by
Islamophobia
and
Islamophobic
incidents on campus.
Alsultany is also known for her book
“Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race
and Representation after 9/11,” published
in 2012, and for her work co-editing “Arab
and Arab American Feminisms: Gender,
Violence, and Belonging” and “Between
the Middle East and the Americas: The
Cultural Politics of Diaspora.”
At an event celebrating the scholarship
of
Alsultany
last
Thursday,
several
students,
colleagues
and
faculty
members spoke about their experiences
working with Alsultany. Aside from
her academic accolades, the panelists
spoke of Alsultany’s work to expand and
improve campus prayer rooms, her role
in arranging a closed town hall meeting
for Middle Eastern, North African and
Muslim students following the murder of
three Muslim students at the University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill in February
2015, her advocacy for the ME/NA box to
be included on all University forms that
require demographic information, and her
work in organizing the first Islamophobia
speak-out.
June Howard, faculty member in
English, American culture and women’s
studies, admired Alsultany’s kindness
and perseverance with these challenging
topics.
“She is a deeply beloved person here
at the University of Michigan broadly
and certainly in the department of
American Culture and AMAS,” Howard
said. “Whatever good we do in the future
because we will be following in Evelyn’s
footsteps.”
Marjorie Horton, former assistant dean
for undergraduate education in LSA, said
Alsultany has demonstrated expertise
and commitment to diversity, teaching
and leadership.
“We all know Evelyn as a professor
who is truly exceptional in caliber and
impact of her contributions in all domains
to our college, the broader campus
community and nationally, and most
importantly, to our students individually
and collectively,” Horton said.
Law student Areeba Jibril said through
Alsultany’s course, “From Harems to
Terrorists,” she learned the language she
needed to address Islamophobia in the
classroom and in the community.
“I heard so many good things about
(Alsultany’s course), I was going to save
it for my senior year and I’m so glad that
I didn’t, because finally I found a space
where I could walk in and feel seen.”
Later, Alsultany spoke with The Daily
about her journey at the University of
Michigan, and what she’s looking forward
to in her new post.
TMD: Take us through your journey
at the University of Michigan. From
teaching,
mentoring,
administrative
work, advocacy, diversity work and more
— had you imagined it would be this way,
and what has been the most rewarding?
The seed was planted when I was
an undergraduate student here in the
early 1990s and it was planted through
the classes that I took in ethnic studies
and
women’s
studies
that
I
found
transformative
in
terms
of
how
I
understood my own identity in relation
to the social and political world. So, as
an Arab American, Muslim American,
Latina, I had access to Latino studies
classes that were meaningful to me, but
in order to learn about Arabs or Muslims,
a student — which is common at many
universities — would take Middle East
studies classes and you’d learn about Arab
countries. I took Islam 101, and these are
very important classes, but I was looking
for something in particular at the time
and those classes weren’t filling that thing
I was looking
for.
There
seemed to be a
gap in terms of
understanding
the experiences
of
Arabs
and
Muslims in the
U.S.
context
and filling that
gap
is
what
has shaped my
scholarship
on
the
racialization
of
Arabs
and
Muslims
in
the
U.S.
and
it also shaped
my
teaching
and my service
work.
I was hired
here in 2005,
it
was
10
years
after
I
graduated and I
never imagined
that when I left
here in 1995 I
would become
a
professor.
I never imagined I would become a
professor here. I never imagined that I
would help to build an Arab and Muslim
American studies program. So, I guess my
message to undergrads is you really don’t
know where your future is going to take
you and especially when you’re graduating
from here. But I never imagined that I
would have this incredible opportunity
to bring my dream to fruition and create
an Arab and American studies program
along other ethnic studies units in the
Department of American Culture and
also, as I mentioned yesterday [during
the celebration event], I didn’t do it alone.
Nadine Naber was a professor here. She
was hired in 2003. I was hired in 2005.
She’s now a professor at the University
of Illinois in Chicago and we had a very
similar vision and together created what
the program is today. We created courses,
internship opportunities, programming,
we piloted a certificate program that
eventually led to the minor, which is now
only one of three of its kind that look at
Arabs, Middle Easterners and Muslims
in the U.S. context, and the other two are
U-M Dearborn and San Francisco State.
