2021-02-24 by The Michigan Daily

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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CAMPUS LIFE

Alumni of color call on Order of Angell to disband in Feb. 22 letter

Letter comes after current class sent email to all alum Feb. 17 asking input on “sunsetting” the organization CALDER LEWIS & LIAT WEINSTEIN Daily News Editors

Courtesy of Bentley Historical Library, with edits by Madison Grosvenor

FROM THE EDITOR

The Daily votes to prohibit editors from joining Order of Angell, other societies Current leadership denounces the racist history of Order, apologizes for past involvement CLAIRE HAO, JOHN GRIEVE & BRITTANY BOWMAN Editor-in-Chief, Digital Managing Editor & Managing Editor

The Michigan Daily’s 2021 Management Desk voted Feb. 7 to prohibit any of The Daily’s editors from holding membership in Order of Angell, an exclusive senior honor society formerly known as Michigamua, or any similar society at the University of Michigan. This decision was made after recognizing that Order’s nature and those of other such societies goes against the mission and ethos of The Daily, as well as to denounce Order’s egregiously racist past. As a news organization, The Daily aims for transparency and accountability of all public institutions. Order and other organizations like it, which bring together powerful student leaders

from across campus and do not publicize their actions, are the antithesis of that. Order’s “About Us” page and its members have always been vague about its activities, which the group’s members have previously attributed to the organization’s historical pillar of “humility in secrecy.” What this really means is that those outside the organization do not know what the group does and therefore are unaware of the true breadth of its influence. Despite former members’ denial of the organization’s secrecy and sway, it is clear that Order holds power on campus. By its own account, Order was significantly involved in the creation of the Michigan Union and continues “to lead many vital projects that have made the University of Michigan the great public institution that it is today.” Prominent faculty and administration members have “occasionally” been invited to join the organization as

honorary members, including an administrator in the Office of Institutional Equity in 2007. Many administrators have spoken at Order’s Leaders for Life conference, including University President Mark Schlissel and at least two regents. One former Daily staffer who was in Order cited the organization as a way to be privy to otherwise inaccessible information. The Daily believes it is important to remain distinct from organizations friendly with the University’s administration, and Order fits this description. In this way, having a clear separation from Order and other such organizations aligns with The Daily’s existing policy prohibiting Daily staffers from holding membership in Central Student Government. Furthermore, per The Daily’s bylaws and code of ethics, Daily staffers must “remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.” Past Daily staffers

CITY

have debated whether being a part of Order is a conflict of interest for the closeness that Order fosters between The Daily’s editors and student leaders of organizations that The Daily is supposed to report on. This year’s Management Desk has decided that it is. Membership in societies like Order places The Daily amid ongoing controversy and erodes our integrity. In the past, at least one Daily staffer has stepped down due to concerns over another’s membership in Order. Previous Daily editors who’ve held membership in Order have deferred editorial oversight of all articles relating to Order or naming members of Order. However, there is still unresolved gray area as The Daily publishes numerous articles on prominent student organizations, many of which have individuals who carry membership in the society. See SOCIETIES, Page 3

Order of Angell, an exclusive senior honor society oft-criticized for its legacy of racism and its elitism, is considering disbanding, according to an email sent to the society’s alumni obtained by The Michigan Daily. The email, sent by the current 2021 class of members on Feb. 17, says Order is seeking feedback from alumni on its value to campus, its changes over time and the ramifications of “sunsetting” the organization by not selecting another class. Order has suspended the process of tapping potential new members while it considers its future, according to the email. Order’s Class of 2021 — known as the “Pride” of 2021 — cites reasons “beyond their control” for “not start(ing) on a solid footing,” such as their smallest size relative to past classes, complications from the pandemic and being called racist over social media. “The conditions on campus have been difficult,” the email reads. “For example, dealing with being labeled as racists on social media, the internal push for further reforms, and the inability to engage in oral and in-person traditions have eroded confidence in selecting another Pride. Further volatility around campus standing, sponsor units, programs, agendas, and alumni engagement over our recent history also led to organizational fatigue.” Alumni were asked in a Google form how Order has positively impacted campus or their lives, as well as what they had done to improve campus relations and promote a “more accurate narrative” of the organization. Finally, they were asked: “What are your reactions, advice, or final Wise Words to the potential Last Pride Ever?” On Tuesday morning, Order alumni of color released a letter to the current class calling on the group to disband or, alternatively,

implement five main reforms. These reforms include making Order’s history known through “public truth-telling,” requiring racial justice education for current members and alumni and holding a “restorative-justice” process with Indigenous community members to mend the damage done by Order’s past appropriation of Native American symbols and traditions. The other reforms include having a transparent nomination and selection process, as well as developing organizational measures to limit or end engagement with alumni, particularly those before the 2006 name change from Michigamua. The letter, which has 21 signatures from current members, alumni and allies as of Tuesday afternoon, says both Order’s racist past and current treatment of members of color makes it necessary for the group to disband. The letter says that though Order claims to champion diversity and inclusion on the surface, “being a person of color in the organization was both laborious and harmful.” “At the table on Monday nights, students of color often faced a hostile environment riddled with microaggressions and tokenism,” the letter reads. “Attempts to address these inequities were often met with silence at best and silencing at worst. The power within the organization was always with white students, backed by a powerful cadre of alumni who pulled strings within the Pride. Race-based aggression was assumed to have been limited to “the past,” even while racialized power dynamics continued to shape the day-to-day of the organization.” The letter also says that students of color had to cross higher thresholds to be considered for acceptance into the society. “Students of color have had to be exceptional in their leadership, while many non-marginalized students are granted seemingly automatic memberships due to their association with so-called “legacy” organizations,” the letter reads.

