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2B Wednesday, Novembe- 2012 The Statement
THE JUNK DRAWER
from last week: the elections issue random student interview
Whose political views do you identify with the most? by brandon shaw

Wednesday November 7 2012 The Statement 7B
Driving the vote: Election Day at a soup kitchen
by Cassie Balfour

Travis, the public
health student from a
Republican state
40%

None of them, but I'm a
Republican
a 20%

Will and Hugh, the
law students
40%

So I'm with the Daily, as I said,
and we'll be doing a Random Stu-
dent Interview. I tend to do Ran-
dom Student Interviews when
I'm not working for the Daily, so
this is fun, easy and perfect for
me. Except for the whole tran-
scription thing. But whatever.
Huh?
Never mind. What's your name
and what are you doing? ~
Ryan, and I was studying before
you started prancing around, sing-
ing, "Who wants to interview for
The D?" at the top of your lungs.
Yeah, sorry not sorry about that.
Tell me - do you like fall?
Fall?
The season, I mean, though I
suppose the act of falling could,
well...
I enjoy it, yeah, you know.
Do you like pumpkin spice
lattes? Four bucks for coffee is a
lot, but youknow I love coffee. I
love caffeine. I need caffeine.
I can tell, you look like a crackhead.

I've seen you around before, man,
I think alot of people have. You're
always walking around the town,
you know, the school - whatever,
you know what I mean - and you
have your iPod on and you look like
Eminem or something.
But, you know, actually, I'm
the real Slim Shady, so we have"
a paradox there. But let's not
go into that. All the other Slim
Shadys, you know, are simply
imitating. I used to sing that
song in fourth grade. Got kicked
out once for bringing in the ver-
sion fromlyrics.com to fourth
grade class and reading them as
my poetry assignment. I didn't
know what they meant, man!
Why are you telling me this?
Remember the Backstreet Boys?
I thought I was one, once.
I do, sort of, but, like, that wasn't
very cool back in the day, you
know?
I liked it, so it must've been cool.
What I say goes. What I say is
cool is then cool.

Do you like writing? Because most
writers like to stay quiet - in quiet
rooms, you know - and aren't the
talking type.
If that's a stereotype, darling,
then I break it day in and day
out!
Darling? Did you just call me "dar-
ling," dude?
Yeah, remember when I said
what I say goes?
Whatever.
So what's your favorite day of
the week?
Don't have one. Is this over yet?
Not even close! Who are you vot-
ing for on Tuesday? I'm pencil-
ing in George Washington,just
to give ballot readers a laugh.
They've had a long day. They
need caffeine. Maybe even a
pumpkin spice latte.
Huh? Dude, you're trippin'!
Trip this. B. shaw. OUT.
-Ryan is an LSA junior.

Who do you think would win in a fight?

Obama
75%

)

Romney
25%

Online comments
ThenPort Huron Statement and all of its ripple effects, noted by Mr
Hayden, are what made and continue to make the University of Michigan
the premier liberal university in the land. Cal Berkeley and Columbia had
their heydays but this stuff was substantive and in hard copy. It stands true
today as a guiding document for the pursuit of true democracy and eco-
nomic justice. John Lennon and JFK came to Ann Arbor on the heels of this
most important document. Thank you Mr Hayden!
-Anonymous, regarding "Fifty years later"
By 1967, Hayden, always a liberal, was irrelevant to SDS. Now he's a
millionaire Democrat. He never sold out. He never sought a mass, activist,
class conscious movement. Rather, he substituted his ego and profiteering
for that and now he comes today, pretending to radicalism, selling his soap
all over. The core issue of our time is the reality of the promise of perpetual
war and booming color coded inequality met by the potential of an orga-
nized movement ready to take action at the radical (rootsJ of things: the
system of capital and its twin, imperialism. Rich Gibson wrote that, long
ago, and he was right.
-Rich Gibson ,regarding "Fifty years later"

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- Rick Berke, The New York Times

