The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Thursday, December 5, 2019 — 3A

Professors, students reflect on 
online voting registration system

Electronic option will save costs on paper and mailing, increase accuracy of voter profiles

MADELINE MCLAUGHLIN 
Daily Staff Reporter

Michigan’s 
Secretary 
of State Jocelyn Benson 
announced Monday that 
Michigan residents can 
now 
register 
to 
vote 
and update their voter 
registration 
status 
online. In a statement, 
Benson 
announced 
the online option was 
implemented primarily as 
a means of enabling more 
streamlined, convenient 
means of registration for 
citizens.
“This fast, convenient, 
cost-effective and secure 
option to register to vote 
will enable many more 
people 
to 
participate 
in 
democracy 
and 
help 
Michigan’s 
clerks 
maintain 
complete, 
accurate and up-to-date 
voter rolls,” Benson said.
In 
the 
statement, 
Benson’s office outlined 
a number of benefits to 
implementing 
online 
voter 
registration, 
namely 
cutting 
costs 
on 
paper 
applications 
and mailing, increasing 
accuracy 
for 
applicant 
files, 
facilitating 
more 
frequent voter updates 
and allowing for ease and 
convenience 
for 
voters 
trying to register. 
Michigan is now one 
of 38 states to allow 
electronic 
registration. 
Legislation to implement 
online voter registration 
was passed by the state 
legislature 
in 
2018. 
After 
identifying 
their 
residency from a driver’s 
license or state ID, users 
can register or update 

their registration through 
an 
online 
tool. 
Those 
without a driver’s license 
or state ID are able to use 
the streamlined website 
to learn more about the 
means by which they can 
register. 
LSA 
junior 
Carolyn 
Chen, director of voter 
registration for College 
Democrats, 
reflected 
on 
the 
importance 
of 
enacting 
legislation 
that eases the burden 
often 
associated 
with 
registering to vote.
“Voting 
registration 
laws are the number one 
reason 
why 
American 
voter turnout is low,” 
Chen said. “In a cost 
benefit 
analysis, 
the 
benefits 
of 
voting—
having 
your 
one 
vote 
sway the entire election. 
(These 
benefits) 
are 
way less than the costs 
of having to register—
taking the initiative to 
print 
out 
registration 
forms and mailing them 
into 
the 
city 
clerk. 
Anything that will help 
make voter registration 
easier will be a great step 
for democracy.” 
Chen 
went 
on 
to 
discuss 
how 
Michigan 
legislators 
should 
be 
cautious in the program’s 
implementation, 
inasmuch 
as 
it 
may 
hinder 
some 
citizens 
from registering. 
“There are still some 
issues that need to be 
solved since the online 
registration is so new,” 
Chen said. “Some states 
are including new ID laws 
with online registration 
which will just suppress 

more 
voters 
as 
well 
as 
some 
issues 
with 
mistakes in the system 
purging some voters, but 
nothing is perfect and 
this will be a great step 
forward.”
The 
voting 
announcement 
came 
after 
Michigan 
began 
automatic 
voter 
registration 
in 
conjunction 
with 
the 
distribution of driver’s 
license and state ID cards 
in 
September. 
Despite 
these 
recent 
changes, 
longstanding 
methods 
of 
voter 
registration, 
like registration by mail, 
will remain options for 
citizens. 
Benson’s 
public 
statement 
claimed 
that young voters were 
particularly likely to take 
advantage of the online 
voter registration system. 
In 2017, the University of 
Michigan launched the 
Big Ten Voting Challenge, 
a nonpartisan effort to 
incite civic engagement 
among younger citizens 
and students across Big 
Ten 
universities. 
Edie 
Goldenberg, U-M political 
science and public policy 
professor, 
spearheaded 
the 
movement 
at 
the 
University. 
In 
an 
interview with The Daily, 
Goldenberg 
noted 
that 
while she was happy with 
the 
implementation 
of 
online registration, she 
wanted 
individuals 
to 
remember the program 
was 
only 
for 
in-state 
students.
“I 
am 
delighted 
that 
this 
is 
going 
to 
be 
implemented,” 

