Movie 
theaters 
and 

performance venues can reopen 
Oct. 9 in accordance with 
public health guidelines, Gov. 
Gretchen Whitmer announced 
in 
a 
Friday 
press 
release. 

Whitmer also altered limits on 
indoor and outdoor gatherings, 
putting a formula in place to 
determine capacity at different 
locations.

In a statement, Whitmer said 

the state’s early steps to combat 
the virus made it possible to 
loosen restrictions.

“Michigan took some of the 

most aggressive action against 
COVID-19 in the country, and 
as a result, the health of our 
families and our economy are 
faring better than our neighbors 
in 
other 
states,” 
Whitmer 

said. “As a result, we are now 
able to reopen movie theaters 
and performance venues with 
strict safety measures in place. 
I know these business owners 
have made incredible sacrifices 

during this crisis to protect our 
families and frontline workers, 
and my administration will 
continue working to help them 
get back on their feet.”

Whitmer signed an executive 

order to amend the MI Safe 
Start Plan to allow for the 
reopening. 
Whitmer 
also 

adjusted the limits on indoor 
and outdoor gatherings. Under 
the new rules, rather than 
being limited to 10 people, non-
residential indoor events now 
must limit attendance to 20 
people per 1,000 square feet or 

20% of fixed seating capacity. 
The size of any indoor event, 
no matter how large the venue, 
must not exceed 500 people. 
Face masks are required at 
these gatherings.

For outdoor events, instead of 

the previous limit of 100 people, 
attendance will be capped at 30 
people per 1,000 square feet or 
30% of fixed seating capacity, 
with the size of the gathering 
restricted to 1,000 people. 

During sophomore Eve Taylor’s 

orientation for the University of 
Michigan’s Ross School of Business, 
white students called her hair 
“unprofessional” for the workplace. 
Taylor, who is Black, said the white 
student with straight hair called 
her own hair more adequate. 

Taylor was shocked – she had 

spent a lot of time getting ready for 
the orientation session. 

Over the past several months, 

Black 
Business 
students 
have 

spoken to The Michigan Daily 
about a lack of transparency among 
diversity, equity and inclusion 
efforts at the Business School. Black 
students are underrepresented in 
Ross, as well as the University as a 
whole. 

Complaints 
about 
diversity 

at the University and Ross in 
particular are not new. Previously, 
some Business students have said 
the lack of a race and ethnicity 
course requirement in Ross played 
a role in the Business School’s 
status as a predominately white 
institution. 

Business 
School 
Dean 

Scott DeRue said the Business 

administration 
recognizes 
the 

improvements it must make in 
regard to DEI, and it is working 
hard to achieve those goals.

“In no way do we claim that we 

are perfect or that we have solved 
all of these challenges and issues,” 
DeRue said. “But we are deeply 
committed and unwavering in 
our commitment to enhancing 
diversity on campus.” 

Microaggressions 
at 
the 

Business School

Created in June, the Instagram 

account @blackatmichigan has 
been a space for Black students, 
alumni, faculty and staff to share 
their experiences with race and 
racism on campus — anonymously 
or not — while at the University, 
according to the account. Similar 
accounts seeking to bring to light 
discriminatory 
behaviors 
have 

appeared at other universities.

While many of the respondents 

did not share which college they 
were in at the University in the early 
posts on the account, out of those 
who did, the Business School was 
a recurring subject. Out of the first 
25 posts on the Instagram page, 
nine of them shared Black students’ 
negative racial experiences within 
the Business School. 

Ypsilanti 
resident 
Audrey 

Anderson’s voice carried across 
the University of Michigan Diag 
Saturday, echoed by about 100 people 
at a protest against racial injustice 
organized by the nonprofit Survivors 

Speak. 

“Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me 

around,” Anderson sang. “I’m gonna 
keep on marching, keep on standing, 
keep on ‘til justice comes.” 

She told the crowd she’d first heard 

the song as a little girl when Martin 
Luther King Jr. led the freedom 
riders through the Jim Crow South 
in the 1960s. Anderson noted the 

recurring nature of police brutality, 
comparing the brutality freedom 
riders were met with decades earlier 
to the violence protesters faced 
across the country this past summer.

