The University of Michigan’s
Central
Student
Government
met Tuesday evening to address
issues regarding anti-Semitism
on campus, University efforts to
transfer to clean energy sources
and further revisions to the
CSG election code. Additionally,
the assembly continued their
discussion regarding improved
sexual assault prevention training
and
appointed
several
new
student representatives. Before
agenda items were considered,
however, Business junior Lauren
Ward announced her resignation
from the assembly due to issues of
inclusion.
Ward referenced a previous
virtual confrontation between her
and a fellow CSG member, but did
not disclose who was involved in
this dispute.
“I would feel remiss in my
resignation from Central Student
Government if I didn’t at least tell
you all why I’ve chosen to leave
this poisonous position,” Ward
said. “What are we doing? Not
just representatives, but CSG as a
whole?”
Ward ran as a representative
on the eMerge campaign last
spring — the ticket made history
when president Anushka Sarkar,
an LSA senior, and vice president
Nadine Jawad, a Ford senior,
became the first women of color
elected together since at least 1993.
A representative of Procter
& Gamble Co. visited the
University
of
Michigan
on Jan. 22 to lecture Ross
School of Business students
on
marketing
tactics
and
its role as part of the Tide
brand. However, the lecture
went awry after the students
attending
asked
questions
centered almost exclusively
around popular phenomenon
Tide
Pods.
Ross
students
have since said they were told
the
questions
jeopardized
the
business
schools’s
relationship with P&G.
While the representative,
Business
alum
Courtney
Ratkowiak, opened the floor
for
questions
related
to
marketing, students, utilizing
the anonymous feature of the
question-app Pigeonhole Live,
sent in a number of questions
based on a popular meme
centered around millennials
eating Tide Pods.
P&G
is
an
American
multinational
consumer
goods corporation. They own
a series of brands including
Gillette, Old Spice, Febreze
and
Tide,
among
others.
P&G has had a longstanding
recruiting relationship with
the Business School.
The
lecture
took
place
outside of normal class hours
on a Monday night, and
included a mix of Business
students and non-Business
students.
According
to
a
junior who wished to remain
anonymous,
the
fact
the
lecture occurred outside of
the class schedule contributed
to the students’ attitude.
Some of the highest voted
questions
included:
“What
new flavors of tide pods do
you have coming out?” and
“How many tide pods a day
keep the doctor away?”
“The problem was they used
this anonymous app called
Pigeonhole,” the anonymous
junior said. “I think that was
where they went wrong; as
soon as they did that for the
first time, the dynamic of the
presentation changed.”
According to the junior,
attendees
wanted
to
post
something
funny
as
the
questions
continued.
The
representative appeared to be
flustered, and skimmed over
the joke-questions, answering
only the serious ones.
“I definitely think most
people,
including
myself,
walked out of the presentation
thinking that it was funny,”
the junior said. “Then they
told us P&G was reconsidering
a relationship with Ross, and
that
jeopardizes
people’s
chances of working for them,
Students Allied for Freedom
and Equality held a teach-in
Tuesday night to discuss the alt-
right’s affinity for U.S. support
of the state of Israel, as well as
criticisms of Israeli government.
In
response,
University
of
Michigan Hillel held a counter-
event intended to fuel discussion
on whether equating Zionism
with Nazism is a modern form of
anti-Semitism. Both events were
highly discussed by members
of the University community —
tensions between pro-Palestinian
and
pro-Israel
groups
have
remained high since the passing of
SAFE’s #UMDivest resolution last
November.
SAFE’s
discussion
on
the
intersection of Israel and the far
right honed in on the example
of Richard Spencer, a white
supremacist who is currently
in talks with the University
to speak on campus. Spencer,
SAFE proposed, seems at once
to espouse both anti-Semitic and
Zionist views. The teach-in was
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
CSG student
rep resigns
after alleged
harassment
Yaa Gyasi discusses ‘Homegoing,’
racial trauma in packed Rackham
See ASSEMBLY, Page 3A
IBRAHIM IJAZ/Daily
Yaa Gyasi, author of Homecoming, speaks as part of the 2018 Jill S. Harris Memorial Lecture at Rackham Auditorium Tuesday.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Member accuses lacking inclusion, rest of
meeting focuses on election code revisions
Award-winning author talks novel, personal roots with panel of ‘U’ professors
On Tuesday, author Yaa Gyasi
spoke at the University of Michigan
in front of a crowded Rackham
Auditorium to discuss her award-
winning novel “Homegoing.” After
its publication, Gyasi won the
National Book Critics’ Circle’s John
Leonard First Book Prize. The novel
has also been selected as the 2018
book for the Washtenaw Reads
program.
“Homegoing”
highlights
the story of two half sisters and
their descendants through eight
generations,
going
over
two
hundred years of Ghanaian and
American history. It also highlights
illuminating themes of racism,
family and unity.
To begin the event, Yaa Gyasi,
sat down with English professors
Gaurav Desai and Aida Levy-
Hussen. She opened the discussion
by reading a powerful excerpt from
her novel, detailing the life of her
character “Afiyah” and the physical
abuse she suffered at the hands of
her father. She then transitioned
to the discussion with Desai and
Levy-Hussen, as they discussed
the novel’s origins and several of its
central themes. In their discussion,
Gyasi explained how she traveled
to Ghana to conduct research after
REFAEL KUBERSKY
For The Daily
See TEACH-INS, Page 3A
Orgs face
off on role
of Zionist
ideologies
CAMPUS LIFE
SAFE and Hillel counter
program two teach-ins
supremacy, anti-Semitism
ROSEANNE CHAO/Daily
Ross students’ behavior surrounding
Tide Pods threatens P&G business ties
Class questions to guest speaker included “what flavors of Tide Pods are coming out?”
Michigan in Color
looks forward
Founded four years ago as a
just stand-alone column, the
Michigan in Color section
reflects on its founding
» Page 1B
See PODS, Page 3A
See HOMEGOING, Page 3A
The
Panhellenic
Peer
Educators at the University
of Michigan hosted the third
annual Panhellenic Speak Out
on Tuesday night, providing a
forum for survivors of sexual
violence to share their stories
in a confidential space.
At the event, attendees were
welcomed
to
share
stories
in
an
open,
unmoderated
session that lasted two hours.
Survivors shared stories from
a wide range of experiences;
some read poetry, some told
their stories unscripted and
some spoke for friends who
were unable to speak.
LSA senior Ally Cohen and
Kinesiology senior Cass Bouse-
Eaton
worked
to
organize
the event, with preparations
beginning in August. Both
have been involved with the
event and PPE for several
years, and they expressed their
hope it would empower more
survivors to share stories and
spur action.
“In the wake of the #MeToo
movement and everything
See SPEAK, Page 3A
Greek Life
hosts third
Speak Out
gathering
CAMPUS LIFE
Amid #MeToo movement,
survivors shared stories in
an unmoderated session
RILEY LANGEFELD
Daily Staff Reporter
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 71
©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
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
DANIELLE PASEKOFF
Daily Staff Reporter
CORY ZAYANCE
Daily Staff Reporter
ELIZABETH
LAWRENCE
& LEAH GRAHAM
Daily Staff Reporters
statement
THE MICHIGAN DAILY | FEBRUARY 7, 2018