LSA 
senior 
Kia 
Schwert 

was captivated by the research 
opportunities 
at 
the 
University 

when she attended the Michigan 
Community 
College 
Summer 

Research Fellowship as a fellow in 
2017, inspiring her to transfer to the 

University to study sociology and 
women’s studies. She got involved as a 
research assistant in Profs. Elizabeth 
Armstrong and Sandra Levitsky’s 
Title IX lab in the Sociology 
Department, 
which 
involved 

LSA freshman Lucas Cole is 

more invested in school than 
the average freshman — not just 
when it comes to his classes in 
the University of Michigan’s 
Residential College, but all of Ann 
Arbor’s public schools. Shortly 
after graduating from Skyline 
High School last spring, Cole 
launched a campaign for the Ann 
Arbor School Board of Trustees.

He said his experience as a 

former student informed his 
perspective as a candidate.

“I think that if you talk to 

students in the district, from 
what I’ve experienced, students 
really know that they don’t have a 
voice, that people don’t really care 
what they think and they’re upset 
by it,” Cole said. 

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, October 22, 2018

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Bernie Sanders rallies for Whitmer

ANNIE KLUS AND MAX KUANG/Daily

Michigan Gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer, Senator Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, and Whitmer running mate Garlin Gilchrist speak at a rally for Gretchen Whitmer in Rackham 
Auditorium Friday evening. 

CITY

With less than three weeks until midterm elections, over 1,000 students attend rally for Democrats

With less than three weeks until 

midterm elections, Democratic 
gubernatorial candidate Gretchen 
Whitmer is teaming up with 
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to 
garner support. 

University 
of 
Michigan’s 

chapter of College Democrats 
hosted a rally Friday evening in 
support of Whitmer in Rackham 
Auditorium. Over 1,100 students, 
faculty members and Michigan 
residents 
filled 
the 
main 

auditorium and an overflow room 
on the fourth floor.

In addition to Sanders and 

Whitmer, the event featured U.S. 
Rep. Debbie Dingell, U.S. Sen. 
Gary Peters and Garlin Gilchrist, 
Whitmer’s 
running 
mate 
for 

lieutenant governor, and various 
candidates for state and local 
office.

Public Policy senior Kellie 

Lounds, chair for the College 
Democrats, spoke on Whitmer’s 

strengths in regard to mobilizing 
young people, noting the impact 
an endorsement from Sanders has 
made on her platform.

“College students here love her 

because they know she’s going to 
fight for them, but there are also 
more moderate people that love 
her because they know she’s going 
to lead a strong government that’s 

transparent, effective and useful,” 
Lounds said.

In light of historically low 

turnout rates among University 
students 
in 
recent 
elections, 

Lounds said building momentum 
is more important now. According 
to the Ford School of Public Policy, 
about 14 percent of University 

DANIELLE PASEKOFF

Daily Staff Reporter

Paul Bun-win

Michigan beat in-state 

rival Michigan State, 21-7, 
to reclaim the Paul Bunyan 

Trophy once again.

» Page 1B

See BERNIE, Page 2A

Freshman 
at ‘U’ runs 
for school 
board spot

Lucas Cole, Skyline High 
School grad, running 
progressive campaign

LEAH GRAHAM
Daily Staff Reporter

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Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail 
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

Check out the 
Daily’s News 
podcast, The 
Daily Weekly 

INDEX
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michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit

The 
Michigan 
Daily 

Administration 
Beat 
will 
be 

conducting 
interviews 
with 

the incumbent and challenging 
candidates 
for 
University 
of 

Michigan Board of Regents prior to 
the November midterm election. Our 
first interview is with Democratic 
challenger 
candidate 
Jordan 

Acker. Acker is a University alum 
and worked for the Barack Obama 
administration 
in 
Washington, 

D.C. He currently works at a law 

firm with his father and resides in 
Oakland County with his wife and 
two daughters.

