As a senior entering my last
semester of undergrad, I’ve taken
a lot of time to reflect on what
experiences of mine have been the
most memorable these past four
years. Close to the top of my list
has been my job since freshman
year at the Conference and Event
Services of the University Unions.
It helped me discover one of my
most important spaces on campus,
one that many students pass by
every day without a second thought.
As both a student staff member
and
student
representative
to
the Michigan League Board of
Governors, the Michigan League is
a place I consider a home.
Tucked
among
the
many
historical relics and steeped in the
building’s history of the first space
for women on the University of
Michigan’s campus is the Blagdon
Room — one of my favorites for its
antique feel and beautiful stained
glass windows. Another reason I
feel so at peace in this room is the
room’s historical purpose as a non-
denominational
religious
space.
Among the stained glass windows
are depictions of many world
religions — including symbols such
as the Star of David and the
Christian Cross. A prominent figure
at the League shared a powerful
quote with me from the original
architects of the building. Irving
and Allen Pond noted: “The room is
to appeal to individuals of all shades
of belief, or non-belief; to anyone
who
desired
in
contemplative
spirit, touched with humility, to
place herself in harmony with the
universe.”
It is with the Blagdon Room’s
original purpose and meaning
in mind that I take offense to a
request to University President
Mark Schlissel, made by a group
of students in early November, to
remove one of my religion’s most
sacred symbols – which has since
the 1920s occupied a pane on one of
the stained glass windows.
As a Hindu, the Swastik (S-vas-
thik) or Swastika (S-vas-thik-a)
is very important to me. This
clockwise rotated cross with four
dots in each quadrant is an essential
sign of Hinduism. Celebrations and
prayers are incomplete without the
Swastik. It symbolizes the sun and
is an auspicious symbol used as a
good luck charm in many aspects of
Hindu life. In my house, a Swastik
along with a symbol that resembles
the number 3 called Om or Aum –
they’re also frequently seen on the
sides of yoga studios and interfaith
bumper stickers. These symbols
greet visitors as a way of welcoming
them into our home and are used
to prevent negative energy and evil
from entering my family’s space.
Historically,
Om
and
the
Swastika have been held as equally
important spiritual relics necessary
to mark occasions of happiness
and allow for the influx of positive
energy wherever they are placed.
While the Om symbol is commonly
tattooed on non-Hindus, viewed as
a sign of peace and even a symbol
of hippie culture, my family and
other Hindus have been forced to
decrease our use of the Swastik sign
and feel ashamed and embarrassed
by it because the symbol was
culturally appropriated in the 1930s.
This symbol belongs to my
people, but I’ve faced questions
about its relation to Nazism my
entire life. It’s important the general
population knows the symbols have
no relation to one another. The Nazi
swastika (swas-tik-a) is black and
turned on a 45-degree angle. This is
different from the Hindu Swastika
that is not turned on an angle and
is typically made out of gold or is
colored red. The Nazi swastika has
been in use since the 1930s while
the Hindu Swastika use has been
documented as early as 500 B.C.!!
However, like many other elements
of Indian culture, the Swastik was
stolen by white supremacists to
erase our existence and culture and
replace it with their own ideology.
My job on the Michigan League
Board of Governors is to serve as an
adviser to the director of the League
and promote the heritage of the
building. With this responsibility
in mind, I think it would be a great
shame to remove the window.
While I understand the pain and
violence that has been perpetuated
under similar symbols, I urge
University leadership to stop the
stigmatization of the Hindu symbol
by keeping the pane up alongside
labels with explanations of all the
religious symbols in the Blagdon
Room and the significance of the
room as a whole. It’s important that
students on this campus understand
the symbol has a huge cultural
significance and positive meaning
that represents a good proportion
of students on this campus. It is not
fair to those like myself that hold
this symbol sacred to have it stolen
away from us once again. Let us be
represented on this campus and
have it be an educational experience
for all others.
This summer, LSA senior
Zainab Bhindarwala interned
at a congresswoman’s office
and an advocacy-based legal
nonprofit.
How did you hear about
your internships?
I found both of my internships
on Handshake. However, after
submitting my application to
the congresswoman’s office,
I didn’t hear from them for a
few weeks. I decided to “bump”
my email in their inbox, and
the
internship
coordinator
replied to my follow-up saying
he “likes my style” and wants
to set up an interview. Lesson
learned: If you know you want
an internship, don’t be afraid
to let them know you’re still
interested!
Finding
interns
isn’t every organization’s first
priority, so if you don’t bug
them about your application,
you could lose a really great
opportunity.
What made you want to
apply?
I knew I wanted to have
a
meaningful
internship
experience this summer, but I
didn’t want to go back to D.C.
My motivation behind applying
for the internship with the
Congresswoman was to have
a more “political” experience.
I had a little bit of exposure to
nonprofits already and I knew
I needed to learn more about
different
sectors,
especially
since I want to be employed a
year from now. My motivation
for applying to the nonprofit
was because I thought it was the
perfect type of organization for
me to work in post-graduation. I
didn’t realize it when I applied,
but their Michigan office is
actually in my hometown and
the congresswoman’s district
office wasn’t too far away
either, so it was easy for me to
do both internships.
