Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South
Bend, Ind., has called for bipartisan
support
of
the
impeachment
inquiry. Buttigieg said he still
supports the impeachment inquiry,
which is largely supported by
Democrats, with one Independent
— Rep. Justin Amash of Grand
Rapids — backing the effort.
“Well, it’s a mistake on the part
of Republicans, who enable the
president whose actions are as
offensive to their own supposed
values as they are to the values
that we all share,” Buttigieg said.
“It’s also about the presidency
itself, because a president 10 years
or 100 years from now will look
back at this moment and draw the
conclusion either that no one is
above the law or that a president
can get away with anything.”
In response to Trump’s call for
an investigation into Joe Biden’s
son Hunter, Cooper asked former
Vice President Joe Biden about the
appropriateness of a president’s
family having foreign business
entanglements.
Biden
referenced
his
son’s
statement, which was released
Tuesday morning, and dismissed
the importance of this topic.
“My son did nothing wrong, I
did nothing wrong. I carried out
the policy of the U.S. government
by rooting out corruption in
Ukraine,” Biden said. “What we
have to do now is focus on Donald

Trump. He doesn’t want me to be
the candidate. He’s going after
me because he knows, if I get the
nomination, I will beat him like a
drum.”
Another hot-button issue — and
a conversation continued from the
last three debates — was health
care. Warren and Sen. Bernie
Sanders of Vermont continued
their joint effort in emphasizing
the push for Medicare for All,
while moderate candidates such as
Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar
of
Minnesota
criticized
such
proposals.
In discussing her Medicare For
All plan, Warren suggested taxes
would be proportionally applied
to corporations and the wealthy,
while not directly addressing if it
would affect the middle class. In
contrast, Sanders acknowledged
there would be tax increases for
the middle class.
“I do think it is appropriate to
acknowledge that taxes will go
up. They’re gonna up significantly
for the wealthy and for virtually
everybody,” Sanders said. “The tax
increase will be substantially less
— substantially less — than what
they were paying for premiums
and out-of-pocket expenses.”
Klobuchar argued Warren was
not being honest about the true
price of her health care plans.
“At least Bernie’s being honest
here and saying how he’s going to
pay for this,” Klobuchar said. “I
think we owe it to the American
people to tell them where we will
send the invoice.”

Klobuchar said the best way to
tackle affordable healthcare is to
build off Obamacare.
“The difference between a plan
and a pipe dream is something
that you can actually get done.
And we can get this public option
done,” Klobuchar said. “I believe
the best and boldest idea here is
to not trash Obamacare but to
do exactly what Barack Obama
wanted to do from the beginning
and that’s have a public option that
would bring down the cost of the
premium and expand the number
of people covered and take on the
pharmaceutical companies.”
Biden took the mention of
the Affordable Care Act as an
opportunity to highlight his role in
the implementation of the plan.
He
claimed
proponents
of
Medicare for All plan are not
transparent about its costs and the
long process of implementation.
“I think it’s awfully important
to be straightforward with (the
American public),” Biden said.
“The plan is going to cost at least
$30 trillion over 10 years. That
is more on a yearly basis than the
entire federal budget.”
The
group
also
discussed
the
threat
of
automation
to
American jobs, with entrepreneur
Andrew Yang advocating for his
cornerstone policy of a $1,000
stipend
a
month,
known
as
universal basic income.

The survey also provided
findings regarding bystander
intervention.
According
to
the survey, out of 15.3 percent
of students who witnessed a
situation they believed could
have led to sexual assault,
75.2 percent took some type
of action, with 44.9 percent
directly intervening.
Aloisi explained intervening
in situations involving sexual
assault can be hard. She said
this statistic was impressive.
“I was really happy to see
that the statistics were going
on an upward trend for people
that were being bystanders and
bystander intervention,” Aloisi
said. “I think that was a really
surprising statistic for me,
just because it is very hard to
intervene.”
The DPSS report contradicts
the Campus Climate Survey
According
to
the
DPSS
report, the number of reported
on-campus sexual assaults at
the University of Michigan has
increased significantly. Forty-
five rapes were reported in
2018, compared to the 18 rapes
reported the year before.
According to Heather Young,
DPSS Director for Strategic
Communications, one of the
reasons for the increase could
be due to survivors feeling
more comfortable reporting
assaults to the police as a result
of the Me Too movement.
“It’s hard to say definitively,
but there are a couple of things
that are a national trend that
I think could help contribute
to that increase,” Young said.
“The first thing would be the
Me Too movement. And this
is actually documented in a
government report that has
shown that survivors of sexual
assault were more likely to tell
the police of the incident in
2017 than in the previous year.
We’re seeing that in general,
police stations do have a long
struggle to make sure that
survivors of sexual assault

