S

imilar to many University 
of 
Michigan 
students, 

I pride myself on my 

critical 
thinking 

and analytical skills. 
By now, as I careen 
toward 
graduation 

without brakes, I feel 
I am fairly well versed 
in deriving meaning 
from 
everything. 
I 

can sprout arguments 
about anything from 
yogurt advertisements 
to complex issues, such 
as whether or not a 
five-year-old would make 
an effective president. However, 
I seem to have one massive 
shortcoming: I am somehow 
inexcusably, 
consistently 
and 

massively gullible, and I am not 
alone in this. When it comes to 
what we read online, it seems 
that all of us are consistently and 
problematically easy to fool.

My professors have tried to train 

this out of me by demonstrating 
how to challenge the ideas put 
in front of me by engaging with 
them skeptically, yet I am still 
one of the most gullible people I 
know. Recently, a friend joked that 
our professor’s first name wasn’t 
actually Seder but Apple Cider. 
And I 100 percent believed him. 
I don’t think he was even trying 
to trick me. I just said to myself, 
“Sure, why not,” and accepted it.

While I’d like to attribute my 

occasional readiness to believe 
what I’m told to my inherent 
belief in the good of others, I 
think the truth might have more 
to do with me being an idiot 
or having too much blind faith 
that my friends won’t steer me 
wrong. Perhaps even more likely 
is that I have a lazy streak when 
it comes to fact checking, and 
I know I’m not alone in this. 
As Americans saw repeatedly 
during this past election, fake 
news (stories that are completely 
fabricated or bent so far from the 
truth as to be unrecognizable 
as reality) is increasingly an 
issue on social media, spreading 
baseless conspiracy theories and 
misinformation, like the claim 

that the Pope endorsed President 
Donald Trump or that former 
President Barack Obama tried 

to ban the Pledge of 
Allegiance.

Fake news might 

not be an issue if 
not for the fact that 
a large majority of 
people is falling for 
it. According to a 
study from Stanford’s 
History 
Education 

Group, students are 
alarmingly 
bad 
at 

spotting fake news 

and were unable to draw 

logical conclusions about the bias, 
source validity and factuality 
of what they were reading. This 
can have some pretty massive 
implications for our democracy. 
Voting relies on the assumption 
that voters can make educated 
decisions, which requires having 
valid information. How do we 
make informed decisions when we 
can’t know what’s true?

Facebook 
has 
reportedly 

begun taking steps to correct the 
prominence of fake news on its site, 
but it might be too late; knowing 
that there is convincing fake news 
circulating, it seems as if nothing 
is trustworthy. With the rising 
distrust of the media, how do we 
know what is real? What’s true? 
This implication that the media 
can’t be trusted at all is scarier 
and harder to battle than simply 
having to see articles circulating 
on Facebook that Senate Majority 
Leader Mitch McConnell (R–Ky.) 
is actually part turtle.

Beyond the confusion that this 

matter presents to citizens about 
what and whom to believe, an 
even more concerning trend is 
being revealed: Politicians now 
have the simple cop-out response 
of calling things that they disagree 
with or don’t like “fake news.” 
Recently, Syrian President Bashar 
al-Assad used this claim of “fake 
news” in regards to an Amnesty 
International report that cited 
human 
rights 
violations 
in 

military prisons under his regime.

In dismissing the report as fake, 

Assad demonstrated how simple 

it is to make massive problems 
essentially disappear. He didn’t 
want to respond to the allegations, 
so he discredited them without 
proof, and suddenly it’s just his 
word against the media’s.

Assad isn’t the only one using 

this tactic: Trump and his staff 
are also known for crying “fake 
news” when unflattering stories 
surface. “Saturday Night Live” 
even spoofed such an occurrence 
when an actor representing CNN 
had to plead from a cage during 
a press briefing that “We’re not 
fake news!” 

Herein lies the real danger 

of 
this 
phenomenon. 
In 

creating a quick, plausible 
excuse to cast aspersions on 
the media, it creates a space for 
the subjects of those stories, 
namely politicians, to create 
their own convenient truths 
and realities.

