Aug. 27, 2020

“I wish the world was blind so we could all be the same.”

Kevin Lambert, Miami senior

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|| MO MI UNT PLEASANT,

TELLING HER STORY

She was called n----r by classmates. She refused to be silent.

NEW CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER

Administrator Stan Shingles takes on new diversity role.

BLACK VOICES

MATTER Students share their experiences, advocate for equality

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR:

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CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE | CM-LIFE.COM

Isaac Ritchey Editor-in-Chief voices to be amplified.

CM Life has always, and will continue to, shine a light on injustices students and staff experience at CMU. Whether you are a member of the LGBTQ community, an international student, a student of color or a student with disability, we want you to tell us the stories you know best. I believe minority students should have a heightened role in the decision-making processes at Central Michigan University and a greater voice in Student Media.

We want you to know that there are reporters and photographers here at CM Life willing to go the extra mile to tell the stories of underrepresented students and Mount Pleasant residents.

That’s because we believe you should be heard.

AUG. 27, 2020

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INDEX NEWS

ne of my goals as editor-inchief at Central Michigan Life this year is expanding our coverage of diversity and inclusion issues.

This edition is the first step toward helping CM Life achieve that goal this semester. “Black Voices Matter” is about students who are pushing the university to be better and an invitation to minority students to share their stories with us.

Alumna Chelsea Ekowa’s story, featured on page 6, is an example of the change that can result from your stories when they’re ready to be told.

The story featured on page 4 should remind students that they are not alone. There is a community of students that are looking to spark change on campus and beyond through petitions and organized discussions.

The portrait series, featured on Page 8, asked students to help portrait their words through images, which are meant to be pondered. Let them challenge your beliefs and preconceived notions of other people’s experiences.

People who participated in the photo project expressed the need for their

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Let us share your experiences at CMU; the good and the bad. Let’s give praise to those at CMU sparking important conversations about inclusion and bring about change on campus together.

I believe CM Life is the best platform to have conversations about the prejudice and injustices experienced by students because of your religion, interests or the color of your skin.

I want CM Life to give students who feel overlooked and underrepresented a voice and a venue to express their opinions and concerns. There is nowhere else on campus to share your story like you can by working with student journalists.

Change also has to start inward.

I want our newsroom at CM Life to reflect campus and be a place where all students are getting the same opportunities as I am. I want to be progressing the conversations on campus at CM Life, not taking away from them.

If you’d like to contact us, email us at editor@cm-life.com or send us a message on one of our social media platforms.

I’m here and I’m ready to listen.

6 NEWS

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NEWS

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HAVING HER SAY Chelsea Ekowa shares her story of experiencing racism from students before arriving on campus.

MAKING CHANGES ON CAMPUS A committee of students and alumni is meeting with President Bob Davies to discuss inclusion and diversity at CMU.

PICTURING THEIR WORDS Students participated in a portrait series that illustrates their words.

Q&A

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

Interim Chief Diversity Officer Stan Shingles talks about how campus has changed since he arrived at CMU in 1989.

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EDITORIAL WE DO COVID-19

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Our editors explain why they don’t believe CMU was prepared for our return. It’s up to us to get through this semester.

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AUG. 27, 2020

| Isaac Ritchey | Editor-in-Chief Portage senior Amethyst Stewart, an active student voice on campus, poses for a photo illustrating her fight against social injustice Aug. 23 in Moore Hall.

WORKING TOWARD CHANGE

Committee of students, alumni created a petition for CMU to actively work toward diversity, equity on campus

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hroughout her time in Mount Pleasant, Ahsha Davis has been called phrases she will not repeat, has been the first Black person some people have ever met and has watched as movements for racial injustice have started with no resolution.

The Detroit graduate student said when she arrived at Central Michigan University in 2015 there was a higher number of students of color, specifically Black students. More students were involved on campus, too.

“Now, we have a very good population of students of color.

When I was here as a freshman, I saw them in positions, I saw them going to do things. Now I don’t really see that as much,” Davis said. “I think a lot of that has to do with the way CMU markets sometimes, how they tell people to come here. You have to show people there is diversity.”

Sociology faculty member Mary Senter said that there have been different times on campus where student activism has been more abundant and times where it has not been.

