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MichiganDaily.com
News
Wednesday, April 6, 2022 — 3
ADMINISTRATION
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
U.S. President Joe Biden
nominated
Judge
Ketanji
Brown Jackson to the U.S.
Supreme Court on Feb. 25. If
confirmed, Jackson will be
the first Black woman to sit on
the nation’s highest court. The
Michigan Daily sat down with
University of Michigan experts
and students to discuss the
significance of Jackson’s nom-
ination and last week’s confir-
mation hearings.
Campus reaction to Jack-
son’s nomination
Law
Students
Nia
Vogel
and
Dashaya Foreman are the
managing editor and editor-
in-chief, respectively, of the
Michigan Law Review and are
the first pair of Black women
to lead the law journal in its
121-year history. They are also
members of the Michigan Black
Law Student Association. In an
interview with the Daily, Fore-
man said she felt encouraged
to see someone who shares
her identity nominated to the
Supreme Court.
“I’m taking a lot of pride in
this moment,” Foreman said.
“Now being in law school and
seeing her be nominated, and
hopefully (being) confirmed
very shortly, (she is) very
inspiring for me. I think it’s
long overdue, but I definitely
think it’s a step in the right
direction for students of Color
who are interested in being
legal advocates.”
Jackson’s qualifications for
the associate Supreme Court
justice position –– which
include a degree from Har-
vard Law, a federal courtship
position and a history of public
service, as well as her back-
ground having grown up in a
major city and attended a pub-
lic high school — would make
her a historic addition to the
Court. Jackson also served as
a federal public defender from
2005-2007. During that time,
she represented four Guantá-
namo Bay detainees following
the landmark 2004 Supreme
Court decision that detainees
in the military prison could
challenge their detentions in
federal court. If confirmed,
she would be the first former
public defender to serve on the
Supreme Court. Jackson would
also join Justices Samuel A.
Alito and Elena Kagan as the
only Supreme Court justices to
have graduated from a public
high school.
Vogel reiterated Foreman’s
excitement at the prospect
of Jackson’s appointment. As
someone who is an advocate
for criminal justice reform,
Vogel said she is inspired by
Judge Jackson’s background in
criminal defense.
“Symbolically,
(Jackson’s
nomination) definitely shows
Black women … that they
are accepted and can work
towards their goals, no mat-
ter what the capacity is,” Vogel
said. “It’s really great seeing
someone coming from a crimi-
nal defense background on the
Supreme Court … and
bringing that per-
spec-
tive
to
the
crimi-
nal jus-
tice cases that the court will
see.”
Law professor Richard D.
Friedman
specializes
in
constitutional law and
the U.S. Supreme Court
at U-M Law School.
Friedman has argued
two
cases
before
the
Court,
Bris-
coe
v.
Virginia
(2004) and Ham-
mon v. Indiana
(2006). Fried-
man
spoke
with
The
Daily
about
Jackson’s
nomination
and reflected
on her four days
of
testimony
in
front of the Senate.
Though Jackson’s
work as a former
public defender is
admirable,
Fried-
man said, it likely would not have
much of an impact on her deci-
sions as a Supreme Court
justice.
“I wouldn’t
overplay the
signifi-
cance of
(Jack-
son’s
public defense background),”
Friedman said. “When (judges)
take on the judicial role, they
realize that they’re no longer
advocates — they’re judges.
Her job on the Court will not
be to be the defendant’s repre-
sentative on the Court, it’s to be
a judge … I would guess that
she’ll be somewhat readier
than most of the other (jus-
tices) to recognize defen-
dants’ rights … But we’ll see
over time.”
LSA junior Julia Schetten-
helm,
communications
director of the Univer-
sity’s chapter of College
Democrats, wrote in
an email to The Daily
that the organiza-
tion supports Jack-
son’s nomination
to the Supreme
Court.
