venues for students to weigh in
on several amendments, includ-
ing the addition of an honor
pledge, include statement edu-
cation
during
new
student
orientation, specification of a
consistent 3-year amendment
cycle, specify the scope of viola-
tions and formalize the Univer-
sity president’s need to chose
amendments before the end of
the school year.
CSG president Cooper Charl-
ton, an LSA senior, said CSG
General Counsel Jacob Pearl-
man, a Public Policy sophomore,
was largely responsible for the
creation and submission of the
amendments.
“This amendment process was
truly gruesome,” Charlton said.
Pearlman
addressed
the
assembly
about
the
seven
amendments, which were sub-
mitted Monday to the Student
Relations Advisory Committee.
CSG’s proposals — as well as
proposed amendments submit-
ted by the Executive Officers
and the Faculty Senate — will
be sent to the Student Relations
Advisory
Committee,
which
serves as a liaison between the
Faculty Senate and CSG.
Recommended amendments
will then be filtered through E.
Royster Harper, vice president
for student life, and Timothy
Lynch, University vice president
and general counsel.
Once the proposals have been
reviewed, the Office of the Vice
President and General Counsel
will forward its recommenda-
tions to the Office of the Presi-
dent by March 2016.
University
President
Mark
Schlissel would make final deci-
sions on which revisions will go
into effect by July 1 of next year.
Transparency
Pearlman said CSG should
play a role not just in adding
amendments to the statement,
but
approving
amendments
put forth by other governing
branches. He said all amend-
ments should be filtered through
CSG, which is largely overlooked
through the current process.
“Skipping student input here,
I don’t like that,” Pearlman said.
“An executive officer or the
Faculty Senate could propose
amendments to SRAC that CSG
would never see … Giving CSG
the power to recommend or not
reccomend all proposals and not
simply their own.”
Honor pledge
After the January ski trip at
a Northern Michigan ski trip
resulted in thousands of dollars
of damage last year, a CSG task
force commissioned a proposal
to add an additional honor code
as a supplement to the statement.
The code stipulates it is sym-
bolic rather than binding, and
is meant to remind students to
conduct themselves in a way
that reflects the University’s ide-
als and values.
“Since the Statement of Stu-
dent Rights and Responsibilities
is a lengthy document, this short
honor pledge would be more
tangible to students to famil-
iarize themselves with or even
memorize,” the code states.
Pearlman said the code is
meant to help students rather
than make them susceptible to
punishment by the administra-
tion.
“When you guys go out and are
making decisions, no one’s asking
you to memorize this document,”
he said.
Education
This
amendment
proposes
that students be educated on the
statement
during
orientation.
Pearlman said doing so during
orientation would allow the Uni-
versity to reach students when
they are most receptive to new
information.
Frequency of cycle
Though in recent years the
statement has been amended
every three years, specific cycle
length is not currently included in
the statement. This amendment
would cement the three-year
amendment cycle.
Scope
This proposal basically ensures
that students are held to the ver-
sion of the code that was in place
when they committed a violation.
Communication
This amendment addresses the
University president’s role and
obligations with the Statement.
Currently, Pearlman said the
University president reserves the
right to alter the Statement at any
point in time. However, Univer-
sity President Emerita Mary Sue
Coleman always decided which
amendments would be chosen
before the end of Winter semes-
ter, while students were still on
campus. The amendment pro-
poses that Coleman’s precedent of
approving amendments at a speci-
fied time become a requirement.
Executive communications
Charlton also spoke about the
progress CSG has made with the
Faculty Senate’s decision regard-
ing the release of course evalua-
tions for student consideration.
Last Monday, the body voted to
support a delay in releasing course
evaluation data to students.
“We’ve progressed actually
quite positively,” Charlton said.
Charlton said the two ongo-
ing conversations between the
Faculty Senate and CSG regard-
ing course evaluations are their
release to students and the cre-
ation of a committee to re-eval-
uate the instrument of gathering
course evaluations.
Charlton said CSG asking for
the release of the data by Winter
2016 is still on the table.
“CSG still wants to see course
evaluations be public,” Charlton
said, “However that conversation
has progressed into an ask of giv-
ing course evaluations to advisers
with the contextualization they
requested initially.”
Charlton said the Senate Advi-
sory Committee on University
Affairs is in support of at least
releasing the course evaluation to
advisors, so that they can talk to
their students about it.
“Some people are calling this a
compromise,” Charlton said, “I’m
calling it common sense.”
A forum on the topic will be
held Nov. 16 in CSG chambers at
the Michigan Union.
Mental health in syllabi
CSG voted on a resolution to
add mental health services in
syllabus language, which passed
unanimously.