“We have a tendency as Americans to think the world is linear, that things are progressing toward some positive point. That’s just not how things have been going at CMU,” Senter said. “There have been periods of time where students have been more active on many issues, but certainly student activism dealing with racial injustice has been a very positive thing.”

After experiencing and witnessing instances of racism, Portage senior Amethyst Stewart said she would like to see CMU condemn those situations the same way they would with any other negative student behavior.

“In the Student Code of Conduct, if you get an alcohol violation or drug violation, there is an outline of exactly what happens,” Stewart said. “CMU doesn’t have that when someone is actively racist toward other students or committing a hate crime, using hate speech. I would really like to see clear protocol for hate speech and hate crimes.”

Davis and Stewart are two members of the CMU Racial In-

S TO R Y B Y C O U R T N E Y P E D E R S E N

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A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R

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This is a moment in time where for the first time the administration is actually somewhat listening to the students of color on campus. If we wait, then this is going to get pushed under the rug like a lot of other issues on campus. That’s why I believe it is so urgent for (the September goals) to pass now.

Anthony Wilson Georgia senior

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AUG. 27, 2020

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RACE & CULTURE A small group of students conducted a survey between June 23, 2020 and June 29, 2020, via social media. The data collected represents CMU students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community members.

11.8%

of Black respondents felt CMU is a safe place for people of color.

40.0%

of Black respondents do not feel CMU is a safe place for people of color.

84.9%

of Black respondents have experienced, seen, or heard overt racism on campus.

19.6%

20% of respondents feel CMU is actively anti-racist.

YES

DO YOU

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FEEL SAFE

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WHEN YOU SEE OR ARE

39%

IMES

justices Reform Committee that started in June during the nationwide conversation about Black Lives Matter and racism.

The committee released a call for action on social media on Aug. 26. Within the call for action, they developed a set of goals for the university to complete by the end of September.

Some of the goals include a commitment from CMU administrators to become anti-racist, to have mandated external anti-racism training, to have SOS forms ask if professors are prejudiced or racist and for there to be annual diversity report cards.

“This is a moment in time where for the first time the administration is actually somewhat listening to the students of color on campus,” said Georgia senior. “If we wait, then this is going to get pushed under the rug like a lot of other issues on campus. That’s why I believe it is so urgent for (the September goals) to pass now.”

The committee conducted the “CMU Reform Feedback Survey” by distributing the form June 23-29 on social media. The survey received 1,106 responses from students, alumni and faculty. The survey showed that 11.8 percent of Black respondents and 14.9 percent of all respondents feel that Central Michigan University is a safe place for people of color.

Responders were given the opportunity to mark more than one ethnic demographic that they identify with. “(Results of the survey showed) 82.4 percent responded as white, 13.7 percent Black, 6.1 percent Hispanic/Latino, 2.3 percent Asian, 2.3 percent indigenous Americans, one percent Middle Eastern,” Stewart said. “That was pretty representative of the CMU population as a whole.”

Davis said the survey results also showed her how white students view CMU versus how students of color view it. She didn’t realize that white students also have noticed that the university is not a safe place for people of color.

“I’ve had some great experiences, and I’ve had some bad ones, but I never understood the full capacity of how unsafe people felt,” Davis said. “It was just really interesting to see how other people have also felt some of the experiences I’ve felt.”

After collecting the survey data, the students and alumni on the committee developed 24 requests for action and created the “Stop Racial Injustice and Bias at CMU” Change.org petition.

“Since 2015, BIPOC within CMU has not been adequately studied or cared for by the institution,” the petition states. “CMU has allowed its institutional silence to become violent by not following up on reports of racial injustice and not continuing to gather research concerning the racial climate of CMU. The white supremacy allowed to permeate through CMU culture has also largely impacted the students of color at the institution.”

Stewart said that many of the ideas for the requests for action were inspired by the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’s “The 2008 Strategy Plan for Advancing Diversity: Blueprint for the 21st Century and Beyond” plan.

“In that plan, they talk about five key points,” Stewart said. “It starts with making diversity work at CMU and how it is based off of compositional dimensions, inclusive and exclusive practices, psychological things, behavioral, organizational and structural things.”

Although Stewart and many other students of color at CMU have seen the need for these calls for action during their time at the university, she said the committee began in June as alumni and students began to share their experiences at the university during the insurgence of the Black Lives Matter campaign.

With the support of their fellow students of color, alumni and allies, the group truly began with the help of a graduate student.

