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Tuesday, October 24, 2017 — 3
that could mean a lot for younger
generations looking to get involved
with politics.
“I think what I’m trying to do is
change the face of leadership and
that starts at the most grassroot
level –– college campuses,” Saad
said. “Just get involved. Get engaged
on campus.”
Public Policy senior Nadine
Jawad,
Central
Student
Government vice president, said
seeing a Muslim woman continue
to break the glass ceiling and
strive for positions of power was
inspirational.
“I believe she is doing the work
that lays the foundation for girls and
women, including myself, to keep
shattering the glass ceiling,” Jawad
said.
Jawad said Muslim women are
particularly underrepresented in
all levels of government. She added
while there is diversity within the
Muslim world itself, Fayrouz is a
great step in the right direction for
the community.
“Fayrouz is challenging the
normalization of this exclusion and
setting an example to empower
others to run for office,” Jawad said.
“Muslims aren’t a monolith and
within our identity we have a lot of
diversity, but I believe it is important
to have Muslim voices in all levels of
governments, as so often decisions
are made about us without us.”
Prior
to
this
campaign,
Saad worked on John Kerry’s
2004 campaign, in the Obama
Administration’s Department of
Homeland Security department
and was the director of immigrant
and international affairs for Detroit
Mayor Mike Duggan.
Students on campus seem to be
enthusiastic about Saad’s campaign.
LSA junior Meaghan Wheat said
Saad has a lot of merit and would
be a step in the right direction
regardless of her identity.
“I’m interested in following
her
campaign,
and
definitely
support the need for a different
representative in District 11,” Wheat
said. “She seems to have good
experience in government.”
Public
Policy
junior
Zoha
Qureshi agreed with Jawad in
that diversity in government is
necessary to involve all perspectives
in the process. Qureshi, a CSG
representative, said Saad’s story
is particularly inspiring to her
political aspirations.
“Especially in today’s political
climate,
it’s
super
important
to
increase
diversity
in
our
government at all levels,” Qureshi
said. “With diversity comes more
representation, more perspectives,
and a stronger understanding
of each other and how we can
collectively and positively impact
our communities. As a woman and a
minority interested in public office
myself, I love that Fayrouz Saad is
running.”
Saad said her focus for her
Congressional race will be on health
care, as she wants to work toward
universal health care. She also cited
economic growth as a goal, and
wants to incentivize automation
within the economy. Saad said
she hopes that in implementing
these goals she inspires younger
generations to set lofty political
goals.
“U of M is probably one of the
most
dynamic
campuses.
It’s
right for activism and student
engagement in so many ways,” Saad
said. “Find an issue or cause you
believe in and become a leader on
campus.”
ALUM
From Page 1
The service has faced a tenuous
future in recent years; in July of
2015, University officials were
planning to cancel funding for
the service by the end of 2016.
However,
Central
Student
Government passed a resolution to
encourage the University to extend
it back in April of 2016.
Riders
can
now
make
reservations online and one-way
trips range between $6 and $10.
Students who have Pell Grants
will be able to use the Connector
for
free.
University
students
and faculty who participate in
community service and class
activities in Detroit will have
reduced fares.
Chief diversity officer Robert
Sellers, vice provost for equity and
inclusion, spoke on the bus service
in a press release.
“The University of Michigan
is deeply committed to creating
a more diverse, equitable and
inclusive campus environment,”
Sellers
said.
“The
Detroit
Connector helps us break down
existing
barriers
and
better
connect the Ann Arbor, Dearborn
and Detroit communities. By
expanding service and opening it to
the public, the Detroit Connector
can improve access to the region’s
numerous research, academic and
cultural opportunities.”
The Detroit Connector has
operated from donations, grants
and some funding from the Office
of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
and Detroit Center since 2013. The
buses are wheelchair accessible
and include Wi-Fi, restrooms,
electrical outlets and bike storage
on board.
Craig
Regester,
associate
director of the Semester in Detroit
program, is one of the two central
originators of the proposal for the
Detroit Connector with the U-M
Detroit Center. He said he hopes
the expansions will build ridership
that will be mutually beneficial to
all.
“The original vision of the
Detroit
Connector
always
sought the building of mutually-
beneficial connections and access
for residents in both Ann Arbor
and Detroit, not just an easy way
for UM students to get to the big
city,” Regester said. “Now that
the service is open to the general
public, and provided daily, we
believe this vision can be fully
realized. Of course, now, we all
need to help build ridership and
to spread the word to our friends,
colleagues and neighbors to ‘Get
on the Bus!’”
Feedback from students, like
LSA junior Jenny Ghose, has been
positive.
“I used the Detroit Connector
a ton during my freshman year
when I was really homesick and
went home once a month. For the
past couple years, I have used it
when I go home for the weekend,
about twice a semester,” Ghose
wrote in an email. “I have been
hoping for extended hours since I
first learned about the connector
during my freshman year. The
original hours were better than
nothing,
but
extending
the
hours really expands the realm
of possibilities for students like
myself who rely on the connector
to go home or for students who
use the connector to go back-
and-forth to events in Detroit. It
really provides a great service for
students from the Metro Detroit
area and connects our campus to
all of the great things going on in
Detroit these days.”
