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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

