In December 2021, Matt Knio and Sam Abbas opened a bakery on East Washington Street called The Great Commoner, named after Abbas’s Dearborn restaurant. The Great Commoner provided baked goods to a number of cafes and restaurants in the Ann Arbor area. Knio and Abbas’s partnership lasted six months, until June 2022, when Knio took over full management of the store.

Knio, who owns bakeries in Detroit and Birmingham, rebranded the Ann Arbor store — he redesigned the interior, refreshed the menu and renamed the bakery Cannelle. Knio enlisted his sister, Rawaa Debs, to oversee the bakery. 

Employees were initially encouraged by these changes, hoping that new management might bring higher wages and more benefits. 

One former employee commented on the shift in ownership in an interview with The Michigan Daily. This source requested anonymity, describing fears of professional retribution. In this article, they will be referred to as Riley.

“At first, we were all super excited,” Riley said. “We thought, this is going to be so much better … because at first they promised higher wages, they promised a better environment, etcetera. We realized that not everything that glitters is gold.”

Over the next three months of their employment at Cannelle, Riley — and six other employees interviewed for this article — allegedly encountered constant surveillance through security cameras in the workplace, inappropriate comments on their bodies from members of management and excessive food waste. 

A Daily investigation revealed previously undisclosed allegations of a hostile work environment and unethical business practices at Cannelle Bakeries. These allegations range from sudden and frequent terminations without cause to employees being forced to pay for lost or broken items. 

By September 2022, three months after Knio took over the store, all seven employees interviewed for this investigation had quit or been terminated by Cannelle.

This article is based on interviews with former employees of Cannelle and a review of documents and correspondence between employees and members of the Knio family.

Knio commented on the allegations against him and Cannelle management in an email to The Daily. He denied being aware of employees’ concerns.

“As a company, we value respect towards our employees and guests,” Knio wrote. “I have undertaken an investigation of these allegations. Please note, I was not made aware of any such allegations prior to this time.”

‘It felt like Big Brother, made real’

In interviews with The Daily, multiple former Cannelle employees described a hostile workplace governed by constant surveillance through security cameras. Seven employees alleged their conversations were monitored by Matt Knio and Rawaa Debs through surveillance cameras, creating an environment where employees were always aware they were being watched. 

One former employee described Cannelle’s use of surveillance to The Daily, noting placement of surveillance cameras above their workspace. This employee requested anonymity, citing fears of retaliation from her former employers. In this article, she will be referred to as Camila.

Camila alleged Debs frequently monitored employees through surveillance cameras placed in various locations in the store. According to Camila and several other former employees, these cameras transmitted audio as well as video. Camila said she and her coworkers felt uncomfortable having conversations within view of the cameras.

“We would whisper, or we would go to areas where there weren’t cameras,” Camila said, “so we could just talk like normal humans and not actively censor (our) conversations.”

Camila described feeling terrified by the extent of surveillance in Cannelle. 

“It felt like Big Brother, made real,” Camila said. “It’s absolutely terrifying.”

Knio commented on the allegations of surveillance in his email to The Daily. He said there are cameras in each store, but did not respond to the allegations that he and Debs used these cameras to monitor employees. He did not specify whether these cameras were capable of transmitting audio.

“Cannelle (stores) are outfitted with camera systems for the purposes of remote monitoring of the premises, including oversight and for police investigations in the event of criminal activity,” Knio wrote. “In no instances are the cameras within areas where individuals, either staff or patrons, have an expectation of privacy.”

In one instance in July 2022, Camila took out her phone during her shift to text her mom. She immediately received a text from Debs, who was not in the store at the time. The Daily obtained a screenshot of this text.

“Hey (Camila) plz phone only for emergency thank u,” Debs wrote.

“There were times when I would be three words into texting my mom about how my day was, and I would get a call from Rawaa saying, ‘you have to put your phone away.’” Camila said. “Not only was it terrifying, and really weird and stressful, but it was such a violation of trust between employee and employer.”

Camila told The Daily the constant surveillance forced her to modify her behavior to avoid getting in trouble with her bosses.

“Every conversation I would have with my (coworkers),” Camila said, “I would try to talk in a way that I didn’t sound like I was complaining … because I don’t want (my bosses) to know more than I think they should know if it’s going to make my job harder.”

Riley, who worked at the Ann Arbor location in the summer of 2022, described similar instances of her conversations with customers being monitored over the cameras by management. 

“There would be times where I would be getting calls from management saying, ‘Hey, why is this happening?’” Riley said. “When those calls are so constant … it just feels like a violation of privacy.”

On one occasion, Debs texted Riley reminding them to keep their conversations with customers brief after allegedly watching through the cameras. 

“And plz if you don’t mind make short w customers!” Debs texted. 

Another former employee who worked at the Detroit and Ann Arbor locations from 2021 through the summer of 2022 corroborated Camila’s account of surveillance at Cannelle. This source requested anonymity, citing fears of professional retribution. She will be referred to as Ella in this article. 

One camera was positioned directly above the front counter. The Daily obtained a text from Debs which appears to show the remote feed from this camera.

In one instance at the Ann Arbor location, Ella, who worked at the front counter, took a drink of water during her shift. Shortly after, she received a text from Debs, who was not in the store at the time, reminding her not to drink in front of customers. The Daily obtained a screenshot of the proceeding conversation.

“And plz no eating or drinking in front,” she texted. 

Ella said she believed Debs was watching her through the store’s cameras at the time.

“The only way you could’ve seen my water bottle is if you’re looking at the camera,” Ella said. “I always knew (we were) being watched … (Debs) always has it on her phone.” 

In an interview with The Daily, Ann Arbor-based employment lawyer Sarah Prescott of Salvatore Prescott Porter & Porter, PLLC, commented on the alleged use of surveillance at Cannelle. Prescott has no legal involvement in these cases. Her comments are expert opinions based on information provided by The Daily.

According to Prescott, employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy in areas such as bathrooms, but cameras can be placed freely in most areas of a private business. The use of audio monitoring is likewise legal, so long as it is disclosed to employees.

“This can catch employees unaware,” Prescott said, “where maybe there’s some line buried in a handbook that says, ‘By the way, we may audio, video and otherwise surveil you,’ and if that is disclosed to employees … then the employees’ rights are much more limited.”

Undisclosed audio surveillance falls under Section 750.539c of the Michigan Penal Code, which prohibits the recording of a conversation without the consent of all parties present. 

None of the seven former employees interviewed for this article recalled receiving an employee handbook or being informed of audio surveillance when they were hired by Cannelle. Camila commented on her concerns regarding the lack of a handbook.

“I did not ever receive an employee handbook (from) Cannelle,” she said. “We were rebuked for things we weren’t aware of and roped into uncomfortable situations, like hyper surveillance, without that being prefaced.” 

Ella told The Daily she wasn’t aware Cannelle had an employee handbook.

“There is no employee handbook as far as I know,” she said. “I never had one.”

‘If you’re fat and working at Cannelle, you’re gonna get looked at a little sideways’

In interviews with The Daily, multiple former Cannelle employees alleged Debs made inappropriate comments about employees’ bodies and appearances. Riley alleged these comments were fat-phobic in nature and created a hostile work environment for fat employees. 

“It felt very much so that our looks and (physical appearance) were more important than our actual character and work ethic,” Riley explained. “(Debs) does this thing where she’ll praise those who are smaller figured, and then just look at (fat employees) like we’re beneath her.” 

In one particular instance, Riley was making a shift meal when Debs allegedly commented on their weight. 

“She made an offhand comment of ‘Hey, you might want to stay away from the kielbasa,’” Riley said.

Camila alleged Debs and Sirina Knio, another member of Cannelle management, made seemingly positive comments about her figure during work.

“The first time (Sirina and I) met, she looked me up and down and was like, ‘You must work out, you have a great body, you look awesome,’” she explained. “I would also get a lot of comments from (Debs) … about how professional I looked or how good I looked in a skirt and how I was making the bakery look much more appealing.”

According to Riley, Debs’s conduct created a workplace where fat employees felt disfavored by members of the Knio family. 

“If you’re fat and working at Cannelle, you’re gonna get looked at a little sideways,” Riley told The Daily.

Speaking on behalf of Debs and Sirina, Matt Knio denied the allegations of preferential treatment and fat-phobia.

“At this time, (Debs and Sirina Knio) deny making any such comments,” Matt wrote in an email to The Daily.

‘It was a backdoor firing’

In interviews with The Daily, multiple former employees described the use of “backdoor firing” practices by Cannelle management. 

“Cannelle’s firing and termination practices are informal and unprofessional,” Camila said.

In August 2022, Camila talked about potentially reducing her hours with a coworker during their shift in the Ann Arbor store. Camila believed Debs heard this conversation through the store’s cameras. After that shift, Camila was informed by Debs that she was taken off the shift schedule. Camila’s coworker declined to comment on this article.

“Since we r training new people u will not be on schedule for a while, And since also I heard that u cant work only one day that works for you I think,” Debs said. 

Camila asked if she was being let go. Debs wrote that Camila’s removal from the schedule was just temporary and told her to relax.

But following that text, Debs never scheduled Camila for another shift.

“I received a text from Rawaa saying that I was taken off the schedule until the foreseeable future, due to the fact that they were training new employees,” Camila said. “She completely affected my means of income without any consideration for what I needed. I did not want to go completely off the schedule, I still need to pay my rent and work as a student.”

Camila said she was frustrated with Debs’s termination procedure.

“It was a backdoor firing, not actually telling me that I’m fired, but letting me go without truly stating that,” Camila said.

After weeks of being off the schedule, Camila resigned. In her resignation letter, she described her frustrations with her time at Cannelle.

“I would like to express my deep dissatisfaction with this company’s treatment of its staff,” Camila wrote. “I am not the only employee to recently have been taken off schedule without warning. This not only disrupts the much needed income that your staff depends on, but it is extremely hurtful to people who have worked hard to make this business as successful as it is.”

Prescott commented on the alleged use of surveillance and termination practices at Cannelle and told The Daily that employees are protected under the National Labor Relations Act against retaliation for discussing their wages and hours with coworkers.

“There are laws that protect workers who are discussing the terms and conditions of their employment,” Prescott said. “Unfair labor practices may flow from … taking action against people because they’re talking about their pay, their hours, the conditions of their work … those rights are protected under the National Labor Relations Act.”

Prescott explained that certain termination practices can amount to “constructive termination,” where an employee is effectively fired without being explicitly told so.

“(It’s) recognized under the law … a constructive discharge is anything that basically amounts to firing someone without actually firing them,” Prescott said. “If (an employer) just stopped scheduling you and really substantially reduced your duties, substantially reduced your pay … that can be called a constructive termination.”

Riley and Ella shared similar concerns about their own terminations, both of which occurred within a month of Camila’s departure from Cannelle. Riley said that working at Cannelle was negatively impacting their mental health.

“I was so burnt out that I could not take it anymore,” Riley said.

Riley felt they could only give one week of notice before resigning. They approached Knio one afternoon in August to inform him of their intent to resign. But Riley was fired later that same day for an unrelated incident.

After they gave their notice to Knio, Riley recounted, they got into a disagreement with Debs over the phone about the store being overstaffed. Debs then allegedly told them to clock out and not return to the store.

“Clock out, go home, we don’t need you for the rest of your time here,” Riley alleged Debs said.

Shocked from the phone call, Riley stepped outside to take a breath. As they sat on the patio outside the store, Riley was recognized by some customers walking by. The customers asked what happened and Riley explained that they had just been fired. Riley said the customers were surprised by the situation, given the public image and reputation of Cannelle.

“That was one of the first instances where I had seen customers, regulars, have a realization of … ‘What is going on behind the facade of the front end?’” Riley said. “(It) led them to not even wanting to go back.” 

Ella was likewise met with an informal termination. With the school year nearing, Ella, a University of Michigan student, needed to lessen her hours to focus on school and retain her academic scholarship.

At the time, Ella was working long hours and had a close relationship with Debs and the Knio family. 

“There was a time when I was not doing well,” Ella said. “And (Debs) kissed me on my cheek and cried, and told me… ‘We love you … you’re like my sister. You’re like my daughter.’”

In early September, Ella texted Debs to inform her about her limited availability. 

That same day, Ella was fired over a text from Debs.

“That’s the context of me leaving,” Ella said. “I received a text.”

With her close relationship with Cannelle and the Knio family, Ella said she was shocked by her termination. 

“It felt like a lot of betrayal in a sense, because I’d worked 50 hours (a week),” Ella said. “I honestly was put under so much pressure.”

When asked about Cannelle’s termination practices, Knio wrote that, as an at-will employer, Cannelle can terminate employees at any time.

“Either management or a given employee can sever employment at any time,” Knio wrote.

According to Prescott, at-will employment, under Michigan law, allows employers to terminate employees without notice or cause.

“At will employment, under the law, is that you can be fired for any reason, or no reason at all,” Prescott said.

‘Every single night, whatever croissants or breads that we do not sell get thrown away’

In interviews with The Daily, seven former employees described excessive food waste at Cannelle. They told The Daily that employees’ attempts to address this issue were dismissed by management. 

As a member of a sustainability and environmental organization at the University, Camila said she was personally concerned with food waste. After she finished her new-employee training at Cannelle, she was placed on the closing shift. That’s when she started noticing how much food was thrown out each day.

“At the end of the night, any croissants that weren’t plain or chocolate would get put in a large, black trash bag (and be) thrown away,” Camila said. “Every loaf of bread, also thrown away. So all of it to the dumpster. I think on average we would take out about three trash bags worth of croissants.”

When employees raised concerns in June over the amount of food waste that Cannelle was producing, managers responded sympathetically — but employees alleged nothing changed even after they spoke with the owners. 

“After a couple shifts, I would start to ask my managers, … ‘Why are we contributing so much … to the amount of waste that already goes out into the planet?’” Camila said. “They would be like, ‘I hate it, too … I’ve spoken up about it, nothing’s been done. It’s just a policy we have to follow.’”

After a lack of action from ownership, Camila drafted a “Cannelle Leftover Plan” to lessen the amount of food waste the bakery was producing. She was fired before she could present it to Knio.

Camila and Riley alleged they were instructed by Debs to lie about food waste to customers. 

“We were told to not let customers know that we throw everything out,” Riley said. 

Riley corroborated Camila’s account of these events and echoed Camila’s concerns over food waste in Cannelle Bakeries. According to employees, management gave various reasons for refusing to donate unsold food. Ella said Knio cited liability concerns in one instance.

“I remember (Matt Knio) specifically said liability was a big thing,” Ella said. “But if someone came up with a plan, I really don’t think it would even matter. I think it’s about money, honestly.”

Riley also commented on employees’ frustrations with food waste.

“It truthfully just felt like an excuse of, ‘I don’t want my croissants in someone’s less fortunate mouth,’” Riley said. “‘I want my money if someone’s going to eat my stuff.’”

Ella expressed that she lacked confidence a food plan would change anything.

According to one section of Cannelle’s employee handbook, employees must pay for any baked good with their employee discount regardless of whether or not it will be discarded at the end of the night. Violating this policy is a fireable offense. 

A screenshot of this section of the handbook was sent to an employee group chat by a manager to remind employees of the policy. None of the employees interviewed for this article recalled receiving a full version of Cannelle’s handbook.

Seven former employees reported feelings of frustration at this policy due to the amount of preventable food waste Cannelle produced daily. 

“You’re watched on camera,” Ella said. “If you’re grabbing something, they can see. If you’re taking a bag out of the store, they’re watching. So you better ring yourself up.”

Camila said she was frustrated with the fact that the food waste could have benefitted the housing and food insecure community.  

“I got really sick of carrying all these beautiful pastries out to the trash every night when I would walk home and walk past so many people who are asking me for food,” Camila said.

Camila said she thought of taking food home in an effort to reduce waste, but was scared for her job security if her managers found out. 

“It’s just insane that your job can weigh on the fact that you’re taking home three croissants that were gonna be in the trash anyway,” Camila said.

‘If there were any shortages in the drawer, we were the ones to pay it back.’

In interviews with The Daily, five employees alleged that when restaurant items broke or Cannelle’s money drawer was short, employees were instructed to pay their own money to compensate the store. 

Riley explained how they were allegedly required to pay their own tips to Cannelle on numerous occasions.

“We would be the ones paying it back (if drawers were short),” Riley alleged. “It would always come from our tips or (be) deducted from our other checks.”

Camila said that if the money drawer was short, employees would notify Knio and Debs. The owners would then divide the value of the missing money by how many employees were working and allegedly instruct the managers on shift to collect the money. 

“The register was short last night so ppl worked yesterday owe $2 each,” Camila’s manager wrote in a text in one instance.

Riley explained that the money they paid to Cannelle sometimes amounted to multiple hours’ worth of wages. 

“It would take me four hours to pay for two (lost items),” Riley said. “And that just further proves why those deductions were much more hard hitting on us as employees than it was on (the Knio family) as business owners.”

In one instance while Ella was working in July, a glass bottle fell and shattered on the floor, cutting her finger. Debs texted her saying she had to pay for the broken bottle. The Daily obtained screenshots of the ensuing conversation.

“U know if we damage items we need to pay for it right,” Debs wrote in her text. “U cut ur self with the lemonade.”

