About
20
Ann
Arbor
residents
attended
an
affordable
housing
workshop in the Ann Arbor
Downtown
Development
Authority
building
on
Thursday night. As the
first of a five-step series of
workshops, the city of Ann
Arbor
and
SmithGroup,
an
urban
design
firm,
gauged the interest of Ann
Arbor residents in a new
affordable
housing
plan
the group is developing.
Affordable
housing
is
defined
as
costing
30 percent or less of a
household’s gross annual
income.
To
spread
the
word
about
workshops,
representatives
of
SmithGroup visited various
University
of
Michigan
classes on real estate. The
city of Ann Arbor wanted
to give as many people as
possible the opportunity
to participate.
Michael
Johnson,
leader of the urban design
practice
at
SmithGroup,
has taken the lead on
this project and hopes to
complete the program with
the help of the Ann Arbor
community.
“Our firm is architects,
engineers,
landscape
architects
and
urban
designers,
and
we
get
to
work
all
over
the
country,”
Johnson
said.
“Both
doing
design
exercises
and
running
public
engagement
exercises
and
working
with
neighborhoods,
communities and cities to
re-envision what our cities
might be in the future.”
The workshop consisted
of three different stations
in which members used
virtual reality to visualize
what the buildings would
look
like
in
different
locations.
The
location
options were the former
Y-lot
and
415
West
Washington. At another
station, participants used
Legos to build potential
options
for
affordable
housing locations.
Taubman
graduate
student Jiawen Qiao is
taking a class on real estate
development. She chose to
attend this event to give
her a real-life example
of what she’s trying to
accomplish in class.
“We
are
actually
bringing
about
some
apartments,”
Qiao
said.
“And we’re also thinking
about
adding
some
affordable units into it. So,
our
professor
suggested
we come to some of the
committee meetings about
affordable housing to learn
more.”
Members of the Climate
Action Movement and the
One
University
Coalition
from all three U-M campuses
joined
forces
to
protest
before and after the Board of
Regents meeting on Thursday,
ultimately
blockading
the
exits following the meeting in
response to the University’s
lack of action regarding their
demands.
U-M Flint senior Lucine
Jarrah, a member of One
University,
addressed
the
crowd
at
the
pre-meeting
protest. She began by saying
the University has not listened
to these student activists and
has instead actively pushed
them aside.
“Over the last year, our
movements
have
been
actively
demonstrating
the
urgency
and
addressing
the
drastic
inequities
in
Flint and Dearborn, as well
as
establishing
a
carbon
neutrality agreement at the
University
of
Michigan,”
Jarrah
said.
“Instead,
for months we have been
consistently sidelined by the
Board of Regents who have
been
dismissive
in
every
opportunity to communicate
our mission.”
Jarrah said no progress
has been made in the One
University
Campaign,
and
while the University says they
support their cause, no action
has been taken.
“Time and time again we
are seeing the University of
Michigan deny and reject the
inequitable conditions on the
Flint and Dearborn campuses,”
Jarrah said. “This denial
has only managed to fuel
the instability and mistrust
between our campuses and,
in the end, students are the
ones getting left behind. The
One
University
Campaign
was formed in January of last
year. It is now almost a year
later, and we have yet to see
the results we need ... words
of solidarity are no longer
enough. We need action and
we need it now.”
LSA
junior
Solomon
Medintz, who writes for The
Daily’s opinion section, was
the last speaker before the
board
meeting.
He
noted
while the big picture goals
and demands are important,
the point of the protests at the
meeting are to get the bare
minimum of action needed to
keep the University on track.
“This is a critical moment,
and
we
haven’t
gotten
anything, and we need to
know that we’re going to
have a chance of getting our
big picture goals,” Medintz
said. “We’re not asking for
everything
today;
we’re
asking for what is absolutely
necessary.”
Medintz then expressed his
frustrations surrounding the
University’s decision not to
take action. He said despite the
administration voicing their
support for the movements,
nothing has happened.
“Both our movements have
met with the administration
and regents dozens of times,
and although officials have
said they support our goals,
they do nothing,” Medintz
said.
“They
do
absolutely
nothing. So, we are here to
say that we are not going to
be silenced or pushed aside
anymore.”
LSA junior Amytess Girgis
told The Daily the University
is mistreating people of color,
not only on campus, but around
the world, because climate
change
disproportionately
impacts minority populations.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, December 6, 2019
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 42
©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
michigandaily.com
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Protestors call for equity, climate
action at final Regents meeting of year
Climate Action Movement, One University demand ‘U’ withdraw fossil fuel investments, provide equitable funding
LIAT WEINSTEIN
& EMMA STEIN
Daily Staff Reporters
KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily
Protesters from the University of Michigan’s three campuses demonstrated outside of a Board of Regents meeting in Ann Arbor on Thursday.
See REGENTS, Page 3
Michigan’s largest marijuana
company recently opened on
Nov. 15 at 1958 S. Industrial
Highway in Ann Arbor, about
a seven-minute drive from the
University of Michigan’s central
campus. With the addition of this
new location, there are now 12
marijuana dispensaries in Ann
Arbor.
Skymint, part of Green Peak
Innovations company, now has
four stores in Michigan. The Ann
Arbor location is housed in a 2,500
square foot space, and is open from
11 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day.
The
Michigan
Marijuana
Regulatory recently announced
that,
beginning
on
Dec.
1,
residents will legally be able to
purchase marijuana from stores,
after its legalization in Michigan
last year.
The
store
was
approved
for a recreational marijuana
license
last
week.
Summer
Ransom, president of retail for
Skymint, said the legalization of
recreational marijuana creates
a safer and more regulated
environment for users, who now
will not have to rely on the illicit
market for product.
U.S.
Rep.
Debbie
Dingell,
D-Mich., joined a bicameral
delegation to the Madrid Climate
Convention 2019 on Dec. 2.
The conference is the 25th
session of the Conference of the
Parties. Along with Speaker of
the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,
and other key Democrats, Dingell
joined other international leaders
for a weeklong convention to
discuss steps forward with the
Paris Climate Agreement of 2016.
This was the first time Dingell
traveled to a Conference of the
Parties.
The Paris Climate Agreement’s
central aim is to “strengthen
the global response to the threat
of climate change by keeping
a global temperature rise this
century well below 2 degrees
Celsius
above
pre-industrial
levels.” The treaty was signed on
April 22, 2016 by 196 state parties.
Dingell noted the importance
of staying on track with the
Paris Climate Agreement, even
if the Trump administration
is
planning
on
formally
withdrawing from the Paris
Climate Agreement within the
next year.
Dingell in
Madrid to
attend UN
gathering
GOVERNMENT
JULIA FANZERES
Daily Staff Reporter
Workshop gauges interest from
community on new housing plan
SmithGroup and city of Ann Arbor host event to discuss affordability
BUSINESS
Michigan representative
joins delegation with
other Dems for global
convention on climate
Largest company in
state launches local
dispensary, bringing
total sellers in city to 12
ANGELINA BREDE
Daily Staff Reporter
See DINGELL, Page 3
See MARIJUANA, Page 3
Skymint
opens A2
marijuana
business
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Ann Arbor residents take part in an affordable housing workshop in the Ann Arbor Downtown Development building Thursday.
See HOUSING, Page 3
BRAYDEN HIRSCH
For the Daily