ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY THREE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Wednesday, February 14, 2024
CAMPUS LIFE
UMich students stage a walkout to call for University divestment Hundreds gathered on the Diag as part of a national walkout
MARISSA CORSI Daily Staff Reporter
Hundreds of University of Michigan students walked out of their classes and gathered on the Diag to call on the University to divest from companies profiting from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Organized by Students Allied for Freedom and Equality and the TAHRIR Coalition, the protest was part of a national walkout on campuses across the country. In her opening remarks, SAFE president Salma Hamamy said she believes American universities’ investments are directly contributing to the ongoing violence in Palestine. “Universities have refused to divest from companies that are complicit in human rights violations, to divest from companies that are sending weaponry to Israel that are massacring civilian population after civilian population, that are Students march down E University Ave during the National Walk-out for Gaza Thursday afternoon. causing an exponential death rate that we have never before seen in we’re all about.” current calls for divestment as you’ve already heard, I’m afraid modern history,” Hamamy said. Sepulveda said JVP’s from Israel to the University’s our university is very much tied up “Our universities are not too far involvement in Thursday’s protest divestment from apartheid in financially in all of that. So what distant from these war crimes.” demonstrates the importance of South Africa in 1983 and 1988. can we do?” In an interview with The solidarity among students of all Derek Peterson, U-M Ali Mazrui Las week, the Faculty Michigan Daily, LSA junior Alex backgrounds. collegiate professor of history and Senate passed two resolutions Sepulveda, activism chair of “There is an ever-growing African studies and a member of condemning the University Jewish Voice for Peace, said the narrative maintained by the the Faculty Senate, criticized the for canceling Central Student goal of the walkout was to increase University and all of the power University’s response to recent Government ballot proposals student awareness about how the players of this world that this is an calls for divestment in a speech at concerning the Israel-Hamas University’s investments fund Arab-Jewish conflict or a Muslim- the event. war and calling for University Israeli military violence. Jewish conflict,” Sepulveda said. “There’s a lot to be learned divestment. Peterson said he “The average student has “It couldn’t be further from the from the anti-apartheid struggle believes it is important for both absolutely no idea where their truth. It’s a Zionist versus anti- today,” Peterson said. “We can’t U-M students and faculty to speak tuition dollars are going, or how Zionist conflict, and it is the take eight years as a university to out against the violence in Gaza. the school has effectively used responsibility of Jewish people to get on the right side of history. We “For at least most of us who them as commodities to further stand arm-in-arm with their Arab need to act now … this is an urgent teach here, education is, among the American imperial agenda,” and Muslim brothers and sisters matter. There’s people dying at the other things, a moral undertaking,” Sepulveda said. “We come here to resist Zionism by any means cause of weapons that are supplied Peterson said. “It demands not to inform the entire student body necessary.” by American companies in the simply the imparting of knowledge and the whole world at large what Speakers at the event compared service of the Israeli military. And, and the training of skills, but it also
BUSINESS
‘Rooster’ lands in Ann Arbor: Actor Miles Teller makes appearances at South U bars
Miles Teller signed shirts and promoted a canned cocktail line at The Brown Jug and The Blue Leprechaun REBECCA LEWIS & CHRISTINA ZHANG Daily News Editor & Staff Reporter
Ann Arbor bars The Brown Jug and The Blue Leprechaun were packed Tuesday evening as actor Miles Teller stood behind the bar signing shirts and throwing merch to promote the canned cocktail line, The Finnish Long Drink, of which he is a minority owner. The lines started at 5 p.m. and stretched down South University Avenue as crowds surrounded the bars, hoping to get a glimpse of Teller, who visited The Brown Jug before ending the night at The Blue Leprechaun. Ann Arbor resident Richard Yurcak told The Michigan Daily that he was excited to be among the crowd with his friends after waiting since 5:20 p.m. “I came here to support my friends and just spend some time with them. We all have a similar liking for (Teller),” Yurcak said. “I only waited for about 20 minutes. We got in by 45 after 5. It’s exciting. I like being here. I like being in Ann Arbor. I like being with the energy. It makes me feel vibrant, it makes me feel young again and all that good stuff.” Before arriving in Ann Arbor, Teller had visited other bars in Michigan as part of his promotional tour. Julia Metis,
