Chen also explained why she
believes the census is important,
citing the value of congressional
representation. She also discussed
ways the Bureau could increase
student response.
“It is important that people are
reminded that, in a time like this,
having accurate representation and
data can be crucial (for) public health
and safety,” Chen said. “I think
that it’s great that the census can be
responded to online (because) they
can probably get a higher rate of
accurate responses. Right now, not a
lot of people are willing to leave the
house or talk to people in person, so
using online tactics for something
this important should definitely
help.”
In the press release, the Bureau
also announced how they would
alter data collection to ensure safe
procedures.
Though
they
have
suspended in-person canvassing in
certain locations, they emphasized
the importance of counting everyone
to ensure accurate numbers once
they are able to resume in-person
operations. The Bureau is also placing
an emphasis on locations where
students often live and places where
homeless
populations
frequently
visit.
“In (the in-person) operation,
census takers begin following up with
households that haven’t responded
yet
around
some
colleges
and
universities,” the Bureau said. “We
can count households in areas with
off-campus housing before the end
of the spring semester when students
may leave for another residence.”
Margaret Leary, former director
of the University Law Library, has
given
educational
presentations
on the census and participated in
various outreach events, such as a
census town hall event in February.
She said students leaving Michigan to
return home could greatly impact the
count and, in turn, affect the amount
of representation apportioned to the
state.
“I expect the absence of students
will lessen — and make less accurate
— the count throughout Michigan,”
Leary said. “College students are low
responders because they are so busy. It
is very possible ... they will be counted
at home. Overall, this is probably bad
for Michigan, because if they are
not counted here, and are counted
in another state, that increases the
chance of our congressional numbers
dropping from 14 to less. It depends
on how well colleges and universities
respond to the Census Bureau’s
efforts.”
The Bureau said people can
respond online or over the phone, and
that they will also be participating in
outreach efforts in hopes of increasing
the initial response. This would
include producing advertisements
explaining the census and motivating
people to fill it out.
“The Census Bureau is also
making changes to its paid media
campaign, earned media efforts,
and partnership outreach efforts to
adapt to changing conditions while
continuing to promote self-response,”
the press release said. “The key
message right now for anyone with
questions about how COVID-19 will
affect the 2020 Census: It has never
been easier to respond on your own,
whether online, over the phone or by
mail — all without having to meet a
census taker.”
Leary commented on the Bureau’s
outreach efforts and how they hope
to prevent the COVID-19 crisis from
affecting the census. She said she
expects the changes made to the
process will reduce the number of
people counted, especially among
undocumented
people,
college
students, people of color and those
with lower degrees of education or
low socioeconomic status.
“I am very concerned because it
will inevitably cause the count to
be less than it would have been for
several reasons,” Leary said. “(It
will impact) those groups that are
historically least likely to respond
either from fear and/or lack of
knowledge of the impact of them
not being counted. There will (also)
be both less time and fewer Census
Bureau workers to knock on doors to
encourage people to respond. Each
one of these elements will compound
as
the
coronavirus
emergency
worsens or lengthens.”
Reporter Emma Ruberg can be
reached at eruberg@umich.edu
Wednesday, March 25, 2020 — 3
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FOOD
From Page 1
CENSUS
From Page 1
“We know that, especially
now with quarantines and social
isolation, people have even less
ability to get out and go to the
food pantry during certain hours
and pick up food, or maybe they
are working or don’t have the
transportation to get there,”
Starman said. “So, we’ve been
in really close contact with all
of
our
community
partners,
our food pantries, our meal
programs to get extra food out
to make sure that everyone —
children, families, individuals,
veterans and seniors — are able
to get food in this situation.”
In addition to the work Food
Gatherers is doing, the Maize and
Blue Cupboard has continued its
services in providing food for the
University community. Steven
Mangan,
senior
director
of
MDining, said the organization
plans to remain open for the
foreseeable future because of
a recognized need for their
operations. MDining, donations,
Food Gatherers, Central Student
Government and the Dean of
Students office support these
operations.
Mangan said during a crisis, it
is especially important for their
organization
to
continue
its
mission.
“There
are
a
number
of
students that have been and
will
continue
to
experience
food insecurity,” Mangan said.
“In addition, many off-campus
students may not have access
to food or basic supplies. Maize
and Blue Cupboard will provide
these needed services to all
students and faculty and staff
during this crisis.”
Volunteers are continuing to
work at both the Maize and Blue
Cupboard and Food Gatherers,
but precautions are being taken
to ensure the health and safety
of all who come in contact with
the organization.
Mangan
said
the
Maize
and Blue Cupboard asks their
volunteers and shoppers about
their health. If healthy, they
will be admitted into the store
in limited numbers to encourage
distance
from
one
another.
The organization also provides
gloves and hand sanitizer for
their shoppers.
“Upon
entering,
shoppers
are
asked
to
present
their
MCard,” Mangan said. “Staff at
the entry will visually observe
and question shoppers about
their wellness. Shoppers will
be able to enter three at a time
to maintain social distancing.
They are instructed to use
sanitizer and wear gloves that
are provided by Maize & Blue
Cupboard and instructions are
posted regarding how to handle
food.
