In
the
middle
of
the
Michigan League’s Maizie’s
Kitchen & Market, a dozen
undergraduate
students
huddled around a laptop to
sign in for their canvassing
shifts.
The
small
group
decided to brave the January
blizzard and knock doors for
Solomon Rajput, a 27-year-
old Ann Arbor native who put
his medical studies on hold
for a year to challenge Rep.
Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., for
Michigan’s 12th congressional
seat.
Dingell has represented the
district for the last four years.
Previously, it was held by the
late John Dingell for 59 years
and before that, by his father
John Dingell Sr. for 22 years.
Rajput hopes to disrupt this
85-year-old political dynasty.
He said he was interested
in politics as a teenager but
was disenchanted with how
candidates
seemed
to
be
controlled by big corporations.
Still
looking
to
make
a
difference, Rajput decided to
enter the medical field.
“I ended up in medicine
because it is a way to help
people in a very vulnerable
moment, heal people,” Rajput
said. “I was thinking maybe
we can change our health care
system from the inside out.”
After Hillary Clinton lost
the 2016 presidential election,
Rajput’s political ambitions
were
reignited,
leading
him to found the activist
organization
Michigan
Resistance. The goal of the
group was to advocate for local
progressive bills in the county
and state legislature. Noting
the success of progressive
campaigns such as those run
by
U.S.
Reps.
Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York,
and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.,
in 2018, Rajput said he became
hopeful that he, too, would
be able to make a difference
through politics.
In
September
2019,
he
decided to put his medical
studies on the back burner
and run for Dingell’s seat.
“I
feel
like
times
are
changing, and it’s actually
really exciting because we
have a new generation of
leaders who are running for
office. We’re saying we’re
not going to be beholden to
corporate interest any longer,”
Rajput said.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, February 6, 2020
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Freezing
temperatures,
wind and swirling flurries
of snow did not stop about
25 students and Ann Arbor
community members from
gathering in the Diag for a
candlelight vigil in support
of sexual assault victims
Wednesday night.
The event was organized
by
the
Sexual
Assault
Victims
Alliance
(SAVA),
in conjunction with The
Michigan
Democracy
Institute
for
Civic
Engagement
and
Roe
v.
Rape.
In order to protect the
privacy of the speakers, they
will be referred to only by
their first names.
In an interview with The
Daily,
Candice,
Eastern
Michigan
University
student and an organizer of
the event, spoke about the
construction of the vigil.
“We wanted to have some
kind of display that would
show how many victims
there are at U of M and how
common it is here,” Candice
said. “We thought that the
candlelight vigil would be
really awesome.”
Candice
said
events
raising awareness of sexual
assault
are
valuable
for
decreasing stigma.
“I think that events like
this are super important,
especially with taboo issues
like sexual assault,” Candice
explained. “When no one’s
talking about the issue …
you don’t really know that
it exists — that people are
struggling with it. Because
no one is really open about
it, so these events do a lot to
educate people who maybe
would be and will be our
allies, but they don’t know
what the problem is.”
She also expressed her
surprise at the amount of
enthusiasm she encountered
while organizing the event.
“Almost every person I
reached out to was really
excited about it. I had really
good engagement,” Candice
said. “People were really
excited
and
were
really
willing to contribute to the
event, which I wasn’t really
expecting.”
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 64
©2020 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
C L A S S I F I E D S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
Saline HS
racist acts
of concern
to parents
ANN ARBOR
JULIA RUBIN, BRAYDEN
HIRSCH & EMMA RUBERG
Daily Staff Reporters
Candelight vigil draws community
to share experiences of sexual assault
Michigan students gather on Diag Wednesday evening to demonstrate support
ADMINISTRATION
Follow The Daily
on Instagram,
@michigandaily
During
a
community
meeting on diversity, equity
and inclusion in Saline Area
schools on Monday night, one
man asked a Latinx parent
why he had come to the
United States, rather than
“stay(ing) in Mexico.” The
meeting was held following
an incident last week at
Saline High School when
students were found posting
racial slurs in a Snapchat
group chat.
