The
candidates
discussed
the
University’s
COVID-19
response, tuition increases, sexual
misconduct
investigations
and
systemic racism, among other
issues.
The election will fill two open
seats on the board. Incumbent
Regent
Shauna
Ryder
Diggs
(D) was joined by three-time
candidate Carl Meyers (R) and
first-time
candidate
Michael
Mawilai (Green) at the forum. Each
candidate gave a brief overview of
their platform before responding
to a series of questions from
Colleen
Conway,
moderator
of the event and chair of the
Senate Advisory Committee on
University Affairs.
Much of the conversation at
the forum focused on the board’s
role in holding the University’s
administration
accountable
for
both
transparency
and
communication with the greater
community. When asked about
responding to sexual misconduct
allegations
against
former
University
Provost
Martin
Philbert and the late University
Health Service Director Robert
Anderson, Ryder Diggs advocated
for bringing in external experts
and
spoke
to
the
board’s
responsibility to the public and to
the University.
“I believe the board’s role
is critical with issues such as
Philbert and Dr. Anderson because
these types of issues affect the
entire institution, affect trust,
transparency
and
obviously
affect risk — the risk profile of the
University,” Ryder Diggs said. “I
believe the board’s role is to assist
with bringing in independent
outside experts to work with our
internal teams to take a broad
look.”
Mawilai
advocated
for
conducting
investigations
internally when possible. Meyers
seconded Ryder Digg’s proposal,
suggesting that the University
should bring in outside experts in
these types of investigations.
The three candidates expressed
their disapproval of University
President
Mark
Schlissel’s
response
to
the
COVID-19
pandemic. Mawilai referenced the
Graduate Employees’ Organization
protests last month, criticizing the
University’s reopening process.
“I think we really should’ve
erred more on the side of caution,
make
sure
that
everybody’s
onboard and not try to steamroll
a reopening before we had all the
plans in place where everybody
knew what they had to do,”
Mawilai said.
Meyers said the University’s
reopening
plan
was
unclear,
emphasizing
the
board’s
responsibility
in
holding
the
administration accountable. Ryder
Diggs said it is important to create
a clear plan early on, modifying it
as we learn more about the virus
and gathering input from a variety
of voices on campus.
The candidates also discussed
the University’s 1.9% increase in
tuition for the 2020-2021 school
year. Ryder Diggs said she voted
twice against the tuition increase
and suggested that the University
could afford not to increase tuition
in the upcoming school year.
Mawilai spoke to the importance
of providing the best value for
students’
education
and
also
advocated to minimize tuition
increases.
Meyers, whose platform is
largely based in higher education
affordability, promised one of
his first proposals would be to
roll back the increase and freeze
tuition.
“The cost of higher education
has stifled diversity and stifled
inclusion
where
folks
look
elsewhere,” Meyers said. “I think
the budget needs to be controlled,
especially during this COVID
period. The University is in the
most serious financial challenge
in its modern history right now
and they chose to raise tuition
where students get a diminished
experience … it was wrong.”
Other topics included systemic
racism and proposals to cut police
funding. All three candidates
acknowledged the existence of
systemic racism and the necessity
of taking steps to eradicate it. None
said they would defund campus
police.
Ryder Diggs and Meyers argued
the University should allocate
more resources to the Division of
Public Safety and Security.
Ten thousand free, reusable
masks will be given to low-
income
communities
and
the elderly, the Washtenaw
County Office of Community
and
Economic
Development
announced in a press release
Tuesday.
The masks will be distributed
throughout
the
county,
including at 12 locations in
Ann Arbor. The program stems
from an executive order Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer signed in
August to provide 4 million
free masks throughout the
state of Michigan.
OCED
Administrative
Assistant David Beck, who
works
closely
with
the
distribution
sites
for
the
program, said masks will be
vital as residents brace for
colder
weather
and
more
indoor activities.
“Our hope is to be able to
get the masks out, to be able
to distribute them and have
people prepared for winter, and
not be scrambling during the
winter to provide masks” Beck
said.
Beck said the county has
been informally distributing
free masks to residents for
months.
“Originally there were masks
that people were selling and
were making that they were
donating to us,” Beck said. “If
anyone needed a mask we tried
to deliver it to them, or they
were able to come to our office
to pick it up.”
Beck
said
the
state
government’s
donation
of
10,000 masks has formalized
the distribution project, and
the program aims to reach as
many people conveniently as
possible.
“Even acquiring masks, and
particularly reusable masks,
may not be as easy for some
people in our community than
others,” Beck said. “For senior
citizens who might not have
transportation to go to certain
places to buy masks, for those
who maybe don’t have the
disposable incomes to be able
to find masks.”
