Disagreement over impact
of gerrymandering in MI
Voters see their voice
as less effective, since
the majority opinion
isn’t fulfilled, may
breed apathy
By CARLY RYAN
Daily Staff Reporter
Eastern Michigan University
junior Allen Maxson looked at a
map of Michigan’s congressional
districts and saw something “like
a map of Europe in the middle
of World War 2.” State Rep.
Jeremy Moss (D–Southfield) saw
“a squiggly mess.” And Wayne
State Prof. Kevin Deegan-Krause
saw a “creepy lizard” in what is
better known as Michigan’s 14th
congressional district, according to
the Detroit Free Press.
Increasingly, fingers are being
pointed at gerrymandering — the
practice of manipulating voting
districts to favor a certain party —
to explain the state of Michigan’s
election outcomes, which might
seem incongruous with voting
habits.
For
example,
in
2014,
Republicans won 9 of the 14
congressional
races,
increasing
their hold of the Michigan House
of Representatives by 3 seats. But
Republicans received fewer votes
than the Democrats, who pulled
ahead by 50,000. A similar scenario
played out in 2016, contributing to
the fact that though Michigan as
a state votes “purple,” district by
district, it’s really rather red.
On the other end of the
spectrum, Detroiters were unable
to vote out state Sen. Virgil Smith
(D–Detroit), despite his felony
charges for opening fire at his wife’s
car and assaulting her, and state
Rep. Gary Glenn (R-Midland) was
reelected despite controversy over
being a card-carrying member of
an alleged hate group, leaving many
voters wondering whether they
are picking their politicians or if
politicians are picking them.
Why Michigan?
Redistricting
in
Michigan
is no simple process. The U.S.
constitution requires that each
district, both federal and state, have
about the same size population.
This is strictly enforced, as a
congressional district map that
has a 1 percent range from the
smallest
to
largest
population
would be deemed unconstitutional.
Additionally, districts must be
drawn to ensure minorities not
only have a vote, but they have
an effective vote. Meaning, the
amount of representatives who are
favored by minority voters should
be proportional to the amount
of minority voters. The elected
officials must reflect the voter
base. States often create minority-
majority districts to ensure this
— Michigan has two — and to
prevent “cracking,” the splitting of a
constituency so its majority is never
voted into office.
With all of these redistricting
restrictions,
it
seems
unlikely
that further manipulation could
occur. Yet Moss said Michigan
is in a position that would allow
gerrymandering to occur. Rarely
is there one party in control of
an entire state, but Michigan’s
governor,
secretary
of
state,
ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Ann Arbor, MI
Weekly Summer Edition
michigandaily.com
INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 79 | © 2017 The Michigan Daily
michigandaily.com
NEWS ....................................
OPINION ...............................
ARTS ......................................
CLASSIFIEDS.........................
MiC.........................................
SPORTS................................
NEWS
City council
Councilmembers discuss
funding for Ann Arbor
Police Department review.
>> SEE PAGE 8
NEWS
Local impeach-
ment march
Ann Arbor residents urge
legislators to impeach
Trump.
>> SEE PAGE 2
OPINION
Science literacy
“how does the scientific
community engage with
the public?...”
>> SEE PAGE 4
ARTS
Album Review:
“4:44” New Jay-Z
album inovates and
reflects on self.
>> SEE PAGE 6
SPORTS
Walton, Irvin
adjust to NBA
The pair has found success
in Summer League play.
>> SEE PAGE 12
inside
2
4
6
8
9
10
Ira Glass discusses
professional success,
effective storytelling
By DYLAN LACROIX
Summer Daily News Editor
Headlining
the
Ann
Arbor
Summer Festival, hundreds of
community members came to
watch renowned U.S. storyteller
Ira Glass perform at the University
of Michigan’s Power Center for the
Performing Arts Saturday night.
Weekly, Glass’s public radio
show
This
American
Life
—
which shares personal, thought-
provoking narrative stories of
everyday lives — reaches over 2.2
million audience members, with
another 2.4 million downloading
each episode.
His performance that night
titled “Seven Things I’ve Learned”
— which ironically began to reach
a total of 10 throughout the show
— shared his path to success as a
journalist and the quintessential
elements of telling a story he
discovered through his experience
on radio.
Glass
began
the
show
by
discussing
his
technique
for
engaging audiences with stories,
explaining how the presence of
profound ideas and emotional
depth are not what make a story
worth telling; its momentum is.
“In its simplest form, a story is
just like a series of events,” Glass
spoke. “Feelings might be in there
or might not be in there. Ideas
might be in there but might not be
in there. There might be something
you can relate to, but even that’s
kind of optional.”
ANN ARBOR
See GERRYMANDERING, Page 3
See IRA GLASS, Page 3
DESIGN BY MICHELLE PHILLIPS
Prominent
radio show
personality
headlines
city festival