with Cheney-Lippold’s decision
not to write the letter, saying
professors should encourage
students to explore educational
opportunities
without
the
influence of personal politics.
“I
can’t
speak
for
all
students, but I know that I
and many others feel hurt by
this decision,” Coden said.
“Studying in or visiting Israel
is an opportunity to immerse
ourselves in an Israeli culture
that is different from our own,
but also a Jewish culture that
is very familiar and part of our
own identity. Students should
not be denied the opportunity
to experience another culture
as a result of a professor’s
political viewpoints.”
University
Public
Affairs
released a statement regarding
the
incident,
reaffirming
the consistent opposition of
boycotting Israeli institutions
of
higher
education.
The
statement upholds no academic
department or unit officially
maintains a boycott.
“It is disappointing that a
faculty member would allow
their personal political beliefs
to limit the support they are
willing to otherwise provide
for our students,” the statement
read. “We will engage our
faculty
colleagues
in
deep
discussions to clarify how the
expression of our shared values
plays out in support of all
students.”
Cheney-Lippold
acknowledged
his
mistake
in
claiming
University
departments
support
the
boycott
and
amended
the
statement he made in the
email, saying his support of the
boycott is a personal stance.
“I
support
the
boycott
because I support solidarity,”
he said in an interview with
The Daily. “I follow the idea
that people who are being
discriminated
against
or
people who need help … I
feel compelled to help them.
I was following a call by
representatives of Palestinian
civil society to boycott Israel in
a very similar tactical frame as
South Africa. The idea is that
I support communities who
organize themselves and ask
for international support to
achieve equal rights, freedom
and to prevent violations of
international law.”
Cheney-Lippold affirmed the
boycott focuses on institutions
rather than people and stated
that denying Ingber’s academic
opportunities should not be in
question. He confirmed upon
further contact she did find
another person to complete the
letter.
“The perennial claim of anti-
Semitism I fully deny,” Cheney-
Lippold said. “I have no bad
will against the student, and I
would have very gladly written
a letter for any other graduate
program or study abroad. The
idea is that I am just one person,
and by refusing to write that
letter or at least rescinding it,
I tried to keep to my conscious
and to the fact that I believe
that the boycott is a good tactic
to enhance human rights and to
get everyone in Israel-Palestine
to have what international
criminal court and the U.N. in
general has requested, which is
equal rights for everybody.”
Cheney-Lippold
also
said
he wanted to focus on the
importance of dialogue within
the University on this issue as
well as highlight the student
organizations on campus who
are furthering knowledge on
the issue for the campus and
upholding diversity of thought.
“As a professor, I’m not
just a machine writing things
for people,” he said. “I have
opinions
and
even
though
a letter of recommendation
is about the student, a lot of
thought goes into them. It’s
not a blank check where I’m
signing for them to go to any
place they want, it is a dialogue.
It’s
what
the
University
is
about,
talking
through
differences and really figuring
out where each other stands,
not expecting something or
assuming something, but really
trying to get into what is the
key difference. Seeing what can
we do more, how can we have a
larger campus-wide discussion.
I want to push it beyond the
horse-race politics of what
John did or did not say.”
LSA
junior
Sophee
Langerman claimed she fully
supports
Cheney-Lippold’s
decision
as
a
boycott,
divestment
and
sanctions
activist, but reaffirmed the
complexity of the issue and
the diversity of opinion among
students on campus.
“I believe that this professor
is
100
percent
correct
in
his
refusal
of
writing
a
recommendation
letter
in
support of the BDS movement,”
she said. “A trip to Israeli-
occupied
Palestine
would
mean the support of the mass
murder
and
oppression
of
not
only
Palestinians,
but
Ethiopian
Jews,
Mizrahi
Jews, East-Asian immigrants
and other non-white minority
communities.
BDS
cannot
support that. I would also like
to point out that this professor
was never under any obligation
to write this student a letter
of recommendation, and in
fact, she got more than most
students do by receiving a
reply about why he would not
participate.”
Langerman
hopes
the
boycott can encourage peaceful
dialogue
and
activism
for
students and faculty alike at the
University.
“As far as I have experienced,
Jewish
and
Palestinian
communities on campus have
always had a divide due to the
rhetoric produced by Zionist
entities that anything ‘pro-
Palestine’
is
anti-Semitic,
which is just flat out incorrect,”
she said. “If anything, I hope
that this professor’s boycott
empowers the rest of the
academic community to take
a
stand
against
apartheid
regimes, and brings forth more
fruitful dialogue surrounding
the BDS movement – and why
it is such a crucial form of
nonviolent activism.”
Ingber told The Michigan
Daily she is currently unable
to comment on the incident, as
she is waiting to discuss it with
University officials. According
to Club Z’s Facebook page, they
did not receive the message
from Ingber, but rather from
another University professor to
whom the email was sent.
2 — Tuesday, September 18, 2018
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ADRIANNA KUSMIERCZYK
Creative Director
Faculty debate reclaiming terms with
A/PIA dept. in community dialogue
University of Michigan stu-
dents and faculty discussed is-
sues of free speech, derogatory
terms and minority groups’
efforts to reclaim these terms
Monday night at the Harlan
Hatcher Graduate Library.
The Asian/Pacific Islander
American Studies Department
and student group WeListen
hosted the event, which used
the example of The Slants
— an Asian-American rock
band who went to the U.S.
Supreme Court to trademark
their name — as a starting
point for the presentations
and
WeListen
discussion.
Last week, the A/PIA De-
partment invited The Slants
to campus for a concert and
a keynote lecture discussing
their case. The Slants band
name originated as an attempt
to reclaim the derogatory term
for the A/PIA community.
Their trademark was rejected
in 2010, but after years of le-
gal battle, the Supreme Court
ruled the government could not
deny trademark protection to
names considered derogatory.
Five University faculty mem-
bers spoke on the topic, in-
cluding a free speech and hate
speech specialist from the Law
School and several ethnic stud-
ies professors. John Kuwada, di-
rector of A/PIA studies, said he
reached out to faculty with di-
verse backgrounds and research
interests to speak at the event.
“I asked faculty who had
quite a bit of experience with
this idea and I tried to cover
the whole wide range,” Kuwada
said. “There’s a lot of slurs out
there. These things are very
nuanced and very complex.”
Former
A/PIA
Director
Amy Stillman also spoke on
The Slants case, showcasing a
quote from lead singer Simon
Tam about why he chose the
band name. He wanted to use
LETTER
From Page 1
LIZZY LAWRENCE
Daily Staff Reporter
See RECLAIMING, Page 3