Goldenberg 
said. 
“It’s 
going 
to 
make 
things 
much easier, especially 
for 
students. 
But 
it’s 
important to remember 
that it’s only available for 
students who have either 
a 
Michigan 
driver’s 
license or a Michigan 
state ID.” 
While 
this 
program 
could 
open 
doors 
for 
Michigan 
residents, 
it 
does not apply to out-of-
state students, who make 
up a large portion of the 
student body, Goldenberg 
said. 
“We 
have 
students 
from outside the state 
of Michigan who might 
want to vote in Michigan, 
they have the right to do 
that — any college student 
may choose to vote either 
at home or where they’re 
studying,” 
Goldenberg 
said. 
“So 
for 
those 
students, they can’t use 
electronic registration.” 
She 
concluded 
by 
reflecting 
on 
the 
importance of legislation 
that 
allows 
for 
more 
streamlined 
voting 
registration, as it enables 
citizens to exercise one of 
their most fundamental 
rights.
“I think that voting 
is 
one 
of 
the 
most 
fundamental 
rights 
that 
citizens 
have,” 
Goldenberg said. “And I 
think that young people 
haven’t 
participated 
as much as I wish they 
would, 
and 
therefore 
… 
their 
priorities 
and 
interests are not being 
heard as much as older 
people’s 
priorities 
and 
interests are.”

was the first to apply for a 
recreational marijuana license 
upon its availability on Nov. 1. 

The operational marijuana 
facility 
prepared 
before 
Proposal 
1 
was 
passed, 
anticipating 
the 
eventual 
outcome. 
Narmin 
Jarrous, 
executive 
vice 
president 
of 
business 
development, 
explained 
Exclusive 
Brands 
used the general template for 
approval of a medical facility to 
apply for recreational sale. 
“We 
knew 
recreational 
marijuana 
would 
eventually 
be approved, so we always 
had that kind of in our sights,” 
Jarrous said. 
“Once 
it 
got 
approved, 
we went into overdrive. We 
used 
the 
medical 
facility 
application as a guide and 
kind of guessed our way 
through to figure out what 
we’d 
anticipate 
on 
the 
application. It was really a 
year-long process.” 
The 
process 
involved 
working with city officials, 
local businesses and the Ann 
Arbor community. According 
to 
Jarrous, 
all 
players 
have 
been 
very 
receptive 
to working with Exclusive 

Brands and other businesses. 
“The 
city 
made 
sure 
everything was in regulation, 
and we worked closely with 
them to understand the city’s 
rules and city’s regulations 
and their concerns,” Jarrous 
said. “And then we tied that 
into our application, and we 
made sure that everything 
from our building, to the 
traffic flow, to our hours of 
operation, were in regulation 
with the city and convenient 
for the businesses around 
us. We only want to have 
a positive impact on this 
community, and I think we’re 
doing a pretty good job at it, 
and we’re hoping that it only 
grows.”
LJ Horowitz, Kinesiology 
senior, 
is 
 
president 
of 
Green Wolverine, a student 
organization that educates 
students on the medicinal 
advantages 
of 
cannabis, 
discussed 
the 
growth 
of 
the cannabis industry and 
current 
policies 
revolving 
cannabis. While he believes 
Ann Arbor is one of the 
best places in the world to 
use cannabis, he expressed 
concern with the rollout of 
recreational 
marijuana 
in 
regards to possible shortages. 
This, he said, was one of 
the topics of the Michigan 
Cannabis Leaders Summit, 

