O
n Friday, Feb. 10, I saw a
beautiful
performance
by the Budapest Festival
Orchestra at Hill Auditorium.
Before
the
show
began, as I looked
around at the sea of
gray, elderly audience
members surrounding
me,
I
saw
Mark
Schlissel,
president
of the University of
Michigan, sitting in the
level below me.
On
the
previous
night, I had attended
a
sit-in
protest
at
the
Michigan
Union,
organized by Students4Justice.
As part of the protest, S4J wrote
up a list of demands that it wants
the administration to meet. The
first demand reads as follows:
“Acknowledge our humanity and
address us-- Muslim, Jewish,
Black,
Arab,
LGBTQ+,
and
other
marginalized
students
on campus-- in person on
Thursday, February 9, 2017 at
the Michigan Union.”
Several administrators came
and met with the organizers of the
protest. But Schlissel never came.
I was surprised that Schlissel did
not attend this event, especially
since the demands being made
were very basic and fundamental:
Recognize us, see us, treat us
with the respect that human
beings deserve.
And I’d like to deliberate
here why Schlissel might not
have attended the protest, a
well-publicized
event
that
attracted students, faculty and
administrators alike. I saw a
video of Schlissel confronting
protesters, who were angry about
the spate of racist and anti-Semitic
emails,
and
the
subsequent
lack of a concrete, immediate
administrative response, outside
of his home the night before the
sit-in at the Union. And in that
confrontation, Schlissel said, “I
feel helpless.”
So perhaps it is this helplessness
that renders you silent, that
kept you invisible on the night
of a student protest and sitting
in luxury seating at a classical
musical concert on the very next
night. Schlissel feels “helpless”
to the demands being made by
activist groups on campus.
President Schlissel, if I can
address you here, you ought to
know that you are not alone. Your
students who make demands of
you also feel helpless. And it is not
actually an option for you to feel
helpless and then to subsequently
refuse to meet with the very
students who are calling for
change. That’s like me, as a young
boy, crying because I’m hungry
but then refusing to eat the food
my parents give me. You cannot
have it both ways. You
cannot feel helpless
and then refuse to
engage your students,
who know best what
it means to live on
this campus. They
are the people who
can help you feel
less helpless. Their
demand
that
you
meet with them is
an offer to help you
feel less helpless, to
help you take tangible actions
to push our University forward.
Schlissel’s
general
unresponsiveness reminds me
of something Angela Davis,
the renowned revolutionary
prison abolitionist and civil
rights leader, once said. Davis
was
asked
about
violence
within the Black nationalist
movement.
The
reporter
suggested that violence was the
only way to achieve the goals
stipulated by the movement.
And Davis responded:
“When
you
talk
about
a
revolution, most people think
‘violence,’ without realizing that
the real content of any kind of
revolutionary thrust lies in the
principles and the goals that
you’re striving for, not in the way
you reach them. On the other
hand, because of the way this
society’s organized, because of the
violence that exists on the surface
everywhere, you have to expect
that there are going to be such
explosions. You have to expect
things like that as reactions. If
you are a Black person and live
in the Black community all your
life, and walk out on the street
every day seeing white policemen
surrounding you. … And then
you ask me, you know, whether I
approve of violence, I mean that
just doesn’t make any sense at all.”
In other words, Davis is saying
one should not be surprised
at violence perpetrated by the
movement when violence has
been perpetrated by the police
and by the dominant white society
against Black and brown societies
for centuries in the United States.
Violence is the norm. To only
criticize it when it is perpetrated
by Davis and her colleagues is
racist and willfully ignorant.
And in this passage, too,
Davis defines precisely the flaw
in Schlissel’s refusal to respond
to
demands:
Davis
criticizes
her interviewer for assuming
violence comes only from the
Black nationalists and not from
the white supremacist United
States
government.
Similarly,
the idea that demands do not
start a conversation presupposes
that there are other options for
these students to be taking up. It
presupposes a sort of absolute
innocence on the part of the
administration, as if it has done
nothing to perpetrate the need
for demands.
Of
course,
these
students
understand that a demand is
different from a request, from
setting up a meeting with the
president like other students —
those students, for example, who
do not feel as if their lives are
threatened and their humanity
silenced — might do. These
students know what a demand is
and their lived experience informs
why demands are necessary.
Schlissel’s logic, then, does
not even attempt to understand
why demands must be made,
why his students feel as if his
administration does not recognize
their humanity. Instead, you shy
away from the demands, as if
they aren’t necessary. As if these
students ought to feel, of course,
that a normal, egalitarian, calm
conversation can happen.
