ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
Psi Upsilon criticized for Nassar sign on game day
Fraternity banner involving convicted felon draws backlash on social media
OLIVIA CELL/Daily
BARBARA COLLINS & BENJAMIN ROSENFELD
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson disucsses thre state’s new strategy to redistricting in Weill Hall Monday afternoon.
Michigan’s Secretary of State discusses new approach to redistricting issues
Jocelyn Benson, experts discuss strategies which focus on ‘Communities of Interest’ SUNSKRITI PARANJAPE For The Daily
In November 2018, Michigan voters amended the Michigan Constitution by passing Proposal 2, which places legislative and congressional redistricting in the hands of a 13 member Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. Monday night, the Ford School of Public Policy hosted a panel discussion with Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State, and other experts to discuss this new approach to redistricting and particularly focused on the role of “Communities of Interest” within this framework. COIs are a new concept for Michigan redistricting and
are described in Proposal 2 as communities that “share cultural or historical characteristics or economic interests, and do not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates.” They are high on the list of priorities in drawing new districts, after equal population, compliance with the Voting Rights Act and contiguity. The panel was moderated by Nancy Wang, executive director of Voters Not Politicians, a ballot initiative to end gerrymandering in Michigan. She began by touching on the motivations of Constitutional Amendment Proposal 2. “2018 was a historic election
for lots of reasons,” Wang said. “One big one was two and a half million citizens across the state of Michigan from all political parties, all across the state, voted in favor of Proposal 2, to take politicians out of our redistricting process. To make Michigan’s days as one of the most gerrymandered in the entire country, no more. And to put in its place a new, citizenled process.” Benson then delivered her opening remarks. She thanked the other panelists for their expertise and emphasized that she viewed her office from the point of view of an academic rather than a politician. “I know as an academic the best way to approach something is to collect data
and make informed decisions based on that,” Benson said. Benson further explained how important it is that the commission be independent, citizen-led and non-partisan in actuality. “This is not the time to take a victory lap,” Benson said. “This is the time to dig in and continue and really get to work in ensuring that this commission, that millions of citizens envisioned and made a reality, is a success. And we define success in our office as ensuring the process itself is truly citizen-led, is truly independent and non-partisan and is transparent every step of the way.” See REDISTRICTING, Page 3
On football game days at the University of Michigan, bed sheets hanging on the fronts of fraternity houses, spray painted with jokes about the visiting football team, are common. But last Saturday during the Michigan-Michigan State matchup, the Psi Upsilon fraternity at the University displayed one that many students deemed insensitive. The sign read, “ You can’t touch us @LarryNassar,” referencing the former MSU physician and USA national g ymnastics team doctor convicted of sexually assaulting over 250 young women between 1992 and 2016. Neither Psi Upsilson’s national headquarters nor the chapter’s leadership responded to The Daily’s request for comment by the time of publication. Saturday afternoon, Central Michigan
University senior Kirsten Lovely posted a tweet which included a picture of the banner. At the time of publication, the tweet had 875 retweets and more than 5,200 likes. Though Lovely does not attend either school, she wrote the “fans can poke fun at each other, but not at the expense of hundreds of survivors.” In an interview with The Daily, Lovely said she was not in Ann Arbor on the day of the game but saw a picture of the banner on an Instagram story. Lovely is involved in a group at CMU that runs a survivor crisis hotline and has had training on sexual aggression and survivor issues. She said she was familiar with the Nassar case and decided to post about the banner on Twitter because it bothered her. “I feel like there’s a lot of heat that goes into the (Michigan-Michigan State) game,” Lovely said. “We can make fun of each other and have banter See BANNER, Page 3
Students for Choice discussion LSA student loses emphasizes reproductive justice transferred GI GOVERNMENT
bill, faces debt Child of U.S. Navy veteran owes 20k after benefits were suddenly revoked KATHERINA SOURINE Daily Staff Reporter
LSA junior Paige Dotson, a child of a U.S. Navy veteran, was only able to afford college because she was eligible for benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill as the dependent of a veteran. But two years ago, her benefits were unexpectedly revoked, leaving her $20,000 in debt, the Chicago Sun-Times originally reported on Nov. 8th. Paige’s father, Russell Dotson, served in the U.S. Navy for 22 years, both reserve and active duty, and was deployed to war zones six times. When he initially enlisted, he gave the military a deduction from his salary towards the Montgomery GI bill, which covered a college bachelor’s degree. The transition to a Post-9/11 GI bill was signed into law in 2008 with an extended applicability to pay for graduate degrees or trade school and be transferable to dependants. According to Russell, this was a critical change for many officers. However, for him and others who had served in the long-term, Dotson had to re-enlist for another four years to qualify. He did so with the intent to transfer these benefits equally between his son and Paige. “It seems a little wrongheaded
to go to somebody who has already served 16, 18 years, and say ‘hey, we’re changing this GI bill you already paid for, the one that you gave us $1,200 for, to this new GI bill,” he said. “However, I know that you’ve served 16, 15, 10 years, we’re going to make you serve four more, and then you’ll be able to transfer it to your kids.” Paige enrolled at DePaul University in 2017 after her father finished the fouryear commitment, excited to explore life past her hometown of Birch Run, Michigan. She immediately used the GI Bill to enroll in the school and subsidize the high living cost in Chicago. When she didn’t receive her living stipend in the second quarter of her freshman year, she called the Veteran Affairs National Office and was told she was no longer eligible to receive benefits and would have to repay $20,000 to the government, including interest. She received student support services to enroll in the next quarter of her freshman year but took out extra loans to continue her sophomore year. “On the military end, they said we gave you all this money, you’re no longer eligible retroactively so you owe all that money back,” Paige said.
GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
See VETERAN, Page 3
Follow The Daily on Instagram, @michigandaily
Panelists answers questions on origins of movement, sex education SAINI KETHIREDDY For The Daily
The Students for Choice organization at the University of Michigan hosted a panel on reproductive justice for a group of about 35 students on Monday night at the Ford School of Public Policy. Emily Peterson, lawyer and professor of sociolog y and women’s studies, began the discussion by explaining the origins of the term “reproductive justice.” “We all, regardless of
what our geopolitical boundaries are, have innate human rights,” Peterson said. “So they took that idea from the Human Rights Declaration from the UN and kind of encapsulated some of those concepts into a (reproductive justice) framework. But it was really founded by women of color, screaming you really need to be inclusive.” Community member Cassy Jones-McBryde, the first Black organizing program coordinator for Planned Parenthood, elaborated on the impact
of Black people on reproductive justice. “Faye Wattleton was the first Black President of Planned Parenthood,” Jones-McBryde said. “She, back in the early ‘90s… helped center the discussion around Black people having access to reproductive support.” After discussing its history, Peterson went on to define reproductive justice as having to do with more than just reproductive health. “You need to acknowledge that as many
people that tried not to reproduce, some were supposed to reproduce,” Peterson said. “Some have not had any control at all ever… it’s a very inclusive phrase for all types of recognition of bodily autonomy around reproduction.” Kate O’Connor, fourthyear graduate student of American Culture, said introducing universal health care to all will help alleviate fears of expenses that sway women away from reproducing. See REPRODUCTIVE , Page 3
OLIVIA CELL/Daily Guest speakers with different experiences in reproductive health related fields discuss reproductive justice in Weill Hall Monday evening.
For more stories and coverage, visit
michigandaily.com
INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 31 ©2019 The Michigan Daily
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 CLASSIFIEDS................6
SUDOKU.....................2 ARTS...................5 SPORTS.................7