The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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Thursday, February 9, 2017 — 3

“Matt and I did not send them, 
and we don’t know who did. As 
I teach in my computer security 
classes, it takes very little technical 
sophistication to forge the sender’s 
address in an email.”

In response to the emails, 

parallels are being drawn to similar 
anonymous racist acts on campus 
earlier this school year, including 
multiple 
rounds 
of 
posters 

promoting white supremacy from 
September and October.

Early 
Wednesday 
morning, 

40 protesters gathered outside 
Schlissel’s 
house 
on 
South 

University 
Avenue 
to 
demand 

action from the president. He came 
out of his home to address the 
demonstrators, affirming students’ 
protesting is crucial to combatting 
racism on campus.

“The most important thing you 

can do right now is stand together 
and call out this bullshit,” Schlissel 
said. “We’ll keep working together 
on this, because I really do need 
your help and I can’t promise 
you the world’s going to be better 
tomorrow or next week. I wish I 
could … I’m just as powerless as 
you to stop people from doing these 
things.”

The conversation has taken to 

Twitter as University sources and 
organizations post denouncements 
of the emails and, in many cases, 

criticisms 
of 
the 
University. 

Engineering senior Basel Alghanem 
tweeted his experience as a person 
of color at the University.

Alghanem wrote in an email 

interview that just because the 
route through which the hacker 
entered the email server can be 
closed doesn’t mean the problem of 
racism on campus will disappear.

“Closing an email server loophole 

doesn’t fix the real problem, 
that members of our Michigan 
community … are being attacked, 
that they don’t feel safe, and that 
this email isn’t an isolated incident,” 
he said.

On 
the 
Michigan 
Students 

Twitter account, Trevor Jones, an 
LSA sophomore, briefly took over 
the account between 8:00 and 
9:00 last night, criticizing previous 
tweets from same account. In 
multiple tweets, he wrote the 
University 
should 
meet 
these 

challenges 
head-on 
instead 
of 

tossing them to the side.

“The tweets from this account 

are unacceptable and as someone 
who has tweeted for this account 
before, 
the 
person 
currently 

tweeting did not do a very good job 
of handling the situation,” Jones 
wrote in three separate tweets. 
“This campus needs to address 
these issues. Ignoring these issues 
means being tolerant of these issues, 
and this is NOT ACCEPTABLE for 
the University of Michigan.”

Many 
professors 
addressed 

the emails in their classes on 
Wednesday. History Prof. Anne 

Berg sent a Canvas message to 
students notifying them she was 
available to talk for anyone who 
feels targeted on campus. In 
an interview, she said she sent 
the message to her students to 
make sure her classroom is a safe 
environment for students of color.

“I wanted to make sure if 

students … wanted to talk to 
someone, that I would be there 
and that they could come and talk 
to me so that they don’t feel left 
alone thinking this campus is going 
insane or something like that,” she 
said. “This is not who we are. We 
won’t let that happen. We are here 
to protect you.”

Postdoctoral 
fellow 
Austin 

McCoy studies racial justice in 
the United States, and focused his 
entire class today on unpacking the 
emails. He said the University has 
been the location of these past racist 
attacks because of the University’s 
public efforts to diversify its student 
population through its Diversity, 
Equity and Inclusion plan, a 49-part 
plan spearheaded by Schlissel 
and released last October. He also 
cited the large amount of student 
activism on campus in the past 
couple of years as a reason why trolls 
continue to target the University.

Addressing 
the 
University’s 

earlier statement, McCoy said the 
University often goes through 
a predictable pattern of digital 
response and condemnation when 
racism emerges on campus.

“From 
the 
administration, 

I anticipate them sending out 

probably an email and saying that 
they condemn the acts and then 
that they’re investigating, but other 
than that, I don’t know what else 
the administration plans to do,” he 
said.

Engineering 
senior 
Greg 

McMurtry, president of the campus 
chapter of the National Society of 
Black Engineers, echoed McCoy’s 
statements and referenced the 
posters from last semester as 
another instance of the University’s 
stunted response to acts of racism.

“(The administration is) not 

really using more than their 
statements in emails, which is 
disheartening because we had 
something similar happen in the 
fall semester so it’s upsetting and a 
little disheartening but at the same 
time, it’s expected,” he said.

