On Oct. 8, the U.S. Supreme
Court heard three cases that
could end protections for
LGBTQ employees in the
United States.
In each of the three cases
brought up to the Supreme
Court — Altitude Express,
Inc. v. Zarda, Bostock v.
Clayton County and R.G. &
G.R. Harris Funeral Homes
v. EEOC — the employers
dismissed their employees
on the basis of their sexual
orientation. In both Zarda
and Bostock, the employees
Donald Zarda and Gerald
Bostock allege their employers
fired
them
because
their
employers
discovered
the
men were gay. In the Harris
Funeral
Homes
case,
the
employee — Aimee Stephens,
a trans woman — was fired
because her boss claimed
that it would be against his
religion
for
Stephens
“to
deny (her) sex while acting
as a representative of (the)
organization.”
Title
VII
of
the
Civil
Rights Act of 1964 protects
employees
from
being
discriminated against based
on their race, color, religion,
national origin or sex. In
previous
Supreme
Court
cases, “sex” discrimination
has been interpreted as not
discriminating
based
on
gender identity. Now, the
Supreme Court will decide
if the language “sex” in Title
VII covers sexual orientation.
The University’s chapter
of College Democrats came
out strongly in support of
the Supreme Court including
sexual orientation as a part of
civil rights. Camille Mancuso,
communications
director
of
College
Democrats,
emphasized the importance
of the decision.
“LGBTQ+ rights are civil
rights,” Mancuso said. “From
the
inability
of
same-sex
couples to adopt children, to
being fired in the workplace
for one’s sexual orientation or
gender identity, to the murder
of trans women of color across
the country, the rights of
LGBTQ+ folks are constantly
being threatened.”
Love is in the air — and online
— at the University of Michigan.
More
than
2,900
undergraduate
students
—
approximately one out of every
10 — have completed a new
matchmaking service survey,
dubbed the Michigan Marriage
Pact, as of Thursday afternoon.
LSA junior Elien Michielssen,
one of the survey’s creators,
said a team of students created
the online questionnaire for a
class project in Psychology 223.
“There’s a lot of dating sites
out there — some that people
are
comfortable
with
and
some that people aren’t — and
we wanted to do something
that was Michigan-specific,”
Michielssen said. “We wanted
to bring it to Michigan and spice
up the campus a little bit.”
Michielssen
said
the
questionnaire, which opened
Saturday
afternoon,
has
a
lifespan of 21 days. At the
end of the submission period,
students will be emailed their
match’s name and potentially
a message from their match,
though
Michielssen
said
there is a possibility that not
every person who completes
the questionnaire will have a
match.
Participants
answer
a
series of 40 questions, ranging
from the likelihood of using
a
prenuptial
agreement
to
views on gun ownership. The
questionnaire also asks students
to rate the levels of their drug
and alcohol use, sex lives,
cleanliness, spending habits and
other personality traits.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, October 25, 2019
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Paani, a non-profit started
by
University
alumni
in
response
to
the
growing
water shortage in Pakistan,
spearheaded a teach-in on
the
humanitarian
crisis
in
Kashmir,
a
disputed
territory
in
the
northern
part
of
India,
Thursday
night.
In
particular,
the
event focused on the current
state of Indian-administered
Kashmir
following
India’s
tighter control and erosion of
democratic freedoms in the
region.
Paani organized the teach-
in in conjunction with several
other cultural organizations
on campus. Rackham student
Nishita
Trisal,
a
Ph.D.
candidate
in
anthropology
studying
Kashmir,
and
Rackham
student
Safwaan
Mir,
president
of
the
University’s chapter of Stand
with Kashmir, headed the
teach-in by presenting on the
current crisis in the region
and the history and context
of
the
situation.
Though
both individuals come from
Kashmiri backgrounds, Trisal
noted they are not speaking for
all Kashmiris, especially since
the current communications
blackout in Indian-controlled
Kashmir means those in the
region may not be able to
speak themselves on these
issues right now.
Mir explained both India
and Pakistan are interested
in the Kashmir region for
its natural resources, such
as water, and because of its
strategic
military
position
between the two countries
and China. Mir emphasized
the suffering of the Kashmiri
people is lost in the struggle
for dominance between these
two powerful countries.
“(India
and
Pakistan’s)
interests
are
primarily
going to be in their strategic
political position, not in the
interest and the well-being of
the Kashmiri people who have
suffered the most,” Mir said.
“Instead, the truly legitimate
way to look at the situation is
for Kashmiris to have a right
to choose for themselves what
they want to be and what their
future is.”
University of Michigan alum
Alex Lieberman spoke about
Morning Brew, the startup he
founded after graduating from
the Ross School of Business
in
2015,
at
the
Robertson
Auditorium Thursday.
Lieberman is the co-founder
and CEO of Morning Brew,
a daily email newsletter that
condenses business news into
content that appeals to a younger
audience. During his time at the
Business
School,
Lieberman
said he realized there wasn’t
a platform that made business
news interesting for students
and young adults.
“These students are working
their asses off to have careers
in business, and yet they don’t
have content that’s storytelling
the business world in a fun and
engaging way,” Lieberman said.
“So I just started writing a daily
business roundup — which at the
time looked very different from
Morning Brew — but I would say
had a lot of the same DNA.”
GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 18
©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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
Campus talks
LGBTQ rights
case before US
Supreme Court
Community examines impact of
workplace discrimination lawsuit
About 70 faculty, staff and
students were in attendance
on Thursday at LSA’s Office of
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
panel
focused
on
bringing
awareness
to
Asian
Pacific
Islander
Desi/American
and
Middle Eastern/North African
identities at the University of
Michigan. The event featured
five speakers, all of whom were
faculty and staff members at the
University.
The event began with questions
from the hosts directed to specific
panelists.
The
first
question
was for Melissa Borja, assistant
professor in A/PIA studies, about
the history of APID/A individuals
at the University.
Borja explained the importance
of individuals claiming a specific
identity and then allowing it
to be counted in the school’s
demographics. She explored the
concept by using the example
of how Asian Americans have
changed the way they identify
themselves over time.
DEI panel
discusses
uncounted
statistics
CAMPUS LIFE
Faculty respond to
underrepresented
demographic groups
Teach-in raises awareness about
Kashmir humanitarian crisis
Paani hosts event aiming to provide Kashmiri perspectives
Morning
Brew CEO
highlights
storytelling
BUSINESS
JASMIN LEE
Daily Staff Reporter
Follow The Daily
on Instagram,
@michigandaily
KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily
Rackham student Nishta Trisal speaks about the crisis in Kashmir and what the University can do to help at a teach-in held in
Annenberg Auditorium Thursday evening.
Business alum Alex
Lieberman reflects
on entrepreneurship
ALEX HARRING
Daily Staff Reporter
CLAIRE HAO
Daily Staff Reporter
DESIGN BY ROSEANNE CHAO
See DEI, Page 3A
See BUSINESS, Page 3A
JULIA FANZERES
Daily Staff Reporter
See SCOTUS, Page 3A
See DATING, Page 3A
JULIA FORREST
Daily Staff Reporter
Match made in algorithm:
students turn to dating survey
2,900 undergraduates take quiz in hopes of finding the one on campus
FootballSaturday
Defensive line coach
Shaun Nua’s journey from
American Samoa to the
sidelines at Michigan.
» Page 4 and 5B
See PAANI, Page 3A