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Monday, March 7, 2016
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
INDEX
Vol. CXXIII, No. 83
©2016 The Michigan Daily
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NEWS......................... 2A
OPINION.....................4A
SPORTS ......................7A
SUDOKU..................... 2A
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 A
SPORTS MONDAY........1B
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WEATHER
TOMORROW
HI: 64
LO: 50
Wolverines fall without LeVert,
Albrecht on Senior Night.
» INSIDE
Senior plight
Musical artist
Matisyahu to visit
Ann Arbor for
performance
By ANDREW HIYAMA
Daily Staff Reporter
Mark
your
calendars
—
musical artist Matisyahu will
be
performing
with
fellow
musician
and
Ann
Arbor
native Nadim Azzam at Hill
Auditorium on April 4 as part
of a concert series intended
to promote unity. The concert
is being hosted by Michigan
Hillel and MUSIC Matters,
who also hold the University of
Michigan’s Annual SpringFest.
Matisyahu,
a
Jewish-
American,
and
Azzam,
a
Palestinian-American,
are
touring together across multiple
college campuses, attempting to
bridge the many longstanding
political, religious and cultural
differences between Israel and
Palestine.
Business
junior,
Kaitlin
Smith,
MUSIC
Matters
communications
chair,
said
Matisyahu got his inspiration
for the tour from protesters
attending
his
concerts
in
support
of
the
Boycott,
Divestment
and
Sanctions
movement.
This
movement
advocates for the end of public
funding from the United States
to Israel and aims to boycott
institutions
that
financially
support Israel, in protest of
Israel’s policies on Palestinian
rights.
Matisyahu said in the tour’s
announcement
the
goal
of
this tour is to demonstrate his
solidarity with the Palestinian
community
and
encourage
harmony
across
the
entire
Middle East.
Smith
said
Matisyahu
envisions the tour creating a
sense of community between
different groups of students.
“He feels that there’s a lot of
misinformation out there, and a
lot of people who are fueled by
anger, so he’s going around and
See MATISYAHU, Page 3A
Candidates talk water
crisis, Detroit school
system failures
By EMMA KINERY and LYDIA
MURRAY
Daily News Editor and Daily Staff
Reporter
Democratic
presidential
candidates Hillary Clinton and
Sen. Bernie Sanders (D–Vt.) met
in Flint on Sunday for the seventh
debate of the primary season,
with a strong local focus. Over
the two-hour debate, candidates
answered questions from Flint
residents
and
discussed
state
issues such as the Flint water
crisis
and
the
deterioration
of
Michigan’s
economy
and
industry. The discussion marked
a stark difference to Thursday’s
Republican
debate
in
Detroit,
which devoted about 10 minutes in
total to questions about the state.
The debate came two days
before
Tuesday’s
presidential
primary in Michigan. Clinton, who
has frequented the state since the
Flint water crisis began to garner
public attention, leads Sanders with
57 percent of the vote, according to
the latest NBC/WSJ/Marist poll.
Nationally, Clinton currently leads
Sanders by 9.6 percent according
to an average of polls from
RealClearPolitics.
Flint water crisis:
The Flint water crisis proved a
significant topic throughout the
debate, with Flint Journal editor
Bryn Mickle, one of the moderators
of the debate, questioning both
candidate’s approach to addressing
the crisis and their actions in the
city.
Both
candidates,
in
their
answers, called for the resignation
of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder —
a new position for Clinton and a
repeated one for Sanders.
Clinton
answered
Mickle’s
See DEBATE, Page 3A
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) stand on stage before the Democractic presidential debate in Flint on Sunday.
OPINION
Zak Witus: On
accountability
in diplomacy
Democratic
candidates should
talk more about
Israeli occupation
By ZAK WITUS
Daily Opinion Columnist
Throughout the Democratic
primary and caucus race,
candidates have spoken a lot
about foreign policy, especially
regarding the Middle East.
But we have heard shockingly
little from the Democratic
candidates about Israel, the
single biggest recipient of
United States military aid
— $3 billion per year and
$100 billion since 1962 by
conservative estimates.
In a press conference in
Flint before the debate, I asked
Bernie Sanders: If elected
president, would you stop
sending aid to Israel until they
agree to abide by international
law, namely by ending the
illegal occupation of the West
Bank and Gaza? He said,
“The U.S. needs to have a level
playing field in terms of its
relationship to Israel and the
Palestinian Authority … I will
do everything I can to try to
work in what is, as you know,
a very, very difficult situation,
if that is possible, but I do
believe that the U.S. needs to
have an even and level playing
field dealing with both sides.”
If we take this statement
seriously, then Sanders as
president would send the
same amount of aid to the PA
as it would Israel — that could
be $0 to each, or billions to
each. And if Sanders means
he would even the playing
field between Israel and the
PA, then he would send tens of
billions to the PA immediately
to offset the amount already
sent to Israel.
For
decades,
and
still
today, the United States has
supported Israel’s illegal and
immoral occupation of the
West Bank and Gaza. Sanders
would have to do a lot to end
Israel’s
economic,
political
and military domination of the
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Bethany Cosentino, lead vocalist of Best Coast, performs at the Majestic Theater in Detroit on Feb. 23, 2016. Best
Coast’s performance is part of their joint tour – Summer is Forever II – with Wavves.
BEST COA ST
CITY
Diane Giannoa
and Kevin Leeser
to run against
incumbents
By MARLEE BREAKSTONE
Daily Staff Reporter
Two new candidates are vying
for seats on the Ann Arbor City
Council.
Diane Giannola is a Democrat
seeking
councilmember
Graydon Krapohl’s seat in Ward
4 who is seeking re-election.
Giannola is running under the
slogan
“Authentic,
Realistic,
Dependable.”
“I’m
a
different
sort
of
candidate. I’m not really running
anti-anything,” she said in an
interview.
Giannola is currently employed
by the University of Michigan
and
works
as
manager
of
Venture Accelerator, located on
North Campus, where staff and
faculty who have developed new
intellectual
property
through
research and want to build their
own
private
companies
can
rent office space. Additionally,
she worked previously for the
University as a medical researcher
on academics, biotech and Pfizer.
Her platform is focused on
supplying the city’s residents
with accurate information about
city issues. She said she wants
political decisions to be more
of a conversation between City
See CANDIDATES, Page 3A
Councilmembers
say city should be
involved in planning,
construction
By BRIAN KUANG
Daily Staff Reporter
After a tense meeting on Feb.
25 with University of Michigan
officials, City Council members and
local residents are openly calling for
the University to halt its proposed
North Campus transit center.
The $38.5 million Transportation
Operations
and
Maintenance
Facility — which is to be built on
North Campus adjacent to several
residential neighborhoods — is
meant to act as a full-service garage
for the University’s fleet of 1,000
buses and other vehicles. The
project was approved by the Board
of Regents in 2014, and the bidding
process was initiated in February
2016.
While critics are not unified in
their opposition to the facility, with
complaints ranging from an increase
See TRANSIT, Page 3A
See FOREIGN POLICY, Page 4A
CAMPUS LIFE
Concert to
emphasize
Middle East
coexistence
Democratic debate in Flint
draws focus to local issues
Two new candidates enter
election for seats on Council
A2 residents,
city officials
oppose new
‘U’ bus depot
ANN ARBOR