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Friday, February 10, 2017 — 3
response that’s coming from
the MARK, deans and news
stations, but especially UM
faculty. All of this concern!!
That is complete crap, and let
me tell you I am getting sick
and tired of it.”
The email goes on to say: “All
of this over an email?? Yet, I give
my FACTUAL ACCOUNTS of
two white men threatening my
life and trying to take my car
wearing UM hats. FACTUAL
events, that can be seen on 2
cameras that were in the back
of a parking long (sic) and yet
NO RESPONSE !!!! All of this
solidarity, were all American
stuff is complete BULL SHIT.”
The email also goes into
detail
about
the
alleged
incident, where the writer
claims on Jan. 3 at 8:15 p.m.,
she walked out from a gym
and was “met by two pickup
trucks,” both with white male
drivers.
The writer described the
white men in detail and later
wrote what she claims the
men said, including: “‘You’re
not leaving tonight you whore,
you can’t fucking park here
you N****R.’ As I tried to ask
him why he was so upset, he
begin (sic) to continue the
racial slurs shouting, ‘N****R…
You fucking N****R can’t you
fucking
read?’
‘YOU
ARE
NOT
FUCKING
LEAVING
TONIGHT!!!’”
The email is simply signed
“The White Jane Doe (maybe
the name change will help).
#SecondofMany”
The writer acknowledged she
called the police following the
incident. Crime logsreleased
by the Division of Public Safety
and Security, however, contain
no such report on that date,
nor does the Ann Arbor Police
Department crime map report
an incident. The email did not
detail whether the incident
occurred
on
University
property or even in Ann Arbor.
University
spokesman
Rick
Fitzgerald
said
DPSS
first
recieved an email tip on Jan.
5, but neither DPSS nor AAPD
recieved such a report on the
day
the
incident
allegedly
occured.
“DPSS
made
every
reasonable effort to contact the
sender with no succcess,” he
said. “They could find nothing
in our own community. Ann
Arbor
(police)
could
find
nothing either.”
Fitzgerald noted the only
affiliation with the University
detailed in the email included
the “UM hats” worn by the
sender’s attackers.
“People could be all around
the world in Michigan hats,”
he said.
This email references the
incidents earlier in the week,
where three racist and anti-
Semitic emails were sent to
the
computer
science
and
electrical engineering email
lists.
Students
protested
early
Wednesday morning outside
University
President
Mark
Schlissel’s house, demanding
action from administration.
Later, students and faculty
responded to Tuesday’s emails,
calling them inexcusable. It has
been confirmed these emails
were “spoofed” and were not
sent by either of the named
senders, a University professor
and graduate student.
The University confirmed
it was collaborating with the
FBI to determine the original
sender of the spoofed emails.
Students responded to the
email sent to the graduate
student email list on Facebook.
One user, Rebecca Ruby Anuru,
a
Public
Health
graduate
student, responded in support
of the Jane Doe email.
“Sooo
whatever
Black
woman sent this email to
UMich on mad listservs under
the name Jane Doe (The White
Jane Doe in the text of the
email too, savage!), made the
email address say ‘educated
black student’, and shared her
story of how UMich don’t give
a flaming flying fuck about her
and her safety....Thank you, sis.
You matter.”
Fitzgerald
took
care
to
uncouple
the
two
email
incidents,
but
could
not
speculate as to the series of
anonymous senders.
“That’s the main question,
and I don’t have answers” he
said. “But one is an indivdiual
forgery of someone on our
campus, (and) the other is
someone refusing to identify
themselves (to DPSS).”
EMAILS
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supporters.
One
such
speaker
was
Carlos
Delgado,
of
the
International
Youth
and
Students for Social Equality,
who said he was fighting for
the rights of immigrants.
“We fight to uphold the
principle
of
open
borders
and the rights of workers to
live and work in whatever
country they choose will full
citizenship rights,” Delgado
said.
“We
stand
opposed
to
the
right-wing
attacks
on
immigration
and
the
reactionary
measures
that
are being intensified by the
Trump
administration
and
pursued by both Republicans
and Democrats for several
decades.”
Other speakers discussed
how the ban was affecting
other groups of minorities
and cited many historical
events they felt embodied
some of the sentiments behind
the immigration ban. The
organizer referred to above
spoke of her experiences as
a Jewish woman and drew
parallels between the current
feelings toward Muslims and
the
feelings
toward
Jews
during the World War II.
“I think a big issue with our
community is that we need
our voices to be heard,” the
anonymous organizer said. “If
you don’t speak out, your voice
won’t be heard.”
These speeches were met
with
vocal
approval
from
the
crowd
of
more
than
100
supporters
dressed
in
a
multitude
of
coats,
hats, gloves and scarves to
show their support despite
frigid
temperatures.