“I never thought I would be seeing 

this again, and again and again,” 
Anderson said. 

Saturday’s “Where Do We Go 

From Here?” protest came in the 

wake of the “wanton endangerment” 
charge filed against the police 
officers who shot Breonna Taylor and 
Michigan Attorney General Dana 
Nessel’s finding that a Washtenaw 
County Sheriff deputy’s use of force 
against Sha’Teina Grady El was 
justified. 

michigandaily.com
Wednesday, September 30, 2020

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Experts have emphasized 

the need for widespread testing 
and contact tracing in order 
to safely reopen universities. 
But some at the University 
of Michigan are concerned 
about whether contact tracing 
on campus and surveillance 
testing efforts will be able to 
stem outbreaks before they 
occur.

Angela Beck, associate dean 

in the School of Public Health 
and faculty adviser of Contact 
Tracing Corps, worked with 
the University over the summer 
to develop a program for 
contact tracing on campus. The 
CTC is composed of volunteers 
who reach out to students who 
test positive for the virus and 
notify their close contacts of 
the 
University’s 
quarantine 

protocol. Contact tracing is 
vital to preventing the virus 
from causing an outbreak on 
campus, Beck said. 

“I 
think 
this 
program 

is 
really 
helpful 
to 
the 

University’s 
containment 

response for COVID-19,” Beck 
said. “Key to keeping the virus 
contained and keeping our 
campus as safe as possible is 
to identify who is a positive 
case and who’s been exposed 

to a positive case as quickly 
as they can and isolate them 
from the rest of the population 
so that we can really stop that 
transmission.”

The 
Washtenaw 
County 

Health 
Department 
has 

an 
agreement 
with 
the 

University’s 
Environment, 

Health & Safety Department to 
conduct contact tracing under 
the jurisdiction of Washtenaw 
County, a responsibility the 
health department “deputizes” 
the 
University 
volunteers 

to undertake, according to 
Communications and Health 
Promotions 
Administrator 

Susan 
Ringler-Cerniglia. 

Danielle 
Sheen, 
executive 

director 
of 
EHS 
said 
the 

department is responsible for 
“case investigation and contact 
tracing” as part of their legal 
agreement with WCHD. 

CTC 
volunteers, 
ranging 

from 
graduate 
students 
to 

Public Health undergraduates, 
undergo training modules to 
learn how to best work with 
the patients. Beck said the 
partnership between EHS and 
the WCHD has been beneficial 
in working with volunteers.

“That 
legal 
agreement 

between EHS and Washtenaw 
County is partly what makes 
this possible,” Beck said. 

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INDEX
Vol. CXXX, No. 132
©2020 The Michigan Daily

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COVID-19

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LEAH GRAHAM

Managing News Editor 

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Governor Gretchen Whitment announced new COVID-19 limits and reopening plans October 9.

JASMIN LEE 

Daily Staff Reporter

CALDER LEWIS 
Daily Staff Reporter

‘I never thought I would be seeing this 
again’: Protest calls for racial justice

Nonprofit Survivors Speak demands end to police brutality following decision from MI 
AG Nessel not to file charges againt Washtenaw deputy, Breonna Taylor ruling in KY

Whitmer allows movie theaters to 
reopen, adjusts limits on gatherings

Governor implements new formula to determine capacity at different locations, 
emphasizes that coronavirus is still a lasting threat to country and state

Concerns abound over 
accountability of U-M’s
surveillance testing, 
contact tracing plans

Professors and 
students at Ross 
revisit efforts to 
improve diversity

Business School deals with criticism 
over shortcomings in DEI initiatives

PARNIA MAZHAR 

& ANN YU 

Daily Staff Reporters

See ROSS, Page 3

See TRACING, Page 2

DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily

Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti residents joined U-M students in calling for racial justice on the Diag Saturday morning.

See THEATERS, Page 3

Community worries measures to limit 
spread of virus won’t stop outbreaks

Ann Arbor, Michigan

See PROTEST, Page 3

