ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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South U Pizza to shut down to make room for high rise
Planned development of Vic Village forces restaurant out of business HANNAH MACKAY Daily Staff Reporter
RYAN LITTLE/Daily Protesters from the Sunrise Movement held a sit-in at Debbie Dingell’s office on Friday.
Sunrise Movement activists protest at Dingell’s Dearborn, Ypsi offices Demonstrators return to call on congresswoman to support Green New Deal ANGELINA LITTLE Daily Staff Reporter
At about 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, 12 people traveled to U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell’s Dearborn office to continue protests to urge Dingell to sign the Green New Deal. They were met with police blocking them from entering the building. After occupying U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell’s, D-Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti office for nearly 24 hours this past weekend, Sunrise Movement Ann Arbor activists continue to attempt sit-ins as they urge Dingell to sign the Green New Deal. About 15 protesters hoping to stage another sit-in showed up to her office in Ypsilanti, Monday
afternoon to find it closed for the week. Sunrise Movement Ann Arbor has been pressuring Dingell to sponsor the Green New Deal — legislation fighting climate change and economic inequality — since February. Dingell has not been present at any of the previous sit-ins staged by the group in April, September, or this past week, when three activists were arrested after refusing to leave her office. After finding Dingell’s Ypsilanti office closed on Monday, the group posted a Facebook event advertising their plans to stage an “office takeover” at Dingell’s Dearborn office. Although Sunrise activists were not allowed to enter the
building, they stood outside, sang and recorded statements urging Dingell to respond to their repeated attempts to convince her to sign the Green New Deal. Naina Agrawal-Hardin, Sunrise hub coordinator and Washtenaw International High School student, referenced the UN’s most recent Emissions Gap Report, which compares projected greenhouse gas emissions for 2030 to the goals of the Paris Agreement. “We have to treat this crisis with the urgency it deserves,” Agrawal-Hardin said. “Just today, the United Nations released a new report stating that if we don’t seriously get our act together, then it’s over for
us.” Allie Lindstrom, Sunrise activist and Washington University in St. Louis senior, urged for action beyond the 100% Clean Economy Act Dingell introduced on Friday, which sets 2050 as a goal for an economy which produces net zero pollution. “It’s not enough just to do the bare minimum and to set 2050 as a deadline,” Lindstrom said. “We have to make substantive changes to our economy so that it fights for our lives, and it fights inequality, and it addresses the ways in which we are experiencing climate change here in Michigan.” See PROTEST, Page 3
After a decade of serving students and Ann Arbor locals, South U Pizza is shutting its doors for good in mid-December. Located at 1110 S. University Ave., the local eatery has been a pizza staple since opening in 2009. South U Pizza, along with several other businesses on the block, will be replaced with new luxury student housing, known as Vic Village South. Manager of South U Pizza Karim Ghussani explained the developer, Hughes Properties, is planning on tearing down South U Pizza along with most of the block to build the new high rise. “The main reason is because the building is going to be torn down to put a high rise instead there,” Ghussani said. “That company, the Vic Village company … they’re going to tear down the whole block, and they’re going to build another high rise.” Hughes Properties has already begun advertising the new development just
steps from campus as luxury student housing. The same company completed construction of Vic Village North earlier this year. The apartment complex is located directly across the street from South U Pizza, and will be 12 stories tall with over 57 apartments and 261 beds. In a previous Daily article, Sean Havera, vice president of construction at Hughes Properties, spoke about the addition of Vic Village North and soon to be Vic Village South on South University Ave. “When you look at the area where Vic Village North is at and where Vic Village South is at, those are probably the best student housing locations anywhere in downtown,” Havera said. “So, the projects will actually complement each other.” As a result of this new development, other businesses including Underground Printing, PNC Bank and Oasis Grill will be relocating or closing. See PIZZA, Page 3
Founder of Play Out Apparel talks New site rise of androgynous fashion trends University looks to launches GOVERNMENT
track info on health Washtenaw County launches new website with interactive data EMMA RUBERG
Daily Staff Reporter
Earlier this month, the Washtenaw County Health Department debuted a new website to serve as a centralized hub for data on the health of county residents. The Health For All Washtenaw website features information from nine different census locations about approximately 250 different topics, including demographics, mental health, poverty and public safety. In a Nov. 18 press release, Washtenaw County Health Department Communications Coordinator Kayla Steinberg explained the purpose of the website and how it is meant to benefit the community. “Healthforallwashtenaw. org is a central location for information, stories and action items on what impacts our health,” Steinberg said. “Think of it as an online health record for all of Washtenaw County.” In each set of data, users are able to compare the data of the county to that of the entire state of Michigan, as well as the country. They can also see how the measurements have changed in the location over time. See HEALTH, Page 3
RESEARCH
Designer discusses increased popularity of gender equal clothing NEETI BHUTADA For The Daily
About 30 people attended a local event Tuesday titled “What is Queer Fashion? Millennials, Gen Z, and Gender Equal Clothing” at the Ann Arbor District Library. The event focused on a push for an increase in inclusivity within the fashion industry. Abby Sugar, CEO of Play Out Apparel, LLC, a company centered around creating gender
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equal underwear and athleisure, began by speaking about what the words “fashion” and “queer” mean both technically and in terms of the fashion industry. According to Sugar, “queer” means “something that breaks heteronormative assumptions of gender and sexuality and challenges and redefine gender binaries and traditional expressions of masculinity and femininity.” She defines “fashion” as “the intersection of commerce, social and cultural
expectations with the expression of individual identity.” However, in the context of the industry, these terms have a much more realizable meaning, Sugar said. “When we’re talking about queer fashion, we’re talking about how the multiplicities of gender and the multiplicities of gender identity are performed through fashion and clothing, and also how LGBTQ designers are bringing their point of view to fashion,” Sugar said.
Sugar continued to discuss how fashion is a way of expressing oneself. She said even if society does not identify as “fashionable,” the clothes worn and the styles embodied are very indicative of personalities and perceptions of oneself. She explained how clothes not only communicate mood and perspective to others, but also express social and gender expressions. See FASHION, Page 3
1st energy challenge
Department of Nuclear Engineering partners with DC-based institute MICHAL RUPRECHT Daily Staff Reporter
The University of Michigan’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences and the Energy Institute partnered with a D.C.-based research institute, the Energy Impact Center, to create the first inaugural energy competition. The competition is called the Nuclear Energy Grand Challenge and is open to all students. Co-director Todd Allen, who is the chair and a professor in NERS, said one objective of the competition is to create a space for interdisciplinary learning. “A lot of Engineering students work on their engineering degree and don’t get enough interactions with people from the Business School or people from the School of Public Policy,” Allen said. “I’m hoping that another thing we do is help with that connectivity in a way that it makes the students’ educational experience impactful.” The competition began on Sept. 27 with a series of workshops hosted by the Center for Entrepreneurship.
CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily
Abby Sugar, the Founder of Play Out Apparel, discusses what queer fashion is at the Downtown Ann Arbor District Library Tuesday evening.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 36 ©2019 The Michigan Daily
See ENERGY, Page 3
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 CLASSIFIEDS................6
SUDOKU.....................2 ARTS...................5 SPORTS.................7