The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
4 — Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Isaiah
Mayweather,
who
is
incarcerated
at
Macomb
Correctional Facility, returned to his
normal cell Jan. 27 after serving 18
days in a mandatory quarantine as
a result of coming into close contact
with someone who contracted
COVID-19. However, Mayweather,
after being tested three times, never
once tested positive for the virus
that has infected more than 25,000
prisoners in Michigan alone.
Mayweather wrote in an email
to The Michigan Daily about his
experience being isolated for 18 days
and never contracting the virus.
According to Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention guidelines,
quarantining for 10 days without
symptoms, or quarantining for seven
days and receiving a negative test
on or after day five are sufficient
precautionary measures to take
following a COVID-19 exposure. The
Michigan Department of Health and
Human Services says if individuals
show no symptoms for 10 days
following a COVID-19 exposure,
they can discontinue quarantine.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer received
criticism from activists and families
of incarcerated individuals late last
year for her criminal justice policy
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While she signed an executive order
in August 2020 to improve testing
and transfer protocols in prisons,
some said these actions did not
adequately protect prisoners from
infection.
Mayweather
emphasized
the
strain that his prolonged quarantine
took on not only his own well-being
but on his relationship with his
family, whom he was not able to talk
to the entire time he was placed into
quarantine. In-person visitations
have been discontinued completely
for over a year.
“My children couldn’t imagine
what it would be like not hearing
from me in nearly a month’s time,”
Mayweather wrote. “After the long
break we were forced to take from
each other, my relationship with
them hasn’t been the same since. A
lot had changed in nearly a month’s
time.”
Based on Michigan Department
of Corrections policy, prisoners
should still be able to have daily
access
to
phones,
showers,
microwaves, showers and the J-pay
emailing
system.
Mayweather,
however, said this was not the
reality. According to Mayweather,
an inmate who has had close contact
with a COVID-19 positive individual
often has less access to facilities than
someone who tests positive.
“On paper it looks nice and civil,”
Mayweather wrote. “But in reality,
we are rarely, if ever afforded these
luxuries. If (you’re) in close-contact
with a Covid person, it’s possible
you can be held longer than a person
who’s actually in violation of a rule.
So mentally, this is draining.”
Mayweather wrote he is not the
only prisoner who has experienced
a long wait time in close-contact
quarantine, claiming some prisoners
experienced up to 30 days in close-
contact quarantine.
MDOC
spokesperson
Chris
Gautz told The Daily prisoners
should still have access to normal
facilities, such as regular showers
and the use of phone and email
services, while in quarantine. He
did not confirm whether close-
contact quarantine could last up to
30 days.
Gautz also said the restriction
in programs, classes and outdoor
activities is important in reducing
the spread of COVID-19, what
MDOC sees as an unfortunate but
necessary measure.
“We just have to remind them
that this isn’t punitive,” Gautz said.
“Although it may feel like it is (when
they are) stuck in their cell for
longer than they’d like, it’s for their
safety.”
Incarcerated individuals are also
experiencing issues with testing. In
accordance with the Department
of Health and Human Services,
prisoners are now being tested
daily. As soon as the department
found the COVID-19 B.1.1.7 variant,
they issued an emergency public
health order to increase testing in
prisons.
On Jan. 23, Steven Schutt,
who is incarcerated at Macomb
Correctional Facility and deals
with severe asthma, was told he
tested positive for COVID-19 and
was sentenced to a mandatory
quarantine — yet Schutt, who never
showed a single symptom, was
convinced it was a false positive.
According to Schutt, his family’s
request for him to be re-tested was
denied.
“We were never swabbed the
entire time I was (in quarantine),”
Schutt said in a written message to
The Daily. “The only thing they did
was check our vitals and more (or)
less wait and pray (I didn’t) get sick
from (my roommate) or the other
guys that were already there. I
worried every day … I (cried) on the
phone to my family and we couldn’t
do anything about it.”
According to Schutt, an antibody
test later revealed that Schutt did
not have any COVID-19 antibodies.
Gautz said he knows nothing of
the alleged false positive test and
that all testing is conducted through
private labs due to the large capacity
of tests being ordered.
“I don’t know of many doctors
who would falsify a record just so
their hospital could make more
money,” Gautz said. “So I’m not
really sure where that (accusation)
would come from.”
CRIME
Community reacts to legal challenge
to U-M campus firearm ban
Michigan Attorney General
Dana Nessel filed an amicus
brief on March 1 against Joshua
Wade, an Ann Arbor resident
who challenged the University of
Michigan’s on-campus firearm
ban. According to the amicus
brief, it is within the University’s
constitutional rights to enact a
firearm ban on campus, though
the case remains held in the
Michigan Supreme Court.