What are your favorite
memories
from
your
experience?
I didn’t intend on having
two internships this summer
– I really just wanted one.
However, after accepting the
position at the nonprofit, I was
told they only wanted interns
to come in two days a week. A
couple days later I got a call from
the congresswoman’s office and
it seemed like fate for my top
two internships to line up so
perfectly. I worked three days
a week at the congresswoman’s
district office, and two days a
week at the nonprofit. I even
got a scholarship from U of
M for my internship with the
congresswoman,
so
things
ended up working out pretty
well.
My favorite memory from my
summer internships is probably
the connections I made with the
other interns. This summer, the
congresswoman had 14 interns!
There were so many of us in the
office and at times it got a little
crowded, but I loved getting to
know everyone and learning
about what brought each of us
there and where we intended
to go in the future. We were all
at different stages in our lives
– some of us were in college,
one intern was in law school
and some were in high school!
I loved talking to the younger
interns
about
my
college
experiences, and offering a
little bit of mentorship on what
college is like.
What is the culture like
where you interned?
The office culture at both
of my internships was pretty
laid-back.
I
expected
the
congresswoman’s office to be
much more strict, but since
it was a district office and
the congresswoman was in
D.C. most of the time anyway,
people were pretty relaxed and
interns were given plenty of
time to get to know each other
and collaborate on projects.
It
wasn’t
the
competitive
and
networking-oriented
environment that I experienced
in D.C., and it was a nice change.
The culture at the nonprofit
was a huge surprise. It was
perhaps even more laid-back
than at the congresswoman’s
office, and yet I was still always
sitting on the edge of my seat.
I realized that some of the
elitist culture in social justice
spaces on college campuses still
remains in the workforce. The
nonprofit does incredible work,
and that’s what made me want
to intern there in the first place,
but
the
behind-the-scenes
intern experience was a little
different than what they posted
on social media.
Any advice for prospective
interns interested in public
service?
When
you’re
working
in
an
unpaid
internship,
it’s
important to remember that
while you want to maintain
a professional attitude, you
don’t owe the organization
anything more than that. If
you’re being asked to do work
that’s outside of the internship
that you applied for, speak
up. If you are unhappy with
the way you are being treated
or
uncomfortable
with
the
workplace environment, bring
up your concerns with your
supervisor.
If
they
aren’t
responsive, then know that
you don’t owe them your time.
They aren’t paying you, and if
interning there is doing you
more harm than good, you
shouldn’t feel obligated to stay.
Public Policy senior Ashley
Tjhung
interned
at
Vital
Voices Global Partnership, a
global women’s empowerment
organization, in Washington,
D.C. last summer. While in D.C.,
she was also a Public Service
Scholar
at
the
Conference
on
Asian
Pacific
American
Leadership,
a
nonprofit
organization
dedicated
to
creating a pipeline of Asian
American, Native Hawaiians
and Pacific Islanders in public
service. As a CAPAL scholar, she
received a $3,000 scholarship,
professional
development
opportunities and completed a
Community Action Project with
members of her cohort.
How did you hear about
your internship?
I found a posting for Vital
Voices on the University of
Michigan
Handshake
site.
Handshake is … a lot and it can
be easy to be overwhelmed by
all the postings. However, I
found it useful to find positions
at
organizations
I
wasn’t
aware of before searching. For
CAPAL, I was referred by the
lovely Areeba Haider (former
MiC senior editor). She had
previously also been a CAPAL
scholar and recommended the
program as a great way for
AANHPIs to afford to work at
an unpaid internship.
What made you want to
apply?
As a public policy major, I
knew I wanted to be in D.C. for
the summer, but wasn’t sure
what I wanted to do. I applied
to Vital Voices on a whim and
luckily, I got it! For CAPAL, I
knew I needed to find funding to
afford D.C. and unfortunately,
the Ford School does not offer
great
internship
funds
for
undergrads. I also was interested
in learning more about what
issues and organizing AANHPIs
were doing in D.C. and thought
CAPAL would be a great way to
meet peers and mentors.
What are your favorite
memories
from
your
experience?
During my internship, Sophie
Otiende, one of the women in
the Vital Voices network, came
to speak with the staff members.
She heads an organization that
advocates against the trafficking
of women and girls in Kenya.
One of their initiatives included
training journalists about how
to report on trafficking and to
empower survivors to claim
their
narratives.
While
the
program functions in a different
context, it was amazing to hear
how similar the principles of
that program are to Michigan
in Color. Her parting wisdom to
us was that women, particularly
women of color, need to write
ourselves into history, because
if we don’t, no one will. It is
my hope that Michigan in
Color is one of those platforms
that ensures women of color’s
contributions are not forgotten.
What is the culture like
where you interned?
As an intern, I appreciated
the work culture at Vital Voices.
The people that work there are
incredibly passionate about the
work that they were doing and
that showed. Furthermore, the
staff were highly conscious of
trying to make the internship
experience valuable for us. We
had brown bags every week
with different members of the
staff to learn more about their
jobs, how they got there and also
some professional development
opportunities.
