The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Friday, February 24, 2017 — 3

responded to a tense campus climate 
by advocating for change through 
protests and organizing resources. A 
number of inflammatory incidents 
have rocked campus this academic 
year, including multiple discoveries 
of 
posters 
promoting 
white 

supremacy and urging individuals to 
report undocumented immigrants 
in October and November and 
racist and anti-Semitic emailssent to 
engineering students and computer 
science students earlier this month.

Public Health student Jamie 

Tam, a GEO campaign committee 
specialist, argued the controversies 
made the University’s rejection of 
GEO’s proposal an even greater 
disappointment.

“For the University to say no to 

the proposal at a time when the 
groups that are under attack are 
the ones who are being asked to do 
this work for free, I think it’s unfair,” 
Tam said.

The DEI plan does require deans 

and department heads to report on 
diversity metrics and progress, and 
sets aside $85 million to carry out 
the plan over the next five years. As 
of yet, though, University president 
Mark Schlissel has designated Chief 
Diversity Officer Robert Sellers as 
the only senior administrator to 
focus solely on the plan. In accepting 
the position, Sellers referenced a 

network of “diversity professionals” 
that would facilitate departmental 
collaboration and best practices.

“I accept this position, but in no 

way does this fall on me alone,” he 
said at the DEI launch in October. “It 
takes a village to raise a plan.”

Other 
instructional 
positions 

dedicated 
to 
DEI 
education, 

including those of graduate students, 
were not included in the plan.

Rackham 
student 
Teona 

Williams, a supporter of GEO’s 
petition, led a day-long training on 
activism last Saturday, along with 
Students of Color of Rackham, 
Rackham Student Government and 
Students4Justice. Williams aimed 
to provide the campus community 
with resources to advance social 
and environmental justice in light of 
the election. According to Williams, 
being a proponent of the DEI wasn’t 
much of a choice.

“Someone once told me that just 

because I’m Black doesn’t mean I 
have to advocate for DEI,” she said. 
“But to me, as at the only Black 
student who matriculated in my 
department that year, I did.”

Tam said she, along with other 

graduate students, are tired of 
bearing the burden of diversity labor 
without compensation.

“There is a social inequality on 

this campus in that communities that 
are most affected by climate issues 
are asked to do most of the work to 
address those issues,” Tam said.

GEO President John Ware, a 

Rackham student, said the 49 unit 
plans established by the DEI plan 
have not been effective, as the plans, 
their implementations and their 
resource allocations vary widely 
across departments and colleges. 
Tam agreed and said the reason 
some unit plans are less robust is 
because there aren’t paid DEI staff 
to ensure work is seen through.

“Faculty and staff who get asked 

to do DEI work weren’t hired to do 
DEI work,” Tam said. “Students 
who are asked to do this give up 
time that could go towards their 
own academic progress in order to 
further diversity.”

Williams said the DEI plan fails 

to include strategies to respond to 
hate on campus.

“As we saw from the wave of 

racist attacks against people of color, 
there was nothing in the plans that 
could counteract that,” Williams 
said. “I feel very strongly that if you 
have paid DEI positions, then you 
will have people who have time to 
strategize beyond writing letters 
of solidarity that do not protect 
students from violence.”

Along with GEO’s proposal for 

DEI positions in February, GEO 
submitted 
13 
other 
proposals, 

including expanded health benefits 
for 
transgender 
individuals, 

expanded parental leave and added 
protections 
against 
academic 

retaliation. Some of the proposals 
were 
accepted 
under 
certain 

conditions during the bargaining 

meeting on Feb. 20, but the majority 
of the proposals, including the 
one for paid DEI positions, were 
not open to bargaining. To Ware, 
the University’s unwillingness to 
discuss funding for DEI labor is 
sending a clear message.

“Whatever 
the 
University’s 

intention may be, the clear message 
it sends by refusing to bargain on 
diversity work is that it reserves the 
right to underpay the people doing 
that work or to deny them the benefits 
and workplace protections that come 
standard for other graduate student 
employees,” Ware said.

