“It really started decades
and decades ago when folks
were calling for a new Trotter
to recognize Black student
rights in general, since the ’70s
and ’80s and ’90s,” he said.
Collier earned his Bachelor
of Arts in Afroamerican and
African Studies and Sociology
from the University in 2014. He
currently serves as the senior
coordinator
of
operations
for Relay Graduate School of
Education in New York City.
At the Trotter Center, Collier
remarked
on
the
palpable
energy
surrounding
the
groundbreaking day and spoke
of his hopes for the future.
“Walking
through
this
building,
I
got
emotional.
Going into the Sankofa Lounge,
seeing all those photos, it
means a lot. I just hope from
here on out that history isn’t
lost and that this still remains
a beacon and a sanctuary for
students of color. But, like I
said, I always mention the
Black student organizations
because Trotter started off
as the Black house and then
it moved to the multicultural
center. I just want to make sure

that this remains a house and
a safe space for Black students
here on campus.”
This sentiment of paying
homage to those who came
before was a common thread
in many of the words orated
by the other speakers at the
ribbon-cutting
ceremony.
The Honorable Cynthia D.
Stephens,
the
1st
District
Court of Appeals judge and a
University alum, made sure
to give thanks to Thaddeus
R. Harrison, the only student
activist
with
a
criminal
conviction for his role in BAM
that has not been overturned.
Student activism has been a
driving force for the prosperity
of these movements, and these
efforts are apparent in the
construction of the Trotter
Center’s space. During all
steps in the process of the
Trotter Center’s design and
planning of its architecture,
student input was prioritized
and
integrated
into
the
edification.
Notably,
the
new Trotter Center features
a community lounge titled
Sankofa on the first floor,
a name advocated by BSU
Speaker Kayla McKinney and
Secretary Camyrea Barnes.
Barnes spoke of the tireless,
accumulative efforts of Black

students who have fought
for a space to share their
experiences.
“I’m speechless. My heart
is full right now. Just knowing
the work and the efforts that
many of the Black students on
this campus have been putting
into for 50 years now, and
now that it’s being fulfilled,
it’s like a full circle of life. It’s
up for the future generation
of Black students to keep the
momentum going.”
E. Royster Harper, vice
president
for
student
life,
reiterated this in her speech
to the packed room in her
anecdote
concerning
the
significance of the Sankofa
Lounge. Sankofa, originating
from the Twi language of
Ghana, is stylized by a bird
with its head turned backward
while its feet face forward.
Like
its
symbol,
Royster
Harper
urged
community
onlookers
to
acknowledge
history and the efforts of the
past while pursuing initiative
for the future.
“In some ways, it really is
Sankofa. It really is this idea of
looking back and remembering
your past and seeing what’s
possible for the future. And
that’s what it means to me, a
combination of all of that, and

to see all of the students and
all of the work that has caused
this to happen over time.”
Elizabeth James, adviser
for BSU, reflected on the deep
significance of the Trotter
Center’s
revitalization
of
community on campus. James’
roots in the University span
across generations, — both she
and her mother attended the
University, in addition to her
27 years of working for U-M.
“For me, it’s really surreal
to see a dream come true —
(it) means more than I can
even express in words. It’s
the people, not the facility.
We could meet at Angell
Hall, but we would still be a
community.”
Robert Sellers, vice provost
for equity and inclusion and
chief diversity officer, talked
about the Trotter Center’s
importance to the institution
and
its
catalytic
role
in
creating a brighter future.
“I
am
deeply
touched,
deeply moved. The fact that
we, as an institution, are able
to mark this moment in time
as a way of both symbolizing
the incredible work that the
BSU and many students before
the current BSU (have done)
in terms of trying to move the
University forward to become

the institution that it can be,
it should be, and that it needs
to be, I think this is one more
milestone, but it is not the
endpoint, and in many ways, it
is a new beginning.”
Michigan
in
Color
commends
the
continuous
efforts of students of color
on campus and the plethora
of community members and
alumni that have supported
these initiatives throughout
the
years.
We
hope
that
students of color will feel
empowered, represented and
grounded in their rightful
place
at
this
University
and institutions like it. We
welcome students of color
from
all
backgrounds
to
revel in this space explicitly
grounded
in
intercultural
engagement, inclusivity and
activism.
But while the center is
a positive step in the right
direction, it is only one step
in a larger journey. As the
new Trotter Center begins to
solidify its place on campus,
students will continue to make
strides in current and novel
initiatives
towards
equity,
inclusion,
representation
and unity at the University’s
campus and beyond.

