Occupy protesters deliver group complaint at University of Michigan regents meeting
The University of Michigan Board of Regents meeting got an unusual start on Thursday afternoon when at least 30 Occupy Ann Arbor and Occupy U-M protesters chided the regents in unison.
A group of Occupy Ann Arbor protesters.
After the five-minute denunciation from protesters, U-M President Mary Sue Coleman offered no comment and began the meeting by reminding regents about Sunday's commencement ceremony.
The regents also offered no reply.
Here are a few complaints from the group, which they spoke to the regents in unison:
"Regents we are here to say that you are elected officials, you are accountable to the public, you are privileged to serve... You have failed in this service. There was once affordable public education, today there is only an expensive commodity. You sell this commodity to wealthy students, to the rest of us you offer a more ominous exchange, an education for a lifetime of student debt."
"You tell us state defunding creates difficult challenges, we agree. But you have responded to this challenge by stripping benefits from workers, raising tuition and decreasing tenure track positions."
"You have demonstrated your inability to stand for public education. Your agenda represents what you do stand for. You value funding start-ups over students and you value billions in construction over accessible education. We are demonstrating what we value. We the students, the staff and the faculty, we who teach and participate in class, we who clean the campus.”
"We are here to reclaim the university for the public who makes it run…. We have another vision, job security and intellectual freedom of faculty and staff… a student body without student debt."
“Regents we know that your failure is shared. The state legislature shares it. Student loan sharks share it. The governor shares it. The U.S. congress shares it. The president shares it. When we address you we address them, too. We address you as representatives of a bankrupt system.”
Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@annarbor.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.
Comments
groland
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 6:49 p.m.
The ultimate irony in all of this is Mary Sue Coleman lecturing Obama recently about the high cost of higher education.
notnecessary
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 3:21 p.m.
I paid for my own education through working 40 hour weeks while going to school full time. I choose to live a modest life, still graduated with a gpa over 3.9 and paid for a majority of my school while I was there. I had no fancy job - I delivered pizza...i have modest student debt - the payments are much less than the average new car note. I didnt do this in the 70s - I attended u-m from 2004-2008...it can be done - theres no life long debt. My parents are far from rich and did not contribute at all to my education funding...I just sacrificed and made it happen. I'm tired of these occupy people complaining - I'm in their generation - but I'm working 80-hour weeks builiding my own business and still doing menial work to pay the bills...work is there you just have to be willing to do it and not be discriminating.
Kai Petainen
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 2:32 p.m.
it looks like the President responded? take a look at this: <a href="http://www.umich.edu/pres/speech/commentary/111215obama.php" rel='nofollow'>http://www.umich.edu/pres/speech/commentary/111215obama.php</a> it's an open leter to Obama, dated Dec. 16th
clownfish
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:51 p.m.
hehe, right wing posters defending the government run, liberal university!! i love it! flip flop, if they were against it before an OWS person showed up, they are for it now!
motorcycleminer
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:47 p.m.
Nothing a good artic express would't resolve...time to go home to mommy and daddys and play with your video games ...
Usual Suspect
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:15 p.m.
For once the Occupy folks got the message and the target right. However, their methods are still messed up. Anyone else who spoke at the meeting planned ahead and got on this thing they call an "agenda." If any of these kids had spent any time in a real job they would know that that is. The way they're going about it is disrespectful and childish, but that's what we expect from the Occupy clowns.
clownfish
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 2:04 p.m.
Could have been worse. They could have dressed in costume, wrecked private property and attacked an administrator. If they had they could have called it the UM Tea Party.
Michael Hartwell
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:06 a.m.
This no comment from Mary Sue Coleman? The Same Mary Sue Coleman that is nonplussed about 77k jobs going unfilled in Michigan?
Gorc
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 12:27 a.m.
Intresting...Occupy Ann Arbor particpapated? There can't be a lot of them, they only have two tents set up in in the park on Liberty.
northside
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:52 p.m.
Cracks me up that the conservatives on this site are so angry about this. What the Occupy protestors said to the Board isn't that different from what conservatives have been saying about higher ed in general: it is mismanaged and costs have spiraled out of control. Conservatives demonize Occupy so much that they can't even recognize when it says something they agree with!
clownfish
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:53 p.m.
How many rapes occurred at the OWS on Liberty? Any arrests for drug use?
Usual Suspect
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:18 p.m.
I don't see any anger about them from the right. We do have a lot of fun with them, though, being the McFly of the protest world. That usually happens with a bunch of people act like children and behaves like cinnibar pointed out, which is not a "straw man" but a consistent pattern of the occupy movement throughout the country.
bhall
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 3:17 a.m.
