U.S.
Sen.
Mazie
Hirono,
D-Hawaii, spoke with University of
Michigan students at the Michigan
Union Friday night. The event was
co-hosted by the Michigan-Hawaii
Student Association (MIHI) and
the Asian Pacific American Law
Students Association.
In an interview with The
Michigan Daily, LSA sophomore
Ellie Omori-Sampson, founding
member of MIHI, said their main
goal for the event is to promote
Hawaiian representation at the
University of Michigan. She said
she feels Pacific Islanders are
underrepresented within Asian
American and Pacific Islander
communities.
“Even in ‘AAPI,’ ‘PI’ is very
much underrepresented in AAPI
spaces on campus, which I’ve
noticed,”
Omori-Sampson
said.
“So bringing a senator from
Hawaii who is Asian American,
who is fighting to promote the
representation of Pacific Islander
people as well … puts something in
(the audience’s) brains about being
aware of Hawaii, being aware of
AAPI groups.”
Hirono began by discussing her
career as an elected official, which
began in the Hawaii State Senate
in 1981. When elected to the U.S.
Senate in 2012, she was the first
Asian American female senator
and the only immigrant serving
in the Senate, having moved from
Japan at age eight.
Hirono said throughout her
legislative career, she has learned
the importance of perseverance
when fighting for the causes that
matter most. Hirono pointed to
the stalled Voting Rights Act and
the overturning of Roe v. Wade as
examples of why people need to
continue to “show up.”
“Half the battle is showing up,”
Hirono said. “By ‘showing up’ I
don’t mean just physically showing
up for things but staying the course.
Because the battles we thought we
had won don’t stay won, so eternal
vigilance is required.”
In an interview with The Daily
after the event, Hirono urged young
people to vote in the upcoming
Nov. 8 general election, especially
with a constitutional amendment
to protect abortion access on the
ballot in Michigan. “Democracy is
at stake, especially for the young
women,” Hirono said. “They have
fewer rights than their mothers
and even their grandmothers —
that should motivate them to one:
get really angry about it, and then,
(two:) do something. Right now, the
‘something’ they can do is to vote.”
Hirono said her initial political
awakening was participating in
protests against the Vietnam War.
“I was not one of the leaders
of the anti-war movement, but
(protesting) was enough for me
to question, for the first time ever,
what our government was doing,”
Hirono said. “I became friends
with other politically active people
…, and so we all kind of decided that
we needed to do more to get seats at
the table.”
Though the sky remained overcast
and rainfall graced the University of
Michigan campus until late into the
afternoon, hundreds of members
of the campus community showed
up Sunday for the annual Pride
Outside at Palmer Field. Dozens of
student organizations set up tables to
welcome new and returning students
to campus, and a variety of drag
performances kept the energy high
throughout the afternoon.
Every
year,
the
University’s
chapter
of
Out
in
Science,
Technology,
Engineering
and
Mathematics (oSTEM) collaborates
with Central Student Government
(CSG), the College of Engineering and
the Spectrum Center to coordinate
the celebration of LGBTQ+ identities
on campus. CSG members and
Spectrum Center volunteers were
interacting with students, handing
out pronoun pins and “Michigan
Pride” t-shirts throughout the event.
CSG president Noah Zimmerman,
LSA senior, and CSG chief of staff
Meera Herle, LSA junior, also handed
out t-shirts and greeted students at
the event. Zimmerman said he was
excited by the number of students
who had shown up wearing rainbow
attire and were participating in
the activities, despite the adverse
weather.
“Seeing all the students coming
out here, especially on such a
rainy day, is really great to see,”
Zimmerman said. “The turnout is
impressive and it’s been nice to see
everyone get involved.”
Herle discussed how the event’s
location helped bring in new students.
With the Hill Neighborhood having
a number of freshman dorms, she
was glad to see freshmen stopping by.
GOT A NEWS TIP?
E-mail news@michigandaily.com and let
us know.
INDEX
Vol. CXXXII, No. 91
©2022 The Michigan Daily
NEWS............................1
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
MICHIGAN IN COLOR .........6
STATEMENT...................7
O P I N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
Follow The Daily
on Instagram,
@michigandaily
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY ONE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
See ‘ROSS’, Page 3
‘Embrace us’: U-M Dearborn,
Flint communities weigh in on new
University President Santa Ono
RILEY HODDER
Daily Staff Reporter
The night of January 15, 2022
was not one to forget for students
at the University of Michigan.
