News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, September 12, 2017 — 3 

MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily

Members of University ROTC groups stand around the American flag in remembrance of the 9/11 terrorist 
attacks 17 years ago on the Diag Monday.

IN MEMORIAM

‘Don’t worry, I’ve been through that, it’s 
going to be fine;’ it was a sense of relief, so 
it was really, really nice for me,” he said.

LSA sophomore Allie Batka is studying 

chemistry and is also a member of the 
organization; 
she 
echoed 
Befeler’s 

comment, saying she likes having role 
models who can relate to her experiences.

“For me, it was also important to have 

role models who are also queer and in 
STEM — the upperclassmen, the board 
leaders and also the graduate students in 
the program,” she said. “For me, I found 
out about oSTEM before freshman year 
actually, because I had asked around about 
LGBTQ+ orgs on campus and somebody 
mentioned oSTEM and it sounded perfect 
for me, because I’m studying chemistry 
and I’m queer.”

Batka said she has made a lot of friends 

in the organization. She said she has also 
tried to bring friends from outside the 
group to oSTEM meetings.

In terms of collaboration, the group 

coordinates several events with other 
student organizations, such as Out for 
Business, Outlaws and Out in Public, 
as well as with other identity-based 
engineering organizations, such as Society 
of Hispanic Professional Engineers and 
the National Society of Black Engineers. 

In addition to the annual Pride Outside 

event, which took place last week, 
oSTEM and many other LGBTQ groups 
participate in the Autumn Pride and 
Winter Pride events — mixers for anyone 
who identifies as queer, including staff, 
faculty and alumni. Additionally, there are 
networking dinners in the fall and winter 
terms, at which representatives from big 
companies like Google and Microsoft — 
most of whom identify as LGBTQ — come 
to the University to meet with students 
and discuss internships, their jobs, and 
the environment at their companies.

Outlaws

Second year law student Joel Richert 

is the co-chair of Outlaws, the LGBTQ 
affinity group in the Law School. The 
group 
engages 
in 
mentorship 
and 

outreach with incoming law students and 
those on campus; it also partners with 
firms to give law students a sense of what 
it is like to be openly LGBTQ in the field of 
law and similar professions.

“LGBTQ+ — while there is more 

visibility than there was 10 years ago or 
20 years ago — it’s still sort of a diversity 
position to be gay and to be out in law,” 
Richert said.

The group hosts a weekly pro bono 

clinic in Ann Arbor, as well as a Know 
Your Rights project for transgender 
outreach, name-change clinics, as well 
as general legal services and advice for 
queer, nongender binary individuals.

According to Richert, the group’s email 

list has about 180 people; Richert noted 
not all of them are LGBTQ-identifying.

Richert said the administration at 

the Law School works with Outlaws to 
do recruiting for the Law School, and 
provides the organization a lot of support. 
He said recently two of the organization’s 

administrators from the Admissions 
Office and Office of Student Life at the 
Law School left to take other positions. 
Currently, the organization is working 
with the administration to select someone 
to take over those positions; Richert 
said the administration has been great 
about including Outlaws members in the 
interview process.

“The administration works with a lot 

with affinity groups to make sure the 
campus is diverse and that we’re having 
visibility in the Law School,” he said.

Richert said the organization does 

not do much work with the wider 
University administration, as the Law 
School is somewhat secluded, though 
it does collaborate with other LGBTQ 
organizations like oSTEM and Graduates 
Out in Science, Technology, Engineering 
and Mathematics.

“One of the things we want to work 

on this year is becoming more integrated 
with the larger University community,” 
he said.

He said it would be nice to have a little 

more contact with the other graduate-
level programs on campus; however, he 
noted the Law School is such an intense 
experience that it makes sense to have a 
more confined group.

Richert 
said 
the 
organization 

maintains positive relations with the 
student body in that many of its events are 
offered to all students.

“I think both the student body and 

the Law School and the faculty have 
been really great, and they definitely 
see Outlaws and LGBTQ+ diversity at 
the Law School as central to the mission 
of the administration and the school’s 
mission,” he said.

Out for Business

Out for Business serves as the LGBTQ 

student association at the Ross School of 
Business. Rackham student Sean Pavlik, 
who is pursuing an MBA at the Business 
School and an MS degree at the School for 
Environment and Sustainability, is on the 
leadership board of the organization.

The organization operates at the 

graduate and undergraduate level to 
foster 
understanding, 
professional 

development and advocacy of LGBTQ 
issues for the business community, 
according to Pavlik.

Pavlik 
said 
the 
organization’s 

membership consists of more than 100 
LGBTQ-identifying people as well as 
allies who do not fall under the LGBTQ 
category but are still supportive of the 
community.

