The
panel
then
discussed
college
affordability
and
its
impact on students at the
University. Benji Timpf,
regional
coordinator
for
U.S.
Sen.
Gary
Peters,
stressed
the
senator’s focus on college
affordability.
“The
Senator
has
been doing work to hold
the Department of Ed
accountable
to
ensure
that the loans students
are receiving, they know
the conditions of those
loans,” Tim said. “The
Senator has been pushing
to hold the Department of
Ed accountable, increase
the availability of those
programs’ work … (and)
making
Department
of Ed more accessible
and
understandable
to
students.”
City Council members
weighed in on housing
affordability
and
efforts to address the
issue.
Councilmember
Zachary
Ackerman,
D-Ward 3, discussed the
disparity
between
the
10,000-person
increase
in University enrollment
and the 6,000-bedroom
increase in housing.
“That
doesn’t
quite
add up,” Ackerman said.
“Simple
math
tells
us
there’s an imbalance. We
have a supply issue. So,
we need to address supply
by building new housing.”
Ackerman
said
City
Council
is
working
on
zoning
rules
and
increased incentives for
building. The council is
also looking into building
on land already owned by
the municipality as well
as regulating the market
of
short-term
rental
properties.
Councilmember
Julie Grand, D-Ward 3,
suggested
thinking
of
campus affordability in
relation
to
community
affordability.
“One way to reframe
the
issues
is
that
a
lot of issues that are
important to affordability
are
important
for
our
community
more
broadly,”
Grand
said.
“Sometimes
we
put
student
issues
in
this
bubble where they really
don’t
belong
because
you’re a really important
part of our community. …
What’s good for students
is what’s good for our
community.”
Following a question
from
the
audience
regarding divisiveness in
public discourse, Dingell
addressed her role in this
and her interactions with
President Donald Trump
via social media.
“I think the biggest
fear to our democracy is
the hatred and division in
this country right now,”
Dingell said. “I have seen
hatred and vitriol and
some of the worst rhetoric
you can ever imagine. It’s
simply not okay.”
Dingell, whose husband
John Dingell passed away
last February, said she
plans to collaborate with
Cindy McCain, the widow
of Senator John McCain,
for a tour centered around
civility.
“We
were
both
married
to
great
men
and
heroes
that
we
loved, and we’re going
to talk about civility,”
Dingell said. “You’re all
communicators. You have
to tell people it’s not okay.
We have to stand up to the
hatred in this country.”
In
response
to
a
question
from
the
audience
regarding
health
care,
Dingell
reinforced her message
on
the
importance
of
engagement in this area.
“If you care about an
issue, become engaged,”
Dingell said. “Advocate,
put the face on it, on
the issues and … as we
go into this year, we
need
to
tell
people
about the importance of
Medicaid and have people
understand … it’s a child,
it’s a senior that has
nobody to care for them.”
LSA freshman Timothy
Marvin,
who
attended
the event, thought the
conversation
on
the
social media divide was
especially
pertinent
to
today’s
political
environment.
“I liked the kind of
tangent we had about
social media and more
broadly
the
public
discourse
and
where
that’s at in the United
States
today,”
Marvin
said. “I think that’s like a
real problem. Policy starts
with how people talk, and
the way people talk isn’t
very collaborative right
now. And you notice we’re
very divided, so we don’t
really get anything done.”
Reporter Remy Farkas
can
be
reached
at
rsfarkas@umich.edu.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 — 3A
NRA
From Page 1A
FOOD
From Page 1A
CHIEF
From Page 1A
ROUNDTABLE
From Page 1A
Some
proactively
called
for public apologies from
members of City Council and
Mayor Christopher Taylor,
asking about how damages
could be repaid.
Attendees
had
many
questions
about
the
investigation into Cox by a
private law firm and who
would receive their report.
Jackson
also
commented
on the lack of a Human
Resources
Director,
who
would normally be involved
in the process. Commission
members pointed out there is
little precedent and they are
not entirely sure what will
happen.
The
discussion
quickly
moved to City Administrator
Howard
Lazarus,
who
City
Council
voted
to
remove
Tuesday
night.
Councilmembers Jane Lumm,
I-Ward 2, and Jack Eaton,
D-Ward 4, sponsored the
resolution to separate with
Lazarus, which includes a
severance of one year’s salary,
amounting to $223,600, and
an additional $1,000. Lumm
is part of the ICPOC and
Eaton was present for the
majority of the meeting.
After the announcement
about the resolution to remove
Lazarus, many community
members
grew
frustrated
and began shouting at Lumm.
She explained his possible
removal was unrelated to the
situation with Cox.
“The separation agreement
is not in the least related,”
Lumm said. “The timing,
of
course,
is
furious,
but
coincidental.