That evening, over 100 students
gathered outside the house of
former U-M President Mark
Schlissel just hours after news
broke that he had been fired for
an “inappropriate relationship”
with an employee. This was the
beginning of what would be
months of an outpouring of hope
and anticipation from students,
faculty and staff alike for the
future of the University.
Among
those
expressing
hope were members of the
One University campaign, an
organization that lobbies for
equitable funding across all three
of the University’s campuses:
Flint, Dearborn and Ann Arbor.
Throughout Schlissel’s tenure,
One
University
expressed
criticism of his actions, including
in May 2021, when Schlissel
portrayed the expansion of the
Go Blue Guarantee to Dearborn
and Flint campuses as both a
financial and academic burden
to the Ann Arbor campus. Upon
Schlissel’s firing, One University
released a statement reiterating
its discontent, as well as hope
that the Board of Regents would
select a president who would
carry out “more democratic and
transparent governance on all
levels across our three campuses.”
After
the
Presidential
Search Committee conducted a
nationwide search of potential
candidates beginning in February,
the
Board
of
Regents
named
current
University
of
British
Columbia President Dr. Santa Ono
as Schlissel’s successor on July 13.
With Ono taking office on October
13, students and faculty on the
Dearborn and Flint campuses spoke
with The Michigan Daily about
their hopes and expectations for the
new era of the University.
Ono told The Daily in an exclusive
interview that he believes in order
for other campuses to feel as if the
administration is invested in them,
there has to be an effort from the
administration to be present on
those campuses. He claimed that he
was going to spend time on both the
Flint and Dearborn campuses, and
that he would support their “great”
leaders.
Reflecting on the relationship
between Schlissel and the Flint
and Dearborn campuses, Jacob
Lederman, associate professor of
sociology on the Flint campus and
active member of the One University
campaign,
said
he
believes
Schlissel’s relationship with the
Flint and Dearborn campuses was
always distant.
“Unfortunately,
Schlissel
just
never really took a big interest in
the Flint or Dearborn campuses,”
Lederman said.
According to Lederman, Schlissel
didn’t understand that Flint and
Dearborn campuses serve different
communities and have different
goals than the Ann Arbor campus.
“I think amongst the faculty
on our campuses, particularly
in Flint, there is a sense that we
have a very different mission than,
for example, Ann Arbor, and we
embrace that mission,” Lederman
said. “I don’t think Schlissel
could ever understand what we
meant by investment and equity
if it didn’t mean becoming like
Ann Arbor.”
The
U-M
Flint
and
U-M
Dearborn
campuses
have
historically
served
a
disproportionately large portion
of marginalized students in the
state
of
Michigan.
However,
the
two
satellite
campuses
have traditionally received less
financial aid resources compared
to the U-M Ann Arbor campus.
In addition, the U-M Flint and
U-M
Dearborn
student
bodies
differ greatly from U-M Ann Arbor
in terms of socioeconomic status.
Based on the 2021 campus data
snapshot, 40% of U-M Dearborn
students and 52% of U-M Flint
students received Pell Grants — a
federal grant awarded to high-
achieving students with financial
need — whereas 17% of U-M Ann
Arbor students received the same
grant.
Lederman expressed his support
for Ono and said he believes Ono has
a mindset that would be welcome on
the U-M Flint campus.
“I think President Ono appears
to be someone who wants to get to
know people and understand their
perspectives,” Lederman said. “I
think that will go a long way on
Flint’s campus.”
Lederman said he hopes Ono will
apply this mindset when considering
the three campuses of the University
and their unique needs.
“I think I’d like to see President
Ono embrace us,” Lederman said.
“Not because we should or need
to move closer or appear closer
to the Ann Arbor campus, but
precisely because our mission is
so different and so important.”
Shbeib Dabaja, a senior in the
College of Arts and Sciences at
U-M Flint, said a lack of funding
on U-M Flint’s campus results in
a lesser campus life experience.
“On campus, it was a struggle
to keep students involved, and
I think a lot of it stems from
campus equity and equitable
investment,” Dabaja said.
According to Dabaja, this
sense of campus life is crucial to
maintaining the Flint campus in
the long-term.
“Campus life is crucial to the
longevity of the University of
Michigan-Flint, and I think that
starts with funding,” Dabaja said.
“That increase(s) (the) conversation
of ‘How can we make campus life
similar to what it is in Ann Arbor?’
or ‘How can we bring Flint into the
fold of things?’”
Dabaja
said
these
conversations are his main hopes
for Ono’s presidency.
“Really, that’s the crux of
everything,” Dabaja said. “To be
able to work on these issues. To
not only understand that there’s
an issue, but to find common
ground on how to solve the issue.”