Stewart and Davis helped start the committee after responding to a tweet from Waterford graduate student Autumn Gairaud who saw the need for the group after President Bob Davies released a statement about the need to address racism at CMU on June 14.

“I promise that we will do better,” Davies’ statement reads.

“We must acknowledge our history before we can create a better future. And while it is an impossible task to fully eradicate racism and hatred from every heart, it is possible and necessary for us to improve CMU.” Due to Gairaud’s strong feelings on Davies’ words, she reached out to him and he offered to speak with her.

“I decided to send out the tweet because this is something I’m passionate about and always want to stand in solidarity with but if I was going to be given a chance to talk to administration, I wanted to use that as a way to raise the voices of Black and brown students on our campus,” Gairaud said. “A ton of people reached out and then it kind of ended up being a smaller group that really stuck with it and ended up meeting with President Davies and creating the petition.”

Gairaud said the statement from Davies made her realize the need for CMU to actively take the steps to move forward and better itself.

“That was more of a strong statement than anything I’ve ever seen during my time at CMU, and I did my undergrad here as well,” Gairaud said. “In some ways I was impressed by it and in other ways I was like, ‘What are we going to do? What are the action steps?’”

After becoming a committee, creating the survey and sifting through the results, the students met with Davies to present the data and talk about potential next steps.

On July 13, the group met with Davies and CMU Police Department Chief Larry Klaus over Webex to discuss the survey and their experiences. They discussed what the university and CMUPD could do to help minimize and eliminate racial injustice. “(Davies) was very open to our conversation and was very interested in learning about what we learned from the survey,” Davis said. “He actually thought the survey was done very well, that it was worded beautifully and that we got a really good response.

He also talked about how there are some things in the survey he definitely wanted to (focus) on and make sure we try to implement in the year.”

Davies said that he thinks the ideas suggested are excellent to helping CMU become more inclusive. He mentioned that some of the 24 requests may take longer than the suggested timelines, while others may be implemented earlier.

“One of the most important requests was for data and reporting,” Davies said. “At the most recent cabinet meeting, we made the decision to conduct a 360-degree Student Equity Audit with the firm EAB, which will help us establish a clear picture of where we are today and empower us to set specific goals for where we need to be moving forward.”

In order to keep that dialogue going, the committee hopes to meet with Davies monthly for progress reports on the calls for action.

“I don’t foresee us saying, ‘alright, this is not happening we’ll leave it alone,’” Davis said. “People do that all the time. We aren’t doing that at all.”

CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE | CM-LIFE.COM

AROUND POLICE IN MOUNT PLEASANT?

NO

41.4%

SOURCE: “Stop Racial Injustice and Bias at CMU” Change.org Petition

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AUG. 27, 2020

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EXPOSING RACISM Alumna Chelsea Ekowa discusses racist experiences at Central Michigan University

By Courtney Pedersen Associate Editor news@cm-life.com

Before moving into her Wheeler Hall room, participating in Leadership Safari or attending her first class, Chelsea “Adaeze” Ekowa was called a “n----r” by some of her fellow Central Michigan University students.

Nearly five years later, June 14, 2020, she shared her experiences at CMU on social media. Throughout the past few months, some of the students who called her slurs lost their jobs and students and alumni have reached out to her to share their own stories of their time at CMU. “I didn’t really expect people to personally tell me about something that happened to them,” Ekowa said. “I think my story helped raise awareness and allowed the university to understand.”

Courtesy Photo | Chelsea Ekowa

Ekowa graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science. She works for Illinois National Guard, but she plans to attend law school and become an attorney.

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Apartment Op t i on s EVE

RYON E!

WELCOME TO CMU

Her story began when she downloaded Schools App to meet other freshmen before the Fall 2015 semester. The app helps connect students who will be attending the same university prior to their arrival on campus.

She joined a group chat that included other incoming freshmen. Ekowa said the chat included: Patrick Murray, Taylor Richards, Tori Cunningham, Savannah Fraser, Colton Smith and Galen Miller.

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Ekowa made friends through Schools App, but using it also exposed her to the racism she would face at CMU. “I was the only black person in there,” Ekowa said. “Everything was fine until me and one girl got into an argument. She kicked me out of the group chat.”

After a few weeks, one of the students added Ekowa back into the chat group.

Then she read the comments they made about her in her absence. She was shocked.

