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Friday, December 8, 2017 — 3
safe. Safety is critical to students,
and I’m thinking about the
ones who came here for the
first time, thinking they would
be in a university where they
could thrive academically and
socially, only now to be faced
with a speaker who not only
denies their humanity, but also
would bring others like him to
campus,” Wilson said. “This is
simply unsafe, and careless to
have someone here who could, in
reality, start a riot.”
LSA senior Anushka Sarkar,
president of Central Student
Government, presented a petition
opposing
a
potential
speech
from Spencer, saying it received
more
than
5,000
signatures
from students. She said a similar
petition circulated among alumni
had received more than 6,200
signatures.
“I echo thousands of students
and community members when I
say we will not be safe if he and his
followers come to our campus,”
Sarkar said. “Richard Spencer
should not be accommodated.”
Social Work student Lawrielle
West said the issue was bigger
than
just
Richard
Spencer’s
presence
on
campus,
but
extended to white supremacy at
the University in general.
“Some might say, ‘Hmm, what
do you mean white supremacy is
on campus?’” West said. “Well,
this is what white supremacy
looks like at the University of
Michigan: White supremacy looks
like a Regent Board that is torn
between the First Amendment
right — which is not and never
has been equity-distributed to
all — and student safety, which
should not be limited to physical,
but psychological and mental
safety as well.”
University
alum
Jessica
Prozinski,
a
leader
of
Stop
Trump
Ann
Arbor,
spoke
directly to University Regent
Mark
Bernstein
(D)
during
public
comment,
referencing
his statement from the Nov. 21
emergency
Regents’
meeting
announcing the University would
proceed in negotiations with
Spencer.
“We
could
deny
Richard
Spencer,
everyone
would
celebrate, this board would be
cheered,
President
Schlissel
would be applauded, but we
would be dancing on our own
graves,” Bernstein said at the
November
meeting.
“On
our
tombstones would read: Here
lies the University of Michigan,
afraid to do the right and difficult
thing.”
“Here’s the problem: Reality
is the problem. You need to come
out of the world of books and
ideas and take a look around,
because we’re looking not at
metaphorical
tombstones
but
at real tombstones,” Prozinski
said. “That’s why lawyers are
insufficient leaders in times like
this — your vision is too narrow,
and your trust in the law to
protect us is too great.”
In
response
to
Prozinski,
Bernstein said the problem was
not reality, but the Constitution.
“I’ve heard people urge us
to say no, and you have every
right, and an obligation, in fact,
as a private citizen to say no
to Richard Spencer’s vile and
repugnant views,” he said. “But if
you give government — which is
what this institution is — the right
to say no to speech that it doesn’t
like or that it doesn’t want to
hear or that may be provocative,
government simply will. And
what that means is the next time a
marginalized community speaks
out, government will just say no.”
Overall, Wilson said, it was
imperative the actions of the
administration in dealing with
Spencer be as transparent as
possible.
“As someone who has been at
universities longer than I care to
say right now, I understand the
need to withhold information
until necessary, but you all
also must understand the lived
experiences
and
position
of
students who feel that they are
being left in the dark on a lot of
issues circling around campus,”
she said.
According
to
a
Thursday
press
release
from
attorney
Kyle Bristow, a representative
for
Georgia
State
University
student Cameron Padgett who is
making these requests on behalf
of Spencer, the University had
already offered four dates — Nov.
29 and 30 and Dec. 27 and 28 — as
possibilities for Spencer’s event,
but Spencer is now seeking to
hold an event between Feb. 24 and
March 4 — over the University’s
Spring Break.
LEO Bargaining
During
public
comment,
representatives and supporters
of
the
Lecturers’
Employee
Organization spoke in favor of
lecturers and the positive work
they do in the classroom and
elsewhere on campus.
In recent months, LEO has
been at the bargaining table
with University administration
and has staged demonstrations
in hopes of improving benefits,
wages and job security for
lecturers at the University.
LSA senior Neala Berkowski
said lecturers have been behind
some of the most meaningful
work she has accomplished at
the University and they deserve
to be compensated fairly. She
said she believes the Board
of Regents has the ability to
support the work lecturers do
by providing them with fairer
wages and other resources.
“I’m here to call you out
for your amoral treatment of
lecturers while you still have
the opportunity to do something
about it,” Birkowski said. “These
are
people
with
advanced
degrees and often a lot of debt. …
Lecturers bend over backwards
for their students and you
literally give them the scraps.”
Rackham
student
Rachel
Miller,
current
president
of
the
Graduate
Employees
Organization, supported LEO
and their bargaining, saying
many
departments
at
the
University are heavily dependent
on the work of lecturers. She
gave her support for LEO’s
bargaining efforts having come
from GEO’s bargaining sessions
last
year
that
resulted
in
increased University support for
DEI positions and mental health
co-pay caps.
Andrew
DeOrio,
lecturer
of
Computer
Science
and
Engineering,
said
while
lecturers allow students to take
more classes in their interests,
he is having a difficult time
attracting
lecturers
to
the
University because the pay is
not as high as it is in private
companies.
