A 

common sentiment shared 
by people of color is that it’s 
exhausting to constantly 
have to explain your identities, 
your culture and whether or 
not a particular comment is 
appropriate to say when a simple 
Google search likely would have 
provided the inquirer with the 
answer to the question. What 
is often even more frustrating 
is that it is obvious when you’re 
not actively trying to diversify 
what you know about social 
identities or you’re not seeking 
out the opportunity to learn more 
about backgrounds and cultures 
different from your own. While 
asking genuine questions isn’t to 
be discouraged, be aware of your 
intention. If you’re coming off as 
close-minded, then it is in itself a 
form of ignorance. Diversity is a 
complex concept and mandates 
effort and attention. So, making 
inappropriate 
comments, 
asking offensive questions or 
repeatedly committing the same 
microaggressions 
sends 
the 
message that the asker is choosing 
to be ignorant. 
That said, if you’re curious 
about the food a peer is eating 
or a cultural event a friend is 
celebrating, be conscious of your 
word choice and ask questions 
respectfully. The general rule of 
thumb: Exhibiting a willingness 
to learn will always be celebrated. 
However, people of color often feel 
as though they’re burdened with 
the responsibility of educating 
their peers. This creates a campus 
climate that is uncomfortable for 
students and faculty of color. 
It is known that people of color 
experience 
college 
differently 
than white people. It’s difficult 
to 
navigate 
predominantly 
white spaces while enduring 
microaggressions 
along 
the 
way. 
Back 
in 
2017, 
Marist 
College 
conducted 
a 
survey 
investigating “Racism in the 
United States: Who’s Responsible 
for Fixing the Problem.” The 

results of the survey showed the 
majority of Americans place the 
responsibility of tackling racism 
head-on upon everyone, not just 
one specific race. Additionally, 
most Americans did not agree 
that the burden of ending racism 
should fall upon people of color. 
Similar to the findings of this poll, 
it’s important to not only address 
issues related to social identities 
like race and ethnicity as they 
happen on campus, but also take 
initiative to educate ourselves on 
the diversity of social identities on 
campus before an issue arises.
As students at the University 
of Michigan, we are privileged 
to have access to a plethora of 
resources: 
books, 
computers, 
courses, 
professors 
and 
educational 
events. 
Therefore, 
it is the general expectation we 
recognize that privilege and use 
it to better our knowledge. This 
means finding space on your 
Google Calendar to attend Martin 
Luther King Jr. symposiums, 
events, talks and dialogues. This 
means attending conferences and 
dialogue-based events on topics 
like racism on college campuses 
not because it’s an extra credit 
assignment, but because you’re 
trying to learn more.
I’ve also spoken with students 
who are not from marginalized 
communities or do not identify 
with minority groups who feel 
like they’re walking on eggshells 
around classmates of identities 
different 
from 
theirs. 
Even 
more so in courses that discuss 
multicultural content and topics 
related to race and ethnicity. 
Rather than avoid participating 
to prevent accidentally offending 
your 
classmate 
or 
to 
risk 
appearing 
not 
“woke,” 
take 
actionable steps to improve your 
knowledge on diversity, equity 
and 
inclusion 
activities 
and 
initiatives on campus as well as 
to further your communication 
skills, as you’ll likely be a part of 
diverse work environments in the 

