Nikole
Hannah-Jones,
domestic correspondent for The
New York Times Magazine and
creator of the NYT 1619 Project,
compared slavery to the red pill
in the movie, “The Matrix.” As
Hannah- Jones described it, the
legacy of slavery in America is
“the coding and the architecture
of everything that we see, and
we have been allowing this
country to pretend that slavery
is marginal to the American
story.”
Tuesday night, The Wallace
House
hosted
Hannah-Jones
for a dialogue with Rochelle
Riley, a 2008 Knight-Wallace
Fellow, City of Detroit Arts and
Culture director and longtime
columnist at the Detroit Free
Press. Hannah-Jones spoke to a
packed Rackham Auditorium.
The 1619 Project is an ongoing
initiative by The New York Times
Magazine, discussing the history
of slavery in America, its legacy
within
the
Consitution,
the
miseducation of American youth
and the modern implications
of
America’s
discriminatory
history. The project also includes
a five episode podcast. The
project, released in August 2019,
marked the 400th anniversary
of institutional slavery, when
The White Lion ship brought
over 20 enslaved Africans to the
English Colony of Virginia in
August 1619.
Throughout
the
talk,
Hannah-Jones
discussed
the
gruesome existence of slavery in
American culture. She answered
audience
questions
bluntly,
jokingly exclaiming “no” when
an audience member asked if she
had a “sense that a real reckoning
is happening in our communities
and in our systems” because of
the 1619 project.
The University of Michigan
issued a travel warning for the
city of Wuhan in China’s Hubei
Province
Monday
afternoon
following
the
outbreak
of
coronavirus, a rapidly spreading
new virus. With the warning,
undergraduate
students
may
not travel to the region and must
prepare a safety plan to study in
other areas in China, according
to an email sent to all University
faculty, students and staff.
The
novel
coronavirus
strain,
also
known
as
the
Wuhan coronavirus, transmits
quickly.
According
to
the
Center for Disease Control and
Prevention, symptoms for the
Wuhan coronavirus can present
themselves between two and 14
days after exposure and include
fever, coughing and shortness of
breath.
The
virus
broke
out
in
December 2019 in the city
of Wuhan in China’s Hubei
Province, and the exact number
of cases has not been confirmed.
The Chinese government has
locked
down
several
cities
including Wuhan, prohibiting
travel into or out of quarantined
destinations.
There
are
multiple
international confirmed cases
of
the
Wuhan
coronavirus,
including a few in the United
States. According to the World
Health
Organization,
all
coronaviruses
are
zoonotic,
meaning they are transferred
between humans and animals.
The Wuhan coronavirus has
not previously been identified
in humans, and many of the
people who have been infected
frequented the Huanan seafood
wholesale market in the city.
Mary
Gallagher,
political
science professor and director
of the Lieberthal-Rogel Center
for Chinese Studies, said there
was an apparent initial effort
on the part of the local Wuhan
government to cover up the
severity of the outbreak. Since
the central Chinese government
was made aware of the situation,
its response has been efficient
and
effective,
especially
compared to their actions in
2003 after the outbreak of SARS,
or
severe
acute
respiratory
syndrome.
“The government in Wuhan
seemed reluctant to alert the
central authorities and public
health authorities to the severity
of the breakout in Wuhan and
the evidence for human to
human transmission,” Gallagher
said.
“The
Chinese
central
government now has reacted
very aggressively to do some
things that seem amazing and
excellent, like building a bunch
of hospitals as quickly as they
The University of Michigan
honored three recipients of
the Distinguished University
Professorship on Tuesday at the
Ross School of Business to an
audience of about 100 students,
faculty and staff.
The University established
the Distinguished University
Professorships
in
1947
to
recognize professors with a
noteworthy
commitment
to
academia.
Those
bestowed
with the honor serve as models
of success in research, teaching
and community leadership to
faculty and students.
In
his
opening
remarks,
University
President
Mark
Schlissel
spoke
on
the
importance of talented faculty
in academia.
