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NEWS
Thursday, May 17, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Twenty-six Wolverines
named Fulbright Finalists
Program funds
international
engagement
By ROB DALKA
For The Daily
The University of Michigan
boasts 19 students and seven alum-
ni as finalists for the 2018-2019 Ful-
bright Student Program.
The Fulbright program was
introduced in 1945 when Sen. J.
William Fulbright presented a
congressional bill that encouraged
student engagement in the inter-
national community. The program
currently offers research, study
and teaching opportunities in more
than 140 countries to U.S. citizens
who complete their undergradu-
ate degree before the grant date.
The recipients of the grant include
young professionals that hold or
are pursuing bachelor’s, master’s
or doctorate degrees.
The University’s International
Institute hires Fulbright program
advisers to help students navi-
gate the application process. The
advisers hold information sessions
throughout the year and help stu-
dents make their applications com-
pelling and competitive.
Among the announced final-
ists, 13 U-M students were offered
English Teaching Assistantships
through the Fulbright program.
ETA recipients assist local English
teachers in classrooms around the
world, including Bulgaria, China,
Germany, Malaysia, Mexico, Slo-
vak Republic, Spain, Taiwan and
Turkey.
Eleven students and recent
graduates were offered the Ful-
bright
Study-Research
Award,
which allows recipients to work on
research projects at foreign univer-
sities.
Eric Peterson, a recent LSA
graduate, is one of the named final-
ists for this award. As an under-
graduate,
Peterson
researched
Rydberg atoms in professor Georg
Raithel’s atomic physics labora-
tory. Last summer, Peterson par-
ticipated in a two-month research
project at a French university
through a National Science Foun-
dation grant.
Peterson credited his experi-
ence in France for his interest in
working with people from differ-
ent countries.
“Science is really an interna-
tional effort, whether that be
through
large
collaborations
or just through the sharing of
knowledge, and I think my expe-
rience in France opened my eyes
to this,” Peterson said.
Under the Fulbright Study/
Research Award, Peterson will be
working at the ELI-NP research
facility in Romania, studying
interactions between high-ener-
gy laser pulses and solid material.
Two other individuals will be
participating in unique Fulbright
programs. Laura Lapidus, a recent
Music, Theatre & Dance gradu-
ate, has been named the final-
ist for the John Wood LAMBDA
Award in Classical Acting. Each
year, the award gives one finalist
the opportunity to pursue a one-
year master’s degree in classical
acting at the London Academy of
Music & Dramatic Art.
Another finalist, recent LSA
graduate Merin McDivitt, was
accepted
into
the
Binational
Internship Program in Mexico.
The program allows fellows to
intern at a Mexican company or
organization while taking classes
at a local university. McDivitt is
looking forward to working and
studying in Mexico City.
“I’m so excited to live in Mexi-
co City!” McDivitt said. “I visited
the city recently and fell in love
with it — it has more museums
than any other city in the world
and is home to literally thousands
of unique communities, a stun-
ning national park and dozens of
layers of ancient and modern his-
tory.”
McDivitt
is
interested
in
sustainable tourism and heri-
tage-based businesses in Latin
America and hopes that she will
learn a lot during her experience.
“I hope to gain a much deeper
understanding of Mexican cul-
ture, particularly the business
and arts environments.” McDivitt
said. “Mexico has a rich, impres-
sive tradition of regional artisan
wares that I can’t wait to explore
and see how I can collaborate on
future projects that raise aware-
ness of Mexican heritage.”
When reached for comment,
the University spokesperson Kim
Broekhuizen said, “It is always
great to see our students recog-
nized.”
Visit MichiganDaily.com for
City election 2018:A breakdown of Ann
Arbor’s mayoral and council candidates
City primary election
will be hosted Aug. 7
By RACHEL CUNNINGHAM
Summer Daily News Editor
The Ann Arbor City Council will
hold a primary election for mayor
and five council positions Aug. 7.
Here is a breakdown of this year’s
candidates:
Mayoral Candidates:
Incumbent Mayor Christopher
Taylor will seek reelection against
Council
Member
Jack
Eaton,
D-Ward 4.
Taylor admits he’s proud of the
progress made during his first term
but feels his work isn’t over.
“Although I feel we have done
a lot of great work in Ann Arbor,
there’s still a great deal more to do,”
Taylor said. “Obviously, we have to
work to fix our roads; our (storm)
water infrastructure is aging. Also,
it’s important that we make Ann
Arbor the most equitable and sus-
tainable place you’ve ever lived. We
need to fund and commit to afford-
able housing and implement our
climate action plan.”
