Top health professionals with
different backgrounds and areas
of expertise, including University
of Michigan alumni, delivered
lectures and participated in a
panel Friday afternoon regarding
infectious diseases and moderated
by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief
Medical
Correspondent
and
neurosurgeon.
University
of
Michigan
President
Mark
Schlissel
delivered the opening remarks for
the convention to over 300 people.
Schlissel, who received a medical
degree from John’s Hopkins
University,
understands
the
potential threat of an emerging
infectious disease.
“The next pandemic is not a
matter of if, but a matter of when,”
Schlissel said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of
the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases at the
National Institutes of Health,
presented the 16th annual Horace
W. Davenport Lecture. Fauci
has served as a key adviser to the
White House and the Department
of Health and Human Services
under five presidents.
His work at the NIH and with
a range of presidents has taught
him the importance and influence
presidential
involvement
can
have on controlling an outbreak,
which he said will inevitably
occur during a president’s term.
Michigan
politicians
were
among the approximately 10,000
people in attendance of this year’s
Hash Bash, signifying the push
for marijuana legalization in the
state.
State Rep. Yousef Rabhi (D–
Ann Arbor) spoke at the event
and advocated for the legalization
of marijuana, saying it would
eventually solve infrastructure
issues.
“If we can put a ballot initiative
through
that
will
legalize
marijuana in Michigan and raise
some real tax revenue for this
state, we can fix our roads, we
can fix our schools, we can make
sure that we have infrastructure
for the future of this state,” Rabhi
said.
Rabhi’s
language
mirrored
that of many other Michigan
Democrats,
including
former
State Rep. Jeff Irwin, who was
replaced by Rabhi and is now the
director of Michigan Coalition to
Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.
The coalition aims to gain enough
signatures
to
put
marijuana
legalization on Michigan’s ballot
in 2018.
LSA senior Erin Dunne, who
wrote her honors thesis on Ann
Arbor’s Hash Bash, has dedicated
much of her time to legalization
efforts. Considering the number
of organizations working toward
legalization and the beliefs of
voters, Dunne said she believes an
initiative for legalization would
likely pass.
“This
year,
many
of
the
organizations working towards
the same goal are part of the
Coalition to Regulate Marijuana
Like Alcohol,” Dunne said. “The
resulting committee is drafting
the
language
of
initiative.
That committee involves the
Marijuana Policy Project, MI
Legalize, the Michigan Cannabis
Coalition, the National Patients
Rights Association, the (American
Civil Liberties Union) and the
Marijuana Law Section of the
state bar of Michigan.”
Despite the large turnout at
Hash Bash, many still dissent
to
legalization.
Though
the
University of Michigan is smoke
free,
Engineering
freshman
Lincoln
Merrill,
publicity
chair
of
the
University
of
Michigan’s chapter of the College
Republicans,
said
legalization
would make those who aren’t
interested
in
marijuana
vulnerable to its effects.
“Rather than affecting the
University area, the new law
would affect the student body
as they could then freely roam
Ann Arbor to smoke with no
consequences,”
Merrill
said.
“Legalizing
marijuana
would
expose a lot of people who want
nothing to do with the drug to
secondhand smoke, but people
should have the right to not
breathe that secondhand smoke
when in public.”
Ann Arbor residents on Main
Street Sunday afternoon could
hear FestiFools before they saw it.
Loud drums and live music paraded
through the city, interspersed with
thousands of people who gathered to
watch the event.
For the 11th year in a row,
FestiFools took over the streets of
downtown Ann Arbor. This year’s
theme,
“WishFool
Thinking,”
produced hundreds of giant puppet
floats — from a giant bird made
entirely out of balloons to President
Donald Trump wearing a bib
emblazoned with the Twitter logo.
