To
the
Regents,
President,
and Provost of the University of
Michigan and the Provost’s Blue
Ribbon Panel (or anyone who is
actually listening):
It is painfully clear that you
are neither prepared to protect
academic freedom nor the rights
of marginalized students. As the
University is under pressure from
media, donors, and community
members to justify punishing a
professor and graduate student
instructor for refusing to write
letters of recommendation –– a
task they are not required to do
–– the creation of the Blue Ribbon
Panel has served to buy the
University some time. This Panel
is tasked with “recommend[ing]
appropriate
considerations
and
principles”
regarding
faculty
members’ political expressions and
their responsibilities to students.
However,
the
panel’s
vague
charge
to
recommend
considerations and principles, and
the limit to its power as a mere
recommending body that may
be dismissed if found to be of the
wrong political bent, demonstrate
that the panel’s purpose is to serve
as a shallow public relations ploy; a
mere facade of serious engagement
with the topic at hand.
The behavior of the panelists has
reinforced this notion. In the almost
three months since the Blue Ribbon
Panel’s
announcement,
there
have been no public statements
about the Panel’s process, how it
will operate, or what its research
priorities even are. Provost Philbert
and the panelists have abdicated
their responsibility to the public,
opting against transparency and
community engagement at every
turn.
Meanwhile, the “Opportunities
for Input” survey put out by the
panel was both leading and out
of line with qualitative research
norms. The first survey question, for
example, proposes a set of faculty
responsibilities to students, then
proceeds to ask survey respondents
whether or not they agree with
them. This reduces the parameters
of subject responses to an agree-
disagree binary, a pitfall any novice
researcher trained in qualitative
research is taught to avoid. In so
doing, the Panel’s survey limits
the issue to being a simple conflict
between
student
and
faculty
interests, thereby precluding any
considerations that fall outside of
that framing.
The first “listening session” held
on campus in Ann Arbor was just
as telling, as it made certain that
the panel would not even attempt
meaningful engagement with the
campus community. Facing a room
of faculty, students, and community
members, many of whom challenged
the very legitimacy of the panel, the
panelists refused to respond. When
President Emeritus Duderstadt was
asked direct procedural questions
about the panel’s timeline, or how
information collected by the panel
would be analyzed, he plainly
acknowledged that there was no
plan. All other questions were met
with silence and disdain, while
Martin
Philbert
and
Deborah
Goldberg didn’t even bother to show
up. Given the climate of fear and
fragile calm holding over campus
in the wake of threats made against
Professor Cheney-Lippold’s job, it is
appalling that the panel could not
even affirm that survey responses
would be anonymous.
And while the panel sets out
to address political bias among
professors, it ironically fails to
account for its own problematic
makeup. Out of the six faculty
members on the panel, none come
from humanities departments, and
none have professional research
experience addressing the racial-
colonial dynamics central to the
issue at hand. Despite being formed
in the wake of controversy over
the University’s relationship to
institutions in occupied Palestine,
there are no Palestinian voices on
the panel.
There are, however, at least
two members with significant
relationships
or
engagements
with Israeli academic institutions.
Deborah
Loewenberg
Ball
has
given
presentations
or
lectures at six different Israeli
institutions.
Deborah
Goldberg
has held appointments at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
and the Blaustein Institute for
Desert Research at Ben-Gurion
University. It becomes difficult,
then, to imagine this panel building
room for dissenting views or
serving any purpose other than
to uphold established norms and
silencing conscientious objection.
In contrast, when U-M student
governments on three campuses
democratically passed resolutions
calling for Divestment, University
Regents Denise Ilitch and Mark
Bernstein made loaded charges
of anti-Semitism against them,
the latter calling the resolutions
“intellectually
bankrupt
and
morally
repugnant.”
Clearly,
the
panel
is
uninterested
in
systematically addressing political
bias; it serves only to reaffirm the
Palestine exception to free speech.
For these reasons, the Blue
Ribbon Panel should be dissolved.
