Featuring visual art, poetry
and
performances
from
University of Michigan students
and organizations about the
experiences of immigrant and
first-generation students at the
University,
the
Shift
Talent
Showcase drew a crowd of 100
students, faculty and Ann Arbor
community members to the
Pendleton Room of the Michigan
Union Thursday night.
Hosted
by
University
organizations
Redefine,
Call
for Humanity, the Iraqi Student
Association, Refugees To College,
Students Organize for Syria and
Zeta Omega Eta, the showcases
highlighted
performers
and
artists on campus who seek to
express their individual cultures
and create dialogue for social
issues.
Prior to the performances,
attendees
circulated
in
the
back of Pendleton, browsing
photo exhibits and illustrations
by
University
students
and
the Jewish Family Services of
Washtenaw County, a refugee
resettlement organization. The
exhibits
and
performances
displayed themes of cultural
individuality, acceptance in the
United States and combatting
cultural stereotypes.
According
to
LSA
junior
Mariam Reda, a cofounder of
Redefine and organizer of the
event, the idea for Shift was
developed in August and is
Redefine’s first event. She said
the founders wanted to focus on
cross-cultural
communication
and art.
“We thought that, in the
campus climate right now, it’s
really necessary for students of
all different backgrounds and
ethnic groups to come together in
one room with all their creative
talents and be able to discuss one
topic and I feel like, right now,
it’s a really good time to have
something like this happen,”
Reda said. “Through this, we
really just try to promote the
connection
and
congregation
between art and social justice.”
Cultural
exhibitions
from
regions including the Middle
East, Brazil, India, the Bahamas,
Puerto Rico and others were
included in Shift.
The
performance
element
of Shift kicked off with a
demonstration
from
the
University’s Capoeira Club, an
organization on campus that
practices
the
Afro-Brazilian
form of martial arts. Inviting
audience members to perform
and
play
instruments
along
with the organization fostered
community among cultures from
the beginning of the event.
Performances from individual
students and groups followed,
including spoken word poetry,
Earlier
this
month,
the
University of Michigan took first
place in the Adobe Analytics
Challenge. The challenge focuses
on giving college students access
to Adobe’s analytics products
and
data
from
real-world
organizations
and
companies.
This year the groups analyzed
MGM Resorts International, using
data science to compete for the
grand prize of $35,000.
This year’s team, “Adjusted
R Squared,” was comprised of
three Business graduate students:
Rajiv Khattar, Rei Liao and Erica
Kirshensteyn, along with their
academic adviser, Prof. Hyun-Soo
Ahn.
Kirshensteyn said though they
did not know each other before
they got started, they quickly
became a very strong team.
“The
call
for
teams
was
fairly early on in our programs,
so admittedly, our group was
somewhat randomly assembled,”
Kirshensteyn
said.
“However,
our various backgrounds and
perspectives complemented each
other, with Rajiv coming from HR
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, November 17, 2017
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 33
©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
University
team wins
big data
challenge
CAMPUS LIFE
Team from the University
won the Adobe Analytics
Challenge earlier in Nov.
RENATA TERRAZZAN
For the Daily
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor listens to the report of the Human Rights Commission meeting in the
Community Television Network Thursday.
Shift talent show celebrates cultural
individuality through performance
Students feature visual arts and poetry about immigrant and first-gen experiecnce
MATT HARMON
Daily Staff Reporter
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
Eight months after Ann Arbor
City Council approved a $200,000
review of the practices and policies
of the city’s police department
by the Chicago-based security
firm Hillard Heintze LLC, many
residents and City Councilmembers
expected
the
review
would
result in the recommendation
to create a citizen oversight
board. The firm has released its
comprehensive 105-page report on
the department, which includes 67
recommendations. Chief among
those is the recommendation to
create what many residents see
as a watered-down version of an
oversight board –– what Hillard
Heintze is calling a “Co-Produced
Policing Committee”.
