The strike will be time-limited
and run until Friday, with the
potential for reauthorization if
the University does not meet the
organization’s
demands.
GEO
is asking for the diversion of
funds from the Division of Public
Safety and Security and more
COVID-19 protections, such as
the right to work remotely for
all graduate student instructors,
more transparency in opening
plans and protection from hiring
discrimination for those who
wish to work remotely amid the
pandemic.
GEO’s
press
release
said
policing
and
COVID-19
are
closely linked.
“We highlight that GEO views
our anti-policing demands as
inseparable from our COVID
demands,” the release read. “They
are linked explicitly, through the
University’s decision to expand
the policing of our community
in a perverse effort to enforce
social distancing, and implicitly,
through the ways the crises of
the pandemic and racist policing
both disproportionately affect
the most vulnerable among us.”
GEO has called for a “safe and
just” response to the pandemic
and held a “die-in” last week to
protest the in-residence semester.
Local leadership came to the
decision to hold a strike vote amid
concerns the University was not
adequately responding to their
demands.
GEO
Secretary
Amir
Fleischmann, a Rackham student,
told The Daily the organization’s
bargaining team felt continued
negotiation would be futile.
“It’s
the
feeling
of
our
bargaining team that there was
not much more progress to be
made at the bargaining table,”
Fleischmann said. “And that’s
why we feel it’s necessary to
resort to these tactics. Because
the University has shown that
it’s not really been willing to
compromise on a lot of these
issues.”
GEO’s announcement comes
on Labor Day, a federal holiday
in honor of American workers.
The strike follows the ratification
of the union’s new three-year
contract with the University in
April.
In an email to The Daily,
University
spokesperson
Rick
Fitzgerald pointed out that GEO
striking violates both the union’s
contract and state law.
“The
state
of
Michigan
prohibits public employees from
striking,”
Fitzgerald
wrote.
“GEO’s contract with U-M also
prohibits the union and GSIs
and GSSAs from taking part in
any action or interference with
the operations of the university,
such as failing to report for duty
or the failure to perform their
employment duties.”
Fitzgerald said GEO had raised
a variety of issues that “cannot
be resolved as a matter of their
contract or through a collective
bargaining procedure.” He added
that the University still intends
to move forward with classes
despite the strike.
GEO’s press release accused
the University of failing to discuss
their members’ concerns about
policing in tandem with demands
involving the school’s response to
COVID-19.
“The University has again
refused to bargain over these
policing-related
demands
in
our current impact bargaining
negotiations, claiming that they
are not relevant to University
COVID-19 policies,” the release
read.
“GEO
membership’s
commitment to including anti-
policing demands in our current
stoppage platform demonstrates
how urgent and linked our
membership’s priorities are. The
university administration has run
roughshod over the lives of the
community’s most vulnerable.”
Some
members
of
the
University
community
have
taken issue with the use of police
officers
to
monitor
student
behavior for violations of social
distancing guidelines as part of
its Ambassador Program. Others
worried the program didn’t have
strong
enough
enforcement
mechanisms.
The University reversed course
in response to the criticism. On
Aug. 30, the University confirmed
the program will no longer have
sworn
officers
in
patrolling
teams. The teams still include
unarmed members of the Division
of Public Safety and Security.
“As always, police may be
called to activities that present
a safety risk or are in violation
of the law, but the idea is for
Michigan Ambassadors to first
proactively provide outreach in
the community to communicate
and remind students about public
health best practices,” University
of Michigan President Mark
Schlissel wrote in a Sept. 3 email
to students.
Fleischmann
said
members
are particularly frustrated by the
University’s hesitance to address
issues where it would not have to
spend any additional money.
“And in particular, some of
these things are issues that would
not cost the University a dime to
implement,” Fleischmann said.
“In particular, like the changes
to the childcare subsidies that
we’re asking for, or demilitarizing
DPSS,
that’s
not
something
that would come out of the
University’s budget. So there’s not
really a good reason we can see
for why they would do this aside
from obstinacy.”