Yet the mayor’s first term hasn’t
been all roses. After the city voted
May 2 to repurchase the Y lot from
local real estate developer Dennis
Dahlmann for $4.2 million, Coun-
cilmember Jane Lumm, I-Ward 2,
criticized Taylor for a statement he
made in which he lamented how
supporters of the vote cost the city
“thousands, if not millions, of dol-
lars.”
“The statement is plainly and
obviously temperate and not a per-
sonal attack,” Taylor said. “It is in
my view, plainly and obviously fac-
tual: The fact that my colleagues
made a very poor decision on April
2 and, in my view, contrary to the
city interests. I can understand
why people don’t want to hear that,
but it was not said with personal-
ity. It did not get to the motive. It
just got to the effect of the decision.
That’s public discourse.”
Eaton, on the other hand, attrib-
uted his candidacy to the fact that
he felt the city was not addressing
many issues in the way that he pre-
ferred.
“There are a number of issues
that are very important to me that I
just feel that we’re not taking a lead
on,” Eaton said. “I think that I can
provide leadership on the really
important issues facing the city.”
Eaton has served on City Council
since 2013 and specified the issues
he hopes to improve include infra-
structure, public safety, affordable
housing and the environment.
One
environmental
concern
Eaton addressed was the 1,4-Diox-
ane plume that contaminates Ann
Arbor groundwater.
Dioxane is a carcinogenic com-
pound that was widely used for
manufacturing in the past. Ann
Arbor manufacturer Gelman Sci-
ences, now Pall Corp., released the
chemical as an industrial byprod-
uct into an unlined lagoon from
1966 to 1986. The main concern is
the plume will reach the Huron
River and contaminate Barton
Pond, Ann Arbor’s main source for
drinking water.
“I would like to join the petition
that other communities in the area
have filed with the EPA asking the
EPA to take a more active role in
the oversight of the progress of the
plume,” Eaton said. “I’m embar-
rassed that a city like Ann Arbor
with a strong reputation for envi-
ronmentalism isn’t more active and
seeking an actual remedy.”
Yet some critics and council-
members have complained about
Eaton previously accepting dona-
tions from Dahlmann, the local
real estate developer who pur-
chased the “Y lot” from the city in
a failed promise to develop afford-
able
housing
and
commercial
developing.
“All council members receive
contributions from people who
later have business in front of coun-
cil and the efforts to disparage me
for having received the contribu-
tions from Dennis Dahlmann are
purely political,” Eaton responded.
Ward 1:
Councilmember Sumi Kailasap-
athy, D-Ward 1, will not be seeking
reelection. Democrats Ron Gin-
yard and Jeff Hayner are running
to fill her position.
Hayner sees major concerns
with the city’s natural resources
and environmental concerns, spe-
cifically within his ward.
“Especially in Ward 1 where
I’m running, we have a lot of land-
use issues here on the north side,”
Hayner said. “We’re the river
part of the city primarily. We had
the most vacant land, township
(island) and agriculture land left
over.”
Ward 2:
Councilmember Kirk Westphal
is seeking reelection for Ward 2
against challenger Kathy Griswold.
Westphal feels the main issues
the city faces include public safety,
affordable housing and infrastruc-
ture.
Westphal thinks continued Uni-
versity and city cooperation will
help address the recent string of
home invasions and sexual assaults
near the University.
“I think I speak for all of Council
when I say we will get resources that
our police ask for to the extent we
can within our budget,” Westphal
said. “I think sexual assault is a com-
plex problem that needs focus and
cooperation between the city and
the University to look at the sources
of the problem and ensure we con-
tinue coordinating and communi-
cating with each other to go after
what’s driving this latest uptick in
these assaults.”
Ward 3:
Ward 3 will see a competition
between
Councilmember
Julie
Grand and Alice Liberson.
Grand claims city affordability
and public safety are major issues
in Ann Arbor. As a pre-health aca-
demic adviser in LSA, Grand said
students often bring up concerns
with city affordability in advising
appointments.
“I hear a lot from students on their
struggles to find housing,” Grand
said. “If the University is thinking
about DEI initiatives and bringing
in students from a range of income
groups and increasing the number
of transfer students, I really am con-
cerned about affordable housing.”
Liberson was not available for
comment in time for publication.
Ward 4:
For Ward 4, Councilmember
Graydon Krapohl is running for
reelection against Elizabeth Nel-
son.
Nelson works as a substitute
teacher for Washtenaw County
and has been an Ann Arbor resi-
dent since 2004. Her inspiration
for running for City Council
came after her realization that
she does not have to be a spe-
cific type of person to run for a
council seat.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com