In efforts to highlight the
prevalence of misinformation,
the Center for Social Media
Responsibility of University of
Michigan School of Information
has developed the Iffy Quotient,
which measures the proportion
of “iffy” articles shared on a
given social media platform.
Social
media
platforms
such as Facebook and Twitter
make sharing news articles
—
whether
real,
fake
or
somewhere in between — as
easy as clicking a single share
button. The spread of news
can occur at exponential rates.
As such, fake news has been a
topic of academic discourse on
campus since the term became
popularized during the 2016
presidential election. Business
professor
Andrew
Hoffman,
for example, teaches about the
environment and sustainability
and told The Michigan Daily
last fall he views fake news as
a problem of disengagement
within academia.
“When you come into the
classroom, you are an empty
Some University of Michigan
faculty took issue with a lack
of diversity on a panel intended
to “examine the intersection
between
political
thought/
ideology and faculty members’
responsibilities to students” since
the University publicized the
panel’s composition in a press
release Wednesday.
The panel was first announced
after the University imposed
sanctions on American Culture
Associate Professor John Cheney-
Lippold for declining to write
a
letter
of
recommendation
for a student applying to study
abroad in Israel as part of an
academic boycott of the nation.
Rackham student Lucy Peterson,
a graduate student instructor in
the Political Science department,
joinedCheney-Lippold
in
declining to write a letter for a
student also intending to study in
Israel.
According to an open letter
to the campus community from
University
President
Mark
Schlissel and Provost Martin
Philbert,
the
panel
will
accordingly
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 22
©2018 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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ADMINISTRATION
In
a
monthly
interview
with
The
Michigan
Daily,
Mark Schlissel, president of
the University of Michigan,
outlined the University’s stance
on the recent denial of letters of
recommendation for students
planning to study abroad in
Israel and the Sixth Circuit
Court
verdict
against
the
University’s sexual misconduct
policies. He also touched on the
lack of concrete deadlines for
their recent carbon neutrality
goal announcement and the
need for greater investment in
diversity, in addition to current
University initiatives and more.
Academic Freedom
Two
University
faculty
members
have
rescinded
offers
to
write
letters
of
recommendation for students to
study abroad in Israel as part of a
boycott against Israel in support
of
the
Palestinian
people.
American
Culture
Associate
Professor John Cheney-Lippold,
one of the academics who
denied writing a letter, has faced
punishment from the University
including the cancellation of
sabbatical
eligibilit,
frozen
credits for two years and no
pay raise for the year. The affair
has sparked conversation on
campus about free speech and
the responsibilities of faculty
members.
Schlissel said he doesn’t view
the problem through the lens of
freedom of expression, noting
all faculty members are free
to express their thoughts and
opinions through other avenues
such
as
teach-ins,
editorial
pieces, academic writing and
speeches.
He
said
personal
political beliefs cannot come
before faculty commitments to
students.
“To me, it’s not free speech,”
Schlissel said. “It’s a shared
commitment to help students
pursue their ambitions.”
Schlissel recalled his own
tenure as a full-time professor,
‘U’ President
reflects on
racial equity,
letters of rec.
Nursing DEI panel discusses health
disparities in minority communities
MIKE ZLONKEVICZ/Daily
Dr. Sheria G. Robinson-Lane answers questions in a UM faculty forum on heath research in the School of Nursing Wednesday morning.
Schlissel says prof. personal politics can’t
come before commitment to students
All four panelists note importance of interdisciplinary research and mentoring
On
Wednesday
morning,
School
of
Nursing
assistant
professors Lenette Jones and
Sheria Robinson-Lane, Nursing
research fellow Jade Burns, and
Gender and Health Research
Lab Director Jaclynn Hawkins
discussed
their
research
on
health
disparities
affecting
African-American
and
Latinx
communities as part of a panel
discussion.
During
the
discussion,
they also shared their related
research and work in mentoring
students. The event, which was
a part of the Nursing School’s
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in
Healthcare Series, saw about 40
students and faculty members in
attendance.
