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