Nicholas
Prada,
a
former
employee at Tomukun Noodle
Bar on East Liberty Street, filed a
suit in a U.S. district court Friday
claiming he was wrongfully
terminated
after
contracting
COVID-19 in late June. According
to the lawsuit, Prada and his
attorney, Noah Hurwitz, allege
that Tomukun’s actions violate
numerous federal acts, including
the Families First Coronavirus
Response Act and Family Medical
Leave Act.
In an email to The Daily,
Hurwitz said employers should
not retaliate against employees
in order to protect their public
image.
Instead,
they
should
act
with
compassion
and
understanding
for
employees
who may get sick, Hurwitz said.
“It appears that Tomukun
lost sight of its legal obligations
to employees and punished my
client for contracting COVID-19
when it wouldn’t put him back on
the schedule after he recovered,”
Hurwitz wrote. “While we are
all tasked with being responsible
and doing our best to avoid spread
of the virus, businesses should
not attempt to pass judgment on
employees who fall ill.”
University
of
Michigan
faculty members are considering
a vote of no confidence in the
administration
due
to
the
University’s
response
to
the
COVID-19 pandemic and fall
reopening plan, faculty members
said at an emergency Faculty
Senate meeting Friday.
The meeting came a few days
after a July 31 memo to University
President Mark Schlissel from
the President’s Advisory COVID-
19 Committee on Ethics and
Privacy was inadvertently made
public and began circulating
online, sparking criticism toward
University administration. The
memo explicitly warned against
the University’s reopening plan,
and noted that the current plan
would hit vulnerable populations
the hardest.
A
successful
vote
of
no
confidence
would
mean
the
Faculty Senate no longer believes
in University leadership’s ability
to execute its role, which in this
case applies to the University’s
fall reopening plan, according to
a copy of the motion obtained by
The Daily.
The virtual emergency meeting
was held in response to an Aug.
23 petition signed by more than
200 University faculty members.
All faculty hold membership in
the senate. Faculty expressed
frustration at the meeting over
the University’s plans for the fall
semester, which begins Monday.
According to Faculty Senate
Rule 4(1), a meeting can be
organized by means of a petition
signed by 50 or more Senate
members. The Faculty Senate
Office told The Daily that they
believe this is the first time such a
meeting has been called since the
rule was established in 2011.
Sworn or armed police officers
will not walk and ride around
campus
to
regulate
student
behavior
in
an
“adjusted”
Michigan
Ambassadors
program,
the
University
of
Michigan confirmed on Twitter
Sunday afternoon. The change
came in response to “community
concerns,”
according
to
the
announcement.
The
University’s
initiative
to
enforce
COVID-19-related
regulations still includes some
law enforcement involvement.
The ambassadors are still not
expected to “directly engage
with large parties or situations
where their personal safety may
be at risk.” Addresses reported
for repeat violations will be also
dealt with by police, according
to updated information on the
University’s COVID-19 website.
“As was the case prior to the
Ambassador
program,
sworn
officers from UMPD and AAPD
will still respond to emergency
calls or other situations not
appropriate
for
Ambassador
involvement,” the website reads.
The Michigan Ambassadors
—
University
students
and
staff who walk around campus
reminding students to wear
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
After almost six months of no
physical paper, The Michigan
Daily will be printing once a week
this fall on Wednesdays as long as
students are living on campus.
In March, The Daily pivoted
with the rest of the world to battle
a global pandemic. We halted
our print edition after March
13 as students fled campus, but
we doubled down on our online
presence and saw a growing
digital audience. We worked hard
to bring the University and Ann
Arbor communities the news over
the summer, too.
The University has brought
students back to campus for
an in-residence fall semester.
However, COVID-19 is still very
much a threat. Most classes
are being offered remotely and
University buildings will be at
reduced capacity to allow for
social distancing.
Due to less campus and city
circulation, as well the need for
financial responsibility, The Daily
is printing once a week rather
than five days. We will also print
special editions this semester — be
sure to pick up a print copy of our
Welcome Back issue on Monday,
Aug. 31. We will not, however,
continue creating digital PDF
papers without a print counterpart
on our issuu as we did in March
and throughout the summer.
None of this will impact our
core mission and responsibility:
to inform our readers and to hold
the people with power at this
University and in Washtenaw
County
accountable.
These
past few weeks, we’ve reported
tirelessly on various issues with
the University’s reopening, from
unenforced housing precautions
to concerns about testing plans.
Not to mention our summer
staff’s reporting on racial justice
protests, WilmerHale’s report on
former Provost Martin Philbert’s
sexual misconduct and The Big
Ten’s football postponement. This
coverage will continue.
Check
our
website,
michigandaily.com, for our latest
print and multimedia content.
Follow us on our Instagram,
Twitter
and
Facebook.
Our
handle on all platforms is @
michigandaily.
Download
our
app. Subscribe to our YouTube
channel, The Michigan Daily.
Listen to our four podcasts: The
Daily Weekly, Arts Interrupted,
Pass the MiC and Highway to
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newsletter, The Michigan Daily
Weekly Roundup, that launches
this Thursday. Subscribe here to
have each week’s most pressing
stories sent straight to your
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Thank you to our readers for
your support. You can always
reach out to us with news tips or
letters to the editor. We greatly
appreciate your feedback.
GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 128
©2019 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
M I C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
A RT S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 0
STATEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
SPORTS.......................15
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
BUSINESS
ISABELLA PREISSLE
Daily Staff Reporter
RESEARCH
Follow The Daily
on Instagram,
@michigandaily
See LAWSUIT, Page 3
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
Editor in Chief
ALEC COHEN/Daily
After almost six months of no physical paper, The Michigan Daily will be printing once a week this fall on Wednesdays as long as students are living on campus.
VARSHA VEDAPUDI
Daily Staff Reporter
CLAIRE HAO
Daily News Editor
See AMBASSADORS, Page 3
DOMINICK SOKOTOFF
Daily Staff Reporter
See VOTE, Page 3
With classes for the fall term
starting Monday, research labs
are set to welcome students
back as well. However, in
adherence to social distancing
guidelines, the University of
Michigan Office of Research
has limited research capacity
to only 45 percent density
during
shifts,
causing
all
undergraduate
students
except seniors to miss out on
in-person research experience
this semester.
Though
the
University
opened
limited
research
over the summer, in-person
undergraduate research was
deemed “non-essential” and
did not resume.
Based on the latest weekly
research
reengagement
update from the Office of
Research, published Thursday,
undergraduate students can
only rejoin labs in which they
“already
have
experience
working
with
the
same
research
team”
and
“may
not be left alone in research
spaces.”
Police officers will not patrol
campus with U-M ambassadors
Change to program comes in response to community concerns; sworn or armed
members of law enforcement will not walk with University students and staff
Courtesy of John Grieve
Student ambassadors patrol campus with a DPSS officer on August 25.
Faculty Senate
considers vote of
no confidence in
Schlissel, admin
Frustrated with fall reopening plans,
professors float controversial motion
From the Editor: The Michigan
Daily’s plan for publishing this fall
As long as students are living on campus, the paper will print once a week
Limits put
undergrad
research at
‘U’ on hold
Restrictions intended
to curb the spread of
the coronavirus impact
in-person opportunities
Ex-worker
says he was
fired over
COVID-19
Former Tomukun waiter
files lawsuit claiming he
wrongfully lost his job for
contracting coronavirus