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Wednesday, February 15, 2017 — 3A
since fleeing Syria more than six
years ago. After members of her
family were kidnapped and others
received threats, her father’s side
of the family decided to flee from
Damascus, Syria to Jordan. Like
so many others, their journey to
the United States was a long and
stressful one.
Daboul’s
older
brother
was
already attending medical school
in the United States when the
family fled to Jordan. Once settled
in Jordan, her parents decided to
visit their eldest son in the United
States. Once they were there, her
parents decided to apply for visas
and request refugee status.
The
process
was
supposed
to take six months — Daboul’s
parents ended up waiting in the
United States for two years without
permission to leave the country
except for a two-week trip to see
their children. Daboul, the eldest
of the four children left behind in
Jordan, took on the role of cooking,
cleaning and, in a general sense,
being the parent while waiting for
the U.S. government to allow her
parents to come back to Jordan and
bring them to join the rest of the
family in Michigan.
“There were so many times in
Jordan I would call my brother
and be like, it’s over — I was a really
dramatic kid,” Daboul said. “The
day we found out we were going to
America, I was jumping on the bed
the whole day because I finally was
able to join my parents and brother.”
In
2011,
the
Arab
Spring
saw the end of two long-term
administrations,
Tunisian
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
and Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak. Syria’s own protests
developed into violence after the
torture of 15 teenage boys who
voiced support of the Arab Spring.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
continued an assault on his citizens,
detaining hundreds and beginning
the civil war known as the Syrian
conflict. The Free Syrian Army and
the terrorist movement ISIS were
born out of the struggle against
al-Assad, leading to more than
450,000 killed and 50 percent of
the country’s pre-war population
displaced.
As of December 2016, there
are 4,873,248 refugees from Syria
worldwide.
Daboul considers her family
lucky since they left so early in the
revolution and were able to move
to the United States relatively
smoothly, leaving before ISIS even
became a prominent threat in the
country.
“To me, most Americans think
the only issue is ISIS,” Daboul said.
“It was mainly an opposition to the
president and ISIS isn’t as big as the
media makes it to be. I was in Syria
five years ago and ISIS didn’t exist
back then. It bothers me. This isn’t
to say ISIS isn’t a big deal … but now
everything people talk about is ISIS,
which is a big deal and we need to
get rid of it but you’re not talking
about the other main issue at all
anymore.”
Michigan’s population
Michigan has the second highest
population of Syrian refugees,
with most residing in Troy and
Dearborn. The state has the highest
Arab population in the United
States, containing 2 percent of the
state’s population in 2015.
Tawfik Azalem, director of the
U.S. Committee for Refugees and
Immigrants in Detroit, said the
group mostly settles refugees in
Wayne and Macomb Counties —
areas with large Middle-Eastern,
Iraqi and Chaldean populations.
“Michigan
is
a
welcoming
state and immigration is a really
great opportunity to grow our
state,” Azalem said. “I truly think
diversity is power. Michigan and
the specifically Detroit metro area
is one of the largest Middle-Eastern
populations in the country.”
Patrick
McLean,
a
Syrian
American Rescue Network board
member, explained many refugees
settle in Michigan through the
network of past Syrian immigrants
— he referred to Dearborn as the
“heart of Arab-American culture.”
On Jan. 25, Ann Arbor City
Council passed a resolution to
protect immigrants from federal
investigation — however, the city
did not declare itself as a “sanctuary
city.” This was in response
to
President
Donald
Trump’s
executive order on the same day
against sanctuary spaces that could
potentially lose federal funding.
The attempt at an immigration
ban
On Jan. 27 — International
Holocaust Remembrance Day —
Trump signed an executive order
calling for suspended immigration
from
seven
Muslim-majority
countries such as Somalia, Yemen
and Syria.
Trump’s order in return faced
exceeding amounts of backlash,
with protests sparking across the
country. However, some viewed
the immigration halt as a means of
protecting the nation.
“Without question, what the
current president is doing with his
executive order is really creating a
culture of fear among the refugee
population
and
the
broader
immigrant population,” McLean
said. “It is not going to make us safer
— it has the potential to make us less
safe, because it will make refugees
and immigrant much more reluctant
to deal with law enforcement and
the broader community. It’s terribly
misguided.”