“Some of the items are specifically 

geared toward our LGBTQ+ members 
such as professional development and 
recruiting efforts, considering it’s a 
professional degree program, but a large 
component of what we do is engaging that 
larger community — understanding that 
the LGBTQ+ population at any school, but 
of course at Ross, as well, is a relatively 
small percentage,” he said. “We view our 
mission as not just supporting dialogue 
and community for that smaller group but 
for the larger Ross community as well.”

Pavlik said the group also has DEI 

staff at the Business School with whom 
they work to put together ally training as 

part of National Coming Out Week; they 
organize an event where they focus on 
coming out stories, at which students tell 
of the time they identified themselves as 
LGBTQ to their families or friends.

Pavlik said the group has a positive 

relationship with the administration at 
the Business School, and seeks to engage 
the DEI chair at the Business School in 
the coming year to educate the larger 
Business School community on its work.

Pavlik said he couldn’t recall a negative 

incident of negativity that the group 
had to address within the University 
community; he said he is proud of Out 
for Business for standing with groups on 
campus that may be targeted, as a result 
of diversity issues.

Pavlik said he thinks the organization 

provides an important network.

“I found that being involved in clubs 

such as Out for Business has been a really 
great way to develop those connections, 
both for friendship and community, as 
well as professionally, and understanding 
some 
of 
those 
opportunities 
and 

learning from each (other’s) professional 
experiences, thinking about being a 
graduate 
professional-level 
program, 

that’s definitely part of the club,” he said.

Pavlik said one aspect of the group, 

being affiliated with the Business School 
is that it participates in a national LGBTQ 
conference, called Reaching Out MBA.

“That’s 
a 
great 
professional 

opportunity for members of the LGBTQ+ 
MBA community to come together and 
network with companies and understand 
more what it’s like to be an out professional 
in the business world,” he said.

Noting the LGBTQ community may 

be considered a minority group in the 
business world, Pavlik said visibility is 
extremely important. He said the number 
of open LGBTQ CEOs is very small. 
Pavlik said the group strives for visibility, 
seeing as most individuals in the Business 
School do not identify as LGBT; he added 
it is important for allies of the LGBT 
community to understand the complexity 
of navigating the business environment 
for LGBT-identifying people.

In 2014, Apple CEO Tim Cook became 

the first openly gay CEO at Fortune 
500 company. In a 2016 list of the most 
powerful LGBT executives in the world 
from Business Insider, Gigi Chao — vice 
chairman of Cheuk Nang Holdings, a 
property management company in Hong 
Kong — topped the list. Also on the list was 
Stacey Friedman, general counsel at JP 
Morgan Chase; in 2016, she won a case to 
overturn a ban on gay adoption. Jonathan 
Mildenhall — the chief marketing officer 
at Airbnb — made the list as well.

In the past five years, Pavlik said Out 

for Business has seen a lot of growth in 
membership and activity, especially as a 
result of increased engagement in the BBA 
community; Pavlik said undergraduate 
students at the Business School have 
reached out to bring the group to the 
undergrad level.

“(We’re) just seeing a lot of growth in 

visibility and support in the past several 
years at Ross,” he said. “I’m definitely 
proud to be a Ross student and proud of 
the support that our group receives and 
the role our group plays on campus.”

ORGS
From Page 1

do not yet exist.

One of the main causes 

of 
these 
transformations, 

LaGrandeur 
explained, 

involves humans’ inability to 
work as quickly or as cheaply 
as robots. A sort of repeat of the 
events of the Gilded Age, those 
with low wage jobs are at the 
highest risk.

“In 
terms 
of 
sheer 

productivity, humans can’t keep 
up with computers and robots, 
and even when they can, all 
things being equal, machines 
and digital implements are 
often more convenient and 
cheaper,” he said.

Although long-term issues 

do arise, LaGrandeur stated 
the short-term concerns facing 
the 
human 
workforce 
will 

require the most attention. 
Potential solutions featured in 

“Surviving the Machine Age” 
include a better education on 
jobs robots cannot complete, 
shortening 
the 
workweek 

to 30 hours, having a basic 
income guarantee, instituting 
micro-fees to compensate for 
micro-incomes, implementing 
a 
tax 
for 
businesses 
that 

make 
use 
of 
robots 
and 

developing technology for the 
economically disadvantaged.

Casey Pierce, an assistant 

professor in the School of 
Information, 
commentated 

on the event and explained 
her thoughts of the issue 
specifically 
in 
terms 
of 

health 
care. 
She 
described 

the possibility of replacing 
in-office eye exams with those 
taken on a smartphone, and the 
effects these exams might have 
on patients.

