Bouman
explained
the
research team’s process to CNN.
“We
developed
ways
to
generate synthetic data and used
different algorithms and tested
blindly to see if we can recover
an image,” Bouman said. “We
didn’t want to just develop one
algorithm. We wanted to develop
many different algorithms that
all have different assumptions
built into them. If all of them
recover
the
same
general
structure, then that builds your
confidence.”
The result was a slightly blurry
photo of a black hole in Messier
87, a galaxy more than 50 million
light years away, surrounded by a
bright orange ring.
Various obstacles have blocked
scientists
from
successfully
photographing black holes in the
past, ranging from the challenges
associated with overcoming the
physical distance from earth to
the difficulty of taking a picture
of something that essentially
devours light.
Bouman led the development
of the algorithm that proved
crucial
in
the
process
of
devising imaging methods. That
algorithm, which was created
in
2016,
patched
together
information collected from radio
telescopes located around the
globe. Bouman discussed the
process in an interview with
MIT News in June of that year.
“Radio
wavelengths
come
with
a
lot
of
advantages,”
Bouman said. “Just like how
radio frequencies will go through
walls,
they
pierce
through
galactic dust. We would never be
able to see into the center of our
galaxy in visible wavelengths
because there’s too much stuff in
between.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Thursday, April 11, 2019 — 3A
FOOD TRUCK FUN
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Benji Benolieli, founder of Truckshuka Food Truck, prepares a vegetarian shakshuka outside the University of Michigan Hillel
Wednesday evening.
“It’s really
emotional and
impactful for me
to know that so
many students, so
many people that
have gone before us
have fought for this
space on campus.”
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
CARCERAL
From Page 1A
According to Trotter Center
Director Julio Cardona, many
alumni have called him voicing
excitement and support for the
new Trotter Center. Cardona
said the move to State Street
from Washtenaw Avenue rep-
resents collaboration and mul-
ticulturalism among a variety
of student groups.
“What we saw in recent
months is a collective of stu-
dent
groups
where
before
everyone was in their own
silos,” Cardona said. “That to
me is the students saying, ‘Let’s
just work together and really
for the greater good.’ I think
that will be a lasting impres-
sion. I hope students can take
this experience to their career,
and then explain to their
friends and co-workers what
true multiculturalism could be
like because they experienced
that here.”
Before the walk to Trotter
Center on State Street, stu-
dents, staff and faculty shared
how the Trotter Center has
impacted their time at the Uni-
versity and what the Trotter
Center location change means
to them.
LSA senior Camyrea Barnes,
secretary of the Black Student
Union, recalled attending her
first BSU meeting at the Trot-
ter Center her freshman year.
After years of long walks to
the Trotter Center on Washt-
enaw Avenue for BSU meet-
ings, Barnes said the opening
of the Trotter Center on State
Street is an emotional moment
for her.
“We made this walk faith-
fully every other Thursday
to the BSU meeting,” Barnes
said. “Now I’m graduating,
and seeing this space that’s
being opened on State Street
on a central location for Black
students to go to and congre-
gate and have mass meetings,
knowing the decades of work
that’s been put in by students
to have this moment, it’s very
emotional. My heart is just so
full that it’s actually happen-
ing.”
LSA
sophomore
Cristina
Guytingco,
programming
chair of United Asian Ameri-
can Organizations and a mem-
ber of the Trotter on State
planning committee, said the
Trotter Center is an important
space for communities of color
to host a variety of events.
“Trotter was the only space
where we could have events
because everywhere else you
had to pay, you had to book,
you had to navigate all these
regulations, but we always
could count on Trotter,” Guyt-
ingco said.
LSA sophomore Dalia Har-
ris, La Casa project coordina-
tor and another member of
the Trotter on State planning
committee, said she started
her time at the University at
the Trotter Center. Harris said
she’s looking forward to form-
ing new memories across com-
munities of color at the new
Trotter Center on State Street.
“Personally for me, Trot-
ter is where I started,” Harris
said. “For the Latinx commu-
nity, we have our orientation
program here … And I have so
many memories of meeting so
many different people in this
space. And this new Trotter
means so many new memories
are going to be made. And I’m
just so excited because not only
will it be a space for our com-
munity, but it’s a space for all of
our marginalized communities,
not separately but together.”
Elizabeth James, BSU adviser
and Department of Afroameri-
can and African Studies pro-
gram manager, said the Trotter
Center has been an integral
part of her campus experience
since she became involved in
BSU in 1980. James voiced how
meaningful of a space the Trot-
ter Center has been for commu-
nities of color.
“It’s just such a beauti-
ful thing to see all of us here
together and to see that this is
actually real,” James said. “I
can’t tell you how many nights
I’ve dreamed about being closer
to campus because I knew how
cold it was for you all to walk
down here because I’d walked
down too. I knew how much
this place meant to you because
you did make that trek. It was
a strange kind of calling that
brought us all here but we knew
this was the place to be.”
