November 20, 2013 - University 

students took to Twitter in droves 
Tuesday afternoon to share their 
experiences as Black students in 
Ann Arbor and bring attention 
to issues of race and diversity on 
campus using the hashtag #BBUM.

“Being Black at the University 

of Michigan has many shades 
and many levels to what someone 
might want to speak on it,” said 
LSA senior Eric Gavin. “It can go 
from someone being the only Black 
person in their class to someone 
with no problems at all.”

The campaign, initiated by the 

University’s Black Student Union, 
has built up over the past few 
days before trending nationally 
on Twitter Tuesday. The hashtag 
gained 
momentum 
after 
the 

student organization distributed an 
e-mail to community members and 
other campus groups encouraging 
them to participate in the online 
conversation.

LSA 
senior 
Tyrell 
Collier, 

BSU’s president, said the #BBUM 
campaign was planned to raise 
awareness of the experiences of 
Black students and for the BSU to 
collect subjective data it can couple 
with University statistics to address 
pressing issues Black students face.

Collier said BSU encouraged 

students to tweet both negative and 
positive experiences, though the 
tweets have been predominantly 
negative, which he expected.

He said the issue is especially 

pressing on campus because while 
the University frequently discusses 
ways to increase diversity, many 
communities have yet to witness 
tangible results.

“I would like to see the lives 

of Black students valued more,” 
Collier said.

By 10 p.m., over 10,000 tweets 

included the hashtag from Ann 
Arbor and beyond.

“I don’t think this is a problem 

specific to the University, I think 
it’s an experience that Black 
students at predominantly White 
universities across the nation are 
facing,” he said of the far-reaching 
responses.

Black 
enrollment 
at 
the 

University has fallen precipitously 
over the past decade largely due 
to Proposal 2, an amendment to 
the state constitution that bans 
affirmative action policies that 
was passed by Michigan voters 
in 2006. The proposal, formally 
named the Michigan Civil Rights 
Initiative, bars the University from 
considering race in its admissions 
process.

Immediately after the passage of 

the proposal, University President 
Mary Sue Coleman gave a dramatic 
address on the Diag promising 
to 
maintain 
the 
University’s 

commitment to diversity. However, 
the institution has been unable 
to stanch the decline in minority 
enrollment through alternative 
outreach policies in the wake of the 
affirmative action ban.

In Fall 2006, Black students 

made up around seven percent of 
the 
undergraduate 
population. 

In 
Fall 
2013, 
the 
University 

reported that Black undergraduate 
enrollment had fallen to 4.65 
percent. 
Hispanic 
enrollment 

as a percentage of the overall 
undergraduate body also declined 
over the same period.

At a search forum for the next 

University president in September, 
the Presidential Search Advisory 
Committee — which includes the 
University’s Board of Regents — 
heard from a number of students 
about diversity issues. Several 
student speakers at the event said 
many minorities feel they lack a 
voice on campus and occasionally 
experience bias incidents with both 
students and instructors.

Collier 
said 
the 
University 

has not yet contacted BSU about 
Tuesday’s campaign. University 
spokesman 
Rick 
Fitzgerald 

stressed that the University’s next 
step will be to listen to the students 
and their experiences on campus.

“I think at this point the listening 

is the most important part and how 
we might respond is the next step 
and we haven’t gotten there yet,” 
Fitzgerald said.

He said the University is 

aware of students’ concerns and 
recognizes that there is always 
room for improvement in any 
organization.

However, 
the 
University’s 

social media team responded to 
the campaign via Twitter Tuesday 
afternoon: “Thanks for engaging in 
this conversation. We’re listening, 
and will be sure all of your voices 
are heard. #BBUM”

E. 
Royster 
Harper, 
the 

University’s vice president for 
student life, created a Twitter 
account late Tuesday to address the 
issue.

“Got on Twitter to hear and 

support your voices. Proud of our 
students. More later,” Harper 
wrote.

LSA senior Eric Gavin, BSU’s 

public relations chair, said several 
recent campus events spurred the 
organization to plan a campaign, 
including a recent controversy 
involving 
Theta 
Xi 
fraternity 

members who branded a party with 
racialized images and words.

