michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, November 1, 2019
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Residents
are
still
struggling
to
clear
their
records
for
marijuana
convictions nearly a year after
a ballot measure legalizing
the drug passed statewide,
and Ann Arbor, despite its
historically progressive stance
on the issue, is no exception.
In 1972, Ann Arbor City
Council passed an ordinance
that made the possession of
small amounts of marijuana a
civil infraction, or just a small
fine. However, The Daily filed
for a Freedom of Information
Act and found there were 317
marijuana-related
arrests
made by the Ann Arbor Police
Department between 2016 and
2018. There are still more than
235,000 Michigan residents
with
records
relating
to
low-level marijuana use and
possession.
After
Michigan
passed
Proposal 1 last year legalizing
recreational marijuana, some
Michigan
legislators
have
worked to ensure people with
drug offenses do not continue
to suffer the consequences.
Over the past few years,
15 states have passed bills
expunging minor marijuana
convictions. In 2019 alone,
Illinois,
Nevada,
New
Hampshire and Washington
have all passed legislation that
allows a person to petition
their
conviction.
In
some
cases, like in Washington,
misdemeanor
charges
are
completely vacated.
Former
Michigan
state
Rep.
Sherry
Gay-Dagnogo,
D-Detroit;
state
Sen.
Jeff
Irwin,
D-Ann
Arbor;
and
state
Rep.
Yousef
Rabhi,
D-Ann Arbor, have all been
on the forefront of expanding
criminal
expungement
for
certain
misdemeanor
and
felony charges that weren’t
assaultive crimes, such as
the possession of marijuana.
Other supporters of the bills
include Reps. Eric Leutheuser,
R-Hillsdale; Pauline Wendzel,
R-Watervliet; David LaGrand,
D-Grand Rapids; and Luke
Meerman, R-Coopersville.
In
addition,
Rabhi
wrote part of a bipartisan
expungement
package
in
the House, which includes
measures aimed at eliminating
small-time drug offenses that
could hurt one’s ability to get
a well-paying job or apply for
housing.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 22
©2019 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CL A SSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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COMMUNITY AFFAIRS
Legislators debate fate
of marijuana convicts
GOVERNMENT
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on Instagram,
@michigandaily
Michigan representatives consider steps to
expunge records of people with criminal
misdemeanor or felony non-assualt charges
Ann Arbor ranks among U.S.
metro areas most affected by
student loan debt, according
to a recent study conducted
by
SmartAsset,
a
financial
technology company.
The study put Ann Arbor
as number 15 in metro areas
where student loan debt hits
the hardest, the number one
area being Gainesville, Fla. The
average student loan debt for an
Ann Arbor citizen is $45,668,
compared to $35,359 nationally.
A.J. Smith, vice president
of
financial
education
for
SmartAsset,
oversaw
the
research. In an interview with
The Daily, Smith said SmartAsset
used a team of data analysts and
personal finance experts to look
at 100 metro areas in the United
States.
“Paying off loans can impact
your financial life and your
future financial goals,” Smith
said. “This is the first year
that we did this study to find
where student loan debt hit the
hardest.”
The research used five key
metrics
in
determining
the
rankings. These included average
student
loan
debt,
median
earnings for bachelor’s degree
Student loan debt hits A2 hard, study says
Ann Arbor ranks as number 15 in metro areas where residents are most affected, according to study
BARBARA COLLINS
Daily Staff Reporters
DESIGN BY ROSEANNE CHAO
DESIGN BY MICHELLE FAN
Pseudo local news sites reveal nationally expanding network
Following the 2016 election
season, Americans realized
the powerful influence of
fake news, with the nation at
large questioning the extent
to which it may have swayed
the
election.
With
2020
elections just around the
corner, Michigan’s critical
role as a swing state has made
the
community
especially
wary of politically motivated
news stories.
First reported Oct. 20 by the
Lansing State Journal, nearly
40 websites have appeared
this
fall,
masquerading
as
local
Michigan
news
outlets and maintaining a
conservative-leaning tone.
The different websites are
nearly
indistinguishable,
sharing identical stories and
using regional titles such as
the Ann Arbor Times, Grand
Rapids Reporter and Lansing
Sun. The only articles with
named
authors
contain
politically skewed content.
The rest of the articles on the
sites are primarily composed
of press releases from local
organizations
and
articles
written by the Local Labs
News Service.
Articles featured on the
websites include a summary
of a report by the conservative
think-tank
Heritage
Foundation, a story about the
failure of U.S. Rep. Rashida
Tlaib’s, D-Mich., to rally a
crowd at a pro-impeachment
event and a front-page piece
about Michigan Republicans
supporting President Donald
Trump.
Each site has an identical
“About Us” page, explaining
the site is “one of hundreds”
being launched nationwide
to allegedly “fill the void in
local communities,” due to
the steady decline of local
reporting. “Our approach,”
the page continues, “is to
provide
objective,
data-
driven information without
personal or political bias.
We let the facts speak for
themselves.”
Just
this
past
week,
additional
statewide
networks of these websites
have sprung up in Montana
and Iowa.
Nearly 40 websites masquerade as community outlets across Michigan while promoting conservative views
KATHERINA SOURINE
& DOMINICK SOKOTOFF
Daily Staff Reporter & For The Daily
Notre Dame game brings record-
breaking number of Airbnb guests
Last weekend’s football game draws 2,390 people, brings in $735,000
In
anticipation
of
the
Michigan-Notre Dame football
game
last
weekend,
Airbnb
welcomed 2,390 guests to Ann
Arbor from Oct. 25 to 27, marking
the largest influx of guests in
Ann Arbor’s Airbnb history.
Hosts saw more than $735,000 in
supplemental income, according
to a press release from Airbnb.
According
to
Airbnb
spokesperson
Sam
Randall,
the last time Ann Arbor saw
a record-breaking number of
guest arrivals was just over
three weeks ago when Michigan
played Iowa for the annual
homecoming game.
The number of guests staying
in Ann Arbor through Airbnb
has significantly increased over
the past year. Last year’s 2018
homecoming
game
against
Maryland
brought
in
1,450
guest arrivals, while this year’s
homecoming game against Iowa
brought in 2,260 guest arrivals,
marking a 56 percent increase.
Comparing the 2018 Maryland
game to the Notre Dame game
with 2,390 guests, this is a
65 percent increase overall,
according to Randall.
“(Iowa) would’ve been the
second-highest
guest
arrival
amount in Ann Arbor, but this
weekend has eclipsed that by
a few hundred guest arrivals,”
Randall said.
ANGELINA BREDE
Daily Staff Reporter
See AIRBNB, Page 3
See MARIJUANA, Page 3
SAMANTHA SMALL
& BEN ROSENFELD
Daily Staff Reporters
holders, average student debt as
a percentage of median earnings
for bachelor’s degree holders,
percentage of tax return with
student loan interest deduction
and the unemployment rate for
those with a bachelor’s degree,
Smith said. The study also used
data from Experian, the United
States Census and the Internal
Revenue
Service
in
their
research.
According
to
SmartAsset,
student loan debt is the second-
largest form of consumer debt in
the United States. Student loan
debt reached $1.4 trillion, an
all-time high, in the first three
months of 2019, according to
data from Experian. This is a 116
percent increase from 10 years
prior.
Engineering
sophomore
Gabi Tringali is an out-of-state
student paying for her tuition
entirely by herself. She has
taken out federal student loans
and said she will be taking out
more after this school year to
cover the rest of her tuition.
Tringali said thinking about
her future student loan debt is
frightening.
See DEBT, Page 3
See SITES, Page 3