concerned about issues of safety,
physical safety and psychological
safety. So, we’re going to work
with students around there. And
then the Ginsberg Center has been
working since the last midterm
elections to get students registered
to vote and to think about what it
means to be a part of a democracy.
They’re going to lead out their
efforts. We’re trying to think about
what the academic offerings might
be. I’m hoping when the media is
just walking down the street every
student they interview is really
spot on and will really showcase
the University well and how smart
and engaged our students are.
TMD: How do you think
the debate will affect political
discourse on campus, and how
will the University work to make
sure that this discourse does not
harm certain members of the
community?
Harper: I know that many of
the academic units are thinking
about hosting teach-ins and teach-
outs, where we can strengthen our
skills around debate and dialogue.
So, I think there will be some
investment in skill development
in classes and in teach-outs and
teach-ins. I think student orgs will
also do some of that work. We’re
just going to have to practice that
you don’t get good at talking to
people whose point of view might
be different than yours without
practicing it. … The other thing is,
if we stay curious, if we could start
practicing being curious about
how other people think about an
issue, that will allow us all to grow
and develop. It is when I think I
know everything about everything
that I’m really limited. … The
other thing that there has been
conversations about is creating a
repository. I don’t know if it’s going
to be a website or what, that has
books and articles that you can
read that represent multiple points
of views.
TMD: What potential safety
issues, whether physical safety
or
psychological
safety,
does
the University foresee with this
debate, and what preparation is
the University planning to do to
counter those possibilities?
Harper:
With
respect
to
physical safety, we have a fabulous
Department
of
Public
Safety
and Security, so I think that they
will do enormous work around
us physically being safe as a
community. Psychologically, places
like CAPS, places like MESA and
Trotter, many of the organizations
that marginalized communities are
a part of will create opportunities
for students to be together and to
have a sense of being in community.
Because I think psychological
safety comes from a sense of being
in community. I also think that
our students will rally around each
other, so I think students will do
their own work. Then collectively,
student orgs and the University
and service organizations will
think about what we need to make
sure that students are actually
safe and feeling like they are part
of the community. We’ll start that
work really, really early. We’ll
actually start towards the end of
this spring, some of the work in
the summer, and then certainly
when school first starts. … So, this
is work we’re going to have to do
together, because it’s not possible
for the University separate from all
of us who make up the University
to provide for your psychological
safety, because I don’t know what
that means for you. So, we’re going
to have to talk about, “OK, for you
to feel safe, what is it (that) you’re
needing?” and that might be very
different than what I need.
TMD:
Two
University
of
Michigan reports (one from DPSS
and the other a campus climate
survey) had conflicting trends
on sexual assault on campus.
What do you think explains the
divergence? What do you hope the
University can do to lower rates of
sexual misconduct and increase
reporting?
Harper: I think reporting,
telling someone, getting support
is critical for all members of our
community. I think the prevalence
of sexual assault and harassment is
too high. DPSS reports the sexual
misconduct data in terms of (the)
Clery (Act), and so the law requires
that universities make known that
level in the community. And then
there’s the other data set that you’re
referring to from the Association
of American Universities. These
are two different surveys for
two different purposes that two
different or even some overlapping
students might have responded
to. One’s reporting to the police
for purposes of the Clery Act, and
the other one is a national survey
that had about a 16 or 17 percent
response rate. Students could
choose to participate in the survey
or not. … So, the differences in
the responses simply speak to the
complexity of the issue, the nature
of the survey, and who fills them
out. … I think what’s important
for us is that it’s too much, too
often and unacceptable in our
community, and we have just be
vigilant about making sure that
everybody has an opportunity to
be safe here, physically safe here,
which then also has implications
for being psychologically safe here.
TMD: What kind of takeaways
do you have from these two
reports? Given these takeaways,
what do you think the University
can do to lower rates of sexual
assault and increase reporting?
