On Friday, March 13, two days 

after the University of Michigan 

canceled in-person classes and 

moved to online instruction for the 

rest of the semester, Kathy Roos, 

the owner of RoosRoast Coffee 

on East Liberty Street, removed 

half of the chairs from the cafe’s 

seating area. The change was 

meant to promote social distancing 

— a phrase that has, in the past few 

weeks, come to epitomize the self-

isolation needed to slow the spread 

of the rapidly growing COVID-19 

pandemic.

“We were ahead of the game,” 

Roos said. “We did that because 

we were very aware of what was 

happening.”

Now, 
with 
Gov. 
Gretchen 

Whitmer’s Stay Home, Stay Safe 

Executive Order mandating the 

closure 
of 
all 
“non-essential 

businesses,” RoosRoast remains 

reliant on a curbside to-go business 

operating out of their Rosewood 

Street location. Even with these 

kinds of services, Roos said she 

is not sure Ann Arbor’s small 

businesses will survive prolonged 

shutdowns. 

“This could destroy the local 

economy,” Roos said. “That’s a 

really strong word. But when 

is this going to end? How long 

can businesses remain closed? 

And all the amazing, deep local, 

idiosyncratic 
Ann 
Arbor 
local 

businesses — they can’t survive. 

They’re not going to be able to 

survive being closed for too long.”

The coronavirus pandemic hit 

when rising rent prices and an 

increase in development across 

the city were already putting a 

strain on local businesses. In 2018, 

18 businesses closed, with most 

closures affecting businesses that 

had been open for more than 25 

years. Rent prices also soared in the 

past year, leaving business owners 

struggling to pay their employees 

at rates that would allow them to 

reside within city limits. 

But the pandemic and subsequent 

executive orders have placed local 

businesses in a unique situation, 

leaving many to rely on community 

support in order to meet their rent 

and pay employees. 

Literati 
Bookstore, 
a 
staple 

bookshop on East Washington 

Street, raised more than $115,000 

through a GoFundMe campaign 

last month. Literati’s owners, Mike 

and Hilary Gustafson, met their 

goal of $100,000 just days after the 

fundraiser opened on March 23. 

Many stores and restaurants have 

followed suit, hoping community 

donations will be able to sustain 

their businesses until the pandemic 

subsides and the city reopens. 

See ECONOMY, Page 2

On March 16, the day the 

University of Michigan officially 

began online classes in response to 

the novel coronavirus outbreak, a 

student, who will be referred to in 

this article as Jane, had two exams. 

One of her exams was canceled 

while the other was open for three 

days to accommodate students’ 

schedules. 

According to Jane, one of her 

friends asked for her assistance in 

taking the exam. Jane has requested 

anonymity for fear of retaliation 

from the University. To protect 

Jane from retaliation, The Daily has 

decided not to publish the name of 

the course.

 Jane said she agreed to help her 

friend cheat by taking her friend’s 

exam, but she said she took her own 

exam separately.

“I helped somebody take their 

exam, and then I took mine because 

there’s no browser lock or anything 

(and) they’re not using the camera,” 

Jane said. “I did that, so then I knew 

what was on it.” 

Jane said she did not think the 

exam was that difficult but did 

believe helping her friend made 

her more prepared. After taking 

the exam, Jane said she was really 

nervous 
about 
getting 
caught. 

However, once she talked to more 

people, she said she realized many 

others had also used some form of 

assistance on their exam.

“I was talking to my friends 

after … and they were like, ‘If (the 

instructional team) checks if people 

open the textbook, if they enforce 

that, then the average score would 

be zero because everyone is going to 

do it,’” Jane said.

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, April 6, 2020

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

‘I helped somebody take their exam’: University 
faculty, students discuss academic integrity 

After transition to 
online classes, unclear 
whether honor codes 
are being adhered to

Design by Cara Jhang

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Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail 
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 99
©2020 The Michigan Daily

N E W S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

MICHIGAN IN COLOR ................ 3

O P I N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
michigandaily.com

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CAMPUS LIFE

The 49th annual Hash Bash, 

Ann Arbor’s annual cannabis 

rights 
event, 
took 
place 

online Saturday afternoon via 

livestream due to the state of 

Michigan’s stay-at-home order 

amid the coronavirus outbreak. 

Michigan’s statewide COVID-

19 cases surpassed 14,000 by 

Saturday. Nick Zettell, co-founder 

of MI Legalize and leader of 

the Hash Bash Committee, said 

the group quickly searched for 

alternative platforms to host the 

event as the spread of the virus 

increased in the past few weeks.

Annual gathering occurs 
online, draws speakers

A2 businesses worry about futures

Stay Home, Stay Order impacts local economy, results in closures for an extended period of time

DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily

Ian Shackelford, assistant distiller at the Ann Arbor Distilling Company, mized ingredients 
together to make hand sanitizer in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

DESIGN BY LIZZY RUEPPEL

Hash Bash 
goes virtual 
in 49th event

FRANCESCA DUONG

Daily Staff Reporter

See CHEATING, Page 2

BARBARA COLLINS & 

LIAT WEINSTEIN

Daily News Editors

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

CHRIS SULLIVAN

Daily Staff Reporter