Amicus briefs are filed by
parties not directly involved in
a lawsuit to support one side of
a case.
Nessel’s
brief
backs
the
University and argues court
precedent
supports
their
firearms
ban,
noting
that
restrictions on firearm carry
exist in other sensitive places
like churches and primary and
secondary schools.
“When it declared the rough
contours of the amendment, the
Court was careful to single out
core areas in which governments
may
regulate
firearms
—
including
longstanding
prohibitions on guns at school,”
the brief reads. “From the first
colleges on American soil to the
present day, states and colleges
have exercised their authority
to regulate firearms in myriad
ways, from outright bans to
clear permission to carry. The
University’s
prohibition
fits
within this range of permissible
options.”
University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald
agreed,
writing
in an email to The Daily that
the University is well within
its
constitutional
rights
in
prohibiting weapons on campus,
citing the 2008 Supreme Court
case District of Columbia v.
Heller.
This
landmark
case
recognized the right of public
entities to regulate handguns in
schools and public buildings.
“Guns
have
been
banned
for decades and courts have
upheld the University’s right to
prohibit weapons from campus,”
Fitzgerald wrote. “The safety
of the University community is
one of our highest priorities as
a University. Allowing weapons
on campus undermines those
efforts.”
Psychology
professor
L.
Rowell Huesmann, who studies
aggressive behavior and media
violence, said Wade is unlikely
to win his case due to the
precedent set by D.C. v. Heller.
He added that the University
and
surrounding
community
is better off with the standing
firearms ban.
“Numerous
studies
show
that not only when people
have
firearms
is
there
a
greater likelihood of people
being
seriously
hurt
during
disagreements and arguments,
but just the sight or knowledge
of firearms being around is what
we psychologists call a ‘prime’ to
behaving more aggressive and
violent,” Huesmann said. “So
there’s a lot of studies that show
that just the sight of a firearm
makes people more likely to
think more aggressively and
violently than they otherwise
would.”
Huesmann said the argument
that guns make people safer
isn’t backed by data. Instead, he
said, the presence of firearms
increases the likelihood of gun
violence.
“Studies also show that the
concept of providing protection
is
very
misplaced
—
that
firearms don’t provide personal
protection in the way that people
think,” Huesmann said. “In
fact, they are likely to lead to
accidental shootings and killings
of people. The idea that they
provide significant protection
against nefarious people is just
not borne out by the data.”
LSA freshman Macy Hannan
said she doesn’t see a difference
between the University and
other
places
like
churches
and primary and secondary
schools that are able to regulate
firearms.
“From my understanding, my
high school was able to (ban
firearms), churches are able to
(ban firearms), I don’t get why
this is any different of a situation
and I think it’s something that
should be done,” Hannan said.
Hannan said she would feel
less safe walking around campus
if the courts were to strike down
the firearms ban.
“I think it is the University’s
responsibility to help keep me
safe, and they should be able
to keep me safe so then I don’t
need to,” Hannan said. “I would
definitely
feel
more
scared
walking around campus if (the
ban is repealed).”
LSA
junior
Ryan
Fisher,
president of the University’s
chapter of College Republicans,
said court precedent gives the
University the right to regulate
firearms on campus. But Fisher
added that he believes allowing
concealed carry of firearms on
campus would make students
safer.
“College campuses especially
are a sensitive location, and I do
think it could be alarming openly
carrying
firearms,
especially
given some recent history with
school shootings,” Fisher said.
“Concealed carry, on the other
hand, averts the possibility that
someone could be upset with
the fact that you are carrying
a firearm while nevertheless
giving people the opportunity
to
defend
themselves,
and
even defend others in times of
danger.”
LSA
freshman
Barry
Dechtman disagreed and said he
doesn’t see a need for students to
carry guns on campus and has
faith in the University’s ability
to protect its students.
“There’s
no
real
need
to have guns on a college
campus,” Dechtman said. “I
think protection is a big thing,
but I think there are many
alternatives and a lot of other
measures the University can take
to keep students safe (instead
of allowing guns on campus).
Without guns, I feel a lot safer.”
Daily Staff Reporter Julia
Rubin can be reached at julrubin@
umich.edu.
Attorney General Dana Nessel backs University’s on-campus gun ban
JULIA RUBIN
Daily Staff Reporter
GOVERNMENT
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Survivors Speak protests for
transparency, accountability
Marching through the streets
of downtown Ann Arbor, dozens
of protesters gathered with signs
demanding racial justice and
equality
Saturday
afternoon.
Chants calling for racial justice,
police
accountability
and
governmental
transparency
were punctuated by drum beats
as
onlookers
watched
from
sidewalks.
