The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, April 5, 2017 — 2A

Journalist Jon Cohen spoke 

about methods to curb the 
stigma 
behind 
HIV/AIDS 

Tuesday evening in an event 
that was part of the Pulitzer 
Center’s 
collaboration 

with 
the 
Communication 

Studies 
Department. 
About 

20 University of Michigan 
students and faculty attended 
the 
event, 
where 
Cohen 

especially covered efforts to 
end AIDS in Africa and the 
United States.

With 
funding 
from 
the 

Pulitzer Center, Cohen created 
a project of several stories that 
examine attempts across the 
United States and parts of 
Africa to reduce the spread of 
and eradicate HIV/AIDS. The 
talk is part of the initiative of 
the Pulitzer Center’s initiative 
to support journalists and 
bring them to the University to 
present their work.

In his presentation, Cohen, 

who 
works 
for 
Science, 

expressed 
his 
belief 
that 

mainstream 
media 
have 

largely forgotten about HIV. 
Cohen explained that this is 
because a fear of infectious 
disease 
largely 
drives 
the 

public, and media outlets serve 
the interests of the public. 
However, 
Cohen 
reminded 

the audience that there are 
37 million people infected 
globally, with approximately 2 
million people newly infected 
each year.

While 
Cohen 
supports 

the 
Joint 
United 
Nations 

Programme on HIV/AIDS’s 
goal of reaching 90-90-90 — 
90 percent of people who have 
the disease know they are 

infected, 90 percent of people 
seek health care, 90 percent 
of people are on antiretroviral 
drugs 
— 
he 
emphasized 

this goal has not been met. 
According to Cohen, just 11 
million out of the 37 million 
people infected have all three 
goals achieved.

From 
Cohen’s 
travels 

around 
the 
world 
and 

observations of attempts to 
reduce the transmission of 
HIV, he noted there are some 
critical post-infection efforts 
that can be done to reduce the 
transmission.

Cohen 
cited 
having 
an 

advocate 
for 
individual 

patients to encourage them or 
count their pills are two of the 
ways Cohen believes can help 
end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. 

“Every 
place 
that 
has 

remarkable success has one 
individual who takes charge 
and says, ‘This is on me,’ ” 
Cohen said. “The other thing is 
self-criticism, is being able to 
look others squarely in the eye 
and say, ‘We’re failing here.’ ”

Cohen believes preventative 

measures are just as important 
as 
treating 
those 
living 

with 
the 
infection. 
Cohen 

emphasized what he believes 
to be the importance of at-risk 
men and women to receive and 
take pre-exposure prophylaxis 
drugs, which are used to 
prevent the contraction of 
disease in people who have not 
yet been exposed.

Business graduate student 

Julian Smyth echoed Cohen’s 
belief that more at-risk people 
should be taking PrEP drugs 
and shared his reasons for 
taking the drugs himself.

“I’m a single, gay man; 

I 
don’t 
think 
that 
I’m 

particularly at risk, but I think 

that’s one of the issues people 
have with PrEP,” Smyth said. 
“I think one of the other issues 
is that people who can afford 
to take it are people who are 
insured; it tends to be people 
who are more educated, who 
know about it. So we’re not the 
ones who are necessarily at the 
most risk.”

While Smyth may be correct 

about the types of people who 
have access to PrEP drugs, 
Cohen emphasized that HIV 
does not only affect those 
living in poverty.

“Yes, it is a disease of 

poverty, but it’s also a disease 
of wealth,” Cohen said.

Cohen 
explained 
while 

there are people infected from 
many different socioeconomic 
backgrounds, those who are 
marginalized in society — be it 
from race, gender, sexuality or 
social class — are the ones who 
face the most stigma.

Cohen mentioned a town 

in Zimbabwe where there is a 
monthly “drug day,” or a day 
where everyone in the village 
gets tested for HIV. In this 
system, community members 
know of one another’s HIV 
status, and there is a stigma 
for those who do not get 
tested.

According to Cohen, there 

should be more discussion 
surrounding HIV/AIDS and 
he hopes his research will 
contribute to an increased 
focus around the disease and 
those infected by it.

“I love giving voices to 

people,” Cohen said. “The 
scientific term for these groups 
of people is ‘marginalized’ 
— the real word is ‘hated.’ 
They’re hated in many parts of 
the world, and I like to show 
their humanity.”

