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Wednesday, January 24, 2018 — 3A

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ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily

Larry Nasser is escorted to his seat during his sentencing hearing in the Ingham County Courthouse in Lansing Tuesday.

are slated to begin in February 
and continue throughout the 
winter semester. The DEI office 
has organized these events in 
collaboration with the Office 
of the President, The National 
Center 
for 
Institutional 

Diversity, the Office of Student 
Life, The Alumni Association, 
Wallace House and the Office 
of Academic Innovation. There 
are 
also 
plans 
to 
broaden 

the 
organizations 
involved 

and 
expand 
the 
schedule 

throughout the semester.

Thus 
far, 
the 
scheduled 

events include several virtual 
teach-outs hosted online by the 
Office of Academic Innovation, 
one teach-in, lectures from 
New York Times columnist Bret 
Stephens and NPR host Joshua 
Johnson, as well as a panel 
discussion 
featuring 
higher 

education leaders. 

Mike 
Morland, 
marketing 

and communications manager 
for the DEI office, explained 
the goals behind these planned 
events and what the University 
ultimately hopes for the series 
to achieve.

“The series is aiming to 

recognize the differing views 
on speech and inclusion, so to 
explore the views that play out 
in politics, in culture, higher 
education and many other parts 

of our lives,” Morland said. 
“So by engaging in productive 
conversations with individuals 
that have varying views and 
perspectives, we are hoping 
our community will be able 
to come away from this series 
with a deeper understanding 
of issues like these that are 
very complicated and a better 
understanding of one another.”

While the DEI office has 

alluded to more programming 
in 
the 
future, 
the 
initial 

lineup of events has elicited 
frustration 
among 
students 

and faculty concerned with 
the 
administration’s 
choice 

to anchor discussion in free 
speech and inclusion.

Michigan 
Mellon 
Fellow 

Austin McCoy believes the free 
speech and inclusion series does 
not adequately rebuke Spencer’s 
racial dogma. To McCoy, the 
series suggests the University 
is employing the canon of free 
speech as a “Trojan horse” to 
avoid 
addressing 
Spencer’s 

white supremacist philosophies 
candidly.

“It would be better if there 

were 
actual 
conversations 

about 
the 
resurgence 
of 

white supremacists or white 
nationalist politics and what 
that 
means 
for 
political 

culture, but also having a 
frank 
conversation 
about 

the intentions of people like 
Richard Spencer,” McCoy said.

The 
belief 
that 
the 

administration 
is 
defaulting 

on a backbone of free speech 
and 
inclusion 
as 
opposed 

to 
challenging 
the 
white 

supremacist beliefs espoused by 
Spencer, is a criticism echoed 
across campus.

In 
an 
email 
interview, 

History lecturer Anne Berg 
explained her own concerns 
regarding the message ascribed 
to the word “inclusion.” Berg 
noted it is unclear whether 
the use of the word inclusion 
implies 
the 
inclusion 
of 

minorities or expands to mean 
the inclusion of neo-Nazis.

According 
to 
Berg, 
this 

ambiguous use of the word 
undermines the integrity of the 
University’s DEI efforts.

“The choice to label the series 

‘Free Speech and Inclusion’ 
is not only complicit with the 
framing 
imposed 
by 
right-

wing agitators, but also risks 
to undermine the important 
efforts to make our campus a 
more equitable place where we 
confront white supremacy head 
on and don’t just throw around 
empty, 
sanitized 
language 

that allows us to celebrate an 
increasingly 
hollow-sounding 

concept of ‘inclusion,’” she said.

The notion of uniting the 

collective voice of a higher 
education population to yield 
change 
is 
an 
idea 
whose 

birthplace is quite present on 
the Diag at the University of 
Michigan. Within the cradle 
of 
progressive 
Ann 
Arbor, 

the 
University’s 
history 
is 

chronicled with displays of 
students and faculty defending 
the values of the institution.

This 
touchstone 
of 
the 

University 
has 
not 
been 

forgotten by those students and 
faculty who are unsatisfied with 
the University’s response in the 
“Free Speech and Inclusion 
Series.” The fact that the Free 
Speech and Inclusion series is 
the first formal announcement 
of programming sponsored by 
the administration to address 
the 
tensions 
that 
became 

grounded last semester has 
also left students and faculty 
questioning 
the 
intentions 

behind the series.