which took place last week.
“We already had a weak 
harvest in Michigan, and 
then with the adult use, that 
is surely going to run out 
very quickly,” Horowitz said. 
“Just because there’s no limit 
on how much you can really 
purchase, and there’s only 
really three stores in the Ann 
Arbor area. It’s going to be a 
real supply issue pretty soon, 
and you’re going to see the 
prices sky-rocket probably 
after the new year. In which 
case 
they 
probably 
won’t 
come down again until the 
summer. At least that’s the 
prediction.”
He 
emphasized 
while 
recreational purchase is a 
step in the right direction, 
there will need to be a 
consistent effort to ensure 
a stable supply for medical 
patients. He also emphasized 
the importance of setting 
a good example model for 
other states on the path 
to 
legalizing 
recreational 
marijuana. 
“With 
regards 
to 
recreation, I don’t want it to 
seem like I have a negative 
viewpoint on it because of 
this price raise, I think it’s 
great; it’s going to be really 
great for the city and state,” 
Horowitz said. “It’s more 
so that they really need to 

figure out the supply chain 
and make sure that that’s 100 
percent safe and equitable 
for the medical community 
as well as equitable for the 
recreational 
community. 
Just 
because 
right 
now 
it’s being rolled out really 
inefficiently.” 
Jarrous 
said 
Exclusive 
Brands is receptive to these 
concerns and will always 
prioritize its medical patients 
first. 
“Our number one priority, 
we’ve said this time and time 
again, is always going to be 
to 
our 
patients,” 
Jarrous 
said. “Above the recreational 
entry, above the recreational 
users, 
who 
we 
love 
and 
appreciate, we’re dedicated 
to the patients who use this 
as medicine and need this to 
live comfortable lives.”
Students such as Public 
Health senior Sydni Warner 
have 
mixed 
feelings 
on 
recreational 
sales. 
While 
dispensaries 
will 
produce 
a higher quality product, 
Warner 
wonders 
if 
this 
increased access could extend 
possible underage purchase 
of marijuana with fake IDs. 
She 
also 
emphasized 
the 
need 
for 
currently 
incarcerated 
individuals 
under 
marijuana 
charges 
to be considered for early 

release, 
especially 
where 
Black people are much more 
likely to be arrested. 
“Often those in jail for 
these 
charges 
are 
Black 
men, an already historically 
marginalized 
community 
when it comes to drugs and 
crime,” Warner said. “While 
I 
recognize 
that 
at 
the 
time of conviction they had 
committed a crime, I believe 
that the time they have faced 
up until now should be ample 
time to serve for a crime that 
is no longer illegal.”
Warner, 
an 
Ypsilanti 
resident, 
believes 
that 
legalization 
could 
widen 
racial socio-economic gaps 
between Ypsilanti and Ann 
Arbor, 
as 
well 
as 
other 
Michigan areas. 
“Gentrified areas such as 
particular regions in Detroit 
are projected to have a large 
number of dispensaries in 
the next coming year, most of 
which is owned by whites,” 
Warner said. “This to me 
shows 
that 
white 
owners 
are taking advantage of a 
system that was previously, 
and still in most places, 
used 
to 
reprimand 
and 
discriminate 
against 
poor, 
low 
socioeconomic 
status 
Black men. I just simply 
think it’s unfair to have large 
percentages of young Black 

