The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, September 5, 2017 — 5A
Opinion
W
hen
asked
about
the
violent
white
supremacist,
neo-
Nazi rally that occurred in
Charlottesville, Va., a few weeks
ago, President Donald Trump
not-so-deftly shifted attention
to the “alt-Left that came
charging at (the neo-Nazis)”
asking, “(D)o they have any
semblance of guilt?” President
Trump’s false equivalency of
the
predominantly
peaceful
counterprotesters with the neo-
Nazis (one of whom actually
murdered a counterprotester)
at Charlottesville is but the
latest in a growing tradition
of conservatives attempting to
delegitimize liberal, and often
student, protesters as either silly
and inconsequential children or
dangerous free speech fascists.
These attacks on protesters
are both wrongheaded and
a
potential
threat
to
the
constitutionally
guaranteed
right to freely assemble.
Fascinatingly,
conservative
commentators
employ
what
appear to be two diametrically
opposed lines of attack against
student
protesters
whose
causes they deem illegitimate.
First, pundits sneer at self-
important millennials overly
triggered
by
such
“trivial”
matters as systematic racism
or police brutality. Former
host for “The Blaze” Tomi
Lahren
has
achieved
viral
star status on social media by
insulting “typical snowflake
millennials.”
After
protests
broke out on college campuses
throughout the nation in the
days after Trump’s election,
Lahren
stated:
“A
protest
is a peaceful objection to a
grievance. A bunch of sore
losers occupying a space is
called a tantrum. …”
Pundits
often
paint
a
separate — and sometimes
simultaneous — portrait of
liberal student protesters as
politically
correct
fascists
ruthlessly
silencing
any
voices they disagree with.
These pundits seemingly miss
the irony of simultaneously
declaring student protesters
to be whining babies and some
sort
of
politically
correct
Gestapo.
Conflating
peaceful
protesters
with
violent,
speech-suppressing
activists
is a transparent attempt to
discredit and silence students
with
legitimate
concerns
about the threat to vulnerable
groups
the
often
racist
and
misogynistic
rhetoric
of speakers, such as Milo
Yiannopoulos, pose. Students
have the same freedom to object
to
Yiannopoulos’s
language
as Yiannopoulos has to speak
in the first place. The right to
peacefully protest the racism
and
misogyny
of
another
individual isn’t a tantrum; it’s a
constitutionally protected right
and an American tradition. In
addition, attributing violence to
liberal protesters obscures the
fact that right-wing extremists
committed
74
percent
of
domestic
extremist-related
murders in the United States in
the last decade.
Do not take my defense of
young liberal protesters as a
defense of anarchist violence as
a means to silence ideological
opponents.
As
dangerous,
violent and disgusting neo-
Nazis and white supremacists
are,
normalizing
violence
against
these
groups
normalizes political violence
in a manner which could
ultimately harm the vulnerable
individuals
and
minorities
the left seeks to empower.
Legitimizing
violence
sets
anti-governmental and anti-
constitutional precedents neo-
Nazis and white supremacists
could seize upon throughout
and beyond the Trump era.
Beyond being a completely
valid
and
constitutionally
protected
form
of
self-
expression,
protests
simply
work. Perhaps the most obvious
value of protests is their sheer
visibility.
The
larger
and
more
raucous
the
protest,
the more media attention the
protest receives. The attention
protests generate act as a sort of
protective shield for minority
groups
without
proper
representation in democratic
countries. Think of Gandhi’s
Salt March in India, civil rights
activists being sprayed with
fire hoses in Birmingham, Ala.
or, more recently, the police
decked out in full military
gear
to
control
protesters
in
Ferguson,
Mo.
Media
dissemination
of
protests
promulgates bad press, which
pressures elected leaders to
acknowledge, and sometimes
acquiesce to, the grievances of
marchers. Student protesters
demonstrated the power of bad
press during the ’60s and ’70s
when student activism against
the
Vietnam
War
helped
garner enough public ill will to
ultimately halt the conflict.
Protests
also
act
as
a
gathering ground for like-
minded individuals to build
political
community
and
solidarity.
Marches
and
gatherings offer a critical space
for citizens to collectively
grieve, celebrate or diffuse
anger.
The
community
building aspect of protests
becomes especially important
when responding to tragedies.
Following the death of counter
protester Heather Hayes in
Charlottesville, thousands of
University of Virginia students
held a candlelight vigil to
mourn and broadcast campus
solidarity in the face of hate.
Traditionally, invisible and
underrepresented groups find
these
spaces
critical.
From
the
1960s
through
today,
LGBTQ individuals have found
validation,
security,
dignity
and joy through Pride parades.
Whether marching for basic
dignity in the 1960s, AIDS relief
in the ’80s and ’90s or the right
to marry before 2015, otherwise
invisible gender and sexuality
non-conforming young people
have used Pride parades to
break out into the open.