“I had asked everybody, ‘Why would you guys say that? It’s derogatory, it’s offensive,’” Ekowa said.

After she arrived on campus, Ekowa went to the Residence Hall Director in Wheeler Hall to report the incident.

“He basically told me, ‘What do you want me to do? Because there is nothing we can do because it happened before they got here and it wasn’t on campus,’” Ekowa said. “I felt like, OK this is a higher-up and he is telling me there is nothing he can do. I don’t know who else to take it to.”

Her freshman year ended the same way it began.

Ekowa was getting ready to go out with a friend and her white roommates on a Friday night midway through the Spring 2016 semester. One of her roommates began to mock racial stereotypes.

“She was saying, ‘Oh, do my edges, I need you to do my edges’ and mocking black women because they’re the only race of women who do their edges black,” Ekowa said. “I was like, ‘OK, you need to calm down. You’re not being funny right now.’ I was about to leave, and she goes ‘OK, I’ll see you later my n---a.’”

Ekowa spent the night at a friend’s residence hall room.

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| She received a text message apology from her roommate which she said she found insincere.

“She was like, ‘I’m really sorry, that’s not me.’

But it was her, because she said it, thought it out and knew what she was saying,” Ekowa said.

“What she said before (about doing her edges) is the only reason why she would have even said the second part of the conversation.”

According to Ekowa, the relationship between her and her three roommates became even more tense and uncomfortable after the apology. “(My roommates) told the RA that they felt like they couldn’t talk to me because they thought I was going to be ‘aggressive.’ I didn’t understand why they felt they couldn’t talk to me – I’ve always been open to have conversations,” Ekowa said. “I was like, OK, that’s code language for ‘She’s black. She may yell at us.

She may cuss at us. She might get angry and we don’t want that.’”

Thinking back to her conversation with the RHD earlier in the fall, Ekowa said she saw no point in reporting the use of the racial slur.

She didn’t feel her complaint would be taken seriously.

Based on the two racial slur incidents and other microaggressions directed toward her in the Towers Lobby and at parties, Ekowa didn’t know if she wanted to come back to CMU after her freshman year.

“I actually wanted to look into transferring to a Historically Black College or University,” Ekowa said. “Ultimately, I was like I’m not going to run away from people like this. It would be like I accepted defeat and I can’t run away every time something like this happens.”

EXPOSING RACISM

Ekowa graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science. She works for Illinois National Guard, but she plans to attend law school and become an attorney.

A year after graduation, Ekowa was reminiscing about her time at CMU while scrolling through Twitter. As she “fell down the Twitter rabbit hole,” she saw the name Galen Miller.

She became aware that since their freshman year Miller had become a prominent student leader on campus as president of both Program Board and Interfraternity Council. Knowing he was one of the students who called her n----r, she tried to

look at his social media to learn more about him but found all his accounts were private.

“I did more research and I found out he did a Black Lives Matter post or whatever and I was like, this is complete BS,” Ekowa said.

She went back through her phone and found the group chat messages and a conversation between herself and Miller addressing the chat.

“Please explain to me how that one fucking word offends you,” Miller said in a text to Ekowa in 2015. “Don’t blame it on slavery or shit either because let’s all be real here. That’s said and done.”

Rereading the messages and learning about his leadership roles was the last straw for Ekowa and she released screenshots from the conversations to both Twitter and Facebook on June 14, 2020.

After she released the post, thousands of people liked, commented and shared her story.

Other students and alumni, began to share their own experiences with specific members of the group chat and at CMU as a whole.

“If you go to a primarily white institution, it’s a whole different world as a black person.

You have the black side of the school and then you have the white side of the school,” Ekowa said. “We’re so worried about what’s going on in the black community, and knowing everyone in the black community, and focusing on every organization in the black community because it pertains to us.”

THE AFTERMATH

Following the release of the messages on Twitter, President Bob Davies reached out to Ekowa directly to apologize for the incidents. He also promised to do better as a university president. In addition, he sent out an email to CMU and posted his message on social media.

Davies was saddened to hear the stories of racism, he wrote, and that some students who tried to seek help felt unheard.

