ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Repaint the wall, Annie Hall the
statement GOVERNMENT
Democratic debate to be held in Detroit this summer Presidential hopefuls to make case before Michigan audience prior to primaries
DESIGN BY WILLA HUA
Ann Arbor-based hate group sues AG, state civil rights department Advocacy group flags American Freedom Law Center for promoting anti-Muslim views BEN ROSENFELD Daily Staff Reporter
In March, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s released its annual Hate Group Report. Each year, the nonprofit civil rights organization releases a report on groups engaging in incisive or hateful political activity in the United States. This year, 31 Michigan-based
organizations were identified for white supremacist, antiMuslim, anti-LGBT or general hate activity, including one group from Ann Arbor — the American Freedom Law Center. The AFLC, a conservative law firm, was listed for its anti-Muslim stance, along with groups such as the Sharia Crime Stoppers and the
Southeast Michigan Tea Party. Ann Arbor lawyer Robert Muise, the co-founder and senior counsel for the AFLC, identifies as a “devout Catholic,” and his colleague and co-founder, David Yerushalmi, practices Orthodox Judaism. The two attorneys collectively founded the AFLC in January of 2012 after several years of collaborating on
Constitutional law cases regarding issues such as free speech and abortion. Following its foundation, the AFLC gained negative media attention as early as 2013 for representing conservative, anti-immigrant organizations such as the American Freedom Defense Initiative. See LAWSUIT, Page 3A
CALLIE TEITELBAUM Daily Staff Reporter
The second Democratic presidential debate will be hosted in Detroit on July 30 and 31. The Democratic National Convention approved 12 debates, which will start in June 2019. The DNC told the Detroit Free Press the primary debate will host approximately 20 candidates including Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren. DNC Chairman Tom Perez told the Detroit Free Press the debate is being held in Detroit because of
the character of the city. “Detroit embodies the values and character of the Democratic Party,” said Perez. “It’s a city of grit and determination, a city that has gotten knocked down, only to get back up stronger … Detroit is the perfect place for our party’s second debate.” Camille Mancuso, LSA sophomore and communications director for the University of Michigan’s chapter of College Democrats, said the debate in Detroit is a ref lection of the state of Michigan’s important role in the upcoming election. See DEBATE, Page 3A
Ninth Assembly gathers for first CSG U-M alum Over 4,000 will serve as meeting, nominates committee chairs A2 residents
GOVERNMENT
next mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot to be first Black woman to occupy city’s highest elected office SAYALI AMIN & LEAH GRAHAM Daily News Editors
University of Michigan alum Lori Lightfoot won Chicago’s mayoral race Tuesday night, making her the first Black woman to be elected to the position. With Lightfoot’s victory, Chicago is now on track to become the largest U.S. city with an openly gay mayor. Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, beat out Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board president, in a landslide victory. The two emerged from a field of a dozen candidates to compete in Tuesday’s runoff election. Lightfoot, who has never held elected office, said she looked forward to taking on the role, noting Preckwinkle’s efforts to portray her as a political novice. “I feel very humbled and honored,” Lightfoot said. “I’m going to do everything I can to earn it. We were hoping, based on our polling, that we would do really well. But, this is amazing. More than I ever dreamed of.” See MAYOR, Page 3A
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ANN ARBOR
Gerstein and Blanchard, CSG President and Vice President, give first communications BARBARA COLLINS Daily Staff Reporter
In the first meeting of the Ninth Assembly, the University of Michigan Central Student Government elected 15 members to different positions on the new assembly. CSG President Ben Gerstein, LSA sophomore, and CSG Vice President Isabelle Blanchard, LSA junior, were officially sworn into their positions and gave their first executive communications of the semester. The meeting began with Gerstein, Blanchard and new members of the Assembly
taking the Oath of Office. In the March 27 to 28 CSG election, Gerstein and Blanchard won executive seats as president and vice president, respectively. Both Gerstein and Blanchard ran with the Engage Michigan Party, which also elected 31 individuals to CSG representative positions. The Assembly then settled a tie between Education junior Cameron Keuning and Education junior Isra Elshafei for the School of Education representative, ultimately choosing Elshafei by a secret ballot vote. Both candidates had the opportunity to speak
to the Assembly for two minutes about why they chose to run as a representative. Keuning said he decided to run after discovering no one was running for the position. “I want to do this because I want to serve the other (School of Education) students because, like myself, they wouldn’t have gotten represented in this body,” Keuning said. “I like to hold high the democratic values that Central Student Government also holds up (and) to represent my fellow students and to serve them, just as you do to your classmates.”
Elshafei, who was unable to attend the meeting, wrote in a statement to the Assembly she believes the School of Education is underrepresented on campus and would love the opportunity to represent the school through CSG. “I am an Afro-Arab American who was born and raised in Ann Arbor to immigrant parents, so I was raised to be a Wolverine,” Elshafei wrote. “Truthfully, it was a little disheartening to see that there were not any candidates running for the position for the School’s assembly representative. See CSG, Page 3A
MICHAEL BAGAZINSKI/ DAILY
LSA sophomore Benjamin Gerstein is sworn in as the new CSG President at the Michigan League Tuesday evening.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 97 ©2019 The Michigan Daily
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In search of affordable living, applicants vie for government vouchers LIAT WEINSTEIN Daily Staff Reporter
In November 2018, about 4, 300 people f rom t he Wa shtenaw Count y a rea applied for 600 spots on t he A n n A rbor Housing Com m ission’s lim ited housing choice voucher wa it list, according to a n M Live repor t. Before November, when t he wa it list wa s ava ilable for f ive days, t he voucher wa it list had not been open since 201 2. The high dema nd for vouchers ref lects Ann A rbor ’s rising housing prices a nd t he increa sing desire for a f fordable housing solut ions. A repor t f rom t he U. S. Depa r t ment of Housing a nd Urba n Development found home sa les in t he cit y increa sed by 4 percent f rom Ja nua r y to December of 2015, w it h a n average home sa le price of $235, 200. Cur rent ly, t he media n home va lue in t he state of Michiga n is a round $150,000. See VOUCHERS, Page 3A
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............5 SPORTS....................7