4A — Friday, November 4, 2016
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
LAURA SCHINAGLE
Managing Editor
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.
SHOHAM GEVA
Editor in Chief
CLAIRE BRYAN
and REGAN DETWILER
Editorial Page Editors
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
Carolyn Ayaub
Claire Bryan
Regan Detwiler
Caitlin Heenan
Jeremy Kaplan
Ben Keller
Minsoo Kim
Payton Luokkala
Kit Maher
Madeline Nowicki
Anna Polumbo-Levy
Jason Rowland
Lauren Schandevel
Kevin Sweitzer
Rebecca Tarnopol
Ashley Tjhung
Stephanie Trierweiler
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
FROM THE DAILY
Vote Chuck Warpehoski
N
ext week, Ann Arbor residents will vote to elect the city’s mayor
as well as five candidates to fill seats on City Council. Five of
the six seats are uncontested, including the mayoral position.
But for the fifth City Council seat in Ward 5, voters will be choosing
between incumbent Chuck Warpehoski (D) and David Silkworth (I),
an insurance claim representative for homeowners and businesses.
Though both candidates emphasize important initiatives, The Michigan
Daily’s Editorial Board endorses Chuck Warpehoski for City Council.
His experience; support for affordable housing, transportation safety
and a new commuter rail; and his commitment to issues of diversity
make him the more qualified candidate for the position.
Affordable housing is an
important topic often debated
in Ann Arbor. During Cental
Student Government’s town
hall on affordable housing,
many residents and University
of Michigan students voiced
concerns about the lack of
affordable
housing.
Though
both candidates have spoken to
this issue, Warpehoski’s support
for the creation of affordable
housing
is
all-encompassing,
emphasizing the need for a
significantly greater number of
affordable housing units, not
just subsidies — a position The
Michigan Daily’s Editorial Board
supported
earlier
this
year.
Expanding affordable housing is
crucial to keeping the University
affordable for everyone.
Warpehoski
also
understands
the
pressing
issues of transportation and
safety in Ann Arbor. Not only
does he aim to make roadways
safer for drivers and to add
bike lanes — an effort that
is helpful for all (especially
students traveling to North
Campus) — he also emphasizes
the
need
for
changes
to
transportation
around
Ann
Arbor
and,
more
broadly,
the state, that will be more
environmentally
sustainable.
In
September,
Warpehoski
voted in favor of the regional
transit tax proposal. This tax is
crucial, as it will help connect
Detroit and metro Detroit to
surrounding states, allowing
for more job, education and
social opportunities, especially
for Detroit residents.
In
addition
to
big-ticket
issues of regional importance,
Warpehoski
played
an
important role in a controversial
proposal
currently
on
the
ballot to extend City Council
member terms from two to
four years. Warpehoski, while
not explicitly for or against the
proposal, backed the motion to
put this issue to a popular vote.
As the Daily Editorial Board
noted in its endorsement of this
proposal, this change would
likely increase voter turnout and
subsequently make City Council
more representative. It may
also generate more productivity
and
create
more
long-term
projects, because members will
have longer terms and won’t
spend as much of their terms
campaigning for reelection.
Warpehoski
has
also
consistently been an advocate
for diversity and inclusivity
throughout his time on City
Council,
which
is
vastly
important
moving
forward
for students of Ann Arbor. In
2014, Warpehoski sponsored
legislation
to
prohibit
city
employers from forcing job
applicants to disclose past
convictions
—
a
law
that
the Daily’s Editorial Board
endorsed at the state level
shortly after President Barack
Obama banned the box on
the federal level. He has also
worked in conjunction with
Black Lives Matter activists
to create programs for local
police departments to prevent
bias. Already, he has helped
select a police chief who will
push forward with programs
such as these.
While his support of the
deer cull may leave some
people
questioning
his
dedication to the preservation
of wildlife, Warpehoski cites
environmental
concerns
as
the main reason for his support.
During a forum hosted by the
League of Women Voters in July
of this year, Warpehoski noted
that the overpopulation of deer has
allowed their predator populations
to flourish, making it increasingly
difficult for Ann Arbor to remain
ecologically diverse — something
necessary for the survival of native
plants and wildlife. What’s more,
his commitment to remedying
potential
environmental
hazards
resulting
from
the
toxin 1,4-dioxane found in local
groundwater further highlights
his desire to protect the safety of
the people of Ann Arbor as well as
wildlife in the area.
With all of this said, we
recognize there are ways in which
Warpehoski
could
improve.