Unlike a civilian oversight board,
the CPPC would not have the power
to conduct its own investigations
of complaints against the AAPD
––
instead,
it
would
review
investigations conducted by the
AAPD’s office of internal affairs
and communicate with AAPD
regarding such investigations on
behalf of the community.
At a City Council work session
A2 police
oversight
board faces
criticism
ANN ARBOR
AAPD event drew both
support and opposition
from local community
ANDREW HIYAMA
Daily Staff Reporter
Thursday night, a large,
painted
cube
sat
in
the
Diag and invited passersby
to chalk their answers to
questions such as: “What is a
mystery that can’t be solved?”
The cube, along with hot
chocolate, donuts and glow
sticks were featured for the
reveal of TedxUofM’s 2018
conference
theme:
“Black
Box.”
While the speakers have
yet to be announced, eight
University
of
Michigan
affiliates will present talks in
February, all centered around
the idea of “Black Box.”
Kinesiology
senior
Jackie
Katz,
co-director
of
the
conference, said selecting a
theme was a lengthy process.
“We chose ‘Black Box’ this
year kind of with the idea of
when you know the input and
you know the output, but you
don’t know what’s happening
on the inside,” Katz said. “It’s
like a mystery that needs to be
solved, kind of like unknown.
Also, the black box is a term
for the recording device in
an airplane, so it holds the
secrets.”
TedxUofM aims to select
an
inclusive
theme
that
will work for a variety of
speakers and strive to find a
concept that will excite their
audience. Business sophomore
Neil Desai, attendees lead
co-director,
said
he
was
impressed with the reaction
within the membership to
this year’s selection.
“Black Box is kind of unique
because someone shouted it
out at one of our meetings,
and right away, the immediate
reaction was like ‘ooh, wow,’
and everyone just started
talking,” Desai said. “That’s
the biggest thing, we want
people to be talking about this
theme.”
Engineering senior Umang
Lathia, TedxUofM speaker
coach, said members research
and try to select speakers
TEDx event
announced
to be Black
Box themed
Students reflect on #UMDivest
decision, discuss divided campus
HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily
CSG members vote at the CSG Divestment Resolution meeting in the Modern Languages Building Tuesday.
CAMPUS LIFE
Annual event aims to ask participants
to discuss topics that have not been solved
JULIA FORD
For the Daily
After CSG passes resolution to encourage ‘U’ to divest, students concerned for safety
During
Tuesday
night’s
Central
Student
Government
meeting, which extended into
early Wednesday morning, the
resolution to call for a committee
within
the
University
of
Michigan’s Board of Regents to
investigate and consider divesting
from
companies
allegedly
involved in Palestinian human
rights violations passed for the
first time in the University’s Ann
Arbor campus history. The results
of this vote were met with a wide
range of intense emotions from
students across campus as well as
attendees of the public meeting.
For those in support of the
resolution,
the
announcement
of the final vote — 23 in favor, 17
against and 5 abstained — yielded
hugs and tears of joy followed by
celebration outside the Modern
Languages
Building.
One
member of Students Allied for
Freedom and Equality, the group
that proposed the resolution,
contrasted these tears from those
of disappointment shed in years
past by resolution supporters.
“We see tears after every
resolution for people that want
it to pass because we’re so sad
that it didn’t pass. But the tears
this time, it was tears of joy, tears
of disbelief, and people were
really sobbing because it was
so unprecedented,” the SAFE
member, who asked to remain
anonymous for safety concerns,
explained.
They spoke of one Palestinian
student who, before coming to
the University, was urged by
family members to choose a
different university because of the
marginalization of Palestinian
voices the family had seen on
campus. When the results were
announced, the SAFE member
explained, this student fell to the
ground in astonishment.
LSA
senior
Hafsa
Tout
explained the atmosphere of
the room as the results were
announced. They especially noted
the uncertainty they felt that the
resolution would pass.
“Up to the very moment of
JORDYN BAKER
Daily Staff Reporter
See RESPONSE, Page 3A
See TEDX, Page 3A
See AAPD, Page 3A
See CHALLENGE, Page 3A
See SHOW, Page 3A
REVIEW