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Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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CAMPUS LIFE

Hundreds of UMich students walk out of class to support Palestine

The crowd moved from the Diag to the Ruthven Building as part of a national walkout

Hundreds of U-M students, participating in a national walkout demanding divestment from Israel, gather in the Ruthven Building after marching from the Diag Wednesday.

CHEN LYU Daily Staff Reporter

Hundreds of University of Michigan students walked out of their classrooms and rallied on the Diag Wednesday afternoon in support of Palestine amid the Israel-Hamas war. The walkout, which was organized by Students Allied For Freedom and Equality in collaboration with 25 other organizations, was part of a greater national movement, with thousands of college students from across the country walking out to protest for an end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza, Israeli airstrikes in the region and U.S. military support for Israel. The demonstration comes amid the intensifying human cost of war between Israel and Hamas. At least 7,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in

Gaza since the Israeli government declared war on Hamas following their Oct.7 attack on Israel, which killed over 1,000 Israelis. During the walk out, protestors outlined four demands for the U-M administration: divest from companies profiting off human rights violations against Palestinians by Israel; conduct a formal inquiry into anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab and Islamophobic biases on campus; support and reaffirm faculty and students vilified for their support for Palestine and make a formal statement defining the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza as an ethnic cleansing campaign aided by the United States. LSA senior Salma Hamamy, co-president of SAFE, spoke at the rally about how she believes the current war has become a massacre against Palestinians. She said she believes the

University is complicit with this violence by collaborating with companies that delivered military equipment for Israel to attack Palestinians. “We, as a multiracial mass movement of student organizers for Palestinian liberation, have the power to change that,” Hamamy said. “By divesting from weapons manufacturers, we would be able to place targeted pressure on weapons manufacturers who formed partnerships with Israel.” Jared Eno, president of the Graduate Employees’ Organization, told the crowd GEO supports Palestine, similar to many other labor unions across the country. Eno said he believes the oppression against Palestinians is so pervasive that many graduate workers don’t feel safe expressing their solidarity with them even on U.S. campuses. “In 2018, one of our members

ADMINISTRATION

LEO contract bargaining starts at kick-off rally

The union has begun negotiating a new three-year contract MILES ANDERSON & BRONWYN JOHNSTON Daily Staff Reporters

Members and supporters of the Lecturers’ Employee Organization gathered in front of Hatcher Graduate Library Friday for a kickoff rally, commemorating the first contract bargaining session between LEO and the University of Michigan that morning. In the coming weeks, LEO’s bargaining team will negotiate with U-M Human Resources team to agree upon a new three-year contract. LEO is seeking higher salaries, increased job security and transparency, and caps on insurance premiums, among other demands. State Rep. Carrie Rheingans, who is a former U-M lecturer, delivered the rally’s opening remarks. Rheingans expressed her support for LEO’s stance in the contract negotiations, emphasizing the importance of solidarity with employees of the University and fair wages for lecturers. “We all know that the more of us there are together, united, the better bargaining we can do,” Rheingans

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said. “It is time for the University to make sure that your contract is secure for you as workers and pays you what you deserve.” Rheingans said she appreciates LEO’s work at the University as part of a broader rise of labor movements and unions across the United States. “You have been doing great work on campus,” Rheingans said. “The labor movement here at the University of Michigan is strong, very strong, and it’s following the strong labor movement in the country.” Members and supporters of LEO then marched together to Palmer Commons, where the first bargaining session took place Friday. The crowd called out various chants, including “Fair share when? Fair share now” and “We teach the lion’s share. U-M admin doesn’t care.” Many carried signs with slogans that included “We’re Worth More” and “Respect the Lecs.” As the crowd gathered outside of Palmer Commons, Nora Krinitsky, Ann Arbor campus co-chair for LEO, read aloud the opening statement she gave earlier that morning at the first bargaining