In a Storify page, McCoy tweeted 

Schlissel ideas from his class 
discussion about the situation. He 
said there is a difference between 
formulating plans to combat racism 
and taking measurable action.

“(Students) see the DEI plan, 

ur 
emails, 
@umich 
diversity 

statements, but they only see that 
y’all can’t prevent hateful acts,” 
he wrote on Twitter. “Multiple 
students of color said that it’s going 
to take someone getting hurt before 
you took action.”

Elizabeth James, Afroamerican 

and 
African 
studies 
program 

associate, said she expects students 
to rise up and combat the hateful 
rhetoric displayed Tuesday night.

“Racism is based on fear of the 

other and hiding behind flyers and 
computers makes it easier in many 
ways for the perpetrators to behave 
in this heinous manner without 
being revealed for their shameless 
and reprehensible actions,” James 
wrote in an email interview. “Over 
the coming days, I believe we will 
see a rise in students mobilizing and 
speaking up about their concerns 
that this be a safe and secure 
environment.”

LSA junior Joshua Blum, chair 

of the Hillel governing board, 
said Hillel encourages the entire 
University population to speak out 
against racism toward all religions 
and races.

“We strongly condemn these 

emails and we hope that the 
University and people and all the 
students can come together and 
stand united against bigotry and 
hatred,” he said.

Hillel Executive Director Tilly 

Shames 
referenced 
an 
email 

statement she sent from Hillel 
earlier today saying actions speak 
louder than words.

“While it’s important for us to 

make this statement that we did, 
condemning this language, I think 
it’s even more important that we 
are all working to bring our campus 
community 
together,” 
Shames 

said. “In our statement, we said 
that there’s no room for this kind 
of hate on our campus. I believe as 
we fill our campus with support 
and solidarity and a strong sense of 
Michigan community, then there 
will be no space for this kind of 

hate.”

Engineering freshman Gabriel 

Shlain, 
Jewish 
Engineering 

Association president, is in his 
first semester as president of 
the association. He said that 
as of today, he has been in 
contact with other engineering 
associations across campus and 
University administrators to form 
a bridge between students and 
administration.

“I kind of feel a little bit 

responsible to make sure everyone 
who is Jewish — not only Jewish, 
but Black — that they’re represented 
and that they know that something 
is being done and we’re talking to 
other organizations and that we’re 
talking to higher up people who are 
representatives of the University to 
hopefully prevent these things,” he 
said. “Right now, our main focus is 
to have a dialogue so that we can 
then plan our actions accordingly.”

McMurtry said administrators 

should start listening to its students 
when situations like these occur.

“One 
thing 
the 
University 

really needs to start doing is when 
students come with their concerns, 
(is) follow up with those students 
and say, ‘Hey. You brought these 
concerns. We did X, Y and Z. Is this 
good? Is this what you had in mind 
or is this not what you had in mind?’ 
” he said. “Because currently, it’s 
just ‘Here’s what we’re doing. Do 
you think it’s good? Yes or no? 
Thank you for your feedback and 
we’re going to keep doing what 
we’ve been doing.’ ”

EMAILS
From Page 1

able to get a number of bipartisan 
co-sponsors, who have urged the 
chairman of the finance committee 
to have a hearing, so we’re pretty 
positive that we’ll get a hearing this 
time around.”

If 
the 
legislation 
passes, 

Michigan will join the small 
but growing list of states that 
no longer tax feminine hygiene 
products. Minnesota, Maryland, 
Massachusetts, New Jersey and 
Pennsylvania have removed the 
luxury good designation from 
tampons and pads, and several other 
states have recently introduced bills 
to do so as well. 

Though it is intended to help all 

women, supporters of the bill hope 
the legislation will especially have 
a hand in improving the lives of the 
many women of the state living in 
poverty. The average woman uses 
these products once a month for 
roughly 40 years of her life, and 
while the 6-percent sales tax may 
seem small, Warren feels it adds up.

“They’re not inexpensive, and 

they’re 
products 
that 
women 

… spend money on every single 
month, so that 6-percent tax is just 

money they aren’t spending in other 
places,” Warren said. “We have a 
pretty large percentage of women 
and children living in poverty, and 
anything that we can do to help 
those women find resources is a 
benefit.”