LSA junior Sierra Stone, one of
the authors of the resolution, said,
in addition to faculty members,
Graduate Student Instructors will
be trained about how to address
mental health in their syllabi.
holding elected office in Ann
Arbor isn’t due to a lack of trying.
University alum Peter Nicolas
was elected to City Council in
1992 at the age of 21, and since
then, a number of students have
attempted to run for the position.
Ackerman was the first in a while
to succeed.
Ackerman
was
chosen
as
the
Democratic
candidate
in the city’s August primary,
in which he unseated long-
time
Councilmember
Stephen
Kunselman (D–Ward 3).
At a watch party Tuesday
evening
attended
by
both
Ackerman
and
fellow
newly
elected
councilmember
Chip
Smith,
attendees
expressed
support for both candidates.
In an interview during the
watch party, Ackerman discussed
the disadvantage faced by many
University
students
in
the
community who would like to
voice their opinions.
In particular, he cited the
fact that with primary elections
in August, few students are on
campus to participate in elections.
“Most of the deciding votes of
the city happen in August when
only one-tenth of the student
body is enrolled in classes,”
Ackerman said. “That’s not to
say that I think the city should
be run by representatives of the
student body. I think there has to
be a critical balance because no
temporary resident should dictate
policy for the next 20 years.”
LSA junior Samuel McMullen,
who ran for City Council as a
freshman but was defeated, said it is
refreshing to see younger members
elected. He said though the city is
largely composed of students, the
demographic is underrepresented
in local government.
“We have a pretty big imbalance
in terms of policy, where the source
of the policy doesn’t match up
with the people that it’s affecting,”
McMullen said.
Ackerman said he focused on
running an active and personal
campaign
in
connecting
to
residents across the city, knocking
on more than 4,000 doors.
After
campaign
season,
Ackerman said he plans to hold
two coffee hours per week,
providing Ann Arbor residents
with the opportunity to share
concerns. He also aims to attend
a variety of community events to
foster collaboration with citizens
and
continue
to
strengthen
connections with them.
“I think we often times have
high
level
conversations
that
ignore
what
people
want,”
Ackerman said. “I ran to be
a responsive leader, and I am
committed fully to that.”
Along with limited student
representation on City Council,
student turnout in city elections
has also typically been low, though
student organizations this year
cited Ackerman’s candidacy as a
potential path to higher turnout.
LSA sophomore Sara Lebow,
chair of the Central Student
Government commission Voice
Your Vote, was out on the Diag on
Tuesday encouraging students to
vote.
Though student turnout is
usually highest in years when
presidential or state elections
are on the ballot, Lebow said
council elections are important for
students, too.
“I guess young people a lot of
times have pretty low turnouts,
which means the elections tend
to represent the votes of the older
populations,” Lebow said. “But,
in a city like Ann Arbor, where
so much of the population is
people between 18 and 30, you
need people voting in the local
elections, which is going to affect
them directly.”
Turnout this year remained
significantly
low
in
student-
dominated precincts, though it’s
difficult to fully discern the impact
of the student vote because voting
wards are drawn from the center
of downtown — meaning students
are divided among the wards.
Turnout was also low across the
city, since the majority of council
races were uncontested.
The Michigan Union reported
a voter turnout of 0.81 percent of
those registered in Ward 1’s first
and second precinct and a voter
turnout of 1.15 percent for Ward
4’s first precinct. The Michigan
League,
which
was
assigned
Ward 3 precincts 1 and 2, had
a voter turnout of 1.20 percent.
Seven ballots were cast at Palmer
Commons, five for Sally Petersen
and two for Jane Lumm. At
Pierpont Commons, six ballots
were cast with a voter turnout of
0.45 percent.
Lebow
cited
Ackerman’s
campaign as an opportunity to
mitigate the underrepresentation
of students in Ann Arbor city
government because his candidacy
represents an increase in student
involvement. That involvement,
she said, begins with getting more
students to vote.
The
University’s
Chapter
of
College
Democrats
also
encouraged
students
to
vote
throughout the week, holding
a forum last week and going
door to door for candidates
running as Democrats in the city
election. They also encouraged
a competition between students
living on campus in East Quad
Residence
Hall,
West
Quad
Residence Hall, on the Hill and
on North Campus who vote at the
Michigan League, the Michigan
Union, Palmer Commons and
Pierpont Commons respectively.
In campaigning, Ackerman said
he sought to hear the voices of a
broad range of residents, adding
that his agenda and outreach
focused on all residents, including
but not limited to students. He said
thought hearing from a diverse
array of citizens in all forms of
civic engagement was important
for elected officials.
“I think too often, especially
at the local level, we only get to
hear from one segment of the
population,”
Ackerman
said.
