“Central Student Government 

is currently working with the 
Dean of Students office and 
MDining to provide individual 
pots and pans for each student.” 

Dissatisfaction with meal 

service

In addition to issues with 

the cleanliness of the rooms, 
students 
isolating 
expressed 

dissatisfaction with the meal 
service. Students are instructed 
to fill out a form every day by 
midnight to receive food the next 
day. 

If 
students 
arrive 
at 

Northwood past 12:30 p.m.,they 
can submit a form for a late 
afternoon delivery that goes 
until 4 p.m., according to the 
meal request form. It is unclear 
whether students arriving at 
Northwood after 4 p.m. can 
submit a meal request for that 
night. 

“Please complete the form 

daily by Midnight the night 
before if you wish to have food 
delivered for the next day,” the 
form reads.

Sullivan said when she arrived 

at Northwood apartments at 7:45 
p.m., she was given a bag of chips 
for dinner. 

Broekhuizen said Michigan 

Dining is currently working 
to streamline the system so 
students are able to order food 
up to 8 p.m. for doorstep delivery 
that evening.

Whether 
or 
not 
students 

without a meal plan are charged 
for University meal delivery 
while in quarantine housing 
was another source of confusion. 
According to the meal request 
form, if students request meals 
and do not have a meal plan, they 
will be billed $20 per day for each 
day they request food delivery. 
They are responsible for paying 
the charge “in a timely fashion.” 

However, 
the 
email 
from 

Aiken says the Office of the Dean 
of Students covers this charge, 
adding that those with a meal 
plan will see the charge for three 
meals per day deducted from their 
account. 

Initially, students were not 

provided microwaves. Students 
told The Daily that the food was 
delivered in plastic, so they were 
not able to heat it in the oven or 
on the stove if they did not have 
cooking supplies.

In an email to students, faculty 

and staff on Friday, Schlissel noted 
some of the students’ complaints 
about quarantine conditions.

“(The 
University 
is) 
also 

addressing 
concerns 
about 

the quarantine and isolation 
housing 
we’re 
providing 
to 

students,” Schlissel wrote. “Our 
commitment to providing meal 
delivery 
is 
continuing, 
and 

Student Life staff check in with 
each student daily. From now on 
in response to feedback, we will 
be providing microwaves, and all 
Michigan Dining meals will come 
in microwavable packaging.”

As of Sunday, Bickel said he has 

not received his microwave. After 
calling DPSS Saturday evening, he 
was told he would not receive one 
until next week. 

“The food situation here is 

abysmal,” Bickel said. “We have 
been told we will be receiving 
microwaves, but I have not 
received mine yet. The food that 
they provide is low-grade and 
cold. Nothing like what we paid 
for in the dining halls. I have not 
brought myself to eat any of it. 
Most food deliveries occur close 
to noon, so there really is not a 
chance for breakfast. The vast 
majority of my meals have been 
through DoorDash.” 

Students 
unsatisfied 
with 

the meal plan can order food 
from online delivery services 
or local businesses. However, 
Burnstein said he worried local 
workers could be put at risk 
when delivering food, noting 
there are no signs indicating 
that the Northwood housing is 
filled with COVID-19 positive 
residents. The Daily confirmed 
the lack of signage.

“You’ll 
regularly 
see, 

especially at meal times, just 
random delivery drivers walking 
around the apartment, because 
there’s no clear cut protocols 
like where to drop off food or 
interact with your driver, and 
it just puts the drivers at risk,” 
Burnstein said. 

Schlissel 
did 
not 
address 

safety 
precautions 
for 
meal 

delivery in his email. According 
to 
the 
meal 
request 
form, 

University-provided meals are 

delivered 
by 
a 
“University-

appointed contractor.” 

Smith said she was concerned 

about the potential spread of the 
virus at Northwood.

“The man who came and 

delivered our meals, first of 
all, he wasn’t wearing a mask,” 
Smith said. “He opened the 
screen door and put the food 
behind the screen door, which 
made me a little uncomfortable 
because the person in the 
apartment across from me … 
actually had COVID and had a 
fever.”

When asked what precautions 

are in place so Unive rsity staff 
members coming in contact with 
students do not spread the virus, 
Broekhuizen declined to offer 
details but clarified that meals 
are delivered to the students’ 
doorsteps and DPSS officers 
wear appropriate PPE. 