a student at Michigan State University, told The Daily she traveled to Ann Arbor after missing his event in East Lansing. “I drove here from East Lansing because I missed him because I was in class,” Metis said. “I wanted to come see him, so I went to Ann Arbor. I left right after my class ended at 4:20 p.m. I drove here as fast as possible. We’re having fun. It was so worth it because I love Miles Teller.” Inside The Brown Jug, patrons crowded around Teller, asking him to sign their belongings and standing on chairs in hopes of catching a glimpse of the actor. LSA junior Elizabeth Leppek, waitress at The Brown Jug, said while she knew Teller was coming ahead of time, it was still exciting to have him visit. “We knew he was coming,” Leppek said. “We knew it would be pretty busy. It’s definitely really exciting. I feel like we have a lot of Michigan athletes come in here, but to have a big actor like Miles Teller come in is a big deal.” Even once The Brown Jug hit full capacity, the line continued around down the street. Ann Arbor resident Alyssa Gilson said even after waiting for an hour and a half, she and her friends were still determined to see Teller. “We got here at 6:20,” Gilson said. “We were trying to get here earlier, but that didn’t work out. … We’ve been
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standing in line for about like an hour and a half, maybe a little bit less than that, but we haven’t really made much progress, so we’re kind of feeling disappointed.” The Blue Leprechaun hit full capacity before Teller even made his entrance, but many University of Michigan students and Ann Arbor community members stayed in line, eager to see him. LSA senior Guneet Shah told The Daily that waiting outside was a bonding experience for her and her friends. “We’ve been waiting since 7 p.m.,” Shah said. “I just saw it on Instagram, and a few of my friends from my hometown were coming up so I just decided to join them and maybe see (Teller). We’re all just a little cold. It’s kind of a waiting game — we’re just waiting it out to see him.” Teller invested in the canned drink in January of last year. The beverage is a Finnish mixed drink with a gin base and typically has a citrus f lavor. LSA senior Chayla Gould said local businesses hosting events with celebrities is a smart business idea because it allows fans to meet celebrities they would have never met otherwise while supporting local businesses. “I think it’s really nice to be able to let celebrities interact with the public because it’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Gould said.
GEORGIA MCKAY/Daily
obliges us as teachers and students to engage in serious committed thought about what it means to be a citizen … in this instance, if we’re going to be the leaders and the best in athletics, then we ought to also be the leaders and the best in matters to do with ethics.” In a speech at the protest, Rackham student Nathan Kim, a member of the Graduate Employees’ Organization, said he believes the University should be held accountable for its investments in defense companies supplying weapons to the Israeli military, like Lockheed Martin and Boeing. “We already have concrete evidence, and have had for several years, that UMich supports the
genocide through its investment practices,” Kim said. “The darkest activities happen through fund managers who take U-M’s money and put it in volatile and dangerous places, a layer of separation meant to absolve U-M of its complicity, which in reality demonstrates how U-M colludes with many other endowments to fund even bigger deals to shadier companies.” After the walkout, students marched through the the Michigan Union, the Ross School of Business and to the front of the Ruthven Building while chanting, “Divestment is our demand, no peace on stolen land.” The protest was followed by a teach-in and dinner dedicated to explaining the specifics of the University’s endowment and the reasons behind students’ calls for divestment. In an interview with The Daily, Kim said he chose to speak at the protest to educate students on the divestment efforts’ background. “I think there are a lot of specifics about the endowment that most people don’t know,” Kim said. “That’s also some education that we’re hoping to distribute because it really does inform how we strategize and act.” In an email to The Daily, University spokesperson Kim Broekhuizen said while the University supports student activism, it is University policy to base investment decisions solely on financial factors. “As you may recall, the University has had a policy in place for nearly 20 years that shields the University’s investment from political pressures,” Broekhuizen said. “Much of the money invested through the University’s endowment, for example, is donor funding given to provide long-term financial support for designated purposes.”
