Tuesday, April 7, 2020 — 3
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
It began with introductions
of SACUA’s three new members:
Jennifer
Caitlin
Finlayson,
associate professor of English
literature at the U-M Dearborn;
Allen Liu, associate professor
of mechanical and biomedical
engineering
in
the
College
of Engineering; and Kentaro
Toyama, professor of information
and community information in
the School of Information.
Collins then began speaking
about the implications of the
coronavirus
pandemic
along
with the University’s response.
“We
are
committed
to
protecting health and safety
while we proceed with the
University’s
core
mission,”
Collins
said.
“That
includes
instruction,
maintaining
academic
continuity
for
our
students and it also includes
things like keeping on track the
faculty promotions, which are
so essential to the University’s
long-term excellence.”
To
accommodate
the
challenges of online instruction,
specifically for faculty, Collins
discussed changes to course
evaluations
for
the
winter
semester.
“We are just about to roll out
changes to the course evaluations
for this semester … we’ve added
new questions that will reflect
the unusual circumstances and
give lots more room for students
to give qualitative feedback,”
Collins said. “Evaluations will
not in the traditional way be used
to address promotion and tenure
cases because the circumstances
are just so unusual.”
Additionally,
Collins
emphasized
the
mental
health resources that remain
accessible for both students and
faculty. The Faculty and Staff
Counseling
and
Consultation
Office is providing telehealth
counseling sessions to faculty
and staff and their dependents.
Counseling and Psychological
Services is still open for virtual
appointments and has added
a few more resources to their
website as well.
Collins also said incoming
graduate
students
may
face
uncertainty in enrolling at the
University in light of the rapidly
changing economy.
“There is more uncertainty
about graduate and professional
enrollments … in the short-run
many students may choose to
defer or forego their plans and
we have certainly recognized
that,” Collins said. “Or even
considering the broader economy
as a factor, sometimes when the
economy is more challenged,
more people go to graduate
school.”
Collins
then
opened
the
floor to questions from SACUA
members.
Colleen
Conway,
professor of music education
in the School of Music, Theatre
&
Dance,
asked
about
the
consistency
of
messaging
surrounding the new approach
to course evaluations.
“What is the language that is
going to go out to faculty about
the use of course evaluations
in
tenure
and
promotions?”
Conway said. “Is it at the unit
level that those decisions will be
made?”
Collins said her intent is that
the message comes from both her
and the deans of the schools and
colleges to reiterate that it does
not make sense for evaluations
for this semester to be used as
they traditionally would be.
Annalisa Manera, a professor
of
nuclear
engineering
and
radiological
sciences
in
the
College of Engineering, asked
about plans regarding pauses in
research for Ph.D. and graduate
students.
“In my department, this has
already taken place, so I was
wondering whether there are
some plans of what to do with all
the Ph.D. and postdoc students
who are in these circumstances,”
Manera said.
Collins said some units are
further
along
in
monitoring
students’ progress, adding that,
overall, plans were being made
on a case-by-case basis.
Elena
Gallo,
an
associate
professor of astronomy in LSA,
commented on the issue of
stalled research.
“This is really a source of
enormous stress for the graduate
student population and students
are extremely worried about
funding
continuity,
so
any
approximate deadline (for plans
moving
forward)
would
be
extremely helpful,” Gallo said.
Though there is not yet a clear
timeline, Collins said she would
make communication regarding
research plans a priority going
forward.
Collins emphasized her desire
to utilize SACUA, especially in
this unprecedented time, as the
“eyes and ears” of campus in
order to make future decisions.
“We’re now in a place where
we can be thoughtful about
what we need to prioritize so
there aren’t major pockets in our
community that are not being
considered,” Collins said.
Contributor Celene Philip can
be reached at celenep@umich.
edu.
SACUA
From Page 1
“We could well find ourselves
in an extended recession, making
it hard for students graduating
this year and next year to find
the kind of jobs they were hoping
for,” Lyon said. “This, in turn,
makes repaying student loans
more challenging. The stimulus
bill provides some loan relief:
no payments on federal loans
through the U.S. Department of
Education need be made until
October, and no interest will
accrue during that time. However,
federal loans not run through the
Department of Education are not
affected, nor are private loans.
There are no provisions for debt
forgiveness. Thus, many students
will not see any relief on their
student loans.”
Several
students
also
commented
on
the
historic
stimulus package and what its
implications
are
for
college
students.
LSA
freshman
Nick
Schuler, freshman chair of the
University’s chapter of College
Republicans, said these measures
were
necessary
given
the
unprecedented circumstances of
the coronavirus outbreak.
“Because
this
is
the
first
economic downturn to come from
the service sector, the money
must largely go directly to the
hands of small businesses and
the taxpayers which President
(Donald)
Trump
has
done,”
Schuler said. “Which is why
many students are frustrated,
only those that work will receive
a check which is equitable in my
eyes.”
Business sophomore Ari Bosse,
vice president of investments for
the Alternative Investments Club,
told The Daily that the stimulus
package was a necessary short-
term solution to the financial
crisis facing the nation amid
the coronavirus outbreak. Bosse
said he understood the backlash
from young adults over their
exclusion from the federal check
distributions.
“College
students
classified
as dependents have every right
to be upset about being excluded
from federal check distributions,
as college students are often
independently responsible for a
variety of financial obligations,”
Bosse
said.
“While
a
more
inclusive plan would be preferred,
it will be difficult to make a case
for why the aid package — which
is already the largest in history —
should be expanded.”
