Democratic 
presidential 

nominee and former Vice 
President Joe Biden spoke 
in Detroit with U.S. Senator 
Gary 
Peters, 
D-Mich., 
to 

supporters 
in 
their 
cars 

Friday night: a little more 
than two weeks before the 
general election

Peters, who is also up for 

re-election this November, 
said he is excited to have 
Biden 
back 
in 
Michigan 

and 
reminded 
attendees 

about 
Biden’s 
work 
for 

Detroit during the Obama 
administration, 
referencing 

his success in public office.

“We are so happy that he’s 

right back here in Michigan,” 
Peters said. “Right here in 
Detroit, we know that Joe 
cares about this state and we 
know because he has been 
here before, and he’s been 
here when we need him.”

Peters 
criticized 
the 

national Republican Party 
leadership in regards to their 
handling of the pandemic. He 
told the drive-in crowd that 
Biden would lead the nation 
with a more comprehensive 
pandemic plan.

“President Trump does not 

know how to lead, and we 
need a president that leads, 
not tweets,” Peters said. 

Peters discussed the 2008 

financial crisis, which he 
said Biden played a role 
in mitigating for everyday 
Americans, and said Biden 
would advocate for people 
instead of corporations.

“There were people that 

said, let them go bankrupt, 
let them go away,” Peters 

said. “Joe Biden said no, I 
will stand with American 
workers, (and he) will always 
stand with them to make 
sure 
that 
they 
have 
the 

opportunity to be successful 
... He has stood with us in 
the past, he will stand with 
us in the future and that’s 
why we will elect him the 
next president of the United 
States.”

American 
Federation 
of 

Teachers 
member 
Everett 

Whitfield, 
a 
teacher 
at 

Thirkell Elementary School 
in Detroit, joined Peters. 
Whitfield 
said 
he 
voted 

absentee in support of Biden 
just before taking the stage.

“Joe Biden is the leader we 

can trust,” Whitfield said. 
“He has shown compassion 
and to others in various ways. 
Regardless of the party line, 
he shows that he cares, (and 
reflects) our precise history 
of working with people of 
color.”

Biden took the stage after 

checking out a couple of cars 
gathered around the stage. 
Biden told supporters that 
he loved cars and that he 
believed in Motor City.

“I’ve always believed in 

Michigan,” Biden said. “We 
have the finest auto workers 
in the world here in Michigan. 
That’s not hyperbole. That’s a 
fact.”

Biden 
emphasized 
the 

need for equity in the nation, 
particularly for communities 
of color in Detroit. 

“We 
need 
America’s 

leadership to seek deescalate 
tensions over the lines of 
communications to bring us 
back together again, to heal,” 
Biden said. “As President, 
that’s precisely what I’ll do.”

Biden said he is running 

to represent all Americans 
as president and that he will 
work together with others in 
order to enact change. 

“Today, trust is heavy, 

hope seems elusive, instead 
of healing, we’re being ripped 
apart,” Biden said. “I refuse 
to let that happen. We need 
to revive a spirit of being 
able to work together with 
one another. I’m here to tell 
you it can happen again, 
and that it must happen if 
we’re going to get anything 
done. I’m running as a proud 
Democrat, but I will govern 
as an American president.”

According 
to 
Michigan 

Deputy 
Communications 

Director John Grandy, in 
Michigan, city and township 
clerks have distributed 2.8 
million absentee ballots to 
voters. More than 1.2 million 
ballots have already been 
sent in. Clerks in a record 
number of cities, including 
Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Flint, 
Grand Rapids and Lansing, 
have added weekend and 
evening 
hours. 
These 

additional hours will be used 
to expand access and raise 
awareness of early voting, 
which is available to all 
Michigan voters for the first 
time in a general election.

On campus, the city set 

up a satellite clerk’s office in 
the University of Michigan 
Museum of Art for students 
to register to vote, vote early 
and return absentee ballots. 
Students on North Campus 
can return absentee ballots at 
Fire Station Number 5.

