City looks to citizens to dole out money given for COVID-19 mitigation

ACADEMICS

AUDREY CLAYTON

Daily Staff Reporter

On March 11, 2021, President 

Joe Biden signed the American 
Rescue Plan Act to mitigate the 
economic effects of the COVID-
19 
pandemic 
by 
allocating 

funding to local governments. 
Nearly a year later, Ann Arbor is 

deciding what to do with the $24.1 
million it received in ARPA funding. 

City 
Councilmember 
Kathy 

Griswold, D-Ward 2, spoke to The 
Michigan Daily about her spending 
priorities. 

“I really want to focus on the people 

who have been the most impacted by 
the pandemic, and that would be the 
marginalized community as well as 
essential workers,” Griswold said.

Griswold said new programs 

to help the homeless would help 
ameliorate the impacts of the 
pandemic.

“We forget that in Ann Arbor, 

which is a very wealthy community, 
we have people sleeping in their cars, 
and that is not acceptable and we need 
to address that,” Griswold said. “So 
that would be my first priority.”

The City Council has also been 

taking 
public 
suggestions 
into 

consideration for reallocating the 
ARPA funding.

“Staff came up with an initial list 

based on what was already in the 
council pipeline,” Griswold said. 
“But as one constituent said, those 
seem like pet projects rather than 
ways to help people recover from the 
pandemic.”

Councilmember 
Jeff 
Hayner, 

D-Ward 1, said in an email to The 
Daily he is concerned that the process 
was not considering enough input 
from the community

“I feel that the process has been 

very internal-facing and has not 
taken into account many good ideas 
presented from the public,” Hayner 
wrote.

He said the original deadline 

for project ideas, which was set for 

early Dec. 2021, allowed the City 
Council to avoid hearing public 
input. According to Hayner, he 
introduced Resolution R-21-396 to 
push the deadline for project ideas 
back to March 2022 to incorporate 
more voices from the Ann Arbor 
community. 

RILEY HODDER
Daily Staff Reporter

Since presenting their research in Janu-

ary 2021, Michigan Law professor Michael 
Steinberg and Taubman professor Robert 
Goodspeed have been working to remove 
racially restrictive covenants — policies 
which bar people of color from owning cer-
tain homes — from Washtenaw County title 
deeds.

Steinberg and Goodspeed are cur-

rently developing maps that lay out the 
racially restrictive covenants in Washt-
enaw County, pursuing legal action to 
repeal these covenants and expand-
ing their program to discover places 
of potential de facto discrimination — 
which may not be explicitly written in 

law, but happens in practice — in Washt-
enaw County.

As of Jan. 28, Steinberg and Good-

speed have identified 66 subdivisions in 
Ann Arbor that contain discriminatory 
language against people of color within 
their title deeds. In 1948, the racially 
restrictive covenants were banned 
from being enforced, but Steinberg and 
Goodspeed say the continued existence 
of these covenants illustrate the preva-
lence of institutionalized racism. 

In their study, Steinberg and Good-

speed concluded that the presence of 
these covenants can make PoC home-
owners feel unwelcome in their own 
community and exist as a reminder of 
institutional racism that still persists 
today.

Ann Arbor resident Jeffrey Hamilton 

said he felt disappointed by the racially 
restrictive covenants, despite saying 
how Ann Arbor is considered a more 
progressive city.

“I feel honestly offended and very, 

very let down, but not surprised,” Ham-
ilton said. “The funny thing is, being 
in Ann Arbor, we were often given the 
idea that Ann Arbor is a cut above when 
it comes to these types of covenants … 
When you look at Ann Arbor, as pro-
gressive as it is, it kind of sets you back.”

Hamilton also added that by continu-

ing to have these racially restrictive cov-
enants in place, the city is still upholding 
institutionalized racism.

“This shows me that there’s still some 

The 
College 
Board 

announced major changes to 
the SAT on Jan. 25, including a 
move to a digital format as well 
as changes to the general struc-
ture of the test — a move that 
has reignited debates over the 
future standardized testing in 
college admissions. 

LSA sophomore Alex Nguy-

en, LSA representative for 
Central Student Government, 
said he acknowledged that he 
had advantages when taking 
standardized tests due to his 
economic background that dis-
advantaged groups might not 
be able to afford.

“I’m lucky to be able to go to 

these ACT/SAT prep courses,” 
Nguyen said. “I (took the SAT) 
twice and I could go back and 
retake it as many times as I 
want(ed) …. It would cost hun-
dreds of hundreds of dollars. 
But I was able to do that.” 

