Nia and Ness performed
their stories of coming out,
and how people reacted to
their love. They expressed the
anxiety of needing to come out
to people time after time and
the anger with which people
responded.
“Everyone’s eyes seem to
ask, ‘How dare you two Black
women be happy?’” Ness said.
“‘How dare you two Black
women be happy on your own?
How dare you two Black women
be happy together? How dare
you two Black women be happy
without us?’”
The
pair
addressed
the
stereotypes pushed upon them
due to their race. Ness spoke of
how their bodies came with a
price, and they were paying the
price every day. She expressed
how every moment alive is
spent fighting, not only against
stereotypes but also against
traumas,
whether
personal,
ancestral or cultural.
“We see our ancestors,” Ness
said. “We close our eyes and
we hear them speak. They tell
us not much has changed since
they were in chains. We feel the
tension, the pain in our bodies
weighing us down the way they
were weighed down.”
Ness
spoke
about
the
oversexualization of young
Black girls. She explained to
the group that Black girls are
viewed by society as sexually
available, regardless of age.
Younger girls are being made
to act as though they are
twice their age because this
is the way the world sees
them, Ness said.
“She’s still here in her body,
a body becoming increasingly
desired, but only if covered in
white skin,” Ness said. “She’s
worn the same outfit as a white
woman with the same build
and been told to take it off
because it’s too sexy on her.
But the white woman? She was
praised.”
Mid-performance,
Ness
held the floor to herself and
expressed
how
much
she
wanted to be happy and how
difficult this can be. She spoke
of how much of a challenge
this was for her after she had
come out. She said she had
learned to keep joy in and not
to express it, which caused her
great pain.
“In 2018, we hosted parties
at the polls on Central and
North Campus, and that was
an opportunity for students
to really engage with us, get
some food, get some swag,
have conversation and get
some information around what
they would be voting on if they
weren’t yet fully informed to
that end,” Byrnes said.
“This
year,
for
the
presidential
primary
on
March 10, with changes in
our state voting laws with
Proposal 3, we’ll be able to not
only give student information
on who and what will be on
the ballot — of course in a way
that’s non-partisan — but we’ll
also be able to direct them to
the city clerk’s office if they
haven’t yet registered because
they will be able to register in
person up to and on the day
that they’ll be voting.”
Byrnes
highlighted
the
the support from President
Mark Schlissel’s office, which
streamlines her team’s work
through the Office of New
Student Programs.
“It’s opened a lot of doors for
us, which has been wonderful,
so I think that’s an important
piece of our reach,” Byrnes
said. “It’s really empowered
and enabled us to work directly
with the Office of New Student
Programs, talking with new
and transfer students in the
summer months as they’re
first coming in the campus,
really focusing on kind of
weaving voting and broader
democratic engagement to the
student experience from day
one.”
Organizations
such
as
WeListen,
a
student-run
group that brings together
voices from various political
backgrounds on campus, have
promoted discussion on a wide
variety of topics and political
engagement
to
encourage
informed voting.
According to LSA junior
Caroline Martin, WeListen’s
vice president of outreach,
the
organization
tries
to
facilitate real conversations
in
a
politically
divided
environment.
Martin
said
a part of this process is
educating students on political
issues and emphasizing the
importance of voting as a civic
duty.
“No matter where you fall
on the political spectrum,
voting is a privilege, a right,
civic duty, fundamental pillar
of democracy,” Martin said.
“WeListen
is
adamant
to
provide neutral resources that
allow you to make actionable,
informed decisions.”
At the Law School, Michigan
Voting
Project,
a
student-
led organization previously
known
as
the
Michigan
Election Law Project, brings
together law students studying
voting law and professors to
engage the student body.
Casey Wright, Law School
student and Voter Registration
Chair, said the group used to
be focused solely on bringing
law
students
opportunities
to learn about voting law, but
has evolved to include more
groundwork and encourage
volunteer opportunities and
organizing at the polls.
“Some people come into
this with a lot of personal
knowledge and background
about election law, and what
current voting rights efforts
look like across the country,”
Wright said. “Some people,
like me, are just interested
in
voting
rights
and
are
passionate about it and want
to learn about it. I don’t come
from any formal voting-related
background, but it’s really
cool to see what other people
are doing, and the professors
from the Law School are really
experts in this field.”
Wright
said
while
law
students usually have already
had experience with voting,
MVP
helps
students
who
might want to switch their
registration
to
Michigan
or help them get access to
absentee ballots.