near future. For example, take 
an introductory level women’s 
studies class like Women’s Studies 
220. Take it because you’re 
likely to engage in relationships 
or conversations with women, 
whether in professional contact, 
friendships, romantic relations, 
etc. 
Diversity, equity and inclusion 
events, programs and policies 
are, 
of 
course, 
important 
for 
undergraduate 
students’ 
professional 
and 
personal 
development. We all know that. 
Nowadays, the terms “diversity,” 
“accessibility” and “inclusivity” 
are found in every Fortune 500 
company’s mission statement or 
campus initiative. This is great in 
theory, but it’s no longer sufficient 
to simply exercise awareness of 
what those terms mean. Instead, 
consider viewing these words 
through the lens of your peers 
and 
their 
lived 
experiences. 
Showing support and acting as an 
ally involves educating yourself, 
showing up and engaging with 
other students of diverse identities 
during 
dialogues 
covering 
controversial topics. 
As University students, it’s 
important to support one another 
on our way to becoming well-
rounded professionals and part 
of the workforce. For students of 
color, this means inviting your 
friends of all identities and cultural 
backgrounds to the cultural events 
for the organizations in which 
you’re 
involved. 
Don’t 
solely 
market these events to those who 
are already immersing themselves 
in DEI endeavors. It is equally 
important to engage in DEI-
related discussions with people 
of diverse thoughts, experiences 
and ideas as well. If we all take it 
upon ourselves to share our lived 
experiences with one another, 
we will all benefit together as a 
community.

Varna Kodoth can be reached at 

vkodoth@umich.edu.

W

hen 
the 
House 
Judiciary Committee 
approved articles of 
impeachment against President 
Donald Trump in December, 
Chairman 
and 
Rep. 
Jerrold 
Nadler, D-N.Y., declared that it 
was “a solemn and sad day.”
In retrospect, Nadler could 
not have been more right — 
just for all the wrong reasons. 
The impeachment trial against 
President Trump was a deeply 
unsettling spectacle that targeted 
far 
more 
than 
the 
current 
occupant of the White House. It 
ripped at the very fabric of our 
country. 
The 
impeachment 
against 
Trump was solemn and sad not 
because our president was being 
charged with high crimes and 
misdemeanors, but because one of 
America’s major political parties 
had unashamedly stooped to such 
a low level. The trial was a clear 
slap in the face for so many in this 
country.
As many of us know, the 
impeachment effort fortunately 
came to a quick end a couple 
of weeks ago in the president’s 
favor. But what has not come to 
an end is the dangerous political 
pattern this trial is a part of. The 
impeachment was the last straw 
for many in this nation, and 
Americans have had enough of 
it. There’s simply no excuse for 
the Democratic Party’s relentless 
attacks on our president. 
Since 
our 
president 
first 
announced 
his 
candidacy 
nearly five years ago, Democrats 
have unceasingly picked apart 
everything 
about 
Trump, 
investigating 
and 
scrutinizing 
his every move. They have 
thrown bombshells into the Oval 
Office, one after another. They 
have put his business affairs 
under a microscope. And, most 
recently, they have impeached our 
president and put him on trial for 
weeks in front of the American 
people.
Trump isn’t perfect. He’s made 
some questionable choices that 
fall outside the boundaries of 
historical presidential behavior. 
But 
an 
occasional 
mistake 
shouldn’t subject the president to 
a process that has only occurred 
three other times in U.S. history.
Democrats have truly done 
everything imaginable to damage 
our president and bring him down 
once and for all. They have tried 
to rip this country apart, literally. 
(I am referring to Speaker of the 
House Nancy Pelosi’s stunning 
move at the end of Trump’s State 
of the Union speech).
While the impeachment trial 
only ended recently, Democrats 
began plotting the end of Trump’s 
political career before it had 
begun. It all began in 2011, when 
Fusion GPS was founded in 
Washington, D.C., by a group of 
veteran journalists. 
While 
Fusion 
did 
some 
investigation in the past, it rose to 

prominence after it was hired to 
investigate the 2016 presidential 
candidates, 
which 
included 
Trump. By the time Trump won 
the election in November of that 
year, Fusion had hired intelligence 
expert Christopher Steele to help 
investigate Trump’s ties to the 
Russian 
government. 
Steele’s 
research and the firm’s efforts 
ultimately produced a plethora 
of alarming allegations against 
the president, among them that 
Trump had an extensive record of 
collusion with Moscow. Once all of 
these unverified charges against 
Trump 
surfaced, 
Democrats 
quickly worked to implicate the 
president by constantly talking 
about “Trump-Russia collusion,” 
even though the origins of the 
allegations and the dossier as a 
whole are questionable.