report such crimes, but this
report suggests the Me Too
movement has helped take
reporting sexual assault to law
enforcement and people feel
more comfortable reporting to
law enforcement.”
Aloisi also believes the Me
Too movement influenced the
increase in reports, along with
individuals in the University
community
sharing
their
stories.
“Looking around us, and
seeing what the world’s been
doing with sexual assault, a
lot of people have been coming
forward, and I think that
probably has a big influence
on why people are choosing to
come forward,” Aloisi said. “It
can seem almost like healing
when you see someone else
who’s experienced the same
thing be brave and come out
and tell their stories. It almost
influences a person to want to
do the same thing.”
Young also believes DPSS’s
efforts
to
communicate
resources to students could
have brought about the increase
in reports of on-campus rapes.
“From
our
end,
this
is
hard
to
measure,
but
we
do invest in our staff and
in
our
communications
to
our
community
about
the
importance
of
reporting,”
Young said. “And we’ve worked
really hard to make it more
comfortable for survivors.”
Aloisi said while there is
always more work to be done,
she thinks the University is
doing a good job.
I think that we can always
do
more,
there
is
always
progress to be done, but I think
Michigan is doing a good job,”
Aloisi said. “I think people
don’t really know how difficult
of a process it is to work with
the court system and the legal
system surrounding Title IX …
This University is here for us.”
University resources
Some of these resources
available to survivors include
a special victims unit, which
specifically serves victims of
interpersonal violence, such
as sexual assault, domestic

violence, dating violence or
stalking.
The
University’s
police department has also
engaged with the Start by
Believing
campaign,
which
aims to raise awareness about
sexual assault and its victims.
According to Young, the
Ann Arbor Police Department,
Eastern Michigan University,
St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital,
Michigan
Medicine,

University
Health
Services,
the prosecutor’s office and
the sheriff’s office have all
followed
DPSS’s
lead
and
adopted the Start by Believing
campaign as well.
Another one of the ways
DPSS fosters communication
with
students
in
different
communities in Ann Arbor
is via the work of the DPSS
Student
Advisory
Board,
a student-led group at the
University that speaks with
DPSS
representatives
to
shed light on campus safety
concerns and offer feedback
on DPSS’s efforts to address
different issues in the area.
Stephen
Bonesteel,
vice
chair of the DPSS Student
Advisory
Board
and
LSA
senior,
encourages
students
to take advantage of the many
resources available to them.
“I just would encourage
a message to be voiced that
DPSS and their Special Victims
Unit
is
really
fantastic,”
Bonesteel said. “We work with
SAPAC every day, and there’s
just numerous resources if
people don’t want to go all
the way with a formal report
and
investigation.
DPSS,
our officers in the Special
Victims Unit … They’re here
for everybody and they’re here
for you … just to make sure that
message is heard.”
Bonesteel
emphasized
the
importance
of
these
resources, noting that relying
on statistical reports is not
enough,
particularly
when
dealing with sensitive issues
like sexual violence.

Those lucky enough to
book a reservation will also
earn seats close to the field
for the game, according to
Airbnb.
According to the listing, the
stay will include the complete
tailgating
experience
—
minus the back of a pickup
truck.
Accommodations
include a “football lounge”
where guests will be able
to watch some of the most
historical
football
rivalry
games in college football.
It will also include space
for four friends to join the
revelry during the day, along
with access to a lakefront
camping space with a grill,
fire pit, cornhole toss and
other tailgating festivities.
Jerry Hissem, Airbnb host
and pilot of the blimp, said
he wants to give fans an
unforgettable experience.
“The blimp has always
been about the fans and
giving them a better way

