More 
than 
60 
students 
gathered 
in 
the 
Michigan 
League for the second-ever 
Coming Out Speak Out, an 
open-mic event for the LGBTQ+ 
community. 
The event was hosted by 
Stonewall 
Democrats, 
the 
LGBTQ+ 
issue 
committee 
of College Democrats at the 
University of Michigan. The 
first Coming Out Speak Out was 
hosted in 2017.
To begin, LSA senior Colleen 
Grogan and LSA freshman Neil 

Jain, 
Stonewall 
Democrats 
co-chairs, 
introduced 
the 
event, explaining it was a space 
for members of the LGBTQ+ 
community to voice their story 
and stand in solidarity with 
those who have had different 
coming-out 
stories. 
Grogan 
and Jain emphasized there is 
no generic coming-out story 
and expressed coming out is a 
lifelong process. 
Many speakers spoke about 
experiencing 
confusion 
and 
guilt as they came to understand 
their 
identities. 
Several 
discussed doubts they faced 
in feeling they had to conform 

to expectations of gender and 
sexuality in a heteronormative 
society. 
Others 
spoke 
of 
believing they were straight 
because they did not fit common 
LGBTQ+ stereotypes.
In 
sharing 
their 
coming 
out 
experiences, 
some 
described 
positive 
reactions 
and expressed gratitude for 
supportive 
communities. 
Others 
recalled 
negative 
aspects, saying they were not 
yet 
comfortable 
discussing 
their sexuality with certain 
family members and friends. 
Some 
voiced 
they 
received 
skepticism, disbelief and denial 

from family and friends. Several 
expressed 
suffering 
mental 
health issues such as depression 
and 
experiencing 
suicidal 
thoughts. Others shared they 
faced verbal and physical abuse 
from family and experienced 
threats of being put in the foster 
system and homelessness.
A few speakers highlighted 
the importance of recognizing 
the intersection of sexuality 
and race, explaining individuals 
belonging to LGBTQ+ and POC 
communities experience higher 
rates of mental illness and 
violence. 

Despite the triple wash process 
all produce goes through before 
serving, which includes a food-
safe rinse to kill bacteria and other 
harmful pathogens in addition to 
two more rinses with water, some 
students have still reported finding 
bugs in MDining salads at multiple 
dining hall locations this year.
MDining serves about 25,000 
meals a day and nearly 4 million 
every year, according to Keith 

Soster, 
director 
of 
student 
engagement, sustainability, training 
and development for University of 
Michigan Dining. He said with such 
a large volume of service, incidents 
like these do happen on occasion.
“I don’t know that we could 
totally ever eliminate this kind of 
situation,” Soster said. “But we do 
everything we can to prevent it. 
When they do happen, we want to 
know so we can understand how an 
object made it on a plate, and work 
to limit future exposures.”
Nursing 
sophomore 
Maddie 

Jones described two incidents 
last year in which she discovered 
undesirable items in her salad at 
both Mary Markley and Mosher-
Jordan Dining halls.
“The first time when I found the 
bug it was in Markley, and I made 
my salad and it was all good, and I 
started eating it and then I noticed 
something in there that didn’t look 
right,” Jones said. “So, I took it out, 
and my roommate at the time was 
like, ‘That’s definitely a bug,’ and I 
was like, ‘That’s definitely a bug.’ So 
I just took it out and threw it away.”

Jones did not submit any 
complaint to MDining for the 
first incident. Later that year, she 
experienced a similar incident at 
Mosher-Jordan, where she found a 
piece of metal in her salad.
“But then I found another thing 
in my salad at MoJo,” Jones said. 
“I was eating my salad, and I was 
chewing on my beet and something 
crunched on my teeth and I was 
like, ‘What is that?’ so I spit it out 
and it was a chunk of metal so I was 
like, ‘That’s not right.’”
Publishers Weekly named Literati 
Bookstore its 2019 Bookstore of the 
Year on March 28.
Literati 
was 
announced 
in 
February as one of five finalists 
for 
the 
award, 
which 
honors 
independent bookstores nominated 
by those in the book industry. The 
award will be presented to owners 
Hilary and Michael Gustafson at 
BookExpo on May 30 in New York 
City. 
Literati recently celebrated its six-
year anniversary of being in business 
— it opened on March 31, 2013. Since 
then, the independent bookstore has 
made a name for itself with its public 
typewriter, cafe and the number of 
literary events it hosts.
Literati 
co-owner 
Hilary 
Gustafson said the nomination and 
award came as a surprise to the 
relatively new business owners.
“We’ve only been a business 
for six years, and typically the 
Publishers Weekly Bookstore of 
the Year is given to bookstores that 
have been in the business a long 
time, although some of the other 
bookstores nominated were also 
new,” Hilary Gustafson said.

