L

ast 
Monday, 
United 

States Supreme Court 
Justice Sonia Sotomayor 

and Justice Susanne 
Baer of the Federal 
Constitution Court 
of Germany hosted 
a talk sponsored by 
the School of Music, 
Theatre 
& 
Dance 

about the role of 
the performing arts 
in advancing social 
justice. The event 
aimed 
to 
discuss 

the pivotal role of 
the arts in defining 
the 
human 
condition 
and 

bringing about justice, and 
featured student performances 
that aspired to demonstrate 
the powerful ability of art to 
foster understanding and make 
the world a better place. The 
justices’ discussions further 
served 
to 
emphasize 
the 

importance and necessity of the 
arts in our world. The evening 
felt like an impassioned and 
convincing plea for society 
to remember the value of 
the arts. It was particularly 
timely, 
considering 
recent 

rumors that President Trump 
will eliminate the National 
Endowment for the Arts, the 
National Endowment for the 
Humanities 
and 
privatize 

the Corporation for Public 
Broadcasting. 

During the discussion, the 

speakers raised the subject 
of the relationship between 
government and the arts. Baer, 
speaking 
about 
Germany’s 

attitude 
toward 
public 

funding for the arts, said she 
thought government support 
for the arts demonstrated 
that the arts are “part of our 
civic society.” She said that in 
Germany, arts are something 
that cities are proud to fund, 
because they provide a source 
of “who we are.” 

In contrast, Sotomayor said 

that the United States has less 
of a tradition of public support 
for the arts, and that most U.S. 
cities fund their arts through 
the generosity of the public. She 
emphasized that it is part of our 
civic responsibility to support 
art. Still, Baer raised the idea 
that a compromise between 
public and private funding might 
be preferable, since many artists 
need a steady source of income.

Regardless of where funding 

for the arts comes from, the 
justices agreed that art holds 

a 
unique 
and 

special 
power 
to 

communicate 
the 

incommunicable. 
Sotomayor said art 
can touch the soul. 
Baer said art is not 
just a product, but it 
can “reach out beyond 
what we usually reach 
out to.” They spoke 
powerfully 
about 

their 
experiences 

with art, and how those 

experiences shaped them.

Baer said she was “in awe 

seeing 
the 
multiplicity 
of 

human 
expression 
through 

music.” Further, music speaks 
to her “on another dimension 
that (she) couldn’t understand 
otherwise.” Sotomayor said her 
most deeply felt views on the 
criminal justice system came 
from a spoken word project by 
the Innocence Project. She said 
performance moved her “to 
think more broadly about how 
our criminal justice system 
affects our society than any of 
(her) readings at night.”

Sotomayor’s perspective on 

our criminal justice system 
was 
profoundly 
shaped 
by 

one 
performance, 
and 
her 

position on the issue in turn 
has been, and will continue 
to be, reflected in Supreme 
Court decisions that shape the 
criminal justice system. This 
alone should be proof enough 
of the value of the arts. But art 
doesn’t haven’t to affect the 
opinions of one of the world’s 
most important legal minds 
to have a significant, positive 
impact.

Take, for example, Carla 

Dirlikov Canales, an Ypsilanti 
native and world renowned 
opera singer. Canales spoke 
at the event about how artists 
can be teachers, educators and 
healers, not just entertainers. 
She 
would 
know, 
having 

founded the Canales Project 
to “give voice to issues of 
identity and culture through 
the arts and conversation.” 
She has been named to Foreign 
Policy’s 100 Leading Global 
Thinkers of 2015 and has 
served as a cultural envoy for 
the U.S. Department of State. 
Before she began her beautiful 

performance of “Habanera” 
from 
“Carmen,” 
Canales 

implored 
the 
audience 
to 

remember that the arts allow 
us to explore the common 
human condition, and that this 
is especially vital in currently 
divided times.

Overall, 
the 
event 
was 

compelling in its advocacy for 
the indispensable role that 
art plays in our lives and in 
society. Of course, it was a 
prime example of “preaching to 
the choir.” I would be shocked 
if anybody in the small crowd 
who bought tickets to see an 
event called “Social Justice and 
the Performing Arts” doubted 
the importance of the arts. The 
self-selection of this event, and 
many similar ones that take 
place on college campuses all 
the time, is a shame, because I 
think some skeptics might have 
been converted.

I, for one, can easily call 

to mind the powerful ways 
that art has shaped my view 
of the world. Whether it be 
rap music, foreign films or 
musicals, art has taught me a 
lot about the world and made 
me 
a 
more 
compassionate 

person. I urge everyone to 
think about how art has shaped 
their lives and consider what 
role we as a country should 
play in promoting the arts. 
Do we think that we should 
leave the arts entirely to will 
of 
the 
public’s 
generosity, 

even if this means that art 
might increasingly become the 
product of elite preferences? 
Do we think that cutting 
funding 
for 
the 
National 

Endowment for the Arts, the 
National Endowment for the 
Humanities 
and 
privatizing 

the Corporation for Public 
Broadcasting is necessary, even 
if they only compose less than 
one-tenth of 1 percent of the 
federal budget?

