GEO President Emily Gauld, a
Rackham student, spoke to The
Daily before the grade-in and
described GEO’s disappointment
with the University’s rejection of
proposals for promoting equitable
and accessible working conditions.
“We spent many hours answering
questions about the language and
trying to start problem-solving,”
Gauld said. “They were really
trying to understand the root of
the problem we were getting at,
we were trying to articulate that as
clearly as possible. We were hoping
their counters would provide us
with some sense of how they saw
we could address the problem or
where they could meet us in the
middle. And to get rejections on
everything felt like all of those
conversations
were
essentially
wasted.”
In an interview with The Daily
in Dec. 2019, University President
Mark Schlissel said he values
unions and believes in negotiating
to find reasonable solutions all
parties are satisfied with.
“What
unions
do
with
employers
is
they
negotiate,”
Schlissel said. “So demands aren’t
negotiation — they say ’you must
do this.’ The idea is to spend time
understanding each others’ goals
and figuring out which ones are
the most important, since no one
ever gets everything they want in a
negotiation, and then you sit down
and work. And it’s hard work. And
they’ll meet a couple of times a
week for many months trying to
figure out what’s a win-win. There
are some things GEO is going to
want that they just aren’t going to
get. There are other things they
want that are reasonable and they
will get them.”
In 2017, the University and GEO
reached a contract agreement
addressing pay caps on mental
health
services,
formation
of
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Graduate
Student
Student
Assistant positions and greater
protections
for
international
graduate students. This contract
was the result of 27 bargaining
sessions,
multiple
sit-ins
and
threats of a walk-out.
Gauld said the purpose of the
grade-in was both a response to
HR’s proposal rejections and its
impact on the future of graduate
student workers.
“We
see
it
really
as
an
opportunity to make the labor
that graduate students do visible,”
Gauld said. “We’ve been asked
more than once at the table what
does the University get in return
for the asks that we’re making,
which is a bit of a trick question
because they’re already getting
our labor. So we want to make sure
that it’s clear what exactly that
labor is, how much we put into this
University, and that our asks do not
outweigh the work that we do.”
Rackham
student
Sumeet
Patwardhan, co-chair of the GEO
Bargaining Committee, attended
the grade-in and spoke to The
Daily about how GEO’s purpose
and values impacted him.
“When I first became a graduate
student here, I didn’t even know
what a union was, that’s where I
was sort of coming from into this
process,” Patwardhan said. “I just
felt it was very empowering to
know that I wouldn’t have to fight
for my rights and protections as
a graduate student worker all by
myself but that there is this union
that would be collectively fighting
for us.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Friday, February 21, 2020 — 3
REGENTS
From Page 1
CLUB
From Page 1
GRADE-IN
From Page 1
ASL
From Page 1
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
“Due to this increase,
fewer than 12 students from
the waitlist (who have not
studied
ASL
previously)
are able to begin the ASL
sequence each year with
the first-semester language
course.”
The ASL program was
established
in
1999
in
response to a student-led
initiative
to
bring
ASL
courses to the University.
Though the program was
originally housed in the
Department of Linguistics,
it moved to the Residential
College with the reopening
of East Quad Residence Hall
in 2013. While the RC houses
ASL, ASL is not part of the
RC language program.
The fourth semester of
RCASL satisfies the LSA
language
requirement,
but not the RC language
requirement.
Still,
RC
Director Catherine Badgley
said the RC is looking into
updated plans for all of their
courses, including ASL, to
adjust resource allocation
and waitlists.
“The
ASL
Program
became
part
of
the
Residential College in 2013,
and enrollments in ASL
courses have been robust
since then,” Badgley said.
“In the RC, we are in the
process of reviewing long-
term plans for all of our
academic programs in light
of enrollment trends, faculty
availability, and resources.”
According to the Modern
Language
Association’s
most recent report on United
States
higher
education
enrollments in languages
other than English, ASL
is the third most studied
language following Spanish
and French. Berwanger said
the limited number of ASL
professors is a nationwide
issue
and
Shipley
noted
ASL differs from most other
languages taught because of
its high student demand and
low supply of professors and
courses. Even compared to
other less frequently taken
languages,
Shipley
said,
ASL has a long waitlist.
“There’s obviously some
languages that most people
take
that
have
endless
sections and that don’t have
waitlists
because
there
are endless sections and
endless professors,” Shipley
said.
“Then
there
are
other languages that have
the same issue where the
programs are really small,
but ASL differs because of
that waitlist. There’s just a
higher demand for it.”
