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Monday, November 25, 2019
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Faculty
directors
of
the
Semester in Detroit program, an
initiative that allows University
of Michigan students to study
and intern with community-
based organizations in the city
of Detroit, published a statement
Tuesday questioning the ethics
and effectiveness of the newly-
announced Detroit Center for
Innovation.
The
statement
represents the views of SiD
directors and does not speak on
behalf of SiD as a University and
Residential College program.
The
Center,
which
they
anticipate will cost upwards
of $300 million, will provide
teaching
in
subjects
like
technology
and
artificial
intelligence to undergraduate
and graduate students. It will
also serve as a conference center
and hotel in downtown Detroit.
Plans to open the 14-acre
center have received backlash
from
students
and
faculty
since the announcement was
made on Oct. 30 by University
of Michigan President Mark
Schlissel.
Days
after
the
announcement,
Amytess
Girgis,
One
University
spokesperson and LSA junior,
circulated a petition calling
on the University to consult
with Detroit residents before
undertaking large development
projects. It also criticized the
University for building the
Center on the site of a since-
failed Wayne County jail.
As
of
publication,
almost
400 people have signed the
petition.
Tuesday’s statement was
written
by
SiD
Director
Stephen Ward in collaboration
with other SiD faculty and poses
four questions to the University
related to the funding of the
Center and the impact the
project will have on Detroit
residents.
CAMPUS LIFE
Sunrise Movement activists occupy
US Rep. Dingell’s office in protest
Staged sit-in advocates for Green New Deal, urges to fight climate change
ANCHAL MALH
For The Daily
Approximately
200
people
attended a panel Friday entitled,
“Who is Xi: A Chinese Political
Saga of the New Era.” The event
focused on Xi Jinping, the current
leader of China and was hosted by
the Michigan China Forum, a non-
profit student organization that
seeks to empower future leaders
in the U.S. and China to excel on a
global landscape.
The event started off with an
introduction
of
the
panelists:
associate professor of Public Policy
Ann Lin, Public Policy professor
Alan Deardorff, Weiser Center
for Emerging Democracies fellow
Jundai Liu and Political Science
professor Mary Gallagher. After
talking
about
their
academic
backgrounds, the panelists jumped
into a discussion of several topics.
The
panelists
discussed
President Xi and his methods of
reshaping contemporary Chinese
politics. Lin explained how Xi came
to power. For a long time before
2013, there was a lack of central
power in China, she said. Lin
believed Xi was a very influential
leader for China in that he was
able to guide China’s growth and
trigger significant change during a
time of stagnation.
Panel looks
at policies
of Chinese
President
GLOBAL POLITICS
‘Who is Xi’ examines
socialism, economy of
current administration
NEETI BHUTADA
For The Daily
RYAN LITTLE/Daily
Sunrise Movement activists hold a sit-in inside US Rep. Debbie Dingell’s office to advocate for the Green New Deal Friday.
The University of Michigan’s
Outlaws
and
OUTreach
student
organizations
hosted
“#TransMatters in Law,” at the
Trotter Multicultural Center on
Friday. The event discussed the
current status of name changes,
gender markers and current law
related to transgender rights.
The
event
started
with
an
overview of the name-changing
process of an individual in Michigan,
which involves five major steps: filing
a petition, going through fingerprint
and
background
checks,
filing
required documents, publication of
the name change in legal journals
and attending a hearing.
Law School student Richard
Phillips is a member of OUTreach,
a law-student-run, pro bono project
team aimed at advocating for LGBTQ
rights. Phillips explained the current
state of name changing in Michigan.
“I think there is this idea that
doing legal changes and taking
control of your own identity and
changing something as intimate as
your own name is something that
one can do easily,” Phillips said. “But
as you will find, with even just some
cursory research, you will find that
there is this convoluted process, and
it cost a lot of money.”
