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