Daily Staff Reporter Sarah 

Payne can be reached at 
paynesm@umich.edu. 

As of Friday, more than one 

thousand cases of COVID-19 
have been confirmed since 
move-in 
and 
quarantine 

housing is at 46% capacity, 
according to the University 
of 
Michigan’s 
COVID-19 

dashboard. This comes less 
than two months after move-
in and the start of classes. 

During move-in, resident 

advisers and students living 
in University housing raised 
concerns 
that 
University 

Housing 
was 
not 
taking 

enough 
precautions 
to 

protect 
their 
residents. 

Members 
of 
ResStaff 

went on strike and called 
upon 
the 
University 
for 

better personal protective 
equipment and enforcement 
of Housing policies.

There has also been a 

city-wide 
impact, 
with 

Washtenaw County Health 
Department reporting the 
possibility of exposure at 
two Ann Arbor restaurants, 
Brown Jug Restaurant and 
Chapala Mexican Restaurant 
earlier this week.

Washtenaw 
County 

COVID-19 
cases 
also 

crossed University metrics 
for reevaluation of campus 
operations 
earlier 
this 

month. 
These 
metrics 

include 
exceeding 
five 

days of increases in new 
infections using a seven-
day average and more than 
70 new cases per million. 
Meeting these metrics could 
prompt “further responses 
and 
strategies 
regarding 

campus operations during 
the COVID-19 pandemic,” 
according to Michigan News. 
In-person classes are still 
being held, though 70% of 
University coursework has 
been online since the start of 
the school year. 

During the University’s 

weekly COVID-19 briefing 
Friday, Chief Health Officer 
Preeti 
Malani 
said 
the 

current 
rate 
of 
students 

entering 
quarantine 
or 

isolation housing is “not 
sustainable” for the rest 
of the semester. According 
to Malani, this rise could 
prompt a change in the 
University’s 
current 
plan 

for a hybrid semester if 
quarantine housing fills to 
capacity. 

“This is very concerning 

— in the last week, there’s 
been a very robust increase 
in these numbers and I know 
many people are following 
them on the COVID tracker,” 

Malani said. “There still is 
plenty of housing available, 
but at the current rate, we 
will go through it within a 
couple weeks.”

When 
asked 
whether 

quarantine 
housing 

is 
projected 
to 
reach 

capacity 
in 
two 
weeks, 

University 
spokesperson 

Rick 
Fitzgerald 
directed 

The Michigan Daily to the 
COVID-19 
dashboard 
and 

said the number of students 
in 
quarantine 
housing 

continues to grow as more 
positive cases are revealed.

“Quarantine and isolation 

housing 
is 
running 
at 

46 
percent 
of 
capacity,” 

Fitzgerald 
wrote. 
“As 

you may recall, we have 
600 
rooms 
reserved 
for 

isolation 
and 
quarantine. 

It’s clear from the graph 
that the numbers have been 
increasing 
steadily 
since 

about Oct. 9.”

Fitzgerald did not confirm 

whether “not sustainable” 
meant 
that 
quarantine 

housing 
was 
projected 

to reach capacity in two 
weeks, 
instead 
echoing 

Malani’s point that students 
need to practice enhanced 
prevention 
measures 
in 

order to slow the spread. 

“It’s critical that each 

one of us act as if we are 
contagious 
by 
wearing 

masks, gathering only in 
small groups, maintaining 
social 
distancing 
and 

following 
public 
health 

guidance,” Fitzgerald wrote. 

Quarantine and isolation 

housing saw an average of 51 
students check in between 
Oct. 
13-15, 
Fitzgerald 

confirmed. 

LSA 
freshman 
Emma 

Dwoskin 
said 
she 
is 

concerned about the lack 
of 
testing 
taking 
place, 

especially 
for 
freshmen 

living in residence halls.

“If there’s 1,000 cases, 

there’s probably four times 
as much because they’re 
not testing us, which is very 
alarming and concerning,” 
Dwoskin 
said. 
“I’m 
sure 

so 
many 
people 
are 

asymptomatic that it would 
be really beneficial to just be 
testing us.”

