“Through my time organizing
around affordability issues on the
Ann Arbor campus, I have seen
how many Michigan opportunities
are still more difficult for low-
income students and students of
color to access,” St. Onge said.
“As Ann Arbor students are
increasingly likely to come from
extreme wealth, I have learned
how the University’s desire to
provide an uncommon education
for the common man has been
complicated. This is why I, and
other Ann Arbor students, support
the 1U campaign.”
St.
Onge
said
many
Ann
Arbor
students
struggle
with
affordability, meaning the struggle
of Flint and Dearborn students
is linked to that of students
on
the
Ann
Arbor
campus.
She
also
highlighted
funding
disparities among the campuses
— the University runs on a budget
surplus and Flint and Dearborn
students graduate with more debt
on average than students in Ann
Arbor.
Additionally, St. Onge spoke
against the new University felony
self-disclosure policy. The policy
requires staff to report all charges
and convictions of felonies within a
week and has prompted discussion
and an open letter calling for the
policy to be rescinded.
St. Onge said the policy limits
the opportunities of students and
faculty and reduces access to certain
viewpoints and experiences. She
also said this directly contradicts
diversity, equity and inclusion at
the University.
LSA sophomore Mani Samei
attended the meeting in support
of UMich Behind Bars — a student
group
advocating
against
the
self-disclosure policy — and One
University. He said it is important
students make their voices heard
and presence felt.
“This policy is just one more
example of the University making
the active decision to extend the
prison system into the educational
system and I think as students it’s
important we show up to these
things,” Samei said. “Students are
taking notice and are noticing the
regents are making these decisions,
and it really has no place at the
University.”
Arifa Javed, a sociology lecturer
at U-M Dearborn, said she’s given
a third of her life to the University
and thanked the regents for the
salary
increase
for
lecturers.
However, Javed said some policies
hurt her and other lecturers, and
the University needs a change in
the relationship between the three
campuses.
She specifically noted policies
that inhibit her ability to receive
health care, and shared personal
experiences that she says show how
the University does not properly
support her campus. Javed also
said majors in her department have
decreased, decreasing students’
opportunities.
“With my 20 years of experience
at Dearborn, I come before you
asking for a profound but necessary
change we need in the relationship
of our three campuses,” Javed said.
“Since we are under one president
and one Board of Regents, I
would request you to take my
recommendations and help out the
students, faculty and staff on all
three campuses.”
Jono
Sturt,
lecturer
of
architecture
in
the
Taubman
College
of
Architecture
and
Urban Planning, said it is hard
to live paycheck to paycheck and
advocated for equal treatment for
lecturers on all three campuses.
He said the contract has positively
impacted his life, his teaching and
his students’ experience.
Sturt thanked the regents for
the recent contract, which he said
allows him to set aside money
for the future for the first time.
However, he says there needs to
be a larger conversation about
lecturer treatment and the funding
inequalities across the campuses.
“We understand this needs to
be the beginning of a much longer
conversation,” Sturt said. “The
University of Michigan is a public
institution and as such, should
serve the public of this state, not
just those here in Ann Arbor. Our
University’s faculty and learners
at Flint and Dearborn deserve the
same support I am so grateful to
enjoy here on this campus.”
Food ethics
Kimberly Daley, a University
staff member and alum, was one of
four speakers who spoke about the
University’s food decisions. Daley,
who works with the Washtenaw
Solidarity
with
Farmworkers
organization,
highlighted
the
University’s history of supporting
fair worker policy and ethical
purchasing policies, but said the
University should continue to make
ethical food choices going forward.
Daley urged the University
to join the Fair Food Program,
a partnership ensuring humane
wages and working conditions for
the workers who pick fruits and
vegetables on participating farms.
She specifically noted the Wendy’s
debate as a situation of having a
choice between advocating for fair
worker treatment or not. She said
WSF will continue to advocate for
these issues.
