“E-sports have been around
for a very, very long time, and I
think with our department and,
‘Why now?’ is just the growing
popularity of e-sports,” Barton
said. “We see it on ESPN, and
all over the news and it’s just
a
growing
popularity
among
students.”
Mike Widen, the director of
Recreational Sports, said in an
email statement the desire for
teams to compete and foster a large
e-sports community on campus
is growing. This new program
will provide e-sports clubs with
the same opportunity to develop
communities as club-sports teams
experience.
“We already have a number of
other programs that are in place
to help students build connections
with each other and with the
institution, and Esports will do
the same for the students who
are playing these games,” Widen
wrote. “It was because of those
opportunities for connections and
the interest of the students that
led us to develop this program.
The students have shared a desire
to compete with other University
programs
and
represent
the
U-M. An Esports program in
Recreational Sports will allow that
to happen in the same way it does
in our Club Sports program.”
Arbor Esports, the student
organization
of
approximately
250 students, currently meets in
the Ross School of Business and
each player is required to bring
their own computer equipment
to
participate.
Arbor
Esports
President
Alexander
Downs,
Business sophomore, said the
organization gives students a
community to game together.
“People who don’t typically play
traditional sports and are just more
gamers and go to class, they’ll have
something to do on campus other
than just go to class and they can
come to our events,” Downs said.
Barton said she hopes the new
Recreational Sports program will
be able to provide students with
a space to play. According to the
University press release, creating
that space and obtaining proper
equipment is dependent on private
and
corporate
donations
and
corporate sponsorships.
“Right now, the group that we
are working with a lot, the student
group, they are operating just
by reserving rooms on campus
where they gather and compete,
but we are really looking forward
to the help from donors to have
a space built specifically for our
e-sports program,” Barton said.
“Right now, there’s not a space
dedicated to them. We hope that
the sponsorship and really getting
the word out about this e-sports
program, that we’ll get some help
from donors to create a space for
them.”
Downs said potential spaces
for e-sports on campus would
be extremely beneficial for the
membership.
The event ran from 8 a.m.
to 3 p.m. and consisted of
keynote speakers and panels on
higher education and recidivism,
programming
in
prisons,
restorative justice and Inside-
Out.
The event was hosted by The
Michigan Theory Group, a think-
tank comprised of incarcerated
and
non-incarcerated
people
aimed at changing the criminal
justice system. The group is
an extension of the Inside-Out
Prison Exchange Program, an
international program that brings
college students into prisons to
take classes with incarcerated
people and challenges both the
“inside” and “outside” students to
listen and learn from each other.
Inside-Out
has
been
implemented
at
more
than
150 colleges and universities
in 46 states, in 12 different
countries and in more than 200
correctional facilities. Inside-Out
Founder Lori Pompa said the
program aims to create a sense
of equality and kinship between
the
prisoners
and
college
students and foster an open-
minded dialogue. According to
Pompa, the classes are primarily
taught seminar-style and try to
transform teaching styles from
“sage on the stage to guide on the
side.”
Bantu Dawson, Theory Group
member and an incarcerated
individual, said Inside-Out was
a catalyst for both social and
academic change for himself and
others at Macomb Correctional
Facility. He claimed it offers a
path for self-redemption.
Fellow Theory Group member
and
inmate
Jemal
Tipton
discussed how Inside-Out is
much more than just a classroom
and how his experiences in the
program changed his perspective
on his role in society.
“You come in, and you think it’s
just an educational experience,”
Tipton said. “You don’t think
it would change how you view
the world and how you view
your part in the world, and that’s
what I think Inside-Out does — it
makes me and a lot of the people
I have interacted with take a look
at the way we are in the world,
individually and collectively.”
Theory group member John
“Cowboy”
Conklin
is
also
incarcerated. He joined Inside-
Out in 2007 and said being a
part of the program gave him
his hope and dignity back after
being imprisoned for 30 years
and counting. He noted how
inhumane
the
treatment
of
inmates can be and how Inside-
Out was able to provide an avenue
for him to feel human again.
“When you first take the
Inside-Out class after being
treated like a number, not like a
name, more like an animal, you
walk in there and get treated as
an equal human being,” Conklin
said. “They give you a piece of your
humanity back, and once you get
a taste of that humanity, you don’t
want it to quit. It is something you
haven’t experienced in a very long
time, for me it had been almost
30 years. And I mean, I been in
41 years and I got a taste of that
humanity and I plan on keeping it
as long as I can.”
However, according to Deputy
Warden
George
Stephenson,
Inside-Out
is
just
one
of
approximately 30 programs at
Macomb Correctional Facility.