Lastly, protests act as an
entry point to further political
activism for many students.
Most protests entail much
more than simply marching
down a street chanting slogans
and holding signs. Protests
may begin or end with a slew of
speakers offering information
about
the
topic
being
protested. Organizers often
give marchers a suggestion of
relevant nonprofits to donate
to in the future. In addition,
some
protests
include
political
workshops
where
attendees sign up for political
organizations
or
nonprofits
and
receive
training
in
fundraising and other forms
of
political
activism.
The
nationwide Women’s March
in January initiated a wave
of female candidates running
for office and young people
getting involved in politics.
Peaceful
public
demonstrations
are
the
backbone
of
democratic
free speech traditions and
promulgate critical political
action.
Consequently,
petty
attacks on students peacefully
exercising
their
right
to
protest
only
undermines
a
fundamental
American
tradition.
Young
protesters
have been critical in every
social movement in the United
States, from civil rights to
sexual liberation.
A
s
Ann
Arbor
becomes
flooded
with
micromanaging
parents and awkward-yet-eager
freshman, I revel in the sight
of familial dynamics. It’s like a
reality TV show except I don’t
need a Netflix account and only
need to peer out my window to
get a sense of the action.
The
opportunity
that
a
summer break affords is a chance
to scrutinize and think critically
about many different issues —
that is, before the stress comes
when thinking about starting
anew in September. Over the past
few weeks, there has been a lot of
misleading news concerning the
state of education in Michigan.
The nerves brought about by
moving
to
school
somehow
trickles down to journalists who
write about this topic.
Going back to school was
always a struggle for me. I
went to summer camp for eight
years growing up, and after not
having to care about anything
related to academics for two
months, it was difficult to
acclimate to tests, reading and
writing essays. I still struggle
with this dilemma. Since our
summer break is nearly four
months long, it’s easy to forget
what being in school is like.
Would
the
University
of
Michigan be better suited with
a shorter summer break? In a
recent article published in The
Atlantic titled “Why School
Still Starts After Labor Day in
Michigan,” the case is made for
a shorter summer break. Mind
you, this article only addresses
our
state’s
K-12
education
system, but a similar case could
be made for our universities.
Most of my friends at other
Big 10 colleges have already
been in school for a few weeks,
and sometimes I wonder if I’m
missing out by not starting
earlier.
However,
our
long
summer affords us so many
opportunities
that
are
not
available
during
the
school
year. With just a short break,
students would find it much
harder to be able to pursue the
internships, study abroad trips
and
research
opportunities
that many take advantage of.
As students trickle back
to
school,
national
news
organizations, such as The
New
York
Times,
devote
substantial portions of their
Sunday
editions
to
higher
education. More locally, the
Detroit Free Press’s Mitch
Albom wrote a column on
going back to school.
Albom, who says he was on
a college campus last week,
observed
the
madness
of
moving
in.
Unfortunately,
for
people
from
older
generations, they are ticked
off that we college students
are
too
obsessed
with
intersectionality,
technology
and gender pronouns. Great
stereotyping, right?
The
point
of
Albom’s
satirically tinged column was
to note both the continuities
and breaks between students
from his college years and that
of his offspring. But his diatribe
falls into a trap of lambasting
college millennials, and even
may hurt the case for diversity
at universities.
Take a look at this bit:
“After helping our son hang
his flat screen and surround-
sound speakers, we went for
a walk around campus. We
saw the 24-hour state-of-the-
art exercise facility and the
24-hour Apple computer labs.
He showed us the ‘safe spaces’
where no offensive words can
be used, and the ‘healing spaces’
where you can go if you were
accidentally
exposed
to
an
offensive sentence.”
OK, maybe I’m just being
overly
sensitive
to
that
paragraph. But that’s fulfilling
an incorrect stereotype, no?
While
Albom’s
misguided
rant
on
politically
correct
culture was not ideal, I must
award merit to a recent New
York
Times
infographic
on
college
enrollment
and
diversity. The study found that
as affirmative action policies
have been implemented at many
colleges nationwide, Black and
Hispanic enrollment still lag
behind.
Lack of diversity is acute
at our university, but it’s not
just limited to this campus.
Increasing diversity is a boon
to improving an educational
experience
—
students
are
able to better understand a
variety of viewpoints and meet
individuals from places they
otherwise would not encounter.
The University is a unique
case given our vast academic
opportunities,
which
our
long summer break aids in
facilitating. We have the chance
to go home or wherever else we
are spending our summers to
help spread this diverse array
of viewpoints we experience.
And, if anything, we should be
expanding these opportunities
rather
than
stifling
them.
We can only hope that our
institution’s new initiatives to
address this problem will be
successful.
It’s
frustrating
that
journalists are not always up to
speed with the types of issues
college students currently face.
