Climate change could have dire 
impacts on Michigan farmers. 
As a result, local producers are 
taking matters into their own 
hands to cope with extreme 
temperatures and unpredictable 
weather patterns in the state.
Earlier 
in 
October, 
Sen. 
Debbie 
Stabenow, 
D-Mich, 
released a report entitled “The 
Climate Crisis and Michigan” 
to address environmental issues 
surrounding the state and the 
implications of climate change on 
local communities.
Sections of the report discuss 
various ways climate change has 
affected Michigan’s physical and 
economic landscape, including 
damages to agriculture, winter 
recreation and both public and 
private infrastructure.
Agriculture 
is 
the 
second 
largest industry in Michigan, 
representing about a quarter of all 
jobs. These jobs require a stable 
and reliable climate in order to 
succeed. The report highlighted 
a 
phenomenon 
called 
“false 
spring,” marked by unseasonal 
warmth and sudden shifts back 
to cold temperatures. According 
to the report, the phenomenon 
puts stress on crops and causes 
them to underperform. In 2012, 
Michigan farmers lost 90 percent 
of the tart cherry crop due to false 
spring, according to the report. 
Climate 
change 
is 
also 
impacting local life. Stephanie 

Willette, manager of the Ann 
Arbor Farmers Market, noted the 
dangers of climate instability in 
recent years, as well as its impact 
on crop yield in Ann Arbor.
“This year, we had that cold 
snap that was a lot later than 
normal, and so we didn’t have 
hardly any peaches at all that 
were good this year,” Willette 
said. “That’s kind of rare and 
really happens when you get 
(temperatures) 
that 
aren’t 
normal, and we had a late frost 
this spring.”
At the end of every year, the 
market releases an annual report 
in which Ann Arbor residents 
can voice feedback on the market 
and its vendors. In 2018, various 
complaints pertained to creating 
an indoor version of the year-
round market for winter months. 
Willette explained extreme 
weather 
patterns 
caused 
by 
climate change, like severe wind 
and rain, pose a serious threat to 
the physical market, as well as to 
the items vendors can sell during 
the year.
“I think there is a concern that 
storms, rain, snow are going to 
become more severe, and that 
is one of the things pushing the 
issue, and we’re taking a look at 
trying to winterize the space,” 
Willette said. “We are working 
with (the city) in order to try and 
install solar, so we’re thinking in 
terms of how our facility can be 
more sustainable. How can we 
have energy solutions that are not 
contributing to climate change 
that are reliable long-term?”

Anxieties surrounding lack of 
a plentiful harvest can also put 
stress on the farmers, who risk 
job instability. According to the 
report, an increase in Michigan’s 
poor air quality has exacerbated 
the 
annual 
allergy 
season. 
Warmer conditions caused by 
climate change have allowed 
disease-carrying 
pests 
like 
mosquitoes and ticks to thrive 
in the state, both of which pose 
statewide public health concerns.
Eric Kampe, a vendor at the 
Ann Arbor Farmers Market and 
the owner of Ann Arbor Seed 
Company, 
explained 
climate 
change can harm a farmer’s 
financial and emotional well-
being.
“Folks that farm really love and 
care (about) what they’re doing, 
and if the wind is blowing hard 
and you’re thinking, ‘Man, is this 
going to ruin one of my buildings, 
or break one of my hoop houses, 
or is this stressing out my crops?’” 
Kampe said. “You can put on your 
accountant hat, (but) that’s not 
who we are as living creatures. 
It’s stressful, it’s hard, you don’t 
sleep well at night … It definitely 
can hurt the bottom line and hurt 
your ability to make a living.”
Stabenow’s report concludes 
with solutions to the problems 
of climate change in Michigan, 
such as investing in renewable 
energy and employing smarter 
agricultural practices.

