ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Monday, January 28, 2019
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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BUSINESS
Temporary licenses are given to A2 dispensaries Over 70 medical marijuana facilities can continue operation until March 31 ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Johnathan Jayes-Green, recipient of the 2019 Has, Jr. Award for Outstanding LGBTQ Leadership for Immigrant Rights speaks at the Creating Change Conference at the Detroit Mariott Renaissance Center Saturday afternoon.
Detroit Conference talks equality, justice in the LGBTQ community 3,000 attendees come together to discuss reproductive rights, #MeToo movement BARBARA COLLINS Daily Staff Reporter
The 31st annual Creating Change Conference, the nation’s largest LGBTQ conference, held Jan. 23-27, brought activists together from across the country to discuss freedom, justice and equality for the LGBTQ community. The event,
hosted by the National LGBTQ Task Force, was held in the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center with about 3,000 people in attendance. About 200 workshops and 50 events were offered at Creating Change. Participants could also attend day-long institutes, visit hospitality suites and utilize
complementary wellness services. While the conference primarily focused on LGBTQ issues and recognizing individuals who are working to make a difference in the community, topics such as the #MeToo movement, reproductive rights and immigration were integrated into discussion as well. Business senior Chandra Sahu,
a Ross representative for Central Student Government, said she heard about the conference through CSG and the Spectrum Center, and attended the conference as a representative of both. Sahu said she looked forward to learning more
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MELANIE TAYLOR Daily Staff Reporter
More than 70 Michigan dispensaries operating under temporary licenses were forced to shut their doors at the beginning of 2019. In compliance with a set of bills passed in 2016, reforming the way the state regulates the production and sale of medical marijuana. The result was a shortage in medical marijuana, plaguing many areas in Michigan including much of Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor is home to 20 dispensaries, only seven of which have official licenses. Kinesiology junior L.J. Horowitz, a member of Green Wolverine’s founding executive board, estimated Ann Arbor has one of the highest densities of official
and total medical marijuana provisioning centers in the state. Green Wolverine is a student organization focusing on the cannabis industry. “It’s great for students and great for people who live in Ann Arbor, but that’s by far the most besides Detroit in any city in Michigan,” Horowitz said. When the shortage hit, Ann Arbor residents and business owners were disproportionately affected. Lisa Conine, community outreach coordinator at provisioning center Om of Medicine, described the scarcity as frustrating, saying patients were ridden with fear over what was to come.
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Annual MSA Sacred Time Project Panel views Ann Arbor postcards, looks at modern-day Islam, service proactively
ACADEMICS
activism in art world Brooklyn-based artist Opdyke displays new environmental installation EMMA STEIN
Daily Staff Reporter
On Friday afternoon, the University of Michigan’s Institute for the Humanities hosted a panel featuring Brooklyn-based artist David Opdyke, journalist Lauren Sandler, historian Tara Ward, and arts curator Amanda Krugliak to discuss the effectiveness of art as activism. The conversation centered on Opdyke’s new installation, titled “Paved with Good Intentions.” The piece is a collection of vintage postcards of popular American sights that Opdyke painted over. The postcards are assembled together, forming a scenic landscape riddled with environmental catastrophes and chaos. Opdyke said he has always made his art for himself and about his passions, but he has recently started being more purposeful in his creation. He said art is his form of activism and he has chosen to use his talent to try to make an impact. “I make it because I’m compelled to make it,” Opdyke said.
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CAMPUS LIFE
Student initiative focuses on being a faithful servant in the community, spirituality ALEX HARRING Daily Staff Reporter
Ustadh Ubaydullah Evans, Scholar-in-Residence at the American Learning Institute for Muslims, opened the Sacred Time Project 2019 — an annual weekend conference sponsored by the Muslim Students Association — Friday afternoon in the Rackham Amphitheatre with a session called “The Faithful Servant: Rooting Service in Tradition.” “I embraced Islam about 20 years ago,” Evans said. “I converted when I was 16 … so when I encountered Islam, it was this...uncompromising monotheism that really drew me to the faith.” Evans’s talk was one part of the Sacred Time Project, which ran Jan. 25-27. The conference included two main speakers — Evans and associate professor Su’ad Abdul Khabeer — as well as full-group sessions and other workshops and activities. LSA sophomore Areesha Shahab, who was a Sacred Time Project chair and took part in organizing the conference, said she hoped participants left the conference feeling empowered to be a servant within the community and feel more involved in the Islamic faith or spirituality. “This year, we were super heavily focused on student initiative and the aspect of being a faithful servant to the community and just being a
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good servant,” Shahab said. “I just want people to leave feeling like, ‘Oh, I need to do more’ or ‘Oh, I just need to get myself more involved in something.’” During his session, Evans discussed his discovery of Islam and experience with his faith. He also talked about similarities with other faiths, but the uniqueness of Islam comes from recognizing Muhammad’s place as a messenger for God.
He said in the past, Islam used to debate the place of God. In the present day, however, Evans said negotiations focus around understanding religion in real time. He specifically noted the conference’s focus on examining Islam and the understanding of the religion in the present day, which he characterized as a commendable quality of the program.
Evans then looked at the meaning of the term “servant” and what hierarchy entails. He said the Islamic model, as he understands it, is not about avoiding or disavowing privilege- rather, it is about helping those who are not as privileged and supporting equity.
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CARTER FOX/Daily
designs aid for workers
Federal government shutdown prompts local financial relief CATHERINE NOUHAN Daily Staff Reporter
On Friday morning, President Donald Trump signed a bill to reopen the government for three weeks, until Feb. 15. During the three-week period, Trump is attempting to negotiate with lawmakers for the Southern Border Wall. Ann Arbor and neighboring local governments took proactive measures to aid federal workers with payments and expenses accumulated if the federal government shutdown were to continue. On Jan. 22, Ann Arbor City Council passed a resolution allowing federal workers to defer payments to the city for 60 days after the government shutdown ends. Councilmembers voted unanimously to pass the resolution. Mayor Christopher Taylor introduced this resolution because he deemed it necessary to counteract the fiscal harm being inflicted by the government. “As everybody knows, the federal government is shut down and that is a condition that reflects terribly upon good
Ustadh Ubaydullah Evans, Scholar-in-Residence at the American Learning Institute for Muslims, speaks about his relationship with Islam in Rackham Auditorium.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 61 ©2019 The Michigan Daily
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
Read more at MichiganDaily.com SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............5 SPORTS....................1B