could.”
Jones noted the University will
save on classroom construction,
which
“dries
up
tuition,”
by
standardizing start times across all
campuses.
She also said “interdisciplinary”
students will benefit from the
switch. Jones explained under the
current system, a student taking
back-to-back LSA and nursing
courses has no transition time
between classes.
University
spokesman
Rick
Fitzgerald and Christine Gerdes,
Special Counsel to the Provost,
reiterated Jones’ points. Fitzgerald,
who
also
visited
University
Council’s
meeting
Tuesday
night, mentioned the importance
of
communication,
saying
the
administration
hopes
to
keep
students up-to-date on the switch
from Michigan time using Canvas,
social media, posters and student
publications.
Multiple representatives raised
concerns about the University’s
lack of transparency in making
the decision to end Michigan time.
Jones said she had hoped to speak
with CSG before the news broke.
CSG also hosted Architecture
students Courtney Klee and Ellis
Wills-Begley
of
the
Initiative
for Inclusive Design, a project
aiming aims to foster dialogue
about
building
accessibility
issues. According to Wills-Begley,
architecture often discriminates
against people with disabilities.
After listening to the guest
speakers,
CSG
moved
on
to
community concerns, executive
communications, general updates
and resolutions.
Dental
student
Tommy
Vu
introduced a reading day resolution
also authored by by Public Policy
senior Ben Keller, a senior policy
advisor. The resolution would
block professors from scheduling
tests right before or after a school
break. Vu said the resolution aims
to address mental health concerns.
Abby Richburg, a project leader
for CSG’s Mental Health Task
Force, updated representatives on
the motion to establish a Wellness
Zone on North Campus. Richburg
reminded the assembly that mental
health resources are less accessible
to students on North Campus.
“Fifty percent of students overall
on campus have been deterred
from CAPS resources as a result of
the distance from North Campus,”
Richburg said.
Richburg noted the project
is making progress. The Mental
Health Task Force has been
gathering student input through
focus groups.
CSG voted on several resolutions
Tuesday night, including a proposal
that would change the University’s
academic calendar. According to
CSG Vice President Nadine Jawad,
the motion would give students
additional days off on election day
and around the holidays, but school
would start before Labor Day.
LSA junior Nicholas Fadanelli,
LSA student government president,
also spoke on the matter. He said the
administration needs to see student
support for the proposal before
offering its approval. According
to surveys, Fadanelli said, many
students are in favor of the changes
to the academic calendar.
“Overwhelmingly the students
say that if they can either get out
earlier or maintain having certain
days off they would prefer to start
before Labor Day,” Fadanelli said.
The
academic
calendar
resolution had already passed
through University Council, so
representatives could not propose
amendments.
The
resolution
passed with 24 in favor and several
abstensions.
CSG voted on another resolution
requiring drama students to receive
consent training. Sierra Stephens,
School of Music, Theatre & Dance
representative, said she had updated
the document with statistics on
sexual harassment. The resolution
passed unanimously.
including
Nassar,
William
Strampel, the former dean of
the College of Osteopathic
Medicine and MSU athletic
trainer
Destiny
Teachnor-
Hauk and more. The lawsuit
was filed on Feb. 17 by the
law
firms
Manly,
Stewart
& Finaldi in California and
Drew, Cooper & Anding in
Grand Rapids.
The
second
and
third
lawsuits, which were filed
on Sunday, are represented
by Louis Corey of the Corey
Law Firm and were filed on
behalf of Jane Doe 01 and
Jane Doe 02, minors who were
reportedly abused by Nassar.
These lawsuits both name
MSU, the Board of Trustees,
Nassar, MSU Sports Medicine
Clinic and USA Gymnastics,
Inc. as defendants.
In a comment in the State
News, the Corey Law Firm
said the two cases are seeking
compensation for the “acts,
conduct, and omissions” by
Nassar, MSU and the other
defendants.
All
three
lawsuits
are
reportedly requesting a trial
by jury.
In addition to the recent
lawsuit
announcement,
Noto’s retirement is coming
on the heels of MSU Trustee
Brian
Mosallam’s
calling
for Noto to resign from his
position last month. Mosallam
tweeted
demanding
Noto
resign and called for “an
independent review of the
legal department’s handling
of the Nassar matter,” after
a copy of the Title IX report
filed against Nassar published
online seemed to implicate
MSU and Noto in hiding
details about the case and the
university’s knowledge of the
abuse.
In
the
wake
of
Noto’s
retirement
announcement,
Robert Young, former chief
justice
of
the
Michigan
Supreme
Court,
has
been
named lead counsel by the
university to coordinate the
legal team representing the
university in these recently
filed lawsuits and the other
Title IX suits pending against
MSU.
