Former U.S. President Donald
Trump hosted a “Save America” rally
at the Macomb Community College
Sports & Expo Center in Warren,
Mich. on Oct. 1 to campaign for
Michigan Republican gubernatorial
candidate Tudor Dixon and other
Republican politicians running for
election on Nov. 8.
Trump took the stage to speak
about his concerns over the security
of American elections. Over the
course of a nearly two-hour speech,
he repeated unfounded claims of
voter fraud and asserted that he was
the legitimate winner of the 2020
presidential election.
“Who would have thought our
elections are so rigged and broken?”
Trump said. “I don’t believe we’ll
ever have a fair election again.”
Trump also spoke about the
Russian
invasion
in
Ukraine,
stating that it was a result of Biden’s
administration and claimed the
war would have been avoided under
Trump’s
‘America
First’
policy
that prioritized nationalism and
isolationism.
“Look at what we’ve been through
together,” Trump said. “Russia,
Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine,
Ukraine — it never would have
happened if I was president.”
As Trump turned to discussing the
impending gubernatorial election,
he further criticized Michigan Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer, who is running
for reelection this November. Trump
spoke on his issues with Whitmer’s
policies on COVID-19, crime and
abortion
before
reaffirming
his
support for Dixon’s campaign.
“(Dixon) will fight for Michigan
families like no one has ever fought
before,” Trump said. “She’s a great
person. We introduced her at my last
rally up here, and she took off like a
rocket ship.”
Republican
gubernatorial
candidate
Tudor
Dixon
also
addressed
the
thousands
of
attendees Saturday evening, calling
attention to the Democrat-funded
advertisements
targeting
Dixon’s
anti-abortion stance. Dixon said
Whitmer
“stretches
the
truth”
because she would not have the
power to revoke abortion rights as
governor. This decision, Dixon said,
will be up to Michigan residents in
voting on the Reproductive Freedom
For All ballot initiative set to appear
in the upcoming midterm election.
“(Democrats) have spent nearly
$23 million going after me,” Dixon
said. “You might have seen some
of the ads saying that I’m pro-life.
Again, ‘Stretchin’ Gretchen’ is out
there saying that I’m going to be able
to do something about that issue in
the state. You all know it’s on the
ballot, it’s been decided by a judge.”
Abortion rights have become
a hot topic for this November’s
election after The U.S. Supreme
Court overturned Roe v. Wade in
June, a court case that had previously
established a constitutional right to
abortion access nationwide. Dixon
has said she opposes all abortions,
including in cases of rape and incest,
except when necessary to save the
life of the pregnant person.
In
the
state
of
Michigan,
abortions are still protected under a
preliminary injunction that blocks
a 1931 ban on abortions. Michigan
voters will decide in the November
general election whether to approve
the
Reproductive
Freedom
for
All
amendment,
which
would
codify abortion rights in the state
constitution.
Dixon
won
the
Republican
primary for governor in August
following a last-minute endorsement
from Trump on July 29. Dixon
defeated four other GOP candidates,
receiving 41.5% of the Republican
vote in Michigan. Dixon has also
been endorsed by the DeVos family,
the
Police
Officers
Association
of Michigan and the Michigan
Chamber of Commerce.
During the primaries, Dixon
outraised the other four Republican
candidates
for
governor,
and
according
to
her
most
recent
campaign finance report, she has
reached an end balance of just under
$524,000. In comparison, Whitmer
has an end balance of over $14
million.
Dixon criticized Whitmer for her
stance on supporting the “spirit” to
defund the police amid increasing
attention to police brutality and
racial injustice in 2020. In addition,
Dixon
condemned
Whitmer’s
response to the COVID-19 pandemic,
to which the crowd erupted in chants
of ‘lock her up!’ The chant was an
echo from Trump’s campaign rallies
in 2016, when he ran against Hillary
Clinton, former Secretary of State
and Democratic opponent.
