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
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, April 10, 2017

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

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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