Unfortunately, there doesn’t 

seem to be a simple way out of 
this. Regaining trust is easier 
said than done, especially when 
it comes to an industry like mass 
media, which we are inherently 
asked to trust.

John Oliver had a segment 

on his HBO show, “Last Week 
Tonight,” this past week, in which 
he issued a plea for personal 
responsibility in fact checking, 
asking viewers to “commit to 
defending the reality of facts” on 
a personal level: “Ask questions 
of yourself, like, ‘is this a source I 
know and recognize? Has anyone 
fact checked this? Does it link to 
primary sources? And do those 
sources match what the story 
says?’ ” Oliver suggests.

Really, all I can do is request 

that every concerned citizen 
questions what they are being 
told, whether it’s coming from 
friends, social media or authority 
figures. Every single one of us 
can work on our inductive and 
deductive reasoning skills, and 
I would know, because I’ve been 
told it’s true and who am I to 
question it?

E

ven before the election, 
my county served as a 
huge lure for journalists 

who were hungry for 
a peek into the lives of 
traditional, working-
class individuals. In 
the 1980s, the term 
“Reagan Democrat” 
was 
coined 
about 

its 
residents 
in 

reference 
to 
blue 

collar workers who 
flipped 
Republican 

after a long track 
record 
of 
voting 

Democrat. This year, 
Rolling Stone labeled 
Macomb 
County, 
Michigan, 

“Trump County, USA” in a 
provocative headline, and the 
Guardian seemed to dismiss 
us as lazy hicks who blissfully 
refuse to read the news. But 
despite all the bad publicity, 
it is important to note that 
not 
everyone 
in 
Macomb 

County voted for Trump, and 
many residents of the area are 
actually pretty progressive — 
just not in ways that are easily 
recognizable to University of 
Michigan students. 

For 
context, 
Macomb 

County is located in southeast 
Michigan and is known for 
being 
predominantly 
white 

and working class. The area’s 
historical reliance on the auto 
industry means the effects of 
globalization, outsourcing and 
the 2008 financial crisis not only 
decimated the economy over 
time, but destroyed the trust 
of its residents in government 
as well. In local elections, folks 
still tend to vote Democrat. On 
the national stage, however, 
thinning 
patience 
with 

establishment politics has made 
it increasingly likely for an 
outsider candidate to triumph 
over a career politician, if only 
for the sheer satisfaction of 
“sticking it to the man.”

But while these people are 

tired and angry, that anger does 
not always translate into bigotry. 
In fact, most of my friends back 
home hold fundamental views 
that closely match those of the 
average left-leaning University 
of Michigan student, though 
they would still probably be 

ostracized in elite liberal circles 
for being problematic or ignorant. 
This is because the standard 

for 
sociopolitical 

consciousness 
at 

the 
University 
is 

extremely 
high 
— 

students 
here 
are 

hyper-aware of their 
own prejudices and 
assumptions and have 
adopted the habit of 
routinely 
checking 

themselves 
to 

accommodate others.

While 
this 
is 

an 
incredible 
feat 

for us, people who 

have had little exposure to 
academia or progressive spaces 
(by no fault of their own) 
are not conditioned to do the 
same and can seem rude or 
unsophisticated at times as a 
result of their inexperience. 

Part 
of 
this 
outgroup 

scrutiny, I think, is rooted in 
our inability to acknowledge 
the privileges we have as college 
students. After all, in many 
ways, a commitment to activism 
is a commitment to incessant 
education. By attending an elite 
institution, we are afforded 
both time and a myriad of 
resources to better ourselves, 
to reading and interacting with 
people who have had a variety 
of experiences and hold views 
that are different from our 
own. Questioning our beliefs, 
analyzing our implicit biases and 
evaluating our positionalities 
(even just knowing what the 
word 
positionality 
means) 

takes a focused kind of energy 
that is not so easily attainable 
outside 
academia. 
Moreover, 

having a place to intellectualize 
our 
everyday 
experiences 

and 
synthesize 
multiple 

perspectives is something a lot 
of us encounter for the first time 
in college — and not everyone is 
lucky enough to go to college. We 
tend to forget the significance of 
this when we critique others for 
their shortcomings.