“We’re a diverse city of age,
socioeconomic class and race, and
I think hearing every side of the
story is critical to making policy
decisions.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, November 4, 2015 — 3A
previous experience on the council,
transparency and attitudes toward
new development within the city.
This election also drew large
amounts of fundraising by both
campaigns.
Petersen
raised
$33,640 and spent $27,556. Lumm
raised $25,035 and spent $12,418.
Both also posted small amounts of
late contributions filed after Oct.
23.
Lumm served as an independent
on
council
since
2011,
and
previously held a council seat as a
Republican in the 1990s. In April,
she said the 2015 race would be her
last. Before assuming a council seat
in 2012, Petersen held positions
in marketing at several firms in
the Ann Arbor area and currently
serves on the board of the Neutral
Zone.
The University’s chapter of
the College Democrats endorsed
Petersen and actively canvassed
door-to-door and made phone
calls on her behalf. “While City
Council doesn’t seem like it has
much of an influence on you
directly, that’s where a lot of the
day-to-day things of your life are
decided,” said LSA junior Stephen
Culbertson, the College Democrats
communications chair, Tuesday
afternoon. “In a local municipal
elections students don’t really see
it as relevant to them as national
politics, so we definitely want to
encourage students to be involved
at the local level.”
Tuesday’s
overall
voter
turnout in Ann Arbor was 12.29
percent. Incumbent Sabra Briere,
LSA senior Zachary Ackerman
and incumbent Jack Eaton, all
Democrats, won unopposed races
in Wards 1, 3 and 4 respectively.
Democrat
Chip
Smith
easily
defeated a write-in campaign for a
seat in Ward 5.
adding that Palestinians are not
inherently violent people.
“I think it’s really important,
once we look at the statistics, not
to label Palestinians as people who
are inherently violent and people
who are violent without reason,”
she said.
Following the statistics, Jones
read the names of 66 Palestinians
and eight Israelis who died over
the past 30 days, after which
students paid homage with a
moment of silence.
Organizers
indicated
that
the event, which spanned both
a reading of names as well as
discussion about the broader issues
in the region, was set to honor both
Palestinian and Israeli victims,
though
Ann
Arbor
resident
Joel Reinstein offered remarks
condemning the Israeli occupation
of Palestine and encouraging vigil
attendees to boycott Israel during
the second part of the event.
His sentiment was echoed by
most speakers.
“This situation is unspeakable,
but it’s not complicated,” he
said. “This is a violence between
oppressor and oppressed, between
occupying soldiers and people
whose lives are made worse than
death.”
Khamis also cited the Israeli
occupation
during
the
event,
calling it the root cause of the
violence in Israel and Palestine.
“Something
that’s
really
important to contextualize is
the fact that when we look at
the media, everything is novel ...
everything is new,” she said. “But
this isn’t a new problem. This
has been going on because of the
occupation that has been going on
for Palestinians in the West Bank
and in the Gaza since 1967.”
In 1967, Israel launched a
series of preemptive air attacks
against Egypt, which had been
amassing troops along Israel’s
border in the Sinai Peninsula. The
resulting conflict — the Six Day
War — ended with Israel gaining
control of several new territories,
including the Sinai Peninsula,
Gaza and the West Bank. In 1977,
Israel withdrew from the Sinai
Peninsula. There is still an Israeli
presence in the West Bank.
Khamis, who also spoke during
the vigil, cited her personal
experiences as a Palestinian living
in small town in the West Bank,
which she said is now surrounded
by a 25-foot wall. She also said
Palestinians in some areas aren’t
allowed to visit other parts of the
region and cannot marry others
from different towns.
“All
of
these
are
against
international human rights, and to
subject a population to these racists
policies is wrong,” she said. “To sit
here and allow these injustices to
keep going, a part of us dies. I hope
as a Michigan community we can
come together to condemn this
violence and demand for peace, but
furthermore that this occupation
needs to end.”
Jones echoed Khamis’ remarks,
and said he thinks Palestinian
citizens of Israel are persecuted.
“This isn’t just a Palestinian
thing, for Palestinians who live in
the West Bank or Gaza,” he said.
“This is for the Palestinians that
make up 20 percent of Israel’s
population. Palestinian citizens
of Israel have been arrested for
Facebook posts and for merely
existing and for showing up in
support of things that are done for
other Palestinians.”
In an interview with the Daily,
Jones said he believes Palestinians
are suffering the most in the
ongoing conflict in the area.
“This isn’t mutually affecting
both sides,” he said. “There are
people from both sides that are
injured, but the toll suffered by
Palestinian is so much higher than
any other side.”