According 
to 
the 

dashboard, as of Oct. 16, 
quarantine 
and 
isolation 

occupancy is at 46.2%. If a 
student living in a residence 
hall 
tests 
positive 
for 

COVID-19, they are required 
to 
either 
quarantine 
or 

isolate on North Campus or 
return to their permanent 
residence. They may also 
choose to book a room at a 
local hotel. 

Since move-in, there have 

been nine clusters identified 

in the residence halls. The 
first cluster was reported 
in South Quad Residence 
Hall on Sept. 17. The most 
recent cluster was identified 
in Mary Markley Residence 
Hall on Oct. 13.

In 
a 
recent 
interview 

with The Michigan Daily, 
University 
President 

Mark 
Schlissel 
discussed 

University Health Services 
increasing 
their 
testing 

capacity.

“We’re telling (UHS) to 

ease up because we want 
students 
to 
use 
UHS,” 

Schlissel said. “It’s free, it’s 
convenient, there’s a one-
day turnaround time, and 
we can work with students 
immediately 
when 
they 

get a positive result to help 
assure their health and to 
make sure it doesn’t spread 
to others, so we’re going to 
have the UHS folks be a little 
more relaxed.” 

Dwoskin said she was 

aware that UHS is providing 
more 
tests 
but 
became 

concerned when she was 
unable to receive one, even 
with cases on her dorm floor. 

“(The University) said that 

UHS would start allowing 
testing to anyone who wants 
it, and then I called UHS, 
and they were not aware of 
this and were not able to give 
a test just if you want it, only 
if you’re extremely exposed,” 
Dwoskin said. 

As of Friday, 322 positive 

cases have been confirmed 
in the past 14 days, according 
to the dashboard. 2.3% of 
tests administered since Oct. 
11 have returned as positive 
for COVID-19. Additionally, 
142 students are still in 
quarantine, meaning they 
have either been exposed to 
the virus or are still waiting 
for test results.

Members of the campus 

community with symptoms 
should isolate and contact 
University Health Service 
at 734-764-8320 for a free 
COVID-19 
test. 
People 

with mild symptoms can 
use the University’s online 
assessment to initiate the 
testing process.

Students who test positive 

for COVID-19 after visiting 
an off-campus testing site 
should 
report 
their 
case 

here. 

The University plans to 

reach a decision about the 
winter semester by Nov. 1. 

Daily News Editor Claire 

Hao contributed reporting.

Daily Staff Reporter Alec 

Cohen can be reached at 
cohenale@umich.edu 
and 

Daily 
News 
Editor 
Liat 

Weinstein can be reached at 
weinsl@umich.edu.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
 4 — Wednesday, October 21, 2020 

Use of quarantine housing 
spikes as U-M cases cross 
1,000 since start of school 

 MADDIE FOX/Daily

Quarantine housing in Northwood spikes as cases surpass 1,000 since start of school year. 

Occupancy rate gets close to hitting 50 percent while 
spread of coronavirus on campus continues to increase 

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

Joe Biden, Gary Peters 
campaign before election

SARAH PAYNE
Daily Staff Reporter

Presidential contender, senator go on the trail in Detroit

MDining workers speak 
out after almost striking

Employees criticize working conditions in dining halls

LSA senior Mak Guenther, 

who had been employed by 
MDining since her freshman 
year and was working in Mosher-
Jordan dining hall this year, quit 
her job three weeks ago. 

According 
to 
Guenther, 

Mosher-Jordan 
was 
getting 

1,000 more students than other 
dining halls. When Guenther 
asked her management and 
MDining administrators about 
efforts being made to mitigate 
this influx of students, she 
said she only got vague to no 
responses and saw no change.

“It was like pulling teeth to 

get answers,” Guenther said. “I 
had to let it go because of how 
horrible the response has been.” 

Guenther said quitting was 

the best thing she could do 
for the strike efforts because 
she made it clear that she was 
leaving due to what she felt were 
unsafe working conditions.