BSU also timed its Twitter 

campaign to correspond with a 
forum this evening hosted by the 
Department of Afroamerican and 
African Studies, the Black Student 
Union, We are Michigan and 
Students of Color of Rackham.

BSU hopes to not only engage 

members of its organization but 
also Black campus leaders from 
an array of groups, Gavin said. 
However, leaders didn’t believe the 
student organization would receive 
national attention for its efforts.

“I definitely could not have 

foreseen the national attention 
we have garnered in such a short 
amount of time,” Gavin said. “We 
felt it necessary to push for an 
initiative that would bring more 
awareness to these issues and to the 
larger Black community.”

Though 
traditional 
methods 

such as campus demonstrations 

play a role in raising awareness, 
Gavin said BSU decided social 
media could serve as an additional 
method for sparking dialogue.

“It kept it open ended and that’s 

why it so successful,” Gavin said. 
“The hashtag leaves for open ended 
interpretation so people can say 
what they feel instead of imposing 
somebody’s thoughts on them.”

So far, students have voiced an 

array of perspectives.

“Being Black at the University 

of Michigan has many shades and 
many levels to what someone might 
want to speak on it,” Gavin said. 
“It can go from someone being the 
only Black person in their class to 
someone with no problems at all. 
It’s a spectrum, but we want people 
to be aware of everyone’s different 
ideas on the issue of being Black at 
the University of Michigan.”

Renowned journalist Michele 

Norris, the creator of the Race 
Card Project — a nationwide 
initiative that gathers perspectives 
on race and aims to foster dialogue 
on 
the 
subject 
— 
partnered 

with the University during last 
winter’s theme semester on race, 
and will give the 2013 Winter 
Commencement address.

In a form similar to BSU’s 

campaign, Norris used Twitter 
to broaden the reach of the Race 
Card Project because she said even 
though the social media platform 
only allots users only 140 characters, 
it’s a powerful way to stimulate 
uncomfortable conversations.

“I used to say the most productive 

conversations are the private ones, 
but Twitter made me rethink that,” 
Norris said.

Norris noted that the University 

did not “take cover” once the 
dialogue took off, but rather 
embraced 
the 
campaign 
and 

encouraged 
students 
to 
take 

part in the conversation, which 
is not always the norm for large 
institutions.

“This is an honest conversation,” 

she said. “They wanted to see an 
honest conversation and that’s 
what this is, as uncomfortable as 
this may be for people to read about 
this.”

She said diversity has been an 

issue on every college campus she 
has visited, and after reading the 
tweets from Tuesday’s discussion 
at Michigan, it is likely the topic 
isn’t going to subside once the 
Twitter debate dies down.

“It 
really 
was 
not 
just 

people talking about their own 
experiences, but it turned into an 
actual dialogue,” she said. “People 
were talking to each other and 
perhaps even learning from each 
other, 
and 
more 
importantly 

listening to each other.”

Norris added that she will 

likely address the issue in her 
commencement 
address 
next 

month.

By asking students to share their 

experiences as Black students on 
campus, BSU is hoping to not only 
bring light to challenges, but also to 
call other student leaders to action.

“We want to get the awareness 

out so we can begin to move 
forward and actually do tangible 
things,” Gavin said.

10 — Friday, September 15, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Bicentennial

#BBUM goes viral on Twitter

ALICIA ADAMCZYK AND

SAM GRINGLAS
Daily News Editor and 

Daily Staff Reporter

November 5, 2008 - It was 

through 
tears, 
screams 
and 

complete elation that Kinesiology 
sophomore 
Carolyn 
McCloud 

processed the realization that the 
nation elected a Black president.

Speechless, she dropped to her 

knees in the midst of hundreds of 
students gathered on the Diag just 
after 11 p.m. last night, and prayed 
to God, grateful that Barack Obama 
was elected the next president of 
the United States.

While 
she 
knelt, 
students 

erupted in deafening chants of 
“Yes we did!” and “Obama!” which 
soared in volume over chaotic 
cheers, screams and tears.

