michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, December 4, 2019

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

About
200
community
members
and
students
attended
the
Let’s
End
Sexual
Assault
Summit
on
Tuesday
at
Eastern
Michigan University which
featured a keynote speech
by
Governor
Gretchen
Whitmer. In its second year,
the event included a full day
of discussions, panels and
break-out sessions on how
to address sexual assault.
During
her
speech,
Whitmer
reflected
on

her dedication to moving
sexual assault prevention
legislation onto the state
Senate floor, as well as
sharing
her
personal
connection
with
the
movement. Whitmer shared
she was sexually assaulted
as a college freshman and
now, as a survivor, she
plans to make sure the same
doesn’t happen to any other
young people on college
campuses.
She noted how one in
five women, one in 16 men
and one in four transgender
or
non-binary
students
will be sexually assaulted
while in college. Whitmer

added the statistic does
not communicate the pain
felt by survivors, and it can
often take years to share
one’s story of sexual assault.
“I’ve
been
outspoken
about my sexual assault for
years now, but it took me a
long time to get there: over
two decades to find the
courage to tell my story,”
Whitmer said.
Whitmer described her
first public address of her
sexual assault on the Senate
floor in 2013 during the
discussion of a proposed
rape insurance bill which
would
discontinue
the
eligibility of coverage for

any
rape-related
health
concerns, no matter the
circumstance.
Whitmer
hoped that by telling her
narrative, senators would
be able to see just how many
people this proposed bill
would affect.
“(The bill) even applied
to rape survivors who’d
been impregnated by their
attacker. It told women in
Michigan, you have to plan
ahead for the unplannable,”
Whitmer said. “And they
wouldn’t even let women or
doctors testify during the
debate of the bill.”

For Astronomy 104, LSA
sophomore
Katie
Charlic
had
to
purchase
“Alien
Skies: A Travelogue of the
Universe.” The book, which
retails on Barnes & Noble’s
website for upwards of $130,
was written by astronomy
professor
Mario
Mateo,
who teaches the course.
Charlic stopped reading
the book part way through
the
course
because
she
found the lectures provided
identical
information
to
what was presented in the
book. She only referenced
the book when homework
questions required students
to look at a specific chart or
photo inside. In her eyes,
she paid $200 for a few
homework questions.
“You’re having to pay
hundreds
of
dollars
on
top of the tuition price,
which is really hard for a
lot of people, especially
those that are taking out
loans or on a scholarship,”
Charlic said. “It feels like
you’re just putting money in
their pocket, which you’re
already doing by paying
tuition here.”

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INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 40
©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

Tuesday’s sixth annual Giving
Blueday, a 24-hour fundraising
campaign for the University of
Michigan coinciding with the
global philanthropic movement
Giving Tuesday, raised $4,242,531
from 15,887 gifts, according to a
University press release.
The donations will go toward
supporting hundreds of different
causes such as colleges, programs,
scholarships,
research
and
organizations — including more
than 150 student organizations —
across the Ann Arbor, Flint and
Dearborn campuses.
To
encourage
engagement
throughout the day, the Giving
Blueday campaign featured a
variety of challenges and donation-
matching initiatives. For example,
students who donated $25 or more
to any program or cause received a
match of $25, up to a maximum of
$50,000 total cap, distributed on a
first-come first-serve basis. More
than a dozen causes, including the
Program on Intergroup Relations
and
Department
of
Urology
Prostate Cancer Research Fund,
received donation matches thanks
to contributions by individual
sponsors.

University
fundraises
for Giving
Blueday

CAMPUS LIFE

UC-SD professor discusses crisis in
US-China relations at lecture series

Susan Shirk analyzes consequences of overreaching intentions internationally

‘U’ faculty

criticized
for use of
own books

ACADEMICS

Follow The Daily
on Instagram,
@michigandaily

GABRIEL BOUDAGH
For The Daily

statement

See BOOKS, Page 3A

CLAIRE HAO
Daily Staff Reporter

Community raises over
$4 million for causes
across all three campuses

Students question ethics
of instructors assigning
self- authored textbooks

ALEX HARRING
Daily Staff Reporter

At
Central
Student
Government’s
weekly
assembly, CSG vice president
Isabelle Blanchard, an LSA
senior, announced she will
resign from her position on
CSG on the last day of the
semester.
“This
decision
has
not
been an easy one, and I have
struggled
with
feelings
of
guilt during this time, as I do
not want to let anyone down,”
Blanchard said. “However, it
has become increasingly clear
that the time commitment
and demands of the role are
placing an undue amount of
pressure on myself, negatively
impacting my mental health.
With the current state of my
well-being, it would be unfair
to the student body to continue
in this role.”
Blanchard
added
she

felt it was important to be
transparent about her decision
to prioritize her mental health.
“I wanted to be genuine
with you all about the impact
of this work on my well-being,
because I believe that, as
student leaders, you expect
honesty from me, and that we
should model caring for our
physical and mental health and
well-being,” Blanchard said.
Ben Gerstein, CSG President
and
Public
Policy
senior,
released a statement regarding
Blanchard’s resignation.
“The
task
of
leading
a
48,000+ student body is one of
great intensity that demands
significant personal sacrifice,”
the statement said. “I, and all
of CSG, are incredibly proud of
the work Isabelle has done. Her
contributions to the University
of Michigan have not gone
unnoticed.

The
Lieberthal-Rogel
Center for Chinese Studies at
the University of Michigan
hosted Susan Shirk, chair of
the 21st Century China Center
and research professor at the
University of California, San
Diego, for a discussion of the
current
tensions
between
the United States and China
Tuesday
at
Weiser
Hall.

About 50 people attended the
discussion of the overreach and
overreactions of both Chinese
and American foreign policy.
Shirk said in the last two
decades
the
Chinese
and
American governments have
had strained relations similar
to the relationship between the
United States and the U.S.S.R.
“It’s very, very different,”
Shirk said. “But it has a lot
of the same intense, mutual
suspicion and hostility that

we had during the Cold War,
as well as this ideological
dimension and the clash of
systems.”
Shirk also discussed the
reaction of both the Chinese
and American governments to
the tension between the two
countries.
“I
do
believe
that
the
United States is overreacting
to the perceived threat from
China, and in the process, it’s
harming itself,” Shirk said. “In

particular, it’s the openness and
vibrancy of our own economy
and society, which are the
ultimate sources of American
strength and competitiveness.”
She
said
China’s
overreaching has heightened
fears of the “China threat”
in
America,
sparking
backlash that went beyond
President
Donald
Trump’s
administration.

Blanchard to step down next week,
new VP to be selected by Assembly

CSG Vice
President
announces
resignation

Whitmer calls for end to campus
sexual assault at EMU conference

Governor announces texting option for survivors to receive counseling support

See RESIGNATION, Page 3A

JENNA SITEMAN
& SAINI KETHIREDDY
Daily Staff Reporter & For The Daily

See CRISIS, Page 3A

See RELATIONS, Page 3A

ANGELINA LITTLE
Daily Staff Reporter
KELSEY PEASE/Daily
Susan Shirk, research professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California - San Diego, presents her lecture “Overreach and Overreaction: The
Crisis in US-China relations in Weiser Hall Tuesday.

Read more at
MichiganDaily.com











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