“People around the country have
seen local news diminish, from
daily newspapers to weeklies,”
Clemetson said. “Even if people
aren’t specifically paying attention,
I think it is something that people
in communities have felt. We
certainly have experienced that
here in Ann Arbor, and it’s in
communities across the country.”
A
gift
from
Ann
Arbor
entrepreneurs and philanthropists
Dug and Linh Song funds the new
opportunity within the fellowship.
In addition to the $70,000 stipend
and subsidized classes, seminars,
workshops and travel, the two
fellows will also receive six months
of consulting support after the
conclusion of the fellowship.
Clemetson
described
the
Midwestern
fellowship
as
a
“concentration” within the current
fellowship structure rather than a
separate entity. She took inspiration
from
her
own
experiences,
specifically
with
working
on
a startup for The Washington
Post prior to her Knight-Wallace
fellowship in 2010, as well as those
of board members and former
fellows into account when creating
the new role.
Clemetson said she tested out
how one could participate in the
fellowship
without
completely
stepping away from work. She
did this with Dayo Aiyetan, a
former Knight-Wallace fellow who
serves as the founding executive
director and editor in chief of
the
International
Centre
for
Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit
investigative
news
organization
based in Nigeria. Aiyetan was able
to continue completing some of his
job’s duties while in Ann Arbor.
Aiyetan
said
he
sees
the
opportunity as a way for leaders
of developing journalism ventures
to
obtain
additional
support,
while understanding they cannot
completely step away from their
operation. Aiyetan said there is
a risk in jeopardizing the new
operation’s survival if the leader
steps away for a long period of time.
“For newsroom leaders who
would ordinarily not be able to lead
their work for one year to come
for a fellowship in Michigan, this
is perfect for them so that they
can be part of the Knight-Wallace
Fellowship and still be able to do
some of the work they will do back
home,” Aiyetan said. “The person
will partake in all the fellowship
programs, but for that person it
will be structured in a way so that
you go back home and not discover
that there’s no job for him again,
because he has spent one year in
Michigan and he’s lost everything.”
Clemetson said the selection
committee will judge applicants
without preference to the medium.
The goal, she said, is to support new
operations providing communities
access to information, regardless of
the way in which it is delivered.
Additionally,
she
noted
the
new option is not an incubator for
ideas for potential news outlets.
The traditional Knight-Wallace
fellowship
program
allows
journalists to focus on a long term
project, which could be developing
a
new
journalistic
venture.
However, this new opportunity is
for leaders of projects already off
the ground.
Clemetson said communities are
negatively impacted in many ways
when news organizations shutter.
With the majority of journalism
jobs on the coasts, she noted a
lack of communication between
journalists
and
community
members can contribute to distrust
in the media among Midwesterners.
She said she hopes the fellowship
plays a role in changing this
by bringing new projects and
journalism jobs into the Midwest.
According to a press release, Amy
White, director of the Michigan
Union, said the search for restaurants
was broad in terms of cuisine, dietary
considerations, pricing and national
recognition.
“When
looking
at
restaurant
brands we made a very broad request
for proposals, including both local
and national brands, so that we could
consider a variety of cuisines, dietary
advantages, and price points,” White
said. “Taco Bell rounds out this diverse
offering with a mix of options and
selections to make students, staff and
guests want to return regularly. We
are very pleased to welcome Taco Bell
to the Union.”
Susan Pile, senior director of
University
Unions
and
Auxiliary
Services,
said
Taco
Bell’s
announcement
comes
a
month
after the rest of the vendors due to
processing agreements.
“We can’t make an announcement
until we have signed agreements with
each of the respective vendors,” Pile
said. “This one took a little bit longer
to actually get signed than the others
did and lots of people were wanting to
know who the vendors were going to
be and we wanted to honor that and
get the information out that we could
at the time.”
LSA junior Brianna Morigney said
she is looking forward to the opening
of Taco Bell in the Union and thinks it
offers a better alternative to Wendy’s.
“I am really excited about Taco Bell
in the Union,” Morigney said. “I think
it’s a well known, inexpensive and
fast option that’s great for students. I
know many people were upset about
Wendy’s leaving the Union but I think
Taco Bell is a better replacement and
will be popular amongst students.”
Taco Bell franchise owner Louis
Dortch Jr. said in a press release the
menu offers American Vegetarian
Association approved items.
“At Taco Bell, we’ve had innovation
on our mind since Glen Bell started
serving tacos at the first location in
1962 in Downey, California,” Dortch
said. “Since then, we’ve grown to
be a culture-centric, lifestyle brand
that provides craveable, affordable
Mexican-inspired food with bold
flavors. Not only do we provide
breakthrough
value,
we
offer
quality ingredients and are the first
QSR restaurant to offer American
Vegetarian Association (AVA)-certified
menu items. In fact, our restaurant
brand is one of the very few in the QSR
industry leading that charge.”
Tuesday, November 26, 2019 — 3B
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Because there’s two narratives
out there, one that we’re hearing
from the fraternities, and one that
we’re hearing from places like The
Daily and the hazing hotline and
other places. So, the first thing we
have to figure out is what happened,
because there are two stories.
TMD: In the last few months,
several
multicultural
student
organizations
have
published
statements publicly condemning
the senior honor society Order
of Angell, which they claim is an
organization historically rooted
in
indigenous
appropriation,
elitism and secrecy. What are
your thoughts on the ongoing
controversy surrounding the Order
of Angell, especially given you
were the VP of Student Life during
the Students of Color Coalition’s
occupation of the Union Tower in
2000?
