As a way to convince GEO to 
drop their demands, the University 
of Michigan is refusing to discuss 
further negotiations for salary 
and benefits, Patwardhan said. 
Patwardhan 
called 
the 
tactic 
“bad bargaining” and said the 
University’s 
decision 
will 
not 
distract GEO from issues affecting 
the community as a whole. 
“We 
can’t 
even 
organize 
around and that’s not the kind of 
thing that should be permitted as 
a tactic at the bargaining table,” 
 
Patwardhan told The Daily. “I 
also think our commitment to 
kind of keeping these issues in the 
minds of the broader community 
is a commitment to our members 
democratically 
generating 
our 
platform and telling us that climate 
and housing issues matter to them.”
In a press release regarding GEO 
bargaining last semester, Sascha 
Matish, associate vice provost for 
academic affairs and senior director 
of Academic Human Resources, 
said the University values graduate 
students and is working towards a 
fair agreement.
“We recognize the importance 
of graduate student instructors and 

graduate student staff assistants 
to the academic mission of the 
university and to the academic 
success of our students,” said 
Sascha Matish, associate vice 
provost for academic affairs and 
senior director of Academic Human 
Resources. “We are committed 
to bargaining in good faith with 
GEO to reach a fair agreement that 
serves the interest of all parties.”
 
Sheetz discussed a variety of 
topics GEO was fighting for outside 
of affordable housing and climate 
change, including better wages 
and healthcare for people in the 
LGBTQ+ community. 
“So among the more common 
asks on our platform this year 
are reports asking for a raise that 
attempt to give graduate employees 
enough to close the gap between 
the outrageous cost of living in 
Ann Arbor,” Sheetz said. “We’re 
trying to improve the benefits for 
trans healthcare and disability 
accommodations.” 
Next, the town hall transitioned 
to the topic of affordable housing. 
Over 
the 
last 
few 
decades, 
the 
University 
has 
grown 
exponentially, adding thousands of 
students and faculty. GEO member 
Joseph Valle said the University 

had not adjusted to this growth. 
“Over the past several decades, 
the 
University 
has 
continued 
to grow,” Valle said. “Tens of 
thousands of more students and 
employees … yet the University has 
built a total of a thousand new beds 
on campus in the past thirty years.” 
Valle critiqued the money spent 
on parking units and said one of 
GEO’s demands is to have this 
money spent on housing instead. 
“One of our main demands is 
for the University to compensate 
for the increases in enrollment by 
building 5,000 new on-campus 
housing units in the next five years,” 
Valle said. “We spend millions to 
house cars, I don’t know why they 
can’t do the same for people.” 
GEO Solidarity Chair Amir 
Fleischmann said the housing crisis 
is not only a student body problem 
but a problem for Ann Arbor 
residents. 
“We need a union that covers all 
of Ann Arbor, not just students,” 
Fleischmann said. “If it just covers 
students, we won’t be as affected 
in building power across the 
community. More importantly, if 
it just covers students, it won’t be 
helping those most affected by the 
housing crisis.” 
After the Washtenaw Office 

of Commission and Economic 
Development report found the 
poor state of affordable housing 
in Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor 
Housing set out a plan in 2015 
to create 2,787 new affordable 
housing units by 2035, but they are 
behind on this plan. 
GEO member Noah Weaverdyck 
went over the plan to address 
climate change on campus. This 
would include a plan to transition 
towards 
carbon 
neutrality, 
including no further construction 
or 
investment 
in 
fossil 
fuel 
infrastructure. 
Patwardhan spoke about food 
justice efforts, which included an 
affordable grocery store on campus 
and space for a community garden. 
He also discussed better water 
quality at all three U-M campuses 
as one of GEO’s objectives. 
“We also represent graduate 
students on all three campuses,” 
Patwardhan said. “We want to 
ensure that water quality on each 
of those campuses and all of the 
drinking fountains are tested for 
lead.”

She trained last semester as 
a peer supporter, and is now a 
“trainer-in-training.” 
“I know that not everyone 
has that one person to turn to 
when they’re going through 
a hard time,” Tigadi said. “I 
thought this would be a cool 
thing, to be that person for 
someone else who might need a 
friend to listen to them.”
With the help of the four 
founders, Tigadi is learning 
how to train the next cohort 
of peer supporters, and will 
eventually 
help 
run 
the 
organization after the founders 
graduate.
“I really like what these girls 
are doing,” Tigadi said. “I think 
it’s a very important thing 
that we have on campus, and I 
definitely think it is something 
that should be continued once 
they do graduate, so I would 
love to keep it going.”
Describing the project as a 
constant work in progress, the 
founders urged students trying 
out the hEARt Line to provide 
user feedback that they’ll use to 
improve the resource.

