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Wednesday, April 7, 2021
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INDEX
Vol. CXXX, No. 27
©2021 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
M I C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ARTS.............................6
STATEMENT...................9
OPINION......................12
SPORTS........................15
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ANN ARBOR
Hash Bash marks 50 years of progress
with both virtual, in-person events
Festival hosts live-streamed variety show, “smoke-in” on Diag
JARETT ORR/Daily
Though some organizers encouraged Hash Bash participants to tune in virtually from their homes, hundreds came to the Diag for an in-person smoke-in.
In light of the ongoing COVID-
19 pandemic, the annual Hash
Bash festival — now in its 50th
consecutive year — hosted a live-
streamed variety show featuring
key political figures, athletes,
musicians, business owners and
other prominent voices in the
pro-cannabis movement.
In accordance with public
health guidelines, the organizers
of
Hash
Bash
encouraged
participants to celebrate the
festival from the comfort of
their own homes. Despite these
efforts, some enthusiasts took
the initiative to host an in-person
smoke-in on the Diag, Hash
Bash’s birthplace.
For any other pre-pandemic
year, thousands of marijuana
activists,
protesters
and
enthusiasts from across the globe
travel to Ann Arbor to light a joint
while advocating for marijuana
legislation
and
celebrating
cannabis culture. Last year’s rally
was held completely online after
the COVID-19 pandemic shut
down in-person activity.
In Nov. 2018, the state of
Michigan passed Proposal I,
making it legal for those 21 and
older to possess up to 2.5 ounces
of
recreational
marijuana.
Michigan was the first state in the
Midwest to legalize recreational
marijuana, following other states
like California, Arizona, Maine,
Massachusetts and Nevada.
Both
the
in-person
and
virtual events commemorated
the
cannabis
movement’s
achievements while advocating
for
progressive
marijuana
legislation on the federal level.
The festival first began in 1972,
four months after a freedom rally
in protest of the conviction of
longtime activist and poet John
Sinclair, whom the Michigan
Supreme Court sentenced to 9.5
to 10 years for the possession
of two marijuana joints in 1971.
Sinclair organized the first Hash
Bash in protest of the Controlled
Substances
Act.
Since
then,
Hash Bash has transformed into
a large-scale festival drawing
in social activists and cannabis
enthusiasts from all across the
state and country.
In an interview with The
Michigan Daily prior to the event,
Adam Rosenberg, University of
Michigan Business School alum
and founder of Green Wolverine
— an organization dedicated to
exploring the cannabis industry
— echoed the importance of
federal decriminalization and
legalization.
When
discussing
his
expectations
for
the
event,
Rosenberg
said
he
hoped
policymakers
in
attendance
would promote further access to
cannabis research and support
for the SAFE Banking Act, which
would allow cannabis companies
to receive the same financial
services and public listings as
non-cannabis companies.
“Most
importantly,
there
needs to be an elimination of the
contradiction between state law
and federal law through federal
decriminalization, which would
eliminate the current law that
essentially
equates
cannabis
with
heroin
at
the
federal
level,” Rosenberg said. “This
conversation needs to come from
our federal leadership.”
EVAN DELORENZO,
MEGHANA LODHAVIA &
CHAVA MAKMAN-LEVINSON
Daily Staff Reporters &
For The Daily
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
The Network for the Ongoing
Reconsideration
of
Our
Nomenclature (NoRon), a newly
formed group of University of
Michigan community members,
hosted a “Satirical Creative
Intervention” at Weiser Center
April 3. At the event, NoRon
members chalked and posted a
sign in front of the Weiser Hall
sign reading “Weiser Center
for Voter Suppression, Political
Assassination
and
Witch
Burning.”
The event was in response
to Regent Ron Weiser’s (R)
referral of three of Michigan’s
Democratic
leaders
—
presumably
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer, Secretary of State
Jocelyn Benson and Attorney
General Dana Nessel — as the
“three witches” at a meeting at
the North Oakland Republican
Club on March 25. Weiser also
referenced
the
assassination
attempt
on
Whitmer
when
answering a question about how
the Republican party voting out
the “witches” Weiser previously
referred to.
The NoRon event came one
day after an emergency Regents
meeting on April 2 where regents
voted 5-0-2 to censure Weiser
for his misogynistic remarks.
The group assembled in front
of the Weiser Hall at 3 p.m.
with free-standing signs and
staged a “mock inauguration” by
cutting an inaugural ribbon and
covering up the “Weiser Hall”
sign with a sign reading “Weiser
Center for Voter Suppression,
Political
Assassination
and
Witch
Burning.”
Assemblers
included
members
of
the
Graduate
Employees’
Organization,
Lecturers’
Employee Organization, Public
Health junior Nithya Arun and
Engineering junior Carla Voigt
— the newly elected Central
Student Government president
and
vice
president
—
and
numerous students, faculty and
staff.
In a press release, NoRon
wrote Weiser’s comments were
misogynistic, violent and anti-
democratic. The group further
emphasized that though they
support the calls for Weiser’s
resignation,
the
University
needs
to
begin
renaming
buildings associated with his
name.
Regents vote to censure
Weiser, call for resignation
The 5-0-2 vote, a first in the board’s history, condemns
MI GOP leader for violent and misogynistic remarks
ADMINISTRATION
The Board of Regents voted
5-0-2 April 2 to censure Regent
Ron Weiser (R) for misogynistic
and hateful remarks he made to
the North Oakland Republic Club
on March 25. Chairwoman Denise
Ilitch (D) also removed Weiser
from his committee assignments at
the meeting.