Harper: I think we have to
keep educating, and right now,
one of the things the University is
doing is we have a draft of a sexual
misconduct policy that’s out there,
and we’re going around meeting
with students and student orgs to
get their reactions, their advice. …
I think students have to continue
to take ownership of this issue on
our campus, so I think we do have
to watch out for each other in that
way. Again, one of the things I’ve
been thinking a lot about, I know
some of this is just a function of
retiring and looking back, but many
of the problems that we have on our
campus that are important to solve,
the University alone can’t do very
much. But if we see ourselves as
the University, then we can do a lot.
So, students can intervene when
they see something, we can make
sure that there’s a policy in place,
that the policy is followed, that
students can trust the University
and feel like something will happen
when they report. Because the
University is seldom in the space
where the assault and harassment
are happening. So, we can educate,
we
can
make
sure
students
understand what the reporting is,
who to go to. We can make sure
that when a student does disclose,
they get support. We can believe
students when they say they’ve
been harmed. We can put in place
additional resources to support
students and also the support we
provide for the accused. And so, we
can do all of those things, and there
are things that students can do, and
then there’s of course stuff that our
public safety and criminal justice
system can do. If we’re to eradicate
sexual assault on our campus, it is
going to take a collective.
TMD: Could you speak to
the
implementation
of
cross-
examination
within
the
University’s sexual misconduct
resolution process? The University
has said that this policy was put in
place for concerns of accessibility
and equity, and concerns that
perhaps one of the parties would
bring in a lawyer, which some
students might not be able to
afford. I’ve heard from both people
who support cross-examination
in University sexual assault cases
and those who don’t that if the
University were forced to have
cross-examination and processes,
that it should allow for a third party
to question the other, and that if
the student couldn’t pay for it, the
University should pay for it.
Ackerman,
a
proponent
of
affordable housing during his
previous tenure as Ann Arbor’s
Planning Commissioner, promoted
the
ordinance
as
necessary
legislation due to the stark shift in
rezoning laws and large hikes rent
prices.
“We are in the midst of an
affordable
housing
crisis,”
Ackerman said. “Our neighbors
are getting priced out of our
community, and getting priced
out of our community faster every
year. Our zoning code, the laws that
govern what gets built where serves
to worsen this crisis… Many of
these changes have been good… but
most of this new construction has
been expensive, expensive to build
and expensive to rent. Now 10 years
later, rent is rising 16 percent year
over year. We need to take action to
address rents downtown.”
The newly introduced ordinance
would
incentivize
developers
to
build
affordable
housing,
prioritizing renters who make
less than 60 percent of the city’s
median income. The ordinance
would appeal to developers by
trading their height limits zoning
requirements and slashing excess
parking requirements for increased
affordable housing inclusion. The
first two developments to sign on
would only need to allot 9 to 12
percent of the units as affordable
housing,
while
the
following
developments
would
need
to
designate 15 to 30 percent of their
units as affordable housing.
Councilmember Ali Ramlawi,
D-Ward 5, said adding 15 to 30
percent of affordable housing units
in order to address the housing
crisis is a small price to pay for the
growing classism in Ann Arbor.
“I am highly concerned with the
economic segregation that we have
in our downtown area,” Ramlawi
said. “It’s classism and economic
segregation whether it’s on purpose
or not, it’s just the reality. So this
will will help provide more housing
opportunities for those on the
lower end of the economic income
spectrum. Again it’s not a silver
bullet, it’s not going to take care
of the issues by itself but I think
it would be irresponsible not to
support this in light of concerns that
our community has on affordable
housing.”
The council also addressed
a resolution for Ann Arbor to
achieve carbon neutrality by 2035.
The
resolution
was
approved
unanimously
and
met
with
applause from the crowd. The
council also voted unanimously to
push the deadline to achieve carbon
neutrality up from 2035 to 2030.
Initially, some members were
reluctant to pass the resolution due
to it’s highly ambitious nature.
Ramlawi said while he was in
support of the resolution, he wanted
to urge the council to consider how
making false promises could be
detrimental to their credibility as
elected officials.