Prior to the event, Jones
said she hoped the panel would
help students understand why
looking at data for a wide range
of populations is essential to
medical research.
“I hope that the audience,
especially students, gain a better
understanding of why we decided
to become researchers and why
research with diverse populations
is important,” she said. “I also
hope that it is inspiring to learn
about our backgrounds.”
Nursing
graduate
student
Catherine
White
said
she
attended the event because she
hopes to apply what she learns
from the panel to her career.
“I would like to be a family
nurse practitioner and I also
want to be a professor one day,
she said. “I want to also be able to
translate research into practice,
so disparities among minorities in
research is really important to me
because it affects my practice.”
While
all
the
researchers
said
they
are
interested
in
studying
health
in
minority
populations, the focus of their
research spans a wide variety of
health disparities and subgroups
within
the
African-American
and
Latinx
communities.
In
Wastenaw County, for example,
Black infants are twice as likely
to be born at a low birth weight
JULIE RAKAS
For the Daily
The University of Michigan
organization First-Generation
College Students at Michigan
held
a
panel
Wednesday
evening, during which first-
generation
students
shared
their experiences abroad, the
resources they used and how
they told their peers about
going abroad.
The event was a part of
First-Gen week, a slate of
programming
dedicated
to
raising
awareness
for
resources available to first-
generation students at the
University. According to a
2016 campus climate survey,
first-generation
students
constitute 8 percent of the
University
student
body.
Though the University ranked
sixth in the nation in number
of studnets studying abroad
in 2016, financial constraints
like cost of living and travel,
and less institutional memory
are
a
few
hurdles
this
demogrpahic faces with a
new, and sometimes expensive
academic
opportunity.
The
barriers extend to low-income
students as well. LSA junior
Kallie Bernas told The Daily
last semester she was not
able to study abroad despite
scholarship opportunities.
“I didn’t have the money to
support myself without being
paid for the research I would
have been doing,” Bernas said.
“I crunched the numbers and
decided that I couldn’t do it.
I didn’t have any financial
aid based on my household
income, but it doesn’t really
take into account the fact that
I have a lot of siblings and the
money is being dispersed in a
lot of ways.”
Panelists
Heriberto
Gonzalez, Mallory Sprague,
Alasia Tardy, Victoria Thach
and Jana Wilbricht sat at a table
facing the audience, passing a
microphone around to answer
questions and describe their
experience in the study abroad
procedure. From choosing a
program to coming home, the
five panelists discussed the
process and how being a first-
generation student affected
their experiences.
LSA
senior
Heriberto
Gonzalez
studied
Public
Health abroad in Santiago De
Los
Caballeros,
Dominican
Republic, and said he enjoyed
the process of finding the
perfect program for him.
“It’s just really fun to look
at the programs and see the
options that they have,” he
said.
LSA senior Victoria Thach
Fake news
tool charts
platforms’
credibility
RESEARCH
The Iffy Quotient tests
how well a social media
site spreads news overall
ANDREW LANHAM
For the Daily
CARTER FOX/Daily
LSA senior Alasia Tardy speaks on a panel of first generation college students about her experience in preparation for,
during and after studying abroad at North Quad Residence Hall Wednesday evening.
First-generation college students talk
different study abroad experiences
Panel aims to lower barriers to academic opportunities for growing student
ANGELINA BREDE
For the Daily
See ABROAD, Page 2
New panel
comprised
entirely of
senior profs
CAMPUS LIFE
Critics say panel on duties
of instructors to students
needs greater diversity
ANDREW HIYAMA
Daily News Editor
See CREDIBILITY, Page 3
See HEALTH, Page 3
See SCHLISSEL, Page 3
Follow The Daily
on Instagram,
@michigandaily
SAYALI AMIN & RILEY
LANGEFELD
Daily Staff Reporters
See PANEL, Page 3