The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Thursday, March 8, 2018 — 3A

by attending a police-community 
meeting. 

The requirement was designed 

to expose future lawyers to the 
daily implementation of the law 
and help them understand what it 
is like to be a police officer.

Law School student Samantha 

Jackson, whose father is the 
deputy sheriff of St. Clair County, 
took the elective because of 
her familial connection to law 
enforcement. Even though she’s 
been exposed to police work from 
a young age, during her ride-
along with the Wayne State Police 
Department, she said she learned 
just how much each department 
can vary.

“In my town, my dad has so 

much pride in his career and is 
really passionate about helping 
people, and that’s the kind of 
perception I grew up with,” 
Jackson said. “And it wasn’t until 
I stepped out of that town that I 

saw the corruption that many 
police departments suffer from, 
the unfair treatment, how it’s just 
so incredibly different — every 
single police department can 
really vary a lot.”

Professor of Law Eve Primus, 

who teaches Criminal Procedure, 
a popular elective at the Law 
School, encourages her students 
to participate in ride-alongs , but 
does not require them to take 
part. 

“When courts interpret laws 

or interpret the constitution, 
and when the legislature makes 
laws, they do it in light of what 
they think are concerns that 
police officers face, so I think 
it’s important for students to 
have exposure and to meet with 
police officers to form their own 
judgments, whether they think 
those concerns are accurate, or 
valid, or things the law should 
or shouldn’t take into account,” 
Primus said.

Law 
School 
student 
Thea 

Marriott 
said 
aside 
from 

providing legal perspective, ride-

alongs allow people to amend 
misconceptions 
about 
police 

officers. 

“I think it’s a really beneficial 

thing to do,” Marriott said. “I 
think a lot of people have sort of 
an imaginary idea in their head of 
what the police actually do, and a 
lot of it is more social-community 
work than policing robbers or 
something like that.”

Law School student Asma 

Husain believes understanding 
how the police work is an 
important part of being a 
lawyer, because police officers 
are the facet of law enforcement 
that people interact with most 
often. 

“Criminal law and policing is 

the vast majority of the average 
person’s interaction with the 
legal system, and most people 
don’t interact with lawyers, they 
interact with the police,” Husain 
said. “I think it’s a responsibility 
of people who deal with the law 
to see (the legal system) from 
the perspective that people are 
most often going to, and being 

aware of not just what police are 
doing for communities but the 
amount of power they have over 
communities and how they’re 
using the law.”

In the Policing and Public 

Safety elective, about half of the 
students chose to participate in a 
ride-along. Jackson said that most 
of them had positive experiences, 
and it increased their respect for 
the work police do.

“Some 
of 
my 
classmates 

expressed that they had a more 
negative perspective of the police, 
but after the ride-along, they 
still saw problems, and it didn’t 
completely change anything, but 
they had a little more respect and 
understanding for the work that 
police try to do, as imperfect as it 
can be,” Jackson said.

One 
problem 
discussed 

frequently in the elective was 
the copious amount of discretion 
police have.

“Police 
have 
so 
much 

discretion,” Jackson said. “You 
know, we have these laws, tons 
of laws, but they’re not perfectly 

enforced 
and 
unfortunately 

they’re often not evenly enforced. 
That’s the cynical view, and 
there’s a lot of truth to that. We 
literally don’t have the resources, 
no 
community, 
no 
police 

department, has the resources 
to fully enforce every single law, 
to catch every person speeding 
on the highway. So they have to 
make choices, and it’s interesting 
to see what forms those choices 
and to be aware of it and to speak 
up if you disagree.”

In recent years, this amount 

of discretion has come under 
fire, with activists suggesting 
it 
disproportionately 
harms 

communities of color. AAPD has 
recently been the subject of public 
scrutiny as the city attempts 
to 
implement 
accountability 

measures—almost 
four 
years 

ago, a white AAPD officer shot 
and killed Aura Rosser, a Black 
Ann Arbor resident. Earlier in 
February, City Council passed a 
resolution allowing for citizen 
oversight over the formation of a 
police review board. 

After participating in a ride-

along at the Washtenaw County 
Sheriff’s Office, Husain said she 
can understand how the amount 
of freedom police officers are 
granted could affect communities 
of color in unassuming ways.

