ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Wednesday, April 16, 2025
ADMINISTRATION
GOVERNMENT
ACLU of Michigan sues UMich fires full-time employee, Trump for revoking suspends 4 from campus jobs for UMich and Wayne participating in pro-Palestine protest State student visas Three students and one recent graduate were suspended from their jobs and one full-time employee was fired regarding a May 3 protest BARRETT DOLATA Daily News Editor
The University of Michigan Department of Human Resources sent letters to four students and one recent graduate April 7, suspending four from their campus jobs and warning one after a review of their conduct regarding a May 3, 2024 protest that began at the Gaza solidarity encampment and ended with protestors gathering at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. In addition, one full-time staff member was fired for their conduct during the protest. The protest was an impromptu student-led action that started at the encampment and led to all entrances at UMMA. It grew to more than 200 U-M students, including members of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality and the TAHRIR Coalition, demanding the University divest from companies profiting off of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. According to a letter obtained by The Michigan Daily that was sent to a suspended student by Amy Grier, associate director of University Human Resources, the actions of those suspended from their jobs violated the standard practice guide policy SPG 601.18, which addresses violence in the University community. “During a private event, protesters interfered with law enforcement’s ability to provide invitees safe and secure entry and exit from the premises,” the letter read. “Despite law enforcement presence at the doors and around the building, and repeated instructions to refrain from obstructing their efforts, it appears that you did not comply and you interfered with law enforcement actions, including pushing back against law enforcement.” The TAHRIR Coalition released a statement Sunday clarifying a full-time employee had been terminated on Friday and banned
CHRISTINA ZHANG Daily News Editor
Ellie Vice/DAILY Protesters link arms in solidarity to form a wall in front of police cars stationed outside the University of Michigan Museum of Art Friday night.
from future employment with the University. According to the TAHRIR Coalition, the individual’s employment began in October 2024, approximately five months after the May 3 protest. “The staff member had requested that both their Union representative and legal counsel attend a meeting with Grier, but that request was denied,” the statement reads. “During the meeting, Grier interrupted the Union representative when he attempted to advocate on the employee’s behalf and insisted that only the employee could speak. When pressed, Grier failed to cite any university policy to justify these decisions.” One of the suspended students, who requested anonymity out of fear of retribution from the University, will be referred to as Blake in this article. In an interview with The Daily, Blake said they were given no warning before they
received the April 7 message from Grier. “I’m not really a core organizer within SAFE or TAHRIR,” Blake said. “I was just at the protest to be a part of the show of numbers there, and I kind of just got randomly picked out by police. And then now, they’re saying that — in the message I received — they’re saying that I was being violent, which is so far from the truth.” Grier wrote the decision was effective immediately, ending all job duties and suspending Blake from working. If students wish to respond to allegations made in the letters, they must have contacted Greir to schedule a meeting with no later than 5 p.m. April 10. Blake said they scheduled a meeting to address the allegations in the letter. “I care a lot about this issue, but I’m not the type to be combative or to put myself in a position where I can jeopardize my future,” Blake said. “It’s just kind of crazy to
see the distortion of truth that is happening in real time, to me. And so I’m hoping that we can get some sort of justice for this.” Another suspended student, who also requested anonymity for fear of retribution from the University, wrote in an email to The Daily that HR alleged they violated the school’s policy on violence, but cited the presence of police who used force and pepper spray. “All criminal charges related to this protest were declined by prosecutors, so the University is now looking for other avenues to punish the demonstrators,” the student wrote. “I am not surprised, as the Regents and University Administration have consistently demonstrated their opposition to due process for pro-Palestinian protesters.” The University could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
CAMPUS LIFE
BSU leads UMich community in protest against DEI cuts
Daily Staff Reporter
Hundreds of demonstrators chanted “we are the people, we are the power” on the Diag Thursday evening, as leaders of the Black Student Union led a crowd of University of Michigan students and community members in protest against the University’s recent elimination of all diversity, equity and inclusion programs. LSA senior Princess-J’Maria Mboup, BSU speaker, was the first speaker of the rally. She condemned cutting DEI programs as a reversal of decades of progress made by previous
Black activists hailing as far back as the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. “We’re seeing a quick regression back into the hostile, overtly white supremacist institution that (the University) was designed to be,” Mboup said. “This university has undone decades of work centered around principles of diversity, equity and inclusion — principles that they’ve claimed for almost a decade to hold as core values to the institution. They’ve strategically taken down, all at once, the Office of DEI scholarships, programs and initiatives, including the campus-wide action item within DEI 2.0 that focused
Protesters hold up signs at the BSU protest on the Diag.