MARIJUANA
From Page 1A

Jones drew on data from the 
2017 University of Michigan 
Campus 
Climate 
Study. 
According to the study, Black 
engineers 
have 
different 
experiences compared to other 
engineering students. 
“In the area of feeling that they 
are treated fairly and equitably 
by others, Black students report 
much lower than the overall 
population,” Jones said. “When 
asked if they feel that they belong 
at University of Michigan the 
majority of students said ‘yes.’ In 
this case the outliers were Black 
students.”
Rackham 
student 
Jocelyn 
Jackson, a first-year Ph.D. student 
in 
Engineering 
Education 
Research and the national chair 
for the National Society of Black 
Engineers, 
attended 
Jones’s 
talk. She reflected on how she 
hopes faculty will take initiative 
to bring about change in the 
engineering community. 
“I think that the people who 
are really curious to learn and 
everyone that did come to the 
seminar I hope that they are able 
to hear diverse perspectives, but 
then think about what they’re 
going to do and how they’re going 
to be a change agent,” Jones said.
Jones said students would 
most 
likely 
be 
engaged 
in 
engineering and STEM fields 
if they had the support of their 
community. She recalled that 
students she spoke to often felt 
isolated by peers in large lecture 
halls and revealed anonymous 
quotes from students at the 
school of engineering. 
“‘No one wants to partner 
with me in class. I’m always 
the last choice because I’m 
Black,’” Jones recalled the 
student telling her.
Jones then went on to 
explain how professors and 
advisors at the University of 
Michigan can communicate 
with Black engineers in order 
to provide a more supportive 
and welcoming community. 
“When 
you 
see 
them 
isolated 
if 
there’s 
group 
work then perhaps this is 
where you make the groups, 
perhaps you go in and you say 
‘I know this is going to be an 
issue, so I’m going to create a 
situation where we’ve got to 
be inclusive,’” Jones said. 
Rackham student Corin 
Bowen attended the talk and 
expressed how she hopes the 
face of engineering at U-M 
and in America will change. 
“The demographics that 
currently exist in the College 
of Engineering does not 
represent this local area, 
they don’t represent the 
state, they don’t represent 
the country, and they don’t 
represent the world. We have 
to move in that direction 
and we need the kind of 
structural changes that we 
started touching on today 
in order to do that,” Bowen 
said. 

ENGINEERS
From Page 1A

As the implementation of the 
feature expands, some users are 
finding ways to get around it to 
show off their likes. 
LSA freshman Lucas Felpi 
is 
an 
international 
student 
from São Paulo, Brazil. Felpi’s 
Instagram account is verified as 
a result of internet fame from 
being of the few students to 
receive a perfect score on the 
National High School Exam in 
Brazil. Instagram had started 
testing the new feature in Brazil 
months before Felpi left for 
Michigan. Even after coming to 
the United States, the version of 
the app on his phone still does 
not show likes on his posts.
Felpi said being unable to see 
likes did not affect how often 
people used Instagram in Brazil 
and predicted that it will have 
a bigger effect in the United 
States.
“From my knowledge, I don’t 
think it changed,” Felpi said. “I 
don’t think anyone uninstalled 
Instagram because of it. I don’t 
think usage stopped. I think 
it has the same importance as 
it had before, but it was like 
an enforcement that they’re 
not gonna have likes anymore 
and 
people 
complained 
for 
like a week or a few days and 
then it was over. Everyone just 
continued using it. I think this 
is going to be bigger here. I 
don’t think the use is changing 
because Instagram has a strong, 
solid user base and people are 
not letting go now.”
As an alternative, Felpi said 
users were posting the number 
of likes a post got on their 
Instagram stories, since they 
were able to see the number of 
likes on their own posts. 
However, some influencers 
think 
the 
change 
will 
significantly 
impact 
users. 
Business 
sophomore 
Alyson 
Koh, who runs the food account 
@AllySnacks, believes this new 
feature will be detrimental to 
Instagram’s business model.
“To be honest, I think it’s 
detrimental 
to 
Instagram’s 
business model because if people 
don’t 
have 
that 
measurable 
statistic, 
what 
is 
Instagram 
going to do next?” Koh said. “I 
actually appreciate their move 
toward wellness and mental 
health 
with 
their 
platform 
because it makes people more 
self-conscious when it should 
just be about the picture and the 
gallery of photos you are posting 
and not how many people are 
viewing it. But I think people 
think will jump to another 
platform instead if they don’t 
have the concrete measurement 
of statistics. I think it will affect 
it in a sense that people will 
not use Instagram as often, 
but I think that the people who 
stay will still be there for the 
content.”
Korcari agreed. She thinks a new 
app will come up in response to 
Instagram getting rid of likes. 
“This might cause for another 
app to come out to try to do what 
Instagram was doing. If another 
app does come out, then I believe 
people will jump on that like how 
people left Facebook or Twitter to 
jump on Instagram,” Korcari said. 
“However, I’m interested to see if 
taking away the likes is going to 
increase the use of Instagram or 
decrease it. I feel like it could go 
either way.”
Kim said the testing is still going 
on and that there is no set date for 
this new feature to be released.
“We are testing and have yet 
to come to a final decision about 
private like counts,” Kim wrote.
Businesses 
themselves 
have 
also used Instagram to promote 
their products through exposure 
through social media influencers 
and advertisements. Bivouac is 
one of those companies which 
emphasizes social media in their 
marketing. 
While 
Instagram’s 
new feature may not affect how 
Bivouac markets its products, 
there are concerned about the 
use of other businesses marketing 
with Instagram.
Coco 
Herreria, 
a 
social 
media 
manager 
at 
Bivouac, 
said she thinks Instagram has 
been moving towards forcing 
businesses to purchase ads since 
they 
first 
launched. 
Herreria 
noted Instagram has changed the 
algorithm to control what photos 
are being viewed by users. 