Protocol uncertainty
If 
students 
living 
off-

campus need to quarantine 
or 
isolate, 
the 
Washtenaw 

County 
Health 
Department, 

in 
coordination 
with 
the 

University’s 
Environmental, 

Health and Safety Department, 
will determine if their living 
situation is fit to safely do so. 
If it is not, off-campus students 
may need to move to University-
provided quarantine housing 
or return to their permanent 
residence as well. 

University 
Health 
Service 

tracks 
positive 
COVID-19 

results. Students who are not 
tested at UHS can submit a form 
to notify the University they 
tested positive for the virus. 

Washtenaw County is also 

filtering 
test 
results 
in 
an 

attempt to identify students who 
test positive. Students who are 
known to have tested positive 
will be contacted by a contact 
tracer and asked for the names 
of those with whom they have 
had close personal contact. 

Sullivan 
had 
symptoms 

of COVID-19 and stayed at 
Northwood for one night until 
her test came back negative. 
UHS then authorized her to 
leave. Other students, including 
Bickel, 
were 
instructed 
to 

continue quarantining for 10 to 
14 days, even if their test results 
were negative. 

According to Burnstein, the 

University is keeping students in 
the same complexes who tested 
positive for the virus and those 
who tested negative but both 
must continue quarantining.

“Basically there’s … four or 

five of these apartment clusters, 
and in each of these cluster 
apartments there’s students who 
are exposed but are negative or 
students who are just straight-
up positive, and they’ve just been 
mixing these students together,” 
Burnstein said. 

The 
Daily 
interviewed 

students who tested positive 
and those who tested negative, 
both after being in contact with 
COVID-19 positive individuals 
and after developing symptoms 
similar to COVID-19. All these 
individuals were being housed 
in Northwood apartments. 

In her email to The Daily, 

Broekhuizen elaborated on how 
the Northwood apartments are 
being used for quarantine and 
isolation.

“There 
are 
five 
different 

neighborhoods in Northwood 
Community 
Apartments,” 

Broekhuizen 
wrote. 
“Units 

in Northwood I-III are used 
for isolation and quarantine 
housing. 
These 
are 
private 

apartments with no forced air 
system connecting them to other 
units.”

Broekhuizen also clarified 

that “students are free to leave 
their rooms, but should not 
access 
communal 
areas, 
in 

accordance with public health 
guidelines.” 

Burnstein’s roommate tested 

positive and reported his case to 
the University, listing Burnstein 
as someone with whom he had 
close personal contact. Soon 
after, Burnstein tested positive 
and 
has 
been 
isolating 
at 

Northwood since. 

Burnstein 
said 
the 

University’s 
procedure 
for 

reporting positive COVID-19 
cases is not well-defined. 

“There 
was 
no 
clear-cut 

protocol for how to report this 
stuff,” Burnstein said. “It was 
very unclear … If he hadn’t 
reported it, I don’t know how 
they would have found out.”

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, September 16, 2020 — 3

QUARANTINE
From Page 2

RAs have also requested 

additional personal protective 
equipment for move-in duties, 
mailroom services and other 
tasks 
requiring 
in-person 

contact. 

On Aug. 23, more than 80 

resident 
advisers 
drafted 

an open letter to University 
Housing, 
asking 
for 
more 

resources to protect against 
COVID-19. They said University 
Housing was not responsive to 
their demands, and they felt 
scared for their safety. More 
than 750 people signed their 
open letter expressing support 
for the RAs’ demands.

After the letter was sent, 

University Housing scheduled 
two town halls with the RAs 
in an effort to strengthen 
communication. 
During 
the 

first town hall, many RAs 
asked University Housing to 
address each of their concerns 
in the open letter through a line-
by-line 
response. 
University 

Housing complied and sent 
an edited version of the letter, 
which was reviewed by The 
Daily, addressing each of their 
demands on Aug. 27. In addition, 
Housing said they had ordered 
face shields and each ResStaff 
member would also receive an 
additional COVID-19 safety kit. 

Despite the order for more 

personal protective equipment, 
some RAs told The Daily they do 
not feel well-equipped to handle 
their other tasks. Noah said one of 
the reasons he quit was because 
of a modification to Community 
Center responsibilities. The CC 
is a lobby-like area generally 
situated in a high-traffic location 
in a dorm where residents can 
ask ResStaff members questions. 

