Creating social change and 

gaining entrepreneurial success 
as a woman were among the 
emphasized topics discussed 
by female business leaders at 
the Women, Entrepreneurship 
and Social Change Conference 
Wednesday afternoon. 

Fostering conference, held 

in the Michigan League, was 
organized by LSA senior Hayley 
Maybaum. Maybaum met Sonya 
Passi, the founder and CEO of 
FreeFrom, while doing pro bono 
work at a law firm in New York 
City during a summer internship, 
and the pair collaborated with 
the Center for Entrepreneurship 

to 
connect 
social 
justice 

with 
entrepreneurship 
at 

the 
University 
through 
the 

conference.

After the initial networking 

breakfast, 
Passi 
began 

the speaker portion of the 
conference. 
Passi 
is 
based 

in Los Angeles, where she 
runs 
FreeFrom, 
a 
national 

organization 
dedicated 
to 

providing economic justice and 
entrepreneurial empowerment 
to 
survivors 
of 
domestic 

violence. 
The 
goal 
of 
her 

organization’s efforts is to help 
survivors 
achieve 
financial 

stability on their own.

Author and journalist Kate 

Andersen 
Brower 
detailed 

the experiences of those who 
often work behind the scenes 
at the White House, ensuring 
everything functions smoothly 
while serving the first family, 
while discussing her new book, 
“The Residence: Inside the 
Private World of the White 
House,” Wednesday night.

Brower said staffers who 

often work with first families 
for up to 30 or 40 years, develop 
close relationships with them.

“I came up for the idea for 

‘The Residence’ when I was a 
reporter at Bloomberg News 
and I had lunch with Michelle 
Obama and about a dozen 
other White House reporters,” 
Brower said. “And at this lunch, 
a butler came in and out of the 
room … and Mrs. Obama called 
him by his first name and it 
made me wonder who are these 
people who, none of us, as 
reporters, ever got to actually 
see.”

Brower said the stories she 

shared from the book were 
largely 
unknown 
until 
she 

began talking to White House 
staffers. Ann Arbor resident 
Frank Tinnie was surprised by 
many of the stories that Brower 
shared, since he didn’t know 
many of them.

“The fact that the staff has 

been there for so long, and 
generations of families have 

worked there, I thought that 
was interesting,” Tinnie said. 
“And the idea that the first 
ladies still stay in contact.”

As the event was held in the 

Gerald R. Ford Presidential 
Library, Brower fittingly told 
many stories about Gerald and 
Betty Ford, and added that 
Betty Ford is her favorite first 
lady.

“(Dick 
Cheney) 
fondly 

remembers 
approaching 

President 
Ford 
along 
with 

Donald Rumsfeld, and going 
into the Oval Office — this 
was during the presidential 
campaign — and just very 
meekly suggesting that someone 
tell Betty Ford to stop being so 
vocal about her support for the 
Equal 
Rights 
Amendment,” 

Brower said. “And President 
Ford just looked at him and 
said, ‘Boys, you know where her 
office is in the East Wing; you go 

tell her yourself.’ ”

The 
departure 
of 
each 

president is often an emotional 
one after four or eight years 
spent with staffers. Whether it’s 
eating with staffers or having 
tea with them, Brower said the 
first families get to know the 
people who work for them.

LSA seniors David Scahfer and 

Micah Griggs’ administration 
came to an official end last week 
as eMerge’s candidates LSA 
junior Anusha Sarkar and Public 
Policy junior Nadine Jawad 
weresworn in. The second half 
of the Schafer term furthered 
the ground work from Fall, now 
acting on their resolutions and 
plans made promised.

Diversity
A 
resolution 
was 

unanimously passed to support 
the recognition of Indigenous 
Peoples’ Day. With Washtenaw 
County and Ann Arbor already 
celebrating the holiday, the 
resolution aimed to be a gesture 
toward indigenous and Native 
American tribes that are still 
active in the state.

