Anthony, an LSA junior at
the University of Michigan,
said he learned to shoot
when he was 8 years old.
His grandfather, a military
veteran, taught him how to do
it well and how to do it safely.
He mainly uses guns for
hunting and target shooting,
and owns several different
types of rifles, all of which he
keeps in a locked safe.
Anthony, who asked to
remain anonymous for fear
of
student
repercussions,
said
he’s
noticed
some
common misunderstandings
about guns — and posed
counterarguments
often
raised by gun owners.
“That
owning
guns
is
‘dangerous,’ I’ve heard that
one a lot,” he said. “They’re
not dangerous to own, it’s
people
who
lack
proper
knowledge and care.”
Anthony,
who
has
had
official training in gun safety
and taken hunters’ safety
courses, said he’s also seen
people “fearing a gun based
on how it looks,” citing recent
calls to ban AR-15 rifles.
“People just need to have
knowledge on guns and do
their due diligence on the
issue because most things
they are told around the
issue is false, but they have
According to a recent study
of demographics within the
Ann Arbor Police Department,
the demographics of the city’s
police force do not match those
of the Ann Arbor community.
In a city that is 69 percent
white according to a 2010
census,
a
surveyconducted
earlier this year shows the
AAPD is 87 percent white or
Caucasian.
Several members of the
AAPD
explained
the
lack
of
diversity
within
the
department seems to be the
result of an even greater lack
of diversity within the pool
of graduates from the police
academy.
Lieutenant
Mike
Scherba said in the state of
Michigan, about 97 percent
of the academy graduates are
white males.
“What we found traditionally
is that those coming out of the
police academy in this area are
white males and the tentative
pool for the police department
is then obviously primarily
white males,” Scherba said. “As
a result, we had to then look
and think: ‘How do we better
represent the diversity within
our city?’”
A
need
for
diversity
representative
of
the
Ann
Arbor populace has also been
emphasized
due
to
recent
racially-charged incidents in
AAPD, such as the shooting of
Aura Rosser in 2014 and the
violent arrest of high school
student
Ciaeem
Slaton
in
September, leading Ann Arbor
citizens to call for increased
transparency in the AAPD
as well as a police review
board. At an October rally in
support of Slaton, Ann Arbor
resident DaQuann Harrison
said the incidents involving
Slaton and Rosser –– both
Black residents of the city ––
were representative of a larger
problem that existed in Ann
Arbor as well as the rest of the
country.
“(Ciaeem) is one of many
youth of color who are targeted
by police in here,” he said. “His
situation is also one of many
that has historically appeared
here in Ann Arbor.”
Members
of
minority
communities
at
the
University of Michigan as
well,
including
Rackham
student
Javier
Solorzano
Parada, have experienced a
lack of communication and
understanding
with
AAPD
that they feel is not on par
with the relationship between
the police and white student
communities. When students
were arrested at a tailgate
hosted by Solorzano Parada’s
former fraternity, which is
predominantly
Latino,
he
said
officers
provided
no
explanation.
“Communication is key with
communities of color, and you
need to tell us it’s not about race
but safety, or size or whatever
reason you may have,” he said.
“And if I’m scared after all
these years here, what must it
be like for an undergraduate
student? Or a first-generation
student? We shouldn’t have
to be afraid of the police. We
shouldn’t have to live in fear.”
To combat the discrepancy
between
the
community
demographics and the lack
Students know it is almost
impossible to visit a social
media
site
today
without
coming across an example
of “trolling” or “fake news,”
terms
that
have
become
prevalent in the wake of the
2016
presidential
election.
The University of Michigan
has positioned itself on the
academic front of combatting
low news literacy with courses
on campus and online, and
is
now
making
a
bigger
institutional commitment. The
School of Information opened
the Center for Social Media
Responsibility
last
week,
aiming to create strategies
assisting social media makers,
consumers and platforms in
fending off these “trolls” to
make internet news outlets
more credible.
Information School Dean
Thomas Finholt said when he
was a candidate for the dean
position in 2016, one of his
major platforms was that the
faculty had a responsibility
to help social media be more
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Gun control
fuels debate
btwn. state
lawmakers
Depression on College Campuses
keynote speaker talks technology
See GUN CONTROL, Page 3A
HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily
Dr. Tom Insel, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health, discusses how digital technologies can help address depression at the Depression of Col-
lege Campuses Conference Keynote in Rackham Tuesday.
GOVERNMENT
Students across Michigan prepare to
walk out of class on Wednesday in protest
LEAH GRAHAM
Daily Staff Reporter
Other discussions include promoting campus wellness,aiding international student health
More than 100 people gathered
inside Rackham Auditorium at the
University of Michigan Tuesday
afternoon to explore the benefits
of digital technologies in helping
depression on college campuses
nationwide.
This discussion is just one of
many events taking place during
The
Depression
on
College
Campuses Conference held March
13 through 14. The conference,
which has been held annually
for 16 years, includes a series of
workshops,
panel
discussions
and sessions that pertain to
mental health awareness. These
sessions include information on
how to provide safe spaces for
LGBTQ students, how to promote
wellness on campus and how to
aid international student mental
health. There is a multitude of
sessions specific to every kind of
individual and demographic.
A campus task force last year
found 96 percent of student
respondents feel mental health
should be accommodated on a
college campus, but 74 percent do
not feel comfortable addressing
their concerns with faculty.
Tom Insel, co-founder and
president of Mindstrong Health,
kicked off the two-day conference.
SAMANTHA SMALL
Daily Staff Reporter
See INVALIDATE, Page 3A
New center
launches
to combat
fake news
RESEARCH
Former Obama social
media manager to serve
as head program director
MOLLY NORRIS
Daily Staff Reporter
ROSEANNE CHAO/Daily
AAPD seeks to promote diversity by
increasing their pool of applicants
Department looks to new recruiting strategies to boost connections with underserved
GRACE KAY
Daily Staff Reporter
BBUM: Our history
Senior MiC editor Lorna
Brown explores the history
of multicultural lounges
on campus
» Page 1B
See DEPRESSION, Page 3A
Engineering
sophomore
Hannah Rieske wanted her
audience at the fifth annual
SpeakABLE event Tuesday to
know that her attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder was not
a disability, but a difference.
Rieske was just one of many
other University of Michigan
students and staff who came
together at Harlan Hatcher
Graduate Library for a student
panel. The event, organized
by the Services for Students
with
Disabilities
Advisory
Board, provided a platform
for students to speak on their
disabilities and experience at
the University.
Panelists at the event showed
passion
for
advocating
for
disabilities rights. Many have
chosen
academic
pathways
that allow them to use their
skills to help others in similar
situations. LSA senior Henry
Leor Schreibman uses their
background in theater to speak
on queer and disability rights.
“The one area where both the
narratives of queerness and
See DISABILITIES, Page 3A
Students at
panel talk
navigating
disabilities
CAMPUS LIFE
At SpeakABLE event,
students call for more
empathy and awareness
NATASHA PIETRUSCHKA
Daily Staff Reporter
GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
Check out the
Daily’s News
podcast, The
Daily Weekly
INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 91
©2018 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
See DIVERSITY, Page 2A
statement
THE MICHIGAN DAILY | MARCH 14, 2018