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Wednesday, November 18, 2020 — 5

Three U-M professors to aid Biden-Harris transition 

Three 
University 
of 

Michigan 
professors 
and 

Obama administration alums 
will help President-elect Joe 
Biden transition to power in 
Washington, D.C. 

The 
group 
selected 
to 

evaluate 
various 
federal 

agencies and get them in line 
with the goals of the Biden 
administration is a who’s-
who of academics and former 
government 
officials. 
The 

Biden-Harris transition team 
announced the list on Tuesday.

Michael 
Barr, 
dean 
of 

the Ford School of Public 
Policy, previously served in 
the Department of Treasury 
as 
assistant 
secretary 
for 

financial 
institutions 
when 

President Barack Obama was 
in office. Barr will serve as a 
volunteer on the Department 
of the Treasury committee of 
the transition team. 

In 
a 
Sunday 
email 
to 

students, Barr congratulated 
Biden and Vice President-
elect Kamala Harris on their 
victory, calling it a historic 
moment for the country.

“I also think it is fair to say, 

that those who have worked 
with 
President-elect 
Biden, 

from 
across 
the 
political 

spectrum, whether or not they 
agree with him on policy or 
politics, view him as a person 
of great personal integrity, 

decency, 
and 
compassion,” 

Barr wrote.

Barr helped craft the Dodd-

Frank Wall Street Reform 
and 
Consumer 
Protection 

Act of 2010, a massive piece 
of 
financial 
reform 
and 

oversight legislation passed 
in the aftermath of the 2008 
financial crisis.

Before 
his 
Senate 

confirmation, Barr was also 
a member of the National 
Economic 
Council 
in 
the 

White House. Before that, Barr 
worked in former President 
Bill Clinton’s administration.

Barr researches and writes 

about 
issues 
in 
domestic 

and 
international 
financial 

regulation. 
He 
is 
also 
a 

professor at the Law School, 
where 
he 
taught 
financial 

regulation and international 
finance.

Betsey 
Stevenson, 
a 

professor 
of 
public 
policy 

and 
economics, 
will 
also 

help review operations at the 
Department of Treasury in a 
volunteer capacity.

In a press release Tuesday, 

the 
Biden-Harris 
campaign 

emphasized the diversity of 
the transition team, calling it 
one of the most diverse agency 
review teams in presidential 
transition history. 

“Of the hundreds of (agency 

review team) members to be 
announced, more than half 
are women, and approximately 
40 
percent 
represent 

communities 
historically 

underrepresented 
in 
the 

federal government, including 
people of color, people who 
identify 
as 
LGBTQ+, 
and 

people with disabilities,” the 
release reads. “The President-
elect and Vice President-elect 
are committed to building an 
administration that looks like 
America.”

In a 2018 panel at the Ford 

School, Stevenson discussed 
the need to diversify the field 
of economics, stressing the 
importance 
of 
increasing 

the number of women in the 
profession.

“We have a cultural shift 

that needs to take place,” 
Stevenson said. “And one of 
the few ways to get cultures 
to shift is to change the people 
in the culture, so I do think 
that improving the pipeline 
and getting more women into 
economics is an important 
part of this.”

Stevenson previously served 

as a member of the Council of 
Economic Advisers from 2013 
to 2015. She advised then-
President Obama on the labor 
market, social policy and trade 
issues. 

From 2010 to 2011, she was 

the chief economist of the U.S. 
Department of Labor, where 
she advised the Secretary of 
Labor on labor policy.

Law 
professor 
Barb 

McQuade will be a volunteer 
on the Department of Justice 
committee of the transition 
team. From 2010 to 2017, she 
was the U.S attorney for the 
Eastern District of Michigan, 

the first woman to serve in the 
role. 

McQuade 
was 
appointed 

by 
Obama 
and 
oversaw 

cases involving fraud, public 
corruption, terrorism and civil 
rights, among other issues. She 
resigned in March 2017 at the 
request of President Donald 
Trump.

McQuade 
has 
been 
a 

frequent critic of the Trump 
administration, accusing the 
current president of working 
to undermine the rule of law.