The petition is still gaining 

signatures. GEO has collaborated 
with Students of Color at Rackham, 
Rackham 
Student 
Government 

and the Multicultural Leadership 
Council, and is receiving support 
from 
undergraduate 
students, 

faculty and staff. Tam said the issue 
of supporting the proposal is simple 
and that it all comes down to the 
answer of one question.

“Is it fair to ask members of 

predominantly minority groups to 
do this work and not compensate 
them for it?” she asked.

Despite its initial delay, the 

University is gradually signaling its 
willingness to accommodate the 
proposal.

“I believe a meeting — outside 

of contract talks — is being set up 
to pursue this idea for the week 
following spring break,” Fitzgerald 
wrote.

GSI
From Page 1

Perez moved to Michigan before 

starting eighth grade, qualifying 
her for in-state tuition. Despite the 
difference between average in-state 
cost of attendance of $28,776 and the 
average out-of-state lower-division 
cost of attendance of $59,784, Perez 
still struggles to pay for school like 
Rabotnick. Perez’s father is an 
engineer, but her mother stays at 
home, and she has two siblings.

In an February interview with 

The Michigan Daily, E. Royster 
Harper, 
the 
University’s 
vice 

president for student life, said 
a large population of students 
reside in the middle-class area of 
distribution and are often ignored 
by financial aid.

“We want to keep (tuition costs) 

down, because if you are high 
income, you’re not worried about 
it,” she said. “If you’re low income, 
you’re not worried about it. It’s a lot 
of kids in the middle, so it’s a real 
problem, but it isn’t a problem for 
the students for whom we don’t 
have many.” 

Because 
Rabotnick’s 
family 

made too much money last year to 
be considered for larger amounts 
of financial aid though currently 
does not make enough to help pay 
for school, Rabotnick said he had to 
take out student loans to make up 
for this lack of sizeable financial aid.

“I think that a majority of the 

student base struggles financially 
through school and lives off of 
student 
loans 
through 
school 

knowing that one day things will 
be easier, things will be better,” he 
said. “That’s really the boat that I’m 
in. I take student loans, essentially, 
for food every day.”

Perez is in the same situation as 

Rabotnick, reportedly receiving 
about $10,000 in financial aid but 
having to take out about $5,000 in 

student loans.

“I definitely think there’s a 

problem, because my dad, he’s an 
engineer and he makes … a decent 
salary, but 30 grand a year (for 
school) on top of a five-person 
family on top of a mortgage and 
stuff like that, it’s definitely not 
enough for my family to be well 
off while I’m at school, and also 
my brother is going to school next 
year, maybe here,” Perez said. “If 
he is coming here, that would be 60 
grand, which is more than half of 
what my dad gets paid a year.”

University 
spokesman 
Rick 

Fitzgerald addressed Rabotnick’s 
student debt in an email and stated 
student debt has decreased over 
the past four years. According to 
University data from Fitzgerald, 
48 percent of in-state graduates in 
2015-16 left the University with no 
debt. For those that did take out 
loans, the average was $23,438, 
which is down from the 2011-12 
average of $25,798. 

For out-of-state students like 

Rabotnick, average student debt 
in 2015-16 was $28,931, a decrease 
from $34,418 in 2011-12.

“One reason for the decrease 

in student loans, is that U-M has 
been replacing loans with grants in 
financial aid packages,” Fitzgerald 
wrote. “Grants do not need to be 
repaid.”

Rabotnick said he has met with 

the Office of Financial Aid many 
times to try to explain his situation 
beyond what the figures and tax 
forms show on paper. Each time, 
he was directed toward FAFSA 
policies and other resources.

He also attempted to establish 

residency in Michigan, but could 
not. The University Office of the 
Registrar 
residency 
guidelines 

require out-of-state students to 
submit an Application for Resident 
Classification if they have lived 
or worked outside of the state of 
Michigan in the past three years. 