“I begin with an apology to the students, faculty and staff who felt

CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE | CM-LIFE.COM

invisible or unwelcome: This is unacceptable and I am truly sorry we let you down,” Davies said in his statement. “Next, I promise that we will do better. We must acknowledge our history before we can create a better future. And while it is an impossible task to fully eradicate racism and hatred from every heart, it is possible and necessary for us to improve CMU.” As the messages began to grab the attention of CMU students, alumni, faculty and administrators, people began to tag the employers of those who participated in the racist behavior toward Ekowa.

On June 15, the Saugatuck Center for the Arts, where Miller worked as the operations manager, released a statement announcing it was terminating his employment.

“The comments were hurtful and demeaning to the Black community, and the sentiments shared are in direct conflict with the values of the SCA,” the Saugatuck Center for the Arts statement read. “Thus, we have terminated the employee and have briefed our Board and staff on this issue.”

On June 14, Sigma Alpha Epsilon CMU, Murray’s former fraternity, tweeted out a message about the situation.

“In light of the recent screenshots that have surfaced of an alumni using racial slurs prior to joining the organization, the Michigan Delta Omega chapter has made the decision to revoke his alumni status, effective immediately,” the

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AUG. 27, 2020

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statement said. “As a chapter, we take pride in and support inclusion and diversity and do not condone any form of hatred and bigotry.”

The same day, Northern Illinois University, where Fraser was supposed to start as Fraternity and Sorority Life graduate assistant in Fall 2020, responded to tweets about the situation.

“The use of that language is vile and racism in any form does not align with NIU’s mission, vision and values,” NIU’s official Twitter page tweeted. “The university takes this matter seriously and will immediately review this matter and take any appropriate actions.”

A few days later, multiple people tweeted that NIU rescinded the offer.

Ekowa said she hopes this situation helps everyone involved learn there are consequences for your actions.

“Thinking this way is not OK especially if your career choice is dealing with people because then you’ll be meeting and or helping people from different walks of life,” Ekowa said. “It’s not okay to use your childhood as an excuse as to why you’re racist. Hold yourself accountable and change.”

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AUG. 27, 2020

PICTU THEIR WO

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P H OTO S BY A U R O R A A B R

“Don’t let the fear of repercussions keep you silent. Your voice matters.”

“I wish the world was blind so we could all be the same.”

-Portage senior Amethyst Stewart

URING ORDS

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AUG. 27, 2020

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R A H A M & I SA AC R I TC H EY

-Miami senior Kevin Lambert

“Its really interesting to find out what goes on in that moment when someone looks at you and draws all sorts of conclusions “thug, hoodlum, criminal.” When the color of your skin is seen as a weapon, you will never be unarmed.”

-Detroit junior Tracy Hubbard

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AUG. 27, 2020

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“It is time that we stand up and take a page from the playbook of historic movers and shakers.”

-Grand Blanc graduate student Gregory Devonte

“I am Black. Woman. Beautiful. Magical. Intelligent. Resilient. Loving. Creative. Powerful. Influential. Unapologetic.’”

-Grand Rapids senior Najha Lofton

“The value of our lives shouldn’t be levied by the question of ‘did they comply’” -Detroit senior Darian Bird

S

ince arriving on campus 32 years ago, Stan Shingles has taken on many roles and faced many

challenges. Many know him as assistant vice president for University Recreation and student engagement. This year, however, Shingles is moving his office

Q&A

from the SAC to Warriner Hall to serve replacing A.T. Miller, who will be stepping down from the position on Aug. 31.

As an interim, Shingles will only be chief diversity officer until the position usually comes after a formal search is Central Michigan Life spoke with Shingles to learn more about his history with CMU and discuss his priorities.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––

I see this role as a facilitator.

It can’t bring diversity, equity and inclusion by itself. It needs to work within all the other facets of the university – the Board of Trustees, the president, the faculty, staff and of course the students. Diversity is a vital part of the student experience; it’s a vital part of what CMU is supposed to represent. When I came here in 1989, the environment was very friendly, but it wasn’t diverse. To see some of that be changed over the years is pretty remarkable.

This position, in some ways, played a part in that.

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Is there something you admired about A.T. Miller’s work? Anything you hope to build upon?

The work is complex, it’s ever-evolving, and it can change at a moment’s notice. Something I admired about A.T. Miller was his open-mindedness and his ability to include everybody in the conversation. He’s brought some innovation; some new thinking and I think he’s leaving a legacy. My mother used to say, “leave it better than you found it.” A.T. definitely did that.

Why are you the right person to serve as interim?