Previously, each staff member 

only had to work in their 
residence hall’s CC. But now, 
ResStaff members might be 
required to work in CCs outside 
of their residence hall. Noah 
argued this new requirement 
was unsafe.

Additionally, Noah said he 

didn’t feel comfortable enforcing 
social 
distancing 
policies, 

since they could jeopardize 
his 
health. 
The 
University 

requires residents to maintain 
health 
precautions 
outlined 

in Community Living at the 
University at Michigan (CLAM), 
the handbook all students living 
in residence halls must abide by.

“I didn’t feel safe being the 

person to break up a dorm party 
in the middle of the pandemic,” 
Noah said. “I think putting 
that responsibility on other 
students, especially students 
who are dependent on their jobs 
for housing, is just not a good 
solution.”

In response to the pandemic, 

the guest policy in dorms has 
been updated. An Aug. 26 

email from University Housing 
leadership obtained by The 
Daily states that outside guests, 
or people living outside of one’s 
dorm, are not permitted in 
residence halls, but residents 
living in the same dorm are 
allowed to visit each other. 

Once the “no guest policy” 

took effect after residents move 
into their dorms, RAs were 
instructed 
to 
tell 
outsiders 

that they are in violation of the 
CLAM. Emily said it will be 
difficult to differentiate who is 
an outside guest and who lives 
in a different part of the dorm. 

Baghdadchi 
wrote 
in 
an 

email to The Daily that staff 
has a shared responsibility for 
“cultivating a culture of care.” 
He wrote that the hall director 
— the leader of each residential 
building — is responsible for 
holding students to community 
standards. University Housing’s 
conduct office will manage 
students who repeatedly break 
them.

Emily said there is no way 

to enforce the policy. Currently, 
the only repercussion from 
breaking this rule is equivalent 
to violating the CLAM: the case 
is forwarded to Housing Student 
Conduct and Conflict Resolution 
for the staff to review. 

“There’s really no teeth to 

this policy,” Emily said. “Yes, 
on paper it sounds good … but in 
terms of enforcement, as an RA, 
we’re really relying on a bluff.”

Approximately two weeks 

after the town halls, some 
RAs announced plans to strike 
claiming no concrete action 
has been taken. They also 
added new demands including 
hazard pay, a statement of non-
retaliation should they form a 
union, and the inclusion of “real 
consequences” should a student 
break social distancing policies. 

In an email to ResStaff sent 

Wednesday night, Rick Gibson, 
director of Michigan Housing, 
responded to some of the RA’s 
demands. He began the letter by 
acknowledging ResStaff’s need 
for action and thanked ResStaff 
members for their commitment 
to public safety and change.

He listed various efforts 

Housing has made to adapt to 
the RAs complaints, noting 
that under the University’s 
surveillance testing program, 
RAs will receive priority status. 
He said because compensation 
for ResStaff primarily comes in 
the form of room and board, the 
University would not provide 
hazard pay. 

In his email to ResStaff, 

Gibson 
also 
elaborated 
on 

consequences 
for 
residents 

who fail to abide by community 
guidelines, noting that follow up 
measures may include contract 
termination.

“Given 
the 
gravity 
of 

COVID-19, that means contract 
termination may be appropriate 
after 
one 
or 
two 
serious 

violations,” Gibson wrote.

Communication 

Disconnect

The three RAs also expressed 

frustration and discontent with 
the 
lack 
of 
communication 

between Housing and ResStaff. 

Noah said the University did 

not let ResStaff know if they 
would still have a job or housing 
in the fall until he received his 
letter of appointment the first 
week of August. 

“That was really stressful as 

a student who depends on them 
for housing,” Noah said. 

Olivia said she’s often put 

into a difficult situation when 
the first time she hears about 
housing updates is through a 
general email that was also sent 
to residents. It can be difficult to 
guide residents and make them 
feel secure when RAs have the 
same questions, Olivia said.

To 
help 
increase 

communication between RAs 
and Housing, the letter sent 
to University Administration 
asked for the creation of a 
student 
liaison 
elected 
by 

ResStaff members to advocate 
for their concerns and inform 
them of updated plans and 
policies. 

Emily said the liaison will 

help RAs feel more heard. 

