ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
B-Side The B-Side explores the world of witches and Wiccans on the University of Michigan’s campus.
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ADMINISTRATION
Black student enrollment decreases for class of 2020 EMMA RICHTER/Daily
Number of underrepresented minority students overall grows by one percent
Engineering junior Dong Yi Chen at the Engineering Student Government Meeting in the Michigan Union Wednesday.
Engineering Student Gov. talks low student involvement with DEI plan
Group plans to host student-sponsored event in bid to increase engagement NISA KHAN
Daily Staff Reporter
At their Wednesday meeting, Engineering Student Government discussed plans to host a review of the University’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan, separate from the forums hosted by the College of
Engineering, because of sentiments from students that they felt uncomfortable and unable to speak freely at University hosted events. The planned review is slated to be held Thursday at 7 p.m. in Chesbrough Auditorium. The DEI strategic plan is a University-wide initiative that aims to create a more diverse and
inclusive campus atmosphere. It was launched by University President Mark Schlissel early this October. Under the umbrella of the overall plan, individual colleges are charged with organizing specific initiatives to increase diversity among their student populations. The College of Engineering hosted several forums on the
diversity plan this semester, but ESG President Rebekah Andrews, an Engineering senior, said she thought student-led forums may draw more underrepresented students to what she referred to as a more neutral space, saying the college’s events failed to facilitate an open environment. See ESG, Page 3A
TIM COHN & RIYAH BASHA Daily Staff Reporters
Black student enrollment at the University of Michigan decreased in this year’s freshman class of 2020, according to enrollment figures released by the University Wednesday morning. The new class of students is overall more diverse than last year’s class, however. Enrollment of Black freshmen fell from 5.1 percent in 2015 to 4.6 percent this year. 13.8 percent of the class comes from underrepresented minority backgrounds — a category including Black, Hawaiian, Hispanic, Native American, or a combination of two or more
ethnicities — marking an increase of 1 percent from last year in overall diversity. Hispanic enrollment rose by .82 percent in the new class, the largest increase among any group of underrepresented minorities. In an interview with the Daily in September, University President Mark Schlissel said the growth in racial and socioeconomic diversity was more drastic last year due to newly introduced strategies. “There won’t be as big a leap this year as there was last year,” he said. “It’s the kind of thing that will continue to bounce up and down year by year, but it’s important the overall trajectory is upward.” See ENROLLMENT, Page 3A
Winner of 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Actor Wil ‘U’ alum Wheaton discusses gender, sexuality in Islam lauded for
ELECTION
CAMPUS LIFE
campaigns for Clinton
Shirin Ebadi lectures in Rackham on importance of cultural understanding
More than one hundred gather at Ann Arbor comic book store
Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi received a standing ovation from more than 300 students and faculty for her lecture on gender and sexuality in Islamic cultures Wednesday. The Rackham Amphitheatre was packed for the Digital Islamic Studies Curriculum Distinguished lecture, “Gender and Sexuality in Islamic Culture,” which was co-hosted by the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies and the University of Michigan Law School. Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her work as a lawyer in Iran, representing women, religious minorities and other marginalized voices. Speaking in Farsi through an interpreter in her remarks Wednesday, she discussed the political repression of women in Islamic countries, citing her experience as an attorney and as a Muslim. She told the crowd she appreciated the opportunity to lecture on Islam and the patriarchy in the Middle East because she felt much of the fear surrounding Islamic culture stemmed from the lack of knowledge about the region. “If people in a society want to live in peace together, there is no other choice but understanding and appreciating other’s cultures,” she said. Contextualizing laws
LYDIA MURRAY Daily Staff Reporter
Wednesday morning, actor Wil Wheaton discussed mental illness and the importance of state and local level races with fans at an Ann Arbor comic book store event, affectionately referred to as a “Nerds for Hillary” by some crowd members. Wheaton came to the Vault of Midnight comic book store, which drew approximately 100 people, to campaign for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. The actor — who is known for his roles in “Star Trek,” “Stand By Me” and his recurring spot in “The Big Bang Theory” — said he’s fond he appeals to this sort of audience, noting it is often forgotten. “Everybody has that group of people that tends to listen to them, and we are in a comic book shop,” he said. “We are a demographic that I think is missed a little. People tend to treat us as just nerds who don’t matter.” Nick Yribar, a co-owner of See WHEATON, Page 3A
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EMILY MIILLER Daily Staff Reporter
with historical and religious information, she touched on the background of a variety of oppressive laws in the Middle East, such as the death penalty as a punishment for homosexuality and the laws of inheritance that are limited for women. Overall, she said she felt providing information helped combat growing Islamophobia in society. “We have to put an end
to the flame before it takes over, because then we will have destruction that cannot be fixed,” she said. “Let’s be forgiving like the sky, let’s grow the seed of cooperation like the earth, spread the friendship like the wind, be like fire burning ignorance and prejudice, be kind to each other.” Ebadi also provided an interpretation of the Quran that
she said permitted the change of unjust and patriarchal laws. “Societies change, and things change in society, so according to the change in society, the time and the condition, these laws must change,” she said. Following the lecture, a Q&A session was hosted, in which audience members asked Ebadi questions about her experience and her ideas for positive See ISLAM, Page 3A
CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily
Lawyer, Nobel Peace Laureate, and human rights activist Shirin Ebadi speaks about gender and sexuality in the Islamic culture at Rackham Graduate School Wednesday night.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVI, No. 18 ©2016 The Michigan Daily
disability advocacy
Former CSG president Cooper Charlton honored for work EMMA RICHTER For the Daily
The University of Michigan presented Cooper Charlton, former Central Student Government president and University alum, with the James T. Neubacher Award Wednesday for his commitment to mental and physical health support during his tenure. The Neubacher award recognizes outstanding advocacy for the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities. The ceremony, held at the Rackham Assembly Hall, also featured the presentation of other scholarships and certificates to students, alumni, faculty and staff for their work with disability rights and awareness. The award is given in memory of James. T Neubacher, a Michigan Daily and University alum who later worked for the Detroit Free Press. At the Free Press, Neubacher advocated for equal rights and opportunities for those with disabilities through his “Disabled in See NEUBACHER, Page 3A
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A CL ASSIFIEDS............... 5A
SUDOKU.....................2A SPORTS..................5A BSIDE................1B