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session. In her statement, Krinitsky spoke about the vital role lecturers play in both teaching and mentoring students. “Management is going to find out that our proposals reflect that fundamental truth: that lecturers are the bedrock of the educational mission of the University of Michigan,” Krinitsky said. Krinitsky said LEO’s proposals seek to address common difficulties that accompany the lecturer position, including job insecurity. “We all know the harmful effects of precarious employment,” Krinitsky said. “We’ve (experienced) disempowerment, vulnerability and depressed wages. Our contract proposals will address, remedy and prevent those harmful effects from harming other lecturers. We will put across a proposal to improve job security, make the workload more transparent, protect lecturers from harassment, (promote) workplace safety and make sure that lecturers can plan for the future and care for their family. And finally, make sure that lecturers are paid the livable wage that they deserve.” Read more at MichiganDaily.com

declined to write a letter of recommendation for a student who wanted to participate in a study abroad program in Israel,” Eno said. “This worker declined to do so because they were heeding a call from Palestinian civil society organizations for nonviolent actions to pressure Israel to end its oppression of Palestinians. … The (then) president of this University publicly condemned their actions and called them antisemitic.” After the speeches, students marched to the Alexander G. Ruthven Building, where they believed University President Santa Ono was working. The students gathered on the first and second floor, chanting, “Ono, Ono, you can’t hide, you are funding genocide.” During this portion of the rally, Martino Harmon, vice president for student life, and Dean of Students Laura Blake Jones came

JEREMY WEINE/Daily

down to the first floor to meet with the student demonstrators. Zaynab Elkolaly, SAFE director of activism, delivered the group’s demands to the two administrators in a speech. Elkolaly then urged the University to address the vilification of faculty members and students who express support for Palestinians. She cited an Oct. 16 incident when a truck displaying unsubstantiated allegations that U-M faculty were in support of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israeli civilians drove through campus. The Michigan Daily was able to independently confirm the messaging on the truck. “The display reaffirms the fact that faculty are putting themselves in a vulnerable position,” Elkolaly said. “The University is responsible for ensuring the safety of students and faculty, publicly condemning

these dangerous acts of defamation and supporting these underrepresented groups — particularly faculty who are making these informed decisions based on their academic expertise in the topic.” Harmon told demonstrators that a team from the administration would be willing to meet with the protestors on Friday to discuss their demands. He added, however, that he couldn’t promise a direct conversation with Ono or any immediate action from the University. “We could have a group of representatives that can include administrators who can have more detailed discussions about your demands,” Harmon said. “But I can’t control the president’s schedule.” Read more at MichiganDaily.com

ADMINISTRATION

UMich applied for alcohol permits for Crisler and Yost

If approved, the University plans to pilot alcohol sales at select sporting events MARY COREY

Daily Staff Reporter

When University of Michigan fans make their way into the Big House on Football Saturdays, the stadium is filled with laughs, cheers and lots of maize and blue. However, one thing is notably missing from this lively atmosphere: alcohol sales. This past July, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a law allowing sports venues at public universities in Michigan to sell alcohol at sporting events. The Board of Regents unanimously decided at their Oct. 19 meeting to apply for Class C liquor licenses for Yost Ice Arena, the Michigan Stadium and Crisler Center. In addition, the Board voted to first implement alcohol sales at Crisler Center and Yost Ice Arena before moving to Michigan Stadium, allowing time for community feedback before trying out this new policy at the biggest college football stadium in the country. Earlier this month, the University conducted a survey among the U-M community to gauge opinions and concerns about the potential

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INDEX

sale of alcohol at sporting events. As the University moves forward with the application process, The Michigan Daily spoke with campus community members about the potential impact of alcohol sales at U-M sports venues. Engineering senior Jake Skulnik, president of Maize Rage, the official student section for U-M men’s and women’s basketball, told The Daily he thinks there are potential benefits from alcohol sales at U-M sporting events as long as the University implements some restrictions. “Alcohol isn’t something that everyone is using at sporting events, but for people that would like to consume it, I think it is an added benefit as long as it’s sold legally and also making sure that everyone is not ordering past a certain time,” Skulnik said. “Obviously making sure the safety of everyone is maintained is the key priority in all this.” Skulnik added that alcohol sales could help improve the energy levels of fans at sporting events, which he said could even enhance the performance of the team. “I think it could really impact the

environment,” Skulnik said. “People will sometimes be a little bit more energetic in the crowd when they do consume alcohol, which is obviously a benefit on the court when the team is going to need the fans to give them a push.” However, Skulnik said this new policy would not have a huge impact on students at various U-M sports venues, since most of them are underage. “Obviously, with the student section being primarily underage, it’s not going to affect the student section as much,” Skulnik said. “We are just hoping to make sure that we’re keeping the environment at (U-M sports venues) at a top-notch standard.” In an email to The Daily, state Sen. Sean McCann, D-Kalamazoo, who introduced Senate Bill 427 to allow college sporting venues to obtain liquor licenses, noted that when The Ohio State University announced its stadium-wide beer sales for the 2016 football season, the University Police reported a 65% drop in alcoholrelated incidents.

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