“As staff members, we are 

consistently asked to be flexible 
and adaptive to our community 
needs,” Emily said. “However, 
when we ask for changes or 
attempt to voice our concerns 
with policies and how they’re 
being implemented, we are told 
that we should not do that.” 

University Housing has not 

yet addressed the demand for a 
student liaison.

With limited channels to 

voice concerns, both current 
and former RAs said there is a 
disconnect between policy and 
implementation. 

According to alum Deryl 

Long, this disconnect is not 
new. During her time as an RA 
from 2018-19, she said she was 
instructed by leadership to 
call DPSS when mental health 
incidents arose. She said many 
of the RAs who experienced 
mental health crises firmly 
believed engaging the police 
would worsen the situation, 
and RAs are put in difficult 
situations when determining if a 
situation needed the police. 

“If you were the RA on duty 

and this kind of situation was 
unfolding, you had to decide 
whether or not you were going 
to involve the police, which is a 
terrible idea, obviously,” Long 
said. “Or you had to risk your job 
security, housing security and 
food security, to go around the 
procedure and just deal with the 
situation yourself.”

Other 
members 
of 
the 

campus community have taken 
issue with the University’s ties 

to law enforcement. Similar 
to the RAs, The Graduate 
Employees’ Organization, which 
represents more than 2,000 
graduate student instructors 
and 
graduate 
student 
staff 

assistants, announced a strike 
on Monday in protest of the 
University’s reopening plans. 
One of GEO’s demands was 
cutting funding to the Division 
of Public Safety and Security 
and reducing law enforcement’s 
presence on campus. 

Long also recalled the job 

taking a large toll on her and 
other 
RAs’ 
mental 
health, 

especially 
because 
they 

weren’t trained mental health 
professionals but were often put 
in serious situations. 

This 
policy 
has 
been 

confirmed by several current 
RAs and is still active. 

Fear of Retaliation

RAs have told The Daily they 

are concerned about losing their 
jobs for speaking out.

Each ResStaff member has 

to sign a letter of appointment 
saying they must uphold all 
expectations of the role. Failure 
to meet the expectations and 
duties 
outlined 
may 
result 

in dismissal from the role, 
according to the LOA.

The letter contains a non-

disparagement 
clause 
that 

says ResStaff cannot publicly 
criticize any University Housing 
policies. Student staff members 
who disagree with any policies 
are encouraged to ask their 
supervisor questions, but they 
should 
continue 
to 
enforce 

all policies and “show public 
support” for them.

The Daily could not confirm 

if an RA has been fired for 
criticizing 
Housing 
or 
its 

policies, however many RAs 
have said they are fearful of 
breaking their contract. As a 
result, Olivia said many students 
on ResStaff did not want to voice 
their concerns publicly.

“I’ve been really afraid there 

will be consequences for me even 
though … (I just want to) ensure 
we’re actually safe,” Olivia said. 
“The fear of retaliation is on all 
of our minds.”

ResStaff 
requested 
the 

University 
administration 

to write a statement of non-
retaliation, 
as 
one 
of 
the 

demands sent in a letter to 
University Housing on Aug. 23. 
Since they still had not received 
a written statement by the Aug. 
24 town hall held between RAs 
and University leadership, over 
half of the attendees turned 
off their cameras and signed in 
anonymously.

Martino 
Harmon, 
vice 

president 
of 
Student 
Life, 

later sent a written statement 
promising non-retaliation.

RA
From Page 1

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

Schlissel 
later 
added 
that 

“we don’t want anyone to feel 
threatened simply for wanting to 
go to class.”

“Going to the court was our 

only choice after learning that the 
strike would continue,” Schlissel 
said.

GEO’s strike began last Tuesday 

in response to the University’s 
plans to reopen for the fall 
semester. Some of GEO’s demands 
include the universal right to work 
remotely without documentation, 
more robust testing plans and a 
partial reallocation of funds from 
the Division of Public Safety and 
Security 
to 
community-based 

organizations. 

In a statement Monday, the 

union assured the striking graduate 
students that no individual member 
was at risk because the University 
had filed for an injunction.

“We’re 
disappointed 
that 

President Schlissel has chosen 
to immediately abandon these 
promises in favor of trying to shut 
down our strike by brute force,” 
GEO’s statement reads. “Shame 
on the University of Michigan for 
using their immense resources to 
bully their graduate workers out 
of striking — instead of using those 
same resources to create a safe and 
just campus for all.”

