Throughout much of her 

life, Ciara Sivels had dreams 
of becoming a chef. Now she 
is the first Black woman to get 
a doctoral degree in Nuclear 
Engineering from the University 
of Michigan.

“I really had no idea (about 

engineering) until my junior 
year of high school,” Sivels said. 
“I had a teacher suggest I look 
into engineering because I had 
always been at good at chemistry 
and math, and I constantly 
excelled in all my classes.”

Sivels attended Hickory High 

School in Chesapeake, Va. As a 
student, she was busy working 
to balance multiple Advanced 

Placement credits and after-
school programs, such as her 
school’s Scholastic Bowl. She 
was also highly active within 
her church community.

As senior year progressed 

she started applying to different 
engineering schools. Though 
the 
Massachusetts 
Institute 

of Technology was her “reach 
school,” she was accepted.

When she arrived at MIT, 

Sivels had a heavy background 
in chemistry. But one of her 
mentors suggested she look into 
the nuclear field as she became 
interested in energy, antimatter 
and the nonproliferation of 
nuclear weapons.

With the election only 11 

days away, President Barack 
Obama 
addressed 
thousands 

of citizens at Cass Technical 
High 
School 
in 
Detroit 

Friday night, highlighting the 
importance of voting blue and 
once again voicing his support 
for 
Democratic 
Candidates 

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow 
and Gubernatorial Candidate 
Gretchen Whitmer.

Obama emphasized the stakes 

in the upcoming election are 
higher than ever.

“The main reason I am here 

is to make sure all of you vote 
in what I believe might be the 
most important election of our 
lifetime,” Obama said. “The 
stakes in this election are really 
high. Most importantly, the 
character of our country is on 
the ballot.”

Obama called out the GOP, 

pointing 
to 
corruption 
in 

Washington D.C. 

“The outrages just piles up 

and you just forget stuff, so 
remember they promised to 
tackle corruption in Washington 
but turns out in Washington 
they’ve now have racked up 
enough indictments to field a 
football team,” Obama said. 
“You know what. I didn’t have 
folks in my administration get 
indicted. It’s not that hard.”

Obama said the only way 

to recover government as it 
should be, is to hold politicians 

accountable.

“When words stop meaning 

anything, when truth doesn’t 
matter, when people can just 
make up things, then democracy 
it doesn’t work.” Obama went on 
to say, “The only check on bad 
behavior is you and your vote.”

Obama and several other 

speakers at the event called 
attention 
to 
the 
fact 
that 

Michigan no longer has a 
straight ticket ballot. Democratic 
Candidate 
for 
Michigan 

Secretary of State Jocelyn 
Benson said voters need to 
actively vote, not just for big 
ticket items but for every office.

“We need you to fill in every 

bubble,” Benson said. “If you 
don’t tell the story of all of us we 
may not win. We need you to tell 
the story.”

Obama says he sees the 

movement away from a straight 
ticket as just another step by 
Republican parties to repress 
Democratic votes. He advised 

the audience to remember 2008.

“A 
decade 
ago, 
we 
had 

just 
lived 
through 
one 
of 

those periods of Republican 
retrenchment,” 
Obama 
said. 

“The Democrats had to come 
and clean it up.”

He 
explained 
the 
fear 

surrounding the 2018 elections 
is no different than the fears 
that have surrounded previous 
elections.

“Right before the election 

Lorena Muñoz, an assistant 

professor of gender, women 
and sexuality studies at the 
University 
of 
Minnesota, 

discussed 
her 
research 

focusing on comparative work 
between 
Zimbabwean 
and 

Hispanic immigrant domestic 
workers and their relationships 
with their families Friday at a 
talk hosted by the University 
of Michigan departments of 
Latina/o Studies and Women’s 
Studies.

Muñoz 
focused 
on 
the 

emotional 
effects 
economic 

failures have on immigrant 
workers as well as related 
resentment from their children 
at the talk, called “Mothering 
Across 
Borders 
and 
the 

Children Left Behind.”