Silkworth has emphasized the
importance
of
transparency
in how and why City Council
makes certain decisions, an
area in which Warpehoski
leaves something more to be
desired. It is important to
consider that Warpehoski has
been a City Council member
for four years and his position
aligns with that of many other
members, whereas Silkworth
would be bringing in a new
perspective.
We
encourage
Warpehoski to examine the
ways in which City Council
presents its information and
communicates with the public.
Nonetheless,
Chuck
Warpehoski’s
experience,
support for affordable housing
and
transportation
and
commitment to diversity make
him the candidate you should
vote for next Tuesday.
A
s
a
first-semester
freshman, one of the
pieces of advice given to
me so frequently by older students
was that, in college, most of my
learning would happen outside
the classroom. They
weren’t
trying
to
diminish the value of
the courses here — at
least as far as I could
tell — but rather,
stress the importance
of getting involved on
campus.
Three years later,
I can confidently say
my college experience
wouldn’t
have
been
nearly as beneficial — in terms
of both personal and intellectual
growth — had it not included the
many extracurriculars I had the
privilege of being involved in.
The leadership, writing, critical
thinking and interpersonal skills
I gained from my extracurricular
experiences have been invaluable
and have augmented my college
experience in ways no traditional
course could have.
Additionally, these experiences
may
have
opened
academic
opportunities I might not have had
otherwise. I couldn’t have majored
in public policy had I not been
admitted into the Ford School of
Public Policy — a selective program
which seeks “students with strong
transcripts … who are also engaged
in serious ways with campus
organizations, community service,
political
organizations,
and
leadership activities,” according to
the Ford School website.
However,
campus
involvement
is
expensive.
Without my parents’ financial
support, I wouldn’t have been
able to spend the bulk of my
free time on extracurricular
activities. Instead, I would’ve
needed to work part-time to help
pay for my tuition and general
living costs at college.
During the two semesters I
worked as a senior editor at the
Daily, I probably spent a rough
average of 20 hours per week on
Daily-related activities. Assuming
I could’ve found a job that
would’ve paid me $10 an hour, 20
hours a week for both semesters,
my senior editor position cost
me around $6,000 in forgone
income. While the Daily does
provide a stipend that helps to
partially offset this opportunity
cost, the vast majority of campus
organizations don’t.
In an interview with the
Daily,
LSA
senior
David
Schafer,
Central
Student
Government
president,
said
that
campus
leadership
is
expensive primarily because it
requires
students
to
sacrifice
opportunities
for
paid work.
“Some
organizations
require
their
members to pay dues,
but all necessitate
that leaders dedicate
large
amounts
of
time
without
the
promise of pay or
compensation,” Schafer said.
A 2015 Georgetown University
Center on Education and the
Workforce
study
found
that
70 to 80 percent of Americans
enrolled in post-secondary classes
work during the academic year.
Additionally, roughly 40 percent
of undergraduate and 76 percent of
graduate students work at least 30
hours per week while enrolled in
classes. It’s difficult to fathom that
students working 30 hours or more
per week could devote considerable
time to extracurricular activities.
That’s why the University
of Michigan’s new Leadership
Engagement
Scholarship
is
so essential. The Leadership
Engagement
Scholarship
will
award $500 to $2,500 to 10 to
15 emerging and established
campus leaders with financial
need each year. The program
was designed to reduce the
considerable opportunity costs of
campus involvement, as well as
establish a mentorship network
of scholarship recipients.
According to lSA senior Micah
Griggs, CSG Vice President Micah
Griggs, the inspiration for the
scholarship program came from
the many students she believes
were interested in participating
in the CSG executive council,
but couldn’t afford to spend the
required amount of time on a non-
paid, non-academic activity.
“A lot of people were applying
to CSG executive team and were
requesting if it was paid or not and
it isn’t at all,” Griggs told the Daily.
“That really drew a barrier for a
lot of applicants for our executive
team because they couldn’t afford
to give up a paying job.”
The idea that there is a cost
barrier to CSG participation is
supported by data from an internal
CSG survey, which found that 75
percent of CSG members come
from households earning at least
$100,000 annually. Opening those
opportunities to a more diverse
group of students would certainly
beget stronger representation —
and ideally an influx of new ideas
— from individuals facing cost
barriers to campus leadership.
Only roughly one out of every
eight University students comes
from a low-income family. Twenty-
one of the top 25 public universities
in the United States have a higher
proportion
of
students
from
families earning less than $50,000
annually than the University of
Michigan. Perhaps, if highlighted
in prospective student recruiting
efforts,
the
new
Leadership
Engagement Scholarship could
help strengthen income diversity
at the University.