BUS
From Page 1
incidents prohibits students from
“harassing or bullying another
person−physically,
verbally,
or
through other means,” but proving
such a violation in a clear and
persuasive manner can be a high
standard to clear.
The lack of language also means
OSCR does not automatically
collect data on cases of bias the
office receives.
“We don’t have many metrics
around that, no,” Harper said.
With the statement up for
revisions next fall, some students
are trying to change that.
CSG Rep. Andrew Watkins, a
Public Policy senior, is leading a
team of students working with
OSCR, the Office of General
Counsel and the Dean of Students
to explore an amendment to the
statement that explicitly bans bias
incidents. Proposed amendments
are community-based and go
through rounds of review from
CSG,
Senate
Assembly
and
executive officers.
“Bias
incidents
against
an
identity group on campus don’t
classify as a violation under the
current
statement,”
Watkins
said. “The legal definition of
harassment is much too strict —
like if somebody does something
offensive to a student, that doesn’t
(always) qualify as harassment
unfortunately, so they can’t be
disciplined under that section.”
LSA junior Ayah Issa, a former
CSG representative and a member
of the Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion Student Advisory Board,
echoed Watkins.
“It’s
almost
unrealistic
to
assume things that affect students
daily or what’s been happening
this past month fit within that
realm of harassment — and
that’s wrong,” Issa said. “We are
looking for a realistic turnover.
We don’t know whether that’s
amending the students’ rights
and
responsibilities
statement
or adding a new academic honor
code.”
Harper,
Wessel
and
Dean
of Students Laura Blake Jones
are amenable to the proposed
amendment. Wessel maintained,
however, no matter the language
in the statement, it’s up to the
community to change.
“Do I think that mere change
to language in a policy is going
to change ideology? No.” he said.
“Do I think that a double-down
on our University’s commitment
to values and the pathways that
we have available to us … when
harm is created in our community.
… Do I think that’s always a good
approach? Absolutely.”
Bureaucracy and challenges
All students and administrators
cited inherent tension, though, in
weighing campus climate with
students’ constitutional rights to
free speech.
Issa said CSG is working
alongside Student Legal Services
to avoid infringing upon students’
rights and instead help protect
them.
“How do you mention (bias)
without being too broad?” she
said. “Too vague leads to too much
power.”
OSCR’s
complaint-driven
structure itself raises barriers
to victims of bias incidents;
administrators cannot officially
respond to incidents that are not
reported.
Harper said in her experience,
students
might
be
wary
of
retaliation, or more often are simply
unaware of the processes available
to them. The Bias Response
Team — which focuses more on
documentation and support —
does not always refer reporters to
OSCR as a potential channel, often
because perpetrators’ identities
remain unknown.
“Students
of
color
aren’t
involved in crafting the process,”
she said. “There are gaps between
the Bias Response Team and
OSCR, and we need to make sure
students know how to use the
codes. But sometimes they just
don’t want to report.”
On a more surface level, many
are unaware of the statement’s
existence.
Engineering senior Nick Morris,
for example, said he remembers
agreeing to the statement, but
could not recall what it specifically
outlined. He said it seemed to be
a generic document of rules and
regulations.
“I remember signing that, but
I don’t remember exactly what
was in it,” Morris said. “Is it just
that we have the right to receive
equal and fair treatment, and that
as a student, we must abide by
University rules and respect other
students and faculty? I remember
it seeming like a generic rules,
regulations and respect kind of
document.”
Issa and Watkins emphasized
boosting the statement’s visibility
and
publicizing
bias-specific
language. Students, they argue,
will be more aware of what they
are opting into.
“The first problem with the
current statement, is that nobody
knows it,” Watkins said. “Everyone
did sign it. … There’s no exposure
to it and students don’t know
about it. What we are hoping
with a separate document would
be, maybe during the admissions
process … that you explicitly agree
to these terms.”
“People won’t do things if they
know they will get punished or
if we have a policy in place,” Issa
said. “If there’s no accountability,
then what do you hold a person up
to?”
Precedent ––or a lack thereof
Though
a
bias-minded
amendment would be the first of
its kind at the University, several
other schools already have these
kinds of policies in effect.
The University of Virginia
includes a section called “Freedom
from
Discrimination”
on
its
policy for Students Rights and
Responsibilities. The University
of Michigan’s Nondiscrimination
Policy, on the other hand, is more
concerned with employment and
institutional inequity.
OSCR
From Page 1
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said. “City Council members on
the other hand have the ability
to do so. I can appreciate them
kneeling in solidarity but I also
want to see action followed up by
that.”
Policing in Ann Arbor
On July 13, 2016, the Ann Arbor
Human
Rights
Commission
published a statement calling
on city officials to expedite the
formation of a civilian police
oversight board. The oversight
board was originally suggested
following the shooting of Aura
Rosser, but Jim Baird, Ann Arbor
Police Chief, strongly urged no
action be taken until the city
completed a third-party audit of
the police department.
