When Ji Hye Kim founded
Miss Kim, a Korean restaurant
on North Fifth Ave., she had her
eyes set on giving back to the
Ann Arbor community. Now,
with a new sliding scale payment
program, Kim is fighting food
insecurity, one meal at a time.
The restaurant will be offering
its 17 most popular dishes at four
different price points ranging
from free to 1.5 times the regular
price when ordered online and
by phone, giving customers the
opportunity to pay what they
can for their meals. Those who
choose the “Pay It Forward”
price will be helping to pay for
several other people’s meals.
The
payment
program
is
being funded by RAISE, High
Road Restaurants’ newest grant,
which awards $5,000 to grantees
and should be self-sustaining
with profits from the sliding
scale menu.
Kim,
chef
and
managing
partner of Miss Kim, told The
Michigan Daily that she opted
to use the grant money to fund
the sliding scale menu rather
than donating a fixed amount of
food because she believes it will
benefit more people and allow for
the program to run for a longer
period of time.
“If you cannot afford anything,
there is an option for you to get
the meal for free, but if you can
afford something, then you can
get the meal at 50%,” Kim said.
“Our food cost is about 25%, so
that means that if somebody pays
half, I can feed two more people
with that.”
Hannah Uebele, co-President
of the University of Michigan
chapter of FeelGood, a student
organization
dedicated
to
ending global hunger, said she
hopes Miss Kim’s generosity
will inspire other Ann Arbor
restaurants
to
begin
similar
programs.
“I’m really excited to see what
happens because I think it’ll be
a little indicative of the culture
that we have in Ann Arbor …
I’m really interested to see how
many people would take that
initiative
to
(Pay-It-Forward)
versus how many people who
tap into a discounted price,”
Uebele said. “I think it’s going
to be really exciting, especially
because, depending on how it
turns out, it might inspire some
other businesses to take a similar
strategy.”
Food insecurity is a prevalent
issue
across
the
country
and an even bigger issue on
the
University
of
Michigan
campus. 10.2% of Americans
face food insecurity, and, at the
University, more than 30% of
students struggle to find enough
nutritious food every day.
Food
insecurity
has
a
disproportionate impact on low-
income communities of Color and
has consequences on mental and
physical health as well as school
and work performance. As people
develop health issues and chronic
disease due to food insecurity,
their medical expenses increase,
perpetuating
the
cyclical
relationship between poverty,
health and food insecurity.
With U.S. inflation reaching a
record high in July — the largest
increase in over 40 years — prices
of food have increased across the
nation. In the past year, food
prices in the state of Michigan
have increased by 13.9%.
Uebele said she has witnessed
the effects of food insecurity
firsthand and said it can have
social implications, especially for
students. She hopes Miss Kim’s
pricing strategy will alleviate
students’
social
stress
when
eating out.
“As a University student, so
many social events, or going
out with friends, center around
food,” Uebele said. “If someone’s
unable to participate in that or
feels the strain of those kinds of
events, then this is an excellent
way to address that specific
concern because (they’ll) be able
to go out with friends and not
have it be as big of a deal to get
their friends to go to somewhere
that is affordable to them.”
In an email to The Daily,
Kareem Rifai, LSA senior and
CSG spokesman, wrote that LSA
senior Noah Zimmerman, CSG
President, and LSA Senior Jackie
Hillman, CSG Vice President,
are committed to fighting food
insecurity at the University.
“You can look things up on your
phone,” “Don’t forget about side 2 of
your ballot” and “You don’t have to
vote for everything” are three pieces
of advice Ann Arbor residents will
see when voting at the pop-up City
Clerk’s office at the University of
Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA)
this fall. Painted in large block letters
on the wall of the Irving Stenn, Jr.
Family Gallery, the voting space
is just one part of UMMA’s Vote
2022: Midterms Matter exhibit,
transforming the museum into a
polling and voter registration site
from Sept. 27 to Nov. 8. For students
living on North Campus, a second
pop-up City Clerk’s office will open
at the Duderstadt Center on Oct. 12.
The gallery marks the second
time UMMA has hosted polling and
voter registration, the first being
during the 2020 General Election.