In a statement to The Daily, 

McQuade said she was excited 
to aid in the transition process.

“I am honored to be part of 

the Biden-Harris transition 
team and eager to help ensure 
a smooth transition at the 
Department of Justice,” she 
wrote.

The 
Associated 
Press 

declared Biden the winner 
of the presidential election 
on Saturday morning, and 
students took to State Street 
to celebrate. President Trump 
has refused to concede and his 
campaign has filed lawsuits 
challenging the validity of the 
election in numerous states, 
without citing evidence of 
fraud or wrongdoing.

On 
Monday, 
the 
Trump 

administration 
told 
agency 

officials 
not 
to 
cooperate 

with 
the 
Biden 
transition 

team, as the president has 
yet to concede the election. 
Various agency officials had 
previously prepared briefings 
and 
reserved 
office 
space 

for members of the Biden 
transition team. Instead, they 
are now being instructed to 
wait until the General Services 
Administration 
officially 

begins the transition to a 
Biden administration. 

Daily Staff Reporters Sarah 

Payne and Emma Ruberg can 
be reached at paynesm@umich.
edu and eruberg@umich.edu. 

A controversial oil and gas 

pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac 
is losing its ability to operate on the 
bottom of the lake, Michigan Gov. 
Gretchen Whitmer announced 
Friday. 

Michigan’s 
Department 

of 
Natural 
Resources 
will 

terminate 
a 
1953 
easement 

agreement with Enbridge, the 
company traditionally supplying 
petroleum and natural gas to 
Mackinac Island. Whitmer said 
the company’s 67-year-old dual 
pipelines presented “unreasonable 
risk” to the state’s residents. 

Enbridge has repeatedly been 

criticized 
by 
environmental 

activists, who call for an end to 
the pipelines’ operation. These 
activists fear the pipeline could 
rupture, leading to a massive oil 
spill in a waterway that connects 
Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. 

The 
pipelines 
are 
subject 

to 
several 
other 
concerns, 

including allegations Enbridge 
has not complied with Michigan 
regulations 
and 
a 
lack 
of 

transparency during inspections. 
Supporters of Line 5 see it as an 
essential source of natural gas and 
propane for people in the Upper 
Peninsula and other parts of the 
state.

According to a Friday press 

release, 
Whitmer 
and 
DNR 

Director Dan Eichinger say the 
action is a result of a violation of 
the public trust doctrine, which 
requires Michigan to protect and 
preserve the shores of the Great 
Lakes. The termination is based 
on the company’s “persistent and 
incurable violations” of the terms 
and conditions of the agreement. 

Whitmer said in a statement the 

company was putting Michigan 
residents and the Great Lakes at 
risk.

“Here in Michigan, the Great 

Lakes define our borders, but 
they also define who we are as 
people,” Whitmer said. “Enbridge 
has routinely refused to take 
action to protect our Great Lakes 

and the millions of Americans 
who depend on them for clean 
drinking water and good jobs. 
... Most importantly, Enbridge 
has imposed on the people of 
Michigan an unacceptable risk of 
a catastrophic oil spill in the Great 
Lakes that could devastate our 
economy and way of life.” 

Enbridge argues Line 5 is a 

vital piece of infrastructure. In 
a statement Friday, Enbridge 
executive Vern Yu said there was 
no credible basis for terminating 
the easement.

“This notice and the report from 

Michigan Department of Natural 
Resources 
are 
a 
distraction 

from the fundamental facts,” 
Yu said. “Line 5 remains safe, as 
envisioned by the 1953 Easement, 
and as recently validated by our 
federal safety regulator.”

Yu added that the company is 

confident that Line 5 is operating 
safely. 

“We will continue to focus 

on the safe operation of the dual 
Line 5 pipelines at the Straits of 
Mackinac, ensuring the Great 
Lakes are protected while also 
reliably delivering the energy that 
helps to fuel Michigan’s and the 
region’s economy,” Yu said.

Michigan 
Attorney 
General 

Dana Nessel filed a complaint in 
the Ingham County Circuit Court 
to validate the governor’s action. 
Nessel also specified the pipeline 
must be shut down within 180 
days. 