The Michigan Daily: What made 

you decide to run for regent this year?

Jordan Acker: There’s two real 

days in my life that made me want 
to do this. The first one was where 
I graduated from undergrad … My 
parents signed me up for a bunch 
of (College Savings Programs) that 
allowed me to graduate free … 

The University of Michigan 

Weiser Center for Emerging 
Democracies 
hosted 
Anna 

Grzymala-Busse, 
a 
political 

science professor at Stanford 
University, 
Friday 
afternoon 

for a lecture about the modern 
challenges to democracy. More 
than 50 students and faculty 
attended 
the 
event, 
titled 

“Populism and the Erosion of 
Democracy,” and were able to 
engage in an active discussion 
concerning the implications of a 
recent surge in populist support.

Busse, 
who 
is 
currently 

researching 
the 
surge 
in 

support for populism in former 
Communist countries, aimed to 
define the populist ideology and 
explain why it is on the rise in 
Eastern Europe. She also detailed 
how populism has contributed to 
the deterioration of democratic 
institutions worldwide.

“All 
populist 
parties 
and 

movements basically make two 
claims,” she said. “The first claim 
is that the elites are a corrupt and 
self-serving cartel. So business 
elites, political elites, whether 
politicians or businessmen or 
journalists, they’re all in it for 
themselves.”

According 
to 
Busse, 
this 

political stance has resulted in 
increasing distrust of liberal 
democratic institutions and a 

push to minimize their power.

“The first target are the 

courts,” Busse stated. “What 
they do, basically, is to politicize 
the courts and reduce judicial 
autonomy, as that could be 
a major constraint on these 
parties.”

Busse 
also 
cited 
recent 

populist policies of court packing, 
judicial age limits, changes to 
legal framework and, in some 
cases, 
large-scale 
revisions 

of national constitutions. In 
Hungary, she stated, one party 
member was put in charge of all 
national judicial appointments, 
all but eliminating the presence 
of checks on party power.

In her explanation of this 

threat 
to 
democracy, 
Busse 

mainly cited the examples from 
Poland and Hungary, nations 
where the populist PiS and Fidesz 
parties gained supermajorities in 
their national congresses, giving 
them 
unchecked 
legislative 

power.

“In both of these cases, 

they are going to be governing 
unconstrained by any coalition 
partner, or frankly any forms of 
checks and balances,” she said.

As Busse’s research proved, 

recent surges in populist support 
have been largely linked to 
economic downturn and the 
failure of mainstream parties to 
respond appropriately to public 
concerns.

“These mainstream parties 

have 
increasingly 
failed 
to 

absorb and to respond to popular 
fears,” Busse explained. “Fears 
about 
the 
economy, 
about 

immigration, about what’s going 
on in the world and how rapidly 
it’s changing. Instead, what 
they followed was basically a 
mainstream policy consensus.”

LSA sophomore Yuting Chen 

is studying political science and 
expressed curiosity at the end 
of the lecture with the points 
brought up both by Busse and 
members of the audience.

CAMERON HUNT/Daily

Standford Professor Anna Grzymala-Busse speaks about populism and the erosion of democracy at the Weiser 
Center for Emerging Democracies Friday. 

Stanford political scientist discusses 
the rise of populism in Eastern Europe

Anna Grzymala-Busse explained why such countries have faced democratic erosion

BENJAMIN ROSENFIELD

For the Daily

Student explores ‘U’ sex 
assault policy contrasts

ADMINISTRATION

CAMPUS LIFE

CAMPUS LIFE

LSA Senior Kia Schwert worked under Profs 
Elizabeth Armstrong and Sandra Levitsky

REMY FARKAS
Daily Staff Reporter

In Conversation: Regent 
candidate Jordan Acker

Democratic challenger discusses his decision to 
run, carbon neutrality and campus affordability 

SAYALI AMIN
Daily Staff Reporter

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

