Members
of
the
Ann
Arbor
community
also
attended the event. Ann
Arbor resident and U-M
Dearborn alum Elizabeth
Cobb took this event as an
opportunity to learn more
about affordable housing
for a social psychologist
she is working with and to
become more involved in
her Ann Arbor community.
“I
went
to
University
Michigan-Dearborn,
and
when I was an undergrad,
I worked with a social
psychology
professor
there,” Cobb said. “And she
does research about income
inequality in the social class
and that includes housing
affordability. I’m also going
into that field. And so I’m
here to take notes and learn
more about what’s going
on. Also, I just moved to
Ann Arbor, so I’m mostly
interested for that reason.”
Over the next four days
and four workshops, Ann
Arbor and SmithGroup are
working to inform residents
about the new affordable
housing plan. They also
want to gather information
on
the
community’s
preferences on where this
housing will be located.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Friday, December 6, 2019 — 3
HOUSING
From Page 2
“The Trump Administration
is sadly moving to formally
withdraw
from
the
Paris
Climate Agreement and refuses
to acknowledge the science or
urgency to act,” Dingell said.
“Participants at COP25 will lay
out crucial steps and implement
guidelines to reduce greenhouse
gases — it’s critical our nation
be represented at the coalition.
American leadership is at the
center of rising to the moment
to protect our planet for future
generations.”
In a joint press conference
with Spanish Prime Minister
Pedro Sánchez, Pelosi stated that
extreme actions are necessary to
combat climate change and there
is significant bicameral support in
Congress.
“Our delegation is here to
send a message that Congress’s
commitment to taking action on
the climate crisis is ironclad,”
Pelosi said. “We must act, because
the climate crisis for us is a matter
of public health, clean air, clean
water for children’s survival; our
economy, advancing green, global
– green technologies, which will
lift everyone up as we address
income disparity in the world,”
Pelosi said.
The convention comes at a
time when the climate crisis has
been heavily discussed in Ann
Arbor politics. On Nov. 4, the
Ann Arbor City Council passed
a resolution to achieve carbon
neutrality by the year 2030.
Additionally, earlier this year,
demonstrators staged a sit-in
in the Fleming Administration
Building demanding a meeting
with the University of Michigan
administration to address how
the University plans on achieving
carbon neutrality. This has placed
additional pressures on University
President Mark Schlissel as he
balances the University’s carbon
neutrality plan with continuing to
fund the University as a research
institution.
Public
Policy
senior
and
Ann Arbor native Bernadette
Fitzsimons
was
enthusiastic
about Dingell’s inclusion in the
delegation.
“I believe climate change is
a priority for Congresswoman
Dingell,”
Fitzsimons
said.
“I
think she is one of the hardest
working members of Congress.
She is deeply committed to her
constituents, and I believe she
understands
that
creating
a
sustainable future is key to the
well-being of her constituents.”
Yet the response to the climate
crisis hasn’t been moving fast
enough for some constituents.
Over the past few months, several
protesters have occupied Dingell’s
office to urge her to support the
Green New Deal.
Zaynab Elkolaly, a student at
student at Washtenaw Technical
Middle College and a member of
the Sunrise Movement, expressed
disappointment in Dingell’s lack
of substantial actions regarding
climate change.
“It is important, first and
foremost, on paper that we
represent the Green New Deal as
a nation, but it is also important
to represent it in actions too,”
Elkolaly said. “Politicians are
quick to be glad about wanting
to end climate change and how
much of an emergency it is,” she
said. “And then, they’ll proceed to
take thousands and thousands of
dollars … from big corporations.”
In an interview with The Daily,
Dingell’s
primary
challenger,
Solomon
Rajput,
argued
members of Congress tasked
with representing the United
States at the United Nations
Climate
Convention
should
be at the forefront of climate
change policies. Rajput noted
this holds particularly true since
the convention is being held in
Spain, which is one of the most
progressive countries in fighting
climate change.
“Spain is one of the forefront
countries when it comes to
tackling climate change. They
themselves have embraced the
idea of a Green New Deal, which
is pretty cool,” Rajput said.
“Almost all of the progressives
have signed onto the Green New
Deal. Congresswoman Dingell
is one of the last progressives
to not sign onto it. … We need a
representative who (is) going to be
championing a Green New Deal
if they are going to be out there
representing us when it comes to
Climate Change.”
Fitzsimons said she admires
Dingell’s care in representing all
constituents in her district, and
not those just in Ann Arbor.
