ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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CAMPUS LIFE
SAFE holds die-in at talk about Israel’s beginnings Israeli statesman, ex-IDF soldier presents on int’l relations despite demonstrations LEAH GRAHAM Daily Staff Reporter
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Emily Lawsin, Lecturer in American Culture (A/PIA Studies Program) and Women’s studies, speaks to concerns surrounding A/PIA Studies at the University during a panel highlighting the program Wednesday evening.
Students call attention to inequity against faculty in A/PIA studies
After discrimination lawsuit from A/PIA faculty, UAAO holds panel to discuss resolutions JORDYN BAKER Daily Staff Reporter
On Wednesday evening, the United Asian American Organizations at the University of Michigan hosted a panel to promote the Asian, Pacific Islander American studies program on campus and call attention to a 2017 lawsuit citing discrimination against program faculty. Panelists included graduate and undergraduate students, as well as Emily Lawsin, a lecturer
in American culture and women’s studies, and Scott Kurashige, a former professor in history and American culture. In 2017, Lawsin and Kurashige brought a lawsuit against the University under claims of racial discrimination and harassment, citing the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. Currently, Kurashige explained, “the Dean of LSA is working with the chairs of the departments of women’s studies and American culture to fire Emily.” Since the time of the
controversy, students and community members have showed strong solidarity with Lawsin and actively tried to rebuild the A/PIA studies program. Their efforts include circulating a petition for the University to fully restore the A/PIA studies program, as well as releasing op-eds calling out the University’s actions against Lawsin, one of which was written by state Rep. Stephanie Chang. As tensions surrounding employment and administrative responses mount, Lawsin and Kurashige have continued to
serve as activists fighting for improvement of the A/PIA studies program, which was founded in 1989 and offers courses and an academic minor. The program has gone from offering eight to 10 classes per semester to only two in a previous winter semester. Public Health sophomore Ciara Timban serves as the co-programming chair for UAAO and said she hopes the panel will bring attention to the opportunities available within the A/PIA studies program. See A/PIA, Page 3
Two dozen members of Students Allied for Freedom and Equalitydemonstrated at a lecture by Nadav Tamir, a prominent Israeli diplomat, Wednesday night in the Ford School of Public Policy. Tamir’s lecture marked the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel, but protesters called the event “ultra nationalistic” and insensitive in timing, pointing to the deaths of 17 Palestinianprotesters who were killed in clashes with Israel Defense Forces, Israel’s military, two weeks ago in Gaza. The demonstrators lined the back of the auditorium, holding posters condemning the IDF, of which Tamir was a decorated soldier. Several minutes into the lecture, three SAFE members staged a die-in. One SAFE member, who
asked to remain anonymous for safety concerns, said he wanted make sure “Palestinian voices are heard.” “We wanted to show that the people who died in the protests and the people who have died over the past years have not been forgotten,” he said. “We felt like this was not an appropriate event at the time, especially with how ultra nationalistic it was being portrayed as. We wanted to show that there is opposition.” The Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, Peres Center for Peace, WolvPAC and Michigan Hillel co-sponsored the lecture. The LSA Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, was previously listed as a co-sponsor, but retracted its support following complaints about the branding of the event. In an email obtained by The Daily, CMENAS Director See SAFE, Page 3
Former top White House economists East Quad Facebook dining halls discuss female underrepresentation trials draw
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GOVERNMENT
to be more authentic
Ranking women in economics confirm discrimination and harassment in government
Lack of sensitivity for cultural food results in new cuisine offerings
Two months ago, University of Michigan research exposed significant female underrepresentation in economics. Top women economists convened at the Ford School Wednesday afternoon on the topic to confirm such discrimination and harassment at the highest levels of government. They also, however, lauded their peers’ work therein. The Education Policy Initiative of the Ford School of Public Policy’s panel titled “What female economists learned bringing research to White House policy making” featured a discussion with three panelists, all of whom were influential female economists with extensive experience in academia and public policy. The discussion was led by Susan Dynarski, the co-director of the Education Policy Initiative and a professor of economics, education and public policy at the University of Michigan. The other two panelists were Betsey Stevenson, an associate professor of public policy, and Sandra Black, an economics professor at the University of Texas, Austin. Stevenson and Black both served on the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 2015 to 2017. All three are research associates at the National Bureau of
AMARA SHAIKH Daily Staff Reporter
Much of public attention on the University of Michigan’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategic plan has focused on the classroom, administration or an incendiary stream of bias incidents, but students in East Quad are engaging with an even more every day component of the plan: food. Towards the end of last semester, the Hall Council of East Quad Residence Hall canceled an international food event due to complications and concerns around cultural sensitivity within Michigan Dining. The event now serves as a linchpin in changing the building’s attitudes towards food service and inclusion. Abeng Multicultural Council Co-Chair Josiah Walker, an LSA freshman, said the Hall Council director and resident advisers felt it was necessary to halt the event. “(Michigan) Dining took it upon themselves to plan the food they were going to serve, but what happened is they ended up mismatching the dishes,” See DINING, Page 3
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RILEY LANGEFELD Daily Staff Reporter
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Economic Research. The panelists discussed a wide range of topics, focusing in particular on Stevenson and Black’s time at the White House. Stevenson and Black explained their roles during President Barack Obama’s administration and how their academic experience informed their work. “One of the core functions we do is link the academic
research to policy — to take that research and put it in a form that the president and policymakers can understand,” Black said. Stevenson and Black also discussed the difficulties of driving effective policy at the federal level, noting economists generally hold more centrist views than other policymakers working in Washington, D.C. Their ideas faced opposition at
some points from congressional Democrats, who wanted them to advocate for more interventionist economic policies. The dynamic in the field of economics was different with Obama, the pair said, praising Obama for his thoughtful leadership and attention to the academic research they used in their work. See PANEL, Page 3
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Associate Economics Professor Betsey Stevenson and Susan Dynarski, University of Texas Economics Professor, share their experiences in White House policy making in Weill Hall Wednesday afternoon.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 110 ©2018 The Michigan Daily
community concerns
Data breach from social network results in hearing, concerns about privacy MAEVE O’BRIEN Daily Staff Reporter
 LSA sophomore Samuel Morse, an internship coordinator for Abdul El-Sayed’s gubernatorial campaign, believes the circulation of fake news on Facebook played a decisive role in the 2016 election. “58 percent of American adults are on Facebook, and Facebook has become a primary news source for many of them,” Morse said. “So when people are, instead of picking up copies of The (Washington) Post and The (New York) Times, seeing that on their Facebook news feeds, that will affect their thoughts on the election.” In light of the 2016 presidential election and subsequent findingsof Robert S. Mueller III, with the special counsel investigating Russia’s electoral interference, Facebook has now been thrust into the center of a national conversation about the content-monitoring responsibilities of social media platforms. Even more recently, Facebook found itself embroiled in controversy when The New York Times reported Cambridge Analytica, a political firm hired See FACEBOOK, Page 2
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS....................7