The duality of the First 

Amendment as a powerful 
political weapon for both 
marginalized groups and their 
oppressors presented itself as 
a reality this past semester. 
The 
ongoing 
negotiation 

between the University of 
Michigan administration and 
white supremacist Richard 
Spencer regarding Spencer’s 
request 
to 
speak 
at 
the 

University, as well as planned 
University events in response 
to the speech, has roused 
divided opinions on campus.

While 
the 
University 

has not reached an official 

agreement with Spencer on 
when and where he will speak, 
University 
President 
Mark 

Schlissel sent a statement 
on Jan. 5 welcoming the 
University community back to 
campus and announcing the 
administration’s commitment 
to 
providing 
a 
forum 
to 

discuss 
the 
challenge 
of 

balancing free speech while 
maintaining 
an 
inclusive 

community.

The Office of Diversity, 

Equity 
and 
Inclusion 

published 
the 
scheduled 

programming on their website 
for the series titled “Speech 
and Inclusion: Recognizing 
Conflict and Building Tools 
for Engagement.” The events 

Cities like Detroit and Flint 

have two options: Crisis or 
creative thinking. U.S. Rep. 
Dan Kildee, D-Flint, and John 
Gallagher, a business writer for 
the Detroit Free Press, hope for 
the latter.

Speaking to about 50 people 

at the University of Michigan’s 
School of Social Work Tuesday 
night, Kildee and Gallagher 
discussed civic revitalization 
efforts in a lecture, titled “How 
Place 
Matters: 
Perspectives 

on 
the 
Future 
of 
Urban 

Development in Detroit and 
Flint.” The talk focused on 
“shrinking cities,” metro areas 
in the Northeast and Midwest 
that were once industrial hubs 
but now suffer from population 
loss and economic decline.

“In the Michigan of the past, 

you turn 18, you walk down the 
street to the factory and you 
have a job for life,” Gallagher 
said. “That’s been gone for a long 
time. There’s no one solution 
like there used to be, where the 
automotive industry solves all 
our problems. Now you need 
better education, better public 
transit, better policy.”

Kildee, 
a 
Flint 
native 

who 
represents 
Michigan’s 

5th 
congressional 
district, 

recently founded The Future 
of America’s Cities and Towns, 

an initiative aimed at tackling 
issues facing older, industrial 
communities. He said it will 
call for a national strategy to 
address those issues.

“When I first got to Congress, 

I thought if I really worked 
hard, I would get maybe to be 
one of the many voices working 
on behalf of cities,” he said. “I 
got there and I realized I was 
at the front of the line. It really 
was not a subject that was being 

discussed much. That’s part of 
the problem generally.”

Flint used to be known as the 

birthplace of General Motors, 
and boomed into a company 
town where nearly everyone 
was in some way connected 
to the automotive industry. In 
its heyday, Flint was known as 
a hub for secure, good paying 
jobs.

But after General Motors 

moved plants and jobs overseas, 

the city’s tax base fell. Many 
blame GM for the city’s poverty 
— poverty that has opened the 
doors to issues like the Flint 
water crisis. Kildee said Flint is 
now forced to act as though it is 
bankrupt.

Nearly three years after lead 

contamination was discovered 
in 
Flint’s 
water 
supply 
in 

2014, 
the 
Environmental 

Protection Agency announced 

The University of Michigan’s 

Central 
Student 
Government 

convened Tuesday evening to 
discuss proposals to ensure the 
transparency of CSG, as well 
as help to fund university-wide 
career-building events for students. 
The 
meeting 
concluded 
with 

the passing of three resolutions, 
including the enactment of CSG’s 
winter 
2018 
budget, 
training 

to 
combat 
modern-day 
anti-

Semitism, and further revision of 
the election code.