The
pandemic
has
shown
that
COVID-19
has
disproportionately
impacted
specific communities, such as
low-income families, African
Americans and senior citizens,
more than others.
Beck said OCED has been
doing important work for these
communities, including using
donations and funding to help
with utilities and rent during
the economic shutdown and
the current recovery. Beck said
the free mask program is an
extension of this work.
Though
the
free
mask
program is in response to
COVID-19,
Beck
said
the
community connections forged
through
its
implementation
could be useful towards other
initiatives going forward.
“Finding new organizations
and new places and new groups
to be able to work with, I think
will be the broader impact,”
Beck said. “Hopefully, God
forbid, if anything like this
happens again … the network
that’s already in place will be
strengthened. We’’ll be able to
start networking out to other
organizations and partnering
with other organizations to be
able to help provide services
and other resources as we can.”
Jennifer
Howard
is
the
director of the Turner Senior
Wellness Program, one of the
mask distribution sites in Ann
Arbor. She works closely with
the elderly in the area.
“When COVID hit, we had
to shut everything down, all
of our programming was in
person and we couldn’t safely
bring anybody into the center,”
Howard said. “The thing that is
really tough on our community
is the socialization, and some
of the isolation that has come
from this.”
Carolina
Barillas
is
a
Manchester resident who works
as a nanny for a doctor’s family.
Barillas said she has been living
on a stretched budget due to
the pandemic. Since she was
laid off for the majority of the
summer, Barillas said she has
been closely budgeting and
watching her money.
Barillas said she thought
the free mask program was
an important offering to the
county.
“I’m an essential worker and
I’m in the high risk category,
and I have to go out and work,”
Barillas said. “I think they
should be free ... It’s a lot less
stressful, with my very limited
funds.”
Barillas said it was vital
for the entire community to
practice wearing masks.
“It’s your civic duty to wear
a mask,” Barillas said. “To
show that you care about other
people.”
In the past few months,
the center has been able to
reopen a few days a week and
begin providing some of these
community services, such as
exercise
programs,
cooking
classes and other social events,
in
conjunction
with
their
online efforts. Howard said the
free mask program will help
the center be able to stay open
and keep operations running.
“We do have a lot of our folks
who do not have the resources
to purchase the masks that
they need, the PPE, that kind
of thing,” Howard said. “So
this is a really great way for us
to have those masks on hand
available for them, not only to
use within our center but to
use for anywhere else that they
might go.”
Public Health senior Emily
Guo is the co-president of
CURIS Public Health Advocacy,
a
student
organization
on
campus that works to enact
public health efforts in the
local
community.
She
said
affordable,
reusable
masks
are important for low-income
communities.
“(Wearing a mask) is one of
the most cost-effective primary
prevention strategies for the
communities so you don’t have
to rely on coming in later,
which is more expensive,” Guo
said. “(Some people benefitting
from the program) have to have
in-person contact, which is the
case for a lot of low-income
communities.”
Daily
News
Contributor
Paige Hodder can be reached at
phodder@umich.edu.
When students returned to
campus in August amid the
COVID-19
pandemic,
many
socialized outdoors at a safe
distance.
As
the
weather
becomes
colder,
students
are faced with an important
question: how can they socialize
now?
Rackham
student
John
Gearig said he’s worried about
colder weather, as he doesn’t
think it’ll be as safe to spend
time with friends indoors.
“If weather permits, I prefer
to be with people outdoors, but
it’s not very possible,” Gearig
said.
In a normal year, students get
exercise when walking short
distances to class and to meet
with friends. As temperatures
drop,
this
becomes
less
common,
especially
since
most students have many of
their
classes
online.
Preeti
Malani, University of Michigan
chief health officer, said she
encourages students to continue
spending time outside even
when the temperature drops.
“Even when it’s colder, it is
still important for your overall
health to try and get outside,”
Malani said. “There’s a saying
that there’s no bad weather,
there’s just inadequate clothing.
Not to say that you can spend
hours and hours outside in the
winter months, but definitely
find ways to be outside when it’s
possible.”
Because common areas in
the residence halls are closed,
students tend to rely on the few
buildings open on campus to
connect with each other and get
out of the cold. LSA freshman
Lauren Wittek said students are
told to follow social distancing
requirements in these indoor
spaces.
“Most of the time that my
friends and I are inside, it’s in
the Union, so we have to have
our masks on,” Wittek said.
When spending time together
indoors, Malani said wearing a
mask and maintaining distance
will prevent the spread of the
virus.
