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
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