When LSA senior Sophia
Georginis
interviewed
for
a
summer
job
at
Comedy
Central last year, then studying
screen arts and cultures at the
University of Michigan, she was
asked was to define her major.
Georginis explained she studied
film, television and media and
ended up getting the job, but
realized her department’s name
presented a significant obstacle
to employment.
“Screen arts and cultures to
a lot of employers didn’t really
mean much because it was a
bunch of words strung together
that didn’t mean a lot to people
in the industry,” Georginis said.
“If they didn’t really know what
we were studying, in a pool of
thousands and thousands of
kids, it was just difficult to be
like, ‘Yes, this is film, television
and media,’ if they look at your
major and they don’t even know
what it is.”
However, on Sept. 1, the
department changed its name
after
14
years.
Georginis,
along with all other formerly-
called screen arts and cultures
students,
became
Film,
Television, and Media majors.
Georginis said she was pleased
with the change.
“The
new
name
change
makes a lot of sense because
it’s just so forward,” she said. “I
More than 70 University of
Michigan students and faculty
members attended an interview
Wednesday featuring former
juvenile lifer Edward Sanders
in a lecture titled “From Prison
to Paralegal.” The Information
Alliance
for
Community
Development and the School of
Information jointly hosted the
event, which explored Sanders’
experience in prison and efforts
to obtain an education, as well
as his reintroduction into a
technologically-focused society.
Sanders was 17 years old
when he was convicted with
accessory
to
murder
and
imprisoned in 1975. As the
lecture, he expressed his regret
for what happened that day and
explained how it changed his
life forever.
“I made a mistake when I was
17 years old and I recognize that
someone lost their life. I didn’t
pull the trigger, but I was there,”
he said. “There’s no snapping
my finger and getting them to
come back. I know what death
means.”
After spending 42 years in
prison, Sanders was released
on July 6, 2017. Upon entry
to
prison,
he
described
his education level was at
approximately
third
grade,
which was one of the reasons he
was so motivated to spend time
trying to earn an undergraduate
degree.
“Most of my time in prison
was spent in four places: in
the yard running, the inmates’
library, the school or Islamic
services,” he said.
He faced several challenges
getting
an
education
as
a
result of the prison institution
structure. Because he received
a life sentence, he was not
prioritized for the provided
educational opportunities. He
could only attend on the basis
that another inmate would
decide not to pursue education.
“Every time that I made an
effort to go to school, it was
a challenge,” Sanders said. “I
would have to wait to see if
someone that intended to go
didn’t go. And if they decided
not to go, it was my fortune.”
While he was in prison,
Sanders received his associate’s
degree from Jackson College in
paralegal studies, as well as a
bachelor’s degree from Spring
Arbor University in behavioral
science.
Sanders then joined a group
called the Lifer Law program,
where he worked with other
inmates, mostly veterans, to
study legal texts and pay for
attorneys to come lecture. The
program also gave inmates
resources to go to trial, even
when
discouraged
by
their
attorneys.
Sanders said being able to use
and benefit from this education
was significant. Though he
gained 40 years of paralegal
experience, the likelihood of a
career or even an entry-level
job in the field of law is slim for
former felons.
“There’s no looking for a
career, and that reality hurt. So I
began to do what other inmates
did before me, which is assisting
my fellow inmates,” he said.
Sanders highlighted prison
institutional
barriers
to
obtaining education, such as
severe limitations on technology
access. The prison in which
he was incarcerated had ban
on typewriters — they were
considered a threat to security.
Later, offline computers were
provided to participate in legal
research, but he explained the
system was still inefficient.
“There is an institutional bias
In
this
past
week,
the
University
of
Michigan
has
announced
several
new
initiatives centered in Detroit. Of
these initiatives are a partnership
with
Harvard
University
to
address the opioid crisis and
the
P-20
Partnership
with
Marygrove College to improve
educational
institutions.
The
P-20 Partnership implements a
teacher residency, which allows
teachers to work in rotations
similar those of physicians, and
a “cradle-to-career” pathway for
students beginning as early as
kindergarten. In the past year,
the University also finalized the
purchase of the remainder of the
Horace H. Rackham Education
Memorial Building in Detroit,
which has been used previously
for multiple projects and classes.
