Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Thursday, February 28, 2019
Emma Chang
Joel Danilewitz
Samantha Goldstein
Emily Huhman
Tara Jayaram
Jeremy Kaplan
Elias Khoury
Magdalena Mihaylova
Ellery Rosenzweig
Jason Rowland
Anu Roy-Chaudhury
Alex Satola
Ashley Zhang
Erin White
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Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of The Daily’s Editorial Board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Three years ago, at the
beginning of the fall 2016
semester, student members
of Black Lives Matter and
the
Black
Student
Union
protested through walkouts,
Diag chalk and marches in
response to racist posters
found
on
campus.
That
October,
the
University
officially launched the five-
year DEI plan. Since then, the
University
administration
says it has implemented 92
percent of the initiative’s
action items. From March
to May of this year, the
University plans to conduct
a midterm assessment of the
plan’s efficacy, culminating
in a report of findings that
will presumably be published
this May. It is a fitting time to
reflect on the functionality of
this initiative and its effects,
or lack thereof, on increasing
diversity
and
helping
marginalized groups feel safe
on campus.
As
an
educational
institution,
the
University
has a responsibility to uphold
values
of
inclusion
and
respect. The DEI plan has
attempted to achieve this by
holding campus-wide climate
surveys, forming task forces
such
as
REACT,
creating
spaces
like
the
Trotter
Multicultural
Center
and
connecting
with
networks
like
Diversity
Scholars,
to name a few. That being
said, the October 2018 DEI
Progress
Report
revealed
that so far, the quantitative
effects of improving student
and faculty diversity have
been
somewhat
minimal.
Action items and numbers
vary from school to school,
and it may be too early to see
long-term results, but the lack
of change means the program
has
not
yet
completed
its goals. Therefore, it is
crucial that the University
continues
to
work
with
students on improving and
implementing the DEI plan.
We acknowledge the work
that has been done by the
initiative so far and implore
that it continue with full force
and a consistent commitment
to seeking student input.
While it is crucial that the
University makes a rigorous
effort to create an inclusive,
diverse
and
equitable
campus
environment,
this
responsibility should not fall
solely on the administration.
The student body plays a
critical
role
in
bringing
these attitudes into the U-M
community.
After
all,
the
DEI itself was born in large
part out of the activism of
students,
particularly
the
Black Student Union’s 2013
#BBUM campaign. It has been
six years since that effort, and
we cannot expect the DEI plan
to be successful without our
involvement in its programs.
It is essential that students
give their full participation
in
fostering
a
positive
discourse with their peers.
It is equally necessary that
students maintain a dialogue
with
the
administration
and
voice
their
concerns
about diversity, equity and
inclusion
on
campus
to
ensure the impact of the DEI
plan is meaningful. Much
of the DEI plan’s success is
dependent upon the quality of
its programs and initiatives.
However,
without
student
input, the plan is destined to
become a mostly top-down
venture. The University has
set aside a significant amount
of money to make changes
students have argued for,
and the student body should
take full advantage of this
opportunity. The forthcoming
three-year
report
presents
a chance to organize and
engage. Hopefully, students
will react to the findings with
new ideas and a reinvigorated
drive to make an impact as
opposed to responding with a
lack of interest.
As students, we have made
it clear that having a campus
that fosters diversity, equity
and inclusion is one of our
fundamental values. Contrary
to what people such as Perry
might
believe
regarding
“administrative
bloat,”
these initiatives perform a
vital role by bettering the
campus climate. The focus of
our community should now
be to hold administrators
accountable to the promises
they
made
in
the
DEI
strategic
plan,
to
elevate
the
concerns,
ideas
and
demands of students and to
encourage more participation
amongst the student body in
bringing about this positive
environment.
We
look
forward to the release of the
three-year report and the
renewed sense of engagement
we hope it brings.
RAMISA ROB | COLUMN
A game of silencing Sansa Stark
T
oday’s most popular and
anticipated drama show,
“Game
of
Thrones,”
televises a brutal, misogynistic
medieval world. Though the violent
fantasy series has been criticized
for its problematic use of rape as a
plot device, it has also been praised
for subverting the gender norms of
the complex, fictional society and
creating nuanced female leaders.
From a compassionate, ambitious
heroine in Daenerys Targaryen to
an enigmatic, bloodthirsty villain in
Cersei Lannister, the show tells us
there are many ways to be a strong
woman in Westeros — but is it the
same in our real world?
In the discussion of femme
power in the Seven Kingdoms,
Sansa Stark, the stereotypically
feminine character — who initially
knits for leisure and wears pretty
gowns — often misses the cut. Young
Sansa, the underdog of tragedies in
the show, amassed viewer distaste
that was similar to the reactions to
characters like Viserys Targaryen
and Joffrey Baratheon and made it
to a list of the six most despicable
characters on “Game of Thrones,”
with a paragraph that lambasted
her as “utterly useless and whiny.”
