The Ford School of Public
Policy at the University of
Michigan
hosted
a
panel
featuring leading figures in
current
electoral
reform,
bringing together nearly 100
students
and
community
members for a discussion
on the future of Michigan’s
electoral system and midterm
proposals on Monday.
The
event
consisted
of
several panelists organized
to discuss the costs and
benefits of two specific ballot
initiatives to be voted on in
less than a month on Nov. 6.
Proposal 2 would establish
an independent redistricting
commission to replace the
current process of drawing
district lines. Proposal 3,
otherwise known as “Promote
the Vote,” would make several
changes
to
the
Michigan
Constitution,
incorporating
practices such as straight-
ticket voting, automatic and
same-day voter registration
and unconditional absentee
voting for Michigan residents
overseas.
According
to
John
Chamberlin,
professor
emeritus of Public Policy,
the moderator of the event,
each initiative would greatly
reform the electoral system
of the state of Michigan,
allowing for greater citizen
efficacy and minimizing the
possibility of partisan activity
in the redistricting process.
Panelist Sharon Dolente,
a voting rights strategist for
the American Civil Liberties
Union
of
Michigan,
was
adamant in her support for
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In
WeListen’s
second
session of the semester, after
nationwide protests brought
surivors
of
sexual
assault
together
against
the
confirmation of Justice Brett
Kavanaugh to the Supreme
Court, University of Michigan
students
came
together
to
debate
the
institution’s
politicization.
The session consisted of
small group discussions, which
are prefaced by an introductory
CAMPUS LIFE
ADMINISTRATION
Discussions focus on how many Supreme Court
decisions result in 9-0 vote, lifetime appointments
Activist Diane Guerrero kicked off week of events
aimed at improving diversity initiatives at University
ROSEANNE CHAO/Daily
Ford School panel considers
benefits, issues with electoral
reform proposals on ballot
Proposals 2 and 3 on the November ballot make substantial
changes to Michigan redistricting and voting day procedures
The
Senate
Advisory
Committee
on
University
Affairs met on Monday to
discuss initiatives to better
engage
Senate
Assembly
members
and
incentivize
attendance
of
assembly
meetings.
The meeting began with
members recapping motions
discussed during past meetings
this school year, including the
upcoming Regents Candidate
Forum. On Oct. 15, SACUA will
host all the candidates for the
University’s governing body
to discuss their candidacy and
qualifications.
The
key
issue
on
Monday’s
agenda
was
absenteeism
among
Senate
Assembly
members
during
their monthly meetings. As
achieving
a
quorum
for
each meeting has become a
recurring issue, many SACUA
members
including
Sarah
Lippert, associate professor
of Art History at the U-M
Flint,
offered
suggestions
to
encourage
attendance
both
during
assembly
and
committee meetings.
“I’m wondering if there are
mechanisms to reinforce lines
of
communication
between
The University of Michigan’s
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Summit began Monday morning
with a community assembly at the
Power Center featuring activist
and actress Diane Guerrero. The
summit includes a number of
events and public discussions over
the week with a focus on fostering
dialogues
and
addressing
shortcomings in diversity, equity
and inclusion at the University.
Three years ago, the University
Assembly
considers
issues with
attendance
WeListen meeting talks
SCOTUS politicization
Summit keynote looks
to better DEI programs
ACADEMICS
SACUA members suggest
incentives, alternating
members to meet quorum
MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily
Sharon Dolente, voting rights strategist of the ACLU of Michigan, discusses electoral reforms that are on the
Michigan general election ballot during a panel lecture at the Ford School Monday afternoon.
Columbus Day, a holiday
previously
commemorated
across the United States that
is now partially replaced by
Indigenous
Peoples’
Day,
marks
for
many
on
the
University
of
Michigan’s
campus and across the country
a time to consider historical
and
current
treatment
of
Native American communities.
Earlier on Monday, students
hung a banner in the Diag which
read “Stolen Land Stolen Lives
F*** Columbus Day,” before it
was taken down by University
staff in the afternoon. On last
year’s
Indigenous
Peoples’
Day, Law School student John
Petoskey organized a protest to
recognize illegal
land removal at
the
University
Biological Station,
and later submitted
an
inquiryto
the
University
to
investigate the history
of the ownership of the
land.
The
University
is still in the process of
addressing
the
complaint.