Joanne Bailey, a women’s studies 

lecturer specializing in women’s 
health, agrees all women should 
have easier access to menstrual 
hygiene products, considering what 
little choice women have in the 
matter.

“Of course, we shouldn’t have 

it be taxed in general,” Bailey 
said. “All women menstruate; it’s 
something all women have to pay 
for … Menstruation happens, and 
you have to manage it somehow, 
so I think that is a component of 
women’s health.”

On the other hand, as happy as 

she is about the proposed legislation, 
Bailey feels there might be more 
pressing issues for our senators to 
solve.

“In the grand scheme of things, 

this is a very small part of all our 
problems right now,” Bailey said. “If 
this were six months ago, I would’ve 
thought, ‘Woo hoo, so cool!’ … (But) 
it doesn’t solve the whole problem. 

HYGIENE
From Page 1

as the growing potential of STEM 
education in the country.

“After President Obama eased 

travel restrictions in December 
2014, I sought to find faculty in 
Cuba with similar backgrounds 
and experiences to me,” Love 
wrote. “My casual email/phone 
exchanges led to my being invited 
to give seminars last summer at 
the University of Havana. That 
was what led to the ‘on the ground’ 
logistics to resolve whether a 
classroom 
experience 
on 
site 

could be proposed and pulled off 
… Moreover, STEM education in 
Cuba is alive and growing.” 

Love noted that his students are 

looking to gain insight into how 
the Cuban economy functions, 
while noting new technologies and 
industry gaps. He added that many 

of his students attending speak 
fluent Spanish.

“A large fraction of engineering 

students in the program are 
bilingual in Spanish already and 
I think our Cuban counterparts 
are likely to impressed that a 
large fraction of the UM student 
ambassadors can communicate 
to them in their language,” Love 
said. “Our students are looking to 
observe the state of the art with 
regard to technology, industrial 
capacity and gaps. We also hope 
to gain insights on how the Cuban 
economy flourishes.”

Engineering junior Archit Gupta 

said the class has been preparing for 
the differences in the availability of 
resources between Cuba and the 
United States, as well as studying 
the different factors associated 
with solving engineering problems 
there. He further explained that 
the University offers numerous 
opportunities to make prototypes 

of designs, using technology not 
available in Cuba.

“We are focusing on prototyping 

and design challenges presented 
in 
a 
resource-constrained 

environment,” Gupta said. “We 
have been doing research on the 
social, economic and geographical 
factors associated with solving 
an 
engineering 
problem, 
and 

how these problems are solved 
differently in Cuba versus here in 
the states.”

Gupta described the differences 

in 
education 
styles 
between 

American and Cuban education 
systems, stating Cubans emphasize 
working on projects rather than 
focusing on creating models and 
pouring over planning. Because of 
the excess of resources, the group 
will visit science labs and medical 
centers, as well as other cultural 
centers.

“Some things we have learned 

are that there is more emphasis 

placed 
in 
learning 
theory 

compared to school here, whereas 
there is some emphasis placed in 
just doing it and getting your hands 
dirty, due to the excess in resources 
available,” Gupta said. “In Cuba, 
we are going to visit a solar farm, 
medical laboratory where there is 
some of the world’s most advanced 
lung cancer treatment, and explore 
cultural aspects of the country 
among other activities.”

Love explained that he hopes 

the trip is the first of many and that 
he can establish a collaborative link 
between research venues in Cuba 
and the University.

“Personally, I hope to establish 

UM as a viable collaborative venue 
for research, teaching and larger 
engagement with public and private 
enterprises in Cuba,” Love said. 
“Maybe there are opportunities 
to run other programs, and I hope 
to help faculty at UM and in Cuba 
build collaborative links.”

CUBA
From Page 1

is creating so much panic and 
uncertainty for scholars, students, 
and professionals because things 
are so vague and unclear at 
the moment,” Fadlalla wrote. 
“Maybe further explanation and 
clarification will make it helpful 
for those of us who study or work 
in these regions.”

To address related concerns, the 

Middle East Studies Association, 
a national organization, issued a 
statement for faculty and students 
at higher-education institutions 
across the country.

“We condemn this Executive 

Order, which is discriminatory 
and does damage to academic 
institutions in the United States,” it 
reads.

