University of Michigan Central 

Student Government President 
Anushka Sarkar, an LSA senior, 
signed the assembly’s resolution 
AR 7-019 that calls for the 
University to investigate possible 
divestment from companies that 
violate Palestinian human rights.

In a secret ballot vote last 

Wednesday 
morningat 
CSG’s 

meeting, 
the 
#UMDivest 

movement passed for the first 
time on the University’s Ann 
Arbor campus with 23 votes 

in favor, 17 votes against and 5 
abstentions. 
The 
resolution’s 

passage, and the tumultuous 
history of the #UM Divest 
movement, has sparked action 
from students on both sides of the 
issue. Last Wednesday’s decision 
has since further divided the 
campus.

In 
a 
statement 
released 

Tuesday night, Sarkar expanded 
on her personal beliefs that the 
University should not invest in 
companies allegedly endangering 
the lives of Palestinians.

“I 
believe 
the 
intent 
of 

this resolution is to elevate a 
marginalized community’s voice, 
voices that have been muffled and 
diluted, year after year,” Sarkar 
wrote. “I believe the students who 

The University of Michigan 

has seen countless acts of hate 
targeted 
against 
people 
of 

color and other marginalized 
communities in recent years. 
The University administration 
has responded to such acts in 
a variety of ways. In October 
2016, the University launched 
its five-year Diversity, Equity 
and Inclusion strategic plan to 
foster a welcoming and inclusive 
campus. However, the plan has 
been criticized for failing to put a 
stop to racist attacks.

These issues are not unique 

to the University of Michigan. 
Across the country, university 
administrations 
and 
campus 

communities have struggled to 
address issues of diversity, acts 
of hate and negative campus 
climates.

This article is part two of a 

series in which The Michigan 
Daily looks at colleges similar 
to the University of Michigan 
on the issue of reacting in a 
tense campus climate. As the 
University 
administration 

and students face their own 
numerous bias incidents, The 
Daily will look at other schools to 
compare and contrast incidents, 
administration 
response 
and 

student activism, whether it is 
a difference in religion, culture, 
politics or policies. This article 
will feature schools from the 
Midwestern 
region 
including 

University 
of 
Wisconsin-

Madison, 
Northwestern 

University 
and 
Indiana 

University.

There 
is 
a 
theory 
that 

prominent, progressive schools 
are targets for bias incidents 
— the University of Michigan 
among them, as Washtenaw is a 
blue county in a newly turned red 
state. In an earlier interview with 
The Daily, University President 
Mark Schlissel said there might 
not be a way to mitigate the target 
on the University’s back.

“I think that part of being a 

prominent 
university, 
taking 

clear positions on things, having 
large numbers of very successful 
graduates out there in the world, 
being on TV all the time, being in 
the media all the time means that 

what happens here gets noticed,” 
he said. “That’s the sort of other 
side of this double-edged sword 
of being famous and prominent.”

According to enrollment data 

from University of Wisconsin-
Madison’s Office of the Registrar, 
approximately 2.9 percent of its 
student population is African 
American as of fall 2017. Kevin 
Helmkamp, the assistant vice 
provost and associate dean of 
students at UW, explained how 
the demographics of the state 
lead to this.

“I think every institution is 

the same in these regards, I think 
every institution is different as 
well with that,” he said. “We 
all have our thing with that. I 
think Michigan … (has) a broader 

number of cities and communities 
with a strong African American 
population than what Wisconsin 
does, which really is kind of 
Milwaukee. You have to look at 
Milwaukee Public Schools and 
issues that exist there, that’s all 
part of our dynamic.”

Though Donald Trump won 

Wisconsin in the 2016 election, 
71.4 percent of voters in Dane 
County, where UW is located, 
voted for former presidential 
candidate Hillary Clinton.

According to the 2016 U.S. 

Census Bureau, the state of 
Wisconsin has a 6.7 percent 
Hispanic or Latino population, 
a 6.6 percent Black or African 
American population and a 2.8 

LGBTQ+ Michiganders may not 

be protected from discrimination 
under the Michigan Constitution, 
a gap in civil rights now fervently 
trying to be patched.

Under 
the 
Elliott-Larsen 

Civil Rights Act, discrimination 
based on sex is prohibited. 
However, the definition of sex 
under this statute has never 
fully been fleshed out. Because 
of this, Equality Michigan, a 
LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, 
asked the Michigan Civil Rights 
Commission to issue a ruling on 
the definition back in September. 
Though it was set to make a ruling 
broadening 
the 
definition 
to 

explicitly include gender identity 
and sexual orientation, the CRC 
voted to table it and requested the 
Attorney General’s opinion. Eli 
Savit, a University of Michigan 
law professor and legal aide in the 
efforts, said he believes Michigan 
Attorney General Bill Schuette — 
a current Michigan gubernatorial 
candidate— abused his power to 
prevent this from happening.

