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Tuesday, January 23, 2018 — 3
you see how much harder it is
for you in the field. When you do
poorly on a test, you think it’s just
because of you, whereas men tend
to externalize their failures.”
The
feelings
Danes
and
Tushman describe are common
among many women, according
to Economics Prof. Linda Tesar.
Tesar said data points to women
thinking their failures are more
about
themselves,
with
men
thinking the opposite.
“There’s a lot of evidence out
there that men and women respond
to grade signals in different ways,”
Tesar said. “Women students
interpret that it’s more about their
ability, whereas men tend to —
now, I’m grossly exaggerating — on
average men tend to interpret the
grade signal as external to them;
the class, the GSI, and less about
their ability.”
Tesar is part of a team of
faculty and lecturers studying
the experiences of women and
underrepresented minorities in
the economics program: Gender
Learning Analytics at Michigan-
Economics. In order to encourage
these populations to continue
studying economics, GLAM-E is
looking into data like the differing
interpretations of grades, and their
implications.
“We’re studying that data and
learning about what the grade
signal means and whether having
a low GPA in a class perhaps is
discouraging students that we
don’t want to discourage from
going forward,” Tesar said.
GLAM-E’s end goal is to
encourage
women
to
pursue
economics as a career by imparting
younger
women
with
more
mentors; right now, the gender
distribution is far from ideal. Out
of 71 faculty members listed on the
Economics Department website,
only 15 are women. George Fenton,
a Ph.D. candidate in the Economics
Department, said in his first two
years he has not been taught by
a single female faculty member.
LSA senior Reema Kaakarli said
she has had one female economics
professor in her four years.
The Economics Department
at
the
University
holds
an
alumni panel each year called
Economics@Work.
This
year,
seven of the nine alumni speakers
are men. Rackham student Ivy
Tran said she has noticed the
imbalance.
“One thing that I thought was
really interesting though is a lot
of alumni events held by the Econ
Department — the alumni tends
to be male, given the nature that I
can imagine about twenty or thirty
years ago, it was predominantly a
male field,” Tran said.
Economics lecturer Mitchell
Dudley organizes this panel. In
an email interview, he expressed
the difficulty he has in finding a
diverse set of alumni.
“Given that I don’t have access
to a master list of alumni, I must
rely largely on recommendations,”
he wrote. “In this case, I struggle
to present a demographically
diverse set of speakers. This is
truly frustrating at times.”
Tushman said in her core
economics classes, she’d always
seek out a female GSI even if that
GSI weren’t her own. She talked
about the need for more female
role models, and how inspiring it
was when she saw Janet Yellen,
the chair of the Federal Reserve,
speaklast year.
“It’s important to have people
to look up to,” Tushman said. “We
got to go see Janet Yellen when
she came, and that was one of the
coolest things that’s ever happened
to me.”
Even
on
the
level
of
economic textbooks, women are
underrepresented.
Stevenson
conducted a study with Rackham
student
Hanna
Zlotnick
on
mentions of males and females
in
introductory
economics
textbooks,
and
discovered
6
percent of real business leaders
mentioned are women, whereas
they are 41 percent of made-up
or “ordinary” people reviewed in
examples. Stevenson discussed
the importance of having diversity
in textbooks in order to resonate
with as many students as possible.
From her study, it is clear many
textbooks don’t fit the bill.
“We use what we have from
the past to prepare them for the
future,” Stevenson said. “Diversity
has definitely improved with time,
so textbooks from the past have
less diversity than we want.”
LSA
senior
Shannon
Hsu
discussed
the
varying
levels
of comfort she felt in taking
classes with different professors.
She found she did better with
professors that were friendlier
and
more
approachable.
She
also noted the difference in
discussion sections of her two
majors: International Studies and
Economics.
“International Studies is very
different from Econ in that it’s very
inclusive,” Hsu said. “It always
feels like a safe environment,
whereas the discussions I’ve had
for Econ core classes have been
more hostile in the sense that the
GSI is only there to teach what
is required of him, not build that
connection with the student.”
