ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Friday, October 25, 2019
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Campus talks LGBTQ rights case before US Supreme Court Community examines impact of workplace discrimination lawsuit JULIA FANZERES Daily Staff Reporter
DESIGN BY ROSEANNE CHAO
Match made in algorithm: students turn to dating survey
2,900 undergraduates take quiz in hopes of finding the one on campus ALEX HARRING Daily Staff Reporter
Love is in the air — and online — at the University of Michigan. More than 2,900 undergraduate students — approximately one out of every 10 — have completed a new matchmaking service survey, dubbed the Michigan Marriage Pact, as of Thursday afternoon.
LSA junior Elien Michielssen, one of the survey’s creators, said a team of students created the online questionnaire for a class project in Psychology 223. “There’s a lot of dating sites out there — some that people are comfortable with and some that people aren’t — and we wanted to do something that was Michigan-specific,” Michielssen said. “We wanted to bring it to Michigan and spice
up the campus a little bit.” Michielssen said the questionnaire, which opened Saturday afternoon, has a lifespan of 21 days. At the end of the submission period, students will be emailed their match’s name and potentially a message from their match, though Michielssen said there is a possibility that not every person who completes the questionnaire will have a
match. Participants answer a series of 40 questions, ranging from the likelihood of using a prenuptial agreement to views on gun ownership. The questionnaire also asks students to rate the levels of their drug and alcohol use, sex lives, cleanliness, spending habits and other personality traits. See DATING, Page 3A
On Oct. 8, the U.S. Supreme Court heard three cases that could end protections for LGBTQ employees in the United States. In each of the three cases brought up to the Supreme Court — Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda, Bostock v. Clayton County and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC — the employers dismissed their employees on the basis of their sexual orientation. In both Zarda and Bostock, the employees Donald Zarda and Gerald Bostock allege their employers fired them because their employers discovered the men were gay. In the Harris Funeral Homes case, the employee — Aimee Stephens, a trans woman — was fired because her boss claimed that it would be against his religion for Stephens “to deny (her) sex while acting as a representative of (the) organization.” Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from being discriminated against based on their race, color, religion, national origin or sex. In previous Supreme Court cases, “sex” discrimination has been interpreted as not discriminating based on gender identity. Now, the Supreme Court will decide if the language “sex” in Title VII covers sexual orientation. The University’s chapter of College Democrats came out strongly in support of the Supreme Court including sexual orientation as a part of civil rights. Camille Mancuso, communications director of College Democrats, emphasized the importance of the decision. “LGBTQ+ rights are civil rights,” Mancuso said. “From the inability of same-sex couples to adopt children, to being fired in the workplace for one’s sexual orientation or gender identity, to the murder of trans women of color across the country, the rights of LGBTQ+ folks are constantly being threatened.” See SCOTUS, Page 3A
Teach-in raises awareness about DEI panel Morning discusses Kashmir humanitarian crisis Brew CEO CAMPUS LIFE
uncounted statistics
Faculty respond to underrepresented demographic groups JULIA FORREST Daily Staff Reporter
About 70 faculty, staff and students were in attendance on Thursday at LSA’s Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion panel focused on bringing awareness to Asian Pacific Islander Desi/American and Middle Eastern/North African identities at the University of Michigan. The event featured five speakers, all of whom were faculty and staff members at the University. The event began with questions from the hosts directed to specific panelists. The first question was for Melissa Borja, assistant professor in A/PIA studies, about the history of APID/A individuals at the University. Borja explained the importance of individuals claiming a specific identity and then allowing it to be counted in the school’s demographics. She explored the concept by using the example of how Asian Americans have changed the way they identify themselves over time. See DEI, Page 3A
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BUSINESS
Paani hosts event aiming to provide Kashmiri perspectives CLAIRE HAO
Daily Staff Reporter
Paani, a non-profit started by University alumni in response to the growing water shortage in Pakistan, spearheaded a teach-in on the humanitarian crisis in Kashmir, a disputed territory in the northern part of India, Thursday night. In particular, the event focused on the current state of Indian-administered Kashmir following India’s tighter control and erosion of democratic freedoms in the region. Paani organized the teachin in conjunction with several other cultural organizations on campus. Rackham student Nishita Trisal, a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology studying Kashmir, and Rackham student Safwaan Mir, president of the University’s chapter of Stand with Kashmir, headed the teach-in by presenting on the current crisis in the region KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily and the history and context Rackham student Nishta Trisal speaks about the crisis in Kashmir and what the University can do to help at a teach-in held in of the situation. Though Annenberg Auditorium Thursday evening. both individuals come from issues right now. the suffering of the Kashmiri the Kashmiri people who have Kashmiri backgrounds, Trisal Mir explained both India people is lost in the struggle suffered the most,” Mir said. noted they are not speaking for and Pakistan are interested for dominance between these “Instead, the truly legitimate way to look at the situation is all Kashmiris, especially since in the Kashmir region for two powerful countries. the current communications its natural resources, such “(India and Pakistan’s) for Kashmiris to have a right are primarily to choose for themselves what blackout in Indian-controlled as water, and because of its interests Kashmir means those in the strategic military position going to be in their strategic they want to be and what their region may not be able to between the two countries political position, not in the future is.” speak themselves on these and China. Mir emphasized interest and the well-being of See PAANI, Page 3A
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 18 ©2019 The Michigan Daily
highlights storytelling
Business alum Alex Lieberman reflects on entrepreneurship JASMIN LEE
Daily Staff Reporter
University of Michigan alum Alex Lieberman spoke about Morning Brew, the startup he founded after graduating from the Ross School of Business in 2015, at the Robertson Auditorium Thursday. Lieberman is the co-founder and CEO of Morning Brew, a daily email newsletter that condenses business news into content that appeals to a younger audience. During his time at the Business School, Lieberman said he realized there wasn’t a platform that made business news interesting for students and young adults. “These students are working their asses off to have careers in business, and yet they don’t have content that’s storytelling the business world in a fun and engaging way,” Lieberman said. “So I just started writing a daily business roundup — which at the time looked very different from Morning Brew — but I would say had a lot of the same DNA.”
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 CLASSIFIEDS................6
See BUSINESS, Page 3A
SUDOKU.....................2 ARTS...................5 SPORTS.................1B