University
of
Michigan
President Santa Ono announced
the University’s plan to build a
new residence and dining hall
targeted at serving first-year
students on Central Campus at
the Board of Regents meeting
Thursday. The new residence hall
will be built on the site of Elbel
Field and is planned to have the
capacity to house 2,300 students.
Ono cited a stagnant supply
of housing for undergraduate
students
amidst
growing
enrollment as the reason for the
new development.
“We want to make sure all
first-year students who want to
live on Central Campus are able
to live there,” Ono said. “Since
2004, undergraduate enrollment
has increased by more than 8,000
students, yet on-campus housing
has simply not kept pace.”
The
regents
unanimously
voted to approve a $6.5 million
initial planning contract with
Robert A.M. Stern Architects.
The Michigan Marching Band,
which currently practices on
Elbel Field, will be relocated one
block north to a 6.1-acre property
on South Fifth Avenue, according
to a press release from the
University, which purchased the
land on South Fifth from Fingerle
Lumber in 2018.
“The
prospect
of
a
new
marching band practice field
that continues to honor the Louis
Elbel name, while creating a
practice facility that moves the
band into the future, is exciting
to John D. Pasquale, who has
directed
the
400-member
Michigan Marching Band since
2013,” the release read.
Martino
Harmon,
vice
president for student life, said at
the meeting he believes the new
residence hall will improve the
undergraduate experience.
“Demand among students for
affordable, on-campus housing
on or near Central Campus
continues to rise,” Harmon said.
“The first step of this multi-phase
housing project will help us meet
the needs for the growing student
body
and
ensure
excellence
in the overall undergraduate
experience.”
The Michigan Daily sat down with
Martino Harmon, vice president of
student life, to discuss the transition
from DEI 1.0 to DEI 2.0, student
engagement and activism and new
construction projects across campus.
This interview has been edited and
condensed for clarity.
Campus diversity, equity and
inclusion plans:
The Michigan Daily: Since DEI
1.0 ended in 2022 and DEI 2.0 will
be starting in fall 2023, what does it
mean to have a “transition phase”
this semester?
Martino Harmon: The Office
of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
sort of maps out or outlines the
process. It’s very different for me
and refreshing that we have a year
to evaluate, and now this year is a
transition and planning year. I think
it’s great because it allows for more
engagement of stakeholders in a
better planning process that’s more
intentional. I’ve been to institutions
where you have maybe one semester
to transition, depending on when
you release the plan. I think it’s also
a much better plan for DEI at the very
end when we release it.
TMD: Now that the initial school-
specific findings from DEI 1.0 have
been released, and with the full
report anticipated in January, have
you seen any big takeaways from DEI
1.0 thus far?
MH: From the Student Life
perspective, I think there are three
big takeaways that really jumped
out to me. One is the opening of
the Trotter Multicultural Center;
that has been huge. We’re really,
this semester, fully living in the
Trotter Center, because the current
center opened in April 2019. The
involvement, the usage of the Trotter
Center is very, very strong. Another
takeaway really occurred a few years
ago, and that was the formation of
the Campus Involvement Advisory
Board. We had a lot of advisory
committees in Student Life, but that
committee really brought together
a large number of students from
different, diverse perspectives and
organizations. That group really
helped us to make sure that we were
using well-informed practices that
students could identify with. The
third takeaway happened during my
first year. We expanded our services
for students with disabilities with a
three-prong approach. One, we had
the office for Services for Students
with Disabilities. Then we expanded
when Student Academic Affairs
asked us to take over the management
of the testing accommodation centers
for students with disabilities, so
those now fall under Student Life.
Then the third thing was when our
director of Services for Students with
Disabilities, Dr. Okanlami, brought
the Adaptive Sports and Fitness
program to the University and
expanded it. That provides a whole
avenue of support and recreation
fitness for students that identify as
disabled.
TMD: How will the DEI 2.0
framework
incorporate
student
concerns, such as the points outlined
in the Black Student Union’s (BSU)
“More than 4” plan?
MH: I was actually there when
BSU announced the platform. I’ve
been engaged along with President
Ono, Provost McCauley, Vice Provost
Adele Brumfield and Vice Provost
Tabbye Chavous. We’ve been looking
at that platform and dissecting it in
a meaningful way. We’ve had one
meeting, we have another scheduled
with them next week. We propose
a working structure that will allow
us to bring people from across
campus with BSU to really dig into
each element of that platform, and
to figure out what the current state
of the platform is and what can we
do in a realistically short-term and
long-term period to address the gaps
in it. It was very impressive, the
way the platform was constructed
and how it was presented. What I
really love is that BSU talked about a
co-constructive sort of approach for
the University to work together with
them.
