“I think it’s a really important
point to note that, oftentimes,
Palestinians are so silenced in this
narrative that it’s up to allies to
support this struggle for justice and
freedom of speech,” Jawad said.
“But that isn’t to say they don’t have
agency. Palestinian people definitely
speak for themselves, they’ve been
advocating for themselves, for self-
sufficiency for decades. I’m not
saying they don’t have the agency
or clout to do so, what I’m saying
though is that in U.S. institutions
specifically,
Palestinian
voices
are often wiped out and not given
equal weight in conversation, or
they’re oftentimes just ignored
purposefully,
intentionally,
for
political reasons.”
Al-Khatib said the function of the
blacklist is especially detrimental
since many of those targeted have
parents who immigrated to the U.S.
in order for their children to receive
a better education and increased
opportunity.
“Education is really important
to us because, in my case, the
reason my parents came is so that
I could get a better education and I
could thrive with the resources in
America, following the American
Dream,” Al-Khatib said. “Canary
Mission threatens that for us. I
think that’s a very real fear that
first-generation Americans have.
It’s the most important thing for us
to achieve our education. So a lot of
people are immediately turned off.
They’re like, ‘It’s better to stay quiet,
not make a sound, make it through
my education,’ because we don’t
have the privilege of being able to
express our political opinions
without having any consequences
that affect not only us, but our
families.”
The blacklist does not exempt
Jewish activists from its ranks.
Jewish Voice for Peace, a group
that “seeks an end to the Israeli
occupation of the West Bank, Gaza
Strip and East Jerusalem,” appears
on Canary Mission. Mondoweiss,
a foreign policy blog founded
by a former New York Observer
columnist who is Jewish, also
appears on the blacklist, along with
a number of individual Jewish
activists.
LSA senior Ali Rosenblatt was a
representative on CSG during the
divestment campaign. Although
Rosenblatt, who is Jewish, did
not support the resolution nor the
secret ballot, she condemns Canary
Mission and said it stifles dialogue.
Rosenblatt said her peers who
were opposed to divestment were
also against the blacklist. She
stressed the two opinions should
not be conflated with each other.
“It’s a cyber-bullying website,”
Rosenblatt said. “It chills dialogue
on campus. Because of the website,
I’ve had more trouble having
conversations with people on the
other side of this issue. People
are scared to talk to me because
I’m Jewish, and what I’ve heard
is because I’m Jewish, some
wrongfully presume I must support
it and I must be contributing to the
website, which is so not the case.
It’s unfortunate that this happens. I
don’t blame people for being afraid,
but that’s why I oppose it. It instills
fear, and I don’t agree with that.”
While the list of representatives
who voted for the secret ballot
is shown in a video online, many
activists
said
Canary
Mission
draws on material not readily
available online, or material that
may be private. Jawad said it was
unknown how Canary Mission
finds this information.
“Nobody knows — that’s up
for speculation,” Jawad said. “If
you look on Canary Mission’s
website, it takes submissions, so
the submissions must come from
students or people that are watching
the live streams. I wouldn’t venture
to say that it is other U of M students
— I don’t think that it is. I think it
could be anybody. You never know
who’s on the internet looking at
you, and everything is public and
live-streamed so it could literally be
anybody.”
Rosenblatt agreed and said she
would be surprised if students
contributed tips to the blacklist.
“I
think
what’s
a
misunderstanding on this campus
is that some people think that it’s
a Michigan issue, so they think
it must be Michigan students
contributing to it,” Rosenblatt
said. “This is a national issue, it’s
a national website. I wouldn’t be
surprised if nobody on campus
contributes to it. As far as the
(secret ballot) votes go, because The
Daily live streams it, pretty much
anybody on campus or off campus
could find out who voted, and the
CSG records are public.”
Al-Khatib does believe certain
individuals at the University may
contribute to Canary Mission.
However, she noted Hillel, an
opponent of #UMDivest movement,
has spoken out against the blacklist.
“There’s definitely an inside
source,” Al-Khatib said. “They
know things that are super, super
specific to our campus that no
one stalking you on Facebook
could know. They definitely get
tipped off. Like for example, when
divestment came out, in 2017 last
year, we turned it in for readings
just for CSG to approve, and a lot
of that information got leaked
and was put on Canary before it
became public about co-authors
and stuff like that. And that was
private information. Only CSG and
us could look at it, so it makes you
wonder how is this information
getting leaked and who’s letting
it. And I know the opposition for
divestment was Hillel, Hillel was
leading the campaign, but they’ve
spoken out about it and reached out
to us about it, so I’m not saying it’s
them. I think it’s individuals on this
campus that are trying to degrade
our cause. And they know how to
target us.”
Current Hillel chair Leor Rosen,
LSA junior, wrote in an email she
disapproved of Canary Mission and
its methods.
“Many
students
at
Hillel,
including myself, strongly oppose
the intimidation tactics of Canary
Mission and have spoken out
against it in the past,” Rosen wrote.