The altercation occurred
after
Adrian
Iraola,
the
father of three Saline school
district alumni, shared his
children’s experiences with
racism during their years in
Saline. In a video recorded
by MLive, Iraola said other
students called his children
“taco, nacho and enchilada.”
While Iraola was sharing
his story, parent Tom Burtell
interrupted and said, “Then
why
didn’t
you
stay
in
Mexico?” The remark was
followed by gasps from the
audience and various calls for
Burtell to leave.
PETER HUMMER
Daily Staff Reporter
HANNAH YOO/Daily
Michigan student Jenny Lavin speaks during the Sexual Assault Survival Candlelight Vigil on the Diag Wednesday evening.
Undergraduates send
letter in response to
jury’s verdict in trial
over discrimination
JENNA SITEMAN
Daily Staff Reporter
See VIGIL, Page 3
JULIA FANZERES
Daily Staff Reporter
See RAJPUT, Page 3
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Solomon Rajput, candidate for Michigan’s 12th Congressional District, canvases at houses in Ann Arbor in January.
Riding the socialist wave
Medical student Solomon Rajput puts studies on hold to primary incumbent
US Rep. Debbie Dingell, channels leftist discontent in appeal to voters
Spread of Coronavirus impacts
students enrolled in school trips
Statement
authored
by A/PIA
targets ‘U’
After a jury found the
University of Michigan did
not
discriminate
against
a couple who accused the
school of violating the state’s
civil rights statute, a group of
students minoring in Asian/
Pacific
Islander
American
Studies authored an open
letter to the University and
public. The students outlined
requirements they would like
to be met to make them feel
more supported.
On
Dec.
20,
2019,
a
jury
determined
that
the
University
did
not
discriminate against Emily
Lawsin and Scott Kurashige,
who filed a discrimination
lawsuit in 2016 against the
University under the Elliott-
Larsen
Civil
Rights
Act,
with
claims
of
disparate
treatment,
discriminatory
hiring
practices
and
sex
discrimination,
among
others.
In the letter, the group of
students introduced a path
of action they would like to
see the University embark
on to improve their working
relationship.
See LETTER, Page 2
In discussing children’s
encounters with racism,
Chela’s owner Iraola
expresses frustration
See SALINE, Page 3
Study abroad
programs in
China face
cancellation
LSA sophomore Katyanne
Calleja planned on studying
abroad
for
two
semesters
this summer in China when
the program she had applied
to was canceled due to the
recent coronavirus outbreak
and a lack of interest in the
program.
Calleja said not all of the
abroad programs in China
have been canceled, though
there
has
been
a
lot
of
confusion
among
students
hoping to still travel there
over the summer.
“I know so far that the
Beijing one is not canceled
and they say that they are just
waiting to see what’s going
to happen,” Calleja said. “I
feel like the whole situation
is kind of confusing because
sometimes you hear things are
canceled, but then sometimes
it’s not.”
Since
the
University
of
Michigan
issued
a
travel
restriction on Jan. 27 for the
entire country of China due
to
the
recent
coronavirus
outbreak, all undergraduate
and most graduate student
travel to China has been
prohibited and many study
abroad programs have been
canceled.
The
University’s
travel
ban
specifically
discourages
any
“non-
essential” travel to China for
students, faculty and staff
and has affected all spring
and summer study abroad
programs
affiliated
with
the Center for Global and
Intercultural Study.
When
contacted
by
The
Daily,
University
spokeswoman
Dana
Elger
referred all students, faculty
and
staff
interested
in
learning more about the virus
to the Key Issues section of
the Office of Public Affairs’s
website. On Friday, the page
addressed the travel ban and
the international and national
threat from the coronavirus.
“The
U.S.
State
Department
classifies
China as a level 4 travel
advisory, recommending that
individuals avoid all travel to
the country,” the post reads.
“The entire country remains
under a U-M travel restriction.
All U-M Related Travel to
China, including for faculty
and
staff,
is
discouraged.
See CORONAVIRUS, Page 3
HANNAH MACKAY
Daily Staff Reporter