Shortly 
after 
Obama 
gave 

his 
acceptance 
speech 
near 

midnight, a band of percussionists, 
a saxophonist and a tag-a-long 
didgeridoo player headed to the 
Diag playing a jazz version of the 
National Anthem. The hundreds 
already gathered at the center of 
campus circled the band.

Students continued to pour 

into the Diag from all directions, a 
few waving large American Flags. 
A handful of University police 
monitored the crowd, including 
one car parked on a path between 
the Diag and West Hall. The crowd 
remained peaceful, yet rowdy as 
police watched.

A group of students formed a 

drumline on the steps of the Harlan 
Hatcher Graduate Library, while 
hundreds of students alternated 
chants of “Go-bama!” and “Yes we 
can!” to the beat.

After receiving text messages, 

a group of students encouraged 
those gathered to go to the streets. 
Students were asking each other 
for a destination but no one seemed 
to know — or care where the crowd 
was heading. Some headed to 
Michigan Stadium, others to the 
intersection of State Street and 
Liberty Street.

One group marched to the steps 

of the Michigan Union, clogging 
State Street and chanting, “It’s 
great to see an Obama victory.” A 
portion of the crowd walked along 
toward the home of University 
President Mary Sue Coleman and 
called for her to make a speech. 
She never emerged and the group 
soon moved eastward on South 
University Avenue.

The crowds and celebrations, 

though numerous and disparate, 
only grew through the evening as 
national results came in.

As of 4 a.m., Obama had won 338 

electoral votes, well above the 270 
needed to secure the presidency. 
Republican nominee John McCain 
clinched 163 votes.

In the crucial fight for swing 

states, 
Obama 
nearly 
swept 

Republican 
nominee 
McCain, 

though not by substantial margins 
in individual states. Obama took 
Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and 
Virginia. As of 4 a.m., North 
Carolina, Missouri and Indiana 
were too close to call.

Students cheered well into the 

early morning hours, celebrating 
the 
Democratic 
candidate’s 

decisive victory.

“I feel this is the greatest 

moment of our lives,” said LSA 
sophomore Rose Balzer. “There’s 
no doubt about that.”

While 
students 
rejoiced 
in 

the streets, singing “The Star-
Spangled Banner” and choruses of 
“The Victors,” results trickled in 
from Ann Arbor precincts, showing 
a 14-percent increase from the 
number of people who cast ballots 
at student dominated polling places 
of 2004.

Eighty-three percent of voters 

at 14 student-heavy Ann Arbor 
precincts supported Obama.

Obama, whose victory in the 

Electoral College entered landslide 
territory, began the race two years 
ago as the underdog. He had to 
defeat the favored Sen. Hillary 
Clinton of New York to win the 
Democratic Party’s nomination. 
In doing so, he defied historical 
precedent to become the first Black 
man to earn a major party’s nod.

The Democratic nominee once 

again defied political paradigm 
in his campaign strategy. He 
energized an entire generation of 
young Americans with his message 
of hope and change.

During his acceptance speech 

last night, given before a crowd 
of more than 240,000, Obama 
implored Americans to support him 
as he carries out his progressive 
platform.

“I will ask you to join in the work 

of remaking this nation, the only 
way it’s been done in America for 
221 years — block by block, brick by 
brick, calloused hand by calloused 
hand,” he said.

Obama’s 
platform, 
which 

centers on tax breaks for middle-

income 
families, 
health 
care 

policy reforms, withdrawal from 
Iraq and developing alternative 
energy technology, has resonated 
overwhelmingly with young voters.

About two-thirds of voters 

under the age of 30 supported 
Obama, representing 17 percent of 
the national electorate.

This group of young, primarily 

first-time voters, who formed their 
political opinions under a president 
with some of the worst approval 
ratings in the history of approval 
ratings, voted for the young first-
term 
senator 
whose 
eloquent 

rhetoric promised them a change 
from 
the 
only 
administration 

they’d known since middle school.

Many of these people not only 

voted for him, but they dedicated 
themselves to getting him elected.

Membership in the University’s 

chapter of College Democrats 
quadrupled in size when the school 
year began. At the group’s first 
mass meeting, they turned away 
more than 100 people because they 
couldn’t fit the 300 people wanted 
to help elect Obama in one room.