“I think I had kind of an 

outsider’s perspective of the 
statistical disparities in what 
happens to communities of color 
in dealing with the police and 
what that looks like,” Husain said. 
“But I think seeing how the police 
operate on a day-to-day basis, 
I got a more informed view of 
how that might happen and what 
attitudes might perpetuate that, 
and not even to be too forgiving, 
but it’s not a matter of, ‘Oh, here 
are the police who go out saying 
I’m going to be looking at people 
of color harsher than I am going 
to be looking at your typical white 
citizen.’ I think seeing that from 
the officer’s perspective as well 
is useful, especially if you’re 
working on remedying those 
problems and actually coming up 
with viable solutions.”

AAPD
From Page 1A

Called the arterial everter, it 

could be applied to a multitude 
of procedures including breast 
mastectomies or severely injured 
limbs suffered from car wrecks.

This medical success greatly 

impacts the field of reconstructive 
surgery and health care. 

The arterial everter works in 

addition to existing equipment 
known as the GEM microvascular 
anastomotic coupler system, made 
by 
Synovis 
Micro 
Companies 

Alliance Inc., a supplementary 
company owned by Baxter.

The GEM coupler is an appliance 

that works adeptly with veins; 
however, when attempting to sew 
small 
millimeter-sized 
arteries 
 

with extremely dense walls, it can 
make tissue transfers incredibly 
difficult. 
The 
arterial 
everter 

disperses the compact walls over 
the coupler, effectively connecting 
the wide arteries.

Paul 
Cederna, 
a 
professor 

and chief of plastic surgery at 
the University Medical School, 
and Albert Shih, a professor 
of biomedical and mechanical 
engineering, were co-teaching a 
senior-level 
engineering 
design 

course when they realized the 
coupler deficit challenged their 
students to devise a solution.

“The students struggled but then 

they excelled at end and created 
a great design,” Shih said. “Is this 
significant? Yes. You dream about 
your innovation being used by 
someone so it can enact change. 
Eventually it will happen, it hasn’t 
happened yet, but it is in the right 
pathway to reach an impact on 
health care.”

Jeff 
Plott, 
a 
mechanical 

engineering research fellow and 
doctoral student in Shih’s lab, serves 
as the product development mentor 
on the project. Plott revealed the 
trials of the developmental process.

“We started our design process 

with a ton of brainstorming by 
conjuring 
up 
many 
different 

ideas, and then started narrowing 
that down with a combination 
of what we think works versus 
what is feasible to make versus 
how is it going to get through the 
regulatory landscape? We then 
starting thinking more of it; it can 
be something that is commercially 
viable,” Plott said. “You’re kind of 
balancing all of those things. By the 
end of the semester, the students 
had prototyped a device that was a 
first proof of concept. It showed that 
it was possible to flip an artery over 
the pin and that is where we left off.”

Plott then paired with other 

surgeons at the University to 
further evolve the concept and 
transform it into a product that 
could be monetized.

“That device made by the 

students was far away from being 
something that was usable by 
surgeons in the future and also 
something that was manufacturable 
and economically viable,” he said. 
“So, after that semester, I led the 
development of transforming the 
device into something that could 
meet all of these requirements.”

In order to make the transition 

from idea to marketed technology, 
the Coulter Translational Research 
Partnership Program, a sector of 
the Department of Biomedical 
Engineering, 
provided 
funding 

for product design and testing. It 
also gave expert advice to fully 
develop the technology and place it 
 

into the hands of the health care 
business.

Baxter then signed the licensing 

agreement with the University for 
the arterial everter to be accessible 
worldwide. However, Baxter will 
first need to file for Food and Drug 
Administration approval and other 
licenses. 

After working tirelessly with 

students, surgeons and engineers, 
Plott rejoices over the success of the 
technology.

“This licensing agreement is a 

great validation of our idea. Our end 
goal, of course, is always to make a 
difference. This partnership will 
greatly accelerate that path and will 
enable us to get us there as quickly 
as possible,” he said. 

SURGERY
From Page 1A

LSA SG President Nicholas 

Fadanelli, 
an 
LSA 
senior, 

sponsored the resolution, citing 
the mission of the government 
to serve LSA students and their 
concerns.

“Part of this is not only 

to establish what our stance 
should be, especially given that 
our mission is to actively seek 
the voice of LSA students and 
their interests, but also to grant 
students something where they 
do have a say regarding this,” 
Fadanelli said.

Counsel Nathan Wilson, an 

LSA junior, was also in support of 
the resolution.