Exactly how the change will 
manifest is unclear to everyone 
involved. 
Even 
NCAA 
President Mark Emmert kept 
things ambiguous when he 
spoke to reporters Tuesday.
“We’re going to have to wait 
and see what transpires with 
each of these legislatures,” 
Emmert said. “We believe very 
deeply in the board … that you 
have to have a national system 
if you’re going to have national 
championships. 
Doing 
all 
these things state by state is 
at best ineffective and most 
likely makes it very difficult 
or impossible.”
At the same time Emmert 
spoke, 
bills 
similar 
to 
California’s had already begun 
taking shape in Washington, 
Colorado, Illinois and Florida. 
Federally, Rep. Mark Walker, 
R-N.C., proposed a bill while 
Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., 
took to Twitter on Tuesday 
to say he would introduce a 
measure to make any income 
gained by college athletes 
taxable.
A U-M spokesperson told 

The Daily Tuesday afternoon 
that athletic director Warde 
Manuel 
had 
no 
comment 
on the situation at the time. 
Men’s basketball coach Juwan 
Howard has pled ignorance 
on the issue when asked and 
football coach Jim Harbaugh 
pivoted 
— 
diverting 
the 
conversation towards allowing 
players to declare for the 
NFL Draft early. Harbaugh’s 
proposal was to allow players 
to turn professional at any 
point in their college careers 
while keeping their amateur 
status intact.
“That’s something I think 
would be fair and beneficial to 
everybody,” Harbaugh said on 
Oct. 7.
“We must embrace change 
to provide the best possible 
experience 
for 
college 
athletes,” 
said 
Ohio 
State 
president and NCAA Board of 
Directors chair Michael Drake 
in a press release. “Additional 
flexibility in this area can 
and must continue to support 
college sports as part of higher 
education.”
Gene Smith, Ohio State’s 
athletic director, said earlier 
this month that he opposed 
California’s 
legislation, 
emphasizing the need for a 

federal framework.
Though players may not 
have 
been 
aware 
of 
the 
specifics of the legislation, 
their stances became clear on 
Tuesday.
“The amount of time and 
work we put in, just how big 
the football industry is, how 
much it’s increasing, I think, 
yeah, give back to us a little 
bit,” said redshirt freshman 
tight end Luke Schoonmaker. 
“We’re the ones (playing).”
Schoonmaker also pointed 
to 
financial 
troubles 
that 
many players face, saying he 
had to look for a job over the 
summer for extra money. 
At the same time, the Big 
Ten is in the midst of a six-
year TV rights deal with ESPN 
and Fox Sports worth $2.64 
billion, while Harbaugh, the 
third-highest paid coach in 
college football, is set to make 
$7.5 million this season.
“I’d say food-wise, I think 
most of the guys, too, are 
always hungry,” Schoonmaker 
said. “And it’d just help during 
the week with being able to 
eat some more and have more 
money for that. And any daily 
needs and stuff, just could 
help us, week to week.”

The CCS serves a similar 
purpose, but does not reach out 
to the subjects of the anonymous 
reports 
directly. 
According 
to the University Record, the 
settlement does not bar staff 
members 
from 
speaking 
to 
individual students or student 
groups about any incidents that 
may have occurred. 
The new CCS will continue to 
address issues of discrimination 
on campus and support those 
who choose to report, University 
spokesman 
Rick 
Fitzgerald 
wrote in an email to The Daily. 
The goal of the CCS is to make 
University resources available to 
students, faculty and staff when 
instances 
of 
discrimination 
arise.
“The focus of this work is 
providing support, which has 
been the long-standing primary 
(focus) of this work,” Fitzgerald 
wrote.
LSA junior Lincoln Ballew, 
chairman of the University’s 
chapter of Young Americans 
for Freedom, said the CCS will 
benefit the University in ways 
the Bias Response Team did not. 
“I think that’s a much better 
system than the BRT because 
it doesn’t make anyone afraid 
to speak what they would like 
to,” Ballew said. “But also, it 
provides support for people who 
may be offended by comments. 
So, it’s a good system to replace 
the BRT.”