So
I
ask
you,
President
Schlissel, what reason has your
office given these students to
feel that way? What tangible,
in-person,
immediate
action
have you taken to defend these
students? For example, you have
not addressed police brutality
in this country and you have not
addressed that this might affect
the experience and the perceived
safety of marginalized students
on this campus. You have not
made your solidarity with these
marginalized students publicly
known; so, in turn, when activists
literally came to your doorstep
just to get you to make some
public statement, to force you
hand, you responded with a
pathetic, hapless declaration of
your own helplessness.
And then, on the next night,
when
students,
faculty
and
administrators protested at the
Union, you were nowhere to be
seen. What kind of a leader —
specifically as someone who has
repeatedly declared yourself to be
a relentless advocate for diversity,
equity and inclusion — disappears
as your students march, sit and
advocate their humanity?
Please listen to your students.
That is all.
N
atasha Bedingfield’s song
“Pocketful of Sunshine”
has unfailingly gotten
me
through
many
stressful situations I
have experienced in
my 18 years of living.
Whether I was having
a tough day at school,
didn’t want to go
to work or was in a
fight with a friend, its
melody always put me
in a better mood that
would keep me from
exploding inside.
Recently,
I’ve
found that I haven’t had the same
opportunities I once did to dance
around and belt Bedingfield’s
liberating words “take me away.”
It is hard to find time to be alone,
totally and completely in solitude,
when
living
with
400-plus
freshman students in a college
dorm. I was forced to welcome
a new home that is incredibly
different from my old home 42
miles away.
Going into college, I thought
I was prepared for it all. I knew
the campus, the students and the
culture. I was ready to come to
school and get away from my life
at home. I have found that one
of the biggest challenges no one
explicitly prepares you for is living
in the dorms. College was my first
time living away from home, and I
had no idea all it would entail.
At
college,
the
ability
to
separate school from home life
gets increasingly difficult, and I
find myself constantly thinking
about classwork. I go home to
people I go to school with and
wake up next to them just to do it
all again. Constantly living around
people who can observe and hear
my every move leaves little time
for me to truly be myself, as I am
constantly conscious of my actions
and how they will resonate with
the people who live in such close
proximity to me.
No longer do I have time to
come home, sit on the couch
and watch TV. I am constantly
moving and thinking about what
assignment to do next. I pack my
bag in the morning,
knowing I won’t return
until late at night. Then
by 2 p.m., when all I
want to do is watch an
episode of “Friends”
and relax, I am still
sitting uncomfortably
at the coffee shop table
where I have been
cemented for the last
four hours. No longer
can I shower alone in
the bathroom, and I
have to leave my “house” to get
lunch.
The transition from home life
to dorm life can be a struggle that
many students think they’ll know
how to handle before coming to
college, but it is hard to anticipate
all the changes living in a dorm
will bring. This struggle that
many freshmen face is something
that is not always recognized but
is nonetheless valid.
I am struggling to find time
to be in solitude. It is hard to
always go home to someone in
the room or someone down the
hall. For me, being comfortable
in any space is something that I
value wholeheartedly. I long for
moments when I can belt show
tunes without any thought that I
am disrupting others.
The experiences that I have had
with communal living have taught
me to truly never be embarrassed
for who I am and what I am
interested in. And, no, I still can’t
bring myself to sing in the shower
when I know other people are in
there, but I commend the people
who do. I am proud of the girl
who showers to Beethoven, and
definitely could learn a few things
from her.
I have said it before and I will
say it again: College is a growing
experience. Having the ability to
adapt to certain situations in this
first transitional year is really
something to be proud of yourself
for. It is hard to move to a place
you are unfamiliar with and have
to find new outlets for expressing
yourself because the resources are
vastly different here.
Next year, I will have my own
room, in an apartment with
friends I know and love, and will
be comfortable belting Natasha
Bedingfield, even if they don’t
appreciate it. The difference is
that when you are surrounded
by people whom you are familiar
with, you are more comfortable in
expressing who you are, no matter
who that may be. The challenge of
sharing a space with individuals
you don’t know or share interests
or backgrounds with is tough. It’s
during these moments when I stop
myself from singing Bedingfield’s
catchy tunes and hum the lyrics
quietly so only I can hear that I
realize this struggle.
Living in a dorm presents
freshmen
with
a
unique
opportunity to constantly be
surrounded by their classmates.
This
often
underestimated
transition has presented me with
lots of challenges that I thought
I was prepared for. The struggle
of moving away from home is
often brushed off by the fact
that students come to college to
further their schooling. There is
no way to be successful if we are
not first comfortable in their living
situation, which I have found
to be the hardest adjustment. I
think we should cherish these
moments where we are constantly
surrounded
by
others,
and
immerse ourselves in situations
where we feel most comfortable.
Finding the environment where I
truly feel at “home” is going to take
time, which is something I have
had to recognize and embrace.
And I hope that future Wolverines
and current students know that
this adjustment is normal and you
are not alone in this struggle.