“I 
think 
there’s 
some 

disagreement about the question 
on 
the 
merit 
of 
changing 

Michigan time,” Wilson said. 
“The 
opposition 
that 
I’m 

understanding is getting bound 
up into having to oppose the 
replacement of Michigan time 
because 
of 
(an) 
instinctive 

reaction 
from 
students 
and 

that on the merit we should be 
opposing the change to Michigan 
time just for the sake of a guttural 
student instinct. I don’t think that 
this opposition holds true in the 
circumstances like these where 
it is not an issue that students are 

unfamiliar with.”

Elected 
Representative 

Amanda Delekta, an LSA junior, 
raised concerns over the binding 
nature of the proposal and a 
potential lack of representation.

“I think there’s a difference 

between asking a question and 
being bound to their response,” 
Delekta said. “We are in this 
room to discuss these issues 
and have a conversation … it’s 
dangerous to just link yourself 
to that binding question. Also, I 
think we all need to think about 
how though students may be 
educated about Michigan time, 
the number of students who vote 
in our elections is so small, so it’s 
not a representative sample of our 
student body.”

A change.org petition has 

734 signatures as of Wednesday 
evening asking the administration 
to not remove Michigan time, 
citing concerns that professors 
will not end class at the proper 
time and may run over.

“As of May 1, they’re getting 

rid of ‘Michigan Time,’ a long-
standing tradition and travel 
time for students, and shifting it 
to leaving 10 minutes before the 
end of class,” the petition reads. 
“We already know how often 
professors spill over class time 
and this will most likely end in 
students arriving late to their 
other classes and still showing up 

on Michigan Time.”

The organization also voted on 

the proposed topics for the student 
government’s upcoming election 
ballots. These topics include pass/
fail usage, an establishment of 
a General Learning Center and 
residence hall card readers.

Fadanelli 
also 
mentioned 

LSA 
SG 
will 
meet 
with 

University officials regarding the 
University’s 
endowment 
fund 

investments. Last month, the 
Detroit Free Press released an 
investigative report stating the 
University invested $4 billion of 
its $11 billion endowment into 
global projects by top donors. The 
Free Press is now in a legal battle 
with the University regarding this 
report.

“It’s the belief of LSA student 

government that if there is 
no issue like the University is 
claiming, having an investigation 
just to show the public, because 
this is a public institution, that 
everything is up to code would 
clear the University’s name,” 
Fadanelli said.

Two 
resolutions 
were 

also proposed. One included 
allocating $500 to LSA facilities 
to install a water refill station 
in Haven Hall, while the other 
will make an amendment to the 
student government’s bylaws to 
standardize the designation of 
subcommittees.

LSA SG
From Page 1A

“If you know your history, then 

people can’t give it back to you in 
the wrong form,” French said.

Lecturer Anne Berg explained 

how 
the 
Nazi 
party 
used 

fabricated scientific claims to 
promote and encourage racism 
in Germany and compared this to 
the current eugenics argument. 
 

In this respect, she admitted 
society today is not too different 
from Nazi Germany.

This past fall, protests broke 

out across campus as students 
groups called on the University 
to change the name of C.C. Little 
building and bus stop, as their 
namesake was a former University 
president and President of the 
American Eugenics Society. 

“Nazis were lucky that they 

had so much of a rich history of 
scientific evidence and visual 
legacies to draw on to build a 
racial state that thankfully has 
not yet been paralleled,” Berg 
said.

Associate professor Rudolph 

“Butch” Ware highlighted the 
roots of racism from an Islamic 
perspective 
in 
18th 
century 

Africa. Despite the fact literacy 
rates were higher in regions 
of Africa than in any part of 
Europe, African people were 
nonetheless seen as slaves. Ware 
cited classical Islamic teachings 
that racism stems from pride, 
and urged the audience to set 
their pride aside and engage 
in dialogue to understand how 
white supremacy has occurred 
and what it has done.

Several speakers also focused 

on the historical inaccuracies 
from a national perspective. 

Assistant professor Matthew 

Spooner referenced the Haitian 
revolution and Rebecca J. Scott, 
a Charles Gibson Distinguished 
University professor of history, 
discussed the Reconstruction-
era government of Louisiana to 
highlight the lack of historical 
knowledge many hold, and how 
this ignorance warps views of 
current social problems.

“If we can’t understand the 

past, we will be blind to the 
present,” Spooner said.