Knio commented on these allegations in his email to The Daily. According to Knio, employees were asked to contribute tips to cover any costs of “employee negligence,” and money was not taken from their paychecks.

“We ask each shift to contribute a token amount of money from the pooled tip fund for expenses resulting from employee negligence,” Knio wrote. “Such funds are not withheld from paychecks.”

‘I really hope that the Ann Arbor community … realizes that the business they are supporting does not support them’

Cannelle management’s alleged treatment of employees disappointed the former employees who spoke with The Daily. Riley said they felt employees were expected to dedicate themselves to the bakery.  

“It was an overarching theme of Cannelle that when you’re there, you are living, eating, breathing Cannelle, and when you’re not here, you’re still living, eating, breathing Cannelle,” Riley said. “I can honestly say I’ve heard those words almost verbatim from ownership.” 

Cannelle is considered one of the best patisseries in the Midwest. But the employees interviewed for this article revealed concerns previously unknown to the public about the business’s practices.  

Camila sees potential for sustainability within the bakery, especially within the eco-friendly environment of Ann Arbor. 

“I think Ann Arbor is a fantastic community for being eco-conscious and sustainable,” Camila said. “(Cannelle) could have such a better company if they realized that, and they would be so loved and appreciated here if they were to … embrace (sustainability) and run with it.”

One former employee, who spoke with The Daily under the condition of anonymity, shared their desire for patrons of Cannelle to be aware of employees’ concerns.

“It’s essential that the public know what’s behind what they consume, and, in this case, what’s behind their beautifully wrapped box of pastries,” the source said. “I hope (customers) are well equipped with the knowledge of what their money is actually supporting.”

Riley echoed these desires for community accountability, specifically within Ann Arbor. 

“I really hope that the Ann Arbor community and folks in general … realize that the business that they’re supporting does not support them,” Riley said. 

Focal Point Reporters Sophia Lehrbaum and Noah Lusk can be reached at lehrbaum@umich.edu and noahlusk@umich.edu

The post Former employees allege hostile work environment, unethical business practices at Cannelle Bakeries appeared first on The Michigan Daily.

Content warning: descriptions of physical and gender-based abuse.

In August 2022, University of Michigan alum Sophie Zhang filed a complaint to the Equity, Civil Rights, & Title IX Office (ECRT). She alleged that her father, Youxue Zhang, a professor in the University’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, abused her on the basis of her identity as a transgender woman.

In her complaint, Sophie described two instances in which Prof. Zhang engaged in abusive conduct toward her, with one occurrence on U-M property while Sophie was an undergraduate student. She argued that Prof. Zhang’s abuse constituted misconduct under U-M policy. 

Sophie’s complaint was dismissed two days later by Elizabeth Seney, ECRT’s director of sexual and gender-based misconduct and Title IX coordinator, according to emails obtained by The Michigan Daily. Seney stated that ECRT would not investigate the matter further.

A year prior, Sophie spoke of the abuse she faced as a transgender woman in an interview with the MIT Technology Review. Prof. Zhang denied the allegations against him at the time. His name was not revealed in the article. 

The article came out while Sophie was the subject of international media attention for exposing widespread usage of fake Facebook accounts by multiple countries’ governments in 2020.

In an interview with The Daily, Sophie alleged Prof. Zhang physically abused her when she was a child on the basis of her gender identity. She alleged that, in 2010, when she was an undergraduate student at the University, Prof. Zhang disowned her after she told him she intended to transition.

In an email to The Daily, Prof. Zhang admitted to engaging in physical abuse against Sophie in one instance in 2004 and disowning her in 2010. He denied that his actions were based on her gender identity.

“I admit that one time I did lose my temper and hit (Sophie) in 2004, but not for (her) transgender identity,” Prof. Zhang wrote. “To all of my family, students, colleagues, and friends: I apologize that I let you down.”

Prof. Zhang said he was not contacted by ECRT or U-M administrators about Sophie’s complaint.

Prof. Zhang has taught at the University since September 1991, and has held a tenured position since May 1997, according to records available on the University’s Board of Regents website. 

Speaking on behalf of the University, spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald explained that grievances between family members may not qualify as misconduct under U-M policy. He declined to comment on the specific allegations against Prof. Zhang.

“It is U-M policy to neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation into any form of misconduct,” Fitzgerald wrote. “A matter involving family members may or may not fall within the scope of the university’s policy. If a matter arises solely in the context of family interactions, the university does not have much ability to address the matter under U-M policy.”

‘I was panicked and terrified … looking for an escape’

Sophie’s family moved to Ann Arbor when she was a few months old. In an interview with The Daily, she described how she questioned her gender identity from a young age.

“I was 5 or 6 at the time,” Sophie said, “For me, it was basically something I always knew in the back of my head.”

As Sophie continued to discover her gender identity, she feared what might happen if her father found out.

“I knew from the start … that (Prof. Zhang) would react violently and angrily if he found out,” Sophie said. “And he did find out when I was 13.”

One night, in the spring of 2004, when Sophie was in eighth grade, her father found out she was transgender. She said she felt threatened, and locked herself in the bathroom out of fear.

While her father allegedly tried to force his way in, Sophie considered running away.

“It had rained not too long ago, and I remember that because I remember thinking that the ground was soft outside,” Sophie said. “I pried out the window screen, because I was considering jumping out of it … I would probably have broken my leg. But I was panicked and terrified, and looking for an escape.”

Sophie alleged her father yelled threats and attempted to break down the door. Fearing what would happen if her father got to her, she contemplated her options.

“I sat there staring out the window for a few moments trying to … decide whether or not it was actually a good idea to jump out the window,” Sophie said. “Eventually, I came to the conclusion that it would be preferable for me to stay in an abusive household rather than end up homeless.”

Sophie opened the door. She alleged her father dragged her into the guest bedroom next door and beat her, first with a belt and then with his bare hands.

“He began beating me repeatedly,” Sophie said. “(He was) yelling threats and insults … He continued until he was exhausted. I was covered with bruises and blood.”

Sophie later described this incident as “an impromptu form of conversion therapy” in her complaint to ECRT.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a family member who was present in the house at the time confirmed Sophie’s account of this incident in an interview with The Daily.

The Daily also contacted a classmate of hers, who verified that Sophie came to school with bruises the next day. This source told The Daily that Sophie described the abuse to them at the time.

In the 2021 MIT Technology Review article, Prof. Zhang denied that the incident occurred. 

“When reached by email, (Sophie’s) father denied the allegations,” the article said. “‘I am sad that she alleges that I beat her as a child after I discovered her transgender identity, which is completely false,’ (Prof. Zhang) wrote.”

In an email to The Daily, Prof. Zhang admitted to engaging in physical abuse against Sophie in 2004. He denied targeting Sophie for her gender identity but did not elaborate on the circumstances of the incident.

‘He could no longer be my father’

After the 2004 incident, Sophie said she hid her transgender identity, fearing further abuse from her father. She decided to transition a few years later, but waited until she was financially independent to inform her parents of her decision. She told The Daily she feared her father would cut her off financially when she came out. 

In the fall of 2010, while an undergraduate student at the University, Sophie told her father in an email that she planned to transition. Prof. Zhang told The Daily he recalled receiving this email. 

Sophie recalled arranging a meeting with her father in his office on campus in the North University Building. During this meeting, Prof. Zhang disowned Sophie and allegedly made offensive comments targeting her gender identity. 

“(My father) gave me an ultimatum: that if I continue down this terrible, self-destructive route, he could no longer be my father,” Sophie said. “He’s not disowning me, he explains. Rather, I’m disowning myself, because I’m rejecting the very name, the body, the identity and life he made for me.”

Sophie alleged Prof. Zhang went on to make insensitive comments about transgender people. She said he warned her that “everyone would be forever suspicious and disgusted (by her)” if she transitioned.

A family member of Sophie’s told The Daily they heard about this meeting from both Sophie and Prof. Zhang soon after it occurred, and confirmed Sophie’s account.

In his email to The Daily, Youxue Zhang admitted to disowning his daughter in 2010, but did not say where this conversation occurred.

“I apologize to (Sophie) for the 2004 hitting and 2010 disowning you (sic),” Prof. Zhang wrote. “I only learned their transgender identity in November of 2010 when they sent an email to me. I was shocked at the time. I did not handle it well and lost them.”

Prof. Zhang did not comment on the allegations that he made insensitive comments about transgender identities during this meeting.

‘Professor Zhang chose to go beyond … threats of violence and commit it directly’

Sophie cut off contact with her father after their 2010 meeting. She initially decided not to report the incident or the one in 2004 to the University, citing a desire to move on. When she spoke to the MIT Technology Review in 2021, she identified her father as her abuser but did not reveal his name or his position as a U-M professor.

After becoming a public figure in 2020, Sophie said some of her relatives and friends in Ann Arbor reached out to her. She told The Daily she learned her father may have engaged in abusive conduct with others, and decided to report her own experiences to ECRT. The Daily is currently investigating whether there have been other allegations of misconduct against Prof. Zhang.

“I was contacted by a lot of people, including friends I had fallen out of touch with,” Sophie said. “It was related to me in passing that my father has had other victims. I’m not going to go into the details, because that’s the story of others to tell.”

In an email to ECRT on Aug. 3, 2022, Sophie described Prof. Zhang’s abuse. She wrote that she was a U-M student when Prof. Zhang disowned her in 2010, and specified that the incident occurred in his office on campus. The Daily has obtained copies of this email correspondence.

“In late 2010 when I was a student at the University of Michigan, Professor Zhang formally disowned me for being transgender,” Sophie wrote. “This took place in his office in the Geology Department … This gender-based harassment created a deeply hostile environment at the University for myself as a U-M student.”

Sophie also wrote that she had spoken with Seney and ECRT Senior Investigator Sabrinne Gibson several times throughout 2022. She claimed they told her Prof. Zhang’s alleged abuse was not relevant to the misconduct policies handled by ECRT. Seney and Gibson did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Seney responded to Sophie’s complaint two days later, dismissing it.

“I, Elizabeth Seney, Title IX Coordinator, dismiss the Formal Complaint that Complainant Sophie Zhang submitted to initiate an investigation regarding allegations that Respondent Youxue Zhang engaged in Prohibited Conduct toward Complainant,” Seney wrote.

Seney’s response stated that the alleged conduct did not fall within the scope of University policy. 

“The conduct alleged in the Formal Complaint does not constitute Prohibited Conduct/did not occur within the scope of the Policy,” Seney’s response said. “The conduct alleged in the Formal Complaint did not occur in a University Program or Activity.”

According to U-M policy on gender-based misconduct, the policy applies to misconduct committed against students “on campus or other property owned or controlled by the University.”

“(Prof. Zhang’s) actions clearly fall under the definition of gender-based harassment in the University policy, which includes ‘Threats of violence toward an individual based on their actual or perceived identity,’” Sophie wrote in her complaint. “In this case, Professor Zhang chose to go beyond the threats of violence and commit it directly.”

In his email to The Daily, Prof. Zhang said he was not previously aware of the August 2022 complaint Sophie submitted. When asked if any disciplinary actions have been taken by U-M administration, he wrote “None.”

Sophie told The Daily she hasn’t heard from the University since ECRT dismissed her case in August 2022.

“It wasn’t my preference to come forward like this,” Sophie said. “But I think it’s important to do so. Because, if nothing else, I think I’ve spent my entire life running away from my father … I do feel that it is my responsibility to stop my father from hurting more people, if no one else will.” 

Managing Focal Point Editor Julian Wray can be reached at jwray@umich.edu. Focal Point Reporter Sarah Akaaboune contributed reporting to this article.

Information relevant to this or any other story can be emailed to tipline@michigandaily.com.

The post Facebook whistleblower Sophie Zhang alleges abuse against UMich professor appeared first on The Michigan Daily.

In spring 2022, Ann Arbor resident Susie Lorand was approached by a petition circulator at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market. The circulator asked her to support a ballot initiative they allegedly claimed would reduce barriers to voting. 

“The circulator said something to the effect of, (the petition) was going to make it easier to get an ID or driver’s license,” Lorand said in an interview with The Michigan Daily. 

Lorand said while she normally reads petitions before signing them, she forgot to do so at first. She ran back to the petitioner after signing to read the ballot initiative’s description and realized she had signed a petition for Secure MI Vote, a GOP-backed ballot initiative aiming to increase restrictions on voting access. She crossed her name off the list.

“I signed it because I liked the (petitioner’s) description, … then I read it and then I thought, ‘oh, no, that was stupid,’” Lorand said. “Because the description did not accurately represent the petition that was being circulated … it was really deceptive overall.” 

An investigation by The Daily revealed numerous allegations against petition circulators for two Republican-backed ballot initiatives of providing false or misleading information to voters in spring 2022. This investigation is based on interviews with seven residents of the Ann Arbor area, as well as a review of recent news coverage and numerous posts on local social media forums. 

The Daily’s investigation found instances of circulators for the Secure MI Vote and Let MI Kids Learn initiatives allegedly engaging in these misleading practices. Let MI Kids Learn, a Betsy Devos-backed ballot initiative, aims to establish a tax credit program to fund donations for student opportunity scholarship programs, which provide funding to students for educational expenses like books and extracurricular programs. Critics of this initiative have argued that it would divert taxpayer dollars from public school funds.

Supported by Michigan Republicans, these ballot initiatives have sparked controversy over their signature-gathering practices. 

Fred Wszolek, spokesperson for Let MI Kids Learn, commented on these allegations in an email to The Daily, saying that National Petition Management (NPM), the company the campaign hired to gather signatures, trained their circulators to provide specific information about the initiative.

“(National Petition Management) train their circulators and contractually require their circulators to learn and stick to a set of talking points that are provided by the campaign,” Wszolek wrote. “We’re confident that our team of petition circulators fairly represented the proposal … (ballot initiatives are) composed of thousands of words, so any interaction on a street corner with a petition circulator is going to involve ‘limited information.’”

Wszolek also included a list of approved talking points for the initiative’s petitioners in his email to The Daily. The Daily’s investigation found allegations that petition circulators provided information not included in these talking points. 

Secure MI Vote and NPM did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

In the state of Michigan, there is currently no legal penalty against circulators who mislead or lie to voters while gathering petition signatures. Individuals who sign petitions under false pretenses also have no way of invalidating their signature if they later realize their mistake. 

Political campaigns often work with signature gathering companies such as NPM and Advanced Micro Targeting (AMT) to outsource petition circulation, and these companies often pay circulators on a per-signature basis. 

According to campaign finance records, Let MI Kids Learn paid over $5.7 million to NPM for signature gathering services between April and July 2022. Secure MI Vote paid nearly $500,000 for consulting and signature gathering services to Advanced Micro Targeting between January and July 2022.

Both Secure MI Vote and Let MI Kids Learn missed the signature submission deadline to be included on the November ballot. 

Bridge Michigan reported that the Secretary of State Office would treat Secure MI Vote as a measure intended for the 2024 ballot and review the signatures at a later date. 

Past controversies engender suspicion

Since April 2022, numerous Ann Arbor area residents have shared accounts of petition circulators allegedly engaging in misleading signature gathering practices on online forums such as Reddit and Nextdoor. These posts are not the first time attention has been drawn to such issues surrounding Michigan ballot initiatives. 

In September 2020, the Detroit Free Press reported that Unlock Michigan, a group petitioning to strip Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of her emergency powers, advised trainees to lie to voters to obtain signatures. An unknown representative from an opposing organization, Keep Michigan Safe, recorded a video of an Unlock Michigan circulator training session and shared it with the Free Press. In the video, the Unlock Michigan trainer Erik Tisinger appears to instruct circulators to provide incorrect or misleading information to voters.

“This can be a real shady job,” Tisinger said in the video. “And when I say shady, I mean, people do all sorts of illegal shit all the time and never get caught. It’s really hard to get caught doing shit except for, like, forgeries.”

Tisinger proceeded to tell circulators to leave their petitions with store clerks to collect signatures from customers, even though circulators must act as witnesses for all signatures. Tisinger also suggested that they provide misleading or incomplete testimony in the event they are deposed about whether they witnessed a signature. 

Bridge Michigan reported that in January, Voters Not Politicians, a voting rights advocacy group, shared video footage in which a circulator for Secure MI Vote appears to attempt to deceive voters in order to obtain their signatures. According to Bridge, the circulator claimed the Secure MI Vote petition would require voters to present two forms of identification at the polls, while the proposed legislation’s actual ID requirements are more stringent. The Secure MI Vote initiative would require voters to provide a state ID and remove the option to sign an affidavit affirming their identity if they did not have the correct identification. 

Jamie Roe, a spokesperson from Secure MI Vote, told Bridge he believed Voters Not Politicians was unfairly criticizing the circulators. Roe told Bridge he did not watch the video in question, but said it was possible the circulator was employed by Secure MI Vote.

‘What you’re saying doesn’t make any sense. I’m not signing that.’

In interviews with The Daily, four Ann Arbor area residents described instances when Secure MI Vote petition circulators engaged in misleading practices while attempting to solicit signatures. 

Lauren McCarthy told the Daily she was approached by a petition circulator in the parking lot of the Kroger on Ann Arbor’s South Maple Road. She said she felt the language the circulator used did not represent the petition he was holding. 

