The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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Tuesday, January 24, 2017 — 3
AARON BAKER/Daily
The Movement Dance group practices in Angell Hall on Monday.
punitive teaching roles …
moving office space, and so on
… But in each of those cases, a
value judgment would have to
be made regarding whether or
not a demotion had occurred.
We
chose
to
keep
the
resolution short and simple,
rather than to anticipate all
the hypothetical abuses that
could be imposed. I urge you
to adopt this resolution as
offered.”
Lehman then offered to
answer questions the Senate
Assembly may have. John
Ellis, a history professor at
UM-Flint, asked whether or
not the resolution would apply
to the Flint and Dearborn
campuses as well. Lehman
and SACUA President Bill
Schultz determined it would.
A vote was then held on the
resolution, and it passed with
no votes against and only one
abstention.
Following the vote, Provost
Martha
Pollack
took
the
floor and began her farewell
address to the assembly by
sharing her opinions on the
AAAC
resolution.
Pollack
felt, contrary to the assembly,
a pay cut did not necessarily
mean a demotion and the
resolution would be harmful
to tenured professors.
“In my view, performance
is tied to salary,” Pollack said.
“When there is persistent
underperformance,
that
would be followed up by a
negative salary increment … I
think it’s risky at this moment
to equate underperformance
with
demotion
and
the
withdrawal of tenure. We’re
at a moment in society where
tenure is being attacked.”
Pollack, who will begin
her
position
as
president
of
Cornell
University
in
April, then transitioned into
her parting remarks to the
assembly. She thanked the
faculty for all their hard work
as she spoke about her pride
for the University over her 16
years on staff.
“This
is
a
really
extraordinary
institution,”
Pollack
said.
“I’ve
been
reflecting on why, and of
course, it’s the people —
universities are nothing more
than people — but it’s also the
culture that the people at the
University of Michigan create
… It’s corny, but we use this
phrase ‘Leaders and Best,’
and people take it seriously.
When you’re working with
someone
else
in
another
field, you know they’re going
to be the best, and I think
that’s something we need to
celebrate and remember.”
Pollack also cautioned the
group about what she felt were
the two biggest challenges
facing the University, and
higher education in general,
moving forward. She first
stressed the importance of
making sure the University
stays affordable to students,
in the face of decreasing
state
funding
and
rising
institutional
costs,
which
she referred to as “the cost
disease.”
“The question I always get
asked by the public, which is
the wrong question, is ‘Why
does tuition increase every
year?’ ” Pollack said. “The
right question is, ‘Why is
tuition going up faster than
inflation every year?’ Really,
the two big (reasons for this)
are declining state support
and the cost disease. We
know the causes, but we still
have to find the solutions …
My plea to all of you is that
you take this seriously and
work on this with us.”
The second challenge the
University faces, and the one
Pollack said concerns her the
most, is how to stay relevant
in a time when people are
questioning the value of the
very concept of college.
“It’s really critical that
we
figure
out
ways
to
address this, and I think
that
means
demonstrating
our relevance,” Pollack said.
“We need to take the time to
tell the story — more than we
ever have — why (we’re) so
important.”
After
Pollack’s
speech,
Interim Provost Paul Courant
spoke to the assembly and
relayed his excitement to
be stepping into the provost
role once again. Courant was
the University provost from
2002 to 2005 and will act as
interim provost when Pollack
steps down at the end of this
month. During his address,
Courant
echoed
Pollack’s
remarks
about
staying
relevant in a changing world.
“We
have
to
persuade
better the world around us
that what we do is really
of extraordinary value to
society,” Courant said. “We
should stick with excellence
and collaboration; it’s what
we’re good at, and what
constitutes the essence of the
secret sauce that makes this a
great institution.”
The
Senate
Assembly
concluded the meeting by
thanking both Pollack and
Courant for their commitment
to the University and faculty
governance. SACUA President
Bill Schultz presented Pollack
with a parting gift from the
assembly: a picture frame and
a scarf in “Cornellian red.”
ASSEMBLY
From Page 1
name on social media, arguing
the change would remove the
legacy of William Trotter, a
known Black and civil rights
activist. However, the gift was
revoked three months after
the Regents approved it, as
Bernstein recognized student
concerns
for
the
building’s
namesake.
