A report from the Public
Accountability
Initiative
has
connected the University of
Michigan to private equity fund
Lime
Rock
Partners,
which
directly
finances
billionaire
Texas
oil-driver
Tim
Dunn
and a far-right political action
committee
called
Empower
Texans.
With the growing traction
of the fossil fuel divestment
movement
on
campus
and
greater emphasis on responsible
investment,
groups
within
the
University
of
Michigan
community feel more empowered
to
demand
responsible
investment that aligns with
commonly-held
values
on
campus.
Simultaneously,
University officials have weighed
distancing investments from the
public eye.
In late September, the Public
Accountability
Initiative
released a report showing that
$26 million of the University
endowment was invested in
private equity fund Lime Rock
Partners as of October 2018.
The fund finances Dunn and
Empower Texans, a conservative
group that has a major role in
supporting far-right rhetoric and
legislation in Texas politics.
Climate activists on campus
have rebuked the investment.
Law student Nash Hall, a
member
of
Climate
Action
Movement, said the University’s
financial support of political
organizations such as Empower
Texans stands against the values
of the University and democracy
in general.
“It’s important to recognize
when
you’re
talking
about
electoral politics that the same
organizations or the same people
who are pouring money into the
Empower Texans organization
are
also
affirmatively
anti-
democracy in their views,” Hall
said.
Fifteen
University
of
Michigan and Ann Arbor
environmental and political
advocacy groups attended
the
Campus
Carbon
Neutrality
Communication
and Culture Town Hall on
Tuesday evening to discuss
options for improving the
University’s
sustainability
efforts.
Approximately
25
people attended the town
hall in West Hall.
The
President’s
Commission
on
Carbon
Neutrality led the event.
Joseph
Trumpey,
Art
&
Design associate professor,
the host of the town hall, said
its purpose was to focus on
how student organizations
cancan help achieve carbon
neutrality
within
their
own groups, but also across
campus.
“I think the main question
here is, ‘What is the culture
of
U-M,
the
institution?
How does it relate to student
organizations and student
life on campus, and what can
be improved to make carbon
neutrality a mission that
you feel is shared, that the
University is supporting you,
and you’re supporting the
University, and everything
moves forward?’” Trumpey
said.
The
PCCN
highlighted
some
of
its
own
recommendations
for
the
University. Trumpey said the
group is encouraging fossil
fuel divestment options for
faculty and staff, as well as
an institution-wide three-
credit
educational
and
training
requirement
on
the
environment,
among
other suggestions. He said a
preliminary step in spreading
educational awareness would
be continuing Planet Blue,
Anne Curzan, the University
of Michigan Literature, Science
and the Arts dean, spoke
about the value of a liberal
arts education to a crowd of
approximately
100
people
Tuesday afternoon in Keene
Theater. The speech was part
of the The Residential College’s
annual Robertson Lecture.
Curzan said she is constantly
fascinated by the breadth of
subjects students can explore
in LSA and expressed her
love for learning, especially
about languages. She served
as the Geneva Smitherman
Collegiate Professor of English,
Linguistics
and
Education
prior to her appointment as
dean.
“I went to college, and
I
didn’t
even
know
what
linguistics was,” Curzan said.
“How I’ve got from there,
from going to college as a math
major to becoming a linguistics
major, is through a liberal arts
degree.”
When
discussing
the
importance
of
exploration,
Curzan
noted
the
social
pressure that forces people to
act as if they always know the
answer to every question asked
of them.
In response to the rising cost
of exercise classes in Ann Arbor,
the University of Michigan’s
Central Student Government
launched
a
program
in
conjunction
with
Michigan
Recreational
Sports
last
semester to eliminate barriers
to physical and social wellness
for
low-income
students.
CSG received more than 140
applications for the 75 passes for
the winter semester.
In August, Central Student
Government began subsidizing
Group X passes for Pell Grant-
eligible students. Last semester,
CSG received 40 applications for
the 75 available passes in fall.
Group
X
passes
provide
students access to all fitness
classes on campus, totaling more
than 100 classes per week. The
group classes range include
cycling, yoga and zumba.
CSG President Ben Gerstein,
Public
Policy
junior,
said
when a member of the CSG
Affordability
Task
Force
and a member of Affordable
Michigan recommended that
CSG subsidize Group X passes,
he integrated the policy into his
campaign platform.
In her response to President
Donald Trump’s State of the
Union address, Michigan Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer emphasized
civic
engagement
and
her
commitment to a hopeful future
for America.
“We and all Americans might
be weary of today’s politics,
but we must stay engaged,”
Whitmer said. “Our country,
our democracy, our future
demand it. We’re capable of
great things when we work
together.”
Whitmer gave the speech
on Tuesday evening at her
daughters’ school, East Lansing
High School. Generally, the
Democrat’s rebuttal has been
given by rising politicians in
the Democratic party, allowing
them to present their opposition
in front of the nation.
In a press release, Senate
minority
leader
Chuck
Schumer, D-NY, spoke about
the
various
reasons
for
choosing Whitmer to give the
speech.
“Governor
Whitmer’s
dedication
to
Michiganders
is a model for public servants
everywhere,” Schumer said in
the press release. “Whether
it’s pledging to ‘Fix the Damn
Roads’ or investing in climate
solutions, Governor Whitmer’s
vision for the future is exactly
what this country needs, and
I’m thrilled she is giving the
Democratic response.”
Michigan,
Whitmer’s
home state, is also considered
a
key
battleground
state
in
the
upcoming
2020
election. Whitmer won her
gubernatorial race by 10 points
over former Republican State
Attorney General Bill Schuette
in 2018, two years after Trump
won the state by a slight margin
over
Democratic
candidate
Hillary Clinton.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 63
©2019 The Michigan Daily
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OPINION.....................4A
CL ASSIFIEDS................6A
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
LSA Dean
examines
fulfilling
education
ACADEMICS
Report finds ‘U’ invested $26M in private equity fund financing conservative PAC
CSG gives
exercise
passes to
students
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
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on Instagram,
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KATHERINA SOURINE
Daily Staff Reporter
See PASSES, Page 3A
LOLA YANG
For The Daily
Anne Curzan looks at
future of liberal arts
studies at RC lecture
Government provides
‘GroupX’ permit to
Pell Grant recipients
JULIA RUBIN
Daily Staff Reporter
In State of the Union response, MI
Governor talks impeachment, voting
Whitmer in
SOTU reply:
‘Democracy
takes action’
Town hall talks carbon neutrality,
solutions to improve sustainability
15 campus, Ann Arbor organizations convene to discuss environment policy
JULIA FORREST
Daily Staff Reporter
See CARBON, Page 3A
See INVESTMENT, Page 3A
PARNIA MAZHAR
Daily Staff Reporter
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Students focus on assessing carbon neutrality in student organizations at the Presidents Commission on Carbon Neutrality town hall in West Hall Tuesday evening.
statement
See WHITMER, Page 3A
Climate activists criticize University’s
endowment investments in fossil fuels
DESIGN BY LAUREN KUZEE
See EDUCATION, Page 3A
From behind the screen