Memes about Sansa Stark have
been milling around the internet,
one of which features her realistic,
painful expression when her father
Ned Stark gets decapitated. The
caption reads: “Bitch calm down,
you cry like 99.9% of the time.”
This hatred for Sansa Stark reflects
internalized
sexism
towards
traditionally feminine characters.
Many Reddit threads presently
deem Sansa Stark deserving of
what they call her “garbage life,”
and criticize her for fancying the
nefarious
Joffrey
(though
we
are shown she was conditioned
to worship him as her future
husband). In season one, episode
six, when Sansa slowly begins to
question Joffrey, he apologizes
to her and says: “I will never
disrespect you again,” and she takes
his word for it. Yet she is the one
blamed for perceiving the good
in a vicious man. But this hatred
for “gullible” women is familiar.
Many young girls — myself
included — chose manipulative,
cocky men in our teen years and
later bear the repercussions with
the shamefaced label: stupidly
falling for the bad boy.
Baffled by this abhorrence
for such a relatable character, I
asked my followers on Instagram
through the story option: “Why is
Sansa Stark not a strong character?”
One of the responses stated: “She
could pick up a sword once in a
while like Arya.” Other answers
included: “She is a dumb girl but
learning.” All of the responses
depict our inability to recognize a
woman’s strength and intelligence
when they are stereotypically
feminine and lack masculine traits.
The comparison between Sansa
and Arya has historically favored
the latter, indicating a common
Hollywood fallacy that a “feminist”
story must focus on iconoclastic
women
who
can
physically
fight like men. Arya Stark (who
resembles a delinquent tomboy)
has a much larger fanbase than her
sister, Sansa, who encompasses the
prototypical girly, privileged girl
we’ve become accustomed to seeing
in the real world. And similar to
reality, her passivity throughout the
show is misinterpreted as weakness
by fans. Unlike other inherently
badass female characters, Sansa is
non-violent and does not give loud,
rousing speeches.
It is this conformist femininity
that the audience misconceives
as her transgression because she
isn’t the usual fantasy heroine.
The preference for Arya arises
from the inherent social pedestal
of masculine characteristics and
the hatred for Sansa parallels
our animus towards “ordinary”
girly
women.
The
audience’s
selective idolization of the Stark
sisters mirrors some of the double
standards present in our society
today. If we are truly feminist, we
should be able to credit all kinds
of women as equally strong —
tomboys, girly and androgynous.
Our tendency to revere characters
who aren’t like other girls and
scorn Sansa Stark demonstrates
normalized sexism.
The audience’s disdain for
Sansa’s
strength
exhibits
the
skewed, sexist vision of female
power in our world — one that
precludes traditional femininity
and symbolizes an implicit rebuke
for passive, unassertive women. On
the other hand, the writers of the
show have attempted to balance
the discourse on strong females,
not privileging one narrative over
another. In this groundbreaking
show, where women own dragons,
possess unworldly martial skills
and sit on iron thrones, unarmored
Sansa Stark fearlessly perseveres.
In “Game of Thrones,” where
characters have dropped like flies,
Sansa Stark, the so-called lone wolf,
has survived. But our inability to
appreciate her perseverance shows
how little we are able to accept
traditionally feminine characters.
Arguably, Sansa Stark is the
most
reasonable
and
resilient
character — one who snubs the
idea that strength only stems from
swords. Her internal fortitude
remains consistent through five
seasons of endless torture from her
Lannister nemeses. Sansa has never
needed a weapon or superpowers,
because her proclivity to withstand
pain with her bullet-proof vest
brings her back to power in
Winterfell. After winning the Battle
of Bastards in season six, she kills
her husband, Ramsay Bolton, and
softly fires the most hard-hitting
dialogue that distinguishes her
unique competence from the
supernatural
charisma
fans
expect from leaders of both
genders.
But no matter what she does,
Sansa Stark remains unacceptable
to some fans. After judging Sansa
for her initial submissiveness,
many
remain
vexed
at
her
development in season seven. In
2017, a mid-series TV Guide open
letter to Sansa Stark berated her
as overly aggressive towards Jon
Snow and underestimated her
ascension as “playing right into
Littlefinger’s hands” — which,
ultimately, proves false, because
Lord Baelish is now dead. If we
were all waiting for Sansa to
unravel her “real” strength but
cannot accept her leadership now,
then we are erecting a spectrum
of what constitutes acceptable
“strong” female gender expression
with a narrowing crevasse between
weakness and hostility.
Ramisa Rob can be reached at
rfrob@umich.edu.
I
f it hasn’t happened to
you yet, it soon will.
You open up your social
media for the first time during
the day and there it is: the
engagement photo. Maybe it
starts with that girl you knew
back in middle school, then a
few acquaintances from high
school. You are surprised at
the high school sweethearts
who made it this far (and
skeptical of how long they will
last).
