4 — Friday, March 13, 2020 Opinion The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Congratulations to the James B. Angell Scholars for 7+ Terms 97th Annual Honors Convocation | Sunday, March 15, 2020 | www.honors.umich.edu The following students will be among those recognized during the Honors Convocation program on Sunday, March 15, 2020. These individuals have demonstrated the highest level of undergraduate academic success by achieving seven or more consecutive terms of all A’s (A+, A, or A-) while taking a minimum of 14 credit hours, including at least 12 graded (A-E) credits, and earning the designation of Angell Scholar. The University of Michigan congratulates these students on their superior scholastic achievement and wishes them continued success. Tiffany Youling Chen College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Kailyn Grace Delonis* College of Business, Dearborn Skylar Marie Gleason College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Jillian C. Heidenreich* College of Health Sciences, Flint Emily Jean Iwanski College of Engineering Chen Liang Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy Seraphina Gabrielle Provenzano School of Kinesiology Luis Enrique Rangel DaCosta School of Music, Theatre & Dance Jacob Wayne Rogers School of Music, Theatre & Dance Daniel Joseph Vonarburg College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Mackenzie Zierau School of Nursing Sujai S. Arakali College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Anna E. Argento College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Yuxuan Bao College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Hunter Nicole Berger College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Olivia A. Bloomhuff College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Erin N. Boensch College of Arts & Sciences, Flint Stuart T. Brabbs College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Bryan James Brauchler College of Engineering & Computer Science, Dearborn Jasmine C. Chang College of Engineering Fee Lia Christoph Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design Dan Liviu Ciotlos College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Rachel A. Clark College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Melissa S. Connop College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Benjamin Jason Cormier School of Music, Theatre & Dance Andrew Daulton College of Business, Dearborn Katherine D. Dodge College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Sara Navaid Farooqui College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Taylor A. Feddersen College of Engineering Ashley Francis College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Evelyn A. Gagnon College of Arts & Sciences, Flint Alaina M. Galasso School of Music, Theatre & Dance Lukas Jensen Heberling College of Engineering Sarah Herndl School of Nursing Nicole E. Hocott College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Leah D. Hong A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning Phoebe Aidan Hopp College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Rachel Michelle Horton School of Nursing Ruchita Iyer School of Public Health Natalia Marie Jenuwine College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Jason G. Jin Stephen M. Ross School of Business Razeen Karim College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Monica Kim College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Nolan Timothy Klunder College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Jacob E. Kopnick Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy Joshua Davis Kremers College of Engineering David A. Kucher College of Engineering Rhea Kulkarni School of Information Malhar B. Kute School of Music, Theatre & Dance Sebastian Elijah Leder Macek College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Jenna L. Manske College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Lauren E. May Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy Kathleen M. Mazur School of Nursing Devon K. Mccleskey School of Music, Theatre & Dance Kaitlin Elizabeth McKernan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Leo J. McManus College of Engineering Nitesh Mohan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Katie Munson College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Nathan Ng College of Engineering Samir Vahdat Nooshabadi College of Engineering Kaelan J. Oldani College of Engineering Kelly Marie O’Toole College of Engineering Sarah Irene Overbeck* College of Engineering & Computer Science, Dearborn Kathryn Parkhurst School of Nursing Cameron B. Pawlik College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Quinn Michaela Powell College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Elena A. Ramirez-Gorski College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Safia Khadija Sayed College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Madeleine Elizabeth Schmitter School of Public Health Karalyn Jeann Schubring School of Music, Theatre & Dance Jasnoor Singh College of Engineering Ashton J. Skillman College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Griffin Teresa St Onge College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Jared M. Stolove College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Ethan Benjy Szlezinger College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Craig I. Tarnopol Stephen M. Ross School of Business Jeremy P. Tervo College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Kenny Topolovec College of Engineering & Computer Science, Dearborn Michael Ustes College of Engineering & Computer Science, Dearborn Alyssa Nicole Van Scoy College of Business, Dearborn Alexander Vidinas College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Matthew H. Ward College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Isabel Morgan Wayner School of Music, Theatre & Dance Ellie Rose White College of Arts, Sciences, & Letters, Dearborn Claudia K. Wong College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Florence Ying Wai Woo School of Music, Theatre & Dance Kay M. Wright A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning Ziyi Wu College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Devyn K. Wylam* School of Education & Human Services, Flint Haoran Xiao College of Engineering Nicole P. Xu College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Jennifer Yang College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Kelly Yang College of Pharmacy Lucy Yang