The union’s members voted 

overwhelmingly to reauthorize 
their strike Sunday night, saying 
their demands were not met. 

In 
a 
Sunday 
night 
email 

informing members that the strike 

would continue for another week, 
GEO leadership said the strike had 
made a major impact on campus.

“Last week, we proved to 

University leaders, to the University 
community and to each other that 
GEO is committed to fighting for 
a safe and just community, and we 
are not prepared to stop until we 
get it,” the email read.

The union, which represents 

more than 2,000 graduate student 
instructors and graduate student 
staff assistants, previously voted 
to reject the University’s proposal 
on Wednesday, which gave GSIs 
and GSSAs the ability to cancel 
class if a student did not wear a 
mask and pledged to increase the 
transparency of COVID-19 case 
data but did not address the union’s 
demands regarding policing.

Other University groups have 

echoed GEO’s demands for a 
safer pandemic response — more 
than 
100 
residential 
advisers 

announced a strike on Wednesday, 
arguing that the University did 
not provide adequate COVID-19 
protections. Dining hall employees 
also conducted a “slow down” of 
operations across campus Friday 
after initially planning a walkout. 
The walkout was postponed due 
to fear of retaliation from the 
University. 

The request for an injunction 

isn’t the first time the University 
administration has sought outside 
involvement in the ongoing labor 
dispute. On Tuesday, the first 
day of the strike, the University 
filed an unfair labor practice 
charge against GEO, asking the 
Michigan Employment Relations 
Commission to weigh in on the 

strike. The charge names GEO 
President Sumeet Patwardhan.

In 
an 
email 
sent 
to 
all 

undergraduate 
students 

Wednesday, Provost Susan Collins 
called 
the 
strike 
“disruptive, 

confusing and worrisome,” noting 
that it violates both state law and 
the union’s contract, which was 
ratified in April.

“The strike violates Michigan 

law; in addition, GEO has agreed 
by contract not to take actions 
that interfere with the University’s 
operations, in this case, your 
education,” 
Collins 
wrote 
in 

the 
email. 
“Nonetheless, 
the 

University’s team will continue 
to meet with GEO in good faith to 
resolve remaining issues.”

GEO has repeatedly noted that 

the strike is illegal, including joking 
about it online. In a document 
addressing concerns about the 
work stoppage, GEO described 
possible consequences for graduate 
students who participate in the 
strike.

“If GEO strikes when the 

contract is in force, the organization 
may not be able to collect dues,” 
the document reads. “We would 
also be open to lawsuits and 
could be forced to pay damages. 
If the contract is not in force, the 
likelihood of a lawsuit is lower, but 
UM could still get a court order 
for us to stop striking and if we do 
not obey it, the coordinators of the 
strike (the GEO officers) could be 
placed under arrest. GEO has done 
work stoppages in the past, and the 
university has not retaliated.”

In its statement Monday, GEO 

leadership said they were “not 
surprised” that the University had 

turned to the court system.

“We always knew legal action 

was a possibility, and this was a 
transparent part of our multiple 
member-wide discussions about 
the risks of authorizing a work 
stoppage,” the statement reads. 
“Moreover, this legal move is a clear 
sign that withholding our labor is 
working: The University is feeling 
our power.”

In the video released Monday, 

Schlissel 
said 
the 
University 

administration 
welcomed 
the 

chance to negotiate with the union 
but would not allow the work 
stoppage to continue indefinitely.

“The issues raised are very 

important and we’re committed to 
addressing them, but we can’t do 
it at the expense of our students’ 
education,” Schlissel said. “We 
need our classes to be in session 
while we work out our differences 
together.”

Schlissel and Collins will hold 

a public conversation on Tuesday 
to discuss COVID-19, campus 
planning efforts and the impact of 
the pandemic on members of the 
community. 

“No questions or topics related 

to these issues will be off-limits,” an 
email announcing the event reads. 

The 
conversation 
will 
be 

live-streamed 
here. 
University 

community members can submit 
questions here.

Managing News Editor Leah 

Graham can be reached at leahgra@
umich.edu. Daily News Editors 
Barbara Collins, Emma Stein and 
Liat Weinstein can be reached at 
bcolli@umich.edu, enstein@umich.
edu and weinsl@umich.edu.

COURT
From Page 1

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