In August 2018, U.S District 
Court Judge, Linda V. Parker, 
sided with the University and 
rejected Speech First’s request 
for a preliminary injunction 
against 
the 
Bias 
Response 
Team. According to Parker, 
in September of this year, a 
federal appeals court reversed 
Parker’s decision and voided 
the ruling on the basis the Bias 
Response Team infringed upon 
the First Amendment rights 
by allowing students to report 
discrimination anonymously. 
According to the settlement 
agreement, 
the 
University 
removed certain definitions of 
“harassment” and “bullying” 
from its Statement of Student 
Rights and Responsibilities on 
June 11, 2018, after the lawsuit 
was filed by Speech First. The 
change was meant to clarify the 
definitions of these terms for 
students, faculty and staff. 
Fitzgerald told the University 
Record the decision to settle 
will reaffirm the University’s 
commitment 
to 
freedom 
of 
speech and prevent against 
similar 
claims 
against 
the 
University in the future.
“Vigorous debate on all sides 
of an issue has been a hallmark 
of this campus before and 
during the lawsuit,” Fitzgerald 
said. “We have confidence that 
true diversity of thought will 
continue to flourish on our 
campus.”
The decision to settle is a 
victory for the organization 
and for free speech rights on 
college campuses, University 

spokesman 
Rick 
Fitzgerald 
wrote in an email to The Daily. 
Neily wrote that Speech First 
is satisfied with this decision 
but will continue to watch the 
University for any actions that 
may violate First Amendment 
rights. 
“The settlement gives us the 
relief we initially requested: 
the University agrees to never 
return to the unconstitutional 
definitions of ‘bullying’ and 
‘harassing,’ and to never return to 
the Bias Response Team,” Neily 
wrote. “We have reserved our 
rights to challenge the Campus 
Climate Support program in 
the future should the program 
ever be used to chill students’ 
speech. This victory paves the 
way for college students who 
may have been too fearful or 
intimidated to express their 
opinions to finally embrace their 
free speech rights and engage in 
true academic discourse.”
When 
contacted 
by 
The 
Daily, College Democrats and 
College Republicans declined to 
comment on the outcome of the 
lawsuit. 
Ballew said she hopes the 
settlement, and the lawsuit in 
general, allows students to speak 
freely with each other and voice 
their opinions in ways they may 
have not been able to previously. 
“I 
hope 
it 
provides 
an 
environment for students to be 
able to have honest and open 
conversations without fear of 
problems from the University 
because of what they’re saying,” 
Ballew said.

“Roughly one-fifth of police 
officers surveyed reported that, 
in 2017, immigrants were less 
willing than they were in 2016 to 
make police reports, less likely 
to help police when they arrived 
at the scene of the crime, less 
likely to assist with subsequent 
investigations, and less willing 
to work with prosecutors,” the 
statement reads. 
According to the statement, 
DACA is seen as a method 
to 
preserve 
the 
fragile 
relationships between local law 
enforcement and communities. 
“With DACA, you’d have a 
portion of individuals that aren’t 
as concerned about immigration 
enforcement,” 
Clayton 
said. 
“They know their presence in 
a country is supported. Then 
legally, they don’t have to fear 
ice coming out of nowhere or law 
enforcement seizing them and 
taking them out of the county.”
With this growing fear, the 
statement notes more crimes are 
going unreported, endangering 
the entire community.
“As a result, more than half 
of the law enforcement officials 
surveyed reported that crimes 
such 
as 
domestic 
violence, 
human trafficking, and sexual 

assault 
have 
become 
more 
difficult to investigate,” the 
statement reads. 
In his interview, Clayton 
reaffirmed 
the 
danger 
that 

unreported crimes pose to the 
community.
“Crime 
doesn’t 
know 
boundaries,” 
Clayton 
said. 
“We run the risk of having that 
behavior expanding beyond the 
immigrant community into the 
larger community. We should all 
be concerned and we should all 
know we have the responsibility 
to make every community in 
Washtenaw County safe.” 
Ann 
Arbor 
resident 
Sue 
Shink is vice president of Pilar’s 
Foundation, an organization that 
recently held a gala to stand with 
refugees and immigrants. Shink 
said she has seen the effects of 
DACA on the community.
“My 
daughter, 
one 
of 
her best friend’s mom got 
deported,” 
Shink 
said. 
“It 
created an untenable situation. 
Her family has gone under a 
tremendous amount of stress, 
even though her parents have 
been contributing members of 
our society. The fear is well-
grounded.”
Ann Arbor resident Sylvia 
Nolasco-Rivers, 
president 
of 
Pilar’s Foundation, said she was 
excited to hear about Clayton’s 
statement.

