The charm of East Quad is on superdrive when you walk into the building and hear the smooth and buttery playing of a Satie or Rachmaninoff tune on the grand piano in the front concourse. When you tickle the ivories on more obscure video game music, like RC junior Ajilan Potter does, it can bring … Episode 13 – RC Interlude – Ajilan Potter and the East Quad Piano Read More »

Theory and practice converge in RC’s Telling It, a free after-school program that facilitates six groups of youth in four locations in Washtenaw County. U-M students enroll in a course led by RC faculty member, Telling It founder Deb Gordon-Gurfinkel, taking them on a journey that touches on sociology, education theory, current political events, psychology, … Episode 12 – RC’s Telling It Program Read More »

One of the things that gives the RC its mystique is the rigorous language course sequences offered in Japanese, Russian, German, French and Spanish. Aiming for language proficiency, students generally enroll in two semesters of eight-credit courses that include grammar, speaking and writing training, supplemented by lunch tables and coffee hours conducted in the language. … Episode 11 – Janet Hegman Shier and Olga López Cotín on the RC Language Programs Read More »

Hoai An Pham couldn’t sit idly by after she heard that U-M was considering to allow Richard Spencer to speak on campus. She gathered with other student and community organizers in the coalition #StopSpencer whose aim was to give no platform for racism and hate speech at U-M or in SE Michigan. In the RC … Episode 10 – Hoai An Pham, RC ’19: #StopSpencer, and on being an STP Major Read More »

After it was revealed that Richard Spencer may come to U-M to speak, Hoai An Pham gathered with other student and community organizers in the coalition #StopSpencer. In the RC Podcast's 10th episode, RC senior Hoai An reflects on what she learned organizing as a student, as a Vietnamese woman, and as someone who had to "unlearn" messages that had penetrated her beliefs. She discusses her journey from pre-med to RC's STP major, and gives us a sense for what it's like to be one of U-M's carillonneurs.

Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs (MESA) and the Native American Student Association (NASA) have come together to present the Native American Heritage Month (NAHM) events and programming this November. At the center of this project is RC sophomore, Samara Jackson Tobey, who served as a part-time employee of MESA to plan and execute the 2018 NAHM. In episode … Episode 8 – Samara Jackson Tobey, RC ’21: Native American Heritage Month Read More »

When Nancy Blum came to the RC from Illinois, she wanted to pursue a career in service and decided to study psychology and womens studies. Well, as can happen, she fell for the creative arts while in East Quad and her work there, alongside her contributions to the U-M Human Sexuality Office, set her on … Episode 7 – Nancy Blum, RC ’85: Developing A Voice Read More »

Sascha Crasnow is the RC’s newest faculty member. She’s joining the Arts and Ideas team, bringing her research in Islamic arts and visual culture to the College. In this interview, she discusses her academic path, what common misconceptions she witnesses as students start to use a critical lens to study the Arab world, as well … Episode 6 – Introducing Sascha Crasnow, New Arts and Ideas Islamic Arts Instructor Read More »

One of the purposes of the RC podcast is to preserve the oral history of the Residential College and East Quadrangle. It’s our pleasure to offer episode five that introduces you to Dr. Harvey Slaughter, RC class of 1972, who created a very distinguished undergraduate career including much activism for the advancement of Black students and … Episode 5 – Interview with Harvey Slaughter, RC Class of ’72 Read More »

It's our pleasure to offer episode five that introduces you to Dr. Harvey Slaughter, RC class of 1972, who became an activist for the advancement of Black students and building structures of academic support for his peers at University of Michigan. Harvey embodies intellectual curiosity, concern for social welfare, and hunger for organizational change and these qualities were cultivated and fostered while he was a student in the RC - all the while being the only Black male student in his class.