ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Friday, March 17, 2017
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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ADMINISTRATION
UM Regents cover Union renovations in Dearborn At monthly meeting, the University body also discussed Palestinian-Israeli tensions KEVIN ZHENG/Daily
LSA senior Tina al-Khersan and Oman, a former refugee who works with Access in Detroit to assist refugees new to their communities, present at the “What We Carried: A Glimpse into the Refugee Crisis” at the UMMA on Thursday.
Refugees, panelists give insight into Michigan’s role in refugee crisis
Over 100 students and community members gather at UMMA to share experiences KAELA THEUT
Daily Staff Reporter
The words of Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “nobody is ever just a refugee, nobody is just ever a single thing,” were referenced more than once during the Michigan Refugee Assistance Program’s capstone event: “What We Carried: A Glimpse Into the Refugee Crisis.” MRAP works alongside a nearby refugee resettlement service, Jewish Family services,
Samaritas and the Detroit Mayor’s Office to connect University of Michigan students with opportunities for working with and on behalf of refugees. Over 100 students and community members gathered inside the University of Michigan Museum of Art on Thursday night to listen as former refugees shared their stories of resettlement, and professionals in the refugee sector provided their own unique insights into the current humanitarian crisis. “What We Carried” was based
on the collaborative storytelling project of photographer Jim Lommasson, who sought to preserve the identities of displaced Syrian and Iraqi refugees through the objects they chose to bring from their destroyed homes. Lommasson said he began his project after an Iraqi woman living in Portland asked him, “I thank America for removing Saddam Hussein, but did you have to destroy my entire country to do that?” From there, the photographer began to capture images of the personal items
refugees took from their homes in order to tell a story. Lommasson noted that, though people often point to photography as an attempt to humanize its subjects, it is not the refugees who need to be humanized. “The things that I photograph were sometimes kind of exotic, as we would expect, but sometimes there were Barbie dolls, things that we wouldn’t expect, but it sends a message that we’re all alive,” he said. “You don’t need to be humanized, you’re already See REFUGEES, Page 3
JEN MEER & MATT HARMON Daily Staff Reporters
The University of Michigan’s Dearborn campus hosted the year’s second Board of Regents Meeting on Thursday afternoon. Central to the meeting were talks of renovations to the Michigan Union and divestment from Israel — a topic that was not on the agenda. All regents were in attendance except Regent Denise Ilitch (D), who phoned in. Union renovations The regents unanimously approved the estimated $85,200,000 budget proposal for the Michigan Union Renovation Project during the financial segment of the agenda. The construction project itself was approved at the July 2016 meeting. Originally constructed in 1919, the Union has been a University landmark for many generations of students and faculty. The building’s infrastructural renovations include the general
improvement of Union facilities, such as electrical and mechanical work, as well as architectural restoration. Larger projects in design schematics involve the enclosure of the courtyard for a student space, improved accessibility for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the construction of gender-neutral bathrooms, new CAPS expansion and new student organization space. Charles Lewis, senior vice president of Integrated Design Solutions, the company being used for the planning of the renovations, presented a slideshow outlining the blueprints and graphics, showcasing what the new Union will look like after the renovations are completed in an estimated three years. One component Lewis presented that received some questions from Regent Katherine White (D) and other regents was the physical renovation to the North Entrance, on the side of the Union. The current schematics See REGENTS, Page 3
Candidates discuss campus climate, Vigil brings First teach attention to divestment, other topics at CSG debate out event
CAMPUS LIFE
ACADEMICS
victims of hate crimes
The debate was the first of the Central Student Government election season
The event was specifically mourning the death of Srinivas Kuchibholta
Thursday evening, the Defend Affirmative Action Party, eMerge and Movement, three of the four parties running for Central Student Government office, gathered in Hutchins Hall for the first presidential and vice presidential debate of the season. Moderator Aaron Kall, the University of Michigan’s director of debate, asked candidates questions chosen from nearly 100 potential questions sent in online by University students. Presidential candidates were the first to take the floor. The debate began with a question regarding the Leadership Engagement Scholarship and its $5 student fee discussed at a recent CSG meeting. While candidates did agree the scholarship itself is beneficial for students, LSA junior Evan Rosen, the Movement presidential candidate, emphasized the presence of bigger issues involving financial strains for students. “The facts are that one in every five students that get accepted here don’t enroll at the University of Michigan because of financial reasons, and we were just ranked the number one least socioeconomic diverse public university in the nation,” he said. “It’s $5 here, but where
CALEB CHADWELL Daily Staff Reporter
About 35 people gathered on the steps of the Rackham Graduate School Thursday evening to hold a vigil for recent hate crimes — in particular, in remembrance of the murder of Indian immigrant Srinivas Kuchibhotla in Olathe, Kan. Kuchibhotla was murdered in Kansas last month when a man named Adam Purinton shot him after supposedly yelling “get out of my country,” as reported in the New York Times. Purinton was apprehended and charged with premeditated murder. Event co-organizer Brendan Wu, a University of Michigan alum, said they wanted to both commemorate Kuchibhotla, but also, more generally, bring attention to other victims of hate crimes in the United States. “We wanted to mourn those deaths and, more broadly, we wanted to hold a vigil just to bring attention to victims of hate crimes, because they’ve been on the rise,” Wu said. “We just wanted to help unite people in their pain and build strength in See HATE CRIMES, Page 3
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JORDYN BAKER Daily Staff Reporter
does that end?” Continuing with the theme of underrepresented students, candidates responded to a question regarding the University’s status as a sanctuary city, and whether or not they believe the University should be declared as such. All presidential candidates gave support for the University becoming a sanctuary city. On the topic of improving
campus climate, candidates each presented different approaches to advocating for underrepresented students and increasing awareness of diversity. LSA junior Anushka Sarkar, eMerge presidential candidate, gave four specific objectives she feels are crucial to improving campus climate. The initiatives she listed included extending the Race and Ethnicity requirement to all
colleges within the University, mandatory Intergroup Relations engagement for every incoming freshman, making the University a sanctuary campus and increasing minority enrollment. “Rhetoric that implies that we have to go to Detroit to get students and to make sure they are qualified to apply to the University is condescending and See DEBATE, Page 3
JEREMY MITNICK/Daily
Candidates representing their parties running for Central Student Government discuss their positions on various campus issues at a debate in Hutchins Hall on Thursday.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 47 ©2017 The Michigan Daily
slated for March 31
SNRE prof. Arun Agrawal will discuss authoritarian governments globally EMILY MIILLER Daily Staff Reporter
The first of the University of Michigan’s Teach-Out Series will be released online on March 31 and will focus on how countries transition from democratic to authoritarian rule. University President Mark Schlissel announced this online Teach-Out Series on Monday at the Academic Innovation Forum hosted by the Office of Academic Innovation. The format and name of the Teach-Out series were based on University’s tradition of teachins, which were established in the 1960s and have continued to the present. However, it will be distributed as an edX course. In an email interview, James DeVaney, the associate vice provost for Academic Innovation, wrote the use of edX to promote the series is part of a goal to reach the largest audience possible. “We hope to reach the broadest representation of society with each of our Teach-Outs,” he wrote. “We are reaching out to learners through social media, our partnership with edX, and See TEACH OUT, Page 3
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS....................7