As the Trump administration 
continued 
to 
come 
under 
unrelenting 
scrutiny, 
Special 
Counsel for the United States 
Department of Justice Robert 
Mueller came into the picture, 
assuming 
command 
of 
the 
investigation 
once 
he 
was 
appointed in May 2017. After 
working for about two years, 
Mueller’s anticlimactic findings 
were released in a final report 
that was clearly disappointing for 
Democrats. The underwhelming 
ruling didn’t charge Trump with 
any crime at all and found the 
president didn’t engage in any 
conspiracy 
with 
the 
Russian 
government.
But the Democratic Party didn’t 
stop here. Still determined to take 
the Trump presidency down, 
they began to explore other ways 
that they could somehow end this 
resilient 
administration. 
Soon 
after the conclusion of the Mueller 
investigation, 
the 
Democrats 
used their broad control over 
the investigative powers of the 
House of Representatives to begin 
an impeachment inquiry into a 
July 2019 phone call between 
Trump and Ukranian President 
Volodymyr Zelensky.
This 
impeachment 
inquiry 
quickly spiraled out of control, 
collapsing 
almost 
immediately. 
From the start, it was obvious it 
was a highly partisan effort, with 
every Republican voting against 
both articles of impeachment in 
the House.
Even though the Constitution 
plainly requires the House to 
forward the articles to the Senate, 
Pelosi and Democratic leadership 

initially resisted because they 
knew Trump would never be 
convicted in the Republican-
majority Senate. But still, they 
were eventually passed on and 
— after weeks of monotonous 
trial proceedings with few new 
revelations — Trump was swiftly 
acquitted with only one Republican 
siding with Democrats, receiving 
the vindication he deserved.
That brings us to today. After 
years 
of 
systematic 
attempts 
at 
destroying 
this 
legitimate 
administration, Trump is still the 
president. And he’s doing better 
than ever before. Meanwhile, 
Democrats have been forced to 
return to the drawing board, and 
it’s not hard to wonder what they’ll 
try next. 
But I sincerely hope that before 
the next allegations surface — 
before they engineer the next 
bombshell and before they find 
another “impeachable” offense 
— Democrats take a moment 
and return to reality. While they 
have been trying to demolish, 
Trump has worked to reconstruct. 
Trump may be controversial, but 
Americans have unequivocally 
expressed their support for his 
innovative policies.
A recent Gallup poll released 
in the midst of the polarizing 
impeachment trial found that 49 
percent of Americans approve of 
the president’s job in office, an 
all-time high from this pollster. 
This may not be a majority of the 
nation, but according to the same 
poll, only 46 percent of Americans 
approved of President Obama’s 
job at the same point in his first 
term. Moreover, Gallup added in 
another poll that over 60 percent 
of Americans feel they’re better 
off than they were three years 
ago, while only 45 percent said 
the same at the same point in the 
Obama presidency.
In the end, whether Democrats 
like it or not, Trump has done a 
lot of good for millions of people 
across the country. These numbers 
don’t signal us that we have a rogue 
president who is blatantly violating 
American law, as Democrats tell 
us, but a respected leader who is 
doing great things. 
More than ever before, it’s 
time to give our president the 
respect he deserves and actually 
let him govern as the leader of 
the U.S. I’m not asking Trump’s 
political opponents and haters to 
vote for him in November. Every 
American has a right to go to the 
polls at the end of this year and 
vote for whichever candidate 
they believe can best lead our 
country forward.
But until then, it’s time to 
part ways with this immature 
behavior. We may not all support 
Trump, but we all have a critical 
duty to be fair to our president 
and support him in his ultimate 
mission to uplift all Americans.

