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Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Enrollment of History majors in decline across midwest schools Students, faculty reflect on reasons for decrease in number of individuals pursuing the field
Protest takes place outside ‘U’ president’s campus house Activists dispute U-M Flint professor’s claim “Black Girls Code” is discriminatory BARBARA COLLINS Daily Staff Reporter
ROSEANNE CHAO/Daily
LIAT WEINSTEIN Daily Staff Reporter
LSA sophomore Jack Wroldsen came to the University of Michigan knowing he was interested in a history degree. Yet Wroldsen said he faced skepticism from parents and employers about the choice when he declared a history major. “My boss at my internship last summer basically told me that I shouldn’t major in history,” Wroldsen said. “I worked at a law firm, and he asked me ‘When do you ever think I’m going to hire a historian?’ which was interesting. I think people have reservations about it because it isn’t really a field you’d go get a job in unless you want to be a teacher of history or a professor or work in a museum.” Even so, Wroldsen said he chose to study history because
it complements most fields of study, even if others perceive the degree to be useless or unemployable. He’s pairing the degree with economics. He said a course on Europe since 1945 with Professor Rita Chin convinced him to declare history as his major, alongside economics. “I’m majoring in history in part because I love it, and it’s what I’m most interested in, but also because I can look at economic history, or business history, or things of that nature,” Wroldsen said. “And people can do that with medicine, they can do it with psychology. Any field has a history to it, and being a history major only supports those interests.” The skepticism witnessed by Wroldsen mirrors a trend found at the University and across the nation. Jay Cook, chair of
the history department, said the number of undergraduate students declaring a history major at the University has decreased each year for the past decade, reflecting a nationwide trend. A study by Benjamin Schmidt, assistant professor of history at Northeastern University, found that while the number of history majors is declining among students of all races, genders and geographic backgrounds, the dip is most prominent among universities in the Midwest. Since the Great Recession of 2007-2009 — when the U.S. labor market lost around 8.4 million jobs and a typical household saw their yearly income decline by $2,700 — the belief that majoring in history leads to low paychecks and limited employment prospects
has deterred students across the country from pursuing the major. Even at the University, where the history department is consistently ranked as one of the top ten programs in the country by U.S. News and World Report, the department has noticed the declining numbers in the major despite steady interest and enrollment in history courses. Degree reports from the Office of the Registrar show that while there were 251 History B.A.s conferred in 2006, the number of history graduates was down to 131 by 2016. That downward trend is matched at Michigan State University, where there were 262 declared history majors in the spring of 2006 and 137 in the spring of 2019. See HISTORY, Page 3
Monday afternoon outside of the home of University of Michigan president Mark Schlissel, demonstrators from the Michigan chapter of the National Action Network gathered to voice concerns regarding U-M Flint professor Mark Perry’s recent claim against Wayne State University. The claim, filed last week, accused Wayne State’s summer program, Black Girls Code, of race and gender discrimination. According to a press release, NAN held the demonstration to protest Perry’s claim. They argued Black Girls Code serves to educate and empower a marginalized group of women. “National Action Network activists are outraged that a University of Michigan Professor would work to stif le a program built to teach and empower disenfranchised, underrepresented, and underserved young women of color,” the press release reads. “In a climate when University of Michigan currently struggles with diversity in faculty staffing and student admissions activist(s) believe that University of Michigan should assess the relation
CAMPUS LIFE
Non-binary ISR, Rackham host Cultural Racism swimmer and American Social Structure speakers challenges Panel discusses historical mistreatment of minorities, current racial tensions stereotypes NOAH FISHER
Former ‘U’ athlete talks heteronormative culture in varsity sports ZAYNA SYED
Daily Staff Reporter
When G Ryan started swimming at 6 years old, they swam just to prove they could to an older brother. They continued the sport into collegiate athletics and eventually earned a scholarship to the University of Michigan. Friends described Ryan as a “big name” in their area, a kind teammate and a successful member of the distance squad of the women’s team. However, when Ryan came out as gender non-binary sophomore year, things changed. “People had to change in order to interact with me,” Ryan said. “They could not exist as they had previously. My pronouns changed and my name changed. That kind of had to be acknowledged.” Ryan, who uses they, them and their pronouns, graduated from the University in the winter of 2018 af ter spending four years competing in colleg iate athletics. See SWIMMING, Page 3
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The University of Michigan Institute for Social Research and Rackham Graduate School sponsored the latest installment of the Cultural Racism and American Social Structure Speaker Series Monday morning. The lecture consisted of a panel of three faculty members from Washington University in St. Louis who discussed how today’s racial tension is a result
of historical mistreatment of minority groups, particularly African Americans. The audience included about 30 students and faculty members. Margaret Hicken, assistant professor of research at the Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research who oversees the RacismLab, organized the series to highlight how American culture is racist toward and marginalizes those who do not fit the ideal American image.
“We have an idea in this country of what it means to be American,” Hicken said. “If you don’t fit those ideals, then your citizenship and sense of belonging is questioned. The speaker series talks about the idea of who gets to belong in this society and the underlying idea of what it means to be an American.” The panel, which was presented on behalf of the Lasting Legacies exhibit at Washington University in St.
Louis, aims to analyze how the study of history is critical to understanding modern concepts of equality. The project’s goal is to demonstrate that history is continuous. Though the present-day United States may look different than it did in the past, its policy of undermining minorities has stayed the same.
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between the professor and the university.” Fifteen members of NAN attended the demonstration, chanting, “No justice, no peace,” and “Hey hey, ho ho, Professor Mark Perry has got to go.” Rev. Charles Williams II, president of the Michigan chapter of NAN, spoke on behalf of NAN at the demonstration. He said the University’s silence on the issue is unacceptable. “The University should either decide to send him (Perry) a message making it clear that this is not upholding the ideals of the University of Michigan, or they need to make sure they send out a statement letting the public know that this is not the University of Michigan’s stance,” Williams said. “We are calling on Schlissel, we are calling on the Board of Regents immediately to take a stand on where they are on this issue.” Williams said NAN plans to take legal action against Perry and will continue to protest until the University addresses the issue. He said the University needs to step up and be more accountable for Perry’s duties as a professor. See PROTEST , Page 3
CAMPUS LIFE
VP Harper talks frats, new U-M procedures Harper discusses new sexual misconduct, felony self-disclosure policies RACHEL CUNNINGHAM Daily News Editor
MADELINE MCLAUGHLIN & CALLIE TEITELBAUM Daily Staff Reporters
The Michigan Daily recently sat down with E. Royster Harper, vice president of student life at the University of Michigan, to discuss several issues on campus, including disaffiliated fraternities, the sexual misconduct policy revision and mental health resources on campus. The Michigan Daily: Within the past year, several University of Michigan fraternities have disaffiliated from the Interfraternity Council. They have since joined the Ann Arbor Interfraternity Council, which does not fall under University jurisdiction. As an administrator, what are your opinions regarding these actions and how will the University address issues that arise regarding the fraternities in IFC?
CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily African and African American studies associate professor Geoff Ward speaks during the Cultural Racism and American Social Structure series at the Institute for Social Research Monday morning.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 81 ©2019 The Michigan Daily
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 CLASSIFIEDS................6
See POLICIES , Page 3
SUDOKU.....................2 ARTS...................5 SPORTS.................7