students
absolutely
love,”
Rothfuss said. “I cannot tell
you how many emails I got
asking if they were going to
be there.”
This was Rothfuss’s first
year organizing the event.
She said many organizations
returned
to
participate,
such as Leslie’s Science and
Nature Center, which gives
animal demonstrations, and
MDining,
which
teaches
students how they can cook
healthy food. The goal of
EarthFest,
Rothfuss
said,
is
to
educate
students,
especially on the University’s
sustainability goals.
“It’s really just to educate
the
students
on
campus,
and to help them find out
how they can get involved
in sustainability and what
sustainable
groups
are
available
in
their
area,”
Rothfuss
said.
“And
it’s
really to support the six
sustainability
goals
that
U-M has. It’s just this giant
come-together
of
people
distributing information so
the students know what’s
going on.”
One of the booths involved
was the University’s Waste
Reduction
and
Recycling
Program. Program Manager
Tracy Artley said she’d been
coming
to
EarthFest
for
15 years and admired how
popular it’s become in that
time.
“It’s grown a lot since the
earlier days of the fest, where
it was literally just a couple
of booths and a band,” Artley
said. “Now it’s so much more.
So many more groups at the
University and outside the
University are participating
now, which I think really
increases our impact with
the students because when
it’s bigger, more people come,
and more people hear your
message.”
For the Waste Reduction
Program, Artley said, the
message is to decrease waste
products
and
make
sure
recyclable and compostable
items go to the right place.
She also encouraged students
living off campus to reach
out via their website if they
have questions about waste
reduction.
“Our
mission
is
to
encourage
the
University
of Michigan community to
reduce waste by reducing
the amount of items that are
consumed, and then anything
that is generated that needs
to be disposed of, going to
the proper location, whether
that’s composting, recycling,
or alternative,” Artley said.
All of the stands, Rothfuss
emphasized, are primarily
for the students.
“We really do it for the
students,”
Rothfuss
said.
“That’s what it’s all about, is
to just inform and educate
them on ways that they can
be more sustainable and what
their school and what their
environment is doing to be
more sustainable as a whole.”
When
asked
what
his
takeaway
ideas
from
EarthFest
were,
Wolfson
highlighted the importance
of taking care of the Ann
Arbor community.
“Ann Arbor’s our home
too,” Wolfson said. “We have
to make sure we keep it clean
and keep it safe.”
the
people,”
highlighting
the importance of the First
Amendment
in
allowing
the
people
to
hold
the
government accountable.
Panelist Ashley Messenger,
the in-house counsel for NPR
specializing in issues that
affect news gathering and
dissemination, said the U.S.
Constitution revolves around
the involvement of everyday
citizens.
“There really is no such
thing
as
government,”
Messenger
said.
“If
you
actually
read
it
(the
Constitution) it says it does
not establish the government,
it does not establish authority,
it establishes a process. The
way we interpret the First
Amendment actually means
all of us in the process, not
just those in government.
You
actually
need
the
participation of others to lead
this country properly.”
Former
U-M
professor
Vincent
Blasi,
currently
a
professor
at
Columbia
Law
School,
explained
the
distinction
between
protected
speech
and
sedition has been frequently
disputed
throughout
U.S.
history.
“Truth was no defense
(against
allegations
of
libel
or
sedition),”
Blasi
said.
“If
anything,
it
undercut
the
government
even
more.
Falsity
was
applied to conjecture and
characterization.”
Blasi explained free speech
was not always protected,
and laws like the Espionage
Act of 1917 sent citizens to jail
for speaking out in criticism
of the government.
“We take it for granted
now that we can say what
we want even if it gives the
government a bad reputation,
but it wasn’t then,” Blasi said.
Niehoff
explained
potential issues with speech
and even the Constitution
that
the
government
continues to encounter today.
“We have this model and
yet it is sort of fraught with
problems,” Niehoff said.
Blasi
and
Messenger
agreed the Constitution is
something that is constantly
evolving in government.
“The Constitution itself is
an experiment,” Blasi said.