Badgley said the waitlist
signifies growing interest
from
students
in
both
ASL
and
supporting
marginalized communities.
She also praised the student-
led aspect of the petition.
“We are aware of the
strong
interest
from
students in having more
courses in ASL and applaud
the activism behind this
petition,” Badgley wrote.
Dentistry
student
Joseph Samona wrote in
an email to The Daily his
experience as a deaf student
at the University has been
positive
with
regards
to
accommodation
and
interpreters.
“My
experience
at
U
of
M
has
been
great,”
Samona wrote. “I was born
profoundly deaf and I grew
up
with
American
Sign
Language. At U of M, I have
been using ASL interpreters
for
my
education
and
having
these
kinds
of
accommodations play a big
role in my education.”
While Samona has not
taken ASL courses at the
University, he said other
students
he
knows
who
have taken it have enjoyed
delving
deeper
into
the
language and culture.
“I have not taken any
courses but I know few
students that did,” he wrote.
“They love learning ASL
because it is a unique and
creative language. They also
got a chance to be involved
with the Deaf community
where they can experience
the Deaf culture.”
Samona said he supports
the petition and believes it
will positively impact all
students at the University.
“I
think
the
need
to
expand the ASL program is
important for the University
of
Michigan,”
Samona
wrote. “There are many
students that have shown
strong interest in ASL and
this will be a wonderful
opportunity for them to
learn ASL and the Deaf
culture.”
LSA junior Zachary Layle
is president of the ASL Club,
an
organization
bringing
together hearing, deaf and
hard
of
hearing
people
from the University and
the Ann Arbor community
to learn and practice ASL.
Layle agreed that RCASL
100’s long waitlist, along
with the course sequence
having only one hearing
professor, limits learning
opportunities for interested
students.
While
he
considered
taking the University’s ASL
courses,
Layle
ultimately
decided to learn through
the club, which he said is a
decision he is happy with.
“I’ve learned an immense
amount just from going to
meetings and just practicing
when I can,” he said. “I
mean I’ll walk down the
street and see a chair and
I’ll fingerspell for ‘chair,’ so
just little things like that.
And I’ve grown immensely
from where I started.”
Layle is also supportive
of the petition and has
circulated it through the
club in hopes of getting more
professors and resources for
ASL.
“I think it’s awesome,”
Layle said. “I’ve sent it out
to any other groups I’m
involved in and I said, ‘Hey,
please just sign this. This
is very important.’ Because
it desperately needs to be
expanded and even one more
teacher would immensely
improve the program at the
University.”
While
Shipley’s
main
goal with the petition is to
shorten RCASL 100’s long
waitlist, she also wants the
University to allocate more
resources to the program.
She hopes to eventually see
a minor in ASL through the
program.
“The biggest concern is
eliminating that waitlist,”
Shipley said. “But with that
comes a huge bottleneck
effect, like if you get all
these
students
off
that
Intro 100 or 101 waitlist,
then what are you going to
do when you get to 102? So
ideally we’d like to add more
sections of each course,
really each level of ASL. The
end goal would be an ASL
minor, which doesn’t exist
right now.”
Layle
believes
the
University can improve both
the resources and attention
it gives to ASL and the ASL
program. Layle stressed the
importance of treating ASL
as its own language and
allocating
the
necessary
resources to it
“I think a lot of hearing
people see ASL and deaf
culture
as
not
its
own
language,” Layle said. “They
don’t put it on the same
level as they do say Spanish
or Russian or French. It’s
got its own culture, it has
its own slang, it has its
own grammar. It’s its own
language and it deserves to
be treated like every other
language.”
Reporter Sonia Lee can be
reached at sonialee@umich.
edu.
“Annually, club sports
administrators, so myself,
our
coordinator,
my
supervisor and our financial
specialist
look
at
our
capacity to serve the clubs
that we already have,” Hanna
said. “And then if we have
something that’s changed and
maybe if we have the ability
to add more organizations,
which happened last year,
then we open the application
process.”
According
to
the
Club
Sports Handbook, available
by request at the Recreational
Sports
Office,
there
are
multiple requirements that
teams must meet to apply for
club status. These include
being recognized as a student
organization
for
at
least
two
years,
demonstrating
fiscal responsibility during
this time, having at least
ten
competitive
members
and showing evidence of
a
leadership
transition
beyond its original founders.
Potential club sports teams
must
also
have
a
non-
student coach and a national
governing
body
for
their
sport, which allows them
to compete against other
universities.