The statement claims there have 

been conflicting guidelines as to 
the order’s impact on green-card 
holders. It also calls for continued 
support 
from 
colleges 
and 

universities.

“Academic institutions should 

prepare to make accommodations 
for students, staff and faculty 
affected by this suspension of 
entry and closely follow changes 
in the interpretation of the Order 
as legal challenges and agency 
reinterpretations 
continue 
to 

unfold,” it reads.

University 
President 
Mark 

Schlissel’s statement — signed 
immediately after the release of 
the executive order — affirms the 
University’s refusal to disclose the 
immigration statuses of students, 
in addition to its support of the 
international community.

In an interview with the Daily 

at the end of January, Schlissel said 
the University has been keeping up 
with related developments.

“Like the whole nation, we’re 

following very carefully — things 
that are changing quite quickly, they 
change by the hour sometimes,” he 
said. “We have staff keeping very 
close watch so we know what the 
situation is and we can best advise 

members of our community.”

In the same interview, Schlissel 

emphasized the importance of the 
contributions of immigrants at the 
University.

“The reason I really wanted 

to speak up with clarity is I don’t 
necessarily think many people 
appreciate how international — 
not just our university — but all 
the great universities are,” he 
said. “We have students from 
over 100 countries around the 
globe. The idea of excluding a 
significant fraction of the world 
as being potential members of our 
community, I think would hurt 
us.”

In response, Fadlallah wrote 

that she felt the University has 
responded to the executive order 
appropriately.

“Yes protecting our students 

and scholars who work in these 
areas is necessary,” she wrote. “I 
am very proud that the president 
and the institution stand behind 
its inclusive values of making 
connections and strengthening its 
global reach.”

Khaled Mattawa, an associate 

English professor at the University, 
is originally from Libya — another 
banned country. He immigrated to 
the United States in 1979 at the age 
of 14 and became a citizen in 1996. 
He wrote in an email interview that 
he travels to the Middle East often. 
He is currently on leave in Egypt. 

In his email, Mattawa wrote, 

as citizens, he and his family are 
not affected by the executive 
order. However, he expects to be 
interrogated upon returning to the 
United States.

He said the new regulations 

seem to point to the beginning of a 
“war against immigrants” — those 
who are naturalized and those who 
are not.

“As to my concerns, they 

run deep. I feel that these new 
regulations — I’m sure these 
are not the last word(s) on this 
matter — are part of an attempt 
to fundamentally change the 
United States, not only in its racial 
make-up but in its structure as 
a democracy,” he wrote. “Taken 

under guidance from Alt-Right 
White supremacists, this policy 
aims to bring an end to all 
immigration 
from 
Non-White 

countries.”

He noted that since 1965, 

the country has had a non-
discriminatory policy regarding 
immigration, making it the most 
diverse nation in the world — 
something that has benefited both 
the country and him personally.

However, 
he 
wrote 
that 

he believes the White House 
now supports a racist vision, 
particularly against Muslims, and 
he foresees a divide in citizenship.

“I foresee the creation (of) 

two kinds of citizenship whereby 
citizens from Muslim countries 
and other brown folks become 
second-class citizens,” he wrote. 
“The second step is perhaps to 
deny entry visas, and certainly 
citizenship, to all non-Whites ... 
You begin with Muslims because 
they’re the easiest target and you 
move down the list of undesirables. 
Yes, it’s a war against Muslims, but 
it’s racism pure and simple.”

Mattawa wrote that Egyptian 

scholars, even those whose nations 
are not affected by the executive 
order, are concerned. He said they, 
and those whose nations are on 
the list, will not come to the United 
States.

“Scholars from the current 

banned nations will seek to do 
research elsewhere,” he said. “And 
those who are already here will 
seek to leave to places that offer 
them hospitality and security.”

Mattawa feels there is no 

reason to limit immigration and 
the executive order is addressing a 
problem that is nonexistent.

“There’s no economic reason 

to limit immigration to the extent 
that the Trump administration is 
calling for,” he wrote. “And there’s 
no security reason whatsoever 
behind Trump’s executive order. 
Hardly any immigrant from the 
countries mentioned in this list 
has committed terrorism; their 
involvement in crime is almost 
nonexistent.”

