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NEWS

Thursday, August 9, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Claimant offers details on 

Rubadeau’s termination 

LEO helps lecturer 
file grievance 
against U-M

By GRACE KAY

Summer Managing News Editor

John Rubadeau, an award-win-
ning senior English lecturer at the 
University of Michigan, was flood-
ed with student support after his 
former typist Parker Procida sent 
a mass email to more than 4,000 
alumni informing them their for-
mer professor was terminated by 
the University without benefits. 
A Facebook support group titled 
“Friends of John” currently fea-
tures 339 members and a petition 
signed by 553 people. The group 
was created shortly after alum-
ni and undergraduate students 
received news of Rubadeau’s ter-
mination.
While alumni continue to voice 
support for Rubadeau, one for-
mer graduate student who asked 
to remain anonymous explains 
undergraduate 
students 
don’t 
understand the entire story behind 
Rubadeau’s termination.
“The reasons that seem to be 
circulating around the undergrads 
are not true,” he said.
The former graduate student 
expanded on this point by explain-
ing allegations that Rubadeau 
was fired due to “unprofessional 
behavior” are inaccurate.
“It doesn’t make sense to me 
that it has anything to do with 
pronouns, or dyed hair or beard,” 
he said. “From my perspective 
as someone who has been in that 
department and knows how peo-
ple feel about him and how people 
worried about him, it is far more 
than that. This story is about 
harassment, maybe of a sexual 
nature, maybe just of a repeatedly 
strange and inappropriate nature 
toward colleagues.”
The former graduate student 
had heard stories about Rubadeau 
from 
female 
colleagues 
even 
before he began working in Angell 
Hall.
“My female peers warned me 
about him and told me stories 
about him making them feel sexu-

ally vulnerable,” he said. “They 
didn’t want to be alone in a hall-
way with him.”
While 
his 
colleagues 
had 
warned him to avoid Rubadeau, 
the 
former 
graduate 
student 
emphasized it wasn’t until he 
began working on the same floor 
as the lecturer that he began to feel 
uncomfortable himself.
“Later on, when I began work-
ing in closer proximity to him, it 
became very clear he always want-
ed to be the center of attention,” 
the former graduate student said. 
“It was this weird behavior where 
if you didn’t pay attention to him, 
he would make you pay attention 
to him. I couldn’t shake him and 
it started to feel a little creepy. He 
would always be stopping me in 
the hall to talk to me and it got to 
the point where I felt I needed to 
wear headphones.”
The former graduate student 
sought outside advice regarding 
Rubadeau in the Fall 2017 term 
regarding the lecturer’s unusu-
al behavior. He explained he 
wouldn’t have reported Rubadeau 
to the Office for Institutional 
Equity and spoken to English 
Department Chair David Por-
ter if he hadn’t heard stories of 
Rubadeau making his female peers 
feel uncomfortable and openly 
objectifying women in the depart-
ment.
The former graduate student 
explained Rubadeau stopped one 
of the student’s close friends in the 
hall and told an inappropriate joke 
about a woman in his cohort.
“My friend felt ashamed and 
gross to have had that interaction,” 
he said. “I wouldn’t have gone on 
to talk to the department chair if 
I hadn’t known there were others. 
I felt I needed to add my voice to 
help others like my friend who felt 
less comfortable coming forward.”
The former graduate student 
explained Rubadeau’s behavior 
was atypical: He often stood too 
close to women and would report-
edly burst randomly into col-
league’s offices. He explained the 
incidences that were reported are 
hard to pinpoint as sexual harass-
ment or could even be dismissed as 
social awkwardness.

