The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Thursday, April 12, 2018 — 3

ODISSI DANCE

Sreyashi Dey, founder and artistic director of Srishti Dances of India, hosts an Odissi dance workshop for Michigan Dance students in the Dance 
building Wednesday evening. 

RUCHITA IYER/Daily

Walker said. “They would call a 
special dish ‘Indian food’ even 
though that food could be found 
throughout Southeast Asia. The 
RAs caught wind of this and 
complained to the Hall Director 
and the Hall Director ended up 
shutting it down before they let 
the Multicultural Council know 
about it.”

Walker said he understood 

why 
people 
did 
not 
want 

to 
go 
through 
with 
the 

event. He realized incorrect 
labeling — such as calling a 
multiethnic dish “Indian” —
could result in the exclusion of 
members from other countries in 
Southeast Asia.

“If MDining would have went 

through with it, then it would 
have looked bad for students who 
are from Southeast Asia who 
(would have) walked in and said, 
‘Oh, I have this in my country,’ 
or ‘This is not limited to India,’” 
Walker said. “I wasn’t upset 
about (cancelling the event) 
because the reasoning behind it 
made sense.”

As a member of a multicultural 

council, 
Walker 
emphasized 

the importance of thoroughly 
planning events to involve other 
nationalities so all cultures are 
accurately represented.

“It’s not easy to push for 

multicultural 
events 
because 

you have to take a whole bunch 
of factors into consideration,” 
Walker 
said. 
“You 
have 
to 

make sure you aren’t offending 
anyone and make sure you’re 
being respective of different 
sensitivities.”

MDining 
Marketing 

Coordinator Elliott Rains said he 
appreciated the feedback from 
various East Quad community 
members.

“I know that (MDining) did 

have some meetings with RAs, 
and they did have some concerns 
that it would not be authentic,” 
Rains said. “We always want to 
be respective of the cultures in 
the room and the cultures that 
we serve on a day-to-day basis, 
so anytime people bring to us 
they feel they’re culture is being 
misrepresented, we want to hear 
their concerns. I think that was 
an instance that happened where 
we have some RAs and some 
housing staff members bring 
their concerns to us.”

However, since this incident, 

East Quad has made increased 
efforts 
to 
serve 
quality 

international food. For example, 
this semester, the unit partnered 
with the Office of Student Life 
to begin talks around including 
an improved selection of Middle 
Eastern and North African food 
in dining halls.

Rains explained while the 

increased efforts to serve were 
not in direct response to the 
incident in East Quad, MDining is 
aiming to ensure a more inclusive 
campus environment and worked 
to improve its menus and provide 
authentic food from different 
areas of the world.

“It 
was 
not 
necessarily 

a 
reactionary 
measure; 
it 

was 
something 
that 
we 

have been working on for a 
while,” Rains said. “We have 
internal trainings that we do 
and 
external 
trainings 
that 

we do. I think it just kind of 
compliments the theme that this 
is in an incident where people 
had concerns, and we’re working 
on this at the same time and as 
we’re doing these trainings we 
are getting better at representing 
people’s 
cultures 
and 
 

bringing people recipes that are 
authentic to their culture.”

Director 
of 
Student 

Engagement Keith Soster said 
MDining’s learning objectives 
when researching multicultural 
foods include understanding the 
history of the food, identifying 
ingredients and spices used, 
practicing cooking techniques 
common in ethnic dishes and 
analyzing existing recipes. He 
also 
underscored 
MDining’s 

commitment to DEI initiatives 
through food.

“Researching 
and 
training 

around international authentic 
cuisine speaks to the DEI work 
that we are all embracing on 
campus, and we want to serve food 
that students want and, because 
we have a diverse community, we 
are listening,” Soster said.

Along 
with 
incorporating 

student 
feedback, 
Rains 

explained MDining is working 
with chefs who specialize in 
international cuisines to increase 
the cultural food authenticity. 
Most recently, MDining has 
worked with a chef from India 
and a chef from Japan. The 
dining program has also worked 
with students to create halal, 
plant-based and kosher menus.

