“The term ‘Asian American’
was first used in the 1960s for
very specific political purposes,”
Borja said. “Japanese Americans,
Chinese
Americans,
Filipino
Americans and other people’s
Asian ancestry decided that it
was politically advantageous for
them to unite under that political
category, and we can’t ignore
that this category continues to
be politically contested — that
they are continuing to grapple
about the boundaries of this
category.”
Matthew Stiffler, a lecturer
in
American
Culture
and
researcher at the Arab American
National Museum in Dearborn,
Mich., commented on the idea
of identity further by describing
a similar struggle for ME/
NA-identifying individuals. He
explained how the umbrella
term ME/NA is a relatively new
concept, and the countries that
fall under this term are still
developing.
“To think of ME/NA as a
rallying identity for people in the
United States … (is) a very recent
history,” Stiffler said. “Where it
comes from the need to have an
identity is recent. Where we’re
at as a nation, (ME/NA) boxes
matter.”
The discussion then moved
to why checkboxes exist, what
data is collected and where the
University is going in terms of
demographic data collection.
Traci Buckner, lead analyst
at University Human Resource
Records
and
Information
Services, spoke about the ways in
which federal requirements play
into how the University handles
demographic
information
regarding faculty and staff. The
office of UHRRIS follows the
federal guidelines in collecting
demographic
data,
but
the
process can be complicated
when a faculty or staff member
does not disclose their ethnicity.
Paul
Robinson,
associate
vice provost at the Office of
the Registrar, discussed the
extended ethnicities initiative
for both students and faculty
at the University that allows
students
to
update
their
identities in Wolverine Access
according to their specific racial
and ethnic identities.
“In the last several months,
we
enabled
our
students’
systems and HR systems to be
able to capture some data of
ethnicities,” Robinson said.
Ravi Pendse, vice president
of
information
technology
and chief information officer
at the University, reminded
the
audience
that
while
demographic data collection is
essential to representation, the
University must also respect
students’ rights to information
and data privacy.
“All
of
that
information,
powered by data that we all
generate, has to be somewhere
work has to be analyzed, has
to be protected, has to be
thoughtfully used,” Pendse said.
“I’m a director here saying that
we must make available to our
entire campus for students first,
a data dashboard that students
can look at and see what data
we are collecting on them, and
why.”
Rackham student Alyssa Park
told The Daily she attended the
event because of her interest in
the desegregation of data around
Asian American students and
erasure of specific ethnic groups
who fall under the pan-Asian
identity.
“Something that really stuck
out to me in this event is the
power of data and the actions
that can be taken from what we
find out or what we choose to
find out,” Park said.
The
modern
division
of
the
Kashmir
region
came
about following the partition
of British India into India
and
Pakistan
in
1947,
which displaced millions of
people along religious lines,
including
the
Kashmiris,
Trisal
explained.
Since
the implementation of the
Indian Constitution in 1950,
which gave Kashmir semi-
autonomy, there have been
Kashmiri
movements
for
self-determination often met
with violent responses by the
Indian government.
On Aug. 5, the Parliament
of
India
repealed
Articles
370 and 35A in the Indian
Constitution,
taking
away
Kashmir’s autonomy. Trisal
explained this decision was
announced
amid
a
total
communications blackout and
a military lockdown of the
region, both of which are still
ongoing.
“What
was
so
shocking
about this act is that overnight
these protections were taken
away,” Trisal said. “I think
it’s important to point out the
decision flew in the face of
international norms.”
In
addition
to
other
complications,
the
blackout
has caused a medical crisis
in the region as hospitals
struggle to coordinate and
people are unable to call for
help. Thousands of Kashmiris
have
also
been
allegedly
tortured and detained without
trial or due process since the
crackdown began.
“I consider it war, that the
Indian government went to
war
with
the
Kashmirian
people,”
Mir
said.
“You’re
looking at thousands upon
thousands of unmarked graves
that exist in the Kashmir
valley, disappearances, arrests
— all these things the Indian
army had the rights to do
without repercussions.”
Trisal
and
Mir
urged
the audience to continue to
inform themselves and others
of the situation in Kashmir
by attending similar events,
engaging
in
social
media
campaigns
and
contacting
legislators.
Paani
co-founder
Omar
Ilyas,
a
University
alum,
explained
the
organization
intentionally
worked
to
empower
the
voices
of
Kashmiris, who he said often
go unheard in the discussion
about the Kashmir crisis.
