demographic
standpoint,”
Edevbie said. “I think that’s
definitely a reflection of some
more marginalized groups on
campus having more and more
seats at the table when it comes
to CSG assembly.”
The
overall
University
student body is 54.58 percent
white, 11.99 percent Asian, 5.65
percent Latino, 4.2 percent
Black,
1.89
percent
mixed
race and 0.18 percent Native
American. The University does
not currently have statistics on
MENA students.
Michigan
residents
make
up
63.46
percent
of
CSG
representatives, compared to
50.69 percent University-wide.
According to the report, 24
percent of CSG representatives
come from a household income
of $99,999 or less and 76 percent
come from household incomes
of $100,000 or more. Over
half of CSG representatives,
54.9 percent, report not being
financial
aid
recipients.
Last year, 65% percent of
represenatives
reported
not
being financial aid recipients.
CSG representative Frank
Guzman, an LSA sophomore,
acknowledged CSG still has
more
work
to
do
toward
inclusion and representation,
but he feels it is making
progress.
“We’re
not
a
perfect
institution,”
Guzman
said.
“I think that we’re making
progress
towards
becoming
more
representative.
Part
of
being
representative
is
representing
that
median
income. I know it’s not ideal,
but we’re working on it.”
A
2017
report
by
the
Equality
of
Opportunity
Project stated the University’s
median household income was
$154,000 and 9.3 percent of
students coming from the top 1
percent income bracket.
through application material
to see who has the inclination
and
capacity
for
serving
communities because our goal
is to create a community of
students
that
supports
one
another while they’re here but
are committed to giving back in
their own lives and careers on
the outside,” Gibson said.
The program offered its first
awards in 2008 and since has
grown to become one of the
largest
scholarship
program
in LSA. Today, the University
supports 172 Kessler scholars
and welcomes 35 individuals
into the program annually.
LSA senior Ashley Olney
expressed her appreciation for
the program as a Kessler scholar
and its efforts to help students
through its scholarships and
resource
“I’m overall very appreciative
because it is a need-based and
a merit-based scholarship, so
I wouldn’t be able to attend
the University of Michigan
without it, and it’s also a great
community,” Olney said. “So not
only are they helping students
financially to get to school,
they’re helping to integrate us
into such a large university.”
Gibson emphasized Olney’s
statement and described the
program’s continued dedication
to providing sufficient financial
support along with additional
resources.
“It’s
money
that
makes
coming to Michigan possible,
but again it’s not money alone,”
Gibson said. “It’s paired with
wrap-around support, whether
it’s one-on-one counseling with
staff or whether it’s a workshop
about getting ready for the
professional job search.”
Olney
also
noted
the
program’s
expansion
efforts
seeking to establish a stronger
community among the scholars.
“I think they’re really trying
to create more of a community
within the Kessler Scholars
Program,”
Olney
said.
“My
entire
four
years
they’ve
offered a couple of social and
academic events each month,
but they wanted to foster with a
greater and tighter community
because we are a pretty small
scholarship
group
here
on
campus.”
Additionally,
Olney
said
she — along with other Kessler
scholars — were invited to
participate in focus groups
over the summer. During the
sessions, students were asked
what resources they would have
liked to have upon entering
the University. Olney praised
the program for taking the
initiative to better understand
the needs of students.
“I think they were really
proactive
in
creating
focus
groups and asking students
specifically what they would
want if they had the chance to
come in as a Kessler scholar all
over again, or what they would
like moving forward if they
had a couple more years here,”
Olney said.
One of the programs that
developed as a result of the focus
group was a peer mentorship
program. Kessler scholars are
paired with an older student in
the program and are instructed
to
meet
biweekly
to
offer
support to one another. Olney
discussed her excitement for
the new initiative and how it
offered a way to make a campus
as large as the University’s seem
a lot smaller.
“It was something that I
wish I had coming in because
I went to a really small high
school and transitioning into
life at U of M, where there were
more people in my dorm than
in my entire town, was very
difficult, academically it was
very difficult and socially it was
very difficult,” Olney said. “I
wish I had someone who would
check in on me who was in the
same position that I was. Even
now, even though I am not being
mentored, I am a mentor, it’s
something that makes me really
appreciative
of
the
Kessler
Scholarship.”\
Kessler
scholar
Michelle
Figueroa, an LSA freshman,
shared Olney sentiments and
explained
how
her
mentor
helps her to better prepare
for the University’s academic
endeavors.
“My mentor is amazing, and
she takes similar classes to mine
and we have similar majors,”
Figueroa said. “So she kind
of walks me through how to
prepare for my classes because
she’s took them already, so
that’s been really helpful.”
