During
a
break
in
the
Lecturers’
Employee
Organization’s
first
open
bargaining session in Ann
Arbor
Friday,
about
150
lecturers and allies – including
students and tenure -track
faculty – marched from the
Diag to Palmer Commons.
The marchers chanted and
waved signs, demanding salary
increases and enhanced job
security for lecturers, two
key aspects of the union’s
bargaining platform to replace
its
current
contract
that
expires April 20.
LEO President Ian Robinson,
a sociology lecturer, said the
high turnout provides leverage
at the bargaining table.
“Really, to make a lot of
major changes in anything you
have to have a lot of people who
are willing to be involved,” he
said. “It shows our members
just how many students are
supporting them, from alumni
here to elected officials. That’s
really good for the morale of
our folks.”
LEO,
which
represents
nearly 1,500 non-tenure track
faculty members across the
University’s three campuses,
has
been
in
negotiations
with
the
University
since
October. During the morning
bargaining
session
Friday,
Dearborn
organizer
Alex
Elkins, an Afroamerican and
African Studies lecturer, said
the
University’s
bargaining
team offered a “pretty big
concession” on benefits for
lecturers who are not employed
full time.
“Today actually we saw some
progress because they agreed
to extend benefits eligibility to
people who are less than half
time if their total appointment
for fall and winter equals
above 50 percent,” Elkins said.
“That was pretty big because
a few months ago they told us
they would never extend that
to any employee group at the
University.”
Salary has been a critical
issue for lecturers. Right now,
the minimum salary for a full-
time lecturer is $34,500 in Ann
Arbor, $28,300 in Dearborn
and $27,300 in Flint. LEO’s
proposal would have raised the
minimum to $60,000 in Ann
Arbor and $56,000 in Dearborn
and Flint in 2018, with $2,000
increases at all three campuses
in 2019 and again in 2020.
In February, the University
offered a $1,000 increase to the
starting salary in 2019, $750
in 2020 and $500 in 2021. The
deal also included a 1.5 percent
annual raise for lecturers in
Ann Arbor, but not those in
Dearborn or Flint.
A racist Snapchat sent by
University of Michigan student
Lauren Fokken, an LSA sophomore,
went viral early Friday morning.
In the picture shared on Twitter,
GroupMe chats and Facebook,
Fokken is with another student
wearing a blackface mask with the
caption #BlackLivesMatter.
Fokken is employed through
both
University
Housing
and
Dining, and works as a student
manager at Victors cafe in Mosher-
Jordan Residence Hall. She did not
respond to requests for comment at
the time of publication.
LSA senior Jordan Jackson,
a Black student, also works as a
student coordinator at Victors. She
saw the Snapchat stay up for more
than a few hours — though she also
said Fokken blocked many students
of color from seeing the image. To
Jackson, the post was an affront
to not just the students of color
Fokken oversees at work, but the
University’s Black community at
large.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, March 19, 2018
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Michigan advances to Sweet Sixteen with 64-63 win
The Michigan men’s basketball team tackles freshman guard Jordan Poole after his game-winning, last second shot against Houston sent the Wolverines to the Sweet Sixteen.
Jordan Poole’s last-second shot saves Wolverines from elimination in tightly-contested game against Houston
`Somehow, some way.
His legs flailing each and every
direction and a defender square
in his face, Jordan Poole caught
a pass on the right wing from
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman
and hoisted a prayer.
And as the ball found sweet
nylon, the prayer was granted —
somehow, some way — in the wee
hours of Sunday morning. The
freshman guard darted to the
opposite side of the court, greeted
by the rest of his jubialant team
as they celebrated an astonishing
64-63 win.
It was a miracle on the Great
Plains the likes of which will live
in Michigan lore right alongside
the Trey Burke shot and the
Denard Robinson pass at Under
the Lights I.
“I was thirsty,” Poole told
a swath of reporters after the
game. “Definitely
thirsty.
Because
I’ve been hitting
shots like that in
practice all year.
I just felt like I
always wanted to
be in a situation
like that at the end
in the game, and my teammates
constantly tell me that I’ve got ice
in my veins.
“I definitely dreamed about
this a long time.
Actually, before I
went out there on
there, I thought,
‘What if I hit this
shot right now as
a freshman?’ ”
And that he
did.
On
this
stage. With these implications.
Somehow, some way, the only
player with the personality to
match the grand moment found
the ball with 0.8 seconds and a
season teetering in the balance.
Now Michigan will head to Los
Angeles next weekend to play its
fourth Sweet Sixteen game in six
years on the back of a monstrous
defense and one lucky St. Patrick’s
Day heave.
“I don’t have any words for
that one,” said fifth-year senior
Duncan Robinson. “It’s incredible.
That’s all I got.”
Somehow, some way.
For much of the game, though,
there appeared to be no way.
For the second consecutive
game, Michigan’s offense fell
victim to offensive lulls that
threatened
its
survival
in
the NCAA Tournament. The
Wolverines went to the first TV
timeout once again without a
made field goal, this time trailing
MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Editor
Student’s
blackface
Snapchat
goes viral
CAMPUS LIFE
Public post by University
employee mocks #BLM,
results in heavy backlash
RIYAH BASHA
Managing News Editor
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
The Lecturers’ Employee Organization (LEO) marched for higher wages and increased benefits on the Diag early
Friday afternoon.
LEO organizes rally during first Ann
Arbor open bargaining session with ‘U’
Negotiations make progress, secure benefit eligibility for lecturer subgroups
LEAH GRAHAM
Daily Staff Reporter
Ann
Arbor
City
Councilmember
Jack
Eaton,
D-Ward 4, is challenging Mayor
Christopher Taylor, D, for his seat
in the 2018 Democratic primary
election, Eaton announced via
press release Thursday.
The retired labor lawyer won
his current seat on City Council in
2013, defeating then-incumbent
Marcia Higgins in the Democratic
primary. After winning reelection
in 2017, Eaton’s current term
would end in 2020.
In the press release, Eaton
criticized Taylor’s plan to fix
roads in the city, which has a goal
of achieving 80 percent of roads
in “good or better condition” by
2026.
“Christopher Taylor supports
a road repair plan that forces
residents to wait eight years for
better roads. That’s not a plan;
it’s a can kicked down a potholed
road,” he said. “Taxpayers can’t
afford that kind of leadership any
longer.”
Jack Eaton
to contest
mayoralty
in primary
ANN ARBOR
Fourth ward councilman
positions himself to left of
incumbent Chris Taylor
ANDREW HIYAMA
Daily News Editor
GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
Check out the
Daily’s News
podcast, The
Daily Weekly
INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 93
©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
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MichiganDaily.com
EVAN AARON/Daily
See BASKETBALL, Page 2A
“I definitely
dreamed about
this a long time.”