Ernst said UHS continues to
work toward a long term solution
to satisfy student needs.
“Going forward, carving out
the billing for STI testing is
going to have us rethink the
budget in the near term, and
that’s okay — we can still do
that with prioritization,” Ernst
said. “The plan moving forward
would be to work to actually
bring the analyzers into our
UHS lab. That’s going to take
some time, but once we’re able
to do that, then we’ll be able
to reduce those costs and get
back on track from a budget
standpoint.”
Following the guest speaker,
community members Mozhgan
Savabieasfahani
and
Blaine
Coleman
spoke
urging
CSG
members to pass a resolution
against military aid to Israel.
Savabieasfahani and Coleman
held
signs
reading
“We
are against military aid to
Israel,” the phrase they asked
CSG members to turn into a
resolution.
Each
community
member spoke for three minutes
regarding the Israel-Palestine
conflict and advocating for the
resolution.
Savabieasfahani
referenced
the
divestment
resolution
passed by CSG in 2017.
“I assure you, you will make
headlines — global headlines,”
Savabieasfahani said. “What you
did with divestment did make
headlines, it went all over the
world. There are still headlines
coming out talking specifically
about Michigan. You have this
huge power in your hands.”
CSG President Ben Gernstein
then
summarized
recent
initiatives from the executive
branch, including taking steps
to re-authorize the New York
Times Readership Program, a
project which provides students
access to the New York Times
through their University email
accounts.
Gernstein also discussed the
introduction of a Well-being Fee
Working Group. Originally the
Well-being fee, which was added
to tuition last year, provided
for this group in addition to
Counseling and Psychological
Services and Maize & Blue
Cupboard.
“This group is going to have
the goal of improving and
enhancing the resources for
those two entities on campus,
but not through a fee,” Gernstein
said.
Gernstein aims to complete
the subsidization of Group-X
gym passes to be set up by
next Tuesday. CSG is also
continuing to work with the
Michigan Unions and Libraries
to provide more microwaves on
campus.
“The Campus Affordability
Task Force from the previous
year recommended that this is
an important fixture for food
insecurity on campus as it is a
short term project that allows
for students who might bring
lunch from home because they
cannot afford to purchase lunch
on campus the opportunity to
heat up that lunch in a library
or one of the unions,” Gernstein
said.
Additionally, Gernstein spoke
about
working
to
revitalize
the
Leadership
Engagement
Scholarship, created in 2016
with the goal of eliminating
financial barriers for students
to be active leaders. Because
the money provided in that
scholarship has decreased over
the years, Gernstein hopes to
increase funding for it.
Gerstein also spoke about
goals of expanding the Race
and
Ethnicity
distribution
requirement to every school and
college within the University,
as well as ensuring the current
requirement within LSA is as
meaningful and up-to-date as
possible.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, September 11, 2019 — 3A
“It was a lot of trial and
error,”
Kahn
said.
“But
operational challenges are
a part of growing as a team
and a business.”
The current menu was
created after months of
testing. It includes popular
menu items like the Soul
Bowl, an acai based bowl
topped with granola and
various
fruits,
and
the
Hail Kale, a kale blend
smoothie that’s a playful
nod to Michigan school
spirit. Kahn said the team
went
around
to
various
local towns over fall and
spring break last year to
look up menus and scout out
people’s preferences.
“We went to someone’s
apartment with a bunch of
Nutribullets and a bunch of
ingredients from Meijer to
test out different variations
and alternatives to some
of the smoothies we liked
back in our hometowns,”
Kahn
said.
“We
pride
ourselves
on
our
fresh,
local, organic ingredients
so we had to make sure that
we were being cost efficient
but also getting that proper
healthy ingredients that we
wanted.”
Soul Smoothies & Bowls’
marketing strategy relies
on various social media
platforms and has captured
the interest of students,
including
LSA
freshman
Maddy Wolkov.
“Considering I’m not even
in Ross and I walked all the
way here for it, I feel like it
will be really popular and
draw people in, especially
after you work out or even
if you’re just passing by,”
Wolkov said.
Soul Smoothies & Bowls
CEO Justin Schulman, a
Business senior, explained
the company is far more
than just a smoothie stand
that’s conveniently located
— it is intertwined with the
culture the Business School
fosters.
“People
believe
that
there is a culture that’s
cultivated
within
Ross
and
that
definitely
exists in certain areas,”
Schulman
said.