Student organizations
discuss current status of
name changes, process
JIALIN ZHANG
Daily Staff Reporter
Program directors question recently
announced U-M innovation project
LIAT WEINSTEIN
Daily Staff Reporter
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 34
©2019 The Michigan Daily
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M I C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B
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Event talks
transgender
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at Trotter
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Activists
from
Sunrise
Movement Ann Arbor, a group
focused on climate change and
committed to garnering support
for the Green New Deal, occupied
the office of U.S. Rep. Debbie
Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, in Ypsilanti
on Friday. About 50 students and
community members participated
in the sit-in which began at about
4:30 p.m. They sang, chanted
and shared stories about why the
Green New Deal matters to them.
Dingell was not present. After
about two hours, a majority of
protesters left, but a smaller group
who said they were willing to
take an “escalated risk” spent the
night in her office. On Saturday,
three of these protesters were
arrested at about 2:15 p.m.
Sunrise Movement Ann Arbor
protesters have staged multiple
sit-ins at Dingell’s office asking
her to co-sponsor the Green
New Deal, a resolution to fight
climate change and economic
inequality first introduced by
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Edward
Markey,
D-Mass.
Sunrise
protesters initially met with
Dingell in February to urge her
to sign on, staging their first sit-in
at her office last April and again
this September. Dingell was not
present at either protest and has
not given a definitive response on
whether she plans to sponsor the
resolution.
Although
she
is
not
a
Green New Deal sponsor as
of publication, Dingell has not
been inactive in the fight against
climate change. On Thursday,
Dingell introduced the 100%
Clean Economy Act of 2019,
legislation setting a nationwide
goal of achieving 100 percent
clean energy economy with net-
zero climate pollution by 2050.
Palestinian-American activist
speaks on intersectional feminism
Arab Student Association hosts Linda Sarsour for discussion on identity
RYAN LITTLE/Daily
Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour speaks on intersectional feminism at Rackham Auditorium Friday.
ANGELINA LITTLE
Daily Staff Reporter
SeeNEW DEAL PAGE 2A
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Palestinian American political
activist
Linda
Sarsour
joined
students on Friday as a part of the
Arab Student Association’s Focus
Week to discuss issues in the Arab
community. Sarsour’s talk was the
last event of the club’s Focus Week
and touched upon feminism in Arab
communities. About 100 students
gathered in Rackham’s Auditorium
on Friday night for the event.
Sarsour hails from Brooklyn,
New York, and identifies as an Arab,
Muslim and Palestinian woman.
During her talk, she discussed the
importance of her identity and how
all of her identities intertwine to
make her the woman she is today.
She also talked about how each
identity intersects to influence her
work as a political activist.
Sarsour was the co-chair of
the Women’s March in 2017 in
Washington D.C. During the event
at Rackham, she told the audience
her perspective on becoming a
representative for the Arab and
Muslim community in America.
Sarsour said when she joined the
committee, it became a goal for
her to ensure all of the groups she
identifies with were heard during
the event.
“I had a pact to make and this is
what women of color do,” Sarsour
said. “If I’m on the table, I pull up
chairs to the table that I’m at. It
was my opportunity to say, ‘Who
do I bring to the table from the
communities that I come from?’”
Sarsour also said through her
work with the march she wanted to
challenge stereotypes surrounding
Muslim-American women.
“(The March is) figuring out
how to kind of reintroduce what
Muslim-American
and
Arab-
American women are, and that we
too have a seat at the table when it
comes to what feminism looks like,”
Sarsour said.
Dentistry student Maya Youness
told The Daily she was excited
to get to hear Sarsour speak. She
said her biggest takeaway from
Friday’s event was learning not to
sugarcoat the problems in different
communities.
“Don’t compensate,” Youness
said. “Talk about things the way
they are.”
Sarsour
said
feminism
in
Western culture is often limited to
a Caucasian perspective and leaves
out what women of color experience.
Sarsour explained white women
often feel uncomfortable when she
begins to discuss political and social
conflict that affect women of color
and their communities.
Semester in
Detroit calls
out ‘U’ on new
center, ethics