Before LSA senior Ashley 
Soto entered the University 
of Michigan, she knew she 
wanted to join a culturally-
based sorority on campus. 
Soto, who is now president of 
the University’s Alpha chapter 
of Delta Tau Lambda Sorority, 
Inc., had an opportunity to 
visit the University through the 
sorority’s high school outreach 
program. After her first year, 
she decided to join the sorority. 
“I 
didn’t 
want 
to 
join 
a 
Panhel 
(Panhellenic) 
organization, just because I 
didn’t feel comfortable as a 
black Latina doing that,” Soto 
said. “That’s kind of the reality 
of things for some students 
of color. But, once I found out 
that there was a way of joining 
multicultural 
Greek 
life, 
I 
knew that I had seen a lot of 
people in my community be a 
part of it, and I wanted to be a 
part of that community.” 
Engineering senior Spencer 
Chen had a similar experience 
to Soto, saying though he 
did not intend to join Greek 
life before coming to the 
University, he was able to find a 

community in the Iota chapter 
of 
Asian-American 
interest 
fraternity Pi Alpha Phi, which 
helped him open up to his 
identity. 
“I originally joined because I 
first met a few of the brothers, 
and they were very warm and 
welcoming,” Chen said. “And 
before I came to college … I 
wasn’t very accepting of my 
culture. They helped guide me 
to not only accept myself, but 
embrace it.” 
The National Pan-Hellenic 
Council and the Multicultural 
Greek 
Council 
oversee 
culturally 
based 
fraternal 
organizations 
(CBFOs). 
NPHC, also known as the 
“Divine Nine,” is made up of 
historically African-American 
sororities 
and 
fraternities 
founded during the early 1900s, 
when Black students were not 
permitted to join historically 
white fraternal organizations. 
MGC was founded in 2002 
with the mission of embracing 
multiculturalism and providing 
a space for communities of 
color in Greek life. 
“We were founded based on 
the idea of inclusivity,” Chen 
said. 

Thousands of University of 
Michigan students and local 
community members filled Hill 
Auditorium to hear American 
rapper, actor, philanthropist and 
activist Common speak at the 
Handleman Lecture on Thursday 
night. 
Answering 
questions 
posed by Scott DeRue, dean of 
the Ross School of Business, 
Common discussed how he aims 

to use his platform as a force for 
positive change.
Hosted by the Business School 
and sponsored by the Joseph 
and Sally Handleman Charitable 
Foundation, the annual event 
invites a prominent figure to 
campus each year to speak on 
relevant business topics. As part 
of their curricular activities, all 
first- and second-year Business 
students were required to attend.
Common opened the event by 
sharing how he found his voice 
through rap at the age of 12. 

Seeing the love and joy his work 
brought, Common said he knew 
he wanted to become a rapper 
when he realized his work had 
impact.
“When I found my voice, I 
started to figure out what I stood 
for and who I am,” Common 
said. “My voice really became 
something that I knew was mine 
when I found out it had purpose,” 
When asked about formative 
moments 
in 
his 
childhood, 
Common said learning the story 
of Emmett Till, a Black 14-year-

old who was lynched after being 
accused of whistling at a white 
woman in 1955, has been the 
strongest influence in shaping 
who he is today. 
“Me seeing that as a little kid 
and knowing that he was just like 
me, from Chicago, it made me feel 
like I had to live for something 
greater,” Common said. “It made 
me realize, someone died just 
because he whistled at someone, 
so what am I going to do with this 

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, September 27, 2019

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Former 
Massachusetts 
Gov. Deval Patrick spoke in 
a 
conversation-style 
event 
about climate change and 
the role of business and 
politics 
in 
environmental 
sustainability. 
The 
event 
was the first installment of 
the Environmental Law & 

Policy Program’s 2019-2020 
Lecture Series.
Patrick, who served as 
governor of Massachusetts 
from 2007 to 2015, first 
discussed 
the 
importance 
of encouraging innovation 
in businesses through the 
government, 
public 
policy 
and impact investing. 
“The kind of innovation 
that is happening in the clean 

and 
alternative 
energy 
I 
think is just wildly exciting,” 
Patrick said. “How do you 
enable the folks who are 
doing this? We need to help 
catalyze the private sector 
with this kind of research. 
… We need to elevate that, 
which is a thing that people 
in senior public positions 
can do by showing up to 
events, understanding what’s 

happening and encouraging.” 
According 
to 
Patrick, 
one of the key faults in 
governing and politics is the 
idea that there can only be 
a single solution for issues 
like climate change, when in 
reality these problems often 
have multiple angles and 
solutions. 