Journalist Jon Cohen talks methods 
to curb HIV/AIDS stigma, prevalence

The presentation focused on the need to redirect attention to the issue

RACHEL LEUNG
Daily Staff Reporter

HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily

Brian Dunnigan, Curator of Maps at the William L. Clements Library, uses images of original maps to describe the Universtiy of Michigan in the 
1800’s in Hatcher Gallery on Tuesday.

M APPING MICHIGAN

Dunnigan also highlighted 

the 
presence 
of 
Native 

American tribes on Michigan 
land, and their resistance of 
the encroachment of settlers 
beginning in the 1750s. This 
resistance, along with struggles 
obtaining 
previously 
owned 

British territory, were factors 
influencing the United States’s 
endeavors 
in 
procuring 

Michigan land.

University 
alum 
Lejla 

Bajgoric, who attended the event, 
explained she was interested in 
hearing how the presentation 
would highlight this aspect 
of 
U.S. 
history, 
specifically 

with 
euphemisms 
regarding 

acquisition of territory from 
Native American tribes.

“At the founding of Michigan 

there’s still this huge Native 
American population, so I was 

interested in how that would 
be spoken about,” she said. 
“When you want to talk about 
developments and progress, how 
do you reconcile that with the 
fact that you are displacing and 
forcibly removing people from 
the land?”

One of the most prominent 

topics in the presentation was 
Mackinac Island, presently a 
popular tourist destination in the 
Straits of Mackinac. Dunnigan 
explained Mackinac, originally 
purchased by the British in 1781 
and garnered by U.S. control 
several years later, was known 
for its natural wonders from 
the beginning. In its early days 
of settlement, the island went 
from holding 300 people in 
the winters to accommodating 
3,000 in the summers.

“The place had a very early 

reputation for being scenic,” 
he said. “A visitor in 1816 says, 
‘The first view of this interesting 
island justified the experience 
and the expectation it had 

incited.’ ”

Information fifth-year senior 

Monica 
Chen 
attended 
the 

lecture and said she felt the 
presentation’s coverage of the 
different methods by which the 
United States collected territory 
was very interesting.

“I’m 
not 
actually 
from 

Michigan, so I think it was really 
cool to get a look into a town that 
is not on the coast, but it actually 
kind of is on the northern coast 
and it borders Canada, and just 
how important and influential 
waterways are in development 
of places,” she said.

At the conclusion of the 

presentation, Dunnigan spoke 
of the Reading Room, one of 
the 
most 
historic 
locations 

within 
Clements 
Library, 

where most of the information 
and 
photographs 
from 
the 

presentation came from.

“I think our readers and our 

visitors find the place friendly, 
interesting and worth reading 
about,” he said.

HISTORY
From Page 1A

of reducing global average new-
vehicle CO2 emissions by 90 percent 
by 2050,” Eric Krotkov, chief science 
officer at TRI, stated in a University 
Record article about the research.

To create a more effective 

battery, the team will work to 
combine artificial intelligence with 
the physics of materials, which will 
eventually enable them to predict 
material properties, Gavini said. 

“We are solving equations at 

smaller scales and then we are 
collecting a lot of data on a small 
scale and then we are using artificial 
intelligence to figure out how is 
the materials of physics at that 
particular scale and then passing 
it on to the next scale,” Gavini said. 
“The hope is that eventually, if we 
do this the right way, then we will be 
able to predict material properties.”

Duraisamy 
noted 
the 

significance 
of 
simulations 
in 

determining material properties, 
noting the use of the laws of physics 
and data can make the simulations 
more effective.

“The goal is to run more accurate 

simulations, and to run more 
accurate simulations you combine 
physical laws with data,” he said. 

The simulations used in the 

research will include the ConFlux 
cluster, a computing platform 
that combines simulations with 
data sets to increase the speed of 
material development. 

Duraisamy 
believes 
the 

simulations will complement the 
experimentation, 
allowing 
the 

research to be more effective.

“If you run the simulation, you 

can get any property you want, 
anywhere you want,” he said. 

Duraisamy 
also 
said 
the 

simulations 
will 
make 
the 

experimentation more expansive.

“If you can use physical laws 

along with data, then we can make 
these simulations much more 
affordable and realistic,” he said.

Gavini 
said 
he 
appreciated 

the 
investment, 
specifically 

acknowledging the TRI’s emphasis 
on fundamental research that can 
expand across multiple disciplines.

