ARTS
over the
YEARS
Bis etum il ius eliquam usaerum eium velicti
comnit dunt, tota que consequo is essunture
dolor molesti beriore, il ea ne plab ipsae
excero te volorep tation re videndunt
omnihil ipienda veliqui nobites et laboriame
lantiossunt hil ius arumqui dentibus, qui
aliat pa qui simolessit, nes escilit harum
que volorit eicia con plis everum fugitatur
si quiae esto blaturem labo. Itatas mos venis
arumnihilla ntentotatem aut etum hil il mod
quam es est as endaesc ipiendis escium
lation cupta doluptam ab ipsapicit aut optiis
Bis etum il ius eliquam usaerum eium
velicti comnit dunt, tota que consequo is
essunture dolor molesti beriore, il ea ne
plab ipsae excero te volorep tation re
videndunt omnihil ipienda veliqui nobites
et laboriame lantiossunt hil ius arumqui
dentibus, qui aliat pa qui simolessit, nes
escilit harum que volorit eicia con plis
everum fugitatur si quiae esto blaturem labo.
Itatas mos venis arumnihilla ntentotatem
aut etum hil il mod quam es est as endaesc
ipiendis escium lation cupta doluptam ab
2013
2014
APRIL 29: Bicentennial Commencement
looks back on the University’s 200 years,
alongside celebrating Class of 2017’s future.
The event included a series of musical
performances, a multimedia presentation
and alumni awards to pay tribute to the
University’s rich history.
NOVEMBER 9: All University Greek life social
activities are suspended. In the midts of
hazing and sexual assault allegations, the
National Interfraternity Council steps in.
MARCH 8: Bernie Sanders and Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez hold a rally on the Diag on the
last day of Spring Break. The Democratic
Primary was held two days later, and
Sanders lost to Joe Biden.
MARCH 11: The University announces that
classes will be held online for the remaining
of the Winter 2020 semester amid the
COVID-19 pandemic. Graduation and all large
events have been canceled.
2018
JANUARY 26: LSA student Morgan McCaul
discusses her involvement with the Larry
Nassar trial after delivering her impact
statement at the trial. Nassar is sentenced to
40 to 125 years for sexual abuse.
NOVEMBER 6: Democrat Gretchen Whitmer
wins the election for Governor of the state
of Michigan over Republican Bill Schuette.
Whitmer runs on an all-female executive ticket
in an election cycle known for having a record
number of women and minorities on the
ballot.
NEWS
over the
YEARS
2019
2020
2017
Last week, the University
of Michigan administration
responded
to
Richard
Spencer’s request to speak on
campus, and moved forward to
negotiate the event. Today, in
protest of the administration
refusing to deny the request,
hundreds of students walked
out of their classes and rallied
in the Diag, then marched into
other classrooms on campus.
A few hundred students
and
community
members
gathered in the University of
Michigan Diag at about noon
on Wednesday, and after a
short rally, marched to the
Chemistry Building, Mason
Hall and the Fish Bowl in
Angell Hall. The rally is part
of the #StopSpencer week of
action, which includes teach-
ins and other forms of protest.
“On Wednesday, November
29 2017, Stop Spencer at the
University
of
Michigan
is
organizing a student walk
out at 11:45 AM in response
to the failure of University
of Michigan President Mark
Schlissel
and
the
Regents
to deny white supremacist
Richard
Spencer’s
request
to speak on campus,” the
Facebook
event
reads.
“We
cannot
learn
in
an
environment that is constantly
disrupting our learning by
threatening our safety and
dehumanizing us.”
On Nov. 21, the University
said it was going to proceed
with
Spencer’s
request
to
speak on campus, given the
administration
can
ensure
the safety of students. In an
emergency meeting of the
University’s Board of Regents,
University
President
Mark
Schlissel
laid
out
“three
components” to the decision:
the
safety
of
students,
protecting free speech in a
democratic society, and that
denying the request would
give more attention to Spencer
and
his
cause.
Schlissel
repeatedly said safety must
be guaranteed in order for the
event to take place.
LSA senior and organizer
Hoai An Pham said, however,
in a speech to the protesters
in the Diag, the walk-out
wasn’t just in protest to the
University’s
response
last
week.
“This week is not just
about
protesting
Spencer
coming
here,
it’s
about
protesting white supremacy
and it’s about protesting the
administration’s
lackluster
response, inactive, bystander
response to a literal white
supremacist coming on this
campus,” Pham said. “The
thing is here too, on this
campus every single day, on
a regular basis we have hate
crimes that are coming.”
Spencer’s
representative
first requested he speak on
the University’s campus at the
end of October. This request
came
after
Spencer
had
requested to speak at several
other universities, including
Michigan
State
University
and University of Florida. The
University of Florida initially
denied a request from Spencer,
but after being threatened
with a lawsuit, relented and
allowed Spencer to speak in
October.
On Aug. 17, a statement
released from the Office of
the President at Michigan
State
University
declared
MSU would deny the National
Policy Institute’s request to
rent space on campus. The NPI
is a white nationalist think
tank led by Spencer. MSU now
faces a lawsuit for not allowing
Spencer to speak.