“He said that he had this petition about voter ID,” McCarthy said. “And I looked at him and I said, ‘Oh, this is to get rid of voter ID (restrictions), right?’ And he says … ‘Well, actually, it’s the opposite.’”

McCarthy said this encounter made her feel wary of signing any petitions in the future out of concern that she may be misled by a circulator. 

“Down at the Farmers Market, there’s also people who have both the (Promote the Vote) as well as the (Reproductive Freedom for All), and I started getting really suspicious,” McCarthy said. “I’m like, ‘Okay, tell me exactly what this does.’” 

Saline resident Brandy Bar told The Daily about an encounter with a petition circulator for both the Secure MI Vote and Let MI Kids Learn ballot initiatives. Bar alleged that the circulator told her Secure MI Vote was supported by Republican gubernatorial candidate Perry Johnson in the August primaries.

“(The circulator) said, ‘One of the things (Johnson is) trying to pass is, it’s really hard for people in low-income areas to get state IDs, and so (Johnson) wants to make it easier for (them) to get state IDs,’” Bar said. “I went, ‘Oh, that’s fantastic,’ … So I signed that one.”

Bar said she later researched Johnson and realized she had signed a petition that would impose more restrictions on voting.

“I was so irritated,” Bar said. “I don’t know what that bill really is, but I’m sure it’s not to help low-income areas. It’s something to try to suppress the vote … I should have looked it up before I signed it.”

Bar went on to describe how the circulator spoke about the Let MI Kids Learn ballot initiative in an attempt to get her to sign. 

“(The circulator) was like, ‘This would put all the money in a pot, and then your kids’ money would go to the school where they attend,’” Bar said. “I was like, ‘Look, I sat on the Saline School’s Finance Committee. I know how school finance works, and what you’re saying doesn’t make any sense. I’m not signing that.’”

Ann Arbor resident Brandon Dimcheff said in an interview with The Daily that after being misled into signing a petition two years ago, he has made an effort to spread awareness about unethical signature gathering practices.

“I know a few people who signed the Secure MI Vote petitions when they really would not have intended (to),” Dimcheff said. “I’ve experienced this, too, firsthand when I was approached by a petition circulator who seemed to have been branding it as, ‘Do you want to give people free IDs so they can vote?’”

Dimcheff said in May and June 2022 he was approached by multiple petition circulators at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market who he felt misconstrued the goal of the Secure MI Vote and Let MI Kids Learn initiatives. Due to his prior experience, he was skeptical of these circulators’ descriptions and decided not to sign. 

“The descriptions that (circulators) give for, particularly (Secure MI Vote and Let MI Kids Learn), are pretty far from what anyone, I think, would consider to be an accurate description,” Dimcheff said. 

‘I didn’t feel that I trusted that source.’

The Daily’s investigation also revealed multiple allegations of misleading practices against circulators of petitions for Let MI Kids Learn.

In an interview with The Daily, an Ann Arbor resident described an encounter with a circulator for Let MI Kids Learn in downtown Ann Arbor on July 8, three days before the deadline to submit signatures for constitutional amendment initiatives. This resident requested anonymity, citing fears of professional retaliation. In this article, she will be referred to as Michelle.

“(The circulator) said that she was collecting signatures in support of student scholarships,” Michelle said. “I was trying to read the petition language, but … I wasn’t fully understanding it. She was trying to explain it to me and saying, ‘it’s scholarships, they support kids. Kids with disabilities would receive more funding.’”

Michelle said the circulator made her feel pressured to quickly sign the petition before she could fully understand its language. She alleged that the circulator incorrectly told her it was the last day she could sign, and that the petition was “bundled” with the Reproductive Freedom for All initiative, which aims to secure a constitutional right to obtaining an abortion in Michigan. Michelle expressed concern to the circulator that the initiative would divert funds from public schools.

“I said, ‘I don’t feel comfortable signing this because … I don’t understand what it is,’” Michelle said. “‘I don’t understand if this funding would go to charter schools rather than public schools.’ And (the circulator said), ‘Well, no, it doesn’t say charter.’ And I said, ‘But it says nonprofit groups, and that doesn’t specify.’”

Michelle alleged the circulator continued pressuring her to sign. After a few more exchanges with the circulator, Michelle walked away without signing. 

“I googled ‘Let MI Kids Learn’ and saw that it was Betsy DeVos-funded and basically another scheme to get vouchers and bleed funding from our public school systems,” Michelle said. “My initial reaction was that she lied to me. She said it wasn’t for charter schools when this money very well could go to charter schools.”

In an interview with The Daily, Amy Landingham, who manages a dental practice in Ypsilanti Township, described an encounter with a petition circulator for Let MI Kids Learn outside of the Target on Carpenter Road. 

“(The circulator) started out by saying that (the petition) was for scholarships for underprivileged children,” Landingham said. “They talked about free lunch, which makes it sound really benevolent, and how it just helps the underprivileged children.”

Landingham said she remembered hearing about the Let MI Kids Learn initiative during her time as a Milan school board member. 

“I’m a former school board member,” Landingham said. “The Michigan Association of School Boards has done a massive education campaign about this specific proposal and how the funding comes out of the school aid fund, and how it’s going to defund the public schools. … I just said ‘no, I’m not willing to sign this.’”

Landingham said she was disappointed with the circulator’s dishonesty. 

“I was so disappointed that while the things she said were true — it is for scholarships, it is for underprivileged children — they don’t disclose that the money is coming out of the public school system,” Landingham said. “(The initiative) allows extremely wealthy donors to pull money out of the school aid fund (and) to reimburse them for huge contributions to private schools.”

Ann Arbor resident Diane Massell said she encountered a circulator carrying several different petitions outside of a Trader Joe’s, including progressive ballot measures Promote the Vote and Raise the Wage MI, and the DeVos-funded Let MI Kids Learn petition. 

“The circulator had many petitions to sign, and I had been looking to sign voting rights petitions like Promote the Vote but had not had an opportunity to do that,” Massell said. “When (the circulator) had the (Let MI Kids Learn) petition as well as Promote the Vote and some of the others (such as) the $15 minimum wage, I just was skeptical of the intent … I didn’t feel that I trusted that source.”

Both of the progressive campaigns contracted with signature-gathering companies, but neither hired AMT or NPM.

‘We’re trying to educate voters about the other petitions that are out there … Be careful.’

The allegations uncovered in The Daily’s investigation are not the only recent accounts of alleged fraudulent practices against petition gathering organizations.

Lee Albright, CEO of National Petition Management, testified in a 2005 Ohio court case in favor of per-signature payments for petition circulators. Albright told the court that his company’s costs for petition drives would rise by 60% if it couldn’t pay circulators per signature. 

Advanced Micro Targeting’s website describes itself as a “direct-democracy company”, with its website offering ballot qualification, voter contact and direct mail services. According to a Ballotpedia article on the company, AMT has collected signatures for dozens of initiatives across the nation. 

The website’s Careers page states that people who work as signature gatherers for the company should “excel at convincing a voter to sign a petition quickly and respectfully” and “be able to follow strict petitioning laws to collect valid, complete signatures.”

In June 2022, KSNV, an NBC-affiliate news station in Las Vegas, reported on videos that appeared to show fraudulent signature gathering practices by circulators for a ballot initiative to implement ranked choice voting in Nevada. The article says AMT employed the circulators and includes a quote from an unnamed political attorney who said the videos likely display “multiple felonies.” According to KSNV, the company denied the claims of wrongdoing, calling the videos a “smear attempt” and an “obvious act of desperation” in a statement. 

The same month, five candidates in the Republican primary for Michigan governor were removed from the ballot for collecting fraudulent signatures in support of their campaigns. The Board of State Canvassers — Michigan’s authority on nominating petitions and ballot measures — found that the petitions for these five candidates contained thousands of forged signatures. 

Ballot initiatives can also rely on volunteers to gather signatures, who can individually circulate petitions in their communities before sending them to the Board of State Canvassers. 

Nancy Wang, executive director of Voters Not Politicians, which supports the Promote the Vote initiative, told The Daily her organization relies on thousands of volunteers to help collect signatures. Wang said volunteers not only help get their cause on the ballot but can also help guide voters on what to look for before signing a petition. 

“We have thousands of volunteers who are circulating the petition in downtown Ann Arbor … in order to put Promote the Vote on the ballot,” Wang said. “While we’re doing that, we’re trying to educate voters about the other petitions that are out there and saying, ‘Be careful.’” 

There are three certified statewide ballot measures on the ballot for the Nov. 8 general election. On Sept. 8, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in favor of placing the constitutional amendments described by the Promote the Vote 2022 and Reproductive Freedom for All initiatives on the ballot as Proposals 2 and 3, respectively. 

Two bills were introduced into the Michigan State Senate in July 2021 aiming to modify the petitioning process. Senate Bill 0604 would prevent anyone who has been convicted of a crime from circulating ballot petitions, and Senate Bill 0605 would allow signers to retroactively remove their name from a petition if they later decide they do not support the cause. The bills were referred to the Committee on Elections, but no further action was taken. 

Daily Staff Reporters Irena Li and Samantha Rich can be reached at irenayli@umich.edu and sammrich@umich.edu. 

Correction 10/25: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Amy Landingham as an Ypsilanti school board member. She served on the board for Milan Public Schools.

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In an interview with The Daily, a former student in the School of Art & Design recalled her decision to take a class with Phoebe Gloeckner, Art & Design Professor and graphic novelist. This student requested anonymity, citing a fear of professional repercussions. In this article, they will be referred to as Leila.

“I always wanted to take a class with her,” Leila said. “She’s so prestigious. She has a movie. She’s a best selling author … so that was really interesting to me.”

In the fall of 2020, Leila registered for Gloeckner’s course, ArtDes 366: Graphic Narratives. On Oct. 2, a month into the course, Leila and several other students in the class reported Gloeckner to Art & Design School administrators for dismissing students’ concerns about repeatedly showing “racist caricatures in her curriculum” that lacked educational context. This complaint was obtained by The Daily.

A Michigan Daily investigation found numerous previously undisclosed allegations against Gloeckner of perpetuating racial and gender-based microaggressions. The investigation also found that both Art & Design administrators and the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) were repeatedly made aware of these allegations between the fall of 2020 and winter of 2021. 

Of the 679 Art & Design students enrolled in the winter 2022 semester, 58% are white, 12% are Asian, 5% are Black, 7% are Hispanic and 0.3% are Native American, according to the U-M Office of the Registrar.

The investigation also uncovered a formal complaint sent to U-M administrators by an artist who worked with Gloeckner at an outside program, the Atlantic Center for the Arts (ACA), in the fall of 2021. It is unclear what actions administrators took to address these concerns.

This investigation is based on interviews with 12 current and former students of Gloeckner, including three residents who worked with Gloeckner at ACA, along with a review of emails, letters of complaint and other documents pertaining to Gloeckner’s classroom conduct.

In an email to The Daily, Gloeckner pointed to the University’s response to the allegations against her.

“(The complaints) were already examined by U-M, and the university decided to close the matter over a year and half ago,” Gloeckner wrote. “The other allegation from (ACA) is simply outrageous, and absolutely untrue.”

Brad Smith, Art & Design associate dean of academic programs, commented on the University’s response to the allegations against Gloeckner in an email to The Daily.

“The administration of the Stamps School of Art & Design responded to the concerns shared by students in 2020 and 2021 through established processes regarding such issues,” Smith wrote. “As this is a personnel matter, university policy limits the information we are able to share.” 

Gloeckner has been a professor at the University of Michigan since 2004. She received tenure as an Art & Design associate professor in 2010. Gloeckner is best known for her graphic novel, “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” which was adapted into a film in 2015. The film received critical recognition at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.  

According to students in the Art & Design School, Gloeckner is the only professor who specifically teaches comics and graphic novels.

An Art & Design faculty member, who requested anonymity for fear of professional retaliation, told The Daily they recalled three separate instances in which students came to them with concerns over Gloeckner’s classroom conduct. These students expressed concern over Gloeckner’s alleged presentation of graphic and racially insensitive material in class.

Leila said concern surrounding Gloeckner’s curriculum began on the first day of ArtDes 336 in the fall of 2020. Gloeckner assigned students to replicate a cartoon by illustrator Robert Crumb. In interviews with The Daily, multiple students expressed discomfort with the image, which portrayed a woman leaning against a window. One student said they felt the comic was “misogynistic.” 

Crumb is known for his controversial work and role in the Underground Comix movement.

Leila said that in class the next day, students expressed their discomfort with the material to Gloeckner. Gloeckner assigned students to watch a documentary on Crumb in response to student concerns.

In interviews with The Daily, six students said the documentary involved graphic discussions of rape and misogynistic depictions of women. These students allege that Gloeckner did not provide a content or trigger warning before assigning the documentary. 

Leila said she felt like the documentary assignment was a punishment for students not agreeing with class material.

“I don’t care if she likes Robert Crumb,” Leila said. “It was more the fact that (she) was like, ‘You guys must like it, and if you don’t like it, there’s going to be consequences.’ And there were consequences.”

A former Art & Design student who took ArtDes 336 with Leila corroborated Leila’s account. This student also requested anonymity, citing a fear of professional repercussions. In this article, the student will be referred to as Spencer. 

Spencer said that Gloeckner presented cartoons with racist and misogynistic themes in class.  Spencer felt personally offended by these materials. 

“She would assign work that involved us looking at really triggering material, as in depictions of sexual assault, sexual violence against women (and) racist imagery, like blackface and yellowface,” Spencer said. “My classmates would be expressing discomfort with the material … She would always just kind of dismiss it … She showed us this one (comic cover) with a racist depiction of (East Asian) people on it, and me being Chinese, I was not comfortable with that.”

Another student in ArtDes 336 corroborated Spencer’s account. This student also requested anonymity, citing a fear of academic retaliation. In this article, he will be referred to as Beck.

Beck said Gloeckner presented images of yellowface without historical context. 

“She showed a yellowface cartoon, a very racist cartoon, and it wasn’t [for] historical context,” Beck said. “It was just an example of a political cartoon or comic cover.” 

Spencer recalled particular discomfort with Crumb’s images and documentary.

“(Crumb) would draw himself sexually assaulting women, he would draw extremely racist caricatures of Black people and people of other races,” Spencer said. “It’s not like (we were) asking her to completely change the curriculum. We’re asking her to be more sensitive to the fact that there are students in class who are people of Color who don’t want to see stuff like that.”

In one instance, Gloeckner included “Little Nemo in Slumberland,” a comic by artist Winsor McCay, in a class presentation without including content warnings. The comic has been criticized in The Atlantic for featuring “an unconscionable blackface African stereotype.” A screenshot of this presentation was obtained by The Daily.

In an email to The Daily, Gloeckner said comics are intrinsically sensitive and can deal with contentious material. 

“Comics are, by nature, a provocative art form,” Gloeckner said. “Some comics reflect fantasy worlds that reveal our desires, dreams and nightmares.”

In an interview with The Daily, one student alleged Gloeckner repeatedly misgendered them throughout the class, even after they corrected Gloeckner. This student requested anonymity, citing fears of academic retaliation. In this article, they will be referred to as Jaden.

“She misgendered me the entire class,” Jaden said. “She would use ‘he’ instead of ‘they,’ and either I or someone in the class would remind her … and she would just continue to use ‘he/him’”

Jaden said they felt Gloeckner made marginalized students in the class feel uncomfortable.

“As a Black and non-binary person, I would honestly describe my experience in (Gloeckner’s) class as traumatizing,” Jaden said. “Art is just so vulnerable. You really have to be vulnerable with your work and be willing to put yourself out there. So to make a class of marginalized students feel unsafe … that’s really unacceptable.”

On Sept. 13, 2020, Jaden emailed Gloeckner to discuss student concerns with class content. Jaden suggested Gloeckner meet with students outside of class in order to not take up class time. The Daily obtained a copy of this email. 

“Some of my classmates and I wanted to find a time to meet with you to talk about how we could have more inclusive and productive dialogue in the class moving forward,” Jaden wrote. “We feel like the harm caused deserves to be properly addressed, to ensure a class environment where we can all work and learn at our best.”

Gloeckner declined Jaden’s request to meet with students as a group and offered to meet with students individually instead. The Daily obtained a copy of this email.

“I plan to speak with you individually over the next few weeks,” Gloeckner wrote.  “Believe it or not, I’m on your side. I am not your enemy. I am not of the ilk that would punish you for your opinions. I welcome conversation with you.”

 Jaden said they felt Gloeckner held power over students in her role as a professor.  

“She said that she felt uncomfortable (because) it was more of us against her,” Jaden said. “Which I disagree with because to me, it feels like she was the one who had power over us as the professor.”

Beck told the Daily he felt Gloeckner exhibited an unwillingness to listen, which is why some students preferred meeting in a group setting.

“It’s really hard to get all your thoughts together,” Beck said. “Having other people with you makes you more comfortable to talk in the first place.” 

On Oct. 2, 2020, Leila met with Brian Banks, diversity and inclusion advisor at the Art & Design School, to share a list of concerns regarding Gloeckner’s conduct.  (The Daily obtained emails confirming that this meeting occurred.) 

According to the document of student complaints which Leila provided to Banks, Gloeckner repeatedly presented images including blackface, yellowface and violence against women.  