He claimed the facility is able to
have so many due to available
resources and volunteers, but
many prisons nationwide and in
Michigan are not as fortunate.
Inmate Tore Price, Theory
Group member and general
manager
of
Aioli’s
II,
the
restaurant at the facility, said
substance-abuse programs were
essential to his transformation.
He said not only did programs like
Narcotics Anonymous help him
help himself, they allowed him to
give back to the community and
help other inmates going through
similar struggles.
Another
well-liked,
transformative
program
at
Macomb Correctional Facility
is Chance for Life. According to
founder and President Thomas
Adams, the faith-based program
is in nine prisons and its goal is to
change how inmates think, which
will, in turn, change their actions.
“What we learned, way back
when, is that it does not matter
what you give a person, it matters
how they think,” Adams said.
“Anything you give them, if
they don’t process information
differently, then when they go out,
they commit the same crimes and
function in the same way. When
we go into the institutions, we
basically build mediation centers,
so we’re teaching people how to
solve their own problems from a
peaceful perspective.”
However, the goal of the
conference was not just to
educate attendees about different
programs at prisons — it was
to demonstrate how dedicated
incarcerated people can be to
transforming their mindset and
changing their lives.
Attendee Yusef Shakur, a
formerly incarcerated individual
and current Social Work student
at the University of Michigan, is
a self-described former “gang-
banger.” Shakur has been out
of prison for 18 years and has
used his time to self-reflect and
improve. He said programming
in prisons is so important because
everyone has the potential to
contribute positively to society,
but factors like a lack of education
or access can prevent those
contributions.
“There’s, like, these weeds,”
Shakur said. “These weeds that
are preventing that flower from
growing. It’s there, it’s that rose.
But there’s all this stuff around it
and you have to be able to remove
that. So that self-education of
learning about who you are to
appreciate and get a certain
amount of love to emerge so you
can see the value of a different
type of education, you can see
the value of how to contribute to
society that can be greater than
what we see today.”
Shakur said the men inside the
facility have been dedicated to
their journey of self-redemption
and he discussed the importance
of
empathy
and
forgiveness
toward the incarcerated and
formerly
incarcerated.
He
claimed the United States has
a history of committing worse
crimes than the people in prisons,
and he questioned why some
people can forgive the U.S. but not
the prison population.
“What I admire the most are
the men inside who was once
boys, who was once considered
criminals or whatever and they
transformed their lives,” Shakur
said. “And showing that we all
have a story of redemption; we
all have a story of transformation.
And the fact that we live in a
country that has committed
the most heinous crimes ever
of enslaving a group of people,
murdering a group of people, and
the fact that we forgive them, why
can’t we forgive these men?”
Attendee and panelist David
LaGrand represents the 75th
District in the Michigan House
of
Representatives.
LaGrand
discussed how, during re-entry,
it can be difficult for the formerly
incarcerated to find work due to
having a public criminal record.
He said, to resounding applause,
he wants to introduce automatic
expungement in Michigan.
“Only 6 percent of people who
are eligible for expungement
actually get it done, and that’s
because you need a lawyer and
you need money,” LaGrand said.
“I am advocating for automatic
expungement
in
Michigan.
Right now, the gate is very
narrow, there are a lot of people
who aren’t eligible because they
have a couple of misdemeanors
on their record, they can’t get
a felony expunged. I want to
change that.”
LaGrand said he wants to
create more economic equality
and opportunities for people
of all socioeconomic statuses
in the criminal justice system.
He said, for example, affluent
people can hire lawyers to
get criminal offenses off their
records, but others do not have
the same luxury.
“The
criminal
justice
system works fairly well if
you’re middle class or affluent
— it doesn’t work very well if
you’re poor,” LaGrand said. “I
am very urgent that we do a
better job of making sure that
we’re not simply locking people
up because they don’t have
money.”
Tipton
said
a
common
problem with programming
in prisons is that they are only
available to those who are
close to their release date. He
said this takes the opportunity
away from other inmates to
learn, develop and grow. Tipton
advocated for programs like
Inside-Out and Chance for Life
to be required upon entry into
prison.
“I want them to make some of
these programs requirements
for paroles and things like that
because if you just give people
certain programs, they may not
get it,” Tipton said. “But if you
give people programs that deal
with their overall makeup, the
mind, the body, the soul, and
again how we interact, I think
that would change people’s
lives. For a lot of the programs,
you have to be close to your out
date. A lot of us are not close
to our out date, so that’s why
we’re so grateful for programs
like Inside-Out and Chance
for Life, because there’s not a
prerequisite where you have to
be close to your out date.”