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Wednesday, February 22, 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
Finding home away from home
MICHELLE PHILLIPS | COLUMN
Listen to your students
ISAIAH ZEAVIN-MOSS | COLUMN
Isaiah Zeavin-Moss can be reached
at izeavinm@umich.edu.
Michelle Phillips can be reached at
mphi@umich.edu.
ISAIAH
ZEAVIN-MOSS
S
tudent health and safety is,
without a doubt, one of the
most pressing issues for
students across the country. Rates
of sexual assault and depression
remain high: One in five women
and one in 16 men are sexually
assaulted during their college
years, while one in four college
students
suffers
from
some
type of mental illness. These
are concerns that must be on
all of our radars, regardless of
the nature of our connection to
these issues. Simply put, when
anyone is struggling or is made
to feel unsafe, that must matter
to all of us. Our lives are woven
together, and thus we must not
be apathetic when a classmate
or peer of ours suffers.
When we ran for Central
Student Government president
and vice president last winter
semester,
we
promised
to
work our hardest to utilize the
organization as a vehicle to
advance a safer, more inclusive
campus. More than 10 months
later, with little more than one
month remaining in our term,
we are proud to report on the
great progress that CSG has
made in the area of student
health and safety.
At
the
beginning
of
the
year, in partnership with the
Interfraternity
Council
and
LSA Student Government, we
established hydration stations in
high-risk areas on the first five
football Saturdays of the year.
Additionally, on Sept. 17, 2016, as
Michigan played Colorado at 3:30
p.m., we hosted an alcohol-free
tailgate, serving 1,500 students
water and pizza throughout the
afternoon. One goal of ours with
this event was to provide students
who might be unable to drink,
or uninterested in drinking,
before a football game with an
alternative option to have fun.
We also wanted to ensure that
those who had been drinking had
the opportunity to eat and stay
hydrated throughout the day.
During our administration, we
have likewise worked to advance
student mental health, an issue
that has received an increasing
amount of attention over the
past few years. In late October,
we commissioned the first-ever
CSG Mental Health Climate and
Resources Task Force which is
composed of nearly 20 student
leaders
from
mental-health-
focused
organizations
across
campus. The task force’s central
goal is to draft and present to us
a set of policy recommendations
that will help to destigmatize
mental illness, better the climate in
classrooms and expand resources
for both faculty and students.
The task force will release its
report shortly after Spring Break
and we will work with the task
force’s leaders and the University
of Michigan administration over
the next weeks and months to
implement these suggestions.
To
aid
sexual
violence
prevention and awareness, we
empowered University students
to receive bystander intervention
training about sexual violence and
alcohol and other drug misuse.
At the end of last semester, we
launched a highly successful pilot
funding policy that requires any
student organization seeking to
claim more than $1,000 from
CSG’s
Student
Organization
Funding Commission to send
at least two authorized signers
to one SAPAC- and Wolverine
Wellness-led
bystander
intervention training. More than
215 student leaders from 100-
plus student organizations have
already completed the training.
Going forward, we must ensure
that students are receiving this
education not just during their
first few weeks on campus, but
throughout their college career.
We believe that this policy is a step
in that direction.
This year, we’ve also committed
CSG to addressing sexual assault
prevention at the K-12 level. On
Feb. 22, alongside students from
Michigan State University, CSG
is coordinating an advocacy day,
the purpose of which is to meet
with Michigan state officials to
advocate for the implementation
of a sexual education curriculum
that
encompasses
sexual
harassment and assault in public
schools. We believe that a stronger
K-12 sexual education curriculum
is one way in which we can help
reduce these high rates of sexual
misconduct on college campuses.
Overall, we are both proud of
the strides that our administration
has made in the area of student
health and safety and cognizant
that much work still needs to
be done. It will be up to future
CSG administrations to lead the
unending fight against alcohol and
other drug misuse, the stigma
around mental illness and the
high rates of sexual assault. It is
our hope that they will expand
the bystander intervention policy
that we set in motion, work
to implement the task force’s
recommendations and expand
the scope of CSG’s state-level
advocacy about K-12 consent-
based education, among other
important initiatives. The work to
holistically elevate student health
and safety, of course, also falls to
the individual student, who must
continue to lead by example and
forever exercise safe behavior.
Prioritizing student health and safety
DAVID SCHAFER AND MICAH GRIGGS | OP-ED
David Schafer and Micah Griggs are
LSA seniors.
— Rebecca Solnit, author, historian and activist, speaking at
Rackham Auditorium in her “Hope and Emergency” lecture.
“
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Hope, for me, has meant a sense that
the future is not yet written, and
that we don’t actually know what
will happen, but we may be able to
write it ourselves. ”
MICHELLE
PHILLIPS
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.