“I commend Gov. Whitmer 

and 
Director 
Eichinger 
for 

their forceful actions today to 
address the grave threat posed 
by Enbridge’s unlawful operation 
of its pipelines in the Straits of 
Mackinac,” Nessel said in a Friday 
statement. “With the steps they 
took today, Gov. Whitmer and 
Director Eichinger are making 
another clear statement that Line 
5 poses a great risk to our state, 
and it must be removed from our 
public waterways.” 

The ongoing pandemic and 

the switch from in-person to 
online events have affected 
religious 
organizations 
on 

campus that previously relied 
on face-to-face interaction to 
build a sense of community. 

Before 
the 
pandemic, 

organizations like the Sikh 
Students Association fostered 
friendship 
through 
social 

events like cider mill trips or 
Kirtan nights, when members 
would play traditional drums 
and sing together, but COVID-
19 put a stop to these activities. 

SSA’s 
leadership 
had 
to 

find ways to work around the 
restrictions 
that 
prevented 

large indoor gatherings. 

LSA 
junior 
Ramneet 

Chauhan, 
co-president 
of 

SSA, said the organization is 

conducting meetings over Zoom 
and had a socially-distanced 
field day at Palmer Field. 

“We’ve seen a lot of first 

years coming to our events, 
even to the Palmer Field event,” 
Chauhan said. “Everyone had a 
lot of fun so I think the sense of 
community is still there.”

Organizations 
have 
also 

adapted 
religious 
holidays 

and 
festivals. 
LSA 
senior 

Deepali Desai, Hindu Students 
Council co-president, said her 
organization had to cancel their 
Holi event because of the initial 
shut down in March.

The first day of Diwali, a 

major Hindu festival, occurred 
this past Saturday. In a COVID-
19-free year, Desai and her 
fellow members would organize 
a large Diwali party, including 
a buffet with food from a local 
Indian restaurant. This year, 
they are focusing on a smaller 
Zoom call for members only to 

celebrate. 

“On the day of Diwali we’re 

just going to dress up and get 
together on Zoom, and we’re 
going to watch a movie or a 
TV show or play some games,” 
Desai said. “We just want to 
celebrate 
with 
each 
other, 

which is something we really 
haven’t been able to do over the 
past few years, because we’d 
usually be so busy with planning 
the banquet and making sure 
everything’s running smoothly 
during that.”

Other holidays, like Rosh 

Hashanah, also had to change. 
But LSA junior Sarah Pomerantz, 
the chair for the undergraduate 
student governing board of 
Hillel, said the organization 
continues to try to create “a 
holistic experience” for Jewish 
students.

Hillel 
organized 
Shofar 

blowing, a Jewish tradition of 
blowing a horn to announce 

the new year, in the Nichols 
Arboretum. Every half hour, 
a group of at most 25 people 
would listen to the service 
while social distancing, leaving 
before the other group came. 

Hillel is also hosting online 

events like trivia nights and 
learning 
programs. 
LSA 

sophomore Nomi Rosen, an 
executive board member of 
I-LEAD, encouraged students 
to take part in the virtual 
events. I-LEAD is a student 
organization 
that 
facilitates 

conversations 
about 
issues 

related to the State of Israel. 

“I think it actually makes 

it a lot easier for students to 
participate because it’s easier 
to do through the platform of 
Zoom and technology,” Rosen 
said. 

Campus religious groups adapt 
activities due to ongoing pandemic

COVID-19 health guidelines limit practices for many faith-based student 
organizations as they seek to build community through virtual interactions

ILLUSTRATION BY MADISON GROSVENOR

Whitmer stops 
oil, gas pipeline 
in Great Lakes

Enbridge must halt Line 5 operations by 
May 2021 due to environmental concerns

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

Michael Barr, Betsey Stevenson, Barb McQuade will volunteer in Department of Treasury, Justice committees

ALEC COHEN/Daily

Students study in the Law Library before the COVID-19 pandemic.

EMMA RUBERG
Daily Staff Reporter

EMMA RUBERG & 

SARAH PAYNE
Daily Staff Reporters

SAFURA SYED

For The Daily

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com