If all had gone to plan on
Thursday
morning,
student
employees of the University
Unions would be sitting in the
Board of Regents meeting room
in protest of white nationalist
Richard Spencer’s potentially
speaking on campus. After
a
meeting
with
Unions
administrators
earlier
this
week, the employees shifted
their efforts to public spaces to
avoid risk of termination.
As the board convenes two
weeks after the University
agreed to negotiate Spencer’s
presence,
and
as
students
across campus continue to
protest threats to their safety,
questions still swirl around the
roles of — and accommodations
for — student workers who
might be asked to facilitate his
appearance.
LSA senior Zoe Proegler,
Michigan
League
building
manager,
was
central
to
the planning of the original
nightlong sit-in. She believes
any event featuring Spencer
and his racist, often violent
rhetoric cannot be held safely
on campus. Protesters goaded
by Spencer at rallies this
year have left injuries and, in
Charlottesville, Va., death, in
their wake.
Proegler
said
student
workers
setting
up
and
The University of Michigan
College of Engineering and
Qualcomm
Incorporated
have partnered to form the
Qualcomm Thinkabit Lab, an
interactive workshop for high
school students to learn about
STEM careers and experience a
hands-on learning experience.
Thinkabit officially opened
its doors last Thursday in the
Detroit area.
While dialogue between the
Qualcomm and the College of
Engineering has existed in the
past regarding other projects,
the Thinkabit Lab has been
the first to materialize.
The Michigan Engineering
Zone was elected as a now-
shared
location
for
the
Thinkabit Lab, continuing its
work as the rendezvous for
various Detroit high schools’
FIRST Robotics teams, which
take place after the regular
school day. Zone Director
Julian
Pate
believes
the
integration of the Thinkabit
Lab in the Zone will inspire
potential programs for high
school students.
“The Michigan Engineering
Zone was opened nine years
ago; the objective was to
offer
year-round
activities
to engage the students in the
city of Detroit,” Pate said.
“That has been accomplished
partly with the nine years of
the high school program. The
Thinkabit Lab provides the
opportunity to do that down
the grade ladder, across the
entire school year.”
Engineering
graduate
student Wayne Lester has
been involved with the MEZ
since he was a student at
Cass Tech High School in
Detroit. He now works with
the organization as a FIRST
Robotics mentor, and echoes
Pate’s enthusiasm about the
partnership with Thinkabit.
“I’ve seen a lot of students
come in and out learning a lot
about STEM fields and just
getting a good opportunity to
be exposed to the field,” Lester
said. “With the Thinkabit Lab,
it definitely just expands on the
mission of the MEZ. It’s really
to be a collaborative space
and really engage students
in STEM fields, and with the
Thinkabit Lab it’s the perfect
opportunity for… giving more
students the opportunity to
navigate the STEM field and
really be educated on what it
is.”
The
Thinkabit
Lab
functions much like a school
field
trip
for
the
middle
school students. It is split
into two halves: the first of
which focuses on engaging
students,
with
experiences
When
the
University
of
Michigan
started
teaching
Chinese and Japanese in the
summer of 1936, the Asian
Languages
and
Cultures
Department didn’t exist.
As World War II approached,
these classes became much
more
pertinent,
and
the
Department of Far Eastern
Languages
and
Literatures
was created. The program
grew rapidly, and in 1985, it
was renamed the Department
of
Asian
Languages
and
Cultures. Now, the department
offers 11 languages that qualify
for an Asian languages and
cultures minor, and two more
— Bengali and Punjabi — that
students can take for a two-
year sequence.
The department continues
to grow and attract student
attention,
and
the
Asian
languages and cultures minor
is currently ranked as the
seventh-most-declared minor
in LSA. But though over 100
students graduate with the
minor each year, some of them,
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, December 7, 2017
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 44
©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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Unions staff
find admin.
reluctant to
talk Spencer
A Neo-Nazi college tour:
How other schools dealt with Spencer
See UNIONS, Page 3A
DESIGN BY CASEY TIN
CAMPUS LIFE
Student employees blast consequences
if asked to facilitate his appearance
RIYAH BASHA
Daily News Editor
Some universities remain in legal battles with him, while others mitigate the aftermath
The “college tour” of Neo-Nazi
and white supremacist Richard
Spencer will possibly include a
stop at the University of Michigan,
eliciting outraged reactions from
students, faculty and staff from
both sides of the political sphere.
Conservative
speakers
have
regularly
been
using
college campuses this year as
platforms
through
which
to
put forth their agendas. From
Milo Yiannopoulos in Berkeley,
Calif., to Charles Murray at the
University earlier this semester,
students and administration have
been in conflict over whether
these controversial figures should
be allowed to speak on campus.
With Spencer, who is banned
from several European countries,
there is the fear of violence to
follow him.
This article is part three of
a series in which The Daily
looks at universities similar to
the University of Michigan on
the issue of reacting in a tense
campus climate. As the university
administration
and
students
face their own numerous bias
incidents, The Daily will look
JENNIFER MEER &
NISA KHAN
Daily Staff Reporter &
Daily News Editor
See LANGUAGE, Page 3A
Language
minors ask
if program
is equitable
ACADEMICS
Asian Languages and
Culture dept. comes under
scrutiny for blanket degree
MAYA GOLDMAN
Daily Staff Reporter
COURTESY OF HALEY HART
High school students learn at the Qualcomm Thinkabit Lab, an interactive workshop for high school students inter-
ested in STEM careers, in Detroit.
College of Engineering launches STEM
laboratory for Detroit high schoolers
Michigan Engineering Zone will serve as shared learning site for 3,000 students
KATHERINA SOURINE
Daily Staff Reporter
B-Side: Architecture
In this week’s B-Side, Daily
Arts takes a look at the
fascinating intersection of
art and architecture
» Page 1B
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
See STEM, Page 3A
See SPENCER, Page 3A
Earlier this week, Ann Arbor
City Council introduced its
2018 deer management plan
to the public. The city aims
to eliminate up to 250 deer
from Jan. 8 to Jan. 31 in the
third year of its four-year deer
management program. This is
a large increase from winter
2017, when the city aimed to
eliminate up to 100 deer.
Furthermore, the plan states
that up to 26 deer will be
nonlethally sterilized between
Jan. 2 and 7. Last year they
planned to sterilize up to 60
deer and sterilized 54.
The program began out of
resident complaints about deer
harming their properties.
Like last year, the lethal
portion of the plan will be
carried out by sharpshooters
through the city’s contractor,
White Buffalo Inc. It will
comply with the Michigan
Department
of
Natural
Resources
research
permit.
During the elimination, select
public
parks
and
private
properties will be closed from
See CULL, Page 2A
A2 Council
introduces
2018 deer
cull plan
ANN ARBOR
250 deer will be shot,
up to 60 sterilized this
January, some on ‘U’ land
ZOE BAXTER
For the Daily