The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
2 — Wednesday, February 9, 2022

BUSINESS

Cinnaholic, 
an 
Atlanta-based 

vegan bakery chain with locations 
across the United States and Canada, 
opened its first Michigan location in 
Ann Arbor on Friday morning. The 
store sold its specialty cinnamon 
rolls at $1 to the customers braving 
the freezing temperatures for the 
opening event. 

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell spoke 

at the ribbon cutting ceremony. She 
told the crowd — which stretched a 
block down East Liberty Street — she 
enjoys cinnamon rolls and is happy to 
have the new business in the city. 

“I am a cinnaholic … I will be their 

best customer,” Dingell said. “I’ll be 
in line first thing … This is an exciting 
day for Ann Arbor.” 

Deborah 
Boener 
and 
Doug 

Moeller, the owners of the Ann 

Arbor location, moved to Michigan 

after losing their California home to a 
wildfire in 2018. In an interview with 
The Michigan Daily, Boener and 
Moeller said they were excited about 
their decision to open the bakery.

“We saved for two years to try to 

figure out if we were going to rebuild 
the house,” Boener said. “And we just 
decided we were going to rebuild our 
lives instead.” 

The couple decided to open a 

Cinnaholic location after Moeller 
left the corporate world because 
they frequently ate at a Cinnaholic in 
Berkeley, California.

“(We’re) just so thrilled to be 

doing it in Ann Arbor,” Boener said. 

Located near the corner of East 

Liberty Street and S. 4th Ave., 
Cinnaholic will be open 10 a.m. to 
9 p.m., seven days a week. Beyond 
their specialty cinnamon rolls, they 
also sell other desserts, including 
brownies and edible cookie dough. 
Their products are 100% vegan and 
allergen-friendly. 

Boener said she is looking forward 

to providing the community with 
another vegan food option. She 
said many people are surprised 
to learn the company’s cinnamon 
rolls are vegan when they first try 
them. 

“We want to be known as a 

really good cinnamon roll bakery, 
not just a vegan cinnamon roll 
bakery,” Boener said. 

Ann Arbor resident Elizabeth 

Wilkinson was first in line at 
Cinnaholic 
on 
opening 
day. 

Wilkinson said the event was 
exciting, even though it was cold 
outside, and she was looking forward 
to trying the half dozen cinnamon 
rolls she ordered. 

“I haven’t left my house in all of 

2022, and I had errands to run, so I 
figured, ‘Why not?’” Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson said she expects the 

bakery to do well among Ann Arbor 
customers. 

“I think the fact that it’s dairy 

free, that it’s vegan, I think it’s going 
to pull a lot of people,” Wilkinson 
said. 

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Local community members line up along East 
Liberty Street in anticipation of grand opening

Vegan bakery chain 

Cinnaholic opens first 
Michigan location in 

Ann Arbor

ELI FRIEDMAN
Daily Staff Reporter

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily

McMahan said she decided to 

report the incident to the Office of 
Institutional Equity — which was 
replaced in 2021 by the Equity, Civil 
Rights and Title IX Office — after 
she graduated. She said she waited 
until she was no longer a student 
to report Conforth so her ability to 
graduate would not be thrown into 
jeopardy. She said when she brought 
the emails between her and Conforth 
to Pamela Heatlie, the OIE senior 
director and Title IX coordinator at 
the time, Heatlie assured McMahan 
the allegations would be taken very 
seriously. McMahan said Heatlie 
then reached out to Conforth, asking 
him to corroborate McMahan’s 
account.

“Pam emailed me to tell me that 

Bruce 
corroborated 
the 
events 

and that the department and the 
University were taking all the 
necessary steps to ensure this 
wouldn’t happen again,” McMahan 
said. “But Bruce was allowed to keep 
teaching.”

Isabelle 
Brourman, 
a 
2015 

University graduate and another 

survivor of Conforth, alleged 

that the OIE had known about 
Conforth’s 
sexual 
harrassment 

and manipulation toward female 
students since 2008. 