Rabotnick needs to prove he is 
a permanent legal resident of 
Michigan, and because he has lived 
and worked outside of the state in 
the last three years, this is difficult 
to do. 

Rabotnick 
said 
the 

administration should take into 
account his tax independence 
and his permanent address when 
looking at his case for in-state 
tuition or increased financial aid. 
He said as a public institution, the 
University wants more out-of-state 
students for their tuition dollars.

“I 
love 
the 
University 
of 

Michigan while I’m far from loving 
the administration,” he said. “I 
don’t think the two necessarily go 
hand-in-hand. I’m happy I’m here 
… I love getting the education that 
I’m getting here but the feeling 
I’ve gotten from dealing with the 
administration is a bureaucracy 
which only cares about making 
money at the expense of students.”

Perez, 
Rabotnick 
and 

Engineering 
freshman 
Malika 

Takale all mentioned how much a 
degree from the University means 
to them, but its low ranking in 
terms of socio-economic mobility 
concerns them.

Takale, 
an 
in-state, 
upper-

middle-class student, said she was 
surprised that more students did 
not move up in income values with 
a degree from the University.

“(The report) is really surprising 

to me because everyone gives a 
Michigan degree so much praise 
and 
especially 
because, 
even 

though Michigan is a public 
university, it’s just as expensive for 
out-of-state kids as an Ivy League 
school would be,” she said. “I would 
expect kids to make more money 
with a degree from Michigan after 
they graduate.”

Rabotnick, while acknowledging 

the ranking as an issue, said the 
data isn’t surprising because many 
students come to the University 

with a lot of money already.

“Based off the statistic … with 

the median income being roughly 
$150,000, you’re only going to 
move so much from that point as 
a professional,” he said. “Unless 
you’re going into some big specialty 
in medicine or law, I don’t think 
there would be much deviation. I 
do think that people who are lower 
class have the ability to move up.”

In 
a 
previous 
interview, 

Fitzgerald 
referenced 
other 

statistics from the Equality of 
Opportunity Project’s report and 
its graphical summaries in The 
New York Times’ The Upshot. 
According to the data, Michigan 
was ranked third out of the 
same 25 highly selective public 
universities in terms of students 
with the highest-paying jobs after 
graduation. The median student 
income at 34 was $68,700.

“That underscores what some 

other 
reports, 
including 
the 

Department of Education’s college 
scorecard, said about being a good 
value, a good investment, because 
it pays off,” he said. “The median 
salary for our graduates following 
graduation, some reports show as 
much as $25,000 higher than the 
national average.”

Perez said the main goal of 

college shouldn’t be to make a lot 
of money after graduation. She also 
said she believed the University 
should be more proactive in making 
sure students are competitive in 
the workforce after obtaining their 
degrees.

“You shouldn’t necessarily go 

to school to get paid,” she said. 
“But also, if you’re coming to a 
university that’s claiming to be 
different speakers and claiming 
to give you opportunities that 
other universities can’t give you, 
then they should assure that their 
students are better off than other 
university students when they go 
out and get jobs.”

AID
From Page 1

abortions, this bill is only taking 
away crucial health services that 
are often much more expensive 
elsewhere.

“The biggest target of this 

bill 
is 
obviously 
Planned 

Parenthood, 
which 
receives 

significant 
government 

funding,” Webb said. “However, 
it’s crucial to note that public 
funding 
cannot 
go 
towards 

abortions, which has been the 
case for decades.”

Even though federal funding 

cannot currently go toward 
abortions, this new legislation 
would prevent any funding from 
going to agencies that provide 
abortions, even if they provide 
other services. In addition to 
the erasure of health services 
other than abortions, Webb said 
limiting access to safe abortion 
clinics 
won’t 
do 
what 
the 

sponsors of the bill intend to do: 
limit abortions.

