Consent. Relationships. Although these two topics occupy a certain space on university campuses, Valentine’s Day makes these subjects more relevant than ever. SAPAC — the sexual assault prevention and awareness center of the University of Michigan — will be addressing these topics through a zine that has compiled student art and written work showcasing these topics. The release party will be celebrating the publication of this zine.
SAPAC has been working all year to compile this zine of artwork and poetry, and is proud to celebrate its release. Come support SAPAC and attend the event! Details are on the image above, but also in text below!
Details When: Monday, February 13th
Time: 7:00 to 9:00PM
Location: North Quad Room 2435
TEDx UofM 2017 was as busy as ever, adding to the disruption part of this year’s theme: Dreamer’s and Disruptors. The army of volunteers running the independent conference have by now created a finely-tuned machine with the perfect mix of emotional roller-coaster, thought-provoking ideas, and blissful entertainment.
The student group Groove = bliss
A student jazz band played in the minutes before the conference started. Their grooving, polished performance was a reminder that so many students at this university are talented and sound like professionals even before they’ve graduated.
Then the first speaker took the stage. Koen Vanmechelen came all the way from Belgium to talk about chickens. Specifically, about how breeding various species of chickens can be used to teach us important lessons about human nature.
Next was Sophia Brueckner, a brilliant woman who was a preeminent software engineer at Google until she suffered an injury that prevented her from using computers for two years. She argued that we as a society have developed a dichotomy of looking at technology as either a complete disaster, or as completely awesome. Instead, she asserted, we need to approach technology with critical optimism.
Ironically, Sophia Brueckner pointed out that making an app to solve all our problems is a fallacious idea, but the 2017 TEDx prize went to a student that developed an app called FoodFind. Meant for low income families to find free food, you have to wonder how many families can actually afford and use the smartphones that the app runs on.
Caitlin Holman proposed three things we need to learn: autonomy, competency, and belonging. Videogames, she suggested, provide all of this. With that in mind, she founded GradeCraft with the purpose of making learning more “gameful.”
Erika Newman–a pediatric surgeon–talked about both clinical and personal experiences with cancer. She was introduced to the lack of information on neuroblastoma when one of her patients asked her about the disease and she realized how she didn’t have any answers. The only surprise here was that she was having trouble getting funding from the NIH to treat the cancer using DNA repair mechanisms.
Rollie Tussing and the Midwest Territory Band played during the break. Although they were a stereotypical band you’d hear in Ann Arbor (at least one instance of well-manicured beard, a cello, and music reminiscent of vintage records), they were entertaining. Their sound was both stripped down and full, and antique without feeling archaic.
Next was Abdul El-Sayed, the current Executive Director of the Detroit Health
Department. In case that didn’t already tell you what a monumental task that entails, he cited several facts about the city of 600,000+ people such as a life expectancy of 70, an asthma rate of three times that of the rest of the country, and vision and other problems that far surpass the rest of Michigan. His argument was to think about pathophysiology in the social realm so that we can help people prevent health problems from developing. Abdul was also one of the best speakers of the night and I highly recommend watching his talk at least.
Next was Jeffrey Veidlinger, a historian who went to Eastern Europe to interview survivors of the Holocaust as a way of preserving their culture via understanding Yiddish. He challenged the audience to “Ask your loved ones about their life. Ask them about their dreams. Ask them about what they cherish.”
The most heart-wrenching talk of the night came from Scott Matzka, who was a talented athlete and is now a husband and father battling ALS. This is another talk to watch, and to check out his organization MyTurn.
Documentary filmmaker Sophia Kruz was the last speaker of the evening. Showing clips from her latest documentary Little Stones, she showed how sharing individual stories is important, as well as using culture to address problems in society.
In less than a week, the organizers of TEDxUofM will open the doors to: TEDxUofM 2017: Dreamers and Disruptors.
Although tickets are sold out, you will be able to watch a livestream here
Also, you can still arrive early for live music, interactive activities, coffee from RoosRoast, and pastries from Avalon Bakery all in the lobby area of the Power Center
This year has another incredible list of speakers, as well as performances by Groove and Midwest Territory Band
Twenty minutes before the event started, the 4th floor Rackham Auditorium was already packed. Students, friends, family, and curious people filled the seats, the stairs, the walls, and the walkways. Organizers had to repeatedly clear the overflowing doorways, and we we were repeatedly warned that if any more audience members came, it would be a fire hazard and Rackham would have to shut the event down. Both sophomore event organizers, Alyiah and Fatima, introduced Halfway Hijabi as an event for Muslim women who wore hijabs (headscarves) to “reclaim our voices and our space rather than having others speak on our behalf.”