Harper:
I’m
deeply
disappointed. I feel strongly that
we have a lot of work to do with
student organizations who believe
that it is both legal and their right
to tell other students or condemn
members of their organizations
for other groups that they want
to be a part of. I think students
should decide what groups they
want to be a part of. And that, if
these are members that care about
the organization and want to be in
the organization, that they have a
right to do that. I think that Order,
over the years, has looked at its
history, made changes related to
this history, changed some of their
traditions, to reflect the changes
that they have made. And that to
continue to not accept that they
made changes is inappropriate and
unkind. … And what I have said to
students who come to me really
torn about this, who want to be in
both organizations, I say to them,
“You have a right to be in both
organizations.” And I don’t believe
it’s appropriate for one organization
to say to another student, “You
can’t be in my organization,” or to
shame another student, or call out
another student, because they have
multiple interests and multiple
organizations that they want to be.
So, we have a lot of work to do.
You also cannot be a sponsored
student organization and engage
in
this
behavior.
The
Center
for Campus Involvement works
with student organizations, and
works to make sure that they have
policies and procedures that are
in alignment, that don’t violate
people’s constitutional rights, that
you don’t give up just because you
choose to join an organization. ...
We just got to keep working with
the student organizations and this
sort of calling people out has ebbed
and flowed. There was a time
when that was going on, and then
it stopped, and it sounds like now
that’s back, the trend, and I think
it’s unfortunate and wrong. … Our
work as an institution is to help
the student organizations come to
understand and consider a different
way, and to look at the criteria
that they’re putting in place that
I suspect doesn’t have anything to
do with advancing the mission of
that organization. Because, I don’t
see the relationship between what
some groups are trying to do and
Order’s prior behavior.
TMD: We know we asked you
about the University’s use of cross-
examination in sexual misconduct
cases during our last interview.
Since then, students have protested
on the Diag, continuing to claim
direct cross-examination between
the accuser and the accused is
“cruel.” What is your response to
these student activists?
Harper: First of all, of all the
cases that we’ve had, they’ve all
been separated. You can be in
separate spaces, you can do it by
voice, you can do it by text. So, what
is being alleged has not happened
in reality. I am struggling right
now with pockets of protest where
the protesters decide what they
think is best and then impose it
on others. So, there are some who
think, “I don’t want a lawyer there,
I didn’t go to the police because I
don’t want a court hearing where
somebody is hammering me, and
if you make me go through that,
I’m simply not going to tell you.”
Numbers of reporting are so low.
So, what we’ve been trying to think
about, is there a third truth? Is
there a way that we can ensure that
survivors get what they need and
have a sense of agency? The federal
government is going to make some
rules, and we’re going to be bound
by them, and they’re coming soon.
So, it may end up being a moot
point. And the court, we wouldn’t
be having cross-examination at all
had the law not forced us to.
So, what I’d like to say to the
students who were protesting is
three things. One: you keep helping
us get it right. Because what’s right
for one survivor may not be what’s
best for another, and we’re trying to
have a space where survivors’ sense
of agency is what we’re honoring.
There is evidence, researchers
and scholars say what’s being
imposed on the University and
imposed on survivors is the worst
thing we could possibly do. It is
not something that the University
chose to do. So, the protest needs
to be focused on where the power
and the decision-making is. The
University’s intent would never be
to create a process or set of policies
that harmed the very students that
we’re trying to make sure get the
kind of support that they need.
We’re hearing both narratives, and
depending on who you talk to, you
will get just the opposite request.
And so, how do we individualize
this? Are there multiple options?
And more importantly, how do
we reduce the number of sexual
assaults
on
campus
and
get
students to come forward when
they are assaulted? How might we
create options that give students
a reasonable but multiple ways of
engaging in the process, without
expanding the time, honoring due
process, all of those things we’re
trying to try and hold in balance?
TMD: Take us back to when you
first started as VP of Student Life
at the University. Compared to your
expectations of the role then, what
about your time here has been the
most
unexpected?
Challenging?
Rewarding?
Harper: I think for me, the most
rewarding has been to work with
students and to see over time how
that has changed and to see how
some of the things that students
have really wanted to make this
place more supportive and better
for them has happened. Our new
Multicultural Center, the changes
in housing, the fact that we do have
alternative resolution for students.
The fabulous Union that’s going to
open, the number of scholarships
that are available, the fact that
we have a program for students in
foster care (Blavin Scholars), all of
those things that have changed in
these 19 years to make this place
more affordable and accessible
for a broader range of students.
That’s probably what has brought
me the most joy, to see many more
different kinds of students here
and them thriving and doing well.
I think a big change has been
students expectations about what
the University will do or provide.
Probably for me the hardest, has
been, I think, as an institution, we
get better and better, and I guess I
want an acknowledgement that we
are better than what we were. And
yet, I know students only know,
it’s only what they get that they
really know and understand. And
when you’ve been around a while
you’ve seen the changes. I know
our support of survivors is much
stronger than what it used to be.
I am proud of the fact that this is
a responsive administration, that
students’ protests are important
and they shape the University
and help shape policy. This is a
University that responds to our
students, that expects them to look
for ways that we can get stronger
and better, and then we respond to
those.
If I had a wish … it would be that
our faculty, staff and students could
see ourselves more as one. And
the problem is something we’re
working on. So, if IFC is taking in
first-year students and hurting
them, we all need to be upset about
it. We all need to be saying, “Don’t
put a sign out for the Michigan,
Michigan State game that harms
and makes fun for people that have
been harmed.” Don’t do that. That’s
not who we are. So, it’s a little bit
more of us caring enough for each
other, to be honest about those
things that are in violation of our
values.
WALLACE
From Page 1B
HARPER
From Page 1B
UNION
From Page 1B
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com