This shift has primarily
been
driven
by
younger
generations, Waxman added.
She said they are more
conscious of human rights
and make more mindful
purchasing decisions.
“While
the
fight
to
improve working conditions
is far from a new one, it
is
clear
today’s
up-and-
coming generations are far
more aware and mindful
of social issues, including
the treatment of workers,”
Waxman said.
Waxman then explained
one way the Fair Labor
Association
has
been
effective
in
promoting
the
humane
treatment
of
workers
through
full
transparency
of
their
investigations.
She
said
it
holds
the
companies
accountable in a way many
other organizations do not.
“Our
commitment
to
transparency has really been
a foundational principle,”
Waxman said. “We don’t
think of transparency as an
end, but rather the means
to an end. We believe in
shining a light on working
conditions
and
global
supply chains because it
promotes accountability and
engenders trust.”
Waxman said there are a
variety of challenges facing
workers, but one of the most
pressing was the fight for a
fair wage. She claimed low
wages harm both the worker
and the company, adding
workers have the right to
compensation for a regular
workweek to fit their basic
needs and should have some
discretionary income.
“One
of
the
most
pernicious
challenges
is
fairly compensating workers
— in other words, providing a
livable wage,” Waxman said.
“It’s not an exaggeration
to say that chronically low
wages are really an affront
to the humanity and dignity
of workers. They undermine
the success of families and
communities,
and
from
the
business
perspective,
can
drain
productivity,
motivation
and
business
success.”
Waxman
concluded
by discussing how many
companies feel the need to
produce as much as they
can as fast as they can,
which can negatively impact
factory workers.
“There’s
enormous
pressure for brands and
factories to produce things
super quickly, and it really
takes a toll on the people
who work in them,” Waxman
said.
LSA senior Ryan Rich
said he attended the event
in order to see how to enact
change in these sectors.
He said he came in without
knowing much about the
Fair Labor Association and
was surprised to learn how
effective it is in holding
companies
accountable
through transparency.
“I didn’t know too much
about
this
organization,
but it really sounds like
the
people
affiliated
with them, with the Fair
Labor
Association,
have
committed and are being
held accountable in a way
I had never seen before,”
Rich said. “There was a
group, a very large group of
companies and universities,
that are willing to be held
accountable. It’s rare.”
student Julia Oh Coxen
explained why she joined
the military.
“Why I joined was very
different from the reason
why I wanted to stay,”
said Coxen. “As a child
of immigrant parents, I
felt a very strong calling
to do something for the
nation that had done so
much for us.”
The
panelists
then
discussed
their
decisions
to
retire
from the military. Like
Engineering
senior
Stefany Escobedo, who
left
the
military
to
complete her education,
Rackham
student
Ian
Fishback felt he could
contribute
more
to
society
as
a
scholar,
reinforcing his decision
to leave. On the other
hand, Graznow said he
left because he simply
felt it was time to do so.
“I joined the military
when I was 18, and I felt
when I was 24 — when
I got out — that I had
fulfilled
my
personal
reasons for joining,” said
Granzow. “It was time
to do something else, to
spread out, and I’ve been
in school ever since.”
Following
this
discussion,
Larson
asked the panel whether
they’d
experienced
moments
when
they’d
been
especially
aware
of their own and others’
identities during their
years of service.
Fishback
said
in
his experience in the
military, identities of race
and gender were muted
while other aspects of
people’s
personalities
were
highlighted.
He
explained there was a
stark contrast between
diversity in the military
and outside it.
“There is less of an
emphasis on skin color
and
categories,
and
more of an emphasis on
seeing individuals and
their
backgrounds,”
said
Fishback.
“Differences
like
race
and
socioeconomic
backgrounds
were
muted to a degree that
people over here (at the
University) just cannot
understand.”
Granzow
commented
the focus on the job at
hand
overshadows
the
idea
of
caring
about
differences
among
comrades.
“No one cares where
you are from,” Granzow
said. “No one cares how
rich you are, no one cares
about
your
religious
beliefs
or
political
beliefs. You have a job to
do and you have to get it
done.”
Granzow
said
the
military helped expose
him to the diversity of
the
United
States.
It
was a stark contrast to
his
small
hometown
in
Kansas
—
where
everyone was white with
a Christian background
and
similar
political
beliefs, he said.
“(In the military) we
had people from both
coasts,
from
Filipino
backgrounds,
Hispanic
backgrounds,
black
backgrounds,
Asian
backgrounds — you name
it, someone was from
that background,” said
Granzow.
“I
realized
that at a fundamental
level, this whole human
tapestry is not just one
thread.
There
(are)
people from all over the
place.”
The panel came to an
end when Larson asked a
question about what the
panelist felt the military
does well that society
needs to catch up on.
Coxen said although
the military has taken
steps
that
strengthen
aspects of integration of
diversity, it is important
to recognize it is a work
in progress.