Social Work student Megan
Diebboll, a member of the
Prison Creative Arts Project at
the University of Michigan, said
a crucial aspect of changing the
way incarcerated people are
viewed during both their time
in prison and upon reentry is
just listening to them.
“If we’re really wanting
to take a stance in criminal
justice, you have to have the
voices of those who have lived
experiences backing it up,”
Diebboll said.
Shakur agreed with Diebboll
and
discussed
how,
while
listening to those who have
been incarcerated is a great
first step, a lot more needs
to be done. He claimed the
system itself is unproductive,
unfair and results in an endless
cycle of incarceration for some
communities.
“For
prison
reform
to
manifest itself in the way we
desire, then the people most
impacted by it have to lead
that movement,” Shakur said.
“We’re
producing
money
but we’re not investing it
back in our communities and
our neighborhoods that are
broken and that are producing
broken
men
and
broken
women. If prisons become
the opportunity to so-called
restore these human beings,
then we’re failing them and
we’re failing society.”
INCARCERATION
From Page 1
According to the University’s
fire
evacuation
protocol,
people with disabilities inside a
University building are directed
to an “area of rescue assistance,”
defined as “areas of refuge” by
the state of Michigan building
code. Floor marshals, if safe to do
so, will conduct checks of these
areas and convey information
regarding people in the areas
to emergency responders. The
webpage does not specify where
the areas of rescue assistance are
in each University building.
Frank Marcinkiewicz, interim
University fire marshal, said areas
of refuge are readily accessible to
individuals with disabilities and
are conveniently located along the
path of egress within a building.
“These areas are clearly labeled
with signage and will typically
have an emergency phone device
that connects them directly to
University DPSS for immediate
assistance,” Marcinkiewicz said.
“Areas of refuge are designed
per code to protect an individual
from a fire-related incident for a
defined period of time.”
According to Marcinkiewicz,
the areas are constructed with a
minimum of one-hour fire rating
as required by code. This means
the materials used to construct
the area are able to resist
standardized fire exposure for at
least one hour.
Ebenhoeh
isn’t
the
only
student with concerns about
the
University’s
emergency
protocol for people with mobility
difficulties. Elizabeth McLain,
Music, Theater & Dance doctoral
candidate, was a student at
Virginia Tech in 2007 when the
deadliest school shootings in U.S.
history occurred on the campus,
resulting in 32 deaths and 17
injuries. In wake of the 12th
anniversary of the Virginia Tech
shooting next month, McLain said
she was very upset that Saturday’s
events were handled poorly.
“As a community, we’ve been
working very hard to inform
universities and try to prevent
this from happening, and it kind
of feels like a slap in the face when
the universities don’t take what
we’re saying seriously or don’t
learn,” McLain said. “A delay of
30 minutes between when the
first people were notified and last
people were notified is completely
unacceptable.”
McLain, who uses a cane, also
expressed concerns regarding the
‘run, hide, fight’ protocol. She said
the vast majority of people she
spoke to did not know what the
protocol meant and also thought
the second and third messages
sent out by DPSS were too vague.
“It’s a fact that when they
send out a message saying, ‘Run,
hide, fight,’ which is the standard
shorthand for the advice for
how to handle a situation, the
vast majority of my friends who
are fellow students, and some
who are instructors and faculty
members here, had no idea what
that meant or how to use that
guidance,” McLain said. “The
second and third messages we
received were so vague — they
said, ‘You’re probably not in any
danger,’ but they didn’t give any
concrete instructions, so it was
unclear if this meant we should
shelter in place, this meant you
should go ahead and go about
your day — this should be clear in
every communication.”
McLain is a graduate student
instructor and she said she was
not trained or made aware of
protocol by the University on what
to do in emergency situations
such as the event of an active
attacker. Though she is disabled,
McLain said she has more options
available to her because she uses a
cane. She said she would not know
the best way to assist a student
with disabilities in her class in the
event of an emergency.
“As
a
graduate
student
instructor, if I had a disabled
student in my classroom while
this was going on … I wouldn’t
know how to help my students,”
McLain said. “I wouldn’t know
if I should just stay with them
and wait it out, if elevators were
an option — that hasn’t been
effectively communicated to me,
at least.”
At orientation, DPSS currently
requires students to watch an
active shooter safety training
video.
University
community
members
can
also
request
training workshops by going to
the Presentations and Training
section under Prevention and
Education on DPSS’ website.
While it is required for students
to view the active shooter safety
training video at orientation,
Melissa Overton, deputy chief
of police and public information
officer for DPSS, told The Daily
in a previous interview the
decision to make other training
sessions mandatory would have
to come from a higher University
authority.
