University 
of 
Michigan 
Rackham 
student 
Andrea 
Belgrade hosted the opening 
event 
for 
the 
Strength 
of 
Refugees and their Community 
in the Hatcher Graduate Library 
Wednesday night. A group of 
about 50 students and Ann Arbor 
residents attended the event. 
Belgrade does research with 
psychology professor Fiona Lee 
focused on Muslim-Americans, 
self-identified 
multicultural 
people, immigrants and refugees. 
The gallery at the event was an 
extension of her work. 
Belgrade began the discussion 
with a brief introduction on 
her goal for her research with 

refugees: allowing refugees to 
talk about their own experiences 
instead 
of 
having 
their 
experiences discussed on their 
behalf. 
“Refugees are one group that 
are very often talked about, 
but less often, their stories and 
their voices are not centered 
and a part of that conversation,” 
Belgrade said. “While a lot of 
people you might speak to might 
be supportive of refugees, it 
often follows the single story of 
victimization and trauma.” 
The reception led to a panel 
discussion about research the 
panelists had done with refugees. 
Dr. Mari Kira, a psychology 
research 
scientist 
at 
the 
University, 
worked 
at 
the 
University 
of 
Giessen 
and 

University of Marburg, Germany 
in the early 2010s. She said the 
migration of millions of refugees 
to Germany in such a short span 
of time prompted her group to 
begin researching refugees and 
their lives in Germany. 
“We focus on their challenges 
that the resettlement is bringing, 
but also the positive aspects,” 
Kira said. “We grow through 
every experience we have; how 
does the path of refugees help 
them to grow and enriches 
their understanding of not only 
themselves, but also enriches 
their understanding of this world 
and how it works?” 
Kira 
and 
her 
group 
of 
researchers 
studied 
with 
refugees in the U.S., Canada 
and Germany. She was able to 

find commonalities between the 
groups: the loss of control over 
their own life, uncertainty and 
discrimantion. 
“I had a Syrian refugee tell 
me, ‘We here as refugees are 
unsafe,’” Kira said. “‘Maybe one 
day the state will say we are to go 
back to our home country. And 
what should I do there? I lost 
everything there.’” 
Ayah Kutmah is the co-founder 
of 
REvive, 
an 
organization 
that goes “beyond the scope” 
of 
United 
Nations 
refugee 
resettlement organizations. She 
spoke about how stereotypes of 
refugees as helpless and in need 
of others’ help does more harm 
than good. 

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, September 12, 2019

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Approximately 
150 
community members filled 
the pews of First United 
Methodist Church to hear 
Sister Helen Prejean, a 
renowned author and nun, 
discuss her book “River of 
Fire,” released in August. 
She described what it was 
like to see injustice impact 
others and her advocacy 
work.

“We can’t make ourselves 
wake up,” Prejean said. “We 
can show up for things like 
this where someone’s going 
to be blowing on the coals 
and a fire might happen, 
but it’s always grace when 
we wake up. And it doesn’t 
matter when we wake up. 
It’s what we do after that I 
think is really important.”
Prejean, who has been 
featured on “The Oprah 
Winfrey 
Show” 
and 
in 
the The New York Times, 

began life as a nun at age 
18. Her first book, “Dead 
Man Walking,” was turned 
into an opera and Academy 
Award-winning film.
During 
her 
talk, 
she 
discussed 
her 
transition 
from a nun who grew 
up shielded from other 
cultures to living a life 
entirely devoted to social 
justice. 
Specifically, Prejean has 
been an advocate against 
capital 
punishment. 

Prejean 
said 
she 
was 
inspired by an imprisoned 
pen pal, who was killed on 
death row two-and-a-half 
years after they met.
When 
“Dead 
Man 
Walking” was released in 
the early 1990s, 80 percent 
of Americans supported the 
death penalty. Prejean said 
she attributes this support 
to fear and sees her role as 
changing the conversation.

Move 
over, 
avocado 
— 
there’s 
a 
new 
shortage 
rocking 
American 
college 
students. 
The 
country 
is 
facing the first-ever shortage 
of White Claw Hard Seltzer. 
White Claw is the hard 
seltzer 
industry’s 
prized 
possession, accounting for 
nearly 5 percent of all hard 
seltzer sales the week of July 
4 this year. Drink sales have 
grown 283 percent over the 
last year and have outgrown 
the 
speed 
of 
production. 
White Claw confirmed to 
CNN Business there is a 
nationwide shortage of their 
product. 
White 
Claw 
President 
Phil Rosse said in an email 
statement to The Daily they 
are actively working to ensure 
stock returns to normal. 
“White Claw is currently 
growing at 260 percent for the 
third consecutive year – all 
thanks to consumers that love 
our product,” Rosse said. “We 
are working around the clock 
to increase current supply 
and total capacity heading 
into 2020 so that we can 
get every consumer White 
Claw when they want it.” 

GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail 
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 131
©2019 The Michigan Daily

N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

CL A SSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit

Trump admin 
moves to ban 
flavored e-cigs

Move follows Gov. Whitmer’s MI 
ban, enacted due to health risks

Individuals 
can 
now 
voluntarily 
update 
ethnicity 
designations beyond standard 
federal definitions on Wolverine 
Access, University of Michigan 
administration announced in 
an email sent out to all students, 
staff and faculty in late August.
To do so, individuals access 
the newly created “Extended 
Ethnicity” 
tab 
within 
the 
Campus Personal Information 
section of Wolverine Access, 
where they can add, delete or 
update ethnicity information.
On Aug. 28, an email, signed 
by Robert Sellers, vice provost 
for 
equity 
and 
inclusion; 
Kedra 
Ishop, 
vice 
provost 
for 
enrollment 
management; 
and 
Richard 
Holcomb 
Jr., 
associate vice president for 
human resources, explained the 
highlights and the University’s 
commitment to “fostering an 
environment of inclusiveness.” 
According 
to 
the 
email, 
the ethnicity designations of 
individuals will not be published. 
However, the data may be 
used for statistical reports and 
approved research as well as for 
Student Life, Human Resource 
and 
Diversity, 
Equity 
and 
Inclusion programming.

‘U’ adds 
ethnicity
selection 
process

ADMINISTRATION

BEN ROSENFELD
Daily Staff Reporter

Sister Helen Prejean discusses 
new book about social justice

Community members gather to hear renowned author, nun talk about importance of advocacy 

Shortage 
of White 
Claw leads 
to concern 

BUSINESS

MOLLY NORRIS
Daily Staff Reporter 

Follow The Daily 
on Instagram, 
@michigandaily

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer 
doesn’t 
think 
President 
Donald Trump is blowing 
smoke when it comes to 
dealing with the youth vaping 
epidemic. She praised the 
Trump Administration on 
Wednesday for its intention to 
finalize a compliance policy 
that would clear the market of 
unauthorized, 
non-tobacco-
flavored e-cigarette products. 
Last 
week, 
Michigan 
became the first state in 
the nation to ban flavored 
nicotine products, after Dr. 
Joneigh Khaldun, Whitmer’s 
chief 
medical 
executive, 
determined that youth vaping 
constituted a public health 
emergency. 
Whitmer applauded the 
Trump 
administration 
for 
their parallel move.
“I’m 
glad 
this 
administration is doing the 
right thing and following 
Michigan’s 
lead 
to 
ban 
flavored vaping products,” 
Whitmer said. “This is great 
news for our kids, our families, 
and our overall public health… 
Banning these flavors is a bold 
step that will keep our kids 
healthy and safe from the 
harmful effects of vaping. I’m 
proud that Michigan has been 
a leader on this issue, and I’m 
ready to continue working 
to protect our kids and our 

public health.” 
In a statement, Alex Azar, 
U.S. 
Health 
and 
Human 
Services secretary, explained 
the decision was an effort to 
combat the harmful effects of 
youth vaping.

“The 
Trump 

Administration 
is 
making 
it clear that we intend to 
clear the market of flavored 
e-cigarettes to reverse the 
deeply concerning epidemic 
of youth e-cigarette use that is 
impacting children, families, 
schools, and communities,” 
Azar said. “We will not stand 
idly by as these products 
become 
an 
on-ramp 
to 
combustible 
cigarettes 
or 
nicotine 
addiction 
for 
a 
generation of youth.”
Last week, the University 
of Michigan released the 
annual Monitoring the Future 
Panel 
Study, 
which 
has 
tracked substance use among 
American college students 
and non-college youth since 
the 1980s. The study found 
dramatic increases in the 
vaping 
of 
marijuana 
and 
nicotine among young adults 
nationally. 
John Schulenberg, the 
principal 
investigator 
of the Monitoring the 
Future 
Panel 
Study, 
discussed 
how 
public 
perception 
of 
vaping 
has a dramatic effect on 
youth usage. 

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sister Helen Prejean discusses the background of her most recent book, “River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey” at the First United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor 
Wednesday evening. 

Panel discussion reflects on 
global experiences of refugees

Researchers express findings of migrant experience in Europe, United States

See CLAW, Page 3

MADELINE MCLAUGHLIN
Daily Staff Reporter

U-M students react 
to lack of access to 
hard seltzer on campus

ALYSSA MCMURTRY
Daily Staff Reporter

ALEX HARRING
Daily Staff Reporter

See SOCIAL JUSTICE, Page 3

MICHAEL BAGAZINSKI/Daily
Dr. Odessa Gonzalez Benson, Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work, presents at the Strength of Refugees and Their Communities lecture in the Hatcher Library 
Gallery Wednesday evening. 

See ETHNICITY, Page 3

See E-CIGS, Page 3

U-M now gives specific 
identifiaction choices 
on Wolverine Access 

See REFUGEES, Page 3