However, McLean found hope
in the support he saw throughout
the country. On Jan. 29, thousands
crowded in the Detroit Metropolitan
Airport, chanting “Let them in” and
welcoming arrivals.
The ban received mixed reactions
on campus. LSA senior Adam
Mageed, president of the campus
University Muslim Coalition, said
in late January the policy ignores
refugees whose lives could be in
greater danger.
“I think that Americans are
incredibly safe and take their safety
for granted,” Mageed said. “Security
at the cost of heavy discrimination
isn’t security.”
Some on the conservative side
disagreed, believing the ban to
be vital for national security. LSA
junior Enrique Zalamea, president
of the University’s chapter of
College Republicans, said in an
earlier interview that it was the
government’s
duty
to
uphold
security.
“I
am
a
first-generation
American, and I love this country,
but I would rather have a more
secure immigration process in order
to reduce the risk of future terrorist
threats,” Zalamea said. “It truly
bewilders me to see so many people
protesting what is essentially a vital
step towards proving our national
security.”
After the ban was announced,
University President Mark Schlissel
said he would not turn over
students’ immigration information.
Michigan Attorney General Bill
Schuette, however, backed the
order, insisting it was not a Muslim
ban but “placing the security of
Americans first.”
Gov. Rick Snyder, along with 31
other governors, placed a temporary
ban on the entry of Syrian refugees
into the state following the terrorist
attacks November 2015 in Paris.
Snyder’s
ban
prompted
many
University faculty and staff to speak
out against the governor’s actions.
In an interview, that November,
History Prof. Pamela Ballinger
expressed her dismay with the
states ban.
“The
growing
chorus
of
governors who wish to block
resettlement of Syrian refugees in
their states is a worrisome, yet sadly
predictable, response to the terror
attacks in Paris,” Ballinger said.
“These governors displace blame
onto the literally displaced, victims
forced to flee their homes as a result
of the same extremist violence that
shook Paris last week. Such a view
ignores that the U.S. commitment to
take Syrian refugees is already low,
as well as the fact that the process of
refugee vetting in the U.S. is a slow
and careful one.”
On Feb. 9, the federal court
rejected the appeal for Trump’s
travel ban on the basis that there
was no evidence of that anyone had
committed terrorist acts from the
seven countries. Despite Trump’s
claims the court had no power on
his order, the ban was disabled.
Yet
uncertainty
still
reigns
throughout
the
country
—
with
refugees,
immigrants,
undocumented
individuals
and
organizations
unsure
how
to
shape their futures based on the
contentious political climate.
The
U.S.
Committee
for
Refugees and Immigrants is a
national refugee program, federally
funded, that addresses the needs
of refugees worldwide, supporting
a transition to the United States.
USCRI
attempts
to
provide
refugees
with
transportation,
housing and other necessities in the
first 30 to 90 days they are in the
country. Other programs include
aid in employment and family
counseling. They also must have a
health screening within the first 30
days of arrival.
REFUGEE
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for
global
challenge-centered
goals. Though other universities
are also able to get involved, these
three central participants have
already applied this model to
establish a global collaboratory in
advanced manufacturing.
The University has been on the
forefront of driverless technology
nationally
and
internationally
with the creation of Mcity, the
simulated urban-suburban driving
environment located on North
Campus that prototypes and tests
automated vehicles.
Carrie Morton, deputy director
of the Mobility Transformation
Center — established in 2013 as
a partnership program within
academia that expands to include
industry
and
government
—
said Mcity is the MTC’s largest
contribution to the University’s
research
interests.
Morton
highlighted
its
significance
in terms of drawing partners
and
government
involvement,
especially
through
the
Department of Transportation
both statewide and nationwide.
“We have been able to grow
our
research
portfolio
well
beyond
the
technology
and
we’re starting to get a better
understanding of how humans
interface with these technologies,
which is really important when
we try to understand consumer
acceptance,” Morton said.