A dual-degree student in the
School of Environment and
Sustainability, Petoskey said he
noticed an absence of anything
recognizing the removal of
Native Americans when he
first visited the biostation.
“Growing up on my tribe’s
reservation in Peshawbestown
I had always heard stories
of the event that came to
be
called
‘the
Burt
Lake
Burnout,’”
Petoskey
wrote
in an email to The Daily.
“The burnout was the illegal
removal of the Burt Lake band
from their treaty-guaranteed
territory by lumber interests.
The village was located on
what is called “colonial point”
not too far from the biostation.
I found it disturbing that such
a horrific event had taken
place so close, but there was
little to no recognition of
it. I sought to change that.”
Petoskey said the President’s
Advisory
Committee
on
University History made a
recommendation to work with
local indigenous communities
to reach an agreeable form of
commemoration of the removal,
and that he is “confident that
the university has listened.”
As November approaches,
planning for Native American
Heritage Month is in full swing
at the University. During this
time, campus community is
faced with reminders of its
debt to the Ojibwe, Odawa
and Potawatomi tribes who
all participated in the Treaty
of Fort Meigs in 1817. The
treaty
signed
between
the
tribes and the U.S. allowed
for the foundation of the
University
on
native
land
with the agreement that the
European
settlers
would
provide
higher
education
for
native
youth
as
well.
Despite
this
agreement,
none of the tribes who signed
directly
experienced
the
benefits of the land grant,
as records show that none
attended the University for the
next 130 years. The original
land was sold and became part
of the University’s endowment
when the institution relocated
to Ann Arbor from Detroit.
The
University’s
latest enrollment reports show
85 Native American students
attend
the
University,
making up about .1 percent
of the student body at large.
Today,
a
stone
plaque, dedicated in November
2002, stands on the ground of
Ingalls Mall commemorating
the
land
grant.
Now, more than 200 years
after the treaty was signed, the
Native American community
says
they
are
suffering,
both at the University and
nationally. American Indian/
Alaskan
Native
students
held the lowest high school
graduation rate compared to
other subgroups and in 2016
had a rate of suicide of 13.37 per
100,000 people — the highest of
any minority group. As a group,
Native Americans maintain
some of the highest rates of
alcohol
and
drug
abuse.
In September, the Mashpee
Wampanoag tribe of Cape
Cod faced a grim turn of
events
when
the
Trump
administration
reversed
a
2015 decision which entrusted
more
than
300
acres
of
land
as
a
reservation
for
the
Massachusetts
tribe.
LSA
sophomore
Samara
Jackson
Tobey,
external
activist chair for the Native
American Student Association,
belongs to the Wampanoag
Tribe. She’s focused efforts
on helping to recruit and
retain
Native
American
students at the University—
efforts she hopes will improve
social conditions for Native
Americans around the country.
“It’s
important
to
understand that when a Native
student comes to a campus like
this, responsibilities become a
burden,” Jackson-Tobey said.
“There are so little of us that we
have to represent
ourselves tenfold,
and
we
find
ourselves
in
this
position
where
our
work,
our
perspective
and our voice
is needed. And
yes
it
becomes
demanding,
but
if we don’t do it,
who’s going to do it?”
Currently,
the
University
offers
a
Native
American
Studies
minor,
but
Jackson-Tobey
emphasized the need
for further maturation
of
the
department,
especially in terms of a
language requirement.
“Native
American
Studies is a history,”
Jackson-Tobey
said.
“This
is
your
connection
back
to
who
was
originally
here. You don’t have to
be
blood-indigenous
to realize that there
is a history still here,
and somehow its small
role in the American
Culture
Department
seems
to
make
it
a
joke. For example, why
is a language in the
Indigenous students remember a promise broken
with Native American Heritage Month approaching
Over a century after Three Fires tribes ceded land to the University of Michigan, zero Native Americans were enrolled
See WELISTEN, Page 3
See ATTENDANCE, Page 3
See HERITAGE, Page 2
See PROPOSALS, Page 3
See DEI, Page 3
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
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Daily Staff Reporter
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MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily
WeListen holds a discussion where students talk about the powers of the
Supreme Court, the role of the Senate in the confirmation process, and Justice
Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation at Weiser Hall Monday evening.
BENJAMIN ROSENFELD
For the Daily
“None of the
three tribes
who signed
directly
experienced
the benefits of
the land grant.”
“There are
so little of us
that we have
to represent
ourselves
tenfold.”