Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Friday, January 24, 2020

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VARNA KODOTH | COLUMN

Finding a sense of belonging on campus

W

ith a child on the way, 
my mother and father 
made their way to the 
United States from 
a 
hole-in-the-wall 
town in South India 
to begin a new life 
in a melting pot of 
endless opportunities 
— 
but 
without 
family 
or 
friends. 
This is a familiar 
story to children of 
immigrants. 
Roger 
Cohen phrases this 
unique 
experience 
best in his New York Times 
Opinion piece “The Quest to 
Belong.” “New opportunity is 
only one side of the immigrant 
story, its bright star,” says Cohen. 
“The other side, its black sun, is 
displacement and loss.”
This isn’t just the reality of an 
immigrant, it’s the reality for all 
of us. Finding a sense of belonging 
is a fundamental component of 
human nature. Our identities 
are often divided into what an 
outsider can see and how we view 
ourselves. A sense of identity and 
belonging is not a characteristic 
or trait we can visibly see, but 
is rather innate and specific to 
the individual. This sense of 
belonging is often an indicator 
of the student’s ability to engage 
within 
a 
community, 
and 
ultimately, of their success.
How 
often 
do 
you 
ask 
yourself, “do I feel like I belong 
at the University of Michigan?” 
The following research study, 
“College 
Students’ 
Sense 
of 
Belonging: 
A 
National 
Perspective,” recognizes the lack 
of existing data and information 
surrounding our understanding 
of the concept of “belonging.” The 
report says, “In college, feeling 
a sense of belonging may lead 
students to engage more deeply 
with their studies, leading to 
persistence and success.” A sense 

of belonging serves as a source 
of 
motivation. 
The 
students 
who reported higher feelings 
of 
belonging 
also 
reported 
improved 
mental health. The 
study concludes that 
underrepresented 
racial-ethnic minorities 
and 
first-generation 
college students report 
the 
lowest 
sense 
of 
belonging. 
The 
primary 
author 
of 
this research report, 
Maithreyi 
Gopalan 
— an assistant professor of 
education at the Pennsylvania 
State University — suggests that, 
“We know from other studies 
that student advising, institutions, 
faculty, advisers — all of them have 
to make an effort to reach out to 
students who feel like they don’t 
belong and provide attention as 
well as services to ensure that all 
students can integrate on campus.” 
Gopalan explains that faculty 
representation and mentorship 
can significantly mitigate feelings 
of alienation.
With that in mind, it’s important 
we take it upon ourselves to 
identify 
methods 
by 
which 
University staff and faculty can 
better support underrepresented 
racial-ethnic minorities and first-
generation students with their 
college 
experiences. 
Likewise, 
it’s crucial for students whose 
identities aren’t underrepresented 
to act as allies.
It is essential to seek out 
mentors within the ranks of 
upperclassmen, GSIs or faculty 
who share similar identities to 
your own, and to actively engage 
in social science courses that 
relate to your core identity. 
This 
is 
essential 
to 
ensure 
that 
all 
students, 
whether 
they 
are 
a 
first-generation 
college student, identify with a 
marginalized 
community, 
are 

a child of immigrants or have 
another campus identity, find a 
community they belong to within 
the University.
The University offers a wide 
variety of courses and programs 
for the purpose of fostering a sense 
of belonging among first-year 
students. For example, The Center 
for the Education of Women 
(CEW+) 
offers 
professional, 
academic and financial support 
to all students, in particular 
women 
and 
underserved 
students. CEW+ offers counseling 
services, funding for initiatives 
on campus and hosts many 
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 
events as well as professional 
development workshops. Another 
great example of a community-
building resource is the Spectrum 
Center, which provides support 
to LGBTQ+ students, staff and 
faculty through workshops and 
programs. In partnership with 
the Spectrum Center, there are 
social and support groups such 
as Out in Science, Technology, 
Engineering and Math (OSTEM). 
This 
student 
and 
national 
organization operates at both the 
undergraduate and graduate level 
to provide peer support networks 
and resources for students to 
navigate their identities in 
professional STEM settings. 
The University is home to 
a diverse array of students 
holding a multitude of social 
identities. It’s often easy to 
feel lost amid the thousands of 
student organizations, programs, 
majors 
and 
opportunities 
available. This means there is 
a larger community at your 
disposal. Take advantage of 
it. At the end of the day, we 
are all just students trying to 
find a place we belong at the 
University.

