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