O
n
March
7,
2023,
University
President
Santa
Ono
was
inaugurated
as
the
15th
President of the University of
Michigan, and was immediately
greeted with a crisis inherited
from presidents past. Promptly
after his inauguration ceremony,
freshly minted President Ono was
met by hundreds of students in
front of Hill Auditorium. Among
those present were members
of
the
Graduate
Employees’
Organization
carrying
signs
with their demands for the
University,
ranging
from
increased
compensation
to
better
healthcare
coverage
and childcare benefits. This
picket comes on the heels of
another unfruitful month of
bargaining between the labor
union and the University. On
many occasions, GEO and the
University have been able to
come to a compromise — but at
this moment in time, a strike is
imminent.
GEO last went on strike in
Fall 2020; for nearly two weeks,
thousands of graduate student
instructors didn’t show up to
work. Discussion sections went
unattended,
some
professors
canceled class in solidarity and,
for some students, education
ground
to
a
halt.
Despite
allegations by the University
that the strike violated the
bargaining agreement the union
signed — a claim the University
is making again — GEO was
successful: They were able to
achieve better childcare options,
greater support for international
graduate students and a safer
working environment at the
height of the pandemic. This
strike,
although
generally
disruptive
to
the
learning
environment of the University
and its students, increased the
visibility of graduate student
conditions
and
inspired
the action of other student
employees.
Strikes are rarely a positive
thing for the reputation of the
aggrieving
employer.
Several
times in its history, GEO has
protested against the University,
and each time these protests
have
negatively
harmed
the
University’s
reputation.
Canceled
classes,
increased
media
attention
and
many
dissatisfied
members
of
the
U-M community could prove
unpredictably damaging to the
foundation of the institution, and
could even dissuade parents of
high school seniors from sending
their children to the University
of Michigan. In an ideal world,
the University would be able
to take GEO’s concerns into
consideration
without
taking
damage to its public image.
However,
the
University’s
lackluster reactions to GEO’s
demands and proposals have
all but necessitated this drastic
turn.
These
consequences
are
revealing. If GSIs can turn the
campus upside down it is proof
of the critical role that graduate
students play in the University’s
operations. GEO is well within
their right to strike and, in using
that power to attempt to change
the framework of campus, they
are making their platform and
purpose at the University known.
Whether they are in classrooms
or lecture halls, labs or offices,
graduate students play pivotal
roles in the functioning of the
University and undergraduate
students’ lives.
Undergraduate students will
be one of the primary groups
affected by the strike. Many
undergrads
interact
with
a
Graduate
Student
Instructor
almost every day, whether that
be in a lecture hall, office hours
or in a GSI-taught class. Although
many undergraduate students
support GEO’s cause, they are
nervous about what a strike
will mean for their academic
experience, especially as the end
of the term nears. The campus is
looking down the barrel of a full
fledged disaster, a dissolution
of trust built between students
and the University — between
students who picket and students
who will eventually cross the
picket line. In addition to upset
undergrads, the domino effect of
disaffected parents and donors
could cause the University an
even greater headache in the long
term.
It is important to recognize,
however, that this point could
have been avoided by action
on both sides. There have been
moments where GEO’s demands
have
seemed
superfluous
in comparison to their core
grievances, and there is a chance
that if they had been left out,
an agreement would have been
reached by now. But it is the
University that has, more often
than not, prevented progress: the
U-M administration has failed
to handle these negotiations
artfully,
downplaying
the
necessity
of
their
solution
and conclusion. GEO’s most
important demand, a $14,500
raise (about 60%), was initially
met with a paltry $481.10 (a
2% raise) in the first year.
After months of negotiations,
the University increased their
counterproposal to $721.65 (a
3% raise) in the first year. Most
recently, the University offered
a 5% raise in the first year,
followed by 3.5% and then 3%
raises in the second and third
years of the contract.
Regardless,
GSIs
deserve
competitive wages and should
feel that the academic institution
they are a member of is there to
support them — not to diminish
the importance of the GSIs’ other
needs. It is of utmost importance
that, in the midst of a strike, the
University thinks critically about
the impact such a protest will
have on student life and campus
culture.
While also acknowledging
the difficulty of meeting certain
GEO demands, the University
should come to a measured and
considerate decision that not
only reflects the importance of
GEO’s requests, but also of the
well being of both graduate and
undergraduate students.
Opinion
From The Daily: A strike would be
bad on your record
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
9 — Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.
SHANNON STOCKING
AND KATE WEILAND
Co-Editors in Chief
QUIN ZAPOLI AND
JULIAN BARNARD
Editorial Page Editors
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of The Daily’s Editorial Board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Ammar Ahmad
Julian Barnard
Brandon Cowit
Jess D’Agostino
Ben Davis
Shubhum Giroti
Devon Hesano
Jack Kapcar
Sophia Lehrbaum
Olivia Mouradian
Siddharth Parmar
Rushabh Shah
Zhane Yamin
Nikhil Sharma
Lindsey Spencer
Evan Stern
Anna Trupiano
Jack Tumpowsky
Alex Yee
Quin Zapoli
JULIA VERKLAN AND
ZOE STORER
Managing Editors
Debates
on the
Diag
T
he University of Michigan
community
faces
an
important
decision
this week. All students in the
University’s 19 schools and colleges
are eligible to vote in the presidential
election
for
Central
Student
Government, and though these
elections have had a low turnout in
the past, the CSG executive is still
an influential position on campus,
acting as the primary interlocutor
between students and the U-M
administration. The University’s
student government has defined the
campus conversation on a number of
important issues, from successfully
centralizing the vibrant Vietnam
War protest movement on campus
to eliminating general admission
tickets for football games. These
examples highlight two distinct roles
that CSG has embodied in the past: a
megaphone for nation-wide activism
and a persistent voice for issues that
affect students — particularly ones
for which no other organization is as
effective an advocate.