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

INSTAGRAM
From Page 1A

“We acknowledge and affirm 
that you are the expert on your own 
body, identity, and experience,” the 
website reads. “As the initiation of 
hormone therapy is a new service 
at UHS, for now, we are following 
the WPATH Standards of Care to 
ensure that you receive the high-
quality care you deserve.” 
In an interview with The Daily 
after the event, Engineering senior 
Violet 
Boyse-Peacor 
said 
she 
was concerned when she found 
out UHS still uses the WPATH 
Standards of Care, as she feels it is 
an older practice. 
“It’s easy, but it’s also a pain to 
get informed consent because you 
have to get to Ypsilanti (to Corner 
Health 
Care 
Center),” 
Boyse-
Peacor said. “When I learned that 

you had to use WPATH (at UHS), I 
was slightly surprised.” 
Boyse-Peacor 
said 
she 
has 
previously traveled to Corner 
Health Care Center to receive 
gender-affirming 
care 
under 
the 
informed 
consent 
model. 
Engineering junior Caitlin Beach 
told The Daily telling students to 
travel to Ypsilanti for hormone 
therapy has caused the Corner 
Health Care Center’s waitlist to 
become months long, preventing 
them from quickly receiving the 
care they desire. 
“(The 
WPATH 
model) 
doesn’t give respect to the people 
looking for the service,” Beach 
said. “It gives respect to people 
who are practitioners, who are 
psychiatrists, not the patient.”
Beach said sending students 
elsewhere for care using the 
informed consent model could 
potentially cause students to lose 

trust in other UHS services.
“When you’re going that far to 
avoid that process, you’re not going 
to be as confident when you go for a 
surgery (at the University) and you 
need three letters (of consent) to do 
that,” Beach said. “Right now, it’s 
inefficient and overall increases the 
number of hours put into a patient 
when it shouldn’t need to be that 
way.” 
At the town hall, attendees 
discussed their own experiences 
when 
attempting 
to 
receive 
gender 
reaffirming 
care 
at 
UHS. 
Individuals 
voiced 
concerns regarding the current 
WPATH model, saying it puts 
up 
unnecessary 
barriers 
for 
those wishing to receive gender-
affirming care.
To address this issue, the 
attendees plan to reach out to 
the Trans Care Team and set up 
a meeting early next semester 

to discuss the possible steps to 
achieving the informed consent 
model. By talking to the team 
along with other professionals at 
UHS, the group said they hope 
to continue the conversation of 
informed consent, discuss ways 
the team is helping them as well as 
ways they would be able to improve 
their care.
Honey said she has received 
care from the Trans Care Team at 
the University and had a positive 
experience. She hopes the group 
can help them better serve the 
LGBTQ+ community on campus.
“I found that the doctors were 
really supportive,” Honey said. 
“They are open to talking to 
students, I felt heard … In a lot of 
ways, this whole meeting is about 
helping them out as well.”

UHS
From Page 1A