“I asked my optometrist last 

week his thoughts on this, kind 
of knowing what his response 
was going to be, and he told me 

it was the most ridiculous thing 
that I could ever think about 
doing when I really just needed 
to get a new prescription for a 
new box of contacts,” she said.

She 
also 
discussed 
her 

own work in regard to new 
technological 
advancements, 

and questioned those that could 
replace tasks she has such as 
grading papers.

“What does my occupation 

as a professor mean when I’m 
delegating some of my work to 
technology?” she asked.

Yu-Ming Chen, a master’s 

student 
in 
the 
College 
of 

Engineering, attended the talk 
as part of Michigan Robotics to 
learn more about the issue from 
a public policy aspect.

“Everybody’s not sure about 

what the future is going to be,” 
he said. “I’m surprised that 
there’s some technology that 
can implant knowledge into 
your brain and you can learn it 
very quickly.”

ROBOTS
From Page 1

to use Confederate flags in his 
performances, as the first performer 
to play at their new arena.

“So the Red Wings will open their 

new arena in Detroit next month 
with Kid Rock, a known lover of the 
Confederate Flag, a hate symbol; now 
the Wings wonder why and object to 
white supremacists using the Wings 
logo?” Riddle said.

A second issue involves Ritchie’s 

anticipated 
run 
for 
US 
Senate, 

which he has has been talking about 
since early July, when he launched 
a website devoted to his candidacy. 
Although the site sells merchandise 
emblazoned with campaign slogans 
and “Kid Rock ‘18 For US Senate,” 
Ritchie has not yet formally declared 
his candidacy.

Scandal broke earlier this month 

after non-partisan watchdog group 
Common Cause filed a complaint with 
the Federal Election Commission, 
claiming that Kid Rock had broken 
the law by acting as a Senate candidate 
without registering as one.

Ritchie took to Facebook to respond 

to these criticisms.

“Pretty funny how scared I have 

them all and their only agenda is to 
try and label people / me racist who 
do not agree or cower to them!!” 
Ritchie wrote. “No one had a word 
to say when we sold out the 6 shows 
at LCA back in January! My track 
record in Detroit and Michigan 
speaks for itself, and I would dare 
anyone talking trash to put theirs up 
against mine. I am also a homeowner 

and taxpayer in the city of Detroit, 
so suck on that too. I am the bonified 
(sic) KING OF DETROIT LOVE and it 
makes me smile down deep that you 
haters know that! Your jealousy is 
merely a reflection of disgust for your 
own failures and lack of positive ideas 
for our city.”

There was no explicit mention of 

his Senate run or its surrounding 
controversy in the statement, though 
people did not shy away from it in the 
comments section.

“I’m not in Michigan so I can’t 

vote for you, but I stand with you & 
support you 100%! #KidRock4Senate 
You are a true, blue American, you 
love this country, you love your 
city, you love your state and you are 
FOR the people! Keep doin’ you, 
boo! 
#KidRockNation,” 
one 
fan 

commented. 

Ritchie, whose Little Caesars Arena 

shows begin Tuesday night, decided 
to end his post on a positive note.

“There is so much to be thankful 

for and so many positive things going 
on in and around our city / state that 
we need not let these handful of jerks 
sway that in any way,” he wrote. “I 
know I should probably not even have 
posted anything about these bottom 
feeders but I will always stand up 
for myself, my family, my friends, my 
fans, my city, my state, my country 
and the good in human nature!”

He then finished off the statement 

with an emphatic post-script, in 
referencing to allegations that Kid 
Rock was offending Black Americans 
and Black culture with his support of 
the Confederate flag.

“P.P.P.P.P.S. 
I 
LOVE 
BLACK 

PEOPLE!!” 

KID ROCK
From Page 1

texting and checking things,” 
Peng said. “The beauty of robots is 
that they are very consistent; they 
don’t get distracted and won’t 
have road rage.”

Lives aren’t the only thing 

saved with more autonomous 
vehicles on the road; the economic 
and social benefits of these 
vehicles have potential to make 
a significant difference in the 
nation’s economy. In 2014, the 
U.S. spent about $871 billion a 
year in economic loss and due 
to automobile accidents, with 
$277 billion being allocated for 
economic costs and $594 billion 
attributed to the “loss of life and 
the pain and decreased quality of 
life because of injuries.”

LSA senior Enrique Zalamea, 

president 
of 
the 
University’s 

chapter of College Republicans, 
said the SELF DRIVE Act could 

positively benefit the country.

“The U.S. spends so much 

money on car crashes in terms of 
the property damage of highways, 
insurance and health care as well; 
the total social costs is around 
$800 billion,” Zalamea said. “Self-
driving cars would be incredibly 
beneficial to the economy, because 
of their cost-saving benefits to the 
government who spends so much 
money.”