Consequently, 
progressive 

circles 
lend 
themselves 
to 

a kind of tragic irony: As 
they become more and more 
committed to inclusivity, they 
unknowingly shut out people 
who don’t meet their standards 
of tolerance and consciousness. 
Outsiders who are not so 
attuned 
to 
these 
rapidly 

evolving 
ideologies 
— 
who 

occasionally flub a pronoun 
or butcher a name they have 
never encountered before — are 
often written off as insensitive 
or ignorant without further 
analysis. In our dismissal of 
what we interpret as bigotry, 
we alienate people who may 
otherwise be open to learning; 
we turn progressive politics 
into an exclusive club reserved 
for only the most educated and 
conscientious 
while 
failing 

to acknowledge that progress 
itself 
implies 
a 
constant 

movement toward something 
better — a spectrum rather 
than an absolute.

Moving forward, we cannot 

be 
so 
quick 
to 
repudiate 

people we perceive as being 
less educated on the issues 
than ourselves. It is time to 
turn our sermons of tolerance 
and acceptance inward — to 
understand that not everyone 
can stay on top of the latest 
developments 
in 
progressive 

theory, as they may not have 
access to spaces in which this 
information is readily available. 
Be patient and learn to recognize 
that the ability to pursue higher 
education and all that it entails 
is an advantage that very few 
can access. Our job is to relay 
the information we learn here 
to others, not look down at 
them from our high horses 
because they cannot explain 
concepts like intersectionality 
in sufficient detail.

Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Friday, February 17, 2017

REBECCA LERNER

Managing Editor

420 Maynard St. 

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

EMMA KINERY

Editor in Chief

ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY 

and REBECCA TARNOPOL 

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
Megan Burns

Samantha Goldstein

Caitlin Heenan
Jeremy Kaplan

Max Lubell

Alexis Megdanoff
Madeline Nowicki
Anna Polumbo-Levy 

Jason Rowland

Ali Safawi

Kevin Sweitzer

Rebecca Tarnopol

Ashley Tjhung

Stephanie Trierweiler

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

Progress is privilege

LAUREN SCHANDEVEL | COLUMN

Fighting mass gullibility

SARAH LEESON | COLUMN

Sarah Leeson can be reached at 

sleeson@umich.edu.

Lauren Schandevel can be reached 

at schandla@umich.edu.

SARAH 
LEESON

I 

am a relatively recent 
transfer 
admit 
to 
the 

University of Michigan’s 

College 
of 
Engineering. 
I 

am also a severely disabled 
student. At age 19, I was a 
sophomore here when I suffered 
an Arteriovenous Malformation, 
a brain hemorrhage that left 
me with signs of a stroke. 
After being in a coma for three 
months, I awoke, not being 
able to do anything. After 
countless physical therapists, 
occupational 
therapists 
and 

doctors, I am now 30 and 
excited to continue studying at 
this famed University.

Charm and friendliness are 

predominant features in my 
journey back to the University 
of Michigan. One of my first 
experiences started with a visit 
to Services for Students with 
Disabilities. The people there 
were very accommodating and 
helpful in getting me whatever 
I needed, be it providing me 
with scribes or note takers or 
securing transportation to and 
from my classes. Without this 
help, I would not have been able 
to overcome the new hurdles 
that arose after the accident. All 
the people from the University 
of 
Michigan 
have 
been 

exceptionally helpful. Without 
their expert help, I would not be 
able to attend the University’s 
College of Engineering.

My 
caregivers 
at 
the 

University 
have 
been 

wonderful. I need caregivers 
for all my daily tasks of living. 
While there are not many of 
them, they became some of 
my closest friends on campus. 
They help me by being diligent 
and kind in their services to 
me. Without these select few, 
my experience here would be 
more challenging.