Morton outlined much of the
progress that has been made
with
regard
to
intelligence
infrastructure, including a new
traffic control center, the launching
of TechLab — an initiative with
the Center for Entrepreneurship
where early-stage companies are
launched at the MTC — and having
open connected and automated
vehicles. This fleet of two vehicles,
professionally established as drive-
by-wire vehicles, hold the goal of
creating a platform allowing MTC
researchers to speed innovation
and reduce the normal barriers of
working on these technologies.
“We really have a wonderful
glide path to be able to deploy what
we learn in the real world very
quickly,” Morton said.
Hu also initiated a student
Scholars
Program
through
MCubed — which stimulates
innovative
research
and
scholarship through distributing
real-time
seed
funding
to
multidisciplinary,
faculty-
headed
research
teams
for
undergraduates.
$4000
is
allocated
for
each
accepted
undergraduate
participant
for
summer work. The graduate level
program is similar but allocates
$8,000 per student to those
involved.
“I’m
very
supportive
of
undergraduate
research,”
Hu
said.
“Everywhere
I
travel,
people talk about their research
experience, how undergraduate
research really enabled them to
be independent thinkers, define
problems, solve problems, drawing
a conclusion or writing a report.”
New Initiatives
Another program of Hu’s is
the Exercise and Sport Science
Initiative, which aims to optimize
health and athletic performance,
co-directed by Kinesiology Prof.
Ron
Zernicke.
The
initiative
involves collaboration from the
fields of data science and analytics,
new
sport
technologies
—
including design and prototyping
— and performance optimization.
Zernicke,
who
focuses
on
optimal
performance,
was
appointed
to
co-direct
the
initiative
with
biomedical
engineering Prof. Ellen Arruda
last September. Zernicke said he
has found Hu to be supportive
of cross- and interdisciplinary
research
branching
multiple
sectors of the University in many
ways.
Though a new program, the
ESSI has conducted research
that could hold implications not
only for athletes, but also for the
medical field, particularly through
recording
technology
useful
for critical care units in terms
of monitoring individuals’ life
sciences measurements, care input
and nutrition.
Zernicke cited the ESSI as a way
to solve social problems, establish
a business venture and hold
corporate partnerships, all within
the multidisciplinary expertise of
the University.
“One of the intriguing things
is that Michigan has the health
system here — including the sports
medicine — it has the athletics,
and it has all of these other
multiple schools and colleges,”
Zernicke said. “What I was most
impressed with Jack was that he
basically saw this as a way of really
integrating the breadth and depth
of Michigan to look at significant
societal needs and maintaining
health and wellness.”
DEI
In terms of the role the office
plays in University President Mark
Schlissel’s Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion plan — a five-year plan
aiming to create a more inclusive
campus environment and promote
a more diverse climate — Hu said
he fully supports the University’s
efforts.
“We support the president’s
plan and I also truly believe
diversity is very conducive to
innovation,”
Hu
said.
“From
a
company
perspective,
I
understand exactly why there is
interest in this, because for any
company that provides services
or products, their customers are
diverse, so you must understand
their needs and preferences. You
want your product team and
marketing team and everyone to
understand what your customers
want … a diverse team is very good
for innovation. Because we are a
research organization, I believe in
that as well.”
Through service and research
units, the Office of Research’s
specific
DEI
plan
aims
to
strengthen and expand the office’s
educational offerings that promote
the goals of the DEI, increase
the diversity of its staff through
targeted recruitment strategies
and improve external outreach to
corporate partners, governmental
agencies and foundations.
Challenges
One challenge Hu said he has
faced includes involving differing
sciences in University research.
“We have been trying to
promote the participation of the
faculty and schools in the social
sciences,” Hu said, specifying this
particularly applies to Mcity.
Hu highlighted understanding
consumer
behavior
and
acceptance to autonomous cars,
legal and ethical issues with
autonomous driving and a need
for increased business models
in
response
to
autonomous
vehicles are all facets of social
sciences that can contribute to the
studies of technology’s impact on
transportation and employment
opportunities.
“If a lot of things are automated
in manufacturing, service and
transportation, then we don’t
need that many drivers, we don’t
need that many workers, so what
do people do? This is a critical
discussion I think the country as a
whole needs to have.”