Quite a straw man you built there cinn. Quite a straw man.
cinnabar7071
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:38 a.m.
Its the way they protest that puts people off, rape, drugs craping on police cars, stealing. Should I go on?
Kai Petainen
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:33 p.m.
from the perspective of free speech, it is nice to see how this was handled. the students made a peaceful non-violent protest, and although the regents didn't respond -- they listened and respected their freedom. kudos to both the protestors for holding a non-violent protest, and to the regents for not creating a UC Davis situation.
Michael Christie
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:31 p.m.
30 of the 99% is not news. yawn...
KINGofSKA
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:07 p.m.
It must be nice not having a job and living outside for free.
ThaKillaBee
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:32 p.m.
Who said anything about that?
golfer
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:02 p.m.
they will protest anything. nothing to do. so lets protest.
Ron Granger
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:01 p.m.
The regents are completely unaccountable for their actions in Ann Arbor. They flount our laws. They pay no taxes. Every meeting they hold should be protested as a reminder.
Usual Suspect
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:19 p.m.
Flaunting laws? You mean like camping in a city park?
groland
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:32 p.m.
People her denigrate the protesters because they stand up to the Regents? First, the monthly meeting of the Regents is open for comments by anyone. Second, the cost of college has outpaced inflation for more more than 30 years now. Asking a public University with a 7 billion dollar endowment to curb tuition increases is not exactly Communism. Please keep the rhetoric in perspective.
Ross
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:10 p.m.
Thank you!
trespass
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:26 p.m.
By the way did anyone notice that while President Coleman says she only got a 3% raise this year, that her new contract gives her an additional $100,000 in deferred compensation (paid at the end of the contract) plus an amount equal to the taxes on that amount. This is how they hide the raises for the top administrators.
Atlas Shrugged
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:08 p.m.
Topcat. I think you are spot on. The US Constitution guarantees equal opportunity, not equal outcomes, and these potential losers don't know the difference. They should be working or studying for work. Enso, we "righties" know precisely what democracy means, and we know quite well how to "handle it." Democracy certainly isn't Marxism or Communism, but I think that's precisely what the protestors want or think they deserve
northside
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 12:08 a.m.
Not sure what's funnier, mshlafer: (1) You think the Constitution guarantees equality of opportunity or (2) You think someone wanting public universities to be affordable means they're a Marxist or Communist
groland
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:28 p.m.
It is not equal opportunity when only the wealthy can go to college. That is the point! Asking a public UNiversity to stop tuition increases that are grossly disproportional to the rate of inflation is not exactly Communism. Get real!
antikvetch
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:07 p.m.
Fun Question Time: When did the Occupy movement "jump the shark"?
Usual Suspect
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:24 p.m.
I'd say whenever they started using the LAS (lemming-based amplification system.)
antikvetch
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:29 a.m.
"Well, who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?" Duck Soup (1933) I believe in what I see, Sir.
ThaKillaBee
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:31 p.m.
When the media and the rich folk convinced us all that they are an entertainment project.
trespass
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:04 p.m.
The tuition in 1985 represented 7% of the average household income in Michigan. Thirteen years later it had doubled to 13% but it only took 6 years to double again to 25% of the average household income. As tuition increases, so does the exclusion of the average Michigan citizen. The average family income in Michigan is $47,000 but only 4% of Michigan students has a family income of less than $50,000. The University has spent more than $500 million per year for the last decade on contruction and renovations. That is more than $12,000 per student per year. That has an affect on tuition as well. The UM has more than 3,000 students and post-docs who are Chinese citizens. This excludes Michigan students and transfers technology and jobs to China. Read more at <a href="http://www.china-threat.com" rel='nofollow'>www.china-threat.com</a> The protesters are right. Our University administration and the Board of Regents are not serving the families of Michigan and we should elect new Regents.
Steven Backues
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 9:44 p.m.
the many! (Hmm, the character counting in these posts seems to be a little off. It claimed I had 12 characters left, but then ate the end of my post! Oh well.)
Steven Backues
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 9:41 p.m.