Berg 
explained 
how 
the 

framing of the University’s 
response thus far to Spencer 
lends 
itself 
to 
a 
critical 

examination 
of 
possible 

external influences.

“Having 
the 
series 
on 

‘Speech 
and 
Inclusion’ 

now strikes me as a rather 
pathetic attempt to provide 
retroactive 
justification 
for 

letting lawyers and the pocket 
books of existing or potential 
donors dictate the university’s 
response to the resurgence 
of white supremacists in the 
public 
sphere 
rather 
than 

listening to the voices of a 
concerned campus community 
and to historically informed 
scholarly arguments against 
downplaying the violent threat 
inherent in white supremacist 
platforms,” Berg said.

McCoy similarly called for 

the University to be clearer 
when designing programming 
in response to the violent 
rhetoric ingrained in Spencer’s 
agenda.

“The University seems to 

be 
more 
concerned 
about 

protecting 
itself 
from 
any 

sort of legal harm than it does 
with actually issuing a very 
sharp and critical stance that 
acknowledges what they are 
trying to do politically,” McCoy 
said.

In a similar manner, in an 

earlier interview with the Daily, 
Art & Design freshman Betsy 
Stubb reflected on the need for 
more 
transparency 
between 

students and administration 
regarding Spencer’s impending 
speech.

“I 
knew 
very 
little 

information 
about 
Richard 

Spencer’s appearance because 
administration 
has 
been 

keeping students in the dark,” 
she said. “I think the best 
way we can combat the hate 
and 
violence 
that 
Spencer 

spreads is for all of us to rally 
together and show that racism 
and bigotry are not acceptable 
at U of M. We need to help 
foster an environment where 
students of all races, religions 
and sexualities feel safe and 
protected, because under the 
current administration this is 
not the case.”

However, the DEI office has 

emphasized the series will not 

be the only action taken by the 
administration to tackle the 
threats last semester posed to 
the University’s values.

“This isn’t designed to be 

the singular answer to it. It 
is part of that larger complex 
of the challenges we face as a 
community,” Morland said.

Yet, those involved in the 

#StopSpencer coalition believe 
the University’s track record 
when addressing the pending 
Spencer visit warrants the need 
for the movement to continue to 
pressure the administration.

LSA 
senior 
Hoai 
An 

Pham is an organizer in the 
#StopSpencer 
coalition 
and 

described in an email interview 
how the administration has 
missed opportunities to frame 
the Spencer visit in a manner 
that 
recognizes 
the 
fears 

of 
marginalized 
groups 
on 

campus.

“We 
would 
like 
the 

University 
to 
acknowledge 

the ways in which it has been 
complicit in propagating white 
supremacy and racism, starting 
with their lack of qualifications 
to host a series on free speech 
when they are allowing a white 
supremacist to come to campus 
to endanger our community 
and take away the free speech 
and fundamental human rights 
of marginalized people,” Pham 
wrote.

it would award a $100 million 
emergency 
grant 
to 
the 

state to fund infrastructure 
repairs. When Detroit filed for 
Chapter 9 bankruptcy in 2013, 
philanthropic donations saved 
the city-owned art collection 
at the Detroit Institute of Arts 
while a $195 million legislative 
package from Lansing helped 
minimize 
pension 
cuts 
for 

retirees. Kildee believes state 
and federal government should 
play a more proactive role 
when it comes to maintaining 
shrinking cities in the Rust Belt.

“Flint is the ultimate case 

study,” Kildee said. “Here’s 
a frightening thought: there 
are dozens — if not more — 
cities that are one mistake, one 
miscalculation, one error away 
from going to the same place 
Flint was in with the water crisis. 
They’re just barely hanging on. 
We can’t let those places get 
there.”

Kildee 
and 
Gallagher 

emphasized 
the 
importance 

of public policy in ensuring 
a successful future for aging 
industrial centers.

“The 
narrative 
that 
you 

hear that cities like Detroit and 
Pittsburgh and Leipzig and 
Turin are coming back, that is 
to some extent true, but we are 
in the very early stages of this,” 
Gallagher said. “We need to 
provide some better political 
balance, so that cities are not left 
out on their own.”

Gallagher pointed to limited 

public services, an increasingly 
poor population and holes in the 

social safety net as symptoms of 
Detroit and Flint’s difficulties 
coping with the boom and bust 
of the automotive industry. He 
also acknowledged the value of 
community development groups 
like Midtown Detroit Inc. and 
the Southwest Detroit Business 
Association, with the stipulation 
that these organizations need 
more help from city hall.