Saturday’s
protest,
hosted
by non-profit advocacy group
Survivors Speak, marked exactly
a year after the police killing of
Breonna Taylor, a 26-year old
woman from Louisville, Ky. who
was killed in her apartment when
officers wrongfully broke into her
home and fired 32 rounds after
Taylor’s boyfriend fired one. No
officers involved in the shooting
currently face criminal charges.
According to the organizers,
Survivors Speak is dedicated
to
amplifying
the
voices
of
victims of any form of injustice,
and
Saturday’s
protest
was
centered around the theme of
accountability.
On
the
steps
of Hatcher Graduate Library,
speakers took to the microphone
to emphasize the necessity of
fighting for accountability within
public institutions and called for
transparency on issues unique to
Ann Arbor.
Trische’ Duckworth, executive
director and founder of Survivors
Speak, told The Michigan Daily
before the protest that she began
the organization in 2018 as a
way to support those fighting for
widespread
transparency
and
justice.
“Normally
survivors
are
recognized
as
rape
victims,
molestation, domestic violence,”
Duckworth said. “But we took it
a step further in saying, really,
all of us are surviving something,
right? Like some kind of pain,
some kind of trauma. And so we
wanted to honor all survivors and
to help people free themselves in
the midst of what they’re going
through.”
Duckworth
also
said
she
believes unity is essential when
it comes to holding officials
accountable.
People
have
a
responsibility, Duckworth said, to
ensure that local officials follow
through on promises they made
when they ran for office.
“We have to hold ourselves
accountable so that we can
continue to stay the course and
pay attention to what’s going
on around us, pay attention to
what’s going on in legislation,”
Duckworth said. “But then we
have the job to hold our legislators
accountable to ensure that they
hold true to the agenda items that
we have approved for them when
we elect them.”
Jazmyn
Bradford,
School
of Social Work student and
intern
for
Survivors
Speak,
told The Daily that the purpose
of Saturday’s protest was to
encourage community members
to advocate for justice in their
local
governments.
Many
speakers emphasized that Ann
Arbor is no exception to police
violence against Black and Brown
people. Many also discussed their
experiences with systemic racism
within Ann Arbor Public Schools.
“We want community members
to understand that we have
the power to put people in the
positions that they’re in. … We
want social justice,” Bradford said.
“We want policies that are actually
going to make change happen.”
Law School student Solomon
Furious
Worlds,
who
also
attended the rally, is representing
Makayla Kelsey, Ann Arbor Public
School student, and her mother
Charmelle Kelsey in a case against
instances of racial discrimination
in Pioneer High School. The
Kelseys originally submitted a
complaint with the Michigan
Department
of
Civil
Rights
in August 2020 alleging that
AAPS created a racially hostile
environment.
The Civil Rights Litigation
Initiative, a clinic at the University
of Michigan Law School, also sent
a letter to AAPS administrators
on behalf of the Kelseys in August
2020. According to the letter,
Kelsey
allegedly
faced
racial
discrimination
from
current
Pioneer math teacher Michele
Macke.
Worlds said he attended the
rally both to show solidarity with
the demands — like accountability
and transparency by Ann Arbor
police and elected officials —
mentioned by other speakers and
spread awareness about others’
experiences of racism within
AAPS.
Worlds
also
called
for
protestors to sign a petition
calling for AAPS to publicize
the results of the investigation
into the alleged discriminatory
incidents. According to Worlds,
AAPS has not followed through on
demands to implement a system
where
students
could
report
instances of racial bias and civil
rights organizations could provide
transparent
investigations.
As
of Sunday evening, the petition
has garnered more than 1,200
signatures.
In an October 2020 statement
in response to CRLI’s letter, AAPS
Superintendent
Jeanice
Swift
emphasized the school district’s
commitment to investigating the
incidents of racial discrimination.
“In the AAPS, we take this
situation and the matters outlined
in that letter very seriously,”
Swift wrote. “All of us are deeply
disturbed by the content of the
allegations. We are committed to
a full and thorough investigation
of those matters as we understand
the important value each child
brings and are deeply committed
to equity and opportunity for each
and every student we serve.”
Saturday’s
protest,
Worlds
said, was meant to call for racial
justice both at the community and
national levels.
“Today, there’s mourning and
remembrance, with regards to the
killing of Breonna Taylor, but not
just for Breonna but also for Tony
McDade, Michael Brown, Laquan
McDonald and for so many people
whose names we don’t remember,”
Worlds said. “The injustice started
in 1619, and it continues today. It
didn’t end with slavery, it didn’t
end with Jim Crow. It continues
today.”