The SAT currently offers fee 

waivers for 11th and 12th grade 
students of low-income back-
grounds in the U.S. In 2019, 
the SAT also began offering 
“adversity scores” in order to 
acknowledge a student’s over-
all disadvantage level to help 
college admission officers con-
textualize candidates’ socio-
economic circumstances. 

Additionally, 
the 
College 

Board has changed the read-
ing and math sections, and the 
overall test will be shortened. 
Previously, the test took about 
three hours to complete and the 
new updates will set two hours 
for the test with more time allo-
cated per question. As a result 
of these changes, the scores are 
expected to be released in days 
instead of weeks or months.

Priscilla 
Rodriguez, 
vice 

president of College Readiness 
Assessments at the College 
Board, wrote in a press release 
these changes are designed to 
make the overall testing expe-
rience better for all students 
in today’s changing college 
admissions times. 

“The digital SAT will be 

easier to take, easier to give, 
and more relevant,” Rodriguez 
wrote in the release. 

Rodriguez 
wrote 
in 
the 

release that the updates result-
ed from recent educational 
trends and developments. 

“We’re not simply putting 

the current SAT on a digital 
platform — we’re taking full 
advantage of what delivering 
an assessment digitally makes 
possible,” 
Rodriguez 
wrote. 

“With input from educators 
and students, we are adapting 
to ensure we continue to meet 
their evolving needs.”

University 
of 
Michigan 

spokeswoman Kim Broekhui-
zen told The Michigan Daily in 
an email that the University is 

still unaware of what impact 
this could have on their admis-
sions process. 

“We are aware of the recent 

announcement from the Col-
lege Board. The new SAT test 
will not be available until 2023 
for international students, and 
2024 for domestic students,” 
Broekhuizen wrote. “We will 
use this time to learn more 
about the proposed changes 
and 
timeline 

from the Col-
lege Board 
to 
deter-

mine 
what, 
if 
any 

impact, it 
will have 
on 
our 

process.”

FairTest, 

an 
organi-

zation lead-
ing 
the 

U.S. test 
optional 
move-
ment, 
found 

1,815 colleges and univer-
sities currently either prac-
tice test-optional or test-blind 
admissions, a 70% increase 
from the only 1,070 institutions 
that did so before the pandemic. 

Broekhuizen wrote the Uni-

versity has been flexible for 
the past two admission cycles 
due to the pandemic, and that 
ultimately, the University is 

still committed to a more com-
prehensive approach despite 
changes 
with 
standardized 

testing requirements. 

“The University of Michigan 

is committed to holistic appli-
cation review and testing is 
just one of many factors in our 
process,” Broekhuizen wrote. 
“Holistic review includes con-
sideration of a student’s record 
including 
courses, 
grades 

and 
grade 
trend, 

essays, extra-

curricular 

activities, 
recommen-
dation let-

ters, and 
stan-
dard-
ized test 
scores, if 

provided.”

As one of 
the 
top 

institu-
tions 
in 
the 

country, 

Nguyen said, the Uni-

versity should lead the 

path away from standardized 
testing like other top colleges. 

“I believe we really are the 

leaders, in which we need to 
start going in that direction of 
some of the best schools in the 
nation,” Nguyen said. 

Nguyen said the College 

Board and other standardized 
testing organizations are busi-

nesses who profit off wealthy 
families trying to get their stu-
dents into good schools. 

“I mean, it is a business, Col-

lege Board and the ACT, ” Nguy-
en said. “And I think Michigan 
just kind of plays into it.”

LSA freshman Alan Zhang 

said the SAT is something all 
students have in common when 
applying to college. 

“I 
think 
it’s 
extremely 

(important) to have just a 
benchmark 
of 
comparison,” 

Zhang said. “People come from 
widely different backgrounds 
and the SAT is the one factor 
that will be common.” 

Zhang said the SAT could be 

used to compare and differentiate 
two people from similar socio-
economic backgrounds by using 
their standardized test scores.

“Let’s say you have two differ-

ent individuals from disadvan-
taged backgrounds. But one of 
them has a significantly higher 
SAT score, right?” Zhang said. 
“With the SAT, you can see who’s 
most prepared properly for the 
rigors of a higher University.”

The new changes to the SAT 

were designed to address some 
of the inequalities associated 
with the test, according to The 
College Board Press Release. 
The changes will make it so 
schools have more flexibil-
ity in providing a free weekday 
test during school instead of 
requiring students to adhere 
to the strict schedule set by the 

college board like before. 