Your
assumption
the
two
are
related
is
understandable,
but they are not related.
This
was
discussed
with
Lazarus in various settings,
well in advance of our email
(announcing it).”
Many
commission
members
and
attendees
expressed anger with the city
government at all levels and
especially with City Council.
They said Cox’s placement
on leave was a demonstration
of the inefficacy of Ann
Arbor’s government and the
community’s
underlying
racial tensions.
Jackson
commented
on
how the situation reflects on
Ann Arbor, regardless of the
final outcome for Cox and
Howard Lazarus.
“I have no knowledge of
what
happened;
I
don’t,”
Jackson said. “But what I do
know is that it is not a good
look for the city of Ann Arbor.
It doesn’t speak well for us;
it doesn’t speak well for the
process.”
Councilmember
Eaton
spoke to the commission,
explaining the City Council
has no information about
Cox. He also said he thinks
the public should be given
more
information
and
that
City
Council
would
investigate how the current
situation evolved. Eaton said
City Council did not know of
any issues with Cox and that,
if he is reinstated, they will
look into repairing the harm
that was done.
After Lumm and Eaton
left for the City Council
meeting,
the
commission
and
community
members
expressed
their
gratitude
for
the
opportunity
to
have ICPOC meet and hear
community input.
Ann Arbor resident Lori
Saginaw,
who
has
been
involved in previous police
reform efforts in the city,
spoke about the importance
of
the
community
being
involved in ICPOC meetings
and how activism can affect
the city government.
“I cannot tell you how
grateful I am that all of you
are doing what you are doing,”
Saginaw said. “There were so
many times I was the only
person sitting here during
these meetings, in contrast,
to tonight when you can
know this community cares
and wants to be a part of this
work. So, talk about activism,
here it is. We are going to
continue to talk (about these
issues).”
The meeting ended with
calls
for
transparency
regarding
both
Cox
and
Lazarus, as well as demands
for the release of data about
policing in Ann Arbor.
Reporter Emma Ruberg can
be reached at eruberg@umich.
edu.
The panel, moderated by LSA
freshman Hannah Kim, consisted of
Palmer; Urban Planning Professor
Lesli Hoey; Jennifer Petoskey, city
of Ann Arbor solid waste outreach
and compliance specialist; and LSA
sophomore Chase Dautrich.
Palmer shared the procedures
campus chefs practice to reduce
waste and recycle dining leftovers. In
addition to training kitchen staff, he
emphasized the importance of cross-
utilization of ingredients in reducing
waste in menus.
“Food waste is at the forefront of
all chefs’ minds,” Palmer said. “For
chefs, it’s about training, really … It’s
always an ongoing process.”
To inform attendees on procedures
taken on a university-wide scale,
Hoey
shared
her
experience
co-leading the Internal Analysis Food
Team on the President’s Commission
on Carbon Neutrality. According to
Hoey, the team’s mission is to broadly
analyze anything related to food on
the University of Michigan’s three
campuses. In an effort to reduce
carbon emissions, Hoey said the
team
suggests
waste-preventing
procedures before food is prepared
and suggests protocol to follow after
waste has been produced.
“A major part of what we are
going to suggest is some systems
that better keep track of what we’re
actually wasting still — even despite
certain initiatives — and also try to
understand what the impact is once
you do implement more initiatives,”
Hoey said.
Hoey said the team is facing a
lack of data concerning food waste
and composting on the campuses.
Hoey said her team struggles
with a fragmented system of food
production, consisting of units such
as athletics, medicine, dining and
autonomous consumption in schools.
Hoey noted about 40 percent
of food waste occurs at the retail
and customer levels. She said this
means changes on the individual
level will make the largest impact on
greenhouse gas emissions.
As someone who has always had
a problem with throwing food away,
Hoey said that she will even eat off
others’ plates when feasible to prevent
leftovers from being discarded.
Adding to personal examples, Palmer
shared that if he cannot find a way to
utilize food scraps, he will feed them
to his chickens at home.
“It is something we constantly talk
about,” Palmer said. “It is extremely
important that we use our foods to
the fullest.”
According to Prenevost, one of the
steps in reducing waste at the event
was using an RSVP list to estimate
how much food would be needed.
Prenevost said she believes this can
help prevent excessive leftovers at
campus events.
LSA junior Anastasia Bergeron
said she signed up to expand what
she has learned through Net Impact,
a student organization collaborating
with businesses for environmental
and social impact.
“Food
waste
is
really
an
interesting topic that I just never
heard about before,” Bergeron said.
“I was interested in learning more
… I always knew it was good for the
environment, but I never really knew
scientifically why it’s so much better
to compost.”