“We want to make sure that
people know that they can
switch their registration to
Michigan if they want to, so
that’s been a big priority for
us especially since Michigan
is a swing state and its
very important in national
elections,” Wright said. “There
are a lot of very important
local ballot initiatives that
affect students and graduate
students, so we want to make
sure that people know that
they can register to vote in
Michigan while they’re here
at school.”
Wright said MVP has been
facilitating voter registration
at the Law School and making
sure people know when the
election will take place in
preparation for the primary.
Looking ahead to the general
election, Wright said they are
working with the Office of
Student Life to help students
avoid
having
to
choose
between classes and voting.
“Missing
class
for
law
students can be especially
challenging,”
Wright
said.
“We’re
working
with
our
Office of Student Life to see
what sorts of options we have
in terms of getting our classes
recorded
and
just
making
sure that even if people have
a really packed class schedule
on Tuesdays, that they will
not have to sacrifice their
ability to get to the poll before
it closes.”
LSA freshman Nick Schuler,
College Republicans freshman
chair,
said
registration
efforts have begun within
the organization. He noted an
event the group held last week,
during which a representative
from
the
Trump
Victory
Organization came to help
members get registered. The
critical work, however, will
begin next year in preparation
for the general election, he
said.
“Next year we’re certainly
going to be ramping up our
voter registration and get out
the voter efforts,” Schuler said.
“We’re doing that through the
statewide Republican National
Committee — they help us out a
lot — and as well the statewide
campus Republicans. We’re
just looking to get Republicans
registered, especially in a state
like Michigan.”
Schuler said he believes
student Republican turnout
will be even greater than in
2016 because of the political
environment
surrounding
impeachment.
“I
think
that
among
Republicans
the
turn
out
is going to be higher due to
impeachment and Republicans
know that it was an unfair,
purely partisan process,” he
said. “Republicans are going
to be fired up, and they’re
going to want to send a
message to Nancy Pelosi and
the Democrats that what they
did was wrong.”
LSA student Rose Sickrey
has just registered to vote in
Ann Arbor and plans to cast
her ballot for Sen. Bernie
Sanders, I-Vt.
“I’m voting for him because
of
his
feminist
stances,
universal
health
care
and
taxing the ultra-wealthy as
proportionately as us normal
people are taxed. The fact
that I paid more in federal
taxes last year than Amazon
is gross,” Sickery said. “I will
be voting for Bernie Sanders
because the U.S., even if
kicking and screaming, needs
to be dragged into the 21st
century.”
Reporter Katherina Sourine
can be reached at ksourine@
umich.edu.
In light of the coronavirus
outbreak, some students at the
University
have
rescheduled
or
altered
their
trips.
LSA
sophomore Charlotte Falk was
planning to travel to Milan for
part of her spring break. One
person on the trip with Falk was
traveling with her grandmother
and originally changed her plans
because of the heightened risk
for older people. However, Falk
said their entire friend group
ultimately decided to cut Milan
from their itinerary.
“Initially
she
made
that
decision
because
she
was
traveling with her grandma, and
since coronavirus affects older
people more, it was definitely
more of a health risk, but the
rest of us were still planning on
going,” Falk said. “Literally, day-
to-day, as the stories increased,
we decided it was in our best
interest not to go, not only for
safety concerns but at a certain
point, it came down to a city that
was only half-functioning.”
Falk said they only decided
to
cancel
their
Milan
trip
on Tuesday, and have been
scrambling to plan a new trip
to Lisbon, Portugal, over the
last two days. She said she was
frustrated by the cost burden of
having to plan a new trip. She
didn’t have flight insurance to
cover the expense, and flight
prices increased as it got closer
to their planned vacation date.
“Everything’s been a really
quick turnover,” Falk said. “It’s
super
frustrating,
especially
wanting to visit friends that
were already studying abroad
there, but their entire plans are
rocked anyway too. I feel like
we’re all scampering at the last
minute.”
LSA junior Aashika Shetty,
who is currently studying abroad
in London, said she originally
had plans to travel to Milan.
However, Shetty and her friends
have all decided to cancel their
trip because of the health risks.
Shetty also said people she
knows currently studying in
Milan have had school canceled
indefinitely due to the outbreak.
“We all made the decision that
it’s probably just safer not to go,”
Shetty said. “For me, it’s not a big
cost to have a flight from London
to Milan, so I’m not losing that
much money. It’s better to not go
than go, and I think it was also
for peace of mind, too.”
Reporter Francesca Duong can
be reached at fduong@umich.edu.
Meanwhile, Larson started this
election cycle as a Pete Buttigieg
supporter,
then
switched
his
support to Biden.
“I still like Pete Buttigieg as a
candidate,” Larson said. “But the
reason that Joe Biden specifically
appealed to me (was through)
having
conversations
with
Andrew … and other members of
the Biden organization, getting to
know them and really digging into
the policies.”
