3
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