He said this indicates there
are presumably rules as to which
progressions
are
aesthetically
pleasing to listeners and which our
intuition tells us should be avoided
in composition.
“There is some sort of an
interesting structure to this,”
Forger said. “Right now, we’re
trying to figure out what is that
structure.”
Forger explained the primary
goal of their project is to determine
the psychological or neurological
basis for patterns in the practice and
performance of the sonatas that are
not prescribed by the composer.
Kibbie said it is these nuances that
make music interesting.
“The Trio Sonatas are notorious
for
this
unpredictability
of
performance,” Kibbie said. “What
Bach wrote on the music score
is not everything that’s needed
for a complete, successful artistic
performance.”
Kibbie, Forger and their student
assistants represent one of the four
teams participating in MIDAS-
funded Data Science of Music
Challenge
Initiative
research
this school year. Kibbie said it is
wonderful to have received an
opportunity from the University to
engage in unique, interdisciplinary
research between the fields of math
and music.
“Musicians
are
sometimes
skeptical of math analysis and
data analysis because so much of
what we do is intuitive, and I hope
particularly the musicians will
come away with an understanding
that data science can support our
creativity and our intuition and
challenge it,” Kibbie said.
University
alum
Kevin
Flannagan studied data analysis
and music in conjunction as an
undergraduate. He returned to
campus to see the presentation.
Flannagan told The Daily after the
event that he sees many similarities
between the studies of math and
music.
“They’re both things that kind
of reward focused effort and people
who are sort of willing to spend a
lot of time sitting alone working on
something, so I think the skills that
you need are the same for both,”
Flannagan said.
Kibbie
said
the
University
provides
the
unique
context
most conducive to this type of
interdisciplinary research.
“We have the best of both
worlds,” Kibbie said. “We operate
as a small, elite conservatory
but embedded in this first-class
research
institution,
so
our
students have the resources of the
full University while we also have
the focus study of music or theater
and dance.”
Kibbie said the team intends
to continue with and expand
their research. The University is
in the process of developing new
technology to get more pure and
detailed data.
“This is just the first phase,”
Kibbie said. “The really exciting
thing is that the School of Music,
Theatre & Dance is raising funds
now to commission a major new
studio organ that is going to have
groundbreaking data interface … It
will be the first organ in the world
that will allow data collection in
a much more nuanced way that is
possible here.”
Kibbie said he is extremely
proud of the work this research is
accomplishing at the forefront of
its field.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Tuesday, April 2, 2019 — 3
SMTD
From Page 1
I would offer students one
source when we’re in a situation
like that and that’s the Division of
Public Safety and Security. I think
what President Schlissel outlined
beautifully in his email letter is
get the (Michigan) app … My other
advice would be to pay attention.
This idea of earphones on, walking
around, being oblivious is probably
not wise. I think the good news
is we got a real practice run. We
learned a lot of things about our
system. Some people learned about
what dead zones are like for their
phones, that they didn’t sign up (for
emergency alerts), that they didn’t
have the app. Some people were
listening to the (police) scanner
and thought everything it reported
was real. You can see how all of that
adds to the confusion. I think what
I’ve heard Director Washington
(Executive Director of DPSS)
say the source is the Department
of Public Safety and Security ...
We learned a lot of things we are
going to get better at. For that, I’m
appreciative. I think now we just
have to benefit from the things
we’ve learned.
TMD: A new Central Student
Government president and vice
president, LSA sophomore Ben
Gerstein and LSA junior Isabelle
Blanchard, were recently elected.
What do you hope to come from
their administration and how do
you plan to work with them to
achieve their goals?
Harper: Typically, what I do is I
meet with the new administration
and usually the old administration,
so Daniel (Greene) and Izzy (Baer),
will come. They will talk a bit about
what it is they want to accomplish
and during the course of that
conversation I will be thinking
about, given what they want to
accomplish, who is it that they need
to be connected to. We go through
a kind of orientation so they know
which areas of the University are
responsible for the items they’re
concerned for or an agenda item
they might want to have … I try
not to come into a new student
body presidency with something
in mind I need them to do. My goal
is to help them understand what
it is or how it is I can help them
achieve their goals because they
have a sense of what they want to
accomplish. They have to represent
all students, not some, but all. I
try to remind them this is not an
elevation of you. All of us sit in the
seats we sit in to help advance the
mission of the University. If you’ve
been elected, you’ve been elected
by the student body, and so your
work becomes to represent them,
not to advance a personal agenda.