“It
is
also
worth
noting
that groups which represent
autoworkers in her district, like
the United Auto Workers, have not
come out in support of the Green
New Deal. I think encouraging
labor organizations like the UAW
to support policies to combat the
climate crisis is key to creating a
sustainable future for Michigan,”
Fitzsimons said. “Of course, the
climate crisis poses an existential
threat to all of her constituents.
But I believe Congresswoman
Dingell understands this, and
aims to act in a way that will best
serve all her constituents in both
the long and short run.”
DINGELL
From Page 2
“The
University
of
Michigan is the top public
institution in the country, and
the fact that it is neglecting
communities of color, low-
income
communities,
not
only in the state, but frontline
communities around the world
in its complicity with climate
change is really not becoming
of
a
number
one
public
institution,” Girgis said.
Before
the
last
public
commenter
addressed
the
Board of Regents, the 1U and
CAM
members
present
in
the meeting exited the room
chanting, “The people united
will never be defeated.”
Wearing
1U
pins
and
holding signs criticizing the
University
for
continuing
to invest in fossil fuels, the
protesters gathered in front
of all entrances to the golf
course, creating a blockade so
cars could not drive through.
In an interview with The
Daily at the protest following
the meeting, Regent Michael
Behm (D) said he remains
supportive of the protesters
even though most regents
choose not to respond to
their statements during the
public comment section of the
meeting.
“(The
meeting
is)
not
conducive
to
having
a
conversation,”
Behm
said.
“Many of the topics that
came up are things we’re
presently working on. And I
think it’s good that we do have
comments like this, because
the comments make the board
mindful of how the community
feels.”
In response to the protesters’
demand the University reach
carbon neutrality by 2030,
Behm said the University’s
administration
is
working
toward making small changes
that
ultimately
bring
the
University closer to this goal.
“Instead of making a hollow
promise and not being able
to live up to it just with an
arbitrary date, the University
wants to make sure that we
can
truly
achieve
carbon
neutrality,”
Behm
said.
“I
think (the changes) can be
incremental.”
Regent Paul Brown (D) also
came
to
the
post-meeting
protest. He addressed the
current
culture
at
board
meetings to stay silent after
the public commenters in an
interview with The Daily.
He said he wished he could
respond,
and
that
there
needs to be a better line of
communication
and
more
transparency.
Brown
also
noted the regents do care
about issues such as climate
change
and
inequitable
funding
on
the
different
campuses and spend time
brainstorming solutions.
“As a new regent, I’m trying
to understand the protocol
and why the current protocol
exists,” Brown said. “But I,
and
probably
every
other
regent, is crawling out of our
skin wanting to respond to
each speaker. Right now, the
culture is to not. I suspect
there are a lot of good reasons
for it, but we have to figure out
a way to answer each of these
questions, because that’s what
the questioners deserve. …
we have to figure out a way
to communicate what we’re
doing and why we’re doing it,
because the questions that the
speakers brought up, we spent
most of the day today working
on. We are focused really on
the issues they brought up
today.”
While most of the protesters
were gathered at the main
entrance on East Stadium
Boulevard, some were at a
back entrance and a walkway
to
prevent
administration
from exiting. Police officers
and security began bringing
out barricades to stop the
activists from leaving the
front area, even if they were
just trying to get to their cars.
The officers said “there was
no reason to go down there,”
and
threatened
to
arrest
anyone who tried to cross the
barricade for trespassing.
Eventually,
the
police
and security forcibly moved
and held back the protesters
blockading
the
back
exit
and waved the cars of the
administrators and regents
through.
After the protesters were
pushed aside by police officers
and forced to vacate the
entrances, Girgis and Medintz
spoke to the remaining crowd
and
praised
their
efforts,
saying they were “brave” to
risk possible arrest for their
cause. Girgis said even though
they made progress in forcing
the board to listen to their
statements, students will still
need to put pressure on the
University to agree to their
demands.
“The fact of the matter is
that, yet again, discussion
has been avoided about the
issues that matter most to us,”
Girgis said, causing a chorus
of “boos” from the crowd.
“About the issues that matter
to the state and the people
of Michigan, and about the
issues that matter most to
the nation and the world as a
whole. And, to be clear, this
is not an isolated incident.
We’ve been doing the work for
a year and being ignored. And
that’s why we’re here, and
that’s why we’re angry.”
The University of Michigan
Board of Regents convened
for their final meeting of
the year on Thursday at the
Richard L. Postma Family
Clubhouse
to
discuss
the
interim
replacement
of
E.
Royster
Harper,
Vice
President for Student Life;
the University’s investments
in fossil fuels; and rights for
student athletes. Community
members and students from
the One University Campaign
and Climate Action Movement
protested before, during and
after the meeting.
The board approved Simone
Taylor, the senior associate
vice president for Student Life,
as the interim Vice President
for Student Life to begin
serving in that role on Jan.
