3 Thursday, May 7, 2015 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com NEWS Ben Carson to run in 2016 presidential race Former pediatric director announces candidacy from his native Detroit By ALYSSA BRANDON Summer Managing News Editor Ben Carson, a University alum and renowned neurosurgeon, announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential race Monday afternoon. Carson, who will seek a nomi- nation from the Republican Party, said he is not focused on votes, but rather is asking the voting public to consider his ideas and views. “I’m not even asking people to vote for me. I’m just asking people to listen,” he said. “The real pedi- gree we need to heal this country is someone who believes in our constitution.” The 63-year-old is anticipated to be the only African American entering the pool of candidates vying for the Republican nomi- nation. Senators Marco Rubio of Florida, Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky are also seeking Republican nominations. Several unannounced candi- dates for the Republican nomina- tion remain, including Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. Last week, Sny- der released a statement saying he was considering running, and he will make a formal decision within the “next couple of months or so.” A Detroit native, Carson has never run for public office, but earned national recognition dur- ing his leadership in the pediatric unit of Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. “I’m not politically correct, and I will probably never be politi- cally correct,” Carson said. “I’m not a politician, I don’t want to be a politician. Politicians do what’s politically expedient. I want to do what’s right.” At 33, Carson was the youngest director of the center’s pediatric unit. In 1987, Carson performed the world’s first operation to sepa- rate twins who were conjoined at the head. The success of the oper- ation was the subject of the auto- biographical film “Gifted Hands,” in which Carson was portrayed by actor Cuba Gooding Jr. Carson holds conservative political views, which he attri- butes to his Christian faith and upbringing. Opposing both abor- tion and same-sex marriage, he has made many notable appear- ances before the Christian com- munity, including at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast. Carson’s speech at the break- fast, of which Obama was in atten- dance, was considered critical of the Obama administration’s health care policy. The speech earned him support from the conservative community. Carson encouraged a program in which newborn babies are given health savings accounts as an alternative to Obamacare. “When a person is born, give him a birth certificate, an elec- tronic medical record and a health savings account to which money can be contributed — pretax — from the time you’re born ‘til the time you die,” Carson said. “When you die, you can pass it on to your family members, so that when you’re 85 years old and you got ALLISON FARRAND/Daily Members of the Class of 2015 celebrate their graduation at Spring Com- mencement at Michigan Stadium on Saturday CE LE BR ATE GOOD TIMES “I think today has larger mean- ing because of what’s going on in Baltimore, Terrance Kellom shoot- ing in Detroit on Tuesday as well,” McCoy said. “So this is for Aura Rosser, but it’s also about all the Black folks who’ve been shot.” The protests began in Liberty Square and moved to State Street and Main Street before reaching the Ann Arbor City Council office. Traffic stalled in all streets where the protest took place, and many protesters shouted, “no justice, no driving,” at cars. Two police cars trailed behind the rally. Protesters held signs saying “Black Lives Matter,” “We Will Never Let You Forget Aura Ross- er,” “Justice for Aura Rosser” and “Strong Communities Make Police Obsolete.” Jeffrey Sorensen, a University alum and co-founder of the startup optiMize, participated in the pro- test. He said he attended the protest because of his continued frustra- tion over police brutality. “It’s just this story that keeps coming up again and again and again, and yet a huge, huge per- centage of people just don’t pay attention at all, or are totally mis- informed, or stop paying attention after an hour and just go about their lives,” he said. “Just the response is really sad to me. A lot of people I grew up around, a lot of white peo- ple, just don’t give a shit at all.” Ypsilanti resident Anthony Mor- gan also participated in the protest, and brought along his two young daughters. He said he has been fol- lowing Ann Arbor to Ferguson’s movement since its beginning, and finds it important to teach younger generations about social justice and community activism. “It’s a necessity, I’m at an age where we’re transferring the wis- dom of the elders to the energy of the youth, kind of like Common said in ‘Glory.’ It’s a way to use new school understanding with old school experience and still fight some of the same shit, though. It’s constant, the fight never ends.” Many pedestrians on the streets looked on and recorded the march on their cell phones. Some onlook- ers yelled back at the protesters in frustration, while others showed solidarity by honking their horns or raising their hands in reference to the “hands up, don’t shoot” phrase and gesture that originated in the shooting of Michael Brown in Fer- guson, Mo. Engineering junior Josh John- son saw the protest while he was on Main Street, and said even though it caused traffic standstill, because there was no property damage, he appreciated the demonstration. “If they’re not hurting anyone, if they’re not causing damage, I appreciate their opinion, but if they are destroying peoples’ property, then I think that’s wrong,” Johnson said. “If they are peacefully protest- ing, then I appreciate their opin- ions, no matter what side it’s on.” PROTEST From Page 1 funding, the University has relied more heavily on the General Fund. In an interview with The Michi- gan Daily before elections ended, representative Jeff Irwin (D–Ann Arbor) said he supported the pro- posal, but he anticipated voters would not pass the resolution. “I think its going to fail today because citizens are very frustrated that the Republicans are continu- ing to lower taxes on the wealthy and increase taxes on the lower and middle class,” Irwin said. In an interview with the Daily following the election, Rep. Adam Zemke (D–Ann Arbor) said he was disappointed in the results of the proposal, but he believes voters sent a clear message. “I think that the message is that they want the roads fixed, but they do not trust the Legislature to do it in the manner that was proposed by Proposal 1,” he said. “I think that the leadership that has been in place for the last four years has given them plenty of reason not to trust the current Legislature.” Economics Prof. Donald Grimes said effects of Proposal 1’s fail- ure may be felt in five to 10 years, by which point costs to repair the roads will drastically increase. “Five or ten years from now this is going to be a severe blow to the Michigan economy and the quality of life of residents,” Grimes said. The state Legislature is consider- ing alternative plans for road repair, including one proposed by House Speaker Jase Bolger, which passed in the state House, but not the state Senate, last term. If passed, the ini- PROPOSAL From Page 1 Read more at MichiganDaily.com See CANDIDACY, Page 8