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Friday, March 24, 2017 — 3
KAETLYN MULCAHY/Daily
LSA freshman Che ‘Rai Laster colors at the De-Stress Through Play event in Angell Hall on Thursday.
PIANO AND POLITICS
our teaching and research,”
they wrote.
The three presidents also
added they agree with Gov.
Rick Snyder’s comments that
immigrants add to Michigan’s
economic strength.
“We agree with Gov. Rick
Snyder that immigrants have
added
significantly
to
the
economic
strength
of
our
state,” the three wrote. “All
three of our universities can
better serve society — and
our economy — because of
international scholars.”
Schlissel, Simon and Wilson
ended the editorial by writing
about the achievements of three
immigrant
faculty
members
at each of their respective
institutions,
including
UM
Engineering
Prof.
Kamal
Sarabandi, who is from Iran.
“Known as a leader in radar
sensing,
his
[Sarabandi’s]
research is used by NASA and
U.S. Department of Defense,”
Schlissel, Simon and Wilson
wrote. “He holds 14 U.S. patents,
has eight more pending, and has
founded companies to market
some of his technologies.”
OP-ED
From Page 1
activist group, wrote in its
booklet, “People’s Retort to
the
Prosecutor’s
Report,”
the death of Aura Rosser and
the exoneration of the police
officer responsible is part of a
national pattern of racism and
questionable police practices.
“Aura Rosser’s killing and
the official exoneration of Ried
is part of a national pattern of
disregard for Black lives,” the
booklet reads. “Ann Arbor, one
of the 10 most economically
segregated cities of any size in
the nation, is not exempt from
racism and patterns of police
violence. Indeed, Ann Arbor is
America.”
Though
Councilmember
Sumi Kailasapathy (D–Ward 1)
said there is no major progress
happening
yet,
the
city’s
Human
Rights
Commission
meeting on March 8 provided a
glimpse of what may follow in
the next few months.
In the meeting, Kenneth
Bouche,
chief
operating
officer
of
Hillard
Heintze,
stated reform in community
policing is impossible without
direct engagement from the
community.
“In order to move forward,
in order to enter a new era
of policing and to solve the
problems we have seen over
the last several years, (reform)
has to be collaborative between
government, between police
and between the community,”
Bouche said at the meeting.
Bouche then expanded on
how
the
proposed
citizen
advisory board for the AAPD
should also be built upon
collaborative spirit, explaining
that
adversarial
oversight
boards around the country
do
not
actually
modify
police behavior or improve
community-police relations.
“Whatever you build, it’s not
going to be adversarial, it’ll be
cooperative,” Bouche said. “It’s
designed to be a positive way
because what we see around
the
country
is,
adversarial
oversight only solves some of
the problems.”
Debra
Kirby,
senior
vice
president of law enforcement
counseling at Hillard Heintze,
explained her team will conduct
onsite data collection for at
least one week every month
and analyze the results offsite.
Consultants
will
conduct
interviews
and
ride-alongs
with police officers, research
policies and data, and talk to
community
members
about
their concerns, holding at least
one public forum. Kirby said
her team is aiming to complete
its report by late June.
“Our goal at this point in
terms of the assessment is to
really be objective and let the
facts show what they show,”
Kirby said. “We look at what are
national practices, we listen to
what this community wants, we
identify what are the specific
needs of this community and
at the end of this assessment
phase, we’ll come in with
recommendations
for
the
people
here
to
determine,
assess, evaluate whether we’ll
take this forward.”
When
asked
whether
Hillard Heintze plans to do
what is “right” as opposed
to what the majority of the
community
wants,
Bouche
responded what his team is
looking for is constitutionally
correct policing that takes into
account what every subset of
the entire community — be it
marginalized, rich, immigrant
or undocumented — wants from
the police.
“When we say that the
community
should
direct
how the police polices its
community, it doesn’t mean
the majority should direct how
everyone is policed,” Bouche
said. “When we say community,
we don’t mean majority, but an
inclusive community.”
Libby
Hunter,
a
representative
of
Radical
Washtenaw who was present
at the meeting, wrote she
was pleased to see real steps
toward the improvement of
community-police relations.
“I was surprised because
they spoke quite powerfully
about how the (Human Rights
Commission) was going to have
to really get involved, and how
community involvement was
crucial to their process,” Hunter
wrote. “They repeated multiple
times, in different words, how
community involvement was
key. You could see the facial
expressions
change
on
the
faces of the HRC as they began
to understand that these people
meant business.”
HRC Chair Leslie Stambaugh
said consultants from Hillard
Heintze also engaged with the
city’s leadership, the AAPD
— including Police Chief Jim
Baird — and the court system
from March 7 to 9. Baird wrote
a memo last June describing his
opinion that a civilian advisory
board was unnecessary.
Baird
said
he
was
also
impressed
with
Hillard
Heintze’s
attitude.
Baird
maintained
that
he
still
views the advisory board as
unnecessary,
but
reiterated
he would support such a plan
if it were recommended from
Hillard Heintze.
