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Ann Arbor, Michigan
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RACE ON CAMPUS
#BBUM goes viral on Twitter Black Student Union campaign shows what it’s like to be Black on campus
VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily
Elizabeth James, program manager for Department of Afroamerican and African Studies, speaks with students at a forum on race sponsored by DAAS, We Are Michigan, Black Student Union and Students of Color of Rackham, at the Michigan League Tuesday.
Forum confronts race relations Following #BBUM, students address how campus climate can be improved By RACHEL PREMACK Daily Staff Reporter
Following the viral #BBUM Twitter campaign initiated by the Black Student Union to bring awareness to issues faced by people of color on campus, BSU and multiple other University groups held a forum Tuesday night to focus on tangible solutions. More than 150 people attended the event, which ended with two proposals: Rackham student Garrett Felber’s plan for an affirmative action teach-in next year and Rackham student Maite Rodri-
guez-Caballero’s request that the next University president focus on establishing a betterfunded, more convenientlylocated Trotter Multicultural Center. The current location is east of the intersection of South University and Washtenaw Avenues. The Black Student Union, Rackham Graduate School’s SCORE, the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies and We Are Michigan were all sponsors of the event. LSA senior Tyrell Collier, BSU’s president, said three more initiatives following the nationally-trending Twitter campaign will be announced as early as the end of this semester. Before planning specific actions to further the community’s goals, attendees spoke about their own campus experiences. This followed Tues-
day’s Freeze Out protest and the #BBUM trending campaign. Students discussed their frustration with the lack of change that has occurred on campus despite administration emphasis on diversity. Some discussed how they were tired of the treatment they receive at the University, others regarding how the Black community needs to be more unified. LSA junior Rolly Abiola, the Trotter student manager, said she was exhausted by the University’s lack of action to ameliorate its attitude towards minorities, despite promoting itself as liberal and diverse. “I am sick and tired of the way this university continues to silence us,” Abiola said. “I keep getting up and I keep talking because I am afraid of what will happen if I stop.”
LSA senior Ozi Uduma cried when she admitted that she often didn’t wish to be at the University, but her voice gathered strength as she discussed the warm relationships she holds with her fellow female students of color. “I hope that we learn to love each other better, love each other f iercely, love each other strongly,” Uduma said. “This movement cannot work unless we love each other.” Leon Howard, a residence hall director and president of the Association of Black Professionals, Administrators, Faculty and Staff — said minority staff and students have parallel experiences. “Instead of being the only Black person in the room, you might be the only Black person on a committee,” Howard said. See FORUM, Page 5A
By ALICIA ADAMCZYK and SAM GRINGLAS Daily News Editor and Daily Staff Reporter
University students took to Twitter in droves Tuesday afternoon to share their experiences as Black students in Ann Arbor and bring attention to issues of race and diversity on campus using the hashtag #BBUM. The campaign, initiated by the University’s Black Student Union, has built up over the past few days before trending nationally on Twitter Tuesday. The hashtag gained momentum after the student organization distributed an e-mail to community members and other campus groups encouraging them to participate in the online conversation. LSA senior Tyrell Collier, BSU’s president, said the #BBUM campaign was planned to raise awareness of the experiences of Black students and for the BSU to collect subjective data it can couple with University statistics to address pressing issues Black students face. Collier said BSU encouraged students to tweet both nega-
CAMPUS LIFE
RESEARCH
Profs engage in spirited debate on Jewish foods Campus Hillel asks faculty what’s better: Latkes or Hamantashen? By ALLANA AKHTAR Daily Staff Reporter
Tuesday, members of the University community came together at the University of Michigan Hillel to contest one of the most controversial questions in the history of Judaism: Which food is better, the latke or hamantash? Latkes and hamantashen are both essential foods in Jewish culture. Latkes are fried potato pancakes traditionally eaten on Chanukah, the Jewish festival of lights, served with sour cream or applesauce. Hamantashen are triangular pastries eaten on Purim, a holiday commemorating the Jewish people’s survival in the ancient Persian kingdom. The pastry is often stuffed with sweet fillings such as nuts, dates, cherries, chocolate or cheese. The University of Chicago hosted the first Latke-
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Hamantash debate in 1946. Not able to find a definite conclusion to the mighty question, the university decided to rehash the issue annually. Since then, other universities such as Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Amherst College and Harvard University also put their best professors to the test finding the superior dish. Tuesday evening, the University finally joined these schools to debate the superiority of the two time-honored Jewish cuisines. LSA junior Paul Feingold, who brought the debate to campus, began the night by welcoming both Jews and “righteous gentiles” and introducing moderator Tilly Shames, executive director of Hillel. Feingold said he hoped the event would bring students together for a humorous evening and help them see professors in a more relaxed and fun environment. “One of the big goals here we have at Hillel is to get new people through the door all the time and engage new students into the See DEBATE, Page 5A
tive and positive experiences, though the tweets have been predominantly negative, which he expected. He said the issue is especially pressing on campus because while the University frequently discusses ways to increase diversity, many communities have yet to witness tangible results. “I would like to see the lives of Black students valued more,” Collier said. By 10 p.m., over 10,000 tweets included the hashtag from Ann Arbor and beyond. “I don’t think this is a problem specific to the University, I think it’s an experience that Black students at predominantly White universities across the nation are facing,” he said of the far-reaching responses. Black enrollment at the University has fallen precipitously over the past decade largely due to Proposal 2, an amendment to the state constitution that bans affirmative action policies that was passed by Michigan voters in 2006. The proposal, formally named the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, bars the University from considering race in its admissions process. Immediately after the passage of the proposal, University President Mary Sue Coleman gave a dramatic address on the Diag promising to maintain the University’s commitment to diverSee TWITTER, Page 5A
Med. School engages in partnership with Indian institute
ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
By Any Means Necessary organized a Rally at the diag Tuesday.
Detroit students rally on campus against Prop. 2 BAMN buses in high-schoolers to protest in Diag By ALICIA ADAMCZYK and CHARLOTTE JENKINS Daily News Editor and Daily Staff Reporter
Over 100 people, including students from local high schools in Ann Arbor and Detroit, attended a march and rally Tuesday afternoon held by organizations including By Any Means Necessary, the
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Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigrant Rights, and Fight for Equality. Organizers said the march had multiple purposes, including the “overturn of Prop 2, the restoration of affirmative action, an increase in the enrollment of black, Latino/a and Native American students and in-state tuition and financial aid for immigrant students who were brought to the United States as children,” according to a press release.
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Protesters chanted, “Black, Latino, Asian and White, by any means necessary we will fight,” and held posters with slogans and flags from the represented high schools and the University. University alum Kate Stenvig, a national organizer for BAMN, said regardless of the laws in place regarding affirmative action, the University should be doing more to increase minority enrollment. University Police officers arrived at the Diag following a report of a large crowd. See RALLY, Page 5A
Vol. CXXIV, No. 33 ©2013 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
Expanded relationship provides opportunities to medical students in India and Ann Arbor By RACHEL PREMACK Daily Staff Reporter
The trip to India by a University delegation led by University President Mary Sue Coleman hopes to spur renewed academic engagement with the world’s largest democracy’s rising economy. Following Coleman’s previous trips to Brazil, China, Ghana and South Africa, the delegation’s fourday exploration of Mumbai and New Delhi, the nation’s capital, had expansive and renewing effects on the University’s partnership with four of India’s most prominent institutions. She also connected with alumni while making her first trip to the nation. One of the institutions the delegation is connecting with is the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. See PARTNERSHIP, Page 5A
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