“A university can only be as
great as its faculty,” Schlissel
said.
Each
professor
presented
topics related to their research.
John
M.
Carethers,
the
Richard Boland Distinguished
University Professor of Internal
Medicine and Human Genetics,
spoke on DNA mismatch repair,
a process that prevents DNA
mutations by correcting any
damage that could lead to
The University of Michigan
Central Student Government
released a statement on Jan. 26
announcing that they passed
a resolution demanding the
University freeze all of its
fossil fuel investments and
commit to divestment in 2020.
The resolution was brought
up at the Association of Big
Ten Students Conference this
past weekend in Bloomington,
Ind. The association includes
representatives from each of
the Big Ten schools’ student
governments.
“With
a
collective
representation of over 500,000
students across 14 universities,
ABTS is a critical organization
that can be used to push
for
concrete,
institutional
change,” the statement read.
“CSG urges the University of
Michigan Board of Regents
and
Executive
Officers
to
stand up for climate justice.
Hundreds of thousands of
students
and
millions
of
alumni are watching.”
The
resolution
passed
unanimously.
Each month, The Michigan
Daily’s Administration Beat
sits down with University
of Michigan President Mark
Schlissel to discuss important
questions about University
policy,
commitments
and
challenges. Topics discussed
in this month’s interview
included
Provost
Martin
Philbert,
divestment
from
fossil fuels, the President’s
Commission
on
Carbon
Neutrality, the discrimination
lawsuit
filed
against
the
University and more.
This month, we used input
from the campus community
to guide our questions for
Schlissel.
Stay
tuned
for
next month’s interview to
submit your questions. This
interview has been edited and
condensed for clarity.
Provost Philbert
The
Michigan
Daily:
On Jan. 22, you sent an
email to the entire student
body informing them about
several allegations of sexual
misconduct
by
Provost
Philbert.
Public
Affairs
confirmed on Thursday that
Philbert was on medical leave
for part of the fall semester.
I’m aware that his health is
his personal business. I’m
more curious as to why this
administrative leave was not
widely communicated to the
campus community given
the high-profile nature of
Philbert’s position?
Mark Schlissel: Health
is a very private matter. It
affects the Provost. It affects
his family. It doesn’t affect
you and me; it’s his health.
So, we have great respect
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 56
©2019 The Michigan Daily
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OPINION.....................4A
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S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 B
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 A
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 A
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For more stories and coverage, visit
Professors
highlight
research
impacts
RESEARCH
Nikole Hannah-Jones discusses education, history at Wallace House event
Big 10 SG
executives
sign CO2
proposal
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Follow The Daily
on Instagram,
@michigandaily
CALLIE TEITELBAUM
Daily Staff Reporter
See BIG 10, Page 3A
KRISTINA LENN
Daily Staff Reporter
Distinguished faculty
members share work
during joint lecture
Resolution calls for
climate action, carbon
neutrality by 2020
EMMA STEIN &
BRAYDEN HIRSCH
Daily News Editor &
Daily Staff Reporter
‘This sort of thing should never happen,’
President says of Philbert situation
Schlissel on
‘U’ Provost,
fossil fuel
divestment
University warns of coronavirus
outbreak in Chinese province
‘U’ declares there is no threat of the new fatal disease in Washtenaw County
EMMA STEIN,
PARNIA MAZHAR &
ARJUN THAKKAR
Daily News Editor &
Daily Staff Reporters
See CORONAVIRUS, Page 3A
See 1619, Page 3A
HANNAH MACKAY
Daily Staff Reporters
DESIGN BY MICHELLE FA N
statement
See SCHLISSEL, Page 2A
New York Times journalist talks
racial justice, impact of ‘1619’ project
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
New York Times Domestic Correspondent Nikole Hannah-Jones speaks on her “1619 Project,” examining slavery in the United States in Rackham Auditorium Tuesday evening.
See RESEARCH, Page 3A