Collectively, 
the 
group 

committed tens of thousands of 
man-hours to canvassing and 
phone-banking for the candidate. 
More than 30 College Democrats 
members considered the mission a 
full-time job.

In his acceptance speech, Obama 

thanked them for their efforts.

“It grew strength from the young 

people who rejected the myth of 
their generation’s apathy who left 
their homes and their families for 
jobs that offered little pay and less 
sleep,” he said of those who worked 
for his campaign.

College-aged supporters across 

the nation contributed to the largest 
volunteer base of any political 
campaign. The Obama campaign 
also used technology like social 
networking to build a registration, 
outreach and turnout machine the 
likes of which no democracy has 
ever seen. These grassroots efforts 
mobilized entire blocs of first-time 
voters.

The 
18- 
to 
24-year-old 

demographic has never played such 
an influential role in the election 
of a president. Historically, young 
voters haven’t shown up to the 
polls.

Voter turnout among those 

aged 18-24 has trailed that of 
voters aged 25 years and older by 
about 20 percent for the past 30 

Celebration: Campus erupts after historic Obama win

JULIE ROWE

Daily Staff Reporter

years, according to the Center for 
Information and Research on Civic 
Learning and Engagement.

But to combat this group’s 

infamous 
apathy, 
Obama’s 

campaign, armed with record-
shattering 
fundraising 
totals, 

poured money into courting the 
youth vote. His campaign produced 
and 
distributed 
youth-specific 

literature, which listed his pledges 
to make college more affordable and 
accessible. He used text messaging 
and viral videos to get his message 
out to a group of people whose lives 
revolve around blogging, instant 
messaging and social networking.

On a campus scattered with 

Obama campaign literature and 
plastered 
with 
the 
president-

elect’s likeness, students celebrated 
throughout the streets of Ann Arbor 
in droves. Their chants and yells 
could be heard for hours after the 
major news networks called the race 
for Obama.

Before 
flooding 
the 
streets, 

students gathered at campus bars 
and residence hall lounges to watch 
results trickle in.

Hours before television and 

Internet news outlets declared 
Obama 
the 
winner, 
College 

Democrats members were already 
celebrating an expected victory.

As CNN projected Ohio would go 

to Obama just after 9 p.m., the group 
of 50 people cheered raucously.

“Ohio kind of seals the deal,” said 

Danny Abosch, a School of Music, 
Theatre and Dance sophomore and 
a member of the group’s executive 
board. “Looking at the 2000 and 
2004 elections, Ohio has really been 
the key state. It’s really amazing.”

Just before 11 p.m., the election-

watching crowds at Good Time 
Charley’s braced themselves for the 
closing of polls in California. 

EMMA RICHTER/Daily

“To me, the Bicentennial is a 
celebration of the incredible 
growth, success, and change 
that U of M has seen as it turns 
200 years young.”
LSA senior Matthew Ladis, 
MUSIC Matters president

FE ATURE D PEOPLE

“I’ve been a die-hard Wolverine 
since day one and reached age 
two in Northwood housing. U 
of M has been a huge influence 
in my childhood and now 
young adulthood. U of M has 
made history with its impact 
on individuals and the world, 
from the Peace Corps to a 
moon landing to Google. Our 
students and alumni are the 
leaders and best, and I can’t 
wait to see what history U of M 
has yet to create. Go Blue!”
Maya Pifer, co-director for 
Society of Women Engineers

EMMA RICHTER/Daily

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

Black Student Union campaign shows 

what it’s like to be Black on campus

1988 — Thomas 

Francis Jr. founds UROP

1995 — Larry Page, Google 

co-founder, earns his degree in 

computer science 

2002 — First female University president 

selected: Mary Sue Coleman

2001 — 9/11 attacks

2003 — Grutter vs. Bollinger/Gratz vs. Bollinger, two 

cases that challenge affirmative action at the University. 

Leads to a decrease in minority enrollment years 

following. 

1994 — Dalai Lama accepts 

Wallenberg medal in Ann 

Arbor

1989 — U-M solar car team is formed