Banks wrote to Leila that he had passed the concerns to interim assistant dean Veronica Falandino and chief of staff Pat Hodges. 

“We believe that (the) issues raised are serious enough that we want to give appropriate time to pursue an in-depth understanding of them,” Banks wrote to Leila. “We will follow up with you with a more substantive response soon.” 

Beck told The Daily he filed a complaint against Gloeckner with the Office of Institutional Equity (now the Office for Equity, Civil Rights and Title IX) in September 2020 after the students requested to meet with Gloeckner.  

OIE Senior Investigator Suzanne McFadden emailed Beck on Sept. 21 confirming she received the complaint. McFadden met with Beck on Sept. 25. 

McFadden later emailed Beck a list of the specific concerns raised in the meeting.

On October 13, Falandino wrote to students that the list of complaints had been shared with Associate Dean Brad Smith. Faladino also wrote that Dean Gunalan Nadarajan was briefed on its contents. 

According to emails obtained by The Daily, Falandino also offered to meet with students. She said that Smith and Nadarajan planned to meet with Gloeckner that week.

Students allege that the administrators’ response changed after these emails.

On Oct. 15, Falandino wrote that the Art & Design administrators were going to let OIE investigate before meeting with Gloeckner.

On Oct. 22, McFadden emailed Beck that OIE would close the matter. McFadden said she and a representative from Academic Human Resources spoke with Gloeckner.

“I had a productive conversation with Phoebe Gloeckner and a representative of Academic Human Resources where we discussed the concerns that were raised,” McFadden wrote. “This matter will now be closed in OIE pending additional information.”

On Nov. 9, Leila emailed Falandino to ask for an update on her complaint. Leila wrote in the email that Gloeckner’s response to student concerns had not changed. 

“Although she has been behaving better in past classes, today Prof. Gloeckner once again engaged the class in inappropriate racial & misogynist content,” Leila wrote. “She continues to dismiss the discomfort of her students despite their feedback & criticism.”

Another student emailed Falandino on Nov. 9 to report concerns about a guest speaker in Gloeckner’s ArtDes 336 course, Casanova Frankenstein.

“I understand that there is encouragement to talk about work that has cultural significance and provides a clearer understanding of discussions pertaining to race,” the student wrote to Falandino. “However, I can comfortably say that various students of color were offended, including myself, about the outright depictions of sexualization of women, including objectification of their bodies, and various racial caricatures alongside them.”

In response, Falandino offered to meet with students to discuss the concerns. Falandino said Smith and Nadarajan would meet with Gloeckner. It is unclear if this meeting occurred. The Daily obtained a copy of this email.

Students of ArtDes 336 met with Falandino and Smith on November 18. 

After this meeting, Leila said she received no further communication from administrators about her concerns.

The following semester, Spencer enrolled in another course taught by Gloeckner: ArtDes 355: Illustrated Books. In an email to the Daily, Spencer wrote that they took another course because Gloeckner was the only professor teaching about comics and illustration.

“I took a second course with Gloeckner to pursue my interest in comics & illustration, and felt I had no choice but to remain under her instruction in order to do so,” Spencer wrote. 

On March 16, 2021, Spencer reported Gloeckner to Smith for inappropriate conduct in this course. Spencer wrote that Gloeckner’s behavior had persisted from the previous fall — in their opinion, she showed a repeated pattern of “insensitivity” toward student concerns.

“Professor Gloeckner’s guilt-tripping and combative actions are absolutely unacceptable,” Spencer wrote. “I will not be comfortable taking a class with her again.”

Smith responded in a March 17 email obtained by The Daily, saying he would bring the concerns to Gloeckner. Spencer received no further update on the status of their complaint.

“There wasn’t much follow up,” Spencer said. “There wasn’t much transparency about what they were actually doing.”

In an interview with The Daily, a recent Art & Design graduate alleged they were warned by other students to avoid Gloeckner’s classes. This student also requested anonymity, citing a fear of academic repercussions. In this article, they will be referred to as Emerson.

While taking ArtDes 447: Narrative Forms in the fall of 2021, Emerson alleged that Gloeckner misgendered students and presented racist imagery with caricatures of Black people. Emerson never reported Gloeckner’s behavior to administrators, citing rumors that administration failed to act on prior allegations against Gloeckner.

“Stamps to me is a very white-accommodating, often racist school,” Emerson said. “Considering (Gloeckner) has tenure, and she lives in that accommodating space, I didn’t expect anything I did to amount to much within Stamps and within (the University) as a whole.”

Emerson said that as a transgender and queer student, they did not feel their voice would be heard by administrators if they filed a complaint.

“I don’t have money,” Emerson said. “I’m not white. I’m trans and queer. The school isn’t made for that. It’s largely set up for white kids with money who wouldn’t even get affected by (Gloeckner’s behavior). And if it’s not bothering them, then it’s not bothering their main source of income, so it wouldn’t really amount to much.” 

The complaints filed by students in fall of 2020 and winter of 2021 were not the only reports about Gloeckner received by Art & Design administrators. During the summer of 2021, Gloeckner served as a mentoring artist at ACA, an artist residency program based in Florida. ACA is not affiliated with the University.

In interviews with The Daily, three former residents of the 2021 ACA summer program spoke about their experience with Gloeckner. These residents alleged Gloeckner engaged in insensitive conduct similar to allegations from students of the University. 

One of these residents, Natalie Dupille, alleged Gloeckner repeatedly perpetuated racial and gender-based microaggressions during the ACA program. Dupille also alleged Gloeckner dismissed her requests for artists to share preferred pronouns in course introductions.  

“It was just overall a pattern of unprofessionalism and inappropriate boundaries,”   Dupille said. 

In an interview with The Daily, another resident spoke on Gloeckner’s conduct as a mentor. This resident requested anonymity for fear of professional repercussions. In this article, they will be referred to as Asa.

Asa told The Daily they decided to participate in the ACA summer program specifically to learn from Gloeckner.

“I was a fan of her work, and that is the reason I went (to ACA),” Asa said. “I’m not too excited to meet most heroes because they often fail you, but I wanted to have conversations about memoir and time, and that’s what I wrote in my proposal to the residency.”

Asa alleged Gloeckner’s behavior crossed appropriate boundaries of a mentor and mentee relationship. 

“It was continual boundary-crossing every which way possible.” Asa said. “Everything felt like a trap with her.” 

Asa said during class, Gloeckner presented her own work documenting violence against women in Ciudad Juarez. Asa alleged that Gloeckner showed violent images from this project in class without adequate content warning or explanation of their educational value. 

“She showed us images of women being interrogated (and) very violent stuff without any context whatsoever, on a big screen,” Asa said. “I don’t really need trigger warnings for things, but it was pretty alarming in the morning to go to a room, and you’re just shown violent images and nothing is explained whatsoever.”  

Asa told The Daily they were uncomfortable with how Gloeckner responded to their art in the program.

In one instance, Asa volunteered in class to share their comic which depicted an inappropriate relationship they experienced with a teacher in their teen years. Asa alleged that Gloeckner defended the teacher in front of the class. 

“I was writing a story about my own childhood,” Asa said. “I was being groomed by a teacher in high school … I’m saying this in front of everyone, and (Gloeckner) starts to get really defensive and say that the teacher probably just had an interest in me (and) thought I was a special student.”

Asa said they told Gloeckner this teacher kissed them when they were 16. Asa alleged that Gloeckner continued to defend the teacher.

Dupille corroborated Asa’s account of this event.  

“That was a turning point for me in which I was deeply uncomfortable,” Dupille said. 

Shortly after this incident, Gloeckner allegedly invited Asa to her residence for a tarot card reading. Dupille and another ACA resident corroborated that this meeting occurred. 

Asa said they accepted the offer for the reading at Gloeckner’s private cottage in an attempt to maintain an amicable relationship. They alleged that during the tarot card reading, Gloeckner made personally targeted comments based on Asa’s art.   

“She started to tell me really terrible things about my family and my partner that you’d only know if you’ve read my comics,” Asa said. “She told me that my life was going to be really sad, that my partner didn’t love me and never will. It was really bizarre.”

Asa said they pushed back on these comments and left the cottage soon after. Asa alleged that on the walk back to the main campus from Gloeckner’s cottage, Gloeckner whispered in their ear, “You are a dog,” then kissed them on the face without their consent. Dupille and another ACA resident told The Daily Asa made them aware of this event soon after it occurred. 

The next day, Asa claimed Gloeckner reached out to meet with them as a part of mandatory mentoring sessions. Asa said they declined to meet, and a few hours later, they were allegedly called into the ACA director’s office and removed from the program. Asa believes Gloeckner reported them to ACA administration after the incident in Gloeckner’s cottage. The Daily was not able to independently verify that Gloeckner was involved in Asa’s dismissal from ACA.

Asa shared their experience with ACA and Gloeckner on social media. Beck, the student from Gloeckner’s Fall 2020 course, found Asa’s posts and contacted them.  After learning of the complaints filed by students at the University, Asa decided to contact Art & Design School administrators to share their own experience.

In a statement addressed to Banks on Sept. 22, 2021, Asa shared their concerns about Gloeckner’s conduct during the ACA program. 

“She is racist and supports racist comic artists,” Asa wrote in the statement. “As an Indigenous person who was called a dog by Phoebe Gloeckner I can confidently say she does not see us as people.”

Asa said their experience with Gloeckner damaged their mental health and tarnished their career in the comics industry. 

“Going into that residency, I was at the height of my career with comics,” Asa said. “My career now feels over, and I’m having to rebuild it. And because people have strong admiration for (Gloeckner) … I then became a nobody pretty instantly. I’d say it’s ruined my career and my mental state.”

Asa said they spoke with an internal investigator at the University, but received no further communication from administrators.

Dupille told The Daily that she and three other residents left the ACA program in solidarity with Asa. 

ACA administrators Nancy Norman and Ivan Riascos did not respond to The Daily’s request for comment on these allegations.

After completing Gloeckner’s class in 2021, Spencer told The Daily they stopped pursuing illustration and comics classes due to Gloeckner’s behavior.  

“My thing was comics and illustration, but (Gloeckner) being the only (comics) faculty made it really difficult for me to take any more classes on that track,” Spencer said. “I decided, ‘No, I’m not going to mentally put myself through having to take another class with her.’”  

Leila said she did not drop Gloeckner’s course because she wanted to prioritize her career in comics and feared she would not graduate on time.

“If I had dropped out of (Gloeckner’s) class, I don’t think I would have been able to finish my major in time,” Leila said. “I didn’t have an option to actually exit out of an abusive classroom.”

Leila said the Art & Design School lacked adequate protocols to address issues surrounding racial microaggressions. She also said she struggled to find resources about reporting a professor and felt emotionally drained from the process.

“The University should really care more about discrimination and harassment in the classroom because it affects a lot of the academic process for students,” Leila said. “I think that students of color and gender minorities are the ones that are affected the most.”

Daily Staff Reporter Callie Teitelbaum can be reached at cteitelb@umich.edu. 

The post Daily investigation finds allegations of microaggressions against comics professor appeared first on The Michigan Daily.

In the mid-1980s, a North Carolina School of the Arts student took a brave step that affected the rest of her high school career: she met with Robert Hickok, the school’s dean, to report that Stephen Shipps, her violin teacher, had attempted to kiss her during her lesson.

The student requested anonymity, citing professional concerns. As in The Michigan Daily’s previous reporting about Shipps’s alleged harassment and abuse, she will be referred to as Meghan. In a Dec. 2018 interview with The Daily, the student remembered Hickok’s response. 

“(Shipps is) a very affectionate man: ‘Are you sure you didn’t misunderstand it?’” Meghan recalled Hickok saying. (Hickok is deceased; two students attending the school at the time corroborated that they were aware of Meghan’s allegation.) 

A few years later, in the summer of 1989, another faculty member became aware of allegations of Shipps’s abuse. By that time, Shipps had left the North Carolina School of the Arts; he was scheduled to begin teaching at the University of Michigan in the fall. 

In a Dec. 2018 interview with The Daily, an Ann Arbor musician with extensive ties to the School of Music, Theatre & Dance community alleged that she spoke with a Music, Theatre & Dance School professor about the rumors of sexual misconduct that had followed Shipps to the University of Michigan. This musician also requested anonymity, citing professional concerns.

“I heard this guy is a scumbag,” the musician told the professor, adding some details about the aforementioned sexual misconduct allegations. 

This past Thursday, Shipps was sentenced to five years in prison for repeatedly transporting a minor across state lines in 2002 while committing sexual misconduct against her. This sentencing came over three years after a Michigan Daily investigation uncovered numerous previously undisclosed allegations of sexual harassment, misconduct and assault against Shipps at the University of Michigan, the North Carolina School of the Arts and the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

In 1995, according to reporting from The News & Observer, administrators at the North Carolina School of the Arts were made aware of eight complaints against Shipps. It is unclear if Meghan’s allegation comprised one of these reports. It is also unclear if the school communicated these complaints to the University of Michigan.

In 2017, a former student of Shipps’s emailed the then-interim dean of the Music, Theatre & Dance School to report her experience of alleged statutory rape while studying with Shipps in the late 1970s at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. At the time of this email, Shipps was a tenured professor of music, the chair of strings and the director of a youth music program through the Music, Theatre & Dance School. He had previously served as the school’s associate dean.

The former student that emailed the dean requested anonymity, citing professional concerns. As in The Daily’s previous reporting about Shipps’s alleged harassment and abuse, she will be referred to as Jane.

“Stephen Shipps raped me when I was sixteen,” Jane wrote in her email to the interim dean. “Over the years, I’ve heard stories similar to mine regarding Mr. Shipps.”

Wendy Olson Posner, the first woman to speak with The Daily on the record about Shipps’s alleged harassment and abuse of students at both the North Carolina School of the Arts and the University of Michigan, spoke in a recent interview with The Daily of many opportunities that administrators had to address Shipps’s alleged harassment and abuse prior to his sentencing.

“There were so many points along the way where if some person with authority had stood up and said, ‘We’re not going to allow this to happen anymore,’ it could have stopped,” Posner said. “It probably could have stopped before he went to North Carolina. And it could have stopped before he went on to Michigan.”

In December 2018, The Daily published an article describing four decades of previously unreported alleged sexual harassment, misconduct and assault committed by Shipps at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, the North Carolina School of the Arts and the University of Michigan. Shipps was placed on leave days before this reporting was published. He retired from the University two months later.

The Daily’s article prompted federal, state and local law enforcement to launch criminal investigations into Shipps. Both the University of Michigan and the North Carolina School of the Arts were subpoenaed as part of these investigations.

A former North Carolina School of the Arts high school student and survivor of Shipps’s alleged sexual misconduct wrote in a recent email to The Daily about the impact of the initial investigation. This student requested anonymity, citing fears of professional retribution. As in The Daily’s previous reporting about Shipps’s alleged harassment and abuse, she will be referred to as Anne.

“Fellow faculty members, administrators, and staff didn’t want to address Shipps’s behavior,” Anne wrote. “Those in charge seem to have determined that it was better to ignore the problem than to risk the fallout of acknowledging it, until they couldn’t… I guess that’s why it took a student newspaper to care enough to take on a member of the faculty who preyed on countless students.”

A former Music, Theatre & Dance School graduate student and lecturer spoke in a recent interview with The Daily of the evolution in the faculty’s behavior towards Shipps. The former student and lecturer requested anonymity, citing their many professional connections to the University of Michigan. In this article, she will be referred to as Chloe.

“Instead of saying, ‘Oh, this is a one-time thing, Shipps was a super bad guy.’ (They) need to realize that he was also a distinguished professor. He was in his position for a really long time. He was a department chair, a youth program director,” the former student and lecturer said. “People were on his side, they were on his side when the rumors were floating. They were on his side until it went public and they couldn’t ignore it any more. We need to take an unflinching look at that.”

In October 2020, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced an indictment against Shipps for transporting a minor across state lines in 2002 while repeatedly committing sexual misconduct against her. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Woodward later described the nature of the crime in a sentencing memo.

“Stephen Shipps was … (a) crucial person in (minor victim 1’s) life,” Woodward wrote. “At age 15, Shipps was her teacher, her mentor … and her ticket to the world of elite classical music. But instead of guiding her through her development as a violinist, student, and young woman, Shipps coerced her into a sexual relationship that would forever impact her life.”

Shipps pleaded guilty to one of the charges in November. This past Thursday, he was sentenced to five years in prison. He was also ordered to pay $120,000 in restitution to the minor.

Woodward wrote in the sentencing memo mentioned above of the many former students that were affected by Shipps’s alleged sexual harassment and misconduct. (Between previous Daily reporting, the criminal charge and a larger lawsuit against the North Carolina School of the Arts, The Daily has learned of 12 survivors with specific allegations of sexual misconduct and assault against Shipps.)

“Unfortunately, (the 15-year-old student) was not Shipps’ first victim. According to Shipps, (the 15-year-old student) was the last student that he exploited through a sexual relationship,” Woodward wrote. “But she was far from the first.”

Woodward described Shipps’s abuse of authority in court on Thursday.

“He was able to exploit his position for decades within the classical world,” Woodward said. “He was an excellent teacher to some … a monster to others.”

Though Shipps has never commented on The Daily’s reporting, John Shea, Shipps’s defense attorney, referenced public reporting about Shipps and admitted in court that Shipps repeatedly engaged in inappropriate sexual relationships with his students.