One of the other ways the
program is seeking to develop a
community while also offering
students
more
resources
is
through various workshops and
seminars that are mandatory
for first-year students to attend.
Most recently, it hosted one
about finances and budgeting
and
featured
Detroit-based
financial planner Gail Perry-
Mason. Additionally, they have
stress-management
services
and “Walk-In Wednesday,” a
weekly time for students to
speak to administrators, among
other resources to help students
with their mental health.
Kessler
scholar
Donnell
Williams, an LSA freshman,
expressed his appreciation for
the stress-management services
in particular, because adjusting
to the University setting can be
overwhelming.
“The
stress-management
ones are helpful,” Williams said,
“College can be pretty stressful,
especially when you’re a first
year and you’re just adapting to
the environment that you’re in,
it helps a lot.”
Though many of the Kessler
scholars have been pleased
with the results of the first-
year
expansions,
Gibson
acknowledges the program still
has room to grow — especially
with
regard
to
connecting
students
with
campus
resources.
“One thing we know we
could do better is how we
connect students with existing
resources,” Gibson said. “At a
big school like Michigan, that’s
a constant puzzle, but we’ve
built interesting partnerships
with
the
Science
Learning
Center, we’re working really
closely with the opportunity
hub, we’re getting students into
the places that can give them
the best support.”
Olney also touched on the
issue
of
accessibility
and
explained how even though
she was impressed with all the
events hosted by the program,
the timing often conflicted with
her class schedule.
“I’m a screen arts and culture
major and because of that I
have
screenings
throughout
the week in the evening,” Olney
said. “Although Kessler scholars
have a lot of really great social,
academic
and
networking
events, they’re all held Mondays
… when I have class, so I’m
not able to go to any of them
so I can’t access all the great
resources that they’re providing
for their students.”
In the future, the Kessler
Presidential Scholars Program
seeks
to
continue
growing
through its new partnership
with
the
Comprehensive
Studies
Program.
Beginning
next fall, the incoming cohort
will take a one credit seminar
together to explore how to make
the most of the University.
Gibson said she hoped the
commonality
of
the
course
among the new members will
help to establish a sense of
community.
“Our
goal
is
creating
community, and we think that
one way to enhance that from the
start to build this extra layer of
support is to allow them to have
some sort of shared educational
experience,” Gibson said.
As for Figueroa, she hoped to
continue to share more about
the program and its mission
with the rest of the University
community moving forward.
“A lot of people don’t know
what
Kessler
scholars
are,
and (I wish to) show people
what we really do.” Figueroa
said. “It’s not just a support
system financially, it’s also a
support system emotionally and
academically.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Thursday, March 15, 2018 — 3
KESSLER
From Page 1
gun
control
legislation.
Teenagers gathered at notable
locations across the country:
the U.S. Capitol in Washington,
D.C.; the site of the 1999 school
shooting in Columbine, Colo.;
Borough Hall in Brooklyn,
N.Y.; and more. These protests
follow impassioned speeches
and rallies hosted by student
survivors
of
the
Parkland
shooting, who have become
nationally recognized.
The
Ypsilanti
rally
also
featured an array of different
speakers, from high school
students
to
representatives
from Moms Demand Action.
Skyline senior Daniel Heinz
said he participated in the
walkout because he felt the
need for action.
“I came today because we
need to do something about
this,” Heinz said. “I couldn’t
just sit around and do nothing.
We just demand change. We
call B.S. There needs to be a
conversation.”
Heinz further explained his
involvement in the movement
through
his
concern
for
himself and his peers, saying
he’s had enough.
“I care about everyone who
lives in my country, I care about
my people,” Heinz said. “I’m
tired of seeing kids’ names on
the screen. I’m tired of seeing
all these dead children.”
Pioneer sophomore Maya
Boyd attended because she
feels she can make a difference.
Young people, even without
the ability to vote, can still
affect change, she said.
“I am a student who wants to
make a change with my voice
and platform,” Boyd said. “I
realize that we have a voice,
not just our parents. We can
educate people and make a
difference.”
The rally saw a lot of adult
attendance
as
well.
Ann
Arbor resident Lisa Querijero,
a mother of two, said she
decided to attend after high
schoolers
from
the
area
spoke at an Ann Arbor Open
Coordinating Council meeting.
She described her sadness that
her children have to perform
active shooter drills in school
and learn about gun violence
at such young ages. Just like
Heinz and Boyd, she wanted to
make change.
“I want to change the fear
that I can hear from these
kids,” Querijero said. “That
they feel in school. I had no
idea that they were so fearful
before I came here today.”
According to Roth, school
administrators share this fear
but are not legally allowed
to endorse the rally. She said
different schools had a variety
of reactions.
