Max Tsao, Music, Theatre & Dance
junior, was working in Mason Hall with
other students Saturday afternoon when
the first reports of an active shooter on
the University of Michigan’s Central
Campus were publicized. In one of the
student’s group chats, at approximately
4:44 p.m., one student alerted the group
“There’s an active shooter near Mason.”
Many students responded to the text
in confusion, one asking “How am I
supposed to get to work?” and another,
“Do you know if anyone got hurt?”
One student texted, “Apparently the
suspect moving towards UGLi. Please
leave Central.” From there, one student
shared the link to the Washtenaw Sheriff
Office’s police scanner.
Many students said there were
reports the shooter was going toward the
Brown Jug. Another said “three shooters
total” with a screenshot of a different
group message, while another said “two
in custody.” In this group chat, there
were messages of “someone got shot”
and “white man holding gun.”
This group chat began discussing the
incident about 20 minutes before the first
alert from the University’s alert system.
Saturday’s
events
spurred
widespread confusion, and multiple
students have found the experience
to have exposed weaknesses in the
University’s emergency protocols as well
as how quickly information can spread
on campus through informal channels
in times of crisis. The Daily reviewed
emergency protocols, University systems
and training and personal experiences
to look at the day’s events and what
they mean in a nation plagued by gun
violence.
I. From DPSS’ perspective
Melissa Overton, deputy chief of
police and public information officer
for the Division of Public Safety and
Security, said in terms of the response
from local law enforcement, the situation
was handled well. She commended the
collaboration of the various agencies,
including
Ann
Arbor
Police
and
Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office,
in the area and the reactions from the
community.
“We were very lucky that we had
staff already out at the location of the
incident and we were there so quickly,”
Overton said. “We couldn’t be happier
with the response from the community,
the neighboring agencies, because if this
ended up being a real situation, this is
exactly what we would hope for.”
On Thursday night, Paani at
the University of Michigan, a
non-profit organization, hosted
“Ripple Effect,” its first annual
banquet and largest event yet
with around 180 people in
attendance. The event focused
on the water and sanitation crisis
in Pakistan as well as the U.S.,
and included speeches from Dr.
Mohammed Amjad Saqib and and
Abdul El-Sayed.
The event brought in an equal
mix of students and community
members.
Paani
aimed
to
bring awareness to the water
crisis, create a space to discuss
innovative solutions and educate
the attendees about how they can
get involved with aiding the crisis
from over 7,000 miles away.
Paani’s
executive
board
began the banquet by discussing
their past initiatives to draw
attention to their club. Numerous
fundraising events later, they
secured over $2,000 to donate
towards feminine hygiene and
sanitation
kits
for
Pakistani
citizens.
Since
then,
they’ve
collaborated with several student
organizations
on
campus
to
unite cultures and to expand the
dialogue of their organization.
Paani members also mentioned
their online journal dedicated to
sharing Pakistani stories of water
crisis experiences. To recognize
the intersectionality of the issue,
they also included stories about
water sanitation issues from
other countries to highlight the
global emergency. Faraz Longi,
Paani director of partnerships,
also shared a story of his visit to
Pakistan.
“We are no better than the
people we’re helping,” Longi said.
“We are here at the University of
Michigan drinking clean water
only by luck. Therefore, it’s our
duty to help these people. That’s
why Paani strives to through
events like these.”
The University of Michigan
Residence
Halls
Association
hosted their weekly meeting on
Thursday evening in the Couzens
Residence
Hall
multipurpose
room. The major highlight of the
night was a presentation from
Bryan Baker, DPSS lieutenant
and liaison to the Division of
Student Life, about how to handle
events similar to Saturday’s active
attacker scare.
Baker was originally scheduled
to talk for twenty minutes, but
the concerns of RHA assembly
took up over ninety minutes of the
meeting.
One RHA member brought
up her concern of not receiving
information from the University.
Instead, she found out most of
her information through group
messages and social media. Baker
addressed this issue and expressed
his
concern
over
students
receiving inaccurate information.