Terry McDonald, the director
of
the
Bentley
Historical
Library
and
chair
of
the
advisory committee, developed
a set of principles to guide
the evaluation of whether or
not a name change should be
implemented.
According to McDonald in a
University Record release, the
complexity of such an evaluation
causes the principles to be less
defined than a checklist.
“We do not believe that
historical questions about the
names of buildings or spaces
can be answered by means of
a checklist,” McDonald wrote
in the committee’s report to
Schlissel,
according
to
the
release.
“Indeed,
given
the
nature of our institution and its
history, such questions bring
into play principles that already
exist — sometimes in tension —
with the university.”
The
principles
are
based
on
pedagogy,
commitment,
contemporary
and
historical
context,
consistency
and
revision, among other criteria.
LSA sophomore Ayah Issa felt
that having a more definitive
process for renaming could
facilitate
more
thoughtful
considerations
for
name
changes.
“A white man almost had
his name on a multicultural
building,” said Issa. “It is a big
step out of the gray area for the
University to implement this
BUILDING
From Page 1
Garg,
a
representative
of
Students4Justice, a coalition
combatting racism on campus,
said speculation on Whitley’s
motives
was
unnecessary
because of the gravity of the
situation.
“It
doesn’t
matter
the
context, it was abhorrent,”
Garg said. “Also, how are
we showing that we value
Black
students
and
other
marginalized
students
if
we are allowing them to be
subjected to this?”
DuBose
explained
on
Twitter that, as she was
trying to teach Whitley and
others about white privilege,
they harassed her on the
basis of her financial award
— DuBose secured a Fairfax
Scholarship, or four years
of paid tuition — to the
University with an ACT score
of 27.
Prospective
student
Kaushik Kothakonda implied
DuBose
was
unqualified
for her scholarship and she
received an unfair advantage
because of her race.
“Lmao
how
tf
is
Ken
gonna be roasting everyone
on
‘privilege’
when
she’s
the one who got a full ride
to Ann arbor with a 27 act,”
Kothakonda
wrote
in
the
chat. “Is she seriously gonna
tell me she would have gotten
the full ride if she was white
or asian. Affirmative action is
privilege get your head out of
the clouds.”
Universities and colleges
in Michigan, however, have
been
barred
from
using
affirmative action for the last
10 years. The Supreme Court
further upheld the 2006 state
ban on affirmative action in
a 2014 case, banning racial
quotas or the consideration of
applicants’ race in admissions.
DuBose
retorted
on
Twitter her credentials were
on par with the scholarship
requirements and amounted
to more than her race.
“… they think the only
reason I got my full ride there
was because I’m black — not
because I earned it,” DuBose
wrote on Twitter. “I have 200+
hours of community service,
I’m in 12+ extracirriculars
(sic). Leadership position in
each. And my essays were
fire.”
In
her
Twitter
post
about the incident, DuBose
specifically mentioned the
inauguration
of
President
Donald
Trump,
whose
comments
on
groups
including
Blacks,
Latinos
and immigrants have stirred
great controversy. Trump has
previously
called
Mexican
immigrants
“rapists”
and
criminals,
and
has
incorrectly
characterized
most Black people as living
in impoverished inner city
areas.
DuBose wrote on Twitter
the
chat
members
tried
to silence her by invoking
Trump’s
victory
in
the
elections, and also claimed
they
felt
attacked
for
supporting the new president.
In
the
corresponding
section
of
the
chat,
prospective students Matthew
Lewis and Tyler Lubin argued
Trump is not a racist and
Lewis characterized DuBose
and others as sore losers,
according
to
screenshots
posted by S4J on Facebook.
“Y’all can kick and scream
all you want,” Lewis wrote.
“We’re all living in Don’s
America now.”
The
incident
sparked
outrage among student groups
on campus. Students4Justice
began
a
social
media
awareness
campaign
on
Sunday exposing Whitley and
his sympathizers.
LSA
sophomore
Gabby
McFarland,
gender
lead
for S4J, wrote in an email
interview with the Daily her
group is currently spreading
word about the incident and
has contacted the Office of
Admissions.