Brourman said she first heard 

about Conforth freshman as a 
freshman in 2011 and met him in 
winter semester of her sophomore 
year in 2013. Brourman said going 
into her first year at the University, 
she knew Conforth’s classes were 
popular and often had long waitlists. 
She said she heard from other 
students that meeting with Conforth 
in person was the best way to try to 
get off the waitlist.

“(When) I nervously approached 

him about taking one of his courses, 
he stared at me and then told me 
he would see what he could do,” 
Brourman said. “Moments later, 

Bruce began the grooming process. 
He managed to find my Facebook 
account and sent me a friend request.”

Brourman said Conforth began 

contacting her from encrypted email 
accounts. Though she did not know 
he was the one sending her the emails 
until later, she said the anonymous 
sender claimed they were a powerful 
cult leader and threatened her safety 
if she did not allow Conforth to 
sexually abuse her. She said she took 
these threats seriously at the time.

“I was told that (the anonymous 

cult leaders) were watching me, that 
they might kill previous romantic 
partners and that I was required to 
sexually service Bruce as a way to 
keep not only myself safe, but to also 
prevent his death,” Brourman said.

In the summer of 2014, Brourman 

said 
she 
received 
an 
email 

threatening her life if she did not have 
sex with Conforth.

“This time I arrived at the 

University of Michigan not as a 
willing student, but as a helpless 
hostage,” Brourman said. “Bruce 
locked his office door and began to 
rape me.”

In 2016, Brourman and two other 

survivors filed Title IX reports to 
the OIE detailing Conforth’s abuse. 
Brourman said she was made 
aware that Heatlie was examining 
Conforth’s University email account 
at the time and found an explicit video 
Conforth had taken of Brourman. 
However, Brourman said Conforth 
allegedly told the OIE that she had 
consented to sexual interactions with 
him. After that, Brourman said OIE 
did not follow up with her about her 
Title IX report.

“When (Heatlie) asked (Conforth) 

about it, he, a 65-year-old instructor, 
told (her) that he and I, a 23-year-old 
former student, were in a committed 
and 
consensual 
relationship,” 

Brourman 
said. 
“I 
was 
never 

asked (about it). I was never even 
contacted by the OIE. OIE was the 
only lifeline I had, the only people 
or agency that was privy to reports 
about his violations, and (they) felt 

no obligation to inquire into my well 
being.”

Erickson said Brourman sent 

a Freedom of Information Act 
request to the University in June 
2021 to obtain several documents 
and emails pertaining to her Title 
IX report. Erickson said as of Jan. 
31, the University still has not 
responded to the FOIA requests. He 
said he worked with Brourman to file 
another FOIA lawsuit last week to 
pursue the documentation.

Erickson said she has been 

frustrated by the extent to which 
it seems sexual survivors have to 
advocate for themselves to receive 
any sort of justice. 

“(Survivors) need better support, 

they need to know that they’re not 
alone,” Erickson said. “They need 
to know that this isn’t happening 
in isolation. That is something that 
has to change at the University 
of Michigan, and frankly, other 
institutions in the state of Michigan 
and across the country.” 

In an email to the Michigan Daily 

on Monday, University spokesperson 
Rick Fitzgerald wrote Conforth was 
covered by a collective bargaining 
agreement which requires several 
actions be taken before an individual 
is terminated. Fitzgerald wrote 
the University took the necessary 
actions to ensure he had no contact 
with students prior to his resignation 
and that Conforth was not offered 
any compensation or benefits in 
exchange for his resignation.

“Mr. 
Conforth 
admitted 
to 

allegations of sexual misconduct 
that were made and a separation 
agreement outlined his permanent 
removal from the university, no 
contact with students and other 
requirements,” 
Fitzgerald 
wrote. 

“The university was prepared to 
initiate dismissal proceedings had he 
not first resigned.”

Fitzgerald wrote the University 

is committed to protecting students 
and community members from 
misconduct and has added new 
policies such as prohibiting student-

teacher romantic relationships to 
facilitate that goal.

“The university continues to 

take extraordinary measures to 
put critical protections in place 
for students and all members of 
our community on top of earlier 
protections,” Fitzgerald wrote. “We 
continue to work with the nationally 
recognized 
consulting 
firm 
of 

Guidepost Solutions on additional 
measures.”