“A
lot
of
different
information come out from a
lot of different news outlets,
and each of them have their
own sort of bias. But something
you don’t hear often is the
perspective from Kashmiris,”
Ilyas said. “We wanted to
create a space that upholds
and focuses on the Kashmiri
narrative, where Kashmiris
are able to speak on behalf of
their own people instead of
where people are speaking on
behalf of them.”
LSA senior Humza Hemani
told The Daily he came to the
teach-in specifically to hear
Kashmiri perspectives on the
issue.
“I actually wasn’t going to
come until I found out they
were making an effort to make
it Kashmiri viewpoints rather
than Pakistani ones,” Hemani
said. “I’ve seen the propaganda
from the Pakistani side, from
the Indian side, but I feel like
this is a viewpoint that has
more legitimacy to it.”
Based on the responses,
an algorithm finds another
person who it deems the
best fit for each individual
participant
and
the
two
receive each other’s email
as their match. Once that
information is sent out, it is
up to the students to decide
how to proceed, as there is no
requirement for participants
to communicate with their
matches.
Michielssen
noted
the
service
is
only
open
to
undergraduate students, so
any graduate students or
alumni who attempt to fill
out the questionnaire will
be disqualified. Only a valid
University email is required
to fill out the form, but the
software filters out non-
undergraduate emails.
LSA senior Beatrice Kelly-
Andrews said she found the
questions in the survey to be
similar to those found in a
compatibility test. While she
is not seriously looking for a
relationship, Kelly-Andrews
said she is interested to see
what the creators deemed
important for a match and
who the algorithm finds for
her.
“I would sort of love to meet
the person who someone else
says is perfect for me and
see what aspects of myself
from the survey are found in
other people that make them
‘perfect,’”
Kelly-Andrews
said. “I’m also not looking
for love or a relationship, so
I would absolutely reach out
to them and be like, ‘Hey,
want to grab coffee and hang
out?’ Like, maybe you’re my
best friend, maybe you’re my
arch nemesis, maybe you’re
just a cool person, but I sort
of need to let them know I’m
not looking to date them.”
To come up with the
questions,
Michielssen
said she and her group of
co-creators
researched
compatibility.
The
group
used their findings to draft
questions related to issues
important to a successful
relationship,
while
also
keeping
the
questions
engaging for students.
LSA junior Nick Cassar,
who is also a student in
Psychology 223 but not a
member of this group, took
the questionnaire and said he
would be interested to meet
the person who matches
with him.
Cassar said he found the
questions about sexual habits
important, as they relate to
healthy relationships.
“It would still be really
cool to see this person (who)
is clearly a lot like me, their
answers
were
extremely
similar
to
mine,”
Cassar
said.
“I’m
actually
in
a
relationship, so I’m definitely
not looking for the love of my
life, but, hey, maybe in 20
years I can go back to this
person and marry them.”
This type of service is
not a new phenomenon on
college campuses. According
to The Harvard Crimson,
Datamatch, a matchmaking
system created by Harvard
University
students
in
1994, expanded to Brown,
Columbia
and
Wellesley
Universities in 2018.
In
2017,
students
at
Stanford University created
an algorithm, named the
Stanford Marriage Pact, to
match students. Michielssen
said the Stanford Marriage
Pact was her team’s original
inspiration,
though
the
questionnaire was private,
so all the questions her team
asks are original.
LSA
junior
Kendall
Johnson
said
she
felt
the
questionnaire
was
a
better avenue for finding
a relationship than dating
applications like Tinder, but
she does not like the fact she
will only receive one person
back as a match. Johnson also
said she recognized there
may be issues if students who
took the survey looking for a
relationship were matched
with students who took it for
entertainment.
“Even
when
you’re
on
Tinder, you don’t know who’s
that serious about it and
who’s not, and that’s just part
of the dating experience,”
Johnson said. “You’re not
always going to find someone
who’s looking for the same
thing as you, and you just
have to be able to handle
that and bounce back and be
cool with it. So, obviously, if
someone was really hoping
to find their future partner,
hopefully they find them,
but they can’t be that upset if
they don’t.”
Kelly-Andrews
said,
if
anything,
the
matching
service was the opposite of
Tinder because participants
know they have something
in common with their match
but have not had a chance to
talk to them. On Tinder, there
is an immediate opportunity
for
discussion
but
no
guarantee
of
similarities.
Johnson noted Tinder is
heavily based on photos and
physical features, while the
questionnaire is focused on
personality,
which
could
provide
the
opportunity
for
more
meaningful
connections.