“Unofficially,
administration and teachers
are
scared,”
Roth
said.
“They all feel it’s incredibly
important. However, legally
they cannot support anything
we rally. Some of them sort of
supported the walkout. But I
know one school did actually
threaten to block off roads so
the kids couldn’t come to this.
Another
school
threatened
harsher suspensions. But in
general admin are scared, so
they get it.”
Roth said she would love
to
collaborate
with
other
students
across
Michigan
and the country. Washtenaw
Youth Initiative is planning
to go to Washington, D.C. for
a national gun safety march,
where Roth hopes they can
meet more students. She also
mentioned her determination
to continue her activist work at
Boston University, where she
plans to study public health
and theater.
The New Yorker pointed
out how many of the Parkland
student
activists
are
also
involved
in
theater.
Roth
suggested
this
correlation
exists because of theater’s place
as a haven for nonconformists
and those who want to make
change.
“Theater for a long time
historically has been about
sort of discussing things the
public doesn’t normally want
to discuss,” Roth said. “Theater
is generally a place for students
who don’t necessarily feel like
they just want to conform.
Whether that’s based on gender
identity, sexual identity, racial
and ethnic identities. But I
think that sort of atmosphere
does cultivate students who
are interested in changing
society.”
To create this change, Heinz
urged everyone who has the
ability to register to vote.
“If you are old enough to
vote, register to vote,” he said.
“Period. I don’t care which side
you’re on, just vote, vote, vote.”
MEME CULTURE AND ME DIA
CHUN SO/Daily
Students and representatives from the Library Copyright Office discuss the fair use of media with the influence of meme culture at the Shapiro
Library Wednesday.
WALKOUT
From Page 1
Additionally, legislation would
change the statute of limitations
on reporting sexual assault.
Under previous Michigan law,
survivors
who
were
abused
as children generally can file
lawsuits against their abusers
until they turn 19 years old. The
Associated Press reports the
newly passed legislation gives
survivors of child abuse a one-
year timeframe to file lawsuit for
claims from as early 1997. Those
sexually assaulted during adult
years cannot sue retroactively.
Earlier in the week, the bills
were feared to be stuck in limbo
as the Michigan Association
of
State
Universities,
which
includes
the
University
of
Michigan,
requested
the
Senate delay voting, claiming
the legislation would have a
“profound impact” on public
Michigan universities. MASU’s
CEO Daniel Hurley wrote in a
letter to lawmakers and Gov. Rick
Snyder it would be crucial to take
more time to consider potential
effects of the legislation.
“We ask that decisions on
these bills be delayed to allow
for more analysis and discussion
to ascertain their full impact,”
Hurley wrote.
State Sen. Margaret O’Brien,
R-Kalamazoo, pushed back on
these claims in a statement,
saying criticism “is not surprising
but very disappointing … I don’t
understand what a delay would
do except delay justice, or maybe
the hope is to stop it entirely.”
The legislation also received
criticism
from
governments,
businesses,
the
Michigan
Catholic Conference and others.
Democrats
criticized
the
possibility of delaying voting on
legislation. In a statement, State
Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., D-East
Lansing, stated drawing the line
between support for survivors
and support for institutions is
critical.
“At the end of the day, we
have to decide whether we want
to stand with the survivors or
whether we want to stand with
the big institutions on this,” he
said. “I think it’s fairly simple
where we should be morally and
that’s where I’m going to be.”
State
Sen.
Mike
Shirkey,
R-Clarklake,
voted
against
many of the bills, calling them
“precedent-setting
and
very
dangerous — things that we
don’t have any clue what the
unintended consequences are.”
For
those
in
support
of
legislation, the vote in the Senate
signaled an advancement in
providing justice to survivors.
State
Sen.
David
Knezek,
D-Dearborn Heights, sponsored
the bill that extends the statute
of limitations, and stated this
particular bill can elevate the
voices of those abused in the past
and those who report such abuse.
“(The
bill)
allows
every
single individual who was a
victim of Dr. Nassar’s to seek
justice,” Knezek said. “We have
a really unique opportunity to
take Michigan out of the dark
ages when it comes to our laws
surrounding sexual assault, to
give a voice to the victims who
have been denied that voice for
decades in some cases.”
NASSAR
From Page 1
CSG
From Page 1
“I’m overall very
appreciative
because it is a
need-based and
a merit-based
scholarship, so
I wouldn’t be
able to attend
the University of
Michigan without
it, and it’s also a
great community”
“I am a student
who wants to
make a change
with my voice
and platform,”
Boyd said. “I
realize that we
have a voice, not
just our parents.
We can educate
people and make a
difference.”
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com