The assembly hosted a guest 

speaker to promote increased 
student voter participation and 
turnout. Rackham student Alton 
Worthington 
in 
the 
Political 

Science Department, introduced 
members to Turn Up Turnout, a 
student group that aims to teach 
students at Michigan about the 
importance of voting in midterm 
and local elections. Worthington, 
the secretary of Turn Up Turnout, 
presented statistics to members, 
including the fact that less than 
half of students on campus vote in 
local elections.

Worthington encouraged CSG 

to partake in a four-phase plan that 

michigandaily.com
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Wednesday, January 24, 2018

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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 61
©2018 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Students say 
planned free 
speech event 
not enough

Snyder highlights job growth, talks 
political unity during State of State

See SPEECH, Page 3A

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily

Republican Gov. Rick Snyder gives his final State of the State address at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing Tuesday.

COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

University must give Richard Spencer 
date options for speech by end of January

SHANNON ORS
Daily Staff Reporter

Governor reflects on seven years in office in speech to joint legislative session

Gov. Rick Snyder delivered 

his eighth and final State of the 
State address to a joint session 
of the Michigan legislature 
Tuesday 
night. 
Prominent 

members of the Michigan state 

government, as well as scores of 
bureaucrats, law enforcement 
officials 
and 
journalists 

attended the address.

The address was broadly 

reflective of Snyder’s tenure 
as governor as he focused 
heavily on economic policy. 
He noted the state economy 
has grown since he took office 

and highlighted job growth 
as a particular strength for 
the state. He credited tax cuts 
enacted during his tenure for 
business success statewide.

“We, as a government, don’t 

create the jobs,” Snyder said. 
“We create the environment for 
success.”

Snyder 
praised 
several 

lawmakers 
and 
government 

officials 
for 
their 
work 

during the speech, including 
Amarjeet 
Sohi, 
Canadian 

Minister of Infrastructure and 
Communities, who has worked 
extensively with the Michigan 
government on planning the 
creation of the Gordie Howe 

RILEY LANGEFELD

Daily Staff Reporter

See VOTE, Page 3A

CSG talks 
increasing 
voter turn 
out in 2018

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Executives launch 
new campus housing 
affordability guide

DANIELLE PASEKOFF

Daily Staff Reporter

BRIAN AUSTIN KOSASIH/Daily

Congressman Dan Kildee speaks about the progress of urban development in Detroit and Flint at the School of Social 
Work Tuesday.

Detroit Congressman Dan Kildee talks 
urban development in Flint and Detroit

Kildee said using economic models to fix urban areas does not put people first

Mondays, meatless 

no more

Inside MDining’s quest for 
sustainability, and the end 

of Meatless Mondays.

» Page 1B

michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit

See URBAN, Page 3A

See STATE, Page 2A

University 
of 
Michigan 

humanities 
scholars 
convened 

Tuesday evening to analyze and 
discuss the political implications 
of professional football players 
kneeling 
during 
the 
national 

anthem. The High Stakes Culture 
lecture series of the Institute 
for the Humanities and the 
Humanities Collaboratory seeks 
to bring new perspectives to 
current cultural debates.

Angela Dillard, associate dean 

for 
undergraduate 
education 

and professor of Afroamerican 
and African studies, hosted the 
panel and worked to engage the 
audience in a discussion of what 
kneeling during a football game 
truly means.

This has been a big topic of 

conversation on both the national 
stage and in the University and 
Ann Arbor communities. In 2016, 
professional football player Colin 
Kaepernick made the decision to 
kneel during the national anthem 
at a football game to protest the 
oppression of people of color and 
issues of police brutality in their 
communities. At the University, 

See KNEELING, Page 3A

Panel talks 
kneeling in 
athletics as 
patriotism

CAMPUS LIFE

The Highstakes Culture 
Lecture series brings new 
perspectives to debates

REMY FARKAS
Daily Staff Reporter

LEAH GRAHAM
Daily Staff Reporter

CARLY RYAN
Daily News Editor

statement

THE MICHIGAN DAILY | JANUARY 24, 2018

