michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, March 9, 2018
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
The University of Michigan
has pledged not to disclose
immigration
status
of
its
students.
However,
once
undocumented students at the
University graduate, the future
is hazy. This is especially true
with those receiving Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals,
DACA, which can be renewed
every two years. One of DACA’s
many benefits is its authorization
of work permits, but with the
uncertainty surrounding DACA
in the government, the ability to
legally work after graduation is
no longer guaranteed.
This is something Engineering
senior
Javier
Contreras
is
thinking about as he approaches
graduation.
“This constant state of limbo
and uncertainty is taking a great
toll on a lot of my classmates and
I,” Contreras said. “Just because
we have enough to be stressed
with. Myself, graduating this
April, if I can’t legally work in the
U.S., there goes my engineering
degree. It is just a lot to think
about.”
When these students’ DACA
statuses expire, so does the
eligibility for a work permit that
comes with it, and the possibility
of pursuing a salaried career in
the country in which they got
their degree disappears. DACA
recipients can find a part-time
job right before their DACA
status expires, but once it does,
they have to find a way to be paid
under the table. Public Policy
junior Yvonne Navarrete has
peers currently navigating this
struggle.
“I have friends who are
undocumented
and
they’re
seniors, ready to go into the
workforce
but
their
DACA
expires
in
the
summer,”
Navarette said. “So they can
only work for two months and
then they don’t have work
authorization. So then they
would have to find a job that
pays in cash. But what kind of
“There goes
my degree”:
DACA and
graduation
ROSEANNE CHAO/Daily
COMMUNITY AFFAIRS
Amid increasing uncertainty with ICE,
students consider extending education
ELIZABETH LAWRENCE &
SHANNON ORS
Daily Staff Reporters
Diversity programs see increased effectiveness when partnered with student organizations
In line with Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion plan’s overarching
strategy to “recruit, retain and
develop a diverse community,”
the University of Michigan is
increasing efforts to reach into
the K-12 distribution across the
state and attract a wider variety
of applicants to the University.
However, the task of letting
potential applicants know about
the University’s efforts requires
more than just administrative
initiatives; student organizations
are also working to connect lower-
socioeconomic schools to the
University and make a University
of Michigan degree attainable.
CEO and DEI Partnership
Cited in the DEI plan as a
K-12-focused body, the Center for
Educational Outreach was given
the responsibility of serving as
the campus-wide K-12 Outreach
Hub by extending the presence
of the University across the
state,
providing
training
for
students and faculty working
with community partners and
improving the University’s overall
capacity. As the DEI plan enters its
second year of implementation on
campus, CEO hopes to continue
improving upon their relatively
new initiatives.
William
Collins,
executive
director of the CEO, outlined the
history of the center, which was
established in 2008 as a result
of former University President
Mary Sue Coleman’s efforts to
create a more diverse community
on campus. Collins highlighted
some of the CEO’s main goals:
Familiarizing all parts of the state
with the University, encouraging
collaboration between outreach
groups
on
campus
and
providing services for these K-12
communities.
“Its purpose was to, first of
all, expand the footprint of the
University of Michigan around
the state and more parts of the
state would become familiar with
the University and what we do,”
Collins said. “To synergize efforts
on campus that try to get different
AMARA SHAIKH
& JORDYN BAKER
Daily Staff Reporters
See DEI, Page 2
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 88
©2018 The Michigan Daily
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O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
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S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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Double-check: DEI initiatives for
K-12 schools assisted by students
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, an
organizer and assistant professor
of African American Studies at
Princeton University, has never
shied away from lambasting
President
Donald
Trump
in
public speeches. After delivering
the commencement address at
Hampshire College last year,
however, she received dozens
of death threats, forcing her to
cancel other speeches.
But she did not stay away from
speeches for long. On Thursday
evening,
the
University
of
Michigan’s Sociology Department
hosted Taylor to discuss her recent
book and her research on race and
class in the Trump era to a crowd
of about 150 people. Taylor was
introduced as one of the hundreds
of people who have recently
refused to be silenced, from the
#BlackLivesMatter movement to
the #MeToo movement.