“It’s lecturers that have made
it possible for every student who
wants some computing in their
education to do so,” DeOrio
said. “As the chair of the search
committee for lecturers (in
Computer Science), I’ve lost a lot
of recruits and potential hires.
It’s really hard to get people to
do this job.”
Investments
A $100 million investment
in Y Combinator, a startup
accelerator company, and a $39.5
million parking structure on
Wall Street were both approved
by the Board of Regents.
The Y Combinator investment
will provide seed funding to
support the development of
startups across the country.
Started in 2005, Y Combinator
funded
Airbnb
and
Reddit
during its tenure.
The
parking
structure
project, which will be paid for
by the University’s Logistics,
Transportation
&
Parking
resources and will be seven
levels with 1,050 spaces, is said
to
improve
patient,
faculty
and staff satisfaction on the
Medical and Central campuses.
According to the action request,
currently employees are forced
to park farther away from the
hospital and walk or use other
transportation
methods.
The
project approval also authorizes
Walker Parking Consultants to
propose a design.
REGENTS
From Page 1
and the administration. The
letter also addressed how
ME/NA students are often
forced to identify as white
while filling out documents
— a classification that fails to
encompass their unique lived
experiences in a post-9/11
America.
“ME/NA
students,
constrained
by
Census
categories, are expected to
check the white identity box,”
it reads. “However, many
people of Middle Eastern
and North African descent
do not identify with or have
the lived experiences of being
white in the U.S., especially
in a post-9/11 environment of
anti-Arab and anti-Muslim
racism. In addition, the lack
of an identity box for U-M’s
ME/NA students perpetuates
the
erasure
that
many
marginalized
communities
experience. Given that we
live in a state with the largest
concentration
of
ME/NA
individuals outside of the
Middle East/North Africa,
we have a unique regional
responsibility to implement
the
ME/NA
identity
category.”
During the meeting, several
students
representing
the
#WeExist campaign shared
their thoughts regarding why
they believe the University
should implement the ME/NA
identity category. LSA senior
Jad Elharake, one of the main
organizers
of
#WeExist,
emphasized the amount of
work students and organizers
have put into the campaign to
draw attention to this lack of
representation.
“For over a decade, ME/
NA students have raised the
same issue, but our concerns
were not prioritized or acted
upon. However, in the past
nine
months,
organizers
have been working towards
building
unprecedented
support on campus,” he said.
“We
unanimously
passed
resolutions
and
support
statements in over 15 student
governments.”
He further described the
unique
responsibility
the
University has to recognize
ME/NA
students,
as
the
state of Michigan possesses
the largest concentration of
individuals that identify with
this category outside of the
Middle East and North Africa.
A case studyconducted by
the Arab American Institute
reported
the
number
of
Michigan residents who claim
an Arab ancestry has almost
tripled since 1980.
“Given that we live in
the state with the largest
concentration
of
ME/NA
individuals outside of the
Middle
East
and
North
Africa,” he said. “U of M has a
unique regional responsibility
to implement the ME/NA
identity category.”
Engineering junior Bassel
Salka, co-president of the
Arab
Student
Association,
echoed Elharake’s enthusiasm
regarding
working
with
University
faculty
and
administration to make the
ME/NA identity category a
reality.
“I was really happy to see
the Middle Eastern and North
African community unite over
all three campuses on this
project with overwhelming
support from other groups
and allies, this is something
very special,” he said. “It will
be great as an Arab myself to
finally feel represented on
this campus. Lastly, as for the
concerns from the regents, the
ME/NA community is excited
to address those concerns and
work together on achieving
our goal.”
Despite
multiple
student
speakers at the meeting, as
well as University Regent Mark
Bernstein
(D),
expressing
enthusiasm regarding working
with the campaign toward
implementing the category,
University
Regent
Andrea
Fischer
Newman
(R)
said
she possesses concerns about
making the change and would
like further discussion before
reaching a final decision.
“Just so we’re clear, and
with all due respect to my
colleague, I do have some
concerns, and would like to
have this discussion before
coming to a conclusion,” she
said. “I just want to make that
clear, that there is a difference
of opinion, potentially.”
IDENTITY
From Page 1
Bristow sent to the University’s
general counsel Timothy Lynch,
which Bristow shared with the
Detroit Free Press, one of the
reasons they needed a response by
Jan. 15 was so his team could bring
Spencer’s supporters to the event.
“If a date between February
24 and March 4, 2018, will work
for Richard Spencer’s speech on
campus, we will need to know
sooner rather than later so that
travel
arrangements
can
be
made for the numerous involved
parties who will need to obtain
airfare,
lodging,
and
ground
transportation,” Bristow wrote.
Considering he had extended
the
deadline
for
finalizing
negotiations twice, Bristow said
this was the final opportunity.
“There will be no further
extensions of my client’s demand
to
be
permitted
to
exercise
his constitutional right to free
speech,” Bristow said. “We’ve
been patient, but our patience has
its limits.”
SPENCER
From Page 1
the email read. “Every group
on campus should have a
voice. If one of us is silenced,
we are all weaker for it.”