DETROIT - A table by the front
door is decked out in red, white
and blue. Ballot literature covers
its surface. Most in the room wear a stick-
er on their jacket that reads, "I voted." But
this is not a polling place. It's the Detroit
Action Commonwealth Capuchin Mel-
drum soup kitchen.
Clipboard in hand, LSA senior Amy Nav-
vab - a volunteer at Students for Detroit
Action Commonwealth - called out names
of people who had waited, some for hours,
for a seat to open up in a University stu-
dent's car. Michael Myles, a Detroit native
had arrived at the building at 8:30 a.m.
but had to wait until a little after 1 p.m. to
secure his ride to his polling location. For
Myles, this was his first time ever casting
a ballot.
"I made it my business to say I was going
to vote," Myles said.
Detroit Action Commonwealth isn't
interested in short-term solutions or
charity - they're action-oriented, aimed
at empowering the low-income popula-
tion of Detroit to advocate for themselves.
Founded by Political Science Prof. Greg-
ory Markus just five years ago, D.A.C. is
unique in that it was built up by the same
low-income Detroit community members
who frequent its three soup kitchens dot-
ting the blighted east side of Detroit.
Here on Election Day, they are here to
make sure that low-income community
members of Detroit have the transporta-
tion and information they need in order to
make an informed decision, often physi-
cally driving these members to the polls.
Markus pointed out that even during one
of the worst recessions in recent memory,
low-income populations aren't brought up
in the debates. They're generally not even

part of the discussion.
According to Markus, this population
wants to vote but lacks access to transpor-
tation and voting information. Often, they
are nervous about voting after being locked
out of the political sphere for so long.
D.A.C was thus developed as a space to
"build collective power" so that the govern-
ment will recognize the community members
of Detroit as constituents worth talking to.
D.A.C. board member Mary Johnson,
who first encountered the organization
when she picked up a food basket from one
of the kitchens, said she "truly thought it
was a responsibility for all of us that your
voice is heard," Johnson said.
"People think my vote doesn't count, or
if you've been incarcerated or you don't
have a place to live, (you shouldn't vote),"
she said. "That has nothing to do with vot-
ing. As long as you're a registered voter,
you can vote."
Barriers for low-income voters
According to state records, thousands
of Detroit residents don't exist. They don't
have any state identification. Without
identification, a person can't get a job, rent
an apartment or open a bank account.
In recent years, various states have
adopted stringent voter laws that require
a state-issued ID in order to vote. But in
Michigan, the requirement isn't as strict.
One might be asked for an ID, but voters
can opt to sign an affidavit affirming their
identity in lieu of handing over identifica-
tion.
The problem isn't, as various D.A.C.
members and students organizers stressed,
well-known among the low-income and
indigent populations in Detroit who stay in

homeless shelters. Many of the barriers for
voting are mental in addition to logistical
due to the spread of misinformation about
enfranchisement rights.
"People have a lot of fear ... they feel as
though the system continues to let them
down, they no longer have the confidence
that normal people have," said Arinett
Ross, a D.A.C. board member who spent
the morning rush manning the voter infor-
mation table at Meldrum. "Because their
confidence level is put down to zero, they
feel like, 'Why should I vote?'".
The student connection
This is where the University fits in. A
number of University students not only
drove community members to the polls,
but also helped register them prior to Elec-
tion Day and escorted them inside if they
felt nervous about voting.
As a result of D.A.C.'s efforts, members
have won various victories, such as getting
represented on the Homeless Action Net-
work of Detroit that distributes resources
to homeless shelters in Detroit for the first
time.
"The goal of the organization is pretty
much to develop leaders," said Public Pol-
icy senior Brock Grosso, who helped drive
community members to the polls. "And
that kind of has its own snowball effect
helping people gain control over their own
lives and helping people have equal and
adequate influence on policies that are
affecting their lives such as the channels
of funding in shelters."
Markus teaches two political science
classes focused on Detroit and commu-
nity organizing that acts as a pipeline for
University students to get involved with

D.A.C.
Navvab noted that students could lever-
age their privilege and experience to act
as .effective organizers at D.A.C. This is
demonstrated by the fact that student.
donated their time and cars to help shuttle
community members throughout Detroit
to their respective polling stations, some
as far flung as Dearborn. And when Myles
wasn't sure which station he was supposed
to vote at, Navvab was able to utilize her
smartphone to quickly look it up.
What both Grosso and Navvab stressed
was that organizing involves immersing
oneself in the community.
"It's easier for us to work together if I
know basics about who you are as a per-
son," Navvab said. "It's important for n
to know silly things."
Navvab pointed to Greg, a Detroit com-
munity member that she had helped drive
to the polls, and the fact she knew he
owned 400 Hot Wheels. "Even though our
lives are different, we can still see each
other as people and connect," Navvab said.
Markus echoed this statement when he
said that it didn't make sense for the state
to make it difficult for low-income citizens
to participate in the political environment
because it undermines democratic values.
"That's how democracy is supposed to
work," Markus said.
On the drive from his poll station,
Myles, who was anxious about takinga day
off work, nevertheless noted how impor-
tant it was for everyone to vote. The first-
time voter credited meeting people at the
Meldrum shelter for helping "turn his life
around." He seemed pleased that he had
made his voice heard.
"I feel better when I vote," Myles said.