GEO
is
associated
with
the American Federation for
Teachers, which announced in
July it will support “local and/
or state affiliate safety strikes
on a case-by-case basis as a last
resort.”
The
Lecturers
Employee
Organization,
a
union
representing non-tenure track
faculty
at
the
University,
expressed
support
for
GEO’s
decision,
claiming
similar frustrations with the
administration in a statement.
“Like our graduate student
colleagues,
LEO
condemns
the
way
the
Administration
has mismanaged the return to
classes
this
Fall:
employees,
including Lecturers, were not
properly consulted; information
about the Fall plan, and internal
disagreements over it, have been
withheld; and the testing regime
in place appears inadequate to
the task of keeping students and
employees safe,” the statement
reads. “We stand in solidarity
with GEO and all of the graduate
student workers concerned for
their lives and livelihoods, and
encourage Lecturers to support
their efforts.”
The University of Michigan’s
chapter of the College Democrats
also rallied behind GEO, issuing a
statement in support of the union
and encouraging their members
to sign up for picket shifts.
“Unlike University ‘leaders,’
we are proud to stand behind
GEO as they take the bold
leadership required to protect
the safety and well-being of our
fellow students and the broader
Washtenaw County community,”
the statement read.
Ryan Glauser, a member of
GEO, took to Twitter on Saturday
to express his frustration with
the University for not meeting
graduate students’ demands.
“... Grad students have asked
for help for months!” Glauser
wrote. “When we asked for
emergency funding, we were
denied. When we asked for pay
raises that match (University)
documentation
on
living
standard, we were given an
inflation rate increase.”
Glauser was not alone in using
social media to promote the
strike vote. Several GSIs spoke
out in favor of the strike and
encouraged their colleagues to
participate.
Former
GEO
member
Jean
Hardy,
previously
a
PhD candidate in the School
of Information and now an
assistant professor at Michigan
State University, described the
strike as a question of protecting
the University community.
“My former union @UMich
is voting on a strike in response
to the university’s inability to
protect its students, faculty, staff,
and community members during
the pandemic,” Hardy wrote on
Twitter. “As an alum (because
I can say that now), the way the
university is handling this crisis
is deplorable.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, September 9, 2020 — 3
STRIKE
From Page 1
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
“I’ve had quite a few people
(come to me) about something he
has done,” Walker’s roommate
said. “And they always asked me
to keep it confidential, which is
why I never spoke up.”
Two
others
accused
Muhammad of stalking them in
their residence halls. A year after
the alleged incident with Jane,
Muhammad was living in West
Quad in an all-male hall adjacent
to a mixed-gender hall.
In January 2019, Muhammad
allegedly harassed two female
West
Quad
residents
living
near his room, according to a
report
filed
with
residential
staff. Though the specifics of
this alleged harassment remain
unclear, it was characterized to
the University as “stalking.”
One person with knowledge of
this incident spoke to The Daily,
corroborating the nature of the
alleged harassment. The Daily
was also able to verify the content
of the report.
Muhammad
continued
to
live near these residents for the
remainder of the year. The Daily
could not determine what steps,
if any, the University took to
investigate this complaint.
In November 2019, Muhammad
announced
he
was
entering
the transfer portal to leave the
University ten months after the
report was filed. Though he was
reported to have transferred
to the University of Houston,
a
spokesperson
for
Houston
confirmed that he never enrolled
there.
Instead,
he
transferred to
Kilgore Community College in
Texas. It is unclear if his initial
transfer, or his detachment from
Houston, is related to this report.
Jimmy Rieves, the athletic
director at Kilgore Community
College,
confirmed
that
Muhammad
was
enrolled
at
the school this past spring and
summer.
“We didn’t have any knowledge
of the allegations,” Rieves wrote
in an email to The Daily. “He
was referred to us by another 4
year school that had recruited
him and they didn’t have enough
scholarship money for him to
attend their institution.”