It is with this dual mandate in
mind that The Michigan Daily
Editorial Board voted to endorse
Zaynab
Elkolaly
and
Salma
Hamamy,
running
under
the
MPower ticket, for CSG president
and vice president in the election
on March 29 and 30. Though all
four tickets interviewed by the
editorial board would bring a wealth
of
experience
and
substantive
proposals to the CSG executive,
Elkolaly and Hamamy’s focus on
accessibility,
accountability
and
outreach set them apart. Multiple
tickets expressed concerns about the
culture and approachability of CSG;
in the end, Elkolaly and Hamamy
brought the best combination of
concrete solutions and passion
to address these issues and best
improve the wellbeing of U-M
students.
Elkolaly,
the
presidential
candidate, is a senior in the College
of Engineering Honors program,
majoring in nuclear engineering
with a minor in political science.
Elkolaly has a well-documented
background in student advocacy and
University affairs. She served on the
Coordinated Community Response
Team,
a
University-organized
initiative that assesses and works
toward combatting the persistence
of sexual assault on campus, and as
the DEI coordinator within CSG
itself. Through these efforts, and
through a history of advocacy on
issues ranging from criminal justice
to climate change, Elkolaly has
supported a diverse set of student
voices. Outside of these spaces, she
is energetically involved in different
student
organizations,
such
as
the
Asian
Student
Association
and Students Allied for Freedom
and Equality, giving her a unique
perspective as an organizer, in
tandem with her work in student
government.
Hamamy, the vice presidential
candidate, is a senior majoring in
Biology, Health and Society and
Middle Eastern and North African
Studies in the College of LSA. Aside
from being a research and medical
assistant, Hamamy has experience
with various positions in LSA
student government and in leading
multiple projects. She was the
Sisterhood Director for the Muslim
Students’ Association, where she
created a mentorship program
and a sisterhood discussion series,
and co-founded the organization
One Mind At a Time, which seeks
to improve literacy rates around
the world. Like Elkolaly, Hamamy
has a wide range of experiences in
student government and student
organizations, with a focus on
building communities and working
toward positive, material change.
Crucial to the MPower platform
is inclusion: Elkolaly and Hamamy
provide a set of innovative, actionable
steps that not only promote true
inclusion by uplifting voices on
campus that are often left unheard,
but also center the grassroots
advocacy already embedded in this
campus. Elkolaly and Hamamy’s
commitment to uplifting student
voices is best characterized by their
support for the Ethical Investment
Project, where they plan to “establish
compensation
to
organizations
engaging in activism and civic
action” through a simple application
process. Their platform also calls
for solidarity with the Graduate
Employees’ Organization, who just
announced their plan to go on strike,
and for reallocating Division of
Public Safety and Security funding
to organizations that are more
focused on helping students, such
as Counseling and Psychological
Services and the Sexual Assault and
Prevention Awareness Center.
Beyond
that,
Elkolaly
and
Hamamy
are
committed
to
increasing the accessibility and
transparency of CSG’s Student
Organization Funding Committee.
The ticket told the editorial board
they
hope
to
provide
public,
periodic and detailed information
on where CSG allocates student
funds. This would go further than
the financial transparency CSG
currently offers, and would include
graphics and presentations that are
more accessible to students, such
as a newsletter. Multiple tickets,
including candidates serving on the
CSG Assembly, expressed concern
and confusion around CSG’s current
financial transparency measures to
the editorial board.
Elkolaly
and
Hamamy
also
emphasized
simplifying
the
SOFC reimbursement application
process, which they described as
“byzantine” in nature. More than
just streamlining the application
form, the MPower ticket told the
editorial board that they would
like to prioritize SOFC funding for
smaller or newly-formed student
organizations, which often lack
the financial resources to pay for
events out-of-pocket and hope that
SOFC is able to reimburse them
later. Though we have concerns
around
SOFC
giving
student
organizations funding up front
— as those organizations might
overestimate their expenses and ask
for more money from SOFC than
they need — Elkolaly and Hamamy’s
commitment to helping clubs with
fewer resources is clear.
Underlying the MPower platform
and its initiatives is something
undeniably unique about Elkolaly
and
Hamamy.
Their
ticket
registered only two days before the
deadline and — unlike the other
three tickets we interviewed —
without an associated party. The
candidates told the editorial board
they felt their campaign was more
a result of necessity than desire. As
representatives of student voices they
consider often unacknowledged,
Elkolaly and Hamamy decided to
run to change the culture of CSG.
They are not concerned about
running without a slate of Assembly
candidates, either. Elkolaly and
Hamamy told the editorial board
that they have strong relationships
with Assembly members and would
prioritize building a new coalition by
making student government more
hospitable to its own members and
to communities outside of CSG.
After careful consideration of
four persuasive CSG tickets, Elkolaly
and
Hamamy’s
overwhelming
commitment
and
authenticity
convinced the editorial board to
endorse MPower. By prioritizing
an
inclusive
environment
and
delivering
actionable
proposals,
we
believe
they
will
do
an
overwhelming amount of good
for the University and its students
should they be elected into office.
Vote Zaynab Elkolaly and Salma
Hamamy on March 29-30 for CSG
President and Vice President.
From The Daily: Vote Zaynab
Elkolaly, Salma Hamamy,
MPower on March 29-30
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
EDITORIAL BOARD
Design by Haylee Bohm
Spring Break woes
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
EDITORIAL BOARD