michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, January 27, 2016

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 60
©2016 The Michigan Daily
michigandaily.com

NEWS......................... 2A

OPINION.....................4A

SPORTS ......................7A

SUDOKU..................... 2A

CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A

STATEMENT.................1B

NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM
Suspect in hit-and-run arrested
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: 36

LO: 20

How Literati has changed independent 
bookselling in Ann Arbor

» 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

