See FELONY, Page 3
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michigandaily.com
Meredith
Clark,
assistant
professor of media studies at the
University of Virginia, spoke to
about 30 students and faculty in
North Quad on Thursday afternoon
as part of the Communication
and
Media
Speaker
Series,
hosted
by
the
University
of
Michigan Communication Studies
department.
In her talk, titled “Black Women
Tried to Tell Y’all,” Clark discussed
participation and theorization in
online spaces and the impacts of
longstanding journalism models
on communities of color. Clark said
her goal is to change the journalism
industry to better represent people
of color.
“Ultimately, my goal is to develop
research applications for actual
journalists to practice,” Clark said.
“I am interested in disrupting the
models of journalism we have used
for so long that have continued to
shut people of color out of news
narratives.”
Clark is a former journalist
whose research focuses on the
intersections of race, media and
power. Her dissertation on “Black
Twitter” landed her on The Root
100, the news website’s list of the
most prominent African Americans
in the country, in 2015. Clark also
contributes to Poynter’s diversity
column and has had research
published in academic journals.
Clark said she grounds her
work in Black feminist thought, a
ground-theory framework focused
on ideas produced by Black women
and a collection of experiences. She
discussed the key features of this
thought framework and its social
justice roots.
She said she was inspired to start
her research after reading a Slate
article titled “How Black People
Use Twitter.” Clark said she was
specifically interested in how Black-
lived experiences are portrayed.
“As a copy editor — they used to
have copy editors working at news
outlets — you are trained to come up
with headlines: phrases that catch
peoples’ attention, that tell them
concisely what the story is about,”
Clark said. “So, when I pull up this
story on Slate magazine, frankly
I was alarmed. Someone was
making such broad generalizations
about what Blacks are doing on the
internet.”
A gerrymandering lawsuit filed
by the League of Women Voters
went to trial U.S. District Court for
the Eastern District of Michigan on
Tuesday after a settlement offered
by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson
was rejected. Benson’s settlement
offer was a proposal to declare 11 of
Michigan’s 110 state House districts
unconstitutional and called for
them to be redrawn by an unbiased
redistricting
committee
within
legislature. One of those districts,
the 55th, includes part of Ann Arbor
and is currently represented by Rep.
Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor.
The
LWV,
a
non-partisan
organization,
as
well
as
11
Democratic voters filed a lawsuit
back in December 2017 against
the current districting lines of
Michigan, which were previously
drawn under Governor Rick Snyder
in 2011. They claimed the lines are
restricting Democratic voters to
select districts while spreading out
Republican voters throughout the
state, giving them more influence
over how districts vote.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, February 8, 2019
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GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 68
©2019 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CL A SSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
Former Mich.
rep dies at 92
John Dingell, longest-serving congressman
in US history, passed away Thursday
For the month of February, the
University of Michigan, partnered
with Mcity, will be hosting various
online
“teach-outs”
regarding
research
on
self-driving
cars
and the implementation of such
technology
in
contemporary
society.
Teach-outs are academic tools
developed at the University that
aim to bridge the gap between
researchers and academics and
the broader public, allowing both
groups to engage in meaningful
conversation. The teach-out series
was launched by the Office of
Academic Innovation in March
2017, modeled after the teach-in
strategy that also began at the
University and was employed
during the civil rights movement.
Ranging in all subjects these teach-
out courses can be accessed by
anyone who is interested, at no cost.
Mcity, a mock city located on
Michigan’s North Campus, was
built in order to test wirelessly
connected and driverless vehicles.
U-M, Mcity
host online
self-driving
teach outs
ACADEMICS
Upcoming educational
sessions will serve as a
way to bridge gap between
research, academic units
DANIELLE PASEKOFF
Daily Staff Reporter
UVA professor talks ‘Black Twitter’,
journalism at speaker series event
Commuinity members met for discussion sponsored by Communication, Digital Studies
State trial
over current
districting
lines begins
MICHIGAN
Gerrymandering suit filed
by LWV goes to court
after rejecting settlement
from Secretary of State
ALYSSA MCMURTRY
Daily Staff Reporter
Follow The Daily
on Instagram,
@michigandaily
Former U.S. Rep. John Dingell,
D-Mich., died Thursday at the age
of 92, the office of U.S. Rep. Debbie
Dingell said in a statement. John
Dingell, who was elected to the
House in 1955 when he was 29,
was the longest-serving member
of Congress in history.
“It is with a heavy heart that
we announce the passing of
John David Dingell, Jr., former
Michigan
Congressman
and
longest-serving
member
of
the United States Congress.
Congressman
Dingell
died
peacefully today at his home in
Dearborn, surrounded by his
wife Deborah,” the statement
said. “He was a lion of the United
States Congress and a loving son,
father, husband, grandfather and
friend.