Instead,
University
leadership
should follow the recommendations
of letters signed by hundreds
of
faculty,
graduate
student
instructors, students, professional
and
academic
organizations,
and
Jewish
and
Palestinian
communities advocating for the
right of faculty and staff to engage in
conscientious dissent without fear
of repercussions. We also call on
the University to end its fiscal ties to
Israeli institutions and corporations
by honoring democratically passed
Divestment resolutions on all three
University campuses. In doing so,
the University can begin to build an
environment of academic freedom
for the entire campus community.
In Protest,
Direct Action for Palestine
December
4th,
1906:
Founder’s Day for the first
Black Greek Organization in
the world at Cornell University,
which began as a result of
seven
men
rallying
against
racism
and
segregation
in
academic
institutions
and
beyond. Established during a
time where very few outlets
for Black upliftment existed,
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity,
Incorporated focuses on social
and academic achievement with
an emphasis on brotherhood
at the core of its founding. In
addition to being the oldest
Black
organization
and
the
University of Michigan, Alpha
Phi
Alpha
has
developed
numerous renowned members
that have spearheaded changes
in
society
for
generations.
Notable brothers include Martin
Luther
King
Jr.,
Thurgood
Marshall and W.E.B. Du Bois,
all of which are examples that
showcase
the
prestige
and
honor of carrying the Alpha
title. The Epsilon chapter at the
University of Michigan has been
around since 1909, making it
one of the oldest chapters in the
organization’s history.
To
open
their
Founder’s
Day this year, each one of the
members welcomed attendees
and emphasized their focus on
community through a social
hour. Displaying their national
recognitions
and
awards,
their hard work shows they
have pioneered for over more
than 100 years of service and
leadership. All nine members
openly invited the community
for a time of socialization, with
food and dance –– creating a
day that not only celebrated the
founding of their organization
but also to uniting the Black
community is always a welcome
sight on campus.
“To me, Alpha Phi Alpha is
more than just a fraternity,”
D’Andre Simpson, Alpha Phi
Alpha Epsilon chapter President
said.
“It’s
an
everlasting
brotherhood that has allowed
me to grow as a leader, serve
my
community,
and
most
importantly meet the uncles
of my future children. The
brotherhood and service of my
fraternity goes beyond college
and I will forever have an
impact on the world through my
organization.”
The social hour was followed
by a step reception. Through the
cold and windy air, all Alpha
brothers stood on the steps
of Rackham graduate school,
proudly showcasing their black
and gold colors with heads held
high. Brothers performed their
difficult, sharp and powerful
stroll
routine,
reciting
the
fraternity’s
critical
moments
in Alpha history. In honor of
Founder’s Day, the Alphas paid
homage to its 1907 founding at
Cornell University.
From
Founder’s
Day
and
beyond,
Alpha
Phi
Alpha
continues to be a localizing
agent for cultivating fellowship
in
the
Black
community.
Multiple Black students came
to show their support for the
group, including their sister
sorority, the newly initiated
Beta Eta chapter of Alpha Kappa
Alpha
sorority,
making
the
Founders Day a memorable and
historic night for all.
When I joined Michigan in Color
as a Senior Editor, I didn’t know
that I would find a home. I have
found some of my closest friends,
change agents, and accountability
partners in this platform. Over
time, I have learned that we are
more than a newspaper. We are a
catalyst, a moment, to both uplift
and preserve the truths of students
of color. I feel immense pride in
being a part of an organization
that has contributed to over one
hundred years of generational
knowledge, and I feel even more
proud as Michigan in Color goes
into its fifth year of preserving the
voices and experiences of people
of color on campus. It is evident
that our impact has exceeded the
boundaries of our campus and has
inspired other universities, such
as UC Berkeley, to establish their
own sections for students of color.
It is with great honor and
elation that I present my voice as
an empowered, happy, confident
Black Woman, shredded of the
insecurity that made my voice
tremble years ago. I have found
great solace and spiritual healing
through the power of words and
truth telling. In a world where
women of color, and Black women
especially, are subject to extreme
levels
of
hypervisibility
and
systemic silencing, Michigan in
Color has been a space for me to
reclaim my visibility and agency
and to define who I am and what
I stand for. It’s been a platform
that is unique in its simultaneous
embrace of PoC intellectuality
and authenticity. Just as I have
developed my confidence as a
Black female scholar, I have gained
so much from being privileged to
the insights and lessons that other
students have shared through our
platform.