“Extensive 
research 
has 

shown that efforts to reduce 

abortion through government 
regulations 
is 
ineffective; 

abortions 
will 
happen 

regardless, it’s simply a matter 
of how safe and accessible they 
are,” Webb said. “If politicians 
truly want to promote a ‘pro-life’ 
agenda and reduce the number 
of abortions, they should work 
to promote services that help 
reduce unintended pregnancy, 
such as better sexual health 
education and access to birth 
control — exactly the services 
Planned Parenthood provides.”

State Sen. Patrick Colbeck 

(R–Canton), one of the sponsors 
of the bill, said on the Senate 
floor that pro-choice groups are 
also promoting agendas that 
differ from their title.

“We have a culture right now 

that is unfortunately so pro-
death,” Colbeck said, “They do 
it under the mask of choice. It’s 
really not a choice. That kid does 
not have that choice.”

LSA senior Rachel Crawford, 

president of Students for Life, 
pushed back against claims this 
bill is for furthering a political 
agenda, considering the moral 

debate surrounding abortions.

“This isn’t a consideration 

of personal preference, but a 
deeply held moral stance for 
many people,” Crawford said. “If 
the state contracts with agencies 
that supply abortion among their 
other services, then they are 
committing a conscience rights 
violation 
for 
those 
morally 

opposed to abortion.”

Additionally, 
Crawford 

said the absence of clinics 
that provide abortions doesn’t 
necessarily mean there will be 
an absence of quality, accessible 
health care if the government 
directs funding efficiently.

“The state government should 

contract with agencies which 
provide healthcare to women 
and do not have abortion as a 
service, like Federally Qualified 
Health Centers,” Crawford said. 
“FQHCs are also not vulnerable 
to the economic problem of 
fungibility, which is the main 
concern for taxpayers opposed 
to funding agencies that also 
provide abortions.”

State Rep. Steve Johnson 

(R–Wayland), another one of 

the bill’s sponsors, agreed with 
Crawford and said there are 
solutions that would prevent 
health 
care 
services 
from 

becoming unattainable.

“There 
are 
many 
other 

organizations 
that 
provide 

services for women’s health,” 
Johnson 
said. 
“If 
Planned 

Parenthood wishes to receive 
funding, it’s very simple: stop 
doing abortions.”

The second bill would allow 

the 
Michigan 
Secretary 
of 

State to carry “Choose Life” 
fundraising license plates. This 
bill has been introduced despite 
legislation that denies the state 
the ability to offer politically 
linked plates and despite the 
fact that a similar bill was 
introduced last year and never 
received a vote. Webb said in 
addition to being inappropriate 
for the government to facilitate 
“Choose Life,” the plates are 
politically charged in many 
facets.

BILLS
From Page 1

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

such measures should be enacted 
at the local level.

“The 
prior 
guidance 

documents 
did 
not 
contain 

sufficient 
legal 
analysis 
or 

explain how the interpretation 
was 
consistent 
with 
the 

language of Title IX,” Sessions’ 
statement 
read. 
“Congress, 

state 
legislatures, 
and 
local 

governments are in a position 
to adopt appropriate policies 
or laws addressing this issue. 
The 
Department 
of 
Justice 

remains committed to the proper 
interpretation and enforcement 
of Title IX and to its protections 
for all students, including LGBTQ 
students, from discrimination, 
bullying, and harassment.” 

Nevertheless, 
the 
general 

consensus is the new guidance 
will not have a direct impact on 
University policies.

In an email to the Daily, 

University 
spokesman 
Rick 

Fitzgerald said the University 
is 
committed 
to 
fostering 

an inclusive community. He 
directly cited the University’s 
non-discrimination 
statement 

from Human Resources, adding 
emphasis — shown bolded — to 
related topics. 

