ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Ann Arbor, Michigan
GOVERNMENT
Alum begins historic run for House in 11th District Newcomer Saad, a Democrat, would be first Muslim woman elected to Congress CARLY RYAN
Daily Staff Reporter
Fayrouz Saad, who is currently running for Congress in Michigan’s 11th District, says her political story started right in her dorm, freshman year at the University of Michigan. As a Muslim and Arab 18-yearold after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, Saad’s parents took her home from campus, wary of the discriminatory backlash against their identities. But to Saad’s relief, waiting at her dorm was a collection of her roommates and friends, welcoming her home and ensuring her they would help combat hate. From that moment on, Saad knew she wanted to dedicate herself to protecting those values. “It was just this really fine moment of humanism that was so very much what our country’s about and really profound experience that impacted me for the rest of my life,” Saad said. “That is America and that is what America should represent.” Even today, Saad keeps up
with events on the University of Michigan campus, and the racially charged incidents that have happened recently have only reiterated what she wants to fight against. “It broke my heart when I heard about the racially charged hate crimes on campus because I don’t remember hearing about any of that even after 9/11. I remember quite the opposite,” Saad said. “That got me thinking about why I want to get in public service. I really want to protect ... our values. I want to fight for those values that I know we all believe in.” Rep. Dave Trott, R-Birmingham, decided not to run in the 2018 congressional race, leaving no incumbent to run against, and making what used to be a clearly Republican leaning district more of a toss-up between new Republican and Democratic runners. College Republicans did not respond to requests for comment. Still, Saad said she has a long road ahead of her. If elected, she will be the first Muslim woman in Congress, setting a precedent See ALUM, Page 3
michigandaily.com
Debate ensues over appropriate gestures of kneeling, solidarity
Councilmembers facing backlash for kneeling at last week’s meeting, defend their decisions SOPHIE SHERRY Daily News Editor
Aug. 26, 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick remained seated during the national anthem of a National Football League preseason game to protest the oppression of people of color and ongoing issues of police brutality in those communities. Over a year later and thousands of miles away from Levi’s Stadium, Councilmember Chuck Warpehoski, D-Ward 5, tweeted he would take a kneeduring the evening’s City Council meeting “out of respect for the aspiration that we be a nation ‘with liberty and justice for all.’” Four of the 11 City Council members decided to follow in suit of Kaepernick — Jason Frenzel, Sumi Kailasapathy, Chip Smith and Warpehoski. During the council’s meeting, Kailasapathy explained her decision to kneel, wanting others to judge her patriotism “by her actions.” In an interview with CNN later in the week, she touched on about inclusion — citing her experiences as a refugee — and brought up police brutality with The New York Times on Thursday. Smith had not planned to kneel before the evening, but upon entering the City Council chambers, Kailasapathy approached him and asked him to join her in protest. “She is the only member of Council who’s a person of color, she’s a woman, she’s a refugee, she’s a naturalized citizen,” Smith said. “If she asks me to kneel in solidarity
with her — for this absolutely, I didn’t give it a second thought.” He later released a statement, stating he knelt to stand in solidarity with those who experience racism, sexism, classism and homophobia every day. Councilmember Graydon Krapohl, D-Ward 4, was one of the council members who chose to remain standing, citing disrespect to military service members. Kaepernick, however,
switched from sitting to kneeling over a year ago after consulting with veterans on an appropriate action. “Personally I didn’t think it was appropriate, that’s not something I would do; I would like people not to do it,” Krapohl said. “But I understand and respect the folks
that do do it, that they feel that they have a message, something they want to say, and it’s their right to do it. From my perspective I’ve served 30 years in the military and I think it’s disrespectful.” Following the evening’s meeting, council members who knelt received criticism, echoing Krapohl’s sentiment that the gesture was disrespectful to the U.S. military. Others condemned the council’s “empty gesture,” noting a lack of political action in regard to issues of police brutality in the Ann Arbor community. Austin McCoy, a postdoctoral fellow at the University, took to Twitter to call on City Council to do more to address racial inequality than kneel during the Pledge of Allegiance. In an email interview with The Daily, McCoy explained his condemnation of the council’s actions centered largely around their failure to mention the fatal shooting of Aura Rosser in their reasoning for kneeling. Rosser, a Black woman, was shot by an Ann Arbor police officer in her home on Nov. 9, 2014 — her death sparked dozens of local protests and calls for police reform. “The original intent
ILLUSTRATION BY HANNAH MYERS
of Colin Kaepernick’s protest was not just to highlight structural racism, but to call attention to police killings of African Americans,”
