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.