As students gear up for the Uni-
versity of Michigan’s Central Student
Government elections on March 21
and 22, The Daily sat down with ex-
ecutive candidates to talk platforms,
vision, and plans. In this installment,
we profile the MomentUM party,
headlined by presidential candidate
AJ Ashman and vice presidential
candidate Charlie Bingham.
Engineering junior AJ Ashman
said his inspiration to run for CSG
President comes from three places:
His mother, those on CSG who have
come before him and an innate
sense of obligation to give back to
others. Furthermore, Ashman em-
phasized the importance of ensur-
ing all students feel welcome at the
University as he did not always feel
that way.
“I have tried to spend every day
on this campus trying to find ways
to give back, and I hope to continue
to do so next year as student body
president,” he said. “To serve and
help move the ball forward, make
life at Michigan a little bit easier
for those who come after me than it
was for me. I say this because while
I love the University of Michigan, it
has not always been easy, I did not
always feel welcome and I know
a lot of students have had and are
having similar experiences. That is
a terrible feeling that no one should
have to experience and so my ser-
vice is dedicated to making sure that
the students here now and those
that come after me do not feel that
way, and that if they do their student
government takes that experience
seriously and works to improve it.”
Ashman chose to describe his
leadership style using the words
“forthright, purpose-driven and
steadfast.”
In a similar vein, LSA junior
Charlie Bingham explained how
the philosophical framework of
“self-transcendence” fueled his de-
cision to run as vice president on
Ashman’s campaign. Rather than
focusing solely on winning, Bing-
ham said he hopes to foster a sense
of community, raise awareness for
important issues and create positive
change on campus to last long after
his time.
He described his leadership style
as, “principled, but open-minded.”
“From my time as youth gov-
ernor of Michigan to my current
term as a CSG representative, there
has always been a sense of urgency
for me to involve myself in fight-
ing for the greater good,” he said.
“Running with AJ aligns with this
sense of urgency. I believe in this
campaign because it is more than
just a campaign; it is a philosophical
framework, one that says we refuse
to regress, retreat or even stand still,
and that we want everyone to keep
moving forward. Running is about
more than the competition and the
quest for winning the most votes;
it’s about bolstering community,
creating awareness, enacting posi-
tive changes, and making it easier
for those who come after you. Run-
ning is an investment in the Uni-
versity, one that, if successful, will
allow us to leave behind a legacy of
service and progress.”
Ashman broke his party’s plat-
form down into four major com-
ponents revolving around health,
academic affairs, student life and
government relations as these is-
sues affect every student on cam-
pus, and provide a tangible sphere
in which the party can make ef-
fective changes regarding the way
students engage with the University
community.
“The first that comes to mind is
housing affordability. This is an is-
sue that affects all students, but es-
pecially minority students on our
campus because Ann Arbor is the
8th most segregated mid-sized city
in the country,” he said. “That af-
fects the most basic ways in which
students engage with this Uni-
versity and the community
here. In CSG, we have a chance
to really stand up for students
on housing and tackle issues
like zoning and changing the
height limit for downtown, in-
creasing the waiting period for
asking tenants to resign, and
bringing back the Ann Arbor
Tenants’ Union to provide re-
sources for students involved
in disputes with their landlord.”
He further discussed the
importance of making educa-
tion accessible for all students
through initiatives such as ex-
panding electronic textbook
use, lowering the prices of
course packs and pushing pro-
fessors to aid students in secur-
ing the most affordable resourc-
es to succeed.
“The second major initiative
of ours is on educational afford-
ability, and this obviously spans
a vast range of issues, but CSG
can be a real player in discus-
sions about textbook afford-
ability, open-educational re-
sources, an expansion of course
reserves, more use of electronic
textbooks and holding faculty
accountable when it comes to
federal and University rules
regarding listing textbooks,” he
said. “Additionally, we can do
a lot to help make it easier for
students to take professional or
graduate exams, making course
packs more affordable, gener-
ally giving students access to
the tools they need to excel at
this University regardless of in-
come.”
Ashman also called for CSG
to increase its advocacy of
strengthening student recruit-
ment programs in order to
develop a more diverse foun-
dation for future students and
faculty. He emphasized these
initiatives are realistic, as long
as students stand strong in their
desire to foster lasting change.
“Issues like recruiting fac-
A group of University students
interrupted quiet studying in
the Law Library last night in a
dramatized protest of the death
sentence of a California man.
English Prof. William Alex-
ander and San Francisco activist
Richard Kamler organized the
event, and the participating stu-
dents were enrolled in Alexan-
der’s University course, “Theater
and Social Change.”