“It’s nice to see someone in 
the community making sure that 
people feel safe,” Nolasco-Rivers 
said. “At the end of the day that’s 
what people need to do. We 
need to go beyond ourselves 
and expand our hearts out to 
others and find ways to bring the 
healing … and make it right.”
Yet, while some members of 
the community are thankful 
for the sheriff’s step, they don’t 
believe it is enough. 
In an email to The Daily, LSA 
senior Barbara Diaz, Student 
Community 
of 
Progressive 
Empowerment 
member, 
said 
DACA isn’t a cure-all solution. 
“While 
it’s 
nice 
to 
see 
people 
supporting 
DACA 
program, I think it becomes 
easy to dehumanize the issue 
of immigration as a whole 
when we only focus on how 
immigrants benefit us,” Diaz 
wrote. “Perhaps trust between 
immigrant communities and the 
police help make neighborhoods 
safer, but I think people (with 
or without citizenship status) 
having access to life-saving 
resources is important on its 
own regard. Also I understand 
that sometimes things need 
to be said in a certain way to 
persuade people, but at the same 
time we shouldn’t advocate for 
others only because there’s some 
benefit in return.”

Marra and the Assistant 
Director 
of 
the 
Barger 
Leadership 
Institute, 
Carmeda Stokes, a Strategic 
Initiatives & Organizational 
Learning Consultant at U-M, 
announced the launch of the 
COUNTS Toolkit for Students 
Success 
in 
partnership 
with 
the 
Council 
for 
Nontraditional Students and 
University Human Resources 
Organizational Learning. The 
Toolkit is an online module 
that provides training and 
resources to help participants 
become more aware of the 
different 
experiences 
and 
challenges students face on 
campus. 
“It’s designed for student-
facing staff to provide them 
with resources and tools to 
enhance how they support 
students on campus,” Marra 
said. 
“We’ve 
defined 
19 
different groups that we are 
promoting that need a little 
more attention and visibility 
to break down the ‘Leaders 
and the Best’ kind of model 
that everyone has in their 
mind about what it is to be a 
student here.”
Counselor 
and 
Program 
Coordinator 
of 
CEW+ 
Morgan Hull spearheaded the 
development of the Toolkit.
“The focus of the topics that 
we select for the Toolkit are 
based off of the trends that 
we hear from the COUNTS 
group, 
from 
nontraditional 
students that we see at CEW+ 
and others that we hear across 
campus,” Hull said.
For 
this 
rollout, 
the 
topics include the imposter 
syndrome, as well as basic 
needs 
on 
college 
and 
wayfinding on a decentralized 
campus. The COUNTS Toolkit 
is live on Canvas and is open 
to all University staff and 

students.
The symposium included 
a keynote panel featuring 
Shannon Cohen, founder of 
Shannon Cohen, Inc., and 
Stephanie Land, author of 
“Maid: 
Hard 
Work, 
Low 
Pay, and a Mother’s Will to 
Survive.”
Cohen 
spoke 
about 
her 
experience with a lack of racial 
diversity in communities and 
professional 
environments. 
Cohen 
emphasized 
the 
importance 
of 
discussing 
diversity in the employment 
practices of companies. 
“One 
of 
the 
ways 
my 
advocacy plays out is that 
organizations are recognizing 
that 
those 
brands 
and 
organizations that will be 
visual, valuable and vocal in 
the future must reconcile this 
space of how they engage and 
build authentic relationships 
with one another,” Cohen said. 
Stephanie 
Land 
read 
excerpts 
from 
her 
book, 
which detailed her accounts 
of being a single mother 
living in poverty. In the past, 
she worked as a housekeeper 
for the wealthy and was on 
welfare to cover necessary 
expenses. 
In response to a question 
asking the pair what inspired 
them to keep pushing forward, 
Cohen called on the strength 
of advocates of the past and 
expressed her gratitude for 
the progress past women have 
made. 
“I know that I am my 
ancestor’s 
wildest 
dream,” 
Cohen said. “I literally know 
that I am because of the 
resilience of other women, 
specifically for me, my mother 
and my great grandmother 
… 
I 
know 
that 
I 
could 
walk on this campus today 
because 
someone 
did 
the 
uncomfortable.”
Land answered the question 
by first noting the implications 
of low socioeconomic status. 

