They embody the Michigan 
difference.”
Dickinson 
said 
the 
team 
designed Electrum about one year 
ago and began construction in 
May. The team made aerodynamic 
changes in the nose and canopy 
areas of the car and added new 
solar cells and battery design. He 
said the cost of the entire project 
was about $1.2 million.
“(With) any new technology, 
there’s always a risk, but I’d say 
these were not the type of drastic 
changes that we made when we 
switched the body style up in 
2017,” Dickinson said. “This year, 
the game was not necessarily to 
make it a drastic change and shake 
the waters, it was more ‘how can 
we take this proven design and 
incrementally improve it and try 
to get it closer to number one?’”
Dasgupta 
emphasized 
the 
team’s innovations, and said they 
also focused on team dynamics 
this year.
“We have focused on our team 
dynamics in order to maximize 

efficiency during the race and 
control stops as well as being 
prepared for any challenges that 
we face along the way,” Dasgupta 
said.
The team received funding 
from a number of sponsors, 
including the University, to build 
the car. Millunchick said the 
cars are state of the art and use 
expensive technologies, so it’s 
important that the University 
financially assists the team. 
She added the University will 
continue to sponsor the team 
because of the team’s successes.
University 
alum 
Charles 
Hutchins has been a donor since 
1989. Dickinson called Hutchins 
the team’s number one fan. 
Hutchins said he has traveled to 
the race with the team almost 
every year.
“We came into town and were 
there when they crossed the 
finish line, so it’s a wonderful 
feeling,” Hutchins said. “The 
number of things they overcame 
to be third is mind boggling.”

on the topic of menstruation, 
the 
event 
featured 
speeches 
by student activists, U.S. Rep. 
Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., state 
Rep. Tenisha Yancey, D-Harper 
Woods, 
and 
2018 
Michigan 
gubernatorial candidate Abdul 
El-Sayed. 
Dingell 
told 
the 
audience 
she used to hear menstruation 
referred to as “the curse” when 
she was in high school. As 
someone who had endometriosis, 
Dingell said she felt like she 
couldn’t talk about it because men 
would minimize her pain. 
“I cannot tell you what it means 
to me, as a woman … to be with 
women talking about a subject 
that’s been way too taboo for 
too long, and to be here on the 
first day we’re gathering for it. I 
want to thank all of the women 
that are here ending the stigma 
that should’ve ended years ago,” 
Dingell said. 
Tenisha Yancey spoke about 
two bills, House Bill 4165 and 
4166, she introduced alongside 
state Rep. Brian Elder, D-Bay City, 
to eliminate the tampon tax in 
Michigan. She urged the audience 
to contact their representative in 
support of the bills. 
“If you happen to be low-
income or homeless, you might 
often find yourself having to 
make a decision each month that’s 
unthinkable for many of us: Do I 
eat, or do I pay for tampons and 
pads?” Yancey said. “‘Do I feed 
my children, or make sure I have 
the sanitary products that I need?’ 
every 28 days. No one should have 
to be faced with those choices 
ever.”
A 2019 survey of low-income 
individuals in the U.S. who 
menstruate found almost half of 
those in the study had to choose 
between buying food or menstrual 
hygiene products. In lieu of 
products such as tampons and 
pads, individuals used alternatives 
such as toilet paper, paper towels, 
rags, socks and diapers instead. 
Acknowledging his privilege 
as someone who has never 
menstruated 
before, 
El-Sayed 
drew on his experience as a 

doctor to discuss the health 
implications of period poverty. 
When individuals have to ration 
menstruation products, El-Sayed 
explained they are more at risk for 
disease and toxic shock syndrome. 
He also said the stress of 
inaccessibility can weigh heavily 
on an individual’s mental health. 
“When we advocate for access 
to basic goods that people need 
to live their lives, we are talking 
about a matter of human rights,” 
El-Sayed said. 
Wayne State University student 
Emily Tujaka, the co-president 
of her campus’s PERIOD chapter 
and lead organizer of the rally, 
said she believes abolishing the 
tampon tax would be a good step 
toward alleviating period poverty. 
“There’s a lot of stuff — Viagra, 
corrective shoes, canes — that 
are exempted from the sales 
tax, because they’re considered 
necessary,” Tujaka said. “Period 
products are not one of those, 
which we think is ridiculous, so 
we want that tax gone.”
One table with free donuts also 
had a sign providing attendees 
with food for thought: why are 
donuts exempt from sales tax but 
my tampons aren’t? Public Health 
junior Sarah Jang, a member of the 
University’s chapter of PERIOD, 
said she created the sign to draw 
attention to the “ridiculousness” 
of the tampon tax. 
“One of the members of our 
club was buying donuts and she 
found out that there are no taxes 
on these donuts, but then tampons 
are taxed,” Jang said. “It’s absurd. 
Donuts aren’t essential, you don’t 
need them to live. But you need 
tampons.”
Rackham student Ashley Rapp 
explained she became involved 
in efforts surrounding period 
poverty after a friend working in 
Detroit public schools asked for 
product donations because her 
students couldn’t afford them. 
Rapp noted the University doesn’t 
provide free menstrual products, 
unlike some other schools across 
the country, such as University of 
Texas at Austin, Yale University, 
Saint Louis University and others.

2A — Monday, October 21, 2019
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