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Wednesday, April 13, 2022 — 3
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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
The Ford School of Public Policy
hosted
Pulitzer
Prize-winning
author and journalist Anne Apple-
baum at the Michigan League on
Monday to discuss challenges to
democratic institutions and the role
of the press in a conversation with
Dean Michael S. Barr.
Offered in both an in-person
and virtual format, the event titled
“The Twilight of Democracy”
drew hundreds of attendees for the
culmination of the Ford School’s
“Democracy in Crisis” series.
Beginning in March, the series
hosted four acclaimed journalists
to speak on threats to democratic
systems in the U.S. and around the
world. Applebaum, who specializes
in geopolitics and the contempo-
rary political landscape, is currently
a staff writer for The Atlantic.
Barr began the conversation
asking Applebaum about her book
“Twilight of Democracy: The
Seductive Lure of Authoritari-
anism”, which explains how the
appeal of nationalism and autocracy
has paved the way for a new wave of
authoritarianism around the world.
Applebaum
said
her
book
explored the rise of right-wing
nationalism in Poland following the
fall of the Soviet Union as well as a
similar phenomenon being found
in countries such as the U.S. and the
U.K.
“A part of the right (in Poland)
in particular, had come to different
conclusions and had decided that
the system that was built after 1989
didn’t reflect their views,” Apple-
baum said. “A part of the Repub-
lican Party became disappointed
with modern America. A part of
the Tory party became disappoint-
ed with Britain, that the country
was not what it had been or not
what they imagined it should be
… So they attached themselves to
new, radical political movements.”
Applebaum went on to explain
how conspiracy theories such as
birtherism — the belief of any dis-
crediting claims that former U.S.
President Barack Obama was
not born a U.S. citizen — have
fueled public distrust of the gov-
ernment in Western democra-
cies around the world.
“Each country has its differ-
ent version of this: in Poland,
there was a terrible plane crash
involving one of the former pres-
idents and a huge set of conspir-
acy theories were built around
the plane crash,” Applebaum
said. “The use of conspiracy the-
ory to undermine public trust …
in democratic institutions, was
Pulitzer winner Anne Applebaum
discusses challenges to democracy
at Ford School event
Writer discusses declining trust in government, conspiracy
theories, emphasizes agency of citizenry
IRENA LI
Daily Staff Reporter
DAILY INVESTIGATION
From Page 1
Read more at
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Due to the small size of her class,
Emma asked that the years she
was enrolled in the program not
be identified in the investigation.
According to the 2015 Rackham report,
the average enrollment cohort between
2004 and 2014 was four students.
In her first month at the University,
Emma was warned of Borders’ behavior
toward graduate students. She was
specifically advised by another student
not to speak with him at the annual
department party hosted at Borders’
house.
“(An older student) clearly mapped
out (the house): This is the layout of
the kitchen, this is the layout of the
living room, this is probably where the
professors will be,” Emma said in an
interview with The Daily. “‘Don’t hover.
Don’t try to make small talk. Don’t
think that this is going to be a pleasant
experience.’”
At the party, Emma watched Borders
allegedly approach an Asian student
to talk to them about “Japanese ritual
suicide.” She alleged Borders then
pretended to perform such a suicide.
“‘So when you want to commit
suicide, let me know because I can help
you or I can tell you how to do it,’” Emma
alleged Borders told a group of students
at the party.
Another student who attended this
party
independently
corroborated
Emma’s account.
In an interview with The Daily,
Alyssa Wells, a current student enrolled
in the musicology doctoral program,
recalled her time in fall 2017 as a
graduate student instructor (GSI) for
one of Borders’ classes.
On Nov. 1, Wells learned that her
mother-in-law had been moved into
hospice care due to a decline in her
health. She called a fellow GSI and made
arrangements for them to cover her
duties before that day’s 8:30 a.m. lecture.
She emailed Borders at 6:58 a.m.
“I woke this morning to the news
that my mother-in-law has a very short
amount of time left. I will not be in
class today,” Wells wrote. “Right now I
am still too much in shock to make the
judgment about whether or not I will be
in for the rest of the week.”
