michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
INDEX
Vol. CXXX, No. 16
©2021 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
ARTS............................ 5
OPINION.......................7
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
Follow The Daily
on Instagram,
@michigandaily
A Washtenaw County woman
has contracted the new B.1.1.7.
COVID-19 variant, the first known
case in the state of Michigan,
according to a press release from
the Michigan Department of
Health and Human Services.
The woman recently traveled
to the United Kingdom, where
the variant first appeared. Two
new COVID-19 cases have been
identified from close contacts
with the woman, but it is not yet
known whether they are caused
by the variant.
The
B
1.1.7.
case
makes
Michigan the 17th state to identify
the variant within its borders.
Though it is the only known case
in Michigan, it is possible there
are more that have not been
identified, according to the press
release.
The new variant is believed to
be more contagious, but not any
more severe, than the original
COVID-19 virus that has been
circulating in the United States
since early 2020. The higher rate
of transmission could increase the
number of hospitalizations and
deaths resulting from the virus if
it spreads widely in Michigan.
Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical
executive
and
chief
deputy
director for health at MDHHS,
said in the press release that to
combat spread of the new variant,
Michiganders should continue
to wear masks, social distance,
avoid crowds, wash their hands
often and make a plan for getting a
vaccine when it’s their turn.
“The discovery of this variant
in Michigan is concerning, but not
unexpected,” Khaldun said. “We
all have a personal responsibility
to slow the spread of COVID-19
and end this pandemic as quickly
as possible.”
The B.1.1.7 variant’s arrival
comes as local health departments
charged
with
administering
vaccines struggle to keep pace
with high demand while receiving
lower than expected supply of
doses. While Michigan officially
began Phase 1B — which includes
senior
citizens
and
frontline
essential workers — on Monday,
it may not have enough vaccines
to vaccinate most members of this
group until a later date.
The Washtenaw County Health
Department announced Friday it
would be rescheduling its Jan. 19
appointments until Feb. 9 because
the vaccine clinic hadn’t received
enough supply to operate.
The keynote lecture, focused
around the symposium’s theme
of “Where Do We Go From
Here?,” touched on King’s legacy
and his impact on current social
justice work.
The keynote was moderated
by Dr. Stephen Ward, associate
professor in the Residential
College and the Department
of Afroamerican and African
Studies,
and
featured
two
speakers: Dr. Gloria House, a
University alum, poet and human
rights activist who designed the
African American and African
Studies major at the University
of Michigan - Dearborn; and
Malik Yakini, the co-founder
and Executive Director of the
Detroit Black Community Food
Security Network.
The
lecture,
coordinated
by the Office of Academic
Multicultural Initiatives, is part
of a larger program of events
surrounding King’s legacy from
January through March.
Lumas Helaire, coordinator
of the Martin Luther King
Jr. Symposium and associate
director of OAMI, said the
speakers were chosen because
they were especially suited to
speak to this year’s theme.
“They’re looking at some
of the deepest challenges and
issues
within
communities,”
Helaire said. “We’re definitely
looking for speakers who have
exhibited an ability to work
towards whatever the theme
may be, and these two speakers
definitely have.”
During the keynote, House
discussed how King’s legacy
inspires current civil rights
activists.
“One of Dr. King’s many
legacies to us as social justice
advocates is the way he directed
our attention past any given
moment of crisis or hardship to
a time when our communities
would
achieve
justice
and
dignity for everyone,” House
said. “He bequeathed us the
spirit of hope and perseverance.”
House
discussed
her
involvement
with
several
Detroit-based organizations that
work to organize and support
Black communities, including
the Black Legacy Coalition of the
Charles H. Wright Museum and
Riverwise Magazine.
“These
organizations
are
part of a network of hundreds of
involved community organizing
efforts in Detroit,” House said.
“As social justice advocates,
or those people who work for
liberation of our communities,
we want to counteract the
despair
that
settles
over
communities when our rights are
violated and our representative
institutions are circumvented or
usurped.”
Echoing House, Yakini said
the social justice work currently
happening in Black communities
is often tied to deeper problems
in American society.
“I
think
the
thing
that
we’re realizing now is that all
of this work is intersectional
because all of these problems
are really caused by the same
root problems: capitalism, white
supremacy
and
patriarchy,”
Yakini said.
Both
speakers
discussed
the impact of the Civil Rights
Movement of the 1960s and
1970s on their lives and current
work. Yakini said Civil Rights
leaders such as Malcolm X
played a role in his development
as a Black man and social justice
advocate.
CAMPUS LIFE
DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily
Healthcare workers at Michigan Medicine have been asked to work even if they have a close contact with COVID-19.
First Michigan case of new COVID-19
variant discovered in Washtenaw County
B.1.1.7. found in woman with history of travel to United Kingdom, two close contacts infected
‘This is a lifetime’s struggle’:
Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium
keynote lecture discusses current
impact of Civil Rights Movement
CALDER LEWIS
Daily News Editor
ACADEMICS
MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily
A resident of Washtenaw County has contracted a new variant of COVID-19.
Former Governor Rick Snyder, eight
others charged in Flint water crisis
Previous top MI officials facing counts of willful neglect of duty
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has been charged in the Flint water crisis.
Former Gov. Rick Snyder
(R),
as
well
as
Snyder’s
ex-health director and other
former health officials, are
being charged in relation to
the Flint, Mich. water crisis
following a new investigation,
according to the Associated
Press.
Snyder,
who
pleaded
not
guilty
in
a
Thursday
morning
court
appearance,
is being charged with two
misdemeanor counts of willful
neglect of duty.