“The website prevents constructive
dialogue and is counterproductive
to efforts to oppose BDS. I want
our campus to be a space where
students can engage in productive
discourse without fear of being
targeted.”
Zoha Khalili is a staff attorney
for Palestine Legal, an advocacy
group that provides legal service
and
advice
for
pro-Palestine
activists. The group has also been
targeted
by
Canary
Mission.
Khalili said Palestine Legal has
not filed any lawsuits against
Canary Mission and she knows of
no other law firms who have taken
legal action against the blacklist’s
website
either.
Khalili
said
defamation lawsuits are difficult to
win because of the courts’ strong
defense of freedom of speech.
“Generally we are reviewing
their profiles for inaccuracies,”
Khalili said. “Canary Mission often
will put out vague statements that
make it harder for people to take
action against them when you’re
defaming them. Defamation is
when you’re putting out false
information about someone and
that causes them harm, which is
something that Canary Mission
engages in routinely. But because
our system of government is
focused more on creating the
broadest area possible for free
speech, it is a bit hard to litigate
defamation cases.”
However, Khalili said Palestine
Legal did offer students advice on
when it is appropriate to report
Canary Mission’s social media
account.
In
October,
Canary
Mission’s Twitter account was, in
fact, deactivated for two weeks for
violating the website’s terms of use.
It was later reinstated following
appeals from supporters of the
blacklist.
“Right now they’re the
kind of people who came up
with, and are now defending,
the policies that come in the
way of equity,” Robinson
said. “The current view in
Ann Arbor is that each of our
three campuses should have
watertight
compartments
across the three campuses so
that resources can’t really be
transferred back and forth.”
During
the
coalition
meeting Thursday, attendees
began to set out a coalition
platform,
delineating
the objectives of the 1U
campaign. In crafting this
platform,
attendees
voted
on whether or not to include
measures such as equalizing
faculty
funding
across
campuses, expanding the Go
Blue Guarantee to Dearborn
and Flint, and allocating
funds to scholarships and
study abroad programs.
Tyrice Denson, director
of
foreign
outreach
for
Student Government at U-M
Flint, began the meeting by
describing recent actions 1U
had taken to gather support
among the staff and student
body for the coalition’s goals.
“We went and presented to
Central Student Government
to outline the platform to
them,” Denson said. “The
feedback I got from that was
overwhelmingly positive. I
think that a lot of people in
CSG are supportive of the
idea of breaking down those
barriers and having more
equitable resources.”
The
central
discussion
point
Thursday
was
the
creation of a general 1U
steering committee, which
would
be
tasked
with
overseeing the day-to-day
work of the organization.
According to the proposal
announced
during
the
meeting, these tasks would
include
establishing
all
campaign-related
agendas,
finding speakers for public
action; engaging the media
and elected officials and
creating communications.
Attendees at the meeting
decided
members
would
self-nominate for positions
on the steering committee,
and
ideally
represent
a
wide range of University
perspectives,
including
undergraduates,
graduates
and lecturers as well as
tenured
and
untenured
professors.
LSA
junior
Sharif-
Ahmed Krabti was one of
the 1U members who self-
nominated for a position on
the newly established board.
Ultimately,
four
members
volunteered
for
positions
from
Flint,
one
from
Dearborn and three from
Ann Arbor.
As a member of the new 1U
leadership structure, Krabti
explained he was optimistic
about the foundation the
steering committee would
provide for the future of the
organization.
“I’m
feeling
really
confident about the decisions
we made,” Krabti said. “I’m
glad that we are putting forth
a steering committee and a
platform, pending approval.
Those are all really tangible
first steps. I feel really
good about the coalition’s
structure, it has a big focus
on equity and inclusivity
within
the
conversation
and
the
decision-making
process.”
“When I asked her why she
thought the woman was cooking
drugs, she responded ‘I saw her here
before and she looked suspicious and
this time she looks more suspicious.’
That was her only justification for
her call to the police.”
Gillooly shared the call with
dispatch, and was scolded by
her supervisor for putting in a
“ridiculous call.” She shared there
are protocols in place for dealing with
biased phone calls, emphasizing how
further conversation can determine
the legitimacy of the calls.
Washtenaw
County
Sheriff
Jerry Clayton, another panelist,
discussed how dispatch deals with
the calls from operators. He said
police officers will sometimes go
to the scene without engaging
with the suspicious person. When
they do interact, Clayton said he
understands why people are irritated
when they must deal with the police.
He is working with fellow officers to
set up an action plan to respond to
suspicious-person calls.
“Metro dispatch will manage the
suspected bias-influenced calls in a
manner that minimizes the impact
on the subject of the call,” Clayton
said. “In extreme cases, they will
not dispatch police personnel … for
service that are clearly the result of
a caller bias.”
Clayton said there would possibly
be two outcomes for the call. One
outcome would involve either not
showing up to the scene at all or
responding to the call and having
a conversation with the person in
question. The other outcome would
be figuring out what skills police
officers need to possess to behave
the way the sheriff’s office wants.
