ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Samantha Power presents new Federal Court memoir on her journey to diplomacy vacates past Former UN ambassador combines personal story & policy analysis in book
ruling on Bias Response Team
Judge decides group infringes on First Amendment rights of free speech LIAT WEINSTEIN Daily Staff Reporter
MICHAEL BAGAZINSKI/Daily Samantha Power, former United States Ambassador to the United States, discusses her role in shaping foreign policy in the Obama Administration as well as her new book, “The Education of an Idealist,” at Weill Hall Wednesday afternoon.
MADELINE MCLAUGHLIN Daily Staff Reporter
More than 300 students, faculty, and community members attended a lecture by former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power at the Ford School of Public Policy this Wednesday. As a distinguished guest of the Public Policy School’s third annual Vandenberg Lecture, Power discussed her career in diplomacy and began her talk with a ref lection on her intentions behind writing her most recent memoir, “The Education of an Idealist”. “I have written a book
in a very personal way,” Power said, “appealing to young people, and the young at heart – those who are feeling, right now, more of a pull to try to make a difference than they have ever felt in their lives.” Power served as the 28th U.S. representative to the United Nations from 2013 to 2017, and was a member of President Barack Obama’s cabinet. Some of her most notable work included imposing sanctions on North Korea, opposing Russian aggression in Ukraine and Syria, and lobbying the release of political prisoners. President Obama praised her as one of the “foremost
thinkers in public policy.” Powers immigrated from Ireland with her mother as a child. She specifically discussed how her background informed her worldview from a young age and impacted her career in public service later in life. “Having come to America as an immigrant back in the day... I really felt like going into government was something similar,” she said. “You had to suspend certain parts of who you were, or at least leave them at the door when you went in in the morning, and then master this new way of being and doing in order to be effective.”
Public Policy junior Bennett Neuhoff attended both this discussion and the talk with Stephen Biegun, U.S. Representative to North Korea, earlier this month. After the event, he discussed in an interview with The Daily how both events left him hopeful about the outlook of America’s inf luence abroad. “There is a very big sector of the United States that is not ready to necessarily surrender the United States’ inf luence abroad despite what some of the actions of the current administration have been,” Neuhoff said. See DIPLOMACY, Page 3
A federal appeals court voided a ruling in favor of the University of Michigan’s Bias Response Team on Monday, arguing the group infringes upon First Amendment rights and suppresses freedom of speech across campus. The decision sent the case back to the U.S. District Court and reversed the August 2018 ruling by district court Judge Linda V. Parker, who ruled in favor of the University and the BRT. The role of the University’s BRT is to investigate claims of racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination put forth by those at the University. The lawsuit alleges the BRT, which allows students, faculty and others at the University to report incidents of bias, violates the First Amendment because the claims quell freedom of speech and may not be completely legitimate. In May 2018, the University became the first university in the country to receive a federal lawsuit related to freedom of speech when
ACADEMICS
Program Local businesses struggle with to assist retention as housing costs rise students Ann Arbor employees find new jobs or commute due to high rent prices from U.P. ANGELINA BREDE
New scholarship hopes to increase population from the peninsula BARBARA COLLINS Daily Staff Reporter
Of the University of Michigan’s over 30,000 undergrad students, about 230 students are from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The University’s new U.P. Scholars Program aims to increase this number by building a community for some of these students that provides them with transitional support. The first cohort in fall 2020 will consist of seven to 10 students from the U.P., according to Cheyenne Marlin, U.P. Scholars Program assistant director. Each student will be given financial assistance of up to $15,000 each year for four years. In addition to financial support, Marlin said the program will offer students in the program any academic, social and professional assistance they may need during their time at the University. “We know that the numbers for students from the Upper Peninsula are lower, and so we’re striving to support students from every corner of Michigan,” Marlin said. “With the distance being a huge barrier for students coming from the U.P., we think that something like this could really help students be successful here at Michigan.”
Daily Staff Reporter
Ann Arbor rent has skyrocketed in the last year, according to recent reports. And while the cost of living in the city continues to rise, local businesses are having trouble filling positions and keeping employees, as some residents feel unable to keep up with the rapidly increasing rent rate. Since the demand for housing continues to be a concern in Ann Arbor, property management owners have built more housing structures, most
of which are luxury highrise apartments with expensive rent rates — the newly built Vic Village, for example, has an average rent of $1300 per person per month for a 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom unit. But as demand rises higher than supply, access to affordable housing has become less available. To navigate this issue, many people working in the city resort to living in areas outside of Ann Arbor, such as Ypsilanti. This poses another barrier to employment, as some residents may not be able to afford the added
costs of a commute or have no reliable means of transportation of their own. There are many factors an Ann Arbor employee must consider when looking for jobs, including the ease of their commute and certain employee benefits to determine if working in such an expensive city is worth it, said Jennifer Hall, executive director of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission. “People are finding housing and then looking for jobs based on the distance, commute and
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ease of getting to work … and if they do not offer benefits like health care and paid sick time,” Hall said. “When workers are transient, it is harder to attract or keep them if they have a hard time getting to and from work.” Phillis Engelbert, owner of local restaurants The Lunch Room on Fifth Avenue and Detroit Street Filling Station in Kerrytown, said many of her employees cannot afford to live in central Ann Arbor due to high rent prices. See RETENTION, Page 3
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 141 ©2019 The Michigan Daily
Speech First, an organization dedicated to promoting and upholding free speech on American college campuses, filed a lawsuit alleging the BRT violates the First Amendment. A month later, on June 11, the Department of Justice submitted a statement of interest in support of Speech First and the lawsuit. When contacted by The Daily, Speech First president Nicole Neily declined to comment specifically on the federal appeals court’s decision to vacate the U.S. district court’s ruling. Instead, Neily referred to a statement put out by Speech First in response to Monday’s decision. “We are gratified that the court of appeals restored our case against the University of Michigan and ordered it to proceed in the district court,” the statement reads. “We continue to believe that the University’s policies, including the ones it tried to abandon after we filed suit, are blatant violations of the First Amendment. We look forward to vindicating our members’ rights as this litigation progresses.” See FREE SPEECH, Page 3
ADMINISTRATION
Schlissel: ‘Student protest is important’ University President talks carbon & Title IX policy in interview AMARA SHAIKH, EMMA STEIN & LIAT WEINSTEIN
Daily News Editor & Daily Staff Reporters
Each month, The Michigan Daily’s Administration Beat sits down with University President Mark Schlissel to discuss important questions about University policy, commitments and challenges. Topics discussed at the interview included the search for a new Vice President of Student Life, the President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality, Title IX policy and more. This transcript has been abbreviated and reordered for reader clarity. Search for new VP of Student Life The Michigan Daily: Given the recent announcement that Vice President E. Royster Harper will be retiring, what will the process to select a new VP of student life look like? President Mark Schlissel: In the next week, we’ll have an announcement, but we’re putting together a search committee that will have on the committee faculty, staff and several students — not just one student. See SCHLISSEL, Page 3
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 CLASSIFIEDS................6
SUDOKU.....................2 ARTS...................5 SPORTS.................6