Varna Kodoth can be reached at 

vkodoth@umich.edu.

SHAD JEFFREY II | COLUMN

Ann Arbor’s changing skyline
T

he city of Ann Arbor, 
much like the student 
body of the University 
of 
Michigan, 
is 
eclectic 
in 
composition. 
The 
University’s 
Central Campus preserves an 
architectural style from the better 
part of the last two centuries, and 
the areas surrounding campus 
are extremely diverse in style. 
The parts of Ann Arbor directly 
surrounding the U-M Central 
Campus, commonly referred to 
as “downtown Ann Arbor,” have 
continued to attract businesses to 
their historic storefronts around 
areas like North Main Street, 
East Liberty Street and South 
University Avenue. 
The 
preservation 
of 
architecture and the upkeep of 
historic buildings are inherent 
to the identity of Ann Arbor. 
The 
ability 
to 
physically 
interact with the history of a 
city and to observe the period-
specific style with which a 
city’s 
buildings 
were 
built 
are culturally vital to the city 
itself. The historic downtown 
storefronts and homes are a key 
part of Ann Arbor’s image, but 
the construction of over a dozen 
high rise apartment buildings in 
downtown Ann Arbor over the 
last sixteen years has clashed 
with the goal of preserving 
the look of small and historic 
downtown Ann Arbor.
However, these old buildings 
are home to modern people, 
and the economic development 
in Ann Arbor has inherently 
driven the city skyward. This 
can be seen as a threat to the 
cultural history of Ann Arbor, 
as this economic development 
may change the city forever. 
But to reject development is to 
reject modernity. Many small 
cities in the Midwest aren’t in a 
position to be critical of it, since 
they aren’t experiencing much 
economic growth. Ann Arbor 
is certainly privileged as it can 
afford to be concerned with rapid 
urbanization as opposed to mere 

survival. Ann Arbor is changing as 
the needs and demands of people 
change, and it seems unwise to 
interfere with positive progress 
toward a more modern city.
Appreciating history is natural, 
but the eclectic style of Ann Arbor 
came to be eclectic because 
of change, and the changes 
demanded by our current society 
are for modern, urban life in 
downtown Ann Arbor. To truly 
believe in the importance of 
having an eclectic downtown 
Ann Arbor you must understand 
the 
constant 
change 
and 
development that has occurred 
and will occur in attribution to its 
aesthetic.

Ann Arbor has consistently 
been ranked as one of the best 
college towns in America, and 
its continuity in keeping up with 
the demands of its residents and 
students will continue to fuel 
economic and real estate related 
development within the city. 
Adding more beds downtown 
inherently increases foot traffic 
and the amount of money being 
put into the downtown economy. 
More people and more money 
downtown are positive growth 
factors.
The scale and power of the 
increased demand for housing 
downtown 
shouldn’t 
be 
underestimated, as nearly 4,800 
new beds from apartment and 
condo developments have been 
added downtown since 2004. 
U-M has added 1,080 beds of 
on-campus housing in the last 
decade near downtown, and 

there are some 1,800 more beds 
currently 
under 
construction 
or 
being 
planned 
city-wide. 
This demand for housing is the 
transformation of Ann Arbor 
from town to city, as the mass 
urbanization (and subsequent 
centralization) 
will 
continue 
to fuel economic growth and 
development.
The city of Ann Arbor has 
depended on the tax dollars 
brought on by new construction 
in recent years as a significant 
component in the city’s budget, 
which adds an interesting element 
to the story. The question that 
has derived from this situation 
is whether or not this growth is 
sustainable for the city financially, 
as the city is exposed to risk if 
property values decrease or if 
demand for housing downtown 
declines. 
Additionally, 
those 
feeling upset about the fading 
sense of historic Ann Arbor may 
feel betrayed by the city’s decision 
to allow unrestricted growth 
and development in exchange for 
property tax revenue.
Ann Arbor has been able to 
provide outstanding public goods 
like its public education system, 
city parks and vibrant downtown 
area at a very high price tag. 
It seems the cost of running a 
growing city is the willingness 
to accept modernity and embrace 
change. Old walls may have to 
fall, but the market continues 
to 
demand 
development 
downtown, and the city of 
Ann Arbor is dependent on 
the property tax revenue from 
these 
new 
developments. 
Sacrificing part of the charm of 
Ann Arbor has been necessary 
in maintaining the quality 
of life within the city. It is a 
scenario at the intersection 
of ethics and finance, but to 
be truly modern and urban is 
to promote development and 
change in all endeavors.