Panelist Barry Friedman, law
professor at New York University, is
working on the Policing Project at the
New York University School of Law,
an organization that partners with
communities and police to create
preventative measures for police
accountability. He took his time to
“widen the lens” from discussing
how 911 operators deal with racially
biased calls, as well as how the
Sheriff’s Office deals with these
calls. He said incarceration, police
stops, pre-trial release decisions and
other dealings with authorities are
impacted by racial bias as well.
“You can’t talk about mass
incarceration
without
policing,”
Friedman said. “Most of the folks
who end up in the criminal justice
system end up there through the
door that is opened up by the police.
We have to look at this whole iceberg,
I think to kind of get a handle on it.”
He questioned if police are the
best responders since what most
of the situations need is mediation
rather than force. He then asked his
audience to ask a three-fold question
of “What are the police doing here?”
“Just because police are the
first responders, which they are,
doesn’t mean that they are the right
responders,” Friedman said. “And
the question I want people to ask is
going to sound like one question but
actually is three. The first question
is, ‘What are the police doing here,
which is to say, are the police the
right people to be responding to
deal with this particular situation?’
The second question is, ‘What are
the police doing here — when they
respond, what is it that they actually
do and what are they trained to
do?’ And finally and probably most
importantly, ‘What are the police
doing here — is there something
about this place that is problematic
from a social perspective that we
need to deal with in some way other
than the police?”
Thacher opened up the room to
anonymous questions. One person
asked how to motivate officers and
dispatchers when they are so short-
staffed. Friedman answered the
short-staffing of police officers is
not so much an issue as the short-
staffing of professionals who deal
with public health and social issues.
“Many of the things that fall
into the lap of the police that we
think of as policing problems of this
country really are public health
problems,” Friedman said. “You
need a mentality in the public to
treat them as that and fund them as
that and for some reason it’s easy to
get funding for cops relative to a lot
of other things.”
Rackham students Jarell Skinner-
Roy and Laura Lee Smith came to
the talk to learn more about what
authorities are doing concerning
biased calls. Roy believed this was
a good step for sharing information
with the public.
Among
the
principal
objectives of the wellness zone
is to help students conquer
Seasonal Affective Disorder, a
type of depression caused by
the decrease of sunlight in the
wintertime. To conquer SAD,
CAPS is installing two light
therapy machines so students
can get their daily dose of
vitamin D.
“Seasonal Affective Disorder
is a big thing, we live in the
Midwest and don’t get to see a
lot of sun so it does affect our
mood, and so we will have two
light therapy machines available
as well,” Asidao said. “That can
be a really great boost when you
do 30 minutes a day for at least
a week; they will start to feel
better.”
LSA freshman Natalie McKee,
a resident on North Campus,
described how the lack of sun
during Michigan winters can be
difficult to adjust to for students
from out of state.
“It’s not really sunny up here
because of the high latitude,”
McKee said. “I’m from Colorado,
and it’s a lot sunnier there. It was
definitely an adjustment for the
weeks of cloudy days. It would
be nice to have the (vitamin D)
lamps when it’s not sunny for
such a long period of time.”
Other
additions
to
the
wellness
zone
will
include
meditation studios and yoga
mats.
CAPS Director Todd Sevig
explained the inspiration for the
new Wellness Zone derives from
the success of the opening of the
first wellness zone on Central
Campus in 2011.
“In 2011 we opened our first
Wellness
Zone,”
Sevig
said.
“Long story short, it resonated
really
well
with
students.
Starting the second year, our
estimate is about 5,000 students
used the wellness zone every
year.
They
(students)
wrote
comments to us (CAPS) on a
whiteboard and it was just really
supportive.”
A
large
reason
for
the
success of the Central Campus
wellness zone is the amount
of student engagement in the
decision-making process during
its inception. CAPS hopes to
replicate this method to ensure
the Pierpont Commons wellness
zone fits the needs of students.
“Nothing happens on this
campus of substantive value
or
lasting
change
without
the involvement of everyone
working together,” Sevig said.
“Students in terms of the ideas,
both past and current, and also
the administrators, the Pierpont
staff, to make the physical space
happen.”
Engineering freshman Naomi
Kantor expressed excitement
for the wellness zone coming to
North Campus as a way to wind
down during the semester.
“I know for a lot of people
you don’t live on North Campus,
and as an Engineering student
you spend a lot of time on
North Campus,” Kantor said.
“If you have breaks between
classes it would be good to
have somewhere to decompress
because you don’t have the
luxury to go back to your house.”
According
to
CAPS,
the
grand opening of the Pierpont
Commons wellness zone is set
for March 18.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Friday, March 1, 2019 — 3
CANARY
From Page 2
PREJUDICE
From Page 1
PUBLIC TALK ON CONTEMPOR ARY ART
Director and CEO of Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Phil Tinari, speaks on the history of contemporary art in China over the past three
decades at the University of Michigan Museum of Art Thursday evening.
KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
1U
From Page 1
WELLNESS
From Page 1