This may be attributed to the
fact that many have not been
enrolled in a university in quite
a while. But after not having to
worry about school for an entire
season, it is imperative that
students acknowledge how and
why stories take the angle they
do when covering the places
they learn. My advice to other
students, however, is not to
panic even though journalists
appear to be out of touch with
issues that students are facing
— the same way you shouldn’t
panic over realizing how much
work you have to do after only
your first day of class.
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.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
The stigma of the millennial student
LEVI TEITEL | COLUMN
In defense of protests
TOM AIELLO | COLUMN
Tom Aiello can be reached at
thomaiel@umich.edu.
Levi Teitel can be reached at
lateitel@umich.edu.
JOE IOVINO | CONTACT JOE AT JIOVINO@UMICH.EDU
M
y
little
sister
absolutely
loves
back-to-school
shopping.
Everything
about
it excites her, from the color
coordination of her notebooks
and pencils to the smooth glide
of Paper Mate InkJoy pens. I
make fun of her a lot, calling
her things like “nerd.” I differ
from my sister in the sense that
I couldn’t care less about which
brand of notebooks or pens my
mother bought. But when I
reflect upon it, in my younger
years, I, too, shared similar
excitement.
I
enjoyed
the
newness of it all: new textbooks,
new teachers, new classmates,
new locker assignments. Even
the floors were freshly buffed
and waxed, the walls sticky
with a coat of new paint.
When
I
entered
college,
I was promptly and totally
overstimulated
by
my
excitement
with
the
new
environment. Yet, it introduced
some of the worst nerves I have
ever experienced in my life.
For a homebody and introvert
like myself, having to live on
my own away from home for
the first time was terrifyingly
overwhelming.
However,
as
my time at the University
of
Michigan
progressed,
I
adjusted and found solace in my
“new” normal routine.
With the impending start of
what will be my last year as an
undergraduate, my nerves have
returned, and my short-lived
comfort has ceased. Though
the University has remained
the same since my arrival,
everything outside of it has
turned completely upside down.
Bigotry, hate, racism and utter
dissolution have begun to bubble
and now fester like sores within
our
communities,
seemingly
stemming from the root of the
executive branch of government.
That being said, the essence
of my fear lies within the
chaos of the outside world
penetrating the little bubble
of our campus, as our campus
has been extremely susceptible
to
racist
and
oppressive
messaging,
defilement
and
hate speech that has surfaced
within recent years. So, as we
all pack our bags, whether they
contain InkJoy pens or color-
coordinated notebooks, I ask
the questions: How do we learn
to cancel out the noise? Do we
remain fearless and poised in the
face of negativity? How do we
challenge ourselves to support
each other in times of need?
And how do we learn to not
only understand each other, but
refrain from becoming inept to
embracing others’ differences?
This is no small feat, and
by the looks of the racially
charged incidents on campus
in recent years, the answers
to these questions have yet
to reveal themselves. My fear
additionally stems from the
realization that I have absolutely
no idea what the future holds for
American society.
Though
racism,
hatred
and oppression have found
a home in this country for
centuries, I think it’s safe to say
these societal sores resurged
forcefully and publicly after
the 2016 presidential election.
This may sound outrageous to
admit, but I have absolutely no
clue why people are so upset
with President Donald Trump.
As if he did not foreshadow
the
executive
decisions
he has enacted during his
campaign. As if he did not
reveal his prejudices prior to
his inauguration. As if he did
not instill fear within minority
groups in the United States and
spread hateful rhetoric through
his speeches.
No one should be surprised
by
the
events
that
have
unfolded across the course
of these few months of his
presidency,
simply
because
he told us they would happen
beforehand, just as no one
should
be
shocked
with
regards to his motives.
However, what should be
excessively upsetting is the
fact that there were enough
like-minded
people
within
our country to elect someone
with values rooted in racism
and bigotry. It is this portion
of
the
population,
which
seeks to invite hate to college
campuses, as we witnessed in
the devastating events which
took place in Charlottesville,
Va., a few weeks back. Can
these
types
of
hate-filled
infections reach a campus like
the University? Am I valid for
experiencing
some
anxiety
because I almost expect this?
As my sister readies herself
for her first day of class and
fills her backpack with all
of her new fancy pens and
notebooks, I prep for my first
day by crossing my fingers that
this year will not bring the “alt-
right,” neo-Nazis and white
nationalists to our campus.
How are you going to spend
your first day?
The first day
STEPHANIE MULLINGS | COLUMN
Stephanie Mullings can be reached
at srmulli@umich.edu.
Carolyn Ayaub
Megan Burns
Samantha Goldstein
Caitlin Heenan
Jeremy Kaplan
Sarah Khan
Anurima Kumar
Max Lubell
Lucas Maiman
Alexis Megdanoff
Madeline Nowicki
Anna Polumbo-Levy
Jason Rowland
Anu Roy-Chaudhury
Ali Safawi
Sarah Salman
Kevin Sweitzer
Rebecca Tarnopol
Stephanie Trierweiler
Ashley Zhang
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