In the press release, Young
said he and interim MSU
President John Engler, who
took over the position after
former President Lou Anna
Simon resigned last month,
will cooperate with all Title
IX lawsuits filed against the
university.
“I am pleased to assist the
university in addressing its
multiple challenges,” he said.
“President Engler has made it
clear that MSU is cooperating
fully
with
the
various
investigations and that will be
an ongoing priority for me.”
According to the Detroit
News,
Young
is
also
representing Gov. Rick Snyder
in a lawsuit to force Snyder to
oust current MSU trustees as
of last week.
Kristine Zayko, a former
deputy general counsel for the
university, will temporarily fill
the position of vice president
for Legal Affairs effective
March 5. Zayko will serve in
the role while the university
searches
for
a
permanent
replacement.
In the press release, Noto
did not mention his specific
reasons
for
leaving
the
position but instead heralded
the university’s values and said
he hopes the university will
continue to serve Michigan
and the country.
“It has been my privilege
and pleasure to build and lead
MSU’s legal team, in which I
have great confidence,” Noto
said. “I am proud to have
Kristine Zayko as acting vice
president for legal affairs and
general counsel. I am deeply
committed to the university’s
land-grant mission and have
worked with colleagues and
clients to help MSU serve
our state and nation. I am
fortunate to have devoted
my career to these goals and
principles.”
nonprofits in tow provide services
on site of the housing commission
and the other 75 percent of the
million dollars would go to the
Affordable Housing Fund.”
Zachary Ackerman, D-Ward 3,
highlighted though the housing
commission has been successful
with rehabilitating affordable
housing units, their difficult
financial position may restrict
them from continuing to provide
Section
8
housing
vouchers
— a primary function of the
commission.
“Over
the
course
of
the
next months, we will better
understand
what
Congress
intends to do with our Section 8
program, but it’s looking like cuts
of at least 10 percent, which looks
like a real effect on our housing
commission and our ability to
provide housing vouchers for
people to live in our community
who may not otherwise be able
to,” Ackerman said.
Ackerman
emphasized
the
commission’s current concern
to ensure they can support their
own regulatory costs.
“The result is a very fiscally
responsible manner, the housing
commission has looked inward
about how to keep their house in
order and has decided to focus
revenues on ensuring they can
handle
their
administrative
costs,” Ackerman said.
However,
Ackerman
also
stressed the significant role local
service providers play in Ann
Arbor and their reliance on the
commission’s funds.
“There
are
eight
service
providers in the community who
do tremendous good staffing
after-school
programs
and
support programs at our various
housing commission properties,”
Ackerman said. “They may be
looking to us for support to
continue those services which
are absolutely necessary for our
affordable housing system.”
Ackerman said the legislation
passed on the mental health
millage from the past year will
aid the commission through their
financial struggle.
“Fortunately,
during
the
Trump
administration,
we
passed a mental health millage
that will help us carry our
efforts
forward,”
Ackerman
said. “The Housing and Human
Services Board will be working
on a resolution expressing some
guidance to make sure the
housing
commission
remains
afloat.”
The Council also voted on an
ordinance to amend a chapter
of the city’s zoning ordinance.
The ordinance passed with eight
votes in favor and two votes
opposed.
The ordinance supports the
efficient use of solar energy
systems and outlines guidelines
for their siting, design and
installation.
Within
these
standards, the ordinance allows
ground-mounting solar panels on
the rear or side yards of single-
family homes, but prohibits the
installation of panels in front
yards.
Ackerman
expressed
his
support for the ordinance and
need for clarity in the current
zoning ordinance.
“I
think
that
accessory
structures are a blind spot in
our zoning ordinance when it
comes to single-family homes,”
Ackerman said. “They allow for
21-foot structures to be put in
place. But for the reasons I’ve
stated tonight, I will be voting for
this ordinance as written today.”
However, Ann Arbor resident
Ernest Figueroa brought up his
disapproval of the ordinance and
desire to install solar panels in
front yards rather than limiting
homeowners.
“What I can’t understand is
that our neighbors simply don’t
like the aesthetics of solar panels
in front yards,” Figueroa. “It
appears that it’s the aesthetic of an
open, green front yard. Working
with a landscape architect, we
can put solar installation in the
front yard. We’re simply trying
to do what we think is right and
according to our conscious.”
Yet, Jane Lumm, I-Ward 2,
emphasized
the
community’s
commitment to the beauty of
the residential neighborhoods
and supported the ordinance’s
limit to only side and rear panel
installation.
