“neck-down” problems.

“Women’s sexual response is a 

lot more complicated than men’s,” 
Bruns said.

The female sexual stimulant 

drug, often referred to as Addyi, 
was made available in 2015 to help 
address women with a low libido. 
However, to this point, no such 
therapy exists for improving the 
sexual response of women relating 
to their “neck-down” problems, or 
problems in their genitalia.

In this published study, Bruns’s 

lab used the same therapy that 
exists to treat bladder issues 
on 16 rats in order to see if this 
would cause arousal. The process 
includes injecting a needle into a 
part of the rat’s leg, anesthetizing 
them and watching their blood 
flow. After 30 minutes, arousal 
was determined by an increase in 
their vaginal blood flow.

Bruns indicated he does not 

know why the study results 
showed this treatment causes 
increased stimulation for the rats. 
The lab intends to do the same 
study on awake conscious rats and 
get similar results.

At the same time as this work 

is being published, the lab is also 
working on a clinical study giving 
women subjects the same therapy 
the rats received. The purpose 
of this is to see how the therapy 
affects women with FSD.

Only women who scored a 

certain number indicating their 
levels of FSD on a survey were 
included. Participants take the 
survey before the trial, in the 
middle and at the end in order to 
see if their scores increase over 
time. The results of this study will 
be published later this year.

Bruns noted he received much 

feedback throughout the study.

“One person who had low 

sexual desire wrote this long story 
about how her husband thinks she 
is cheating on him and she is so 
glad this work is being done,” he 
said. “There is potential for a large 
impact for this which I think is 
really cool.”

Looking toward the future, 

Bruns 
noted 
he 
could 
see 

the therapy eventually being 
transformed into a type of shoe 
that women can wear. If anything, 
he would like this research to 
open up opportunities for people 
to discuss their sexual habits and 
functions.

“Part of my work is for people 

realizing that they are not alone,” 
Bruns said.

The prospect of this research 

excites campus activists. LSA 
junior Antonia Vrana, publicity 
chair for Women’s Organization 
on Rights to Health, a student 
organization 
committed 
to 

advocating for women’s health, 
commented on how this type of 
research can help bring women’s 
health issues into the conversation 
with in the University community.

“I think that the development 

of drugs like this for women’s 
health rights as a whole could 
normalize taking a more active 
role to embrace sexuality,” Vrana 
said. “As students and people 
from a young generation, it is 
really promising to hear that for 
the future, especially because 
female sexual dysfunction is not 
so discussed.”

Zimmerman first got involved 

when 
Bruns 
explained 
the 

ongoing work to her. Zimmerman 
was intrigued by the project 
because “it struck a chord within 
the feminist in me to work on a 
project that is for women.”

new, that the reason they don’t 
serve us that well is because they 
haven’t yet adapted to our new, 
growing population,” Navarrete 
said. “Part of us addressing 
that was creating this folder we 
shared with all of our members, 
you have access to and it’s open. 
It adds historical context to our 
issues.”

Over 
the 
years, 
however, 

the issues facing Latino and 
undocumented 
students 
at 

the University have, in some 
ways, evolved. The Deferred 
Action for Childhood Arrivals 
policygranting 
undocumented 

students 
certain 
protections, 

enacted via executive order by 
President Obama in 2012, filled 
Navarrete with optimism. She 
acquired DACA status in 2013, 
and from then on, focused on the 
jobs, programs and opportunities 
made available to her.

Yet, with the start of President 

Donald Trump’s administration 
and his promise to revoke DACA, 
she no longer has this luxury — 
now, the idea of being deported 
remains at the forefront of her 
thoughts.

“We have to regress and go 

back to thinking about the very 
real danger of being deported and 
more intense ICE enforcement 
and border control,” Navarrete 
said. “That’s been the hardest 
part. We were granted something 
and then they took it away. That’s 
the part that’s the scariest: the 
uncertainty part.”

Postdoctoral fellow William 

Lopez said this feeling is one 
affecting 
many 
DACA-status 

students, and can be crippling.

“What is it like to not know 

if tomorrow when you wake if 
you are going to be deportable 
or not?” Lopez said. “Tomorrow 
when you wake up you won’t 
be able to go to your job and 
you won’t be able to drive. You 
know, this is having a real impact 
on folks who have for the past 
three to four years lived in some 
relative safety from deportation 
and now have no idea what the 
future is going to hold from 
them.”