“We can pass these ambitious
resolutions and these goals, and I
do support them. But I also like to
throw some caution in the wind.
There is issues that we currently
have, and all you’ve got is your
word in this life,” Ramlawi said.
“And we’re never going to hit these
targets the way we are moving on
these other issues.”
On
a
similar
note,
Councilmember
Jane
Lumm,
I-Ward 2, cautioned that the price
of such an expedited climate plan
would be felt fiscally among Ann
Arbor residents.
“I’ll be supporting this tonight
but with the concern of where
this may be headed in terms of the
resources required and the related
impacts on other priorities,” Lumm
said. “I don’t think we should try to
solve global warming on the backs
of our Ann Arbor tax payers.”
Other
councilmembers
remained
positive
about
the
carbon
neutrality
resolution.
Councilmember Kathy Griswold,
D-Ward 2, said she felt reinvigorated
by the passing of the resolution and
urged residents to use social media
to share their suggestions with the
council.
“I am really optimistic about
this,” Griswold said. “But also want
to compare this more to putting a
man on the moon. And one of the
things we didn’t have back then
was social media. And we need
to realize that… if we’re going to
be successful we’ve got to come
together and we’ve got to tell the
people out there ‘use social media
to share your ideas with us so we
can be successful.”
Background on Hong Kong
protests
Conflicts sparked in China
after Hong Kong citizen Chan
Tong-kai murdered his girlfriend
Poon Hui-wing in February
2018 while the couple was on
vacation in Taiwan. Though
Chan was arrested, there was
no extradition treaty that would
permit him to return to Taiwan
to face his murder charges.
As a result, Carrie Lam,
Hong Kong’s chief executive,
proposed
the
Fugitive
Offenders and Mutual Legal
Assistance in Criminal Matters
Legislation (Amendment) Bill,
a
controversial
extradition
bill which would allow Hong
Kong authorities to detain and
transfer suspects from countries
and regions with which it has no
official extradition agreements.
These
territories
include
Taiwan, Macau and mainland
China.
Many were opposed to the
bill because they believe there
is a lack of transparency and
no guarantee that their rights
would be protected within the
legal system of mainland China.
According to a study conducted
by the University of Hong
Kong, 66 percent of Hong Kong
residents surveyed disagree or
strongly disagree on extraditing
people from Hong Kong to the
mainland for trials.
This dissatisfaction with the
government
spurred
protests
within Hong Kong, which have
occurred for 22 weeks thus far.
They have resulted in violent
confrontations
between
the
police and the protesters, as
well as the arrest of over 2,800
people.
According
to
May
Chan,
faculty member at the University
of Michigan’s Medical School,
seeing the violence unfold in her
home city is both shocking and
difficult for her to accept.
“I
was
born
and
raised
(in Hong Kong), so it’s very
disheartening to see how much
the entire society, in terms of the
governing of the city, has really
deteriorated,” Chan said. “A lot
of things people never thought
would happen in Hong Kong are
happening in Hong Kong, like
all the police brutality, reports
of torture by police and also,
how the government is probably
trying to cover up a lot of the
things they’ve done.”
Though
Lam
officially
announced
that
she
would
withdraw the extradition bill in
September, protests have moved
beyond the bill, as protesters
formed four other demands
for
the
government:
the
development of a commission
of inquiry into alleged police
brutality,
retracting
the
classification of protestors as
“rioters,” amnesty for arrested
protestors and universal suffrage
for the Legislative Council and
the chief executive.
Engineering
senior
Edgar
Chung, who moved to Michigan
from Hong Kong when he was 19
years old, said it was troubling
for him to learn about the
protests and conflicts occurring
while he was in Ann Arbor this
summer for research.
“It was really sickening,”
Chung said. “It was really hard
for me to just read all the news.
You got this feeling where all of
this is happening in Hong Kong,
but I wasn’t able to do anything
because I am on the other side of
the planet.”