Gallagher 
also 
discussed 

Detroit’s downtown area. While 
it is currently being lauded for its 
recent growth, the downtown 
area alone doesn’t paint a full 
economic picture. He said in 
reality, there are two different 
Detroits.

“Downtown is doing great 

and the neighborhoods are doing 
terribly,” Gallagher said. “There 
are still two-thirds of the city 
who are still awaiting any kind 
of good stuff.”

These portions of the city 

require major help, and luckily, 
he said through community 
development 
groups 
and 

philanthropy, some of this help is 
being offered. From the Detroit 
Institute of Arts to the Eastern 
Market to the Cobo Center, 
he said taking things from the 
city government’s hands and 
into the hands of non-profit 
management.

“I think philanthropy has 

played a huge role in Detroit … 
Entrepreneurship is beginning 
to play a role.”

But for all of the help being 

offered, Gallagher said an eye 
must be kept on gentrification. 
While 
modernization 
and 

aesthetics have been important 
to the growth of the downtown 
area, 
he 
said 
policymakers 

must be wary of kicking out the 
citizens who have “stuck it out” 

through economic hardship. He 
said the best way to do this is 
through inclusion of affordable 
housing.

“In the large scope, we 

really hope for new interest 
in investment … But we need 
to 
work 
against 
that 
new 

investment pushing out the 
people who were left behind and 
who tend to be more poor.”

Another 
effective 
tool 
in 

combating blight is the land 
bank. The Detroit Land Bank 
Authority oversees about 95,000 
properties and has demolished 
nearly 13,000 blighted homes 
since May 2014.

When 
Kildee 
served 
as 

Genesee County Treasurer, he 
helped establish Michigan’s first 
land bank, a public authority 
for acquiring and repurposing 
vacant and distressed properties. 
He said the consequences of 
such dilapidation hit the people 
who live there hardest.

“It’s 
not 
just 
about 
the 

aesthetic of the community 
kids grow up in,” Kildee said. 
“Their lives are forever changed 
growing up in a poor place like 
that, and that’s a result of policy 
choices that we’ve made. This 
idea that somehow it’s OK that 
there’s 50 American cities that 
have lost half of their population 
in the last few decades and are 
really struggling to just stay 
above water, that that’s OK is a 
morally bankrupt thought.”

The 
School 
of 
Social 

Work’s Learning Community 
on 
Poverty 
and 
Inequality 

presented the talk, which also 
constituted the first class session 
of the minicourse Poverty and 
Place: Case Studies of Detroit 
and Flint. Social Work student 
Lindsay Hall, who was in the 

audience, noted that intersecting 
factors like location, available 
resources and demographics can 
influence urban development, 
but said funding is particularly 
important.

“Ultimately it really goes back 

to the money, where the money 
is and who the money goes to,” 
she said. “Public policy really 
defines those terms. Policies 
that pay attention to the nuances 
of a city and level the playing 
field for cities like Flint and 
Detroit and put them on an even 
starting block with the more 
affluent suburbs can make a real 
difference.”

Erica Davenport, who works 

in a southwest Detroit school 
and also attended the talk, said 
though she’s only lived in Detroit 
for a year, she has amounted 
large frustrations towards the 
way money is allocated. Still, she 
said Kildee’s knowledge gave her 
important perspective.

“I get pretty skeptical about 

things,” Davenport said. “His 
perspective from Flint gave 
behind the scenes reality to how 
we can make change in schools.”

Throughout the talk, Kildee 

repeatedly 
highlighted 
the 

imperative to maintain older 
metropolitan communities.

“Cities matter,” Kildee said. 

“Cities are more important. 
Creativity, 
innovation 
and 

ingenuity happen where people 
live and work in proximity to 
one another. One of the essential 
functions of government is to 
sustain those places in the ebb 
and flow of economic changes 
because we know those places 
are going to be important to 
us again. Right now we don’t 
believe that. These are throw 
away places.”

urges students to register to vote 
and ultimately show up on Election 
Day. Organizations that can reach a 
larger student population, such as 
CSG, will help to increase overall 
turnout in student voters. While 
working with the Big Ten Voting 
Challenge, 
which 
incentivizes 

students who register to vote, Turn 
Up Turnout has a clear mission for 
their organization.