In an interview with the Daily
after the event, LSA senior Daniel
Pearlman, who attended the vigil,
said he was disappointed that
the event was heavily politicized.
Pearlman is a member of WolvPac,
a political group on campus that
promotes a strong relationship
between the United States and
Israel.
WolvPac
joined
with
several other Israel-related groups
on campus last month to host a
vigil for victims of terror in Israel.
“It seemed like a good cause
and it seemed like it would be
beneficial to everybody who has
family and friends affected, Israeli
and Palestinians,” he said. “It was
very, very one-sided, and I was
really disappointed to see that.
There are people that are dying
on both sides, and I thought that
they were being sacrificed for the
promotion of a political cause. I’m
still happy I went, I just really wish
it wasn’t for this purpose.”
Speaking near the end of the
vigil, Khamis said the goal of the
event was to demonstrate that
the violence in the region impacts
a range of individuals in the
University community.
“Just know that people are on
this campus, not just Palestinian,
both sides are being affected by
this issue,” she said. “Just keep that
in your hearts. If you pray, pray for
peace. I hope that at the end of the
day we can all come together as a
Michigan community and put an
end to this violence.”
“This situation is a lot closer to
home than people think and that
it’s affecting everyone,” she said.
“I think it’s walking away with
more context on the issue than
just names, and knowing that it’s
an issue that’s impacting students
here.”
LUMM
From Page 1A
CSG
From Page 1A
STUDENT
From Page 1A
VIGIL
From Page 1A
RITA MORRIS /Daily
Public Policy sophomore Jacob Pearlman proposes amendments to the
Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities during the Central Student
Government meeting Tuesday in the Michigan Union.
Wu donates $10
million to ‘U’ China
partnership
University
alumnus
and
investor John Wu, and his wife,
Jane Sun, donated $10 million
to the University of Michigan-
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Joint Institute.
The
Joint
Institute
was
founded in 2006 and is located
on the campus of Shanghai
Jiao
Tong
University.
The
Joint Institute consists of 1,280
students studying mechanical,
electrical
and
computer
engineering.
The donation will set up
the John Wu and Jane Sun
Endowment
Fund,
which
will
support
professorships,
scholarships, faculty awards and
student entrepreneurship funds,
among other programs.
Wu
graduated
from
the
University
in
1989
with
a
Bachelor of Science in computer
science. He then worked senior
positions at Yahoo! and Alibaba,
a Chinese e-retailer.
“The University of Michigan
and
Shanghai
Jiaotong
University provided me with
deeply meaningful educational
opportunities. Jane and I are
delighted to support the Joint
Institute, and we look forward
to the continued success of
students and faculty,” Wu said.
6,000 Detroit
casino workers
authorize strike
According to the Detorit Free
Press,
roughly
6,000
casino
workers
authorized
union
leaders to call a strike amid
contract disputes between the
Detroit
Casino
Council
and
three gambling halls: Greektown
Casino, MGM Grand Detroit and
MotorCity Casino., The Detroit
Free Press reported. The Detroit
Casino Council is a consortium
of four unions. The DCC asked
its members for permission to
authorize a strike just three days
after state and federal mediators
called for a “cooling off” break
between the two sides in the
negotiations, which have been
ongoing since August 24th.
Dave
DeLong,
secretary
treasurer of Teamsters Local
372, a union, and a member of
the bargaining committee said
healthcare is an issue of contention
among workers.
“I can tell you that healthcare
has been the major stumble
block here,” DeLong said. “Our
members would like to keep the
current coverage that they have
without any increased cost.”
Michigan Senate
passes road
funding bills
If fee and tax increases
passed in the Michigan senate
become law, Michigan drivers
should expect an increase in $20
in registration fees and $1.17
more for a 15 -gallon fill-up,
The Detroit Free Press reports.
These increases are part of a
$1.2-billion road funding plan.
Republicans in the Senate
passed the bill, which aims
to raise $400 million from
increased fuel taxes, $200 mil-
lion from higher registration
fees while taking $600 million
from the state’s general fund.
The plan also calls for an
income tax rollback for Michi-
gan residents that would start
in 2023 if the bill passes through
the state House and is signed by
Gov. Rick Snyder.
Senate Majority Leader Arlan
Meekhof (R-West Olive) expects
the package of bills to recieve
the support of both the House
and Gov. Snyder.
“It’s going to help our econ-
omy,”
Meekhof
said.
“Not
everything that we send out is
perfect.”
Senate Minority Leader Jim
Ananich (D-Flint) said he would
encourage Gov. Snyder to veto
the bill because he feels its
delayed tax and fee increases
signify a delay in improvement
on the roads.
—LARA MOEHLMAN
@michigandaily