Violent protests and police
brutality
One of the major issues
expressed by the group members
has been the police brutality at
these protests. Police have been
using batons, rubber bullets,
pepper spray and even live
bullets, among other weapons,
on protesters. Others have also
complained about the minimal
and delayed responses of the
authorities when protesters are
attacked by civilians.
According to Chan, the right
for people to protest in Hong
Kong has deteriorated overall,
becoming less and less protected
as disputes continue.
“Hong
Kong
people
are
supposed to have freedom of
assembly, it is in the constitution,
but somehow the police are
not allowing them, basically by
making it illegal,” Chan said.
“It’s taking away their freedom
of assembly.”
The conflict and violence is
not one-sided, however. Some
protesters use weapons of their
own against police, and others
who hold resentment towards
the Chinese government target
Chinese-affiliated businesses in
the city.
On Saturday, for instance,
protesters
attacked
Xinhua
News Agency in Hong Kong, the
official press agency of China,
by throwing petrol bombs and
attempting to torch the building
while people were still inside.
The office’s windows and doors
were also smashed, and graffiti
covered the walls.
Chung said this quick and
violent
progression
of
the
conflict is worrisome.
“As the protests escalate and
then all the police brutality
escalates, you cannot help but
think, ’Oh, what would I do if it’s
my friend or my family being put
in that situation?’” Chung said.
Chung, Tse and Chan each
have personal connections with
people heavily involved in the
political movement in Hong
Kong.
Chung’s friend from high
school, who is currently 21 years
old, is protesting at the front
line. He recently got arrested
for
possession
of
weapons
when police found a brick in his
backpack, Chung said. Many of
Tse’s friends in Hong Kong are
also supporting the movement
by putting up political posters,
which he says is dangerous —
people get beaten up for doing so.
Furthermore, according to
Chan, her relative was previously
at the front line of the conflict
and is now gathering protective
gear for those currently at front
line. Chan said she and her
family are concerned for her
safety.
“It’s scary,” Chan said. “My
relative lives alone and she’s
much younger than me, like 10
years younger than me. Well
obviously, her family — my
family — we’re all very worried
about her, but we also know that
she’s doing the right thing, so
we’re all supporting her as much
as we could.”
Group supports Hong Kong
Human Rights and Democracy
Act
The U.S. has also recently
become involved in the Hong
Kong conflict. The House of
Representatives
passed
the
Hong Kong Human Rights and
Democracy Act Oct. 15 with
strong
bipartisan
support.
Among
other
measures,
the
bill would require an annual
review of Hong Kong by the State
Department to determine if the
city is adequately autonomous
from Beijing. If the autonomous
status is upheld, then the U.S.
government will allow Hong
Kong to receive special trading
status according to U.S. law.
Now that the bill is under
review by the Senate, the group at
the University has been actively
lobbying
Michigan’s
senators
to approve the bill. The group
says they met with Sen. Debbie
Stabenow last week and are
meeting with Sen. Gary Peters
this week to discuss the bill.
They have also collected about
270 signatures from those on
campus in support of the bill.
Chung says the group’s efforts in
speaking with Michigan senators
is a crucial step in helping Hong
Kong.
“One of the reasons why our
work here is important, despite
being such a small group, is if we
were actually able to convince
the senators to vote yes for the
bill, a vote is a vote,” Chung
said. “It could potentially mean
actually changing the future in
Hong Kong.”
According to Chan, the bill
is crucial because under the
communist system, government
officials and police can currently
act in any way they would like,
which puts the people of Hong
Kong in harm’s way. She believes
the bill would establish a much-
needed system of checks and
balances in the city.
Opposers of the bill have
been calling on the U.S. to stop
interfering with China’s affairs,
believing
that
its
previous
involvement in other nations’
internal
politics
have
had
detrimental effects.
Furthermore,
according
to
Chung, people believe the U.S.
does not have true intentions
to better the human rights and
democratic conditions of Hong
Kong through this bill. Instead,
they say the U.S. is just using
Hong Kong as financial leverage
against China.