The process of reviewing
the application is then taken
up by the executive board,
which is a body of students
who have been elected by
the Club Sports Council.
Hanna said applicants must
meet with the e-board to
answer
questions
about
their interest in club status.
The
e-board
then
makes
recommendations on if the
applicant group should be
granted club status.
“From
those
recommendations,
the
administrative staff reviews
them,” Hanna said. “We look
at our situation as far as what
our capacity is and where
our capacity is, whether it’s
facility space or advising
time or financial resources.
Then we look at what the
need is from the clubs that
have applied.”
In 2019, the competitive
weightlifting
team
successfully petitioned for
club status. The team has won
multiple titles in different
weight classes at the regional
and national levels.
LSA senior Celia Gold,
co-president of weightlifting
club,
said
club
status
achievement was an intensive
process from the student
perspective.
“The process to become a
club sport is very rigorous.
It includes many components
that
must
be
signed
off
on
by
staff,”
Gold
said.
“Additionally, the club must
prove they will be successful
and fund themselves in order
to get off the ground.”
Gold explained how her
experience
as
an
athlete
changed as a result of the
team’s new status.
“Beyond
being
able
to
utilize the block ‘M’, we
now have access to club
sports resources and a whole
network of teams who have
succeeded before us,” Gold
said.
According
to
the
recreational
sports
handbook, one of the ways
club sports provide an inter-
sport network is through
representation in the Club
Sports
Council,
a
body
of
representatives
from
each of the 30 club sports
at Michigan. The Council
provides
the
opportunity
for
teams
to
collaborate
and learn from each other,
promoting
camaraderie
across the University sports
community.
The student swim team,
Swimming
Wolverines
At
Michigan , is an example
of
a
student
athletic
organization on campus that
has faced issues achieving
club
status.
Engineering
sophomore William Soobert,
administrative
chair
of
SWAM, explained why a club
swim team is important to
non-varsity
swimmers
on
campus.
“A few years ago, Andrew
Westfall (created) Michigan
club swimming, SWAM, for
people like us who want to
continue to swim in college
but aren’t necessarily able
to swim on the DI team at
Michigan,” said Soobert. “We
have turned it into more than
just a swim team. We have
turned it into a community,
a family, we have all sorts of
social events and all sorts of
meets throughout the year.”
Soobert said the team,
despite not being officially
affiliated
with
the
University, has competitively
represented the University
successfully this past year.
“We compete on a national
level every year. Last year
we placed top 30 out of
over
a
hundred
teams,”
Soobert said. “We are pretty
competitive even though we
have only been around for
five years.”
Engineering
junior
Robbie Amori, co-president
of SWAM, explained why
SWAM
is
pursuing
club
status so persistently.
“We want to be able to
represent the University to
our fullest potential,” Amori
said.
“We
are
currently
representing them at the
national level. We would
like to do it in a more official
capacity by wearing the block
‘M’. It would also be great to
have other side-benefits, like
using the natatorium and to
host meets for club funds.”
Amori said SWAM has
been told they are unable to
achieve club status due to
their lack of resources.
“I think one of the things
that they say is that they
can only support so many
programs at a time,” Amori
said. “Which is one reason
why they won’t let us become
sports
status
because
they
don’t
have
enough
‘resources,’ is the word they
say.”
Hanna
explained
why
some organizations are not
offered club status by the
Club Sports Program.
“Typically
the
reason
that clubs are not offered
sponsorships when they have
applied is because there are
(other) clubs that have a need
that best matches what we
have available at that time,”
Hanna said. “So it’s not that
they’re being denied, it’s that
they are not being offered.”
Reporter Sofia Urban can
be
reached
at
urbanso@
umich.edu and sports writer
Rose Cramton can be reached
at rcramton@umich.edu
Schlissel addressed the actions
the
University
had
previously
taken in response to allegations of
sexual misconduct against the late
Robert Anderson, former director
of University Health Services and
an athletics team physician. In
2003, Anderson retired from the
University.
“The
patient-physician
relationship involves a solemn
commitment and trust,” Schlissel
said. “The allegations are highly
disturbing.
On
behalf
of
the
University, I apologize to anyone
who was harmed by Dr. Anderson
… To those who reported Dr.
Anderson and to anyone who has
reported sexual misconduct in any
case, I express my sincere gratitude
for your courage.”
Schlissel also commented on the
recent investigation into Martin A.
Philbert, the University’s provost
and executive vice president for
academic affairs, who was accused
of multiple allegations of sexual
misconduct. Schlissel said the
University has hired an outside
independent law firm to investigate
the situation and therefore, he will
not publicize the specifics of the
case.
