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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INDEX
Vol. CXXXII, No. 100
©2023 The Michigan Daily

N E WS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

O P I N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

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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