The most basic benefit of 

DACA is the two-year protection 
against deportation of people 
brought into the United States 
illegally as children. The other 
major 
advantage 
is 
DACA 

recipients’ ability to acquire 
work permits, which can further 
allow them to receive health care 
and pay for higher education.

Trump’s 
inauguration 
into 

the White House in 2017 brought 
Engineering 
senior 
Javier 

Contreras-Uribe back to reality, 
just like Navarrete. He said during 
the Obama administration, he 
had allowed himself to let down 
his guard and now, he is facing 
the consequences.

“As 
far 
as 
the 
other 

undocumented students that I 
know, we all sort of have the same 
feeling that things are getting 
real, that we got too comfortable 
and that now it is coming back to 
bite us,” Contreras said. “A lot of 
people stopped organizing, like I 
said, we got too comfortable.”

And according to Navarrete, 

being a part of the University 

creates 
this 
false 
sense 
of 

security. She said it can be easy 
to feel safe on campus and forget 
the danger surrounding her.

“When I’m in class or walking 

through campus, I kind of live 
in a bubble where I can almost 
forget about things,” Navarrete 
said. “This bubble, it’s false 
because at any point you can get 
deported. When you create a 
distance between your at-home 
community and this community, 
at least for me, you almost feel 
this false sense of safety.”

Undocumented students said 

they felt the threat of deportation 
last January when U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection showed 
up on campus. They parked their 
vehicle behind the Michigan 
Union, causing a panic among 
students and faculty.

It ended up being that CBP 

was on campus to recruit at a 
career fair held in the Union. But 
the sign of CBP’s presence was 
enough to remind Navarrete of 
her insecure status, even under 
the protection of the University.

“Last year at the career center 

they invited CBP and the CBP 
patrol car parked crookedly on 
the street, and the people in the 
career center were all geared 
up,” Navarrete said. “Those are 
little things that can remind you 
of the very real fears and dangers 
that can happen anywhere you 
are even when you’re safe on 
campus.”

There are little differences 

undocumented 
students 

experience going about their 
daily lives, such as friends 
discussing study abroad plans. 
But LSA senior Hwi Sun Yoo said 
the largest difference between 
the daily lives of undocumented 
students and those of others is 
the amount of stress involved. 
On top of schoolwork, clubs and 
part-time jobs, these students 
have 
to 
worry 
about 
their 

residence in the U.S. Yoo also 
noted his concern for his family’s 
safety is especially high.

“I think just about anyone 

you talk to will say that it’s their 
family they’re most worried 
about,” Yoo said. “Right now we 
are protected under DACA even 
if it’s temporary, but something 
as minor as a traffic ticket could 
really hurt our parents.”

Despite 
these 
fears, 
Yoo 

emphasized 
the 
importance 

of 
being 
vocal 
about 
his 

undocumented identity. He said 
Trump’s election triggered his 
decision to disclose his status. He 
wanted to raise the awareness of 
undocumented student issues.

“The fact that we’re such an 

invisible community has always 
been 
a 
double-edged 
sword 

because, on one hand, it’s really 
hard to target undocumented 
people 
because 
there’s 
no 

distinguishing physical feature,” 
Yoo said. “On the other hand, 
it does make us an invisible 
community and without people 
speaking up, and calling out, 
and talking about the issues that 
we’re facing other people have no 
idea of knowing them.”

Navarrete acknowledged the 

difficulty of disclosing — when 
she first told her high school 
counselor she was a DACA-
status student, her counselor 
seemed startled. This reaction, 
she said, made her wary of telling 
anyone else. But she ultimately 

became vocal in college for the 
same reason as Yoo: To raise 
awareness, and to better her 
situation as an undocumented 
student. She noted how the 
recent discussions of DACA in 
the government have increased 
awareness significantly.

“It started this huge wave of 

awareness and now everyone 
knows what DACA is, which I feel 
like is the silver lining of what’s 
currently happening,” Navarrete 
said. “It was way different a year 
ago. I had to constantly explain it 
no matter where I went.”

Navarrete and Yoo are part of a 

student group for undocumented 
students 
called 
Student 

Community 
of 
Progressive 

Empowerment. SCOPE aims to 
build community and to advocate 
for 
undocumented 
student 

issues. Last semester, they held 
a rally on the last day of DACA 
renewal submissions to push 
for more University support and 
resources.