“(Hillard
Heintze)
will
be well positioned to make a
recommendation on what type
of community board would
work well in Ann Arbor,” Baird
wrote in an email interview. “I
have met with team members
from
Hillard
Heintze
and
believe that their assessment
and
experience
will
be
instrumental in designing and
implementing such a board.”
Though the creation of a
civilian advisory board will
most likely pass a council vote,
its role may be limited, because
the board’s recommendations
will
be
non-binding.
Only
City Council and the City
Administrator have oversight
power, per the city’s charter.
Public
Health
student
Vikrant Garg, a representative
for Students4Justice, a group
fighting racism on campus,
criticized what he saw as a
minimal role for an institution
with great potential. He argued
this was a classic case of those
in power being unwilling to
give the people actual decision-
making power.
“I think we need to reimagine
governmental structures that
can be held to account in a
system
that
currently
fails
marginalized folks, especially
black trans women,” Garg wrote
in an email interview. “The
problem is when institutional
accountability
measures
are
just
advisory
existences,
rather than those with actual
perceived power.”
However,
Councilmember
Chip Smith (D–Ward 5) stated
in a previous article Hillard
Heintze is looking for a way
for the advisory board and City
Council to work alongside each
other.
“Ultimately
as
a
council
person, I look for a board like
that to give me advice on actions
to take,” Smith said. “You know
if there are complaints about an
action or an officer, certainly I
want to know what Chief Baird
says about it, but I also want the
independent group to be able to
provide me their interpretation
of what happened and how to
best proceed.”
AUDIT
From Page 1
committee to begin drafting
policy for a ballot proposal.
Wang has traveled throughout
the state, gathering feedback
from communities before the
petition is released.
“We’ve reached out to all of
our state representatives and
all mayors of any population
greater than 3,000,” Wang
said.
“We’re
really
trying
to
make
this
bipartisan,
nonpartisan and as inclusive
as we can.”
Deegan-Kraus
said
opposing gerrymandering is
simple and involves a basic
level of fairness, and some of
the current boundaries are
lacking manageability, making
it difficult for legislators to be
responsive to their voters.
Other states have passed
similar proposals that transfer
the
redistricting
authority
to
the
voters,
including
California, Arizona and Iowa.
In 2008, California voted
to pass Proposition 11, which
created
a
redistricting
commission
composed
of
fourteen
members
—
five
Democrats, five Republicans
and
four
unaffiliated
members.
Still, Wang, Deegan-Kraus
and other members of Voters
Not Politicians and Count MI
Vote have not yet drafted a
policy for the ballot proposal
for a redistricting commission.
The policy team is considering
drafting a policy similar to
that of California, yet there is
one major barrier.
Wang
said
while
in
California voters are registered
as Democrat, Republican or
Independent, in Michigan it is
optional for voters to register
with a political party. There
would be no way to ensure that
restructuring
commission
members are indeed from the
political party they claim,
which is why Wang and
Deegan-Kraus
are
seeking
residents’ input to create a
system for structuring these
committees.
There are a few reasons
why voters should care about
gerrymandering,
Deegan-
Kraus
said.
Among
those
are
that
gerrymandering
can
allow
incumbents
to
retain office with lower vote
counts, and it often breaks up
communities.
If
the
authority
of
redistricting
switches
to
Michigan
residents,
the
possibility exists that voter
turnout
will
increase.
Wang
said
following
the
establishment of California’s
redistricting commission in
2008, there was an increase in
voter turnout.
Social
Work
student
Katherine
Hammond
said
in recent months, following
the election, there have been
a number of issues to be
concerned about and to fight
for. But for Hammond, fighting
to end gerrymandering is an
issue that is worth the fight.
“Gerrymandering
determines who is in power,”
Hammond said. “To me, that
gets to some of the root causes
of why we have so many issues
and why they are so highly
contested.”
During the Q&A portion
following the presentation,
audience
members
voiced
opinions on how to go about
creating
guidelines
for
restructuring
committees.
Some
members
suggested
creating
an
algorithm
to
ensure the selection process
is fair and unbiased, but
also to have experts, like
academics
with
political
science backgrounds, serve as
advisors.
Hammond,
though
concerned said he was these
committees would be elitist.
“I think demographics and
geography should be a factor
in who gets picked, as well
as
socioeconomic
status,”
Hammond said. “I think there
should be bipartisan support
and independence.”
There will be two virtual
town halls for those interested
in learning more about the
future proposal. Once the
petition is drafted, it will need
316,000 signatures to get on
the ballot in November.
GERRYMANDER
From Page 1
held strong. Despite two fouls to
both senior wing Zak Irvin and
redshirt
sophomore
forward
DJ Wilson, the duo held Pac-12
Player of the Year Dillon Brooks to
just four points on 2-of-6 shooting
in the first half. Brooks ended the
game with 15 points.
“We knew he was a downhill
driver, so I just tried to keep my
body between him and the rim,”
Wilson said. “I tried to make as
many looks as possible tough for
him.”