While all the groups hope to
get voters for their respective
candidate, their target audience
varies. According to Schaeffler,
Students for Biden focuses on
students, helping them navigate
absentee voting and encouraging
civil engagement.
On the other hand, according
to LSA freshman Sonya Love,
a
field
captain
for
Students
for Warren last semester, her
organization works closely with
Washtenaw for Warren, which
focuses on residents across the
county. Students for Warren is
also directly affiliated with the
national Warren campaign.
Love said she worked to create
plans for various field events. She
said she has been a supporter of
Warren since the beginning of
summer 2019.
“I’m just really drawn to her
message,” Love said. “I really am
inspired by the positive change
that I think she would bring to this
country as president. It’s also just
cool to meet like-minded people.”
Love
said
she
has
been
attending Students for Warren
meetings since the group first
formed and has also participated
in phone banking sessions.
“It’s
palpable
how
excited
people are about Warren as a
candidate,” Love said. “They’re
excited to make change in every
way they can.”
Students for Bernie is a student
organization
affiliated
with
the
national
Bernie
Sanders
campaign, which recently opened
a campaign office in Ann Arbor.
The
national
campaign
has
provided resources, including two
paid staffers and weekly call-in
checks to help guide the group.
LSA
sophomore
Anna
Nedoss,
Students
for
Bernie
organization chair, told The Daily
the national Sanders campaign
putting resources into student
organizations demonstrates an
investment in college voters.
“The support that we get from
the campaign is super valuable,”
Nedoss said. “They help us do a lot
of ‘get out the vote’ initiatives, so
we actually are working directly
with people who are paid by
the campaign to come help us.
That’s how much the campaign
is really emphasizing student
voter turnout and just the student
demographic.”
LSA freshman Porter Hughes,
co-founding
member
and
communications
director
of
Students for Bernie, said he works
to spread the word about the
senator through social media in
addition to the tabling and phone
banking events. Hughes said he
went through training over the
summer with the national Sanders
campaign to prepare to lead
Students for Bernie.
“Over the summer, they taught
us a lot about how to organize on
campus, things of that nature,”
Hughes said. “And then we also
brought in other groups or other
people from our group to help join
the leadership team and just like
our general membership.”
Hughes emphasized his support
for Sanders, saying his policies
will allow everyone to have equal
opportunities for success.
“We really believe in Senator
Sanders’s mission: to transform
our
country,
transform
our
politics to something that makes it
possible for everybody to have the
same opportunities,” Hughes said.
“This is the kind of world that we
need to live in and Sanders fulfills
that vision and we are very happy
to assist him.”
Students for Pete was founded
by LSA senior Jessica Kosticak to
bring together U-M students who
support Buttigieg for president.
Business freshman Jay Rubin
said he found out about Students
for Pete at the beginning of the
year. Rubin said he is supporting
Buttigieg because he believes
Buttigieg is the most electable and
the candidate best suited to beat
President Donald Trump.
“When you look at the other
candidates, I believe Pete is the
best candidate because Sanders
and Warren are way too far left
and aren’t electable candidates,”
Rubin said. “Klobuchar does not
have enough support, Biden is too
old and Bloomberg just entered
the race too late. Combined with
Pete’s well-spoken tendency and
the fact that he’ll bring stability
to the White House that we lack
during the Trump presidency, I
also believe he is the best candidate
and he has a proven track record
of success with being the mayor of
South Bend, Indiana.”
Rubin also said he thinks
supporting Buttigieg on Super
Tuesday is the next step to
making sure he wins the Michigan
Democratic primary.
“With Super Tuesday coming
up, it’s definitely encouraged us to
do our best to ensure that Pete does
get a lot of votes and ultimately,
hopefully, the nomination,” Rubin
said. “We all believe in Students
for Pete that Pete is the best
candidate. While we respect every
other candidate, we do believe
that Pete has the best chance to
win the White House back and
the primaries are just one way to
achieve that.”
Beyond
political
affiliations
and hopes for their candidate,
however, student organizers aim
to get more people to the polls.
Larson said one of his priorities is
increasing political participation.
“Even more than just promoting
Joe Biden, we want to make sure
that students most importantly,
are civically engaged, whether
they be Biden supporters or Trump
supporters or nonvoters,” Larson
said. “I think it’s really important
that we have people, whether they
be on any side of the political
aisle, supporting any candidate
or no candidate, to be willing to
have open conversations.”
Reporters Iulia Dobrin and
Jasmin Lee can be reached
at
idobrin@umich.edu
and
itsshlee@umich.edu.