“Our campus community has
a history of supporting labor
investments,” Daley said. “The
University of Michigan also has
a long commitment to ethical
purchasing
commitments
…
Expanding this work to the food
system is critically important
because with each new corporation
that joins the Fair Food Program,
the farms they purchase from join
this effort that has been proven
time and time again to eliminate
abuses.”
WSF member Matthew Hoostal,
Medical School research fellow,
shared a report that said the
University does not make ethical
food decisions. Hoostal said the
University should interact with
the food industry the same way
it interacts with the garment
industry, which requires it to avoid
purchasing from companies that
practice unethical treatment of
workers.
WSF member Shane McParland
added on to Hoostal’s statements
and asked the University to adopt
the Fair Food Program policies.
McParland also mentioned the
recent Ann Arbor City Council
resolution to ban Wendy’s and
other fast food restaurants not
supportive of the Fair Food
Program and said the University
should look at different businesses’
policies when deciding which
have space in the Michigan Union.
“The
Fair
Food
Program
is
worker
driven,
relies
on
workplace-specific
codes
of
conduct,
worker
education,
complaint
mechanisms,
comprehensive audits and market
consequences
for
violators,”
McParland
said.
“Vendors’
endorsement
of
labor
justice
should be weighed heavily.”
McParland
also
said
WSF
asked University President Mark
Schlissel for a policy favoring
transparency and endorsing the
Fair Food Program on campus in
October 2018. He said a month
later Schlissel responded saying
he would share their concerns
with the president’s Advisory
Committee on Labor Standards
and Human Rights. When WSF
met with the committee chair
that month, McParland said they
were told nothing could be done
without the president’s mandate
and more research is needed.
Rackham
student
Madeline
Cooke shared similar concerns
to Hoostal’s and McParland’s.
She asked University leaders for
a response and policy in support
of fair treatment for food workers
and to join Central Student
Government and City Council in
endorsing the Fair Food Program.
“It is clear that students and
community members care deeply
about farmworker labor justice
and, as a community, we want the
University to take action,” Cooke
said. “As the largest employer
in the state of Michigan, what
this institution does impacts the
community.”
LSA junior Charlotte Hoppen,
interim director of education
for PPE, explained the role
peer educators play in assisting
victims of sexual assault both
on campus and within the Ann
Arbor community.
“We train all the PPEs on
how to respond to disclosures
of
sexual
misconduct
and
sexual assault and on how to
provide resources in the campus
community and around the
community
of
Ann
Arbor,”
Hoppen said. “We train them
to provide presentations on
consent,
sexual
misconduct,
responding to disclosures and
resources for all new member
classes
in
the
Panhellenic
community.”
Hoppen went on to discuss
why having resources like PPE is
crucial to empowering women,
especially within the Greek life
community.
“Greek life, in particular, is
an at-risk group on campus,”
she
said.
“10.3
percent
of
(on-campus rapes) take place
in fraternity houses … so it’s
especially important that we
are empowering women to not
only to be in safe situations and
help others in need, but also to
work and advocate on behalf of
themselves.”
Recently, the University of
Michigan announced a revision
to the student sexual misconduct
policy, wherein students must
take
part
in
an
in-person
meeting between the accuser,
the accused and any witnesses
involved if requested to do so.
The policy revision follows a
recent U.S. Sixth Circuit Court
of Appeals ruling, in which
public universities “must give
the accused student or his agent
an opportunity to cross-examine
the accuser.”
A student, who asked to
remain anonymous for privacy
reasons,
reflected
on
the
implications the policy revision
may have on students going
through the process of reporting
misconduct.
“In the future, I don’t see
this policy doing any good for
survivors,” she said. “What they
don’t realize is, if survivors have
to sit in the same room as their
perpetrator and be questioned
by them, how traumatizing that
can be. Reporting as a whole is
traumatizing in and of itself,
and seeing the person is so
awful they’re trying to process
something already, and seeing
the person’s face can take so
much away from you.”