Oregon,
though,
didn’t
back down with its star player
struggling to score, as guard Tyler
Dorsey filled the void. Dorsey,
who had averaged 23.6 points a
game in his last five contests, got
hot late, finishing the first half
with a game-high 12 points on
4-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-4
from behind the arc to lead the
Ducks into the halftime break
with a two-point lead.
The first four minutes showed
some promise for the offensive
fireworks many expected, as the
two teams combined for 21 points
before the first media timeout.
But the offensive spurt was just
that — a short burst of energy —
and the two teams went back to
struggling to find the basket.
While Oregon led for most of
the half, back-to-back 3-pointers
by Wilson and Walton gave the
Wolverines a rare one-point lead
with 4:15 remaining in the game.
Afterward, the two teams
traded baskets — and the lead —
until Michigan got a defensive
stop, and Walton hit a jumper
at the other end to give the
Wolverines the lead with just over
two minutes left in the game.
“We all felt confident down the
stretch,” Robinson said. “Credit to
them, they made plays, and that’s
what it takes to win a game with
two good teams.”
But Oregon roared back and,
in the span of less than a minute,
took back the lead.
Then it came down to the last
shot, Walton’s jumper that fell just
short.
It wasn’t the ending the
Wolverines’
seniors
wanted
— that would’ve happened in
Phoenix next weekend — but it
was about as close to it as they
could get.
And for Beilein and his team,
that’s about all they ever could
have hoped for.
BASKETBALL
From Page 1
In order to move
forward, in order
to enter a new
era of policing
and to solve the
problems we have
seen over the last
several years,
(reform) has to
be collaborative
between
government,
between police
place on campus, like the
Abortion Speak Out presented
by the University’s chapter
of Students for Choice last
semester.
Eastman
pointed
to
the
current political climate in the
United States and the fear in the
future of LGBTQ rights under
the current administration as
the motivation for the event, as
well as its importance.
“Right now, LGBTQ rights
are at stake,” Eastman said.
“We wanted to make sure
that people had a safe space to
express how harmful stories
can be.”
Bernas, who was encouraged
to join College Democrats by a
friend, felt the need to run for
the co-chair position based on
her own experience of coming
out, and expressed how she
felt personally compelled to
lead, even though she doesn’t
identify
as
a
natural-born
leader.
“This is important work I
need to be doing,” said Bernas.
“My sexuality was very new
to me and even coming to the
University and accepting it had
been very new and I had just
come out at the end of senior
year and felt that was the time
for me to really start working
towards changing policy and
doing something tangible.”
LSA senior Lauren Harsh
shared
her
own
personal
coming out story of when
realized she was lesbian after
attending a summer camp
at the Methodist church she
attended as a child in the
months leading up to leaving
for college.
Harsh went on to describe
some of the mixed reactions
she
received
from
various
groups of people she had in her
life.
“When I was at the camp,
I was really scared,” Harsh
said. “It’s church camp, and
the staff members starting
a relationship together was
frowned upon anyway, and
that made me kind of distance
myself from my friends, which
I really hated that I felt like I
had to do that.”
After, she described the
immediate sense of belonging
she felt when she arrived at the
University in the fall.
“Once I drove up here to
college,
I
dove
head-first
into all the gay shit,” Harsh
said.“I’m out and proud now,
but that doesn’t mean my story
is over.”
Art
&
Design
freshman
Kevin
Moore
shared
his
personal experience of coming
out as bisexual in a hyper-
masculine environment on the
west side of Detroit. In sharing
his experience, he emphasized
how coming out is a constant
experience
people
in
the
community have to face, if they
choose to.
“The thing about coming out
is that it’ll never be a one-time
thing,” Moore said. “You’re
going to constantly come out
to people that you are sharing
a piece of you to someone, if
you want to approach someone
in that way. You do not have to
approach people saying, ‘I am
this way,’ because guess what,
your sexuality is not your
personality.”
He went on to offer some
positive thoughts behind the
idea of sexuality.
“The best thing about your
sexuality is that it’s yours,”
Moore said.
One of the most compelling
stories of the night was told
unscripted by a local high
school
senior
attending
Plymouth Canton Educational
Park who shared a somber,
yet insightful, story about
the details of coming out
first as bisexual and later as
transgender.
El Hanley, who identifies
as
a
transgender
female,
shared that, even though her
experience of coming out as
bisexual in middle school was
met with overwhelming joy by
her family, her experience of
coming out as transgender in
high school was the opposite.
“Coming out as trans is the
most complicated thing on the
planet,” Hanley said.
She
expressed
the
fundamental
difference
between
coming
out
as
bisexual and trans, stating that
coming out as bisexual or gay
is more of an option, because
they relate to a matter of who
someone
is
interested
in,
where as coming out as trans
is matter of physically visible
changes.
In a more comical sense,
she referenced the specific
differences
in
interactions
she shared after both of her
experiences of coming out.
“When
I
came
out
as
bisexual, a lot of people asked
me if I wanted to have a three-
way, and I got on with my life,”
Hanley said.
SPEAK OUT
From Page 1
My sexuality was
very new to me
and even coming
to the University
and accepting is
had been very
new
I’m out and
proud now, but
that doesn’t
mean my story
is over