ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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MI House Oversight Committee ‘U’ joins group passes campus free speech bill of schools to Legislation aims to regulate how colleges can limit personal expression research lowcarbon future Announcement comes on eve of Washtenaw County Climate Strike MADELINE MCLAUGHLIN & ALEX HARRING Daily Staff Reporters
DESIGN BY SHERRY CHEN
ARJUN THAKKAR Daily Staff Reporter
Two bills that could affect free speech on campus passed in the Michigan House of Representatives’ House Oversight Committee on Sept. 5. The bills aim to regulate the extent to which a college or university can implement policies relating to the free speech of students and staff. The two pieces of legislation were sponsored by state Rep. John Reilly, R-Oakland, and come almost a year after white nationalist Richard Spencer came to East Lansing to speak at Michigan State University and was met with protesters, where two dozen people were arrested. The first bill, titled
“The Campus Free Speech Act,” defines the circumstances under which a public college or university is permitted to limit “expressive conduct” on campus and details the type of legal action students or staff can take when the act is violated. The second bill, “The College Campus Intellectual and Expressive Freedom Act,” requires each college or university to create a policy on free speech in accordance with state-wide standards while also making the policy transparent and understood by both students and staff members. The legislation clarifies what form of protest is allowed and would make it
easier for controversial figures and speakers to visit campus — including Spencer and conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, who came to speak at the University of Michigan in March. LSA senior Kate Westa, former vice chair of the University’s chapter of conservative organization Young America’s Foundation and current co-president of political organization WeListen, expressed support for the bill and argued public institutions of higher education should not have power over the views expressed on their campuses. “A public university should not be in the business
of deciding which of their students get to host speakers or speak their minds,” Westa said. “It is the government’s responsibility to ensure that our rights are protected, and if the First Amendment is being trampled on or amended by speech codes or unfair treatment, then it is absolutely within their purview to stop that from happening.” LSA sophomore Sam Burnstein, a founding member of Michigan Political Consulting and elected representative for LSA Student Government, said he was appreciative of the freedom of speech available on campus. See SPEECH, Page 3A
University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel announced Wednesday morning the University will be joining the University Climate Change Coalition, a group of leading research universities collaborating on a model to help communities move toward a low-carbon future. The decision comes on the eve of the Universitysponsored Earthfest and two days before the Washtenaw County Climate Strike is set to take place on the Diag. The move follows a recommendation from the President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality. In a University Record article published Wednesday morning, Schlissel said climate change is an issue that must be solved collaboratively. “The problem of global climate change is far too big for any one institution to solve alone,” Schlissel said. “Collaboration and engagement are key to creating real and lasting solutions that will benefit our society.”
ACADEMICS
Rackham Michigan ranked 44th nationally hosts grad in higher education funding education State spent $195.52 per resident compared to national average of $280.60 in 2019 seminar Dean Michael Solomon outlined goals for more partnerships, diversity ANGELINA LITTLE Daily Staff Reporter
Michael Solomon, dean of Rackham Graduate School, hosted a talk on rethinking graduate education Wednesday afternoon. About 200 community members, including graduate faculty and staff attended the event. Solomon began by defining the traditional apprenticeship model of graduate education, which is based on an intellectual connection between faculty and students. While acknowledging the successes of this model, Solomon identified building pressures he believes need to be addressed. Displaying a number of headlines on the projector, Rackham listed some of the controversies facing graduate education, including the tightening job market for doctorate degrees, mental health concerns and instances of sexual harassment. Solomon proposed Rackham could be a leader in transforming the model of graduate education in order to address these issues.
MICHAEL ZHANG Daily Staff Reporter
In new data published by the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University, Michigan ranked 44th nationally in per-resident support of higher education for the fiscal year 2019. On a per-dollar basis, Michigan spent $195.52 per resident, while the national
average stands at $280.60. According to calculations, if Michigan were to increase its spending per-resident to the national average, Michigan would be investing almost $850 million more into its higher education institutions. This new data comes as a dramatic shift from a few decades ago when Michigan was above the state average in per resident spending on
higher education. In 2001, for example, Michigan ranked 20th nationally in per resident spending on higher education at $230.56, not adjusting for inflation. In March, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed to reverse this trend by increasing funding for Michigan’s higher education institutions by 3 percent, totalling around $45.6 million, for the fiscal year
See RACKHAM, Page 3A
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2020. Meanwhile, Michigan’s legislature has pushed for a different budget that allocates a 1 percent increase in higher education spending. Around campus, opinions seem to be divided with some students bringing up Michigan’s tuition and others mentioning the impact raising taxes would have on taxpayers. See FUNDING, Page 3A
DESIGN BY SHERRY CHEN
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 1315 ©2019 The Michigan Daily
The coalition, which is run by the organization Second Nature and commonly referred to as UC3, unites 20 universities across the continent in an effort to accelerate climate change solutions through innovative ideas and action. The coalition’s primary goal is to foster collaboration among prominent academic institutions across the country toward a more sustainable future. In an email to The Daily, University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald wrote the commission felt joining the coalition would support the University’s goal of having an impact beyond campus. Fitzgerald explained Schlissel accepted the commission’s recommendation and signed a letter committing to the suggestions on Aug. 29. “As you may know, one of the main reasons President Schlissel appointed the President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality was to look for ways in which the university could have a broader impact beyond the border of the Ann Arbor campus,” Fitzgerald wrote. See CARBON, Page 3A
GOVERNMENT
Whitmer e-cig ban could lead to jail time Possession of 4+ vapor products may result in six month sentence EMMA STEIN
Daily Staff Reporter
On Sept. 4, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a ban that will stop the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and other nicotine vaping products. The ban also prohibits marketing vaping as “clean,” “safe” or “healthy.” In order to speed up the process of creating the ban, Whitmer ordered the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to draft emergency rules banning the products. This allows state agencies to create policies that will act as laws after being authorized, according to the Lansing State Journal. The ban will reportedly be filed in a few weeks, and then retailers will have 30 days to comply. Rule 2 of the ban states someone found with at least four of the banned products, will be assumed to have intent to sell them, which is prohibited under the ban. “A person who possesses four or more flavored vapor products, or flavored alternative nicotine products is rebuttably presumed to possess said items with the intent to sell,” the rule reads. See JAIL, Page 3A
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 CLASSIFIEDS................6
SUDOKU.....................2 ARTS...................1B SPORTS.................5