LSA freshman Cammie Dalton
discussed how events like the
Speak Out can assist individuals
in their healing process.
“It’s really important to listen
to people’s stories and emphasize
that you believe people’s stories,”
Dalton said. “It’s important to
feel like you can come forward,
because it’s such a big step of
recovery.”
Additionally, she discussed
how the aura of acceptance and
affirmation permeating the event
allowed for an environment
conducive to emotional healing.
“Events like this are necessary
because of the setting,” she said.
“For people to feel comfortable,
it depends on who they are
around. If they get a vibe that
people are going to be accepting
and actually be listening — not
just present — events like this
will be really helpful for their
recovery.”
“I
am
proud
of
the
great
events,
community
collaborations,
programming
and
park
improvements
that
our
board
of
directors
and
volunteers have facilitated in
the past few years,” Meisler
said. “I look forward to more
success for the best public
skatepark in the Midwest
under the leadership of the
new president and founding
board member of Friends of
the Ann Arbor Skatepark,
Nina Juergens.”
Business
junior
Jordan Stanton has been
skateboarding
since
he
was 14. In Ann Arbor, he’s
familiar
with
the
skate
shop scene. But he grew
up in New York, where
many skateparks have tried
producing skate programs,
specifically for girls, since
he started skating seven
years ago.
“I
have
seen
a
definite increase in girls
skateboarding
since
I
started seven years ago,”
Stanton said. “Specifically
in New York, there’s been
momentum for a while, but
I believe it usually takes
longer for that to spread to
the Midwest.”
Though
Juergens
has
many long-term goals on her
agenda, she emphasized in
a press release that her goal
from the beginning of her
involvement in the skatepark
was to increase girls’ interest
in skating and to allow them
to feel included in the Ann
Arbor skating community.
“The
goal
from
day
one was to have a larger
presence of girls and women
skateboarding
and
using
skateparks,” Juergens said.
“We’ve run the All Girls
Skate
instruction
free
for participants since the
opening of the park, and
we’ve
had
professional
skateboarders
such
as
Samarria
Brevard,
Nora
Vasconcellos
and
Jordyn
Barratt come to be a part of
the All Girls Skate program.”
Currently,
Michigan
law
only covers the restrictions
on
texting
while
driving.
Reactions to the bill have been
positive from campus leaders
on both sides of the political
aisle.
In an email interview with
The Daily, Public Policy senior
Katie Kelly, communications
director for the University’s
chapter of College Democrats,
lauded
the
initiative
for
improving
the
safety
of
everyone on the roads and
commended
Whitmer
for
supporting it.
“Governor
Whitmer’s
initiative to pass a bill for
hands-free driving in Michigan
will help improve the safety
of everyone on the roads,”
Kelly wrote. “Be it texting
while
driving
or
scrolling
through social media, looking
at a screen while driving
drastically
increases
your
chances of an accident.”
Notably, the new bill does
not restrict adult Michigan
drivers
from
talking
and
listening on their phones while
driving. Kelly also praised this
part of the bill, framing it as
a smart decision that avoids
over-restricting
drivers
on
what they are able to do while
driving.
“The bill still allows for
cell phone use through voice
operated methods so no one
will miss any crucial calls while
driving,” Kelly said. “This bill
is meant to ensure the safety of
the citizens of Michigan, and I
commend Governor Whitmer
for supporting it.”
Likewise, Kinesiology junior
Jackson Schleuning, treasurer
of the University’s chapter
of College Republicans, also
had a very positive reaction,
describing road safety as a
shared interest for everyone.
“No matter if you are a man
or a woman, black or white,
gay or straight, everybody
uses these roads and when
you make the decision to drive
distracted, you are putting
everybody at risk,” Schleuning
said.
Additionally,
Schleuning
also described a personal loss
he experienced because of
distracted driving.