“We acknowledge that it was a pattern,” Shea said. “But we don’t accept all the allegations (that have been reported).”

In a brief statement that he read in court, Shipps apologized for his actions towards the minor victim from the criminal charges.

“I have broken the law and I acknowledge that,” Shipps said. “I’m sorry for having been a bad citizen. I’m sorry for having hurt (the 15-year-old former student).”

In a sentencing memo, Shea attributed Shipps’s behavior to a performing arts educational culture that long tolerated sexual misconduct.

“From the time he was a high school student himself, (Shipps) was aware of the fact that various of his teachers had sexual relationships with students. These inappropriate, and in some cases illegal, relationships were often open secrets, the regular recurrence of which was accepted with little more than eye-rolling,” Shea wrote. “Regrettably, (Shipps), whose students often were adolescents and primarily female, sometimes joined that culture as well.”

George Carter, another former North Carolina School of the Arts student, knew of multiple high school students who alleged that Shipps attempted to initiate sexual relationships with them. He wrote that Shipps’s repeated abuse is a reflection of the culture of the performing arts.

“Stephen Shipps is the epitome of the privileged male whose lucrative career was carved from the systemic political corruption within the professional classical music structure that has existed for decades,” Carter wrote. “For (40 years), Shipps was provided endless opportunities as a violinist, professor, conductor and university department chair.”

Anne described the importance of Shipps’s prosecution and sentencing.

“The criminal proceedings … make it clear that, as far as the law is concerned, what he did to me and others was wrong,” Anne said. “I carried the shame that should have belonged to him for many years … I kept his abuse a secret because I wrongly saw myself as a co-conspirator in his crime.”

Stephanie Silverman, a former North Carolina School of the Arts student that witnessed the effects of Shipps’s alleged harassment and abuse, wrote in a statement to The Daily about the context of Shipps’s sentencing.

“This sentence (will) never fully reflect the true trauma he has inflicted on so many lives. The women who he assaulted … were 16 and 17 at the time. We are in our 50s now. That is decades of young women,” Silverman wrote. “There is no doubt he was, willfully or not, protected by the institutions he worked for, in this case the University of North Carolina School for the Arts and the University of Michigan.”

Carter wrote in a statement to The Daily of his hopes for survivors of Shipps’s alleged harassment and abuse.

“I hope for his other victims and their families that Stephen Shipps’ sentencing … serves as symbolic justice,” Carter wrote.

Posner spoke in a recent interview of Shipps’s decades of alleged harassment and abuse.

“I’m so relieved that he was finally charged,” Posner said. “He’s had decades to build a career. I mean, he’s had a very nice, very successful career. He was respected by many people. He had been allowed to live a very comfortable life — he almost made it to retirement. And I think about the many girls he abused when they were 16 or 17 years old.” 

Posner recalled her feelings when she was first contacted by The Daily for an interview in 2018. 

“I had been carrying (knowledge of Shipps’ alleged harassment and abuse) around without any sense of closure for so many years, for so many decades. And I always wished there had been an opportunity to put my voice on the record and just let people know what had happened,” Posner said. “To be asked to be quoted … It was sort of a blessing.”

Like many of the women involved in The Daily’s reporting, Posner was shocked at the University’s response.

“People were speaking up, they were being received with support. The system was forced to respond,” Posner said. “It was kind of mind blowing. Because I went to Michigan and North Carolina. And it had never been that way.”

Since the release of the investigation, the University of Michigan’s Music, Theatre & Dance School has taken various steps to change the school’s culture. In the summer after The Daily investigations into Shipps and former Music, Theatre & Dance School professor David Daniels were published, glass panels were put in all office, classroom and practice room doors. The school also contracted with a law firm to conduct surveys on the school’s culture and climate.

Chloe described the importance of the glass panels.

“Being able to see into studios is a huge improvement. That is really important. And I think that that was structural,” Chloe said. “If you can’t see into the room, then you don’t know what’s going on in there. It’s a form of transparency.”

In his sentencing memo, Shea asked the judge to consider alternatives to incarcerating Shipps.

“Defense counsel asks the Court to consider a sentence that does not require incarceration or, if the Court determines that incarceration is necessary, a modest carceral sentence,” Shea wrote. 

Shea wrote that though Shipps had suffered from alcoholism since the age of 17, he found sobriety in 2009. Shea also wrote that Shipps became increasingly involved in his church in 2007.

“The ‘offender’ who will appear … for sentencing has been a much changed and better man for many years,” Shea wrote. 

In court, Shea suggested that a sentence focusing on Shipps’s criminal actions in 2002 would ignore his subsequent efforts to improve his character.

“Focusing simply on the offense ignores the great progress that (Shipps) has made in his life since that time,” Shea said.

Carter wrote in an email to The Daily about Shipps’s privilege.

“This is what privilege buys you,” Carter wrote. “Shipps faces sentencing concerning only one of his many abuses.”

Shea also argued in his sentencing memo that Shipps has taken ownership of his harmful actions.

“Shipps pleaded guilty. His acceptance of responsibility has been sincere and his remorse is deeply felt,” Shea wrote. “He had no desire to cause further distress to the (victim of the criminal charges) by contesting the charges. He fully agrees that he should make restitution for the harm he caused her.”

Posner argued in a recent interview that Shipps’s guilty plea spoke not to Shipps’s ownership, but to the effects of The Daily’s reporting.

“I don’t think it speaks to his finding some conscience. I think it speaks to the public’s response, to the fact that it’s all out there now in an article,” Posner said. “I don’t think any of us think it’s remotely sincere.”

In a press statement after Shipps’s sentencing, James C. Harris III, HSI Detroit deputy special agent in charge, spoke of the bravery of the numerous women who spoke out about Shipps’s alleged harassment and abuse. (The Department of Homeland Security aided in the criminal investigation.)

“It is my hope that today’s sentencing can bring some closure to Shipps’s victims and sends a powerful message to others in positions of trust that if you prey on the vulnerable, you will be held accountable for your actions,” Harris said.

U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison also commented in the press statement on the many women who have spoken out about Shipps.

“I want to commend the brave young women who, after many years, found the courage to come forward and expose the abuse they suffered at the hands of Shipps,” Ison stated.

The 15-year-old former student from the criminal charge has never been interviewed by The Daily. In interviews and emails with The Daily, five other survivors expressed shock and disbelief at Shipps’s claim that he has accepted responsibility for his actions and expressed remorse.

Though they’ve repeatedly been contacted by law enforcement officials, none of the survivors who spoke with The Daily have received any communications from Shipps.

In an interview after the sentencing, Maureen O’Boyle, the only named survivor in The Daily’s 2018 article, spoke of Shipps’s claims of remorse for his actions in 2002.

“You’d have to imagine that if his remorse was sincere, I would have heard from him,” O’Boyle said. “Only he knows how many women should have heard from him.”

Focal Point Reporter Sammy Sussman can be reached at sbsu@umich.edu. 

The post Former SMTD professor sentenced to five years in prison appeared first on The Michigan Daily.

In January 2020, the University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School provided musicology administrators with a department review based, in part, on a survey of doctoral students. The report revealed multiple concerns of musicology faculty engaging in verbal abuse, contributing to a “troublesome climate and culture” and significantly below average graduation rates for over two decades. A copy of this review has been obtained by The Michigan Daily.

“Students indicated a sense of belonging … (that) is the lowest of all programs in the humanities and the arts,” the report said. “Your students painted an alarming image of (the) program climate.”

The report noted that these scores had dropped in the four years since Rackham’s previous review in 2015 of the musicology department.

Anonymous comments from individual graduate students were also included in the report.

“A dozen comments in the open-ended responses described instances of the following: (1) faculty publicly calling into question the intellectual and scholarly ability of students, especially female students; (2) faculty openly discussing issues of disability, health, and other protected personal information of students; and, (3) faculty openly insulting and demeaning students,” the report said.

A Daily investigation into the musicology department climate found numerous previously undisclosed allegations of unprofessional conduct against musicology professor Louise Stein and the department’s current chair, James Borders. 

These allegations span from the 1980s to the present and range from grade manipulation to insensitive comments targeting students’ socioeconomic backgrounds.

This investigation also found the Music, Theatre & Dance School and Rackham administrators were repeatedly made aware of concerns regarding Stein and Borders. It is unclear if these administrators have taken any actions to address these concerns outside of the review.

The investigation conducted by The Daily is based on interviews with 16 current and former students along with emails, documents and the internal Rackham review. 

In an email to The Daily, Borders commented on the allegations against him.

“Should the University open an investigation, I would cooperate fully,” Borders wrote.

Stein also commented on the allegations against her in an emailed statement to The Daily.

“The allegations … are deeply concerning to me because I remain dedicated to supporting students and promoting their success at all levels,” Stein wrote. “If the University decided to investigate, I would certainly cooperate fully.”

In an email to The Daily, David Gier, dean of the Music, Theatre & Dance School, explained the actions administrators have taken in response to the 2020 musicology department review. 

“We take very seriously the experience of U-M students at SMTD, and prioritize climate and culture at the school,” Gier wrote. “While I cannot comment on personnel matters related to faculty and staff, I am sharing the steps SMTD has taken to address areas of concern outlined by the 2020 Rackham Program Review of the Musicology Department.”

Gier wrote that the Music, Theatre & Dance School’s response to climate concerns included the creation of a handbook for the musicology department and the implementation of anti-racism and equity-focused training for faculty. 

Gier did not comment on the allegations against Stein or Borders.

‘These people don’t care about me at all’

In interviews with The Daily, seven current and former musicology students of the 16 total interviews spoke of allegations of unprofessional conduct against Borders. These students allege that his conduct is an open secret among students and faculty. 

A former student who enrolled in the doctoral program in musicology in the early 2010s spoke of Borders’s unprofessional conduct at department events. The student asked to remain anonymous out of fear of professional repercussions. In this article, they will be referred to as Emma.

Due to the small size of her class, Emma asked that the years she was enrolled in the program not be identified in the investigation. According to the 2015 Rackham report, the average enrollment cohort between 2004 and 2014 was four students.

In her first month at the University, Emma was warned of Borders’ behavior toward graduate students. She was specifically advised by another student not to speak with him at the annual department party hosted at Borders’ house.

“(An older student) clearly mapped out (the house): This is the layout of the kitchen, this is the layout of the living room, this is probably where the professors will be,” Emma said in an interview with The Daily. “‘Don’t hover. Don’t try to make small talk. Don’t think that this is going to be a pleasant experience.’”

At the party, Emma watched Borders allegedly approach an Asian student to talk to them about “Japanese ritual suicide.” She alleged Borders then pretended to perform such a suicide. 

“‘So when you want to commit suicide, let me know because I can help you or I can tell you how to do it,’” Emma alleged Borders told a group of students at the party.

Another student who attended this party independently corroborated Emma’s account.

In an interview with The Daily, Alyssa Wells, a current student enrolled in the musicology doctoral program, recalled her time in fall 2017 as a graduate student instructor (GSI) for one of Borders’ classes.

On Nov. 1, Wells learned that her mother-in-law had been moved into hospice care due to a decline in her health. She called a fellow GSI and made arrangements for them to cover her duties before that day’s 8:30 a.m. lecture. She emailed Borders at 6:58 a.m.

“I woke this morning to the news that my mother-in-law has a very short amount of time left. I will not be in class today,” Wells wrote. “Right now I am still too much in shock to make the judgment about whether or not I will be in for the rest of the week.”

After a lengthy discussion over email about plans for Wells’s sections, Borders wrote that Wells had failed to communicate clearly in her earlier emails. The email exchanges between Wells and Borders were obtained by The Daily.

“Your personal situation, as emotionally challenging as you find it, neither reduces your responsibility nor the reasonable expectation of clear communication so long as you are a UM instructor,” Borders wrote to Wells on Nov. 3, 2017. 

Borders included Associate Dean Jason Corey, one of Wells’ colleagues and two musicology professors in his response, which Wells told The Daily she felt was inappropriate because the emails “revealed sensitive personal information.”

Wells said she asked other faculty members for their advice on how to handle Borders’s complaint. In one email, a different department faculty member suggested that Wells “de-escalate.”

“The urgent thing you need to do at this point is to de-escalate the situation,” the faculty member wrote on Nov. 4 in an email obtained by The Daily.

Wells recalled speaking to other faculty members about Borders’s complaint. They all had the same response, Wells claims.

“‘Apologize to him,’” Wells said. “Apologize to the person who had tried to initiate disciplinary action against me in my job because I took a total of four days off … that I’m legally entitled to.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, one reason employees can take time off is “To care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a qualifying serious health condition.”

Wells told The Daily she later met with her advisor, who told her that Borders had criticized Wells during a faculty meeting. 

“(The advisor) said that I had done something to make him think that I was not serious about the subject … that I had abandoned students,” Wells said.

When she returned to teaching after Thanksgiving Break, Wells said she attempted to apologize to Borders to de-escalate the situation. During their conversation, Borders allegedly told Wells he had complained about her in a faculty meeting and spoke for so long that two faculty members left the meeting.

Tara Browner, a graduate of the musicology doctoral program from the late 1980s, alleged Borders’s behavior created an intimidating and hostile classroom environment. 

“It was just awful,” Browner said of her time in Borders’s musicology bibliography class. “He’s one of these people that finds somebody in the class and picks on them.”

Another student who took this class independently corroborated Browner’s characterization of Borders’s classroom conduct.

After Browner decided to confront Borders about his teaching style, she alleged Borders retaliated by lowering her grade to a B. She recalled calling Borders after the end of the semester to discuss her grade.

“‘I gave (the grade) to you because of those things you said to me,’” Browner alleged Borders said. “‘You had a bad attitude.’”

Browner said her grade was allegedly raised after that phone call. The Daily has obtained a transcript listing Browner’s final grade as a B+. 

Eight years later, while attending the American Musicological Society conference in Baltimore, Browner alleged that during dinner one night Borders made a toast about her in front of some graduate students and faculty.

“(Prof. Borders was) drinking and drinking, and people started doing toasts,” Browner said. “And he stood up and … his toast was, ‘Fuck you, Tara Browner.’”

Browner was shocked at Borders’ behavior, particularly given that she was no longer a University graduate student.

“What was shocking is that he treated a professional colleague — me — the way he did,” Browner wrote in a statement to The Daily.

Browner described feeling a lack of support from the musicology faculty while she was a student at the University.

“I kept thinking, these people don’t care about me at all,” Browner said of the department. “They don’t care about my career. All I am is I’m something that’s here, that’s on a fellowship … they just simply do not care about me.”

‘Two years at Michigan set me back five years in my career’

The Daily’s investigation also found numerous allegations of unprofessional conduct and academic bullying against Professor Louise Stein, a member of the musicology department since 1987. These allegations come from interviews with 14 current and former students of the 16 total interviews and a review of emails, assignment feedback and other documentation.

Stein has previously drawn attention in the “Overheard at umich” Facebook group for a threatening and aggressive email she sent to Information and Technology Services in 2016. In an April 2021 Facebook thread, multiple students who took Stein’s courses expressed concern over her conduct in class and in emails.

The Daily spoke with one of Emma’s classmates, who also requested anonymity out of fear for professional repercussions. In this article, they will be referred to as Noah.

In their first semester at the University, Noah and Emma enrolled in Musicology 509 with Stein. They allege that Stein repeatedly offered feedback that was insulting and unproductive.

“‘You all write like you have absolutely no graduate experience,’” Emma alleged Stein said.

Emma took another class with Stein the next semester. In this course, students began work on their third term paper, an essay the department used to determine which students would continue in the doctoral program. 

Stein returned one of Emma’s papers with comments written in all caps and red text. The Daily obtained a copy of this essay.

“I feel like I can’t breathe when I look at those pages,” Emma told The Daily. “I can’t tell you how often I cried over emails and feedback from her.”

In her application to the University, Emma wrote a diversity statement in which she described growing up below the poverty line. Emma alleged Stein repeatedly brought up Emma’s statement to critique her work. The Daily was not able to independently verify that Stein had access to these documents.

“She actually weaponized details from my diversity statement against me,” Emma said.

The Daily obtained an email containing feedback on a presentation Emma gave in class in which Stein commented on Emma’s socioeconomic background.

“Sometimes I have to say things that are not as ‘nice’ as the things we exchange in social discourse,” Stein wrote. “You come from a very different world than the one we are training you to enter (academe!!).”

Despite her concerns over Stein, Emma said she never filed a complaint about Stein’s behavior for fear of retaliation. 

“(I heard) that other people had complained in the past … and that nothing had ever happened,” Emma said. “All that could really happen was that it could make Stein have more reason to attack.”

Emma alleged that Stein’s recurring negative feedback prevented her from progressing on her third-term-paper. She was later cut from the doctoral candidate program because of problems with this paper, according to a letter from the department obtained by The Daily.

“Two years at Michigan set me back five years in my career,” Emma said.

Wells is a first-generation college student. When she enrolled in one of Stein’s classes, she alleged that Stein repeatedly made comments about her family background. In one instance, Wells mentioned that her mother was taking a college music appreciation course. 

“From that point on, (Stein) made comments about me sounding unrefined,” Wells alleged.

