Sunday afternoon, students
and
Ann
Arbor
residents
gathered
for
the
annual
FestiFools public art parade on
South Main Street in downtown
Ann
Arbor.
Papier-maché
puppets created and controlled
by
University
of
Michigan
students and volunteers, along
with other artists and dancers,
performed under the theme
“Dancin’ FOOLS.”
The parade, organized by
WonderFool productions, is one
in a series of public art parades
the group puts on throughout
the year, including FOOLmoon
and ypsiGLOW. All of the events
feature puppets and luminaries
— puppets lit up in the dark —
parading in a public area to both
entertain the community and to
increase appreciation for arts and
arts education.
Emilia Smith, a volunteer
at FestiFools who had traveled
from Chicago for FOOLMoon
and FestiFools, said her first
experience with the puppets at
FOOLMoon amazed her.
“I went to the FOOLMoon
on Friday night and that was
incredible,” Smith said. “I made
a luminary that was a worm and
that was really fun. Everyone was
taking photos and dancing and
enjoying it together so that was
great, definitely brings people
together, and brings out their
creative sides.”
First-year students in the
Lloyd Hall Scholars Program
along
with
community
volunteers
created
a
vast
majority of the puppets, which
are human-powered and made
using wires, papier-maché, fabric
and any other materials students
found. Puppets included a cow
representing climate change, a
dragon and one of Ann Arbor
Mayor Christopher Taylor.
Students in the Lloyd Hall
Scholars Program class Art in
Public Spaces were tasked with
building puppets conveying a
message important to them.
Engineering freshman Shivangi
Sinha is enrolled in the course
and built a puppet together of
Queen Elizabeth II.
Sinha emphasized the work
the students put into making the
puppets and hoped onlookers
would appreciate the messages
within the art.
“I hope everyone has fun and
sees students spent weeks on the
puppets,” she said. “This past
week we spent so many hours
finishing our puppets.”
FestiFools also collaborates
with Ypsilanti Community High
School students to build artwork
for the parade as well. Ypsilanti
Community High School seniors
Alexis Smith and Maximilian
Harper created boxes they would
wear in the parade to convey
social justice issues important to
them.
“We made a total of seven
different boxes,” Harper said.
“We wanted them all to cover
different social issues, so I did
gun violence, we did pride, we
did women’s equality. And on the
back, we all had letters, which all
spell out ‘We are one.’”
The
first
Undergraduate
Research Symposium, organized
entirely by undergraduates, was
held Friday in the Chemistry
Building Atrium to showcase
students’
multidisciplinary
research projects.
About 150 students from over 40
academic departments presented
their research to more than 100
graduate and postdoctoral judges.
Top presenters were given one of
10 $500 awards funding travel for
future conferences.
LSA junior Jenna Manske,
a member of the nine-person
committee
that
founded
the
symposium, said the idea came to
their group when they realized
there was not a low-pressure space
on campus for undergraduate
students in any department to
display their research.
“We were just sitting down one
day and we thought there isn’t
really a place for undergraduate
students at any stage of their
research to present that’s campus-
wide
and
multidisciplinary,”
Menske said.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, April 8, 2019
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
‘U’ students
arrested in
New York
City protest
GOVERNMENT
Incoming LSA transfer
and junior rally against
Taglit-Birthright Israel
Annual ‘Festifools’ parade showcases
puppets created by students, volunteers
Creative event aims to entertain, educate and increase appreciation of arts
SONIA LEE
Daily Staff Reporter
Title-bound
Michigan women’s
gymnastics moves to NCAA
Championships after edging
out Alabama for second-
place finish at regionals
in Ann Arbor.
» Page 1B
Two University of Michigan
students were arrested in New
York City Friday for their role in
protests outside the headquarters
of Taglit-Birthright Israel. In total,
seven students from the University
were present at the demonstration,
which included approximately 200
Jewish members of IfNotNow, an
activist group that opposes Israel’s
presence in the Gaza Strip, East
Jerusalem and the West Bank.
IfNotNow
wants
Birthright
Israel
to
address
political
issues such as the treatment
of Palestinians and to educate
participants
on
Palestinian
perspectives on Israel’s control
over the region. The students
protesting
Friday
demanded
changes to the Birthright Israel
trip, the free 10-day trip to Israel for
young Jewish adults aged 18 to 32.
Incoming LSA transfer student
Zu Weinger and LSA junior Becca
Lubow were arrested along with
13 other activists for blocking the
entrance to the Birthright Israel
building.
Symposium
highlights
work from
undergrads
RESEARCH
150 students present
research to over 100
graduate, postdoc judges
SONIA LEE
Daily Staff Reporter
GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 99
©2019 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 B
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ALLISON ENGKIVIST/Daily
Ann Arbor residents show off their giant puppets and costumes as they march down Main Street during Festifools Sunday afternoon.
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on Instagram,
@michigandaily
CATHERINE NOUHAN
Daily Staff Reporter
For the past 48 years, the first
Saturday of April is accompanied
by a potent haze that drifts across
the Diag and all the way down
State Street. At “high noon,” the
University of Michigan’s campus
welcomes a swarm of marijuana
activists,
entrepreneurs
and
enthusiasts
from
across
the
globe, all raising a joint in unison
in celebration of the annual Hash
Bash festival. This year, though,
marked the start of a new era in
cannabis culture.
In a 56-44-percent margin,
Michigan voters passed Proposal
18-1,
an
initiative
legalizing
marijuana for those above the
age of 21. Michigan is the first
state in the midwest to pass this
legislation, joining California,
Colorado and the District of
Columbia, among others.
This
Saturday,
following
the victory at the ballot box in
November, a banner underneath
the Harlan Hatcher Library
that last year read “LEGALIZE
2018,” was adjusted with black
spray paint to now proclaim:
“LEGALIZED 2018.”
Originally, Hash Bash was
held on April 1, 1972 in protest
of the conviction placed upon
cultural activist and poet John
Sinclair.
The decision, made by the
Michigan
Supreme
Court,
sentenced Sinclair to 9.5 to 10
years in prison for the possession
of two marijuana joints.
This
conviction
sparked
national outrage, prompting The
John Sinclair Freedom Rally
in
1971,
bringing
worldwide
superstars like John Lennon,
Yoko Ono, Bob Seger and Stevie
Wonder to the Crisler Center.
Shortly
after
the
historic
assembly, Sinclair was released
in December of 1971.
This year, Sinclair stepped up
to the microphone to perform
his spoken word poetry with
guitarist Laith Al-Saadi, who
kicked off the celebration with
an electric guitar cover of the
“Star Spangled Banner.” Before
delivering his poetry, Sinclair
encouraged the crowd to “light
up and join me, if you got one,”
and touched on how he’s seen the
legacy of Hash Bash grow.
“Welcome to legalization in
the state of Michigan,” Sinclair
said. “You haven’t been here
before unless you were here in
1972 when we started it.
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
HASH BASH
celebrates legalization
Festival hosts US representative Debbie
Dingell and activist John Sinclair,
among others
SAMANTHA SMALL
Daily Staff Reporter
MAX KUANG/Daily