Student political engagement
and activism:
TMD: On Nov. 8, lines to register
to vote in the midterm elections at
the University made headlines across
the state. Do you think the University
was successful in communicating
about and facilitating same-day
voting and registration?
MH: I really believe that the
University was successful. I read
the headlines and you can focus on
the headline, but what I’ve focused
on, which I think was the bigger
message,
was
the
participation
and the willingness and eagerness
of students to participate in large
numbers in the midterm election,
which doesn’t normally happen.
Conventional wisdom says that
students and young people don’t
participate in midterm elections.
Well, we certainly prove that not
to be true. I want to make sure the
groups get the proper respect for
all their work, including Turn Up
Turnout, the Ginsberg Center and
the University of Michigan Museum
of Art and Duderstadt Center.
TMD:
The
University
has
expressed that it is on track to meet
its carbon neutrality goals, including
reducing direct and indirect carbon
emissions by about 50% by 2025.
How is the University collaborating
with student groups on campus to
continue to develop its sustainability
goals and plans?
MH: As of this fall, we assumed
management
and
coordination
of
the
Student
Sustainability
Coalition (SSC). We are much more
intentionally engaged and involved
with everything under the SSC than
we were in the past. Now, we’re in the
process of hiring a couple of additional
staff to strengthen sustainability. As
we look at more construction projects
at Student Life, obviously we’re going
to really make sure we get feedback
from students about sustainability
and putting them into process, but it
also requires us to work closely with
Facilities and Operations.
Health
and
safety
campus
initiatives:
TMD: Do you think the “mask-
optional” policy on campus during
the fall 2022 semester has been
effective
in
preventing
major
outbreaks of COVID-19 and other
respiratory viruses?
MH: I’m regularly in connection
with Dr. Robert Ernst, the chief
health officer for the University.
From everything that I’ve seen,
looking at rates of the spread of
COVID, looking at quarantine and
isolation housing, I think we’ve had
a really good semester considering
the level of engagement that we’ve
had between students and staff and
faculty. Anytime you repopulate
a campus you’re gonna see a lot of
cases that first week or so. I think
we’ve managed that pretty well.
I think the big reason for that is,
number one, our vaccine policy. That
makes a difference because we know
that a significant percentage of the
population is vaccinated and boosted.
We’re not out of the pandemic, but as
we move to what health professionals
called the endemic stage of the
COVID-19 virus, it really allows
people to take responsibility on an
individual level. Whenever I go to an
airport, I’m wearing a mask, because
I want to be protected. If you’re sick,
stay home, don’t risk coming in. So
far, I think we’re doing a good job
with that.
TMD:
Do
you
think
the
University’s response and messaging
around the monkeypox virus (MPV)
was effective in mitigating the
spread of the virus on campus while
not targeting “high-risk” groups,
including members of the LGBTQ+
community?
MH: We were obviously very
sensitive about that. We have a lot
of professionals on campus who
are very in tune with the needs of
the LGBTQ+ population and they
were involved in those discussions
with public health professionals. I
guess if there was a positive to going
through the pandemic, it was that we
had health systems in place that may
not have been in place a few years
ago. We’re able to use those systems
in the same way with monkeypox,
realizing that it is a different disease
and realizing that there’s certain
populations that we need to be aware
of so we don’t stigmatize any groups.
I think we were ready for it when it
happened, and I don’t think we had
any really bad outcomes from it.
TMD: Do you have anything else
you’d like to share with us about this
topic?
MH: One thing I wanted to
mention was our whole initiative
around health and well-being. Our
focus is on students, but really it
should be a campus focus. I am
particularly excited for the Wellbeing
Collective project, because one of
the things I noticed when I came
here is that the sole focus was on
therapy from CAPS. That’s got to be
available. We got to invest in that.
But there are a range of support
services and programs that are
available to students and we need to
do more to highlight that. There are
a lot of different ways to approach
mental health and well-being. What
the Wellbeing Collective is doing is
talking about a health-promoting
campus and really reaching people in
different ways.
Campus
development,
renovation
and
construction
projects:
TMD:
What
has
been
the
significance
of
renovating
and
reopening the three multicultural
lounges in residence halls on campus
this semester?