W

hat 
is 
in 
Georgia 
besides the Coca-Cola 
headquarters, peaches 
and the state opossum, Pogo? Well, 
both the soul of the Republican Party 
and its greatest danger — former 
Democratic Rep. Stacey Abrams — 
reside in the state. While I would 
love to write about the massive threat 
that Abrams poses to Republicans, 
there’s frankly not enough space in 
this article to accurately portray her 
brilliance, so let’s take a look at the 
soul of the Republican Party — and 
by that, I do not mean the former 
steak salesman in the White House. 
In fact, I do not believe that the soul 
of the party lies with any one person 
right now, but I believe that two 
Republican Senate candidates — Sen. 
Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., and United 
States Rep. Doug Collins — are vying 
to be its figurehead.
This 
old-fashioned 
far-right 
versus center-right battle began 
Aug. 28, 2019, when Georgia’s senior 
senator, Johnny Isakson, announced 
that midway through his third 
term he would retire due to health 
concerns. Immediately, all eyes 
went to Atlanta where Gov. Brian 
Kemp was given a gift and a curse: 
Appointing Isakson’s replacement. 
Kemp, ever the strategist, held an 
open application process where 
any Georgia citizen could submit 
a resume and cover letter. Though 
this publicity stunt bought Kemp 
some time, the political universe 
quickly narrowed the selection 
pool to Collins, Loeffler and former 
Secretary of Health and Human 
Services Tom Price. However, with 
Price’s public resignation putting him 
in a precarious legal position, Kemp’s 
table was set.
If former President George W. 
Bush and Sen. Mitch McConnell, 
R-Ky., could breed a senator in a lab, 
Kelly Loeffler would be the product. 
Born to soybean farmers in rural 
Illinois, Loeffler worked her way up 
the corporate ladder of a commodities 
trader, Intercontinental Exchange, 
and eventually became the CEO 
of Bakkt, an IE subsidiary, in 2018. 
Throughout her business career, 
Loeffler was an avid Republican 
donor and activist, having donated 
more than $3.2 million with her 
husband. The power couple’s pet 
causes included former presidential 
candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign, 
the National Republican Senatorial 
Committee and former Speaker of the 
House Paul Ryan. While her money 
brought her into the party’s upper 
echelons, she has always wanted to 

hold elected office. And after seeing 
David Perdue win an open Senate seat 
in 2014 that she passed up, Loeffler 
did not want to miss her chance to 
become a part of Congress’s clubby 
upper chamber in 2020. 
While Loeffler seems born for 
this job, Collins couldn’t be less 
poised to work with McConnell. 
From humble beginnings in rural 
Georgia, Collins earned a bachelor’s 
degree from the University of North 
Georgia and a master’s in divinity 
from the New Orleans Baptist 
Theological Seminary. Following 
his education, he was the pastor 
at Chicopee Baptist Church for 11 
years. Capitalizing on his church’s 
success, Collins entered the political 
sphere through the Georgia House of 
Representatives, ultimately moving 
to the U.S. House where he currently 
serves as the Ranking Member of 
the House Judiciary Committee. 
From this perch, the Congressman 
has spent the last two years making 
his southern drawl and fast-talking 
a staple on cable news by arguing 
with Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. 
and making “irregardless” trend on 
Twitter.
For Kemp, this decision was 
obvious: Loeffler. The former Bakkt 
CEO and co-owner of Atlanta’s 
WNBA team had plenty of financial 
backing for her 2020 run, and, more 
importantly, she shared Kemp’s 
traditional Chamber of Commerce 
republicanism. 
Conversely, 
the 
far-right Collins had no qualms 
about appearing on Fox News or 
berating former Special Counsel 
for the U.S. Department of Justice 
Robert 
Mueller, 
which 
earned 
Collins a strong ally: the President. 
Collins’s position on the front lines 
of Trump’s defense put him in the 
President’s good graces. Therefore, 
Trump extensively lobbied Kemp 
behind the scenes for Collins. Kemp’s 
tiebreaker was McConnell, who gave 
him a gut check and reminded Kemp 
that Republicans could still win the 
Senate in 2020 even if Trump lost. 
Therefore, Loeffler needed to be 
appointed. And on Dec. 4, she was.
When she got into office, Loeffler 
had 
one 
priority: 
get 
Trump’s 
endorsement. From allying with 
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, during the 
impeachment 
saga 
to 
baselessly 
attacking Romney, she has proven she 
will go to great lengths to receive it. 
She was on track to receive this golden 
ticket to victory, but on Jan. 29, her 
life got significantly harder as Collins 
announced that he would challenge 
her in the special election for Isakson’s 

