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Thursday, June 10, 2021
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday 

through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students 

at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free 

of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked 

up at the Daily’s office for $2 per issue. Subscriptions for 

September - April are $250, and year-long subscriptions 

are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced 

subscription rate. Subscriptions must be prepaid. 

The 
University 
of 

Michigan’s 
Central 
Student 

Government 
(CSG) 
gathered 

on Tuesday to vote on various 
resolutions pertaining to tri-
campus equality, scholarship 
distribution to U-M personal 
care assistants and a student 
health and wellness task force, 
as well as to confirm CSG 
cabinet positions. 

The Assembly discussed and 

passed a proposal, LDF 11-002, 
requesting $10,000 from the 
CSG budget to fund a rally for 
tri-campus 
equity. 
Funding 

for the rally includes up to 10 
ADA-complaint and disability-
conscious 
buses 
to 
provide 

transportation from U-M Flint 
and Dearborn campuses to Ann 
Arbor for the protest, supplies 
for 
staging 
and 
victuals. 

The 
proposal 
was 
passed 

unanimously. 

LSA 
senior 
Joseph 

Lobodzinski debated in favor 
of the motion, referencing an 
article by The Michigan Daily 
regarding University President 
Mark Schlissel asking U-M 
faculty if they believe the 
University should use funds to 
expand the Go Blue Guarantee 
to the Dearborn and Flint 
campuses, even if it meant 
sacrificing ‘academic excellence 
and salary growth’ at the Ann 
Arbor campus. 

“(The 
question) 
pits 
us 

against our fellow students at 
the University of Michigan-
Flint and Dearborn. They are 
using the classic divide and 
conquer tactic,” Lobodzinski 
said. 
“This 
motion 
will 

organize about 400 students 
from both the Dearborn and 
Flint campuses to come to the 
University of Michigan (Ann 
Arbor) campus and advocate on 
their behalf for more funding to 
their campuses.” 

CSG 
also 
discussed 
two 

resolutions pertaining to the 
creation of a Student Health 
and Wellness task force and 
the 
authorization 
of 
the 

creation of an initial funding 
for a task force charged with 
producing, vetting, and gifting 

scholarships to employed as 
personal care assistants at the 
University. 
Both 
resolutions 

passed unanimously. 

Tensions 
initially 
arose 

between 
the 
executive 

nomination 
committee 
and 

CSG President Nithya Arun 
after the committee released 
a report of disapproval for 
LSA 
junior 
Grace 
Roberts’ 

confirmation as Chief of Staff 
following their interview with 
Roberts. CSG member Noah 
Zimmerman was present at the 
executive nomination hearing 
with Roberts and reiterated 
the 
committee’s 
disapproval 

for Roberts for the position 
of Chief of Staff. Zimmerman 
said 
Roberts’ 
relationship 

with Arun, as well as her 
contradictory approach, pushed 
the committee to express their 
disapproval. 

“Grace made it very aware 

that she wanted to take a unique 
perspective on (the role of 
Chief of Staff) and that (Arun 
and Robert’s) had a working 
relationship, but only a working 
relationship of the recent past,” 
Zimmerman said. “She thought 
that was a beneficial quality 
to have, and we disagreed on 
that. We do think it is a good 
idea to have someone who 
disagrees and someone that 
is not just a yes man … but, 
however, she (said she) would 
go with what she wanted. Those 
two concerns … gave us no 
confidence to give her a positive 
recommendation.”

When 
asked 
about 
her 

contradictory 
approach, 

Roberts said that she would not 
simply follow along with the 
President and Vice President’s 
agendas as a rubber stamper.

“What 
was 
communicated 

in the executive nominations 
report 
is 
not 
an 
accurate 

representation of what I said or 
what I believe,” Roberts said. 
“I am a voice that (President) 
Nithya and (Vice President) 
Carla trust, and I want to be 
able to say to them my honest 
opinion about things, but that 
doesn’t mean I am bull-headed 
and that I will not do the things 
expected of me as Chief of 
Staff.”

With 
increased 
vaccination 

rates, 
relaxed 
COVID-19 

restrictions 
and 
increased 

government stimulus, businesses 
are looking to return to pre-
pandemic levels of production. 
There’s just one small problem: 
some businesses can’t seem to find 
employees.

Jack 
Edelstein, 
owner 
of 

Apothecare Ann Arbor, an organic 
cannabis 
cultivation 
facility, 

said that overall his business has 
run pretty smoothly during the 
pandemic but found that COVID-
19 made it difficult to secure a 
steady staff.

“We’ve been in business for 

under two years, so we’re still in 
that startup phase, and there’s 
always challenges,” Edelstein said. 
“The most challenging one has 
been assembling a stable team of 
employees … and I guess COVID 
did play a role here, because it made 
some potential employees just 
unavailable for various reasons.”

As more businesses began to 

lessen their restrictions in April, 
U.S. employment in leisure and 
hospitality 
had 
increased 
by 

331,000, half of which consisted of 
jobs relating to food service.

Incoming LSA freshman Sarah 

Ashby who currently works in food 
service 
experiences 
significant 

understaffing at her workplace. 
Ashby said she noticed a lack of 
productivity and staff morale as a 
result.

“(Employees) aren’t the nicest 

but you can’t fire them (because 
of short staff),” Ashby said. “I 
know it gets stressful – they work 
long hours (so) they just have bad 

attitudes.”

Ashby said that people may also 

be hesitant to get jobs right now 
because of potential exposure to 
COVID-19. 

“There’s just a lot of uncertainty 

right now and some people aren’t 
sure if they want to work right 
now,” Ashby said. 

Rising LSA sophomore Sara 

Ojala, who also currently works 
in food service, said she felt that 
the national staff shortage was 
the result of a mixture of a few 
different factors. As a student who 
has experienced Zoom fatigue this 
year, Ojala said that it’s not very 
motivating right now for someone 
to get a full-time job in the summer. 

“I think that a lot of people have 

gotten very comfortable during the 
past year and a half doing things 
from home,” Ojala said. “(People) 
are more accustomed to staying 
home in their own bubble as 
opposed to putting themselves out 
there again.” 

Ojala said another reason could 

be that staff shortages can create 
an immediate stressor for new 
employees.

“I actually think that, ironically, 

it is a deterrent that businesses 
are short-staffed,” Ojala said. “ I 
know that if I were a prospective 
employee, I would be pretty 
hesitant to jump into a job that is 
stressful on others and would be 
stressful on me.” 

Business 
professor 
Jeffrey 

Sanchez-Burks said people have 
had a year-long reflection on 
the employment conditions that 
existed since before the pandemic. 
He said wage level plays a partial 
role in the staff shortage, which 
is why some organizations began 
increasing wages.

Design by Megan Young

 DOMINIC COLETTI

Summer News Editor

 NIRALI PATEL
Daily Staff Reporter

First Michigan hantavirus case 
identified in Washtenaw County 

woman

Post-pandemic labor shortage 

leaves complications for a

recovering economy

Read more at michigandaily.com
Read more at michigandaily.com