Founded by Mark Tucker, arts
director for the Lloyd Hall Scholars
Program, and former LHSP student
Shoshana Hurand, FestiFools is an
annual public arts spectacle hosted
by WonderFool Productions, a local
nonprofit dedicated to community
arts. The puppets are created by
students in the Arts in Public Spaces
class taught by Tucker, as well as in
community art workshops.
LHSP student Anna Minnebo,
an LSA sophomore, participated in
FestiFools for the second time this
year. She said being in the FestiFools
michigandaily.com
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Monday, April 10, 2017
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 63
©2017 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . B S EC T I O N
Health care
leaders talk
diseases at
conference
University history showcased at
True Blue! event by notable alumni
See CONFERENCE, Page 3A
ROBERT BUECHLER/Daily
University of Michigan alum and actor Darren Criss speaks during the True Blue Bicentennial event in Hill Auditorium on Saturday.
RESEARCH
University alum Sanjay Gupta moderates
discussion before crowd of over 300
ERIN DOHERTY
Daily Staff Reporter
Over 3,500 attendees hear from Sanjay Gupta, Darren Criss, Cecilia Muñoz
Several distinguished alumni,
including
Sanjay
Gupta,
chief
medical correspondent for CNN,
actor Darren Criss and Cecilia
Muñoz, former director for White
House Domestic Policy Council,
each touched on their own personal
connections to the University of
Michigan at the True Blue! event
Saturday night.
Over 3,500 students, faculty
and alumni filled Hill Auditorium
to watch the array of multi-media
performances that accompanied the
speakers examine the University’s
numerous contributions to the
arts, science, athletics and social
justice
throughout
history.
In
between speakers, student groups
such as Michigan Men’s Glee
Club, the University Chamber
Choir and the Michigan Marching
Band performed songs such as “I
Remember, My Michigan” and
“The Victors” that were composed
by accomplished alumni.
LSA freshman Jack Alcantara,
show participant, said he got
involved with Men’s Glee Club
because of his familial ties to it — his
dad was also a member. He noted
the size of the crowd, as well as how
audience members reacted to the
COLIN BERESFORD &
KAELA THEUT
Daily Staff Reporters
See FOOLS, Page 3A
Festifools
celebration
entertains
thousands
CAMPUS LIFE
Art, festivities shown at
annnual Ann Arbor event
held political connotations
RHEA CHEETI
Daily Staff Reporter
Campus divided on legalization of
marijuana in Michigan after Hash Bash
State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, other activists advocated for improved legislation
CARLY RYAN
Daily Staff Reporter
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
See MARIJUANA, Page 3A
See TRUE BLUE, Page 3A
After announcing SpringFest’s
headlining acts, MUSIC Matters
has released the festival’s entire
lineup before its scheduled Friday
kickoff. SpringFest’s daytime acts
will include local bands Shmongo
and The Stellars.
The sixth annual SpringFest
will take place Friday, April 14.
The day-long festival aims to focus
on the intersection of arts, culture
and the University of Michigan
community, with activities and
performances on the Diag and
North University Avenue, and an
evening charity concert featuring
headliners 2 Chainz, Lil Yachty and
Desiigner. In addition to Shmongo
and The Stellars, SpringFest will
also be featuring performances
from Universal Music Group-
affiliated
artists
Ocean
Park
Standoff, Nightly and Saint Mesa.
The festival will also include
a variety of activities hosted by
UMG, given that MUSIC Matters
and UMG entered a collaborative
partnership for the latest iteration
of SpringFest. UMG will be
featuring a variety of DJ sets,
interactive displays and multiple
See SPRINGFEST, Page 3A
Full line-up
announced
for day-long
SpringFest
ARTS
Festival to also include Rap
Cypher, yoga sessions, art
installation for U-M 200th
ANAY KATYAL
Managing Arts Editor
Nearly a sweep
The No. 18 Michigan softball
team won two of the three
games it played in a weekend
series against No. 25 Ohio
State in Columbus.
» Page 1B
DESIGN BY OLIVIA STILLMAN