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.

