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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, November 18, 2019

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Statement made
Michigan runs away from its 
in-state rival, 44-10, sending 
Michigan State into further 
despair in a disastrous year.

 » Page 1B

More than 100 Ann Arbor 
residents and students marched 
Sunday to raise awareness 
about 
affordable 
housing 
issues in the city. Gathering 
initially in Liberty Plaza, many 
members of the group spoke 
about their personal housing 
experiences and urged others 
to contact their representatives 
about housing issues.
According to the Washtenaw 
General Defense Committee, 
rent went up 15 percent in the 
last year alone in some areas of 
the city. Two different reports 
from this August confirmed 
Ann 
Arbor’s 
skyrocketing 
rents, with a year-over-year 
rent increase of 15.9 percent. 
The committee also said about 
80,000 individuals commute 
to Ann Arbor as there isn’t 
affordable 
housing 
closer 
to their point of work. The 
University of Michigan also 

has a large effect on this issue, 
as every year the number 
of students trying to find 
off-campus 
housing 
grows, 
according to the Washtenaw 
General Defense Committee. 
Several 
different 
social 
activism groups participated 
in the march. The Washtenaw 
General Defense Committee, 
Interfaith 
Council 
for 
Peace 
& 
Justice, 
Journey 
of Faith Christian Church, 
Poor People’s Campaign of 
Washtenaw County and Huron 
Valley Democratic Socialists of 
America all had representatives 
present. Rackham student Meg 
Berkobien, 
co-chair 
of 
the 
Huron Valley DSA, said housing 
affordability is a systemic issue 
that needs to be addressed.
“This is a systemic problem, 
and 
so 
it 
takes 
systemic 
answers, 
right. 
Coming 
together, that’s exactly what 
this is about. 

STUDENT GOVERNMENT 

Panelists voice concerns over hiring 
practices in A/PIA studies program

Scott Kurishage, Emily Lawsin to appear in court in December after lawsuit

IULIA DOBRIN
For The Daily

The University of Michigan 
Veteran and Military Services 
organized and hosted a Women 
in the Military panel Friday. The 
six panelists, all female veterans, 
spoke as part of the University 
Veteran’s Week to an audience of 
about 25 students, veterans and 
other members of the Ann Arbor 
community. 
Jan Malaikal, a veteran who 
served in the U.S. Army for 20 
years, moderated the panel. She 
began by asking the panelists to 
introduce themselves, give a brief 
overview of their service and 
talk about why they joined the 
military. 
Jennifer Lamb, who served 
as a mortar ballistic computer 
weapons specialist and a supply 
officer for the U.S. Marine Corps, 
talked about how she was the first 
woman in history to cross the 
Arctic Circle in a rigid rubber raft, 
and only the third woman ever to 
be trained in her profession. She 
said she joined the military to 
fund her college education. 
“I joined because I was poor,” 
she said. “The military does help 
pay for college. So, I was in the 
Marine Corps reserves so I 
could finish my college.”

Female vets 
reflect on 
role within 
the military

GOVERNMENT

Women in U.S. armed 
forces discuss challenges 
in training, stereotypes

SUNSKRITI PARANJAPE
For The Daily

EMMA MATI/Daily
Former U-M professor Scott Kurashige and lecturer Emily Lawsin discuss corrupt structural practices at the University regarding administrative and sexual misconduct 
policies at the #UMICHIsComplicit Town Hall at Weill Hall Sunday evening.

On Friday morning, LSA 
freshman Adam Grimes visited 
the University of Michigan 
Counseling and Psychological 
Services website to make an 
appointment with a campus 
counselor. His wait time was 
13 days. On that same day, LSA 
sophomore Andrew Goldman 
received a wait time of 23 days.
“That means that if right now 
you felt as though you needed 
to talk to someone here at this 
university regarding a mental 
health issue or some other issue 
you have — you want to go to 
talk to someone you can trust 
to give you good advice — you 
have to wait all the way until 
mid-December, 
right 
around 
finals,” Goldman said. “That’s 
absolutely unacceptable for any 
student to have to wait that 
long.”
Mental health and student 
input 
were 
major 
agendas 
on policy platforms at the 
LSA 
Student 
Government 
representative 
candidates’ 
forum on Friday. According to 
LSA senior Lorraine Furtado, 
LSA SG elections director, the 
13 candidates are currently 
uncontested. 