… I want to honor what they believe
needs to happen, and then my job is
to help them accomplish it.
TMD:
The
recent
college
admissions
scandal
regarding
celebrities
and
top
business
executives bribing colleges into
admitting
their
children
has
raised
many
concerns
about
the transparency of admissions
processes and from students and
parents. What would you say to
students of lower socioeconomic
backgrounds who feel they might
be disadvantaged in terms of
opportunities when compared to
wealthier students?
Harper: I don’t think the issue
on the table is wealth, to be quite
frank. I think the issue on the table
is character and integrity. And if a
person lacks character or integrity,
that can be the case whether
you’re poor or rich. So, I want to
be careful that we don’t paint this
as a wealth—the money created an
opportunity for people who didn’t
have any integrity or character to
do something that was wrong. We
have plenty of wealthy people, and
poor people, with lots of integrity,
and would not use their resources
that way no matter what. … This
isn’t about wealth. Wealth and
money were the tools, this was
really about character and the
degree to which you have integrity
and you are honest. … This is a
place that honors hard work, this
is a place that looks holistically, so
getting into Michigan just on your
GPA and just on your test scores is
not enough. And so, I think focusing
on who you are and doing your very
best and making the case, is what
I would say. Getting distracted by
people who are dishonest, you and
I can’t fix that in someone. What
we can do is not be dishonest with
ourselves, to not cheat.
TMD: Emilio Gutiérrez Soto,
a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the
University, is scheduled to be
deported after he was denied
asylum. Also, an event occurred
Monday, March 25 detailing efforts
the University has taken on to help
undocumented. How do you try
to help undocumented or asylum-
seeking students get the resources
they need while also following
state and federal law?
Harper: So, we do have Robert
Sellers, our chief diversity officer,
designated a staff member, Hector
Galvan, to work with documented
and undocumented students. We
have a website that has resources
there for the students. Our student
legal services have lawyers — they
are available to help students.
And so, I think those kinds of
resources that the law allows us to
provide, we provide. … Sometimes
students are afraid; they aren’t
afraid necessarily because they
may be able to be on campus but
their parents are undocumented
and so they worry about what
the implications will be for their
parents. Some students actually
came to speak at the Board of
Regents meeting to ask us to take a
look at our policies and procedures
around in-state and out-of-state
and make sure that we aren’t
disadvantaging
students
who
actually have to work a little bit
and go to school a little bit, work
a little bit and go to school a little
bit. … Some of our wealthy parents
have given us money to be able to
provide support for undocumented
students. So I think having the
resources
available,
having
someone you can talk with, making
sure that we honor students’
privacy rights, which we would
always do, making sure there is a
way for students to find out what
the resources are and to take
advantage of them, meeting with
students if they have this concern. I
think those are the kinds of things
we try to do as an institution to
make this place work.
TMD: After a Dec. 10 article in
The Daily revealed 40 years’ worth
of sexual misconduct allegations
against SMTD professor Stephen
Shipps, Shipps retired Feb. 28.
How do you hope the University
can better help students with the
reporting process when there
are allegations against faculty
members?
Harper: I think you’ve seen
the
University
take
actions
strengthening
this
romantic
relationship policy. I hope or think
you’ve seen that the University
is very clear that it’s not going
to be tolerated … So, I think we
need three things. One, students
(need) to have the courage to keep
reporting … I think those of us that
are responsible for hearing and
believing need to hear and believe.
And I think all of us have to get
much more mindful of our behavior
and our language and the power
differential that exists between
students and staff, and students
and faculty members. So, I think
every part of our community has
a role to play in terms of shutting
this down. Students have to believe
they are going to be believed and
tell it and say something … We
have to look at our policies and
procedures and make sure they
are as strong as they can be. Then,
we have to continue to strengthen
our training
— but everybody has
to use their voice. We have to be
good bystanders for each other. We
have to say something … because
what hurts is the silence … It’s
a culture change that’s going to
have to occur. While policies and
procedures and training is really
important, us owning that we are
not going to be in a community that
accepts this that is the only thing
that will change it. … People who
want to harm count on not telling
… it’s almost like we are in a battle
with fear or doubt … because that’s
what someone who’s trying to
harm you will always use … so we
have to be afraid and say something
anyways.
HARPER
From Page 1
Noor also spoke about his
admiration for the panel,
saying
it
touched
on
a
number of important topics.
“I love the panel,” Noor
said.