Shopping
baskets
are
sanitized between shoppers and
surfaces are sanitized every two
hours.”
Starman said Food Gatherers
is also taking similar precautions
in terms of monitoring their
volunteers and are asking about
each individual’s health.
“We
have
modified
our
volunteer
opportunities,”
Starman said. “We don’t have
them in congregate situations
like with our volunteers in our
community kitchen. We have
stopped some of our normal
volunteer roles, like not having
volunteers in our warehouse.
We are also having everybody
answer questions before they
volunteer and then when they
come to the shift, such as, ‘Have
you been sick? Are you sick? Have
you traveled out of the country
within this certain amount of
time? Are you in a risk group?’”
Additional community groups
and individuals have reached
out to Food Gatherers to donate
their help, such as Cottage Inn
Pizza and BD’s Mongolian Grill,
according to Starman.
LSA junior Aaron Boockvar-
Klein said he feels these food
donations show a lot about the
way society deals with crises. He
also said he thinks there will be
many eager volunteers.
“During the last week or so,
I’ve seen a lot of people come
together and to get through this
time by just being generous for
no gains,” Boockvar-Klein said.
“I think there are a lot of people
at home right now looking for
something to do, and people
wanting to make a difference
in this crisis. So, I think there
would be a lot of people willing
to volunteer their time, or extra
food if they have it.”
Reporter Jenna Siteman can be
reached at jsiteman@umich.edu.
What you need to know for the student
government elections this week
The Daily compiled a list of frequently asked questions regarding how to vote
Though students are scattered
across the globe as classes move
online for the semester, the University
of Michigan student governments
will still hold elections online this
Wednesday and Thursday, March
25-26. Here is what you need to know.
What am I voting on?
Students
are
electing
representatives for their schools to
the Central Student Government
Assembly. There is also a University-
wide election for the executive ticket
of
Central
Student
Government,
the Michigan Police Department
Oversight
Committee
and
the
adoption of an instant run-off voting
policy. These positions are all year-
long terms. Depending on the school,
there may also be specific proposals or
policies for students to vote on.
Who is eligible to vote?
For the executive ticket of CSG,
any student regardless of grade or
school is eligible to vote. There are
also elections for CSG Assembly
representatives within each school
at the University and any student
can vote for their respective school’s
representative.
Some
school-wide
student governments, like LSA’s, are
also housing their ballots within the
election website, where any student in
any school will be able to vote for their
school’s student government.
How and when can I vote?
Voting
begins
on
Wednesday,
March 25 at midnight and closes on
Thursday, March 26 at 11:59 p.m.
All voting takes place online at vote.
umich.edu except for the College of
Engineering’s election, which happens
at vote.studentlife.umich.edu.
Why do some schools have more
openings than others?
Each school is allotted a certain
number of representatives based
on the total number of students
at the University enrolled in each
school. LSA, the largest school at the
University, has 14 representatives,
while smaller schools, like the School
of Education, have as few as one seat.
Does how I rank the candidates
matter?
Yes.
In
student
government
elections, a form of ranked-choice
voting is used. This means students
rank their preferences for the position
with the option to rank as many
candidates as there are open positions.
So, for the CSG executive ticket, there
is only one spot to rank because only
one pair can hold the office, while
for
representative
elections
with
multiple seats, voters can rank multiple
candidates for those seats.
For the smaller schools, this has
little impact. However, when there
is more than one seat open, like for
LSA’s 14, a different numerical value is
given to each candidate based on how
high they are ranked. That means a
candidate who is ranked as a voter’s
first choice receives more points from
that voter than the candidate ranked as
their second choice.
The
voting
frequently
asked
questions webpage offers this example:
If there are three open seats, a vote
for the No. 1 preference would give
that candidate three points, the No. 2
selection would receive two points and
No. 3 would receive one point.
What is the difference between
CSG
and
school-wide
student
governments?
CSG is the student government of
the entire University student body,
containing representation from every
school, including graduate programs.
CSG is known for its AirBus program
offering free rides to and from the
airport, its game day hydration stations
and for providing funding to student
organizations.
Individual
schools’
student
governments are composed of students
in programs within those schools.
These
student
governments
are
typically more focused on the needs of
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
In September 2018, shortly after
Doe’s lawsuit was filed, the U.S.
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
struck
down
the
University’s
single-investigator
process
in
Doe v. Baum, a different sexual
misconduct
lawsuit.
The
court
ordered the University to create
an
interim
sexual
misconduct
policy that incorporates cross-
examination and a live hearing.
The cross-examination process
has
been
largely
criticized
on
campus
with
claims
it
re-traumatizes the survivor by
forcing them to face their alleged
assaulter.
In June 2019, the University filed
a motion to dismiss the lawsuit
and
claimed
the
due
process
argument Doe made was no longer
relevant due to the new policy.
Though the motion was dismissed,
the
University
maintained
the
argument.
In October 2019, Doe’s suspension
was lifted and he is now re-enrolled
in classes at the University.
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
POLICY
From Page 2
ALEX HARRING
Daily News Editor