0 e 0 0 0 I 6B Wednesday, Aprl1, 2012 // The Statement "As an organization, we don't support any Fifty-three of those articles ran in the affiliation with the Order," Martin said in the arts and sports sections - which Spar article. "Therefore, any members associated read. with Order cannot be part of BSU." Of the remaining eight articles, Stein- Kulick said this alliance with dissenting berg said she didn't read any of them. student groups presented a conflict of inter- However, on only one these eight articles est, as he hopes to keep working with those is appended a note that says Steinberg groups and continuing SOAP's mission the didn't edit the article due to her member- best he can. Being in Order would've con- ship in order. flicted with the collaborative nature of his « group's work, he said. But thats exactly While he added that he sees the value in having a senior society of student leaders what it is it's his- come together to work toward communal betterment, he doesn't see Order as filling tory. The organiza- that role. Conflict of interest tion that Order of According to the Society of Profession- Angell is today is not al Journalists Code of Ethics, reporters should "avoid conflicts of interest, real or the organization that perceived." The Michigan Daily models its .v bylaws after the SPJ- it was ... years ago LSA senior Stephanie Steinberg, editor in chief of the Daily from Winter semes- - and that's the beau- ter 2011 through Fall semester 2011, joined Order last April. She said the relation- tyof thei h-gereenta ships she forged with other student lead- ers ensured she was in the know, but that these relationships did not compromise the turnover. Daily's coverage. -Public Policy senior Vidhi According to Steinberg, the first Daily staffer to join Michigamua was Adver- Bamzai, Order of Angell's tising Manager A.J. Jordan in 1930, and unofficial spokesperson 49 Order members have been Daily staff members since. Over the past six years, When contacted about these articles, Spar four out of the six Editor in Chiefs accept- said Steinberg was "judicious" in her han- ed the tap. dling of all articles concerning order mem- Steinberg said though there was a large bers. gap in membership until recent years, it's not "Even if I had edited it, I never would've unprecedented for Daily staffers to join the skewed a story so that someone appeared organization. in more favorable light," Steinberg said. "I Steinberg said she doesn't consider her would like to think that my journalistic eth- involvement a conflict of interest. She ics and integrity would've never been com- added that she never edited a story involv- promised." ing another Order member. When present- However, countless other articles from ed -with an article that mentioned a fellow each section of the newspaper mention the Order member, she would pass it on to her organizations Order members participate in managing editor, LSA senior Nick Spar, to and contribute to at the University. "edit. Communication Studies lecturer Anthony In 2006, Michigan Daily Editor in Chief Collings - who has worked as a reporter for Donn Fresard accepted the tap from Order, The Wall Street Journal, The Associated prompting Managing Editor Ashley Dinges Press, Newsweek and CNN - explained how to step down. According to a July 2006 Daily he understands the SPJ's definition of a con- article, Dinges said Fresard's involvement flict of interest. was a conflict of interest. "My understanding is that it means any- "I am very sad to leave the Daily, which thing that would lower the public's trust in has been my second home since I came to the journalist because of the perception that the University," Dinges said in the article. the journalist is not totally independent," "But the main reason I work at this paper is Collings said. my love of journalism and Iam not willing to He added that a Daily staffer's involve- compromise my journalistic integrity or my ment with Order could affect the reporter- 4 ethical beliefs." reader relationship because many continue Dinges declined to comment on the issue, to harbor bad feelings toward the organiza- writing in an e-mail that she didn't feel com- tion for its past. fortable commenting on an issue from the "You'll have to decide whether being a past. Fressard couldn't be reached for com- part of an organization that might be in the ment. news could lead to a perceived conflict of After the April article that announced interest," Collings said. Steinberg amongthe 2012 members of Order, Yet, Steinberg said Order membership 61 Daily articles naming Order members ran is beneficial for Daily staff because they during the remainder of Steinberg's tenure. gain access to information they wouldn't have had otherwise. She cited former Assis- tant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell's personal attack on Chris Armstrong, the former president of the Michigan Student Assembly, as an example of such informa- tion. Armstrong and former Daily Editor in Chief Jacob Smilovitz were both in order together. The potential conflicts of interest stem beyond journalism, as LSA senior Brendan Campbell, vice president of Central Student Government, said he worries students won't feel comfortable approaching a governing body that works with a closed-door organi- zation like Order. "If a student government is to truly be an inclusive and representative voice of students on campus, then I think it's wrong for its leaders to be part of such a divisive and problematic organization," Campbell said. Campbell is the former chair of the Uni- versity's chapter of College Democrats, and the group has a policy that forbids members from joining Order. Campbell added that Order is a "uniquely