The student body has also 

been a pleasant surprise to me, 
providing me with comfort 
and making me feel at home. 
It has touched me how they 

really cared about me. One 
instance was when the girl 
who usually sits behind me in 
my aerospace engineering class 
said “Hi!” to me when we were 
in an Aerospace Engineering 
Department 
meeting. 
Even 

though it was such a small 
gesture, it meant the world to 
me. I have been waiting for a 
fellow student to extend that 
common courtesy to me for 
the longest time. My faith in 
humanity was restored by how 
much of a heart the student body 
at the University of Michigan 
has. They made me feel a part of 
their community, which I have 
wanted all along.

What also helps immensely 

is 
the 
presence 
of 
student 

organizations. I was a member 
of a student group with disabled 
students and their friends called 
Students with Disabilities and 
Our Allies Group. One example 
of how their behavior changed 
my life was in one of the first 
meetings of the group, they 
asked me if I had any thoughts. 
I told them that I wished the 
group could convene in a place 
more accessible to those who 
do not live on Central Campus. 
They helped me by enabling me 
to participate as a member of a 
group. Without the student body, 
I would not have had the courage 
to speak up in my other student 
groups up on North Campus.

It was not only general 

student groups that welcomed 
and included me back into the 
University. I can’t image this 
experience without the students 
and faculty in the Aerospace 
Engineering Department. Both 
students and faculty gave me 
a great opportunity in my first 
aerospace engineering lab. This 
class was special because we 
learned how to design, build and 
test a hovercraft from scratch.

Another great experience I 

had was one with the aerospace 
technicians’ 
office 
in 
the 

Francois-Xavier 
Bagnoud 

Building. I could go in the tech’s 
office and set down all my 
stuff for the day and it would 
be there at the end of the day. 
I sometimes have 10 or more 
pounds of various assistive 
technologies and my personal 
stuff to carry around with me in 
a single day, so you can tell I am 
obviously appreciative because 
I could find a little place, with 
the aerospace techs, where I 
could set my stuff down. They 
even have a desk in their office 
just for me. This is not an 
option for everybody; I only got 
it after going to their office for 
many months. I met some of the 
most influential people in my 
journey at the University in the 
tech’s center. I think I found 
one of the “hidden treasures” of 
University of Michigan’s North 
Campus in FXB.

Initially, 
navigating 
the 

“system” and life after the 
accident made me feel like 
I 
could 
never 
return 
to 

accomplish the dreams I had 
prior to it. Now, I realize that 
I deserve to be a student and 
nothing can stop me in my 
dream of becoming the first 
disabled person in space. I feel 
it is of the utmost importance 
to always have a dream. The 
dream is what keeps me alive. 
Without the dream, I would 
not be where I am: at the 
University of Michigan.

I know I have a long way to 

go before accomplishing my 
dream, but if you had seen 
me in the appalling position 
I was stuck in after my AVM, 
you would be floored at how 
far I have come. Going back to 
college was just my first step 
in accomplishing my dream. 
One day, I will be a success. 
I will strive to live up to the 
strict standards placed on 
me by being a student at this 
prestigious University.

Experiencing campus in a different way

BRADLEY EBENHOEH | OP-ED

Bradley Ebenhoeh is an Engineering 

senior.

LAUREN 

SCHANDEVEL

SUBMIT TO SURVIVORS SPEAK

The Michigan Daily’s Opinion section is seeking additions to Survivors 

Speak, a series of first-person accounts of campus sexual assault 
and its corresponding personal, academic and legal implications. 

Submissions will be due by March 10 at 11:59PM. 
Visit http://bit.ly/2kIeoMq for more information.

— President Donald Trump responding to a question about the 

media at his press conference Thursday.

“

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

I’m not ranting and raving. I’m 
just telling you. You know, you’re 

dishonest people. But I’m not 

ranting and raving. I love this. I’m 

having a good time doing it. ”

Our job is to relay 
the information 
we learn here to 

others. 