“
This is the woman who knelt on
the ground with people who held up
signs that said ‘Defund the police,’
and then she said she supports the
spirit of (defunding) the police,”
Dixon said. “Are you going to let
her get away with these lies today?
… We are going to protect our law
enforcement officers. We are going to
make sure we stand behind our law
enforcement officers.”
In her closing remarks, Dixon said
she would work toward her campaign
promises on public education, crime
and economic security.
“We
are
American,
we
are
Michiganders, no one holds us
down,” Dixon said. “We will make
sure our schools will be the top
schools in the nation. We will make
sure that our cities are the safest
cities in the country. And we will
make sure that businesses are dying
to get in here and (for) the businesses
that we have, we will help them
expand and grow.”
Waterford resident Stephen Dail,
student at Anderson University in
Indiana, said he attended the rally
with his girlfriend and her mother
to show support for the Republican
candidates running in Michigan.
Dail said he supported the Trump
administration during his time in
office as well as former Michigan
Gov. Rick Snyder’s tenure, and hopes
to see Dixon elected this November.
“I love obviously what Trump did
and our previous governor before
— he did a great job,” Dail said. “I
think (Dixon) has the potential to
be very good and take the state in a
good direction because obviously the
governor now has done nothing but
drag us down.”
Undergraduate students at the
University of Michigan Ross School
of Business use a lot of paper.
In
several
of
their
classes,
business students are required to
print out lecture slides, practice
problems and notes if they want to
use them in class. The Michigan
Daily obtained a copy of the lecture
slides business juniors have been
asked to print out for their core
classes thus far this semester, which
are released before the start of each
class. If the average number of pages
per week stays relatively stable, The
Daily estimates that by the end of the
term the more than 400 students in
the third-year BBA cohort will have
printed out more than 258,075 pages
— the equivalent of 25.8 trees.
Business
juniors
follow
a
standard curriculum known as the
Ross Integrative Semester (RIS)
during which all students take the
same four core classes: BCOM 350
(Communication Strategies), BL 300
(Business Law & Ethics), MO 300
(Behavioral Theory in Management)
and
TO
313
(Operations
Management) Every student in the
RIS program is given the same set of
syllabi and lessons and is advised to
print out the same lecture materials.
Business junior Caroline Millen
said the number of slides depends on
the class. In Business Law and Ethics,
she estimates she prints an average
of 10 pages per class. In Behavioral
Theory in Management, 15 pages,
and in Operations Management, 10
pages. Each of these classes meets
twice a week.
As of the winter 2022 semester,
this year’s junior class in the
Business School has an enrollment of
465 students. Based on the average
number of pages per week, if every
business student in the junior class
prints lecture slides on double-sided
pages for every class, the class will
use 17,205 pages every week.
Still, students say the school
constantly
impresses
upon
them the importance of being
environmentally conscious in the
academic
and
business
worlds.
Millen told The Daily she has been
learning about sustainability since
the day she started at the Business
School two years ago.
Millen
is
an
undergraduate
fellow at the Erb Institute — a
program that combines Program
in the Environment (PitE) classes
with business courses offered at
the Business School to create a
unique curriculum focused on the
sustainability of businesses. While
her PitE professors talk about
the importance of protecting the
environment, Millen said, she also
often hears about sustainability in
her business lectures.
“I’m
very
passionate
about
(environmentalism
and
sustainability),”
Millen
said.
“I
think a lot of us in (the Business
School) are, considering (business
professors) make such an effort to
teach us that in all of our classes.”
According to the Business School
spokesperson
Bridget
Vis,
RIS
is an active-learning experience
for business students, preparing
them
to
navigate
complicated
business situations. Vis said there
are other U-M courses outside of
the RIS curriculum that enforce an
electronics-free classroom policy as
well.
“The Ross Integrative Semester is
a signature learning experience with
action-based learning opportunities,
designed to enhance BBA students’
capacity to analyze complex and
pressing business problems using a
boundaryless approach,” Vis said.