The protest was in the form of
a theatrical piece titled “Sound of
Lions Roaring,” created by Kam-
ler and first displayed at Alcatraz
in response to an earlier death
sentence. Familiar with
Kamler, Alexander wanted to
bring the work to the University.
“The idea dates back a couple
of years, but it finally came to
fruition this year,” Alexander said.
At about 9:30 p.m., several
members of the group in the li-
brary stood on their chairs and
pointed toward Alexander, who
portrayed William Bonin. Bonin,
responsible for the deaths of 14
young men in California, was
scheduled to be executed by
lethal injection at 3:01 a.m. last
night.
Alexander, standing in the
midst of about 125 students in
the library, began speaking to the
crowd in the role of Bonin. Dur-
ing his speech, members of the
group posed around Alexander,
forming what participants called
a “hu- man statue.” Flashlights
were used to enhance visual
aspects of the performance, and
sound speakers broadcasted an
audio tape of roaring lions.
Kamler said the presentation
was devised to bring awareness
to the death penalty. Kamler,
Alexander and many students
performing in the piece expressed
opposition to capital punishment.
“Basically, I don’t think there
is ever a need to kill another
person,” said LSA senior Ben
McDonough, who worked in the
formation of the human statue
surrounding Alexander.
Many students in the Law Li-
brary stopped studying to watch
the performance, which lasted for
more than three minutes. Student
reaction to the event was mixed.
LSA first-year student Susanne
Kalman said she thought the mes-
sage could have been clearer.
“(The presentation) didn’t re-
ally get the point across,” Kalman
said. “It didn’t give any feeling of
why they were against (capital
punishment).”
Kinesiology first-year student
Tomas Filipcik thought a larger
crowd might have made the
performance more effective. “I
think they should have done it in
a place where there are more peo-
ple,” he said. Both Kalman and
Filipcik said they were opposed
to capital punishment.
Some performers said they
felt that the crowd was hostile
to the performance. Performer
Erin Crowley, an LSA senior, said
“there was a lot of hostility in the
room towards the effort and the
cause, but that doesn’t mean that
we didn’t somehow give it visibil-
ity and recognition, which is what
we were after.”
2A —Wednesday, February 21, 2018
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On Monday evening, Maia and
Alex Shibutani— University of
Michigan alums affectionately
known as the “Shib Sibs”— won
a bronze medal in the ice dancing
competition at the 2018 Winter
Olympics
in
PyeongChang,
marking the 168th medal won on
the Olympic stage by a University
of Michigan Wolverine.
Skating to a Coldplay melody,
the
performance
earned
the
pair a score of 192.59, edging out
Okemos natives and teammates
Madison Hubbell and Zachary
Donohue. Hubbell and Donohue
took a devastating fall during the
free dance which eliminated their
podium chances. Both pairs train
in Canton at the rink where 2014
gold medalists Charlie White and
Meryl Davis also trained.
The
siblings
were
the
first sibling ice dancing pair
representing the United States to
earn a medal.
“We had no path to follow,”
Alex Shibutani told CBS News.
“There was no blueprint for us.
(Coach) Marina Zueva had no
experience with siblings or Asian-
American ice dancers and we had
to discover by ourselves our own
path.”
For the Shib Sibs, their bronze
medal finish marked an important
milestone in their career that
began over 14 years ago. After
growing up on the East Coast, the
pair moved to Ann Arbor in 2007
to train in nearby Canton and have
the opportunity to continue their
higher education at the University.
Following their 9th place finish
in 2014 at the Sochi Olympics, the
pair has gained a loyal following
that spans beyond the ice dancing
community. The pair is active on
social media with over 36,000
followers on their Instagram
account, @ShibSibs. They also
have an active following on
their YouTube channel where
they post weekly video blogs
chronicling their lives as elite
athletes
with
the
relatable
nuance of sibling antics and
morning routines.
In true millennial form, Maia
Shibutani shared her excitement
with fans on Twitter following
the performance, capturing her
and Alex’s emotion for their
achievement.
“So proud! No matter what. @
AlexShibutani and I just had the
best skate of our lives!!!”
SHANNON ORS
Daily Staff Reporter
ON THE DAILY: SIBS REP MAIZE AND BLUE ON OLYMPIC PODIUM
CSG party profiles: Meet MomentUM,
led by AJ Ashman and Charlie Bingham
In run-up to March elections, party platform calls for housing affordability, campus equity
KAELA THEUT
Daily News Editor
See MOMENTUM, Page 3A