Public Policy junior Lauren 

Schandevel, 
communications 

director of the University’s chapter 
of College Democrats, who is also 
a columnist for the Daily, also 
said she endorses the benefits of 
autonomous vehicles.

“I’m happy to see a bipartisan 

commitment 
to 
monitor 
and 

improve advanced technology,” 
Schandevel wrote. “If all goes well, 
this technology will hopefully 
make the city safer.”

Dingell said the legislation also 

seeks to make transportation more 
accessible for the elderly and the 

disabled, two groups of people 
whose needs are sometimes unmet 
due to unavailability or high costs 
of adequate transportation.

A driverless shuttle service will 

be a feature of North Campus. 
Automated pizza delivery cars have 
also found their way into the Mcity 
Test Facility, and 1,500 vehicles 
have 
been 
deployed 
through 

connected infrastructure in Ann 
Arbor with the hope of studying 
the 
impact 
these 
connected 

technologies have on congestion 
and pedestrian safety.

Zalamea 
mentioned 
how 

he thinks University students 
could directly benefit from more 
autonomous vehicles being on the 
road.

“I think this would be a big 

benefit for students, especially with 
making shuttles more efficient,” 
Zalamea said. “As a freshman, I 
remember always waiting for the 
Bursley-Baits bus at night, and I 
think autonomous shuttles could 
make this more efficient.”

SELF DRIVING
From Page 2

voted 
against 
the 
resolution, 

emphasized 
the 
importance 

of sending a broad message to 
include all ethnic communities.

“Discrimination takes many 

forms, 
so 
(the 
resolution) 

shouldn’t be narrow,” Atzmon 
said.

A counterpoint came from Dave 

Wright, SACUA senate assembly 
member and associate professor 
of accounting, saying that the 
statement should be left as was 
presented Monday evening.

“I actually like this one better 

the way it stands,” Wright said. 

“I think it’s tighter, more direct 
to the event that happened on 
August 31st.”

University 
President 
Mark 

Schlissel, 
who 
attended 
the 

meeting, 
discussed 
how 
to 

motivate students to see each 
other as one community rather 
than 
their 
specific 
identities 

when these events occur. He 
also asked SACUA members for 
advice on how to best reach out 
to the student body in response to 
similar incidents.

“It feels like I only reach out to 

(students) when there is a crisis,” 
Schlissel 
said. 
“I’m 
thinking 

about ways to truly purposefully 
promote conversation about these 
issues in the absence of an inciting 

event so that we can promote a 
shared sense of responsibility for 
how to react when something bad 
does happen. I haven’t done an 
adequate job at this.”

Schlissel also discussed the 

University’s policy on sexual 
misconduct 
and 
its 
plan 
to 

keep the current policy with no 
changes.

“There is no reason to alter 

our policy because we think it 
is a stable policy,” Schlissel said. 
“We’d like to keep things in place 
for a few years, two to three years, 
and gain experience with it and 
criticism of it and then modify it 
based on this experience.”

Schlissel highlighted a part 

of this policy, which offers a 

mechanism for those accused 
of sexual misconduct to appeal. 
According to Schlissel, this step 
requires all evidence on file of a 
sexual misconduct incident be 
sent to a retired federal judge.

Schlissel also emphasized the 

importance of a fair and balanced 
disciplinary process. He assured 
that the University’s Title IX 
officers have the utmost training 
on 
the 
University’s 
policies 

surrounding sexual misconduct 
to ensure due process of these 
incidents.

“The ultimate solution will 

not come from us around the 
table … it has to come from the 
next 
generation 
of 
students 

themselves,” Schlissel said. “It 

has to be a social enforcement 
of a set of standards and mutual 
respect in how people treat each 
other … I think that has the best 
chance of really turning (sexual 
misconduct) around.”

In the final portion of the 

meeting, 
SACUA 
members 

unanimously voted to reinstate 
the Tri-Campus Task Force — a 
faculty board of representatives 
from all three University campuses 
with an aim of improving faculty 
governance structures at the Flint 
and Dearborn campuses — for 
another academic year.

Mechanical 
engineering 

professor William Schultz, SACUA 
senate assembly immediate past 
chair, raised concerns about the 

task force not meeting regularly. 
He further proposed the motion 
to reinstate the Tri-Campus Task 
Force for another year.

“My concern is that the Tri-

Campus Task Force did not meet 
regularly, so I am asking for it to 
be reconstituted with only faculty 
assembly members so that it can 
meet at least briefly before or after 
assembly meetings,” Schultz said.

According to Robert Ortega, 

SACUA senate assembly chair 
and associate professor of social 
work, 
two 
faculty 
assembly 

representatives from each of the 
three campuses will form a task 
force of six members and will be 
required to meet either before or 
after every assembly.

SACUA
From Page 1