“A lot of people are saying
Hong Kong is just being used as
a pawn, as a bargaining chip, for
the U.S. to gain some advantage
in the trade war,” Chung said.
“But to be fair … so what if we’re
being used as a pawn? So what
if the intentions behind it are
not pure? We don’t really care,
because it works in our favor.”
Tse says he understands that
there is always potential for the
U.S. to take advantage of Hong
Kong through this bill as it has
done to other territories in the
past. However, he sees Hong
Kong as being different than
some of these other regions
because the city is a vital financial
connection point between China
and western countries like the
U.S.
“Hong Kong’s value is not to
become a military power,” Tse
said. “Maybe, it can be, but right
now, the reason why businessmen
are on board for all of this bill is
because Hong Kong’s value is not
to destroy it; it’s to keep it as a
neutral zone for business.”
If the group is able to help get
the government to pass the bill,
members hope to continue their
group’s work by educating people
at the University about the
political and social environment
in Hong Kong. One way is
through screening films and
documentaries about Hong Kong
and the experiences of those
living in the city.
Chung recognizes the work the
group is pursuing is important.
However, for him, participating
in the group is more than just
achieving immediate solutions.
“It’s because me, as someone
who was born and raised in
Hong Kong, who has friends and
family in Hong Kong, it is kind
of like a responsibility, it’s kind
of like a duty,” Chung said. “I’m
obligated to do something about
the town that I came from where
maybe where my future would
be, where my kids, my friends
and family would be. And you
know we would not have a future
in Hong Kong if Hong Kong does
not have democracy.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Tuesday, November 5, 2019 — 3A
HONG KONG
From Page 1A
CITY COUNCIL
From Page 1A
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
HARPER
From Page 1A
Other grievances with the
policy included inconsistency
between
the
timelines
for
employees and students when
reviewing
the
preliminary
report of their case, nonspecific
language within the report
and
employees’
inability
to appeal to the Office of
Institutional Equities. SACUA
chair Joy Beatty voiced these
concerns, wondering aloud if
employees would be allowed
the opportunity to challenge a
suspension.
“What is the rationale for
not providing an employee
with
the
opportunity
to
challenge a suspension without
pay?” Beatty said. “Why are the
timelines shorter for employees
than they are for students?”
Cheney-Lippold also spoke
at the meeting to discuss the
University’s response to his
decision to rescind a study
abroad recommendation letter
in 2018. Cheney-Lippold said he
rescinded the letter because of
his participation in an academic
boycott of Israel organized
by Palastenian activists. In
response to the incident, the
University moved to take away
Cheney-Lippold’s
sabbatical,
freeze his pay and threatened
to potentially dismiss him.
Cheney-Lippold asked to meet
with SACUA to discuss faculty
political freedom.
“The Dean’s office seemed
to stop caring about faculty
wellness
at
all,”
Cheney-
Lippold said. “I believe my
case raises specific concerns
regarding faculty academic and
political freedom.”
Senate Assembly Member,
Sara Ahbel-Rappe, a professor
in
the
classical
studies
department,
pushed
back
against
Cheney-Lippold’s
decision to decline to write
the
recommendation
letter,
referencing
discrimination
within American institutions.
She said the fact that Cheney-
Lippold isn’t boycotting the
United
States
is
a
double
standard.
“Black
people
are
shot
everyday
because
they’re
Black. I find it surprising when
you say that you won’t write
a letter for anybody going to
Israel, and you would write
one for someone in America,”
Ahbel-Rappe said.
The
SACUA
committee
agreed
that
their
original
statement
regarding
the
case was rushed and didn’t
represent the true beliefs of
SACUA
members.
Multiple
committee members mentioned
that Cheney-Lippold’s case was
worrying because it showed
the relative powerlessness of
the faculty senate. Instead of
having a say in the proceedings,
SACUA’s statement was used
to bolster the position of the
University administration.
SACUA
From Page 1A