The
participants
were
sporting
signs and banners featuring
inspiring messages such as
“Immigrants
Are
Welcome
Here” and “No Ban, No Wall.”
Two
attendees
of
the
rally,
LSA
sophomore
Ali
Rosenblatt and Public Policy
senior Meredith Joseph, were
also creating a video designed
to showcase their support for
refugees and others affected
by the immigration ban.
“Turning
away
refugees
is detrimental, and we don’t
want to see that happening
again,” Rosenblatt said.
“We’re here for you, we
stand with you,” Joseph said
when asked what she would
say
to
students
suffering
from the ban. “It’s all about
standing in solidarity and
making this community as
welcoming as possible for
everyone”
The University of Michigan,
in light of the recent email
incident
and
the
current
protest, sent a representative
to speak on the behalf of
University
President
Mark
Schlissel. Carol Fierke, dean
of Rackham Graduate School
and vice provost for Academic
Affairs and Graduate Studies,
discussed
the
University’s
supportive stance on student
inclusion and equality.
“Our
overwhelming
message
is;
you
are
all
welcome.”
BAN
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Michigan.
“I am deeply disappointed
that
Senate
Republicans
confirmed Betsy DeVos to lead
the Department of Education,”
Stabenow wrote in a press
release. “I’ve heard from an
overwhelming
number
of
Michigan families who have
shared their strong concerns
about
her
long
record
of
pushing policies that have
seriously undermined public
education in Michigan and
failed our children.”
Rep. Dan Kildee (D–Mich.)
agreed
with
Stabenow,
citing DeVos’ charter school
experiment in Michigan as
proving her plan unfit on a
broader
scale.
Additionally,
Kildee expressed doubt that
DeVos was confirmed based on
merit.
“Her failed experiment in
Michigan pushing unregulated
and
unaccountable
charter
schools has led to terrible
results for our children, who
will bear the greatest burden
of today’s vote,” wrote Kildee
in a press release. “It’s also
no coincidence that Betsy and
the DeVos family have donated
hundreds
of
thousands
of dollars to many of the
Republican Senators who just
voted to give her this job.”
Republicans defend DeVos
as being a true conservative
who will change the status quo,
which they see as having failed.
Michigan Attorney General Bill
Schuette expressed support
for her school of choice plans
following her confirmation.
“For 28 years, Betsy DeVos
has made it her mission to
ensure
children
receive
a
quality education, and now she
will be able to do that on a much
larger scale,” Schuette wrote
in a press release. “Secretary
DeVos will be an excellent
Secretary of Education, fixing
our schools and at the same
time providing children and
families choices to find the
school that fits their needs.”
Engineering
freshman
Lincoln
Merrill,
publicity
chair of the University of
Michigan’s chapter of College
Republicans,
agreed
with
Schuette,
saying
DeVos’
opposition to the Common
Core and support for school
of choice will hopefully keep
American students from being
outperformed internationally.
“We are living in a time when
the status quo is being rejected
left and right, and the matter
of education is no different,”
Merrill
said.
“America’s
schools are failing the nation,
and the country needs a new
direction with fresh leadership
in order to improve it.”
LSA junior Collin Kelly,
president of the University’s
chapter of College Democrats
agreed
that
DeVos’s
confirmation
must
be
contextualized, but said he
worries given the financial
aid situation of many students,
DeVos could bring negative
consequences to many.
“Higher education is more
important yet more expensive
than
ever.
Thousands
of
students here — including me
— rely on federal support to
come here,” Kelly said. “We
need an education secretary
who will find ways to increase
funding of our schools and
universities, not take it away.
We don’t think Betsy DeVos is
someone who will put students
first, above special interests
and partisanship.”
Merrill
pushed
back
against
claims
that
DeVos
will noticeably affect higher
education
immediately,
considering
that
school
of
choice policies are targeted
toward primary and secondary
education.
“We don’t know yet how she
will handle the rising student
debt crisis that has been a real
issue over the past eight years,”
Merrill said. “One thing that
may happen is regulations
for
universities
will
likely
be
scaled
back,
allowing
universities to save costs by
hiring fewer faculty and staff.”
DEVOS
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Higher education
is more important
yet more expensive
than ever
“It’s a loving and inclusive
environment,” she said. “You
wouldn’t think a protest to be
like that, but it’s comforting
that there’s a lot of people here,
and that there are so many
different people coming out to
support this cause. Everybody
has a different background,
everybody is from a different
place, but we are all American.”
Students4Justice
is
a
relatively new student group
that aims to expose inequities
on campus. The organizers
encouraged
attendees
to
bring homework, water, food,
prayer rugs and posters to
demonstrate their resolve.
In
addition
to
acting
in response to the recent
bias
incidents
on
campus,
Students4Justice also asked for
their voices to be heard by the
administration. A driving force
behind the event was that the
organizers felt a lack of action
from the administration.