Shad Jeffrey II can be reached at 

shadj@umich.edu.

ARJUN LAMA | COLUMN

Learning to be open to new experiences

T

he college experience 
is 
something 
to 
be 
cherished 
forever, 
or 
so we’re told. Our parents talk 
about college as the peaks of their 
lives, filled with opportunities 
they’ll never have access to 
again. In some ways they make 
it seem like life goes downhill 
after college, almost like adults 
become zombies inundated on 
repetitive lifestyles. With that in 
mind, I embarked on a four-year 
quest to make memories. After 
three years I find myself looking 
back on what was, admittedly, a 
wild ride. I made new friends, 
tried new things and lived what 
could only be described as a 
hectic, chaotic but ultimately 
fun lifestyle. 
So why is it that upon 
reflection I have this underlying 
worry that I missed out, or 
didn’t live it to the fullest? I feel 
regret that I didn’t reach out 
to more people and completely 
break out of my mold, or step 
out of my comfort zone in the 
pursuit of trying new things — 
maybe joining clubs I normally 
wouldn’t have in the event I 
might gain a new hobby or 
interest. I think these types of 
feelings are normal, and some 
of their roots may lie in how 
our lives are constructed by the 
older generation and societal 
norms.
By graduation I will be 
21 years old. According to a 
2019 study, the average life 
expectancy for someone with 
a college is at least 79, meaning 
I am presumably not even 
halfway through my life. Yet 
I am being told by society, 
including 
pop 
culture 
and 
media, that what happens now 
seals my fate for the rest of my 
life. The cultural perception 
that this decade is the most 
important of our lives may be 

true, but is definitely overstated. 
The fear I have expressed 
regarding college may be framed 
differently than the average 
student. I find that I am less 
worried about the present as 
a means to properly prepare 
for the future and more about 
not enjoying it for what it is 
worth. If I had to guess, I would 
think the thoughts that mainly 
preoccupy the everyday student 
are schoolwork and advancing 
their academic future, enabling 
them to have a career to support 
their future lifestyle. But these 
two 
perspectives 
aren’t 
as 
dissimilar as they would appear 
and both stem from a basic 
mindset. Our time is short and 

we have to make it count. To a lot 
of college students, if we don’t 
do so our future is in jeopardy. 
After all, isn’t the point of 
college to provide a stepping 
stone between avenues of our 
lives and ensure a smooth 
transition? 
One of my best friends came 
to college not knowing what 
he wanted for his future. He 
enjoyed biology — specifically 
anatomy and physiology — 
and thus assumed a pre-med 
track was best for him, only 
to find after two years of 
taking the prerequisites, that 
he was not interested in them. 
Now he had to battle the idea 
that he had wasted two years 

of college. After pondering 
for nearly a full semester 
about what he would do, he 
remembered a hidden passion 
for ceramics he had in high 
school. Channeling a love 
for creating and designing, 
he is now in the Taubman 
College of Architecture and 
Urban 
Planning, 
and 
will 
spend an extra semester to 
graduate. His concern was one 
often voiced by students, the 
dreaded future mid-life crisis. 
Instead of focusing our future 
on what we love now, we try 
and guess at what we’ll still 
love then. 
College 
is 
definitely 
preparatory in nature, but 
it isn’t so much about what 
you do or what you learn. 
Rather it is about developing 
an appreciation for learning 
and seeing new things. I 
realize now that the memories 
themselves 
aren’t 
what’s 
important when I look back 
on my college experience, 
but 
what 
those 
memories 
taught 
me 
about 
life. 
In 
my friend’s case, it doesn’t 
matter that the University 
of 
Michigan 
unveiled 
his 
love for architecture. What 
matters is that it showed him 
his interests were subject to 
change, and there is always 
an avenue to pursue them. The 
world is big, and there’s so much 
there to explore and discover. 
College does an excellent job 
of conveying this. If one can 
incorporate this lesson into 
the rest of their life, it provides 
far more value than a diploma, 
because no matter what happens 
one can sleep easily knowing 
there is more to explore and a 
sea of opportunity ahead.

Arjun Lama can be reached at 

arjunl@umich.edu.

MADELYN VERVAECKE | CONTACT CARTOONIST AT MIVERVAE@UMICH.EDU
It isn’t so much 
about what you do 
or what you learn. 

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But to reject 
development is to 
reject modernity.

VARNA
 KODOTH

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