2019-02-25 by The Michigan Daily

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Monday, February 25, 2019

Ann Arbor, Michigan

michigandaily.com

Rage On

Students lined up in the early hours of Sunday morning, hoping to secure their spot in the Maize Rage for the game against Michigan State, one the Wolverines lost 77-70.

» Page 2B ANN ARBOR

Community convenes to plan Shapiro visit protest Ann Arbor residents and ‘U’ students organize against conservative author MAX KUANG/Daily

Former Associate Athletic Director and Life Coach Greg Harden talks about making challenging life decisions at the TedxUofM Absolute Zero Conference at the Power Center Friday evening.

TedxUofM puts on 10th annual conference, talks joyful living

Presentations center around theme ‘absolute zero,’ discuss challenging assumptions CLAIRE HAO & MADELINE MCLAUGHLIN Daily Staff Reporters

Over 1000 people gathered at the Power Center on Friday evening for the sold-out tenth annual TedxUofM conference Absolute Zero. Eight University of Michigan faculty, alumni and students spoke at the event, reflecting on their

personal experiences to share on what “absolute zero” meant to them. The event was also live streamed on TEDxUofM’s website. Clara Munkarah, LSA junior and co-director of the event, discussed the conference’s central mission of celebrating members of the Ann Arbor community who inspire innovation. “Ted is all about ideas worth

CAMPUS LIFE

Dance, song empowers South Asian survivors

SAAN and Michigan Sahana present Bloom, address sexual assault JIALIN ZHANG For The Daily

Bloom, an interdisciplinary performance that combined classical Indian song, dance and poetry with the discussion of sexual assault, took place Friday night in the Duderstadt Center Visual Studio. Hosted by the South Asian Awareness Network and Michigan Sahānā, Bloom promoted awareness surrounding sexual assault and the self-empowerment of survivors in the South Asian community. Musicians and dancers from Michigan Sahānā, a student association of classical Indian artists at the University of Michigan, focused on the appreciation of the traditional art forms of India. The director of the event was Anurima Kumar, a Public Health junior and a podcast editor for The Daily. Kumar said the idea of Bloom came when she thought of intergrating traditional Indian dances and the experiences of sexual assault together.

spreading,” she said. “For us, TedxUofM is about finding those people who spread cool ideas in the Ann Arbor and University of Michigan community. We’re trying to foster a community of intellect and inspiration.” She went on to reflect on the conference’s theme, “Absolute Zero,” which she expressed was

intentionally ambiguous to allow for highly personal speaker reflections. “We don’t have one interpretation (of absolute zero) in mind, that’s what we love about it — it’s so multifaceted,” she said. “It’s more holistic for our speakers to all be able to connect to it in different ways, it leads to a broad mix of ideologies.” See TED, Page 2A

ALYSSA MCMURTRY Daily Staff Reporter

Ann Arbor residents and University of Michigan students gathered Friday Night in the tea room of Crazy Wisdom Bookstore to discuss ways to protest conservative author and commentator Ben Shapiro’s visit to campus, which is scheduled to occur on March 12. Those gathered at the meeting went over a powerpoint on strategies for the protest and who Ben Shapiro is, followed by a brainstorm session. Ann Arbor activist Adam Nash, who helped organize the meeting, stated the goal was to simply create a solution as a group to respond to Shapiro’s event. “We’re here because Ben

Shapiro was invited to campus to speak on March 12,” Nash said. “We just want to talk about what our community response should be to this.” Nash broke down their approach through St. Paul’s Principles. The principles include solidarity based on respect, organization of tactics to maintain a separation of time and space, avoiding public denunciations of other activist groups and not engaging in any violent actions. Nash then shared information he had gathered about who Shapiro is and how he conveys his message to the masses.

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Arab Xpressions showcases culture, Non-partisan highlights growing presence on campus forum talks GOVERNMENT

Theme ‘Ajyal,’ Arabic for ‘generations,’ celebrates heritage through art forms, spoken word BARBARA COLLINS Daily Staff Reporter

LSA freshman Hiba Dagher arrived at the University of Michigan this past fall hoping to find a close-knit Arab community similar to the one she had at home in Dearborn. But initially, Dagher didn’t see this community on campus. She recalled how she didn’t meet people in her classes who shared her culture. “When I was applying to Michigan, everyone always told me that this was a very diverse campus and you’ll see a lot of people of color, a lot of people who look like you or understand where you’re coming from,” Dagher said. “I was going to my first classes and my first discussions and I wasn’t really seeing that, and I found people

treating me different … I didn’t expect it at college and I didn’t expect it at Michigan.” Dagher learned about the Arab Student Association through a group chat she created with members of her Dearborn Arab community. After attending events and meeting people with similar backgrounds to her own, Dagher became more involved in the Arabesque Dance Troupe and ASA. This past Saturday, Dagher took part in Arab Xpressions, a celebration of Arab heritage. Xpressions is an annual performance partnered with Arabesque and ASA that showcases Arab culture through aspects such as music, poetry, dance and song. The theme of year’s performance was “Ajyal,” Arabic for “generations.” Dagher found herself involved

with many different parts of Xpressions this year. She had a role in a video for the freshman skit and danced in the all-girls Raqs Al-Banat Dabke. Dagher also recited an original poem for the spoken words portion of the show and walked in the fashion show at the conclusion of the show. “You see Xpressions and you see, ‘Oh, this is a way that my culture’s never been portrayed to me before,’” Dagher said. “It’s Arabs who are holding the narrative in their hands and they’re forging it in whatever way they want to.” Beginning over a decade ago and originally performed in the Michigan Union, Xpressions moved into the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre in 2017. The production moved again

to the Power Center last year, a theater with 1,300-person capacity. The show came close to selling out in 2018 and completely sold out this year, according to Xpressions Director Nicolas Nunu, an Engineering junior. Nunu became involved with Xpressions during his freshman year and directed this year’s performance. The show involved about 130 people and preparations began in October. He said the implemented theme, generations, demonstrates the changing Arab identity over time and works to navigate the idea of what it means to be an Arab American on campus.