ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Friday, March 9, 2018
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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COMMUNITY AFFAIRS
“There goes my degree”: DACA and graduation Amid increasing uncertainty with ICE, students consider extending education ROSEANNE CHAO/Daily
ELIZABETH LAWRENCE & SHANNON ORS Daily Staff Reporters
Double-check: DEI initiatives for K-12 schools assisted by students Diversity programs see increased effectiveness when partnered with student organizations AMARA SHAIKH & JORDYN BAKER Daily Staff Reporters
In line with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan’s overarching strategy to “recruit, retain and develop a diverse community,” the University of Michigan is increasing efforts to reach into the K-12 distribution across the state and attract a wider variety of applicants to the University. However, the task of letting potential applicants know about
the University’s efforts requires more than just administrative initiatives; student organizations are also working to connect lowersocioeconomic schools to the University and make a University of Michigan degree attainable. CEO and DEI Partnership Cited in the DEI plan as a K-12-focused body, the Center for Educational Outreach was given the responsibility of serving as the campus-wide K-12 Outreach Hub by extending the presence of the University across the state, providing training for
students and faculty working with community partners and improving the University’s overall capacity. As the DEI plan enters its second year of implementation on campus, CEO hopes to continue improving upon their relatively new initiatives. William Collins, executive director of the CEO, outlined the history of the center, which was established in 2008 as a result of former University President Mary Sue Coleman’s efforts to create a more diverse community on campus. Collins highlighted
some of the CEO’s main goals: Familiarizing all parts of the state with the University, encouraging collaboration between outreach groups on campus and providing services for these K-12 communities. “Its purpose was to, first of all, expand the footprint of the University of Michigan around the state and more parts of the state would become familiar with the University and what we do,” Collins said. “To synergize efforts on campus that try to get different See DEI, Page 2
The University of Michigan has pledged not to disclose immigration status of its students. However, once undocumented students at the University graduate, the future is hazy. This is especially true with those receiving Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA, which can be renewed every two years. One of DACA’s many benefits is its authorization of work permits, but with the uncertainty surrounding DACA in the government, the ability to legally work after graduation is no longer guaranteed. This is something Engineering senior Javier Contreras is thinking about as he approaches graduation. “This constant state of limbo and uncertainty is taking a great toll on a lot of my classmates and I,” Contreras said. “Just because we have enough to be stressed
with. Myself, graduating this April, if I can’t legally work in the U.S., there goes my engineering degree. It is just a lot to think about.” When these students’ DACA statuses expire, so does the eligibility for a work permit that comes with it, and the possibility of pursuing a salaried career in the country in which they got their degree disappears. DACA recipients can find a part-time job right before their DACA status expires, but once it does, they have to find a way to be paid under the table. Public Policy junior Yvonne Navarrete has peers currently navigating this struggle. “I have friends who are undocumented and they’re seniors, ready to go into the workforce but their DACA expires in the summer,” Navarette said. “So they can only work for two months and then they don’t have work authorization. So then they would have to find a job that pays in cash. But what kind of See DACA, Page 3
#BlackLivesMatter to Black liberation: LEO hosts Group of community Author-activist talks American racism city leaders
ACADEMICS
ANN ARBOR
dialogue on bargaining
Unfazed by death threats, Princeton professor delivers lecture at Michigan Union
According to LEO staff, members will go on strike if demands aren’t fulfilled
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, an organizer and assistant professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, has never shied away from lambasting President Donald Trump in public speeches. After delivering the commencement address at Hampshire College last year, however, she received dozens of death threats, forcing her to cancel other speeches. But she did not stay away from speeches for long. On Thursday evening, the University of Michigan’s Sociology Department hosted Taylor to discuss her recent book and her research on race and class in the Trump era to a crowd of about 150 people. Taylor was introduced as one of the hundreds of people who have recently refused to be silenced, from the #BlackLivesMatter movement to the #MeToo movement. Taylor’s book, “From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation,” examines the social movements that have stemmed in response to police brutality in the United States, and received the Lannan Foundation Cultural Freedom Award for an Especially Notable Book in 2016. Taylor said she considers herself more of an organizer than an academic, and admitted it took her publisher several tries to persuade her to write this book. Since its publication, however, the book has reached and impacted
RACHEL CUNNINGHAM Daily Staff Reporter
The University of Michigan’s Lecturers’ Employee Organization held a community forum at its offices Thursday night with about 27 student and tenure-track allies and community activists to discuss its bargaining negotiations with the University. LEO, the union of non-tenure track lecturers for all three U-M campuses, has been bargaining with the University since October for higher wages, improved benefits and job security. Currently, the minimum salary for a Lecturer I is $34,500 for the Ann Arbor campus, $28,300 in Dearborn and $27,300 in Flint. LEO President, Ian Robinson, a sociology lecturer, began by explaining the gravity of the situation during the bargaining process. “The most basic thing to say about our platform is that it’s not business as usual,” Robinson said. “What we’re really saying this time around is we need to change from a mode where basically our pay has been determined, as far as the administration is See BARGAINING, Page 3
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ABBY TAKAS
Daily Staff Reporter
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many students, including those in attendance. Having been an organizer for several years herself, Social Work student Kristina Agbebiyi said she sees Taylor as a role model. “Seeing how she is able to balance organizing and academia really is inspiring to me,” Agbebiyi said. Taylor began her talk comparing headlines today with those of ten years ago, starting with President Obama’s inauguration. She recalled headlines claiming the U.S. was entering a post-racial
society –– “Racism No Longer Exists in America,” for example –– and noted the stark contrast to society and headlines today, with numerous outbreaks of violence and racism since Trump’s inauguration. Taylor argued Trump’s controversial comments are not simply a slip of the tongue, but are rather calculated steps to appeal to his followers. Citing a tweet in which David Duke, a former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, thanked Trump for his sympathy toward white supremacists
marching in Charlottesville, Va., Taylor said Trump himself embraced white supremacy. “The racist right celebrated their mouthpiece in the White House,” she said. She also examined the evolution of racism in U.S. politics, and how it has transitioned from explicit racial slurs to a more subtle attack, through implicit comments and unjust economic policies. “With each racist comment, the Republican party meets it See ACTIVISM, Page 3
CHUN SO/Daily
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, assistant professor of African American studies at Princeton University, discusses race and class in the Trump era at the Union Thursday.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 88 ©2018 The Michigan Daily
addresses civic duty
Community members discuss concerns over obstacles to participation SHIKHA PATEL For the Daily
About 60 Ann Arbor residents convened Thursday evening at the Ann Arbor District Library to discuss civic engagement and hear from a panel of local leaders in a community forum focused on the state of civic life in Washtenaw County. Mary Morgan, founder of the CivCity Initiative, a local organization intending to increase civic participation, moderated a panel about the importance of civic engagement and ways to increase involvement from Washtenaw residents. Several residents expressed concerns about the low level of participation from Ann Arbor citizens in local politics. Many residents feel they have little power and their opinions wouldn’t be heard. Patrick Campion, the program director for WEMU broadcasting service and one of the panelists at the forum, said there were ways of engaging in civic life people often didn’t consider. See DUTY, Page 3
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS....................7