“Because this investigation is so
critical and because we must ensure
that the outside independent firm is
able to conduct their investigation
in a thorough, reliable and fair way,
I will not be able to share any details
while the investigation is underway,
even though I know that there’s
wide interest in the case,” Schlissel
said.
Public Policy junior Ben Gerstein,
Central
Student
Government
president,
also
spoke
at
the
meeting. His address began with a
statement reaffirming his apology
for comments he made in 2017 on
the
Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
Multicultural
organizations
on
campus called for public apologies
from Gerstein and CSG Tuesday
night, as well as anti-Islamophobia
and anti-bias training for CSG
members.
“I want to reaffirm that apology
and just reference my commitment
and CSG’s collective commitment
towards ensuring this campus is
inclusive for our Palestinian, Arab
and Muslim students,” Gerstein
said. “We look forward to getting
to work in the last four weeks of my
administration to take action and
show solidarity with students who
felt impacted by my past words.”
Gerstein continued by addressing
a survey CSG released to the
campus community at the end of
December about mental health and
well-being on campus. According to
Gerstein, of the 2166 respondents, 55
percent noted that Counseling and
Psychological Services appointment
wait times were a significant barrier
toward seeking treatment. He also
described the issue of a lack of well-
being resources for students on
North Campus.
“I think it’s important that we
recognize the incredibly difficult
work of being a CAPS counselor, so
I want to thank them for the work
that they do when our students
are able to see them,” Gerstein
said. “But because of the extreme
costs of off campus care, CAPS
exists as really the only option for
many students on campus who are
seeking counseling, and so I think
it’s important that we reaffirm our
commitment to those resources and
ensure that students aren’t waiting
to seek help.”
The Regents announced the
creation of a new, permanent
committee chaired by University
Regent Michael Behm (D) called
The University of Michigan-Flint
and the University of Michigan-
Dearborn
Committee.
The
committee will receive reports and
data on the finances, enrollment,
student success, diversity and other
factors regarding the Flint and
Dearborn campuses. It will also
report regularly to the board and
meet with both campus chancellors.
“After
holding
town
halls
and each of us (The Regents)
having meetings with different
stakeholders of the two campuses,
we feel it’s important to establish
this standing committee,” Behm
said.
The board approved several
construction projects to update
facilities and infrastructure on
campus. One approved resolution
is a $145 million addition to the
Bob and Betty Beyster Building to
expand facilities for the computer
science program and provide a
new location for the School of
Information.
Other
approved
resolutions include a $4.8-million
renovation
of
Hutchins’
Hall
Auditorium 100, and a $39-million
design for the proposed Dean
Road Transportation Facility to
provide the infrastructure for bus
transportation equipment.
Bernstein
commented
on
the resolutions to expand the
Bob and Betty Beyster Building
and construct the Dean Road
Transportation
Facility,
saying
that future capital projects should
line up with the University’s goal
of achieving carbon neutrality by
2030.
“For every major capital project,
I’d like to see U-M’s architecture,
engineering and construction team
… provide a total life cycle analysis
for a net-zero building,” Bernstein
said. “What it will demonstrate
is while the cost of a net-neutral
building is probably larger up front,
the longer-term cost of that building
… is competitive or very likely
cheaper.”
In a statement released shortly
after the meeting, the Climate
Action Movement praised the
decision to freeze future fossil fuel
investments while reiterating their
demand for full divestment from
fossil fuel companies.
“While this is a major victory
for the fossil fuel divestment
movement, it is only the first step,”
the statement reads. “It is not enough
to refrain from making additional
divestments—the University must
commit to divest the $1 billion it
currently has invested in the fossil
fuel industry.”
At the conclusion of the Board
of Regents meeting, 15 public
commenters had the opportunity
to directly address University of
Michigan administrators. Eleven
of the comments touched upon
issues of University climate policy.
The remainder spoke about a lack
of affordable housing, support
for international students and
equity across all three U-M
campuses.
Rackham
student
Akash
Shah, co-director of Climate
Blue, read from the letter
the organization sent to the
board and Schlissel last week
reflecting
on
experiences
from the 25th United Nations’
meeting of the Conference of
Parties
and
recommending
carbon neutrality by 2030.
Shah called for the University
to recognize the global impact
it has on climate change.
“As a citizen of Kenya
and India, I can personally
attest to the disproportionate
effect of climate change on
the global south, and U-M
needs to reiterate its global
commitment
through
local
action,” Shah said.
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com