“We’ll see how long it works.”
As
students
expressed
uncertainty
regarding
whether
free
speech,
particularly that of the press,
will continue to be protected,
Messenger said from her
experience at NPR she does
not feel the press’s voice will
be silenced.
“Media law is actually a
really well-established law,”
Messenger said, “It’s not new
for the government to feel
threatened by the press. Does
the law tend to be on our
side? Yes. Because the First
Amendment is not partisan.
It does not discriminate.
It would be an incredibly
uninformed and shortsighted
move to go after the media.”
The panel was open to
the public and the audience
featured several of Niehoff’s
law students, as well as local
Ann Arbor citizens.
Law School student Scott
Haeck said the panel was a
valuable experience.
“I have a personal interest
in the civil rights law and in
this day and age, government
criticism
in
particular,”
Haeck
said.
“Besides,
when else do we get to rub
shoulders with such highly
respected people? I thought
some
interesting
points
were raised and it was a
valuable experience to have
these valuable philosophical
discussions raised in a setting
where we are not trying to
get to a particular point.”
“The University is trying, but
it is not trying hard enough,”
Garton said. “I feel that we have
fallen behind in this regard.
Climate change is the biggest
problem facing my generation.”
Hansen
added
sustainable
policy and culture on campus is
crucial, and the entire University
community including students,
staff, faculty, alumni and Ann
Arbor residents play a role in it.
“We were brought together
to reposition the University of
Michigan as leaders and best
in the fight for a clean energy
future,”
Hansen
said.
“The
leaders of the University of
Michigan need to step up.”
Supporting the students were
Prof. Doug Kelbaugh, former
dean
of
Taubman
College
of
Architecture
and
Urban
Planning,
and
Prof.
Joseph
Trumpey,
director
of
the
Sustainable Living Experience.
Kelbaugh said the University
should think long-term when
considering how best to reduce
their carbon footprint.
“If you don’t act now, who is?”
Kelbaugh said.
Trumpey
emphasized
the
University is at the bottom of
the Big Ten. He also reiterated
carbon
neutrality
as
an
important focus not only to keep
up with other universities but
also for the community.
“I have 25 terrific students
in
the
Sustainable
Living
Experience,
but
they
simply
can’t change the student culture
on campus,” Trumpey said. “We
need everyone on board … We
must create and live a new truth
together.”
Bernstein
addressed
the
concerns brought up by the
students and faculty.
“I’d
like
to
add
to
the
examination of our goals, how
they relate to other universities
and perhaps an exploration of far
more aggressive and ambitious
goals in this arena,” Bernstein
said. “I urge the University to
make this a priority moving
forward.”
The
board
also
expressed
interest
in
listening
to
a
presentation
from
the
U-M
Climate
Action
Movement
regarding ideas and areas for
improvement moving forward.
Currently,
the
University’s
largest
sustainable
initiative
is Planet Blue, which has goals
of
reducing
greenhouse
gas
emissions, waste sent to landfills
and
increase
locally-sourced
U-M food.
day,” Carlson said. “I need you
to live up to your responsibility
to solve this problem so I can
do my job.”
Following Carlson, Michigan
Medicine nurse Tracie Lentz
spoke about her experience
being diagnosed with a blood
cancer last year and urged
action from the board. Lentz
also
criticized
University
President
Mark
Schlissel’s
previous comments in support
of free speech protections,
noting nurses were not allowed
to wear buttons and shirts
in support of their union — a
major complaint in the lawsuit
filed against the University last
week.
Nurse
Lynn
Sharrock
has
been
working
at
the
University for more than four
decades and participated in
the demonstration. She was
among the nurses asked to stop
wearing pro-union clothing
at work. Sharrock recounted
details of the difficult working
conditions she faced when she
started and said that it is still
necessary for the nurses to
fight for better treatment.
“When I first started here,
we didn’t have a union,”
Sharrock said. “I made $11
an hour. And sometimes if
somebody didn’t show up for
work, I would just have to stay
and stay. If I was at home — this
is before answering machines
— if my phone rang and I
answered it, they said you had
to come in, I had to come in or
else I could be losing my job.”