“Information from unverified
sources should not be shared,”
Baker said.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, March 22, 2019
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 92
©2019 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CL A SSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
ACADEMICS
English Dept.
supports new
minor for the
narrative arts
Potential program draws controversy for
straying from original journalism focus
ALEX HARRING,
CLAIRE HAO, ZAYNA SYED &
ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
Daily Staff Reporters & Managing
News Editor
Demonstrators,
acting
in
solidarity
with
those
who
participated in last week’s Climate
Strike and subsequent sit-in, began
an indefinite study-in at 8 a.m. in
the Office of the President in the
Fleming Administrative Building
Thursday afternoon. About 15
demonstrators
were
present
at 2 p.m. and plan to stay until
University of Michigan President
Mark Schlissel commits to carbon
neutrality by the year 2030.
LSA
sophomore
Solomon
Medintz, an Opinion columnist at
The Daily, said this event was not
a continuation of last week’s sit-in,
which resulted in 10 arrests Friday
night. He said protestors will come
in at 8 a.m. when the building opens
and leave at 5 p.m. when it closes
every day until their demands are
met.
“We didn’t get what we asked
for — at all,” Mednitz said. “We got
none of it. We’re not doing anything
illegal by sitting here, and we’ll leave
when they ask us to, but we’ll be back
in the morning, every morning.”
On
Friday,
Climate
Strike
demonstrators occupied Schlissel’s
office.
Activists to
engage in
study-in
at Fleming
CLIMATE
Demonstrators to return
to Schlissel’s office until
climate demands are met
ALEX HARRING
Daily Staff Reporter
Paani hosts ‘Ripple Effect’ event to raise
awareness about water sanitation crisis
Panel speakers Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Dr. Adjad Saqib look at issues in U.S. and in Pakistan
RHA holds
discussion
with DPSS
on alarm
CAMPUS LIFE
Weekly meeting focuses
on addressing concerns
about Saturday’s events
ALYSSA MCMURTRY
Daily Staff Reporter
See ALERT, Page 2
See MINOR, Page 3
Follow The Daily
on Instagram,
@michigandaily
The University of Michigan’s
English
Department
voted
Wednesday to support the
creation
of
a
new
minor
focused on narrative arts and
creative nonfiction. The minor
was originally proposed as a
journalism minor, though the
final iteration includes a broader
curriculum.
After
this
initial
voice
of support by the English
Department, the draft proposal
will continue to be updated and
refined, leading to an eventual
viewing
and
consideration
made by the LSA Curriculum
Committee.
The minor, which originated
with student interest in taking
more journalism and creative
non-fiction courses, has caused
internal
debate
within
the
English department, specifically
on its disclusion of the term
“journalism.”
English lecturer Will Potter
has been working with the
University’s Office of Academic
Innovation, where he is a fellow in
digital storytelling, to implement
a program in journalism at the
University. The Narrative Arts
minor grew out of Potter and
other
professors’
journalism
minor proposal. After working
with the English Department
and the Office of Academic
Innovation to develop stronger
journalism-related educational
path at the University, Potter
said he and his colleagues were
shocked to hear their idea
had been transformed by the
department into a proposed
minor in “Narrative Arts,” an
ambiguous title excluding the
word “journalism.”
“The new minor, as presented
by leadership in the English
department,
is
explicitly
rejecting
even
the
term
‘journalism,’” Potter said. “We
have all been very surprised
at this change in direction …
even the English Department
faculty who have joined me in
this conversation from the start.
DANIELLE PASEKOFF
Daily Staff Reporter
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
LIVVY HINTZ
For the Daily
DANYEL THARAKAN/Daily
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, former director of the Detroit Health Department, speaks on the importance of sanitation and public health at the Ripple Effect event, hosted by
Paani, an organization that focuses on constructing sanitation projects in Pakistan, in Blau Hall Thursday evening.
See CLIMATE, Page 3
Students, DPSS reflect on U-M
Emergency Alert System service
False shooter reports prompt further assessment of University defense protocol
Design by Roseanne Chao
Read more online at
michigandaily.com