“One of the things that we’re 
really proud of is that it’s for 
students, by students,” Dharia 
said. “We really want to make 
that a central piece of what we 
continue to do as we develop. 
The more that we hear students’ 
voices in it, the more that it is 
going to be a resource that they 
actually feel like meets the 
needs that they’re looking for.”
Through the development 
and launch of hEARt Listens, 
the founders said they hope 
to improve the mental health 
climate 
by 
harnessing 
the 
types of support systems they 
observed 
among 
peers 
on 
campus.
“This campus is filled with 
people 
who 
are 
so 
purely 
dedicated 
to 
helping 
the 
people around them,” Sampath 
said. “That’s something that 
I personally, and all four of 
us, have worked really hard 
to not lose sight of, and to be 
really inspired and encouraged 
by. Hopefully, hEARt is just 
another addition to that same 
mentality that is already here.”
Reporter Iulia Dobrin can be 
reached at idobrin@umich.edu.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Thursday, February 20, 2020 — 3

GEO
From Page 1

HEART
From Page 2

COUNCIL
From Page 1A

No salary is worth destroying 
our own future. If you want our 
talents, then drop ExxonMobil 
and join us in fighting for a 
livable planet … Employees in 
this room, you are nowhere near 
the responsible corporation you 
make yourself out to be.” 
Protest organizer Max Vogel, 
first-year Law student, shared 
a press release with The Daily, 
which explained the passion 
law students feel to fight against 
environmental offenses.
“Paul, Weiss may say they’re 
just doing their jobs, but a new 
generation of law students — 
faced with a world, quite literally, 
on fire — sees things differently,” 
the press release said. 
ExxonMobil has been a point 
of controversy in the climate 
change movement since 2015 
when the Los Angeles Times and 
Columbia University Graduate 
School of Journalism uncovered 
internal ExxonMobil documents 
proving the company understood 
the environmental impacts of 
climate change since the 1970s. 
While 
ExxonMobil 
privately 
projected 
climate 
change 
impacts, ExxonMobil leadership 
publicly 
launched 
a 
climate 
change denial campaign.
Paul, 
Weiss 
was 
recently 
victorious 
in 
defending 
ExxonMobil in the State of New 
York lawsuit, The People of The 
State of New York v ExxonMobil. 
The 
New 
York 
Attorney 
General 
accused 
ExxonMobil 
of misleading investors about 
the 
negative 
impact 
climate 
change regulation would have 
on the company’s financial assets 
and sought 1.6 billion dollars 
to be returned to ExxonMobil 
shareholders. 
The 
New 
York 
State 
Supreme 
Court 
ruled 
there 
was 
not 
sufficient 
evidence 
of 
ExxonMobil 
misleading 
investors. This was the second 
climate change lawsuit to reach 
trial in the United States, and the 
verdict marked a big win for the 
oil and gas company. 
After the protest at Yale, 
Law.com published a statement 
by Paul, Weiss chairman Brad 
Karp 
that 
said 
Paul, 
Weiss 
stands by their representation of 
ExxonMobil. 
“We 
are 
proud 
of 
the 
outstanding work we do for a 
wide range of commercial and 
pro bono clients in their most 
challenging 
and 
high-profile 
matters, including our recent 
defense of ExxonMobil in a 
securities fraud case in which 
the court found, after trial, that 
plaintiff’s claims were entirely 
without merit,” Karp said. “Paul, 
Weiss is committed to free 
speech and debate, just as we 
are committed to the principle 
that we represent our clients 
and safeguard the rule of law 
zealously and to the best of our 
abilities.”
Vogel 
emphasized 
the 
power that law students have 
in encouraging law firms to 
reconsider 
clientele 
in 
an 
interview with The Daily.
“Law students have a really 
powerful voice in this because 
Paul, Weiss needs us to maintain 
its influence and power as a top 

