Ann 
Arbor 
city 
officials 
discussed two ordinances that 
would expand the number of 
recreational marijuana facilities 
in the city in a special City 
Council work session Monday 
night. Approximately 25 citizens 
attended the session.
At 
last 
week’s 
meeting, 
councilmembers 
gave 
initial 
approval to the ordinances that 
would allow temporary permits 
for events with onsite marijuana 

sale 
and 
consumption. 
They 
are expected to be approved in 
October, right before the state will 
begin accepting applications for 
recreational marijuana licenses 
from businesses on Nov. 1.
The 
work 
session 
began 
with a presentation on the new 
ordinances. 
Planning 
Manager 
Brett Lenart explained recent legal 
history regarding the legalization 
of marijuana, including the 2008 
Michigan Medical Marijuana Act 
and the 2018 Michigan Regulation 
and Taxation of Marijuana Act.
“The city obviously has a more 

unique history with marijuana 
than a lot of other communities, 
both in the state of Michigan and 
throughout the country,” Lenart 
said. “A history of involvement in 
Hash Bash, activist groups who 
were pretty agressive in some eyes 
at the time, municipal regulation 
for governing marijuana in the 
community. And more recently, 
that history has evolved from a 
series of legal statutes and acts.” 
Lenart 
explained 
the 
proposed land use regulations for 
recreational marijuana. He said 
many of the recommended changes 

included removing “medical” from 
previously established terms. 
Additionally, Lenart addressed 
the amendment to implement a 
designated marijuana consumption 
facility, where adults 21 and older 
would be able to both buy and 
consume marijuana inside the 
place of purchase. These facilities 
would be allowed in commercial 
districts and have to be located 
1,000 feet from schools.
Lenart 
also 
discussed 
the 
creation of marijuana retailers and 
marijuana microbusinesses. 

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, September 24, 2019

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

The Academics Beat at The 
Michigan Daily recently sat down 
with the new LSA Dean Anne 
Curzan for an interview to discuss 
her vision for the college and its 
many programs. 
The Michigan Daily: What 
are your goals as dean of LSA?
Anne Curzan: I’d start by 
saying LSA is a remarkable place 
filled 
with 
inspiring 
people, 

and it’s such an honor for me at 
this moment in my career to get 
the chance to try to ensure that 
this can continue to be a place 
where everyone can do their best 
work. That’s faculty and staff 
and students, both graduate and 
undergraduate. That everybody 
can thrive here. In terms of my 
broader goals, I’m committed to 
maintaining our excellence — first 
in research and teaching, that’s 
core to our mission. Also core to 
our mission is our commitment 
to diversity, equity and inclusion. 

That is something that we will 
continue to work very hard on. 
(I’m) committed to advocating 
for the value of the liberal arts 
in terms of our teaching and the 
education that we provide and our 
research mission.
Then, 
how 
we 
contribute 
to the public good. It’s a public 
institution, and we do really 
important work for the public 
good. We’ll stay very focused on 
that. Another one of my goals, 
as I said, is really to ensure 
that everyone can thrive here. 

That means staying focused on 
purposeful inclusion and equity 
and access for everyone. It also, 
for me, means staying focused on 
purpose. I’m a big believer that if 
you are focused on the work that 
matters, on the work that gives 
you purpose, wherever you are, 
it leads to fulfilling happy lives … 
I also will be staying focused on 
well-being, that’s very important 
to me for everyone in the 
community..

An Ann Arbor-based public 
interest law firm, the Thomas 
More Law Center, along with 
Caledonia-based Bursch Law 
PLLC, has been representing 
the state of Tennessee’s general 
assembly in a case opposing the 
federal government’s refugee 
resettlement efforts since 2016. 
Tennessee, much like other 
states around the country, has 
received an influx of refugees 
in the last decade, averaging 
around 1,000 refugees per year, 
largely 
from 
conflict-ridden 
areas such as Iraq and Sudan. 
In 2017, the state legislature 
refused to provide funds for 
Medicaid for settled asylum-
seekers and sued the federal 
government.
After Tennessee’s attorney 
general declined to litigate the 
case on behalf of the Republican-
held general assembly, TMLC, 
a 
self-identified 
Christian, 
conservative law firm, took up 
the case.
In July, the Sixth Circuit 
Court denied Tennessee’s case 
on the basis of standing. In 
other words, the plaintiffs had 
not suffered any measurable 
damages 
from 
the 
refugee 
resettlement program. 

GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail 
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 139
©2019 The Michigan Daily

N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

CL A SSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit

CSG fights 
extra costs 
 
 
of materials
for courses

Student government pursues initatives 
to combat campus affordability issues 

BARBARA COLLINS 
Daily Staff Reporter

Joe’s Pizza, an authentic New 
York City establishment, recently 
opened its first location outside 
of the five boroughs on South 
University Avenue. Joining the 
slew of pizza places in town, Joe’s 
aims to provide a new kind of slice 
and experience without usurping 
existing pizzerias.
While Ann Arbor may seem 
like an odd choice for Joe’s first 
out-of-state 
site, 
partner 
and 
manager Peter Levin revealed the 
motivations behind the big move. 
“My business partner Ian and 
I both went to U of M, we’ve been 
friends ever since,” Levin said. “We 
were like, if we’re going to expand 
Joe’s lets do it in Ann Arbor. There’s 
such a great market here, we have 
the obvious ties to Ann Arbor and 
we felt it would be a really great fit.”
Situated in a prime location for 
maximum foot traffic, just across 
from the engineering arch, Levin 
said there was extensive planning 
behind their new venture. 
“We wanted to open an iconic 
location, we plan to be here for a 
really long time, and we wanted a 
location that kids will remember 
after school into the years, and 
we felt that this was it,” he said. 

Joe’s Pizza 
joins other 
pizzerias 
downtown

BUSINESS

New establishment 
brings competition 
for area businesses

HANNAH MACKAY
Daily Staff Reporter

LSA Dean discusses research, 
value of a liberal arts education

Anne Curzan sits down with The Daily to talk vision for the College

Christian
law firm
works on 
Tenn case

GOVERNMENT

BEN ROSENFELD
Daily Staff Reporter 

Follow The Daily 
on Instagram, 
@michigandaily

On top of tuition, students at 
the University of Michigan pay 
hundreds of dollars in mandatory 
fees in each of their courses for 
textbooks, 
online 
homework 
and other supplies. With all 
of these extra fees students 
are expected to pay, Central 
Student Government is pursuing 
initiatives to make attending the 
University more affordable for 
students. Some of these initiatives 
include making homework more 
accessible and looking into hiring 
specialists who could help reduce 
costs of class materials. 
Certain schools on campus 
require students to spend an 
additional amount of money 
on supplies and materials for 
their 
classes. 
According 
to 
the Office of the Registrar, for 
instance, materials for 100 and 
200-level courses in the School 
of Art & Design can cost up to 
$250 per course. Courses in 
the LSA department of Film, 
Television, and Media, as well 
as courses in the Taubman 
College of Architecture and 
Urban Planning, can also require 

students pay several hundred 
dollars for supplies. 
Taubman sophomore Olivia 
Howard expressed her concern 
regarding the large amounts of 
money Taubman students have 
to spend on materials for class, 
especially considering the lack 
of communication from certain 
professors about these costs.
“We may not have to get books, 
but supplies for model building, 
drafting and computer software 
are incredibly pricey and a 
necessity for the class,” Howard 
said. “I guess it’s part of the major, 
but it can be a pain to get supplies 
at random intervals throughout 
the semester, especially when it’s 
not mentioned that we need them 
upfront. So students have a hard 
time budgeting for them.”
LSA junior Shira Baron, who is 
also pursuing a dual degree in the 
Art & Design School, spoke about 
her disappointment with the 
financial obligation for students 
in these schools.
“It’s disheartening for students 
because it adds an additional 
financial hurdle and reinforces 
just how expensive this school 
already is,” Baron said.

ALEC COHEN/Daily
LSA Dean Anne Curzan discusses her long-term goals in an interview The Daily in the LSA Building Friday morning. 

Community members gather 
to discuss new marijuana bills

City Council hosts special session regarding expansion of recreational drug use

See AFFORDABILITY, Page 3

See TMLC, Page 3

PARNIA MAZHAR
Daily Staff Reporter

RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Planning Manager Brett Lenart shares the legalization of marijuanaa at a special City Council work session Monday night.

See MARIJUANA, Page 3

BARBARA COLLINS & 
ALEX HARRING
Daily Staff Reporters

See LSA, Page 3

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

Local lawyers litigate 
case involving refugee 
Medicaid, states’ rights