UMich experts, community members react to Supreme Court
nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson
Faculty call out coded racial language in confirmation hearings, celebrate increased representation in judiciary
IRENA LI &
VANESSA KIEFER
Daily Staff Reporter &
Managing Investigative Editor
VP
From Page 1
Design by Melia Kenny
Overall, we’re pretty pleased
with how the FSL rush went in
terms of growth.
MHousing and MDining
The Michigan Daily: What led
the University to decide to demolish
the Northwood III apartments
and build new living spaces for
students?
Martino Harmon: The housing
experience is a big part of the overall
student
experience.
It’s
really
important that we create the best
environment possible and certainly
Northwood’s been around for a
while. Planning (started) before
the pandemic, and it was really
time to — with Regent approval
— introduce a 1,200-bed facility. I
don’t know that it will be called the
“Northwood Apartments,” but it’s a
new facility that will provide more
opportunities for engagement. So
that was really the main reason for
this, and I’m just thrilled that we’re
able to move forward with that
project.
TMD: Will the new residence
buildings be apartment-style living
or similar to the larger residence
halls on campus such as South or
West Quad Residence Halls?
MH: It’ll definitely be different
than
the
current
Northwood
Apartments.
It’ll
be
a
large
residence hall, but it will be a suite-
style arrangement. So it won’t be
the standard double (dorm) rooms
throughout, but it will be a lot of
suites and a lot of lounges and study
spaces.
TMD:
What
student
demographics
—
such
as
undergraduate or graduate students
— will the new residence hall
primarily serve?
MH:
We
haven’t
exactly
spelled that out yet. Our typical
philosophy — other than maybe
(Munger Graduate Residences)— is
that our facilities will be open to
students that apply (for housing).
Our priority is to house all new
(first-year)
students,
and
then
whatever space we have left can
go to sophomores, juniors, transfer
students, maybe graduate students.
Right now, we haven’t specified
that this new facility is just for one
particular group of candidates.
TMD: With the return to an
in-person MDining experience this
year for students, how has Student
Life worked to ensure all residence
and dining halls are adequately
staffed,
particularly
after
the
University experienced campus-
wide staffing shortages?
MH: The dining experience,
much
like
housing,
is
an
engagement experience. It’s not
just about eating. It’s about the
opportunity for students to engage,
to learn, to have a full experience.
But we have been challenged by
the labor shortages — just like
restaurants in Ann Arbor and
places all over the nation. Our goal
has been to keep everything open,
and we’ve accomplished that goal
— we don’t want to close any dining
facilities.
We’ve also been able to make
adjustments to make sure we have
enough service: where we knew
we couldn’t hire enough students,
we made opportunities available
for (University) staff who were
not working in dining and wanted
some additional work. We’re also
focused on addressing labor issues.
We were able to make a slight
increase in the average wages by
about $1 across the board, but we
know that we need to do more to be
competitive. The labor shortage is
a real challenge, and that’s why it’s
important for us to keep looking at
ways to address that challenge.
TMD:
Student
activists
and campus leaders have been
discussing the possibility of a
$15 minimum wage for student
workers this semester. Does Student
Life have any plans to explore a
$15 minimum wage for student
workers?
MH: I can only really speak
for Student Life workers in areas
like dining or in mail facilities
and residence halls. We have been
looking at how we can make our
wages more competitive. We’re
still doing an analysis of that and
I’m optimistic that we’ll continue
moving forward. I know the regents
are also looking at competitive
wages across campus.
TMD: As the Vice President of
Student Life, you’re part of the U-M
administration, but you also oversee
the different student organizations
and different voices on campus.
So in regards to different forms
of student activism, what do you
feel like the administration is most
receptive to?