Associate professors Stephen 

A. Berrey and assistant professor 
Allan Lumba made clear how 
historical 
interpretations 
of 

racial minorities in the United 
States has contributed to their 
treatment today. Berrey focused 
on the interpretations of African 

Americans and Lumba on Asian 
Americans. Both Berrey and 
Lumba used narratives of racial 
hate crimes to showcase how 
easily the perpetrator can hide 
their motives, and how the real 
story can lie hidden for decades. 

“(This can be fixed) by telling 

our 
stories, 
challenging 
lies, 

hyperboles, 
half-truths, 
and 

fictions,” Barry said.

Geoff Eley, a Karl Pohrt 

Distinguished 
University 

professor 
of 
contemporary 

history, and Prof. Rita Chin 
examined the roots of xenophobia 
and its current presence both 
globally and nationally. Chin 
discredited the widespread belief 
that xenophobia toward Muslims 
in Europe dates to before 9/11, and 
Eley explained how globalization 
has created anxieties it originally 
aimed to abolish. Eley argued 

against the common positive 
interpretation of globalization, 
stating the combined effects of 
globalization lead to warfare-
related destruction, encouraging 
the massive migration of peoples.

“(The) global creation of a 

borderless world drive people to 
want to create borders at home,” 
Eley said.

TEACH-IN
From Page 1A

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

vice 
president 
for 
medical 

affairs, and David Spahlinger, 
executive vice dean for clinical 
affairs, faculty members list 
several reasons for their “deep 
disappointment in the concept 
and rollout of the Victors Care 
Program.”

According 
to 
the 
Victors 

Care 
website, 
services 

include “24 hour access to the 
patient’s physician or covering 
physician via telephone, text, 
or email, Same or next day 
appointments, Unhurried visits, 
A yearly executive style physical 
examination, Assistance with 
scheduling tests and specialty 
appointments, 
Minimal 
wait 

times (and) A written summary 
report detailing the doctor’s 
findings and recommendations 
from 
the 
yearly 
physical.” 

There are also several bullet 
points listed for “executive style 
physical examination.”

The 
website 
specifically 

notes memberships purchased 
on or before June 30, 2018 will 
be available for $2,700, or $225 
a month, until June 30, 2019. 
Starting July 1, memberships 
will increase to $3,600 per year. 
All 
memberships 
purchased 

will expire in July 2019, when 
the annual membership fee for 
all members will become the 
same. Membership fees are said 
to cover personalized care, take 
place of billing insurance for 
primary care visits and allow 
the organization to limit the 
number of patients physicians 
can treat.

Drawing on the program 

description, grievances listed 
in the faculty letter include: 
being unaware in the content 
of the Victors Care program 
invitation 
letter, 
video 
and 

website; discriminating against 
the underserved; promotional 
materials 
suggesting 
Victors 

Care 
patients 
will 
“receive 

preferential 
treatment 
at 

Michigan Medicine based on 
ability 
to 
pay”; 
implication 

that if receiving Victors Care 

is quality care, receiving care 
from traditional primary care 
physicians is not quality; and 
a concern that Victors Care 
promotional 
materials 
and 

website recommend care that is 
not evidence based.

“We ask that the institution 

stop recruiting our patients to 
this program and advertising it 
as providing much better care 
than all the rest of our primary 
care clinics,” the letter reads. 
“Victors Care purports to offer 
‘better’ health care to those with 
enough money to pay a large 
access fee. The University of 
Michigan is a public institution 
and our commitment is to serve 
the public, not a private few.”

The letter also includes direct 

quotations 
from 
Michigan 

Medicine faculty, one of which 
notes: “This reinforces UM as 
an elitist institution catering 
to the wealthy.” The letter has 
since been signed by more than 
200 Michigan Medicine faculty 
members.

Masson, 
however, 
claims 

Victors Care supports equal 

access to health care.

“We’re committed to ethical, 

accessible 
care 
for 
all 
our 

patients and whatever programs 
we put in place should not 
diminish that in any way. This 
will not adversely affect the 
access of other patients to our 
outstanding health care system,” 
Masson wrote in her statement. 

Efforts 
to 
contact 
Runge 

and program organizer Kim 
Eagle, an Albion Walter Hewlett 
professor of internal medicine, 
were forwarded to Michigan 
Medicine spokespeople.

“Some faculty and staff have 

raised concerns,” Masson wrote. 
“We’ve listened to them and are 
working together to come up 
with solutions that are mutually 
satisfactory for the benefit of our 
patients.”

Daniel 
Berland, 
associate 

professor of internal medicine, 
voiced his disappointment in the 
program.

MEDICINE
From Page 1A

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com