However, others, like LSA
sophomore Patrick Potoczak,
still
find
at
least
some
knowledge about physical
appearance
important.
Though
he
said
he
can
understand
the
value
in
not having any information
about looks in the matching
system,
he
said
physical
attraction is necessary for
relationships to succeed.
“I
think
physical
appearance
is
very
important, so I’m curious
to see how that would be or
what the general consensus is
to see if personalities match,
but appearances do not,”
Potoczak said. “My biggest
concern is that, number one,
I’m just going to get matched
with my friend or someone I
already know, and then my
second biggest one is that I
won’t be physically attracted
to the person because of
their appearance.”
While Michielssen said the
Pact’s website did poke fun
at Tinder and the awkward
situations students can find
themselves in, her team was
not trying to brand their
service as an alternative for
the application.
The
purpose
of
the
service, Michielssen said, is
actually to give participants
a backup plan so they can
focus on their academics and
careers. Then, if they do not
have a significant partner in
the future, they can go back
to their Michigan Marriage
Pact match.
“It’s not really a dating
service, and it isn’t meant to
set people up with a match
right
away,”
Michielssen
said. “Its main intent is just
to provide people with a
backup plan so that if they
both end up single in 20
years, then that’s the person
that they get married to.”
Barstool Sports, a sports
and
pop
culture
blog,
featured the questionnaire
in a story on its University
of
Michigan-focused
Instagram
account.
According to Michielssen,
the
account
owners
wrote in the post that the
questionnaire creators were
lonely
computer
science
students, but noted her and
her group members were
neither lonely nor majoring
in computer science.
The link has also gained
traction by circulating in
group chats for fraternity
and sorority life and other
organizations
on
campus,
as well as through word
of mouth. Kelly-Andrews,
who is not on social media,
said she heard about the
questionnaire
from
her
roommates and sent it to
many people she knew in
addition to a group chat for
students in her major.
She
also
noted
the
importance
of
having
a
diverse set of participants. If
the majority of respondents
are one gender and looking
for the opposite gender, she
explained, then it would
be more difficult for the
algorithm to find the people
in that group a match.
“I filled it out, and then I
realized I was sort of scared
that if, depending on how
small it got, it would just
be my friend group and my
friends’ friend groups and
some
computer
science
majors,”
Kelly-Andrews
said. “If (the creators) are
looking to make people fall
in love, I think they have a
responsibility to make sure
everybody has an option to
be in love, or meet a friend or
ghost someone new.”
Michielssen
said
her
team has seen more female
participants than male so
far. She said they are hopeful
this will even out over time
and have recently noticed an
uptick in heterosexual males
completing the form.
“The Supreme Court must
protect the rights of these
individuals, and including the
protection of sexual orientation
under Title VII is a necessary
step in the work to achieve full
LGBTQ+
equality.
Without
such protections, LGBTQ+ folks
will be discriminated against,
targeted, and forced to choose
between living authentically and
making a living for themselves
and their families.”
LSA senior Alyson Grigsby,
co-chairwoman
of
the
Coalition for Queer and Trans
People of Color, also said she
was worried that the if the
Supreme Court decides not
to protect sexual orientation,
it could lead to members of
the LBGTQ community being
unable to be comfortable in the
workplace.
“(It
would)
affect
me
depending on … how I would
choose to present myself to
work or my partner,” Grigsby
said. “Am I fully able to be
authentic in the workplace?”
Grigsby
also
added
the
decision could impact how
LBGTQ
members
present
themselves
in
their
work
environments.
“Even
with
things
like
presentation,
depending
on
where you work at,” Grigsby
said. “Your gender presentation
— that could get you potential
discrimination.”
Mark
Chung
Kwan
Fan,
the
assistant
director
for
engagement for the Unversity’s
Spectrum Center, explained
how students who have felt
adversely affected by LGBTQ
discrimination can turn to the
center’s resources.
“The Spectrum Center is
professionalized in being able
to support (students) no matter
what type of concern they are
going through,” Chung Kwan
Fan said. “They might be going
through, let’s say a financial
concern,
because
maybe
they’ve been disowned by their
family, right? We can help with
that. Looking for resources,
a transition of sorts, we work
hard to get help with that. One
of the things that we do here is
to be able to make bridges and
gaps between resources.”
Chung
Kwan
Fan
added
these national issues often
impact
students’
day-to-day
lives, and the Spectrum Center
can help students navigate
these difficulties on campus.
