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ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Food Gatherers, Maize and Blue Cupboard remain open for distributing necessary goods Local food banks provide resources for community amid coronavirus outbreak JENNA SITEMAN Daily Staff Reporter

While the University of Michigan has canceled classes in response to the COVID-19 virus and advised students to leave campus if they are able, some organizations and local restaurants have continued food distribution at no cost to help those in the community facing food insecurity. Food banks such as the University’s Maize and Blue Cupboard and Washtenaw County’s Food Gatherers are continuing their services during the coming weeks to assure that no one in the community will go hungry. Helen Starman, chief development officer of Food Gatherers, said many people will be feeling the effects of food insecurity for the very first time due to layoffs spurred by COVID19. Starman said Food Gatherers is providing meals to these people, as well as others who have benefited from their organization in the past. “There are going to be people in this community who have never needed it before who are going to

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find that they need food,” Starman said. “We are open, we will stay open and we are here to provide food to anyone who needs it.” Starman said Food Gatherers recognizes the risk that public school shutdowns in Washtenaw County pose to children on free or reduced meals. To alleviate the burden on families, Starman said the non-profit has set up locations in the community for families to collect two pre-made meals a day per child under the age of 18.

This not only goes for children who are registered for reduced or free meals at school but for any child enrolled in the county public school system under 18. Additionally, any individual enrolled in special education programs through the public school system may collect their two meals a day if they are 26 or younger. Starman said the food bank acquires the food by coordinating with school systems and then

distributing the food to the people who need it. “What’s happening right now in this sort of emergency situation is that each school district in Washtenaw County is taking the lead in providing meals to their kids, and those meals are being paid for by the Michigan Department of Education,” Starman said. “The MDE has now said, ‘You can give meals to anybody. You don’t have to check the kids at the door

2020 census begins amid COVID-19 Bureau initiates data collection as many students leave campus, return home EMMA RUBERG Daily Staff Reporter

Data collection for the 2020 Census began early last week, just as many students left their colleges amid the COVID-19 pandemic to return home. The U.S. Census Bureau released a statement on March 15 detailing how their operations would change to ensure people are accurately counted. The statement declared the Bureau is committed to counting as many students as possible. The Bureau also said students should respond with their school address — regardless of where they are living on Census Day, April 1 — and has provided answers to common questions on their website. “We are adjusting operations

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to make sure college students are counted,” the press release said. “In general, students in colleges and universities temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 virus will still be counted as part of

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this process. … We are asking schools to contact their students and remind them to respond.” LSA junior Carolyn Chen, a political science major, said she thought getting students to

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respond would be difficult, as they may instead be focused on their schoolwork and the effects of COVID-19. She also said students may not understand the impact of the census, as it is not widely publicized, and therefore they may not take time to respond. “Unfortunately, the ... census is not the number one priority for many students right now,” Chen said. “The census’s impact is not something that gains a lot of recognition, and if there was low visibility about census issues before the pandemic, then there is probably even less visibility now. The news is filled with so many other headlines that the importance of data accuracy does not even cross many people’s minds.” See CENSUS, Page 3

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and provide information about needing reduced priced or free meals.’ So, our role in that is coordinating and helping people know where to get the food and how to pick it up.” Starman also said the organization recognizes some families cannot access the facilities during the hours that Food Gatherers is open so they are trying to be f lexible and cater to the community’s needs. See FOOD, Page 3

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Judge rules against ‘U’ guidelines

Sexual misconduct policy deemed unconstitutional EMMA STEIN

Daily News Editor

Arthur Tarnow, U.S. district court judge, deemed the University of Michigan’s former sexual misconduct policy unconstitutional on Monday. The lawsuit, Doe v. University of Michigan, was filed in June 2018. The plaintiff, John Doe, a male undergraduate student was accused of sexual assault by a female student in his residence hall.

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CSG discusses budget changes in Ninth Assembly’s last meeting

Body allocates $10,000 to Dean of Students Emergency, proposes alterations to salary of sponsored LSAT prep course instructors NAVYA GUPTA

Daily Staff Reporter

The University of Michigan Central Student Government’s Ninth Assembly held its last meeting virtually through a BlueJeans video conference Tuesday night. The Assembly discussed amendments to the CSG budget and allocations to the Dean of Students Emergency Fund, a financial assistance program run by the University that provides students in need with up to $500. The Assembly discussed a motion to amend budget allocations for the LSAT prep course sponsored by CSG. Currently, course instructors are paid $200 for two and a half teaching hours a week. The motion proposed to pay $80 to instructors teaching their own class and $120 to instructors covering another instructor’s class as opposed to the previously set weekly rate for their role in the program. The amendment further stipulated that instructors would be paid $40 for attending a weekly meeting, but it was ruled out of order by Speaker Whit Froehlich, a Medical student, on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. Rackham student Austin Glass said he supported Froehlich’s ruling due to the precedent it set for future amendments that could have a negative impact on workers. “Overturning this ruling