Weiser came under fire for
calling the state’s top Democrats
—
presumably
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer, Attorney General Dana
Nessel and Secretary of State
Jocelyn Benson — “witches” and
referencing assassination when
talking
about
two
Michigan
Republican
Congressmen
who
voted to impeach former President
Donald Trump. Though he at
first repeatedly downplayed his
comments, after a steady stream of
officials criticized his remarks or
called for his resignation, Weiser
apologized in a March 27 statement
in which he committed to being
“part of a respectful political
dialogue going forward.”
Regent Katherine White (D)
was not at the meeting due to her
service in the National Guard and
did not vote. All other Regents,
including Weiser, were present at
the meeting, but Weiser and Regent
Sarah Hubbard (R) abstained from
voting.
Ilitch put forth a resolution
“condemn(ing) in the strongest
possible language the behavior
of Regent Weiser, his language,
and the actions taken therein,
and call(ing) on Regent Weiser to
resign from the Board of Regents
forthwith.”
After Ilitch introduced the
resolution, Weiser commented on
it, apologizing for his comments
while rejecting calls to resign.
“I take full responsibility for
what I said,” Weiser said. “I agree
with part of this resolution, but
I will not resign… I will not be
canceled.”
In
his
remarks,
Regent
Jordan Acker (D), vice chair of
the Board, gave a statement in
which he echoed earlier concerns
lambasting Weiser’s conduct.
“I believe in forgiveness for you
and anyone else,” Acker said. “But
there is no room on this Board
for those who advocate violence.
Make no mistake: That is precisely
what you did. You have forced this
Board to take this painful and
permanent step, to condemn one of
our own.”
Weiser’s conduct has sparked
multiple controversies during the
winter semester. After Weiser
declined
to
condemn
then-
President
Donald
Trump
for
inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection,
members of the U-M community
launched a petition calling for
Weiser’s resignation. In response,
Weiser emailed his fellow regents
for support, imploring them to
“Remember
Germany
in
the
1930’s.”
Though some U-M students and
faculty have called for Weiser’s
resignation since January, the last
week of March marked the first
time some Regents and University
President Mark Schlissel have
publicly criticized Weiser.
Prior to the April 2 meeting,
Regents Acker, Mark Bernstein
(D), Mike Behm (D) and Paul
Brown (D) have previously urged
Weiser to resign. Other members
of the board, including Ilitch and
Schlissel, were highly critical of
Weiser’s remarks but stopped
short of calling for his resignation.
Eight former Regents called on
Weiser to resign in a statement
released April 1.
In a prepared statement to the
board, Acker repeated his belief
that Weiser should no longer serve
as a regent.
ARJUN THAKKAR &
DOMINIC COLETTI
Daily Staff Reporters
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Michigan residents 16 and older
became eligible for the vaccine
Monday. Some U-M students
have already been vaccinated
Undergraduates find various ways to obtain COVID-19 shot
VACCINE
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer
announced
March
12
that
vaccine eligibility in Michigan
will expand to those ages 16
and older beginning on April 5,
shortly after President Joe Biden
announced on March 11 that all
U.S. adults will be eligible for a
vaccine starting May 1.
Many University of Michigan
students, however, have been
able to get vaccinated earlier,
because some were eligible to
receive the shot, some clinics
offered spare doses and since
many slipped through eligibility
requirements.
Risk
of
severe
illness,
hospitalization and death from
COVID-19 increases with age,
according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
Protecting those at the highest
risk is a top priority, according
to the Michigan Department
of Health and Human Services
vaccine prioritization guidance.
As of April 2, according to the
Washtenaw
County
Health
Department website, 80.2% of
residents ages 65 and older in the
county have received at least one
dose of vaccine.
Before April 5, the only people
who were not eligible to receive
a vaccine were those under the
age of 49 who are not essential/
frontline workers, do not have
underlying medical conditions or
disabilities or are not caregiver
family members or guardians
to someone who has medical
conditions or disabilities.
Yet,
some
U-M
students
found available doses before
April 5 eligibility, similar to
situations
reported
at
other
college campuses, such as Purdue
University. According to the
MDHHS vaccine prioritization
guidance, those 50 and older with
underlying health or medical
conditions as well as caregivers
16 and older became eligible for
the vaccine on March 8, while
anyone 50 or older as well as
those 16 to 49 with underlying
health conditions became eligible
March 22.
LSA junior Lauren Thom said
she received the Pfizer vaccine on
March 25 at Ford Field in Detroit.
Thom works at Beyond Juicery
and Eatery in Ann Arbor, where
she prepares food for customers.
“My friend, he was out of
town at the time, texted me and
said, ‘Would you be able to get a
vaccine on this day?’ and I was
like ‘Yeah, of course,’” Thom
said. “He wasn’t able to use his
vaccine appointment because he
was out of town.”
MDHHS
vaccine
prioritization guidelines state
that by March 1, areas in
Michigan that had vaccines
available were able to begin
vaccinating frontline essential
workers in the food service and
agricultural industries.
Thom, who had no reaction
to being vaccinated, said getting
vaccinated was the “safe and
smart thing to do” so that
everyone can return to a more
normal lifestyle and be able to
see friends and family again.
“My behavior hasn’t really
changed yet just because I
know I’m not fully vaccinated,”
Thom said. “I’m not at the point
where I have the best chance of
not getting (COVID-19). So my
behavior hasn’t changed, but I
do feel a bit safer going into the
grocery store or for those other
essential outings.”
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
JARED DOUGALL
Daily Staff Reporter
DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily
Students and faculty from the University host a mock inauguration to rename Weiser Hall
on April 3 in response to Regent Ron Weiser’s (R) recent statements.
ADMINISTRATION
U-M students, faculty
participate in mock
renaming of Weiser Hall
Newly-formed group NoRon calls on ‘U’
to rename buildings with Weiser’s name
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
NAVYA GUPTA
Daily Staff Reporter