Rackham student Aya M. Waller-
Bey was sitting in her room in
Munger Graduate Residences when
she heard someone else moving
around in her suite. She got up to
find a maintenance man, who told
her that work would be done on two
rooms inside her suite. Two new
residents were expected to move in
in a few weeks.
“He’s like, ‘Oh, there’s two
rooms here we’re going to work on
today and also tomorrow,’” Waller-
Bey said. “‘We might be getting two
new people here on June 1.’”
Waller-Bey said this was the first
she was hearing of it, and thought
it was odd in light of the COVID-19
pandemic.
“It was actually the maintenance
guy who told me I should expect
to see two new people on June 1,”
Waller-Bey said. “Not even, you
know, the building (administra-
tion).”
The following week, on May
26, Waller-Bey received an email
from University Housing, confirm-
ing that new suitemates would
be arriving soon. The email also
detailed
the
updated
move-in
procedures for incoming Munger
residents, specifying that students
would have to make appointments
for arrival and check-in. Addition-
ally, the email specified only one
person would be allowed to help
residents move in and required all
personnel involved with move-in to
wear masks and face protections.
University
Housing
later
expanded to include additional
protocols regarding health screen-
ings for incoming residents and
sanitation of assistive move-in bins
and other “common touchpoints”
in another email to residents on
May 28. But Waller-Bey’s concerns
started a few weeks before any
communication regarding incom-
ing suitemates, when, on May 12,
University Housing sent her an
updated contract.
A “Hold Harmless” clause was
updated in the Community Living
at Michigan contract with specific
language regarding COVID-19.
“You agree to release the Uni-
versity, its agents, and employees
from any and all damages, liabil-
ity, claims, expenses, or loss (col-
lectively, “Claims”) resulting from
or arising out of your use of space
within University Housing, includ-
ing those related to the potential
exposure to contagious viruses like
the coronavirus,” the clause reads.
Waller-Bey called the clause
“disturbing” and described how
this clause seems to clash with Uni-
versity Housing’s commitments to
their residents.
“I’m no lawyer, but it just doesn’t
make sense to … on one hand talk
about equity and safety and pro-
moting … a safe environment for
your students, and then on the
other hand, say, ‘Nevertheless, if
you get sick, we are not liable or
responsible,’”
Waller-Bey
said.
“And again, meanwhile, you are
exposing residences, to new people
in the places where they live.”
Residents were asked to return
the contract within a week, but
Waller-Bey has yet to do so, stat-
ing that she did not feel like she
had enough information to make an
informed decision.
The Graduate Employees’ Orga-
nization has also taken issue with
updated provisions in the contract.
GEO president Sumeet Patward-
han, a Rackham student pursuing a
doctorate in philosophy, discussed
GEO’s response to the contract
updates in an interview with The
Daily.
“So GEO, as you know, is a labor
union for graduate employees on
campus, but our mission is to pro-
tect all graduate students on cam-
pus,” Patwardhan said. “The reason
this (updated contract) relates to …
GEO’s purpose in its organizing as
a whole is because these concerns
of graduate housing directly affect
our members who reside in hous-
ing, or who might reside in housing
in the future.”
3
Thursday, June 11, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com NEWS
Over 700 people went to the
Ann Arbor Farmers Market on
their bikes to join the Silent Bike
Ride for Black Lives Matter Friday
afternoon. Adults, elderly and chil-
dren of all races were present while
wearing masks to the protest host-
ed by Survivors Speak, an inter-
faith council for peace and justice,
and Bicycle Alliance of Washtenaw,
among other local organizations.
Not everyone had bikes: Some
people wore roller skates or used
skateboards to participate. Many
signs supporting the Black Lives
Matter movement were attached to
bikes, some of which wrote “Fight
racism,” “I’ll teach my kids. You
train your cops,” or simply “Black
Lives Matter.” Loud music blasted
through the farmers market before
the protest started.
Sha’Teina Grady El was recently
victim to police brutality in Ypsi-
lanti when a police officer punched
her in the face and arrested her
while her husband was tased.
Grady El spent four days in jail
before she was released. Since the
incident, state Sen. Jeff Irwin,
D-Ann Arbor, drafted a bill that
requires more training for police
in Michigan. The family is also
currently seeking assault charges
against the deputy who punched
her.
Grady El spoke to the crowd
about her appreciation of peace-
ful protests occurring in Michigan
and around the nation to contest
police brutality. She said in order
for those who commit police bru-
tality to be held accountable, peo-
ple need to be aware of everything
the city is doing to support the
police department.
“We have to let these legisla-
tors know that enough is enough,”
Grady El said. “We’re holding them
accountable. They need to do what
we want them to do because we put
them in office. So we need to make
sure that we keep them account-
able, but everything that they pass
underneath our noses. (A) lot of
times things (are) passing –– we
don’t know –– but we have to stay
involved.”
William Amadeo, Grady El’s
lawyer, shared his disappointment
in the sheriff’s response to the
incident. Amadeo said defending
the officer is a sign of weakness
because the police officer is not a
victim — Grady El is.
“Jerry Clayton, we watched in
horror when you gave your press
conference on Friday,” Amadeo
said. “What you did a week ago
was you defended that monster for
45 minutes. I understand you have
a job to do. I understand there’s
pressures but being a man is not an
easy task and you are not doing the
right thing by Sha’Teina and Dan
and their family. Let me be real
clear to you, Sherriff Clayton, I
know you’re watching this. You are
not the victim. They are. At some
point, lip service gets old. We need
action.”
Trovious Starr, co-counsel to
Sha’Teina Grady El’s lawyer Amad-
eo, shared his experience learning
about police brutality as a child.
He expressed his frustration for
having to pass on that lesson to his
children, which is something he
wishes he did not have to teach.
“I thought about the time when
I was in middle school, seventh
grade,” Starr said. “At the Bible
study in my grandma’s house and
the talking, not to talk about the
birds and bees, but the talk. This
kind of talk is like ‘Hey, this is
what you do if you’re ever in a situ-
ation where law enforcement has
you detained’ … It is unfortunate
because it’s 2020 and I still have to
have that talk with my kids.”
Desiraé Simmons, co-director
of Interfaith Council for Peace and
Justice, shared with the crowd
about a conversation with her
daughter, emphasizing the pres-
ence that police brutality has on
young children.
Silent Bike Ride fills A2
streets with protesters
JASMIN LEE
Summer Managing News Editor
DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily
Housing updates
Housing updates
generate concerns
generate concerns
JULIANNA MORANO
Daily Staff Reporter
Read more at michigandaily.com
Read more at michigandaily.com
‘Hold Harmless’ clause added to CLAM
contract is ‘disturbing’ to students
Over 700 participants
support the Black Lives
Matter movement