About 50 students and faculty
convened Tuesday evening in
the
Rackham
Amphitheatre
for the 2nd annual King Talks,
a TED-talk style lecture. The
event is part of the weeklong
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. Symposium celebration,
which
included
a
keynote
lecture and more than 20 other
events. The King Talks event
featured four graduate student
speakers
who
shared
how
their work and life experiences
related to the legacy of Dr. King.
Rackham
student
Paul
Artale,
organizer
of
the
event, explained the speeches
responding
to
the
MLK
Symposium theme of “unravel”
were the product of months
of work starting when the
speakers applied in October.
During her talk, Rackham
student
Aunrika
Tucker-
Shabazz told the story of
Takovia Allen, a 3-foot-9-inch,
50
pound,
6-year-old
with
attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder who was subdued
by
three
police
officers
and
charged
with
battery
and assault for kicking her
kindergarten aide in the ankle.
Tucker-Shabazz
revealed
Takovia’s story is not unique, as
Black girls are routinely more
harshly punished for the same
behavior compared to white
girls, and at higher rates.
Students, alumni, faculty and
staff unraveled their life stories
to the Value the Voice audience
Tuesday night at the Helmut Stern
Auditorium at the University of
Michigan Museum of Art.
A joint effort between the
Comprehensive Studies Program,
the Department of Afroamerican
and African Studies, and the
UMMA brought a crowd of 80
to listen to stories relating to
identity. This is third Moth-style
storyteller lounge event of Value
the Voice series.
The event, called “Value the
Voice: Unravel,” consisted of
stories on the call to political
activism, navigating being a first
year student, #BBUM’s five-year
anniversary, Martin Luther King
Jr.’s vision through community
service, identity as a mixed person
on campus, mental health issues
through the You Good Fam
student organization and gender
identity.
The
storytelling
event
showcases a range of human
experiences
of
marginalized
peoples and their life stories.
LSA
freshman
Monique
Wheeler discussed the challenges
of
adapting
to
the
campus
environment as someone from
an environment she described as
“sheltered” because there were
more Black people. She described
how her initial encounter was
different from what she had
anticipated
for
college
and
found herself “isolated.” In the
Black community, Wheeler was
criticized for “sounding white”
in high school. When she came to
the University, she said she found
the culture shock to be greater
than she expected. Wheeler said
no one would talk to her and her
roommate.
“Anytime anyone looked at me,
I was that Black girl,” Wheeler
said.
Wheeler shared a poem she had
written for her creative writing
class. In it, she expressed her fear
of being attacked at any time and
said nobody would listen to her.
“When my eyes meet yours,
I feel the fear entangling itself …
for I feel forever alienated in this
place where I’m supposed to find
myself,” Wheeler said. “ ... The
truth is, I have no friends here
because I do not belong.”
Apart from Wheeler, LSA
Curriculum Coordinator Simon
Rivers and Public Health senior
Lloyd Lyons talked about their
experiences as Black people,
reminding the audience about the
legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Angelo Bunker, a senior at
Wayne State University, attended
the event but said he did not find it
appealed to his interests.
“It wasn’t necessarily my cup
of tea, but I do appreciate being
able to hear everyone’s stories no
matter how personal they were,”
Bunker said.
LSA freshman Jannet Avra
commented more positively about
the opportunity to learn more
about the experiences of others on
campus.
“It definitely puts you in good
feelings,” Avra said. “I’m just
glad that I got to hear everyone’s
stories.”
LSA freshman Jordan Smith
said she liked how hearing
speakers’
stories
fostered
a
connection between her and them.
“Being able to relate to other
people gives you a sense of
community within the campus
so (I) think there’s some value in
that,” Smith said.
Tuesday night, Ann Arbor City
Council introduced an ordinance
to amend city trespassing laws.
The amended ordinance, which
is a project of the Ann Arbor Police
Department and Human Rights
Commission, will require that
individuals on property without
lawful authority to be there
receive a warning before being
cited or arrested for trespassing.
In addition, the new ordinance
would give more control to the
city, rather than the county, over
trespassing cases.
After the introduction of the
ordinance, councilmembers and
residents shared concerns about
the potential abusiveness of the
measure.
Councilmember
Julie
Grand, D-Ward 3, spoke to
clarify the ordinance. She
addressed resident concerns
about what they see as the
punitive nature of the new
ordinance. Grand, along with
Councilmember Ali Ramlawi,
D-Ward 5, serves as a liaison
between the council and the
Human Rights Commission.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Students
find ties to
history of
civil rights
MESA peer-facilitators hold teach-
in to oppose racism, inequality
See MLK, Page 3A
DARBY STIPE/Daily
LSA sophomore Ade Ijidakinro and LSA junior Shaima Abdullah lead an anti-racism teach-in at West Quad Tuesday.
CAMPUS LIFE
Rackham hosts sessions comparing
personal stories to legacy of MLK
CLAIRE HAO
Daily Staff Reporter
Student-led activities generate conversation regarding systemic issues
A group of six students and
two student-leaders from
Multi-Ethnic Student Af-
fairs convened for a peer-
led
anti-racism
teach-in
Tuesday evening to discuss
ways to combat racial intol-
erance and promote a more
inclusive environment at
the University of Michigan.
The teach-in was part of a
new series of workshops
led by MESA aiming to en-
gage students in conver-
sations about inequality,
social justice activism and
personal experiences with
discrimination. Tuesday’s
event was the fourth teach-
in led by MESA this school
year.
LSA sophomore Adeoluwa
Ijidakinro, a student lead-
er who has worked with
MESA for two years, said
the teach-in is more neces-
sary now than in previous
years because of the grow-
ing presence of hate speech
and racially charged lan-
guage
in
national
dis-
course.
LIAT WEINSTEIN
Daily Staff Reporter
See COUNCIL, Page 3A
Council
discusses
trespass
ordinance
ANN ARBOR
Elected officials look
to update city law after
incident at Blake Center
RACHEL LEUNG
Daily Staff Reporter
DARBY STIPE/ DAILY
LSA senior Cece speaks on her experiences as a non-traditional student who made her way into CSG during the
Value the Voice event in the UMMA Tuesday.
Value the Voice storytelling event
examines life experiences, identity
Participants share anecdotes about issues including political activism, mental health
YIFAN YU
For The Daily
See MESA, Page 3A
Beginning Wed., Jan. 23,
all University of Michigan
student-employees,
faculty,
staff and sponsored affiliates
will be required to use Duo
Two-Factor Authentication, a
program which verifies one’s
identity online through the
use of two factors: a password
and a second device, such
as a smartphone or tablet.
The change is an attempt
to
increase
IT
security
across the University’s Ann
Arbor, Dearborn and Flint
campuses.
Though
students
will
not be required to use the
Two-Factor
Authentication
system, those who work for
the University and do not
enroll with Duo by Jan. 23
may experience delays using
University services including
Wolverine
Access,
Canvas
and Box at U-M. Student-
employees may not be able to
check their Google Calendar,
check their email or take an
online quiz or exam.
See 2FA, Page 3A
‘U’ to up
electronic
security
measures
ADMINISTRATION
Student-employees,
faculty must use Duo
2FA starting Jan. 23
ZAYNA SYED
Daily Staff Reporter
GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 58
©2019 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
michigandaily.com
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