Stinar
explained
Deluca
trusted and looked up to
Coach Bill Johannesen like a
father and was disappointed
in his response.
“How did the University
of Michigan coach, father
figure Johannesen respond?”
Stinar questioned. “Tad was
removed from the wrestling
team, Tad’s scholarship and
financial aid was revoked.
Tad’s personal letter that he
wrote in 1975 was read to the
rest of his wrestling team.”
In
a
statement
from
University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald, the University has
hired
outside
investigators
Steptoe & Johnson to uncover
the facts of the case.
“The
university
engaged
a firm with deep expertise
to conduct an independent,
thorough,
and
unflinching
review of the facts – wherever
they may lead,” the statement
reads. “Through the work
of
this
independent
firm,
there will be a full, public
accounting
of
the
harms
caused by Anderson as well
as the institutional failings
that allowed him to keep
practicing.”
Stinar then described the
letter Deluca sent in 2018
to Athletic Director Warde
Manuel.
Stinar
alleged
Manuel ignored the letter.
“Tad’s 2018 letter to the
athletic
director
at
the
University
of
Michigan
includes very, very serious
statements,”
Stinar
said.
“After receiving this letter
athletic
director
Warde
Manuel and Pamela Heatlie,
who is affiliated with the
academic and faculty Affairs,
sat on this letter for numerous
months, because it got lost in
a stack of paperwork. This
letter was received in the heat
of the Nassar investigation.
The University of Michigan
sat on this letter for months,
and just like Tad’s 1975 letter,
it was ignored.”
After
Manuel
received
the
letter
in
2018,
the
University police conducted
an
investigation
into
the
allegations.
However,
the
Washtenaw
County
Prosecutor’s office did not
pursue
criminal
charges
because Anderson had died in
2008 .
Hrovat
described
how
his teammates warned him
about Anderson before he
had to go in for his physical
as a freshman and the impact
of knowing what was about
to happen had on his mental
state.
“When your team is telling
you when you go in there, that
you’re going to be touched
inappropriately, and things
are gonna get weird,” Hrovat
explained. “Just going into
it, that mental psyche was
something I couldn’t deal with
at the time. You know, that’s
what has stuck with me for
the last 20-plus years, to have
to go into a room knowing that
you’re going to encounter this
… and that’s why it’s always
been in the back of my mind
that this wasn’t right.”
Evashevski commented on
the prevalence of the abuse
perpetrated by Anderson.
“It happened to me, it
happened to them, it happened
to just about everyone I knew,”
Evashevksi said.
Hrovat
described
his
experience as a male athlete
who was sexually abused.
He said the culture within
athletics for males to push
through any obstacles they
face
contributed
to
the
environment of silence.
“As athletes in combat sport,
an individual sport, we’re
taught our whole lives that,
you know, this is on us, you
know, be tough, push through
it,” Hrovat said. “And make no
excuses because everything’s
in your hands...It’s really hard
to look at yourself as a victim,
right? Because you’re not a
victim on the mat. It’s in your
hands, right? But it’s hard to
separate.”
Deluca said he often blamed
himself for his losses on the
mat, and that blame carried
over to his interactions with
Anderson.
“If I won, it was my fault,
if I lost, it was my fault,”
Deluca said. “So, in 1975 I lost
everything, and it was my
fault.”
Stinar
concluded
by
explaining the next steps the
alleged survivors were taking
legally. He noted a lawsuit
has not yet been filed but they
have a meeting scheduled
with the general counsel of
the University in the near
future.
“At this point, our three
goals are to uncover the truth,
and that will be through
the documents that we’ve
obtained, as well as speaking
to other victims and other
individuals willing to come
forward and speak up,” Stinar
said. “Number two is to allow
a safe platform for victims
to call into, to communicate,
to share their story… and
then number three is holding
the University of Michigan
accountable.
And
number
three,
there’s
different
pathways to go down. And at
this time, the first step is to
meet with the University.”
The University statement
recognized the courage of the
men who told their stories and
requested others who have
been negatively impacted by
Anderson to come forward.
“The
three
brave
men
who came forward today to
share their stories delivered
a
powerful
message,”
the
statement reads. “We want to
encourage everyone harmed
by Robert E. Anderson or
who has evidence of his
misconduct to come forward.
At the University of Michigan
we want to hear your voices.”
The
allegations
against
Anderson
come
after
the
University
placed
Provost
Martin
Philbert
on
leave
due to multiple allegations
of sexual misconduct and
allegations against University
EECS Professor Jason Mars.
Daily News Editor Emma
Stein
can
be
reached
at
enstein@umich.edu
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