Overton also previously told
The Daily that DPSS received
many
complaints
of
people
receiving the emergency alerts
late or not at all. She said DPSS
is currently working to analyze
the emergency alert system and
determine what went wrong
March 16.
“We
did
receive
multiple
complaints
on
the
system,”
Overton said. “… We are aware
that some of the alerts took a lot
longer than they should have, and
we are looking into that.”
McLain further expressed her
disappointment in the protocol
and its lack of catering to disabled
individuals. She said she hopes the
University improves its protocol
in the future.
“From my personal experience,
if there had been an incident it
would have been very, very bad
because of these communication
breakdowns,” McLain said. “I’m
a little disappointed because most
of what I’ve seen out of these
universities, this just proves their
system doesn’t work and that
concerns me. This should actually
be a wake-up call that we’re not
doing what we should be doing,
and we should do everything we
can to improve it.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Tuesday, March 26, 2019 — 3
ALERT
From Page 1
She told a story about her
own
experience
applying
to the University — when
someone from the Office of
Financial Aid came to her
high school, she asked a
question about how she could
receive aid with her DACA
status.
The
representative
told her he wasn’t sure what
to do, and advised her to email
the
Financial
Aid
Office,
something she had already
done.
The
second
speaker,
also a student member of
SCOPE,
discussed
actions
the organization has taken in
previous years. According to
the student, after the election
of President Donald Trump
and the increased uncertainty
surrounding
the
Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals
program, SCOPE issued a list
of requests to the University.
The organization requested
the
University
fully
meet
DACA
students’
financial
need, hire a staff member to
serve as a primary contact for
DACA students and increase
access
to
information
for
prospective
undocumented
students, among other things.
Hector
Galvan,
who
works as the Undocumented
Student
Program
Manager
in the Office of Academic
Multicultural
Initiatives,
also
spoke
at
the
event.
He explained his role — to
advise
undocumented
and
“DACAmented” students and
collaborate
across
campus
to
serve
these
students.
He
also
gave
information
about
resources
available
to undocumented students,
including
Student
Legal
Services
and
a
website
specifically for undocumented
students.
The last student member to
speak discussed his experience
as an undocumented transfer
student at the University. He
explained
that
University
policy indicates a student
must apply within 28 months
of graduating high school,
something he believes greatly
affects
undocumented
students.
After
spending
49
months
working
full-time
and
completing
courses
at
a
community
college,
Galvan
was
accepted
as
a transfer student to the
University’s
Taubman
College of Architecture and
Urban
Planning.
Though
he
completed
a
summer
semester, his status as a
student is unclear as his
financial aid information is
being reviewed. Galvan is
currently attending all his
classes in hopes of getting
retrospective credit after he
is granted financial aid and
his enrollment is confirmed.
Natalia Ipince, a senior
in Taubman and the School
of
Art
&
Design,
is
an
international
student
from
Venezuela
who
moved
to
the United States four years
ago. She came to the event
after realizing the different
barriers
undocumented
students have to face.
“I
realized
that
I
was
interested in the boundaries
people
have
to
cross,”
Ipince said. “In this case,
I ended up realizing that
undocumented students have
a lot of boundaries that they
have to cross to g˜et the same
education a lot of us do.”
Ipince
also
explained
she
sympathized
with
undocumented
students
after experiencing the legal
challenges of the immigration
system.
LSA
junior
Rosa
Avilez
also attended the event and
spoke to The Daily about her
own
experience
applying
to
the
University
as
a
“DACAmented” student.
“Originally, I really didn’t
think I could apply to the
University
of
Michigan
because I really didn’t know
about the opportunities it held
for undocumented students,”
Avilez said. “I instantly knew
I wasn’t going to be able to
get federal aid, I might not
be able to apply for in-state
tuition, so money was a really
big issue.”
She said the University
initially
gave
her
a
scholarship, but she wasn’t
able to accept it because of
her DACA status. However,
she also received a similar,
privately funded scholarship,
allowing her to attend the
University.
“That only happened after
I filled out another in-state
application,” she said. “As a
DACA recipient, I am not a
permanent resident. I am not
a U.S. citizen.”
She also explained that
she wished more students
on
campus
knew
about
undocumented students and
DACA recipients.
“All of us, we’re just really
hard
workers,”
she
said.
“We really just want to go to
college, and if I didn’t have
the in-state tuition policy
that was just implemented a
few years ago, this would not
be possible. I wouldn’t be here
and I know a lot of us wouldn’t
be here.”
UNDOCUMENTED
From Page 1
ESPORTS
From Page 1
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com