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Vol. CXXV, No. 60
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» INSIDE
the statement
Speakers discuss
solutions to racial
inequalities in the
industry
By BRANDON-SUMMERS
MILLER
Daily Staff Reporter
A
coalition
of
Univer-
sity organizations examined
inequalities in the food indus-
try during a food justice panel
Tuesday night.
The discussion, which served
as a part of the University’s
Martin Luther King Jr. sympo-
sium, featured remarks from
representatives with various
campus organizations on cur-
rent racial injustices within
the food industry, as well as a
brainstorm on innovative ways
to solve them.
The discussion was hosted by
several organizations, including
the Food Access in Michigan
Project, the Residential Col-
lege and the Michigan Commu-
nity Scholars Program. Student
Food Co., a group that aims to
provide students with afford-
able produce, both helped orga-
nize the discussion and offered
free produce to audience mem-
bers.
The discussion featured sev-
eral speakers who represent
leaders and members of food-
themed organizations within
the Ann Arbor and greater
Detroit areas.
During the event, panelist
Shane Bernardo, a representa-
tive from the Earthworks Urban
Farm in Detroit, told attendees
that historical, institutional-
ized racism is the main reason
for the racial inequities within
the food industry.
According to Bernardo, poli-
cies like redlining — a practice
used by some banks to deny
credit for individuals living in
urban areas — have created cur-
rent inequities in the food sup-
ply by dictating who could get
credit based on where they live
Community members
share stories
through spoken word
performances
By TANYA MADHANI
Daily Staff Reporter
The Lydia Mendelssohn The-
ater was filled to capacity for the
fifth annual Body Monologues
Tuesday night, featuring spoken
word narratives from 12 perform-
ers. Inspired by the Vagina Mono-
logues, the event featured stories
by students about their sexuality
and body image.
The participants varied in age,
gender identity, ethnicities and
race, covering topics including
lymphedema — a disease that
causes blockage in the lymphatic
system — and gender identity.
LSA senior Brittney Williams
shared her experiences with
online dating and how she was
often exploited for her body. She
received requests from men who
would seek women fitting her
height and build, she said, which
made her feel uncomfortable.
“I think that it’s a story that’s
not really shared as often, at least
where fat bodies are concerned,”
Williams said. “There’s this idea
that we don’t get a lot of attention.
So, I wanted to talk specifically
about receiving that attention and
how it can be fetishized and how
that can get really frustrating at
times.”
Williams said she decided to
take a humorous route with her
narrative to engage the audience
with the familiar experience of
online dating, even if they don’t
relate to all the aspects of her
story. She said her journey was
reflective of other college stu-
dents’ in experimenting with dat-
ing apps such as Tinder, a site that
touts more than 9 billion matches
See BODY, Page 3A
Officials say the
city is shifting relief
efforts to tackle
health concerns
By LYDIA MURRAY
Daily Staff Reporter
Multiple individuals within
state government, local govern-
ment and the Flint community
are leading initiatives to remedy
the ongoing water crisis — and
respond to the storm of media
attention — the city faces.
The crisis began in April 2014
after a water supply switch from
Detroit city water to Flint River
water. In the weeks and months
following the switch, residents
began reporting adverse health
effects including hair loss and
rotting teeth. Both Gov. Rick
Snyder (R) and President Barack
Obama have declared states of
emergencies for the city.
The long-term health effects,
especially on young children,
are one of the largest concerns
for the citizens of Flint. Sharon
Swindell, assistant professor of
pediatrics at the University, said
the primary concern for young
children is that lead poisoning
will cause developmental issues,
which can lead to poor academic
outcomes.
“There is no safe level of lead
in a person’s body,” she said.
“Children, who have a lot of
brain growth and development
in the first six years, are vulner-
able to cognitive and develop-
mental effects. The things we
worry about long term include
decreasing IQ, poor academic
achievement and problems with
attention.”
In Flint itself and in the state
legislature, local leaders have
taken multiple steps to resolve
the crisis. Earlier this month,
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver met
with Obama and White House
advisers to discuss how to best
handle the situation.
See WATER, Page 2A
Protesters,
supporters
assembled outside
rally site
By SAM GRINGLAS
Daily Staff Reporter
MUSCATINE, Iowa — The
first thing you notice is the line.
On Sunday, it stretched from the
front doors of Muscatine High
School down a sidewalk that
hugged the building’s front side.
Like a lot of people who attend
campaign rallies, many of the
people in line arrived here clad
in logoed shirts and hats. Some
held signs. They clutched paper
tickets printed on white com-
puter paper and moved forward
as the Secret Service funneled
them through a bank of metal
detectors set up in the lobby. For
a campaign rally, this was all
pretty normal. But only once you
look past the line, and absorb the
full spectacle that surrounds it,
do you begin to comprehend all
that is a rally for GOP presiden-
tial candidate Donald J. Trump.
Alongside
the
line
Sun-
day, vendors hawked buttons,
T-shirts and Trump dolls. On a
table with “Make America Great
Again” hats for sale, a water-
color drawing of Trump rested
next to a poster depicting Adolf
Hitler holding a health care bill
and saying, “Obama, you’ve gone
too far.” In between the two,
a foam finger touting the Sec-
ond Amendment has a thumb
drawn to look like a semi-auto-
See FOOD, Page 3A
ANDREW COHEN/Daily
LSA senior Brittney Williams performs her monologue, F Words, for Body Monologues, a performance for members of the UM community to share stories focused
on body image, embodiment, and acceptance at the Lydia Mendelssohn theater on Tuesday.
Funding will
sustain ongoing
gender-related
research projects
By ALEXA ST. JOHN
Daily Staff Reporter
Six University faculty mem-
bers received Faculty Seed
Grants from the Institute
for Research on Women and
Gender this month for their
research projects focused on
women, gender and sexuality.
The grants ranged from $500
to $10,000.
The Faculty Seed Grant
program was established by
IRWG in 1996 to support both
disciplinary and interdisci-
plinary projects relating to
women, gender and sexual-
ity, according to the institute’s
website.
This
year’s
recipients
ranged from projects on indi-
viduals with disabilities, to
ones on social mobility and
HIV testing.
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Muscatine High School in Muscatine, Iowa on
Sunday, eight days before the Iowa Caucuses.
See TRUMP, Page 7A
See GRANT, Page 3A
Panel looks
at injustices
within the
food system
CAMPUS LIFE
Body Monologues highlight
experiences with self-image
Flint executives
seek to address
lasting effects
of water crisis
STATE
In lead-up to caucuses,
Trump focuses on rhetoric
‘U’ faculty
members
to recieve
seed grants
ACADEMICS