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Vol. CXXX, No. 19
©2021 The Michigan Daily
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Weiser sought Regents’ support after calls for his
resignation: “Remember Germany in the 1930s”
ADMINISTRATION
Newly-elected GOP Chair sent multiple controversial emails to board over past year
University of Michigan Regent
Ron Weiser (R) has sent emails to
his fellow regents during the last
year comparing the board’s silence
in the face of recent calls for his
resignation to “Germany in the
1930’s,” calling graduate student
protesters “hired union hacks”
and one containing only a picture
of a bikini-clad woman.
The
emails,
obtained
by
The Michigan Daily, were first
reported by WDET.
Some in the U-M community
demanded Weiser’s resignation
following the Jan. 6 insurrection at
the Capitol because they thought
he inadequately addressed the
incident. Weiser called on the
board to support him in a Jan. 17
email to the Board of Regents,
U-M President Mark Schlissel and
U-M Secretary Sally Churchill.
“Their issues are not about
anything I have done or said only
about being a Republican Leader
and not saying exactly what they
want me to say (it varies with some
of them actually saying I’m anti-
Semitic),” Weiser wrote. “It might
be nice if part or all of my fellow
Board Members say something
about my service or largess to the
University. Silence has historical
consequences.
Remember
Germany in the 1930’s.”
None of the regents have
followed through on Weiser’s
request to comment publicly on
the matter.
When asked by The Daily in a
previous interview about the calls
for Weiser’s resignation, Schlissel
said questions about Weiser’s
political associations and activities
within the Republican Party are
questions for Weiser, not the
University, to answer. He pointed
out regents are accountable to the
public through statewide popular
vote every eight years.
“I think that the many faculty
and students in the community
and others that have objections
are
raising
those
objections,
they’re getting lots of coverage
in the media, and those fall into
the political process,” Schlissel
said. “It’ll have to be worked out,
but I can say that the University
itself, as well as all the regents,
unambiguously
condemn
the
violence and those that incited
the violence. That’s not a matter of
question.”
Weiser
has
sent
other
questionable emails to the U-M
administration. In an April email
to the board, Weiser relayed
an
anecdote
from
his
wife
about a Graduate Employees’
Organization car demonstration
outside the Weiser residence
during
bargaining
with
the
University at the time.
“I suspect these are hired union
hacks,” Weiser’s email reads.
“The lead person truly has no
idea of U governance, he was sure
the U was a for profit business.
While he was cleanly dressed it
was impossible to imagine him in
a classroom. Janitor maybe from
the mental content.”
Additionally, on May 1, 2020,
Weiser sent an email to the
regents containing only a selfie
of a woman in sunglasses and
a bikini top laying on a towel.
The subject of the email is “BB.”
The Daily is not publishing the
photo as it is unable to verify the
woman’s identity and to protect
her privacy.
CALDER LEWIS
Daily News Editor
The University of Michigan’s
class of 2021 spring commencement
will be held virtually amid the
COVID-19 pandemic, as announced
in an email by University of
Michigan President Mark Schlissel
Thursday morning.
The
announcement
comes
after a two-week stay-in-place
recommendation for the University
by Washtenaw County Health
Department,
and
currently,
COVID-19 cases at the University
account for more than 34% of the
cases in the county.
The commencement ceremony is
scheduled for May 1 with plans for
synchronous content that will be
recorded and available for viewing
afterwards. According to the email,
the University is also working to
provide virtual performances, host
interactive elements and bring an
inspiring main speaker.
Schlissel noted the decision
was carefully considered, pointing
to the uncertainty around future
gathering sizes, travel restrictions,
infection rates and vaccination rates
as strong factors. He acknowledged
the community impact of holding a
virtual ceremony in his email.
“We very much wish that we
could hold a safe commencement in
Michigan Stadium, along with the
many other celebration activities
that are a fundamental part of our
community life and traditions,”
Schlissel wrote. “Commencement
is the most joyous event of the
academic year for many in our
community, as we celebrate the
accomplishments of our graduates
and draw inspiration from the
achievements they will share with
our world.”
The class of 2020 also received
a
virtual
spring
and
winter
commencement
ceremony,
making this the third ceremony
that has been affected by the
pandemic.
Schlissel
stated
all
graduates affected by the pandemic
are
welcome
to
any
future
commencement of their choosing.
“They and their families will
be our honored guests at these
ceremonies, and the graduates
will be recognized not just for
the completion of their degrees,
but also for their resilience and
fortitude in persevering during
these challenging times,” Schlissel
wrote.
According to the email, the
University also hopes to invite both
classes back in the future for special
future in-person celebrations.
For future updates about the
spring commencement, the email
encourages students to visit the
commencement website.
Daily News Editor Francesca
Duong can be reached at fduong@
umich.edu.