However,
offering
competitive
scholarships
to
a limited number of students
seems unlikely to remove the
barrier to campus engagement
that many students face. The
number of students working
in paid positions is correlated
with the rising cost of college
tuition. More widespread and
sustainable solutions to this
problem would address root
causes of the increasing price
of higher education. Assuming
these costs are here to stay
— at least in the near term —
programs like the Leadership
Engagement Scholarship are
likely the best alternative.
Support student leaders
TORI NOBLE | COLUMN
TORI
NOBLE
Tori Noble can be reached at
vjnoble@umich.edu
T
his is an exciting time
for the University of
Michigan. On Oct. 6,
following a year-long planning
process,
we
launched
our
five-year strategic plan for
diversity, equity and inclusion.
With the announcement of
the plan, we signified our
renewed pledge for creating
an inclusive and equitable
campus
and
developing
a
diverse university community.
Throughout this process, the
University has been actively
engaged with faculty, staff and
students where open dialogue
has allowed us to plan for the
future while learning from our
past. This has been vital to the
process, especially now as we
implement this plan.
Our commitment includes
$85 million in new funding to
support these efforts over the
next five years in addition to
the $40 million currently spent
annually on DEI initiatives.
We have and continue to hear
from many voices, both groups
and individuals. The result
of these conversations has
paved the way for numerous
new or reinvented programs
and initiatives, examples of
which
include
Wolverine
Pathways,
HAIL
Scholars,
LGBTQ Allyhood Development
Trainings and a Ford School of
Public Policy workshop series
that
will
address
political
sensitivity and tolerance for
other political views, among
other facets of diversity. These
DEI efforts, and so many others,
are
enriched
through
the
determination of remarkable
faculty, staff and students across
this great institution.
Despite
these
efforts
to
create a more diverse, equitable
and
inclusive
climate,
our
university
community
also
has also faced messages of
racial, ethnic and religious
discrimination.
While we recognize the
damage
and
hurt
these
messages
can
cause
our
community,
we
will
not
amplify the negative effects by
specifically responding to each
and every affront. For those
in need, we will continue to
provide front-line assistance,
utilizing services such as
the
Bias
Response
Team,
Counseling and Psychological
Services and other support
systems.
As stated previously by
University
President
Mark
Schlissel,
the
ideology
advocated in these messages
does not reflect our core
values
at
the
University.
In
many
instances,
these
individuals aim to disrupt
our educational mission by
gaining greater attention and
publicity for their extreme
ideologies.
By
diminishing
the attention these individuals
seek,
we
reinforce
our
unwavering
commitment
to
diversity, equity and inclusion
at the University.
As a way to combat these
negative messages, we encourage
demonstrations of support —
including proactive community-
building
experiences,
which
contest
and
transform
these
attacks against the values of our
university community.
In
support
of
this
transformation,
student,
faculty
and
staff
groups
have been actively engaged
in movements of solidarity
to confront and debunk the
ideologies espoused in these
messages, like the “Spread
Ideas, Not Hate” effort across
campus, which is part of the
Expect
Respect
program
within Student Life.
By being responsive, rather
than reactive, we are able to
change
and
transform
the
culture
surrounding
these
negative
ideas
and
come
together as a community to
support one another.
While messages of hate occur
throughout our country, the
determination and efforts of
faculty, staff and students at
the University continue to serve
as an invaluable tools to our
community and set a greater
standard for those in higher
education across our nation.
I am extraordinarily proud
of these efforts, our strategic
plan and our determination
to
make
our
university
community a more diverse,
equitable
and
inclusive
environment.
While at times we may be
tempted, we must not grant
others the power to derail
our educational goals as a
community or as individuals.
Ultimately, the power belongs
to us, and together, we are
capable of remarkable change.
Robert M. Sellers is the University
vice provost for equity and onclusion
and chief diversity officer.
ROBERT SELLERS
Together we are capable
ROBERT SELLERS | OP-ED
FRANNIE MILLER | CONTACT FRANNIE AT FRMILLER@UMICH.EDU
DO YOU KNOW YOUR POLLING LOCATION?
Don’t show up to the wrong place on Tuesday Nov. 8. Not all students
belong to the same ward or vote in the same place. Make sure you
know your correct voting location. Visit https://webapps.sos.state.
mi.us/MVIC/ to find your polling location.
Without my
parent’s finanical
support, I
wouldn’t have
been able to
spend the bulk of
my free time on
extracurricular
activities.