“The University of Michigan, 

as 
an 
equal 
opportunity/

affirmative 
action 
employer, 

complies with all applicable 
federal 
and 
state 
laws 

regarding 
nondiscrimination 

and affirmative action,” the 
statement reads. “The University 
of Michigan is committed to 
a policy of equal opportunity 
for all persons and does not 
discriminate on the basis of 
race, 
color, 
national 
origin, 

age, marital status, sex, sexual 
orientation, 
gender 
identity, 

gender 
expression, 
disability, 

religion, 
height, 
weight, 
or 

veteran status in employment, 
educational 
programs 
and 

activities, and admissions.”

State Rep. Yousef Rabhi (D–

Ann Arbor) said hopefully the 
University will not be impacted. 
He pointed to the State Board of 
Education, which released a set 

of guidelines in September that 
explicitly allow students to use 
the bathrooms of their gender 
identities, in addition to other 
recommendations.

However, he said the new 

guidance would still have a 
significant impact on the nation.

“The effect that this will 

have is that it sends a chilling 
signal to the entire country 
that the age of respecting civil 
liberties is over and the new 
Trump administration wants to 
tear our people’s civil liberties 
and reintroduce discriminatory 
practices into the everyday, in 
this country,” he said.

According to CNN, Secretary 

of 
Education 
Betsy 
DeVos 

initially opposed Trump’s plans 
to rescind the gender identity 
protections. However, a source 
told CNN she was told to agree 
to the plans, which she did on 
Wednesday.

Rabhi said he thinks the 

release of this guidance is a 
direct threat from Trump, which 
he anticipates will be a repeated 
action in the next four years.

“I think this was another 

example of Trump himself sort of 
calling the shots over the people 
he appointed to his very Cabinet, 
and look, if DeVos didn’t like this, 
then she should have stopped 
it,” he said. “I think she had a 
greater role to play in this than 
she led everybody to believe. But 
of course we saw the heavy hand 
of Trump coming down and 
pushing for this.”

LSA junior Collin Kelly, chair 

of the University’s chapter of 
College Democrats, wrote in an 
email to the Daily it is not fair for 
people who are not transgender 
to evaluate how an action like 
this 
can 
affect 
transgender 

people.

“Those of us who are not trans 

must listen when these folks 
say that policies like this make 
them unsafe — we must support 
people of all gender identities 
and gender expressions, and all 
those who are marginalized by 
discriminatory policy,” he wrote.

BATHROOM
From Page 1

student organizations to try to 
find specific actions that will 
help to mitigate the damage of 
these attacks to the University 
community. 

“We are concerned that we have 

not done a good job of publicizing 
all that is going on at the University 
with respect to the specific 
concerns about our climate that 
Students4Justice and others have 
raised,” Sellers wrote.

Additionally, the letter was 

written to make the University’s 
stance on the aforementioned 
demands clear in light of an article 
written by CollegeFix which, 
according to the University, cited 
many inaccuracies in the current 
discussions taking place.

Within its list of demands, 

Students4Justice 
requested 
an 

increase in Black representation on 
campus equal to 10 percent, and for 
the administration to make efforts 
to increase enrollment numbers of 
other minority students.

The 
response 
from 

administration informed readers 
of the available resources on 
campus and the six outreach and 
recruitment initiatives currently 
in place. In addition, the University 
cited a 6.9 percent increase in 
underrepresented students in the 
freshman class this year from last 
year.

The letter also included a 

request for the University to 
declare solidarity with students 
of color by addressing “current 
events regarding police brutality” 
and renaming University buildings 
to 
“reflect 
and 
acknowledge 

student activism on campus and 
additionally 
acknowledge 
the 

legacies of oppression that the 
people the buildings are currently 
named after have caused.”

University 
spokesperson, 

Rick Fitzgerald, emphasized in 
an email to the Daily that the 
University has ongoing iniatives 
to address the concerns raised by 
Students4Justice. 

Students4Justice 
did 
not 

respond immediately to request for 
comment.

LETTER
From Page 1

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