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, April 5, 2019

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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 98
©2019 The Michigan Daily

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

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

CL A SSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

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

A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit

CAMPUS LIFE
Maize & Blue 
Cupboard to
offer produce 
on daily basis

Organization services will include 
toiletries, cookware and unused food

As the term of the Eighth Assembly 
comes to a close, The Daily sat down 
with the former Central Student 
Government president, vice president 
and communications director to 
discuss their experience in CSG over 
the 2018-19 school year.
This school year’s executive team 
led CSG to pursue many different 
initiatives, pieces of legislation and 
events across campus.
MVision’s platform included more 
meetings on North Campus and 
monthly town hall meetings, making 
the Sexual Assault Prevention and 
Awareness Center more accessible, 
and increasing minority identity 
representation on campus and more.
The 
administration 
worked 
to improve student health and 
wellness through adjustments to 
the MDining policies by listing all 
of the ingredients in foods, as well 
as placing EpiPens in each dining 
hall and training employees on how 
to properly use them. The team also 
introduced CSG’s inaugural Mental 
Health Awareness Week in March 
which included a town hall, a Diag 
day and the implementation of health 
and wellness vending machines.

Outgoing 
CSG execs 
reflect on 
experience

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

President, Vice President & 
Communications Director 
discuss accomplishments 

PARNIA MAZHAR
Daily Staff Reporter 

Students discover insects in food 
served at several University dining halls

MDining faces complaints following findings of bugs in meals despite ‘triple wash’ policy

Bookstore 
of the year
is awarded 
to Literati

BUSINESS

Publisher’s Weekly to 
bestow honor on Ann 
Arbor literary business

ANGELINA LITTLE
Daily Staff Reporter

See INSECTS, Page 3

See SPEAKOUT, Page 3
See CUPBOARD, Page 3

Follow The Daily 
on Instagram, 
@michigandaily

Maize & Blue Cupboard 
announced 
Tuesday 
that 
they will be expanding their 
operation 
and 
relocating 
to a permanent space on 
Central Campus. Following 
this week’s soft opening, an 
official unveiling of the new 
location at Betsy Barbour 
Residence Hall will occur 
this upcoming fall.
Maize & Blue Cupboard, 
an initiative of the Office 
of the Vice President for 
Student Life, began as a 
student-run 
organization. 
The 
organization 
initially 
hosted monthly distribution 
days, offering produce and 
groceries to students in need 
and worked from the Trotter 
Multicultural Center. After 
Trotter began undergoing 
construction, relocating to a 
building right next to Betsy 
Barbour, students working 
at Maize & Blue Cupboard 

moved to the basement of the 
Michigan League. 
The 
expansion 
of 
the 
organization and its adoption 
through 
the 
Office 
of 
Student Life will allow for 
the cupboard to distribute 
daily instead of monthly, 
Monday through Friday from 
3 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday 
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In 
addition to grocery items 
and produce, the new Maize 
& Blue Cupboard will also 
offer 
cookware, 
toiletries 
and 
support 
services 
for 
students. According to the 
organization’s Maize Pages 
website, their food options 
for students are sourced 
from local food bank Food 
Gatherers and the Campus 
Farm, and unused food is 
then donated to Community 
Action 
Network 
of 
Washtenaw County.
Alex Bryan is the manager 
of the U-M Sustainable Food 
Program and a staff member 
at Maize & Blue Cupboard.

DANIELLE PASEKOFF
Daily Staff Reporter

ANGELINA BREDE 
Daily Staff Reporter

MICHELLE FAN /Daily

LGBTQ+ individuals share stories
of coming out at open-mic event

College Democrats committee hosts speak out encouraging solidarity, empowerment

ZACHARY GOLDSMITH/Daily
Co-Chair of the Stonewall Democrats, Colleen Grogan, opens up a safe space at the Coming Out Speak Out in the Michigan League Thursday evening.

CLAIRE HAO
Daily Staff Reporter

See LITERATI, Page 3
See CSG, Page 3