“Really
being
able
to show not just that (the
panelists) are artists but
why they became artists
is really a great thing and
really is eye-opening. A lot
of the times, you think that
it’s just STEM, but there’s
other things that you can do
too, especially if you have
that creativity.”
During
the
panel
discussion, LSA sophomore
Basil Alsubee spoke about
his
views
on
the
state
of Muslim artists in the
U.S.
Alsubee
expressed
appreciation
for
the
opportunity to speak on the
panel in an interview with
The Daily following the
event.
“I’ve
just
been
really
looking
for
a
platform
to speak to the Muslim
community, which is my
own community, about the
work that I do and art and
culture and media of Islam
as it pertains to the Muslim
community,” Alsubee said.
Alsubee told The Daily
the panel members’ ideas
complemented each other.
“We think about a lot
of similar things, but I
think we fill each other’s
gaps,”
Alsubee
said.
“I
was really struck by the
insightful processing of art
and media that they’ve had
— their own experiences,
both the similarities and
differences.”
Alsubee also expressed
his
personal
interest
in
Islamic history and desire
to go to other events in the
Islamic Engagement Week.
“I really want to go to
the
under-represented
perspectives
(event),”
he
said.
“I’ve
become
interested
in
the
topic
as someone who studies
history.
I’m
really
interested
in
historical
silences and things that are
just generally difficult to
come by, both the historical
record and contemporary
culture.”
After the event, Art &
Design freshman Gabriel
Consiglio told The Daily he
appreciated the program.
“I heard it through word-
of-mouth,” Consiglio said.
“In terms of organization
for the event, I think this
is a perfect venue for what
it is. I’ve never been to
something like this before,
so the format of this is
pretty interesting. I like
the blend of discussion and
art.”
Consiglio also appreciated
the association’s decision to
pause the event at 8 p.m. to
allow everyone time to pray.
“I think it’s very cool that
they’re taking out the time
to pray,” Consiglio said.
“Being someone who is not
entirely in this religion,
I
think
this
is
really
important, especially since
not all of the events are
about Islam.”
MSA
From Page 1
Mokgomole was an active
member of the BDS student
group at the University of
Witwatersrand. Molepo never
officially joined the movement
as a student at the University
of Cape Town, but still believed
Israel was an apartheid state.
Both activists are no longer
affiliated with the movement
and said they now think BDS
lied to them about the state of
discrimination in Israel.
“Israel
is
still
where
Palestinians
live,”
Molepo
said. “Israel is still where a lot
of Palestinians go to school.
Israel is still where a lot of
Palestinians
get
their
food
from. Israel is still where a lot
of Palestinians get their water
from. Gaza gets their electricity
from Israel and the one thing
you never hear is that whenever
the ‘right to return’ marches
happen, people actually burn
down the power stations in
Gaza. So it becomes a thing
where people lose power and
the Israeli Defense Forces has
to go and fix that.”
Mokgomole
also
said
he
was struck by the differences
between Israel and apartheid
South Africa, since he was
often told that Israel was an
apartheid state. After getting
expelled from his university for
antagonizing Jewish students,
Mokgomole began to educate
himself about Israeli society.
He said when he visited Israel
for the first time and asked an
Israeli airport employee for
the “Blacks-only bathroom,”
he was surprised to receive a
silent stare in response.
“I told him, ‘Look, I’m from
South Africa and I was told that
Israel is an apartheid state,’”
Mokgomole said. “During the
South African apartheid, Blacks
and whites were not allowed to
use the same bathrooms. Blacks
and whites were not allowed to
use the same buses, the same
schools, a number of things.
So I’m in Israel, and I was told
Israel is an apartheid state, and
in an apartheid state I don’t
want to be arrested for using
the wrong bathrooms. He said
‘No, no, no, we don’t have that
here. You can use any bathroom
if you identify your gender and
use the right bathroom for your
gender.”
Echoing
Mokgomole’s
argument,
Molepo
noted
how the four racially-based
social
classes
that
existed
during
the
South
African
apartheid created a society
built on discrimination that
explicitly denied Black people
their rights to education and
employment. Molepo said even
though he doesn’t agree with
all of the Israeli government’s
policies, he can’t classify it as
an apartheid country because
he doesn’t see the same kind of
overt racism.
“Within the whites and the
Blacks, you find that people
weren’t allowed in the same
bathrooms, the same buses, the
same benches,” Molepo said.