“RIS core courses, like many courses
around
(the
University),
have
traditionally maintained a largely
electronics-free classroom policy
to enhance student learning and
engagement with their peers and
faculty.”
Vis added that the Business
School takes pride in its pursuit
of sustainability. Vis said the RIS
committee discussed whether to
keep the electronics policy before
the fall 2022 semester, considering
sustainability
as
an
important
factor in the decision. Ultimately,
the committee decided upholding
the electronics-free classroom was
consistent with RIS goals.
“While sustainability was an
important
consideration,
the
committee agreed that maintaining
an
electronics-free
classroom
was the best approach for the RIS
learning goals this semester,” Vis
said. “In cases where electronics
will help student learning, faculty
will encourage students to bring an
electronic device to that specific
class session.”
Millen said a group of business
students were concerned about
the electronics policy’s negative
environmental effects and contacted
the Business School administration
during the first few weeks of the fall
2022 semester. GroupMe messages
obtained by The Daily include a poll
asking students if they support an
option to use tablets to take notes
in class. Of 198 respondents, 195
voted “yes.” In an email response
to a student query on the matter
obtained by The Daily, Business Law
Lecturer Lori Rogala said the RIS
committee unanimously agreed to
keep the electronics policy, adding
that the current policy is the most
consistent with the goals of RIS..
“During our discussions, the RIS
committee weighed several of the
concerns … including pedagogical
best practices, classroom equity and
an inclusive learning environment,”
Rogala
said.
“Our
ultimate
determination is that the current
policy strikes the best balance
of competing goals and allowing
widespread electronics usage is not
the best vehicle for addressing many
of the specific concerns cited.”
The
Ross
building
itself
earned Leadership in Energy and
Environmental
Design
(LEED)
silver certification for its sustainable
design by the U.S. Green Building
Council in 2010, a year after it
opened. Jeff T. Blau Hall and Kresge
Hall — which are attached to the
Ross building and are a part of the
business school — earned LEED gold
certification in 2017.
LEED certification offers four
levels — certified, silver, gold and
platinum — and new construction
can
earn
points
toward
these
titles based on the application of
a variety of categories. The Ross
building earned points in indoor
environmental quality, sustainable
sites,
energy
and
atmosphere,
innovation
and
design
process,
materials and resources, and water
efficiency. The Kresge and Blau Hall
project earned points in each of the
prior categories, along with regional
priority points, earning them a gold
certification.
However,
Millen
and
other
students have become concerned by
the unsustainable practices they see
in their own classrooms.
The RIS syllabus for fall 2022
outlines an electronics policy that
strictly prohibits the use of any
electronic devices in the classroom
for the four core classes. The same
policy was in place in RIS classes in
fall 2021 as well.
According to Millen, in lieu
of digital copies of notes and
assignments, professors of the RIS
core courses advise students to print
lecture presentation slides, as well
as problem sets or exercises posted
online, and bring them to class.
Millen
said
many
of
her
classmates and peers have brought
up the issue in classes, asking for a
reconsideration of the electronics
policy due to the environmental
impacts
of
printing.
She
said
professors
typically
avoid
the
question or refuse to negotiate.
“Teachers are really quick to
shrug it off and just continue to insist
that we print slide decks for their
class,” Millen said. “(Professors)
reiterate constantly that businesses
are the most powerful institutions
for change. They always say that, but
they’re not really letting us take our
own action on that.”
In the first two weeks of the
semester, Millen said the MO and
TO courses used even more paper
for team-building exercises. She said
20 packs of notecards were used in
her MO class for a game, and stacks
of hundreds of pieces of paper were
used in a house-building game in her
TO class.
Millen said RIS policies are
particularly
frustrating
because
she and the rest of the business
junior class were required to read
“Management as a Calling: Leading
Business,
Serving
Society”
by
Andrew Hoffman, U-M Holcim
(US), Inc. Professor of Sustainable
Enterprise. Millen said the book
emphasizes
that
sustainability
practices begin at the individual
level. She expressed frustration that
the RIS policies allow very little
room for sustainable choices.