damaging organization" whose time on cam- pus has run out. History is history Public Policy senior Vidhi Bamzai, Order's unofficial spokesperson, said that as a woman with a social justice background, she can't deny Order's incurred civil rights viola- tions in the past. Bamzai is the former chair of the South Asian Awareness Network, a social justice organization at the University. She said her involvement with SAAN led to her getting tapped by Order last year. Bamzai said Order operates with members at equal standing and releases its member list every April to remain transparent. She added that order is trying to move beyond its contentious past. "But that's exactly what it is - it's history," Bamzai said. "The organization that Order of Angell is today is not the organization that it was ... five years ago - and that's the beauty of the 100-percent turnover." Bamzai said having a new class of mem- bers each year fosters constant change. This year's class organized a scholarship for stu- dent leaders and held an event called Leaders for Life created for 90 up-and-coming sopho- mores and juniors. Bamzai established a formal relationship between SAAN and the Muslim Students Association, which she hopes will continue after she graduates. She added that honorary members like James Toy - the founder of the Spectrum Center and an order member since 2000 - help Order take a step back and real- ize what's best for campus. In 1999, Toy was approached by then- member Cory Fryling - the first openly gay member of Michigamua - who petitioned him to join the organization. Fryling was a member of the Queer Unity Project and thought Toy would bring a valuable perspec- tive to the organization. Fryling brought a big folder of historical information to allay Toy's skepticism about joining the group. "I was dubious aboutjoining because, hav- ing been here on campus since the 1960s, I was aware of Michigamua's reputation and the concerns that many members of the Uni- versity had about the group," Toy said. Toy said he ultimately joined because he was concerned about ethos, and he figured he could inspire more change by getting inside of the organization rather than banging on it from the outside. He said he lobbies the group for greater diversity. "The more diverse a group is in its mem- bership, the better decisions it will make," Toy said. While the group defers to the phrase "humility in secrecy," Toy said he thinks modesty is a better explanation for why the contents of their Monday night meetings are kept hush-hush. Fryling said, from his vantage point in Cal- ifornia, where he now lives, the core purpose of the organization hasn't changed much, although it'sgained women and new perspec- tive. He added that persuading Toy to join the group was his biggest accomplishment. "He's the most profound legacy I've left behind," Fryling said. "He's been integral- ly involved, while I've been congenitally "I don't think there's any way they could make themselves acceptable or appro- priate other than say, 'We're going to end our organization."' -'U' alum Joe Reilly, former representative of the Students of Color Coalition involved at points." Fryling said he challenges Order dissenters to keep an open mind and do the research for themselves. Your call You can make the trek to the Bentley on North Campus. You can visit Order's Wikipe- dia page. You can gossip with friends. If you were to search "Order of Angell" and "Michigamua" on the Daily's website or in its bound volumes, you'd see that the soci- ety stirs up a lot of ink. The Daily publishes the list of new members each April and it will again next week. Butyou won't know what they do until you actually accept the tap. -Magazine Editor Dylan Cinti contributed to this report. WednedayApril11,'012B tweets of the week #mike wallace Mitt Romney vK aNtKr m, My experience with Mike Wallace - integrity, charm, character. A great one goes home. 9 April Ann Curry -Anm-ur Tough questions are being asked in Heaven today. RIP Mike Wallace 9 April Nicholas Kristof N K SW' Mike Wallace, ace journalist of '60 Minutes,' has died at 93. RIP, Mike! April Michael Rosenberg chaelcserberg When the death of a 93-year-old you never met saddens you, you know that person was special. 9 April a week of daily stories what is college? [status update] by alicia adamczyk What are you currently listening to? I listen to a lot of classical music, I've been listening to a lot of Chopin lately I have weird music tastes, I guess. Do you have any guilty pleasures? Watching more TV than I should. I like "The Big Bang Theory." What are you currently reading? "March" by Geraldine Brooks. I'm in this project to read all the Pulitzer Prize winning novels. It's kind of a re-telling of "Little Women" from Mr. March's perspective. Favorite movie growing up? "Peter Pan." i% - " :;' - ;7- ,> _ y. i. FILE PHOTO/Daily Revered journalist and University alum Mike Wallace died this weekend at the age of 93 Wallace was known for his tough interview- ing style. Ann Arbor's annual Hash Bash Festival brought thousands of people to the Diag on Saturday. Thirteen people were arrested on suspicion of carrying marijuana. Connie Shi College Jeopardy! contestant No. 404: "Game of Thrones" makes liking "Dungeons and Dragons" cool. No. 405: Yes, your internship application was due at midnight last night. THE rules No. 406: Hash Bash is the one thing on earth that is actually dirtier than Ke$ha. Last Thursday, more than 100 University students gathered in the Diag to participate in Take Back The Night, an event meant to raise awareness about sexual assualt. The North Campus Research Complex hosted an event this Monday to celebrate the state of Michigan's success in the field of robotics.