On an illuminated stage in the
auditorium of the University of
Michigan Museum of Art, the
stories of people affected by HIV
were presented in forms ranging
from dances and slam poetry to
statistics and HIV testing site
information at the annual HIV
Monologues presented by the
University of Michigan’s chapters
of National Council of Negro
Women and the Black Student
Union this weekend.
LSA
senior
Margarett
McBride, president of the council,
said the event aimed to increase
awareness about HIV.
“There was a lot of talk about
HIV in the past when Magic
Johnson came out having it, but
since then, it is not as big of a
topic,” McBride said. “We want
to start conversations about what
to do when your partner has HIV,
and how to talk about being safe.”
LSA
junior
Taylor
Moore
said she came to the event in
part because she is currently
taking a class on HIV and AIDS
through the American Culture
Department.
“I
knew
most
of
the
information presented here, but
I came because I still believe in
the message,” she said. “A lot
of people don’t view HIV as a
problem in the United States, and
I believe that is due to the lack of
education, especially in the Black
In light of the ongoing conflicts
of racial profiling and police
brutality, a five-person panel
titled “Minorities, Social Justice
and Police Enforcement: An Open
Discussion” was held Friday,
encouraging civil discourse on
campus.
Topics
of
racial
injustice,
student activism and minority
underrepresentation
were
present during the conversation,
moderated by Freyja Harris, chief
diversity and inclusion officer of
the School of Music, Theatre &
Dance. The panel highlighted the
school’s production of “Blood at
the Root,” which tells the story
of the Jena Six — six Black high
school students in Louisiana
charged with attempted murder
of a white classmate. The play’s
timeliness with regard to recent
incidents of racism occurring on
campus led to a discussion during
the panel.
Theatre & Drama assistant
professor
Jose
Casas,
the
multicultural
and
diversity
director for the American Alliance
for
Theatre
and
Education,
emphasized the importance of
using art to incite activism in its
audience.
“It’s the hope that these type
of plays, and more of these types
of plays, can actually have people
going home and thinking, and
possibility stimulating, some sort
of action on a personal and even
community level,” Casas said.
Panelist
Bryant
Purvis,
a
member of the Jena Six, praised
the Theatre & Drama Department
for its portrayal of the experiences
he and the other Black students
faced. On the other hand, Purvis
stressed the importance of being
proactive in facing injustice and
not sitting back when a problem
isn’t personal.
“We can’t wait until this
happens to our brothers, sons
and fathers to respond,” Purvis
said. “We must have those
conversations, we must educate
ourselves … I saw firsthand what
we can do once we unite.”
LSA senior Anushka Sarkar,
Central
Student
Government
president,
acknowledged
the
current
tensions
on
campus
regarding
race,
and
later
answered questions from the
audience on next steps to ensure
safety and inclusion within the
student population. Sarkar noted
the impact of social media on
police brutality and the harmful
intersection between sharing the
facts of an issue and spreading
false information.
“It’s very, very difficult to
share objective and accurate
information on social media,
and to prevent wildfires of false
information
from
spreading,”
Sarkar said.
These issues stem from a
After 35 years in Congress,
U.S.
Rep.
Sander
Levin,
D-Royal Oak, will find a new
home at the University of
Michigan’s Ford School of
Public Policy.
Levin
announced
in
an
op-ed he will not be seeking
re-election to a 19th term, and
instead told the Detroit Free
Press he will start writing and
teaching at the Public Policy
School.
“They want me to talk to the
students at the school about
leadership, because they say
they teach and teach all these
courses and want to really have
students talk further about
how
they
implement
what
they’ve learned,” Levin said.
Levin said he loved his
career in public service, but
felt it was time to give someone
else a chance. He said he counts
defeating
the
privatization
of Social Security, helping
pass Affordable Care Act and
protecting the auto industry
during the recession as some of
his greatest victories.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, December 4, 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. 41
©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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B
See MONOLOGUES, Page 3A
NIKHIL BRUEGGEMANN/Daily
Members of the Lecturers’ Employee Organization lead a demonstration for higher pay and more bargaining rights outside Palmer Commons Friday.
CAMPUS LIFE
On Friday about 50 University
of Michigan community members,
many of whom were members
of
the
Lecturers’
Employee
Organization, gathered at Palmer
Commons to rally against the
administration’s considerationof
white
supremacist
Richard
Spencer’s request to speak on
campus.
The
event
brought
together members of LEO who
were fighting for their rights as
workers and in opposition to the
Spencer event.
LEO includes lecturers from
all three University campuses:
Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint.
Founded in 2003, the union
bargains for 1,500 lecturers.
Also
in
attendance
were
members of other local unions
and representatives from student
organizations such as Radfun
and Young Democratic Socialists
of America. Washtenaw County
Commissioner Michelle Deatrick
and state Rep. Yousef Rabhi,
D-Ann Arbor, attended as well.
The rally took place after LEO’s
fourth bargaining session with the
administration in recent weeks
to obtain enhanced job security,
higher
wages
and
improved
benefits. At the rally, members
called for such demands.
LSA senior Justin Villanueva
is a husband and a father, as
well as an undergraduate at the
See LEVIN, Page 3A
GOVERNMENT
CEREN DAG/Daily
Husam Jubran and Yuval Ben-Ami talk about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in Rackham Friday.
Breaking out
Freshman guard Jordan
Poole scored a career-high 19
points to lead Michigan to a
69-55 win, and he stated his
case for a permanent spot in
the rotation in the process.
» Page 1B
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
See RALLY, Page 3A
Each week, The Michigan Daily
will be publishing a wrap-up of the
most important bills proposed in
Michigan Legislature over the past
seven days:
HB 5286-5294 and SB 674-
682: These bills, proposed by
House and Senate Democrats,
would provide more oversight and
accountability for charter schools
and the organizations that run
them. The bills aim to give parents
the information necessary to make
informed decisions on education
options and where their children
can go to school.
In a press release on the
Michigan
House
Democrats
website, House Democratic Floor
Leader
Rep.
Christine
Greig,
D-Farmington
Hills,
said
the
bills are necessary to hold schools
accountable and inform parents.
“When we send our kids off to
school in the morning, we want to
know that they’re getting the best
education possible — no matter
which school they go to,” she said.
“While we have rules in place to
hold traditional and charter schools
accountable, we have no systems
See WRAP-UP, Page 3A
See DIALOGUE, Page 3A
GOVERNMENT
Rep. Levin
to retire,
join the
‘U’ faculty
U.S. Rep. Sander Levin
will not seek reelection, will
join Ford faculty instead
CARLY RYAN
Daily Staff Reporter
Speakers provide firsthand perspective
on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Students arranged a dialogue between Palestinian and Israeli residents
MAEVE O’BRIEN
For the Daily
Weekly MI
state house
legislative
wrap-up
Bills addressing oversight
and accountability in
charter schools introduced
COLIN BERESFORD
Daily Staff Reporter
Monologues
aims to raise
awareness
about HIV
LEO members rally for workers’
rights, in opposition to Spencer
Monologues dispelled myths about illness
through performances, poetry, dance
CATHERINE NOUHAN
For the Daily
50 members of the Lecturers’ Employee Organization protested against white supremacist
LEAH GRAHAM
Daily Staff Reporter