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September 04, 2013 - Image 13

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The Michigan Daily, 2013-09-04

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"I have concerns about whether this is
appropriate under federal law and believe this
type of national issue should be resolved at the
xderal level," Newman said ina statement.
Opponents of the measure have also
expressed concerns, mainly regarding undoc-
umented families not payingstate taxes.
According to an Institute on Taxation and
Economic Policy report families of undocu-
mented students often pay some state taxes,
such as sales and property tax, contributing
about $126 million in local and state tax rev-
enue in Michigan.
However, the University's initial concerns
focused on changes to residency requirements.
"I think we are in a circumstance now
where we have residency requirements and
we need tobe consistent withoutundermining
the residency standards that we've had in the
past because those have been important for
the University," Coleman said in January. "I'm
hopeful that we can get there, but we'll see."
As a result of these concerns, the Univer-
'ity administration and task force carefully
considered the impacts of potential changes
to residency guidelines.
TUITION'S NITTY-GRITTY
Between June 2012 and February 2013,
the committee explored the ways in which
university, state and federal policies affected
undocumented students.
As part of this process, the task force exam-
ined policy at three especially progressive
universities in the area of tuition equality: the
diversity of Texas-Austin and the University
of California-Berkeley and Los Angeles.
In additionto Texas and California, 16 states
have provisions allowing in-state tuition rates
for undocumented students. Fourteen states
provide these provisions through state legisla-
tion and two states allow in-state tuition rates
for undocumented students through Board of
Regents decisions.
While the report was not intended to make a
finalrecommendation, the task force considered
potentialmethodology to qualifyundocumented
students for in-state tuition. Previously, the Uni-
versity based tuition fees on residency, meaning
students needed to be recognized by the state
as Michigan residents. This policy prevented
undocumented students from taking advantage
of the hefty difference between in- and out-of-
state tuition. Following the example set by the
UC campuses and the UT-Austin, the report
found tuition fees could be based on a student's
high school education rather than residency.
While it seemed the task force had nar-
rowed in on a possible solution, the Universi-
ty's Office of General Counsel, represented on
the committee by Donica Varner, University
sociate General Counsel, raised concerns
regarding potential externalities of revised
guidelines.
"We (the University) get sued on our (pre-
revision) residency policy all the time and we
always win because our residency policy is
airtight," Jolly said. "It's legally rock solid."
go* With a high school-based guideline, the
General Counsel said the largest demographic
affected.by hewpolicyvwoulnot be.undocu-

mented students. Instead, students on Ohio's
border who attended a Michigan high school
or boarding students at private schools, such
as Cranbrook, would receive the largest, unin-
tended benefit.
Thus was born the middle-school clause in
the adopted version of the guidelines, which
requires two years attendance at a Michigan
middle school as a condition for receiving in-
state tuition.
EVOLVING VIEWS
While the task force trudged on inside
the Administration Building, CTE continued
their protests down State Street at regents
meetings. Jolly and Lieberman said the prog-
ress of the task force often influenced the tone
and scale of direct actions such as protests and
sit-ins, with organizers carefully considering
the demands of the moment.
December 2012, just before students left

attaching a human face to a not particularly
interesting area of University governance.
Storytelling is the most effective form of
advocacy, and they mastered that."
Provost Martha Pollack, who succeeded
Hanlon last spring, tempered CTE's role in
influencingthe policy.
Contrary to Coleman's January statements
stressingthe firmnature ofresidencyguidelines,
Pollack said the University had already been
consideringrevisions prior to CTE protests.
Pollack emphasized the broader nature of
the new guidelines, created to streamline paths
to in-state tuition, rather than promote larger
policy concerning undocumented students.
"That being said, it's certainly true that as
the students from CTE and the various vet-
erans groups spoke over the year, that they
raised our awareness of this and that got built
into the process, but again the changes in the
policy are much broader," Pollack said.
But Bernstein said CTE protests might

change or civil rights dialogue - CTE was also
a conversation about what student activism
might mean and look like in the 21st century.
"It's the biggest thing that's happened in
Michigan student activism since the '60s,"
Lieberman said. "It's the story of students
coming together, identifying a problem and
thinking about how to change the issues fac-
ing them. I thinka lot of people paint our gen-
eration as apathetic people who don't really
care. This story fundamentally challenges
that narrative."
The movement also placed a spotlight on
the inflexible nature of higher education.
While multiple coalition members have rec-
ognized the success in the movement's turn-
around time -less than two years - some
characterized the University as traditionally
slow to change.
"If the threshold for change required an
entire movement, I don't think that's reason-
able," Mersol-Barg said. "I think the Univer-
sity decisionmakers could not only be doing a
much better job engaging a students who want
to change campus, but proactively seeking
them out and ensuring their vision is realized."
Mersol-Barg is convinced the University
could have issued a decision without waiting
a number of months.
"Ultimately, direct actions like the sit-in
in front of the Union are what pushed the
regents over the edge," Mersol-Barg said. "As
I understand, a number of regents just wanted
to get it taken care of because we were making
too much noise."
Though some administrators have dis-
counted CTE's total influence, they have fre-
quently applauded the movement's displays of
student activism.
"Dialogue on challenging issues is what
we're all about here at Michigan, and I hope it
doesn't go away," Pollack said. "I won't always
agree with the students, but I certainly want
to hear what they have to say."
Still, Mersol-Barg said it's difficult to
pinpoint the extent to which CTE truly
influenced the opinions of regents or admin-
istrators. While Pollack characterized the
administration's views on tuition equality as
evolving, Mersol-Barg said the administration
didn't follow a uniform progression, adding
that some administrators and regents were
more receptive than others.
"On one hand, this is a wonderful success
in that we demonstrated that the regents will
respond to students, especially when it comes
to matters as complicated and controversial as
this one," Mersol-Barg said. "However, I don't
think that this establishes too much precedent
in terms of students who want to change the
University."
But for now, CTE is not going away. LSA
senior Meg Scribner and Morales, current
CTE leaders, said the new focus of the move-
ment will be securing financial aid for undoc-
umented students.
"It's really important not to let this issue
disappear," Scribner said.
Though the impact of the recently inked
policy may remain uncertain, one thing's
clear: Less than two years ago, a couple of stu-
dents had a grievance and an idea.