MH: Student activism is an
important part of the culture
of
change
at
the
University
of Michigan — it has been for
years and it always will be. The
administration respects that and
we actually embrace that. I think
it’s important for students who are
involved in activism to be able to
get information to understand
the issue, to understand what you
want to change, understand what’s
currently here and then move
forward with what you want. That
doesn’t mean that everyone will
always agree, but that means that
we need to have a dialogue, to create
change together. Sometimes you
can change the institution and make
progress — even though it may not
be to the extent that students want
— over a period of time. We want
students to understand that they do
make a difference with everything
that they do.
Daily News Editor Roni Kane can
be reached at ronikane@umich.edu.
Daily Staff Reporters Carly Brechner
and Sejal Patil can be reached at
cbrech@umich.edu and sejpatil@
umich.edu.
Commemorating Women’s History
Month: 5 impactful Wolverine
female leaders
From three-time Olympian to the second longest-serving
congresswoman, The Michigan Daily honors U-M women
RONI KANE,
CARLIN PENDELL ,
& SEJAL PETIL
Daily News Editor &
Daily Staff Reporters
“Across the U.S. and at the Uni-
versity of Michigan, March was
Women’s History Month. In 1980,
President Jimmy Carter declared
the week of March 8 “Women’s
History Week,” but it was not
until 1987 that the National
Women’s History Alliance suc-
cessfully petitioned Congress
to dedicate the entire month
to commemorating the accom-
plishments of women in the
United States.
The University admitted the
first female students in 1870,
over 50 years after it was found-
ed in 1817, and the first women’s
residence halls were opened in
1915. Since then, the Michigan
League was built as a space to
support women on campus and
the Center for the Education of
Women (CEW+) was founded
to provide women and under-
served students with financial
and academic support.
Activism for women’s rights
at the University has persist-
ed into the present day, with
community members continu-
ing to call for support for both
reproductive rights and sexual
assault survivors, among other
things.
In celebration of Women’s
History Month, The Michigan
Daily is commemorating the
life and legacy of five influential
Wolverine women who have
made, and continue to make,
an impact on the campus com-
munity.
1. Susan Collins
Provost Susan M. Collins,
executive vice president for aca-
demic affairs, was appointed
on July 6, 2020, after serving as
interim provost since January
2020 following the firing of for-
mer Provost Martin Philbert.
Before her tenure at the Univer-
sity, Collins was Public Policy
Dean, an economics professor
at Georgetown University and
an associate economics profes-
sor at Harvard University.
In an interview with The
Daily, Collins said bearing wit-
ness to the incredible diversity
of the University’s 19 schools
and colleges was one of her
favorite parts of being provost.
She said the initiatives she
worked on to support student
mental health and wellness are
some of her proudest accom-
plishments to date.
“That’s an initiative that is a
joint partnership between the
provost’s office — so academic
space — and student life,” Col-
lins said. “We want students to
thrive, and given the challenges
that were exacerbated by the
pandemic and our racial reck-
oning, it’s just really important
to (support students).”
Collins will step down from
her role as provost on May 15
to serve as president and CEO
of the Federal Reserve Bank of
Boston. In her new position, she
will also participate in national
monetary policymaking as a part
of the Federal Open Market
Committee.
In light of her retirement, the
University’s Board of Regents
unanimously voted on March 24
to award Collins with a Regents’
Citation of Honor for her dedica-
tion to her role at the University.
Collins said she thinks her
identity as a woman of Color has
positively impacted her style of
leadership, emphasizing that
too often she finds herself to be
the only woman of Color in the
room.
“Too often there’s a sense that
if you talk about being a Black
woman, for example, it down-
plays your ability to be seen as
a strong leader,” Collins said.
“I think we need to push back
on that. Women have so much
to offer, people of Color have so
much to offer, and we need to
listen to one another and work
together in those spaces and rec-
ognize that there’s not only one
way to lead and to make a differ-
ence.”
At their meeting on March
24, the regents approved Den-
tistry Dean Laurie K. McCauley
to replace Collins and serve as the
University’s next provost and vice
president for academic affairs. In
an email to The Daily, McCau-
ley commended Collins for her
involvement in the campus com-
munity, a quality McCauley said
she hopes to emulate.
