03/16/2024
Lois & I attended the powerful premiere of "Ni Une Más" in town, a collaboration of eleven organizations to bring injustice, malfeasance, deep cultural illness and deliberately ignored criminal behavior on the part of high level administrators within a least five higher level UM organizations having to do with a UM doctor, as well as a domestic assault and murder in Puerto Rico and Mexico.
The play focused on the impact on the survivors, not the criminals, including young 18 year olds, a young mother, a sister. The lead dancer who illustrated the impact of this was superb, as was the dance troupe and singers.
Multiple young students, at the time, in the UM athletic system were affected including football, basketball, wrestling, track. What was shocking to me is how long the abuse went on and who knew about it, including administrators I knew in 1979 - 2009.
Of those five senior administrators in my time at UM, two appeared to have tried to do something to stop the abuse. Three others that I knew and had met with over the years enabled it. Bo Shembechler reacted angrily hearing about the abuse from his own son.
I will list in the comments a few excerpts from the program held at Bethlehem UCC, a partner in the production and a worthy setting of this "Healing Bells" (a partner) artistic performance and premiere.
There will be a video shared later as the organizers asked that no photos be taken at the event. I recommend viewing it. Power in institutional positions, corruption, is well illustrated in this thoughtful work described in this University Record article listed below.
Composer and University of Michigan lecturer Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra has co-created a trailblazing world premiere production, “Ni une más,” that braids together music, theater and dance to tell the stories of those who have survived gender-based violence and to showcase their growing agency.