Wells alleged Stein once held the class overtime for 15 minutes to criticize how Wells presented a mock lesson for a piece based on a Spanish poem. One other student, who was in the class at the time, independently corroborated Wells’s account.

“She held the class over to interrogate me about my knowledge of Spanish and my inability to translate the poem and (to) truly know what the poet was getting at … other classes were waiting to get in,” Wells said.

In interviews with The Daily, multiple current and former students alleged Stein created a hostile environment in class by asking aggressive questions during presentations.

A former graduate student who entered the program in the fall of 2007 asked to remain anonymous out of fear for professional repercussions. In this article, they will be referred to as Lauren.

During her first year in the program, Lauren was required to enroll in one of Stein’s courses. She also enrolled in a research methods course taught by Borders. (Borders, the department’s chair at the time, was in an administrative position from June 1993 to June 2008.) 

“She was just very abusive,” Lauren alleged. “When we were done (with a presentation) she would sort of embark on this oftentimes very long tirade about how terrible we were.”

Lauren alleged Stein provided hostile feedback on assignments particularly toward students studying disciplines in musicology outside of her own.

Three other students who were also enrolled in the course at the time raised similar concerns in interviews with The Daily. 

At one point, Lauren alleged that Stein told her she didn’t possess basic skills for success in academia.

“She didn’t think that I had the ability to focus and she didn’t think that I had the right study skills to work at the level that we were working,” Lauren said. “At some point, she had me come into her office and for an hour she sat there … and told me, you know, gave me all these basic instructions for how to study.”

Lauren alleged Stein once held the class overtime to lecture her on how terrible she was.

“She just kept going for 10 minutes, and everybody was late,” Lauren said. “She made me cry … It was a really intense experience.”

Another student present in this class independently corroborated Lauren’s account. The student recalled that once Lauren started crying, Stein allegedly said that Lauren’s inability to receive feedback reflected her inability to be a good professor in the future.

Allegations of unprofessional conduct against Stein stem back to the 1990s, according to interviews with former students.

In 1990, students like Browner who had Minority Merit fellowships were ineligible to receive teaching assistantships in the musicology department, Browner said. 

Browner told The Daily that in 1990, Stein allegedly called her into her office and berated her for fighting for teaching assistantships for minority students. 

“‘You have low self esteem,’” Stein allegedly said. “‘And you think that you’re not as good as the other students, because you’re a minority student, you’re an Indian. But the reality of it is that all graduate students are trash.’”

After that comment, Browner told The Daily she left the office without responding.

“I didn’t know her and, and I thought, ‘Why is she saying this to me?’” Browner said.

Another former student who took one of Stein’s classes in 1992 recalled her dismay whenever Stein responded to her questions in class. The student asked to remain anonymous, citing fears of professional retribution. In this article, she will be referred to as Ellen.

“I would jump in and ask some kind of probing question,” Ellen said. “But her response was to shut me down.”

In 1994, Stein was up for promotion to a tenured position on the musicology faculty. She allegedly called Ellen to ask for a letter of recommendation.

Ellen declined.

“She had no idea or concept of how angry and disappointed I had been in my experience in her classes,” Ellen said in an interview with The Daily. “I said, I don’t think you realize the effect that your actions or your words or attitude … had on me.”

Stein received tenure in May 1994, according to records available on the Board of Regents website.

‘Nobody tried to stand up for me’

In interviews with The Daily, numerous current and former students alleged that Music, Theatre & Dance School and Rackham administrators have repeatedly been made aware of concerns about Borders and Stein even before the 2020 Rackham review.

Noah recalled that after Stein once told him his work was of “K-Mart quality,” he challenged her comment in an email that included Music, Theatre & Dance School Associate Dean Steven Whiting. 

Whiting invited Noah to meet with him to discuss his concerns about Stein. 

“He (said) he supports (Stein) in every way. And I said, well, I can’t do this. I can’t do this anymore,” Noah said.

Noah withdrew from the University of Michigan soon after that meeting. A few years later, he left academia.

In the winter of 2010, Lauren sent an email to the musicology graduate student listserv requesting data about graduate student pay. In an interview with the Daily, Lauren claimed musicology GSI salaries were lower than those of other Rackham graduate programs at the time.

“I will submit a list of schools and salaries to a (friendly) member of the faculty with no names attached,” Lauren wrote in the email obtained by The Daily.

Lauren did not send the email to faculty in the musicology department.

Borders responded the next day in an email to the department’s students, faculty, the school’s dean and Whiting. It is unclear how he learned of Lauren’s email to the student listserv.

“I regret that a department colleague, friendly or otherwise, thinks this kind of thing appropriate and ethical (sic.),” Borders wrote in an email obtained by The Daily. “I think it’s divisive at the very least and it ends here.”

Multiple faculty members replied to the email chain throughout the day, most expressing support for Borders’s sentiments.

“Nobody tried to explain anything,” Lauren said. “Nobody tried to stand up for me.” 

Stein responded to Lauren’s email to the department about GSI salaries by sending an email to Lauren’s personal Gmail account. This email was also obtained by The Daily.

“I recall that when you were enrolled in Musicol 509, I suggested to you as kindly as I could that your own immaturity (evident in your presentations in 509) could become a stumbling block to your development as a scholar and teacher,” Stein wrote to Lauren. “Alas, I think you made a poor choice when you sent out that message to your peers … precisely the kind of poor choice that stems from immaturity and a naive view of the world.”

In a written statement to The Daily, Megan Hill, a musicology program alum, described her reaction to the email chain.

“(I remember) being shocked at the tone being directed at my fellow student,” Hill wrote in an email to The Daily. “(We) could not be certain we would not be publicly harassed and humiliated by our teachers.”

Lauren said she brought the emails to Whiting to address the situation, but he allegedly said he did not want to see them. 

“He said ‘Don’t show me those behind-the-woodshed dressings-down,’” Lauren alleged. “‘I don’t need to see them.’”

‘There need to be some consequences’

In a separate survey in 2015, Rackham asked graduate students to rate their experiences of department climate and culture. The musicology department’s students rated the department significantly below average.

After the report’s release, multiple students met with Jason Geary, the associate dean of graduate studies in the Music, Theatre & Dance School at the time. (Geary has since left the University to work as the Director of the School of Music at the University of Maryland.)

Minutes from this meeting provided to The Daily show that Geary was made aware of numerous allegations of misconduct against Stein. According to the minutes, students had expressed concerns to Geary about “retaliation and escalation” should a formal complaint be filed against Stein.

Geary offered support to the students and encouraged them to file formal complaints as a group.

The Daily has obtained emails and meeting records that point to at least six other administrators who were made aware of these concerns in 2016 and 2017.

Rackham’s 2020 review noted that the musicology department’s completion rate was significantly below average. 

“With completion rates of 69% for your 2001-05 entering cohorts, 65% for your 2006-10 entering cohorts, and a potential completion rate of only 60% for the 2011-15 entering cohorts, you are well below (the) average completion rate of 80% for the humanities and the arts,” the report stated.

Rackham identified three potential causes for these graduation figures, which are among the lowest in graduate programs at the University. According to the 2020 review, the three factors identified were “the structure of examination milestones, the lack of systematic annual reviews of students, particularly candidates, and the culture and climate of the program.”

The 2020 report also expressed concern over the department’s low number of under-represented/minority (URM) students. Rackham noted that of the three URM students who enrolled in the program between 2006 and 2010, none completed their PhD.

“More worrisome (than the overall graduation rates) are differences in completion rates between demographic groups,” the report stated.

Rackham suggested that Corey and Professor Stefano Mengozzi, the chair of the department at the time, share the 2020 report and schedule a discussion on its findings with the students and faculty of the musicology department.

It is unclear what steps the Music, Theatre & Dance School and Rackham administrators took to address these concerns. 

Borders, the current department chair, wrote in an email to The Daily commenting on the department’s handling of the 2020 review. Despite the concerns brought forth from former and current musicology students, Borders said the department has made progress in addressing the review’s results.

“Like all my colleagues in Musicology, I have read the 2020 Rackham report on climate issues in the department and believe that–over the course of a number of meetings and many conversations–we have taken action to address the concerns it raised,” Borders wrote.

Borders did not specify what action has been taken in response to the 2020 report.

Stein also commented on the department’s handling of the 2020 report in an email to The Daily.

“Together with my colleagues, I have invested a great deal of time, thought, and effort in making substantive changes to the Musicology program in response to the Rackham review,” Stein wrote. 

In an interview with The Daily, Liz Abdnour, Michigan-based attorney and former Michigan State University Title-IX investigator, discussed the Rackham review. (Abdnour has no legal involvement in these cases. Her comments are expert opinions based on information provided by The Daily.) 

Though the report had suggested that the musicology department take steps such as creating “a document that outlines normative expectations for your faculty in working with graduate students,” Abdnour noted that Rackham has no ability to enforce these recommendations.

“They’re recommendations, they’re not a requirement,” Abdnour said. “And they’re sort of leaving it up to this group of folks that seems to already not be able to communicate appropriately or effectively to figure out how and why they need to improve.”

Given the numerous allegations raised in The Daily’s investigation and the outcomes of previous Rackham reviews, Abdnour said she believes that additional reviews and reports need to include enforcement mechanisms. 

“I also think there need to be some consequences tied to their compliance with a plan that they may create,” Abdnour said. “Otherwise, there’s no incentive for them to comply with whatever plan they or somebody else might come up with.”

Managing Focal Point Editors Julian Wray and Vanessa Kiefer can be reached at jwray@umich.edu and vkiefer@umich.edu. 

Daily Staff Reporter Sammy Sussman contributed reporting to this article.

The post Daily investigation finds 30 years of alleged unprofessional conduct by two musicology professors appeared first on The Michigan Daily.

This episode follows an article recently published by The Michigan Daily’s Focal Point section about the serious safety and misconduct concerns within University Housing. The Michigan Daily reporters who broke the story, join The Daily Weekly to discuss the residential staff’s grievances and where the university has fallen short on its commitments. Later, we speak with a former residential advisor about her experiences living in the dorms during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The post The Daily Weekly: An Investigation into University of Michigan Housing appeared first on The Michigan Daily.

Content Warning: mentions of sexual assault, sexual harassment

On Sept. 8, 2020, over 100 residential advisors — University housing staff members consisting of student employees — at the University of Michigan voted to strike, frustrated by hazardous pandemic-induced working conditions. 

The University reached a deal with residential staff members two weeks later. As part of this agreement, the University agreed to provide ResStaff with updated data on COVID-19 cases in residence halls and daily communication regarding case numbers as well. 

They also promised the formation of the Residential Experience Council (REC), a biweekly forum for residential staff members to voice their concerns to University Housing administrators.

A Michigan Daily investigation into University Housing policies found that University Housing has reneged on its commitment to ensure residential staff members’ safety after the Fall 2020 strike. 

In August and September 2021, University Housing did not hold any REC meetings according to an email obtained by The Daily sent on Oct. 19, in which Director of Residence Education Jasmine Clay scheduled the first REC meeting two months into the semester. 

Clay wrote that meeting frequency will be reduced from biweekly to monthly. In addition, the email also included a guideline that regulated residential staff members’ behavior during REC meetings.

According to the email, REC meetings will not be used to discuss “personnel matters regarding specific supervisors of (residential staff members). Building representatives should follow the designated Department communication route to share personnel feedback,” Clay wrote.

For residential staff members, the “designated Department communication route” is their hall director, an in-dorm supervisor who directly oversees everyday work. Circumventing hall directors and reporting directly to their supervisors is heavily discouraged by University Housing, according to interviews with 21 current and former residential staff members.

These staff members allege this prevents some safety concerns from reaching University Housing administrators. 

In an email statement to The Daily, Amir Baghdadchi, Senior Associate Director of University Housing, commented on University Housing’s reporting processes.

“ResStaff can always find a first resource in their direct supervisor, who typically lives in the same building alongside their ResStaff, present and available to talk,” Baghdadchi said. “In addition, one of the strengths of our student staff program is that each member is part of a larger cohort of fellow ResStaff, including more experienced RAs, and some of the most valuable support comes from that community.”

A Daily investigation found University Housing failed to properly respond to numerous undisclosed safety concerns brought by residential staff members between 2018 and 2021.

Before the strike in Fall 2020, residential staff members were prohibited from speaking to the media, according to Letter of Appointment (LOA) documents obtained by The Daily. 

“ResStaff may not communicate publicly (including to the news media, in social media, or other public communication venues) about professional matters internal to University Housing without authorization from a supervisor,” the policy stated.

Current LOA documents, also obtained by The Daily, do not outline forbidden actions such as engagement with the media. The LOA from 2019-2020 was 12 pages long; the updated LOA for 2021-2022 is only one page long.

Despite the policy change, numerous residential staff members allege that hall directors continue to discourage interviews with the media. They fear that the vagueness of their current contracts would allow the University to easily terminate their employment.

Baghdadchi wrote in an email to The Daily that residential staff members are free to engage with the media. 

“Student staff have always been free to express their personal points of view as students to the media,” Baghdadchi wrote. “To ensure accuracy, factual questions about Michigan Housing are handled by professional staff.” 

Baghdadchi also wrote that he acknowledges the difficulty of residential staff work and shared the support provided to these staff members by the University.

“Resident advisors and diversity peer educators, known as ResStaff, have some of the toughest and most critical student jobs on campus, and we know that for them to support residents, they need strong support from Housing,” Baghdadchi wrote. 

Former residential staff member Isra Elshafei also spoke of the difficulty of residential staff work.

“It was a constant feeling of being a pawn in their system. We were being stripped of being a student,” Elshafei said. “We were no longer a student, we were just an RA.”

‘I didn’t trust being in the dorms’

The Daily spoke with a former residential staff member, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of professional repercussions. In this article, she will be referred to as Alice.

Bagdadchi declined to comment on Alice’s experiences. 

“The University does not comment on personnel matters,” Bagdadchi wrote.

Alice shared a written account with The Daily about her experiences as a ResStaff member, which are quoted below to share her testimony in this article.

On the second day of classes in Fall 2019, Alice said she overheard a conversation between several of her residents.

“They were talking about how they were going to break me,” Alice said in an interview with The Daily. “What was that supposed to mean? Break me? How?”

Alice said she tried to brush the incident off, but she began noticing the residents around campus outside the residence halls.

“I noticed at least three of them during many passing periods,” Alice said. “I became increasingly nervous … on campus.”

In the residence hall, she alleged that she began hearing them speak about her inappropriately.

“I had to engage in nice conversation as they purposely said things to make me uncomfortable,” Alice wrote in a statement to The Daily. “Afterward, I would hear them saying ‘fuck her,’ ‘nice ass,’ or ‘Oooh I’d like to tap that.’”

Alice said she received notes and love poems on her door that commented on her appearance and her private life. Some of these notes were signed by one of the residents who allegedly made those comments, according to Alice. The Daily has obtained photos of these notes and confirmed their contents.

One night, Alice said she heard a loud bang on her door. The noise startled her so much that she burned her thumb on her curling iron. 

“I hear (him) yelling … ‘Where the hell (is she?),’” Alice said. “This was the first time I was very scared of him.”

According to training documents obtained by The Daily, residential staff members should report incidents of gender-based harassment to hall directors. Alice started doing so in September 2019.

Alice told The Daily that the resident allegedly cornered one of her coworkers and demanded Alice’s whereabouts. This coworker, who corroborated this story, requested anonymity in an interview with The Daily for fear of professional retribution.

Alice said she reported this event to her hall director. A Division of Public Safety and Security (DPSS) officer was called the same day to take Alice’s statement.

During that meeting, Alice said she felt her experiences were dismissed. In a written statement sent to The Daily, Alice said the DPSS officer made comments that disparaged her concerns.

“At the end of the meeting, the DPSS officer looked at me like I just wasted his time and said, ‘Honey, it sounds like they have a little crush on you. Why don’t you just confront (them)?’” Alice wrote.

Alice told The Daily she didn’t have the emotional capacity to respond to this comment. Her hall director was also present at this meeting, and Alice said she was surprised that the hall director did not speak up.

“(My hall director) didn’t try to convince DPSS that … this was a problem and needed to be solved,” Alice said. “There wasn’t any checking-in with me to see how I was doing.”

The meeting ended with the DPSS officer promising to have a conversation with the resident, “not because it was wrong, but because it was scaring me,” according to Alice.

According to the DPSS report, the conversation between the DPSS officer and the resident lasted two minutes.

When Alice later read the DPSS report, she learned that more than half of what she told the officer was not included. The Daily has obtained a copy of this report.

After the meeting, the hall director allegedly told Alice that the resident was going to stop by Alice’s dorm room later that day for a private apology. Alice said she was shocked. She told the hall director she was not comfortable with being alone with the person who had allegedly harassed her.

Although the hall director set up this meeting, they did not offer to accompany her, according to Alice.

“It’s like they had purposely taken away any choice I would ever have in how to deal with any of this,” Alice said. “I felt kind of violated that he was in my room. It was supposed to be my safe space and (he’s not) a safe person.”

After this, Alice said she felt unsafe in her dorm room. She said she slept fully clothed with a screwdriver under her pillow.

“I just didn’t trust being in the dorms anymore,” Alice said. 

