struggles equally but differently.
We all have daily obstacles and
challenges that we face whether
it shows on our face or not,
whether it’s apparent or hidden.”
Dean’s Fellow Sean Smith, a
University alum, also took the
stage to speak, highlighting
the adjustments he had to
make when he came to the
University. He explained while
the University presented the
same kind of diversity as in New
York City, groups seemed to be
clustered racially with “invisible
force fields,” between these
different cultures.
“The first year I was here I
didn’t really challenge that, and
I went home that summer and
I felt bad,” Smith said. “When
I came back in the fall of 2015,
I shopped around looking for a
community, and I found pockets
of
like-minded
people,
but
something was still missing.”
Smith
presented
“five
practical points” to encourage
breaking down barriers between
groups, including being present
and engaging with surroundings,
challenging norms to enter new
spaces, having the ability to
discern feelings of discomfort
and being intentional in making
plans rather than suggestions.
He also argued that the present
is the most convenient time to
make change, as “you don’t need
a credential to treat someone
decently.”
Other performances included
those
from
dance
groups
Brazilian Zouk, Arabesque and
Female Gayu, a presentation by
Public Policy senior Ibrahim Ijaz
on Arab calligraphy, as well as
multiple vocal and spoken-word
performances.
LSA sophomore Ceren Ege
presented
a
spoken-word
poem titled, “By Blood,” which
illustrated experiences being
raised in a Muslim community
and spoke to her belief in the
importance of challenging the
assumption that people agree
with every aspect of their
cultural identity.
“As soon as my cherry red
cheeks could speak my mother
told me to repeat after her that
I had been given the greatest
gift of all and that that was
family and that I would never
love anyone more than my
family,” Ege said. “I didn’t
agree and I told her that
expecting people to get along
just because they’re in the
same family is like expecting
different types of fish to get
along just because they’re in
the same tank.”
LSA junior Mariam Reda,
co-founder
of
Redefine,
helped organize the event and
highlighted
her
excitement
promoting
social
acceptance
through
creative,
student-led
presentations and performances.
“The purpose of Redefine
itself
is
to
promote
social
acceptance through the creation
and exhibition of original student
talent,” Reda said. “(Looking
around) I see so many different
people of varying identities just
coming to appreciate the same
thing which I feel so happy
about and I feel that we’re really
making an impact and promoting
the fact that dialogue doesn’t
solely have to be through speech,
it can be through creativity as
well.”
destinations
in
Ann
Arbor,
including
the
University
Hospital, Central Campus and
the Blake Transit Center. The
parking lot is being constructed
by the Michigan Department
of
Transportation,
which
is
working with AAATA to bring
this project to fruition. AAATA
CEO
Matthew
Carpenter
accredited the idea for the
service to MDOT.
“The Michigan Department
of Transportation approached
us with this idea,” Carpenter
said. “They have been working
to improve U.S. 23 for several
years, most of that work on their
end has been done with their flex
lane system, which seems to be
working quite well. It was really
their initiative and I think they
should get credit for that.”
AAATA is in the process of
waiting for funds for a two-year
pilot program of the service.
They applied through the federal
congestion and air mitigation
grants, requesting $579,500 for
each year. Carpenter said they
have no intention of using local
funds, and if the federal funding
doesn’t
follow
through,
the
service will likely not be offered.
“Because the riders from this
service are not going to be from
Ann Arbor, or residents from
Ann Arbor primarily, it’s very
important to us that our local
taxpayers understand that we’re
not using any of our locally-
generated funds to pay for this
service,” Carpenter said. “This
service is going to be funded by
an outside grant, or some other
outside source of funding,
or it’s probably not going to
happen.”
Carpenter
predicted
the
major benefits of the service
would be improving access to
Ann Arbor even through heavy
traffic congestion, which U.S. 23
is known for. It would also allow
access for people unable to drive
in that area. The two major risks
in creating the service, he said,
are it being either too popular or
not popular enough. Those risks
are the reason the service would
start out as a temporary program.
“One risk is that it works and
one is that it doesn’t,” Carpenter
said. “If it’s not very popular
and not many people use it, we’d
probably just have to bring it to a
close. Another possibility is that
it’s far more popular than we’ll
be able to afford. We call that the
‘victim of our own success’ risk.”
Another challenge AAATA
faces is, as Carpenter noted, few
similar services exist to predict
rider estimates.
“One of the challenges we have,
and one of the reasons we want to
do this as a pilot project, is there
are very few similar services out
there in Michigan, so it’s hard
for us to draw comparisons with
another service,” Carpenter said.