Governmental malpractice
left the majority-Black city of
Flint with lead-contaminated
water for years, causing at least
12 deaths and ongoing health
issues for many community
members, especially children.
Multiple
sources
with
knowledge
of
the
planned
prosecution told the AP the
defendants were informed of
the indictments by the United
States attorney general’s office
on Tuesday.
Courtney
Covington
Watkins, a spokesperson for
the Attorney General’s office,
told the AP investigators are
“working diligently” and “will
share more as soon as we’re in
a position to do so.”
None
of
those
facing
charges nor Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer
immediately
released public statements.
Michigan Attorney General
Dana
Nessel
praised
the
prosecutions.
Snyder’s
two
terms
as
governor ended in 2014. Under
his
administration,
Flint’s
water supply — used by nearly
100,000
residents
—
was
switched from Lake Huron
and the Detroit River to the
Flint River to reduce costs.
The water was not correctly
treated
and
corroded
the
old pipes, leading to lead-
contaminated
water.
The
city is still in the process
of replacing the corrupted
pipelines.
A 2018 report, partially
funded by the University of
Michigan, said the former
governor “bears significant
legal
responsibility”
for
his
role
overseeing
the
state agencies in charge of
protecting
public
health.
The report also said Snyder
neglected his duties in failing
to address the crisis sooner.
KATE WEILAND
Daily Staff Reporter
See SNYDER, Page 3
Members of U-M community call for
recall or resignation of Ron Weiser
Students, faculty criticize the regent’s prominent role in the Michigan GOP
University of Michigan community
members are calling for the resignation
or recall of Regent Ron Weiser (R)
from the University’s Board of Regents,
condemning Weiser for not specifically
denouncing President Donald Trump
for inciting violence at the U.S. Capitol
on Wednesday.
A petition begun by students
Friday, which has garnered over 4,000
signatures, calls on Weiser to resign
due to his past involvement with the
Michigan Republican Party and the
Trump administration.
“The evidence is clear: Ron Weiser
is complicit in Wednesday’s historic
and horrifying events, and continues
to defend their instigators,” the petition
reads. “We demand that he either
resign or be recalled by the Board of
Regents, and we expect President
Schlissel to condemn this threat to all
students of color on campus.”
The petition is endorsed by the
past five Central Student Government
presidents, including the 2020 CSG
president and vice president, public
policy senior Amanda Kaplan and
LSA
senior
Saveri
Nandigama,
respectively. Prominent University
groups, including the Climate Action
Movement,
the
U-M
Graduate
Employees’
Organization,
the
University’s Roosevelt Society chapter
and the One University campaign have
also signed on.
Because
regents
are
elected
statewide, an approved recall petition
must garner signatures from 25 percent
of the number of Michigan voters in the
2020 general election. The change.org
petition is not recognized by the state
of Michigan as an approved recall
petition. The requirement of more than
a million signatures within 60 days
of the first signature makes Weiser’s
recall unlikely.
Dozens of faculty members have
also signed an open letter released
Saturday demanding that Weiser
resign immediately from his position as
regent. While acknowledging that it is
unclear whether Michigan Republican
Party members directly participated in
Wednesday’s riots, the petition states
that Weiser’s role as incoming chair of
Michigan GOP is incompatible with his
duty as regent.
“As a University of Michigan
Regent, you serve as the public face
of a great university that champions
the pursuit of truth and a genuinely
just society,” the petition reads. “By
contrast, as chair of MI-GOP, you will
be required to promote policies and
strategies that MI-GOP uses to pursue
electoral
victories.
This
includes
placating violent extremists within
your party as well as those who support
or tolerate them.”
The call for Weiser’s resignation
or recall comes after the regent told
Bridge Magazine on Thursday he did
not know if he blamed Trump for the
Wednesday riots.
“I didn’t read any of that stuff, and I
didn’t watch television,” Weiser said. “I
watched Michigan destroy Minnesota
in basketball, and that kind of contest is
something that I strongly support.”
He tweeted a full statement on
Wednesday’s riot later Thursday
following the publication of the Bridge
article.
“I strongly condemn those people
who turned into a mob and breached
the Capitol after what was supposed to
be a peaceful protest,” Weiser tweeted.
“Those who broke the law should
be held accountable. My heart goes
out to the families of those who were
unnecessarily harmed. The President
said this morning that a peaceful
transfer of power will occur and
therefore the 2020 elections are over. It
is time for Republicans to rest, regroup,
and focus on defeating the Democrats
in 2022.”
Weiser told the Detroit News
Saturday
he
is
“definitely
not”
resigning, and that he condemned the
violence once he was aware of what
had happened.
“I spent most of that ugly day in
a dental chair having oral surgery,”
Weiser said. “I am guilty of not
watching news on TV or watching or
using social media. Nothing more...
Because of this transgression, my
children and grandchildren have
been harasssed. There should be more
civility in our community!”
Weiser declined Thursday and
Friday to be interviewed by The
Michigan Daily. The University Office
of Public Affairs forwarded Weiser’s
statement to The Daily and declined to
comment further.
Weiser is the incoming co-chair
of the Michigan Republican Party
— after current chair Laura Cox
announced Wednesday she would
not run for the position again — and
former fundraising chair for the
Republican
National
Committee.
Democrats and some Republicans have
accused Trump of inciting a coup on
Wednesday, and multiple White House
officials have resigned.
Some members of Congress are
now calling for the cabinet to invoke
the 25th Amendment to strip Trump of
his presidential duties, and Speaker of
the House Nancy Pelosi has threatened
impeachment.
See WEISER, Page 3
CALDER LEWIS
Daily News Editor
GOVERNMENT
ADMINISTRATION
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
LARA JANOSZ
Daily Staff Reporter
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com