The
lawyer
representing
Spencer threatened to sue the
University earlier in November
if it did not accommodate
Spencer’s
request,
giving
the administration a week
deadline to make a decision.
This deadline has since been
extended until Dec. 8.
Previously,
University
Regent Ron Weiser (R) said
in an email Spencer was “a
dangerous
and
disgusting
man.”
University Regent Denise
Illitch (D), however, was
the only regent opposing
the
decision
last
week,
stating while free speech is a
concern of hers, the violence
that accompanies Spencer
must be considered.
“Unfortunately, I do not
agree with the University of
Michigan
administration,”
she said. “While I am a
staunch proponent of the
First Amendment, and stand
firmly in support of our
constitution, I remain very
concerned that it is unsafe
to allow him to speak at the
University
of
Michigan.
Violence
follows
him
wherever he goes.”
LSA senior Kim Truong,
said free speech should not
justify the administration
potentially allowing space on
campus for Spencer to speak.
During
the
protest,
a
situation occurred in the
Fishbowl where LSA junior
Princess
Felix
challenged
protesters, arguing it would
not be fair to bar Spencer
from speaking. If students
didn’t like what he was
saying,
Felix
said,
they
shouldn’t listen.
“If you’re not going to
listen to people, then you
don’t have a right to be heard.
You listen to others, and you
will be heard,” she said. “If
he wants to kill people, then
he will get arrested when he
kills someone.”
Hundreds walk out to
protest Spencer event
COLIN BERESFORD
2018 Deputy Statement Editor
LSA sophomore Lexi Michaels
wasn’t expecting to be late to her
Psychology 280 exam. In fact,
she thought she was early. But
when she walked into the testing
accommodations room a few
minutes after 2:30 — she’d run
there right from her last class —
she realized the exam was not
being administered on Michigan
Time, and everyone else had
already started.
“My expectation was that
it would (start on Michigan
Time),
because
that’s
what
most of my classes and exams
start on, even if they’re in a
testing accommodations room,”
Michaels said. “And it didn’t. I
walked in really flustered. I was
like, ‘Are they going to let me take
the exam?’”
After
the
initial
scare,
everything turned out fine for
Michaels. She was still given a
full two hours to take her exam,
and no one was angry at her for
coming in late. However, start
time confusion is common at the
University of Michigan, and the
administration has decided it’s
time to take action.
Starting May 1, no University
classes will run on Michigan
Time, the 10 minute late-start
built into most undergraduate
classes
at
the
University.
Michigan time is a University
tradition that dates back to the
1930s. Students and professors
used
to
time
their
classes
according to the chimes of the
Burton Tower at the beginning
of each hour, and Michigan time
was officially adopted to allow
students to get from class to class
without being late. Now, to allow
for students to get to back-to-
back classes, all classes will stop
10 minutes before the hour.
Though administrators have
been talking about removing
Michigan Time for many years
now — University Provost Martin
Philbert said there have been
conversations since he came to
the University in 1995 — this is
the first time anything conclusive
has passed. The change will start
in May for the Spring and Summer
terms, so any unexpected kinks
can be worked out before the Fall
2018 semester.
“The freshmen will come in
not knowing a time we had it,”
Philbert said.
According to Philbert, it was a
“tradition born out of necessity.”
Now,
however,
some
see
the
once-crucial
tradition
as a hindrance. Many newer
University schools never adopted
it, and Patricia Hurn, dean of the
School of Nursing, told The Daily
in an email Michigan time was
never an option for the Nursing
School.
Though administrators have
been talking about removing
Michigan time for many years
now — University Provost Martin
Philbert said there have been
conversations since he came to
the University in 1995 — this is
the first time anything conclusive
has passed.
The change will start in May
for the Spring and Summer
terms, so any unexpected kinks
can be worked out before the Fall
2018 semester.
“The freshmen will come in
not knowing a time we had it,”
Philbert said.
According to Philbert, it was a
“tradition born out of necessity.”
Now,
however,
some
see
the
once-crucial
tradition
as a hindrance. Many newer
University schools never adopted
it, and Patricia Hurn, dean of the
School of Nursing, told The Daily
in an email Michigan time was
never an option for the Nursing
School.
“The major reason our classes
have not used Michigan Time
is because we are a clinical
discipline,” Hurn wrote.
“So we very early on aligned
our class times, specifically the
on-the-hour start time, with the
time of our clinical partners.
None of these partners recognize
or utilize ‘Michigan time.’”
Problems
arise
when
University units aren’t operating
on synchronized schedules, and
because programs like Nursing don’t
have the option of Michigan time,
Philbert thinks going to “clock time”
is the most logical course of action.
One of the major issues the new
system aims to fix is the shortage
of classrooms. When some schools
are on Michigan time and others
are not, classrooms are unavailable
for up to 10 minutes at the end of the
hour.