“So when those national
issues are happening right
now, whether that is work
discrimination and women’s
condition or whether to (it
is) be able to use different
bathrooms,
or
being
fired
because of your identities, all
of those things, we are able
to help typically in regards to
how they can navigate campus,
especially, when these national
issues are happening,” Chung
Kwan Fan said.
LSA senior Konrat Pekkip,
co-chair
of
Stonewall
Democrats, noted the impact
of the Supreme Court decision
will
disproportionately
affect
LGBTQ
members
in
underprivileged communities.
“Institutionalized
homophobia is a lot more of
an issue when it intersects
with poverty,” Pekkip said.
“It probably won’t affect me
personally,
because
I
am
very
privileged,
because
I
have a degree, or I will have
a degree, from the University
of Michigan. Overall, I’m in
an economically secure place.
But a lot of people are not as
privileged as I am.”
Pekkip
hopes
people
will look beyond their own
communities
to
understand
long-term effects.
“I
think
it’s
not
only
important
to
think
about
the people you know in your
personal life and how they can
be affected but think about
the broader picture and think
about those people who you
don’t interact with,” Pekkip
said.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Friday, October 25, 2019 — 3A
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
The event was sponsored
by the TAMID group, a
club
that
helps
business
students
connect
with
Israel’s economy. Shalena
Srna, assistant professor of
marketing at the Business
School,
moderated
the
event. Lieberman, a former
TAMID
group
member,
shared insights about the
fundamentals
of
starting
a business and how the
company has fared through
rapid changes.
He started the newsletter
as a senior in 2015 with Austin
Reif, a 2017 University alum
. Currently, Morning Brew
has an audience of more than
a million subscribers.
Lieberman said Morning
Brew is coming out with
new ways to share business
content all the time, noting
the
company
currently
offers four products: the
core newsletter, the retail
newsletter,
the
emerging
technology newsletter and a
podcast.
“Basically, for the first
two and a half years of being
full time in this business, we
did one thing: We just sent
out our daily newsletter, and
we did it extremely well,”
Lieberman said. “I think
focus is the biggest thing. A
lot of people would say that
it isn’t very sexy to send
out one email newsletter
every single day for two
and a half years. People
think it probably can get
monotonous and email is not
like an exciting technology,
but often in my view is that
what is sexy is building
love. With an audience that
you can then parlay into
other things, there are so
few media companies in the
world right now that have
actually built deep loyalty
with their audience.”
When Lieberman attended
the University, he said he
expected to go into finance.
After graduation, he got a job
at Morgan Stanley. However,
he was working on Morning
Brew at the same time and
said he found he enjoyed
that more than his day job at
Morgan Stanley. Ultimately,
he decided to leave Morgan
Stanley and go all in with
Morning Brew.
Lieberman said he is OK
with being uncomfortable as
long as he enjoys what he is
doing.
“I
think
it’s
this
perspective that was forced
upon me, that life is so
precious that kind of got
me thinking: I actually am
more scared by not being
uncomfortable,” Lieberman
said.
Business freshman Avery
Bradshaw said hearing about
Lieberman’s success made
her more confident about her
education at the University.
“My favorite part about
this event as a new member
of
TAMID
was
hearing
about the immense success
that Alex Lieberman has had
in his business,” Bradshaw
said. “As a student at the
University of Michigan and
a member of TAMID, it
was really reassuring that
this institution and all the
opportunities available will
only lead students to success
in the future.”
Lieberman said he focuses
on the creative aspect of
the newsletter while his
co-founder, Reif works on
the
analytical
elements
of Morning Brew. He said
storytelling is the secret
to his success at Morning
Brew, adding that making
complex topics relatable to
the readers is a top priority.
“To
me,
understanding
how
to
teach
something
makes you hypersensitive
to good storytelling, and
how to distill things that
are complex in a simple way
that, at the end of the day, at
the heart of Morning Brew,
think about what we do,”
Lieberman said.
Business
freshman
Richard Shu said he enjoyed
learning about the process of
entrepreneurship.
“I
really
liked
how
Alex
talks
about
his
process
in
going
into
entrepreneurship,” Shu said.
“Entrepreneurship
seems
like a really far off goal that
not everybody — but a lot of
people — go into and there
are a lot of failures, and
seeing somebody who was
successful in it talk about his
thought processes behind it,
I thought that was extremely
insightful.”
PAANI
From Page 1A
SCOTUS
From Page 1A
BUSINESS
From Page 1A
DATING
From Page 1A
DEI
From Page 1A
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com