Thursday, August 8, 2019
INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 121
© 2019 The Michigan Daily
NEWS ....................................
OPINION ...............................
ARTS......................................
MiC.........................................
SPORTS................................
MICHIGAN IN COLOR
‘On Punjab’
Harnoor Singh shares his
pride on being Punjabi and
the lasting effects of coloniza-
tion and Indian nationalism
>> SEE PAGE 9
NEWS
Car show
Sixth annual event for hos-
pitalized kids takes place on
roof of C.S. Mott
>> SEE PAGE 2
OPINION
Pleasure reading
Erin White explores the
importance of and need
for prioritizing reading for
pleasure
>> SEE PAGE 4
ARTS
‘The Farewell’
Lulu Wang’s latest is a
heartwrenching tale of
beauty and sorrow, grief
and nostalgia
>> SEE PAGE 6
SPORTS
Football
Early impressions from
Michigan’s fall football
camp
>> SEE PAGE 12
inside
2
4
6
9
10
Thousands flock
to Kerrytown for
annual celebration
Ann
Arbor
Pride’s
25th
anniversary was celebrated in
Kerrytown with performances,
vendors
and
kid-friendly
activities over the weekend.
There
was
yoga,
belly
dancing, a street fair, poetry
slam and a performance by AJA
from “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
throughout the day Saturday.
On
Sunday,
JuJubee,
also
from “RuPaul’s Drag Race,”
hosted Pride Bingo Brunch at
Blue Llama Jazz Club and a
Pride Picnic that took place in
Wheeler Park.
Among the attendees were
members and supporters of
the LGBTQ+ community, from
people who have just started
their identity journey to people
who have been fighting for equal
rights for years. Joe Schoch,
co-director of Ann Arbor Pride,
reaffirmed how the festival
achieved that goal this year by
planning a plethora of age and
gender-inclusive activities and
performances.
“It’s really important for us to
be sure that Pride is inclusive for
everybody,” Schoch said. “Ours
is
very
community-centric,
and we try to do a little bit of
everything for everybody.”
The
proceeds
from
the
festival will benefit the Jim
Toy Community Center, an
LGBTQ+ resource center in
the Washtenaw County area.
Cadence Cartier, drag queen
performer
with
Boylesque,
noted the importance of Jim
Toy’s work.
“The
services
that
they
provide really do help our
youth, really help give them
the support that they need
when they don’t have support,”
Cartier said.
In addition to the performers,
booths
selling
merchandise,
promoting political campaigns
and giving away items were
set up close to the main stage.
One of the booths was run by
an organization called Free
Mom Hugs, a non-profit group
of affirming allies and parents
aimed
to
spread
love
and
acceptance.
Arleta
Greer,
co-lead
of
the
organization’s
Michigan
chapter, described the hardships
faced by many LGBTQ+ youth.
“So many of our younger
generation
in
the
LGBTQ+
community is struggling with
being accepted at home, or being
accepted at school,” Greer said.
“Sometimes, this is the only
parental hug they’ve gotten in
days or weeks.”
Alongside Free Mom Hugs,
there
were
also
numerous
support
and
mental
health
organizations. A 2015 report by
GLSEN on the National School
Climate Survey found that 85
percent of LGBTQ+ students
have
experienced
verbal
harassment and 27 percent have
been physically harassed due to
their sexual orientation.
Rackham student Lindsey
Beaver said she recently began
identifying as bisexual, and
shared her experience with
discovering herself.
“(Your identity) is a huge
part of your daily experience,
your interactions with other
people,” Beaver said. “I found
that when I started realizing
that I wasn’t straight, it was like
this whole thing wasn’t locked
inside me where all of a sudden
I could love people more. All
of a sudden, I feel a lot more
comfortable.”
Drawing
from
her
own
experience, Beaver emphasized
the
importance
of
Pride
festivals and celebrating gender
identity.
Principal files
lawsuit against
school district
Shannon Blick alleges
‘reverse discrimination’
at AAPS’ Lawton
Elementary School
Shannon Blick, former principal
of Ann Arbor Public School District’s
Lawton Elementary School, is alleging
the district ousted her in an act of
“reverse discrimination,”according to
her lawsuit against the school.
On May 1, Dawn Linden, Ann Arbor
Public Schools executive director of
Elementary Education, sent out a letter
to the parents of students at Lawton
Elementary School, reporting that Blick
was on a temporary leave of absence.
With no formal reason provided or a
specified time length, Dottie Davis,
former Huron High School athletic
director
and
assistant
principal,
assumed the role as “guest principal.”
Two months later, Blick, with aid from
Ann Arbor attorney William Tishkoff,
filed a $5 million lawsuit against Ann
Arbor Public Schools. Superintendent
Jeanice Swift, in line with other
administrators and the AAPS School
Board, attributed her termination to
“reverse discrimination.” In addition to
financial compensation, Blick is asking
to be reinstated as principal of Lawton
Elementary.
Blick claims the AAPS board and
their
key
administrators
“subject
white administrators to hostility and
harassment in the workplace based on
their race; accelerate the promotion
and advancement of African American
and minority administrators at the
expense and to the detriment of
white administrators and refuse to
‘reasonably and properly investigate’
and take remedial action for, ‘reverse
discrimination’ workplace complaints,”
per her lawsuit.
Tishkoff declined to interview on
record, but pointed The Daily to online
reports for further information.
ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Read more at michigandaily.com
SAMANTHA SMALL
Summer News Editor
Read more at michigandaily.com
michigandaily.com
Community celebrates love,
acceptance at Ann Arbor Pride
PHOTO COURTESY OF JIM TOY COMMUNITY CENTER
Vistitors walk through the exhibitor area during Ann Arbor Pride in Ann Arbor Saturday.
FRANCESCA DUONG
Daily Staff Reporter