As 
the 
Trump 

administration’s 
radical 

changes to our country keep 
coming at lightning speed, 
don’t let these potential cuts 
go unnoticed. The arts might 
not be as critical of an issue as 
immigration or health care, but 
the role they play in our society 
is large and irreplaceable.

D

ear President Schlissel, 

This semester I am 

teaching a course titled 

“Resisting State Violence: Race, 
Policing and Social Justice in 
Twentieth 
Century 
America,” 

offered in the departments of 
History and Afroamerican and 
African Studies. As an instructor 
on race and racism, I try to 
offer all of my students space 
to talk frankly and historically 
about current events, whether 
the conversation is about the 
relationship 
between 
past 

immigration 
policies 
and 

President 
Trump’s 
executive 

order banning refugees, or the 
recent racist and anti-Semitic 
emails sent to engineering and 
computer science students.

We 
talked 
about 
those 

emails, as well as the incident 
concerning the defiled prayer rug 
in the Shapiro Undergraduate 
Library Reflection Room in class. 
Many students of color were 
upset. Many of them, along with 
their white peers, expressed the 
same concern and anger as those 
who gathered in front of your 
house shortly after the emails 
were received. Multiple students 
expressed a lack of confidence 
in the Diversity, Equity and 
Inclusion plan and the University 
of Michigan’s ability to identify 
perpetrators of violent speech. 
Some even went as far to say 
that it may take someone getting 
hurt before the University would 
take recognizable action. Those 

comments troubled me and I am 
sure they would trouble you.

I 
understand 
that 
such 

comments could sting, but they 
illustrate a persistent gap in 
trust between some students of 
color and the administration, 
despite the University’s DEI 
efforts. Many will not deny 
the University’s long-term DEI 
plans or your willingness to 
offer assurance via email and in 
person. I even recognize your 
efforts to support undocumented 
students 
in 
anticipation 
of 

changes in federal immigration 
policy. 
But 
several 
of 
my 

students also see that the 
University does not appear to 
be able to prevent the hateful 
acts targeted at marginalized 
communities on campus.

Another sentiment that some 

students of color expressed is 
one that civil rights activist 
Fannie Lou Hamer famously 
uttered in a 1964 speech, “I’m 
sick and tired of being sick and 
tired.” Some spoke of being tired 
with hearing the response, “We 
are investigating,” with little 
update or ability to locate racist, 
Islamophobic, misogynistic and 
anti-Semitic trolls. Some of the 
students in class expressed how 
they were growing tired with 
appealing to administration to 
little effect on their lives. Some 
even expressed how they were 
tired of you asking them what 
you could do. They are obviously 
seeking inspired leadership, at 
least. They also desire tangible 
changes 
and 
results, 
sooner 

rather than later.

So, 
what 
can 
you 
do? 

Unfortunately, I do not have any 
answers. I wish I did because 
we all want everyone here at the 
University to work and live in 
an environment free of racism, 
Islamophobia, 
anti-Semitism, 

misogyny and other forms of 
oppression. What I heard in class 
is a desire for clearer and more 
constant communication. The 
students I listened to effectively 
said that responses that point to 
the broader context of bigotry in 
the country are insufficient.

They are looking for you to talk 

directly about these incidents 
in a manner that illustrates 
a constant engagement with 
their daily experiences. They 
understand campus and outside 
authorities may be investigating. 
But, maybe some students of color 
would appreciate more continual 
updates 
about 
investigations 

and 
the 
University’s 
efforts 

to prevent hateful incidents. 
And I understand there may be 
legal and institutional limits 
to such a request, but the more 
communicative and transparent 
you can be, the more you can 
close the gap in trust. As you 
know, closing this gap in trust 
between students of color and 
the administration should garner 
more buy-in and goodwill for DEI 
efforts, but it will also be the key 
toward building a more inclusive 
and equitable campus climate for 
years to come.

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

Single on Valentine’s Day

MICHAEL SUGERMAN | COLUMN

S

uggestion: listen to Gilbert 
O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again 
(Naturally)” as you read 

for full effect.

A 
“secret 

admirer” 
recently 

left me a red teddy 
bear 
holding 

a 
plush 
heart 

inscribed with the 
word “kiss,” along 
with a note that 
says they can’t stop 
thinking about me. 
True story. I still 
have no clue who it 
is. I’m touched (and 
a bit scared). I hope one of my 
friends isn’t just screwing with 
me. I think one of my friends is 
just screwing with me.

Secret admirer aside — if 

you’re 
reading 
this, 
reveal 

yourself! — my college love 
prospects have been pretty 
dim. To be quite honest, I don’t 
think college is a very romantic 
place. I often find that there 
are two extremes: the people 
who date for four years and 
are destined for marriage and 
the sloppy drunken hookups 
we see at parties and on the 
dance floors of bars. They’re 
so 
common, 
there 
is 
an 

Instagram account dedicated 
to documenting them.