After a lengthy discussion over
email about plans for Wells’s sections,
Borders wrote that Wells had failed
to communicate clearly in her earlier
emails. The email exchanges between
Wells and Borders were obtained by
The Daily.
“Your
personal
situation,
as
emotionally challenging as you find
it, neither reduces your responsibility
nor the reasonable expectation of clear
communication so long as you are a UM
instructor,” Borders wrote to Wells on
Nov. 3, 2017.
Borders included Associate Dean
Jason Corey, one of Wells’ colleagues
and two musicology professors in his
response, which Wells told The Daily
she felt was inappropriate because the
emails “revealed sensitive personal
information.”
Wells said she asked other faculty
members for their advice on how
to handle Borders’s complaint. In
one email, a different department
faculty member suggested that Wells
“de-escalate.”
“The urgent thing you need to do at
this point is to de-escalate the situation,”
the faculty member wrote on Nov. 4 in
an email obtained by The Daily.
Wells recalled speaking to other
faculty
members
about
Borders’s
complaint. They all had the same
response, Wells claims.
“‘Apologize to him,’” Wells said.
“Apologize to the person who had tried
to initiate disciplinary action against me
in my job because I took a total of four
days off … that I’m legally entitled to.”
According to the U.S. Department
of Labor Family and Medical Leave Act
of 1993, one reason employees can take
time off is “To care for the employee’s
spouse, child, or parent who has a
qualifying serious health condition.”
Wells told The Daily she later met
with her advisor, who told her that
Borders had criticized Wells during a
faculty meeting.
“(The advisor) said that I had done
something to make him think that I was
not serious about the subject … that I had
abandoned students,” Wells said.
When she returned to teaching after
Thanksgiving Break, Wells said she
attempted to apologize to Borders to
de-escalate the situation. During their
conversation, Borders allegedly told
Wells he had complained about her
in a faculty meeting and spoke for so
long that two faculty members left the
meeting.
Tara Browner, a graduate of the
musicology doctoral program from the
late 1980s, alleged Borders’s behavior
created an intimidating and hostile
classroom environment.
“It was just awful,” Browner said
of her time in Borders’s musicology
bibliography class. “He’s one of these
people that finds somebody in the class
and picks on them.”
Another student who took this class
independently corroborated Browner’s
characterization of Borders’s classroom
conduct.
After Browner decided to confront
Borders about his teaching style, she
alleged Borders retaliated by lowering
her grade to a B. She recalled calling
Borders after the end of the semester to
discuss her grade.
“‘I gave (the grade) to you because of
those things you said to me,’” Browner
alleged Borders said. “‘You had a bad
attitude.’”
Browner said her grade was allegedly
raised after that phone call. The
Daily has obtained a transcript listing
Browner’s final grade as a B+.
Eight years later, while attending
the American Musicological Society
conference in Baltimore, Browner
alleged that during dinner one night
Borders made a toast about her in front
of some graduate students and faculty.
“(Prof. Borders was) drinking and
drinking, and people started doing
toasts,” Browner said. “And he stood
up and … his toast was, ‘Fuck you, Tara
Browner.’”
Browner was shocked at Borders’
behavior, particularly given that she was
no longer a University graduate student.
“What was shocking is that he
treated a professional colleague — me
— the way he did,” Browner wrote in a
statement to The Daily.
Browner described feeling a lack of
support from the musicology faculty
while she was a student at the University.
“I kept thinking, these people don’t
care about me at all,” Browner said of the
department. “They don’t care about my
career. All I am is I’m something that’s
here, that’s on a fellowship … they just
simply do not care about me.”
The Daily’s investigation also found
numerous allegations of unprofessional
conduct and academic bullying against
Professor Louise Stein, a member of
the musicology department since 1987.
These allegations come from interviews
with 14 current and former students of
the 16 total interviews and a review of
emails, assignment feedback and other
documentation.
Stein has previously drawn attention
in the “Overheard at umich” Facebook
group for a threatening and aggressive
email she sent to Information and
Technology Services in 2016. In an April
2021 Facebook thread, multiple students
who took Stein’s courses expressed
concern over her conduct in class and in
emails.
