When 
Elizabeth 
James, 

program 
associate 
for 
the 

Department 
of 
Afroamerican 

and African Studies, attended 
the University of Michigan for 
her undergraduate degree in the 
1970s, she experienced an act of 
racism that seemed unthinkable 
to her: Someone vandalized her 
dorm room door with a racial slur.

“We had someone scrawl on 

our door when we first moved into 
our dormitory, and at that time 
it was just unbelievable,” James 
said. “We were really hurt.”

When nearly the same thing 

happened in West Quad Residence 
Hall this semester, James felt as if 
she were transported back to the 
’70s. 

“Some of the things just trigger 

me, in that they are very similar,” 
she said.

Since the semester started, 

more than 20 acts of explicit 
racism or bigotry have occurred 
on or near campus. Aside from 
the racist graffiti scrawled on 
a West Quad dorm room, racist 
posters have been found in 
several campus locations, a man 
defiled a “Black Lives Matter” 
chalk drawing on the Diag and 
anti-Latino 
sentiments 
were 

painted on the Rock.

James, who is also the faculty 

adviser for the University’s Black 
Student 
Union 
and 
National 

Council 
of 
Negro 
Women, 

said she was able to cope with 
racism while in school by finding 
comfort and support in her peers 
and friends. But James posited: 
How are today’s events affecting 
the mental health of targeted 
students? 

“A lot of students are tired,” 

James said. “A lot of students 
want results.”

When racism hits, it can 

negatively 
affect 
the 
mental 

health of students of color. 
Counseling and Psychological 
Services 
psychologist 
Sheryl 

Kelly said there are two typical 

reactions to experiencing racism, 
and both take a toll on a student’s 
health.

“It 
varies, 
depending 
on 

individuals,” Kelly said. “You 
have some people that have dealt 
with it for so long that they’re 
kind of saying, ‘Unfortunately, 
I’ve seen this before and some 
students that feel hopeless and 
helpless to finding a remedy 
to this situation. And I believe 
that latter one seems to be very 
prevalent on this campus. I think 
a lot of students are tired. A lot of 
students want results.”

Ebony McGee, a professor of 

diversity and urban schooling 
at Vanderbilt University, told 
Vanderbilt’s research blog her 

research proves these harmful 
effects are pervasive.

“Weathering the cumulative 

effects of living in a society 
characterized 
by 
white 

dominance and privilege produces 
a kind of physical and mental 
wear-and-tear that contributes 
to a host of psychological and 
physical 
ailments,” 
McGee 

said. 
“We 
have 
documented 

alarming occurrences of anxiety, 
stress, depression and thoughts 
of suicide, as well as a host of 
physical ailments like hair loss, 
diabetes and heart disease.”

Research on this topic has 

also been done at the University. 
A study from David Williams, 
a 
professor 
of 
sociology 

and 
epidemiology, 
further 

explains the link by analyzing 
several reports that discussed 
the 
connection 
between 

discrimination and mental health 
of LGBTQ individuals, Latinos, 
immigrant populations and Black 
people. All reports showed an 
increase in discrimination led to 
a decrease in mental health.

“(P)erceptions 
of 
racial 

discrimination were related to 
higher levels of psychological 
distress and lower levels of life 
satisfaction and happiness as 
well as with poorer physical 
health,” Williams’s report reads. 
“Everyday discrimination was 
significantly 
related 
to 
both 

measures 
of 
mental 
health 

status, independent of traditional 
measures of life events, chronic 
stress, and financial stress.”

“It’s very easy to think in 

this sort of cloud of nothing 
matters” 

Minority 
students 
at 
the 

University understand this data 
firsthand. Some say they live it 
every day on campus.

LSA senior Akanksha Sahay is 

the president of Yoni Ki Baat, an 
organization of women of color 
on campus. In the weeks after 
last fall’s presidential election, 
she was afraid to walk around 
campus in her own skin.

“Muslim women were being 

attacked or assaulted,” Sahay 
said. “I don’t identify as Muslim, 
but because I have such visibly 
brown skin, I’ve been mistaken as 
Muslim in the past … being visibly 
brown felt like an invitation for 
some kind of violence.” 

Although 
the 
majority 
of 

hate crimes on campus this 
semester 
have 
targeted 
the 

Black community, which Sahay 
also does not identify with, she 
said it’s impossible to stand 
by as a minority when other 
groups are being attacked. As 
a campus activist, she has been 
involved in the protests of the 
past month. She also struggles 
with depression, which she said 
makes dealing with these events 
so much more difficult.

“Obviously, there are some 

days where you just can’t get out 
of bed and that’s a part of being 
depressed, but when there are 
events like this on campus, it just 
seems like even more of a reason 
to not bother trying,” Sahay said. 
“It’s very easy to think in this sort 
of cloud of nothing matters and 
it’s easier to not feel anything 
than to feel upset all the time 
... (the campus climate) effects 
whether or not a day can go from 
‘I can deal with these things 
because I know there are people 
on campus who have my back’ to 
‘I need to stay at home because 
I can’t deal with anything right 
now.’” 

LSA junior Timberlee Whiteus 

has also been active in the 
protests on campus. She said in 
an email interview, as a Black 
woman, the events of the past 
month have been disturbing 
but not surprising. After all, 
she’d experienced racism at the 
University before, in a chemistry 
classroom.

“I was once in a Chem lab and 

I had a partner who requested to 
change partners and would not 
work with me,” Whiteus wrote. 
“She went out of her way each lab 
to work with another group, in 
which I was forced to work alone 

The 
Women’s 
Studies 

Department at the University 
of Michigan was founded in 
1973 with the aim of combining 
elements of medicine, health 
and law, as well as disciplines 
from the humanities and social 
sciences. It offers two majors, 
three 
minors 
and 
several 

graduate opportunities.