That is right. And, at least in the biological sciences, the grad students spend most of their time as research assistants (and postdocs entirely so). Like I said, I don't know quite how the numbers come out in the end, but I also don't think that either you or I care too much - as you said, if not the state, then it is the feds paying for it. Where I think that you and I do disagree is in our assessment of the value of training Chinese researchers. You seem to be looking at it from a purely competitive viewpoint, where if we help the Chinese then we are hurting ourselves. I look at it more collaboratively. Ultimately, we and the Chinese (and the rest of the world) are all in this together, and in end, the more we can help each other, the better off we will all be. There are immediate, practical benefits to America for training foreign students. As Mick52 pointed out, some stay and contribute directly to our society. Others return home, but maintain ties that are of mutual benefit. As you pointed out, there are also immediate, practical disadvantages for American when we train foreigners. In the end, how does it balance out? In our favor, I think. But I also don't think it is the right question. "What benefits us Americans the most?" is, I believe, too narrow and selfish of a question. We should instead be asking "What benefits all of us the most?" Instead of "What's the best for us," we should ask simply "What's the best? What's right?" That's the direction we should go. This brings us back to the initial point. You began your post, as I understood it, with a complain that the university was serving the few (the rich) instead of the many. But then you ended your post with a complaint that the university was serving the many (the whole world, including the Chinese) instead of the few (the families of Michigan). I agreed with your first point, but disagreed with your second. I say, let the University serve
Mick52
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 5:01 a.m.
A lot of foreign students come to UM with funding provided by their government. Also the one child policy of China has resulted in many Chinese students staying in the US. President Bush 1 eased immigration for those students who often had a second student born while they were in the US.
trespass
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 12:34 a.m.
@Steven- Graduate student research assistants are paid for by federal taxpayers and graduate student instructors are paid for by tuition or state dollars. If a Chinese or other foreign student did not work on a research project and American would. Unless you assume that only Chinese or foreign students are smart enough to conduct this research then the UM would be getting the same grants whether or not the graduate students were American or foreign. It is still money paid for by American taxpayers. I would rather it trained American engineers and scientists rather than our competitors. Also, these students return to China with technology that will help them establish Chinese companies rather than American companies. Just look at all the companies that are getting visas for foreign engineers and scientists because they say they cannot find qualified Americans. The number one sponsor of foreign visas is the UM.
Steven Backues
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:54 p.m.
You raise good questions about the goals and purpose of the university, and I agree with you that the escalating lack of affordability of the university to the average resident is a significant problem. Regarding your comment on the Chinese students and post-docs, though - it is important to remember that they are not being paid from state or tuition dollars, but instead by federal money received by the university in the form of research grants. In turn, it is the efforts of those students and post-docs that allow the university to win further grants. Moreover, the university gets to keep a portion of each of those grants and add it to their general fund. If I understand the numbers on the university website correctly, that "indirect cost recovery" accounts for 12% of the total general fund. So, while I don't know have access to enough numbers to say this conclusively, I think it is likely that the Chinese (and other) grad students and post-docs are actually subsidizing tuition-paying undergraduates, not the other way around.
Laura Herbert
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:04 p.m.
It is great to see students taking action and demanding a voice in public discussion of where their tuition money goes. Tuition has risen astronomically in the past two decades and not to the benefit of students or to middle class families. I support the demand to make sure that public education is actually available to the public. Bravo to the occupiers. Also, John of Saline- do your research before you critique. The Regents were getting together to approve literally millions in construction projects and new support for faculty start ups. Mary Sue Coleman just said that it was financially not feasible to expand the university to teach more students. Departments are being asked to cut their budgets. Students have a right to talk about what university funds are being used for (it's rarely them).
Kagmi
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:02 p.m.
It's nice to see someone trying to keep our priorities in order. Goodness knows the massive cuts to public education funding are a big part of the reason for the doubling of tuition costs over the last few decades, but I like to think that our educators, too, fight to keep higher education accessible instead of profitable.
trespass
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:08 p.m.
The cuts to state funding only represent about one third of the increase in tuition. The real culprit is spending. The General Fund budget has increased at more than twice the rate of inflation for two decades. We need to elect Regents who care about Michigan families.
smokeblwr
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10 p.m.
The people commenting here seem to have a lot of spare time on their hands at work. Why aren't we working harder?
cinnabar7071
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:50 a.m.
Bob thats some do at work, I wear a tool belt.
Billy Bob Schwartz
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:12 a.m.
DJM...nice to have a chair at a desk, don't you think?
djm12652
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:31 p.m.
I'm occupying my chair at my desk....
grye
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10 p.m.
Occupy people: here is your solution. Go to a cheaper school. Washtenaw Community College offers excellent education at a fraction of the cost. Then spend your last 2 years at another school. And by the way, there are plenty of good schools that are much cheaper then the University of Michigan.