I think it starts with looking at what’s the low hanging fruit.

What needs to be done immediately?

We are now in a period of civil unrest. I’m glad the students and people of Mount Pleasant decided to hold peaceful protests, in response to George Floyd. That situation is very personal to me.

Now it’s about dialogue and outreach to make sure our community is not targeted and making sure they’re safe.

We have to make sure we practice what we preach. Some organizations use diversity and inclusion as their public relations strategy. Here, we make it our culture. I’m looking forward to moving that culture of acceptance into the community of Mount Pleasant so students don’t feel alienated when they leave campus – and moving it around the world so our international students know they have a place here.

launched and a candidate is chosen.

Why is the chief diversity officer important for CMU, or any university, to have?

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Realistically, what can you accomplish as interim?

is filled by a new administrator. This

What attracted me here was the “student centered-ness.” I worked at some other universities and I didn’t see anything like this. I’d be overstating my experiences if I just named one (good one) because there are so many good ones.

Watching the students who I had 30 years ago now bring their children to CMU is probably the most rewarding part. My son Lamar came here and graduated twice. I’ve been at CMU longer than anywhere at any point in my life, including my parent’s house.

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Our very first diversity officer, back then it was called assistant vice president for institutional diversity, was here for two years and then left. I was asked to take over while they searched for a replacement. So, it’s almost like history is repeating itself 23 years later. Lived experiences are another part of it – growing up on the west side of Chicago, experiencing some of the systemic racism in those environments. I see myself as someone who has good interpersonal communication, believes in building relationships, understands university structure. Familiarity with the university is defiantly on my side.

as interim chief diversity officer. He’s

Reflect on your experience at CMU. Why have you stuck around for so long?

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Stan Shingles Interim Chief Diversity Officer Stan Shingles shares his experiences at Central Michigan University.

Michael Livingston ■ Associate Editor

How can you have conversations that challenge opposing viewpoints in the pandemic environment?

Luckily, people are starting to get used to these virtual platforms. It’s my belief that we could even get more people involved in those conversations using these platforms. Individuals don’t need to leave their homes to have real discussions on some challenging topics. We already have Ibram X. Kendi, author of “How to be an Anti-Racist” booked on Sept. 2 and he’ll be doing his thing virtually. We expect it to be as effective and the reach could even be greater.

What’s next for you beyond this position?

I want to leave this university better than how I found it. It’s already better than how it was when I came here. Things are being modernized, not just the places and facilities we use on a day to day basis but on the basis of diversity and inclusion. I’m going to live this experience day-to-day. I have some visions of what outcomes are possible. President Bob Davies entrusted me to fill this role and advise him and I’m going to do my best to make sure him and I’m going to do my best to make sure.

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| OPINION Microaggressions erode family connections

CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE | CM-LIFE.COM

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AUG. 27, 2020

When I came out as bisexual to my parents, it got pretty dramatic. Going into the details is way too personal for this column, but suffice to say, there were tears shed.

Things settled down a week later, but there was one fact that always rang in my mind afterward even to the day of publication.

Instead of being supportive of my sexuality, my parents just dealt with it.

To cisgender and straight people reading this, the lack of direct conflict might seem like it’s good for LGBTQ people, but that’s not the case.

Imagine this: your parents believe that blue is the best color. You think it’s yellow, but you really like blue too. Yet, every time your parents want to see what you wear, you keep wearing blue just to make them happy. But it isn’t you. You like yellow too much. You buy yellow clothes and put it on, and say, “Parents, I love yellow!” Your parents look at you. They look away and talk about how good blue looks to each other. And you’re stuck there looking like an idiot.

I’ve done a little searching before

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Benjamin Jodway Staff Reporter writing this column and consulted other LGBTQ friends of mine. From my searching, most people do not talk about the prevalence of microaggressions following someone coming out. Usually, you see the dramatic screaming, disownership and so forth. While that really occurs, the silent smothering of apathy can be suffocating.

Brett Houle, the Vice President of the Student Government Association at Central Michigan University, grew up in two different households, one more accepting and one more religious. During service, his pastor would talk about how LGBTQ individuals “can’t work if you’re a Christian.”

He’d visit half of his family and have “non-

existent” discussions about his sexuality.

“It’s more of a ‘know about it, don’t ask about it’ type thing,” Houle said. “Seeing that hostility in that kind of environment, especially growing up in it, was very hurtful to (me), who at the time was in the closet.”

