3
Thursday, August 1, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com NEWS
Americans packed down-
town Detroit on Tuesday and
Wednesday nights to engage
in activities regarding the
Democratic
presidential
debates being held at the Fox
Theater. Beyond the 3,500
present in the audience, a pre-
dicted 10 million more people
followed along through the
TV broadcast. In Washtenaw
County, residents gathered at
watch parties to eat, view and
debate amongst themselves.
Washtenaw for Warren
hosted a watch party for the
first debate in June, yet 15
minutes before the debate
aired on Tuesday, the atten-
dance at their watch party at
the Cirq Bar had already sur-
passed that of the first par-
ty’s. Danny Steinmetz, Ann
Arbor resident and Washt-
enaw for Warren co-chair,
shared he believes watch
parties encourage political
engagement because they let
activists know they aren’t
alone. Steinmetz said people
watch the debate “the way
they watch a sporting event”
— as a means of entertain-
ment.
“You have people desper-
ate for a breakout, so some
of the drama will be them
attempting to do god knows
what stunts,” Steinmetz said.
“I’m waiting for someone
to stand on their head to get
attention.”
Attendees
expressed
frustration
toward
these
“stunts,” with Ann Arbor
resident Leslie Sobel even
reminiscing about “throwing
things at the TV when it’s not
Warren talking” during the
last debates. Rackham stu-
dent Jason Grant reverber-
ated this common sentiment
by explaining his choice for
the Democratic nomination
would “completely contrast
what we’re dealing with right
now, (actions) that look like
governing instead of tweet-
ing.”
Sobel also commented on
the large field of Democrat-
ic presidential candidates,
which she finds “ridiculous.”
She believes some of the can-
didates should drop out of
the race and run for Senate
instead, because a Democrat-
ic president “isn’t going to get
enough done unless we take
back the Senate.”
When asked what draws
her to Warren, Sobel said she
looks for a candidate who is
data- and policy-driven.
“That kind of intellectual
honesty is refreshing,” Sobel
said. “She has plans for all of
the things that really need to
be done. It’s policy-based, it’s
not personality-based, it’s not
faux populism.”
Recent University alum
and admissions representa-
tive Chloe Hypes also attend-
ed the Warren watch party,
explaining she likes War-
ren’s progressive policies on
climate change and women’s
rights. Being from a rural
area of Michigan, Hypes said
she’s looking for a candidate
who can unify voters across
the political spectrum.
“Both being from Ann
Arbor and from a rural area,
I’ve seen a pretty big politi-
cal divide,” Hypes said. “So
I think candidates need to
acknowledge that and figure
out a way to bridge that gap.”
Grant came to the Washt-
enaw for Warren watch party
with a friend because neither
of them have TV’s to watch
the debates. Other graduate
students were offered the
same opportunity at another
watch party, hosted by Rack-
ham Student Government at
Bar Louie on Tuesday eve-
ning.
Marshall Case, Rackham
student and student govern-
ment external affairs offi-
cer, said the event was “back
by popular demand” after
the success of a party they
held to watch the first set of
Democratic debates in June.
They hosted more than 60
attendees on Tuesday, leav-
ing standing room only on
Bar Louie’s patio deck.
“Rackham student gov-
ernment
is
looking
to
sponsor events to build
a
graduate
community
outside of the academic
environment,” Case said.
“Watching the debates in
a group fosters discussion.
Some people want to sit
back and watch with people,
others want to debate with
their friends. It’s all about a
sense of community.”
The University of Michi-
gan is under public criticism
for investing in a company
involved in evictions in Detroit
following a Bridge Magazine
article published mid-July.
In February 2018, the Uni-
versity’s Board of Regents
approved a $30 million dollar
investment into the Detroit
Renaissance Real Estate Fund
LP, a Metro Detroit fund which
invests in single and multi-fam-
ily homes. Fortus Partners is a
general partner for the fund,
and the report claims a For-
tus Partners-owned company
bought 112 homes, 47 of which
were occupied at the time of
foreclosure, and filed for evic-
tion for 20 of them.
A week after the Bridge
article was released, Univer-
sity students, staff and fac-
ulty appeared before at the
Regents meeting to ask Univer-
sity administration to halt their
investment. An online peti-
tion, which as of publication
has more than 400 signatures,
was also started for the same
purpose.
The petition was started by
Joel Batterman, a University
Ph.D. student of Urban Plan-
ning and Development. Batter-
man said he is appalled at the
University’s actions.
“It struck me as outra-
geous that the University has
invested in a company that was
profiting off the foreclosure
process, in particular, off the
purchase of occupied homes,”
Batterman said.
Alexa Eisenberg is a doctor-
al candidate with the School of
Public Health and a researcher
with
University
President
Mark Schissel’s Poverty Solu-
tions, an initiative to find ways
to “prevent and alleviate pov-
erty
through
action-based
research.” She was present at
the board meeting and was one
of the speakers alongside Bat-
terman.
In an interview with The
Daily,
Eisenberg
expressed
concern the investment could
weaken the impact of her work,
which she explained depends
on the relationships she builds.
“(The investment) damages
trust and undermines rela-
tionships that researchers and
the University have built with
community-based
organiza-
tions and people in the city of
Detroit,” Eisenberg said.
Fortus responds
Corey Hanker and Jordan
Friedman
co-founded
For-
tus Partners with a mission
to increase the availability of
affordable,
quality
housing
by rehabilitating single- and
multi-family homes and apart-
ments.
After the Bridge Magazine
article was published, Fortus
claimed there were a number
of inaccuracies which por-
trayed the company poorly, and
released a guest commentary
on the story.
Friedman, managing part-
ner of Fortus Partners, is aware
of the online petition.
“We didn’t bid on occupied
homes,” Friedman said. “We
bid on unoccupied homes.
After we did ... someone broke
into the house.”
Friedman stated Fortus only
buys unoccupied properties
through open, public sales.
“We see all these addresses
around September, and we’re
allowed to inspect the exteri-
or,” Friedman explained. “We
physically went to every single
property,
inspecting
these
properties from the outside
and making sure that from the
outside, they’re unoccupied.”
Public slams
‘U’ for fund
investments
Company involved in series of Detroit
evictions receives $30 million from ‘U’
COURTESY OF MELANIE TAYLOR
Read more at michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor residents attend
watch parties for debates
FRANCESCA DUONG
Daily Staff Reporter
MELANIE TAYLOR &
CLAIRE HAO
Summer News Editors
Read more at michigandaily.com
Community members observe as presidential candidates debate in Detroit
Community members in Washtenaw County gather to watch and discuss the Democratic debate Tuesday.