Students4Justice at the University of Michigan

01/24/2018

Hey come out and volunteer at trotter's 4th annual lecture!

Trotter Multicultural Center is looking for people to volunteer for our lecture on February 8, 2018. This is one of Trotter's biggest events so the demand for help is high. This even will feature various talks from students of the University of Michigan as well as Keynote Amiyah Scott and Janet Mock...

11/30/2017

We, the faculty and staff of Semester in Detroit, vehemently oppose Richard Spencer and white supremacy in all their violent and nefarious forms. We stand in solidarity with students organizing to Stop Spencer from coming to our university. We believe it would be impossible to provide a safe environment for students and the university community at-large were Spencer to come to campus. Of course, we understand that simply denying Spencer’s request will not make our campus safe for marginalized students. However insufficient, we believe this is a fundamentally necessary step in the longer-term fight against the disease of institutionalized racism and systemic white supremacy of which Spencer is a mere opportunistic and symptomatic scab. By granting Spencer the opportunity to speak on our campus, the university would be sanctioning, however unintentionally, the further emotional, and possibly physical, traumatization of our students and the larger university community; moreover, we would be undermining our own best efforts toward creating a more diverse, inclusive and equitable campus community. Therefore, we call on our university to respect our students’ lived expertise when they say they will not be safe and deny Spencer’s request to speak on campus.

In solidarity,
Semester in Detroit faculty & staff

11/15/2017

"We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians." -Nelson Mandela

Our official press release

09/30/2017

CW: blood, mention of eugenics
Perhaps some more accurate naming will get the attention of the University. Sent to us anonymously.

07/17/2017

*CURRENT LIST OF ACTION ITEMS FOR Lucha Por Lourdes: Stop the Deportation of Lourdes Salazar (please share with your friends!)

If you can, please sign this petition here that will be given to Rebecca Adducci, the field director of Detroit ICE: https://action.mijente.net/petitions/stop-the-deportation-of-lourdes-salazar-bautista

And please follow us on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/LuchaporLourdes/?hc_ref=ARQ4WNQXKtj0y9otL1mlkwAxD8nxw8CMPOdiz5CnVekPcqqyP7wUvA4vTCWGgFd7ryg&pnref=story

We're having a vigil and a rally on Tuesday:
Lucha por Lourdes Vigil and Rally

And please consider emailing Rebecca Adducci as well:

[email protected]

Director Adducci,

I am a concerned community member emailing in support of Lourdes Salazar Bautista (A #075-541-900). Lourdes has been ordered to leave the US by August 2nd. Lourdes resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan and has been in the US for 20 years. She has three US born children, and is a loving and devoted mother. She is well-respected by all who know her and has established strong ties to our community. Please grant Lourdes a stay of removal and keep her family together

Lourdes has lived in Ann Arbor for 20 years, she has three U.S. citizen children - she is a devoted mother and community member. Lourdes first came in contact with ICE in 2010, and after being detained for almost a month ICE "traded" Lourdes for her husband. Lourdes' husband was deported and Lourdes...

07/08/2017

Hello everyone!

We hope you have been having a restful summer. We have made some larger plans this past week and would like to invite all invested parties to come to our following meeting! Please comment with your email or message us with it if you are not already on our listserv.

We are also looking for artists who would be able to help with logo designs, posters, banners, and other handouts when asked. We hope to make a list of folks to reach out to for those things. If you are interested, please let us know!

We are currently planning out the campaigns that we wish to continue to push over the following year. Here are our ideas thus far:

1. Developing sustainable affordable housing programs, as well as pushing for tuition affordability. Student presence in Ann Arbor is temporary, and often seasonal. It is important that the work that we do also collaborates with permanent residents of Ann Arbor as well. We would like to see all interested parties as we are working on our campaign so that we have a holistic and comprehensive stance on the issue.

2. Renaming buildings and a space for student activism. It is obviously clear with our previous work that this remains a point of contention for us as students, and this is more about taking space that is not afforded us, and pushing our administration to be accountable.

3. Addressing the University of Michigan's history with Indigenous peoples. We wish to highlight this history and uplift the voices of AIAN tribes in our work in this campaign.

From our demands:

"A formal recognition of the university's unacceptable history with American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) tribes and community members (specifically the University of Michigan's relationship with Anishinaabe people), followed by a commitment to reconciling. This includes the 1817 Fort Meigs Treaty, michigauma, etc.

This University will never improve its relationship with AIAN students or communities until it publically addresses and recognizes its unacceptable past with Indigenous communities in and around the state of Michigan. The original and true history needs to be told, Native students need to be valued and supported here, and the campus climate has to change in order to recruit Native students to come here."

Our campaign will work on three prongs of demands: Recognition, Retention, and Recruitment

Again, thank you all for everything!

06/05/2017

S4J is now on Instagram! Follow us at . Also stay updated by following us on twitter

05/18/2017

Hello everyone!

We hope you're having a restful summer. As we are planning for the fall, we have a few updates and requests.

UPDATES:

We need someone who would be able to do some design art for us - we want to have our logo and other art to be available in multiple media, as we move into the fall.

We're beginning to plan a curriculum for the fall of teach ins and other resources. What are things you would like to see? One we are currently thinking of is "How University Administrations Crush Student Activism."

We also need people who would be willing to draft proposals for possible funding. Would anybody be willing to do that for us?

Thank you all for your patience!

04/24/2017

If any of you have details or can identify these folx please let us know!!!!

Update: We received consent from the women involved in yesterday's racist, fascist encounter to share the attached photograph of the two white supremacists involved. We are also working to identify them by name. The man on the left was the primary actor/instigator, the man on the right was supportive, complicit, and visibly intoxicated. We share this photograph to hold these two men accountable for their actions, as well as to inform the Black folks, trans folks, and folks of color who may encounter them.

Be safe out there and stand up to fascism and white supremacy.

04/12/2017

It is important to understand that we must combat white supremacy at all of our institutions. The University of Michigan is not unique in marginalizing students, faculty, and other people of color - rather, it participates in a largely American tradition in exploiting people of color and their labor.

This student was really amazing to act the way that they did - it is difficult to make decisions that may affect you personally and professionally. We wish you the greatest success as you continue your career. We hope you continue to be unapologetic and speaking up about equity in Medicine.

Why is this important? Representation & Inclusion. That's why.