One of the authors, LSA senior 

Kaitlin Gant, said it was vital 
for the University to support its 
students.

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, April 6, 2017

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail 
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 61
©2017 The Michigan Daily

N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

A RT S . . . . . . . . . . . . B -S EC T I O N

S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Conference 
boosts role 
of women in 
businesses

GEO to vote to authorize walkout 
following final negotiation session

Nov. 16, 2016

Bargaining between 
GEO and University 
Human Resources for 
a new contract begins

Feb. 2, 2017

GEO holds ‘Grade in’ 
in Haven Hall in first 
public demonstration 
of bargaining period

March 13, 2017

GEO holds Diag 
rally in protest 
of University 
rejection of 
proposals

March 28, 2017

400 participate in 
GEO sit-in at Fleming 
administration building

May 1, 2017

Current contract 
expires

Timeline of GEO 
Negotiations

DESIGN BY AVA WEINER

CAMPUS LIFE

Event aimed to encourage involvement 
and empowerment, entrepreneurship roles

CHETALI JAIN
Daily Staff Reporter

Union of more than 2,000 graduate students leverages action against administration

The 
Graduate 
Employees’ 

Organization 
— 
the 
union 

representing more than 2,000 
graduate student instructors and 
graduate student staff assistants at 
the University of Michigan — will 

be voting Thursday to authorize 
a strike ballot among GSIs and 
GSSAs. The vote comes after the 
final contract bargaining session 
with the University’s human 
resources department Wednesday 
evening ended unresolved.

At the heart of the contentious 

negotiation process, which began 
in 
November, 
are 
aggressive 

bargaining practices on the part 
of the University administration, 
and GEO’s ambitious platform 
of increased benefits and wages. 
The bargaining has taken on 
heightened 
significance 
in 

Michigan’s 
precarious 
labor 

environment, as this is the first 
contract GEO has negotiated 
under right-to-work laws. GEO 

president John Ware, a Rackham 
student, said Wednesday night’s 
session came “down to the wire.” 

“It was the most productive 

session in a long time, and we got 
a lot done,” he said. 

ALON SAMUEL
Daily Staff Reporter

Wrapping 
up CSG 
for the 
semester

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Year in review: assembly 
prioritized representation, 
engagement, mental health

NISA KHAN & RHEA CHEETI

Daily News Editor & 
Daily Staff Reporter

COLIN BERESFORD, DAILY REPORTER/Daily

Author Kate Brower discusses her book “The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House” at the Gerald 
R. Ford Presidential Library on Wednesday.

Author Kate Brower highlights unique
experience as White House reporter

Acclaimed journalist emphasizes First Families’ relationship with staffers

COLIN BERESFORD

Daily Staff Reporter

michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit

Despite the legal ambiguity 

in the cannabis industry, there 
is potential for business to bud. 
This is the core foundation 
of the new Ross School of 
Business 
Green 
Wolverine 

student 
organization, 
a 

club 
founded 
by 
Business 

sophomore Adam Rosenberg, 
centered around education, 
investment and exploration 
of opportunities for success 
within 
the 
legal 
cannabis 

world. 
Through 
guest 

speakers, open discussions and 
philanthropic events, Green 
Wolverine provides members 
with ways to become more 
involved with this industry.

The 
organization 
held 

its 
first 
open 
meeting 

Wednesday night for its 88 
general members as well as 
others interested in joining. 
The meeting discussed the 
market value of cannabis, its 
medicinal benefits and the 
legal ambiguity of the plant.

Ross group 
to explore 
business of
marijuana

BUSINESS

Green Wolverines plans 
on leveraging economic 
prospects in cannabis

KENNEDY WERNER

Daily Staff Reporter

THE
ISSUE

b-side: The Food 

Issue

Arts takes a deep dive into 

the cultural ubiquity of food, 
both on a local, national and 

global level 
» B-section

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