This hostility is apparent in the
economics field at large. Fenton
said within the discipline when
someone presents their research
they are then subject to somewhat
aggressive questions from the
audience. He suggested this could
be a reason women might be
discouraged.
“One thing I’ve realized is
that
the
economics
seminar
environment
all
over
the
country is especially hostile and
combative, or just downright rude
sometimes,” Fenton said. “I don’t
know if that’s related at all to the
gender issue, but I do know that it’s
a very intimidating environment,
I know for a fact more than many
other disciplines when it comes to
presenting research.”
Tran agreed the economics
environment is tough. She said she
feels the need to be more persistent
when voicing her opinions.
“If I’m the only female in a group
and I say something, oftentimes I
have to repeat myself or I have to
speak a little bit stronger,” Tran
said. “I have to stand my ground in
order to be heard.”
Kaakarli said she thinks this
intimidating culture is the main
problem, rather than explicit bias
or discrimination.
“I don’t know if I would say
that there have been any outright
incidences
of
discrimination,”
Kaakarli said. “The main issue is
just that there’s a culture that’s not
as welcoming.”
Organizations
such
as
the
Society of Women in Economics for
undergraduates and the Women
in Economics group in the Ph.D.
program provide women with
more comfortable environments
in order to offset this hostile one.
Tushman, president of SWIE,
said the goal of the organization
is “to create an empowering space
for women who are interested in
economics.” SWIE holds events
such as female alumni panels,
study sessions and resume/cover
letter workshops.
These problems may not be as
visible to those they don’t directly
affect. Fenton said he doesn’t think
about these issues as he goes about
his studies in economics.
“On a day-to-day basis, this is
just not something I pay a lot of
attention to,” he said. “That in
itself in a way is an indictment...”
division
in
the
community.
Others took issue with the faculty
deploring any individual at all
rather than judging their actions
separately from the person.
In defense of the statement,
SACUA
member
Stefan
Szymanski, professor of sport
management, said SACUA was
trying their best to appease a large
audience.
“I
think
there
are
many
aspects of this statement that
people might not agree with one
hundred percent, there are bits
of language people might change,
so we tried to frame something
that we thought would command
the
widest
possible
assent
without necessarily aspiring to
universality,” Szymanski said.
Szymanski
also
said
the
statement was an attempt to
help and support students who
felt
extremely
isolated
and
unsupported by faculty in light of
the Richard Spencer issue.
English Prof. Anne Curzan,
chair of the Academic Performance
Committee, and Professor Ketra
Armstrong, the Faculty Athletics
Representative, also visited the
Senate and discussed the academic
performance of student-athletes.
Curzan, who served as Faculty
Athletics Representative before
Armstrong, spoke about how
people at the University generalize
the student-athlete community,
and speak about athletics as a
whole when they really mean
specific teams.
“One of the things I’ve found
while moving around campus is
that everyone on campus is that
everyone on campus except really
our student athletes and the folks
in the athletic department forget
what large and diverse group
students athletes are,” Curzan
said.
Curzan also brought up the
anxiety many student athletes feel
about the attitude towards them
on campus.
“The attitude towards student-
athletes on this campus is not
always positive,” Curzan said.
“They feel like they walk into a
classroom and there can be an
assumption that they are not there
to get an education, that they are
not a serious student. Some of
our student-athletes choose not
to self identify as student athletes
because they’re worried about
the attitudes that faculty or other
student in the class may bring.”
Curzan highlighted all the
various
things
that
student-
athletes at the University have to
juggle, and how exhausting it can
be.
“If you have a swimmer in your
class, and you have an 8:30 a.m.
class, that student has already
been in the pool for two hours, and
they are going back to the pool at 3
or 4 to swim for two more hours,”
Curzan said.
Armstrong
discussed
the
various honors that have been
awarded to Michigan’s student-
athletes, such as the 80 Big Ten
Distinguished Scholars, student-
athletes that have GPAs of 3.7
or higher, and three student-
athletes at the University who
were selected as Academic All-
Americans.