They 
also 
met 
with 

administrators and presented 
them 
with 
four 
demands: 

Granting them a primary contact 
person 
for 
undocumented 

students, 
fulfilling 
financial 

need, improving outreach to 
prospective 
undocumented 

students and altering a policy 
requiring students to enroll 
28 months after high school 
graduation — as 28 months, they 
argued, is often not enough time 
for students to gather enough 
money for college.

The 
first 
demand 
was 

met 
successfully 
with 
the 

appointment of Hector Galvan 
as 
undocumented 
students 

program coordinator.

Yoo 
said 
she 
feels 
the 

appointment of Galvan has been 
helpful in working with the 
administration.

“When 
I 
initially 
got 

more 
involved 
within 
the 

undocumented 
community, 

there were not many resources 
to work with in the school, but 
with the appointment of Hector, 
I feel like a lot has changed, quite 
rapidly to be honest,” Yoo said. 
“We’ve gotten a lot of work done 
this semester.”

Galvan’s role is to serve the 

undocumented 
students 
and 

DACA recipients on campus by 
being the bridge between the 
students and the administration. 
In an email interview, he said he 
is currently working on gaining 
the support of more allies on 
campus.

“As we know, this initiative 

is fairly new to the university, 
I am also working on building 
a referral network of allies 
throughout campus to provide 
additional 
support,” 
Galvan 

wrote.

Earlier this semester, La Casa 

presented 
the 
administration 

with their own list of demands. 
These 
demands 
centered 

around working to have more 
Latinx 
representation 
within 

the 
administration, 
more 

support for Latinx students and 
an 
appreciative 
environment 

surrounding 
the 
Latinx 

community. La Casa made sure 
the document containing the 
demands 
was 
comprehensive 

and accessible to everyone.

The 
reason 
SCOPE’s 

demands were less publicized, 
Navarrete said, was because 

that 
community 
is 
smaller 

and also more invisible. She 
also said SCOPE had to have a 
different approach with their 
demands because it is hard for 
the University to provide more 
undocumented 
representation, 

as that community has less 
access to those jobs.

SCOPE hasn’t yet compiled 

documents 
describing 
the 

history of undocumented student 
struggles, but there certainly has 
been a history in recent years. In 
2013, the Coalition for Tuition 
Equality fought for the right of 
resident undocumented students 
to receive in-state tuition — a 
fight Contreras was a part of.

Contreras said since then, 

the University has created a 
program to help DACA students 
financially each year, though the 
existence of the program seems 
precarious. 

“The issue with DACA is 

you can’t receive FAFSA, just 
because it is federal aid, or loans 
as well, so the University did set 
up a pilot program, the keyword 
is pilot,” Contreras said. “Every 
year the Regents vote on it to 
decide how much funding there 
will be and if there will be any 
funding at all. So far, we have 
gotten lucky, ever since 2013 they 
have been continuously voting to 
fund it.”

The University has stated its 

support for the undocumented 
student 
community 
multiple 

times. Last January, President 
Schlissel released a statement 
pledging his support of students 
regardless of their immigration 
status and his refusal to disclose 
their statuses. This Friday, after 
the Supreme Court refused to 
hear the appeal of DACA ruling, 
he released another statement 
reiterating his support.

Galvan believes the University 

should carry on with their 
current work in supportingW 
the undocumented community 
and should aim to provide more 
resources.

“The 
university 
should 

support the student population 
by continuing the efforts they 
are 
doing 
now 
in 
addition 

to 
expanding 
resources 

thoughtfully,” Galvan wrote.

Navarrete 
wishes, 
though, 

for the Office of Enrollment 
Management 
specifically 
to 

be more vocal. She thinks if 
they voice their support, they 
could 
have 
a 
large 
impact 

in 
encouraging 
prospective 

undocumented students to apply 
to the University.

“I 
think 
the 
Office 
of 

Enrollment 
Management 
is 

the one I feel like has not been 
responsive,” 
Navarrete 
said. 

“And it can be the most powerful 
one in serving undocumented 
students because it encompasses 
financial aid, admissions and the 
registrar’s office, and those are 
the three offices that obstruct 
the people from coming to U-M.”