“There’s
a
clear
lesson
learned here: The aesthetics and
character of our neighborhood
is something our residents care
deeply about and that shouldn’t
come as a surprise to us,” Lumm
said. “It’s a major contributor
to our quality of life. We clearly
need to engage the community
and ask them what they think.”
However, Chip Smith, D-Ward
5, emphasized the city’s need for
community-level solar to support
residents who own properties
unfit for solar panel installations.
“I view climate change as the
most serious existential threat
that we face and I think that
aesthetics
versus
presenting
somebody with no other options,
the
opportunity
to
create
renewable energy is a mistake,”
Smith
said.
“Unfortunately,
we
have
DTE,
it
has
not
communicated a willingness to
partner with us for community
solar.”
are millennial Muslims to feel
like they’re representing their
religion and their culture at the
same time.”
When
discussing
her
motivation to start the brand
and help empower millennial
Muslim
women,
Ijaz
cited
today’s Islamophobic climate.
“We
focus
on
Muslims,
women and refugees because
those are three groups that we
feel have been targeted since
the 2016 election, for example,
with
sexist
rhetoric,
with
the Muslim ban and with the
decreased number of refugees
being accepted into the United
States,” she said. “These are
things that we are actively
fighting
against
with
our
clothes and our brand and our
voice.”
Each of the four models on
the platform exhibited one
of the clothing line’s shirts,
hoodies or jackets. One of the
pieces, an ocean blue jean
jacket,
sported
the
phrase
“Seek Refuge” and an Arabic
poem on the back.
Ijaz described the meaning of
the poem and its representation
of the refugee experience.
“It’s written by a Syrian
Refugee,” she said. “It is about
their journey and about their
feelings of being displaced from
their home and forced into a
country where they don’t feel
comfortable … But they can’t go
back to their home.”
LSA senior Nazmun Nahar
was thrilled when given the
opportunity to model for the
clothing brand at the event,
as she feels the brand gives
Muslim women a new way to
express themselves.
“I’m a Muslim woman and
it does represent me because I
do wear street style a lot so I’m
really happy that this is a thing
now, she said.
LSA junior Adam Bowen was
fascinated by Seek Refuge’s
efforts to use fashion as a
source of activism for refugees.
“I think it’s a really cool
mission, the idea of working
the
fashion
industry
into
activism because it’s something
that can be really left out,” he
said. “It’s hard to find a way to
be progressive with fashion.”
The event was co-sponsored
by the University’s Muslim
Students’ Association, the South
Asian
Awareness
Network,
Humanity First, the Michigan
Refugee Assistance Program,
Students Organize for Syria
at the University of Michigan,
Michigan Pakistanis, Redefine
and MPak.
In an interview, Ijaz told
Vogue she hopes her brand
ensures Muslim women feel
empowered
as
leaders
in
today’s society.
“It’s more important than
ever for the next generation
of
Muslim
leaders
to
feel
represented in our society and
to represent our religion as it
really is: a peaceful one,” she
said.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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Wednesday, February 21, 2018 — 3A
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MSU
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CSG
From Page 1A
for a decrease in ideological
discussion.
“We are rapidly losing the
ability to talk to one another,”
Stephens said. “The president
has led the way in modeling this
uncivil style of discourse. But he
has plenty of imitators on the
left who are equally as eager
to bully or shame Republicans
into shutting up because they
deem their ideas as backward or
insufficiently ‘woke.’”
Stephens also belives hateful
speech falls well within the
scope of the First Amendment
and
sees
banning
speakers
from university campuses as
only fueling the controversial
speakers’ movements.
“I think that the worst way
of dealing with hateful speech
is to try and shut it down,”
Stephens said in an interview
with The Daily prior to his talk.
“The answer to hate speech is
more speech. Hateful speakers
thrive on controversy that some
universities thoughtlessly afford
them by trying to ban them.
Censorship is oxygen to hate
speech.”
He also commented on the
impact social media has on
journalism.
“Am I as a columnist no
longer allowed to use irony as a
rhetorical device, because there
is always a risk that bigots and
dimwits will take it the wrong
way?” Stephens said. “Can I rely
on context to make my point
here, or must I lie in fear that
any sentence can be lifted out of
context and pasted onto Twitter
and used against me?”
Stephens ended his talk asking
the audience to make the choice
to listen to others’ points of view.
“It isn’t, or is not nearly, so
that we can hear ourselves or
those who completely agree
speak,” he said. “It’s also to hear
other people, with other views,
have to say. To hear such speech
may make us uncomfortable, as
well it should.”