18, 2020. Soon after, President
Mark Schlissel sent an email
to the University community
announcing
Taylor’s
appointment as interim vice
president.
In an address to the Board,
Regent Katherine White (D)
officially named Harper a
Vice President Emerita of
Student Life and presented a
plaque to her in honor of her
commitment to the University.
Harper thanked her colleagues
in her last speech to the board.
“You’ve been such great
teachers
and
healers
to
so many faculty, staff and
students,
including
me,”
Harper said tearfully. “I’ve
appreciated our opportunity
to share thoughts, counsel
and
loving
energy.
We’ve
been colleagues and friends,
students and teachers.”
Schlissel also announced
the new E. Royster Harper
Scholarship to provide greater
financial aid to University
students.
“On a personal level, I can’t
imagine a better partner and
colleague to work alongside
the rest of the executive team
and myself in providing an
outstanding experience for our
students, great mentorship,
sage
advice,
wonderful
friendship and collectively we
all wish her a long, healthy,
happy and joyous retirement,”
Schlissel said.
The Regents proceeded to
vote down a proposed $50
million dollar investment to
Vendera Resources, a company
known for its extensive assets
in oil and gas production.
Before the vote, Regent
Jordan Acker (D) spoke up
and motioned to deny the
investment. Acker had tweeted
the Regents should not make
the investment and that doing
so would not align with the
University’s values.
“Vendera is a company that
almost
exclusively
invests
in Oil and Gas drilling and
exploration,
some
of
the
greatest drivers of climate
change,” Acker wrote. “At the
very moment that @UMich
needs to be pushing away from
dirty energy, this is absolutely
the wrong path.”
When the board ultimately
voted to not invest in Vendera
Resources, the room erupted
into applause.
Acker
then
brought
up
name,
image
and
likeness
rights in the NCAA, which
allow
college
athletes
to
earn money off of things like
advertisements
or
clinics.
NCAA athletes are currently
not allowed to do this and face
potential ineligibility.
He
emphasized
students
at
the
University
who
pursue other professions are
encouraged to be showcased
and do whatever it takes to
succeed.
He
said
athletes
should be awarded the same
rights.
“Allowing
name,
image
and
likeness
rights
helps
our
athletes,”
Acker
said.
“Throughout this University,
we are able to push our students
to succeed in their chosen
fields. We hold showcases for
our musical theatre students,
we encourage the recruitment
of our students for companies
throughout the world, and
even work with our students
and faculty to allow them
to use their ideas to start
world-changing
businesses.
Restriction of these rights
to athletes in this context is
simply unconscionable.”
After
Acker’s
statement,
public
commenters
from
the
community
addressed
the Regents about divesting
from fossil fuels, reaching
carbon neutrality and the
1U Campaign. Out of 15 total
public commenters, 13 spoke
to the Regents about the
University’s investments in
fossil fuels and what they say
is an unequal distribution of
resources across the three
University campuses.
The
majority
of
public
commenters,
especially
those associated with 1U and
CAM, posed a question to the
board about the University’s
perceived
inaction
toward
reaching
carbon
neutrality
or unwillingness to allocate
more resources to the Flint
and Dearborn campuses. After
asking these questions, the
commenters waited for the
Regents to respond.
In
between
speakers,
members of CAM and 1U
chanted slogans like “empty
words
but
no
equitable
funding” and “we deserve to
be heard.”
Engineering senior Logan
Vear, a member of CAM, told
the Regents there is a strong
link between issues of climate
change
and
1U’s
mission
and asked why the Regents
have not responded directly
to
either
organizations’
demands after a year of
protesting.
“While some of you have
expressed
sympathy,
and
even at times support, you
have done next to nothing
to tangibly act to support
our causes. During public
comment, you have actively
ignored us, looked down at
your phones and have left the
moment we finish or during
our
comments
as
well,”
Vear said. “So, we ask, why
should we continue to come
to Regents meetings if they
have been so fruitless over
the last year?”
In
response
to
Vear’s
question,
Regent
Shauna
Ryder Diggs (D) said most of
the Regents do take the public
commenters’ arguments into
account
and
sympathize
with
their
views.
She
noted how even though the
organizations’ arguments have
been
impactful,
significant
institutional change still takes
a while to enact.
“Asking us to give you an
answer right this second, I just
can’t do that,” Diggs said. “I
actually think that you’ve been
very effective, because when
you first started coming to the
Regents meetings and talking
individually with each one of
us, there was no (President’s
Commission
on
Carbon
Neutrality). Even doing all of
that work, I think is the reason
why President Schlissel put
together this commission.”