“It’s a very new creature, and
for that reason the ridership is
unknown.”
Many of the customers of
this service could be University
employees, like Briscoe. The
University’s most recent data
showing the numbers of faculty
and staff living in or around
Whitmore
Lake
found
644
living in Whitmore Lake, 850 in
Pinckney, 719 in South Lyon and
668 in Brighton.
The
service
could
be
advantageous for the University
as well. Stephen Dolen, the
University director of Logistics,
Transportation
and
Parking,
said he has a close working
relationship with AAATA in
terms of discussing initiatives.
He said he is in support of this
proposed service because the
University aims to reduce the
demand for parking spaces in
any way it can. Presently, they do
this through vanpool programs
or trying to park people remotely
and bus them to campus. Because
some of the employees from the
targeted area drive their car
to work each day, if the service
succeeded, they would not need
to use parking as often.
“We would help to promote it
as best we can,” Dolen said. “We
do everything we can to try and
discourage
single
occupancy
vehicle trips to campus. We’d
rather use land for academic,
research or health care missions
of the University than we would
to build parking.”
The buses used would not
be typical urban transit buses;
they would be highway coaches
similar to those used for AAATA’s
AirRide
service
between
Ann Arbor and the Detroit
Metropolitan Airport. Further,
they would allow passengers
Wi-Fi access. Carpenter said they
included Wi-Fi in the proposal to
attract those who may be wary of
riding buses.
“Part of it is an experiment
to see if that attracts people out
of their cars,” Carpenter said.
“This is a new service and some
people are going to be a little
unfamiliar. So Wi-Fi gives you
the opportunity to make better
use of your time while you are
commuting. One of the benefits
travel by bus has is you don’t have
to pay attention to the road.”
However, driving to work still
has its conveniences. Briscoe said
one of the drawbacks of using the
service would be not having a car
available for emergencies.
“I guess in the event of an
emergency,
having
no
car
accessible throughout the day
(would be difficult),” Briscoe
said. “For example, my daughter
called me to come home sick
yesterday and I had to leave at
like 11 a.m., so I don’t know if
there is a proposed fix for issues
such as that.”
Nevertheless,
Carpenter
is
optimistic about the widespread
positive effect the service might
have.
“Let’s say there’s a nurse that
might use this service to get to
the hospital,” he said. “Does it
benefit her? Yes. Does it benefit
the hospital? Yes. Does it benefit
the
patient
whose
surgery
can be scheduled that much
faster because they don’t have
a labor shortage of nurses? Yes.
It benefits a great number of
people.”
food distribution event being held
this week in conjunction with
the Food Access Task Force and
Maize & Blue Cupboard. The issue
of food insecurity is one that has
been addressed throughout this
year’s assembly, and is actively
being combated by CSG, according
to Sarkar.
“The importance of this event
is that it supports the research
that needs to be done about food
insecurity on campus,” Sarkar
said. “We want to de-stigmatize
the event that’s happening.”
Additionally,
numerous
representatives in the assembly
commented on the pervasiveness
of the upcoming CSG election, in
which students can begin voting
on Wednesday. During the past
months, issues arose regarding
the election code and appropriate
endorsement standards for the
respective
parties
running,
and they are continuing to be
discussed while polls are open
to students. LSA junior Seth
Schostak informed the assembly
of his efforts to determine what
the students want to see in terms
of changes made by CSG. Schostak
told fellow representatives of
the importance of listening to
student concerns instead of simply
counting them as a signature on
a petition, which was met with
applause and snaps from the
assembly.
“Ask for input if you guys are
campaigning,”
Schostak
said.
“Don’t just try to get information
out of people. Try to do something
for them if they’re taking the time
to talk to you.”
The
assembly
was
then
introduced to a new resolution,
which will overhaul the operating
procedures of the assembly. Due
to the fact that a new assembly
will be installed in the coming
weeks, much of the conversation
surrounding
this
resolution
rested on the idea that a new
assembly would be taking over
responsibility for its passing.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, March 21, 2018 — 3A
CAMERON HUNT /Daily
Lydia Davis reads several pieces of her short stories at UMMA for the Helen Zell Writers Program Tuesday.
SPE AK ABLE
BUS
From Page 1A
FAIR
From Page 1A
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
determined that adjusting the
timeline to winter semester
supports
first-year
student
success
by
providing
the
opportunity to fully engage in
curriculum and communities,”
Harper said.
Dean of Students Laura Blake
Jones and a team representing
the Greek life community will
monitor the transition.
“In partnership with our
Greek Life community student
leaders, we are committed to
working together to develop
an implementation plan that
ensures
this
recruitment
timeline
adjustment
strengthens
our
entire
community,” Jones said.