I am unsure if I think of myself
as a writer, nor am I sure if I think
of myself as a journalist. However,
in a time period where journalism
is showded in falsehood and
malice and when PoC voices
are systemically silenced and
sidelined, I know that a platform
such as ours is critical.
I give credit to MiC for so much
of my growth and abundance of
opportunity. I have traveled to
Washington, D.C. and explored
the roots of my African-American
heritage. I have critically analyzed
film representation, and I have
joined other student organizations
in community and fellowship.
Most importantly, MiC has given
me new friends and a close-
knit community of activists and
change-agents who have held
me accountable to expanding
my capacity for empathy across
identity intersections. I will forever
be grateful for this experience,
and I look forward to furthering
the mission and potential of our
publication.
It is within the pages of a campus
newspaper that I offer a platform
of refuge — a platform to tell your
story amongst the countless pages
and think-pieces that are trying
to tell it for you. I offer a space
grounded in radical self-love and
belief in the power of storytelling
and words, a place to unlearn
and unpack generations worth
of taught self-hate and identity
dissonance. I welcome you to write
your truth, one word at a time.
Making a newspaper every
night is really hard. Coupled
with the pressure of uphold-
ing “128 years of editorial
freedom” and a full load of
classes, many nights mak-
ing a newspaper seems like
a miracle. But what’s made
it manageable have been the
thoughtful,
resilient
advo-
cates I work beside. What’s
made it fun is the ability of
Daily staff to take their work
very seriously without taking
themselves seriously. What’s
made it feel crucial are the
times when I get to help put
a woman of color on the front
page, the times when a story
moves me to tears or laugh-
ter or both, and knowing that
maybe one more person feels
affirmed in their ability to tell
stories and maybe one more
person listened to a story they
wouldn’t have heard other-
wise.
It’s that last feeling, the
idea that any one published
story could change someone’s
worldview or make some-
one’s day, that brings me to
the Michigan in Color desk.
I’m here because right now,
nothing feels more impor-
tant than giving a platform
to those who are quieted, ig-
nored or misconstrued. Too
often, journalism’s gatekeep-
ers prevent journalists of col-
or from entering the field in
fear that people of color are
too biased by their own iden-
tity to write objectively or in
fear that people of color are
too “risky” and will alienate
racist readers. I am confident
in the ability of Michigan in
Color to help combat journal-
ism’s systemically discrimina-
tory structures. However, the
onus of fixing a systematically
discriminatory system cannot
be placed entirely on journal-
ists of color, and I hope that
in my tenure, The Michigan
Daily as a whole can help dis-
mantle journalism’s cycle of
inequity.
I am so grateful to Ashley
and Jason for believing in my
ability to help lead this sec-
tion, and I am so humbled by
the Michigan in Color staff
I will be working beside ––
you guys are reason enough
to join. Notably, I would not
be here if not for Christian,
whose
unending
initiative
and creativity modeled the
similarly unending opportu-
nities this space provides, if
not for Nisa, whose journal-
ism journey gave me some-
thing to aspire to, and if not
for Maya, who is certainly the
best boss I’ll ever have.
It is an extreme privilege to
have access to this space, and
I hope to do right by its beau-
ty and history. This is going
to be a year of being loud and
brave and energetic and vul-
nerable –– I can’t wait for you
to hear what we have to say.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan in Color
Monday, January 14, 2019— 3A
NA’KIA CHANNEY, EFE
OSAGIE & LORNA BROWN
Managing MiC Editor and Senior
MiC Editors
An Open Letter Regarding the Blue Ribbon Panel
DIRECT ACTION FOR
PALESTINE
MiC Contributer
Why I joined Michigan in Color
NA’KIA CHANNEY/Daily
Spotlight: Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc.
Carly Ryan
Na’kia Channey
NA’KIA CHANNEY/Daily
CARLY RYAN/Daily
Nothing feels
more important
than giving a
platform to those
who are quieted