“There is still a lot
of work to do. We are
certainly not where we
could be,” said Coxen.
“Where I would say that
the military does frankly
very well is the gender
pay gap. I would get paid
exactly the same amount
as a male counterpart
with the same level of
skill and training.”
Granzow agreed with
Coxen’s
statement.
“They are getting rid
of the gender divide in
the fitness tests, and
I think that’s a good
step,”
said
Granzow.
“I like how everyone
is held to a certain
objective standard.”
In
an
interview
with
The
Daily
after
the
panel’s
discussion,
President
of the University of
Michigan
Student
Veterans
of
America
Stefany Escobedo, an
Engineering
senior,
explained
students
from
all
racial
and
socioeconomic
backgrounds
should
feel encouraged to join
the military due to the
military’s emphasis on
individual
character
rather than the social
constructs of race or
gender.
“In my experience,
what has counted more
has been work ethic and
integrity
(compared
to
race
or
gender),”
said
Escobedo.
“At
the end of the day the
great thing about the
military, in my opinion,
is that we’re focused on
the mission and that’s
what takes priority.”
The competition officially
began
on
Oct.
30.
OSU
was leading at the time
of publication with 1,003
donated pints of blood in
comparison to University’s
972. However, neither school
has yet to garner half the
number of donations they
obtained
last
year,
and
Michigan
has
20
drives
scheduled in the coming
weeks to continue collecting
donations
up
until
the
deadline.
This past weekend was one
of the Battle’s biggest events:
Be a Hero. At this event,
which took place on the Big
House field, 456 pints of
blood were donated.
Megan
Podschlne
is
the program manager for
Wolverines
for
Life,
the
parent organization to Blood
Drives
United.
Podschlne
described
Wolverines
for Life as a center for
organizing
“blood,
organ,
tissue, and bone marrow
donations,”
under
which
the domain of Blood Drives
United squarely falls.
Podschlne
said
in
her
experience
at
Michigan
Medicine’s
Transplant
Center, donated blood is
typically used for ER and
surgical
patients.
Zeto
reiterated the Red Cross’s
assertion one pint of blood
has the potential to save up
to three lives.
LSA sophomore Spencer
Wood first heard about the
Blood Battle when a faculty
member at his high school
advised future Wolverines
to
participate.
Already
having been involved in Red
Cross volunteer work, Wood
said he was excited at the
opportunity. He now helps
with advertisement for the
event.
In
third
grade,
Wood
was diagnosed with a blood
disorder
that
required
frequent transfusions and
blood work.
“I wouldn’t be here today
without that work,” Wood
said. “Through that, I just
wanted to help out in any
way I could. And as long as
I have been able, I’ve been
donating three to five times a
year ever since then.”
Business
senior
Vijita
Kamath shared a similar
story, though in her case,
it was her mother who had
benefited from donations in
the past.
“My
mother
battled
cancer for 10+ years, so a lot
of my childhood was spent
in
and
around
hospitals
learning about the need for
transfusions and the acute
shortage of blood,” Kamath
wrote in a message to The
Daily. “I learned I was a
universal donor (O+) back
then
and
encouraged
to
donate when I got older.”
As
an
international
student from India, Kamath
had not been able to donate
prior to this year’s Battle.
“The
Red
Cross
has
restrictions
on
eligibility
if you have visited or had
prolonged
stay
in
any
malaria or other disease-
affected regions,” Kamath
said. “I first learned about
this when I tried to donate
as a sophomore and was
answering
the
required
questions during a walk-in.
But I was ineligible since
(I) had been home to India
over the summer … This was
the first time I had not been
home for over 6 months, so I
was eligible to donate.”
The annual Blood Battle
is not the only opportunity
University
students
and
faculty have to donate blood.
Blood Drives United hosts an
additional drive in the winter
which frequently puts the
University into competition
with other local or Big 10
schools. Additionally, people
are
able
to
make
blood
donations as frequently as
every eight weeks, according
to the Red Cross.
Still, Wood and others
said they believe the culture
on a college campus, and
specifically
Michigan’s
campus,
makes
it
easier
to solicit mass numbers of
donations.
“I
think
there
is
a
difference in doing it on your
own, searching for random
blood drives … and being a
student, because one thing
I tell people is, you’re not
just donating for yourself,”
Wood said. “You’re donating
for other people, but on the
other hand you’re donating
on behalf of the University
of Michigan. You’re able to
exercise that name and do
good will through that as
well.”
Zeto said they’ve been
trying year after year to
make the drives increasingly
convenient for students and
staff. Especially considering
the Union’s closing, Zeto
said Blood Drives United
has been pushing for the
University
community
to
take
advantage
of
dorm
drives. They have also set up
more opportunities to donate
near athletic facilities, on
North campus and at the
hospital.
“It’s so easy,” Zeto said.