“One thing we’re really trying 

to emphasize this year is bringing 
in different perspectives on a lot 
of different things,” Rains said. 
“So last month we brought in a 
chef from India to work on some 
of our Indian recipes, and we also 
brought in a chef from Japan to 
work on some of our Asian and 
Japanese restaurants as well. You 
can bring in as many chefs as you 
want, and I think our chefs are 
learning a lot in these training 
processes. But it’s the student 
feedback we get that is ever 
evolving.”

Though MDining is making 

an 
effort 
to 
improve 
the 

international 
foods 
available 

to students, Walker discussed 
how the exclusive partnership 
between MDining and various 
campus 
buildings 
can 
be 

restrictive in terms of what food 
students can cater for cultural 
events they want to hold.

“In order to get food, we 

have to get it from MCatering 
or from MDining. You can’t 
order outside food, and it is to 
my understanding that they 
do 
not 
offer 
an 
incredible 
 

array 
of 
cultural 
foods,” 
 

Walker said. “The few that they 
do offer, they often don’t cook 
it well, so natives of respective 
countries and cultures complain 
about it.”

East 
Quad 
Hall 
Council 

member Lauren Lee, an LSA 
sophomore, 
noted 
MDining’s 

willingness 
to 
work 
with 

students and take feedback into 
account in response to catering 
complications.

In an email to The Daily, Lee 

wrote she was pleased with 
MDining’s effort to provide 
cultural food.

“MDining still served dishes 

that Hall Council requested 
and really took our feedback 
about this event,” Lee said. “I 
really appreciated them for this 
because we chose this theme and 
we chose a list of countries we 
wanted to see represented.” 

Moving 
forward, 
Walker 

emphasized how he hoped more 
thoughtful research would be 
conducted both on the part 
of multicultural councils and 
MDining to ensure an inclusive 
environment.

“I think that people should 

do 
their 
research 
– 
both 

multicultural 
councils 
and 

dining,” 
Walker 
said. 
They 

should do their research to make 
sure that the food that they’re 
providing under the name of 
the culture they’re providing is 
accurate and inclusive.”

DINING
From Page 1

“Even when we lost (a debate), 

the thing that was important to 
me was to know that the views 
we were putting forward at CEA 
were being heard,” Stevenson 
said. “And that was one of the 
things that the president was 
amazing about; he clearly heard 
them.”

Stevenson 
spoke 
about 

efforts to increase the national 
minimum wage while she was 
on the CEA. Obama was unable 
to make progress with Congress, 
but he worked with the CEA 
to raise the wages for some 
government 
workers, 
relying 

heavily on academic research 
showing 
increased 

productivity with higher wages.

The panelists also touched 

on the difficulties of being 
women in the largely male-
dominated field of economics, 
including 
sexual 
harassment 

and 
discrimination. 
They 

discussed ways to combat such 
discrimination, and Stevenson 
said she believes the situation 
will improve if more women 
choose to study economics.

“We have a cultural shift that 

needs to take place,” Stevenson 
said. “And one of the few ways 
to get cultures to shift is to 
change the people in the culture, 
so I do think that improving 
the pipeline and getting more 
women into economics is an 
important part of this.”

Stevenson and Black said the 

gender dynamics in the White 
House were notably better than 
in their previous workplaces. 
Stevenson noted in particular 
there was a wide range of 
representation 
in 
terms 
of 

gender, race, sexual orientation 
and economic status, which she 
said helped greatly with crafting 
policy and opinions.

“There was a lot of diversity, 

and that meant that there was a 
different dynamic,” Stevenson 

said. “There wasn’t a feeling of 
a dominant group. There was a 
feeling of a diverse group. And 
you’re forced to interact in a 
more inclusive way once you’re 
in a really diverse group like 
that.”

Rackham 
student 
Hanna 

Zlotnick, a research assistant for 
the Education Policy Initiative, 
helped organize the event and 
read audience questions to the 
panelists. She also co-authored 
a paper with Stevenson about 
gender 
representation 
in 

economics textbooks.

Zlotnick said she believes 

events like these are a critical 
way for students to learn about 
the work of people in their field.

“It’s really important because 

a lot of people, especially at the 
Ford School, might not have 
the exposure to how the work 
they’re doing in the classroom 
and the work their professors 
are doing is really impacting 
the real world,” Zlotnick said. 
“And all of these professors 

have come from the position of 
both academic research as well 
as being in policy work right 
at the White House. I think it 
shows people that your work 
is influential. It might require 
reframing your work so that the 
general public can see it. … But it 
is really valuable work, and there 
are a lot of people who really 
care.”