Business junior Jon Rotbard
said the stimulus bill is able
to
provide
a
temporary
fix
during
these
unprecedented
times.
He
also
commented
on the ineligibility of many
college students who qualify as
dependents for these stimulus
checks.
“From
my
understanding
parents get more money if they
have children or dependents so
it evens out,” Rotbard said. “I
think a dependent needs it a lot
less than someone who’s actually
been laid off and will seriously
have their quality of life reduced
without that check.”
The stimulus package also has
provisions that benefit major
businesses and corporations.
Rotbard told The Daily that
this stimulus is critical not only
for individuals but for businesses
as well.
“From a finance and business
perspective, (it) keeps businesses
running
too,”
Rotbard
said.
“Most businesses have so much
debt and so little cash that they
will all shutter without massive
stimulus.”
Lyon was more critical of the
inclusion of some of the features
of the legislation, particularly a
$500 billion corporate liquidity
fund.
“The most questionable part
of the package is the $500 billion
fund to provide loans to large
businesses,” Lyon said. “Many
large businesses are sitting on
large cash reserves and used
much of the historic $1 trillion
Trump tax cut to buy back their
own shares. It is hard to see
why big business(es) should be
a high-priority concern for the
U.S. at this time. The original
Republican proposal had very
few oversight measures on how
the Trump administration could
dole out the $500 billion, but at
Democratic insistence, the final
bill requires immediate disclosure
of beneficiaries and includes some
congressional oversight.”
LSA sophomore Regina Egan,
communications director for the
University’s chapter of College
Democrats, declined to comment
on the specifics of the bill but
said the country is looking for
leadership during this crisis.
“We
are
living
through
a
rare and tumultuous time in
which the need for government
is clearer now more than ever,”
Egan said. “What Americans and
young people especially need
is government leadership and a
system that serves each and every
one of us.”
Daily
Staff
Reporter
Sarah
Payne can be reached at paynesm@
umich.edu.
LEGISLATION
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BLOGGER
From Page 2
This discrimination, Fang said,
is still present today. Fang also
noted some media outlets continue
to run stories of the pandemic
alongside Asian faces, which she
said contributes to the fear that
some Asian Americans may have of
being in public.
“Just
last
week,
the
FBI
described the attempted murder of
an Asian American family as part
of their warning of a growing surge
in hate crimes against anyone
perceived to be East Asian,” Fang
said. “A website launched by the
Asia Pacific Policy and Planning
Council already received over
1,000 self-reports in just two weeks
of incidents of racial harassment
and assault.”
Recently,
former
Democratic
presidential
candidate
Andrew
Yang suggested in an op-ed in the
Washington Post that the best way
for Asian Americans to address
the tide of racist violence directed
towards
them
is
to
remind
attackers of how Asians are still
American.
According
to
Fang,
Yang’s
statement
suggests
Asian
Americans who have been attacked
are at fault and have something to
apologize for.
“Let
me
be
clear,
Asian
Americans are not responsible
in any way for anti-Asian hate
crimes against our community,”
Fang said. “We have not invited,
nor incited violence against our
bodies, and we have nothing to
apologize for and we see in Yang’s
op-ed what happens when we are
not connected to our history.”
Fang ended her speech with a
call for the A/PIA community to
combat these injustices by working
together
with
other
minority
communities.
“To be an Asian Pacific Islander
American is to be inextricably
interconnected with that of other
Black and brown people and
we must understand how our
struggles are interrelated,” Fang
said. “We must work in solidarity
and understand we cannot afford
tunnel vision and recognize that
racial oppression does not occur in
a vacuum.”
LSA senior Dim Mang said she
found Fang’s response to Yang’s
article poignant. According to
Mang, Fang’s emphasis on both
learning and actively engaging
with Asian American history was
refreshing.
“My biggest takeaway from this
event was that Asian Americans
must not allow white people and
institutions to decide our history
or even rewrite it for us,” Mang
said. “We must stand in active
solidarity with other people of
color, and essentially use collective
liberation.”
LSA junior Osa Svensson logged
onto the event due to it being
a requirement for a class, but
said they found Fang’s talk very
impactful. Svensson said they were
not previously taught about topics
such as the Chinese Exclusion Act
and Angel Island, the immigration
station in San Francisco Bay
designated to control Chinese
entry into the U.S.
“Especially
in
the
current
climate and the blatant racism
being spouted by so many people
due to the current pandemic
makes me want to learn as much
as possible and speak out about
this mistreatment,” Svensson said.
“Joining this event helps me fuel
my rage at the ways Asian people
are being attacked for something
which has nothing to do with
them.”
After her lecture, Fang opened
the
floor
to
questions
from
viewers. Music, Theatre & Dance
junior Alyxandra Ciale Trinidad
Charfauros asked Fang how to
make activism more accessible and
personal.
Fang responded by pointing to
the importance of social media as a
tool to influence people to engage
with one another. Since she said
she found her own voice through
her
blog
Reappropriate,
Fang
suggested people produce their
own media, such as art, comedy
or any individual form of artistic
expression.
Through art, Fang said she
believes people can more easily
facilitate
Asian
American
discourse
and
help
activism
become more accessible through
technology.
“The main advice I have to young
people who want to get involved is
to start thinking about the ways
you can learn from people you are
not currently learning from,” Fang
said. “What every single person has
to say is important, and amplifying
your own voice is a radical act that
is important, necessary and worth
hearing.”
Daily Staff Reporter Cheryn
Hong can be reached at cherynh@
umich.edu.