However,
Rieves
noted
Muhammad would no longer be
enrolled as of this fall.
“He is not going to be enrolled
here this Fall, not because of any
disciplinary
reasons,”
Rieves
wrote.
It
is
also
unclear
if
Muhammad’s decision to transfer
from the University was based
on this report of alleged sexual
harassment.
In an email to The Daily,
University
spokesman
Rick
Fitzgerald explained that the
University is prohibited by both
federal law and University policy
from confirming or discussing
allegations of sexual misconduct
against students.
Fitzgerald said “all student
matters
are
handled”
in
accordance with the University’s
policy on student sexual and
gender-based misconduct.
“Similarly, all allegations of
sexual
misconduct
reported
to Athletics, Housing or any
individual or unit at the University
with reporting obligations would
be referred to the Office for
Institutional Equity for review,”
Fitzgerald added.
Football spokesperson David
Ablauf and athletic department
spokesperson Kurt Svoboda both
forwarded The Daily’s questions
to Fitzgerald.
“We can tell you that all student
matters are handled in the same
manner. There is no difference in
the process for student athletes
or any other subset of the student
body,” Fitzgerald wrote.
Fitzgerald
stressed
the
importance
of
reporting
allegations of sexual harassment
or misconduct to the University.
“I
also
would
emphasize
how important it is that sexual
misconduct be reported to the
University and to OIE,” Fitzgerald
said. “We want everyone to report
any activity they believe may be a
violation of our policies so those
actions can be evaluated and
addressed appropriately.”
The
football
program
has
worked to increase awareness
of
the
systemic
problem
of
sexual misconduct on college
campuses and in college athletics,
specifically.
Shortly
after
the
alleged
incident with Walker in summer
2018, Brenda Tracy, sexual assault
survivor and activist, came to
the University to speak to the
football team. Photographs from
that night show Muhammad was
present for Tracy’s talk.
In 1998, two members of the
Oregon State University football
team raped Tracy. She now talks
to athletic programs, fraternities
and other organizations about
ending the culture of sexual
violence in collegiate and athletic
settings.
At the time, her speech to the
football team in September 2018
drew praise from football coach
Jim Harbaugh.
“It was an amazing experience,”
Harbaugh said on his Attack
Each Day podcast. “She shared
her story with our team and was
very powerful. Her courage is at
a level it’s hard to even imagine.
A remarkable story which she’s
been able to overcome. So many
things came out of that meeting.”
In a recent interview with
The Daily, Tracy explained that
though she felt her conversations
with the football players were
productive, she was not surprised
by the allegations against a former
member of the team.
“It was a good visit,” Tracy
said. “And you hope that these
things don’t happen. But they do,
unfortunately. And that’s probably
one of the most frustrating things
about the work I do … No matter
how hard I work, someone is
going to be hurt.”
Tracy ends every talk with a
call to action, including asking
her audience to sign her “Set the
Expectation” pledge. For men’s
teams, the pledge includes a
commitment not to engage in
“harmful behavior such as rape,
sexual assault, physical violence,
domestic/dating
violence,
stalking, bullying, hazing and
taking or sharing photos and
videos of a sexually explicit/
violent nature,” with a penalty of
dismissal from the team.
The Michigan football team
did not sign Tracy’s pledge at the
end of her visit. She explained that
while she speaks at many football
programs, few agree to sign.
“It’s interesting that some
coaches sign and some coaches
don’t have their players sign,”
Tracy said. “And I think that
different coaches are in different
places of accountability, what
they’re willing to do and not
willing to do. And so I’m not
making a formal statement about
anybody, but there is a certain
level of commitment that comes
with making your players sign
the pledge. Because once you’ve
signed it, then we can expect
accountability.”
The Michigan football team
invited Tracy back to speak in
2019, but still has not signed her
pledge.