Zlotnick also expressed her 

happiness with the sizeable 
crowd that came to see the panel, 
comprised of both University 
students as well as those outside 
of the University.

“It’s great that the general 

public came,” Zlotnick said. 
“Sometimes 
these 
events 

only have Ford students or 
undergraduates 
from 
other 

programs. I always think it’s nice 
when Ann Arbor community 
members 
come 
because 

they’re taking advantage of an 
opportunity to hear from people 
who are really involved in this 
field.”

PANEL
From Page 1

Samer Ali wrote the center was 
“concerned that the event was 
laden with the ultranationalist 
messaging,” particularly the 
phase “In honor of the 70th 
Anniversary of Israel. . .”

“If 
you 
think 
about 
it, 

that equates attending with 
honoring,” Ali wrote. “A truly 
public event open to opposing 
views 
must 
not 
imply 
an 

ideological 
litmus 
test 
for 

participation. In effect, the 
event manufactures consent 
by soliciting a sympathetic 
audience to normalize state-
sponsored 
atrocities, 
while 

excluding those who might 
want to attend for the purposes 
of disagreeing and dissenting 
in a public forum.”

According 
to 
the 
email, 

CMENAS 
was 
unaware 
of 

“the full nature of the event” 
or 
“the 
event’s 
nationalist 

framing” when it initially took 
on co-sponsorship.

Tamir 
is 
currently 
the 

director 
of 
international 

affairs at the Peres Center for 
Peace, an Israel-based non-
governmental 
organization. 

Before his career in diplomacy, 
he served in the IDF as a 

company 
commander 
and 

fought in the First Lebanon 
War, retiring with the rank of 
major.

His lecture focused on the 

possibility of peace between 
Israel and its neighbors in 
the Middle East, including 
Palestine. He discussed how 
the trauma of the Holocaust 
affects Israel’s approach to 
national security and peace 
processes.

“We 
are 
not 
the 
only 

traumatized 
people 
in 
the 

Middle 
East,” 
Tamir 
said. 

“The Palestinians are also 
traumatized for other reasons 
and this is one of the reasons 
why it’s so hard to solve 
this conflict, because you’re 
dealing with two traumatized 
people.”

Tamir 
endorsed 
a 
two-

state solution to the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict and called 
for 
immediate 
negotiations 

between the two parties. He 
also said while he was a “die 
hard Zionist,” he was still 
very critical of the Israeli 
government.

“You can love your country 

and be completely against its 
government,” Tamir said. “I 
think many Americans feel that 
they don’t like your president 
at the moment, but are very 

proud to be American.”

An 
LSA 
freshman 
who 

attended the talk and asked not 
to be named said she thought 
Tamir offered an optimistic 
outlook on achieving peace.

“I think that sometimes 

people think that he’s coming at 
from a pro-Israel perspective,” 
she said. “It’s true that he does 
believe in the existence of the 
Israeli state, but what I got 
out of this talk is that he really 
seems to be working toward 
peace in general and he wants 
a win-win solution, not a win-
lose one.”

Tensions between pro-Israel 

and pro-Palestinian student 
groups have simmered since 
Central Student Government’s 
passage 
of 
#UMDivest, 
a 

resolution 
calling 
on 
the 

University to investigate its 
investments 
in 
companies 

committing 
human 
rights 

violations in Israel. 

During 
a 
question 
and 

answer session held after the 
lecture, event facilitators asked 
questions be written down on 
notecards. After reading the 
cards, they would then pose 
questions to Tamir.

After 
several 
rounds 
of 

questions, 
SAFE 
member 

Carly Marten, an LSA junior 
who participated in the die-

in, spoke directly to Tamir 
in reference to Palestinian 
casualties during protests this 
month.

“Literally your organization 

just shot down 700 people 
in Gaza and you want me to 
write down my thoughts on a 
notecard about that?” she said. 
“You are a terrorist. You’ve 
been calling people terrorists 
all day and you yourself work 
for a terrorist organization.”

