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