students
that
deviating
from this policy has adverse
consequences for some of our
students,” Martin continued
in the email. “This a special
emphasis of the dean’s office
this year, making clear that it is
our expectation that exams are
administered during the times
established by the Registrar’s
Office.”
LSA junior Meghan Clark
said she is concerned whether
the new emphasis on changing
exam times will affect travel
plans for returning home over
Winter Break.
“Typically, the only exams
I
had
before
finals
were
scheduled that way because
they were late in the week,”
she said. “Being from across
the country, I’m worried this
new rule could make it more
difficult for me to travel home
for breaks.”
LSA junior Ellie Wilson
echoed this concern, stating
it is easier to plan for breaks
knowing exams can be held in
the final week of class. Yet, she
noted that professors adhering
to
the
LSA
code
prevent
multiple exams on the same
day.
“On one hand, it’s nice to
plan ahead knowing that exams
are during the last week,”
she said. “However, it can be
very difficult when finals for
various classes overlap.”
signed by E. Royster Harper,
the University’s vice president
for
student
life,
Dean
of
Students Laura Blake Jones
and Greek Life Director Mary
Beth Seiler.
“We
were
deeply
disappointed to learn that
members
of
a
university
fraternity had planned an
offensive
themed
party
for
November,”
the
letter
stated. “The language of the
invitation and theme of the
party denigrated all women
and African American/black
identified
people
through
racial stereotypes and cultural
appropriation.”
The
hashtag
#BBUM
—
Being Black at the University
of Michigan — was started by
the Black Student Union as a
reaction to the party theme.
The
hashtag
has
grown
into a movement that has
sparked national conversation
about diversity and inclusion
on campus. When the Theta
Xi party theme broke to the
public,
the
Black
Student
Union twitter account posted
a screenshot of what appears
to be an email, denouncing the
party’s theme.
Cultural appropriation from
frats is an often heard tale:
In May, the Baylor University
chapter of Kappa Sigma frat
was
suspended
for
their
“Cinco de Drinko” party in
which students came dressed
in sombreros, some in brown
face. In 2016, Bowdoin College,
in Maine, had a similar party.
For Afifi, the issue of white
people appropriating minority
cultures spans wider than
Greek Life at the University.
She wrote on Facebook she
believed
these
fraternities,
made up of predominately
white males, need to step back
and recognize their place in
society as a majority group.
Considering
throughout
history white people have
oppressed minority groups,
Afifi
wrote
she
found
it
inappropriate
for
these
fraternities
to
comfortably
craft these themed parties.
“This is much larger than
just a party; it is the privilege
that led this frat to think
this was remotely okay that
needs to be analyzed. White
people need to cognizant of
their identity and their role
throughout history,” she wrote
on her public Facebook post.
Safety
At the bottom of many
events on Facebook, hosts
include a warning message.
Debs
Cooperative
House
has
previously
included
the statement: “No racism,
homophobia, sexism or any
other forms of being a dick is
allowed here. Don’t be that
person.”
A former social fraternity—
known as a metal frat —
hosted a “300 Underwater
New Year’s Party” on Sept. 2.
The Facebook invite page read:
“ABSOLUTELY NO SEXIST,
RACIST,
HOMOPHOBIC,
TRANSPHOBIC,
ABLEIST,
ETC
BEHAVIOR
OR
LANGUAGE
WILL
BE
TOLERATED. THOSE WHO
VIOLATE
OTHERS
AND
CREATE
DISCOMFORT
WILL BE REMOVED FROM
THE
PARTY
AT
THE
HOUSE’S
DISCRETION.
DON’T BE THE WORST.”
In some cases, fraternities
have
made
it
clear
that
behavior deemed culturally
inappropriate
will
not
be
tolerated,
but
there
still
remains a question if this
warning
to
partygoers
is
enough.
One
University
student, who is in a fraternity,
said although his organization
never
puts
out
a
direct
disclaimer, good behavior at
their parties is expected.
“It
is
understood
and
assumed that that type of
behavior
is
unacceptable.
Honestly, we tend to stay
away from any kind of parties
with a theme that’s a country/
religion/etc.” he said.
Members
of
Greek
Life
claim
these
incidents
of
inappropriate behavior have
occurred rarely in previous
years. Yet, it still remains an
issue fraternities and hosts
must be consciously aware of
when throwing a party.
“It’s just important to be
upfront about our inclusive
policy,” LSA junior Summer
Stern, “300 Underwater New
Year’s Party” co-host, said.
“It’s important to us that
people feel OK in the house.”
One
LSA
junior,
who
requested
to
remain
anonymous, said they find
Greek Life to be “inherently
sexist.”
They
went
on
to
explain fraternities are free
to
plan
parties;
however,
sororities would be punished
and/or banned if they did the
same.