While many of BSU’s original
demands were not fully met,
five years later the University
has granted the student body
the new $10 million facility
intended
to
house
student
organizations, lounge spaces
and student resources as well as
act as a safe space for minority
communities on campus.
University
alum
Brittney
Williams,
a
former
BSU
executive
board
member,
attended the opening ceremony.
According to Williams, while
BSU members several years
ago made the final push toward
a new multicultural center,
the original movement had
its roots in decades of student
protest and activism.
“The
Black
Action
Movements were what started
(the push for a new Trotter
Center),” Williams said. “There
were three, in 1970, 1975 and
1987, and then a lot of people
consider #BBUM to be kind of
like an honorary BAM four. So
I think a lot of the reason why
people are so emotional today
is because it’s almost 50 years
of a push for us to have a space,
not only like this but also
actually on campus as opposed
to where the old Trotter was.”
Tyrell
Collier,
speaker
of BSU during the #BBUM
movement in 2013, echoed
Williams’ sentiments in his
remarks to attendees during
the opening ceremony.
“Make no mistake, we would
not be here if it were not for
the students who fought for
this very moment,” Collier

said. “When I see this building,
I’m reminded of the Black
Action Movements that shook
this University to its core in
response to racist incidents
on campus, and in an effort to
recognize Black student rights.
I’m reminded of the Students of
Color Coalition’s early 2000s
takeover
of
the
Michigan
Union tower. I’m reminded
of the multiple takeovers of
the Fleming Administration
Building
by
Black
student
activists.
I’m
reminded
of
my peers, who due to their
dedication to this work, had
to take on additional years at
this University to graduate,
and those who never made it to
graduation at all.”
Williams herself was one
of these students, as she was
a member of BSU from 2005
to 2011, and ultimately earned
her bachelor’s degree from the
University in 2016. According
to Williams, during her time
with BSU, minority students
had to work around a number
of obstacles in order to achieve
a sense of community in the
Trotter Center.
“We were meeting a lot with
administration, and also with
our leadership … to talk about
ways that we could continue
to make the space that we
were in on Washtenaw more
welcoming, but also to figure
out ways to get a little bit
closer,” Williams said. “We
also
started
the
campaign
where we were having students
meet up and walk together to
Trotter for BSU meetings. So
we kind of had to do the best
we could with what we had,
while still pushing at the top to
get something better.”
With regard to the center’s

2019 reopening, Collier also
cited the support of Elizabeth
James, a member of BSU
during the late ’70s and current
program
associate
of
the
Department of Afroamerican
and African Studies.
“When I see this building, I
am reminded of our immensely
selfless elder, Ms. Elizabeth
James,
whose
unwavering
support never let the fight die
off in between generations,
whose steadfast leadership has
guided us always in the right
direction and whose wisdom
has comforted us in some of
our darkest moments,” Collier
said in his remarks. “Ms. Beth,
if it were up to me, this building
would be named after you.”
Along
with
BSU’s
foundational
role
in
the
establishment
of
a
new
multicultural center, speakers
at
the
center’s
opening
ceremony also emphasized the
role of the center as a space
for minority students of all
backgrounds to find resources
and a community.
Taubman
junior
Juan
Muñoz, a representative from
the Student Community of
Progressive
Empowerment,
explained the importance of
the center’s reopening to the
Latinx community.
“Trotter, for our community,
has just been a place of
gathering and a place of comfort
and space for our community
to come together,” Muñoz said.
“We just really appreciate how
it’s more centralized and that
makes us feel more included
on campus. I think that this
building does a really good job
of acknowledging all of the
impact people before us had
and how they’ve impacted our

communities and our ability to
feel welcome on campus.”
Public Policy junior Arwa
Gayar, the co-president of the
Arab
Student
Association,
echoed
Muñoz’s
sentiments
about
the
convenience
of
a centrally located Trotter
Center.
“A lot of the Arab students,
when
they
come
together
after class, they’re usually in
the Fishbowl and last year it
would be in the basement of
the Union,” Gayar said. “So a
lot of our communities were
very fragmented. We think
that Trotter is going to be
a really good place for us to
come together and foster those
natural relationships between
our communities. I also think
that ASA being an umbrella
org over a very diverse group
of organizations, we have a
variety of programming and I
think that Trotter, in terms of
the intention of the space, is a
perfect place for all of that.”
According to Muñoz, the
newly established center also
represents a willingness of
University administration to
work with minority students
on the issues they face in a
college setting. As a member
of SCOPE, which works to
expand
opportunities
for
undocumented
students
on
campus,
he
explains
this
cooperation
from
administration is particularly
needed
to
address
certain
student concerns.
“Currently we’re facing a
struggle with the 28-month
policy,
a
clause
within
a
policy that prevents DACA,
or
undocumented
transfer
students,
from
receiving
in-state tuition,” Muñoz said.