MH: It is so exciting. I cannot
tell you how unique it is. As a
person who worked at other four-
year institutions, I have never seen
such an expansive program with 18
different multicultural lounges that
all have different themes and reach
different audiences and are open to
everyone. You may not even realize
how many multicultural lounges
there are on this campus. I think
we need to do a better job of letting
people know that, yes, the Trotter
Center is here, but there are other
multicultural spaces. The renovation
project was very successful. I spoke
at one of the grand openings, and
it was packed. I think it really just
highlights and amplifies the really
unique nature of over 50 years
of multicultural lounges at the
University of Michigan. We’re now
going into the next phase of lounge
renovations that will take place over
the summer and then you’ll have
more grand openings next fall. One of
the goals of the renovations is trying
to make the lounges more accessible
whether or not people have moved
out of on-campus housing, so they
can attend programming. We have to
do that in a safe way. But I know that
we’re trying to make changes so that
more people can utilize the lounges
and recognize how great they are.
TMD:
The
Central
Student
Government
(CSG)
recently
discussed what the former site of the
Fleming Administration Building
might be used for. Will the Office of
Student Life have any input on this
decision, and if so, what would you
like to see done with the space?
MH: I think now that we’ve heard
from students, it will allow us to now
have a system for students’ feelings
about the use of the former site of the
Fleming Administration Building.
Though we have not had any deep
discussions regarding the former
site, I’m certain that at some level the
Office of Student Life will be more
involved. Right now the plan is to have
a kind of green space, and the question
really will be: is that the long-term
plan, or is that the short-term plan?
And if it’s a short-term plan, what does
it become after the green space?
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michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, January 11, 2023
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY TWO YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
VP of Student Life Martino Harmon reflects
on Fall 2022
In an interview with The Daily, Harmon spoke on DEI 2.0 and
campus development going forward
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
ELLIE VICE/Daily
RONI KANE, CARLIN
PENDELL & RACHEL MINTZ
Managing News Editor & Daily News
Editors
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow,
D-Mich, announced Thursday
she will not be seeking reelection
in 2024 following the end of her
term in 2025.
“Inspired by a new generation
of leaders, I have decided to pass
the torch in the U.S. Senate,”
Stabenow said.
In 2000, Stabenow was the
first woman from Michigan to
be elected to the United States
Senate. During her time in the
Senate, Stabenow has focused
on protecting the Great Lakes,
expanding
affordable
health
care and improving the lives of
Michigan families. Stabenow
is also the chairwoman of
the
Senate
Committee
on
Agriculture,
Nutrition
&
Forestry, where she authored
and co-authored the 2014 and
2018 Farm Bills to strengthen
Michigan agriculture. For the
remaining two years of her term,
Stabenow said she will focus on
the passage of the next five-year
Farm Bill aimed at determining
the nation’s food and agriculture
policies.
“(The bill) is also key in
protecting our land and water
and creating jobs in our rural and
urban communities,” Stabenow
said.
After her term as senator,
Stabenow plans to continue
serving Michigan outside of
elected office and spending time
with her family.
Stabenow’s retirement opens
up a seat on the U.S. Senate
for Michigan, in which both
seats are currently held by the
Democratic
Party.
There
is
speculation as to who may be
strong candidates for the seat
from both the Republican and
Democratic Parties, including
from U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin,
D-Mich,
and
Tudor
Dixon,
2022 republican nominee for
Michigan governor.
U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich,
said Stabenow is a champion for
Michigan as a legislator and a
leader as Michigan’s first female
senator. He pointed out how the
two of them worked together
to deliver relief to Flint during
the water crisis and to lead
the expansion of union-made
electric vehicles in the state.
“Senator Stabenow’s record of
legislative accomplishments is
unmatched,” Kildee wrote in a
statement. “It has been an honor
to partner with her on so many
initiatives to better our state.”
Michigan
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin
Gilchrist
II
also
released
a
statement
on
Stabenow’s
announcement. They focused
on Stabenow’s work in Michigan
and their expectations of what
she will do next.
“(Stabenow)
is
a
fierce
protector of our Great Lakes,
fought for decades to modernize
the Soo Locks and continues
to tackle toxic contaminants in
drinking water,” Whitmer wrote
in the statement. “I look forward
to working with her through the
end of her term and beyond.”
Gilchrist echoed many of
the points Whitmer made. He
said Stabenow’s advocacy on
mental health and her work in
protecting
natural
resources
helped build Michigan into a
better state.
“I am grateful for Senator
Stabenow’s
friendship
and
leadership,” Gilchrist wrote in
the statement. “Let’s build on
her legacy and continue working
together to make a difference
for
Michiganders
in
every
community.”
Sen. Debbie
Stabenow will not run
for reelection in 2024
After a historic four terms,
Stabenow will retire, opening a
seat in the Senate
GOVERNMENT
CAMPUS LIFE
IRENA LI
Daily News Editor
New Central Campus
residence hall to be built
on Elbel Field
Regents approve $6.5 million
planning contract for a new
residence and dining hall for first-
year students on Central Campus
NEWS BRIEFS
JI HOON CHOI
Daily News Reporter