Stephanie Rowden and Hannah
Smotrich, associate professors at the
School of Art & Design, co-founded
and co-led the Creative Campus
Voting
Project,
a
nonpartisan
initiative through the Art & Design
School. The project aims to use
creative action research to increase
college-age voter participation. In
collaboration with UMMA, the Ann
Arbor City Clerk’s Office and non-
partisan student organizations such
as Turn Up Turnout, Rowden and
Smotrich spearheaded the initiative
to create a pop-up satellite’s office at
the UMMA.
Ann Arbor City Clerk Jacqueline
Beaudry said although she worked
closely with Turn Up Turnout during
the March 2020 primary elections
to increase student registration at
City Hall, the city hoped to find a
more convenient spot on campus
for students to register and vote for
the presidential elections. She said
Rowden and Smotrich’s proposal
for a clerk’s office at UMMA helped
students feel more comfortable
navigating the election.
“The lesson for us is that (UMMA)
felt really comfortable,” Beaudry
said. “If you’re brand new on campus,
you’re a freshman, you’ve never
voted before or just turned 18, it isn’t
a scary bureaucratic experience. It
was more of a ‘Come on in, this is for
you.’”
Briannon Cierpilowski, education
program coordinator at UMMA and
project manager for the Midterms
Matter exhibition, said while voting
often seems like an intimidating
process to young people who may
be disenfranchised by the political
system, the gallery urges voters to
understand that their voice matters.
“There’s wonderful implications
of putting a voting hub in the most
prominent, visible gallery in the
campus art museum,” Cierpilowski
said.
“Make
(voting)
beautiful,
make it congratulatory and fun,
and, especially for the younger
generation, get people interested.”
Voters
strolling
through
the
gallery will pass by a floor-to-
ceiling rainbow collage of “I vote”
buttons pinned to the wall, built as
a backdrop for post-voting photos.
A do-it-yourself button press is set
up near the front door, along with a
stand full of free, pre-made buttons
for the taking. Students can also pick
up a “Know your ballot” miniguide
and “Vote Early” laptop stickers
designed by Art & Design students
before heading into the voting and
registration spaces, both of which are
designed by Rowden and Smotrich.
“We really thought about all of
the graphics that are visible not only
inside the space, but outside the
space,” Rowden said. “(UMMA) also
happens to be in the center of campus
and I think there’s something
really important about centering
this experience in the heart of
students’ lives, literally. We’re not
telling people to vote in Ann Arbor
necessarily. We’re just explaining
what’s possible for them.”
UMICH Votes — a coalition
of
U-M-affiliated
organizations
that support voter engagement on
campus, such as UMMA and Turn
Up Turnout — employed a number
of student fellows to help visitors
navigate the exhibit.
Public Policy junior Hannah
Jatsch, a UMICH Votes fellow,
said her role at the exhibit is to be a
nonpartisan resource for those who
have questions about the voting
process and to encourage students to
exercise their right to vote.
Content warning: This article
contains
descriptions
of
violence
against women
Roughly 150 members of the
University of Michigan and Ann
Arbor Iranian communities gathered
on the Diag Saturday for a vigil held in
memory of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-
old woman who died on Sept. 16 while
in custody of the morality police of
the Islamic Republic of Iran. Amini’s
death sparked protests against police
brutality across Iran and around the
world. In Ann Arbor, attendees held
photos of Amini, chanted slogans in
Farsi, the official language of Iran,
and demanded an expansion of
Iranian women’s rights.
Amini was arrested in Tehran
after being accused of not properly
covering her hair with a hijab and was
subsequently taken to a “re-education
center,” where people are taken
if they fail to comply with the
Islamic Republic’s rules of modesty.
According to Amini’s family, the
police mistreated Amini by allegedly
beating her, which caused her to fall
into a coma and subsequently die.
Thousands of Iranians across
several major cities took to the streets
after a photo and video of Amini lying
unconscious in a hospital bed with
severe injuries began circulating
on social media. The protesters are
demanding an end to violence against
women and to lift the mandate
requiring that all women wear hijabs.
As of Sunday, at least 41 people have
been killed during the protests.
Saturday in Ann Arbor, a student
at the University addressed the
crowd, decrying the circumstances
surrounding Amini’s death. The
student
requested
to
remain
anonymous due to fear of retaliation
from the Iranian government and
will be referred to in this article as
Alex.
“They murdered her for a piece
of cloth around her head,” Alex said.
“This is not moral, and her death was
unjust. She was only 22 years old. We
are here to stand in solidarity with all
the people in Iran protesting.”