The Daily spoke with one of Emma’s
classmates,
who
also
requested
anonymity out of fear for professional
repercussions. In this article, they will
be referred to as Noah.
In their first semester at the
University, Noah and Emma enrolled in
Musicology 509 with Stein. They allege
that Stein repeatedly offered feedback
that was insulting and unproductive.
“‘You all write like you have
absolutely no graduate experience,’”
Emma alleged Stein said.
Emma took another class with
Stein the next semester. In this course,
students began work on their third term
paper, an essay the department used
to determine which students would
continue in the doctoral program.
Stein returned one of Emma’s papers
with comments written in all caps and
red text. The Daily obtained a copy of
this essay.
“I feel like I can’t breathe when I
look at those pages,” Emma told The
Daily. “I can’t tell you how often I cried
over emails and feedback from her.”
In her application to the University,
Emma wrote a diversity statement
in which she described growing up
below the poverty line. Emma alleged
Stein repeatedly brought up Emma’s
statement to critique her work. The
Daily was not able to independently
verify that Stein had access to these
documents.
“She actually weaponized details
from my diversity statement against
me,” Emma said.
The Daily obtained an email
containing feedback on a presentation
Emma gave in class in which
Stein
commented
on
Emma’s
socioeconomic background.
“Sometimes I have to say things
that are not as ‘nice’ as the things we
exchange in social discourse,” Stein
wrote. “You come from a very different
world than the one we are training you
to enter (academe!!).”
Despite her concerns over Stein,
Emma said she never filed a complaint
about Stein’s behavior for fear of
retaliation.
“(I heard) that other people had
complained in the past … and that
nothing had ever happened,” Emma
said. “All that could really happen was
that it could make Stein have more
reason to attack.”
Emma alleged that Stein’s recurring
negative feedback prevented her from
progressing on her third-term-paper.
She was later cut from the doctoral
candidate
program
because
of
problems with this paper, according to
a letter from the department obtained
by The Daily.
“Two years at Michigan set me
back five years in my career,” Emma
said.
Wells is a first-generation college
student. When she enrolled in one of
Stein’s classes, she alleged that Stein
repeatedly made comments about her
family background. In one instance,
Wells mentioned that her mother was
taking a college music appreciation
course.
“From that point on, (Stein)
made comments about me sounding
unrefined,” Wells alleged.
Wells alleged Stein once held
the class overtime for 15 minutes to
criticize how Wells presented a mock
lesson for a piece based on a Spanish
poem. One other student, who was in
the class at the time, independently
corroborated Wells’s account.
“She held the class over to
interrogate me about my knowledge
of Spanish and my inability to translate
the poem and (to) truly know what
the poet was getting at … other classes
were waiting to get in,” Wells said.
In interviews with The Daily,
multiple
current
and
former
students alleged Stein created a
hostile environment in class by
asking aggressive questions during
presentations.
A former graduate student who
entered the program in the fall of 2007
asked to remain anonymous out of fear
for professional repercussions. In this
article, they will be referred to as Lauren.
SMTD premiers first in
series of 10 compositions by
Black composers
School commissioned pieces to make classical music more
accessible and inclusive
CARLIN PENDELL
Daily Staff Reporter
The University of Michigan
School of Music, Theatre & Dance
premiered
“Tethered
Voices”,
the first of 10 compositions of the
Michigan Orchestra Repertoire for
Equity (MORE). The project aims to
increase equity in classical music by
commissioning 10 Black composers
in the next 10 years.
Music, Theater & Dance pro-
fessor Kenneth Kiesler began the
MORE project in 2020. He was
motivated to commission “Teth-
ered Voices” after reading its name-
sake poem which was written by his
colleague and friend Kalena Bovell.
The poem is a reflection on the pro-
tests and racial anxiety following
the death of George Floyd in May
2020. Kiesler said he knew the first
piece of the MORE project would
involve Bovell’s work after reading
“Tethered Voices.” Kiesler reached
out to U-M alum James Lee III
(’99, ’01, ’05) shortly after to write
music to accompany the poem.
