The University of Michigan,
though established in Ann Arbor
in 1837, opened its first building
in Detroit in 1817. Before this,
the Michigan Territory had no
organized schools, and very few
students were prepared to attend
a university.
The year 1817 itself was crucial
in the development of Michigan,
and on Tuesday evening, Brian
Dunnigan,
William
Clements
Library associate director and
curator
of
maps,
addressed
members of the public in this
year’s Founders Day Lecture
highlighting Michigan in 1817.
Through the use of photographs
and maps, Dunnigan explained
the original University building
was commonly referred to as the
“academy”
until
construction
began in October 1837 to create
Ann Arbor’s campus, a project
lasting until 1858.
Detroit, which included the
first University building and
published the first successful
local newspaper in Michigan in
1817, began blossoming in the
early 1820s with the beginnings
of the transportation industry.
Dunnigan said many Americans
who first saw the city situated on
the Detroit River often compared
it to Philadelphia.
“Detroit was the prime town
of the old northwest,” Dunnigan
said.
Award-winning author John
Pomfret discussed the effects
of the Trump presidency on
relations between the United
States and China to a packed
room in the School of Social
Work Tuesday afternoon.
Pomfret,
who
spent
20
years living in China, likened
President
Donald
Trump’s
rhetoric toward the country
to that of Denis Kearney — a
prominent U.S. politician in
the 1870s and 1880s — in an
event as part of the University
of Michigan Lieberthal-Rogel
Center for Chinese Studies
Noon Lecture Series.
Kearney was the head of
the Workingmen’s Party in
California, and was known
for his often racist and anti-
Chinese views.
“Kearney took this populist
anger
or
fear
of
Chinese
industriousness
and
turned
it into a political movement,”
Pomfret said.
Pomfret
also
compared
Trump
to
Chairman
Mao
Zedong, a comparison that
drew laughs from the crowd.
He said Trump’s tendency to
call for a “government for the
people” is just one similarity to
Mao’s leadership.
“In
Trump’s
maddening
unpredictability, (Maoists) saw
Chairman Mao’s most favorite
aphorism,
which
is
‘there
is chaos under heaven, the
situation is excellent,’ ” Pomfret
said.
Pomfret said he believes
under the Trump presidency,
the United States is back on the
track of facilitating China’s rise,
explaining how U.S. wallets
have funded China in their wars
and education.
“Over the course of the last
decade, perhaps longer, the
Chinese system has been better
at enabling China to benefit
from the United States than
the American system has been
at allowing America to benefit
from China,” Pomfret said.
He also expressed concern for
the upcoming summit between
current Chinese President Xi
Jinping and Trump, fearing
Trump has no strategy for the
meeting.
Debunking
many
of the problems Trump has
with China, such as currency
manipulation and the Chinese
cheating the United States on
trade, he reasoned these are not
the real problems the United
States should be focusing on.
At the end of his talk, Pomfret
characterized
the
current
Chinese government as one of
the future, and Trump’s United
States as one of the past.
“If you look at China right
now, it’s a country that is
clearly focused on creating the
Graduate students and faculty
gathered Tuesday to listen to
speakers discuss the Graduate
Employees’ Organization’s roots
and current presence on campus
as part of LSA’s bicentennial-
themed semester.
The event — under the title,
“U-M Works Because We Do,”
which was borrowed from an
old GEO slogan from the 1970s
— featured two former GEO
organizers, Sandra Silbertstein
and Scott Schneider, as well as
a member of the union’s current
bargaining team, Nora Krinitsky.
The speakers discussed in detail
the founding years of the GEO,
and how it is important to have
these discussions during the
bicentennial.
“The name of the event really
says it all,” Krinitsky said. “GSIs
proved 23 percent of student
contact hours at the University of
Michigan, which is a significant
portion of the teaching labor
that happens here, so if you want
to understand how we got here
over the last 200 years, GEO is a
critical part of that story.”
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 60
©2017 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
Founder’s
Day lecture
emphasizes
‘U’ history
Muslim Monologues focus on
experiences with Islamophobia
See HISTORY, Page 3A
JULIA LAWSON/Daily
LSA freshman Ayah Kutmah speaks about her experience wearing a hijab at the Muslim Monologues in Palmer Commons on Tuesday.
CAMPUS LIFE
Clements Library curator of maps
Brian Dunnigan delivered the talk
JORDYN BAKER
Daily Staff Reporter
The event aimed to provide a voice to under-represented students on campus
Amid the success of the
recent
events
“The
Vagina
Monologues”
and
“Hijabi
Monologues,” LSA junior Heba
Al-Saghir found she wanted
to organize a similar, more
inclusive
event
that
would
still provide a place for often
underrepresented voices on the
University of Michigan campus.
This inspiration produced the
“Muslim Monologues” event,
which
was
hosted
by
the
Muslim Students’ Association
and took place Thursday night
at Palmer Commons.
“(The
event)
provides
a
forum for Muslim students
to express their thoughts and
ideas in an open and accepting
environment,” she said. “It’s
also
important
because
it
encourages
people
of
all
religions and cultures to hear
Muslim voices that may paint
a very different picture than
what they are used to hearing
in the media. By humanizing
Muslims, we are promoting
tolerance, coexistence and a
brighter future.”
More
than
40
students
attended the event, and more
than
10
performers
shared
their experiences through the
KATHERINA SOURINE
Daily Staff Reporter
See GEO, Page 3A
GEO panel
looks to the
origins of
the group
ADMINISTRATION
Graduate students and
faculty gathered to discuss
the organization’s roots
ANNA HARITOS
Daily Staff Reporter
HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily
Washington Post journalist John Pomfret discusses U.S.-China relations in the era of Donald Trump in the School of
Social Work on Tuesday.
Author discusses relationship between
U.S. and China both past and present
John Pomfret talked about the future of relations under the Trump presidency
MOLLY NORRIS
Daily Staff Reporter
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
See CHINA, Page 3A
See MONOLOGUES, Page 3A
The Toyota Research Institute
invested $2.4 million in a research
team at the University of Michigan,
which
will
combine
machine
learning and data simulation to
improve the production capability
of batteries.
Krishna Garikipati, professor
of
mechanical
engineering
and mathematics, is the lead
investigator for the team, alongside
Vikram Gavini, associate professor
of
mechanical
and
materials
science engineering.
According
to
Gavini,
the
investment will take effect on May
1, with a chosen group of University
students, scientists and scholars set
to join the team.
One of the goals of the project
is to develop a new type of battery
that will be able to power vehicles
that produce zero emissions, which
aligns with one of the TRI’s main
goals of reducing carbon dioxide
emissions by 90 percent by 2050.
“Accelerating
the
pace
of
materials discovery will help lay
the groundwork for the future of
clean energy and bring us even
closer to achieving Toyota’s vision
See TOYOTA, Page 3A
Toyota gifts
funding for
University
research
RESEARCH
The money will go to
studies aimed at improved
capabilities of batteries
ERIN DOHERTY
Daily Staff Reporter
statement
THE MICHIGAN DAILY | APRIL 5, 2017