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

ADMINISTRATION

Ann Arbor councilmembers urge Regents pressed to reopen for fall return to in-person, hybrid learning semester, discuss Capitol insurrection

Council letter comes amid community debate as remote school approaches 1 year EMMA RUBERG & JULIANNA MORANO Daily News Editor & Daily Staff Reporter

In what some residents are calling a jurisdiction-breaching move, six Ann Arbor City Council members and Mayor Christopher Taylor signed a public letter Sunday night addressed to the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education demanding further planning and action around a return to in-person and hybrid learning in the district. The move comes after weeks of debates over the safety of in-person teaching and a Jan. 31 protest by AAPS students and parents requesting the option to return to classrooms in-person. AAPS has been fully virtual since March 2020. According to a Facebook post from Councilmember Jen Eyer, D-Ward 4, who is one of the letter’s signatories, their specific demands include an accelerated return to in-person learning amid declining COVID-19 cases and increasing vaccinations,

confirmation of the district’s hybrid in-school learning plan and a target date of return, as well as greater communication regarding plans for the Fall 2021 semester. In their letter, the councilmembers emphasized the importance of in-person learning and the negative impact a lack of in-person instruction has on students’ wellbeing. “The extended absence of in-school learning harms the emotional and mental state of students and stresses already stressed families,” the letter reads. “These harms are universal, but they are compounded among homes with young students and community members who are resource-deprived or who have special needs.” This letter from some councilmembers comes after AAPS Superintendent Jeanice Swift announced mid-January that the district would conduct remote instruction indefinitely, given continued difficulty for teachers to acquire the COVID-19 vaccine and the presence of the B.1.1.7 variant in Ann Arbor. She explicitly said there was no specific date set

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for the start of hybrid-learning, though she wrote that the district would plan for possible in-person options with community input. Swift also laid out the district’s stages for return to in-person learning, beginning with “students with high-level specialized learning needs” who choose to return. Other priority groups include pre-school and kindergarten age students as well as small groups of middle and high school groups to receive in-school learning center support. In a Jan. 8 press conference, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer urged all schools to offer in-person instruction beginning March 1. Despite guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that schools are not major sites for COVID-19 transmission if proper protocols are enforced, some AAPS parents and teachers are reluctant to return to classrooms — especially as COVID-19 cases among University of Michigan students remain high.

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Board also provides update on fossil fuel divestment CHRISTIAN JULIANO & JARED DOUGALL Daily Staff Reporters

The University of Michigan Board of Regents met virtually Thursday afternoon for the first time during the 2021 calendar year. During the meeting, board members gave updates about the current state of the University and heard from public commenters regarding concerns over lecturer status, fund allocations to the satellite campuses and the University’s COVID-19 response. Regents Ron Weiser (R) and Katherine White (D) were not in attendance at the meeting, and the reasons for their absence were not clarified at the meeting. U-M spokesman Rick Fitzgerald later confirmed to The Michigan Daily that while U-M officials do not know why the regents were not in attendance, scheduling conflicts are not uncommon. U-M President Mark Schlissel began the meeting by providing an update on the status of returning to more in-person instruction for the Fall 2021 semester, which

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INDEX

will heavily depend on vaccine availability. “We’re optimistic that fall will look and feel much more like a normal academic and residential term at U of M,” Schlissel said. “We’re looking at various scenarios based on what fraction of our faculty, staff and students are able to be vaccinated … We’re hopeful that unlike present circumstances, COVID-19 vaccine supplies will outpace demand in the coming months.” Regent Jordan Acker (D) then addressed the January insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. “We must live in the same basic truth: the election of 2020 was not stolen, the insurrection was not a hoax and our government can only endure when the losers of election accept the legitimacy of defeat,” Acker said. “There was, in fact, no steal to stop.” Acker’s speech comes after calls for the resignation of his fellow Regent Weiser from some U-M community members. In recent weeks, Weiser has come under fire from those who think

he did not adequately denounce the riots in the U.S. Capitol and has been accused of making undisclosed payments to further his campaign for Michigan GOP Chair. Inappropriate emails from Weiser to the other Regents have also surfaced in the last few weeks. In February 2020, the Board of Regents announced the University would not bring forward any new direct investments in fossil fuel companies after sustained student activism to divest entirely from fossil fuels. At Thursday’s meeting, Regent Mark Bernstein (D) said he and the board have been collaborating with activists, peer universities and other climate experts to find a way to sustainably invest the University’s assets, but did not otherwise specify the University’s next steps. “We aim to make our investments in a way that contributes to the essential transition to a low-carbon economy, and we expect to share concrete next steps at our next board meeting,” Regent Bernstein said.