“We’re
clearly catering towards a
very specific audience. I
don’t think there’ll be the
same level of attention or
popularity if it was in any
other school. We know the
certain demographic that
studies in Ross, that is in
Ross, that’s looking for this
type of food: quick, healthy
and aesthetically pleasing.”
As an organization, Soul
Smoothie aims to parallel
the
values
of
positive
business
and
action-
based learning that Ross
fosters in their academic
environment, Khan said. By
creating a business founded
on good principles and an
outlet for students to learn
how to run a business, Soul
Smoothies & Bowls has
created a space for students
to apply some of the skills
they learned within their
classrooms
toward
real-
world business operations.
According to Khan, this
was one of the reasons
why
the
initial
pitch
to
the
Business
School
administration
was
so
successful.
“(The
Ross
administration) was really
receptive because it’s a
good manifestation of the
principles and ideas that
they want their students
to carry forward — it could
really be something that
students can run as well as
a Michigan student start-up
that can continue,” Khan
said.
At the end of the day,
however, Khan thinks it
was also simply a good
business model.
“For
them,
Ross
and
Seigle make money and
they’re
a
business
as
well,” Khan said. “(Soul
Smoothies & Bowls) was a
good way for them to have
the
customer
base
that
they’re targeting actually
be the ones who’s doing the
marketing and making the
smoothies.”
As for their future plans,
Khan said the team is
prioritizing expanding the
business outside of Seigle
and diversifying the menu.
“Menu
expansion
for
sure will happen,” Khan
said. “We are constantly
testing
our
current
smoothies.
We
want
to
do seasonal offerings and
want to expand that. Part
of that comes with making
sure that we have the ops
down and being receptive
to student feedback.”
Soul Smoothies & Bowls
hopes to join the list of
startups, such as the popular
coffee
chain
Espresso
Royale or the downtown
bookstore
Literati,
that
have left a permanent mark
on Ann Arbor as well as the
University campus.
“At the end of the day,
our strength comes in our
team as well as a general
hustle that each one of
us
possesses,”
Schulman
said. “That team-oriented
atmosphere
has
allowed
us to form a lot of close
relationships in the Ann
Arbor area. And that hustle
has been the driver that has
allowed us to persevere in
a lot of the similar areas
that other small businesses
might have faced.”
SMOOTHIE
From Page 1A
Dingell, a top progressive
in the Democratic Party,
has been serving Ann Arbor
since 2015. Dingell has also
been a long-time proponent
of Medicare for All and
founded a Medicare for All
caucus in July 2018.
When asked how the two
candidates differ on this
point, Rajput acknowledged
that Dingell has been a
proponent of the policy.
“Congresswoman
Dingell is an advocate for
Medicare for All and I am
grateful that she has taken
a progressive stance on that
front,” Rajput said. “I think
that is something that many
progressives appreciate. But
I think for me, part of the
reasons why I’m running
are for the areas we disagree
on.”
One of Rajput’s biggest
differences with Dingell is
her support of the Green
New Deal. The Green New
Deal, introduced by Rep.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
D-N.Y., currently has 94
cosponsors including two
Michigan
representatives
—
Rep.
Rashida
Tlaib,
D-Mich., and Rep. Andy
Levin, D-Mich. — but not
Dingell.
In a statement earlier
this
year,
Dingell’s
Communications
Director
Maggie
Rousseau
said
Dingell has urged Congress
to take more aggressive
stances
on
combating
climate change.
“Mrs. Dingell has been
reviewing the Green New
Deal, but believes it is time
Congress
takes
serious
action to address climate
change,” Rousseau said.
When asked to comment
on
Rajput’s
campaign,
Kellie Lounds, the Dingell
campaign’s political director
and
a
recent
University
graduate,
restated
the
congresswoman’s
commitment to the issues in
the district.
“Congresswoman Dingell
is focused on continuing to
lead the fight in Congress
for
quality,
affordable,
healthcare safeguarding the
environment, and delivering
for
hardworking
men
and women in Southeast
Michigan,” Lounds wrote
to The Daily over a text
exchange. “Across the 12th
Congressional
District,
Mrs. Dingell meets with
everyone, and this August
held 10 Congress in Your
Community events at local
farmers
markets,
hosted
seven town halls and has
gone to more than 200
meetings and events. People
who know her, know she is a
fighter.”
Rajput
said
he
felt
compelled to run for office
because people are looking
for ambitious new ideas and
not safe solutions.