LEAH GRAHAM
Daily News Editor
ALEX HARRING
Daily Staff Reporter
Felony policy
spurs criticism
New protocol requires staff to disclose
charges and convinctions, sparks debate
The University of Michigan
enacted a new policy in the
Standard Practice Guide regarding
felony disclosure on Monday. The
policy requires all faculty, staff,
student employees, volunteers and
visiting scholars to self-report both
felony charges and convictions
within a week of the occurrence.
The policy does not apply to
those covered by a collective
bargaining
agreement
through
a union—such as the Graduate
Employees’ Organization.
According to the policy, each
report will be assessed thoroughly
by Human Resources on a case-
by-case basis based on the nature
and gravity of the offense, the
timeliness and accuracy of the
disclosure, and the relevancy of the
crime or conviction to the role(s)
held at the University. Human
Resources will then determine
whether disciplinary action will be
taken.
EMMA STEIN
Daily Staff Reporter
See DINGELL, Page 3
A former student of School
of Music, Theatre & Dance
professor
Stephen
Shipps
emailed Melody Racine, the
interim dean of SMTD in
October 2017 alleging she had
been raped by Shipps in the
1970s. University of Michigan
policy
compels
certain
employees, such as the dean, to
immediately report allegations
of this nature to the Office of
Institutional Equity. However,
this former student’s email
went unanswered for more
than a year. And 19 days after
emailing the interim dean, the
former student emailed Shipps
himself — another email that
sat unanswered for more than
11 months. It is unclear if either
Racine or Shipps reported this
former student’s emails to OIE.
If they did report this email
to OIE, it is unclear when that
happened.
Though the causes of these
delays remain unclear, they call
into question multiple aspects
of
the
University’s
sexual
misconduct policy.
The
Daily
communicated
with Shipps’s former student
prior to publication of a Dec.
10 article regarding alleged
misconduct by Shipps, but her
allegation — an interaction
in the late 1970s she believes
constituted “statutory rape”
— was not included in that
article, as she was concerned
about her privacy. For this same
reason, the former student has
requested anonymity. In this
article, she will be referred to
as Jane.
In
communicating
with
The Daily, Jane has declined
to delve into greater detail
about
the
alleged
assault,
instead preferring to focus
on her communications with
University personnel and the
responses she did and did not
receive. She has provided The
Daily with copies of emails
between her and the University
— emails that point both to an
initial year-long delay and a
further slow-moving response
to
serious
allegations
of
reportedly criminal conduct.
Despite
the
University’s
long-standing policy of refusing
to comment on “personnel
matters,” The Daily has also
been able to confirm that both
the
University
Division
of
Public Safety and Security
and OIE were conducting
investigations into Shipps
as of Dec. 7, 2018. At this
time, the status of these
investigations is unclear.
Racine declined to
comment on the specifics of
this article.
“As is our policy and in
keeping with my past and
current duties as a responsible
employee, I have referred your
inquiry to our UM’s Public
Affairs Office,” Racine wrote in
an email to The Daily.
Shipps did not reply to
multiple emails requesting his
comment on this article. His
lawyer, David Nacht, similarly
did not reply.
The
Daily
contacted
Public Affairs for comment
on
this
article.
University
spokeswoman
Kim
Broekhuizen
declined
to
comment on the specifics of
this article.
“While we cannot discuss
specific matters, the university
takes
action
whenever
it
receives
information regarding alleged
sexual misconduct, which can
include investigations or other
actions through UMPD and the
Office of Institutional Equity,”
Broekhuizen said.
***
The
timeline
of
The
Daily’s
investigation
into
Shipps
provides
some
useful
context
for
Jane’s
communications
with the University.
On Nov. 2, 2018,
The Daily contacted
a potential source for
information about Shipps. Soon
after communicating with a
Daily
reporter,
the
source
made OIE aware of The Daily’s
investigation into Shipps. The
source also made OIE aware
of the nature of some of the
allegations
against
Shipps
known to The Daily at the time.
Misconduct complaint about ‘U’
professor unanswered for over a year
Former student of Stephen Shipps reports rape allegations to University Responsible Employees
SAMMY SUSSMAN
Daily Staff Reporter
ART BY CHRISTINE MONTALBANO
See MISCONDUCT, Page 3
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
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michigandaily.com
Dr. Meredith Clark, former journalist and current assistant professor at the University of Virginia, gives a talk titled “Black Women Tried to Tell Y’all:
Race, Representation, and Self-Preservation through Digital Counter-Narratives in North Quad Thursday afternoon.
DANYEL THARAKAN/Daily