To create a safe space, photographs and video recording by audience members was not allowed. All that really mattered, however, were the words that flowed out of these powerful, well-spoken women.
The first of many female performers read an essay speaking of themes that would become a common thread throughout the night. Anger and humiliation at being forcibly strip searched at an airport because she had a metal leg brace. Comments like “you look like you came out of Iraq” and “This is America sweetheart–you can take that [the hijab] off now.” She ended with the words “I do not allow the hijab to limit me, so why do you?”
Another performer talked of women reclaiming the American flag from a symbol of oppression to a symbol of pride by wearing the design on headscarves.
Most of the performers were students, and they pointed out how often they walk into a room and find that they are the only hijabi, and having to represent the entire Muslim population.
Although many of the performances were raw and heartbreaking, a few of the women lightened the mood. One international student from Malaysia read a short speech regarding her reasons for wearing her hijab, and comparing what it was like to wear one in Malaysia versus the US. She concluded that “I was told that God wants me to wear hijab and actually I’m okay with that” and then hilariously quoted Miley Cyrus when she said “only God can judge us.”
The one musical piece of the night was naturally one of the saddest songs ever created: a rendition of Leonard Cohen/Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah. It was not only beautifully sung, but also refreshing to hear it sung in this context.
My only regret about the event is that it wasn’t in Rackham’s larger auditorium. The Hijabi Monologues is the kind of event that should be shown to as many students as possible, because much of the hate and rudeness that these women experienced comes from ignorance.
It was a wonderful concert. It goes without saying that the University Symphony Orchestra performed beautifully last night, and I loved both sets of music. They began with Mozart’s “Jupiter” symphony, and the first thing I noticed was that when they began playing, the bows of the violin section all moved in unison. I don’t think I’ve often seen movements so crisp, which is a symbol of the orchestra’s caliber. I heard the same thing when in the same movement there occurred a series of grace notes, which due to their rapidity can be easy to miss or blur. Instead, the unity I heard was stellar. I’ve heard much of Mozart’s work, but “Jupiter” was something entirely different. In most of his other work I find a certain delicacy in his melodies, even in his more intense pieces. While that’s still true here, the balance in “Jupiter” is definitely tipped towards grandeur and not daintiness.
After the intermission, they played Holst’s “The Planets”. It was a fantastic performance. I’ve never heard such overwhelmingly powerful music before. Nor have I seen such instrumentation (this was the first time, I think, that I recall seeing an alto flute played in concert, and that wasn’t the only unusual instrument there). This was the highlight of the programme, as the entire suite has been set to a visual accompaniment by José Francisco Salgado, a UM alum, who came onstage to introduce the piece. The visuals were a montage of photographs, renderings, and videos, set to move as one with the music. I was not quite sure what to think of the film. Sometimes it seemed like just a montage of images, which I realize is a result of our limited capability to document these planets. I thought Mars was the most polished piece, and I believe that’s because there was more of a thread to follow there. We’ve also done the most research on Mars and therefore have plenty of videos and time-lapse imagery, which Salgado was able to time wonderfully with the music. On the other hand, the other movements were mostly photographs and artists’ renderings. The “Neptune” movement contained, I thought, less footage of Neptune than it did of the stars, which, while intentional and beautiful, eclipsed Neptune.
I also had some difficulty identifying the scientific concepts that Salgado intended to convey through the film. I wish I had been able to attend the panel discussion beforehand, because I think they would have discussed the science present in the footage and given me some things to look for. However, the programme made a close substitute, because for both “Jupiter” and “The Planets” there were detailed musical descriptions of each movement. I really appreciated the historical and musical context they provided. That said, I’m glad the film was there as an accompaniment. The film added color, which was valuable because, thanks to photography and digital renderings, we’ve always seen astronomical pictures in bright colors. Furthermore, the timing was done very well, which, in a musical piece, is an essential element. This combined with the forceful nature of Holst’s music made the entire thing simply awe-inspiring.