“I hope that someday coach
Harbaugh will have his players
sign,” Tracy said. “That’s my
hope. But I can’t make him do it.
But hopefully, someday we get to
that point where he’s ready to do
that.”
Given
Muhammad’s
status
as a football player, Tracy said
she understood why two alleged
survivors
declined
to
report
allegations of sexual misconduct
to the University.
“This culture of survivors being
afraid to come forward against
football players is something we
really have to work on,” Tracy
said. “That doesn’t surprise me
… that you had survivors who are
afraid to come forward against
really high profile athletes.”
Walker’s roommate expressed
concern at what she described as
Muhammad’s belief that being
a football player entitled him to
sex.
“I remember her telling me
that he had said to her that … he
didn’t think that she could come
into a football player’s room and
not do something,” Walker’s
roommate said.
Jane recalled speaking with
friends on other athletic teams
about
Muhammad.
She
was
shocked at their knowledge of
rumors
about
Muhammad’s
alleged behavior.
“They said, ‘Oh, yes, he has a
reputation,’” Jane remembered
her friends saying. “All the girls
in the athletic field try to avoid
him.”
Walker said she wishes she had
acted on her allegations sooner.
“Now that I know there’s been
other girls, I really regret not
coming forward when I should
have,” Walker said. “I didn’t
want to go through reporting and
answering questions and doing
all this and that. But now that
it’s been a good amount of time ...
and I’m hearing about these other
girls that have been affected,
I’m absolutely willing to come
forward with them.”
Daniel Dash and Arthur Potter
contributed reporting to this story.
Managing Sports Editor Ethan
Sears and Daily Staff Reporter
Sammy Sussman can be reached at
searseth@michigandaily.com and
sbsu@michigandaily.com.
ALLEGATIONS
From Page 1
The programs were initially
created
“to
give
students—
primarily
in-state
minority
students from inner-city high
schools—an
opportunity
to
attend the University of Michigan
during the summer to achieve
a solid academic foundation for
success in the fall term.”
State law prohibits colleges
from taking race into account
in
the
admissions
process.
Michigan
voters
approved
Proposal 2 in 2006, which
prevents state entities, including
the
University,
from
giving
individuals
“preferential
treatment” based on their “race,
sex, color, ethnicity, or national
origin.”
The
United
States
Sixth Court of Appeals later
overturned the proposal, but in
April 2014, the appeal’s court
ruling was reversed and the U.S.
Supreme Court determined the
law was constitutional.
Though the University was
prohibited from considering race
and ethnicity when accepting
students into CSP following
the Supreme Court’s decision
to uphold the proposal, Black
students still made up the largest
proportion of Bridge students.
But for unclear reasons, in
2018, the demographics shifted,
marking the first year white
students made up the largest
racial group in the program.
As
the
program
becomes
increasingly white, some are
calling out the demographic shift
on social media. In a post on @
blackatmichigan, an Instagram
page that posts submissions from
Black students, alumni, faculty
and staff at the University, “a fed
up Bridge kid” said they were
angered by the falling percentage
of Black students in Bridge.
Changing Demographics in
the Comprehensive Studies
Program
The University’s Office of
Undergraduate
Admissions
places selected applicants into
one of two CSP programs over
the summer: the CSP Summer
Program or the Summer Bridge
Scholars
Program.
The
two
programs
have
moderately
different
requirements,
but
“the intent behind both is the
same,” according to Trotter.
In 2020, there were 310 people
total between the two programs,
according to the University’s
Office of Public Affairs.
According to Public Affairs,
Bridge was composed of 47.4
percent
African
American
students
and
18.7
percent
white students in 2016. Those
demographics changed to 21.6
percent African American and
39.8 percent white in 2019. White
students made up the largest
racial group in Bridge that year.
CSP combined Bridge and CSP
Summer in 2020 due to COVID-
19, Trotter said. This summer in
the combined programs, Black
students made up 27.3 percent
of students and white students
made up 36.7 percent, once
again making white students the
largest racial group in CSP.