Curzan also discussed faculty
accommodations
for
students
to allow them to represent the
University
in
their
athletic
competitions while at the same
time being able to succeed in
their classes. Armstrong spoke
about
the
balance
professors
have to strike between keeping
the integrity of the class while
avoiding being punitive to the
student.
Business junior Megan Schulte,
a member of the women’s lacrosse
team, said in an interview with
The Daily she felt that juggling
being an athlete and a Business
student
was
difficult,
but
manageable if done efficiently.
“As long as I plan out my day
and just stay on top of my work it’s
all manageable, but it takes a lot
of effort every day to make sure
that I am on top of both school
and lacrosse,” Schulte said. “The
kids in my class have gotten a
lot more understanding over the
years, and the teachers, if I have
to miss a class or anything, they
are always so nice. I can make an
appointment with them to go see
them and figure out what I missed
and make up the work as well.”
Toward the end of the meeting,
Gina Cervetti, the chair of the
Student
Relations
Advisory
Committee, and Erik Wessel, the
director of the Office of Student
Conflict
Resolution,
came
to
discuss the progress made on
the Statement of Student Rights
and Responsibilities, which is
to be amended in the 2018-2019
academic year. The Statement
outlines possible behaviors that
are not consistent with the values
of the University community,
and suggests possible responses
and sanctions to respond to such
behaviors.
Cervetti
said
they
were
starting the process early, in
order to increase participation
and visibility of the amendment
process, as well as of the Statement
in general.
“I want to acknowledge that
this has been a really challenging
year for many members of our
community, and that many of
these challenges have related to
campus climate and community
norms,” Cervetti said. “I hope that
we can approach this amendment
cycle as an opportunity to shape
the norms of our community
in ways that are responsive to
current issues on campus. The
Statement isn’t all about sanctions.
It’s also about who we want to
be as a community; it describes
a community that is safe, and
scholarly,
and
equitable,
and
just, and revising the Statement
to better conform with those
values in the current time seems
incredibly important.”
The assembly also nominated
members of the Faculty Senate to
sit on the nominating committee
that will choose faculty to fill the
three or four new Senate Advisory
Committee on University Affairs
imagine.”
In
terms
of
administrative
decisions surrounding the Nassar
case, MSU President Lou Anna
Simon has received harsh criticism
for the ways in which she handled
allegations against Nassar. In a
statement released last week, Simon
told reporters she was first made
aware of a Title IX investigation
into a University sports medicine
doctor in 2014.
“I told people to play it straight
up, and I did not receive a copy
of the report,” she said following
Nassar’s hearing. “That’s the truth.”
An investigation released last
week by the Detroit News, however,
found over the two decades before
Nassar’s arrest, at least 14 MSU
officials were notified of allegations,
“with no fewer than eight women
reporting his actions.” Calls for
Simon’s resignation have come from
a variety of sources, including state
legislators, editorials from the State
News and Lansing State Journal,
as well as from MSU trustee Mitch
Lyons, the first trusteeto call for her
resignation.
The Board of Trustees, however,
announced
Thursday
would
support Simon and would not
recommend she step down from her
position.
Though Schlissel is one of
the state’s most powerful — and
moneyed — political stakeholders,
when questioned on how MSU
administration should go about
taking responsibility or repairing
harm done to students, he declined
to comment.
“As for MSU and how it handled
it, I don’t know more than I read
about
in
the
newspaper
and
generally when I don’t know
more than everybody else I’m not
really going to comment about it,”
Schlissel said. “I just can’t add to
the debate because I don’t have any
special information.”
He clarified, however, sexual
assault and misconduct have no
place within the University of
Michigan
community.
While
the Nassar trials brought to light
consideration of athletic teams,
he said the issue extends to all
students, faculty and community
members.
“It’s not just athletic teams, here
on this campus I’m responsible for
45,000 students … 1,000 of them are
student-athletes,” Schlissel said. “All
members of our community deserve
a workplace free of harassment and
misconduct.”