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Zimmerman, Hillman of EnvisionBlue
elected as next CSG president, VP
Over 1,900 ballots submitted in University-wide election, ballot
proposal results released
SAMANTHA RICH
Daily Staff Reporter
LSA juniors Noah Zimmer-
man and Jackie Hillman of the
EnvisionBlue party will be the
next CSG president and vice
president, according to prelimi-
nary election results obtained
by The Michigan Daily shortly
after voting closed Thursday
night. Zimmerman and Hill-
man ran against LSA junior
Erica Nelson and LSA sopho-
more Ronald Burgaj of the
Diverse&Dedicated party. On
March 24, both CSG executive
tickets participated in a debate
hosted by CSG Election Team
and The Daily to share their
platform and policy ideas.
Following notification of the
results, Zimmerman and Hill-
man expressed their gratitude
and desire to get to work as
soon as possible. In an inter-
view with The Daily Friday
morning, Zimmerman said he
looks forward to representing
the student body.
“We’re here to impact stu-
dents’ everyday lives,” Zim-
merman said. “We’re here to
represent the broad range of
students on campus and we’re
hoping to be able to be success-
ful in doing that.”
Hillman told The Daily she
wanted to thank students who
voted and said she is excited to
create positive change.
“We’re incredibly grateful
to everyone who showed up
to vote,” Hillman said. “We’re
excited to actually work on the
projects that we’ve been talking
about, starting right now.”
Nelson and Burgaj did not
respond to The Daily for com-
ment in time for publication.
The EnvisionBlue platform
ran on 30 policy action items
and 15 advocacy initiatives
centered on themes including
accessibility and affordability
for all students, addressing the
University’s history of sexual
misconduct
and
increasing
student engagement with CSG
initiatives and elections. Zim-
merman and Hillman are plan-
ning to reorganize the CSG
executive branch before tack-
ling their specific initiatives.
“We think that the best
way for our executive branch
to operate efficiently and get
any of the projects, any of the
advocacy that we want done is
to make sure that we’re having
the organization and structure
within our team to be able to
adequately do that,” Zimmer-
man said.
In addition to electing exec-
utives, students voted for rep-
resentatives to CSG for their
college — 15 for LSA, seven for
Rackham Graduate School, six
for the College of Engineer-
ing, three for the Ross School
of Business, and one for each of
the remaining undergraduate
and graduate schools. Students
also elected 19 LSA assembly
members and the University of
Michigan Police Department
(UMPD) Oversight Committee
student representative.
Below are the preliminary
results for the top-voted repre-
sentatives:
LSA: Emma Sklar
Law School: Ewurama Appia-
gyei-Dankah
Rackham Graduate School:
Hayden Jackson
School of Dentistry: Palak
Shah
School of Public Health: Sarah
Cieslak
School of Public Policy: Divya
Periakaruppan
College of Architecture and
Urban Planning: Tara Mehta
College of Engineering: Maria
Liberty Fields
College of Pharmacy: Yuan
Hang
Medical School: Curtis Kuo
Ross
School
of
Business:
Sophie Peretz
School of Art and Design: San-
tana Malnaik
School of Education: Stepha-
nie Vuylsteke
School of Information: Tobias
Roth
School of Kinesiology: Ember
Larson
School of Nursing: Estrella
Escutia
School of Social Work: Matt
Dargay
School of Music, Theatre &
Dance: Emelia Piane
UMPD Oversight Committee:
Eli Merren
This year, 1,912 total ballots were
submitted to the University-wide
election, almost 100 more total votes
from the Fall 2021 semester election.
1,057 voters supported the addition
of a sustainability requirement into
the academic curriculum, while
804 did not. Additionally, 1,611 stu-
dents supported a non-voting stu-
dent seat on the Board of Regents,
while 240 did not.