Public
Health
student
Vikrant Garg, a core member
of Students4Justice, said he
wants the administration to
take a stand and do something.
“We
need
(University
President Mark) Schlissel to
actually be present,” Garg
said. “We need him to make
actionable change if he wants
us to feel welcome on this
campus.”
LSA senior David Schafer,
president of Central Student
Government, said he found
the solidarity of the students
to be important in facilitating
change.
“I just think this event is
powerful
and
important,”
Schafer said. “It’s my hope
that real and lasting tangible
change comes from this. I
know those are buzzwords
and buzz-phrases, but it’s the
only way anything has ever
been done at this school. It
stems from the bottom up; it’s
students who are tired of being
tired and having their voices
heard, ensuring a more just
and equitable community is
made possible.”
The protest drew a diverse
group of students as the sit-in
carried on through the night.
The students in attendance
were there for various reasons,
including
political
and
religious ones.
LSA
freshman
Tiana
Brandon said she marched
because she felt her identity
was threatened by the current
atmosphere on campus.
“It’s
always
important
to fight for what is right,”
Brandon
said.
“In
this
particular situation it applies
to me. As a woman of color, I
have to fight for my life, and
I don’t think people realize
the seriousness of the matter.
If I can’t feel safe on campus,
how am I — a minority student
—
being
welcomed
here?
Schlissel’s approach to this is
not okay.”
SIT-IN
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It’s my hope that
real and lasting
tangible change
comes from this
“I am also a minority, so I
wanted to come see what the
perspective was and wanted to
see what their perspective was
from a male student athlete
because I was a student athlete
as well,” Penebaker said. “I
wanted to see where (Jackson,
Edwards
and
King)
were
coming from in their time and
how things have changed.”
LSA
senior
Braylon
Edwards, who returned to
the University this semester
to finish his degree, followed
Ways. Edwards touched on the
influence of the media and the
disparity between the ways
white athletes are praised as
opposed to Black athletes.
“They do the same thing
with
Russell
Wilson
and
Aaron
Rodgers,”
Edwards
said. “They say Aaron Rodgers
is mentally insane. They say
the way he is able to predict
lineman
coming
in,
steps
outside, gets around and when
he throws passes, his laser
sharp
accuracy,
pin-point,
mental
toughness.
When
(Russell
Wilson)
does
the
same thing, his athletic ability
allows him … to get the ball
down there.”
Edwards continued talking
about the experiences of Black
student athletes with their
academics, including the skills
Black male athletes lack when
they come to the University
and how expectations put on
their athletics can detract
from their academics.
“Many Black athletes come
to campus with poor academic
preparation,” Edwards said.
“(Jabrill Peppers) is no longer
the student athlete, he’s the
athlete … the pressure that
comes with that, no one sees.”
Business junior Nate Fisher
said the viewpoints of the
athletes at the event were
ones he hasn’t been exposed to
before.
“I definitely was able to see
the viewpoints that a lot of the
Black athletes are bringing up,
recognizing how in our society
they are usually perceived in
a certain way,” Fischer said.
“It was really cool for me, as
a white person, to take in this
point of view to really have a
more holistic view of different
perspectives of different types
of athletes.”
Feb. 9 marked the 25th
anniversary of when the Fab
Five first started together. The
Fab Five have been regarded
as a cultural phenomenon,
reaching the 1992 and 1993
NCAA
Division
I
Men’s
Basketball
Championship
games.
Ray Jackson, the keynote
speaker and a member of the
Fab Five, highlighted his time
as an athlete and what he has
learned since then. Jackson
emphasized
his
experience
when he started his first game
against Notre Dame on this
day 25 years ago with the other
members of the Fab Five.
“From that day forward, I
never thought about school on
the same level as I did prior to
that,” Jackson said. “Before
that day, I was making it to
class all the time.”
Jackson introduced another
member of the Fab Five,
Jimmy King, to shed light
on his experiences as well,
including
the
pressure
on
athletes and being exploited
as a member of the Fab Five.
“You don’t want to let your
community down,” King said.
“You have all this weight on
your shoulders … that pressure
can break you.”
King also spoke about being
exploited,
including
when
Nike came to the Fab Five
with five duffel bags full of
gear, telling them they could
have whatever they wanted.
King and the other members
of the Fab Five realized what
was going on.
“We’re
basically
unpaid
consultants,”
King
said.
“Whatever we pick is what
they’re going to sell and make
money on. (Nike) would rather
talk about anything else but
that. As soon as (the coach)
mentioned compensation, they
pushed away from the table,
got up and left and didn’t say
a word.”
Jackson finished the night
describing the Black male
athlete and solutions to the
issues posed throughout the
night.
“If we don’t educate our
kids and our children coming
up, we will continue to have
athletes go broke, commit
suicide, beat their girlfriends,”
Jackson said. “That stems
from lack of education.”
ATHLETES
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