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GOVERNMENT
State will honor 300 same-sex marriages PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush discusses economic and immigration reform at the Cobo Center in Detroit Wednesday in what many pundits see as a trial speech before a potential presidential campaign.
Jeb Bush talks economy, immigration in Detroit trip Potential 2016 presidential candidate hopes to lower opportunity gap By JACK TURMAN Daily Staff Reporter
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the son of 41st President George H. W. Bush and brother of 43rd
President George W. Bush, discussed economic and immigration reform at the Cobo Center in Detroit Wednesday afternoon in what many pundits see as a trial speech before a potential presidential campaign. The Detroit Economic Club hosted the ticketed event with about 600 club members, guests and a mix of university and high school students in attendance. Bush, who in December announced he is considering a
presidential run in 2016, advocated primarily for a new economic plan rooted in conservative principles. Though he did not provide many details for specific policies, he said his agenda would focus on an immigration policy that would drive the economy. He also advocated for “economic freedom,” and through that, a reduction in the “opportunity gap,” a term which refers to the ways in which race, socio-economic status and
other factors influence one’s ability to attain educational or economic achievement, among other markers. Bush’s remarks aligned closely with the plan of his Right to Rise political action committee, which was launched earlier this year and is dedicated toward reforming immigration policies and addressing the national income gap. “We believe that every AmeriSee BUSH, Page 3A
Clerks performed unions in March after judge ruled ban unconstitutional By SHOHAM GEVA Daily News Editor
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder announced Wednesday afternoon that the state would not appeal a district court’s January decision ordering it recognize the nearly 300 same-sex marriages performed in Michigan last March. The original district court ruling in Caspar v. Snyder was stayed for 21 days to allow time for the state to file an appeal, meaning the ruling would not go into effect for 21 days. Because the state has not chosen to file an appeal, the marriages will now be considered valid to receive state benefits after the stay terminates Thursday, “The judge has determined that same-sex couples were
legally married on that day, and we will follow the law and extend state marriage benefits to those couples,” Snyder said in a statement Monday. The governor had previously stated that though he believed the marriages were valid, he did not think they were eligible for state benefits. Following the January ruling in Caspar v. Snyder, his office did not respond to requests for comment. In an interview Wednesday afternoon, Law Prof. Julian Mortenson, who worked as a cooperating attorney on the case on behalf of the plaintiffs, said the legal analysis of the decision is still developing. However, he said once the stay terminates the marriages should have the same legal meaning as a marriage between a man and woman in the state. “The legal upshot, in all honesty, is extremely simple,” he said. ““There is no distinction between those Michigan marriages that are between samesex couples and those in-state marriages that are between See MARRIAGE, Page 3A
CAMPUS LIFE
FOOTBALL
‘U’ profs talk U.S., Cuban diplomatic relationship
Wolverines secure 2015 class with 14 total signees
Lecture discusses recent White House efforts to reestablish ties
Harbaugh flips six commits, including four-star QB Gentry, RB Karan Higdon
By KRISTEN ANDERSON
Managing Sports Editor
By MAX COHEN Daily Staff Reporter
With the White House beginning to thaw relations with Cuba, three University professors gathered Wednesday to discuss the developing diplomatic relationship. In an event titled “Re-establishing U.S.-Cuba Relations: Walking the Tightrope for Success,” a panel of University scholars discussed a variety of issues revolving around the challenges and implications of the normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations. Last month, President Barack Obama announced he would order the start of full diplomatic See CUBA, Page 3A
ILLUSTRATION BY FRANCESCA KLEIB
Detroit faces changing auto industry The birthplace of Ford’s Model T endures economic recession By ARIANA ASSAF Daily Staff Reporter
As The Michigan Daily continues to watch and report on Detroit shaping its future, we want to reflect back on how the city got here. Our hope for this
week’s Detroit History Series is that readers learn something new about the city and, in turn, better understand what’s to come. The city of Detroit has been inextricably tied to the automobile industry since Henry Ford established his Detroit-based company in 1903. The Great Depression marked the first of several drastic setbacks for Detroit’s auto industry, and the once-booming economic environment is still recovering from the most recent economic recession.
The Detroit “Big Three” — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler — once dominated the industry, which together with the now-defunct American Motors, accounted for 95 of the market share at one time. The erosion of that power began in 1982, when the Japanese company Honda moved to Marysville, Ohio. Arthur Schwartz, president of Labor and Economics Associates, an Ann Arbor-based consulting firm, said the Big Three composed 45.5 percent of the
market in 2014. Michigan became the hub of the industry by 1905, just two years after Henry Ford brought his company to Detroit. The city already had several natural advantages — close proximity to sources of coal, iron and copper and a location easily accessible by water and land. Though automobiles were first developed in Germany and France, the United States was the first country to develop mass motorization, largely due to the improvement See AUTOS, Page 3A
When Jim Harbaugh was introduced as Michigan’s football coach in the last week of December, it was viewed as a victory for the ages for the program, a piece of evidence that a duplication of the glory days of Bo Schembechler was around the next corner. Wednesday’s National Signing Day was Harbaugh’s first chance to present tangible results. He was at a disadvantage from the start — he had only one month to fill out a recruiting class that had been decimated by the shaky job status and eventual firing of former coach Brady Hoke. In his first news conference since his introduction, Harbaugh See SIGNING DAY, Page 3A
Detroit boxing Art & Design senior examines hidden Detroit gem
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WEATHER TOMORROW
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 60 ©2015 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A
SUDOKU.....................2A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A B-SIDE ....................1B