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Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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UMich celebrates MLK Day with Circle of Unity musical event
“I thought it would be particularly interesting to see performers and musicians come and showcase their art for this message of unity and justice, instead of just a regular speech.” CAROLINE WROLDSEN & HAYLEY WEISS Daily Staff Reporters
The Michigan Community Scholars Program hosted the 20th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day “Circle of Unity” event Monday afternoon. Over 50 people gathered in the LSA Building Atrium to watch students and local artists perform music, dance and share spoken word poetry in honor of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The event opened with remarks from MCSP Director Christine Modey, who said King’s reflections on unity as a response to chaos were a guiding value for the event. “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in his last book, wrote about a choice that we all face when things are falling apart,” Modey said. “We can let them devolve into chaos, or we can choose community. As I look around the world today, it feels like there’s plenty of chaos. And yet MCSP invites you all here to be part of building community through song, through poetry and through fellowship together in a place where we affirm what’s best about people.” The event featured Jelani Bayi, one of the original student founders of the “Circle of Unity, who spoke about the event’s origins. “Back in the day, we were outside in the Diag,” Bayi said. “Most of the participants were
18-year-old arrested for leaving threatening note at Haisley Elementary
The suspect fled the scene after leaving a note threatening to harm people with a firearm and is now receiving mental health treatment DOMINIC APAP Daily News Editor
Audiences wait for the circle of unity activity to start at the LSA Building Atrium Monday afternoon.
MCSP students and performers, and we had a lot of hot chocolate to keep us warm. Through the years, we had a high school band from Detroit come; the Michigan Gospel Chorale has performed. Although it was extremely cold outside, we had hundreds of students and Ann Arbor residents attend.” Among other types of performances, local singersongwriter Joe Reilly and Detroit artist Julie Beutel led the audience in a sing-along centered around peace, activism and uplifting the community. Attendees clapped their hands, shouted out lyrics and joined hands in a circle. LSA freshman Avery Hurd performed an interpretative dance to “Freedom” by Beyoncé, featuring Kendrick Lamar. Following Hurd’s dance, Isaiah SchuhamAnders, MCSP coordinator of
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diversity initiatives, performed an original spoken word poem that discussed themes of unity, hope and togetherness. “Unity is not a greeting card, it is not a soft song sung in a quiet room,” Schuham-Anders said. “Unity is a friction. It is the heat of different stones rubbing together until they spark a fire that can keep a whole village warm. It is the I surrounding its sharpest edges to become the we. It is the mother whose kitchen has no door, feeding children whose names she didn’t give them. It is the neighbor who hears the silence of your grief and brings a shovel to help you bury the weight.” MCSP founder David Schoem and former associate director Wendy Woods were then invited to speak about Dr. King’s principles of nonviolence and the importance of youth leadership.
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“Let’s build and strengthen this circle of unity,” Schoem said. “Listen to and give power, agency and hope to all of our wonderful students and young people, and let all of us work together for justice, peace and love.” For the final activity, attendees were invited up to the front of the stage to participate in a collective art activity. Participants traced their hands onto large sheets of paper and were encouraged to write what brings them a sense of community. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Business sophomore Chloé Nicholes, MCSP student leader, said the event was a way to bring the community together and celebrate the values of Dr. King.
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The Ann Arbor Police Department arrested an 18-year-old suspect Friday for threatening students at Haisley Elementary School. In a message to The Michigan Daily, AAPD spokesperson Chris Page wrote that the suspect “left a note on a classroom window threatening to harm people with a firearm.” Page also confirmed that the suspect fled the scene immediately after the incident, and officers arrived at about 4 p.m. as school was being dismissed. Shortly after, police arrested the suspect at his residence, where they found no firearms. In a post to X, AAPD wrote the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office charged the suspect Saturday with one felony count of making terroristic threats, with a maximum sentence of 20 years, and one misdemeanor count of making school threats, with a maximum sentence of a year. In a post to Facebook, the prosecutor’s office wrote the suspect will be held on a $250,000 bond and with a GPS tether prohibiting him from
entering Haisley Elementary School grounds, should he be released. The AAPD’s post on X stated the suspect is receiving mental health treatment. “AAPD also worked with Community Mental Health, which developed an immediate plan to get the person coordinated resources,” the statement read. “He is currently receiving treatment at a mental health facility.” In a post to Facebook, the Ann Arbor Public Schools wrote the suspect now has a no-trespass order restricting him from AAPS property. AAPS reiterated its commitment to student safety and wrote that district social workers and psychologists will be working to help support students when school returns on Tuesday. “The safety of our students and staff is our priority, and we are taking this situation very seriously,” the statement read. “We are committed to the safety and well-being of our students, staff and community. We appreciate the quick response from our school administration and staff, as well as the cooperation and support from our families.”
