3
NEWS

Thursday, June 13, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Though the future of 
affirmative action remains in 
question, pre-med students 
are decisive: According to a 
Kaplan survey of over 245 
pre-med students, 80 per-
cent agreed it is important 
for the American medical 
profession to be demograph-
ically representative of the 
general patient population.
Kaplan’s survey comes in 
the wake of an April deci-
sion by Texas Tech Univer-
sity to no longer use race 
or national origin as a part 
of their holistic medical 
school application process. 
The decision finalized the 
14-year investigation into a 
complaint against the school 
stating the use of race in the 
admissions process is in vio-
lation of Title VI of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964. Current-
ly, eight states have a ban on 
affirmative action — includ-
ing 
Michigan. 
Together, 
these eight states educate 
about 29 percent of all U.S. 
high school students.
For the University of 
Michigan’s 2018 school of 
medicine class, 20 percent 
are categorized by the Uni-

versity as “underrepresented 
in medicine.” According to 
second-year medical student 
Zoe Curry this relatively low 
number is a hindrance to 
change.
“It seems that this num-
ber is actually higher than 
the national average too, 
which is a reality that I and 
many of my classmates find 
unsettling,” Curry said. “A 
lot of my concern centers on 
the culture of medicine as a 
whole, and how hard it is to 
challenge traditional struc-
tures of teaching and assess-
ment that don’t take issues of 
diversity into account.”
In a different Kaplan 
survey, 
medical 
school 
admissions officers graded 
themselves on recruiting and 
admitting students from dif-
ferent backgrounds. Nearly 
88 percent of admissions 
officers graded themselves 
with “A,” “B” or “C,” while 
only about five percent went 
so low as “D” or “F.”
Steven Gay, assistant dean 
of admissions at the Univer-
sity Medical School, told The 
Daily he was unable to give 
the school a diversity grade 
as the goal for greater diver-
sity is constantly evolving.
“Our goal is to bring in 

a class that has most spe-
cial medical students in the 
country,” Gay said. “One of 
the core tenants of that being 
the best group of young phy-
sicians is their diversity on 
any level. Whether it comes 
from 
socioeconomics, 
to 
their extensive and profound 
experiences, to the distance 
that they travel, to the things 
that they inspire to do. One 
of the things that is actu-
ally very clear, shooting for 
a specific GPA and MCAT 
score does very, very little 
to guarantee you a class that 
will fulfill the goals and the 
vision of the institution … I 
don’t think it’s something 
that I will ever be able to sit 
back to say, ‘See, we did it.’”
Though the number of 
Black men earning col-
lege degrees has grown, 
the number of Black men 
entering medical schools is 
smaller in 2015 compared 
to 1978, with 1,410 in 1978 
and only 1,337 in 2015. For 
Gay, this low number of 
African Americans pur-
suing medicine does not 
come as a surprise. With 
a lack of opportunity and 
exposure, Gay said unrep-
resented minority students 
will not consider medicine 

as a career path.
“Simply put, you’re see-
ing few African American 
males in our college as 
well,” Gay said. “I think the 
number one reason is that 
opportunities and equity 
have become much more 
difficult in our society for a 
number of different classes 
of people.”
David J. Brown, asso-
ciate vice president and 
associate dean for Health 
Equity 
and 
Inclusion, 
agrees with Gay that there 
are 
numerous 
barriers 
that both restrict and dis-
courage 
unrepresented 
minorities from applying 
to medical school.
“It starts early in the 
academic development of 
Black males with uncon-
scious biases from negative 
stereotypes in the media, 
low-resourced 
schools, 
advisors who do not recog-
nize their talents and dis-
courage or redirect them 
from studying medicine, 
the lack of Black male phy-
sician role models and at 
times, the lack of financial 
resources,” Brown said.

Read more at michigandaily.com

3
NEWS

“Thank you for giving us 
the opportunity to serve you 
for the past 32 years,” read 
the white and red sign placed 
in the window of one of Ann 
Arbor’s oldest Chinese res-
taurants, China Gate. The 
restaurant located at 1201 S. 
University closed their doors 
for the very last time on Mon-
day, May 27.
The popular Asian eatery 
began serving classic dishes 
such as chicken lo mein, 
szechuan pork and sweet and 
sour chicken in 1987 under 
acclaimed “Chef Jan,” with 
most of the original serving 
staff remaining with the res-
taurant until its closing. For 
less than $15, students and 
local residents alike could 
enjoy a filling meal accompa-
nied by a selection of ’80s hits 
playing in the background.
Many 
students 
initially 
became aware of China Gate’s 
closing after a post was made 
on the Facebook page “Over-
heard at Umich.” There are 
almost 500 comments and 
800 reactions attributed to 
the post.
“Horrible news, Wolver-
ines,” the post said. “After 32 
years, China Gate will be clos-
ing permanently at the end of 
May.”
University 
of 
Michigan 
alum 
LeAnne 
Wintrode 
remembered spending much 
of her time there, citing 
China Gate as one of the more 
affordable 
restaurants 
on 
campus.
“I have so many memories 

of life events that are tied to 
eating there, and I feel very 
nostalgic for the first time in 
my life when I was a regu-
lar there,” Wintrode said. “I 
had several first dates there, 
because, as a poor college stu-
dent, I couldn’t afford ‘fancy’ 
restaurants in Ann Arbor, but 
I could eat at China Gate and 
feel like a grown-up … With 
China Gate closing, I’m losing 
an eatery, but more impor-
tantly, I feel like I am losing 
my memories.”
According to sign posted in 
the window of China Gate, the 
restaurant’s closing was due 
to a proposed redevelopment 
resulting in the termination 
of China Gate’s lease. Owner 
Melissa Jan told MLive she 
was not expecting her lease’s 
renewal application to be 
denied.
“We asked for renewal, but 
our landlord informed us that 
unfortunately based on their 
current redevelopment plans, 
that they will not be renewing 
our lease,” Jan said. “We were 
kind of surprised at first.”
The 
developer, 
Hughes 
Properties, is planning demo-
lition of the entire 1000 block 
of South University to put up 
a 13-story apartment complex 
of “prestigious luxury student 
housing” called Vic Village 
South. Earlier this year, the 
company 
constructed 
the 
12-story apartment complex 
Vic Village North, located 
along the north side of South 
University, featuring over 57 
apartments with 261 beds for 
a monthly rate between $975 
to $1,700.

Beloved A2 
restaurant 
shuts doors 
unexpectedly

Survey says medical profession should be demographically representative

Streetwide demolition forces closure of 
32-year-old cultural staple China Gate 

DESIGN BY KATHRYN HALVERSON
Read more at michigandaily.com

Medical students call for 
more diversity in schools 

SAMANTHA SMALL & 
OLIVIA SCOTT
Summer News Editor & 
Daily Staff Reporter

SAMANTHA SMALL
Summer News Editor