Dabaja said one issue he
believes should be addressed
is the GPA requirement for the
Go Blue Guarantee that only
exists for the U-M Dearborn
and U-M Flint campuses. The
Go Blue Guarantee — a free-
tuition scholarship for in-state
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Hundreds attend annual Pride Outside
to celebrate LGBTQ+ diversity
Ross attendance
policy removes
exceptions
for COVID-
19-related
absences
Sen. Mazie Hirono headlines Q&A
RONI KANE
Daily News Editor
SAMANTHA RICH
Daily Staff Reporter
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Reproductive
health, voting
rights to appear
on November
ballot
ANNA FIFELSKI
Daily News Editor
On Thursday, the Michigan
Supreme Court ruled that the
Michigan Board of Canvassers
must place two constitutional
amendments on the Nov. 8 general
election
ballot:
Reproductive
Freedom for All and Promote
the
Vote
2022.
Earlier
this
week, the Board of Canvassers
had deadlocked votes for both
initiatives, requiring backers of
both amendments to file appeals in
order to secure a spot on the ballot.
On
Sept.
1,
Board
Chair
Anthony Daunt (R) and Board
Member
Richard
Houskamp
(R) voted against putting the
Reproductive Freedom for All
amendment — which would codify
the right to abortion access in the
Michigan Constitution — on the
general election ballot. Though
the amendment amassed over
730,000 signatures, the Board
claimed formatting errors on the
proposal, including a lack of spaces
between some words, rendered
the
signatures
invalid.
Mary
Ellen Gurewitz (D), the board’s
vice chair, voted in favor of the
amendment, along with Board
Member Jeannette Bradshaw (D).
On Thursday, the Michigan
Supreme Court ruled that the
meaning of the amendment is still
identifiable despite the errors in
the proposal.
“The only challenge to the
petition is in regard to whether
there is sufficient space between
certain words of the text of the
proposed amendment,” the order
reads. “The ‘full text’ of the
amendment is present: regardless
of the existence or extent of the
spacing, all of the words remain
and they remain in the same order,
and it is not disputed that they are
printed in 8-point type. In this
case, the meaning of the words
has not changed by the alleged
insufficient
spacing
between
them.”
According to the order, the
Board of Canvassers must approve
the petition as sufficient for
placement on the general election
ballot by Friday. The court also
directed the Secretary of State to
include the Reproductive Freedom
for All proposal on the general
election ballot.
The vote split among the justices
was not included in the court
Though
getting
sick
and
having to miss class is a stressful
experience for all students, some
Ross School of Business juniors
are
especially
worried
about
how it could impact their grades
this fall. Despite the University’s
five-to-10-day isolation policy for
students who contract COVID-19,
Business juniors get only three
absences per semester in the
majority of their classes before
they face potential academic
consequences.
Last year, the Business School
made
special
exceptions
for
Business students who tested
positive, but that clause has
since been removed from the
2022 syllabi. All Business juniors
participate in the Ross Integrative
Semester (RIS). Through RIS,
each student is enrolled in four
mandatory
core
courses
and
must complete a culminating
entrepreneurial project by the end
of the term.
The 2022 RIS syllabus, which
outlines general policies for all
of the classes juniors must take,
states that students are allowed
one absence from their Business
Communication course and three
absences from the other core
courses during the semester.
“In the rare case that you
must miss more than the allotted
number of classes, you must
contact your instructor as soon as
possible,” the syllabus reads. “The
decision to excuse you from class
is at the discretion of faculty.”
Some students, including one
Business junior who has asked
to remain anonymous for fear
of academic retribution, tested
positive for COVID-19 during the
first week of classes. According
to emails the student received
from faculty after reporting their
absence, the student’s isolation
period used up two of their three
excused absences.
The student, who will be
referred to as Sam, tested positive
Monday afternoon and had to stay
home the rest of the week. In an
interview with The Michigan
Daily, Sam said when they looked
at their syllabi for the attendance
policy, they were shocked by
the lack of leniency during the
ongoing pandemic.
TEAGAN STEBBINS
Daily Staff Reporter
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Students, faculty discuss Go Blue Guarantee requirements, separate missions from Ann Arbor
Business juniors say they
are worried the guidelines
may impact their grades
Michigan Supreme Court
rules two proposals must
go up for election after
split vote
Heads over Heels drag troupe performs, shares experiences with identity
Hawaiian senator encourages voting, touts legislative achievements
ADMINISTRATION
NEWS
ACADEMICS
NEWS
CAMPUS LIFE
KEITH MELONG/Daily
Design by Tamara Turner