CAMPUS LIFE
Class of 2021 to receive virtual
commencement ceremony
FRANCESCA DUONG
Daily News Editor
Dr. Howard Markel, director
of the University of Michigan’s
Center
for
the
History
of
Medicine,
has
written
extensively
on
American
pandemics, as well as on the
political uses of quarantine and
isolation. The Michigan Daily
spoke with Markel over the
phone last month to hear more
about his work as a doctor and
scholar during the COVID-19
pandemic.
Markel began by explaining
how he co-authored a paper
with his colleague Dr. Marty
Citron on “flattening the curve”
in
2007,
which
suggested
that cases are reduced when
social
distancing
measures
are
implemented.
Citron
visualized data into a curve,
now considered by many to be a
defining public health image of
COVID-19.
Markel said his work on
flattening the curve began in
2005 in the era of the H5N1 avian
flu. Citron, who worked as the
head of the Division of Global
Migration and Quarantine at the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, would frequently
travel with Markel to give
presentations.
Usually,
their
trips took them to Atlanta or to
Washington, D.C.
“I knew the room service
menu at the hotel I stayed in
by heart,” Markel recalled. “I
always ordered the same thing. I
can even tell you: chicken with a
mustard sauce and rice.”
Markel said he coined the
term “flattening the curve”
while
opening
a
takeout
container of pad thai, which
looked like a flat curve.
“When I took out the pad
thai, it was all flat like one giant
noodle,” he explained. “I said:
‘it’s just like the curve. It’s flat!’
So, that’s where ‘flattening the
curve’ came from.”
Markel
said
the
implementation
of
social
distancing measures in Mexico
during
the
2009
influenza
epidemic became the pair’s first
living “laboratory” for their
concept. At the time, Markel
said he and Citron noticed
that
though
the
influenza
epidemic was not as deadly as
some feared, the application
of social distancing measures
had the desired effect they’d
predicted: They extended the
preparation time allotted to the
Mexican government, ensuring
its hospitals were able to see
a smaller and therefore more
manageable influx of patients.
Despite
the
reduction
in
cases, Markel said he and Citron
encountered strong doubt —
and outright dismissal — when
they presented their work to
the public in the early 2010’s.
Markel said he experienced
contradictory emotions when
seeing his life’s work suddenly
become so relevant during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
“We didn’t have a crisis to
apply this to until now,” Markel
said.
“It’s
been
incredibly
exciting for me as a scholar and
a professor, and as an observer,
I’ve been horrified.”
While social distancing is
“the nuclear option” because it
is so disruptive to how society
functions,
Markel
said
it
remains necessary for putting an
end to the COVID-19 pandemic
and, despite disagreements over
public health programs and
policies, the country needs a
centralized program.
U-M medical historian
who coined the term
“flattening the curve”
talks COVID-19 response
SIERRA ÉLISE HANSEN
Daily News Contributor
RESEARCH
Design by Ahmad Kady
‘U’ will not have graduation at the Big House for second year due to the pandemic
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Commencement for the Class of 2021 will be held virtually and not in the Big House.
Restaurants face complications
in resuming indoor dining
BUSINESS
Even with Gov. Whitmer’s approval, some businesses hesitant to fully reopen
On Jan. 22 — six days after
the first case of the COVID-19
B.1.1.7 variant was first detected
in Washtenaw County — Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer announced
indoor dining could resume at
25% capacity on Feb. 1. Just three
days after the announcement,
the Washtenaw County Health
Department imposed a stay in
place recommendation on the
University of Michigan.
Now
that
businesses
can
finally open, the stay in place
recommendation has introduced
further
complications.
This
resumption comes after nearly
three months of restaurants being
restricted to takeout and outdoor
dining under Gov. Whitmer’s Nov.
15 “Pause to Save Lives” executive
order, which was met with
frustration from local business
owners.
The
stay
in
place
recommendation, which is similar
in structure to the October 2020
stay at home order, asks students
not to leave their residences
except for essential activities
such as in-person classes, work or
research that cannot be completed
remotely,
obtaining
food
or
medical care and other approved
activities until 11:59 P.M on Feb.
7. Unlike the first order, however,
the
recommendation
didn’t
explicitly ban indoor dining.
Jerusalem Garden owner Ali
Ramlawi, a City Council member
for Ward 5, said the stay in place
recommendation didn’t impact
his business nearly as drastically
as the October order, mostly
because they have only been open
for outdoor or carry out dining
since June.
“We’re not seeing a noticeable
decrease — maybe a 5-10% drop,”
Ramlawi said. “It has been a little
slower, but it’s hard to pinpoint
when you’re not doing much in
sales.”
LSA
freshman
Meredith
Dirkman said while she plans to
avoid sit-down restaurants and
utilize takeout until the stay-at-
home recommendation expires,
she is comfortable with the steps
restaurants have taken to keep
guests safe and would be willing
to eat at one.
GEORGE WEYKAMP
Daily Staff Reporter
Dr. Howard Markel discusses impact of
quarantine on marginalized communities
See WEISER, Page 4
See MARKEL, Page 4
See RESTAURANTS, Page 4