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INDEX
Vol. CXXX, No. 77
©2022 The Michigan Daily
N E W S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
STATEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . 4
M I C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
O PIN IO N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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‘Bans off our bodies’: Activists rally at
the Diag in support of Roe v. Wade
CHRISTINA MERRILL/Daily
Students, community members,
politicians and activists gathered
at the University of Michigan Diag
for the “Bans Off Our Bodies” rally
Saturday afternoon to speak out
against the potential overturning of
Roe v. Wade. One of around 50 “Bans
Off Our Bodies” rallies held Saturday,
the protest was held in response to the
leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on
the pending Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s
Health
Organization
case.
The
decision, if finalized, would reverse
50 years of national legal precedent
protecting the right to abortion with
minimal government interference and
return the issue to individual states.
In the state of Michigan, the
overruling of Roe v. Wade could mean
the return to a 1931 law that banned all
abortions unless to save the pregnant
person’s life and made it a felony to
perform one in other circumstances.
Last month, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
filed a lawsuit asking the state Supreme
Court to strike down this law under the
Michigan Constitution’s Due Process
and Equal Protection clauses.
With signs reading “Protect safe,
legal abortion,” “No forced birth”
and “My uterus, my choice” in hand,
attendees heard from various speakers
on the importance of protecting
abortion access in Michigan and
nationwide. The chants “Bans off our
bodies” and “We support Roe” echoed
around the Diag throughout the
afternoon.
Katie O’Connor, president of the
Albion College chapter of Planned
Parenthood
Generation
Action,
expressed
her
disappointment
regarding the potential overruling of
Roe v. Wade, but told attendees she
remains determined to fight to protect
legal abortion. O’Connor emphasized
that abortion remains legal in the
state of Michigan since Roe v. Wade
has not been officially overturned,
and encouraged attendees to continue
advocating for abortion access.
“I don’t have the words to describe
the anger and hurt that I feel,”
O’Connor said. “Abortion is still legal in
Michigan, and it will not be attacked on
our watch without a fight … This week
confirms we’re facing the worst-case
scenario, which would be disastrous
for every person in our country. And
that is why we are here today … people
in every state across the country in
their hometowns, right this minute,
(are) rising up to say ‘Bans off our
bodies.’”
Nicole Wells Stallworth, executive
director for Planned Parenthood
Advocates of Michigan, pointed out in
her speech that a ban on legal abortion
will disproportionately affect low-
income and minority groups.
“The impact of overturning Roe
would be largely felt by Black, Latino,
indigenous
people,
immigrants,
people living with low incomes and in
rural communities,” Stallworth said.
“(These groups) have already long felt
the impact of lack of access to abortion
due to the social determinants of health
and discrimination that already exists
in our healthcare and criminal justice
systems.”
Grey Stone, a board member of
Planned
Parenthood
Generation
Action at Eastern Michigan University,
spoke to attendees on the importance
of including transgender individuals
in the conversation and using gender-
inclusive language.
“Using gender-inclusive language
makes a great difference,” Stone said.
“It opens up discussions in safe spaces
to more people who are in bodily
autonomy jeopardy. Instead of saying
woman, you can say people with
uteruses or uterus-bearing individuals.
We might not all be women, but we all
have government officials trying to tell
us what we can and cannot do with our
bodies.”
Former U-M President Mark
Schlissel writes letter of apology
to the Board of Regents
Former University of Michigan
President Mark Schlissel wrote a
letter of apology to the Board of
Regents after being removed from
his term as University President in
January 2022, according to a Detroit
News report published on Thursday.
The letter of apology was one of
the stipulations of the settlement
agreement reached by the University
and Schlissel.
The letter, obtained by the Detroit
News through a public records
request, was written on April 9 and
is addressed to the Board of Regents.
“I apologize to the Regents
and the University for the poor
judgment I exercised by engaging
in a close personal relationship with
a university employee,” Schlissel
wrote in the letter. “I am also sorry
for any disruption this has caused
to the conduct of U-M’s important
mission.”
Schlissel was fired after an
internal
investigation
revealed
Schlissel’s inappropriate behavior
with a subordinate at the University,
according to a Jan. 15 press release
from the Board of Regents.
CAMPUS LIFE
NEWS BRIEF
NAVYA GUPTA
Summer Daily News Editor
COVID-19 level for Washtenaw
County is high, according to
CDC guidelines
The
University
of
Michigan
updated
the
Campus
Blueprint
COVID-19 Dashboard on Friday to
reflect that Washtenaw County’s
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
(CDC)
COVID-19
community level is now considered
“high.”
This increase comes a month after
the University updated masking
policies to no longer require masks in
classrooms or on U-M transportation.
Masks continued to be required at
Michigan Medicine and on-campus
COVID-19 testing sites.
According to data from the
Community Sampling and Tracking
Program
(CSTP)
provided
on
the
Campus
Blueprint
COVID-
19 Dashboard, reported cases of
COVID-19 have increased between
April 30 and May 7 with 378 COVID-
19 cases reported by May 7. Weekly
COVID-19
cases
in
Washtenaw
County have consistently risen since
early March. Washtenaw County
reported 283 confirmed cases of
COVID-19 and a weekly positivity
rate of 14.6% as of May 12 at 11:00 a.m.
The CDC recommends masking
indoors
in
communities
with
“high” COVID-19 levels, though
the University has not reported any
changes to its masking policy.
The University advises community
members to help prevent the spread
of COVID-19 by remaining home if
sick, getting vaccinated — including
boosters — according to University
policy and getting tested.
NEWS BRIEFS
ANNA FIFELSKI
Summer News Editor
Read more at michigandaily.com
TINA YU
Daily Staff Reporter
Read more at michigandaily.com
Read more at michigandaily.com