In light of racist comments 

written on Black students’ 
doors this past weekend in 
West Quad, many students 
are unhappy with University 
President 
Mark 
Schlissel’s 

apparent silence. 

Though Schlissel tweeted 

a response Sunday evening to 
the writings — where students 
found “N-----” written on 
their dorm door name tags 
— Schlissel has since not 
spoken outwardly about the 
racism and any action the 
University would plan to take 
with regard to these types 
of incidents. Aside from the 

Division of Public Safety and 
Security investigation into 
the incident, there have not 
been any other administrative 
responses.

LSA senior Isaiah Land, 

president of the University 
of Michigan branch of the 
National Association for the 
Advancement 
of 
Colored 

People, 
acknowledged 
the 

conflicts that Schlissel may be 
facing with regard to making 
a statement, but stressed the 
fact the Black community 
deserves the same amount of 
support and attention as any 
other group on campus.

“I’m 
just 
really 

disappointed,” Land said. “I 
know that he’s handling a lot 

The positive impact of the 

Blavin Scholars Program is 
unquestionable to donors Paul 
and Amy Blavin. Stepping 
back from the support it 
provides for 37 students who 
have experienced foster care 
in their life, they see a broader 
goal. 

“It’s the American dream 

personified,” Paul Blavin said. 

When 
the 
Blavins 

introduced 
the 
program, 

they said they were met 
with uncertainty. Still, since 
2009, the Blavin Scholars 
Program has strived to create 
a stress-free community in 
which students can have a 
“normal college experience.” 
In addition to financial aid of 
up to $5,000, Blavin scholars 
receive 
campus 
coaches, 

educational 
programming 

and options for year-round 
housing, 
including 
during 

holidays and breaks.

BSP 
Director 
Miriam 

Connolly said the program 
intentionally 
grants 
their 

scholars’ requests to remain 
invisible. She stressed how 
important the prospect of 
anonymity is.

“This 
is 
what 
we 
call 

an 
invisible 
population,” 

Connolly said. “Some want to 
remain invisible because they 
just want a normal college life. 
I feel like it’s really critical for 
the student to feel like this is 

their program.”

Housed 
within 
the 

Dean 
of 
Students 
Office 

and 
in 
partnership 
with 

the Department of Health 
and Human Services, the 
program has admitted 54 
students 
and 
currently 

supports 37 students, with 
eight graduating next spring. 
The 
program 
also 
boasts 

a 95 percent retention and 
graduation rate.

After reading Dave Pelzer’s 

novel “A Child Called ‘It,’” 
Blavin said he was inspired 
to begin the program with his 
wife. In the novel, Pelzer tells 
the story of an abused child 
who goes into foster care only 
to face even more challenges 
later in life.

According to the Foster 

Care Alumni of America, only 
3 to 10 percent of individuals 
who have spent time in foster 

care graduate from college, 
and 
more 
than 
425,000 

children in the United States 
are in foster care. The Blavins 
and Connolly aim to change 
the narrative of those who 
experience foster care.

“There aren’t very many 

of these programs around 
the country,” Paul Blavin 
said. 
“Through 
trial 
and 

error, we’ve figured out that 

On Tuesday’s Central Student 

Government 
meeting, 
CSG 

President 
Anushka 
Sarkar, 

an LSA senior, spoke on the 
weekend’s racist incidents in 
West Quad Residence Hall, in 
which three Black students found 
derogatory remarks on their 
dormitory door decorations. She 
confirmed CSG’s responsibility 
in representing those affected by 
such incidents, and expressed her 
disappointment in the weekend’s 
events.

“To be honest with you, I don’t 

know what to say about it. It’s 
incredibly hurtful and frustrating 
for the students who experience 
that 
and 
to 
the 
campus 

community as a whole when we 
see this sort of thing happen and 
you don’t feel like you can do 
anything about it,” she said. “We 
are very passionate about finding 
a way to rework the bias response 
incidents 
program 
that 
the 

University has … this weekend is 
proof that if you don’t step up and 
work on these issues there will be 
no improvement in the way that 
we take on the response process.”

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, September 20, 2017

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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 93
©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

After racist 
writing, no
action from 
‘U’ leaders

Colin Powell speaks on state of 
race relations in the United States

See RESPONSE, Page 3A

HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily

Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell dicusses his own past and his opinions on the future of national security at Hill Auditorium on Tuesday.

STUDENT LIFE

Following racially charged incident, 
students want response from Schlissel

AMARA SHAIKH
Daily Staff Reporter

Also touches upon the importance of tech to a full audience in Hill Auditorium

U.S. 
General 
and 
former 

Secretary 
of 
State 
Colin 

Powell 
was 
greeted 
with 
a 

standing ovation at a packed 
Hill Auditorium on Tuesday 
afternoon. The event, organized 

by the University of Michigan 
College of Engineering, was part 
of the James R. Mellor Lecture in 
conjunction with the Goff Smith 
Prize.

The event was formatted as 

a discussion between Powell 
and Alec Gallimore, dean of the 
College of Engineering, who read 
questions composed from a few 

of the hundreds of questions that 
audience members had submitted 
in 
advance. 
The 
questions 

covered topics such as technology 
and politics and offered advice for 
future generations.

LSA freshman Eve Winter was 

interested in what Powell had to 
say about politics.

“Colin Powell is really well 

known, and I’m really interested 
in politics so I decided to come,” 
she said. “It’s also a really good 
way for me to continue to explore 
the field. This is the second event 
that I’ve gone to, and it’s really 
nice to see students come and get 
involved and I think that more 
students should take advantage 

AMARA SHAIKH
Daily Staff Reporter

Behind the Lie

See CSG, Page 3A

CSG body 
addresses 
West Quad 
racism, Lyft

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

The assembly also 
announced new ride 
program for night safety

JORDYN BAKER
Daily Staff Reporter

DESIGN BY OLIVIA STILLMAN

Blavin Scholars Program provides 
support for students in foster care

Campus coaches, housing and educational programming help ease financial stress

KEVIN BIGLIN
Daily Staff Reporter

Behind the Lie:

“It’s not alcoholism 
until you graduate”
A look at addiction recovery 

services at the University. 

» B-SECTION

michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit

See PROGRAM, Page 3A

See POWELL, Page 2A

In 
Montgomery 
Research 

Group, students are important 
contributors to many diverse 
research projects led by John 
Montgomery, the University of 
Michigan Margaret and Herman 
Sokol Professor in Medicinal 
or Synthetic Chemistry. Some 
of these students include LSA 
juniors Sara Alektiar and Jake 
Wilson, along with Rackham 
student Jessica Stachowski.

Alektiar said one of her 

favorite things about studying 
chemistry, 
which 
directly 

relates to her research, is that 
the concepts are logical and 
applicable.

“It’s nice to be working on 

something where you can see the 
point of it, you can see the direct 
application of it to something 
that is relatable to everyone,” she 
said.

Alektiar explained the lab 

focuses on the science behind 
life, which contributes to a 
number of biological concepts. 

She said the lab also does work 

in 
organometallic 
chemistry, 

the study of compounds that 

See CHEMISTRY, Page 3A

Lab works 
to advance
chemistry
research

RESEARCH

The Montgomery 
Research Group is led by 
Synthetic Chem professor

JENNIFER MEER
Daily Staff Reporter

