Race has been one of, if not
the defining faultline at the
University of Michigan. In
the last five years, a slew of
fatal police shootings of Black
Americans
coincided
with
a spike in anti-Black attacks
at the University and in Ann
Arbor.
Protests
engulfed
campus
following
nearly
every incident, and students
organized movements spanning
from #BBUM to Ann Arbor to
Ferguson, Mo. to #StopSpencer.
Leading from behind each
of these moments has been
postdoctoral
fellow
Austin
McCoy.
McCoy
arrived
on
campus in 2009 as a History
Ph.D. student, and nearly a
decade later, has become a
hybrid
adviser-activist
to
hundreds of student organizers.
After completing a dissertation
on the history of progressive
organizing, he’s leaving Ann
Arbor for Alabama, where he’ll
be taking up a new post as a
history professor at Auburn
University. The Daily sat down
with McCoy to reflect on his
time on campus, and what’s up
next.
TMD: So nine years later,
how does it feel to be leaving?
McCoy: It feels weird … Ann
Arbor is the second longest
place I’ve lived. But it also feels
like it’s the right time to go do
something different.
TMD: You chose Auburn
University, which is definitely
warmer! But it’s also in the
South, which is a new kind of
forum for your work.
McCoy: I had a choice
between there and a school
in the Northeast and I chose
Auburn. Part of it is I really
like the department, I like the
people, and I thought I would
be able to have a big impact
on students there — and even
in politics possibly within the
state. It’s the South. Auburn
isn’t going to be like Ann Arbor;
it’ll be less liberal and the
Campus Mind Works, a wellness
group that promotes mental health
education and provides support
groups through the University
of Michigan Depression Center,
spoke Tuesday night on the
potentially harmful effects of a
world increasingly dependent on
technology.
This seminar, held in partnership
with the College of Engineering
and the Newnan LSA Academic
Advising Center, was run by clinical
staff affiliated with the University’s
Department of Psychiatry. They
provided
information
about
practicing self-care in a digital
world while allowing students to
connect with others who may have
shared similar experiences.
This seminar’s topic revolved
around the harmful side effects
of technology and not only how
to combat these effects but how
to limit and moderate the use of
The
National
Center
for
Institutional Diversity hosted a
discussion titled “Campus Inclusion
and Free Expression: A Conversation
with Higher Education Leaders”
Tuesday night at the Graduate hotel
in Ann Arbor. Tabbye Chavous,
University of Michigan professor and
director of the National Center for
Institutional Diversity, moderated
a four-person panel of university
administrators
as
they
debated
the challenge of making campuses
welcoming
and
inclusive
while
upholding the right to free speech.
About 50 audience members,
including administrators and faculty
from universities across the country,
attended the event, which was the
third in a series of dialogues that have
taken place at various universities
over the past academic year.
After
panelists
introduced
themselves,
Chavous
began
by
asking them to comment on the clash
between free speech and inclusion,
and to consider how the two ideas are
often pitted against one another on
college campuses.
Lorelle
Espinosa,
American
Council of Education’s assistant vice
president of the Center for Policy
Research and Strategy, brought up
a 2018 Gallup-Knight Foundation
report, which found that students
value inclusion over free speech.
John
DeGioia,
president
of
Georgetown
University,
also
responded, suggesting the study
didn’t capture the nuance of the
issue. Though the results made
headlines, the margin was small —
only 53 percent of students chose
diversity and inclusion over free
speech — and, according to DeGioia,
placing inclusion and free speech
in direct competition is inherently
problematic.
DeGioia
said
that
university administrators need to
understand the complexity of free
speech.
“We’re in a new moment in higher
education where we’ve achieved a
level of diversity across our campuses
that requires a different kind of
leadership, a different kind of
engagement that respects the
sheer newness of what we’re now
wrestling with,” DeGioia said.
Chavous then invited the panel
to think of how the country’s
political climate has exacerbated
issues
of
self-expression
in
academia. She cited a recent
study from the Anti-Defamation
League reporting a spike in
white supremacist propaganda
on college campuses, and asked
On Tuesday, the University
of
Michigan
released
its
Sustainability Progress Report,
which provides data on the
University’s progress toward
its
campus
sustainability
goals for 2025. The report
includes updates within the
categories of climate action,
waste
prevention,
healthy
environments and community
engagement.
In the area of climate action,
the University has reduced
greenhouse gas emissions by
5 percent and hopes to cut
emissions by 25 percent by
2025. The University has also
cut vehicle carbon output by
15 percent, halfway toward its
goal of 30 percent by 2025.
In
terms
of
waste
prevention,
the
University
aims to decrease the amount of
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
McCoy looks
back on time
at University
of Michigan
University discusses improving
financial aid, in and out of state
ROSEANNE CHAO/Daily
CAMPUS LIFE
Prominent campus leader talks activism,
his investment in student organizing
RIYAH BASHA
Daily News Editor
Students expressed concerns they are unaware of exactly where tuition is being spent
For
LSA
senior
Madeleine
Conrad, an out-of-state student
from California, the differences
in enrollment numbers between
in-state and out-of-state students
at the University of Michigan
reflect the diverse perspectives
brought by out-of-state students.
Yet Conrad feels conflicted when
she considers the role she feels
the University should play in
supporting in-state students.
“When you’re talking about
diversity
and
perspective,
obviously being in-state versus
out-of-state is part of that,”
Conrad said. “When you bring
people from out-of-state, you bring
people from, hopefully, different
socioeconomic statuses, different
communities. I think there is
something to be said to that, to
kind of value this perspective,
(but) when considering the greater
context this University has and
should stand there for the people
of Michigan.”
As a public flagship university,
the University of Michigan was
established
upon
principles
representing the state — as well
as an emphasis on providing
education for in-state students
who
seek
admission
to
the
University.
However,
according
to
new
freshmen
enrollment
by
residencynumbers
at
the
University, only 52% of new
JORDYN BAKER
Daily Staff Reporter
Data shows
progress on
goals for a
greener ‘U’
RESEARCH
Sustainability Progress
Report results say campus
on track to reach 2025 goal
MAEVE O’BRIEN
Daily Staff Reporter
CAMERON HUNT/Daily
Panelists discuss the right to free speech on college campuses at the Graduate Hotel Tuesday.
Higher Ed leaders from across country
talk free speech, inclusion on campus
Panel of university administrators explores intersection of expression, diversity
ALICE TRACEY
Daily Staff Reporter
Students of the Year
Take a look at the University’s
greatest activists, innovators,
leaders and community
builders of 2018.
» Page 1B
See AID, Page 3A
See LINKS,Page 3A
Talk links
self-care to
wary social
media use
CAMPUS LIFE
Rates of youth anxiety
and depression increase
in correlation with tech
NESMA DAOUD
For the Daily
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Daily Weekly
INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 109
©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
See INCLUSION, Page 2A
statement
THE MICHIGAN DAILY | APRIL 11, 2018
See PROGRESS, Page 3A
See MCCOY, Page 3A