“When (Whitmer) initially
touched on the hands-free
part, one of the guests in her
gallery was a family member
of someone who was killed
by a distracted driver and
who was actually one of my
best friends,” he said. “He
was traveling about 50 miles
an hour when he had to slow
down because there was traffic
coming on. The woman driving
behind him did not realize
that and hit him from behind,
sending him across the median
where a tractor-trailer hit him
right on.”
LSA freshman Rina McClain
also expressed approval of
the new bill, even casting it as
somewhat of an inevitability.
“I guess I would that think
this would happen sooner or
later just because any of the
stuff online can be distracting
while driving,” she said. “It
doesn’t really surprise me —
it makes sense that a bill is
trying to be passed to expand
restrictions.”
McClain also commented on
the impact that this bill would
have on University students
who drive, bringing up their
frequency of phone usage.
“Anyone
from
this
generation… are so dependent
on their phones,” McClain
said. “If you’re addicted to
your phone, then it’s going to
be a problem for you, especially
with social media.”
Currently,
environmental
policy
works
under
risk
mitigation
which
requires
polluters
to
limit
human
exposure to pollutants rather
than cleaning up the entirety of
the pollution.
Irwin said this has caused
more complications than solved
problems. To highlight this,
Irwin cited the Gelman lawsuit
over the contamination of an
Ann Arbor water supply.
“There was a company on
the west side of Ann Arbor that
polluted an aquifer under Ann
Arbor and because the law only
requires risk mitigation, the
company was able to point to the
fact that people living on top of
that aquifer were drinking city
water and because they weren’t
actually exposed to that city
water, they shouldn’t have to
clean it up,” Irwin said.
The aquifer was sectioned
off as a prohibition zone, or an
area of natural resources that is
sealed off for any future use due
to its contamination.
Irwin
said
this
bill
is
necessary for the health of
Michigan
residents,
both
present and future.
“We’re
talking
about
how
much
of
these
toxic
chemicals we’re going to leave
in the ground and that has a
translation to the number of
people in the future who are
going to be hurt as a result of
this decision,” Irwin said.
Rabhi acknowledged this bill
will not be easy to pass because
the Michigan legislature is still
controlled by Republicans.
“I
think
that
there
are
significant hurdles,” Rabhi said.
“Corporate polluters still have
significant allies in the House
with the Republican majority.”
Sometimes
lawmakers
forget
residents
when
making decisions that benefit
corporations, Irwin added.
“Sometimes in Lansing, I
think it’s really easy to obscure
the connection between the
decisions we’re making to how
much pollution is allowed and
the very real cancers and other
health problems people get as a
result of these decisions,” Irwin
said.
In Irwin’s point of view,
current laws are rewarding
companies that do not spend
extra expenses on practicing
cleaner operations.
“The additional hazard of
allowing polluters to be let off
the hook is that you have a whole
universe
of
good
corporate
citizens out there, companies
that are doing the right thing,”
Irwin said. “Companies that are
spending money to make sure
that their operations are more
sustainable and more in line
with the public interest and are
protective of public health.”
The Daily reached out to the
University’s chapter of College
Republicans, but they were
unable to comment in time for
publication.
Katie Kelly, communications
director of the University of
Michigan’s chapter of College
Democrats, believes this bill
will
help
both
Michigan’s
environment and population.
“I
think
the
new
bills
introduced by Representative
Rabhi and Senator Irwin are
a great step forward for our
community,” Kelly wrote in an
email interview with The Daily.
“If corporations are dumping
pollutants into our environment
it should be their job to clean
it up… . If this bill passes, I
believe it will help clean up the
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Friday, February 22, 2019 — 3A
POLLUTION
From Page 1A
SKATE
From Page 1A
JA ZZ & BOSSA NOVA
Ann Arbor musician Paul VornHagen plays saxophone at the Jazz and Bossa Nova Concert at the University Hospital Thursday.
ZACHARY GOLDSMITH/Daily
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
SPEAKOUT
From Page 1A
DRIVING
From Page 1A
REGENTS
From Page 2A