Chuck
Ransom,
Multicul-
tural Studies and American
Culture librarian, is currently
working on a project archiving
the history of the Trotter Cen-
ter. According to Ransom, the
Trotter Center’s origins began
with a group of Black female
students in the 1960s who
approached University Hous-
ing asking for an all-Black floor
in the residential halls. Among
other initiatives to help Black
students facing marginaliza-
tion at the University, students
in the Black Action Movement
spearheaded the 1971 opening
of the Trotter House, a Black
student cultural center named
in honor of civil rights activist
William Monroe Trotter, Ran-
som explained.
In 1981, after requests for
their own cultural centers from
several other minority groups,
the
University
decided
to
expand Trotter into a student
multicultural center.
LSA
sophomore
Ugochi
Ndupu, peace officer of BSU
and a member of the Trotter on
State planning committee, rec-
ognized the efforts of BAM and
Being Black at U-M, a move-
ment started by BSU in 2013 to
share experiences of Black stu-
dents on campus. BBUM gained
national traction, eventually
releasing a list of demands. The
demands included the creation
of a Trotter Center closer to the
center of campus.
Ndupu expressed the Trotter
Centers on Washtenaw Avenue
and State Street are possible
due to the work of student activ-
ists in these movements. Ndupu
said the new Trotter Center on
State Street compels her to con-
tinue their work.
“It made me realize as a
Black student here on campus, I
have a purpose to keep that leg-
acy of student activism going
and also to make sure that their
demands are getting carried
out and appreciating the work
that they’ve done,” Ndupu said.
“That’s why new Trotter means
so much to me.”
Guytingco echoed Ndupu’s
sentiments, also acknowledg-
ing past student activists and
expressing students of color
will continue to take up the
space they deserve on campus.
“It’s really emotional and
impactful for me to know that
so many students, so many
people that have gone before
us have fought for this space on
campus,” Guytingco said. “And
now for me to carry on their
legacy through our work, where
people of color and marginal-
ized groups have a space on
Central Campus, this is really
empowering for me and I hope
for so many others. We have
a space, and we’re here, and
we’re going to continue to take
up space because we do.”
TROTTER
From Page 1A
“I went to U of M, I took
these similar classes as an
undergraduate… we had to
talk about race, we had to talk
about white supremacy, but
just because someone is Black
or just because someone’s for-
merly incarcerated it actu-
ally doesn’t mean that they’re
going to support abolition, per
se,” Felder said.
Alexander then asked the
panelists about strategies to
go beyond the carceral state
and what current projects give
them the greatest sense of
hope moving forward.
Felder discussed the prog-
ress Michigan has already
made in terms of criminal
justice reform. He referenced
his work in other states, such
as Alabama and Mississippi,
and emphasized how the high
attendance at the event is
inspiring.
“You don’t see people show-
ing up in other places after
hours like you all did today,”
Felder said. “Michigan has
made progress, I could talk
all day about the progress.
Sure, we have problems. We
spend more on corrections
than higher education. It is a
huge bureaucracy, but we have
made progress and it would be
irresponsible for us not to talk
about the progress we have
made.”
Panelist Michael Steinberg,
legal director of the American
Civil Liberties Union of Mich-
igan, also discussed his cur-
rent hope for the future of the
carceral state. He addressed
how mass incarceration has
become a bipartisan issue,
which allows for more pro-
ductive policy making.
“I am hopeful — I have never
been more hopeful on this
issue than I am right now,”
Steinberg said. “The reason I
am hopeful to the point that
it is not a partisan issue. …
(Conservatives) don’t support
mass incarceration either, it’s
not for the reasons we oppose
it, for humanitarian reasons,
it’s for money, they think it
is a waste of money. But the
fact that we have the same
goals makes me hopeful and I
think in the next five years we
are going to see a huge differ-
ence.”
Watkins then said people
are too reliant on the carcer-
al state and should shy away
from calling the police for
every minor inconvenience.
“I think part of what we
have to know is we can’t get
past the carceral state if we
can’t see past the carceral
state,” Watkins said. “All that
we see in response to conflict
is ‘I need to call the police.’
What do you call the police
for?”
The event concluded with
the panelists suggesting con-
crete ways for attendees to get
involved.
Steinberg told the audience
to actively question people
who make comments which
sustain the flaws in the crimi-
nal justice system.
“I would encourage every-
body to challenge your family,
your friends if they are saying
things that help perpetuate
mass incarceration,” Stein-
berg said. “Whether it is call-
ing the police over something
that you don’t need to call the
police, whether it’s wanting
to lock people up forever, or
calling people in prison ani-
mals. I think it is incumbent
upon all of us to challenge
that.”
LSA freshman Sarah Sukal
said she attended the event to
learn more about what she can
do as a student to help create
change in the carceral state.
“I want to understand how
our prison system actually
works,” Sukal said. “I hadn’t
really heard of the concept
of the carceral state before.
You think about people being
locked up, but you don’t think
about what’s actually going on
inside the prisons, you don’t
really know what you can
actually do to help.”
ARABIC
From Page 1A
PHOTO
From Page 1A
“(They were) hissing and
booing… screaming ‘ahhh’ and
yelling,” French said. “(They
were) trying to drown me out
from saying this.”