Taylor beats Councilmember Eaton in 
mayoral primaries, winning 59% of vote

By ALICE TRACEY

Summer Daily News Editor 

Christopher 
Taylor 
was 
chosen as the Democratic can-
didate for mayor of Ann Arbor 
in the Aug. 7 vote, beating his 
opponent, City Councilmem-
ber Jack Eaton, D-Ward 4, 
with a 59-percent majority.
Taylor, a Democrat, was 
elected mayor in 2014 and has 
since served two terms. Unlike 
Taylor’s first two terms, the 
upcoming term will last four 
years, according to a 2016 vote 
regarding term length.
Prior to serving as mayor, 
Taylor 
represented 
Ann 
Arbor’s 3rd Ward in City Coun-
cil from 2008 to 2014. He also 
practices with Hooper Hatha-
way, P.C., a law firm in Ann 
Arbor. A New York City native, 
Taylor has four degrees from 
the University of Michigan, in 
English, vocal performance, 
American history and law.
As Mayor, Taylor has cen-
tered 
his 
platform 
around 
infrastructure, 
sustainabil-
ity, social justice and afford-
ability. Recently, he has taken 
action on downtown develop-
ment, advancing the sale of 
Library Lot to developer Core 
Spaces. He also supported the 
formation of the Ann Arbor 
Police Task Force, a group 
working to outline how the 
city should monitor the Ann 
Arbor Police Department.
During the mayoral race, 
Eaton 
criticized 
Taylor’s 
approach to a number of issues. 
Eaton accused the mayor of 

falling short on improving 
public resources, addressing 
environmental concerns and 
making housing more afford-
able.
“The promises that the cur-
rent mayor is doing, what he 
will do for the next four years 
really reflects what he and his 
majority have not done for the 
last 10,” Eaton said.
Taylor, however, said he is 
committed to promoting pro-
gressive values in Ann Arbor.
“I 
support 
funding 
and 
building affordable housing, 
I support funding and imple-
menting our climate action 
plan, I support an active and 
strong policing commission,” 
Taylor said.
Taylor’s campaign won the 
endorsement of numerous Ann 
Arbor public servants and City 
Councilmembers. He has also 
received donations from the 
Michigan Laborers’ Political 
League PAC, LGBTQ activ-
ist Jim Toy and Laura Rubin, 
executive 
director 
of 
the 
Huron River Watershed Coun-
cil.
Amanda Uhle, CEO of the 
Hawkins 
Project, 
praised 
Taylor for his dedication to 
the city of Ann Arbor in an 
endorsement on Taylor’s cam-
paign website.
“Having known him for 
many years, I’m always aston-
ished by his unflagging energy 
and his thoughtful approach 
to everything he undertakes,” 
Uhle said. “Taylor has dem-
onstrated that he is precisely 
what Ann Arbor needs — a 

deeply empathetic leader who 
makes bold, considered deci-
sions to benefit us all.”
Commenting 
on 
his 
approach to leadership, Tay-
lor said he values being honest 
with his constituents. Tay-
lor hopes to see open lines of 
communication between Ann 
Arbor voters and elected offi-
cials such as himself.
“One of my principles serv-
ing as mayor is to tell people 
candidly what we can do and 
what we cannot do,” Taylor 
said. “I think it’s important 
that people know that they 
can rely upon their mayor not 
to tell them what they want 
to hear but to tell them the 
truth.”
Ann Arbor also held Demo-
cratic and Republican prima-
ry elections for City Council 
August 7.
Democrat Jeff Hayner won 
the Ward 1 primary and will 
face 
Democratic 
Socialist 
Ryan Hughes in November.
Kathy Griswold, a Demo-
crat, topped incumbent Kirk 
Westphal in Ward 2. Demo-
crat Julie Grand, who cur-
rently serves on Council, won 
in Ward 3.
Wards 4 and 5 both saw 
some changes, with Democrat 
Elizabeth 
Nelson 
defeating 
incumbent Graydon Krapohl 
(D-Ward 4) and Ali Ramlawi 
beating 
incumbent 
Chuck 
Warpehoski (D-Ward 5). 

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

Incumbent to run for third term as Ann Arbor Mayor in November

ALEC COHEN / DAILY

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

