See FELONY, Page 3

Read more online at 
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
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Friday, February 8, 2019

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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
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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

Read more online at 

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