Let’s not forget Tinder. Who 

knew that romance could be 
as industrial as a rightward 
swipe and a “match?” With a 
handful of carefully curated 
pictures and a brief bio, we 
transcend 
the 
mystery 
of 

fleeting imagination and make 
contact, often with complete 
strangers. Some have told me 
they legitimately use Tinder 
for dating; others say they use 
it to feed hookup culture.

Here’s something I think 

about often: My dad’s parents 
started dating each other in 
10th grade. They were 15. 
That’s nuts! My mom’s parents 
married 
right 
before 
my 

grandmother graduated from 
college. She was the same age I 
am now! Look — I’m 21 and I’m 
not dating at the moment. I’m 
about to graduate from college 
and I’m likely going to move to 

a new city instead of returning 
home. Is this really the time to 
pursue a new relationship?

Valentine’s 
Day 

quickly 
approaches, 

and though I know 
it’s 
a 
fabricated 

Hallmark 
holiday, 

it encapsulates the 
mounting 
pressure 

I feel. How many of 
your 
parents 
have 

asked you if you’re 
dating 
anyone? 

Have any of your 
grandparents tried to 
set you up?

My grandfather called me 

last week and told me the 
granddaughter 
of 
a 
friend 

in his Torah study group is 
a 
University 
of 
Michigan 

student. He was trying to be 
helpful, which I appreciate, 
but imagine that introduction: 
“Hi there, we’ve never met, but 
our Jewish grandparents hang 
out weekly and want us to wed. 
Are you ready to start the rest 
of our lives together?” I can 
hear “Tradition” from “Fiddler 
on the Roof” playing in the 
background.

All of life, I think, is a search 

for intimacy, and from talking 
with friends, it seems clear that 
I’m not the only one struggling 
to find it. The pressure isn’t 
just a matter of age or well-
intentioned family members. 
I think we’re so used to being 
plugged in, surrounded by 
others and even hyper-aware 
of their relationships, that we 
forget the importance of being 
comfortable with ourselves.

A couple of weekends ago, I 

stayed in New York City. I have 
some high-school friends there 
whom I visited, but a great deal 
of my time was spent alone 
in the city. The pure thought 
of that was a bit terrifying to 
me. How could I enjoy myself 
without 
someone 
to 
enjoy 

myself with?

When I was a little kid, I 

loved being on my own. I’d 
come home and spend hours in 
my room, playing with Thomas 
the Tank Engine figures when 
I was really young, and later 

moved on to Legos. I loved 
that time the most; person-
to-person interactions could 
be exhausting, and sometimes 
all I needed to decompress 
were my favorite toys and my 
imagination.

I tried to channel that 

dormant part of myself while 
I was in the city, and to my 
surprise, it was a success. 
I stuck in my headphones, 
jammed to one of my favorite 
playlists, and walked. I bought 
a $2 hot dog with ketchup and 
mustard, and I enjoyed the 
hell out of it. I went to an art 
museum and worked through 
each of its exhibits over the 
course of three hours. I think 
I’d forgotten that I can be fun 
to hang out with.

All 
things 
considered, 

this column is both personal 
catharsis and reassurance for 
those of you who are in the same 
boat right now. This Valentine’s 
Day, don’t be ashamed if you’re 
not taking a significant other 
out to dinner somewhere in 
downtown Ann Arbor to show 
that you care. Don’t worry 
that your grandparents were 
already on the verge of having 
children when they were in 
this stage of life.

I conducted some minor 

research on this, and according 
to one psychologist, “The more 
obsessed and ruminative a 
person may be about obtaining 
a partner or finding new 
romantic attention, the more 
depleted and inadequate they 
may feel about themself.”

Sometimes, the person you 

should get to know better is 
 
… you. So, put in the time. 
Grab a cup of coffee. Get a 
box of chocolates. Go to an art 
museum. Listen to some new 
tunes. Some will call it denial 
(and it may be, at least a little 
bit), but I’ll call it self-care.

Relationships with others 

can be fulfilling, frustrating, 
fleeting and so much more — 
but you are your own inevitable 
constant. Embrace it.

REBECCA LERNER

Managing Editor

420 Maynard St. 

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

EMMA KINERY

Editor in Chief

ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY 

and REBECCA TARNOPOL 

Editorial Page Editors

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board. 

All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

Carolyn Ayaub
Megan Burns

Samantha Goldstein

Caitlin Heenan
Jeremy Kaplan

Max Lubell

Alexis Megdanoff
Madeline Nowicki
Anna Polumbo-Levy 

Jason Rowland

Ali Safawi

Kevin Sweitzer

Rebecca Tarnopol

Ashley Tjhung

Stephanie Trierweiler

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

Michael Sugerman can be reached 

at mrsuggs@umich.edu.

An open letter to President Schlissel

AUSTIN MCCOY | OP-ED

The importance of art

MARY KATE WINN | COLUMN

Mary Kate Winn can be reached at 

winnm@umich.edu.

Austin McCoy is a Postdoctoral 

Fellow in the Taubman College of 

Architecture and Urban Planning.
MARY KATE 

WINN

AUSTIN MCCOY

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SUGERMAN