The nurses were joined
by members of the UMPNC
leadership. Donna Carnahan,
vice chair of the UMPNC, was
present at the demonstration
and expressed her hope that the
board would respond promptly
to
the
nurses’
demands.
Carnahan
expressed
her
frustration with the situation,
noting that she has been part of
the contract negotiations since
they started in January and
that the UMPNC has gained
little.
“Today we’re here to get the
regents’ help,” Carnahan said.
“Our contract is based with the
regents, and things have shut
down at the table, and it’s now
time to get the regents involved
in trying to get a contract for
the hospital. We don’t want to
do any of this. We don’t want
to do this work stoppage if
we don’t have to. We would
like to continue to take care
of our patients. But we need
to stand up and have ratios in
the contract for safe patient
staffing … We can’t get this
done without them because
nobody is listening.”
Regent
Mark
Bernstein
(D), responding to the nurses
speaking at the meeting, said
he was “saddened to hear”
the
relationship
between
University
nurses
and
the
board has “frayed” and urged
a collaborative future effort
from
all
parties.
Several
other regents agreed with his
sentiments.
Nurse
Rebecca
Bertha
also spoke at the meeting
and voiced concerns shared
by many nurses about anti-
union sentiment in the nursing
leadership. Bertha specifically
cited
an
interview
with
Chief Nurse Executive Ann
Scanlon McGinity, a member
of the Michigan Medicine
executive
leadership,
from
2015 in which she expressed
strong anti-union views and
an unwillingness to work with
union leaders.
“The change in nursing
leadership since (former Chief
Nurse
Executive
Margaret
Calarco)
left
has
really
hurt the climate of mutual
respect between nurses and
management,” Bertha said.
Michigan
Medicine
denounced the strike in an
email statement, saying they
provided
competitive
and
reasonable offers to the nurses,
which
were
subsequently
rejected.
According
to
Michigan
Medicine
spokeswoman Mary Masson,
the organization offered the
nurses raises of at least 3
percent. Masson also said the
nurse-to-patient ratio is in the
top 2 percent in the nation.
“We are disappointed that
our
UMPNC
nurses
have
voted to approve a strike,”
the
statement
reads.
“We
have been bargaining in good
faith since January and have
offered a competitive package.
… We remain ready to continue
bargaining with the UMPNC
and are eager to resolve the
contract negotiations.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Friday, September 21, 2018 — 3A
NURSES
From Page 1A
CHANGE
From Page 1A
“The University
is trying but it is
not trying hard
enough. I feel
that we have
fallen behind
in this regard.
Climate change
is the biggest
problem facing
my generation.”
SPEECH
From Page 1A
EARTHFEST
From Page 1A
University
of
Michigan
professor John Cheney-Lippold
made waves on campus this
week from rescinding his offer to
write a letter of recommendation
for LSA junior Abigail Ingber
after realizing she requested the
letter to apply to a study abroad
program in Israel. The email
exchange between the professor
and
Ingber
was
posted
to
Facebook in a screenshot Sunday
by Club Z, an organization that
works to empower and network
Jewish
students
who
are
committed to Zionism.
Throughout the week, the
letter has continued to garner
positive and negative attention
from the campus community.
According
to
the
Detroit
Free
Press,
Cheney-Lippold
has received death threats for
his email to Ingber. But some
campus organizations, such as
Students Allied for Freedom and
Equality, a Palestinian solidarity
organization at the University,
have come out in support of the
American
Culture
professor.
SAFE released a statement on
Facebook
Tuesday
evening
stating the organization stands
in solidarity with the students
and staff members boycotting
Israeli universities.
Cheney-Lippold has received
criticism and claims of anti-
Semitism from students and
community members regarding
his
decision
to
revoke
his
recommendation letter.
SAFE’s
statement
begins
by presenting examples of the
human
rights
violations
on
Palestinian land, writing “there
is no question of the violence and
inequity perpetuated by settler-
colonial Israeli apartheid.”