The talk was followed by a
question and answer session,
with Stephens taking questions
from audience members and
over Twitter. Several students
from the audience criticized
his talk as hypocritical and
questions ranged from critiques
of Stephens’s op-ed piece on
Woody Allen to questions about
the future of the conservatism
and the political right wing.
“I think part of an intelligent
pedagogy, particularly at places
like the University of Michigan,
is to say, ‘Good, let’s talk about
your offense,’” Stephens said in
response to one Twitter question
about why people are sensitive
to opposing views. “Let’s take
it another step further. Let’s
turn offense into a conversation
starter and not a conversation
ender.”
Throughout
the
session,
Stephens
maintained
uncomfortable discussion was
essential
for
understanding
different
viewpoints,
and
emphasized
accepting
and
understanding these viewpoints.
This
took
on
a
similar
perspective to Joshua Johnson’s
panel last Thursday.
“Discomfort is not injury, and
intellectual provocation is not a
physical assault,” Stephens said.
“To hear speech with which we
disagree may cause us to wince.
But with time it can also
sharpen our thinking, or even
change our minds.”
After
the
talk,
audience
members continued to express
opposing
opinions
regarding
Stephens and the event.
LSA freshman Jason Higdon
was one audience member who
was opposed to having Stephens
give this particular talk on
campus.
“He and basically the rest of
the conservative commentary
on the Times, on WaPo, on
any major newspaper, are just
as bad as the conservative
establishment that enabled them,
in a sense,” Higdon said. “I just
thought it wasn’t good to have
someone like Bret Stephens here
to lecture us on the necessity of
ideological diversity.”
In an earlier interview with
the Daily, Michigan Mellon
Fellow
Austin
McCoy
said
he believes the free speech
and inclusion series does not
adequately
combat
Spencer’s
hateful rhetoric.
“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.
On the other hand, LSA
senior Ben Decatur felt it was
important to have a conservative
speak on campus about Trump.
“I
think
it
was
really
important for students to hear
on campus a conservative who
is against Trump,” Decatur said.
“I think he was incredibly smart
and hit on important points of
what conservatives need to do in
the future in the age of Trump.”
COLUMNIST
From Page 1A
COUNCIL
From Page 1A
ulty and students of color require
some level of structural change in
how we seek out and hire/accept
candidates,” he said. “It requires
involving students more in the pro-
cess for both students and faculty.
CSG has the chance to advocate
for expansions of cohort-programs
that help build and foster a sense
of community and the creation of
student-led recruitment boards
that go out into the community
and across the country recruiting
students to Michigan. If our ad-
ministration can make headway on
those issues, we will leave behind
a solid foundation upon which fu-
ture efforts can be built. And we
can achieve those things. Those
things are not beyond us. We just
have to be bold enough to stand for
them and, in the face of opposition,
not be too quick to fold for fear of
“wasting” political capital, or being
“iced out” by the University ad-
ministration.”
Furthermore,
Ashman
ex-
plained the oftentimes immense
barriers which prevent students
from joining campus organizations
such as CSG.
“There are structural reasons
why CSG feels inaccessible. An
example being that CSG meets at 7
p.m. on a Tuesday,” he said. “Those
are working hours for many stu-
dents who hold an on-campus
job. And personally, my involve-
ment in CSG has always required
a sizable investment of time to do
the job well, routinely upwards of
20 hours a week. That is a heavy
burden to bare if you’re a student
working to make ends meet. I’ve
worked a job every day I have been
on this campus; it’s hard to bal-
ance classes, student government,
and working. We need to think a
lot about how to tear down those
barriers to involvement because
it’s not just student government
that has this problem. This leads
to the Leadership Engagement
Scholarship, which we call for the
expansion of as a matter of equity,
inclusivity and justice.”
Ultimately,
Ashman
empha-
sized although the University is
large, change is tangible by work-
ing with students and amplifying
their voices through solidarity and
action.
“Connecting with communities
that feel underrepresented is about
finding ways to bring those people
into the fold, through informal
or more structural means, so that
is where you go to recruit lead-
ers from,” he said. “Having those
leaders helps establish a culture of
representation from the top-down.
You have to make people feel as
though their work is valued and
the time they are spending on that
work is justified; they must realize
they are part of something larger
than themselves. It is then about
listening to those underrepresent-
ed communities and, rather than
just hearing them, showing that we
are with them. Sometimes, it’s easy
to feel like Michigan is too large
to change. Even having worked in
CSG it is possible to feel that way,
but students are counting on us to
take up their causes, to see them,
to hear them and to stand beside
them. We know that without be-
ing a part of the conversation, we
cannot reasonably expect things to
change.”
MOMENTUM
From Page 2A