Houle said those interactions were a “very common occurrence” among other LGBTQ people he talked with. For him, it became mental health issues and self-hatred that took some self-reflection to evolve from.

When I bring my sexuality back up, my parents would be silent or brief with me hoping for a change of topic. I ran in on them playing a board game once. Mentioning my bisexuality just turned a raucous game into a deafening quiet.

I wanted more than just shameful acknowledgement; I wanted pure acceptance and support. I want my parents to lightly joke around about my gay attractions. I want to tell my parents that I’m going on a date with someone who isn’t a woman without receiving stony silence. I want to be open about anything with them, but I

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I understand it might be a shock carried over from decades of growing up in a society that refused to be inclusive besides the cis white identity. As a result, some parents may not understand how to react with their child being part of the LGBTQ community. Becoming educated should not rely on the child. It should be an outreach to improve yourself and become better parents in the future.

“Don’t rely on your child to constantly be the voice of reason in their identities,” Houle said. “They’re not obligated to explain them.”

Mom and Dad, I know you read everything I write in this paper. If you really support me and want me to succeed, take the rainbow flag out of my room and hang it up on our flag pole. As much as I think a conversation might be helpful, I’m not going to believe you two until you can publicly say that this family completely supports – not tolerates – LGBTQ people no matter who they are, and you will fight for that right.

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EDITORIAL |

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CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE | CM-LIFE.COM

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AUG. 27, 2020

EDITORIAL STAFF

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF....................................Isaac Ritchey ASSOCIATE EDITORS..................Michael Livingston Andrew Mullin Courtney Pedersen SPORTS EDITOR.................................Austin Chastain PHOTO EDITOR............................Rachael Yadlowsky MULTIMEDIA EDITORS.......................Katia Hendges Ben Ackley ENGAGEMENT EDITOR..................... Jamie Rewerts COPY EDITOR.....................................Amalia Kalergis PRESENTATION EDITOR...................Sarah Brownell DESIGNERS............................................Madison Skop Jon Hearth REPORTERS............................................Teresa Homsi Ben Jodway Brendan Weisner Makayla Coffee Christian Booher Andrew Loveland Katie Hixson Noelle Gray Tyler Tobias Alexis Seeley Noah Wulbrecht Malina Wojtylo

ADVERTISING STAFF AD MANAGERS...........................................Connor Turpin Lauren Frailey

Isaac Ritchey | Editor-in-Chief

Signage raising awareness to COVID-19 safety and health guidelines is displayed Aug. 26 outside Warriner Hall.

WE DO COVID-19 “We do community.”

The remark is plastered on walls in hallways across campus. Hallways that fewer students walk down nowadays out of fear for their health and safety.

“We do community.”

Signs flaunting the three words are propped up in blooming flowerbeds that cannot be enjoyed by the students who are isolated inside their residence hall rooms.

“We do community.”

The phrase replays in the minds of professors as they return to a contaminated campus every day to teach in-person classes and then must return home to their families.

It is time to stop being passive with messaging and slogans. It’s time to communicate.

“We do community” is a fine sentiment, but right now, students need direction. We need leaders on campus to give us clear expectations and not mixed messages. Reactionary, stern emails from administrators will not do much to keep us on campus.

After a 980 percent increase in reported COVID-19 cases this past week, parents are questioning whether they made the right choice sending their children to CMU’s campus. They will have to make another decision whether to send them back to their residence halls after the Labor Day weekend.

Few students are optimistic that we will finish face-to-face classes before the fall semester ends.

On the first two days of classes, students placed bets on how long classes would remain face-toface in front of professors risking their personal health coming to campus.

In President Bob Davies’s email acknowledging the 54 newly-reported COVID-19 cases, he mentioned the university’s months-long preparations for our return to campus.

“Part of this planning has involved preparing for an inevitable increase in positive cases of COVID-19, and we have processes in place to address these new cases,” Davies wrote.

If the increase of COVID-19 cases was inevitable, why did CMU bring back students back without on-site testing or strict enforcement of rules for student gatherings? Solutions to those problems are just now being put in place.

CMU cannot expect students to spend their hours outside of class in isolation watching Netflix. They need a way to connect with friends they have not seen since March. They need outlets for entertainment and recreation. Those opportunities are missing and are being not provided by the university. That’s why you see students attending crowded pool parties and gathered in parking lots outside apartment complexes.