“Immediate managers were 

really great and it felt like 
they were on our side and they 
were also trying to get the 
answers for us,” Guenther said. 
“But from the wider dining 
administration, 
(I 
felt) 
just 

absolutely undervalued, very 
taken advantage of and just 
completely disrespected after 
sending in questions over and 
over and over again and never 
getting answers back.”

Guenther 
isn’t 
alone 
in 

raising concern over MDining. 
Members 
of 
MDining 
had 

planned a walkout due to these 
concerns in solidarity with the 
September 
graduate 
student 

and resident adviser strikes. 
The walkout was postponed and 
changed to a work “slow down” 
out of fear of retaliation. 

Despite this action, student 

workers said they still feel 
unheard 
by 
administrators 

and will continue to push for 

changes in their workplace. 
With the dining halls open, 
MDining 
workers 
complete 

shifts in-person, which they say 
elevates the need for a response 
to 
their 
pandemic-related 

concerns.

LSA senior Nik Von Seggern, 

who also worked in Mosher-
Jordan dining, took a break 
from working due to what she 
also felt were unsafe conditions. 

According to Von Seggern, 

the workers were not provided 
with disposable masks as they 
had been told they would be. 
She said they had to use the 
University-provided 
cloth 

masks which some MDining 
workers felt were inadequate.

Though there is a sick bank 

for workers to get paid sick 
leave, Von Seggern said many 
student workers used this bank 
back in March.

“When we were all laid 

off, most workers took their 
sick bank,” Von Seggern said. 
“Now, when we come back, the 
pandemic is arguably worse 
than what it was, or we know 
more about it than what we did 
— there’s no sick bank.”

Student MDining workers 

have been circulating a petition 
demanding increased workplace 
protections that has garnered 
more than 450 signatures at the 
time of publication. 

The 
petition 
calls 
for 

more testing, paid sick leave, 
severance pay for the remainder 
of the academic year if dining 
halls 
were 
to 
close 
again, 

transparent 
contact 
tracing, 

adequate 
sanitation 
and 

personal protective equipment 
and 
consistent 
COVID-19 

policies for all units.

Steve 
Mangan, 
senior 

director of Michigan Dining, 
said disposable masks would be 
available for any worker who 
didn’t have one in an email sent 
Wednesday to MDining student 
staff and obtained by The 

Michigan Daily.

According to Mangan’s email, 

there is a one-time sick bank 
of up to 80 hours of paid leave 
offered for MDining workers. 
He 
addressed 
that 
many 

students may have used this 
bank in March and April, and 
he said that it is not available for 
employees hired after June 7.

“For those student employees 

concerned with our attendance 
policy, our philosophy of ‘don’t 
come to work if you are sick’ 
is still the guiding principle,” 
Mangan wrote. “Any absence 
related to COVID (going for 
a test, required quarantine/ 
isolation, etc.) will continue to be 
excused with no repercussions.”

In an email to The Daily, 

Mangan 
said 
if 
student 

employees used up all of their 
eligible paid time off, there is 
no further paid time off unless 
that employee meets the criteria 
of the Michigan Paid Medical 
Leave Act.

According 
to 
this 
act, 

employees 
may 
take 
paid 

medical leave for situations such 
as physical or mental illness 
or injury to the employee or a 
family member and preventative 
care for the employee or a family 
member. Paid medical leave is 
accrued at one hour for every 35 
actual hours worked. 

Public Policy senior Nora 

Hilgart-Griff, who works at 
the Blue Cafe in East Quad 
Residence Hall, is in her third 
year of working with MDining. 
Employees in her unit wrote 
an 
email 
to 
management 

citing concerns about COVID-
19 screening before shifts, 
access to personal protective 
equipment and being able to 
take off work due to COVID-
19 related concerns without 
consequence.

IULIA DOBRIN
Daily Staff Reporter

LIAT WEINSTEIN 

& ALEC COHEN
Daily News Editor & 
Daily Staff Reporter