According to Trotter, first-
time, first-year students and
transfer students are eligible to
be admitted into the program.
Students told The Daily the
University said the program
was mandatory in order for
them to attend the school in the
fall. If students are not initially
admitted into the program by
OUA, they can also apply for CSP
affiliation later on, according to
Trotter.
Erica Sanders, director of
undergraduate admissions, said
her office does not consider race
and gender in the application
review process for CSP, in
compliance with Michigan state
law.
According to Sanders, the
department looks at the entirety
of a student’s application and
considers many aspects of their
background to determine if they
should be in CSP.
“Information shared in the
student’s application materials
indicated the program would
provide a positive impact on her
transition to the University of
Michigan campus community,”
Sanders said.
Art
&
Design
sophomore
Nicholos
Daniel,
who
participated in CSP Summer in
2019, said the University must
begin changing whom it accepts
into the program.
“They
need
to
reevaluate
who gets admitted to the Bridge
program and who doesn’t get
admitted,” Daniel said. “This
program is made for minority
Black students. So to see majority
white students attending the
programs
made
for
Black
students, that’s an issue within
itself that needs to be addressed.”
Some Black students said
they felt less comfortable in the
program as the number of white
students has overtaken that of
Black students. Womack said
she found herself changing her
behaviors because she was afraid
of being judged by her white
peers.
“Even just picking out what
you eat, you don’t want to relate
to any stereotypes,” Womack
said. “That’s something that I
shouldn’t have had to do, but
it’s definitely something that’s
always on my mind. Just noticing
who’s around me, what they
might be thinking, definitely
because of my race and just how I
wore my hair, just lots of things.”
Inside the Bridge and CSP
Summer Experience
Many Black students said they
felt CSP benefitted them both
academically and socially. Daniel
said Bridge gave him the tools he
needed to feel prepared for the
University.
“For me, it definitely was
beneficial, just because I am a
very energetic, outgoing person
and it definitely did help me get
used to college,” Daniel said. “It
helped me in terms of adjusting
and getting to know the do’s and
don’ts and where to go for certain
resources and stuff.”
Other Black students required
to participate in the program did
not find it as helpful. LSA junior
Rochelle Sims, who was in the
CSP Summer Program in 2018,
said she did not understand why
the Office of Undergraduate
Admissions placed her into CSP
because she felt like her high
school prepared her for the
University.
“I feel like they want Bridge to
help you transition into college
life, and I didn’t think I needed
that,” Sims said. “In the fall,
I didn’t use CSP programs or
anything like that, and I did fine,
I aced my classes and everything
… I just felt like it just got me
familiar to the campus and
some of the resources that the
University had to offer.”
Rackham
student
Michole
Washington, a former CSP math
instructor, said while programs
like CSP Summer and Bridge
can be beneficial in helping some
students of color transition to
college, the University should not
assume that because a student
is a minority, they automatically
need
additional
academic
support.
“In my research right now
I’ve been wondering … what
is happening in these Bridge
programs when you’re saying,
‘Oh, this is for Black students,’
and you’re just assuming that all
Black students are at the same
academic ability?” Washington
asked.
Many
Black
students,
regardless of their background,
agreed that the program should
increase the number of Black
faculty members teaching the
courses. Five students told The
Daily they had either one or no
Black instructors during their
program.
According
to
Trotter,
in
summer 2020, 25 percent of the
Bridge faculty identified as Black.
Daniel said he and many
of his Black peers had trouble
relating to the way one of his
white instructors spoke about
transitioning to the University.
“They were talking about
… adjusting to college as if I
came from this home where
I had a mom and a dad in the
house where we had decent
income,” Daniel said. “Like it
was plenty of people who kind
of felt uncomfortable because
they did not fit the criteria that
(the teacher) was talking about
when it came to adjusting to
college.”
SCHOLARS
From Page 1
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com