ADMINISTRATION
UMich RAs plan to vote to unionize by late February
RAs plan to ask for higher pay stipends for Resstaff Coordinators, legal harassment protections and free laundry for residents SNEHA DHANDAPANI Daily News Editor
Resident Advisors at the University of Michigan plan to unionize for higher pay stipends for Resstaff Coordinators, legal harassment protections and free laundry for all residents. According to a resolution approved by the U-M Board of Regents in June 2020, RAs will be recognized as a labor union if the majority of employees support unionizing. The RAs plan to vote to unionize by late February. An investigation conducted in 2022 by The Michigan Daily found that RAs have faced multiple instances of harassment from residents, other RAs and U-M housing administration. The investigation found that there is no specific structural support system or legal mechanism in place for RAs’ safety. U-M RAs voted to strike against the University in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic on Sept. 8, 2020. The strike ended on Sept. 22, 2020 after residential staff met with University Housing and negotiated an agreement between both sides. In an interview with The Daily, LSA senior Laila Kitchen — who has been an RA for three years, an RSC for one year and was a resident during the strike — said the RAs went on strike because they felt they were being asked to put residents’ safety before their own. Kitchen said she hopes this vote to unionize will channel this same collective motivation. “(The RAs) were the front
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people in the COVID pandemic, so if you weren’t wearing a mask you would be written up,” Kitchen said. “(RA’s) really had to enforce (protocol) regardless of their health and safety, and that was one of the main reasons why they went on strike. And they got a lot out of the strike. That’s why we’re kind of trying to get back to our roots. Because they got stuff done.” After the strike, Michigan Housing agreed to implement a Residential Experience Council as a way for RAs to directly engage with housing administration. In an email to The Daily, University spokesperson Colleen Mastony said the council was initially created to uplift concerns from residential staff. “The Residential Experience Council was created in 2020 to provide Residential Staff members another dedicated space to raise concerns about situations or issues for Housing to address,” Mastony wrote. The council is not currently operating. Kitchen said she was told by Michigan Housing that the council had shifted to address resident concerns instead of RA concerns when she became an RA in 2021. “There was basically supposed to be a council of RAs … for housing to talk about their issues and whatnot,” Kitchen said. “Then like a year or two later, when I joined REC, they basically said, ‘No, this is a council for residents’ concerns, not RA concerns.’ So everybody who was on the REC last year was very frustrated and that led to the decline of our REC.”
Vol. CXXXIV No. 14 ©2024 The Michigan Daily
In a separate email to The Daily, Mastony said while the council is currently not meeting due to low participation, the University is committed to direct engagement with RAs and RSCs. “This culture of direct engagement has led to new collaborative efforts, such as the Residential Experience Council,” Mastony wrote. “The council was productive for a number of years, but is currently paused due to low participation. Michigan Housing remains committed to exploring the council and other avenues for staff to share their feedback.” A key piece of the RAs’ unionization platform includes higher pay stipends. Currently, room and board, which includes a dining hall meal plan, is compensation for the RA position. In an interview with The Daily, LSA senior John Lemelin, an RA, said the phrase, “Your housing is your compensation,” was repeated during training. “I’ve seen our ability to communicate with housing be torn down,” Lemelin said. “Or maybe that’s a bit dramatic. It’s just really scary as a worker who has heard (Michigan) Housing say, ‘My room is my compensation’ … since August, (we’ve been) trying to talk about changes in policies and being told pretty much from the start ‘Our room is our compensation.’ ” RSCs are currently paid a stipend of $1,500 for an extra eight hours of work per week in addition to the 20-hour-perweek responsibility of an RA.
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