In the same month, Alice was allegedly sexually assaulted by a classmate in her dorm room. She said she could not tell her close friends on the residential staff because they would report the incident as mandatory reporters — residential staff members are required to report allegations of sexual assault to their hall director.

“If something happens to (a residential staff member), the person who’s in charge of you, that you work with everyday, who you live in the same building with, that has complete control over your life, regardless of whether or not you trust them … is the one who’s supposed to find out,” Alice said. “I never understood that.”

In the two months following the alleged sexual assault, Alice said she constantly experienced panic attacks and flashbacks to the incident. She said she ultimately decided to report to her hall director, so she could inform and be supported by her residential staff friends. 

Alice said she approached her hall director and asked a few hypothetical questions to find out if her privacy would be protected. 

“My boss said I could just say I was sexually assaulted, my name could be left off the report, the report would be a hard copy (with no electronic records) and no other groups on campus would reach out to me because it was anonymous,” Alice wrote.

After disclosing the details of the assault to her hall director, Alice alleges that her hall director went back on promises and declined to keep Alice’s name out of the report.

“I started feeling like I was going to cry. I remember biting my tongue and tasting blood,” Alice said.

Alice said she feared that she would have to speak to DPSS again and decided not to share additional details with her hall director. She later found out her hall director still filed a report disclosing her name and Alice was contacted by the University’s Office for Institutional Equity.

Alice’s hall director no longer works in University Housing, and their email directed The Daily to the Office of Public Affairs. 

Baghdadchi wrote in an email that University Housing encourages residential staff members to report sexual harassment and misconduct.

“All members of the U-M community are encouraged to report sexual and gender-based misconduct to the university, to the police or both,” Baghdadchi wrote. “If any student, (including) residential advisors, has experienced sexual or gender-based misconduct, they can report the incident and request an investigation.”

Alice alleges that the residents — including the resident who was asked to apologize — continued to harass her; her residents allegedly came up with nicknames for her, commented on her body in pictures on the bulletin board and stalked her in classes. 

Later that semester, Alice alleges she was sexually assaulted again by a different person. Both instances of alleged sexual assault occurred outside her job as a residential staff member.

Alice said she chose to not report the incidents following the first alleged sexual assault incident to DPSS or University Housing. 

‘Clearly you can’t handle this’

Another residential staff member alleged that University Housing administrators repeatedly downplayed concerns for her safety. This staff member requested anonymity citing fears of professional retribution. In this article, she will be referred to as Bri.

During residential staff training in August 2021, Bri said she felt threatened by one of her coworkers. Conversations with this coworker left Bri feeling shaken and unsafe.

“He’s a very physical person and … you can tell when he’s getting upset,” Bri said in an interview with The Daily. “He’s just very loud and very in your face.”

Bri said University Housing did not adequately prepare her for the possibility that she might be harassed by a coworker.

These sentiments were echoed by a former residential staff member, class of 2021 graduate Anooshka Gupta.

“We had gone over all these resources with SAPAC (Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center) … but I feel like it was (about) ‘How do you support students?’ Gupta said. “There was never anything about ‘What if something happens with another staff member?’”

One day at lunch, Bri said her coworker allegedly approached her after she had asked him to stop interrupting her during training meetings. Bri told her coworker that she didn’t want to address this during lunch.

“I think (if) we have the conversation, I’m going to cry,” Bri said in response to her coworker.

Bri alleges that her coworker continued pursuing the topic until she cried. 

Once Bri’s coworker left, she said she called their hall director and asked for the training to be rescheduled because her coworker’s behavior made her feel unsafe. The hall director requested to meet with Bri to discuss the aforementioned incident, according to emails The Daily has obtained pertaining to this meeting.

Bri said she told her hall director she felt constantly on edge, couldn’t eat and felt unsafe in her own dorm because of her coworker’s behavior.

Bri alleges her hall director was more concerned with upsetting the coworker than addressing Bri’s safety concerns. Bri also said her hall director allegedly discouraged her from going to other staff members for help.

When Housing administrators became aware of the issue weeks later, Bri met with Area Director and Area Coordinator Bob Simmons and Program Manager for Student Leadership Anneke Darling. 

Bri said Simmons allegedly told her she wasn’t working hard enough and “needed to try harder.” 

Bri also alleges Simmons compared her safety concerns to a coworker he “didn’t really get along with” when he was in college. 

Simmons no longer works for University Housing and The Daily was unable to reach Simmons for comment. Darling declined to comment and directed The Daily to the Office of Public Affairs.

Bri told The Daily she held back tears during the meeting as Darling allegedly commented on Bri’s mental state. 

“‘I’ve never seen that level of anxiety over a thing like this,’” Bri said Darling allegedly stated.

Bri said she felt that her job was at stake.

“(I was) pressured to either take (a demotion) or resign,” Bri said. “They’re like, ‘Oh, clearly you can’t handle this, but we can’t fire you for it.’”

In a follow-up email Darling sent on Oct. 16, 2021 to Bri, Darling reiterated the need to push past the problems.

“How would you like to move forward from this?” Darling wrote. “As Bob mentioned, we know that the one thing that we can control is ourselves and our actions.”

The following month, Bri’s hall director scheduled weekly meetings between Bri and the coworker, even though Bri said she had repeatedly expressed fear of her coworker. The Daily has obtained emails that corroborate the occurrence of these meetings.

This approach is consistent with University Housing’s restorative-justice-centered conflict resolution process.

The Daily spoke to 11 student residential staff members who said the University Housing’s restorative justice approach is ineffective.

Gupta voiced concerns about the restorative justice practice. 

“I just think that generally, the entire foundation of restorative justice isn’t properly implemented in Housing,” Gupta said.

The Daily obtained copies of the training materials about the conflict resolution policy provided to staff.

“(Residential staff) will be able to utilize restorative practices and restorative justice principles in their interactions with residents,” one training module said.

Bri said University Housing’s restorative justice practices felt disingenuous and influenced the handling of her complaint.

“They saw it more as checking a box, like ‘Oh, we did the restorative practices. Time to move on.’ They’re not paying attention to whether it works. They’re just doing it and hoping it works,” Bri said.

The Fall 2021 semester ended as it began, as Bri said she still felt unsafe around her coworker.

Bri ultimately left her position with University Housing and said she felt that Housing administrators never adequately addressed her safety concerns.

‘Maybe this role isn’t right for you’

In interviews with The Daily, multiple sources compared residential staff work to social work. LSA senior Anna Kreiner, a former Martha Cook residential staff member, said her responsibilities as a residential staff member lacked adequate support.

“I feel like an in-building social worker all of the time. Without the compensation, without the education … without the care and the title,” Kreiner said.

Elshafei alleges University Housing did not offer substantial mental health resources to staff members. 

“You know that basic blanket statement of ‘There’s CAPS available?’ It was always just that,” Elshafei said. “Especially as a non-white person, CAPS has always been not the best place to go. Why do I even wanna bother trying something that takes ages to go through?”

Students seeking consultations and resources from the University’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) have frequently faced long wait times and varying levels of accessibility to its resources, particularly among students of color.

In an interview with The Daily, class of 2021 graduate and former residential staff member Soneida Rodriguez shared similar concerns regarding the emotional labor the position demands.

“You’re expected to frontload all these different crises,” Rodriguez said. “There is an emotional cost, a mental cost to always being on the frontlines … I just don’t think that increased stress was always factored in.”

A former Martha Cook residential staff member who requested anonymity for fear of professional repercussions spoke of the excessive stress of her former job. In this article, she will be referred to as Catherine.

Catherine said that University Housing allegedly tells applicants little about their positions and their responsibilities until after they are hired. 

“If I had known that there were only four (residential staff members) in this building, I never would have accepted that role,” Catherine said. “You’re not really able to give informed consent to the job when you only have 24 hours (to accept the position).”

From Fall 2019 to the staff strike in Fall 2020, Catherine told The Daily she was on duty for almost a week straight every month, which is abnormal for residential staff members in other residence halls. The Daily has obtained copies of the 2019-2020 duty schedules from Martha Cook, Baits and Stockwell to confirm this statement.

Catherine said the duty hours made her miserable.

“(Being on duty for a week meant) you couldn’t really see your friends … It destroys your sleep schedule,” Catherine said. “Every night you’re waiting, wondering ‘is there going to be an emergency?’”

Catherine recalls that by the end of September 2019, she was having discussions with her hall director about how being a Martha Cook residential staff member was negatively affecting her mental health. She provided documentation from her therapist to her hall director citing the University Housing job as a major factor in her declining mental health.

Catherine said when she requested to transfer from Martha Cook to another residence hall to preserve her mental health, her request was denied.

“I vividly remember HR saying to me on the phone, ‘We’re required to make an accommodation for you. It does not have to be the accommodation that you request … Maybe this role isn’t right for you,’” Catherine said. 

The demanding nature of the residential staff position aggravated Catherine’s struggles. After a coworker quit for the same reasons in late September of 2019, Catherine’s workload took a heavier toll on her mental state.

“They didn’t get us another (residential staff member). (Three of us) were covering the whole building for six weeks. No assistance.” Catherine said. “If the job had been negatively impacting my mental health before, it destroyed my mental health at that point.”

Although Catherine said her hall director arranged weekly check-ins with her, she also said these check-ins made her feel humiliated because Catherine saw it as a way for her hall director to micromanage her.

“I was expected to give them updates on how I was doing,” Catherine said. “If I asked for accommodations, I was supposed to justify why and I was like ‘I’m still depressed.’”

Catherine said she was forced to make the decision to reject her therapist’s suggestion to enroll in an outpatient program due to heavy workload and inability to leave the building during duty. 

“Because of my job I can’t do that. I might get fired,” Catherine said. “I can’t drop duty. I can’t go to the psych ward.”

Catherine said she considered leaving her position but she knew of the financial implications. 

“I didn’t have a job, because you weren’t allowed to have a job in the role,” Catherine said. “So I didn’t have any money to fall back on.”

As several other residential staff members said in interviews with The Daily, quitting is not so simple.

Multiple former and current residential staff members have told The Daily that their financial aid packages have been reduced or in jeopardy due to the job. Residential staff members shared similar grievances on the online forum Reddit. 

University spokesperson Kim Broekhuizen told The Daily in an email that students’ financial aid packages are based on their “cost of attendance,” which includes tuition and fees, housing, books and other miscellaneous costs. These costs, Broekhuizen added, may be reduced when a student becomes a ResStaff since room and board costs are covered by the University. 

“So when a student accepts a role with ResStaff with compensation that includes their room and board, the student’s cost of attendance changes and it often affects their financial aid package,” Broekhuizen wrote. “Usually this adjustment comes in the form of reduced borrowing. In cases where a student’s entire financial aid package is made up of grants, the grants may be reduced since they are no longer needed to pay for housing costs.”

Broekhuizen added that this information is provided to students throughout the hiring process, including on the University Housing hiring website and on the job description page for ResStaff, as well as in all ResStaff interviews.

“It’s also important to note that this information is made clear to student employees throughout the hiring process so that it should not come as a surprise,” Broekhuizen wrote.

Gupta alleged that University Housing is not transparent about the real implications of accepting the residential staff position. 

“They’re not only profiting off our labor, they’re using our names to be like ‘Look at this great thing we’ve done,’” Gupta said. “They don’t talk about that part until you’re an RA, like ‘Oh, you might wanna look into how this affects your financial aid.’”

Rodriguez said these financial consequences make remaining in a residential staff position a necessity.

“Administrators just continued to paint this position as a choice, but when you have a job that is so closely tied to your food, your housing, your ability to send back money to your family … that … is not really a choice,” Rodriguez said.

Kreiner voiced similar concerns.

“You have a lot of middle class students who are here for the room and board,” Kreiner said. “How can I feel like I have choices when I’m … here because I can’t afford anything else on this campus?”

Catherine said she believes University Housing’s unwillingness to listen to the complaints of residential staff members has not changed.

After Catherine’s initial interview with The Daily, she texted a GroupMe chat of 296 current and former residential staff members asking if anyone wanted to share their experiences working for University Housing.

The next morning, Catherine said she received a call from her hall director.

“‘What messages did you send in the GroupMe?’” Catherine said her hall director asked.

Catherine alleges that her hall director threatened to fire her after she admitted she spoke with The Daily.

“‘You cannot just rant to a reporter, there is no context in which that can happen,’” Catherine said her hall director stated. “‘You should be aware that this is grounds for termination.’”

In a follow-up email to The Daily, Baghdadachi responded to allegations that speaking to the media was prohibited in the past, clarifying that residential staff members are allowed to speak to media as individuals but not as representatives of University Housing. 

“Yes, Resstaff have always been free to express their personal points of view as students to the media,” Baghdadachi wrote. “We train student staff on understanding the distinction between speaking their personal point of view as a student, and acting in the role of a Resident Advisor or Diversity Peer Educator. As RAs or DPEs, they are expected to protect resident information, and refer inquiries about Housing policy to professional staff.”

Catherine knew that speaking to a reporter was a fireable offense prior to the strike in September 2020. Her current contract does not indicate specific fireable offenses.

Catherine continued to speak to The Daily. She was not fired.

Focal Point Reporters Tate LaFrenier and Lola Yang can be reached at tlafren@umich.edu and lolayang@umich.edu.

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In July 2021, Rackham alumni Matthew Bernhard heard that the Georgia Institute of Technology was considering offering a job to then-University of Michigan professor Daniel Genkin. 

Bernhard had repeatedly made UMich administrators aware of Genkin’s alleged academic bullying in the Computer Science and Engineering department. He decided it was worth making his concerns known one more time, this time via a Twitter direct message to an acquaintance and faculty member in Georgia Tech’s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy.

“Hey, so word on the street is that (Georgia Tech) is making an accelerated tenure offer to Daniel Genkin,” Bernhard wrote in messages obtained by The Michigan Daily. “That’s possibly a really bad idea. Daniel is horrifically abusive to students and other faculty, a fact pattern that has followed him from Penn to UMich.”

After receiving this message, the Georgia Tech faculty member sent a screenshot of it to the interim chair of the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, Rich DeMillo, according to emails obtained by The Daily under a Freedom of Information Act request. The Georgia Tech faculty member introduced Bernhard to DeMillo via an email, obtained by The Daily, sent later that day. 

Within hours, Bernhard sent DeMillo a multi-paragraph description of Genkin’s alleged bullying at UMich. 

Bernhard never heard back. But DeMillo included Bernhard’s allegations in a document obtained by The Daily detailing the numerous warnings Georgia Tech had received about Genkin’s alleged behavior.

Two weeks later, DeMillo announced Genkin’s hiring to Georgia Tech’s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy.

A Michigan Daily investigation found numerous previously undisclosed allegations of abusive behavior against Genkin. These allegations span Genkin’s time at the University of Pennsylvania, where Genkin was previously employed as a postdoctoral researcher, and at the University of Michigan, where Genkin was a faculty member in the Computer Science and Engineering department from 2018 to 2021. 

The allegations range from pressure to falsify data to comments and actions insinuating physical violence. They also include alleged misogynistic and racially charged comments, emotional manipulation and unprofessional workplace behavior.

The Daily’s investigation also found that administrators at UPenn, UMich and Georgia Tech were repeatedly made aware of these allegations, according to dozens of emails, messages and other documents obtained by The Daily.

The Daily also found that complaints against Genkin were reported to UMich’s then-Office for Institutional Equity (now the Office for Equity, Civil Rights & Title IX). At least one of these complaints prompted an investigation into Genkin’s behavior. The status of this investigation remains unclear.

In an email to The Daily, Genkin disputed these allegations.

“These [allegations] were investigated by Michigan’s CSE and found to be inaccurate or exaggerated,” Genkin wrote. “As a result, no disciplinary actions were taken. I was never contacted by OIE and have a clean disciplinary record across Penn, Michigan and Georgia Tech.”

Blair Meeks, Georgia Tech’s Assistant Vice President of External Communications, wrote in an emailed statement to The Daily that “all of (Georgia Tech’s) typical hiring procedures including background checks, criminal record checks and reference input” were followed when hiring Genkin. 

DeMillo declined numerous interview requests, writing in an email to The Daily, “I am unclear what story you are asking me to share my side of.”

“Some of your questions refer to past events at Michigan about which I have no first-hand knowledge,” DeMillo wrote in a later email to The Daily. “Other questions appear to be based on allegations that are flatly untrue.”

DeMillo declined to comment on specific allegations and didn’t note which ones he believes are untrue.

Michael Wellman, the current Chair of UMich’s Computer Science and Engineering department, said in an interview with The Daily that the department effectively addressed complaints against Genkin. 

“In this case, the actions … we implemented to address concerns about faculty behavior were effective,” Wellman said. “We investigated immediately, we supported the students, we set clear expectations for the faculty member for correction and improvement. We took decisive action, CSE did, in this case as soon as relevant information was brought to our attention.”

This is not the first allegation of improper workplace conduct to be raised against professors in UMich’s CSE department. In February 2020, The Verge reported allegations of sexual harrassment against CSE professor Jason Mars. In May 2021, The Daily published an investigation regarding UMich’s handling of allegations of sexual misconduct against former CSE professor Walter Lasecki. 

The CSE department has also experienced rapid turnover in leadership. Chair Brian Noble stepped down in February 2020, weeks after allegations were reported against Mars. Later that year, Interim Chair Peter Chen abruptly stepped down in July 2020 for “personal reasons.” In January 2021, Chen was charged with criminal sexual misconduct, and that case is currently pending trial.   

