faced –– the ordinance 

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, February 8, 2017

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail 
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 25
©2016 The Michigan Daily

N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Anti-Semitic, 
racist emails 
distributed 
on list servs

Christian apologists draw 3,500, 
talk meaning of human worth, value

See EMAILS, Page 3A

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Abdu Murray, author and Michigan alum, speaks about “What Does it Mean to Be Human” at Hill Auditorium on Tuesday.

CRIME

Students in engineering, computer science 
list servs received threatening emails

ALEXA ST. JOHN & 
ALEXIS RANKIN

Managing News Editor &

Daily Staff Reporter

Spiritual leaders speak about theology, philosophical context of religion at Hill Auditorium

What does it mean to be 

human? 
More 
than 
3,500 

students 
and 
Ann 
Arbor 

residents filled Hill Auditorium 
on Tuesday night to grapple with 
this very question and listen to 

Christian apologist writers Ravi 
Zacharias and Abdu Murray 
discuss 
questions 
of 
value, 

morality and human worth in 
the context of a Christian faith.

Christian apologetics is a 

branch of Christian theology 
that uses historical evidence, 
philosophical 
reasoning, 
as 

well of other forms of academic 

inquiry to defend the religion 
against criticism. One of the 
speakers, 
Zacharias, 
is 
the 

founder of the Ravi Zacharias 
International Ministries based 
in Toronto, which promotes 
this school of thought. Murray 
serves as the North American 
director of these ministries.

Sponsored 
by 
Christian 

student organization Michigan 
Cru, the event was centered on 
the idea that humans are not 
collections of random atoms, 
but replete with intrinsic worth 
provided by God. The presenters 
believe in the modern loss of 
self-worth, and how humans 
derive their value from others, 

KAELA THEUT
Daily Staff Reporter

See CITY, Page 3A

A2 tobacco 
purchasing 
age kept 21 
despite law

ANN ARBOR

Monday Council meeting 
highlighted discrepancy 
between state, local stance

ANDREW HIYAMA

Daily Staff Reporter

HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily

H. Luke Shaefer, co-author of $2.00 a Day with Kathryn J. Edin, discusses their book and poverty solutions in Rack-
ham on Tuesday.

Authors present award-winning book 
about poverty in the United States

Over 600 gather to hear about disconnected experience living on $2 a day 

HANA DADIC

For the Daily

michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit

See $2, Page 3A

See CHRISTIAN, Page 3A

Despite the mixed reactions 

from 
CSG’s 
last 
meeting, 
a 

resolution aiming to host an 
Israeli-Palestinian 
lunch 
to 

foster dialogue passed with 18 
in favor, nine opposed and five 
abstentions. However, the student 
assembly debated heatedly over 
the details of the resolution and 
CSG’s handling of the debate, with 
LSA Representative Eli Schrayer 
voting “no with rights” against 
his own resolution to continue the 
conversation.

The resolution was in response 

to CSG’s previous meeting that 
involved Palestinian and Israeli 
conversation.

Since 
2002, 
pro-Palestinian 

group Students Allied for Freedom 
and 
Equality 
has 
presented 

resolutions to the body asking it 
to support the group’s request of 
asking the University’s Board of 
Regents to divest from certain 
companies operating in Israel. 
The group believes the business 
practices in Israel and the products 
produced 
contribute 
to 
the 

oppression of Palestinians. The last 
CSG meeting had the closest vote 

See CSG, Page 3A

CSG passes 
resolution 
for Israel-
Palestine 

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Student body decides to 
host lunch, debates merit 
of political involvement

RHEA CHEETI
Daily Staff Reporter