Research done by Public 

Policy Professor Susan Dynar-
ski found that when Michigan 
made the ACT a requirement 
for all high school juniors in 
2007, the percent of students 
who took the test rose from 54% 
to 99%. Before this require-
ment, only 35% of low income 
students were taking the test 
due to a lack of access to testing 
centers, fees for the test, inter-
net access to sign up for the test, 
and transportation to the test.

The research found that by 

making universal school day 
testing available to all high 
school 
Michigan 
students, 

more 
low-income 
students 

went to and graduated from 
four-year universities. Accord-
ing to the research, the new 
changes to the SAT are intend-
ed to hopefully make universal 
school day testing more acces-
sible to all students. 

Rodriguez said the changes 

to the SAT are about allowing 
students, no matter their back-
ground, access to higher educa-
tion and opportunities. 

“The SAT allows every stu-

dent regardless of where they 
go to high school to be seen,” 
Rodriguez 
wrote. 
“And 
to 

access opportunities that will 
shape their lives and careers.”

Daily Staff Reporter Emma 

Moore 
can 
be 
reached 
at 

emmmoo@umich.edu.

News
Wednesday, February 16, 2022 — 3

ADMINISTRATION

SAT goes digital, reignites debate over standardized testing

EMMA MOORE
Daily Staff Reporter

College Board shortens admissions exam after virtual shift, alters math and reading sections

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

JOSE BRENES/Daily

U-M programs work to address racially 

restrictive covenants in Washtenaw County

Two law professors lead efforts to develop maps of potential de 

facto discrimination

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

 5 bills to watch in the 

Michigan state legislature 

this month

February slate includes distracted driving law, 

sentencing reform

IRENA LI

Daily Staff Reporter

 

or signed into law by the Michigan state 
throughout the past month.


publishes a compilation of bills in the 
Michigan state legislature for students 
 
aware of.

1. Stricter distracted driving 

laws

Status: Passed by the House
On Jan. 25, the Michigan House of 

Representatives passed H.B. 4277 – 
4279, a three-bill package that would 
qualify any phone usage as distracted 
driving. If signed into law, the bills 
would expand the definition of dis-
tracted driving to include any activ-
ity with a mobile device that involves 
the usage of one or more hands. Cur-
rently, Michigan law only explicitly 
outlaws texting while driving.

State Rep. Mari Manoogian, D-Bir-

mingham, introduced the first bill in 
the package and co-sponsored the 
other two. After working for years to 
reduce distracted driving, Manoo-
gian shared her excitement when the 
House passed all three bills in a tweet.

“Honored to share that we passed 

legislation that would modernize 
Michigan’s distracted driving laws,” 
Manoogian wrote. “This legislation 
serves as both a way to encourage bet-
ter behavior from drivers and allows 
our law enforcement to keep those 
who are driving distracted in check.”

In a speech on the House floor, Manoo-

gian mentioned Mitchel Kiefer, who was 
killed in an automobile accident caused by 
a distracted driver in 2016.

“What better way to honor Mitch-

el’s life and legacy than to work to 

ensure that no other family feels the 
pain that his family … has felt every 
day since his passing?” Manoogian 
said.

The first bill passed the House in a 

vote of 75-26 and the other two passed 
76-25, all with bipartisan support.

After passing out of the House, the 

bills were referred to the Senate Judi-
ciary and Public Safety Committee.

2. 
Eliminating 
life 
without 

parole for juveniles

Status: Introduced in the Senate
S.B. 848 – 851 seek to abolish life 

sentences without parole for crimes 
committed by individuals under the 
age of 18 in Michigan. This legislation 
would instead designate a maximum 
prison sentence of 60 years, with the 
possibility for parole review after 10 
years in prison.

Currently, 25 other states and 

the District of Columbia have 
banned 
juvenile 
life 
without 

parole. In the 2012 Miller v. Ala-
bama case, the Supreme Court 
ruled that juvenile life sentences 
without the possibility of parole 
were unconstitutional. Despite 
the ruling, some states, including 
Michigan, retain the possibility 
of juvenile life without parole in 
their state laws. Over 360 juve-
niles in Michigan are currently 
serving life without parole, the 
second highest number in any U.S. 
state. 

State Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann 

Arbor, introduced S.B. 848 on 
Jan. 27 and co-sponsored the 
other three bills. In a Jan. 31 press 
release, Irwin said Michigan state 
law needs to be amended to be in line 
with the Miller v. Alabama ruling.

“Now that the U.S. Supreme 

Court ruled that our harsh laws 

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

Ann Arbor asks public for advice on distributing $24 million in federal funding

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

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