The listing for the associate
director position was posted
for three weeks on various
job boards, including U-M
Careers and the Chronicle of
Higher Education. Numerous
MESA
administrators
and
Interim Director Linh Nguyen
reviewed applications, and
after
conducting
phone
interviews,
on-campus
interviews were offered to
several candidates — none of
whom were Latino.
In an email, E. Royster
Harper, the University’s vice
president for student life,
said student perspectives are
“critical.”
“Student
participation
in the hiring process helps
us identify candidates who
embrace the goals of the office
and carry them forward,”
Harper said. “When we are at
our best, we create a diverse
candidate pool and work in
partnership to identify strong
candidates for any position.”
According
to
the
University’s
Enrollment
Overview, the percentage of
Latino students on campus
has risen over the past several
years; total enrollment of
Hispanic students was just
under 5 percent in fall 2013
and
has
since
grown
to
6.67 percent this past fall.
However,
the
University
currently has no deans or
assistant
deans
from
the
Latino community.
Navarrete
said
the
University must take steps to
ensure Latinx candidates are
notified about and considered
for positions.
“The
University
should
advertise positions towards
Latinx professionals, because
to accept a candidate pool
with no Latinx candidates
insinuates that the University
believes our community is not
capable of providing qualified
leaders,”
Navarrete
said.
“Being able to identify with
faculty, staff, students and
administrators who share our
identity is crucial to allowing
for genuine connections and
providing an environment for
the Latinx community that is
inclusive and welcoming.”
MESA
From Page 1
people watched, sparing only
the village’s church. Today,
members of the Burt Lake Band
are dispersed throughout the
state of Michigan.
The 10,000-acre University
Biological
Station
was
established in 1909 to study
environmental
change.
The
University acquired the land
from lumber barons after the
trees were cleared, allowing
students to study the fire-
ravaged
environment.
Since
its
conception,
the
forest
has
rejuvenated,
providing
a place for biological and
environmental field work for
students and faculty.
According to the request
written by John M. Petoskey,
an enrolled member of the
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa
and Chippewa Indians, the
Burt Lake Band of Odawa and
Ojibwa people lived less than
five miles from the current
UMBS, which was established
after the burnout. His request
is threefold: that the University
of Michigan create curriculum
on the burnout for students
who attend UMBS, to work
with descendants of the Burt
Lake Band to commemorate the
burnout through a memorial at
UMBS and that UMBS, Ecology
and
Evolutionary
Biology
and School for Environment
and
Sustainability
include
in its curriculum indigenous
perspectives
on
resource
management,
environmental
history,
ecology
and
environmental justice.
LSA
senior
Elizabeth
Michaelson
spent
three
summers
at
UMBS
taking
classes
and
working.
She
studied
freshwater
ecology,
forest ecology and soil samples
from the region of the fire.
“It’s known, at the biological
station, of Native American
archaeological
deposits
or
storage in the ground and the
Native
American
presences
(are) known and understood
and somewhat talked about,”
Michaelson said.
Michaelson could not recall
whether she heard about the
story of the Burt Lake Band
burnout from sitting around the
campfire or from those working
at the UMBS. She recalls Native
American tribal maps located
at UMBS but said she did not
know UMBS opened so recently
following the fire.
“There is no way in this
small quiet area that (the
University) didn’t know about
this,” Michaelson said. “I think
that (Petoskey’s) requests from
the biological station are very
doable.”
Based on her experiences at
the UMBS, Michaelson feels
that UMBS would be receptive
to Petoskey’s requests. She said
UMBS cultivated community
conversation
about
difficult
topics that emotionally effect
students.
“Through my summers at the
bio station, whenever anything
horrible
or
scary
would
happen, whether on campus
or off, there would always be
community conversation about
what is happening and how we
can move forward and support
each other,” Michaelson said.
BIO
From Page 1
“I was getting pushed out
of all the cool mechanical
stuff,” Wightman said. “But
there were always ‘reasonable
explanations.’ One day all five
girls (in the class) and I realized
we were all getting the same
‘reasonable
expectations.’
So that’s when I first started
noticing the gender differences.”
In the workplace, women
often
face
sexism
in
the
form of microaggressions or
gender-based assumptions. For
example, Wightman recalled
her
male
colleagues
being
intimidated when she dressed
professionally; a boss who told
her she would never advance if
she continued baking cookies
for the office; she would go
into
interviews
where
the
recruiters had assumed she was
male based on the impressive
credentials on her résumé.
Often one of few women in
a predominantly male office,
Wightman said her co-workers
often aren’t aware of how
offensive their statements could
be, because nobody has been
there to hold them accountable
in the past. In addition to calling
attention
to
these
remarks
outright,
Wightman
said
another strategy she has found
to be effective is to make them
explain the reasoning behind
their thought process.
“Sometimes people say things
and they don’t even realize how
sexist it is,” she said. “Someone
will say something (sexist)
and I’ll say, ‘Wait — I don’t
understand how you got to that
conclusion.’ When you make
someone explain their biases,
they start retreating.”
Siamof agreed.
HEFORSHE
From Page 1
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