“For 
some 
domestic 

immigrant 
workers 
in 

transnational motherhood, the 
poverty wages they receive in 
their home communities are not 
enough to sustain their families 
and communities,” she said. 

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, October 29, 2018

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

“It’s 2018 and it 
took so long for 
us to get to this 

point,” said 
Ciera Sivels

Students, community members 
hold vigil for Tree of Life synagogue

 ASHA LEWIS/Daily

A student lights a candle at the vigil honoring the victims of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in the Law Quad Sunday evening. 

ACADEMICS

SAM SMALL

Daily Staff Reporter

Eleven people were killed during the Saturday morning Shabbat service in Pittsburgh, PA

The first Black woman to receive doctoral degree in 
Nuclear Engineering from U-M talks experience

About 
300 
students 
and 

community members gathered 
Sunday afternoon on the Diag to 
host a community vigil following 
a 
shooting 
at 
a 
Pittsburgh 

synagogue over the weekend. 

Eleven 
people 

were 
killed 
while 
attending 

the Saturday morning Shabbat 
service at the Tree of Life 
Congregation in city’s Squirrel 
Hill neighborhood. Four police 
officers and two others were 
also injured. According to the 
New York Times, the shooting is 
considered the deadliest attack 

against the Jewish community in 
U.S. history.

Engineering senior Jonathan 

Schermer, whose family attends 
the Tree of Life Congregation, 
spoke 
about 
his 
family’s 

connection to Squirrel Hill and 
encouraged solidarity among the 
Jewish community to empathize 
with those who were impacted 

by the shooting.

“My family is a member of the 

Tree of Life Synagogue,” Shermer 
said. “I was Bar Mitzvah’d at 
Tree of Life. My brother was Bar 
Mitzvah’d at Tree of Life. Every 
Jew here and every Jew around 
the world stands together and 
symbolically; we are all members 

RACHEL CUNNINGHAM

Daily Staff Reporter

Researcher 
talks plight 
of working 
immigrants

CAMPUS LIFE

Muñoz focused on the 
negative way domestic 
work affects families

TAL LIPKIN

Daily Staff Reporter

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Former President Barack Obama holds hands with Michigan gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer and Senator 
Debbie Stabenow during the Michigan Get Out The Vote Rally by the Michigan Democratic Party at Cass Technical 
High Schol in Detroit Friday evening. 

Barack Obama campaigns for Michigan 
Democrats at rally, urges people to vote

Days away from the election, the former president endorsed Whitmer, criticized GOP

GRACE KAY

Daily Staff Reporter

Bounce Back

After a lackluster start to the 
season, the Michigan hockey 
team got back on track with 
two wins over St. Lawrence 

this weekend. 

 » Page 1B

See OBAMA, Page 2A

See VIGIL, Page 2A

The 
Michigan 
Daily 

Administration 
Beat 
will 
be 

conducting 
interviews 
with 

the incumbent and challenging 
candidates 
for 
University 
of 

Michigan 
Board 
of 
Regents 

prior to the November midterm 
election. This interview is with 
Republican incumbent candidate 
and Board Chair Andrew Richner.

Richner is a University alum, 

having attended the University 
for his undergraduate degree 
and a law degree. After serving 
three terms in the Michigan 
House of Representatives, he was 
elected to the Board of Regents 
in 2002 and re-elected in 2010. 
In addition to his position on 
the Board of Regents, Richner 
works at Clark Hill PLC, an 
international law firm. He lives 
in Ann Arbor with his wife, and 
his two children both graduated 
from the University.

The Michigan Daily: You’ve 

been 
elected 
twice 
before, 

so you have some campaign 
experience as a regent. 

Republican 
incumbent 
talks ideas
for Regents 

ADMINISTRATION

Andrew Richner says 
focus is on academic 
quality, affordability

RILEY LANGEFELD

Daily Staff Reporter

GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail 
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

Follow The Daily 
on Instagram, 
@michigandaily

INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 17
©2018 The Michigan Daily

N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit

Read more at 
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MichiganDaily.com

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