Ezra
Peiter,
a
14-year-old
student from Chelsea, Mich.,
attended the protest and said he
joined the movement to combat
racism within Michigan police
departments. He spoke to the
audience about how the Chelsea
Police
Department
failed
to
protect 16-year old protester Mya
King when she was assaulted by
an older woman while peacefully
protesting
at
a
Black
Lives
Matter protest this past summer.
The woman was charged with
misdemeanor assault.
Last month, Drop the Charges,
a
community-led
movement
to drop charges from peaceful
protests, began petitioning to
withdraw charges against those
who received tickets for impeding
traffic during Black Lives Matter
protests. King received a citation
for attending the July 31 protest
and the charges against her were
eventually dropped on Feb. 15
after numerous attempts by the
CRLI to have them rescinded.
Demonstration marks one year since police killed Breonna Taylor
CITY
Support student journalism: The Daily
joins ‘College Media Madness’ fundraiser
From March 15 to April 5, more
than 20 college newspapers across
the nation, including The Michigan
Daily, will participate in the College
Media Madness competition to
earn the most money for their
newsroom. The competition is
organized by Syracuse University’s
independent news organization,
The Daily Orange.
Tara Moore, The Daily’s business
manager, said the idea is to mimic the
March Madness hype while raising
money for student journalism.
“We’re seeing all these different
university
basketball
programs
come together — so we figured it’d
be a lot of fun to have the same kind
of rivalry,” Moore said. “There are a
bunch of different schools that have
all come together to fundraise and
have some friendly competition.”
The
Michigan
Daily
will
be
accepting
donations
via
collegemediamadness.com,
and
contest
coordinators
will
be
updating the rankings frequently.
“In many communities, these
outlets are the primary source of
news,” a statement on the CMM
website reads. “College journalism
fills a void left by the closure of
newsrooms across the country, one
that has rapidly accelerated amid
the COVID-19 pandemic. But these
organizations need your help. By
donating to a student newsroom,
you’re
supporting
the
next
generation of journalists.”
Moore
said
the
COVID-19
pandemic has made the past year
financially difficult for the Ann
Arbor community. As a result, The
Daily has lost significant funding
from local advertising.
“It is no secret print journalism
and student journalism as a whole
is struggling and going through
a tough time right now,” Moore
said. “And the pandemic is no help
to that, and so we want to get any
and all support that we can from
different donors.”
Claire Hao, The Daily’s editor-
in-chief, said this money will
be critical to helping The Daily
support its journalists so they can
provide important and up-to-date
coverage for the local and University
communities.
“The Michigan Daily is a free
service,” Hao said. “… But none of
that work is cost-free, even though
we provide it for free.”
All funds raised will go directly
into The Michigan Daily Program
Fund to support essentials like
travel
to
cover
away
games
and news events, printing and
distribution, updating equipment
and software as well as conference
and competition fees.
Currently, The Daily’s Sports
section is hard at work capturing
Michigan men’s basketball in March
Madness action. Managing Sports
Editor Lane Kizziah said The Daily’s
Sports section is unique in its ability
to cover so many different revenue
and non-revenue sports.
“We are one of the few outlets
that has the quantity of people on
our staff to be able to cover things
like that,” Kizziah said. “I think it’s
because we get people so excited
about covering things and writing
stories, and we just have such a great
community in the section which
really helps us work.”
Managing Sports Editor Kent
Schwartz said fundraising events
like
College
Media
Madness
are critical to helping build that
community.
“(Sports
Writers)
get
these
experiences and they get these
opportunities that these fundraisers
offer,” Schwartz said. “(These funds
allow them)... to be able to go on
these road trips and to make lifelong
friends.”
Hao said The Daily has seen an
explosion in the number of staff
members joining, with about 100
new staffers over the past two
semesters. Hao said she thinks
people are looking to get more
involved on campus and stay
informed during a virtual semester.
However, she said increased staff
size has stretched The Daily’s budget
and made it all the more difficult
to pay staffers adequately, limiting
equitable access to the newsroom
“We’re asking for anyone who’s
ever enjoyed or gotten some useful
information out of our work to
consider supporting it — supporting
the student journalists that are
learning so much from doing it,”
Hao said.
Daily
Staff
Reporter
Paige
Hodder
can
be
reached
at
phodder@umich.edu.
All donations will go towards supporting newsroom essentials
PAIGE HODDER
Daily Staff Reporter
NEWS BRIEF
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
NINA MOLINA &
SARAH STOLAR
Daily Staff Reporters
Prisoners face lengthy quarantines,
possible false positive test results
Incarcerated individual says ‘This facility then and now is still an issue’
ASHNA MEHRA &
JULIA FORREST
Daily Staff Reporters