Pioneer High School hosts 24th annual FutureStars singing competition
25 contestants competed in the annual vocal competition hosted by the Pioneer Theatre Guild MYA WEISS
Daily Staff Reporter
Anticipation filled the Pioneer High School auditorium Saturday night as about 1,500 community members and 25 contestants waited for the FutureStars 2026 winner announcement. At Pioneer’s 24th annual singing competition, a select group of local students from four Ann Arbor Public Schools high schools took to the stage in groups and solo performances to showcase their musical aptitude, choreography skills and individuality. The Pioneer High School Theatre Guild has hosted the vocal contest since 2002. This year’s event, directed by music teacher Jayme Kelmigian, featured guest judges from across the Ann Arbor community including University of Michigan football players, Mayor Christopher Taylor and faculty from the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Participants underwent a month of preparation — including four vocal coaching sessions per performer — coached by music director Ken Pesick and vocal coaches Allison Gaines, Athena Johnson and Elle Michaels. The almost entirely studentrun event featured student hosts — both writing their own scripts and emceeing the event — and performances from the underclassmen show choir RisingStars in addition to the contestants’ acts. Pioneer senior Gabby Thompson won the contest with her performance of “Love” by Keyshia Cole, selected based on the decibel level of the applause she received. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Thompson said
Contestants, hosts and crew celebrate as Gabby Thompson is declared the winner of the talent competition by audience cheer volume.
she has always been surrounded by music. “Music has been a part of my life forever,” Thompson said. “I started singing when I was three I think. My family is Jamaican, so I grew up with a lot of reggae, a lot of Afrobeats, Caribbean styles. It was a little bit jarring to go from living in a home where this music was the norm to going to public school for the first time and hearing a lot of pop music, rap, stuff like that.” Pioneer senior Abigail Rohrer performed twice, with both placing in the top five performances of the night. Rohrer told The Daily she enjoyed the chance to express herself through her song choices, especially during her solo performance. “This show, I find it
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particularly important because it’s such a good vessel for individual expression, especially when it comes to solo songs,” Rohrer said. “I have a solo this year and it’s a country song. It’s been fun because that kind of music is sort of what I grew up on, and I get to bring that to the stage. I get to bring me, myself – Abby Rohrer – to the stage.” Five Pioneer students hosted the event, tasked with guiding song introductions and short skits. As his first show, Pioneer senior and host Isaac Laberteaux said he was shocked to find out how much of the production is student-led. “As someone who came to the show and (did) not know any background, then to come here and realize how much is student-led, it’s incredible,”
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Laberteaux said. “It’s like a professional level production. You have elite singers, students who are now in school for singing and acting that perform in this show. It’s all hands-on from the students.” Laberteaux said he feels the Ann Arbor community loves singing competitions and seeing the talent in their own community. “People love to watch shows like ‘America’s Got Talent’ and shows like ‘American Idol,’ but when you can see it in your own community you can realize the talent here,” Laberteaux said. “I mean, this city is a driven city; people want to work hard; people want to succeed at the highest levels. I think this offers just a great outlet to all high school students.” LSA freshman Lily Wright,
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a RisingStars assistant choreographer and former contestant, performed a rendition of “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse alongside vocal coach Gaines. Wright told The Daily the creative outlet offered by the competition is what sets it apart from other PTG shows. “The students who are performing on stage do a lot of the costuming and staging for themselves,” Wright said. “They have a lot more control over their numbers and their performance. I think there’s a lot of great opportunities for them to be super creative and have fun creating their popstar persona or whatever it is gonna be for their piece.” Wright said the U-M underclassmen who worked on the show enjoy the opportunity to perform as well.
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“They do a performance at the end (of each half of the show), and it’s just such a fun way for them to obviously get experience in the show, but also for them to show off and get to perform in front of the audience and just have those awesome experiences,” Wright said. Pioneer senior Mia Coulouris, a first-time FutureStars participant, performed both a solo performance of “Ceilings” by Lizzy McAlpine and a group number of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper. Coulouris told The Daily that, despite the show’s competitive nature, contestants are committed to supporting and celebrating one another. “It is a competition, but competition is used lightly,” Coulouris said. “That is also what is really special about this, because there’s no cutthroat competition-feeling atmosphere. It’s really just, ‘I’m here, and I can perform and have so much fun with these other people, and support them as well.’” Nicole Campbell-Thompson, co-president of the PTG Booster Club, said the arts play an important role in youth development and urged the Ann Arbor community to continue to support theater programs in schools. “The one thing I charge the entire community with, is just to continue supporting the arts,” Campbell-Thompson said. “When there are opportunities for (the community) to speak for the arts, I would encourage us to do that, because we all know that when students participate in the arts it really does help their brain development, and it really does help them to become better students, better humans.”
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