“Indoors you can still get
together, it’s just a matter of
maintaining
some
distance
and wearing a mask,” Malani
said. “One of the concerns is
that students won’t follow the
guidance (of density limits), but
I have no doubt that the students
will follow the guidance. If you
can have a mask on and can be
in closer proximity, you want to
try to maintain that six feet if
you can, and you want to have a
well-ventilated room.”
University contact tracers
have identified six COVID-19
clusters in the residence halls.
Though some attribute this to
the shared common areas and
restrooms in communal living
spaces, Malani said most of this
spread is through social contact.
“I would say that people in
congregate housing are at risk
just because they can be in
settings with large numbers of
people, but living there itself is
not a higher risk,” Malani said.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
4 — Wednesday, October 14, 2020
As cold weather arrives,
students consider options
DESIGN BY SHANNON STOCKING
KAITLYN LUCKOFF
For The Daily
Washtenaw County will
donate 10,000 free masks
Health experts weigh in on ways to socialize this coming winter
Supplies to be prioritized for at-risk communities, elderly
Candidates for Regents
talk ‘U’ COVID-19 response
Topics discussed include systemic racism, sexual misconduct
ANGELINA LITTLE
Daily Staff Reporter
PAGE HODDER
For The Daily
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Students
in
asynchronous
classes said the transition back
to school has been especially
difficult. Without a structured
schedule and classes meeting
regularly, students said they face a
new challenge in managing their
time.
LSA
sophomore
Melanie
Esterine, whose only synchronous
classes are small discussions,
said
she
struggled
with
procrastination at first while
adjusting to the unconventional
semester.
“In the beginning, it was really
difficult because I feel like when
you don’t have a set schedule to
stick with, you just do things
whenever, and then you keep
putting it off and then it becomes
a mess,” Esterine said.
Now that she has settled
into the semester, Esterine has
discovered a few tricks to help her
stay organized and on track with
her school work.
“I’ve started to try and develop
my own schedule that works best
for me that consists of doing a lot
of stuff on Monday and Tuesday
and then maybe taking it easier
on the other days,” Esterine said.
“That’s been helping me a lot. I
would say that I’ve gotten used to
it now.”
LSA senior Dawson Wells
said he has conflicting opinions
about
asynchronous
lectures.
Even though his asynchronous
lectures have given him more
independence, they also have
some drawbacks.
“Without having that structure
built-in, it’s a lot harder to stay
motivated and to stay caught up
and not have a night where I have
four lectures to watch before my
exam,” Wells said.
However, Engineering junior
Carolyn
Melvin
said
she
is
actually a fan of asynchronous
classes.
Having
pre-recorded
lectures allows her to watch them
at both a convenient time and a
suitable pace.
“To be honest, the transition to
asynchronous lectures has been
better than expected,” Melvin
said. “A lot of my classes in the
past had recorded lectures which
I have always liked because I
can speed up or slow down the
lectures.”
Since she is unable to see the
other students and communicate
with them, Melvin said she feels
isolated
while
watching
her
asynchronous lectures.
“When it comes to interacting
with other students in class, this
has been much tougher,” Melvin
said. “It is easy to feel alone in
classes and not know how to get
help.”
LSA senior Tikvah Finn said
she feels as though the workload
is heavier with asynchronous
classes, which are more difficult
for her with the additional
responsibility of watching over
her child.
“Virtual learning, as necessary
as it is during this pandemic, has
led to a significantly increased
workload as a student,” Finn
said. “Compared to a previous
17-credit, in-person semester, I
have to spend more time watching
virtual lectures and studying
outside of class time during this
13-credit online semester.”
Music,
Theater
&
Dance
sophomore
Andrew
Kevic
voiced the same criticisms as
Finn. Kevic said he has also had
more work this semester due
to asynchronous lectures and
virtual learning. Coupled with his
other responsibilities outside the
classroom, Kevic said he finds it
challenging to manage his time.
“I think it kind of changes the
balance of my whole schedule,
especially because I have work
study and I have another job on
top of that, so I have to really
think about how I spend my time,”
Kevic said.
Kevic
said
even
though
asynchronous
classes
have
made it more difficult for him to
have a regular schedule, he has
also found that there are some
benefits. In learning how to better
manage his time, Kevic said he
has acquired a new skill.
“It’s been a lot more of a
challenge,
but
in
ways
it’s
been
more
rewarding
than
last semester, especially since
quarantine,” Kevic said. “I’ve
noticed that I’ve had a lot more
control of my time and I’ve been
able to kind of shape my day, every
day.”
Daily
Staff
Reporter
Lily
Gooding
can
be
reached
at
goodingl@umich.edu.
Students in asynchronous
classes discuss scheduling
New format of learning brings challenges in time management
LILY GOODING
Daily Staff Reporter
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com