to experience the game,”
Hissem
said.
“We’re
continuing this tradition by
giving fans an experience
they’ll never forget by listing
the blimp on Airbnb.”
The guests will also get
a
tour
of
the
Goodyear
facilities,
located
in
Mogadore, Ohio, to meet
the crew and learn about
the blimp’s 100 year history
and more than 60 years of
providing aerial coverage of
college football games. Guests
will have exclusive access to
the blimp’s 312-yard hangar,
where it will remain during
the
booking.
The
guests’
sleeping quarters are located
in the aircraft’s gondola,
which is complete with a bed,
couch and a lounging corner.
They will also receive official
University football gear to
wear to the Notre Dame
football game on Oct. 26.
Kinesiology senior Claire
DiFranco is a long time
Michigan football fan and
said the idea is very exciting
and unique.
“I think this would be an
experience like no other and

the price is very reasonable,”
DiFranco
said.
“I
would
totally consider doing this
before the game … I think it’s
a really cool idea and it’ll be
very popular for the alumni
crowd.”
Shortly after the stay, the
blimp will be retired and
inducted into the College
Football Hall of Fame, where
it will be the first non-player
or coach to be given this
honorable distinction.
YouTuber
Levi
Kelly
frequently stays in unusual
Airbnbs and announced he
plans on making a reservation
for the blimp when they
become available.
“I actually have a Youtube
channel
basically
around
unique Airbnb’s,” Kelly said.
“I stay in some like tiny
homes, container homes, or
anything that’s special and
do reviews on them. So when
I saw that the blimp was up
for
grabs,
I
immediately
wanted to book it.”

According to Swartz, any
action other than dismissing the
case was void. Swartz’s decision
reversed
the
Washtenaw
County’s 22nd Circuit Court
Sept. 30 order, which delayed
taking Reyes off life support
indefinitely
and
allowed
the family to seek out other
treatment facilities.
At the hearing on Tuesday
morning,
Swartz
said
he
sympathized with Reyes’ family
but only had the power to
dismiss the case.
“I have no authority to do
anything,” Swartz said. “My
hands are tied.”
Mary Masson, director of
public relations for Michigan
Medicine, wrote in a statement
to The Daily that a brain
examination Tuesday revealed
Reyes had no detectable brain
activity and could no longer
legally remain on life support.
“Further
testing—
including
an
electrical
encephalogram (EEG) and

a cerebral blood flow study
—
detected
no
electrical
activity and no blood flow
to Bobby’s brain,” Masson
wrote. “By law in Michigan,
an
individual
is
dead
who has sustained either
irreversible
cessation
of
circulatory and respiratory
functions
or
irreversible
cessation of all function of
the entire brain, including
the brain stem. Continuing
medical interventions was
inappropriate after Bobby
had suffered brain death
and violates the professional
integrity
of
Michigan
Medicine’s clinicians.”
After the Sept. 30 ruling,
Reyes’ family and his team at
Michigan Medicine contacted
nearly 20 hospitals in order to
arrange a transfer for Reyes
to
receive
alternate
care.
According
to
Masson,
all
facilities declined to take Reyes
as their patient.
After the hearing, William
Amadeo,
the
attorney
representing Reyes’ family, said
Michigan Medicine’s reputation
as a top hospital has made other

facilities around the country
reluctant
to
question
the
University’s decisions.
“Whenever
any
qualified
(facility) makes a ruling, it’s
hard to find a facility to counter
that,” Amadeo said.
Amadeo noted there were
three physicians at hospitals
around
the
country
who
believed Reyes had a chance of
survival if allowed to remain
on life support. He said the case
should have been filed in the
Court of Claims, rather than
the circuit court, and requested
a 48-hour stay from Swartz
in order to file in the Court of
Claims.
After the hearing, Amadeo
told The Daily the attorneys
were
working
to
file
an
emergency appeal in the Court
of Claims in Lansing. When
the Court of Claims declined
Amadeo’s request to file the
claim
electronically,
the
attorneys drove to Lansing to
file it in person.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, October 16, 2019 — 3A