law firm,” Vogel said. “They spend 
a lot of time and money recruiting 
students like Law students at the 
University of Michigan because 
of how valuable an asset we can 
be which means that if we put 
our foot down, and say we’re not 
willing to work for a firm like this, 
that can have huge ramifications 
for the firm itself and we’re 
willing to use that voice now to 
say that firms like Paul, Weiss 
should reject Exxon’s money.”
Vogel said the firm’s legal 
tactics are particularly unethical, 
as they use their prestige and 
finances to engage in aggressive 
practices to intimidate and stifle 
any suits brought against them. 
The press release mentioned a 
statement made by San Francisco 
City Attorney which referred to 
ExxonMobil’s defense strategies 
as “an outrageous abuse of the 
legal process that seeks to limit 
the ability of law enforcement 
and local government to protect 
their residents.” 
First-year Law student Maiya 
Moncino 
participated 
in 
the 
protest and said Paul, Weiss’ ties 
to ExxonMobil contradicts their 
proclaimed progressive agenda 
and law students should be 
aware of this discrepancy when 
applying to work with them.
“Paul, Weiss’ image is as a 
progressive firm,” Moncino said. 
“They were involved in Brown 
v. Board of Education, and they 
just have a reputation for being 
a good place to work. So part of 
the issue is profiting off of that 
recruitment strategy and then 
taking on clients like ExxonMobil 
just does not fit with that image. 
And we just want people to be 
aware of that as they are making 
their decisions.” 
Moncino 
said 
students 
are taking a stand to remove 
themselves from the narrative 
of 
lawyers 
defending 
multi 
billion dollar companies who she 
believes have unethical agendas. 
According to Moncino, powerful 
law firms like Paul, Weiss should 
reject offers to defend companies 
like Exxon.
“We’re 
not 
trying 
to 
say 
ExxonMobil shouldn’t have a 
lawyer,” Moncino said. “Because 
everyone should have a lawyer. 
But when you bring in a law 
firm like Paul, Weiss, you bring 
in the big guns. You bring real 
power into a courtroom, and 
we just think ExxonMobil does 
not need to have that level of 
aggressive representation when 
what they’re doing is putting our 
climate at risk.”
Paul, 
Weiss 
recruitment 
representatives 
declined 
to 
comment after the protest. 
Vogel said the protest should 
be a message to law firms that 
students will consider firms’ 
ethics and client lists when 
deciding where they will invest 
their talents.
“Law 
students, 
as 
future 
lawyers, are incredibly powerful 
and have the ability to bring in a 
lot of money for a firm or to use 
their choices to make a big impact 
on the world,” Vogel said. “And if 
we encourage more law students 
to really think critically of what 
impact the firms they work for 
have on the world, we think firms 
might think twice before taking 
on a client like ExxonMobil.
Reporter Callie Teitelbaum can 
be reached at cteitelb@umich.edu

EXXON
From Page 1

McNamee explained that as 
part of her experience as a peer 
mentor, she was not allowed to 
encourage 
incoming 
students 
to take classes outside of the 
University. 
“They do tell us to not tell 
people to take things outside of 
Michigan, and not encourage 
that just because it’s sort of a 
negative outlook on the classes 
here,” McNamee said. “Obviously 
it is challenging, so I think the 
fact that they do accept credits 
from elsewhere is because they 
think it is equivalent.”
Joanna 
Millunchick, 
the 
associate dean for undergraduate 
education in the College of 
Engineering, 
spoke 
to 
The 
Daily about the impact of math 
classes on students’ learning 
experiences. 
“Math 
grades 
are 
pretty 
highly correlated with how well 
you do, at least in engineering,” 
Millunchick said. “I imagine 
that must be true in other fields 
of sciences as well. One of the 
things that I do worry about is 
that we start with the math, and 

it becomes a barrier and students 
kind of lose sight of why it’s 
important. I wish there was a 
way in which we can think about 
how we change that a little bit.”
LSA 
sophomore 
Isabella 
Yockey is studying biomolecular 
sciences and took the equivalent 
of Math 115: Calculus I at 
Washtenaw 
Community 
College in the summer after her 
freshman year.
Yockey took calculus at her 
high school but was required 
to take the class again at the 
University after she did not 
receive enough AP credit. She 
described how the reputation 
of the University’s math classes 
influenced her decision to take 
the class elsewhere.
“I had already taken calculus 
in high school and I just heard 
about how hard it was here, so I 
didn’t want to take it here (and) 
get a bad grade in a class that 
I basically had already taken,” 
Yockey said.
Yockey 
also 
said 
taking 
the class at Washtenaw was 
cheaper than enrolling in the 
course at the University over the 
summer. Additionally, Yockey 
said the calculus difficulty level 
could potentially influence her 