I’ll add that the most rewarding thing has
been working with students for whom the
classes and minor are meaningful. There’s
a synergy that happens between what this
minor is trying to do, what the classes are
trying to do and then the students who are
really looking for that thing. So it’s been
rewarding to offer learning opportunities
that will help students thrive in the very
difficult world that we’re living in, and
also an academic home for Arab and
Muslim students on campus, and it’s also
been very rewarding to work with them
on creating a more inclusive campus.
TMD: After all this time — both as a
student and now a faculty member — how
does it feel to be leaving the University of
Michigan?
I’ve been going through a grieving
process, and when I first accepted the job
at USC, I felt really, really sad. Everyone
was congratulating me and I … I just felt
this extreme sense of loss. I had accepted
this incredible opportunity and I was
just feeling sad all the time. And when I
tell people that I felt sad, they would say,
“Well why don’t you just stay? Just stay.
Cancel the acceptance and just stay here.”
But the point is that it’s hard to leave a
place that’s been so formative to who I
am and it’s been a place where I’ve — I
didn’t come here an expert, I became an
expert in my field, I became the director
of a program, I grew into some leadership
positions, I developed my teaching. So
it’s really hard to leave, especially the
program that means so much to me, and
my incredible colleagues and students,
but I am also proud to leave with the Arab
and Muslim American studies program
in such a strong position and to have
contributed something to this campus
that some students find meaningful and
who will be able to continue to benefit
from it after I leave.
TMD: You’ve been at the University
through a number of tumultuous and
challenging times, and students, faculty
and staff have all cited your strength, your
advocacy, your willingness to be a mentor
throughout those times, and of course,
year-round, too. So what are your primary
motivations for this work, specifically in
these particularly challenging times?
In the years that I’ve been here, every
year, some kind of crisis happens. And I
think that’s common at college campuses
across the nation that are reflecting the
urgent social political issues of our time.
Over the years, a student would come to
me with an issue and say something like,
“We’re
2 — Tuesday, December 11, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sixth row: Sean Lang, Orion Sang, Mike Persak, Jason Rowland, Will Stewart, Jack Brandon, Efe Edevbie, Matt Vailliencourt, Jordan Wolff (not pictured)
Fifth row: Colin Beresford, Jacob Shames, Brian Kuang, Ethan Wolfe, Evan Aaron, Erika Shevchek, Sam Rosenberg, Laura Dzubay
Fourth row: Andrew Hiyama, Robert Hefter, Ashley Tjhung, Nisa Khan, Robert Lesser, Jeremy Kaplan, Tara Jayaram, Jennifer Meer, Tess Tobin, Julia Moss, Katelyn Carroll
Third row: Julia Montag, Jeremiah Vanderhelm, Max Kuang, Dominic Polsinelli, Danielle Yacobson, Zainab Bhindarwala, Anu Roy-Chaudhury, Sophie Sherry, Kaela Theut, Paige Voeffray, Laney Byler, Joseph Fraley, Shima Sadaghiyani, Maitreyi Anantharaman, Madeline Turner
Second row: Avery Friedman, Madeleine Gaudin, Dayton Hare, Alexa St. John, Riyah Basha, Sofia Lynch
Front: Amelia Cacchione, Emma Richter, Katelyn Mulcahy, Avi Sholkoff, Cameron Hunt, Rebecca Tarnopol
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327
www.michigandaily.com
ARTS SECTION
arts@michigandaily.com
SPORTS SECTION
sports@michigandaily.com
ADVERTISING
dailydisplay@gmail.com
NEWS TIPS
news@michigandaily.com
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
EDITORIAL PAGE
opinion@michigandaily.com
NATHAN GUPTA
Business Manager
734-418-4115 ext. 1241
nathankg@michigandaily.com
ALEXA ST. JOHN
Editor in Chief
734-418-4115 ext. 1251
alexastj@michigandaily.com
PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION
photo@michigandaily.com
NEWSROOM
734-418-4115 opt. 3
CORRECTIONS
corrections@michigandaily.com
The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the
fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is available
free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for
$2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long subscriptions are $275.