old seat. This decision was met with 
a swift rebuke from the chairman of 
the NRSC Kevin McLaughlin, who 
said “All (Collins) has done is put two 
Senate seats, multiple House seats, and 
Georgia’s 16 electoral votes in play.”
Additional groups like the Senate 
Leadership Fund and several sitting 
Republican senators have issued 
similar warnings, but, importantly, 
there is one person who has been 
conspicuously quiet on the issue: 
President Donald Trump. With great 
power traditionally comes great 
responsibility, but the former reality 
TV star has been like a bull in a china 
shop — or horse in a hospital — over 
the last three years. Thus, Trump is 
the wild card in this primary who 
could drastically swing the race one 
way or the other. However, learning 
from his 2017 primary endorsement 
of Luther Strange over the ultimate 
victor Roy Moore in Alabama, 
Trump has typically refrained from 
supporting candidates in competitive 
primaries. Therefore, Loeffler and 
Collins will likely have to slug it out 
until Nov. 3.
While the winner of the special 
election remains unknown, the 
winner of the Republican infighting 
is 
one 
person: 
Rev. 
Raphael 
Warnock. Warnock is a Baptist 
preacher from Atlanta who has 
been sharply critical of Trump 
and announced his candidacy for 
the 2020 special election amid a 
flurry of prominent Democratic 
endorsements, including Abrams 
and Democratic Rep. John Lewis. 
Warnock’s deep ties with Black 
voters will energize this key voting 
bloc in 2020, which poses a greater 
threat to the Republicans than either 
Collins or Loeffler; and, because of 
Georgia’s Jungle Primary election 
rules, these three will share a ballot 
in November. If none of them reach 
50 percent, then there will be a 
runoff between the top two, but the 
two Republicans are in a precarious 
position because they must fight on 
multiple fronts while Warnock can 
address them as a unit and possibly 
squeeze out 50 percent.
The bottom line is if Republicans 
want to keep this key seat from 
Warnock and the Democrats, they 
have to convince Trump to endorse 
someone. If he doesn’t, we will see a 
fight for the soul of the Republican 
Party play out, and we might see the 
end of the party’s 15-year Georgia 
dynasty.

Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Alanna Berger
Brittany Bowman
Zack Blumberg
Emily Considine
Jenny Gurung

Cheryn Hong
Krystal Hur
Ethan Kessler
Zoey Phillips
Mary Rolfes

Michael Russo
Timothy Spurlin
Miles Stephenson
Joel Weiner
Erin White 

ERIN WHITE
Managing Editor

Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building
420 Maynard St. 
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
Editor in Chief
EMILY CONSIDINE AND 
MILES STEPHENSON
Editorial Page Editors

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of The Daily’s Editorial Board. 
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

VARNA KODOTH | COLUMN

Ignorance is a choice

EVAN STERN | COLUMN

Reflections on the impeachment of Donald Trump

Keith Johnstone can be reached at 

keithja@umich.edu.

KEITH JOHNSTONE | COLUMN

CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION

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Evan Stern can be reached at 

erstern@umich.edu.

Battle for the soul of the Republican party

Whether 
Democrats like it 
or not, Trump has 
done a lot of good.

