In the wake of Hurricane 
Fiona, a Category 4 storm that 
hit the U.S. island territory 
of Puerto Rico on Sept. 18, 
approximately 
233,000 
individuals have been without 
power, dozens of communities 
were flooded and thousands 
of homes have been destroyed. 
Puerto Rico is over 1,900 miles 
away from Ann Arbor, but for 
many members of the University 
of Michigan community, the 
catastrophe is personal. 
Rackham 
student 
Daniela 
Crespo-Miró, who is studying 
contemporary 
Puerto 
Rican 
literature, spearheaded support 
efforts on campus to help 
provide relief to Puerto Ricans. 
They worked to develop multiple 
fundraising initiatives in Ann 
Arbor and Ypsilanti, including 
a Sept. 26 fundraiser at the 
Detroit Street Filling Station 
that succeeded in raising $750.
“The Detroit Street Filling 

Station volunteered to offer 
10% of their proceeds to four 
different (relief) organizations: 
Proyecto Matria, Taller Salud, 
Brigada Solidaria del Oeste, and 
ENLACE,” Crespo-Miró said. 
“It was a fantastic, very effective 
fundraiser.”
Crespo-Miró 
orchestrated 
another fundraiser that will 
take place on Oct. 7 at the Bridge 
Community Café in Ypsilanti. 
According to Crespo-Miró, the 
café is volunteering to host live 
poetry readings and raffles, 
with all proceeds going towards 
financial 
assistance 
for 
the 
affected communities.
According to Lawrence La 
Fountain-Stokes, 
professor 
of Romance Languages and 
Literatures and Women’s and 
Gender Studies, Crespo-Miró’s 
efforts this year are reminiscent 
of what students did in response 
to Hurricane Maria, which 
struck Puerto Rico and other 
areas 
in 
the 
northeastern 
Caribbean in 2017.

The Ann Arbor City Council 
approved a feasibility study on 
renewable energy options for 
the city on Sept. 7, energizing 
the Ann Arbor for Public Power 
(A2P2) movement as they ramp 
up 
efforts 
to 
garner 
public 
support. The feasibility study will 
examine three pathways toward 
renewable energy: tax credits and 
other economic incentives, a full 
municipal energy utility and a 
partial municipal energy utility. 
A2P2 is a coalition of local 
organizations advocating for the 
city to take control of its energy 
utility, 
currently 
owned 
and 
operated by the Detroit-based 
energy company DTE, and transfer 
the city to 100% renewable energy. 
A2P2 President Greg Woodring 
said 
the 
organization 
knew 
they would need to start with a 
feasibility study, but now that the 
study has been approved, they are 
shifting their efforts to canvassing 
for public support.
“We pretty quickly identified 

the first step was to get a feasibility 
study,” 
Woodring 
said. 
“We 
advocated over the next year 
for the city to conduct such a 
feasibility study, we collected 1300 
signatures, we attended several 
Energy Commission meetings and 
city council meetings (and) did a 
lot of research. … So now we’re at 
the point of needing to advocate 
to the general public to continue 
to educate them about the benefits 
of equalization and public power 
generally.” 
U-M alum Zackariah Farah, 
spokesperson for A2P2, said the 
organization has been engaged in 
various forms of public outreach to 
raise support for a publicly-owned 
energy utility.
“Right now, we’re trying to build 
overwhelming public support in 
our community for this idea, for 
taking control of the utility and 
making it a public one,” Farah said. 
“That involves knocking doors 
(and) holding educational events. 
We have meet and greets as well 
where anybody can come and ask 
us any question they want.”

