Close to 200 University of
Michigan students — including
members of the Black Student
Union and Students4Justice —
gathered Wednesday night on the
steps of the Michigan Union to
protest racially charged incidents
on campus in the past week.
University
President
Mark
Schlissel, University Police Chief
Robert
Neumann
and
other
administrators met the group
upstairs in the Rogel Ballroom,
where students demanded answers
to questions on investigations into
racially charged incidents from this
week, and in the past year. Schlissel
addressed students for 20 minutes
before allowing the others to also
answer questions.
As President Schlissel left the
Union meeting early, protesters
began to march after him along
South University Avenue. White
students stood arm in arm along
the intersection of South University
Avenue and State Street as allies,
forming a path for protesters to
walk.
A man stepped out of car and
approached the crowd of protesters.
He yelled profanities, leading to a
physical altercation.
Protesters expressed outrage
the arrestee was not escorted
away in handcuffs, and many were
originally under the impression
the man had not been arrested.
Diane Brown, Division of Public
Safety and Security spokeswoman,
confirmed Wednesday evening a
24-year-old man not affiliated with
the University had been arrested.
This was the only arrest and
incident of the night, Brown said.
As of 10:30 p.m., she was unsure
whether
DPSS
had
released
the man, or who he attacked.
Eyewitnesses, however, claimed
the man punched multiple students.
Black students said he called them
“n------” repeatedly.
The crowd then proceeded
down South University Avenue to
Schlissel’s home, where protesters
began posting signs with Black
Lives Matter and #BBUM — the
viral hashtag “Being Black at the
University of Michigan” students
used to voice their experiences
being a student of color at the
University in 2013.
Students said a critical mass of
racially charged incidents pushed
them to protest Wednesday. On
Sept. 17, three Black student’s
name tags were defaced with racial
slurs in West Quad Residence
Hall. Schlissel sent out a tweet
denouncing the incident, but a
number of Black students said
Schlissel needed to take a more
public stand.
The same day, Ann Arbor
community members discovered
racial slurs on a building on Liberty
and State streets reading “Free
Dylann Roof” and “I hate n---
---.” Earlier this year, students
discovered anti-Latino and pro-
Trump graffiti on the Rock, a
University landmark. In February,
Engineering
students
received
anti-Black and anti-Semitic emails
— later discovered to be spoofed
— from a University professor’s
account hailing “the return of
the KKK” and Nazis. And this
month a year ago, racist flyers
propagating
white
supremacist
messages claiming proof for “racial
differences in intelligence” littered
posting walls around campus.
LSA
freshman
Tyler
Washington, one of the protest
organizers, said she did not see
Schlissel’s tweet until a few days
after the incident, and believes
an email would have been more
appropriate. She went into the
meeting expecting action, but
restated afterward administrators’
responses remained disappointing,
and students would take matters
into their own hands.
“I literally said the ideas, and
The University of Michigan
announced
a
$50
million
donation from notable alum
Stephen Ross — the current
largest donor to the University
— to the Ross School of Business
Wednesday afternoon at a State
of School event. According to
a University press release, the
contribution will assist with
student
career
development
programs, recruiting qualified
junior faculty and Business
School campus maintenance.
The Business School’s dean,
Scott DeRue, held the event for
Business students, faculty and
administration in which he
briefly praised the donation and
instead spoke about the future
of the Business School for the
majority of the speech.
“Steve Ross, his generosity
is unparalleled,” DeRue said.
“The majority of that (donation)
is for students and faculty and
investments in the educational
experience.”
Business students, though,
are
worried
accepting
the
donation will send a negative
message to their fellow students
and the country, as the U.S.
Tax
Court
ruled
against
Ross in August for “grossly”
overestimating the value of
a tax-deductible gift to the
University.
The case between the IRS and
Ross pertained to a Southern
California property donated by
Ross — a real estate mogul —
to the University. Though the
University sold the property
for $2 million, and later valued
it at $5 million, Ross and his
business
partners
claimed
a $33 million charitable tax
deduction. The IRS took issue
with the discrepancy in its own
valuing of the property at $3.4
million, almost 10 times what
Ross filed the tax deduction as.
After 10 years in court, U.S.
Tax
Judge
James
Halpern
sided with the IRS and imposed
maximum civil penalties on
Ross and his associates.
James Hines, Richard A.
Musgrave Collegiate Professor
of Economics in the Law School,
said taking cases to Tax Court is
less common, but not unheard
of.
“These tax disputes are very
common,” he said. “It’s not that
common to go to Tax Court
because people only go to Tax
Court if they think they’re
right
and
the
government
thinks it’s right and most of
the time, these cases are
resolved through some kind
of negotiation without going
to Tax Court … there are a lot
of complicated situations.”
A new Amtrak station may be
coming to a University hospital
near you.
The
city
of
Ann
Arbor
released a draft environmental
assessment report on Monday
detailing options for the new
Amtrak station, which has been
mired in more than a decade
of delays. The report names
Fuller Park, near the University
of Michigan Hospital, as the
preferred location for a new train
station and parking facilities.
Jim
Kosteva,
University
director of community relations,
predicted that if the Regional
Transport
Authority’s
plan
to
implement
a
rigorous
Southeastern
Michigan
commuter
rail
program
succeeds, having a station so
close to the hospital would be an
immense benefit for the 26,000
employees and 10,000 to 12,000
or more patients and visitors who
come to the hospital on a daily
basis.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, September 21, 2017
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 94
©2017 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
CROS SWO R D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Students call on Schlissel, ‘U’ administration to
respond to racist incidents in dorms, around campus
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Black Student Union members protest in front of the Union Wednesday evening.
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Schlissel addresses students at the protest.
One man arrested, hundreds of students later postered President’s home with Black Lives Matter and #BBUM signs
SOPHIE SHERRY,
RIYAH BASHA &
MOLLY NORRIS
Daily News Editors and
Daily Staff Reporter
Ann Arbor
considers
new plan
for Amtrak
CITY
The new train station
would be situated near
the University hospital
ISHI MORI
Daily Staff Reporter
KATELYN MUCALHY/DAILY
Scott DeRue gives the State of School Address in Robertson Auditorium on Wednesday.
Students respond to $50 million gift
made to Ross at State of School event
Stephen Ross becomes largest ‘U’ donor one month after the end of his tax court case
MATT HARMON
Daily Staff Reporter
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
Churches
and
synagogues
throughout Washtenaw County
are
teaming
up
to
house
undocumented
immigrants
facing threats of deportation.
The
project,
called
the
Washtenaw
Congregational
Sanctuary,
was
formally
announced earlier this month
at the Church of the Good
Shepherd as a collaboration
between the Interfaith Council
for Peace & Justice and the
Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition
for Immigrant Rights. It has not
yet received anyone, but is ready
to provide shelter immediately
for those who need it.
Becky Dean, a University
alum and social worker, said the
idea came in February after she
was done tolerating President
Donald Trump’s controversial
rhetoric against immigrants,
something
that
accelerated
as
immigration
enforcement
and
raids
increased
across
Washtenaw County.
Churches
to shelter
immigrant
families
ANN ARBOR
Efforts in response to
County immigration
raids, political climate
ISHI MORI
Daily Staff Reporter
See PROTEST, Page 2
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com