College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Matthew David Zeilbeck College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Amanda Zhang College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Yimeng Zhuang College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Charles Zinn College of Literature, Science, and the Arts EIGHT TERM ANGELL SCHOLARS SEVEN TERM ANGELL SCHOLARS *Denotes graduates 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 Alanna Berger Zack Blumberg Brittany Bowman Emily Considine Jess D’Agostino Jenny Gurung Cheryn Hong Krystal Hur Ethan Kessler Zoe Phillips Mary Rolfes Michael Russo Timothy Spurlin Miles Stephenson Joel Weiner Erin White W hen I was an optimistic high school freshman, I tried out for the varsity swim team. Armed with Banana Boat sunscreen and a hideous two- piece bathing suit, I entered the pool woefully unaware of basic swimming technique yet determined to make varsity. Although I succeeded in making the team (too few girls tried out for the team at the tiny, all-girls Catholic school I attended for anyone to be turned away), I quickly realized swimming wasn’t my true calling. I’m certainly not an athlete. But I am a Supreme Court geek. Even in my days as an un-athletic freshman, I skimmed Supreme Court dockets to see the cases and controversies that would be debated in the next few months. That habit has followed me to this day; even as a busy college student I still read Supreme Court blogs. This year, the Supreme Court will decide a landmark case about employee discrimination. In 2010, Donald Zarda was fired from his job as a skydiving instructor after he revealed he was gay (he mentioned his sexuality to a female client who was strapped to him for a jump in an attempt to make her more comfortable with the close physical contact between the two). Nearly a decade and several appeals later, Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda concerns whether the Civil Rights Act’s language protects against employment discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation. Legal scholars and activists are wondering whether the Supreme Court will rule in favor of protections for employers or employees. This is not the first time the Supreme Court has considered sexuality and discrimination. In 1986, the majority opinion in Bowers v. Hardwick compared homosexual activity to “incest … and other sexual crimes” when considering the case of a police officer who had engaged in consensual sodomy; sodomy was criminalized in the state of Georgia until Bowers was overturned in 2003. In 2000, Boy Scouts v. Dale ruled that Boy Scouts of America’s decision to fire an employee because he was openly gay was protected under the First Amendment. It was reasonable, the decision reads, for the Boy Scouts of America to claim that homosexual activity was antithetical to the Boy Scouts’ mission to be “morally straight” and “clean.” Since 1986, however, much of the legal discourse about employee discrimination has shifted to a debate about conflicting individual rights. Zarda is one of the first cases since Dale to directly address discrimination against employees. More recent cases about homosexuality and discrimination have focused on the clash between religious liberty and the individual right to privacy as opposed to the debate about whether homosexuality is morally acceptable. In some ways, it’s easy to look back on that stinging Bowers decision and view it as part of a controversial past, but the arguments made in Zarda prove things haven’t changed much. Legal scholars who defend employers’ interests argue that “sexual orientation” isn’t a protected status in the Civil Rights Act the same way that “sex” or “age” is. It would certainly be unreasonable to expect the Supreme Court to rule on protections that have never existed. But the fundamental problem with this argument is that it ignores the interaction between sex and orientation as applied to civil rights protections. Let’s use the word “sex” as defined in the Civil Rights Act as strictly biological sex (i.e., male or female as assigned at birth) to understand how it still applies as a protection against sexual orientation discrimination. Zarda’s biological sex certainly played a role in his employer’s decision to terminate his gay employee. If Donald Zarda had been a woman in a relationship with a man instead of a man in a relationship with a man, there would not have been a reason to fire him. Furthermore, neither the Constitution nor existing legislation account for the cultural and social changes that create shifts in societal norms. After all, at the time of the Civil Rights Act’s passage in 1964, homosexuality was defined as a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association. Even if sexual orientation isn’t explicitly addressed within the text of the Civil Rights Act, the logic of protections on the basis of sex allow sexual orientation discrimination to be understood as a subset of biological sex discrimination. Beside my short tenure as a swimmer, I recall many other awkward moments from high school. I think of my younger self cringing as she changed into her new, aerodynamic one-piece, struggling to reconcile the feelings she had about herself and her own sexuality. I think about standing at the deep end of the pool, breathing in chlorine and trying not to remember that one time I found “Annie on My Mind” in the school library (it is unclear to me still how that got past the all-seeing librarian). I think of myself staring down the crucifix at the front of my sixth-period math class, wondering if I was morally straight and clean. Zarda is not a case about religious beliefs, or about whether homosexuality is acceptable and appropriate, or about whether we should all be Christan. This is a case about an individual’s right — most importantly, the right to live without being afraid or ashamed, regardless of what they believe. There are some things that just are in the world. Children routinely picked last for dodgeball teams are not destined to be the next Michael Phelps. The Cats movie adaptation is an abomination worthy of Leviticus. Some people are attracted to members of the same sex. Some people who vandalize property and commit hate crimes at Pride events will continue to do so, regardless of how many court decisions tell them it’s wrong. That doesn’t mean the Supreme Court should cease to uphold LGBTQ+ rights anyway. ALLISON PUJOL | COLUMN The right to have rights KAAVYA RAMACHANDHRAN | CONTACT CARTOONIST AT KAAVYAR@UMICH.EDU Allison Pujol can be reached at ampmich@umich.edu.