“I ended up falling into a 
niche of poverty and social 
economic justice,” Land said. 
“It was incredibly unnerving 
to admit that I was in that 
situation 
because 
society 
made me feel like a complete 
failure in the last decade, 
just because we often look at 
people who aren’t ‘making it’ 
as people that aren’t working 
as hard.”
She said once she started 
writing online, she began to 
see a community form around 
her, urging her to continue 
sharing her story. 
“I realized that there wasn’t 
really a niche for first-person 
narratives that came from 
impoverished 
situations, 
because poor people can’t 
afford to write about their 
lives, and they can’t afford to 
find mentorship or access to 
publish,” Land said. 
Today, 
she 
said 
she 
is 
motivated to help people in 
low income households speak 
up about their experiences. 
Rackham student Andrew 
Gilroy said he was inspired by 
Land’s perspective. He said 
he attended the symposium 
on behalf of the Coalition on 
Temporary Shelter in Detroit, 
where he interacts with a 
lot of women, children and 
people of color. By attending 
the symposium, Gilroy said he 
hoped to learn better ways to 
support them in the homeless 
shelter. 
“I think hearing the stories 
that 
they 
provide 
really 
provide a different perspective 
that people often don’t hear,” 
Gilroy said. “I’ve never been 
in poverty, and I’m not from 
a marginalized population, 
so being able to hear that 
perspective changes the way 
people think. I really think it’s 
helpful to hear that, because 
you can make better decisions 
when interacting with people 
from those populations.”

According 
to 
Statista, 
McDonald’s currently leads in 
total fast-food sales. In 2018, 
McDonald’s generated $38.52 
billion in sales, while Starbucks, 
the 
second 
most 
profitable 
chain in the U.S., made $19.66 
billion. Yet McDonald’s has 
come under frequent criticism 
for the treatment of animals in 
their supply chain, especially 
concerning 
the 
housing 
conditions of their chickens 
and the slaughtering of their 
animals. 
Students at the University 
have been protesting against 
unethical fast food practices 
for a number of months. In 
January, when the renovation 
of 
the 
Michigan 
Union 

prompted questions about what 
restaurants should open in the 
new space, students led protests 
against Wendy’s employee labor 
conditions. Students have also 
spoken out against Wendy’s 
unwillingness to sign onto the 
Fair Food Program. When the 
Union’s restaurant lineup was 
announced 
in 
mid-October, 
Wendy’s was not included in 
the list of companies that will 
serve students when the Union 
reopens in January 2020 after 
the franchise owner declined to 
renew the lease. 
LSA senior Zina Abourjeily, 
a 
member 
of 
MARS, 
said 
the 
University’s 
student 
organizations can play a large 
role in the prevention of animal 
abuse. 
“We tried to leverage MARS 
members to come out as a way to 

build community around animal 
activism and also (show that) we 
care,” Abourjeily said. 
During the protest, students 
and community members held 
signs reading “stop this abuse,” 
“animals deserve better” and 
“the sad truth.” 
Trevor Bechtel, a pastor at 
Shalom Community Church and 
student engagement coordinator 
at the Ford School of Public 
Policy, said he attended the 
protest because he believes 
McDonald’s should be meeting 
much 
higher 
standards 
of 
ethical food preparation. 
“The protest is about silently 
opposing 
how 
McDonald’s 
prepares 
its 
food 
— 
from 
the fields, to the farm, to the 
processing, packaging,” Bechtel 
said. “We can do a lot better than 
what McDonald’s is doing.”

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, October 30, 2019 — 3A

LAWSUIT
From Page 1A

PROTEST
From Page 1A

NCAA
From Page 1A

DACA
From Page 1A

SYMPOSIUM
From Page 1A

Michigan farmers take steps 
to deal with climate change

Local producers cope with extreme temperatures

DANIELLE PASEKOFF
Daily Staff Reporter

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com