Brourman also spoke on the 

history of silencing survivors at the 
University, including allegations in 
the Philbert and Anderson cases. She 
urged the University to take action 
and accountability for administrative 
sexual misconduct.

The University recently reached a 

settlement agreement with survivors 
of the late doctor Robert Anderson 
after 
15 
months 
of 
mediation 

between Anderson survivors and 
the University. The $490 million 
settlement follows months of protest 
and over 1,050 survivors coming 
forward with sexual misconduct 
allegations against Anderson.

Former University of Michigan 

President 
Mark 
Schlissel 
was 

terminated by the Board of Regents 
in early January after an internal 
investigation 
revealed 
he 
had 

been engaging in an inappropriate 
relationship 
with 
a 
University 

subordinate. Documents obtained 
from the Detroit Free Press reveal 
Schlissel could still return to the 
University this fall as a tenured 
professor due to a faculty tenure 
position he is entitled to under his 
initial contract with the University.

“Firing the President does not 

fix this issue,” Brourman said. 
“Changing a Title IX office while 
keeping the same administration and 
procedures in place does not fix this 
issue. Your empty, false messaging 
every time a new story comes out will 
not fix this issue. Tell the truth. Tell 
them what you allowed to happen to 
us.”

Daily Staff Reporter Vanessa Kiefer 

can be reached at vkiefer@umich.edu.

TELL THEM
From Page 1

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

Though 
the 
center 
of 

campus is usually filled with 
students 
hurrying 
to 
classes, 

the University of Michigan Diag 
was uncharacteristically empty 
Wednesday afternoon. Only a 
handful of students bundled up 
with bulky jackets could be seen 
trudging through the six inches of 
snow that fell throughout the day 
Wednesday.

However, just after 7 p.m., the 

Diag was packed with about 300 
U-M students and thousands of 
airborne snowballs. It’s been almost 
exactly a year since the Diag was 
last transformed into a wintry 
battleground, proving once and for 
all that there’s nothing Wolverines 
love more than a good snowball 
fight.

The National Weather Service 

issued a winter storm warning 
for Washtenaw County and the 
surrounding area from 6 a.m. 
Wednesday to 10 p.m. Thursday. As 
a result, the Ann Arbor Public School 
district chose to conduct classes 
virtually through Friday and city 
offices and non-essential services 
closed as well. The University’s 
Ann Arbor campus remained open 
throughout the week, though the 
Dearborn and Flint campuses 
moved classes online. 

Nonetheless, campus building 

closures 
affected 
students 
on 

the U-M Ann Arbor campus as 
well. The Shapiro Undergraduate 

Library 
closed 
Wednesday 

evening at 8 p.m. rather than the 
usual 12 a.m. due to the inclement 
weather. The Martha Cook dining 
hall — which is only for residents 
of the building — also closed after 
lunch Wednesday due to staffing 
shortages, according to an email 
from Heather Guenther, director of 
communications for the Division of 
Student Life. All other dining halls 
across campus remained open. 

Students across campus also had 

to adjust to changes in course formats. 
While professors were allowed to 
hold classes in person, some chose 
to pivot to a hybrid or online format 
so commuting students could attend 
more easily. Art & Design sophomore 
Sarah Dettling said most of her classes 
were cancelled or moved online due 
to the weather Wednesday and 
Thursday. 

“The 
painting 
classes 
were 

cancelled because you can’t paint at 
home with oil paintings … and then 
the other ones were moved online,” 
Dettling said. “They were really short 
so it was basically just a snow day for 
me.”

LSA freshman Nilisha Baid said 

all of her classes were also moved 
online or were recorded. Baid said 
she felt it was easy to quickly switch 
to online classes since everyone had 
experience attending class online 
during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Having grown up in California, 
Baid also said was excited to enjoy a 
“snow day” on campus. 

As per tradition, the Wolverines celebrate six 

inches of snowfall Wednesday

Big snow brings out 
over 300 students for 
nighttime snowball 
fight on U-M Diag

CARLIN PENDELL
Daily Staff Reporter

JENNA HICKEY/Daily

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

NEWS