James Holloway, vice provost
of
Global
Engagement
and
Interdisciplinary
Academic
Affairs, said Detroit, as an
important urban area, presents
opportunities for faculty and
staff. He also said there are
several questions that arise when
approaching a project in Detroit.
“How do opportunities in
Detroit align with our mission to
develop generalizable knowledge
and to educate a new generation?”
Holloway said. “How do we do
that in partnership and in ways
building capacity and realizing
opportunities for the various
communities of Detroit?”
American culture Associate
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, September 20, 2018
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 139
©2018 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
What’s in a
name? Near
East Studies,
SAC rebrand
Rep. Joe Kennedy rallies with state
Democrats to turn out student vote
See SAC, Page 2A
ACADEMICS
Departments respond to student and
employer confusion, outdated ideologies
ANDREW HIYAMA
Daily News Editor
College Democrats bring Stabenow, Dingell, and more in advance of midterms
Michigan
Sen.
Debbie
Stabenow
and
Massachusetts
Rep. Joe Kennedy III joined
Michigan Reps. Debbie Dingell
and Dan Kildee, congressional
candidate Gretchen Driskell and
University of Michigan Board of
Regents candidate Paul Brown for
an event Wednesday co-hosted
by the University’s chapter of
College Democrats. The special
guests discussed important issues
for young voters, voter turnout
in the midterm elections and the
direction of the Democratic party.
College Democrats Chair Kellie
Lounds, a Public Policy senior,
began organizing the event a
few weeks ago when she heard
Kennedy would be in Michigan
doing events on the west side
of
the
state.
She
contacted
Stabenow’s team, and the event
began to gain momentum.
“Obviously Congressman Joe
Kennedy is a super exciting person
to have — not someone we see
around a lot,” Lounds said. “We’re
always excited to see Debbie
Stabenow and Debbie Dingell, but
when you get someone from out
MAEVE O’BRIEN
Daily Staff Reporter
See DETROIT, Page 3A
University
announces
initiatives
in Detroit
ADMINISTRATION
Revived partnership series
prompts city residents’
reflections on resources
SAYALI AMIN
Daily Staff Reporter
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Paralegal Edward Sanders, who spent forty-two years in prison, discusses the importance of digital technology access and literacy skills for incarcerated indi-
viduals in North Quad Wednesday morning.
Former juvenile lifer turned paralegal
details carceral education experience
Sanders spent 42-year sentence giving legal assistance, calls for campus involvement
KATHERINA SOURINE
Daily Staff Reporter
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
See DEMS, Page 3A
Polish
President
Andrzej
Duda
and
U.S.
President
Donald
Trump’s
meeting
wasn’t the only conference
between the two countries this
week. University of Michigan’s
School
of
Music,
Theatre
and Dance hosted a panel
discussing the joint production
playwright
Charles
Mee’s
“Day and Night” with Polish
institutions
AST
National
Academy
of
Theatre
Arts,
Kraków
and
Warsaw-based
Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
The
Wednesday
evening
panel
included
directors
Malcolm
Tulip,
a
Music,
Theatre & Dance assistant
professor,
and
Dominika
Knapik, a Polish actress, dancer
and choreographer, as well as
the designers and members
of the Polish and American
cast. Germanic languages and
literature
Visiting
Scholar
Teresa Kovacs moderated the
discussion, first giving the
background of “Night and Day.”
The play premiered in 2014 and
is actually two separate plays
that can be performed together
or apart.
“Like all of Mee’s plays,
‘Night
and
Day’
are
not
psychological, narrative-based
dramas,” Kovacs said. “We
can think of them as a collage
because
he
uses
different
materials: paintings, he refers
to
performances
and
even
Youtube clips.”
Tulip chose Night and Day
See PANEL, Page 3A
See PARALEGAL, Page 3A
Panel talks
creativity
in response
to unrest
CAMPUS LIFE
“Night and Day” born
from directors’ political
struggle under far-right
ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
Daily Staff Reporter
CARTER FOX/Daily
Representative Joe Kennedy III speaks on current issues and voter turnout at the Michigan League Wednesday morning.