In addition to her poetry,
Bovell is involved in the music
industry, serving as the assistant
conductor of the Memphis Sym-
phony Orchestra. Kiesler and
Bovell met over 10 years ago at
the Conductors Retreat at Medo-
mak.
The performance took place at
Hill Auditorium and featured the
University Symphony Orchestra.
In an interview with The
Michigan Daily, Kiesler said
Bovell’s poem and Lee’s epony-
mous composition are a power-
ful combination, living up to his
expectations for the first piece of
the project.
“Kalena sent me her poem,
which she had just written, and
when I read it, I immediately was
moved by it,” Kiesler said. “I knew
that this would be the first piece,
so I contacted her right away and
told her how I felt about the poem
and asked if we could go ahead and
have it set to be a piece for orches-
tra. She agreed later that day, so I
asked James (to write the music)
and we reached an agreement and
the next day he started working on
it … it’s an incredibly great piece and
the two together — the music and
the poem — really have the mov-
ing and inspiring impact that I had
hoped the piece would have.”
Lee said equity in the music
industry is extremely important,
and there is always room for
improvement. While writing the
composition for the MORE proj-
ect, he tried to emphasize mean-
ingful words in Bovell’s poem
and vocalize the emotions felt by
many Black people today.
“It’s this idea of being tired
of the situation, tired of tears,
tired of feeling hopeless, that
kind of thing,” Lee said. “The
very last line says ‘I’m tired of
not being seen’, so it’s this kind
of tiredness, of not being seen
as equal — not being given equal
opportunities.”
Bovell said she knew many
people in the Black community
shared her frustration and anger,
especially following the death of
George Floyd. She said Lee was
able to convey her emotions in a
meaningful piece of music.
“It’s a really powerful piece,”
Bovell said. “Musically, when
you take the words away, there’s
such a darkness and depth to
it. I think (Lee) really was able
to pull out the emotions that I
was feeling when I wrote those
words.”
As warmer weather comes to
Ann Arbor, students are yearning
for opportunities to spend time in
the long-awaited spring sun. After
being cooped up inside avoiding
Michigan’s harsh winters, time
outside is a precious thing for
many Wolverines.
Outside of many traditional
D1 sports like football, hockey
and basketball, some students at
the University of Michigan have
found hobbies and talents in other
sports teams.
The Quidditch team has had
much success since it was intro-
duced to Ann Arbor in 2010. This
past fall, the team won awards
at multiple tournaments, includ-
ing being named Michigan State
University Starting Rush Cham-
pions, Penn State Nittany Invi-
tational Champions and Great
Lakes Regionals runners-up. This
semester, they have also been
awarded Miami University Quaf-
fle House Cup Champions. The
quidditch team will be heading
to the national championship on
April 23 and 24.
Rackham student Mara Hill,
an MSE student in the mechani-
cal
engineering
department,
spoke to The Michigan Daily
about their experience on the
quidditch team. The rules of the
game reflect those of the rules
in the book, including keep-
ing a PVC pipe between your
legs as you would a broomstick
and using deflated volleyballs
and dodgeballs as Quaffles and
Bludgers.
Hill said her favorite memory
for the team was regionals dur-
ing their sophomore year.
“At that time we had such a
deep team, with talent and such,
that we actually had two official
teams at regionals … both teams
did really really well …. it was
just a full weekend of Quidditch
and it was just so much fun,” Hill
said. “It was the first time in my
college career that I had a week-
end where I wasn’t home, and
I didn’t think about school the
entire time, and I was just sur-
rounded by that found-family
sort of environment.”
The
Michigan
quidditch
team also strives for diversity,
equity and inclusion on the field,
according to Hill. Quidditch
teams across the world follow
gender inclusivity rules, which
state that no more than four of
the six players on the field (less
the seeker) can be of the same
gender.
Backpacking, parkour and
quidditch give UMich community
chance to get out and play
Unconventional, niche sports fill gap, keep students active,
engaged in novel ways
MEGHAN KUNKLE &
EMILINE FAHMY
Daily Staff Reporters
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