“We
support
and
affirm
Professor
John
Cheney-
Lippold’s right to boycott Israel,”
SAFE statement reads. “His
actions are the same demanded
by Palestinian civil society, and
serve to recognize and resist
forces committing human rights
violations. To punish Professor
Cheney-Lippold for his actions
would curtail his own academic
agency.”
SAFE also points out how
quickly the University responded
to this incident. SAFE claims
students have been placed on a
political blacklist for speaking
against human rights violations
in Palestine, and the University
has never released a statement
on that issue.
“There has been no University
statement on the matter,” the
statement reads. “This blacklist
is just one of several tangible
barriers for students that will
prevent them from engaging in
not just study abroad programs,
but academic programs, jobs,
and admittance into Palestine/
Israel.”
The University’s chapter of
College Republicans, on the
other hand, released a statement
Monday evening calling the
incident “deeply disturbing” and
condemning
Cheney-Lippold’s
decision not to write the letter.
The statement was written by
Chapter President Dylan Berger.
“Since the 2016 Presidential
Election, those at the highest
levels of this University have
worked
tirelessly
to
silence
student who dare to think
independently,” Berger wrote.
“As
President
of
College
Republicans at University of
Michigan, it is my responsibility
to
advocate
for
students
like Abigail who have been
discriminated against in large
part due to President Schlissel’s
remarks. If President Schlissel
is
serious
about
restoring
intellectual diversity on campus,
he will terminate professor John
Cheney-Lippold
and
retract
his remarks that ostracized a
significant portion of the student
body of the of the university that
he claims to lead.”
University
President
Mark
Schlissel did speak about the
letter at Thursday’s meeting
of the Board of Regents. He
restated
sentiments
from
a
Monday press release from the
University’s Office of Public
Affairs, which affirmed the
University’s strong opposition to
a boycott of Israeli universities.
Schlissel did not say anything
about the employment status of
Cheney-Lippold.
“The academic aspirations
of our students — and their
academic
freedom
—
are
fundamental to the University
of Michigan and our teaching
and
research
missions,”
Schlissel said. “We are a large
and diverse public university,
and the individual opinions of
our community range widely
on many issues. But personal
views and politics should never
interfere with our support of
students. It is counter to our
support of students.”
Schlissel went on to say the
University will continue to look
into the issue.
“It is counter to our values and
expectations as an institution,”
he said. “The regents, executive
officers and I have been deeply
engaged in this matter. We will
be
taking
appropriate
steps
to address this issue and the
broader questions it has raised.”
University Regent Denise
Ilitch (D) echoed Schlissel’s
statement
at
the
meeting,
recalling
the
University’s
mission to its students.
“At the University of Michigan
the best interest of our students
is paramount,” she said. “This
type of profoundly exclusionary
contact
by
a
University
of
Michigan
professor
(goes)
completely against our mission.
Let’s call this what it really is —
anti-Semitic.”
Others took issue with Ilitch’s
description of the event as anti-
Semitic. University alum Yonah
Lieberman wrote on Twitter
that attaching that label to the
event blew it out of proportion.
“This is outrageous conflation
of being antisemitic and anti-
Israel,”
Lieberman
tweeted.
“When Nazis are marching in
the streets and Trump is in the
White House, it is way, way too
dangerous to conflate the two.”
Lieberman is a founder of
IfNotNow, a Jewish organization
that calls on American Jews to
abolish the Israeli occupation of
Palestine.
Ingber was unable to comment
to The Daily earlier this week
due to waiting on proceedings
with the University.
Regents and Schlissel promise
action on prof’s Israel boycott
Cheney-Lippold receives death threats after refusing to sign onto
reccommendation letter, SAFE and other orgs stand in solidarity
SOPHIE SHERRY &
MAYA GOLDMAN
Managing News Editor &
Daily News Editor
“The academic
aspirations of
our students
- and their
academic
freedom - are
fundamental to
the University of
Michigan.”