“In regard to each party,
I think it is no different than
a regular house party or bar
scene, excluding the every-
so-often case of inappropriate
sexual
behavior
that
is
sometimes
reported
and
sometimes not,” they said.
An LSA senior, who is in
Greek
Life,
believes
these
types of written statements
are
“a
step
in
the
right
direction.” The student said
though the statements have
good intentions behind them,
they often fall short of solving
the
issue
of
inappropriate
behavior.
“I
think
ultimately
individuals are going to make
mistakes, whether it be a
simple slip up or purposefully,
and it is always hard to
control people who are not
initiated members of your
organization,”
the
student
said.
“Nobody
can
force
another how to act or speak,
but we can all encourage one
another to make good choices.”
An LSA junior in Greek
Life who requested to remain
anonymous, does not think the
written statements accomplish
much. While the statements
are
meant
to
eliminate
negative behavior, they may
not do enough to stop the issue
from happening.
“Despite the disclaimer, it
does not ensure that people
don’t show up to the party
degrading
a
racial/ethnic
group,”
this
student
said.
“However, I believe it is a good
effort from the frat and shows
a good intention that they are
putting the disclaimer out
there.”
Nevertheless,
the
issue
of
cultural
appropriation
across the campus, to some,
is growing. The University
recently
created
a
new
position:
a
“bias
incident
prevention
and
response
coordinator.”
“The core work of the
Dean
of
Students
Office
includes promoting a safe,
respectful,
healthy,
and
inclusive campus community,
enhancing students’ Michigan
experience, providing support
services
and
managing
critical incidents impacting
students
and
the
campus
community, and recognizing
and responding to emerging
needs
within
the
student
population,”
the
University
of Michigan’s website stated,
according to the article.
The Daily reached out to
multiple
official
chapters
on campus, who in return
declined to comment.
sell political gear was purely a
business experiment, based on
current nationwide cultural
trends.
“It’s
just
something
we
were kind of messing around
with on Amazon,” Narayan
said. “We’re not making a
political statement in any way.
… It’s just what’s out there in
Americana. Like, there are cat
T-shirts, too. Sometimes we
just try to follow some of those
trends.”
As a custom shirt company,
Narayan said giving customers
ways to express themselves
is their primary goal, and
wearing political merchandise
is an important way to do
that for people of all political
parties. Furthermore, Narayan
added the company initially
felt it was important to create
merchandise for both sides
of the aisle to stay politically
neutral.
“Ultimately, our customers
are just expressing their ideas
and opinions,” he said. “We do
sell a variety of different types
of shirts on Amazon and other
platforms … but our position
is that we’re going to help our
customers express themselves
and we should always take
a neutral standpoint so that
we’re helping our customers
express whatever their ideas
are.”
However,
this
August,
Underground Printing decided
to halt its sales of political
clothing for the time being.
While there was no outright
backlash to its merchandise,
Narayan said the company
worried it would make some
customers feel uncomfortable
coming to UGP with their
apparel orders.
“There hasn’t been (any
backlash),” he said. “We have
decided due to recent events
that we feel like the best
way to remain nonpartisan
is to remove ourselves from
any kind of political shirt on
Amazon. For us, it’s super
important that someone who
is
conservative
or
liberal,
Republican or Democrat, to
feel comfortable coming to us
and printing their shirt.”
Narayan
emphasized
Underground
Printing
does
not tolerate apparel orders that
promote hate or violence, but it
also wants to protect the role
clothing plays in freedom of
expression.
“So as long as it fits within
our content requirements, we
feel like it’s not our position
to make commentary on what
someone is saying, and we
felt like with the emotion
tied around it, we felt like the
best way to handle it was to
step away from that arena,”
Narayan said.
Members of the University
community
felt
mostly
ambivalent about Underground
Printing’s foray into political
merchandise.
LSA
senior
Enrique Zalamea, president of
University’s chapter of College
Republicans, applauded UGP’s
business acumen in all parts of
the experiment.
“Kudos to them for taking
the opportunity to make some
more money and expand into
more markets,” Zalamea said.
“(But the fact that they’ve
stopped selling the shirts)
doesn’t come as a surprise
given that a good business
would stop selling irrelevant
merchandise … the elections
were a year ago, I don’t think
many people would buy Hillary
or Trump campaign shirts
anymore.”
Public Policy senior Rowan
Conybeare,
chair
of
the
University’s chapter of College
Democrats,
agreed
with
Zalamea
that
Underground
Printing was just making a
good
business
decision
by
moving
into
the
political
sphere. She said she feels
the whole process is pretty
noncontroversial.
“I don’t think that it sends
that strong of a message,”
Conybeare said. “If they were
selling both Democrat and
Republican gear and they only
pulled one of them, that would
have sent a stronger message.
This is just showing they
don’t want to get involved in
politics.”
When asked if Underground
Printing would ever venture
into the world of political
merchandise again, Narayan
said the company wouldn’t
cross it off the list, but he
doesn’t see it returning to it
any time soon.