University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions
for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid.
DAYTON HARE
Managing Editor
haredayt@michigandaily.com
RIYAH BASHA and SOPHIE SHERRY
Managing News Editor news@michigandaily.com
Senior News Editors: Andrew Hiyama, Carly Ryan, Kaela Theut, Matt Harmon,
Maya Goldman
Assistant News Editors: Jordyn Baker, Remy Farkas, Julia Ford, Elizabeth
Lawrence, Rachel Cunningham, Molly Norris, Maeve O’Brien, Sayali Amin,
Danielle Pasekoff, Katherina Sourine
ANU ROY-CHAUDHURY and ASHLEY ZHANG
Editorial Page Editors
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Senior Opinion Editors: Tara Jayaram, Joel Danilewitz, Jeremy Kaplan, Ben
Charlson, Magdalena Mihaylova
MIKE PERSAK and LANEY BYLER
Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com
DANIELLE YACOBSON and MADELEINE GAUDIN
Managing Arts Editors
arts@michigandaily.com
Senior Arts Editors: Becky Portman, Sam Rosenberg, Arya Naidu, Dominic
Polsinelli
Arts Beat Editors: Jack Brandon, Fallon Gates, Shima Sadaghiyani, Tess Garcia,
Sofia Lynch
ALEXIS RANKIN and KATELYN MULCAHY
Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com
ROSEANNE CHAO and CASEY TIN
Managing Design Editors
design@michigandaily.com
Senior Design Editor: Jack Silberman
BRIAN KUANG
Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com
Deputy Editors: Colin Beresford, Jennifer Meer
FINN STORER and ELISE LAARMAN
Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com
Senior Copy Editors: Emily Stillman, Allie Bopp, Miriam Francisco
ROBERT LESSER and JORDAN WOLFF
Managing Online Editors
lesserrc@michigandaily.com
Senior Web Developers: Patricia Huang, Abna Panda, Hassaan Ali Wattoo,
Rebecca Tung
NOAH TAPPEN
Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com
Senior Video Editors: Abe Lofy, Robby Weinbaum, Jillian Drzinski, Danielle Kim
JASON ROWLAND and ASHLEY TJHUNG
Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com
Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Lorna Brown, Zainab Bhindarwala,
Christian Paneda, Nisa Khan, Na’kia Channey
Assistant Michigan in Color Editors: Angelo McKoy, Kareem Shunnar, Maya
Mokh, Efe Osagie, Samuel So
KAYLA WATERMAN and CARRINGTON TUBMAN
Managing Social Media Editors
Editorial Staff
Business Staff
CAMERON COANE
Sales Manager
JEFFREY ZHANG
Local Accounts Manager
ALEC SPELLER
Marketing Consulting Manager
DEANA ZHU
Special Projects Manager
MARIO DRESAJ
Brand Manager
ROHIT IYER
Business Development Manager
Senior Photo Editors: Amelia Cacchione, Emma Richter, Evan Aaron, Claire Meingast
Assistant Photo Editors: Alice Liu, Darby Stipe, Max Kuang, Ryan McLoughlin,
Alec Cohen
Senior Sports Editors: Mark Calcagno, Robert Hefter, Max Marcovitch, Anna
Marcus, Paige Voeffray
Assistant Sports Editors: Aria Gerson, Ben Katz, Matthew Kennedy, Tien Le,
Ethan Sears, Jacob Shames, Avi Sholkoff
ADRIANNA KUSMIERCZYK
Creative Director
AVERY FRIEDMAN
Managing Podcast Editor
Sudoku Syndication
http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/
1 of 1
11/3/08 1:52 PM
1
7
4
6
2
7
5
3
8
2
8
5
3
7
5
3
1
7
5
6
4
8
9
2
6
7
© sudokusolver.com. For personal use only.
Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com!
TUESDAYS
puzzle by sudokusyndication.com
“My message to
undergrads is you really
don’t know where your
future is going to take
you and especially when
you’re graduating from
here”
CL A SS OF 2018
PROF
From Page 1
See PROF, Page 3