Ben Charlson
Ben Charlson is an LSA sophomore studying economics and history. His column, Entertainment and Society, focuses on the intersection of sports, media and popular culture on both a local and global scale. Using a combination of personal anecdotes and current events, Ben writes about how music, TV and sports shape and challenge current social issues. From Chicago, Ben is a lifelong Cubbie and an avid sports fan. When he’s not catching up on the latest sports news, you can find Ben playing guitar or listening to music.
Billy Stampfl
Billy Stampfl is a junior majoring in economics and minoring in applied statistics and political science. His main interests include politics and sports. Billy’s columns usually, though not always, center on issues that divide our campus and our country. His goal in writing for The Daily is to propose ways to bridge the gap between groups of people who lately haven’t been seeing eye to eye, and maybe help put a stop to some of the political polarization that is transpiring on campus. In his free time, Billy enjoys spending time outside, hanging out with friends and family and reading. He still has no idea what he wants to be when he grows up.
Brett Graham
Brett is a senior studying political science, history and French as a member of the LSA Honors program and the Residential College. This is his fourth semester writing for the Opinion section, and he looks forward to exploring the possibility of becoming even more opinionated than he already is. An avid political junkie and sports fan, he can most often be found quoting the West Wing to no one in particular or explaining why his New York Mets will be winning the World Series next year. Originally from the great Garden State, he longs for a decent slice of pizza or an acceptable bagel somewhere in the Midwest.
Corey Dulin
Corey is a sophomore in the Residential College and this is her second semester writing for The Michigan Daily. She plans to major in international studies and Spanish. Despite living in Michigan all her life, she still complains about the weather. If it is snowing, raining or below 70 degrees she can be found inside watching “Last Week Tonight,” “Insecure” or listening to The Arcs. When Michigan weather decides to be nice and warm, she goes outside just to wander around aimlessly. She also loves superhero movies, embarrassing herself by trying to roller skate or ice skate and the Detroit Institute of the Arts.
David Kamper
David Kamper is a junior from Duluth, Minn., majoring in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience, trombone performance, and minoring in linguistics. Along with being a columnist for The Daily, he founded and directs a non-profit titled Refugees to College which looks to improve the access of higher education and professional opportunities for refugees throughout the United States through mentoring, opportunity search, networking and advocacy. He works as a researcher for the Google-supported app title Arrived.US, which seeks to empower immigrants here in the United States by giving them some tools to navigate the economic and immigration systems in the United States. He also co-founded 314 Action at the University of Michigan, which works to decrease the divide between science and the general public, hoping to create dialogue about science policy and research. He plays water polo for the University, and works in the Computational Neurolinguistics Laboratory studying neurological semantic processing.
Elena Hubbell
My name is Elena Hubbell and I am a senior majoring in Asian studies and comparative literature. My Tinder bio says that I like traveling and midnight snacks, but I also enjoy talking about mental and sexual health as well as other issues affecting students at the University of Michigan. I am originally from a small town in Northern Michigan called Elk Rapids, and though I grew up only a few miles away from the most beautiful lakes in Michigan, I still can’t swim (my family is very disappointed in me). Besides working as a columnist for The Daily, I am a Peer Facilitator for the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center and an ambassador for the Center for Global and Intercultural Study. I hope that I can someday combine my love of social justice and my love of travel into a thoughtful and meaningful career, but until then I’m just hoping I can get a paying job after graduation.
Evan Sirls
Evan is from Bloomfield Hills and is an LSA junior majoring in biomolecular science and English. He is also pursuing a minor in business through Ross. His goal is to attend medical school and eventually become a surgeon. In his free time — oh wait, he doesn’t have free time because he’s a pre-med student. Just kidding, sort of. Anyway, his interests include playing video games, sleeping, watching movies and pretty much anything having to do with the outdoors. You should read his articles because he’s witty and relatable — at least he thinks he is.
Hank Minor
Hank Minor is an LSA freshman. He is a prospective major in both computer science and political science.
Josie Tolin
I’m a junior studying evolutionary anthropology and English with a minor in Spanish. I think I used to have hobbies but I don’t remember what they were. In my free time, you can catch me 1) binge-watching “The Office” 2) eating an entire container of hummus in one sitting or 3) sleeping, but not enough to reach R.E.M.
Levi Teitel
Levi Teitel is a current senior double-majoring in history and communications and minoring in science, technology, and society. He is broadly interested in cultural theory and history and writes about the intersection between media, politics and culture. He is writing his honors thesis on the Swiss-Israeli film director Helmar Lerski. When not writing for The Daily you can find him practicing yoga, reading academic literature on Britney Spears and eating copious amounts of quinoa. He was the recipient of Camp Tanuga’s award for ‘most likely to bring happiness to evening program’ four years consecutively. He is also unable to either snap or whistle. He writes a weekly email newsletter on national politics analyzing current events. Follow him on Twitter @lateitel.
Luke Jacobs
I’m Luke and I’m a junior from Los Angeles, currently studying philosophy, politics and economics. I’m a budding writer interested in international journalism, current affairs and adventure travel. I consider myself a political moderate but enjoy researching the fringes of our society: radical political movements, dangerous jobs and controversial figures. When not writing, I can be found scuba diving, exploring abandoned places and spending time outdoors.
Michael Mordarski
Michael J. Mordarski is a senior at the University studying political science. He attended Michigan State University for a full year, where he studied business administration, before deciding he wanted to focus his studies on politics and writing. His articles focus primarily on national- and state-level politics, Arab-American relations and national security issues. An avid reader and well-informed political news addict, he hopes to speak to readers on a variety of issues often overlooked by the media. Michael is active on campus, participating in the Michigan Political Union, the University’s chapter of College Democrats and Outdoor Adventures. He hopes to work for either the defense or intelligence community before pursuing a career in politics.
Michelle Phillips
Michelle is a sophomore who loves to share her ideas about the changing society we live in today. She is planning to apply to the School of Information and is a writing minor. In her free time she loves to design pages, eat the Opinion desk’s pretzels and sleep every now and then. She loves Opinion and thinks you should read our section because it will enlighten your life.
Stephanie Mullings
My name is Stephanie Mullings. I am a junior from Chicago studying creative writing and literature. I enjoy writing short fiction stories and aspire to be involved with media and entertainment in the future. My hobbies include playing basketball, watching movies, in addition to being a “sneakerhead” — meaning that I both research and collect “popular” or “vintage/retro” gym-shoes/sneakers. My column in The Daily has a theme of diversity and inclusion, but I additionally enjoy writing about topics such as the arts, specifically music and entertainment. This is my second semester as a columnist for The Daily.
Tom Aiello
Tom Aiello is a junior studying in the Ford School of Public Policy where he plans to focus on economic inequality, international issues or some combination of the two. Tom spent his formative years in the lovely suburbia of Rochester Hills. Between classes you can spot him sipping on hot coffee and staring longingly at pictures of his destined future pet, the adorable Bengal cat. His column fights back against this nation’s relentless slew of think-pieces and articles arguing the millennials are killing the economy, entertainment industry, Applebee’s, decency…the list goes on. Tom also works as a peer consultant at the Sweetland Center for Writing where you can stop by if you want to chat about writing, politics or cats.