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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
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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

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