McCoy wrote. “Failing to link that intent explicitly with Rosser’s death demonstrates a denial of local law enforcement’s role in contributing to the national trend of the police killings of African Americans. It also continues the troubling trend of rendering black women like Rosser invisible in conversations about racism and policing.” More recently, the Ann Arbor Police Department came under fire for a violent arrest of local Black teen Ciaeem Slaton September at the Blake Transit Center. AAPD Police Chief Jim Baird wrote an email to the council that a personnel complaint is under review. Council members have not brought the arrest up at meetings in the last month. McCoy noted City Council members have the ability to actually influence policy and if they care about racial inequality in policing, they should use their position to change local law. “I think it is important for elected officials, and those in power, generally, to be more specific about how they plan on going about addressing the relationship between policing, structural racism and sexism, and poverty here in Ann Arbor,” McCoy said. Last month Rackham student Dana Greene knelt on the block ‘M’ for 21 hours. While he appreciates the thought behind City Council members’ kneeling, he too believed as public officials, they can do more. “The reason I protest and many other people protest is we feel like we don’t really have the ability to make progressive change outside of our ability to protest and so that’s why we decide to do it,” Greene See KNEELING, Page 3
Students push for new amendment to Jeff Irwin Patron fee, launches Statement of Rights & Responsibilities rides added
GOVERNMENT
state senate campaign Seat currently held by State Sen. Rebekah Warren, who is term limited in 2018 COLIN BERESFORD Daily Staff Reporter
Former Michigan House Rep. Jeff Irwin is launching his campaign for Michigan Senate, running in the 18th District. State Sen. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor, currently holds the seat, but is term limited and is unable to run again in 2018. Irwin served in the House from 2011 to 2016 in the 53rd District, which comprises the southern part of Ann Arbor and most of the University of Michigan’s campus. State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, succeeded Irwin earlier this year. Irwin, known for his strong advocacy for public education, plans to continue to push for increased funding for public education, as well as addressing the criminal justice system, environmental concerns and the issues in Flint, among other issues. “I want to fight for tangible improvements to the quality of life for the people in Michigan,” Irwin said.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
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CAMPUS LIFE
Recent incidents expose gaps in reporting and OSCR, lacking language on bias RIYAH BASHA & KEVIN BIGLIN Daily News Editor & Daily Staff Reporter
Students blared various demands for accountability and administrative action after weeks of racist provocations on campus earlier this semester, but one question echoed throughout all the protests. “What happens to racist students who get caught?” LSA senior Arlyn Reed asked at a de-stress event held by the Black Student Union last month to rounds of applause from the audience. “(A University of Michigan) investigation just means it is going to be swept under the rug, and I actually want punishment for these people, because I want to feel safe on campus,” LSA freshman Madison Peterson echoed at a protest the next day. Reed, a former Central Student Government representative, went on to propose a student sanctioning process — similar to one mandated by the sexual misconduct policy — in the face of an uptick in bias-related incidents. The Dean of Student’s Bias Response Team has logged 52 bias incidents since this July, but students are correct to point out neither University Division of Public Safety and Security officers nor administrators have publicly released apprehensions of any perpetrators.
The role of OSCR and a changing statement The catch to Reed’s proposal is that the institutional process, in large part, already exists. The Office of Student Conflict Resolution is tasked with enforcing the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities and litigates cases spanning from alcohol abuse to falsifying University documents. OSCR uses a spectrum of tools to address formal violations of the statement, including conflict
resolution, restorative justice or adjudication. Informal workshops include the option for unconscious bias training. OSCR director Erik Wessel said the unit has handled more than one case of bias this year. E. Royster Harper, the University’s vice president for student life, however, said in a September interview she was not aware of one bias investigation to her knowledge addressed through OSCR. The statement’s language is ambiguous, and does not have a
clause expressly sanctioning bias or discrimination. While the statement gives students the right “to be treated fairly and with dignity regardless of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, height, weight, or veteran status,” the document does not task students with the reciprocal responsibility. The only clause broaching bias See OSCR, Page 3
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52 incidents reported to Bias Response team since July
unknown number of bias cases resolved by OSCR
OSCR & Bias
year until revision process begins
24
For more stories and coverage, visit
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cases of harassment resolved by OSCR in 2 years
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DESIGN BY AVA WEINER
INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 15 ©2017 The Michigan Daily
to Detroit Connector
A 2 - Detroit bus service will open to the public and run 7 days a week CARLY RYAN
Daily Staff Reporter
The Detroit Connector, a bus service connecting Ann Arbor to Detroit, will now provide service seven days a week, instead of four, and open full-time service to the public Oct. 30. The bus service, which used to serve only University of Michigan staff, faculty and students, will include stops at the Central Campus Transit Center, the University of Michigan Detroit Center and, newly, at the University of Michigan at Dearborn campus. Service hours are also being expanded, with new hours on Fridays and Saturdays beginning at 7 a.m. and ending at 1 a.m. The bus was piloted in 2013 after student demand was assessed via survey. The initial results of the survey indicated over 75 percent of possible riders were ‘very likely’ to use the service if it were provided. The bus was a free service with a suggested $5 donation, and Mcard holders were able to bring four guests on the trip per day. There was also a rudimentary reservation system for the bus rides in 2014. See BUS, Page 3
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................5
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS....................7