From wading through the 
fountain by the bell tower the 
first week of freshman year to 
cautiously avoiding the “M” 
on the Diag, to be a Michigan 
student is to participate in a rich 
array of traditions. To some, 
these customs include feeding 
squirrels on a sunny day. So, the 
question stands, once and for all, 
should we feed the squirrels? 
Nursing 
senior 
Autumn 
Farnum is the co-president of The 
Squirrel Club at the University 
of Michigan, an organization of 
students, alumni and members of 
the Ann Arbor community that 
feed squirrels during the school 
year every Sunday. Farnum said 
they believe feeding squirrels 
is a good way to build a campus 
community, as long as they are 
fed healthy food.
“Having 
the 
connection 
between the wildlife and our 
students here kind of builds that 
friendly campus environment 
that we have and also makes sure 
that (the squirrels) have a nice 
treat once in a while,” Farnum 
said.
While 
Farnum 
— 
and 
campus tour guides — embrace 
squirrel 
feeding, 
animal 
welfare 
organizations 
have 
raised concerns over feeding 
the furry creatures. Squirrels 

who are fed by people can 
become dependent on handouts 
occasionally never regaining self-
sufficiency. 
Feeding 
squirrels 
can also contribute to their 
overpopulation in certain areas 
as the squirrels adapt to reside in 
areas where human handouts are 
popular, such as parks and urban 
areas.
When humans feed squirrels, 
whether on campus or in other 
areas, squirrels can lose their 
natural fear of humans. Ann 
Arbor’s fearless squirrels often 
approach 
students, 
especially 
around the Diag, because they 
are so often fed there.
LSA sophomore Alanna Carlo-
Pagan is a member of the Animal 
Ethics Society, an organization 
dedicated 
to 
furthering 
discussion about the ethical 
treatment of animals through 

philosophy, and often volunteers 
for The Creature Conservancy 
in Ann Arbor. Carlo-Pagan said 
it is important to think about the 
impact humans’ actions have on 
animal behavior when feeding 
animals like squirrels.
“What you have to take into 
account when you’re measuring 
the impact of human behavior on 
the environment is how it’s gonna 
affect humans, how it’s gonna 
affect other species and how it 
might affect that species,” Carlo-
Pagan said. “What people are 
mostly concerned about is how 
it just rubs patterns of migration 
and food seeking behavior and 
how it might lead animals to 
become so trusting of humans – 
or imprinted on humans – that 
they’re unable to actually go out 
and look for food on their own.”
Squirrels 
can 
also 
cause 

problems for local residents, as 
they can destroy property and 
carry disease in highly populated 
areas. The Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention says 
while it is extremely unlikely for 
squirrels to contract rabies or 
carry the rabies virus, they can 
carry other diseases like typhus 
and ringworm.
Despite these concerns, many 
students 
actively 
partake 
in 
feeding the squirrels on campus 
and befriending the creatures. 
LSA freshman Julia Holden said 
feeding squirrels on campus is 
fun for her and her friends, and 
it is a nice way for students to get 
outside. 
“It’s just fun, honestly,” Holden 
said. “It’s just nice to be around 
animals. It’s a good way to get 
outside. They obviously aren’t 
antsy about being around people. 
So, I mean, they’re here anyways. 
Why not?”
Holden said squirrels might 
often be fed the wrong foods, 
but she is careful to feed them 
healthy nuts that the animals can 
digest.
“I’m sure they get enough not 
good food,” Holden said. “I have 
organic, unsalted walnuts. So, I 
think if you’re feeding them the 
right thing, it’s probably okay.”
Farnum 
echoed 
Holden’s 
emphasis on feeding squirrels 
nutritional foods. 

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
2 — Wednesday, October 12, 2022

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Should you feed those Diag squirrels? University 
community weighs in

NEWS

What’s next for Public Power 
in Ann Arbor?

 SAM ADLER/Daily
The twin cooling stacks of Fermi 2 Power Plant release water vapor October 3.

Advocates describe joy of feeding the rodents, critics say it increases 
dependence on humans

A2P2 advocacy group talks plans after city 
announces feasibility study

Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Read more at MichiganDaily.com

JOSÉ BRENES/Daily

RACHEL MINTZ
Daily News Reporter 

UMich students, faculty lead 
support efforts on campus 
following Hurricane Fiona
Fundraisers, spreading awareness

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

SAMANTHA RICH
Daily Staff Reporter 
NATALIE ANDERSON
Daily Staff Reporter 

NEWS
CAMPUS LIFE

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