DeSanctis said this story
teaches people to be tolerant of
and to react calmly to ideas they
disagree with because it will
send a message conservatives
can tolerate diverse ideas.
“If we are transitioning to
a model of ‘well, I also should
try to shut down or mock or
troll people who I disagree
with,’ suddenly you’re not
sending
the
message
that
conservatives
can
tolerate
dissenting ideas,” DeSanctis
said.
“Suddenly
we’re
becoming like people on the
left who don’t want to hear
the truth… I think it says so
much that they can’t even hear
a basic truth… and about the
weakness of their argument.”
While
recognizing
major
progress
in
America,
they
agreed toleration of ideas has
worsened on college campuses.
“I think a lot about why that
is and one big area where that
seems to be the case is shutting
down speakers who come to
campus and the university
administrations
being
complicit in shutting them
down,” DeSanctis said.
French said in addition to the
temptation for conservatives to
fight back, the Tucker Wars
began to show the Horseshoe
theory, or the right and left
becoming
more
alike,
in
American politics as populism
becomes more prevalent.
“Right and left are not
so
much
competing
over
fundamental
ideas
of
the
role of the state as they’re
trying to compete over who’s
technocrats
should
rule,”
French said.
Clare Ath, campus outreach
coordinator for NRI, is not
a student at Michigan but
advocates conservative ideas
on college campuses. She said
Michigan was the first test-
stop on the podcast tour they
are launching on the topic of
civility.
“How
can
you
further
conservative messaging from
a point where you’re trying to
win over the other side, not
isolate it further from the other
side?” Ath said.
Ath said that many topics
discussed were relevant and
interesting.
“There’s
a
difference
between
criticism
and
censorship,”
Ath
said.
“I
think people on both sides
can do a better job of holding
themselves
accountable
to
the principles they say they
espouse.”
Engineering junior Conor
O’Donnell said he found the
identity perception aspect of
political discourse to be most
influential.
“One of the most impactful
things I learned is the way
to view political discourse in
the way that you view who
you’re speaking to,” O’Donnell
said. “As opposed to looking
at
people
that
are
most
antagonistic in political debate,
you want to focus on the people
that are gonna be the most
rational and most accepting
to your ideas because if that’s
your impression of the people
who are listening to you, you’re
more likely to articulate your
ideas in a more calm, rational
and intellectual way.”
After the recording finished,
there was a question and answer
session open to the audience.
Some
topics
discussed
were
religion,
critique
vs.
censorship, abortion and the
Romney family.
One student asked about
the distinction between a
baker refusing to bake a cake
and a company engaging the
advancement
of
political
ideas.
“The
baker
cases
and
florist
cases
and
wedding
photographer
cases
are
in
this very specific subset that
essentially is saying ‘will the
state use its power to force a
creative professional to use
their talents to advance an idea
they don’t agree with?’” French
said.
LSA freshman Max Resnick
said it was interesting to hear
the idea of both sides feeling
they are losing the culture war
because he previously felt like
the right was more likely to be
seen as winning.
“But now that I’ve heard that,
I look around and I see, yeah,
people do feel like they can’t
express their opinion because
of the culture war,” Resnick
said. “Then, it definitely seems
to me that the left feels like
they’re losing the culture war,
as well.”
PODCAST
From Page 2A
LSA
junior
Owen
Hughes
enrolled in Elementary Arabic I his
first semester at the University. As a
new student pursuing mathematics,
he said studying Arabic gave
him the opportunity to think
in ways his other classes didn’t
allow. Currently, Hughes is taking
Intermediate Arabic II, the fourth
course in the sequence focused on
the Egyptian dialect. Introductory
Arabic classes, which are housed
under the Department of Middle
East Studies, teach formal Arabic in
conjunction with either Levantine
or Egyptian dialects.
Hughes said while it is useful
to know MSA — Arabic’s formal
register
—
the
department’s
structuring of dialects occasionally
makes it difficult to converse with
native speakers.
“During the first year, I spoke like
four words of colloquial Arabic,”
Hughes said. “I didn’t know the
grammar, I knew almost none of
the vocabulary and we never used it
in class. So when you go and speak
it with a native speaker, there are no
native speakers of formal Arabic—
they don’t exist.”
Wijdan Alsayegh, a lecturer
in the Department of Middle
East Studies, said the debate over
whether to teach colloquial in
addition to formal is central to
Arabic language programs across
the country.
“This is the essential debate in
American universities,” Alsayegh
said. “You are going to find this
debate in every Arabic program. So
which one do our students prefer—
dialect or standard? So it is normal
and even in (different) countries we
have this debate. Which one is the
most important — the dialect or the
standard?”
Gottfried Hagen, department
chair of Middle East Studies,
explained the goal of integrating
MSA
with
dialect
in
the
curriculum is to help students
achieve proficiency in the Arabic
language. According to Hagen,
the mixed curriculum began at
the University in 2012, with the
hopes that students would gain the
skills necessary to speak Arabic in
real-world environments, where
speakers often switch between
MSA and dialect during a single
conversation.