ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
CAMPUS LIFE
Protestors rally, block bus access to C.C. Little Rally is first of AGITATE , a week of action organized by Black-led coalition KATELYN MULCAHY/EMMA RICHTER/Daily
Students gather on the Diag to support Rackham student Dana Greene who kneels in protest of racism and racist incidents Monday.
Student leads 24-hour kneeling protest against racism on campus
Hundreds join Kaepernick-style kneel-in conducted by Rackham student Dana Greene COLIN BERESFORD & MAYA GOLDMAN Daily Staff Reporters
Responding to recent racist events on campus and a national controversy brewing around NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem, Rackham student Dana Greene kneeled at the block ‘M’ in the Diag starting at 7 a.m. Monday morning. As of 9 p.m. on Monday, Greene remained on the Diag, with plans to complete a full 24-hours of kneeling.
“I’ve been on this campus for five years, I did my undergraduate here and each year the campus climate has gotten worse and worse,” Greene said. “The recent election, the man who holds the highest office the land, the president of the United States (Donald Trump), has made this issue even worse.” Close to 100 students, faculty and staff knelt with Greene throughout the day, with many more standing around the block ‘M’ on the Diag in solidarity. By the afternoon, protesters had two tents pitched above their heads and dozens of
cartons of water bottles at their feet. University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel wrote in a statement that though he is offcampus on University business, he supports Greene’s protest and will meet with him “as soon as he is back on campus.” Schlissel and Greene spoke by phone early in the afternoon. “I share with many the belief that our nation does not always live up to its highest ideals, including the equal rights we hold dear,” Schlissel wrote. “To me, the American Flag represents many
things, including those very rights. I support (Greene’s) right to engage in peaceful protest.” Greene continued, adding Trump’s policies and responses have made it harder to be a Black person in the United States. “He’s made it harder for people who look like me and don’t look like me to walk this campus, to feel comfortable in our own skin and I’m here to tell him, and our own campus president that what we are dealing with is not OK,” Greene said. “It’s not right. If I have to sit See KNEELING, Page 3
COLIN BERESFORD & MATT HARMON Daily Staff Reporters
At 10:15 in the morning, the C.C. Little bus station was unusually empty. In response to the racist graffiti on name tags in West Quad Residence Hall and recent responses from the University of Michigan administration, Black students associated with the #BBUM movement organized barricades on North University Avenue in an effort to halt the bus routes and disrupt the flow of a Monday morning at the University of Michigan. The demonstration organizers posted non-Black allies at the intersections of Geddes Avenue and Church Street as well as Fletcher Street and North University Avenue just after 9:30 am. Soon after, Ann Arbor police vehicles came to secure the barrier and redirect traffic away from the demonstration. Black students camped out at
the crosswalk in front of the C.C. Little bus station and the Natural History Museum with laptops ready to do homework. LSA sophomore Travon Stearns, one of the three Black students whose dorm tags were vandalized with a racist slur, could not complete his assignments the day of the vandalism because he had to talk to campus police and respond to other inquiries from media and students. Because of this intrusion into his academic schedule, he said, he wanted to show the students who wrote the remarks and all students who are not involved with the cause what he felt like that day. “Our mission statement for being here is they inconvenienced me when they wrote the N-word on my door deck,” Stearns said. “My plans for the day were completely ruined so the purpose for us being here is … you inconvenienced me for a day, I’m going to inconvenience you for an hour.” Organizer Nando Felten, an LSA sophomore, said the protest See BLOCKADE, Page 3
Gov. Snyder, students, officials convene Students ‘U’ council weigh in on for sexual assault prevention summit discusses
CAMPUS LIFE
STUDENT GOV.
building for Trotter
Third annual event highlights reporting options, prevention and education
Construction has begun for the new multicultural center approved last April
With a new initiative headed by Michigan first lady Sue Snyder, sexual assault on college campuses is set to face spirited bipartisan activism, as discussed at the third annual sexual assault prevention summit at Eastern Michigan University. “We all must work together to create an environment where survivors feel safe and encouraged to be heard,” Snyder said. Nearly 500 students, representatives from the University of Michigan Police Department, Title IX investigators, health care practitioners, university faculty and survivors attended the daylong summit that featured speeches and discussions by notable officials such as Gov. Rick Snyder and Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich. Multiple small-group discussions were also offered to discuss topics such as masculinity, trauma and campus norms. First lady Snyder released a handbook written by the sexual assault workgroup task force she organized in May. The handbook, which will also be released online, is geared toward survivors of sexual assault and aims to streamline the often tedious, overwhelming process of navigating options after sexual assault. “Too often they don’t know what they can do, where to turn, what kind of help they can get, and
AARON DALAL
Daily Staff Reporter
Fifteen minutes away from its current location on Washtenaw Avenue, ground is breaking on the construction of the new Trotter Multicultural Center. Students first began advocating for a new Trotter Center in 2013. In January 2014, the Black Student Union released seven demands to the University, requesting a space be made on central campus for students of color to gather and share their experiences at the University. After several years of meetings and proposals, in April 2017, the Board of Regents gave final approval for authorization to issue the project for contracts and bids. Students at the Trotter Center thought the move presented both benefits and drawbacks. Information student Alieh Kimbeng said the move might bring a more diffused audience. “People who make the walk actually want to be a part of Trotter,” she said. “You won’t get that (near) Mason Hall or any building on State Street. I See TROTTER, Page 3
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CARLY RYAN
Daily Staff Reporter
this is going to be a great tool for them,” she said. While prevention is often the focus of sexual assault activism, keynote speaker Dr. Rebecca Campbell, professor of psychology at Michigan State University, reiterated Snyder’s idea that post-assault care is important, but often neglected. She suggested everyone prepare positive social reactions that can help the survivor feel in control if
ever trusted with the disclosure of a sexual assault. “How you, me and we react to disclosures can have a profound effect on sexual assault survivors,” Campbell said. “It can affect if there will be any more disclosures made. Disclosures are like a stepping stone that could eventually lead to help seeking.” First daughter Kelsey Snyder, an LSA senior, said Campbell’s words helped inspire her to
become involved with sexual assault prevention. Kelsey Snyder expressed excitement for these education-based efforts. Having conducted many talks through the University’s Panhellenic Association, she found a large part of the sexual assault problem on campus stems from many students’ inability to recognize it. “A lot of times, when I do presentations on the University See SUMMIT, Page 3
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
The Snyder family gathers for the sexual assault prevention summit at Eastern Michigan in 2016.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVii, No. 97 ©2017 The Michigan Daily
renaming, reactions
Reps. introduce “Day of Discussion” event proposal across schools JORDYN BAKER Daily Staff Reporter
University Council, the body comprising representatives from each student government on campus, convened its biweekly meeting Monday evening in the Michigan Union. Council members heard from guest speaker Efe Edevbie, Kinesiology junior and Central Student Government Kinesiology representative, on recent racist incidents on campus. “All of you are probably very well aware of some of the things that have been happening on campus in the last couple weeks, and I think that shows more than anything our responsibility as student leaders to take initiative and work on ways to remedy these situations,” he said. He proposed a “Day of Discussion” hosted by CSG, during which participants can discuss social issues and concerns. With a long-term goal of creating a more centralized campus, Edevbie encouraged the council to lead the initiative. CSG Vice President Nadine Jawad, a Public Policy senior, expressed her interest in the initiative. She explained the See RENAMING, Page 2
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
SUDOKU.....................2 CROSSWORD...............6 SPORTS....................7