“The Toyota Research Institute 

is actually funding fundamental 
science problems, which is very 
unlike what may happen to other 
industrial 
investments 
in 
the 

University,” Gavini said. “They are 

not hesitant to take from high-risk 
problems and I think that’s very 
good for the University, because 
at the University we work on such 
problems.”

Duraisamy 
echoed 
the 

importance 
of 
emphasizing 

fundamental research, stating it 
enables more widespread results.

“There 
are 
many 
different 

aspects to this, and since we 
are doing basic or fundamental 
research, the implications can be 
across the board,” he said.

The TRI also invested in research 

projects at Stanford University, 
the 
Massachusetts 
Institute 

of 
Technology, 
the 
University 

at 
Buffalo, 
the 
University 
of 

Connecticut and Ilika, a United 
Kingdom-based material science 
company. 

Gavini 
recognizes 
the 

importance 
of 
the 
project, 

acknowledging the benefits to the 
University. 

“This is a significant investment 

that Toyota is making in the 
University of Michigan and in our 
group, and this will continue going 
forward,” he said. “Hopefully it will 
be a successful project and we will 
have a very fruitful collaboration 
with these guys down the line.”

TOYOTA
From Page 1A

In 
1970, 
the 
GEO 
was 

established at the University 
of Michigan, though it was not 
certifieduntil 
1974, 
and 
was 

among the first graduate student 
unions in the United States. 
Silbertstein discussed how the 
era’s political climate fueled the 
formation of the union.

“We 
could 
demonstrate 

because anything we got could 
be taken away, so we organized,” 
Silbertstein said. “I think it’s 
always true that there’s the 
question of ‘Are people moving?’ 
In order to get what you want, 
actions must be taken and you 
have to win hearts and minds.”

The GEO, as an organizing 

group, sought to make its voices 
and demands heard. According 
to Silbertstein, many TAs and 
GSIs who were organizing at the 
time had their roots in the civil 
rights movement and Vietnam 
War protests. Their tactics were 
grounded in leaflets with satirical 
tones and picketing.

It was not until 1975 that the 

GEO movement held a month-
long strike and secured its 
first contract. The GEO was 

demanding fair wages, improved 
working 
conditions 
and 

nondiscrimination. The strike 
had a lasting implication and, 
according to Schneider, carried 
both symbolic and instrumental 
victories.

“We talk about the strike and 

the importance of the solidarity,” 
Schneider said. “To me, one of the 
main reasons we won that one 
is because we have picket lines 
up and other unions refused to 
cross those lines. In particular, 
the Teamster Union stopped 
the Biology Department from 
picking up its trash, (and it) lost 
a lot of federal money too. This 
teamwork with the Teamsters 
Union was a critical element in 
winning the strike.”

Krinitsky 
brought 
the 

conversation to the present by 
placing the current situation 
of the GEO in the broader 
labor movement and discussed 
the future of campus labor 
organizing.

“When graduate students are 

mounting a contract campaign, 
they’re not just asking for wages,” 
Krinitsky 
said. 
“Often 
that’s 

an argument that we get at the 
bargaining table. Our members 
are really motivated by questions 
of equity. They care about the 
marginalized population among 

our membership and care about 
ensuring their protections.”

This year, the GEO aims to 

secure another contract, the first 
of which to be under the right-to-
work laws, laws which prohibit 
people from being compelled to join 
a labor union. Krinitsky said during 
the event that the current platform 
is ambitious and focuses heavily 
on diversity, equity and inclusion, 
paralleling 
the 
University’s 

initiative.

“We are focused on diversity, 

equity and inclusion, words that are 
really affiliated with U of M, you 
can’t really go anywhere without 
hearing them,” he said. “Well, when 
we were forming our campaign we 
wanted to have the University put 
its money where its mouth is when 
it comes to these topics.”

School of Information student 

Vidhya Aravind said in an earlier 
interview 
that 
she 
currently 

works part time on the University 
Library’s 
implementation 

team 
for 
the 
DEI 
initiative. 

Aravind said these positions are 
demanding, justifying demands for 
compensation on par with other 
graduate positions.

“I 
think 
it’s 
important 
to 

recognize that diversity labor is 
labor,” she said.” It takes a lot of 
effort, a lot of time, a lot of energy 
and a lot of expertise.”

