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
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