Yoo said even though resources 

for undocumented students may 
be improving right now with the 
appointment of Galvan and the 
continued discussions with the 
administration, the struggle will 
always be constant.

“Just because we’re doing well 

right now, I don’t want people 
thinking the issues are over,” Yoo 
said. “It’s always going to be an 
uphill battle.”

v. Board of Education, as well as 
other events throughout the civil 
rights movement. The students 
also discussed the film, “The 
Birth of a Nation” in detail since 
the NAACP worked to stop the 
distribution of this film featuring 
the Ku Klux Klan.

“The NAACP has been around 

since 1909,” Land said. “We want 
to look at where we’ve been 
and figure out where we can go, 
maximizing our political power.”

The students then discussed the 

beginning of the NAACP chapter 
at 
the 
University 
specifically. 

Ravi Perry founded the NAACP 
at the University in 2002 after 
spending a summer as an intern 
in Washington D.C., recalling 
the lack of a Black experience on 
campus with respect to socio-
political activism.

“In 2002, there was a lot going 

on,” Land said. “They wanted to 
get people out to vote.”

LSA junior Timberlee Whiteus 

highlighted 
the 
differences 

between the Black Student Union 
and the NAACP, which include the 
political nature of the NAACP.

“NAACP is seen as a national 

organization,” Whiteus said. “And 
this is a place where we can have 

conversations about change and 
protests and who we need to write 
to.”

Land 
explained 
the 
seven 

committees of the University’s 
chapter, which include Health 
and 
Awareness, 
Membership, 

Education, Finance, Program and 
Research, Press and Publicity and 
Political Action/Juvenile Justice.

Land 
also 
stressed 
the 

importance of the organization in 
providing support and reaching 
out to freshmen on campus.

“We really want to get traction 

going into next year especially,” 
Land said. “A lot of freshmen 
come in and there’s culture shock 
because they don’t understand that 
Michigan isn’t the place that they 
show you on the pamphlet.”

LSA 
freshman 
Darlena 

York added from her personal 
experience, getting in touch with 
first-year students was important 
for NAACP.

“It is difficult for freshmen,” 

York said. “It was weird walking 
in to see four Black people amidst 
a bunch of people who don’t look 
like me.”

The 
event 
concluded 
with 

Land urging students to sign up 
for various committees and get 
involved.

“We don’t have to change the 

world in one day, but exercising 
our power politically is something 
we need to focus on,” Land said.

as the Big Ten Voting Challenge 
and Turn Up Turnout, Promote 
the Vote aims to garner backing 
from the University and to show 
students are seeking greater 
access to voting.

Following the guest speakers, 

CSG President Anushka Sarkar, 
an LSA senior, announced the 
upcoming release of the CSG 
demographic 
report, 
which 

will provide various data about 
the majority of the current 
assembly. In addition, Sarkar 
discussed 
the 
possibility 
of 

presenting a resolution to invest 
in revamping the University 
Health Services as well as other 
health resources on campus, due 
to an alleged lack of funding 
over the past few years. Efforts 
are continually being made to 
fight food insecurity on campus, 
according to Sarkar.

In addition to referencing 

the beginning of the revision 

process 
of 
the 
Campus 

Affordability Guide, which was 
criticized as out of touch and 
insensitive to the issues faced 
by low-income students, CSG 
Vice President Nadine Jawad, a 
Public Policy senior, proposed 
a resolution to urge University 
administration 
to 
include 

Middle Eastern/North African 
students 
into 
demographic 

research. 
Especially 
with 

the increased immigration of 
ME/NA individuals to areas 
such as Dearborn, Jawad said, 
there is a heightened need for 
representation of these groups 
beyond 
a 
racial 
or 
ethnic 

category marked “Other.”

“Not having this demographic 

report information … means that 
students are disadvantaged in 
(the allocation of) resources,” 
Jawad said.

CSG concluded their meeting 

by 
passing 
resolutions 
to 

promote and fund new Battle of 
the Orgs program and to support 
and fund an event empowering 
women and promoting the role 
of women in government. 

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 — 3A

REPORT
From Page 1A

LATINX
From Page 1A

GOALS
From Page 1A

DRUGS
From Page 1A

MUSIC M ADNESS

Oren Levin performs at the first round of the Music Matters and Dance Marathon’s battle of the bands, “Music Madness” at Rick’s Tuesday. 

CHRIS FCASNI/Daily

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