statement on the street1h
7 a.m., 8.5 hours to go *~on the record

The first few brave souls in the general admission football line on Saturday at 7 a.m. explained
what else could keep them waiting in a line for 8.5 hours.

"Love it or hate it, the "Noodle" was ONLY inside
Michigan Stadium as part of the inaugural W.O.W. Friday
(i.e. Gameday Destination). #GoBlue"
- @umichfootball, Michigan football program's Twitter account, on
the 20-foot long noodle spotted in the Big House last Friday.
"It's 10 o'clock, man. Where is everyone?"
- A PRIVATE SECURITY GUARD, about the lack ofstudents in
thegeneral admission line for the first football game.
"If you don't like money, drugs, strippers or murder, you
should turn this album off. Quickly."
- JACKSON HOWARD, Daily Arts Writer about the requirements
for listening to Juicy J's new album Stay Trippy.

"I already don't like this
eight-hour wait ... This might
be about it."
Matt Viola,
Engineering senior

"Luke Bryan. Meet and greet "I don't know, maybe if I
- the whole package." had a kid some day? Not
much."

Hayley Burnash,
Nursing freshman

Grady Chang,
Engineering graduate student

-Wp

Ann Arbor for semester break, CTE members
and allies, now numbering in the hundreds,
wore yellow t-shirts and donned red duct
tape over their mouths to represent "silenced"
voices of undocumented students.
The protests and task force meetings con-
tinued simultaneously.
"For maybe six months, through Decem-
ber, it did not seem as if we were going to get
our way," Lieberman said.
As protests continued, the task force was
meeting simultaneously, sometimes the day
before or after an action from CTE.
"It was awkward, but at least (the adminis-
tration) understood we weren't going to put up
a white flag due to the task force," Jolly said.
According to administrators, the protests
did not stifle the working relationship of the
task force.
University Regent Mark Bernstein (D-Ann
Arbor), an early proponent of granting in-state
tuition to undocumented Michigan students,
deemed CTE's protests as thoughtful, digni-
fied and effective-especially in sharing the
stories of affected students.
"It was a blueprint for effective advo-
cacy," Bernstein said. "I was deeply moved
by the stories that these students and their
allies shared. They were very successful in

have guided the direction of the changes to
in-state tuition guidelines.
"The tuition guidelines are a dynamic docu-
ment," Bernstein said."They change every once
and a while to keep pace with-the changing
nature of the University. There are lots of ways
tuition guidelines can change. The advocacy
work by these studentshad a significant impact
on the evolution of our tuition guidelines."
THt HISTORICAL ARC
Though various parties may dispute CTE's
ultimate influence, it's difficult to discredit
the scope of their on-campus presence. In less
than two years, what began as a small group of
students organizing at four a.m. in the UGLi
reached a visible crescendo last April when
eight students were arrested outside the Union
in a display of civil disobedience. Protestors
marched from the Michigan Union to Cole-
man's house shouting, "education, not segrega-
tion!" before blocking traffic at the intersection
of State Street and South University Ave.
Even after the passage of new in-state
tuition guidelines a few months later, it's still
difficult to tell what CTE might mean for the
larger arc of University narrative. For many,
the movement translated into more than policy

',At 64, Diana Nyad
became the first person
to swim the 110-mile
route from Florida to
Cuba without a shark
cage protecting her. This
was her fifth attempt
at the feat in 35 years,
proving to us all that
anything is possible
(and her body must be
rockin').

In a $7.2 billion all-cash deal, Microsoft plans
to buy Nokia's Lumia devices and services to
launch their own mobile platform in the future.
With this deal, we say goodbye to the Nokia's
deidcated smartphone line.
--O

5 mmnmmmmi

I

I

The new Superman-Batman movie is slatedto
bring in $131 million to the state when filming
in Detroitin early 2014. Ladies, get ready-
Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck will be looking
for their Loises and Mary Janes.

New numbers from
the U.S. Census
Bureau show that
college enrollment
has declined by
467,000 students
from fall 2011
to 2012 for both
undergraduate and
graduate schools.
Now is it time to
roll back tuition
costs?

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