michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, December 14, 2015
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Minors would
not face legal action
for seeking medical
assistance
By ALEXA ST. JOHN
Daily Staff Reporter
Following
the
successful
implementation
of
medical
amnesty for minors who con-
sumed alcohol, Michigan rep-
resentatives have introduced
a bill to extend this amnesty to
drug use as well.
As stated in the bill, medi-
cal amnesty will prevent legal
penalties for individuals under
21 who seek medical assistance
for drug use for themselves or
another.
Rep. Al Pscholka (R–Ste-
vensville) introduced House
Bill 4843 in August, aiming to
encourage those at risk of over-
dosing to seek help by granting
medical amnesty.
Pscholka
introduced
the
bill after a Michigan teen died
from a drug overdose and his
friends did not get him medi-
cal help for fear of getting in
legal trouble, according to CBS
Detroit.
The bill is an amendment to
Michigan’s 1978 Public Act 368
titled, “Public health code,”
which
discusses
the
legal
repercussions of being found
in possession of drugs. Legal
action taken with regard to
drug possession often includes
felony or misdemeanor charg-
es or paying a fine, depending
on the type and amount of the
drug.
Lifetime probation or com-
pliance with substance abuse
and addiction services are
potential penalties as well.
According to the Univer-
sity’s National College Health
Assessment
survey
from
February 2014, 70 percent
of undergraduates reported
drinking alcohol at least once
See AMNESTY, Page 3A
PUBLIC SAFETY
Dingell, students
call on officials to
curb climate change
during Diag rally
By LYDIA MURRAY
Daily Staff Reporter
After representatives from 195
countries at the United Nations
Climate
Change
Conference
on Saturday pledged to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, about
840 protesters took to the streets
of Ann Arbor to promote the
importance of efforts to counter-
act climate change.
The march was organized by
several environmentally focused
student groups in coordination
with a series of marches held
around the world and promoted
by the climate change activist
group 350.org.
Protesters walked through Ann
Arbor holding signs and chant-
ing for more than an hour before
arriving at the Diag for a rally.
LSA junior Alex Kendig, presi-
dent of Students for Clean Energy
and an organizer of the march,
said the group wanted to create an
opportunity for the community to
show their support for efforts to
curb climate change.
“We saw an issue that need-
ed action, but we didn’t see any
opportunities to act,” he said.
“We wanted to form a march
where people could get involved
and show they’re on board with
this issue.”
The
rally
drew
speakers
including U.S. Rep. Debbie Ding-
ell (D–Dearborn), Yousef Rabhi,
a member of the county commis-
sioner and a candidate for the
state legislature, and a few Uni-
versity students.
In her speech, Dingell talked
about the upcoming budget legis-
lation Congress will soon review.
She said it is important that there
are no clauses in the budget that
prevent the government from tak-
ing action on climate change.
“You all need to make sure
there are no bills or parts put into
that bill that don’t let the United
States address climate change,”
GRANT HARDY/Daily
LSA junior Noor Ahmad chants before beginning the Michigan Climate March outside the Federal Building on Saturday.
See CLIMATE, Page 3A
LSA senior made
GoFundMe after
reading man’s
story on HONY
By RACHEL COHEN
For the Daily
Seven photos, an idea and
a top Facebook comment led
Daniel Kang, an LSA senior
and Troy, Mich. resident, to
raise more than $15,000 on a
GoFundMe page for a Syrian
refugee coming to his home-
town.
Kang’s efforts to help the
unnamed refugee were even-
tually recognized by Brandon
Stanton, the creator of the
Humans of New York blog and
Facebook page.
On Dec. 8, Stanton posted a
seven-part photo story to Face-
book as part of his collection of
12 interviews he had with Syr-
ian refugee families during his
trip to Turkey and Jordan. The
interview told the story of an
elderly refugee who was once
a successful scientist before the
war.
Before he sought refuge in
Turkey, the man said his home
was destroyed and many mem-
bers of his family were killed.
The man said he is unable to
work in Turkey and has been
diagnosed with stomach can-
cer. His story drew sympathy
and comment from hundreds
of thousands of people, includ-
ing President Barack Obama.
After seeing this refugee’s
story, Kang decided to start a
GoFundMe page to make this
man’s transition to a new life in
Troy a little easier.
Many refugees from Syria
fleeing violence in war-torn
will likely make their homes
in Michigan, though Gov. Rick
Snyder (R) has called for a
pause on accepting new refu-
gees following recent terrorist
CAMPUS LIFE
See FUNDS, Page 3A
After passage with
bipartisan support,
bill to replace No
Child Left Behind
By CAITLIN REEDY
Daily Staff Reporter
No Child Left Behind — the
education reform bill signed
into law by President George
W. Bush in 2007 which has
generated widespread criti-
cism in recent years — is on its
way out.
A new bill, the Every Stu-
dent Succeeds Act, now awaits
President Obama’s signature
after it passed the U.S. House
and Senate. The final bill
includes bipartisan amend-
ments proposed by Sen. Gary
Peters (D–Mich.).
After three failed attempts
to replace NCLB, this is the
first large scale education
reform bill to achieve passage
in recent years. Most nota-
bly, the bill states that it will
end “the federal test-based
accountability system of No
Child Left Behind, restoring
to states the responsibility for
determining how to use feder-
ally required tests for account-
ability purposes.”
Education Prof. Don Peu-
rach, who works with the Uni-
versity’s Center for Higher and
Postsecondary Education, said
he believes the ESSA will alle-
Ann Arbor native
still getting used to
recognition and sudden,
newfound fame
By KAREN HUA
Daily TV/New Media Editor
Over Thanksgiving weekend, I
caught up with “How to Get Away
With Murder” ’s Ann Arbor-born
and Huron High-educated actor
Jack Falahee. Shonda Rhimes’s
most recent series drew 14.3 million
viewers when it premiered in 2014,
outperforming both “Scandal” and
“Grey’s Anatomy” ’s pilot episodes
and launching it to the No. 1 most
popular show last fall. The legal
drama on ABC just wrapped its
sophomore mid-season finale and
will resume this February.
As Connor Walsh, a gay, sharp-
tongued and fiercely competitive
member of the “Keating Five,”
Falahee found his breakthrough
role working alongside the likes
of Viola Davis (“The Help”), Alfie
See FALAHEE, Page 6A
TV INTERVIEW
GRANT HARDY/Daily
LSA senior Gavin Gao reads James Joyce’s “Ulysses” as their English 464 final at the home of one of his classmates
on Friday. The final, which primarily consists of collectively reading the entirety of “Ulysses” in one day, permeates
the rest of the students’ activities for the day.
UNINTE RRUP TE D ULYSSES
See EDUCATION, Page 3A
Michigan fell just short Saturday,
splitting a series with Minnesota
» INSIDE
Split Decision
Bill could
extend med.
amnesty to
drug use
Activists march in A2 after
climate agreement in Paris
Student raises
$15K to help
Troy-bound
Syrian refugee
Obama to sign education
reform proposal into law
Catching up
with ‘How to
Get Away with
Murder’ star
Jack Falahee
INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 45
©2015 The Michigan Daily
michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A
OPINION.....................4A
ARTS.......................... 5A
SUDOKU..................... 2A
CL ASSIFIEDS............... 5A
SPORTS MONDAY........1B
NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM
Harvard professor lectures on morals, markets
MICHIGANDAILY.COM/SECTION/NEWS
GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
WEATHER
TOMORROW
HI: 50
LO: 37