Dautrich
discussed
his
involvement with the Food Recovery
Network. The organization will host
a regional summit on campus on April
4. Dautrich shared that his main goal
in reducing waste was increasing
conversation among students.
“One big way that people can
promote sustainable food systems is
just talking about it,” Dautrich said. “I
feel like communication is one of the
biggest challenges for this generation.
There are a lot of problems, but there’s
also a lot of solutions. Maybe they just
haven’t been able to spread yet.”
Reporter Ayse Eldes can be reached
at aeldes@umich.edu.
“City staff are making political
decisions,”
Michniewicz
said.
“I don’t think this most recent
iteration of what is a political tiff
between two factions is going
to get our community anywhere
closer to addressing the climate
crisis or housing crisis at the scale
necessary.”
When presenting the resolution
to
fire
Lazarus,
Eaton
said
the decision came from a long
discussion
that
began
when
Lazarus applied for a job as a city
manager in Gainesville, Florida.
His application referenced conflict
with councilmembers, offending
some of his colleagues. Eaton
offered no further explanation
for the reason of the proposed
termination.
“While
the
council
is
concluding
his
employment
without cause under the contract,
it’s mostly because we don’t wish
to state those causes, and we don’t
wish to engage in litigation over
whether or not the cause existed,”
Eaton said. “It’s really of mutual
benefit to the city administrator
and the city to conclude this
through negotiation rather than
acrimony.”
Lumm said the decision came
from a need for a more positive
and
productive
relationship
between councilmembers and the
city administrator.
“I don’t believe it’s appropriate
to go into specific details about
our city administrator or his
performance,” Lumm said. “I
know it is fair for anyone to
ask why I would vote for this
… I’ve served on council a long
time and with quite a few city
administrators, and I’ve seen
the
evidence
that
council-
administrator
relationships
are important to the effective
functioning of city government
both internally and externally …
I want to support and promote
relationships that are healthy and
what you would expect to see on a
high performing team.”
During the comments in support
of the resolution, some residents in
attendance interrupted with yells
of disapproval and accusations
of corruption. One held up a sign
that read, “Good luck with a
replacement!”
Councilmember Jeff Hayner,
D-Ward 1, who voted in favor
of
firing
Lazarus,
addressed
the
crowd’s
concerns
about
transparency.
“There’s personnel matters that
don’t allow us to speak to some
certain issues publicly,” Hayner
said. “I certainly am sympathetic
with the public who feel perhaps
cheated of their opportunity to
opine on this matter … there’s
not much I can do to increase
transparency around this matter
and for that I apologize.”
Mayor
Christopher
Taylor
voted against the resolution and
expressed his disapproval of the
council’s decision in a statement
to The Daily.
“This action will waste more
than $275,000 of taxpayer money
and, as the Council majority
admits, is entirely without cause,”
Taylor’s statement reads. “Mr.
Lazarus has done nothing wrong.
This is a political termination that
is bad for Ann Arbor.”
Taylor wrote that Lazarus is
well qualified for his position and
more needed than ever as the city
faces critical stages of developing a
$400 million budget, negotiations
regarding
the
Gelman
plume
and the administrative leave of
the police chief, among other
challenges.
He
accused
the
council of punishing Lazarus
for his resistance to “backroom”
demands.
“Mr. Lazarus worked every day
for Ann Arbor with intelligence,
grace, and honor, to provide basic
services and deliver real and
meaningful change in pedestrian
safety, affordable housing, and
climate action,” Taylor’s statement
continues. “The Council majority’s
campaign of backroom pressure
has culminated tonight in a
grave public error. Ann Arbor, its
residents and its reputation, will
suffer from this deeply unwise
decision for years to come.”
Councilmembers
Zachary
Ackerman,
D-Ward
3,
Julie
Grand, D-Ward 3, and Chip Smith,
D-Ward 5, all of whom voted
against the resolution, released
an open letter addressing the
decision. Their letter states that
the majority made their decision
out of dislike for Lazarus.
“Put simply, the City Council
majority didn’t like Mr. Lazarus,”
the letter reads. “They didn’t like
that he pushed back when they
pressured him to ignore city policy
established through legislation
passed in years prior. They didn’t
like that he reminded them that
their role is to set policy, not to
micromanage and publicly berate
public servants.”
Ackerman,
Grand
and
Smith assert that the decision
is
unprofessional
and
fiscally
irresponsible.
“Removing
the
City
Administrator
without
cause,
throwing away his skills when
they are needed most, and using
your money to pay him to leave is
offensive to our most fundamental
values,” the letter continues. “The
Ann Arbor we represent believes
in and expects transparency.”
During general public comment,
a number of attendees expressed
outrage at the council’s decision.
Speakers were critical of the lack
of cause for terminating Lazarus.