Seven months later, Feb. 21,
2017, City Council approved a
$200,000 contract with Chicago-
based
security
consulting
firm Hillard Heintze to assess
community relations between
police and AAPD, and offer
suggestions in implementing a
civilian police oversight board.
In March, the council moved
forward with phase one of the
review.
Many Ann Arbor residents
were upset with the council’s
decision
to
ignore
the
Human
Rights
Commission’s
recommendation and postpone
the potential implementation of a
oversight board.
“Instead of throwing full
support
behind
the
Human
Rights
Commission’s
report
calling for citizen oversight, the
city spent another $200,000 on
an external review conducted by
a private consulting firm founded
by
police
officials,”
McCoy
wrote. “The snail-like movement
of this process makes me wonder
whether or not city government
wants citizen oversight. It is
clear that the police do not want
it because (Baird) has already
said so. However, I do not care
what the chief says, every police
department in this country needs
citizen oversight, including Ann
Arbor’s.”
Frenzel explained the process
halted in an effort to ensure it
expands to be more inclusive.
“Certain council members,
myself included and certain
community
members
pushed
to have more voices included in
the collection of information and
that postponed the output of the
report from them,” Frenzel said.
“We were suppose to get that
report in August and now we’re
getting it in November because
they had to take a step back and
collect more information. It’s
still debatable how inclusive that
report is or is not, but that work
has from some vantage points
attempted to be more thorough.”
According
to
Krapohl,
a
comprehensive review of the
police department takes time.
“I don’t think we have many of
the problems a lot of communities
do across the country,” Krapohl
said. “There are always ways we
can get better and unfortunately
many of these things take time.
There has to be a deliberate
process of review to ensure
fairness for everyone involved.”
Phase
one
of
the
study
consisted of collecting data on
community members and law
enforcements
perspectives
through surveys and forums.
This took place over the summer
meaning student voices were
largely excluded.
City
Council
will
discuss
the Hillard Heintze phase one
study in a work session Nov. 16.
Smith anticipates it will suggest
comprehensive reform.
“I fully expect it to challenge
some of the standard ways we
have always done things in Ann
Arbor, I expect it to recommend
a citizen oversight committee, I
expect it to recommend changes
to some of the departmental
operating
procedures;
it
might even go so far as to say
real
reorganization
of
the
department,” Smith said.
“For
reasons
beyond
my
understanding,
the
Hillard
Heintze
study
—
the
data
collection component — the
community
conversation
happened during the summer
predominately when obviously
students aren’t around, that
predispositioned
the
data
collection to a certain scenario,”
Frenzel also noted.
Minority
communities
on
campus
have
frequently
expressed
issues
with
over
police. A Daily article published
last Friday found at least six
citations were issued to houses
associated with Kappa Alpha Psi,
a historically Black fraternity,
and Latino fraternity Lambda
Theta Phi during the Oct. 7
football game against Michigan
State. Of the 10 predominantly
white
fraternities
surveyed
by The Daily, none received
citations.
Many of these lie within in
Smith’s ward. Smith said he
acknowledged changes must be
made.
“I see the communication
issues and gaps our police
department
has
with,
in
particular, the African-American
community here and I think
we have to address that. To
address it means we need to
take a pretty self-critical look,”
Smith said. “And taking a knee in
solidarity with Councilmember
Kailasapathy is my way of saying,
‘Hey, I’m going to look hard in
the mirror and see if their are
better ways to do this.”
There is still concern that
acknowledging a problem simply
is not enough.
“There have been several
instances of police brutality
and I haven’t seen action being
taken behind those incidents
and so kneeling in solidarity is
a nice gesture, but city council
members are in a position to
make greater change than that,”
Greene said. “I would be ecstatic
if I saw policy being developed
to actually address these issues
of police brutality and white
supremacy but I am not sure if I
am necessarily seeing that.”
Co-opting versus allyship
In
late
September
2017,
President
Donald
Trump
tweeted a call on NFL players to
stop kneeling during the national
anthem and “disrespecting our
Flag & Country.”
The tweet brought the debate
back into the national spotlight. A
growing number of professional
athletes, high school athletes and
fans subsequently began to kneel
during the national anthem.
On Sep. 27, 16 members of New
York City’s city council knelt
during the Pledge of Allegiance
and a dozen members of San
Diego’s city council did the same
on Oct. 10.
Some argue the popularization
of this gesture detracts from
Kaepernick’s original goal: to
comment on oppression and
police brutality in the Black
community.
“While councilwoman Sumi
Kailasapathy
acknowledged
that policing issue was on her
mind, neither her nor Chuck
Warpehoski
mentions
Aura
Rosser by name, again, rendering
her invisible in all of this,” McCoy
said. “They haven’t said anything
about Ciaeem Slaton’s violent
arrest last month.”
Greene suggested protesters
should expand on why they kneel,
but as long as they recognize its
original intent.
KNEELING
From Page 1
Read more at
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