“You go somewhere to study
or you’re just hanging out
and you have an hour of
time to kill. Why not donate
blood?”
Zeto
noted
this
year’s
Blood Battle comes on the
heels
of
a
recent
blood
shortage
in
Southeastern
Michigan, directly affecting
the way Michigan Medicine
and other local healthcare
entities are able to help their
patients.
For
more
information,
interested
students
are
advised to visit this site
to
view
donor
eligibility
guidelines and a calendar of
scheduled drives.
Dittmar said the University’s
$12.4
billion
endowment,
which is the ninth largest
in the country, alleviates an
addition $6,000 in costs per
student on campus.
“So, if you were looking
at what we use and gifts and
proceeds
from
endowment,
there’s
about
$6,400
that
each student on average is
not paying, because a donor is
paying those costs and either
providing the aid or they may
just be paying costs; they may
be paying part of your faculty
salaries; they may be paying
for some kind of, you know,
operations or programs in the
building,” Dittmar said. “Those
are costs that don’t have to be
paid someplace else.”
CSG President Ben Gerstein
presented on Giving Blueday
2019, which CSG will use as a
fundraising effort to continue
the Leadership Engagement
Scholarship that originated
in 2016. If fully funded, the
scholarship would give $1,000
in need-based aid to student
leaders on campus.
Gerstein said there are many
barriers that can keep student
leaders from succeeding on
campus.
“The
mission
of
the
scholarship,
(that)
was
created three years ago, was
recognizing that there are
financial barriers to student
leadership on campus, whether
that is balancing work with
potential involvement or other
needs, or the cost of dues to
join an organization,” Gerstein
said. “There are a bunch
of barriers that low socio-
economic
status
students
face to being a student leader
on campus, and it ranges
from all different types of
organizations.”
In
addition,
Gerstein
presented on the importance
of an assembly-wide climate
demographic survey to assess
diversity within the student
government before yielding
his presentation time to allow
for members to fill out the
survey.
Gerstein said the survey,
and checking in on diversity in
student leadership, is critical
to understanding the needs of
the student body.
“The
Leadership
Engagement Scholarship was
actually born out of one of the
first
demographic
surveys,
realizing the lack of socio-
economic diversity in student
leadership,”
Gerstein
said.
“The survey is really important
to go out, because it allows
for us as an organization —
collectively not just separated
by an executive branch of the
legislative branch — to have a
solid assessment about where
we need to make our own
internal improvements to the
inclusivity and diversity of our
organization.”
Following executive reports,
the assembly discussed and
confirmed
five
members
to
various
CSG
positions,
including
three
students
as associate justices of the
Central Student Judiciary.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, November 13, 2019 — 3A
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
CSG
From Page 1A
LABOR
From Page 1A
BLOOD
From Page 1A
DIVERSITY
From Page 1A
As
Schlissel
said,
the
debate
will
bring
additional police presence
to
campus
to
protect
students
physically.
However,
Asidao
said
having more security could
have
an
adverse
effect
on some members of the
community.
“I think for some of our
students,
knowing
that
the University is really
thinking
about
campus
security
can
be
really
helpful,”
Asidao
said.
“For some of our students,
the relationship in terms
of
having,
maybe,
an
increased police presence
may
actually
be
more
anxiety provoking in some
ways because of what has
happened for some of our
students feeling targeted
and feeling like there’s
more scrutiny, in terms of
their own multiple social
identities, and maybe being
targets of what’s perceived
as
unfair
targeting
by
security. I think it’s going
to be a mixed bag.”
Fysudeen said she would
appreciate the additional
police
presence,
but
doesn’t think it is an all-
encompassing
solution.
Physical safety will not
prevent
students
from
feeling unsafe on campus,
she said.
“I think as long as our
safety is being thought of
proactively
rather
than
reactively, as long as those
safe spaces are made, I
think
this
tension
can
be, you know, addressed
successfully,”
Fysudeen
said. “I think that there’s
something to be said there
positively. And so, I think
that’s a great sentiment, but
I also think it’s just going
to be a lot of psychological
and emotional strain on
students. And I don’t think
that there’s a way that
physical safety often can
mitigate that.”
Asidao said the potential
psychological
impact
of
this debate on students
could manifest itself in a
variety of ways, but she
predicts there will be an
underlying sense of anxiety
in many of the feelings that
may come up.
“(The
psychological
impact) can come in a
variety of different ways,
but one of the things we
have
seen
is
just
this
increased sense of anxiety,
just
worry,”
Asidao
said. “Worry in terms of
personal safety, worry in
terms of the future, worry
in terms of what might be
coming, worry for their
own sense of people within
their
community,
being
worried about their peers
… For some of our students,
it may also increase some
depressive
symptoms,
feelings of sadness, feelings
of hopelessness. For some
of our students, it can
also bring up any previous
traumatic experiences in
their lives.”
DEBATE
From Page 2A