GEO
From Page 1A

industries of the future,” Pomfret 
said. “You look at biopharma, 
aerospace, industrial advanced 
engineering. They’re devoting 
huge amounts of money to these 
areas, whereas Trump is trying 
to reopen coal mines, pushing 
back EPA regulations, changing 
mile per gallon statistics so we’ll 
be able to help out factories in the 
heartland. So his priorities, in a 
way, are priorities that basically 
focus on the economy that the 
United States had in the 1950s, 
whereas China wants to create a 
21st-century economy.”

An hour at the end of the 

lecture 
was 
reserved 
for 

questions, and many audience 

members were curious about 
the upcoming elections in South 
Korea and the effect the current 
animosity toward immigrants 
could have on the education of 
Chinese immigrants in America.

This last point follows the 

Detroit News op-ed from the 
presidents of three Michigan 
Universities, 
including 

University 
President 
Mark 

Schlissel. The letter emphasized 
the importance of standing by 
our international students.

“Students 
from 
different 

places also help our campuses 
better reflect the global diversity 
our graduates are expected to 
understand, and they enhance 
the quality of our teaching and 
research,” they wrote.

Pomfret 
shared 
a 
similar 

sentiment, 
and 
found 
the 

potential of growing animosity 
toward 
immigrants 
to 
be 

detrimental to the United States. 

“As 
the 
anti-immigration 

policy builds up, if that is 
successful, obviously it’s going 
to smack all foreigners in the 
United States who are getting 
their education here,” Pomfret 
said.

Pomfret said with Trump 

as president, the United States 
is moving toward a dangerous 
position of isolation.

“By becoming America first, 

we turn around and we’ve got 
nobody behind us,” Pomfret 
said. “The United States became 
a superpower because we had 
friends, but now we’re actually 
increasingly like China. China 
doesn’t 
have 
many 
friends 

either.”

CHINA
From Page 1A

media of spoken word, singing, 
storytelling and even a piece 
played on the piano.

LSA 
freshman 
Ayah 

Kutmah kicked off the event 
with a short personal essay, 
stressing the role of her hijab 
in defining her identity and 
her constant battle with the 
common 
perception 
that 

it 
oppresses 
her. 
Kutmah 

outlined the ways in which 
she learned to conform to 
society in her earlier years, 
but also recognized how she 
has grown as confident hijab-
wearing woman, especially at 
the University.

“I define my journey with 

my hijab as a personal rebellion 
against society, one that is on 
me to define my own identity 
on my own terms,” she said. 
“The point I want to make is 
this: I do not allow the hijab to 
limit me, so why do you?”

LSA 
senior 
Maham 

Shaikh performed her poem 
“Personifying Islamophobia,” 
illustrating 
the 
varying 

experiences 
of 
Muslims. 

She 
highlighted 
that 
even 

though she does not wear the 

headscarf, 
she 
experiences 

Islamophobia as a presence she 
deals with daily. In a symbolic 
gesture, she ripped a paper 
with the word “Islamophobia,” 
displaying her triumph over 
this battle.

Following 
Shaikh, 

University 
alum 
Amir 

Kamouneh gave a personal 
statement 
to 
the 
audience 

about the importance of events 
like these in strengthening 
people in this world, amid 
current political turmoil and 
war. He experiencing things 
in his home country of Iran, 
such as the Iranian revolution, 
to the 9/11 terrorist attack and 
current politics. He said he has 
found there is always a good 

side to support.

“I’m proud that you came 

out to say no to hate, whether 
you’re Muslim or non-Muslim, 
it takes character in today’s 
world to say no to easy 
scapegoating, to easy blame,” 
he said.

LSA freshman Arwa Gayar 

followed 
with 
a 
spoken 

word poem expressing her 
frustration at the lack of 
ethnicity checkbox for Arabs 
in the University application.

“I don’t think you can limit 

my culture to the color of 
my skin,” she said. “I don’t 
think the option of ‘other’ is 
representative of my kin. Am 
I not important enough for my 
very own box? Tell me to write 
in whatever because ‘we don’t 
see color’ — I will not act as 
another diversity buffer. I will 
take up space.”

Following 
the 
event, 

University 
alum 
Misha 

Shaikh said it made her feel 
strengthened and supported 
in her Muslim identity.

“It brings back a lot of 

emotions of my experiences 
with 
Islamophobia, 
and 

the 
hatred 
that 
Muslims 

experience,” 
she 
said. 

“However, it was also very fun 
and relaxing, so it was kind of 
a mix.”

MONOLOGUES
From Page 1A

I define my 

journey with my 
hijab as a personal 
rebellion against 

society