It is clear that this university, even with this preparation, was not ready for students to return.

As of today, the Central Michigan District Health Department has identified 106 COVID-19 cases associated with the start of the semester.

Expect that number to continue to increase.

Be respectful of the communities around us — Mount Pleasant, Union Township and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe – because their health and safety depends on the choices we make.

If we want football games, if we want bar crawls, if we want the experiences we lost this fall during the spring, then we need to do our part as students and do what the university cannot do — make the right choices for us.

We cannot, as students, expect the university to remain open while we take chances. Don’t host large parties – limit gatherings to 25 people.

Take advantage of the last few weeks of warm, sunny weather. Wear your mask and wear it properly. It’s up to us, not administrators and police, to hold each other accountable.

We believe there will be time to celebrate, but we need to get through this fall semester first.

Despite all the craziness surrounding this semester, one thing is certain. CMU has put its stamp on the world of higher education. Today, all eyes are on us. And so far what we’ve proven to everyone watching us is that at CMU, we do COVID-19.

Editorials are exclusively the opinion of the student editors of Central Michigan Life. They do not represent the opinions of the university.

ACCOUNT MANAGERS................................ Autumn Reis Ian Gapp Russell Vollick Samantha Sweeting Julia Springer Ainsley Young ______________________________________________ All letters to the editor or guest columns must include a name, address, affiliation (if any) and phone number for verification. Anonymous letters will not be printed, except under extraordinary circumstances. CM Life reserves the right to edit all letters and columns for style, length, libel, redundancy, clarity, civility and accuracy. Letters should be no more than 450 words in length. Longer guest columns may be submitted but must remain under 750 words. Published versions may be shorter than the original submission. CM Life reserves the right to print any original content as a letter or guest column.

Please allow up to five days for a staff response, which will include an expected date of publication. Submission does not guarantee publication.

______________________________________________

Central Michigan Life, the independent voice of Central Michigan University, is edited and published by students of Central Michigan University every Thursday during the fall and spring semesters. The newspaper’s online edition, cm-life.com, contains all of the material published in print, and is updated on an as-needed basis.

Central Michigan Life serves the CMU and Mount Pleasant communities, and is under the jurisdiction of the independent Student Media Board of Directors. Dave Clark serves as Director of Student Media at CMU and is the adviser to the newspaper. Articles and opinions do not necessarily reflect the position or opinions of Central Michigan University. Central Michigan Life is a member of the Associated Press, the Michigan Press Association, the Michigan Collegiate Press Association, the Associated Collegiate Press, College Newspaper Business & Advertising Managers Association, the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce, Central Michigan Home Builders Association, Mount Pleasant Housing Association and the Mount Pleasant Downtown Business Association. The newspaper’s online provider is SN Works.

Central Michigan Life is distributed throughout the campus and at numerous locations throughout Mount Pleasant. Non-university subscriptions are $75 per academic year. Back copies are available at 50 cents per copy, or $1 if mailed. Photocopies of stories are 25 cents each. Digital copies of photographs published in Central Michigan Life are available upon request at specified costs.

Central Michigan Life’s editorial and business offices are located at 436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859, telephone (989) 774-3493 or 774-LIFE.

______________________________________________

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AUG. 27, 2020

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CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE | CM-LIFE.COM

CRAWFORD

14 |

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All buses flex 1/4 mile of published route, call ahead for service

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CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE | CM-LIFE.COM

|

AUG. 27, 2020

eSports leagues starting September 9th Register on IMLeagues.com ($6 to play) Open to the first 100 to register!

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CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE | CM-LIFE.COM

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AUG. 27, 2020

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What is the

2020

FAQ’s What is the 2020 Census?

The U.S. Census counts every resident in the United States every 10 years. The 2020 Census will be the 24th Census in the United States.

What does the Census do?

The 2020 Census will determine congressional representation, inform hundreds of billions in federal funding each year, and provide data that will impact communities for the next decade.

Census?

Why should college students care about the Census?

The Census gives money back to your community and Mt. Pleasant is your home eight months out of the year. This is an easy way you can help give back to your community.

How do you fill out the Census?

Online at 2020census.gov How long does the Census take?

The Census is 10 questions and takes 10 minutes to complete.