“We need to encourage students 

to recognize that civic engagement, 
when it comes to voting, is an 
important part of their participation 
in society,” Worthington said. 
“Students can use their voice, not 
just on campus.”

Following the guest speaker, CSG 

President Anushka Sarkar, an LSA 
senior, announced the beginning of 
a collaboration with other student 
leaders to plan a unity rally in 
February before Spring Break. This 
event is planned to counter the 
efforts being made to allow Richard 
Spencer to speak on Michigan’s 
campus, which has been a topic of 
much debate since October.

CSG Vice President Nadine 

Jawad, a Public Policy senior, 
addressed the finalizing of the 
campus affordability guide, in 
which she emphasized the guide’s 
importance to students and other 
Big Ten universities’ hopes to 
replicate the guide.

“I think this is a really useful 

resource 
because 
it’s 
on 
our 

campus,” Jawad said. “Schools 
reached out and said (the guide) was 
incredible.”

A resolution was proposed to help 

fund the Career Center’s “Suit Up” 
event, particularly transportation 
from campus to JCPenney at 
Briarwood 
Mall. 
JCPenney 

partnered with the University to 
offer up to a 70 percent discount 
on professional wear for students. 
With the event’s success in October, 
plans to host another “Suit Up” 
event in February are underway. 
Public Health senior Lloyd Lyons 
presented the resolution to the 
assembly 
and 
highlighted 
the 

event’s benefits to students who 
may be seeking job or internship 
opportunities.

“As career fair time is coming 

up, this is going to be a huge event 
for students to get some clothing,” 
Lyons said.

Public Health graduate student 
Dana Greene also knelt in the Diag 
last semester to protest anti-Black 
racism, and a month later, several 
Ann Arbor city councilmembers 
knelt 
during 
the 
pledge 
of 

allegience at a council meeting in 
solidiarity with people of color. 

“We are living in a moment in 

which culture is high stakes and we 
as humanists can help understand 
these human ways,” Dillard said.

The panelists each introduced 

how their field of study aligns with 
the topic of kneeling during the 
national anthem. The patriotism 
ensued from sports allows sports, 
especially football, to transcend 
the world of sports into the world 
of politics.

Kristin 
Hass, 
associate 

professor in the Department of 
American Culture, who specializes 
in war, war memorials and soldiers, 
discussed 
the 
importance 
of 

United States military power and 
its relationship to patriotism.

“Nations 
are 
produced 
by 

culture,” Hass said. “Nations are 
the primary social organization for 
the 20th and 21st century and part 
of the 19th century. Almost always 
that culture is connected to soldiers 
and to sacrifice and to grief.”

Hass discussed how symbols 

of patriotism transform during 
times of instability, specifically 
instability of race. She referenced 
the role of the military as a form of 
patriotism. Since the Vietnam War, 
military service has been strictly 
volunteer-based. 
This 
change 

has led the government to find 
strategies to enhance patriotism in 
America in other ways.

“The United States government 

and the Department of Defense has 
been working very hard trying to 
find different strategy to change 
ways the people of the United 
States feel about war,” Hass said. 
“Since 2012, the Department of 
Defense has spent at least $10 
million on paying teams to do 
specific on-field demonstrations of 
patriotism.”

In a discussion on the link 

between athletics and patriotism, 
Associate Professor of Musicology 
Mark 
Clague 
analyzed 
the 

foundations of “The Star-Spangled 
Banner.” Following its creation by 
Francis Scott Key, the anthem was 
first played at a baseball game in 
1862.

“Professional sports had figured 

out that attaching themselves to 
patriotism was good for business,” 
Clague said. “(NFL Commissioner) 
promised (Truman) that they 
would play “The Star-Spangled 
Banner” at every game forward.”

Matthew 
Countryman, 

associate 
professor 
in 
the 

Department 
of 
History 
and 

Department of American Culture, 
discussed how President Trump 
vocalized the issue of kneeling 
during the national anthem. He 
referenced the athletic and political 
intersection 
seen 
in 
athletes 

throughout history including Jesse 
Owens and Muhammad Ali.

“Trump is, if nothing else, 

a brilliant vocalizer of a set of 
political concerns. I want to 
suggest here that he saw it as a 
political advantage to intervene 
to give voice to one source of the 
resentment,” Countryman said. 

VOTE
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SPEECH
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URBAN
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KNEELING
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