DEBATE
From Page 1A

ASSAULT
From Page 1A

LIFE SUPPORT
From Page 1A

BLIMP
From Page 1A

Read more at
MichiganDaily.com

Read more at
MichiganDaily.com

Approximately
50
people
gathered in the Vandenberg
Room at the Michigan League
Saturday to discuss the ongoing
role Hinduism plays in casteism
both in India and abroad. The
event, “Dismantling Casteism
and Racism: A Symposium,”
was organized by the Asian/
Pacific
Islander
American
Studies Program and several
other University of Michigan
organizations in cooperation
with the Michigan chapter of
the Ambedkar Association of
North America.
The symposium aimed to
celebrate and continue the
work of B.R. Ambedkar, a Dalit
Indian
statesman
famously
known as the Architect of
India’s Constitution. Dalits,
otherwise
known
as
the
Untouchables, are considered
excluded or at the lowest level
of the Hindu caste system
and
face
discrimination
and violence in South Asian
communities.
Ambedkar
sought to fight caste-based
discrimination
through
activist and legal processes,
becoming a leader for the
movement in opposition to
casteism.
Manan
Desai,
assistant
professor
of
Asian/Pacific
Islander studies and American
culture, moderated the panel,
providing opening remarks on
the importance of analyzing
the complacency that gives
rise to Hindu oppression of
different ethnic groups.
“For those of us who have
historically
enjoyed
the
privileges — the generational
privilege approved of being
the right color, or holding
privileged caste and racial
identities — it is an important
time to consider what it truly
means to commit to dismantling
the institutionalized forms of
oppression,” Desai said. “What
are the harsh truths that we

need
to
hear
internalized
and be mobilized by? While
progressive-minded
South
Asians might challenge white
supremacy, in what ways can
they or we turn a blind eye to
Hindu fundamentalism, which
is responsible for the ongoing
atrocities and lynchings of
Dalits and Muslims?”
Desai introduced the panel’s
first speaker, Kancha Ilaiah
Shepherd, who is the current
director of the study of social
exclusion and inclusive policy
at Maulana Azad National
Urdu University in Hyderabad,
India.
Shepherd
explained
activists and South Asians in
the United States influence
protests and debates in India.
“It
is
very
significant
that in America, whatever
happens makes news in India,”
Shepherd said. “And whatever
happens here impacts our lives
on almost (a) daily basis. It is
in this situation where India
is going through a crisis with
the coming of the most rapid
anti-human forces in power.
This battle has to carried to
(a) logical end … therefore
this conference is very, very
important.”
Shepherd,
a
member
of
the Sudra caste, commented
on
Ambedkar’s
legacy
in
supporting those like him who
were members of a lower caste.
He
described
Ambedkar’s
philosophy
that
underlying
beliefs in Hinduism support
caste discrimination.
“Annihilation
of
caste,
or
destruction
of
caste,
as Ambedkar said, is not
possible without dismantling
or destroying Hinduism as
a religion … Hinduism does
not reform, does not change
because
of
the
structural
problems
in
the
religion,”
Shepherd said.
These problems, as Shepherd
argued,
include
Hinduism’s
theory of the origin of human
existence.
He
described
Buddhism and Christianity as

religions that both function
as a “spiritual democracy” in
which divine forces create
all humans indiscriminately.
Hinduism, Shepherd claims, is
a system of “spiritual fascism”
inasmuch as it alleges God
only
created
Indians
and
created each caste from a
different part of the human
body, establishing a system
of inequality inherent to the
religion.
Shepherd
continued
his
criticism
of
Hinduism
by
arguing
other
countries
prospered
because
“dignity
of
labor”
was
integral
to
their religions. He described
how Brahmins — considered
high caste citizens — lack
this sentiment and enjoy the
production of other castes.
“Brahmins never worked in
the field in production from
childhood onwards,” Shepherd
said. “But they consume the
best food. They drink the milk
of both cows and buffalos and
abuse buffalo and bison …
therefore Ambedkar said, ‘All
this philosophy needs to be
rooted out.’ Then caste begins
to dismantle.”
The
symposium
featured
four
other
speakers,
including activist Thenmozhi
Soundararajan and three other
speakers from universities in
the United States.
Rackham student Shalmali
Jadhav came to the event
because her research centers
upon the intersection of racism
and casteism, and Desai, one of
the organizers, is her adviser.
Jadhav expressed appreciation
for the decision to include both
a researcher and a professor in
the discussion.
“I think it’s always really
important for researchers and
activists to be in conversation
so that researchers can provide
the kind of frameworks that
activists need and also figure
out how to make their research
relevant to the ground reality,”
Jadhav said.

ARJUN THAKKAR
Daily Staff Reporter

Event celebrates work of Dalit Indian statesman B.R. Ambedkar

Symposium discusses efforts to
eliminate casteism, racism

Read more at
MichiganDaily.com

Read more at
MichiganDaily.com