When 
Tamir 
began 
to 

answer, 
she 
grabbed 
her 

backpack 
and 
left 
the 

auditorium.

LSA sophomore Alex Harris, 

who helped facilitate the event, 
wrote in an email he admired 
how Tamir responded to the 
protesters at the event.

“I was impressed with the 

way Mr. Tamir engaged with 
people with differing opinions 
from his own,” he wrote. 
“He demonstrated that even 
the 
conflicting 
narratives 

surrounding 
the 
Israeli-

Palestinian conflict can be 
bridged through productive 
conversation if we respect 
and acknowledge each other 
and our unique perspectives. I 
believe that this is the only way 
that real, positive change will 
happen.”

SAFE
From Page 1

“Often 
times, 
it’s 
a 
very 

underutilized 
or 
forgotten 

program, (but) has a lot of 
opportunities or benefits that can 
be offered to students of color 
on campus,” Timban said. “So, 
we really just want to be able to 
share that with the community, 
especially 
because 
UAAO 
is 

a space for Asian and Pacific 
Islander students.”

Panelists answered questions 

about their own relationships 
with the program, as well as 
speaking on ways students can 
work to help bolster the program, 
maintain its importance outside 
of the classroom and ensure 

administration 
can 
be 
held 

accountable for its lack of program 
recognition.

Rackham 
student 
Ivy 
Wei 

sat on the panel, explaining her 
own experiences growing up in 
a Midwestern area that lacked 
cultural diversity, speaking on 
the 
importance 
of 
ensuring 

representation in the current 
narrative.

“When I was growing up in the 

Midwest, I really didn’t see any 
cultural or media representations 
of myself,” Wei said. “It’s really 
important for us to reclaim that 
narrative of who we are and what 
we are in society.”

Lawsin 
expressed 
similar 

sentiments, explaining the first 
time she worked with teachers 
and professors who shared her 

cultural identity was when she 
was ethnic studies student. The 
educators provided Lawsin with 
resources to more deeply study 
figures and theories that shaped 
her identity.

“Ethnic studies changed my life 

because for the first time I actually 
had teachers and professors in 
front of me who looked like me 
and I could read about all of these 
people who were like me and 
like my parents and our family,” 
Lawsin said. “I think it’s very 
important for us to realize that 
here in the Midwest, unlike the 
West coast where I grew up, we 
have so few Asian Americans 
in leadership positions, at the 
front of the classroom … or even 
in administrative positions here 
in the University. We have to 

ask, ‘Why? Why is that?’ And I 
think that’s why A/PIA studies is 
important to me, because it allows 
us to look at those things, to study 
those things, and to talk about 
those so we can actually make 
some serious social change.”

The 
beginnings 
of 
Asian-

American studies didn’t come 
without 
conflict, 
Kurashige 

emphasized. 
Protests, 
police 

brutality and riots erupted as 
students in universities began 
demanding 
for 
the 
existence 

of these programs. Even more 
alarming, he noted, is these 
programs were established only 
recently— despite centuries of 
cultural struggles.

“The important thing to realize 

is that the first Asian-American 
studies programs were created 50 

years ago. The student strikes to 
create them started 50 years ago,” 
Kurashige said. “It was because 
people demanded these programs 
… They wanted to change what 
we studied, but they also wanted 
to change the power dynamics in 
education.”

Kurashige further highlighted 

struggles of the A/PIA program 
at the University, noting the 
program currently does not have a 
full staff, a large budget and even 
lacks a sign.

Furthermore, 
Kurashige 

spoke on difficulties with past 
and present LSA deans while 
attempting to make coordinated 
efforts to boost the program. He 
expressed his opinions on the 
faults of administration, noting 
their actions go against A/PIA 

program 
efforts 
to 
increase 

institutional equity.

“There are clear rules as to how 

these programs are governed, 
and when you ask (the deans) for 
the rules, they change them,” 
Kurashige said. “(The programs) 
really set up to fail and the only 
way they can succeed is if you find 
faculty that care enough to devote 
lots of free labor to the University. 
I think the deans need to be held 
accountable for these decisions.”

In addition, panelists spoke on 

the current campus climate and 
necessary changes to promote 
the 
diverse 
atmosphere 
the 

administration advertises.

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

A/PIA
From Page 1