I
mean,
that
guy
did
cheat on all of his previous
girlfriends. Then, one day, it
will be a friend. You get that
little shiver up your spine
before pushing it out of your
mind completely. It still isn’t
completely real until — bam! It
happens to your ex.
Yep. You open up your
phone
and
see
his
mom,
your mom and the whole
community
congratulating
him on his engagement. Yikes.
Now it’s real.
Meanwhile,
you
can’t
even keep a cactus alive. You
don’t know where you will be
living in six months, let alone
have anyone you’d remotely
consider starting a life with.
You still eat Kraft mac and
cheese for dinner multiple
nights a week and talk to your
mom on the phone everyday.
How on earth are people your
age getting married?
Moments like these happen
periodically
throughout
one’s life, but they just keep
increasing in intensity until
you reach what I have dubbed
“the engagement epidemic.”
There is the first time one of
your friends has a boyfriend,
the first time one of them has
sex, the first teen pregnancy
and on and on it goes.
However, thus far, nothing
has hit me quite like the
engagement
epidemic.
It
seemed like one day it was one
person and the next I blinked
and my whole Instagram feed
was filled with shiny diamond
rings and happy tears. I was
left wondering whether I was
falling behind, or if everyone
else had gotten ahead of
themselves.
I always hear people make
similar judgments, too. “Oh,
they got married way too
young,” and “they took things
way too fast.” Or, conversely,
“If they don’t get engaged soon,
they are bound to break up,”
or, “If they don’t find someone
soon, it will never happen.”
It seems like everyone has an
opinion on love and what the
right course of action is when
choosing your path.
Some say you should be
single and live life while you
are young and wait until your
late 20s — or even early 30s
— to get married. Meanwhile,
others say it is better to find
someone you want to spend
the rest of your life with while
you are young so you can go on
adventures with them. Then,
most famously, there are those
who always say, “When you
stop looking, that is when it
will happen.”
Yet, when I look back now at
all the moments where I have
received contradictory advice
or where I felt like everyone
was flying by me while I was
stuck in quicksand, I don’t feel
like I missed out. Everything
that has happened in my life
has happened right on time for
me. Everybody has their own
priorities and own experiences
that all shape who they will
become and how fast they are
going to get there. By the time
my mother was 23, she knew
she was done with players. She
said she pretty much hated
men altogether and had nearly
resigned in her quest to find
the perfect one. She met my
dad that same year and said
within just a few weeks she
knew he was the one. She told
him she was giving him one
year and no longer to make up
his mind and propose. I’ve told
that story to other people who
say, “One year? My parents
dated for six years — one is
way too soon.”
Maybe
the
truth
is
we should all reserve our
judgments about those doing
life at different speeds than
us. This sounds like the “yeah,
duh” answer, but aren’t we
all at least a little guilty of
thinking we are doing it the
better
way
or,
conversely,
worrying we are doing it all
wrong? We expect to follow a
linear path put forth for us by
Hollywood clichés or we feel
guilted by family members
who have exceedingly high
expectations. We feel lonely,
sad or confused by all that
is changing around us and
everyone we know that is
moving onto the next stage of
their lives.
We should feel confident,
however, that we will get
there. So many older adults
have said it must be true: life
flies by in the blink of an eye.
We shouldn’t wish a single
moment of it to move faster
and we can’t slow it down.
When we spend our whole
lives looking forward at what
we want or backwards at
what could have been we risk
missing the wonderful stage
of life we are in at the present
moment. Never again will
we be so young or so free. At
risk of sounding like a cheesy
pop song, I say we can’t afford
to always be living life with
regrets. We all make mistakes,
take detours and trip over our
own two feet. And though it is
not the path for all of us, most
of us will wake up one day
feeling like we have met “the
one.” I am sure it won’t happen
a moment too soon or a second
too late for a single one of us.
The engagement epidemic
ABBIE BERRINGER | COLUMN
Abbie Berringer can be reached at
abbierbe@umich.edu.
FROM THE DAILY
Keep Demanding Diversity and Inclusivity
O
n Jan. 24, the U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation
into more than 50 complaints filed by Mark Perry, University
of Michigan-Flint economics and finance professor, against the
University for discrimination against men. This has subsequently ignited a
national discourse over the effectiveness of college diversity initiatives and
the University’s own Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan. His arguments that
women-only spaces are discriminatory and that the DEI plan unnecessarily
raises University costs are inflammatory and, more importantly, flawed.
Spending on an initiative to bring about an inclusive environment cannot
be dismissed as mere “administrative bloat,” as he purports it to be. These
statements ignore the cultural history of gender-based discrimination and
the multitude of other factors that contribute to rises in University tuition.
However, the current attention on Perry brings to light the need for a closer
look at the DEI initiative and if it has truly delivered on its promise of
creating a more diverse and welcoming campus climate.
The University has
a responsibility
to uphold values
of inclusion and
respect
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