In November 2018, Michigan
voters amended the Michigan
Constitution
by
passing
Proposal
2,
which
places
legislative and congressional
redistricting
in
the
hands
of a 13 member Independent
Citizens
Redistricting
Commission. Monday night,
the Ford School of Public Policy
hosted a panel discussion with
Jocelyn
Benson,
Michigan
Secretary of State, and other
experts to discuss this new
approach to redistricting and
particularly focused on the role
of “Communities of Interest”
within this framework.
COIs are a new concept for
Michigan
redistricting
and
are
described
in
Proposal
2
as
communities
that
“share cultural or historical
characteristics
or
economic
interests, and do not include
relationships
with
political
parties,
incumbents,
or
political candidates.” They are
high on the list of priorities in
drawing new districts, after
equal population, compliance
with the Voting Rights Act and
contiguity.
The panel was moderated
by Nancy Wang, executive
director
of
Voters
Not
Politicians, a ballot initiative
to
end
gerrymandering
in
Michigan.
She
began
by
touching on the motivations
of Constitutional Amendment
Proposal 2.
“2018 was a historic election
for lots of reasons,” Wang said.
“One big one was two and a
half million citizens across
the state of Michigan from all
political parties, all across the
state, voted in favor of Proposal
2, to take politicians out of our
redistricting process. To make
Michigan’s days as one of the
most gerrymandered in the
entire country, no more. And to
put in its place a new, citizen-
led process.”
Benson then delivered her
opening remarks. She thanked
the other panelists for their
expertise and emphasized that
she viewed her office from the
point of view of an academic
rather than a politician.
“I know as an academic
the best way to approach
something is to collect data
and make informed decisions
based on that,” Benson said.
Benson further explained
how important it is that the
commission be independent,
citizen-led and non-partisan in
actuality.
“This is not the time to
take a victory lap,” Benson
said. “This is the time to dig
in and continue and really get
to work in ensuring that this
commission, that millions of
citizens envisioned and made
a reality, is a success. And we
define success in our office
as ensuring the process itself
is truly citizen-led, is truly
independent and non-partisan
and is transparent every step
of the way.”
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
The Students for Choice
organization
at
the
University
of
Michigan
hosted
a
panel
on
reproductive justice for a
group of about 35 students
on Monday night at the Ford
School of Public Policy.
Emily Peterson, lawyer
and professor of sociology
and
women’s
studies,
began the discussion by
explaining the origins of
the
term
“reproductive
justice.”
“We all, regardless of
what
our
geopolitical
boundaries are, have innate
human rights,” Peterson
said. “So they took that idea
from the Human Rights
Declaration from the UN
and kind of encapsulated
some of those concepts into
a
(reproductive
justice)
framework.
But
it
was
really founded by women of
color, screaming you really
need to be inclusive.”
Community
member
Cassy
Jones-McBryde,
the first Black organizing
program coordinator for
Planned
Parenthood,
elaborated on the impact
of
Black
people
on
reproductive justice.
“Faye
Wattleton
was
the first Black President
of Planned Parenthood,”
Jones-McBryde
said.
“She, back in the early
‘90s… helped center the
discussion around Black
people having access to
reproductive support.”
After
discussing
its
history, Peterson went on to
define reproductive justice
as having to do with more
than
just
reproductive
health.
“You
need
to
acknowledge that as many
people that tried not to
reproduce,
some
were
supposed to reproduce,”
Peterson
said.
“Some
have not had any control
at all ever… it’s a very
inclusive phrase for all
types of recognition of
bodily autonomy around
reproduction.”
Kate O’Connor, fourth-
year graduate student of
American
Culture,
said
introducing
universal
health care to all will help
alleviate fears of expenses
that sway women away
from reproducing.
GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 31
©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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
Fraternity banner involving convicted
felon draws backlash on social media
LSA junior Paige Dotson, a
child of a U.S. Navy veteran,
was only able to afford college
because she was eligible for
benefits under the Post-9/11
GI Bill as the dependent of a
veteran. But two years ago, her
benefits
were
unexpectedly
revoked, leaving her $20,000
in debt, the Chicago Sun-Times
originally reported on Nov. 8th.