Taylor’s
book,
“From
#BlackLivesMatter
to
Black
Liberation,” examines the social
movements that have stemmed
in response to police brutality in
the United States, and received
the Lannan Foundation Cultural
Freedom Award for an Especially
Notable Book in 2016.
Taylor
said
she
considers
herself more of an organizer
than an academic, and admitted
it took her publisher several tries
to persuade her to write this book.
Since its publication, however, the
book has reached and impacted
many students, including those in
attendance.
Having been an organizer for
several years herself, Social Work
student Kristina Agbebiyi said she
sees Taylor as a role model.
“Seeing how she is able to
balance organizing and academia
really is inspiring to me,” Agbebiyi
said.
Taylor
began
her
talk
comparing headlines today with
those of ten years ago, starting with
President Obama’s inauguration.
She recalled headlines claiming
the U.S. was entering a post-racial
society –– “Racism No Longer
Exists in America,” for example
–– and noted the stark contrast to
society and headlines today, with
numerous outbreaks of violence
and
racism
since
Trump’s
inauguration.
Taylor
argued
Trump’s
controversial comments are not
simply a slip of the tongue, but are
rather calculated steps to appeal
to his followers. Citing a tweet
in which David Duke, a former
grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan,
thanked Trump for his sympathy
toward
white
supremacists
marching
in
Charlottesville,
Va., Taylor said Trump himself
embraced white supremacy.
“The racist right celebrated
their mouthpiece in the White
House,” she said.
She
also
examined
the
evolution of racism in U.S. politics,
and how it has transitioned from
explicit racial slurs to a more
subtle attack, through implicit
comments and unjust economic
policies.
“With each racist comment,
the Republican party meets it
The University of Michigan’s
Lecturers’ Employee Organization
held a community forum at its
offices
Thursday
night
with
about 27 student and tenure-track
allies and community activists to
discuss its bargaining negotiations
with the University.
LEO, the union of non-tenure
track lecturers for all three U-M
campuses, has been bargaining
with the University since October
for
higher
wages,
improved
benefits
and
job
security.
Currently, the minimum salary
for a Lecturer I is $34,500 for the
Ann Arbor campus, $28,300 in
Dearborn and $27,300 in Flint.
LEO President, Ian Robinson,
a sociology lecturer, began by
explaining the gravity of the
situation during the bargaining
process.
“The most basic thing to say
about our platform is that it’s not
business as usual,” Robinson said.
“What we’re really saying this
time around is we need to change
from a mode where basically
our pay has been determined,
as far as the administration is
See BARGAINING, Page 3
LEO hosts
community
dialogue on
bargaining
ACADEMICS
According to LEO staff,
members will go on strike
if demands aren’t fulfilled
RACHEL CUNNINGHAM
Daily Staff Reporter
#BlackLivesMatter to Black liberation:
Author-activist talks American racism
Unfazed by death threats, Princeton professor delivers lecture at Michigan Union
ABBY TAKAS
Daily Staff Reporter
See ACTIVISM, Page 3
About
60
Ann
Arbor
residents convened Thursday
evening at the Ann Arbor
District Library to discuss
civic engagement and hear
from a panel of local leaders
in a community forum focused
on the state of civic life in
Washtenaw County.
Mary Morgan, founder of
the CivCity Initiative, a local
organization
intending
to
increase civic participation,
moderated
a
panel
about
the
importance
of
civic
engagement
and
ways
to
increase
involvement
from
Washtenaw residents.
Several residents expressed
concerns about the low level
of
participation
from
Ann
Arbor citizens in local politics.
Many residents feel they have
little power and their opinions
wouldn’t be heard. Patrick
Campion, the program director
for
WEMU
broadcasting
service and one of the panelists
at the forum, said there were
ways of engaging in civic life
people often didn’t consider.
See DUTY, Page 3
See DACA, Page 3
Group of
city leaders
addresses
civic duty
ANN ARBOR
Community members
discuss concerns over
obstacles to participation
SHIKHA PATEL
For the Daily
CHUN SO/Daily
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, assistant professor of African American studies at Princeton University, discusses race
and class in the Trump era at the Union Thursday.