application to graduate schools.
“If I had taken it here, gotten 
a lower grade, it would have 
brought down my transcript, and 
I might not get into med school 
down the line, which is extreme, 
but it all adds up,” Yockey said. “I 
think that I didn’t see the point 
in doing that and risking that. I 
knew the material, I just didn’t 
want to be penalized for any 
group homework or super hard 
exams, even though I obviously 
know the material very well.”
Millunchick said some of 
the changes in the number of 
students taking math classes in 
higher education. Approximately 
40% of students took Math 115 
during their first semester as 
a freshman in 1996, compared 
to 27% in 2018, according to 
Millunchick. 
Comparatively, 
only 6% of students took Math 215 
in 1996 and now 26% of students 
do. Millumchick said she believes 
this change in enrollment is due 
to the prevalence of accelerated 
math programs in high school.
“I just held a town hall 
last week, where the math 
department 
came, 
and 
they 
talked about Calc I through III, 
and a lot of our faculty came just 
to have a dialogue over what do 

our students need, what do they 
provide and how can we actually 
align the math curriculum and 
the engineering curriculum for 
the needs of the 21st century 
engineer,” Millunchick said.
When asked about students 
opting to take classes outside of 
the University, Millunchick did 
not comment, citing a lack of 
data.
Regardless, 
the 
reputation 
of many of the University’s 
STEM 
classes 
continues 
to 
impact students’ decisions to 
complete the courses outside 
of the University, according to 
McNamee. 
“My roommates actually have 
never taken a calc class here at 
Michigan math, but they do have 
to take Calculus I,” McNamee 
said. “And even though they 
haven’t really looked into it, 
haven’t really heard anything 
about the calc classes other 
than what they’ve heard from 
the grapevine, they still are not 
willing to take it here, despite 
not having ever tried a calc class 
here.”
Reporter Kristina Zheng can 
be reached at krizheng@umich.
edu.

STEM
From Page 1

“How can we trust his student 
government, that was run on a 
campaign of inclusion, when he 
believes radicalism is ingrained 
in our societies?”
Gerstein released a statement 
on 
his 
personal 
Facebook 
page 
Wednesday 
afternoon 
apologizing for any harm caused 
and saying he no longer holds the 
views conveyed in the video. 
“I have grown considerably 
since I made those statements, 
and 
the 
repulsive 
views 
I 
expressed 
in 
the 
video 
no 
longer 
reflect 
my 
current 
understanding,” 
Gerstein 
wrote in his statement. “I am 
devastated to see them reappear 
and be defended today. I know 
an apology is never enough and 
I am complicit in the oppression 
of Palestinians through my past 
actions.”
The statement from Arab 
Student 
Association 
and 
SAFE also called on CSG to 
recognize a resolution passed 
in 
2017 
supporting 
Boycott, 
Divestment, Sanctions . Though 
CSG supported the resolution 
after a contentious debate, the 
University’s Board of Regents 
ultimately voted against the 
action, which would have made 
the board create a committee 
to investigate three companies 
operating in Israel and involved 
in 
alleged 
human 
rights 
violations against Palestinians.l.
The statement said Gerstein’s 
comments 
are 
particularly 
hurtful 
considering 
past 
instances 
in 
which 
pro-
Palestinian activists have been 
targeted 
for 
their 
activism. 
The Daily investigated Canary 
Mission, a pro-Israel blacklist 
that named multiple University 
students 
as 
anti-Israel 
for 
partaking in actions such as 
voting in support of BDS as a 
CSG member.
“If we cannot trust that our 
own student body government 

