The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, October 21, 2020 — 5
Amid pandemic, students
pursue passion projects
While
the
pandemic
brought restrictions on social
interactions, it also provided
time for students to explore
their passions. During the past
six months, some University
of Michigan students tried
their hand at new projects and
even started their own small
businesses.
As the pandemic negatively
affects the mental wellbeing
of many young people, recent
University
alumni
Maggie
Li and LSA senior Emily
Serhan created an app called
“Nois” to facilitate mental
health screening. The app
uses artificial intelligence to
assess people’s responses to
a questionnaire and identify
their mental health condition.
Afterward, the app also
connects
users
with
local
psychiatrists
for
further
treatment.
“What this app does is
revolutionize the process from
diagnosis to treatment,” Li
said. “I feel like we’ve created
such a cool, viable product,
and even if it doesn’t end up
blowing up, at least a few
people can get something out
of it.”
Business
junior
Michael
Sikand started a multimedia
platform. His business Our
Future consists of a podcast,
a career-series, a newsletter
and a merchandise line. In
an attempt to bridge the gap
between CEOs and college
students, he publishes advice
on how to enter the business
world.
“I get to interview business
leaders from the most exciting
companies and flesh out the
magic of what goes on behind
the scenes in business,” Sikand
said. “I like to take listeners
beyond the headlines — get a
little deeper, get a little more
personal.”
Similarly, LSA junior Bret
Duntley
created
a
social
media platform, Jillion, that
allows users to post any type
of content they want through
their own individual “pages.”
His hope is that people will
be able to engage with others
about
complicated
issues
in depth. Over the summer,
Duntley spent 10 hours a day
writing more than 30,000
lines of code.
“I used to do a lot of art in
high school, but I never really
saw the connection between
art
and
computer
science
until I started my website,”
Duntley said. “What’s kept
me going through this is the
fact that I can be creative
while designing something I’m
passionate about.”
LSA
sophomore
Annie
Malek has a sticker-making
business. As a creative outlet
during
the
long
months
of quarantine, she took to
drawing and designing. She
uses the website Redbubble to
sell stickers and face masks.
“Honestly, I really love just
making people happy with
my
designs,”
Malek
said.
“Whenever someone receives
something
I
make
they’re
always so thankful and it
makes me super happy to make
them something that they love.
It also gives me something
more creative to do, since I
am majoring in chemistry and
most of the things I do during
the day are STEM-based.”
The students emphasized
that one of the more difficult
aspects of starting a new
project is the fear of it not
being successful. However, all
three students trusted that it
would work out in the end.
“Starting a small business
is a great way to get to know
people who you never would
have talked to before,” Malek
said. “I love being able to
put something I made on my
laptop or water bottle and then
creating conversation starters
out of it.”
The
students
said
their
projects have also brought
them closer to their family
members
and
teammates,
whether
through
team
meetings
over
Zoom
or
conversing with supporters.
“One of my favorite parts
about this process was being
able to have conversations with
my dad (who’s in business)
that he and I have never had
before,” Serhan said. “It was
really insightful to be able to
learn about his perspective
of running a business. The
amount of support that we
received
from
people
like
this created such a positive
contribution.”
Malek
said
she
would
encourage others who are
interested
in
trying
new
endeavors to not put too much
pressure on themselves. Li
agreed and added that an idea
can grow into a hobby or even
a larger passion project.
“When you have an idea,
you never know what’s going
to come from it,” Li said.
“Everyone’s brain is wired
differently, and that’s what
makes
everyone’s
ideas
awesome.”
Daily
Contributor
Ashna
Mehra
can
be
reached
at
ashmehra@umich.edu.
ASHNA MEHRA
For The Daily
On Oct. 2, Robert Gordon,
director
of
the
Michigan
Department of Health and
Human
Services,
received
news
that
the
Michigan
Supreme Court struck down
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer’s
authority
to
extend
or
declare any executive orders
pertaining to the COVID-19
Pandemic.
Gordon,
who
oversees
many statewide health and
human
services
programs
such as Medicaid, Children’s
Protective Services and food
assistance,
expressed
his
disappointment at the ruling,
stating that it helped to save
thousands of lives over the
course of the past few months
since the beginning of the
outbreak.
“I thought it was a bad
decision,” Gordon said. “(The
ruling) undermined rules that
have helped to save thousands
of lives.”
Following
the
ruling,
Gordon and the rest of the
Michigan
Department
of
Health and Human Services
released
an
order
with
mandates that mirrored those
of Gov. Whitmer’s executive
orders.
The
DHHS
was
allowed to set in place their
own protocols by issuing them
in accordance with Public
Health Code Act 368, a law
that resulted from the 1918 flu
pandemic that swept through
the United States.
The public health order
requires those who attend
a public gathering of 10 or
more people to wear a mask
and limits the number of
people who can be in a store
or restaurant at a time. Under
the order, restaurants, retail
stores, libraries or museums
can reopen at 50% capacity
and gyms can reopen at 25%
occupancy. The order also
attempts to strengthen contact
tracing efforts by requiring
that all businesses mentioned
in the order get the contact
information of anyone who
enters the establishment. The
order also allows for bars
to reopen, a provision that
was not in any of Whitmer’s
executive orders.
In Michigan, there have
been nearly 160,000 cases of
coronavirus
reported
since
the start of the pandemic
in March, and over 7,000
deaths, according to the state
government.