Wellman told The Daily that CSE is more committed to improving the department’s culture than ever before. 

“CSE is, based on our experience, arguably more aware than just about any other departments about the necessity to ensure and to establish a strong community with a positive climate,” Wellman said. “And our faculty and staff are working on many fronts to achieve this.”

Wellman also expressed his commitment to the faculty mentorship process. 

“But it’s also important to realize we do not discard people the first time they make mistakes, but rather we attempt to correct the problems,” Wellman continued. “In this case, the system we put in place to mentor a new faculty member to address identified concerns worked.”

In an email on June 24, 2021, a Georgia Tech faculty member stressed the importance of getting Genkin to sign Georgia Tech’s offer letter for a tenure-track faculty position.

“Michigan is also trying to make things better for him and we should not give them unlimited time to work on him to stay,” the faculty member wrote to DeMillo. 

On August 9, 2021, Genkin wrote in an email to a Georgia Tech administrator that he was “being pushed to resign UM” and that he “had his lab packed up.” 

Wellman said that he did not push Genkin to resign. 

“As I said, we made clear to him that he needed to correct the problematic behavior,” Wellman said. “We provided advice and mentoring about how to improve as a research advisor, including how to eliminate all the problematic behavior, how to reduce the stress that he was perceived as imposing on students. And we also introduced vigilant monitoring of his lab and paid attention to the well-being of students.”

Angel Rodriguez was an undergraduate researcher in a cybersecurity lab when Genkin joined UMich in 2018. According to Rodriguez, Genkin was intriguing: young and eccentric with a flashy research history. 

“He basically disrupted the whole security field,” Rodriguez said in an interview with The Daily. 

A few months after arriving at UMich, Genkin allegedly approached Rodriguez about working for him in exchange for a spot in the PhD program. 

“I knew that I had a harder chance of getting into the PhD program because I didn’t have the grades for it,” Rodriguez said. “He told me that he could basically guarantee that I’d get in.”

Rodriguez said he was enthusiastic about his “trial run” working for Genkin during the summer of 2019. But by the end of the summer, Rodriguez had reported Genkin to OIE twice. 

Genkin’s alleged bullying began with inappropriate comments. Rodriguez said he witnessed Genkin insult the speaking skills of non-native English speakers. Genkin allegedly called Rodriguez, an African American man, a “monkey” and allegedly made frequent comments about his weight.   

Once, Rodriguez said he watched Genkin keep a student feeling ill in the lab until the student started crying. In an interview with The Daily, Rodriguez said he filed his complaint with OIE because of this alleged incident. 

“I think that was the straw that really pushed me to report,” Rodriguez said to The Daily. “ (The student) really was afraid of leaving early because if (Genkin) saw … he would go into the office and then criticize (them) and belittle (them).”

On July 20, 2019, Rodriguez sent an anonymous email to OIE, a copy of which was obtained by The Daily. He asked about protections of students who report about the behavior of professors. 

“I have witnessed concerning actions from a faculty members that have made myself and others uncomfortable,” Rodriguez wrote. “Myself and others have refrained from reporting them because of the risks imposed on the students and faculty working directly or indirectly under them.”

Elizabeth Seney, then-Senior Associate Director of then-OIE & Interim Title IX Coordinator, wrote back that the University’s policy “prohibits retaliation against an individual for reporting or otherwise sharing information about concerns of discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, on the basis of any protected class identified in the University’s Nondiscrimination Policy Notice.” 

Nine days after that, Rodriguez responded with a detailed anonymous complaint about Genkin’s alleged behavior. 

“Daniel will frequently insult, belittle, and generally not be conscious of the negative effects his words and actions have on the feelings of wellbeing, safety, and respect, of his peers and underlings,” Rodriguez wrote to Seney. “I respect his work, but I do not respect the hostile work environment he has created.”

Seney replied, thanking him and writing that OIE would address the concerns which fall within OIE’s scope. 

Filing the anonymous complaint did not seem to improve Rodriguez’s working conditions, Rodriguez said. Genkin persisted in making “unreasonable” demands on Rodriguez’s work hours and research output, Rodriguez told The Daily. On August 12, 2019, Genkin questioned the 80 hours Rodriguez reported working over a two-week period in a message on Slack reviewed by The Daily. 

Later that week, Rodriguez said he went to Genkin’s office to ask him to approve his timecard. Rodriguez said that Genkin showed him what he claimed to be an unapproved lock on his door. Rodriguez said he cautioned Genkin against doing things he shouldn’t be. 

“If you tell anyone about it, I’ll get in trouble, and I’ll hang you,” Genkin allegedly replied, according to the second OIE complaint Rodriguez later filed.

“I look back on it now and I still feel like I under-reacted to a lot because of how much I had on my plate at the time,” Rodriguez told The Daily.

On Nov. 4, 2019, Rodriguez sent a message to graduate students about a new concern: Genkin was allegedly encouraging colleagues to falsify data before a fast-approaching academic paper deadline. Copies of this chat were obtained by The Daily.

With Rodriguez’s approval, Bernhard wrote to Noble about this pressure to falsify data. Three other graduate students, four faculty members and one administrator were cc’d on this email, obtained by The Daily. 

Rodriguez responded in the email chain that Genkin often pressured others to bend the rules. He wrote of the “numerous times” Genkin pressured him and his colleagues to circumvent “the safety committee … to cut costs and save time.” 

On Dec. 10, 2019, Rodriguez replied to the previously anonymous complaint to Seney by claiming it as his own. He included new allegations against Genkin in his reply.  

“I kept feeling a deep fear that I was burning bridges I may need during or after my undergraduate career,” Rodriguez wrote in his email to Seney. “The news of this report reached Daniel, and I strongly believe he knows it was me. I fear for retaliation.”

Five days later, on Dec. 15, Rodriguez decided not to apply to the PhD program. 

Five days after that, on Dec. 20, Genkin submitted an application to a tenure-track faculty position in Georgia Tech’s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy. 

By April 2019, Bernhard was becoming wary of Genkin’s alleged behavior in the student office space he shared with Genkin’s advisees. He met with then-CSE chair Brian Noble to discuss this on April 19, 2019.

“The first meeting, I felt good,” Bernhard said in an interview with The Daily. “I sort of laid out…my concerns about the department were not just Daniel-based. It felt good to have someone who seemed at the time like they were listening.”

After that meeting, Genkin allegedly followed Bernhard out to his car to find out what information had been shared with Noble. 

“I couldn’t tell at the time if it was just total lack of awareness of social norms or … like, ‘I’m going to physically intimidate you and follow you around until you tell me what you’ve been telling other people’,” Bernhard said. 

Bernhard later initiated email chains, obtained by The Daily, with multiple graduate students and faculty members to discuss concerns about Genkin in Sep. 2019. 

Genkin’s alleged conduct severely disrupted the graduate student workplace, according to Bernhard’s email chains. In one instance, he allegedly used the shared graduate student office to drill into his Segway battery, filling the space with noxious fumes, Bernhard wrote in the emails. 

In another instance, Bernhard wrote in the emails that he witnessed Genkin yell at a graduate student until they cried. When Bernhard spoke with Genkin about this, Genkin allegedly replied that, “I can either go in there and scream at (the student) until (they cry) and then (they’ll) do the thing, or I can just do it myself.” (Italics in original text)

In the same conversation, Bernhard wrote in the emails that Genkin allegedly said, “The only thing that gets professors fired is sexual impropriety and academic dishonesty.”

In early Sept. 2019, Bernhard heard rumors of Rodriguez’s OIE complaint.

“He’s been asking people if they want to go hunting for rats, apparently,” Bernhard wrote in a message to a peer obtained by The Daily. 

Over the next four months, Bernhard repeatedly met with Noble and other CSE faculty. Bernhard said that they consistently declined to take substantive action to address student concerns.

In one specific instance, Noble responded to Bernhard’s email to ask if any of Genkin’s behavior could be proven with something in writing.

“The most common response from (Noble) was that his hands were tied,” Bernhard told The Daily. “Legally, (he) couldn’t do anything. There was nothing he could do to stop (Genkin) from abusing us. It’s just the system. It’s not really his fault, which was the one that really got to me.”

Bernhard recalled to The Daily that Noble established rules in one of these meetings that Genkin would have to follow going forward. One of these rules was that Genkin could not enter the shared graduate student office space.

After Genkin allegedly continued to enter the graduate student office space, Bernhard wrote to Noble. Noble responded via email to say that he had not yet spoken to Genkin. 

After months of meetings but little improvement in Genkin’s behavior, Bernhard told The Daily he and other graduate students had lost confidence in the department’s ability to address Genkin’s alleged bullying. 

“By this point, we were pretty upset that not only have we had to go through these fairly traumatizing experiences, but also that nothing was done,” Bernhard said. “The University as a whole didn’t seem to care.” 

Nevertheless, Rodriguez and Bernhard continued to make administrators aware of Genkin’s alleged conduct. In Feb. 2020, Rodriguez had individual meetings with Noble and Alec Gallimore, Dean of the College of Engineering. 

Rodriguez followed up with an email to Gallimore listing his recommendations to improve reporting to OIE. 

“Thank you for coming in and for this message,” Gallimore wrote in an email reply. “I’m also sorry. The behavior you describe has no place at Michigan.”

In March 2020, Bernhard forwarded then-chair Peter Chen the previous emails between him, Noble, other faculty members and other graduate students regarding Genkin. Chen replied that he was “trying to get up to speed on this situation as fast as I can.”

In a video chat later that month, Bernhard said that Chen acknowledged he wasn’t sure if he could do anything to help the situation with Genkin. 

“He seemed receptive,” Bernhard said. “It was obvious he was in fact finding mode. I felt really good after my one conversation with (Chen). And then nothing happened as per usual.”

Even prior to his time at UMich, Genkin faced allegations of bullying.

In 2017, Genkin worked in UPenn’s Cryptography and Information Security department as a postdoctoral researcher. According to emails sent by a student in the department between Jan. 2017 and Sept. 2017 and obtained by The Daily, Genkin was allegedly “passive-aggressive,” “manipulative,” “disruptive,” “toxic” and an “intellectual bully.”

The UPenn Office of University Communications did not respond to repeated requests for comment by The Daily. Current CSE chair Wellman denied knowing about these allegations during Genkin’s hiring.

“I had heard about (the UPenn emails) recently that some students were saying that there were these known allegations, but we never received those and I can tell you as someone involved in the hiring, there was nothing in the record about that,” Wellman said in an interview with The Daily.

The term “academic bullying” has been increasingly applied to conduct in higher education institutions in recent years. Researchers say that bullying thrives in research settings. 

In 2019, the Max Planck Society in Germany conducted a survey of workplace harassment of over 9,000 employees, 17.5% of whom said they had experienced bullying in a period longer than 12 months. Also in 2019, the science journal Nature reported that roughly 20% of the 6,000 PhD students surveyed said they experienced bullying. Of those, 57% said they felt “unable to discuss their situation without fear of personal repercussions.”

In an interview with The Daily, Wellman said that Genkin’s alleged behavior had changed.

“We did not receive any reports of incidents or problematic behavior of this sort after 2019,” Wellman said. 

Bernhard told The Daily he believes that the remote research requirements of the pandemic prevented Genkin from engaging in further alleged bullying.

“We were all remote so it’s not like (Genkin) could have done the things he was doing,” Bernhard said. “It’s hard to say, was it even really a problem anymore?”

Bernhard and Rodriguez both graduated from U-M CSE with their respective degrees in the spring 2020. 

On Nov. 17, 2021, Rodriguez requested a copy of OIE’s investigative report regarding his complaints, according to details obtained by The Daily. Rodriguez was told via email that it would take up to 45 days for him to receive this report. He has not yet received a reply.

Though Bernhard contacted Georgia Tech administrators July 6, 2021, Genkin had received his first offer letter in May. Genkin signed a second offer letter on June 26. 

Wellman confirmed that he spoke with DeMillo, the Georgia Tech interim chair, on July 13, 2021, as indicated in emails obtained by The Daily. 

“So I had a phone call with the chair of the department that hired him, and I guess what I’ll say is that we did not withhold any information about his situation or his performance at Michigan,” Wellman said. “I answered any questions that he had.”

Georgia Tech completed a background check on Genkin on May 24, 2021. The background check, reviewed by The Daily, included a standard screening of any history of criminal, credit, driving or substance abuse. 

In response to continued concerns over his previous alleged behavior, Genkin wrote to The Daily that his current students are happy with his mentorship style. 

“The allegations raised are in stark contrast to positive feedback from students that are currently in my research lab,” Genkin wrote. “They have enthusiastically chosen to keep working with me despite being offered other options since I transitioned to Georgia Tech.”

Daily Staff Reporter Elissa Welle can be reached at elissajw@umich.edu. 

Nina Molina and Sammy Sussman contributed reporting to this article.

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Content warning: sexual assault

Former University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance professor Stephen Shipps pled guilty on Tuesday morning to one count of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in sexual relations. 

“In 2002, I drove (a female student) from Michigan to New York when she was 16 years old … (I) intended for (her) to engage in sexual activities with me while in New York,” Shipps said during the hearing. 

Shipps faces up to 15 years in prison, though he and the government spoke in court of a sentence between 57 and 71 months. (As part of the plea agreement, Shipps forfeits his right to appeal his sentence if it does not exceed 71 months). Shipps’ recommended sentence was increased because he abused his “position of trust” as a violin teacher and because he “engaged in a pattern of activity involving prohibited sexual conduct,” according to the plea agreement.

Shipps also faces fines of up to $250,000. His sentencing hearing has been set for Feb. 17 at 11:00 am.

Shipps was indicted on two counts of transporting a minor across state lines in order to engage in sexual activity in Oct. 2020. At Tuesday’s hearing, Shipps pled guilty to the second count in return for the government dropping the first count.

Acting U.S. Attorney Saima Mohsin commented in a press release on the bravery of the anonymous woman who Shipps transported across state lines in 2002.

“Shipps used his position of trust to sexually exploit a child,” Moshin said. “Well regarded music professors at prestigious universities with competitive music programs like the University of Michigan enjoy tremendous influence within the music community.  These professors often have the ability to make or break careers…. I commend the brave young woman who stepped forward and exposed Shipps’s abuse.”

In the same press release, James C. Harris, special agent in charge of homeland security investigations in Michigan and Ohio, spoke of Shipps’ pattern of alleged abuse.

“Thanks to the remarkable bravery of Shipps’ victims and painstaking investigative work by HSI, this disgraced professor is being held accountable for coercing vulnerable young women into sex acts,” Harris said.

In total, including the incident for which Shipps pleaded guilty on Tuesday, The Michigan Daily is aware of 10 unique sexual misconduct allegations against Shipps. 

Shipps’ plea comes nearly three years after a 2018 Michigan Daily investigation uncovered eight previously undisclosed allegations of sexual misconduct against him over the course of his four-decade academic career at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the North Carolina School of the Arts and the University of Michigan. These were the first allegations to be publicly reported against Shipps and did not include the alleged incident for which Shipps pleaded guilty on Tuesday.

Shipps was the Chair of Strings and director of the Strings Preparatory Academy, a music program for local high school students, at the time of The Daily’s 2018 investigation. He was also the former associate dean for academic affairs. Shipps stepped down as program director and took leave from the University three days before the 2018 article was published.

In that 2018 investigation, Wendy Olson Posner, a former student of Shipps, spoke of her belief that numerous adults were aware of the allegations against Shipps. 

“I believed — and still do, frankly — that the people in positions of authority who I might have chosen to confide in must have already known … and would not have acted,” Posner said.

The Daily’s 2018 investigation also uncovered an allegation that a U-M faculty member was made aware of Shipps’ alleged pattern of harassment and misconduct in 1989, shortly after Shipps was hired to the University. The faculty member declined to comment on the record in 2018, explaining that he does not remember individual conversations from nearly 30 years ago. 

Subsequent reporting by The Daily found an email to the interim dean of the music school describing a tenth allegation of statutory rape against Shipps sent in Oct. 2017. University employees responded to the former student’s email more than a year after the student sent her email — a University of Michigan Police Department detective and a University Title-IX investigator requested more information from the former student shortly after the University became aware of The Daily’s investigation into Shipps.

Allegations against Shipps have also surfaced in The Atlantic and in a public Instagram post. Because The Daily cannot confirm the identities behind who made these allegations, it is unclear whether these allegations are unique from the 10 that The Daily is aware of. 

The Daily has been able to confirm that records from both the North Carolina School of the Arts and the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance were subpoenaed as part of a joint investigation launched by the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security in the wake of The Daily’s reporting. The UMPD also assisted in the law enforcement investigation.

Reflecting on Shipps’ guilty plea, a different former student survivor — who is one of the eight survivors first reported in The Daily’s investigation — expressed amazement that individuals in authority had finally investigated her allegations of abuse. This student requested anonymity for continued fear of professional retribution. 

“I’ve spent decades wondering if this was ever going to happen,” the former student said. “Though he will never be held accountable for what he did to me, I’m amazed that the world is finally holding him accountable for some of his actions.”

Focal Point Editor Sammy Sussman can be reached at sbsu@umich.edu.

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