I was also impressed by the
culture at CAPAL. They had
a great mentorship program
where I met truly amazing
AANHPIs who wanted to help
others succeed. Furthermore,
I loved my cohort and our
program lead!
Any advice for prospective
interns interested in public
service?
The D.C. public service field
is highly competitive. It was
often hard for me to feel like
I had a place there, especially
as an Asian American. Luckily,
through CAPAL, I met so
many AANHPI mentors and
peers who helped me figure
out what I want to do in public
service and were willing to
make my next steps easier.
Networking can feel really icky
at first, but focus on making
real connections with people
instead of angling for a job
posting. I really recommend
getting involved in an affinity
organization like CAPAL which
makes finding mentors much
easier.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan in Color
Monday, December 3, 2018— 3A
Being an intern in Washington, D.C. as an Asian American
ASHLEY TJHUNG
Managing MiC Editor
Controversy in the League: Reclaiming our Swastik
RIYA KUMAR
MiC Contributor
Here’s
the
thing
about
identities and labels: in some
instances, they’re placed upon
your shoulders even if you have
a hard time relating to them.
It’s not anyone’s fault; it’s just
how society works nowadays.
When you remotely resemble or
align with a certain group, that
label and identity is painted
bright red on your forehead
because the idea of a “middle
ground” (of being a hybrid of
sorts, a melting pot of different
identities
that
combine
to
form another different and
unique one) is still not entirely
accepted as an actual identity.
Let me explain a little more.
The other day, I was studying in
the aptly labeled “Sky Lounge”
of my apartment building. I
have a pair of noise-canceling
headphones I like to wear while
I work, so I can focus better
and
drown
out
unwanted
distractions.
Unfortunately,
after wearing them for a while
they start hurting my ears, so I
take them off from time to time.
During one of these breaks,
I
accidentally
overheard
a
conversation
between
two
girls a few feet away from me.
One of the girls was talking
about how, even though her
entire
family
is
from
the
Philippines, she doesn’t feel
comfortable
identifying
as
such. She’s lived her entire
life in the United States, only
speaks English, never visited
the Philippines and her parents
never taught her about the
culture. In essence, she just
feels American, but everyone
calls her Filipino because of her
roots and because of her looks.
Is that right? Is that wrong?
Should she accept she’s both or
that she’s only one?
It’s a very complicated topic
that hasn’t been discussed as
much as it should. I don’t think
I know what the correct answer
is, but I do understand where
she’s coming from, in a way,
because I feel the same.
At
first
glance,
I
look
American.
I’ve
got
white,
slightly tanned skin, and I
speak English perfectly. Back
home people confuse me for
a “gringa” (Spanish slang for
mainland American) all the
time.
And I hate it, completely
despise it. It irritates me to no
end having to say, “No, no, I’m
Puerto Rican, not American,”
which is kind of absurd because
in reality I’m both. Puerto Rico
is a colony of the United States;
I have an American passport;
I am American, right? But I’m
an American who was born in
Puerto Rico.
So why the discomfort? Why
shouldn’t I just accept it?
Because, unlike the girl I
mentioned above, I grew up and
still live in Puerto Rico. My first
language is Spanish; my music
is reguetón, salsa y merengue;
my sport is soccer, not football;
my national anthem is “La
Borinqueña”; and my flag has
one
single,
bright,
shining
star in it. Because I grew up
in a place that many mainland
Americans are unaware of —
that many don’t even realize
is actually national, and not
classified
as
international.
Because I’ve been asked if I
need sponsorship for a work
visa, if I have a student visa;
because, even though it has a
spot in Congress, Puerto Rico
doesn’t have a voice or a vote.
Because I saw how the United
States treated Puerto Rico after
hurricanes Maria and Irma;
because I witnessed how the
media failed to account for
the actual death toll of the
hurricanes until a year after the
disaster; how they completely
stopped reporting on the state
of the island a little less than
a week after the storms had
struck;
how
the
president
of the United States (and of
Puerto Rico — it’s a colony of
the United States, therefore
under
the
same
governing
body) threw paper towels in
an absurd attempt to aid the
islanders after the disasters.
Why should I feel American
if all that I have witnessed
recently and for my entire life is
how terribly the United States
has treated Puerto Rico?
Are my feelings right? Are
they unjustifiable? Are they
wrong?
I’m not going to pretend
that I know what the correct
answer is because I honestly
don’t. I just hope that you
finish reading this and are
willing to speak up more on the
idea surrounding the identities
people are born into and the
ones they align with, because
in some cases, they’re different.
Given all the conversations and
discussions that have surfaced
in the past two years or so
around the topic of immigrants
and immigration, it should be
taken into consideration.
Unpaid internships in MI
Why I don’t feel American,
even though I’m Puerto Rican
NATALIA SANCHEZ
MiC Columnist
ZAINAB BHINDARWALA
Senior MiC Editor
It irritates me to
no end having to
say, “No, no, I’m
Puerto Rican, not
American,” which
is absurd because
... I’m both
SADHANA RAMASESHADRI/Daily
I realized that some
of the elitist culture
in social justice
spaces on college
campuses remains in
the workforce