Diggs was the only Regent at
the meeting to directly respond
to CAM and 1U’s questions.
LSA
senior
Dim
Mang
reacted to Diggs’s comment by
saying student activists should
not have to work tirelessly to
receive basic resources and
support from the University’s
administration.
“You listen to us, but at
the same time we shouldn’t
have to fight for our own
livelihoods day in and day out
when U-M is lucky to have
these students here,” Mang
said. “Our activism isn’t here
to window dress your inaction
and, frankly, your fear of
student power.”
REGENTS
From Page 2
Irwin also discussed how
Michigan has learned from
laws
passed
in
Colorado,
California and Washington,
D.C.
Allyson Job, a public health
graduate student at EMU,
said
she
appreciated
the
perspective provided by the
panelists, but pointed out that
all of them were white men.
She said that an additional
panelist would have helped
broaden the range of opinions
shared at the event.
“I wish it would have been
more representative of the
community rather than three
Caucasian men. I would like
to see a little more diversity,”
Job said. “But I did like it,
and they answered a lot of
questions, and overall, I liked
how it was done, and for the
first time it was pretty cool.”
During
the
panel
discussion,
Irwin
noted
that communities of color
and
lower
socioeconomic
standing are being left out
of the new industry being
created
by
this
recent
legalization.
“And, you know, given that
fact, I think it’s important
that communities are careful
about equity,” Irwin said.
“We’re going to do these
things to make sure that we
have more equity.”
Irwin
also
stressed
the
importance
of
local
communities determining for
themselves whether or not to
allow sales of marijuana in
their cities.
“Make sure that it serves
your community’s needs and
make sure that you develop
it in a way that assuages
the concerns of people in
your community that are
concerned and make sure you
pay attention,” Irwin said.
PANEL
From Page 2
“You always want to know
where something is coming
from that you’re putting in
your body, and you want to be
able to go to a place that’s safe
to get it,” Ransom said. “More
than anything, we look at it as
an opportunity to provide safe,
tested product where they can
come, get what they need, know
that it’s from a really good place
and how they choose to use
it and where is kind of at the
discretion of the consumer.”
Green
Peak
Innovations
prides themselves on what they
call the “from seed to store”
process, which tightly controls
the production of marijuana
from growth to sale to ensure it
remains high quality.
Ransom said the legalization
of recreational marijuana is
important
because
it
gives
people what they have wanted
for a long time, and people
should have the choice to put
what they want into their body.
“I see no difference between
recreational
marijuana
and
getting altered in some other
way — whether you choose
to drink or something. If you
want to work out, I could go
swimming, I could go running
— I have choices,” Ransom said.
“If you want to get a little bit
altered, choices are nice if you
want to drink alcohol or smoke
a little bit. The people have said
that they want it for some time,
I think that’s the biggest thing
so now we’re finally giving them
what they want.”
Though
the
store
has
opened up sale of recreational
marijuana, Ransom said their
first priority is maintaining the
supply of product for medical
customers.
“I would have to imagine
that some of the patients are
considered about rec coming
on and supply,” Ransom said.
“Although we are excited for
recreational use coming on,
we’ll never walk away from
providing for patients. We want
to make sure that the medicine
is available first and foremost.”
The store sells 18 strains
of cannabis flower, and offers
a “buy one-get one” deal on
all
Skymint
vapes,
edibles
and concentrates. It features
a variety of CBD products,
flowers,
prerolls,
edibles,
concentrates, vapes, pipes and
other accessories. Ransom said
the store is unique compared to
other dispensaries in that it is
set up in a typical retail fashion,
as well as with the option to
use their “express lane” when
purchasing online.
“It’s
unlike
a
lot
of
dispensaries. I mean, before I
think it was so much of a quick
consult, you come in, you grab
it, you go, and now I think it’s
more like typical retail. … For
us to provide two different
shopping experiences based on
what people want, I think that’s
important,” Ransom said.
Kinesiology senior Laurence
Horowitz, president of Green
Wolverine — an organization for
students interested in business
and dedicated to educating
people about cannabis and the
marijuana industry — discussed
the short-term effects this new
market will have on the Ann
Arbor area.
“In (the) short-term, people
will definitely go to this new
dispensary to try their product.
However, only time will tell
if the new establishment will
develop a foothold in the Ann
Arbor market,” Horowitz said.
“Use will most likely go up as
it will be a novelty. However,
things will die down, and the
recreational
customers
that
are using today will now be
receiving their product after it
has been extensively regulated
so
that
it
doesn’t
include
chemicals
and
pesticides
instead of from a street dealer.”
MARIJUANA
From Page 1
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com