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on enhancing Black student representation and experiences.” Mboup also expressed feeling betrayed by the University’s decision after years of the administration claiming to support the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. “(University) President Santa Ono, Provost Laura McCauley and (Vice President) for Student Life Martino Harmon spent two and a half years telling me, to my face, that they were invested in our work and improving the experience of Black students,” Mboup said. “I’ve personally spent nights and weekends working, skipped classes, failed exams, lost sleep and spent years of my life doing this work, so this cut for me is personal. For generations of student activists, it’s personal. Their decisions have been cowardly and cruel, and to cut the culmination of so much labor is a knife in the backs of all of those who fought the good fight.” Art & Design senior Eaman Ali spoke at the event and criticized the University’s Board of Regents for their refusal to divest from Israeli companies profiting from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Ali also discussed inaction from the University regarding the termination of student visas and funding cuts as a result
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students’ rights to due process. “International students form a vital community at our state’s universities, and unilaterally stripping students of their status violates the law,” the press release read. “The lawsuit details how the termination of F-1 student status violates the students’ due process rights because the government is required to provide advance notice and a meaningful opportunity to respond when taking such action.” The lawsuit specifies that the students’ statuses had been terminated by the government’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information Program without notifying them or their schools about the reasons behind the terminations. Students learned of their status being terminated after they received an email from their respective universities. “Instead of being notified by DHS or another government agency, Plaintiffs each received an email from their respective school informing them that the school learned during their periodic check of SEVIS records that the Plaintiff’s student status had been terminated,” the lawsuit read.
GOVERNMENT
U-M student visas terminated by federal government rises to 12
22 U-M affiliated individuals have had their visas terminated by the Department of Homeland Security, including 12 students and 10 graduates Daily Staff Reporter
of President Donald Trump’s administration. “(The regents are) sitting back and watching as the federal government revokes the visas of 22 of our peers,” Ali said. “What’s more, as students of Color lose scholarships, as research to uplift our communities is cut, as measures to create access to this institution are erased, they are waffling and pretending that it’s simply out of their hands.” Ali’s speech continued, saying she felt the size of the University’s endowment would empower the regents to be able to defend their students if they wished to do so. “Make no mistake, the University of Michigan Board of Regents have a $19 billion endowment at their disposal and they’re choosing to hang us out to dry,” Ali said. “Make no mistake, the regents are not just cowardly in the face of fascism — they are fascists themselves.” In an interview with The Michigan Daily, LSA junior Keshava Demerath-Shanti said he believes it is important to let the administration know how harmful cuts to DEI programs are. “This issue spans beyond just the campus itself,” Demerath-Shanti said.
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The ACLU of Michigan announced Thursday they have filed a federal lawsuit and request for an emergency injunction on behalf of four international students who attend Michigan universities, two of which attend the University of Michigan, after their F-1 student visa statuses were revoked. The plaintiffs include a masters student studying mechanical engineering at the University and a student who has been pursuing a doctorate degree at the School for Environment and Sustainability. The two other students attend Wayne State University. According to the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, none of the students have been charged or convicted of a crime in the United States, nor have they been active in any on-campus protests. In its press release, the ACLU said President Donald Trump’s administration’s termination of international student visas at hundreds of universities across the country is a violation of the
SARAH PALUSHI
‘This university has undone decades of work’
GLENN HEDIN
The ACLU also requested emergency injunction on behalf of four international students
The University of Michigan administration sent an email Wednesday afternoon notifying students, staff and faculty that 22 U-M affiliated individuals have had their visas terminated by the Department of Homeland Security, including 12 students and 10 graduates. This follows initial reports on Friday that the federal government revoked the F-1 visas of four U-M students. The email was signed by University President Santa Ono, Provost Laurie McCauley, Vice President for Student Life Martino Harmon and Vice President and General Counsel Timothy Lynch. The University’s International Center discovered the visa revocations while reviewing the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, which tracks the status of student visas. The authors wrote the DHS has not shared information with the University regarding the reason for the terminations or the deletion of SEVIS records. However, the authors clarified no identifying information about the affected individuals was shared with law enforcement by the University. “The federal government has not shared details on the specific reasons for these visa revocations or SEVIS record terminations,” the authors wrote. “Please know the
INDEX Vol. CXXXVI No. 13 ©2025 The Michigan
university has not provided lists or other identifying information to federal immigration or law-enforcement authorities relating to these students and graduates.” The authors also wrote the University is collaborating across campus to ensure affected students are aware of their rights, but there has not been any reported federal law enforcement activity on campus in relation to the visa terminations. “We are working closely with offices, colleges and schools from across the university, to ensure the impacted individuals understand their options and have access to resources,” the authors wrote. “At this time, we are not aware of any federal law enforcement activity on campus related to these terminations.” The email advised individuals with F-1 visas, which allow students to stay in the U.S. while studying at a recognized academic institution, or J-1 visas, which allow individuals to stay in the U.S. for work- or study-based exchange programs, to report changes to their address at least 10 days prior to moving. The authors also encouraged these students to carry the most recent I-94 record with them and save a digital copy of their I-20 or DS-2019 and passport ID. The email clarified that, if these visas are terminated, individuals will be advised to leave the country immediately.
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