Usual Suspect
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:26 p.m.
The name is perceived to be worth something more, but often isn't. I've worked with U of M grads, and at least in my field, they weren't very impressive.
Mick52
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 4:55 a.m.
And there are many that are much more expensive. It's nonsense to complain about the cost. You know it up front and you agree to it. Once again we have a group complaining about funding without promoting a way to fund what they want. The money spent on construction is not available for lowering tuition, nor is money used for start ups.
Billy Bob Schwartz
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:12 a.m.
Dumb idea, and extremely condescending. Why should a top student go to a community college just because the U of M has it's didies in a wad?
John of Saline
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 9:54 p.m.
Also, it's hilarious how the Occupy folks consistently claim to speak for "the people." Um, speak for yourselves, folks. Just because you have spare time on your hands to disrupt public meetings doesn't mean you speak for "the people."
Usual Suspect
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:31 p.m.
Agree, John. But it's like the left to simply assume everybody thinks like them. When you're a groupthihnker, you naturally think everybody thinks like you, because you think everybody thinks the same. Tell me this - how many lefty friends and co-workers do you have that automatically assume you're also one? Pretty much all of them?
Michigan Man
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:16 p.m.
John - If the U of M has turned its back on the Occupy crowd heaven help this confused group of misfits moving forward.
Denise Heberle
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:27 p.m.
One day you will benefit from these selfless efforts to improve the economic well-being of ordinary people. We won't begrudge you.
John of Saline
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 9:50 p.m.
They seem to want the university to spend more money while taking less money in. Why didn't they ask for ponies to ride to class, as long as they're in a fantasy world?
Ross
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:07 p.m.
Amen, Silvanus. Thank you. This mindless right-wing, anti-protest mindset is mind-boggling to me. Why would we defend the corporate machine that is taking away our rights, our economic prosperity, and our very livelihoods? And when people justly protest against this injustice, they are denounced as lazy losers? It makes no sense.
Silvanus
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:10 p.m.
They are so financially starved, they are spending millions and millions in construction. Why don't the administrators take some of the burden too. Oh wait their ranks have been expanding and they have been increasing compensation. There's no reason why have to spend as much of the world combined on military to make sure the world complies to our interests. There is no reason why we have to cut state funding to education to give tax breaks to the corporations that are destroying our economy. That money could be used to actually do things that would build the economy, like spending on education. The only one in fantasy land is you and the corporate elite trolls you support. Your masters are devastating people's lives and you want to perpetuate more of the things that will ensure even more suffering.
Michigoose
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 9:50 p.m.
U-M tuition has more than doubled since the nineties. Students's wages- before and after college- have not.
Billy Bob Schwartz
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 1:07 a.m.
@Stephen Landes....Pretty condescending attitude. U of Michigan is a a state-supported university. It is not a private, big-shot Ivy school. People in Michigan pay taxes to support the U, and should expect some advantage to them and their children from it. This idea that people who aren't rich should send their children to a lesser school, which should be good enough for them, since obviously they are not rich enough to be of value to the U., is arrogant and is exactly the attitude of the rich (and of their non-rich minions)that is driving the Occupy movement. Every time some rich character (or non-rich minion) makes some crack like this, I hope more and more people realize the true nature of the beast that has done its best to destroy this country. I don't call it the 1%. I call it the arrogant and wealthy plutocrats of America.
Stephen Landes
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:47 p.m.
If you don't like it send your children to a less expensive school. Attending the U of M is not a right nor is it necessary for a full and satisfying life.
groland
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:26 p.m.
My kids tuition has risen 32% in just the lat 3 years! Meanwhwile UM has a 7 Billion dollar endowment.
grye
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:01 p.m.
So has the cost of many things. Some things have even gotten cheaper. Life isn't fair.
InsideTheHall
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 9:48 p.m.
Hey hey - ho ho - Occupy gotta go! Hey hey - ho ho - Occupy gotta go!
Denise Heberle
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:25 p.m.
Yes, it's gonna go! believe it! It's going to go like wild fire. The slumbering beast has awakened and OH is it mad!
xmo
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 9:29 p.m.
Boy, This is really EARTH SHATTERING news "at least 30 Occupy Ann Arbor and Occupy U-M protesters" Was it 31 or maybe 32? I guess that is a big group if it is not a TEA PARTY rally!
djm12652
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:30 p.m.
I do not consider myself a corporate elite...nor a tea partier...I'm just right! And I don't mean right or left politics...I'm just the one that is correct.
Silvanus
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:02 p.m.