“We have the need for more
classrooms,” Philbert said. “We have
more sections, which require more
rooms, and some of these rooms
require specialized services. So by
aligning time, we free up the number
and types of classrooms available.”
University
spokesman
Rick
Fitzgerald said the University is
also hoping the switch will make
collaboration
among
different
schools and departments easier.
“I’d say one of the hallmarks
of our campus is cross-University
collaboration,”
Fitzgerald
said.
“From school and colleges and
departments
and
different
units who are constantly cross-
pollinating all of our efforts, and this
really facilitates that… We’re just
eliminating one of those stumbling
blocks.”
Though there are clear benefits
for faculty and administrators,
students are uncertain about the
upcoming change. Michaels, even
after her exam confusion, thinks
Michigan time works well. She’s
concerned professors will have a
difficult time stopping 10 minutes
short of the hour.
“I really like Michigan time.
I think it makes so much sense,
especially when you have back-to-
back classes,” she said. “It gets your
day rolling. I think that (this new
system) is just a cause for disaster. I
think that professors are way more
aware of starting 10 minutes late
because they haven’t started yet, but
if they have to end 10 minutes early,
they’re not going to know to stop.”
While Michaels understands
this could eventually be a good
system, the thought of working
Game over: historical
Michigan Time eliminated
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
MAYA GOLDMAN
2018 Daily News Editor
APRIL 16: Campus is put on lock-down
following reports of an active shooter on
campus. The shot-like noise that triggered
the panic is found later to be from students
innocently popping balloons nearby.
NOVEMBER 6: After the University shifted
towards conducting Fraternity & Sorority
Life recruitment to the winter semester,
it was discovered university-affiliated
fraternities violated University regulations
and conducted fall recruitment.
Former students allege 40 years of
misconduct by SMTD professor
SAMMY SUSSMAN
2020 Daily News Editor
The University of Michigan hired
Stephen Shipps as an associate professor
of music on Sept. 1, 1989. Since then, he has
had a successful academic career at the
University. From 2001 to 2004, he served
on the Executive Committee of the School
of Music, Theatre & Dance. From 2002 to
2007, he served as the associate dean for
academic affairs. He is currently the chair of
strings and the faculty director of the Strings
Preparatory Academy, a university-affiliated
pre-college music program for local middle
and high school students.
A Michigan Daily investigation unearthed
previously undisclosed allegations of sexual
harassment and sexual misconduct against
Shipps. These reports span nearly 40 years,
from Fall 1978 to a University-affiliated
summer program in the last five years.
They include accusations of unwanted
touching, sexual assault, prolonged sexual
relationships with teenage students, and
misogynistic and sexist verbal statements.
Shipps declined to comment for this
article. His lawyer, David Nacht, also
declined to comment.
The Daily also found reports that at least
one faculty member in the Music, Theatre
& Dance school, Prof. Yizhak Schotten, was
made aware of some of these allegations
soon after Shipps’s hiring was announced
and before he started teaching. It is unclear
whether he communicated these concerns to
the University at the time, or if the University
has ever been made aware of these concerns.
***
Shipps taught at the University of North
Carolina School of the Arts — known then as
the North Carolina School of the Arts before
a 2008 name change — prior to coming
to the University of Michigan. The Daily
spoke with a former North Carolina School
of the Arts college student, who wished to
remain anonymous, citing professional and
privacy concerns. She currently serves as
the associate principal second (the second-
ranked member of the second violin section)
in a full-time professional orchestra. In this
article, she will be referred to as Meghan.
Meghan was an international student
assigned to Shipps’s private studio in NCSA.
By the end of her freshman year, she felt
uncomfortable in Shipps’s studio.
“There had been small things that I was
uncomfortable with,” she said. “I had heard
rumors of flirting. I had seen flirting. … He
had overemphasized my talent in master
classes a number of times, held me up to
other students. I was a freshman, so it was
awkward.”
Near the end of the year, Meghan told
Shipps she wanted to switch studios. Elaine
Richey was the other violin teacher at the
UNCSA at the time. Meghan was given the
impression that she would have no trouble
switching studios. She began making plans
for the summer assuming she would be
studying with Richey in the fall.
In one of her last private lessons, Shipps
requested Meghan come see him after hours
for her final private lesson. She had never
had a late-night lesson before, but she agreed
nevertheless.
According
to
her
account, as she walked into Shipps’s studio
that evening, the lights were dimmed. After
she put down her violin, she says Shipps
moved behind her and locked the door to his
office.
“I thought that was very strange, but at
that moment I didn’t feel threatened by it,”
she said. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh, that’s
weird,’ but I probably just cast it aside as being
secure after hours. I wasn’t really thinking
about it, but I remember I noticed it and it
probably made me a bit uncomfortable.”
She pulled out her violin and started to
play. But after a little while, she remembers
Shipps stopped her. He told her she wasn’t
playing with enough passion — that she
needed to improve her understanding of
passion in order to improve her playing.
“He kept on talking, talking about this
and moving closer to me and I was backing
away just very subtly,” she said.
Casey Tin/Daily
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
2A — Saturday, May 2, 2020
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com