University of Michigan Provost 
Martin Philbert announced a 
campus-wide extended reality 
initiative — an umbrella term for 
augmented, mixed and virtual 
reality technology commonly 
referred to as XR — last week. 
XR 
Initiative 
Director 
and 
University alum, Jeremy Nelson, 
said the technology will enhance 
learning both on campus and 
online.
“These 
are 
advanced 
technologies 
that 
allow 
you 
to 
experience 
different 
environments, 
different 
perspectives in a way that may 
be challenging to do if you’re 
not able to travel somewhere 
or to see inside of an atom,” 
Nelson said. “It opens up lots of 
opportunities for expanding the 
learning experience for students 
and learners around the world.”
Nelson works in the Center 
for Academic Innovation, which 
is spearheading the three-year 
initiative. A new fund will 
support projects related to XR on 
campus.

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

INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 142
©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

Cultural fraternal 
organizations talk 
challenges, support 
in ‘U’ community

Students express concern over lack 
of recognition, publicity for events 

Influential 
singer-
songwriter Bob Dylan will be 
blowin’ in the wind all the way 
to Ann Arbor on Nov. 6 to play 
a concert at Hill Auditorium. 
Bob Dylan and his band are 
being brought to Ann Arbor 
by an organization called Live 
Nation, a live-entertainment 
company 
that 
produces 
concerts. 
Samantha 
Musil, 
manager for Student Services 
and Major Events at the Center 
for 
Campus 
Involvement, 
assisted Live Nation with the 
venue setup. 
“We rent the space to Live 
Nation,” Musil said. “We also 
provide 
event 
coordination 
for on-campus requirements... 
For example, hiring security, 
ambulance 
services 
and 
stage labor in order to set up 
the stage and bring up their 
equipment.”
Many Bob Dylan fans on 
campus are excited for his 
arrival, as some have been 
growing up listening to his 
music since childhood. 

Bob Dylan 
to perform 
at Hill in
November

CULTURE
Former Massachusetts governor 
Deval Patrick talks climate change

Politician discusses regional greenhouse gas reduction, sustainability

Provost’s 
XR effort 
 
integrates 
learning

INNOVATION

Follow The Daily 
on Instagram, 
@michigandaily

ASHA LEWIS/Daily
Deval Patrick, former Governor of Massachusetts, speaks about his state’s embrace of pro-environmental policy during the Great Recession as part of the Michigan Law 
Environmental Law & Policy Program Lecture Series in Jeffries Hall Thursday afternoon.

CLAIRE HAO
Daily Staff Reporter

SONIA LEE
Daily Staff Reporter

See GOVERNOR, Page 3A

RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Musician and actor Common speaks on purpose and finding a vocie at the annual Ross School of Business Handleman Lecture in Hill Auditorium Thursday evening.

See DYLAN., Page 3A
See REALITY, Page 3A

SONIA LEE
Daily Staff Reporter 

See FRAT, Page 3A
See COMMON, Page 3A

FRANCESA DUONG
Daily Staff Reporter

Common gives Handelman 
Lecture on progress, purpose

Entertainer highlights using business as force for positive change

Multi-year initiative 
brings technology to 
classes, coursework

ALEX HARRING
Daily Staff Reporter

Student tickets sold 
out to see musician 
perform on campus

FootballSaturday
The Michigan marching band 
created a special Mary Poppins-
themed show in honor of late 
administrator Maggie St. Clair.
» Page 1B