Attendees chalked the names
of protestors who lost their lives to
this cause on the ground of the Diag
and
chanted
“Jin-Jiyan-Azadi,”
which translates to “Women, Life,
Freedom.”
Revolutionary
poems,
chants and songs, such as “Yare
Dabestanie Man” — translated as
“My School Friend” — were played
as attendees sang along. Many of
the attendees wore masks to protect
their identity and asked not to be
photographed or interviewed for
fear of retaliation from the Iranian
government if they were to visit Iran
in the future.
The Institute for Research on
Women and Gender hosted an event
Wednesday to discuss the history
of abortion access for University
of Michigan students and context
surrounding a critical vote this
November for reproductive rights.
Held in Palmer Commons, the event
centered around Rackham student
Rianna
Johnson-Levy’s
report
for the History and Women’s and
Gender Studies department.
Dean of Students Laura Blake
Jones and Christine S. Asidao,
associate director of community
engagement
and
outreach
for
Counseling
and
Psychological
Services (CAPS), also spoke at the
event, describing the current role of
the University in providing medical
and emotional care support in
reproductive services.
Johnson-Levy’s
report,
titled
“Before Roe: The University of
Michigan’s Task Force for Problem
Pregnancy Counseling”, outlines
the history of pregnant people on
the University’s campus since Roe
v. Wade was first passed in 1973,
legalizing abortions in the United
States. Johnson-Levy said she was
compelled to do her research after
the Supreme Court overturned Roe
v. Wade to inform people about what
the University could do to support
pregnant people in a post-Roe era.
“While abortion is still legal
in Michigan, this history is our
precedent for the current moment,”
Johnson-Levy
said.
“Before
Roe,
University
of
Michigan
administrators
and
staff
acted
courageously to ensure student
access to safe, legal and affordable
abortions.”
Johnson-Levy
began
the
discussion
of
her
report
by
highlighting the Task Force for
Problem Pregnancy Counseling,
an organization that established
campus-wide pregnancy counseling
and
abortion
referral
services.
The task force was formed in the
years leading up to the 1973 Roe
v. Wade decision and was led by
staff members working within the
University’s Office of Religious
Affairs. The task force was designed
to
support
students
in
their
decisions regarding pregnancies
and reproductive rights as well
as inform them about available
services.
In the few years before the
legalization of abortion in 1973,
the task force directed students to
reproductive health clinics in the
state of New York — where abortion
was legalized in 1970. Johnson-
Levy said the task force played a key
role in assisting patients in finding
resources and travel expenses.
“The Office of Religious Affairs
would quickly recruit counselors
from across the university to join
the effort and eventually would
collaborate
with
local
social
services,
organizations,
medical
clinics and women’s groups in Ann
Arbor,” Johnson-Levy said.
Johnson-Levy
said
the
task
force originated through the Clergy
Consultation Service on Abortion
(CCS),
a
similar
organization
based in New York. CCS saw the
issue regarding the illegality of
abortion as an issue of inequality,
as therapeutic abortions were only
accessible to white, rich privileged
women.
“Therapeutic hospital abortions
were only available for those
deemed worthy in cases determined
medically necessary by hospital
boards,” Johnson-Levy said. “The
clergy found through a study that
women’s
access
to
therapeutic
abortion had more to do with her
respectability and the networks
she was a part of — whether she
was white, rich, privileged and
married … This left single women,
the poor and women of Color to
seek abortions from those operating
without oversight or legal approval.”
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INDEX
Vol. CXXXII, No. 94
©2022 The Michigan Daily
NEWS............................1
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
M I C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
O P I N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
S P O RT S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 0
STATEMENT................INSERT
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U-M students, faculty explore history of
abortion access at University
UMMA opens voting,
registration pop-up office in
Midterms Matter exhibit
Iranian community members of Ann
Arbor host vigil to mourn Mahsa Amini
VARSHA VEDAPUDI
Daily Staff Reporter
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
City partners with UMich for second
time to increase student turnout
Attendees discuss context on reproductive rights ballot in November election
Protests erupt around the world for women’s rights, end to oppression
BUSINESS
NEWS
CAMPUS LIFE
Miss Kim is fighting food insecurity, one
piece of tteokbokki at a time
The Korean restaurant launches sliding scale payment program
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