The University of Michigan hosted a virtual town hall titled “Constructive Conversations for Societal Change” on Friday, in soli- darity with the protests that have erupted across the nation against racism and police brutality. The town hall was moderated by Rob- ert M. Sellers, vice provost of equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer, and focused on providing a platform for the University of Mich- igan community to come together. “Our conversation today marks our collective recommitment as individuals and as a university to ending systemic racism in our soci- ety and within our institution,” Sellers said. “In doing so, we affirm that Black lives matter. We recog- nize that this conversation is not the solution, nor can it be our response, our only response, to the senseless killing of George Floyd and far too many other African Americans. It’s only a necessary start to acknow- ledging our collective pain and out- rage.” LSA senior Darlena York shared her experiences with racism on campus, citing a survey from a pol- itical science class she took and the effect of the survey on students’ mental health. “It makes students not want to participate in class, not want to go to class, because it’s very detri- mental to our mental health, detri- mental to how we want to perform in class and it’s detrimental to our overall well-being as students,” York said. “A lot of my experiences aren’t that positive when reflecting on racial inequality on campus. It’s very exhausting as a student lead- er sometimes, having to constantly combat those things.” Rackham student Naomi Mae Wilson, who has been a commun- ity organizer for the past 10 years, spoke about her involvement in fighting systemic racism at the University of California at Berke- ley, New York University and in her communities at the University of Michigan. She emphasized that fighting for change can be exhaust- ing and traumatic. “Having been in the work for 10 years, it’s not really, really long but it’s a lot for me. My experience and my feelings are both exhaustion and also a deep, deep fire in my spirit to fight for justice and to make sure that we have change,” Wilson said. “Young people are out there and they are dedicating their childhoods for justice which in some ways, in a lot of ways, is beautiful and in a lot of ways is incredibly sad that we lift up these young folks who are out there, to march and demand for their lives to matter.” Riana Anderson, an assistant professor at the School of Pub- lic Health, spoke about the link between systemic racism and the disparate impact of COVID-19 on the Black community and the effects of the protests on mental and physical health, making people more susceptible to the dangers of COVID-19. “My work shows how racial acts exact a toll on psychological out- comes like anxiety, depression and trauma, even if it’s not personally happening to us, as is the case with so many of the virtual experiences we viewed online,” Anderson said. “Our bodies also react through physiological processes, like increased blood pressure, quick- ened heart rate and heightened production of stress hormones, eroding our physical health and wreaking havoc on our normal stress responses including regulat- ed breathing, which of course ties back to COVID.” Eddie L. Washington Jr., the executive director of the Division of Public Safety and Security, shared his emotional reaction to the video of George Floyd’s murder. “When I saw the video, the first thing I thought about was just the loss of life. And I think about the loss of life and the impacts that that has directly on (Floyd’s) family, on the community, on Blacks specific- ally,” Washington Jr. said. “It causes a spark of images that I think about for most of my life, images from the 60s and the 70s. I think about 2 Thursday, July 2, 2020 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com NEWS Students flock to bars after reopening The challenges that international students face in attending American universities are plentiful, ranging from intense culture shock to rising tuition fees. Add the COVID-19 pandemic, which comes with strict travel restrictions, troublesome flights home and visa issues, and those challenges double. The University’s International Center Director Judith Pennywell told the Daily that over the past few months, the center has received numerous requests for help regarding the pandemic and uncertainty for the fall semester. “Students are wondering about the availability of remote learning opportunities for fall and whether there are visa or immigration related implications,” Pennywell said. “Some students have expressed concerns about internship offers being revoked in light of COVID-19.” Second-year Information student Chengyue Qiu, an international student from China and the secretary for Graduate Rackham International (GRIN), a student- run organization at the University meant to support graduate students on campus, mentioned how since the pandemic hit, her peers have faced both academic and career obstacles. “I have a lot of friends who had their internships canceled because of COVID,” Qiu said. “That’s a really common thing.” Engineering alum Mohammed Majid had his offer as an upcoming software engineer at Uber rescinded due to the pandemic. Majid, an international student from India, shared his story on a LinkedIn post that spread widely throughout the University community. “Hi Everyone!” the post begins. “Yesterday, I received a phone call from my recruiter: my new grad SWE offer from Uber was rescinded due to COVID-19, with 90 days left to find employment or risk deportation.” Upon graduation, international students who do not want to return home usually apply for Optional Practice Training, which allows students to stay in the U.S. for a maximum of 12 months for employment-related training in their field of study. But not all companies choose to sponsor international students and some organizations related to defense or national security seldom hire or interview non-U.S. citizens. Students who are granted OPT are only allotted 90 days of unemployment. In an interview with The Daily, Majid spoke about the grueling fall job recruitment process and how difficult it was to do it all over again last month. Back in September, he said he applied to as many as 100 jobs and by November had a couple of offers — three months of applications, phone calls and interviews. 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