“We (hope to) receive support
from the public and raise
awareness on this issue that
it is preventing students from
receiving education.”
LSA
sophomore
Sandra
Perez, also a member of SCOPE
present on Thursday, built off
Muñoz’s comments, explaining
the effect of such policies
on undocumented Michigan
residents hoping to achieve
higher education.
“It personally affects Juan
himself, and my brother,” Perez
said. “My brother just received
(notice) today that he was
denied in-state classification,
while I have been living with
him for so many years, and was
granted in-state classification.
So now he’s an out-of-state
student, and I’m an in-state
student, and that’s preventing
him
from
coming
to
this
university.”
Looking back on the goals
set out by BSU five years ago to
eliminate similar institutional
obstacles
facing
minority
students, Collier recognized
the
difficulty
of
achieving
change on issues of equity and
inclusion.
“I just want everybody to
know that this moment didn’t
come easy; no one should leave
here thinking that this came
easy,” Collier said. “Nothing
that is right and just usually
comes easy. I think the idea of
diversity is a bit on trend now,
but getting institutions like
this university that we all love
to put time, energy and money
into
finding
institutional
racism is no small feat. I’m
happy that we made it here,
and it definitely didn’t happen
merely by inspiration.”

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Friday, April 12, 2019 — 3

TROTTER
From Page 1

HEAL
From Page 1
PROMOTING CONSE NT: SAPAC THE DIAG

Students interact with SAPAC The Diag, an event aiming to educate the campus community on consent and healthy relationships Thursday.

MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily

LSA
freshman
Elizabeth
Williamson said the setup of the
exhibit succeeded in showcasing
the highs and lows of the
recovery process.
“The thing I liked most about
the event is how the survivors
led us on a journey through their
recovery,” Williamson said. “The
winding exhibit really shows
how recovery is not a linear path
but has many twists and turns.”
Sinko said her project was
inspired by her time as an
undergraduate
student
and
her desire to give a voice to
women not supported by their
communities.
“I witnessed a lot of these
unwanted sexual experiences,
and the sad thing was I felt a
lot of women weren’t being
supported, they were more just
being ostracized, because it’s
not convenient to be upset about
these things, especially when
their perpetrators were men in
fraternities or men in positions
of power socially,” Sinko said.
Sinko said the Finding the
Strength to Heal project came
out of her dissertation study, in
which she reached out through
surveys to undergraduate female
students who have survived
sexual
violence.
Participants
were recruited through both
SAPAC and Michigan Medicine,
so
the
24
survivors
who
volunteered to give narrative
interviews are undergraduate
students
of
universities
throughout southeast Michigan.
The project focused on female
survivors, but Sinko noted she
would like to expand it in the
future.
“We had survivors take a
survey online — female survivors
only is what we focused on, just
because we thought that being
a woman in society, you could
navigate the world differently,
potentially,
than
any
other
gender, so starting with women,”
Sinko said. “I’d love to expand
to men or other genders in the
future.”
The women were interviewed
about their healing journeys,
and 19 who volunteered to
interview again were asked to
take photographs of their day-
to-day lives depicting moments
of healing and moments of
darkness. They were also asked
what advice they would give
survivors in the middle of their
healing
processes
and
what
healing means to them.
Sinko said after publishing a
scientific article, she wanted to
do more to make the material
she had collected from the
interviews
accessible
to
the
public.
“This exhibit is a product
of
wanting
to
disseminate
all the photos, all the advice,
all the stories, to help people
actually use research,” Sinko
said. “Research can kind of be
inaccessible, so we wanted to
make it so that students can
actually get something out of it,
also so that service providers
can get something out of it to
learn what their clients might
be looking for in their healing
journeys.”
Sinko said the event was
aimed at three main audiences:
survivors, supporters and service
providers.
“I hope as a survivor, you can
navigate the space and see the
light at the end of the tunnel
and see the journey,” Sinko
said. “No matter if you’re stuck,
if you feel like you’re doing
great, — you could at least take
something away … and maybe
just validating your experience.
One of my participants said, ‘Oh
everyone says you’re not alone,
but sometimes you have to really
see it to believe it, and it’s hard to
just hear that message and know
that it’s true.’”
Social
Work
student
Ori
Benoni, a member of the event’s
planning committee, said she
was pleased with how the exhibit
came together.
“I think it’s really magical and
it really speaks to how powerful
this subject matter really is,”
Benoni said. “The fact that so
many people came and are really
touched — I think it’s really
beautiful.”
Sinko
said
she
hopes
to
conduct the study again with
college-aged women who do not
attend universities, looking for
similarities and differences, and
to create more exhibits in the
future.

BEGINNINGS
From Page 1