“I don’t want to say no, we’d
never sell it again, but I think
that right now we feel like it’s
not a good area to be in if you’re
trying to stay nonpartisan,”
Narayan said. “It’s easy to
seem like you’re supporting
one or the other.”
which, for me at least, seems
like a small sacrifice to make
throughout our daily lives.”
The
2016
annual
report
from the University’s Planet
Blue stated that, compared
to 2006 levels, the University
has reduced greenhouse gas
emissions by 5 percent and has
achieved a 10-percent reduction
in
energy
consumption
in
general fund buildings. Faber,
however, believes more can be
done.
Faber
suggested
implementing
a
power
purchase agreement, otherwise
known as a PPA. A PPA is a
contract between a producer of
energy and a buyer. Faber cited
Michigan
State
University’s
current PPA, which provides
5 percent of its electricity
through solar power and could
save the university $10 million
over the next 25 years.
“Our society must shift to
using primarily clean energy
for
a
myriad
of
reasons,
including but not limited to
economic
competitiveness,
national
security,
grid
reliability
and
resiliency,
reduction of pollution, fuel
independence and mitigation of
climate change,” Faber said. “I
firmly believe that UM has the
power to be a leader in ending
the fossil fuel era and to claim
all of the benefits from doing
so.”
Toweh shared the future
achievements he would like
to see due to the impact of the
solar-powered pavilions.
“I’d like to see more rooftop
solar panels,” Toweh said. “I’d
like to see more buildings, like
the libraries, dorms or Angell
Hall to have these.”
Kang said she believed it is
important to emphasize clean
energy practices within the
University.
“Having a platform to speak
out from is always a blessing
to have, and the University has
an extremely large platform
itself,” Kang said. “Distributing
these ideas through a well-
known name will help to
spread the lifestyle and attain
the ultimate goal of a better
earth.”
The
two
pavilions
will
provide students with a new
space to study and relax, while
providing an easy, clean way to
power their devices.
When asked whether she
planned on using the pavilions,
Kang responded confidently:
“I think it goes without a
doubt that I would.”
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Thursday, September 7, 2017 — 3
SOLAR
From Page 1
PRINTING
From Page 1
aircraft. The M-Air facility
will technically be considered
indoors, therefore test flights
taking place within it do not
require any such approval.
“The FAA regulations don’t
guarantee
safety.
They’re
intended
for
responsible,
experienced
pilots,
and
on
more tested systems,” Atkins
said.
“Our
students
aren’t
experienced
pilots.
They,
and our faculty members, are
building new hardware that’s
not necessarily going to work
the first, second, third or even
the fourth time.”
And mere yards away, the
University and Ford Motor
Company will be partnering
to
begin
construction
of
the $75 million, four-story,
140,000-square-foot
Ford
Motor
Company
Robotics
Building later this fall, which
will house a three-story, indoor
drone “fly zone” with a more
interactive environment than
M-Air.
Together with Mcity, the
expansive,
state-of-the-art
autonomous
vehicle-testing
facility just down the road,
the
Marine
Hydrodynamics
Lab, M-Air and the Ford Motor
Company
Robotics
Building
will
provide
students
and
faculty unfettered access to
the full spectrum of robotics
testing.
Alec Gallimore, the Robert
J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering,
said the addition gave the
University
unique
national
standing in engineering.
“When
M-Air
opens,
Michigan Engineering will be
the only engineering school in
the country — perhaps in the
world — with access to cutting-
edge robotic test facilities for
air, sea and land,” he said. “This
is a key piece in our long-term
plan to give our faculty and
students best-in-class resources
as they work to solve society’s
greatest challenges and most
exciting opportunities.”
Atkins said the possibilities
for the facility are endless.
“We have a need for a safe
flight area to try out anything
students want to fly in a way
that doesn’t place at risk people,
other aircraft, cars, et cetera,
so having this netted facility
allows that to happen, whether
it’s a freshman bringing a
gadget with them from home
and they want to try it out, or
whether it’s a student team or
a class or a Ph.D. student trying
to do some elaborate research,”
she said.
She added it won’t be just
for students and faculty to use
–– the College of Engineering
is hoping to use the facility
to host outreach events for
the community, from races
to design contests, “or just
supporting
robotics
in
the
community in general.”
TESTING
From Page 1
HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily
CSG President Anushka Sarkar discusses reactions to acts of racial discrimination on campus at the first CSG meet-
ing in the Union on Tuesday.
PARTIES
From Page 2
RE ACT
EXAMS
From Page 1
It can be very
difficult when
finals for various
classes overlap
We were deeply
disappointed
to learn that
members of
a university
fraternity had
planned an
offensive themed
party
It is the privilege
that led this frat
to think that this
was remotely okay
that needs to be
analyzed. White
people need to be
cognizant of their
identity