“We will soon be releasing
our literature by tomorrow
which will contain a thorough
list of demands and further
actions will be decided from
there on,” McFarland wrote.
After all that has happened,
however, DuBose continues
to be optimistic about the
possibility of a future at the
University.
“I’m
overwhelmingly
grateful for this experience
and I’m thankful for these
groups that are helping me
get justice,” she wrote. “I
don’t really have access to
campus right now and I don’t
have much of a platform, but I
really appreciate that they’re
helping me make sure that
UMICH
isn’t
represented
poorly.
They’re
amazing
people that I’ve met so far and
I’m excited to be with them
every step of the way, not
only in this situation but in
all racial discrimination in my
future years at Michigan.”
Whitley may not be the only
student claiming to be admitted
coming under fire, though. A
Twitter user named Ashley
Wellington,
who
included
“University of Michigan ‘21”
in her profile, posted tweets
referring to former president
Barack Obama as a n----er
and lynchings. Twitter users
rallied
against
Wellington,
tagging
University
Twitter
accounts in an effort to revoke
her
admission.
Wellington
has since deleted her account,
though Broekhuizen said the
University’s social media team
is monitoring the situation, but
could not confirm the Twitter
account was run by an admitted
student.
“We can’t find these names
in our system at all,” she said.
“At this point, there is no
evidence for us to determine
they might be affiliated with the
University.”
GROUPME
From Page 1
THE FORUM
through highs and lows.
According to King, von Ranke
is credited with compiling the
first comprehensive history of
the world. Today, he said, the
most common mistake humans
often make is equating human
progress
with
technological
progress.
King applied von Ranke’s
theory
to
the
recent
2016
election, agreeing that humanity
is
not
a
straight
path
to
advancement, and the election
of Donald Trump as president
shows a dip in the progression.
Reactions to the election of
Trump have been mixed on
campus. Student organizations
such as BAMN — the Coalition
to Defend Affirmative Action,
Integration
and
Immigrant
Rights and Fight for Equality
By Any Means Necessary —
recently led a march protesting
Trump.
“Humanity is not this steady
inclining
progression
where
people are just getting better and
better and better and better,”
King said. “Humanity is instead
of series of peaks and valleys.”
King said much of the surprise
people felt after incidents such
as
the
trans-Atlantic
slave
trade, the Holocaust and the
Rwandan genocide came from
this falsehood that humanity is
constantly progressing.
“For months, maybe years,
we have walked around deeply
confused
at
what
we
are
experiencing because what we
are experiencing doesn’t feel
like the way we thought 2016 and
2017 would feel,” King said, in
regards to the negative reaction
to Trump’s win as president.
The event also touched on
the
history
of
institutional
discrimination
against
Black
people in the United States.
The high incarceration rates in
the United States — especially
among African Americans —
King added, is largely due to the
Nixon administration’s goal of
criminalizing Blackness without
explicitly announcing it.
“I hear people all the time say
our justice system is broken,”
King said. “What they tell us is
that this system is not broken,
but it was built to function this
way.”
King reiterated that the peaks
and valleys in history have
caused things such as the end of
slavery, the creation of the Ku
Klux Klan and the election of a
Black president.
Social
Work
student
Dominique Hollis, who attended
the event, said groups of people
need to come together in order
to
overcome
the
dip
King
described.
“We need to expand this
conversation
to
recognize
that while yes, people of color
are greatly disenfranchised …
dissociating from members of
the white community who are
reaching out of desperation at
times when they vote for people
like Trump does not get us out
of the dip,” Hollis said. “It only
gets us deeper because we are
not involving those parties in
the conversation.”
If people don’t act like society
is in a dip, according to King
society will never emerge from
it.
“Innovation
disturbed
the
primary power structure and in
response to the innovation, we
are now living in the dip,” King
said.
Rackham
student
Paula
Luu said she had different
expectations for King’s speech
following the Women’s March
and felt disappointed by the lack
of answers.
“I came here wanting to
better understand the how: how
movements have been moved
forwards in the past, and how
we can build off, what I feel, is
a lot of national energy,” Luu
said. “I don’t feel like I got that
today.”
ACTIVIST
From Page 1
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