“I think they are trying to
solve very big problems with
very small solutions,” Rajput
said. “That even if they were
to get implemented, would
not have any meaningful
impact on anyone’s life. That
is what I fundamentally
disagree with. I think we
need to dream up a solution
that will actually solve the
problems and not kick the
issue down the road.”
Rajput said even though
he’s never been an elected
official, he does have a
political
background.
He
began grassroots political
organizing by organizing
for
former
Secretary
of
State
Hillary
Clinton’s
presidential
campaign.
After
her
election
loss,
Rajput said he felt an urge
to stay politically engaged
and that he saw a similar
sentiment
on
campus.
That’s when he decided
to start a local grassroots
organization, the Michigan
Resistance.
“After
the
Hillary
campaign,
we
ended
up
having
many
volunteers
who really wanted to keep
fighting but didn’t really
know what to do,” Rajput
said. “And we had heard
that there were a lot of bad
bills, anti-progressive bills,
coming through the state
legislature and we heard
that even a few dozen calls
could make a difference
on the state level. So we
organized and we did what
we knew how to do as
organizers and made tons of
calls and got volunteers to
make tons of calls. We were
calling about six bills and
we were able to help stop all
of those six bills.”
Rajput acknowledged that
taking on an established
figure such as Dingell will
be challenging. He cited his
lack of name recognition as
one roadblock.
“Nobody
knows
me,”
Rajput said. “That’s the fact
of the matter. But I need
to get my name out there
and I need to get people to
know who I am and know
what I stand for. So we’re
just going to have to do a lot
of talking with voters and
building a grassroots army
to educate voters about this
campaign.”
He cites Ocasio-Cortez
as a source of inspiration,
both ideologically and due
to the challenges she faced
when campaigning against
then-incumbent Rep. Joe
Crowley, D-N.Y.
“I
am
inspired
by
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,”
Rajput said. “I think that’s
another thing that everyone
could probably guess. She
inspired me because she
believed that you don’t need
to be a dynasty, you don’t
need to be a millionaire or
have corporate connections
to win an election.”
Rothstein
also
has
a
message for future students
who may be hesitant to vote
for a name they aren’t as
familiar with.
“Keep an open mind,”
Rothstein said. “Solomon
is addressing some of Rep.
Dingell’s
shortcomings.
Being that he grew up in the
era of skyrocketing student
debt, mass shootings and
worsening climate change,
Solomon will be able to view
these issues from a more
personal perspective that
aligns more closely with our
generation.”
CONGRESS
From Page 1A
During his introduction of
Funk, Schlissel said many of
the highlights in his six years
at the University have been
at Wallace House events.
He expressed appreciation
for the program and the
opportunities it offers.
“My secret jealousy is I
don’t qualify to be a Knight-
Wallace fellow, but think
about how cool it would be to
be able to sit in at any class
you want at the University
and not have to take any
testing or grades and not have
to take any prerequisites,”
Schlissel
said.
“It
really
sounds like college heaven.”
After
introducing
this
year’s
Knight-Wallace
fellows, Clemetson turned
the podium over to Funk.
According
to
Clemetson,
journalists
often
report
on
the
topic
of
climate
change with a scientific or
political lens and analyze
the tension between the two,
but Funk’s work is unique.
He
approaches
climate
change with a business lens,
investigating
how
hedge
funds
and
organizations
twist
the
issue
to
their
benefit.
Funk
explained
how
he became involved with
environmental
journalism.
He was working on narrative
stories for magazines in 2006
when he received an email
from
the
Environmental
News Network about the
Canadian military heading
north to claim the melting
territory.
He
described
joining their expedition and
learning what motivated it.
“The reason that Canada
was up there was one, the
Northwest
Passage
was
melting, and two, there was
a ton of oil there, maybe
a quarter of the world’s
undeveloped oil,” Funk said.
“And so the moment the
ice started pulling back in
the Arctic, you can see this
opportunity and you can see
people begin to scramble for
it.”
Funk
then
shared
his
discoveries from years of
investigative
work.
According
to
Funk,
businesses
use
their
influence
with
the
wealthy
people
to
profit
from the effects of climate
change. He gave numerous
examples,
including
how
insurers fortified valuable
homes on the East Coast and
in California from natural
disasters
while
ignoring
those of poorer residents.
He focused in particular on
border walls and companies
that
take
in
revenue
building structures between
countries.