Paige’s
father,
Russell
Dotson, served in the U.S. Navy
for 22 years, both reserve and
active duty, and was deployed
to war zones six times. When
he initially enlisted, he gave
the
military
a
deduction
from his salary towards the
Montgomery GI bill, which
covered a college bachelor’s
degree. The transition to a
Post-9/11 GI bill was signed into
law in 2008 with an extended
applicability to pay for graduate
degrees or trade school and be
transferable to dependants.
According to Russell, this
was a critical change for many
officers.
However,
for
him
and others who had served in
the long-term, Dotson had to
re-enlist for another four years
to qualify. He did so with the
intent to transfer these benefits
equally between his son and
Paige.
“It seems a little wrongheaded
to go to somebody who has
already served 16, 18 years, and
say ‘hey, we’re changing this
GI bill you already paid for, the
one that you gave us $1,200 for,
to this new GI bill,” he said.
“However, I know that you’ve
served 16, 15, 10 years, we’re
going to make you serve four
more, and then you’ll be able to
transfer it to your kids.”
Paige enrolled at DePaul
University in 2017 after her
father
finished
the
four-
year commitment, excited to
explore life past her hometown
of Birch Run, Michigan. She
immediately used the GI Bill
to enroll in the school and
subsidize the high living cost
in Chicago. When she didn’t
receive
her
living
stipend
in the second quarter of her
freshman year, she called the
Veteran Affairs National Office
and was told she was no longer
eligible to receive benefits and
would have to repay $20,000
to the government, including
interest. She received student
support services to enroll in the
next quarter of her freshman
year but took out extra loans to
continue her sophomore year.
“On the military end, they
said we gave you all this
money, you’re no longer eligible
retroactively so you owe all that
money back,” Paige said.
LSA student loses
transferred GI
bill, faces debt
GOVERNMENT
Child of U.S. Navy veteran owes 20k
after benefits were suddenly revoked
Students for Choice discussion
emphasizes reproductive justice
Panelists answers questions on origins of movement, sex education
Psi Upsilon
criticized for
Nassar sign
on game day
Follow The Daily
on Instagram,
@michigandaily
OLIVIA CELL/Daily
Guest speakers with different experiences in reproductive health related fields discuss reproductive justice in Weill Hall Monday evening.
Michigan’s Secretary of State discusses
new approach to redistricting issues
Jocelyn Benson, experts discuss strategies which focus on ‘Communities of Interest’
See BANNER, Page 3
SUNSKRITI PARANJAPE
For The Daily
BARBARA COLLINS
& BENJAMIN ROSENFELD
OLIVIA CELL/Daily
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson disucsses thre state’s new strategy to redistricting in Weill Hall Monday afternoon.
See REDISTRICTING, Page 3
See VETERAN, Page 3
SAINI KETHIREDDY
For The Daily
KATHERINA SOURINE
Daily Staff Reporter
See REPRODUCTIVE , Page 3
On
football
game
days at the University
of Michigan, bed sheets
hanging on the fronts of
fraternity houses, spray
painted with jokes about
the
visiting
football
team, are common. But
last
Saturday
during
the
Michigan-Michigan
State matchup, the Psi
Upsilon fraternity at the
University
displayed
one that many students
deemed insensitive.
The sign read, “You can’t
touch us @LarryNassar,”
referencing
the
former
MSU physician and USA
national
gymnastics
team
doctor
convicted
of
sexually
assaulting
over 250 young women
between 1992 and 2016.
Neither Psi Upsilson’s
national headquarters nor
the chapter’s leadership
responded to The Daily’s
request for comment by
the time of publication.
Saturday
afternoon,
Central
Michigan
University senior Kirsten
Lovely posted a tweet
which included a picture
of the banner. At the time
of publication, the tweet
had
875
retweets
and
more than 5,200 likes.
Though
Lovely
does
not attend either school,
she wrote the “fans can
poke fun at each other,
but not at the expense of
hundreds of survivors.”
In an interview with
The Daily, Lovely said
she was not in Ann Arbor
on the day of the game
but saw a picture of the
banner on an Instagram
story. Lovely is involved in
a group at CMU that runs
a survivor crisis hotline
and has had training on
sexual
aggression
and
survivor issues. She said
she was familiar with the
Nassar case and decided
to post about the banner
on
Twitter
because
it
bothered her.
“I feel like there’s a
lot of heat that goes into
the (Michigan-Michigan
State) game,” Lovely said.
“We can make fun of each
other and have banter