13 positions discuss 
issues including mental 
health, transportation

AYSE ELDES
For The Daily

Activism groups draw attention to 
issue in march through downtown

COOPER CLARK
For The Daily

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INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 30
©2019 The Michigan Daily

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

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

CROSSWORD................6

M I C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

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

S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B
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Read more at 
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LSA student 
gov’t hosts 
forum for 
candidates

Read more at 
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University of Michigan students, 
faculty and community members 
discussed 
discrimination 
and 
“sham” investigations at the “UM: 
Corruption, Complicity, Coverups” 
town hall in Weill Hall Sunday night. 
The event was hosted by UMich is 
Complicit: a movement dedicated 
to combating discriminatory hiring 
practices and sexual misconduct 
policies at the University.

The 
panel 
featured 
Scott 
Kurashige, former director of the 
Asian/Pacific Islander American 
Studies 
Program 
and 
tenured 
professor at U-M, and his partner 
Emily Lawsin, a lecturer in the 
departments of Women’s Studies 
and American Culture. They filed 
a discrimination lawsuit against 
the University under the Michigan 
Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act in 
December 2016. 
Kurashige is now a professor 
at the University of Washington. 

He said he was removed from his 
position as the director of the A/
PIA Studies Program, and while his 
tenure prevented him from being 
fired, the University pressured him 
to quit.
“While I was here, I was an 
advocate for students who had faced 
different types of discrimination 
or assault,” Kurashige said. “In 
response, 
I 
faced 
retaliation, 
harassment. In essence, I was forced 
to quit under threats and harassment 
by administrators at this University.”

Lawsin 
was 
up 
for 
her 
employment review in 2017 — 
every few years, lecturers undergo 
standard performance reviews. She 
said she expected her contract to be 
renewed, as she had been working at 
the University since 2000. However, 
both departments she works in 
decided not to renew her contract. 
She then submitted a rebuttal 
letter 
to 
the 
LSA 
Executive 
Committee. 

Annual IASA show highlights 
cultural dances at Michigan Theater

‘Kahaani’ features 240 student performers from hip hop to bhangra

RYAN LITTLE/Daily
Members of the Indian American Student Association participate in the annual IASA performance titled “Kahaani” at the Michigan Theater.

EMMA STEIN
Daily Staff Reporter 

See A/PIA PAGE 2A

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

On Friday night, the Indian 
American Student Association put 
on its annual cultural dance show 
at the Michigan Theater. This 
year’s show, titled “Kahaani: The 
Tale of Our Time,” featured more 
than 250 participants performing 
for a sold-out audience. The show 
featured 10 dances showcasing 
a variety of styles, ranging from 
traditional Bhangra and South 
Indian dances, to Bollywood and 
hip hop. 
“Kahaani,” 
which 
means 
“story,” was chosen as the show’s 

theme by the show coordinators 
and 
show 
core 
team. 
LSA 
senior Karthik Pittala, IASA 
co-president, talked about the 
reasons behind the theme.
“They wanted to sort of make 
it like a story, so we have ups 
and downs in terms of tempo 
or musicality trying to make it 
dynamic as much as possible,” 
Pittala said. “I think it’s just 
something that resonated with all 
of us.”
As co-presidents, Pittala and 
LSA senior Sanjna Chokshi were 
in charge of communicating with 
the leadership team and the rest 
of the IASA members, as well as 
engaging with other organizations 

on campus such as the United 
Asian American Organizations 
and Michigan Sahānā. 
“We’re like the groundwork, 
and then everyone else can build 
their ideas based on some of our 
suggestions,” Pittala said.
IASA also partners with a 
charity each year to help raise 
money and promote their cause. 
This year’s community service 
partner was Sakhi for South 
Asian Women, a New York-based 
charity that unites “survivors, 
communities, and institutions to 
eradicate gender-based violence 
and form healthy communities.”
After the dancers of the 
“Village” 
performance 
left 

the stage in their traditional 
costumes, taking with them the 
aviator sunglasses they put on in 
the middle of the dance, the show 
took a brief pause from the high 
energy and humor of the dances to 
play a video about Sakhi’s mission 
and impact. 
As one of the community 
service chairs for IASA, LSA 
sophomore Jhanvi Garg was 
involved with picking out the 
charity for the season and creating 
events throughout the year that 
align with Sakhi’s values.

A2 residents 
call for more 
affordability 
in city housing