Considering it's finals week and a small meeting anyway, really damn good job. Yeah, where are the tea partiers? Oh yeah, being bankrolled by the corporate elite who got us into this mess and helping to perpetuate the system that devastates the economy and ensures economic inequality. Expect a lot more from us.
Enso
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 9:26 p.m.
It's called 'Democracy', righties... if you can't handle it... well, you know the saying.
northside
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:49 p.m.
Enso the funniest thing about the righy's reaction is what the Occupy protestors said to the Board isn't that different from what conservatives have been saying about higher ed: it is mismanaged and costs have spiraled out of control. Conservatives demonize the movement so much that they can't even recognize when it says something they agree with!
Stephen Landes
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:45 p.m.
I am proud to be a "righty" and I can certainly handle democracy, but I can't handle supporting these freeloaders so they can sit on their rear ends and complain. Take a shower, get a job. If you don't like paying the high tuition of the University of Michigan there are many other fine institutions which you can attend. I suggest you look at the potential income from the career you have chosen, investigate what people in that profession earn, and find schools where your total cost compared to your future stream of earnings will be an attractive return on investment -- if you are capable of making such calculations.
bedrog
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:29 p.m.
Im far from a " righty"... but this groupspeak,/'unison chanting/ crapping up public places stuff isn't winning thoughtful allies to a movement that seems , re our national ailments, more like a thermometer ( which will make you sicker if you swallow it) than an actual diagnosis and curative medicine.
grye
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:02 p.m.
Yes, they have the right to free speech. They just don't have a clue.
John of Saline
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 9:49 p.m.
They can say what they want. We can respond. Freedom of speech and democracy doesn't insulate you form being criticized.
pbspirit
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 9:26 p.m.
They need to head over the next AAPS Board of Ed meeting.
Top Cat
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 9:16 p.m.
So the "protesters" on a Thursday afternoon, rather than be at work, looking for work or in class, see fit to interupt the Regents' Meeting. The only thing these "protesters" have created to date is a public eyesore on the corner of Liberty and Division. They are truly the children and creation of the Welfare Entitlement state.
Billy Bob Schwartz
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 12:52 a.m.
MIke S.....Thanks for the link. My view: baloney.
Ross
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 11:04 p.m.
You are way off base, top cat. Do you fundamentally disagree with the protestors comments? Who paid for your education? Just a guess, but you are probably quite old, no? (at least compared to college age). Times are different now, good jobs are scarce, and when Universities like U of M could be HELPING the situation by using endowment and grants to LOWER tuition, they are simply not. The priorities are incredibly skewed, and it makes me ashamed to be an alumni of U of M. This school is only worried about money, and it is painfully obvious and sickening.
Mike S
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:40 p.m.
There's an informative page on the UofM endowment here: <a href="http://www.vpcomm.umich.edu/pa/key/endow_qa.html" rel='nofollow'>http://www.vpcomm.umich.edu/pa/key/endow_qa.html</a>
groland
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:24 p.m.
Do you have a clue as to how the University works? Since I have worked here, the endowment has risen from 1.9 to over 7 Billion dollars in 16 years. UM has had about 20 major construction projects during that period. So they have not spent the endowment on infrastructure, nor have they used it to keep tuition down. My kid is a senior and my last bill was 32% more than that same bill 3 years ago. We need to ask why a public University needs a 7 billion dollar investment portfolio? The protesters have a valid point. By the way, even though I am a Professor here, most of my salary comes from the federal government, one more way in which the UM grows richer.
Denise Heberle
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 10:20 p.m.
and where were you between 2:30 and 3:16 this afternoon? HMMMMM? My guess is that someone pays you to trot out the same tired tropes whenever you see the word Occupy. Nice work if you can get it, I guess, but you know, there is a name for it.
Silvanus
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 9:57 p.m.
Sand in the gears buddy. Sand in the gears. It wasn't the protestors who wrecked the economy, creating a world where people are increasingly in a precarious position and needing social services just to survive. Thanks to the elites and the system you serve about 1/2 of Americans are poor or low income (<a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/12/15/143770049/census-1-in-2-americans-are-poor-or-low-income)" rel='nofollow'>http://www.npr.org/2011/12/15/143770049/census-1-in-2-americans-are-poor-or-low-income)</a>. And don't try that BS about it being their fault. We all know what the banks did, the offshoring of good jobs and all that. The greater the disparity between the myths you and your friends perpetuate and reality, the harder is to convince them of this garbage. The only welfare entittlement state is the one the corporate elite have created for themselves.