Though the department has 

expanded, in terms of size and 
course content, students and 
faculty agree people who are 
not in the field may have certain 
misconceptions about its nature 
— specifically that is anti-men 
and not lucrative in the future. 
In reality, the department’s 
mission is to provide a holistic 
education, 
discussing 
the 

intersection of gender with a 
range of other fields from arts 
education to neurology.

Interdisciplinary education is 

central to the department, along 
with an emphasis on feminist 
theory.

Rosario Ceballo, the Women’s 

Studies 
Department 
chair, 

believes the interdisciplinary 
aspects 
of 
the 
department 

is 
“incredibly 
intellectually 

exciting,” but also very relevant 
and important to the world 
today. She said employers look 
for new employees who are able 
to think broadly across fields.

“If you look at the social 

problems in our world today, we 
cannot attempt to solve them 

with one approach, or from one 
particular set of expertise or 
knowledge base,” she said. “To 
really be able to have an impact 
in society you need to be able to 
come at social problems from 
different perspectives and have 
different things in your toolkit.”

This is a view also held by 

Victor Mendoza, an associate 
professor 
and 
the 
director 

of 
undergraduate 
studies 

in 
women’s 
studies, 
who 

highlighted the curriculum’s 
emphasis on interdisciplinary 
and 
cross-cultural 

understanding 
in 
an 
email 

interview.

“And 
by 
interdisciplinary, 

I mean something of a radical 
interdisciplinary, in that our 
faculty 
include 
historians, 

literary 
studies 
scholars, 

legal scholars, psychologists, 
nurses, 
political 
scientists, 

midwives, poets, digital studies 

scholars, performance artists, 
anthropologists and physicians,” 
he wrote. “The various fields 
of inquiry represented by such 
a disciplinarily varied faculty 
— not to mention the various 
geographical sites they work on 
across the globe — speak to the 
richness of feminist scholarship 
that the curriculum offers.”

Majors, minors and course 

themes

In partnership with the Ross 

School of Business, University 
of Michigan students in the 
College of Pharmacy can now 
receive a dual doctorate of 
Pharmacy and an MBA degree 
in five years. Courses for the 
new 
dual 
degree 
program 

begin in the spring/summer 
2018 semester, but students 
can apply for the program now.

According to the College of 

Pharmacy, 54.4 percent of the 
2017 graduating class is on a 
residency program career path. 
For many students, a future in 
clinical work lies ahead, but 
some seek a broader education 
spectrum to bring the world 
of drugs into modern business 
fields.

The new dual doctorate of 

Pharmacy and MBA consists 
of completing three years of a 
normal pharmacy education. 
As part of the new program, 
instead of continuing on the 
typical pharmacy path of one 
more year of rotations before 
graduation, 
the 
new 
dual 

degree supplements this fourth 

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, October 13, 2017

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail 
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 10
©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

CROS SWO R D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

See PHARMACY, Page 3

Ross and 
Pharmacy 
offer new 
dual degree

ACADEMICS

The new partnership 
between the two colleges 
offers a PharmD and MBA

MATT HARMON
Daily Staff Reporter

The Women's Studies department has 30 budgeted faculty 

members and over 50 faculty with courtesy appointments 

U of M Women’s Studies

women’s studies 
majors

“And by interdisciplinary, I mean something of a radical interdisciplinarity, in that 
our faculty include historians, literary studies scholars, legal scholars, psycholo-
gists, nurses, political scientists, midwives, poets, digital studies scholars, 
performance artists, anthropologists, and physicians. The various fields of inquiry 
represented by such a disciplinarily varied faculty — not to mention the various 
geographical sites they work on across the globe — speak to the richness of 
feminist scholarship that the curriculum offers.”

72
gender and 
health majors
65

gender and health minors, 
largest minor program of the 3

- Victor Mendoza, associate Women’s Studies professor

*Facts as of Wednesday, these numbers change daily. 
113

DESIGN BY MICHELLE PHILLIPS

Women’s studies faculty, students 
discuss themes and misconceptions

The department has expanded significantly since its introduction in 1973

JENNIFER MEER
Daily Staff Reporter

michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit

See DEPARTMENT, Page 3

In order to better serve 

the needs of first-generation 
students 
on 
campus, 
the 

University of Michigan has 
opened the First-Generation 
Student Gateway — a study 
lounge, 
meeting 
area 
and 

information hub concentrated 
into one cohesive space.

The University defines first-

generation students as those 
who self-identify as not having 
prior knowledge of or exposure 
to 
how 
to 
succeed 
while 

attending institutes of higher 
learning. These students may 
need additional educational 
input to get to the same level 
of background knowledge as 
their peers.

Located 
in 
the 
Student 

Activities Building, the space 
serves as an access point 
for 
several 
other 
student 

offices including the Office 
of New Student Programs, 
Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs 
and the Office of Academic 
Multicultural Initiatives.

The space also houses the 

office 
of 
First-Generation 

See GATEWAY, Page 3

New space 
dedicated 
to first-gen 
students 

ADMINISTRATION

The First-Generation 
Student Gateway is a 
study lounge and hub

KAELA THEUT
Daily Staff Reporter

Frequent bias incidents affect 
campus mental health, experts say 

DESIGN BY JACK SILBERMAN

Staff, students reflect on the impacts racism has on academic performance, well-being

MAYA GOLDMAN

Daily Staff Reporter

See MENTAL HEALTH, Page 3