Funk pointed to a $10-12
billion plan made by Dutch
architects to protect New
York City from storms like
Hurricane Sandy as a useful
framework for understanding
his area of focus.
“The clear favorite was a
seawall that would go across
the
Verrazano-Narrows
(a strait separating Staten
Island and Brooklyn) and it
would block any storm surge
coming toward Manhattan,”
Funk said. “It would also send
even more water to the poor
areas on the side. So what we
had was a seawall that would
protect the wealthiest part of
the wealthiest city perhaps
in the world while drenching
the poor.”
Clemetson opened up the
event to questions from the
audience. Funk responded
to an audience member who
asked about positive efforts
to combat the climate crisis.
“I
don’t
think
we’re
doomed,” Funk said. “I think
it’s a question of how many of
us are saved.”
WALLACE
From Page 1A
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
“One of the main problems
that we’re seeing here is that,
really, the state is not funding
mental health in the way that
it needs to be funded,” Scott
said. “So, we know that we’re
providing great services for
people in this county, but
the state is not fully funding
mental health programs across
the entire state.”
The
state
of
Michigan
has yet to approve a budget,
which means county officials
remain unclear about what
cuts need to be made. Scott
says one of the reasons for
the
county’s
rejection
of
Community Mental Health’s
proposal was that it failed
to include recommendations
made by the county that
would allow for a potentially
smaller budget.
“There’s a big budget crisis
looming at the state level too,”
Scott said. “The state doesn’t
have a budget, hence we don’t
have a budget, so we’re going on
a lot of numbers and assuming
different things. Community
Mental Health assumed a 4
percent rate of growth in the
amount that they’re getting for
the budget.”
LSA junior Elizabeth Einig,
a member of both the Active
Minds
club
and
Mentality
Magazine at the University of
Michigan, said budget cuts in
any form to an organization
like Community Mental Health
may have drastic effects on the
treatment and support patients
are able to get from the county.
“There’s
already
a
tremendous amount of social
stigma and financial barriers
for mental health, and I feel
like that proposal is definitely
going to make things worse, as
far as the situation of not being
able to access treatment,” Einig
said.
Budget
concerns
often
lead to cuts to mental health
resources,
but
the
county
would be unlikely to take away
funding from an organization
providing support to those with
physical illnesses, Einig said.
“Mental
illnesses
are
definitely more invisible, and
so it’s harder for people to
emphasize and want to allow
more funding for it,” Einig said.
“I think physical illnesses are
much more understood. We’re
more comfortable with it.”
Cuts
to
the
Community
Mental Health budget could
potentially affect students in
Washtenaw County as well.
LSA senior Sarah Avery works
with U-M students who seek
out resources for mental health
at Sexual Assault Prevention
and Awareness Center and
as a Residential Advisor in
a
freshman
dorm.
Avery
explained it can be difficult for
students to find help.
“One of the main reasons
students don’t ask for help is
because they either don’t know
where to go for help, or they
can’t afford it,” Avery said.
“Having
affordable
options
that are clear and out there for
people to use in Washtenaw
County
will
make
people,
hopefully, more drawn to use
those programs to get the help
they need.”
Despite
concerns
over
potentially
reduced
mental
health funding, Scott said the
county has been looking only
at
administrative
cuts
and
potential ways to consolidate
services, so as to manage the
money
Community
Mental
Health takes out of the county
general fund without affecting
the people the organization
serves.
“It’s hard work, and I want
them
to
be
compensated
fairly — to have retirement
and medical benefits and paid
time off — all the things that
we know are so important
for everybody working, but
especially working when you’re
doing hard physical and mental
work every day,” she said.
Scott, who also works as an
intensive care unit nurse at
Michigan Medicine, said she
understands
the
challenges
Community
Mental
Health
faces
in
maintaining
its
services.
“In
my
day
job,
I’m
a
nurse,” she said. “I know how
important it is to make sure
people are taken care of, and
I just want to make sure we
have these services continue
to be provided for Washtenaw
County.”
BUDGET
From Page 1A
CSG
From Page 1A
“We’re clearly
catering towards
a very specific
audience. I don’t think
there’ll be the same
level of attention or
popularity if it was in
any other school.”
“Going forward,
carving out the
billing for STI testing
is going to have us
rethink the budget
in the near term. The
plan moving forward
would be to work to
actually bring the
analyzers into our
UHS lab.”