Specific actions the University
has
taken
to
combat
sexual
assault and harassment, Schlissel
explained,
include
mechanisms
for
reporting
misconduct
and
education programs for students,
faculty and staff to raise awareness
of harmful and abusive acts and
lessen the frequency of these
incidents.
Sexual
Assault
and
Misconduct:
The
Whisper
Network
In early January, The Daily
reported on The Whisper Network,
a database appearing throughout
academic communities in which
anonymous
contributors
share
their stories of sexual harassment
and assault in academia. Since
December, over 2,000 individuals
have contributed to the database,
including 14 incidents self-reported
by alleged University affiliates,
some of which date back to the
1980s.
These allegations have mirrored
conversations
occurring
across
the nation and in Hollywood,
specifically
with
movements
such as #MeToo and #TimesUp
encouraging survivors to speak
out against perpetrators. With
allegations
against
well-known
members of the public and media,
including
Harvey
Weinstein,
Matt Lauer, James Franco, Al
Franken and Michael Oreskes,
dialogue surrounding the issue has
continued to grow in academia and
less publicized settings.
Schlissel stated the coming
forward of survivors in communities
across the nation and abroad,
regardless of level of previous fame,
allows for an increase in awareness
and the encouragement for more
survivors to continue telling their
stories.
“The famous and non-famous
stepping forward to tell their stories
I think has a powerful effect, a
positive, powerful effect,” Schlissel
said. “If there’s a silver lining to
the #MeToo moment that we’re
living in, is the increased awareness
and the very brave example set
by people who’ve stepped up and
spoken about episodes, have made
others more likely to step forward
and report which is a good thing,
and has just raised everyone’s
cautiousness about the mutual
respect that everyone deserves
when we treat one another.”
At the University — and at
campuses across the country —
reporting rates remain low for
survivors of assault.
“Almost half of our student body
is out of state, a lot of students take
this break time to go home, and we
think it’s actually a good mental
health initiative because students
are juggling getting out of town and
travel plans,” Keller said. “I have
certainly seen students bringing
suitcases into exams … and that’s
a big concern because we don’t
think students should have to be
worrying about these two things
simultaneously.”
Keller cited Carnegie Mellon
University as one of several schools
that have successfully implemented
similar
policies.
He
affirmed
student feedback and discussion
with professors and administration
will
be
instrumental
to
the
development of this policy.
Several members of the council
expressed reservations limiting
this policy to only certain breaks,
such as Thanksgiving and Spring
Break, as opposed to Martin
Luther King Jr. Day and the fall
study break. Other representatives
expressed their appreciation of
finishing all of their exams directly
before break.
“In general the feelings at the
School of Public Health are we
really like having it on the last day
of class, and then we’re done,” CSG
representative Taylor Sullivan said,
who is a Public Health student.
The majority of representatives
agreed this policy would be
effective for Thanksgiving and
Spring Break, especially for post-
break days. CSG Vice President
Nadine Jawad, a Public Policy
senior, highlighted the importance
of taking a mental rest over
designated vacations.
“I think it’s just worth exploring
what that means because when you
only have a nine-day break, or a six-
day break, and then you have to use
five of those days to study for a Bio
exam that is the day after, which
is what happened to me my spring
break, that took away my entire
break,” Jawad said.
Later, LSA senior Joe Goldberg,
chief of staff to the CSG president,
presented a resolution to fund and
join a partnership with Michigan
Hillel to bring Cherie Brown, CEO
and co-founder of the National
Coalition Building Institute, to lead
a training on the manifestations of
contemporary anti-Semitism.
“The idea is that CSG will
hopefully
contribute
some
financial sum, as well as encourage
representatives on the executive
and legislative levels to attend the
training,” Goldberg said.
The
council
concluded
by
discussing initiatives to spread
awareness of the Big Ten Voting
Challenge, a competition in which
all 14 universities in the Big Ten
Conference
seek
to
increase
voter registration and turnout
in the student population. While
no
specific
committee
action
was taken, CSG representative
Naomi
Wilson,
a
Rackham
student, mentioned that she sent
information in their newsletter.
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SCHLISSEL
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