LSA senior Adedolapo Adeniji,
an
Undergraduate
Research
Opportunity
Program
social
sciences peer advisor, said she has
been involved with UROP since
her freshman year.
“I’ve found myself utilizing a lot
of the skills that I learn through
research in class,” Adeniji said. “I
think people undervalue the role
research can play in your everyday
college life.”
Adeniji said the issue is not
the University’s lack of focus on
social science research, but rather,
a negative stigma attached to
research that is not based on data
science and mathematics.
“I think there’s a common
misconception
that
research
is a hard science,” Adeniji said.
“That research is math. That
research is only for people who
are pre-med, or that research is
chemistry or physics ... and that’s
a misconception I had when I
came into college when UROP was
introduced to me.”
Both Morton and Zernicke
expressed interest in further
collaboration with the social
sciences as well.
“There’s such a strain on the
talent pipeline right now,” Morton
said. “The heart of what we’re
doing that is so unique is providing
this real-world data about how
these technologies are used and
how they’re deployed, and so
getting further engagement with
the social sciences will be really
important for us in the next year to
continue to get a glimpse into the
future.”
One initiative that Morton
said
has
improved
the
multidisciplinary
dialogue
between Mcity and law students
was the University Law School’s
creation of two new courses
focused on studying multifaceted
issues within the MTC.
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the executive board.
“First, I agree with them
constitutionally,”
Snow
said. “And second, whether
or not you like it, I want to
understand,
your
thought
process to take our money
from us. Because that is what
you’re doing.”
The executive branch of
Central Student Government
has expressed its reservations
for the proposed resolution
because of its exclusivity
and its lack of precise details
regarding the time, location,
size and mediation of the
discussion lunches.
However Devin Jones, an
LSA senior who identified
as
a
Palestinian
student,
noted the privateness of the
proposed lunches were due
to the sensitivity of the topic.
“These are people who
identify as pro-Israel, and
then on the other side you
have people who identify as
pro-Palestinian...the reason
it is closed is something that
could be debated,” Jones said.
“I personally do not believe
in CSG coming in and sitting
in on meetings, because the
meetings
are
discussing
personal
things
that
you
have to be a part of the
communities to understand.”
After the vote, some CSG
representatives
expressed
disheartenment at how much
the vote in support of the
Israel
Palestine
dialogue
lunch resolution had changed
since last week, when the
resolution
was
supported
widely by the body.
CSG representative Sheema
Rehman, an LSA senior, also
announced to the body that
general lack of attention to
the needs of the student body
is a problem which should be
addressed within CSG.
She mentioned the student
sit-in
last
week
saying
she
believed
it
is
CSG’s
responsibility to be present
at such events when students
are protesting to have their
voices heard on key issues.
“On
Thursday,
Students
for Justice held a sit in at
the Michigan Union from
5-2AM
showing
student
frustration at the lack of the
University’s
response
and
calling CSG and members
of
the
administration
to
listen to student concerns,”
she said “But what was even
more disheartening was the
fact that we had very little
representatives
show
up
at any point- and this was
a seven hour time period.
Student’s aren’t asking for you
to do much accept listen.”
CSG
From Page 1A
in response to his thoughts
regarding a Trump presidency,
and he said one sonnet was printed
on orange paper — to emulate the
color of the president’s skin.
“Are you not the color of this
country’s current threat advisory,
and the poms-poms of a school
whose mascot is a clementine?”
Hayes
read.
“Light
as
a
featherweight monarch, viceroy,
goldfish.”
Aside from the compilation of
sonnets, Hayes also read longer
poems from his 2015 work “How
to Be Drawn.” In “American
Sonnet for Wanda C.” he mused
on the ways femininity is both
portrayed and stereotyped.
“Who I know knows why all
those lush-boned worn-out girls
are whooping at where the moon
should be, an eyelid clamped
on its lightness,” Hayes read.
“Nobody sees her without the
hoops firing in her
ears because nobody sees.
Tattooed across her chest she
claims is bring me to where my
blood runs and I want that to be
here where I am her son, pent in
blackness and turning the night’s
calm loose and letting the same
blood fire through me.”
POET
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