IFC
reinstated
social
activities this January, but also
mandated the removal of hard
alcohol from all events. Twenty-
seven chapters received specific
action plans drafted by IFC
executives and the Office of
Greek Life. Since November,
administrators from University
President Mark Schlissel to E.
Royster Harper, vice president
for student life, to the Board of
Regents repeatedly emphasized
the
council’s
self-regulated
efforts.
“I want to applaud you for
all the work that you’re doing
along with other students to
provide a safer environment in
our fraternities and sororities,”
Regent Denise Ilitch, D, told IFC
president Sam Finn, a Public
Policy junior, at a February
board meeting. “I can’t tell you
how many of the headlines that
we read across the country
where students are harmed and
unfortunately, it’s tragic. Some
students have died over hazing
and drinking. It’s a real issue on
campus.”
According to the press release,
this change is part of a larger
five-year plan in coordination
with the University’s Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion efforts for
first-year students. The Division
of Student Life already hosts a
wide range of workshops and
community-building activities
focused on improving academic
and relationship success, but
the new initiative will focus on
increasing engagement in these
programs.
Harper told the Record it’s
the University’s responsibility
to
help
incoming
students
transition into college.
Aside from delaying the Greek
life rush process, the University
plans on expanding Michigan
Learning
Communities
throughout
more
schools
and colleges and developing
additional theme communities
in residence halls. They will also
increase the scope of the seven-
week goal-setting course titled
Making the Most of Michigan,
which is taught in the residence
halls, and prioritize University
Career Center programs that
focus on first-year students.
Additional programming is also
planned, such as expanding
the Intercultural Development
Inventory
program,
geared
toward helping students build
intercultural competence, to
the College of Engineering,
Rackham
Graduate
School,
School of Education and the
School of Kinesiology.
RUSH
From Page 1A
across the country, and the
Cold War prompted the federal
government to invest money
into the education system,
African-American
students
continued to be disadvantaged
by the underlying structure
that shut down school districts
and allocated funds for white
students to attend schools in
richer, segregated areas.
Anderson also went on to
credit the War on Drugs as
another response of white
rage
to
the
advancement
of
African-American
citizens. The previous shift
in mass funding to public
schools was reallocated to
correction facilities with a
disproportionately
higher
number
of
Black
men
incarcerated compared to white
men — destabilizing Black
families and communities in
the process. This was done
even though many of the
crimes were clearly fabricated.
As a former International
Studies major and admirer of
Anderson,
University
alum
Brianna Allen said she came
to the talk to follow up with
current events through the
lens of race. She expressed her
dismay with the severity of
the false accusations against
members
of
the
African-
American community.
“You just see how much
people want to bring down
the
African-American
community,” Allen said.
Anderson linked the spike in
the incarceration rate of black
men with voter suppression
of
the
African-American
community. She explained
factors like gerrymandering,
underequipped polling places
and bans on former felons
from voting all contribute
to
lower
African-American
voter turnout, and in doing so,
impede the full participation
of the Black community in
democracy and society.
Anderson ended her talk
on a more optimistic note of
hope, citing former President
Barack Obama’s historic 2008
campaign inspiring an extra 15
million people to turn out and
vote.
She
explained
that
the
trend of voter suppression is
slowly disintegrating because
those who were previously
suppressed
persevered
and
showed up at the polling
places. According to Anderson,
the right way to move forward
from
voter
suppression
is
to embrace the new people
showing up at the polls.
“(If they show up they) have
a stake in the government,
value participating politically,
and don’t feel alienated,” she
said.
University alum Catherine
Lebar
expressed
how
Anderson’s
hopefulness
resonated with her the most.
“She still has a positive
vision for the future and this
is what I think we should be
spreading,” Lebar said.
Anderson
also
explained
another way to counteract the
long-term disenfranchisement
of African Americans is by
dissecting
the
prevailing
narrative that white people
built the U.S.
“The narrative most folks
have is that it’s a white nation
and whites only built America,”
she said. “As a nation of merit,
so much of who we are is based
on we worked hard for this, we
earned this, so having this type
of conversation is difficult …
(It) feels like you’re attacking
someone’s foundational sense
of self and identity.”
DIVERSITY
From Page 1A
WHITE RAGE
From Page 1A
“The narrative
most folks have
is that it’s a
white nation and
whites only built
America.”
“If it’s not very
popular and not
many people use
it, we’d probably
just have to bring
it to a close.”
“(Looking
around) I see so
many different
people of varying
identities just
coming to
appreciate the
same thing...”