“(‘Management as a Calling’)
stresses that a key point of systematic
change, especially environmentally
related, starts at the individual
level,” Millen said. “I feel like (the
Business School) is really preventing
us from doing that with this policy.
(The Business School) is even
amplifying (the problem) by doing it
at an organizational level.”
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 — 3
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NEWS
Ross students worry about environmental impact of no-technology policy
CAMPUS LIFE
Donald Trump rallies for Michigan gubernatorial candidate
Tudor Dixon in Warren
Michigan Medicine nurses union ratifies new contract after
six months of negotiations
NEWS
Some class policies require physical copies of lecture slides, notes when used in class
Thousands attend in support of Republican contenders in November general election
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Design by Erin Shi
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Agreement includes wage increases, end to mandatory overtime and safer staffing ratios
Members
of
the
University
of Michigan Professional Nurse
Council (MNA-UMPNC) have voted
“overwhelmingly” to approve a
tentative agreement with Michigan
Medicine, according to a press
release Saturday night. The new
four-year contract comes after six
months of negotiations. Over 6,000
union members had worked without
a
contract
since
the
previous
agreement expired on June 30.
Effective
immediately,
the
new contract includes an end to
mandatory
overtime,
a
22.5%
wage increase over four years
and expanded guidelines for safe
staffing
ratios.
The
agreement
also
provides
a
$273
million
compensation package that covers a
new salary step model and a $5,000
bonus for each nurse.
According to a UMPNC tweet,
95% of voting members approved
the agreement. The contract will
run through March 31, 2026.
Negotiations between the union
and the University stalled over the
union’s demands for safe workload
ratios
as
the
administration
maintained that employee staffing
levels were not mandatory subjects
of bargaining. In August, the union
filed a lawsuit with the Michigan
Court of Claims, alleging that
the hospital’s administration was
violating state law by refusing
to bargain over staffing ratios.
According to an MNA spokesperson,
both the Court of Claims suit and
ULP charge regarding workload
ratios will be withdrawn.
In the press release, Renee
Curtis,
MNA-UMPNC
president
and registered nurse, said she was
happy with the protections the
contract provided for its nurses and
patients.
“We’re excited about being able
to hold the employer accountable
for
safe
nurse-to-patient
ratios
and
end
dangerous
mandatory
overtime,” Curtis wrote. “Strong
wage increases and bonuses will
help attract and retain the nurses we
need to take care of our patients.”
Anne Jackson, MNA-UMPNC
member
and
registered
nurse,
expressed her gratitude for the
union’s bargaining unit in the same
press release.
“
I’m grateful to our bargaining
team for fighting so hard for what
nurses and patients need, and I was
proud to join my colleagues in voting
‘yes’ on this contract,” Jackson
wrote. “This makes the University
of Michigan an even better place to
work and provide the best patient
care possible for all our patients.”
Marschall S. Runge, Michigan
Medicine CEO and U-M Medical
School dean, said he was satisfied
with the contract in a press release
from U-M Health, the clinical
division of Michigan Medicine.
“We are grateful that our nurses
choose to work and build their
careers at University of Michigan
Health,” Runge wrote. “We are
pleased to offer a very competitive
package that recognizes the value
our nurses bring to our patients and
our organization.”
According to the U-M Health
release, Michigan Medicine also
launched an “aggressive” nurse
recruitment
program
that
is
expected to hire a record-setting
number of nurses this year, with
1,058 nurses hired from July 2021 to
May 2022.
Former President Donald Trump hosts a Save America rally to encourage his supporters
to vote for Michigan Republicans Saturday evening at the Macomb County Community
College Sports & Expo Center in Warren, Michigan.
GRACE BEAL/Daily
ANNA FIFELSKI &
SAMANTHA RICH
Daily News Editor & Daily Staff
Reporter
IRENA LI
Daily Staff Reporter
CARLIN PENDELL
Daily Staff Reporter