Sally Hart Peterson, executive
policy
adviser
for
economic
development at the Office of the
City Administrator and former
City Councilmember representing
Ward 2, urged the councilmembers
to rethink their vote, calling
their decision detrimental to the
interests of the community.
“The decision to terminate
our city administrator without
cause undermines the long-term
integrity and stability of the
administrative role of the city,”
Peterson said. “It undermines
the morale of our city employees,
it is fiscally irresponsible and
it is an insult to all who rely on
our administrator’s leadership,
authority
and
keen
decision-
making to keep the city running
on a day-to-day basis … (Lazarus)
has a clear sense of right and
wrong, a respect for authority,
and understands the clear line and
division between city council and
city administrator.”
Reporter Angelina Little can be
reached at angelit@umich.edu.
ADMINSITRATOR
From Page 1A
The Center for Responsive
Politics
reported
the
NRA
spent more than $3 million on
lobbying expenditures in 2019.
Anglewicz
mentioned
the
NRA’s
extensive
efforts
to
ensure gun safety and its
dedication to education.
“Even
if
we
can’t
find
common ground on policies,
we can always find common
ground on how we can be
safe
and
responsible
gun
owners,” Anglewicz said. “So,
a lot of what we do is really, the
majority, about safety education
and training.”
LSA
senior
Taylor
King,
co-founder of Students Demand
Action,
an
activist
group
dedicated to combating gun
violence, said gun safety must
be a priority in a conversation of
gun control. King said she has
done gun violence prevention
work for 11 years, is a survivor
of gun violence and previously
worked with Moms Demand
Action
before
launching
Students Demand Action on
Michigan’s campus.
“I and Students Demand
Action as a whole really have no
problem with members of the
NRA,” King said. “We promote
gun safety. We think gun
ownership, it is a constitutional
right, but we think there are
some people who are a threat
to themselves and others who
probably should not have guns,
and that people that do have
guns should be using them
safely and responsibly … If (the
NRA U event’s) focus is on gun
safety and gun education, more
power to them.”
Anglewicz
discussed
the
debate surrounding universal
background checks. She said
the term Universal Background
Checks is “dangerous” because
it gives the impression there are
no background checks in place.
She noted the NRA has been in
support of the National Instant
Criminal Background System,
also known as NICS, since it was
introduced in 1998; however,
the NRA does not support H.R.
8, which requires background
checks between private parties.
The NRA argues this is a
private transaction and opposes
legislation that would enforce
a universal background check
requirement for gun transfers
between
unlicensed
sellers,
such
as
transfers
between
family members.
“You want to know what
‘universal’ is?” Anglewicz said.
“It’s ‘I want to transfer a pistol
to my father, I have to go get
paperwork, run a background
check on him, do all of our
fingerprinting, then sell him
the firearm and re-register it’
and that sort of thing. That’s
what they’re calling ‘universal.’
We already have background
checks.”
Anglewicz admitted current
background
checks
fail
to
prevent threatening individuals
from obtaining firearms, but
gun reform should not come
from bans on types of assault
weapons.
“We
already
have
background checks,” Anglewicz
said. “They are failing. It’s a
terrible system and it needs
help. People who are convicted
felons, adjudicated mentally ill
and a danger to themselves and
others, should not have access
to firearms. So, this system is
broken. So, instead of focusing
on the system, people are
talking about assault weapon
bans. Congress is wasting our
time with these silly things that
are going to keep nobody safe.”
Anglewicz
discussed
the
term “assault weapons” and
said the term did not exist prior
to 1989, calling it a “made-up
political term.”
In a 2018 article, CNBC
reported
that
the
firearm
industry often refers to “assault
rifle” as a military weapon
with “select fire capabilities,”
or the capability to switch
between
semi-automatic
or
a fully automatic mode. The
AR-15 only has semi-automatic
settings and is therefore not an
assault rifle by this definition.
Anglewicz
referenced
rifles
more powerful than the AR-15,
and said despite AR-15 high
profile media presence, assault
weapon bans are not the most
effective approaches to reform.
“Any gun can be deadly,”
Anglewicz
said.
“But
to
demonize one particular rifle in
the effort to ban it so they can
create a slippery slope, you have
to see through that. It’s very
dangerous rhetoric.”
LSA freshman Nick Schuler,
College Republicans freshman
chairman, said he hoped the
event fostered an educational
dialogue
about
the
Second
Amendment and gun control
debate.
“Our goal is not to convert
everyone into a gun lover, but
just to have more understanding
on campus,” Schuler said. “We
think it’s very important to
understand both sides of the
political spectrum no matter
where you lie, and to create
more of a culture and foster a
good campus that has diversity
of thought.”