president 
believes 
in 
our 
humanity, how can we feel 
supported and safe on our 
campus,” the statement read. 
“Our community can no longer 
trust any intentions or policies 
from 
the 
Central 
Student 
government, and once again have 
watched our university isolate 
and turn their backs on us.”
In an interview with The 
Daily Wednesday night, Gerstein 
acknowledged 
his 
comments 
and the statement circulated by 
SAFE on Facebook. He also said 
the changes demanded in their 
statement were reasonable and 
that CSG would pursue them in 
the following weeks. 
“I think in the statement by 
SAFE last night, they outlined 
some really important points that 
I had not previously considered,” 
Gerstein said. “Just in general, 
with the executive order that 
came from the White House 
— that I believe is a targeted 
attempt to silence Palestinian 
activism — there has been an 
increased climate of hostility 
towards those communities. I 
want to make sure that I’m not 
derelict in my responsibility to be 
a partner in their movement.”
LSA 
senior 
Sharif-Ahmed 
Krabti initially shared the clip on 
Facebook, which contains a short 
portion of the 15-minute video, 
in which Gerstein questions 
whether the Palestinian people 
are worthy of a state. 
In his interview with The 
Daily, Gerstein reiterated his 
positions have changed and he 
no longer agrees with anything 
said in the video. He also said he 
recognizes his role in combating 
oppression on campus. 
“I 
think 
this 
video 
is 
a 
representation 
of 
what 
specifically 
we’re 
fighting 
against, which is a frame of 
thought that denies and erases 
the history and real story of 
people,” Gerstein said. “And back 
in when I was in high school and 
in middle school, I had beliefs that 
were complicit in that. And so I 
think it’s incumbent upon people 

who are in leadership positions, 
especially 
representing 
the 
different communities we have 
on campus that are oppressed 
and marginalized, we do have a 
responsibility to not be passive 
members in fighting systemic 
oppression.” 
Gerstein also urged people 
to not defend his previous 
statements, 
explaining 
he 
recognizes the harm the video 
has caused. He thanked fellow 
students at the University for 
helping him evolve. 
“I hope people who would 
defend what I said in the past, 
recognize 
the 
real 
impact 
that words and the history of 
our society have on people,” 
Gerstein said. “(It’s important) 
to participate in that difficult 
path of realizing the faults in 
your own thinking and have 
the 
vulnerability 
to 
move 
forward and seek empathy. I 
would encourage people not to 
resist being open to change and 
being open to empathy. I want 
to thank the students here at 
this university for showing me 
a different way over these last 
three years, and I know that 
there’s a lot more work that I 
need to do.” 
CSG 
Communications 
Director Alex Johnson released 
a statement Wednesday night, 
acknowledging the harm done 
to the Palestinian, Muslim and 
Arab students on campus by 
Gerstein’s comments. He also 
addressed the steps CSG would 
take to repair relationships with 
affected communities moving 
forward. 
“As 
an 
organization 
we 
wholeheartedly realize the need 
to better support Palestinian, 
Muslim and Arab students on 
campus,” Johnson wrote. “In 
the next several days, President 
Gerstein hopes to listen to the 
concerns and needs of impacted 
students 
and 
work 
towards 
the various asks outlined in 
SAFE’s statement last night. 
Apologies are insincere without 
corresponding action and we 

collectively are committed to 
acting on these wrongs.” 
Krabti called on the CSG 
parties running for the election 
in March to denounce this 
behavior. He specifically tagged 
the 
Facebook 
account 
for 
Mobilize, a new CSG party that 
announced its formation Monday 
night.
In a statement to The Daily, 
Amanda Kaplan, Public Policy 
junior and presidential candidate 
for Mobilize, and Sav Nandigama, 
LSA junior and vice-presidential 
candidate for Mobilize, said they 
would pursue anti-racist policies 
if put in leadership positions.
“If elected, we will require 
our 
executive 
team 
and 
strongly encourage all elected 
representatives to attend anti-
racism teach ins and other 
programs that target biases...” 
the statement said. “At this 
time, we have already submitted 
a request for, and will be 
participating in, a MESA anti-
racism teach in with our core 
team. We call on all future CSG 
candidates/campaigns to do the 
same during this election cycle.” 

Sam 
Burnstein, 

communications 
director 
for 
Change at Michigan — another 
CSG party running for seats 
in the March election — also 
released 
a 
statement 
about 
Gerstein’s comments. The party 
does not officially launch until 
Feb. 26, and no presidential or 
vice-presidential 
candidates 
have been announced.
“We 
believe 
that 
these 
remarks, 
as 
SAFE 
rightly 
states, are inappropriate and 
unacceptable for any member of 
our community - but especially 
for its chief advocate,” Burnstein 
wrote. “The President’s words 
make 
our 
community 
more 
divided, less safe and secure, and 
less inclusive and we condemn 
them.”
News Editor Alex Harring can 
be reached at harring@umich.
edu and reporter Emma Ruberg 
can be reached at eruberg@
umich.edu 

CSG
From Page 2

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