Mattawa 
wrote 
that 
the 

immigrants who come to the 
United States “tend to be the best, 
most equipped and most ambitious 
individuals in the world” — echoing 
Schlissel’s claim. He said they are 
people who enter the United States 
economic system and receive no 
financial support from citizens. 

Sheira Cohen is a Rackham 

student and graduate student 
instructor from New Zealand. She 
is helping the Graduate Employees’ 
Organization negotiate a new 
contract with the University. Cohen 
specifically 
helped 
construct 

a proposal to protect graduate 
student working hours. 

Under student visas — licenses 

which most international GSIs have 
— people cannot work more than 
20 hours each week. However, by 
the University’s current contract, 
supervisors can require more than 
20 hours of work from graduate 
student instructors. The proposal 
asks to change this regulation to 
protect students from violating 
their visas.

“One of the things I think that 

makes it imperative in the current 
climate is that there are increasing 
amounts of attention being paid 
to students on visas — trying to 
find ways to take those away and 
especially scrutiny at the border 
by border officials,” she said. “If 
the University says that they want 
us and that they protect us, in 
response (to) the executive orders, 
this is a concrete way that they can 
do that.”

Cohen said she thinks the 

executive order will heighten 
the proposal’s urgency and the 
importance during its negotiations.

She said she was asked how 

many hours she worked at the 
Canadian border, and so she can’t 
imagine how much more difficult it 
would be for international students 
who are not white, or from Western 
countries.

She said the gap in the contract 

makes 
international 
students 

vulnerable at borders, and adjusting 
it would be a way for the University 
to support international students 
given the current immigration 
climate.

FACULTY
From Page 1

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to break out of that shell and 
interact with people face to face 
who are different than you, meet 
new people, which I think we 
don’t do that enough, so TEDx 
really leverages all the cool ideas, 
research and experiences.”

The event led off with a talk 

by Koen Vanmechelen, a Belgian 
conceptual artist who pioneered 
the 
Cosmopolitan 
Chicken 

Research Project — an artistic and 
scientific study that works to cross-
breed different species chickens 
from around the world. According 
to Vanmechelen, the chicken is a 
metaphor for the phenomenon of 
globalization and diversity.

Vanmechelen noted that he 

believes his message will hold 
more relevance with an American 
audience than a Belgian one, 
because of the country’s current 
state of racial division.

“In the beginning, the talk is 

all chickens,” Vanmechelen said. 
“You know, it can be funny, then 
the talk is built up, and after a little 
while everyone realize how serious 
it is. What is happening with this 
country is the content of my talk, 
and I like it.”

Caitlin Holman, game designer 

and co-founder of GradeCraft, 
centered her talk around diversity 
of a different kind — the issue of 
intellectual diversity, and how 
educators can better improve their 
classrooms.

Holman said she was inspired to 

create GradeCraft because of her 
background in game design and 
her observations that people work 
longer and harder on problems 

when they are presented in a game-
like environment.

Several of the topics at the event 

dealt with issues pertaining to 
public health. Dr. Erika Newman, 
a pediatric surgical oncologist at 
the University C.S. Mott Children’s 
Hospital, spoke about the fight 
against childhood cancer — in 
particular, 
the 
neuroblastoma, 

a form of cancer that manifests 
primarily on the adrenal glands.

For Newman, cancer has always 

been a part of her life. When she 
was young, she lost her mother and 
two uncles to the disease. Newman 
said she was personally inspired 
to find a cure for neuroblastoma 
after removing a large tumor from 
the chest of a 10-year-old boy, who 
then asked why a cure did not exist 
already.

At that moment, Newman said 

she asked herself, “Why aren’t we 
aspiring for the extraordinary? 
Couldn’t we at least try?” She 
then described how these sort of 
moments in people’s experiences 
lead them to their purpose in life.

 “Our personal and professional 

experiences, 
they 
shape 
our 

dreams,” Newman said. “They lead 
us to our destiny. Our challenge is 
to be open to the clues, the quiet 
nudge that leads us to our life’s 
purpose.”

Furthering the discussion on 

public health, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, 
the director of the Detroit Health 
Department 
and 
specialist 
in 

epidemiology, 
focused 
on 
his 

work in Detroit tackling public 
health issues such as heart disease, 
childhood asthma and accidental 
pregnancy.

TEDX
From Page 1

Read more online at 

michigandaily.com