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, November 22, 2017

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail 
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 35
©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

CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 C

See RESOLUTION, Page 3A

CHUN SO/Daily

Students and faculty voice their opposition to Richard Spencer’s request to speak on campus at the Regents meeting in the Union Tuesday.

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

The University of Michigan 

has agreed to proceed with white 
supremacist Richard Spencer’s 
request to speak on campus if the 
University is able to ensure a safe 

setting for the event. University 
President 
Mark 
Schlissel 

announced 
the 
University 

will begin deliberations with 
Spencer’s team regarding time, 
place and nature of the event after 
convening an emergency Board of 
Regents’ meeting Tuesday night.

“We only today have finalized 

plans for how we will proceed 
on Richard Spencer’s request 

to speak on the University of 
Michigan campus,” Schlissel said.

University 
spokesman 
Rick 

Fitzgerald said the University 
has not determined a timeline for 
negotiations. In a tweet following 
Schlissel’s 
announcement, 

Kyle Bristow — an attorney for 
Cameron Padgett, the University 
of Georgia student submitting 
requests for Spencer — tweeted 

his deadline for the University’s 
final response has been extended 
to Dec. 8, at penalty of a lawsuit. 
After refusing to allow Spencer 
on campus earlier this year, 
Michigan 
State 
University 

officials are currently engaged in 
a legal mediation with Bristow.

Fitzgerald 
said 
Bristow’s 

ultimatum will have no effect on 

See RESPONSE, Page 2A

GOVERNMENT

BLACK

WHITE

ASIAN

HISPANIC/
LATINO

ENROLLMENT DIVERSITY DATA
OVERALL ENROLLMENT OF 2017

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
THE DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION PROGRAM

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
INCLUSIVE NORTHWESTERN

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
OUR WISCONSIN

INDIANA UNIVERSITY
ENROLLMENT DATA

CASEY TIN/Daily

Crazy man

His teammates say he has 
a few screws loose. They’re 

not entirely wrong. But 

without the madness, Chase 
Winovich wouldn’t be what 

he has become today.

» Page 1C

michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit

See REGENTS, Page 3A

Twelve 
students 
from 
the 

University of Michigan’s Climate 
Blue organization just returned to 
campus after attending the 2017 
United Nations Climate Change 
Conference earlier this month in 
Bonn, Germany. This year marked 
the 23rd meeting of the Conference 
of Parties, held under the United 
Nations Framework Convention 
on Climate Change; the UNFCCC 
is an international treaty that was 
signed at the Rio Earth Summit 
in 1992 to mark the beginning 
of international cooperation in 
addressing climate change.

This year, the UNFCCC’s 197 

parties came together to discuss 
the implementation of the Paris 
agreement. The agreement, which 
was designed during COP21 in 
2015, aimed to reduce greenhouse 
gas emissions and curb the global 
temperature rise. However, in June 
2017, President Donald Trump 
announced the United States would 
withdraw from the agreement in 
an effort to preserve jobs.

The Climate Blue student group, 

which discusses climate policy 
across southeast Michigan, began 

See CONFERENCE, Page 3A

RESEARCH

Failure 
to protect 
LGBTQ+ 
rights in MI

MI AG was called upon 
to define sex and gender 
identity in early September

CARLY RYAN

Daily Staff Reporter

A look into adminstrative responses 
and climate in Midwestern colleges

Wisconsin-Madison, Northwestern, Indiana, faced similar issues as U-M

JENNIFER MEER

Daily News Editor

‘U’ attends
UN climate 
conference 
in Germany

As part of the Climate 
Blue organization, 12 
University students went

JENNIFER MEER

Daily News Editor

CSG Pres.
signs off on
#UMDivest 
resolution

University Board of Regents address 
Richard Spencer request in meeting

Sarkar wrote in an attached statement
the resolution was a reasonable request

ALEXA ST. JOHN & 

JORDYN BAKER

Managing News Editor & 

Daily Staff Reporter

If the University is able to ensure a safe setting for the event, Spencer will be allowed

RIYAH BASHA 

& ANDREW HIYAMA

Daily News Editor & 
Daily Staff Reporter

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

statement

THE MICHIGAN DAILY | NOVEMBER 22, 2017