Gordon
expressed
the
need
for
the
orders
and
a
coordinated
approach
between the state’s health
department and localities to
ensure that the risk of COVID-
19 in Michigan remains low.
“We know that shared goals
help people know what they
need to do,” Gordon said. “And
there is a great deal of evidence
that shared rules have been
effective in the spread of
COVID and the absence of
rules has increased the spread.
It’s our job to provide things
for public health.”
In order to enforce these
mandates, law enforcement is
authorized to enforce the order
and investigate any possible
violations of the mandates.
Violators may be charged with
a misdemeanor, which could
be punishable by six months of
jail time, or a fine of $200, or a
fine of $1,000 if it is labeled a
civil offense.
The
Washtenaw
County
Health
Department
also
released a set of its own public
health mandates in response
to the Michigan’s Supreme
Court’s decision. The public
health provisions stated that
indoor gatherings are limited
to 10 guests and outdoor
events can only hold up to 25
people. The orders also act
in accordance with those set
forth by the DHHS, limiting
the occupancy of bars and
restaurants to 50% capacity.
Susan
Ringler-Cerniglia,
Communications and Health
Promotion Administrator at
the University of Michigan,
talked about the need for
social gathering limits given
that Ann Arbor is home to
more than 40,000 students
who attend the University.
“There was a lot of concern
just around college culture,”
Ringler-Cerniglia said. “That
there would be a lot of house
parties and large gatherings
when folks came back to the
area. (The order) was more
about
generally
trying
to
reinforce smaller gathering
size
and
precautions
and
making it a little easier to
manage.”
In
Washtenaw
County,
there have been over 4,000
confirmed cases since the
start of the pandemic.
The University of Michigan
also recently triggered two of
its metrics for reevaluating
in-person campus activities,
as
Washtenaw
County
is
seeing more than 70 new cases
per
million
residents
and
exceeding five days straight of
increased positive cases.
Public Health junior Sophia
Heimowitz spoke to The Daily
about her growing concerns
that without any public health
provisions in place, college
students and other residents in
Michigan will totally disregard
any attempt at mitigating the
spread of COVID-19.
“People
already
are
not
wearing masks when it was
required,” Heimowitz said. “So
to take any recommendations
and
requirements
away,
I
think it drastically impacts
(the spread of) COVID way
for the worse, and (the virus)
would
spread
much
more
rapidly.”
Therefore,
to
continue
to mitigate the spread of
the
coronavirus,
Director
Gordon and other Michigan
Health
Department
leaders
will continue to enforce the
provisions they set forth to
continue to save the lives of
people across the state of
Michigan.
“Our focus is what our role is
in public health,” Gordon said.
“Our role is ‘what will help
as many people as possible?’
Our goal is to protect public
health and protect all of our
Michiganders.”
Daily Staff Reporter Julia
Forrest can be reached at
juforres@umich.edu.
Michigan DHHS, local governments issue new
protocols following MI Supreme Court ruling
Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s executive orders jeopardized after justices rule against her; government agencies fill gap
ASHA LEWIS/Daily
Governor Gretchen Whitmer speaks at the State of the State in January 2020.
Entrepreneurs start small businesses during quarantine
JULIA FORREST
Daily Staff Reporter
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Rick’s announces its opening with limited capacity Thursday morning.
Popular local bar Rick’s
reopens with restrictions
After being shut down since
March due to the pandemic, Rick’s
American Cafe announced on social
media they will reopen their doors
Thursday with limited capacity.
Complying with guidelines from
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, masks will be required
for entry and guests will have their
temperatures taken before being
let inside, the post read. Tables
will be spaced out to follow social
distancing protocols. Rick’s is also
requiring guests to save their place
in line through the application
LineLeap.
“WE’RE BACK TOMORROW!”
a Wednesday post on Rick’s
Instagram read. “Due to limited
capacity and high demand, the
only way to get in is to reserve your
spot
through
@lineleaptickets
SpotSaver feature on the LineLeap
app!”
To book a reservation through
the app, guests are able to select a
30-minute time slot in which they
plan to arrive that night. Upon
arrival, customers must show the
doorman their pass on their phone
to be let into the bar.
Rick’s recommends four to six
people for each reservation with a
maximum of eight people. A limited
number of places are available for
each 30-minute time slot. Guests
with reservations are allowed to
stay for an unlimited amount of
time.
Rick’s
did
not
immediately
respond to The Michigan Daily’s
request for comment.
LSA senior Margo Dickstein
said she felt angry about Rick’s
reopening. She said she does not
understand how the bar will be
able to accommodate guests in a
safe manner and foresees Rick’s
potentially becoming the source of
a COVID-19 outbreak.
“It’s been kind of obvious in
this semester that a lot of people
simply don’t care that we’re in a
pandemic, and they’ve been going
out to parties,” Dickstein said.
“But now it’s Ricks — it’s already
always crowded and full of people.
I just don’t understand how they’re
allowed to be open.”
Dickstein turned 21 in April and
has not yet had the chance to go to
Rick’s.
“I would love to be able to go to
Rick’s in a normal time, that would
be really fun, it’s an experience
I haven’t been able to have,”
Dickstein said. “But I would never
go there now because of public
health reasons.”
Daily
News
Editor
Barbara
Collins can be reached at bcolli@
umich.edu.
BARBARA COLLINS
Daily News Editor
Student favorite returns to business with limited capacity