“Let’s say if my mother had
to raise (a white boy), when
they get to a park, she would
have to sit on the floor and he
would have to sit on the bench,
because she’s not allowed to
sit on the same bench as me no
matter how close they are, no
matter what. I find none of that
in Israel.”
LSA
senior
Robert
Weinbaum, a member of the
University’s chapter of Stand
With
Us,
invited
the
two
activists to campus. He said
he hoped the discussion would
allow students to reach their
own conclusions about whether
Israel should be called an
apartheid state or not.
“Being at an event on campus
and especially in an academic
setting, Israel being described
as an apartheid state is an
adjective, it is very matter-of-
fact,” Weinbaum said. “I never
really found a place where that
was discussion — what does
that really mean? In what ways
is it an apartheid state? I felt
like it was important to create
an environment where that
kind of conversation could be
held and really critically look
at Israel and compare it to
apartheid South Africa.”
LSA senior Emily Olin, who
attended
the
conversation,
studied at the University of
Cape Town last semester and
noted how prevalent anti-Israel
sentiment was at the university.
After seeing the BDS movement
on the Cape Town campus, Olin
said it was interesting to hear
from South Africans with an
alternate perspective.
“When
we
were
at
the
University of Cape Town, we
were there for Israeli boycott
week, and I have pictures
on my phone of the defaced
Israeli flag,” Olin said. “My
parents were visiting and I
brought them up to campus
and I was like, ‘Look, this is
kind of crazy.’ I thought (this
talk) was really interesting
from the perspective of a non-
outsider who has experienced
apartheid,
real
apartheid,
not studied about it, not read
about it — their families have
experienced it. I think it was a
very valuable perspective.”
Even though Molepo and
Mokgomole
stressed
the
differences
between
South
African
apartheid
and
the
Israeli-Palestinian
conflict,
they said peace should be
reached through negotiation
just as apartheid was ended
through
election.
Molepo
said a two-state solution that
preserves Israeli independence
should be the goal of these
discussions.
“We need to understand that
Israel has a right to exist,”
Molepo said. “BDS sometimes
comes with a narrative that
says, ‘From the river to the sea,
Palestine will be free.’ So what
does that say then for the Israeli
child? What does that say for
the people that were born in
that period? Does that mean
they’re nonexistent people? It’s
something that we always need
to be conscious of — the fact
that these are people’s lives
we’re speaking about at the end
of the day.”
CONTROVERSY
From Page 1
College Democrats Chair
Ruby Schneider, LSA junior,
later voiced her support
during public comments for
the resolution. Schneider
said currently Ann Arbor
is not addressing climate
change and needs to make
changes to do so.
“To date, the city has
never devoted more than
0.2 percent of its budget
to climate action — this
must change,” Schneider
said. “The 40-40-20 plan
addresses issues that are
critical to the future of Ann
Arbor.”
LSA sophomore Devan
O’Toole,
a
member
of
the
Roosevelt
Institute
and the Climate Action
Movement,
spoke
in
support of the resolution.
He emphasized the urgency
for
intergenerational
partnerships
to
respond
to
climate
change
and
affordable housing.
“We from the student
community
urge
City
Council
to
uphold
the
40-40-20 tax revenue plan
because we’re in this fight
together to preserve an
equitable and sustainable
future
for
Ann
Arbor,”
O’Toole said.
Ramlawi
then
said
though he supports actions
to
address
affordable
housing and climate action,
he does not support the
resolution. Ramlawi said
the city recently received
results
from
a
resident
survey that did not list
affordable housing, climate
action or pedestrian safety
as top issues. Ramlawi said
he was concerned the entire
$2.2 million of the returns
from
the
countywide
millage would go toward
issues that residents did
not indicate as their top
priorities.
“It
doesn’t
give
us
any money for any other
issues,” Ramlawi said. “It
spends all 2.2 million (from
the county millage) without
addressing any of our other
priorities.”
Ramlawi
also
shared
concerns
the
resolution
would
spend
a
huge
portion of the funds. While
Ramlawi
commented
on
how he felt there’s no
room in the budget for this
resolution
now,
citizens
in the audience objected,
arguing climate change was
happening now.
“I don’t see any money for
this right now,” Ramlawi
said. “We’re at a high
watermark right now in
our city’s budget. We’re in
fortunate times, but I don’t
think we’ll always be in this
position, and we are setting
some very high floors at a
time when we’re at a high
watermark in our budget.”
CITY
From Page 1
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com