POLICY From Page 1 Doe claimed the sex was consensual. Following the complaint against Doe, the University suspended his degree. Doe alleged this put his academic and professional future at risk without a full investigation in the lawsuit. According to MLive, Tarnow

would, in my view, be a dangerous constitutional challenge to the power of CSG and the power of the Assembly,” Glass said. “If an amendment like this were allowed, an amendment to change the amount that individuals were paid to zero dollars would also be allowed. That is completely unacceptable and unattainable to me.” The Assembly voted to overturn Froehlich’s ruling and after engaging in a debate, LSA sophomore Sam Braden proposed to strike the $120 being paid to instructors covering another instructor’s class from the proposed budget amendment. The change was made with unanimous consent and the Assembly voted to pass the budget amendment. Rackham student Hayden Jackson supported the amendment to the budget so that course instructors get paid adequately, citing that not passing the amendment due to procedural concerns would be unjust to the workers. “What (this amendment) comes down to is whether you believe that people should be paid fairly for their work,” Jackson said. The Assembly approved the amendment to the Winter 2020 budget to reallocate $2,000 from the Programming Board Project Account to the Legislative Discretionary Fund. The

amendment was made in order to create sufficient funds to make an allocation of $20,000 from the fund towards the Dean of Students Emergency Fund. After amending the amount to be allocated to $10,000 in order to leave sufficient funds in the budget for the next Assembly, the Assembly voted for the motion by unanimous consent. The Assembly also discussed the screening process for the Dean of Students Emergency Fund and the idea of waiving the $500 limit of fund allocation to students displaying need from the fund to Dean of Students Laura Blake Jones. Because Tuesday’s meeting was the last of the ninth CSG Assembly, President Ben Gerstein, Public Policy junior, thanked Assembly members for their contributions. Elections for the 10th Assembly take place Wednesday and Thursday online at vote.umich. edu. “I want to thank each and every one of you. It’s been a really challenging, but rewarding and unbelievable, year. Each and every one of you have had an impact on my personal experience at CSG,” Gerstein said. “It’s been an unbelievable two and a half years. I really hope that you all took as much as I took from this Assembly this past year and utilize that passion you all have to move forward.”

held it was unconstitutional for the University to suspend Doe before his hearing and decided all students accused of misconduct are entitled to a live hearing and a crossexamination with the accuser. There is no dispute between the parties that Defendants’ 2018 Policy denied Plaintiff a right to a hearing,” Tarnow held. “Defendants adjudication of the allegations against him ‘without process ...

immediately collides with the requirements of the Constitution.’” Doe claimed the University’s investigative process violated his due process rights because he was not made aware of his accuser’s allegations when the Office of Institutional Equity interviewed him. See POLICY, Page 3

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FOOD From Page 1 “We know that, especially now with quarantines and social isolation, people have even less ability to get out and go to the food pantry during certain hours and pick up food, or maybe they are working or don’t have the transportation to get there,” Starman said. “So, we’ve been in really close contact with all of our community partners, our food pantries, our meal programs to get extra food out to make sure that everyone — children, families, individuals, veterans and seniors — are able to get food in this situation.” In addition to the work Food Gatherers is doing, the Maize and Blue Cupboard has continued its services in providing food for the University community. Steven Mangan, senior director of

CENSUS From Page 1 Chen also explained why she believes the census is important, citing the value of congressional representation. She also discussed ways the Bureau could increase student response. “It is important that people are reminded that, in a time like this, having accurate representation and data can be crucial (for) public health and safety,” Chen said. “I think that it’s great that the census can be responded to online (because) they can probably get a higher rate of accurate responses. Right now, not a lot of people are willing to leave the house or talk to people in person, so using online tactics for something this important should definitely help.” In the press release, the Bureau

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Wednesday, March 25, 2020 — 3

MDining, said the organization plans to remain open for the foreseeable future because of a recognized need for their operations. MDining, donations, Food Gatherers, Central Student Government and the Dean of Students office support these operations. Mangan said during a crisis, it is especially important for their organization to continue its mission. “There are a number of students that have been and will continue to experience food insecurity,” Mangan said. “In addition, many off-campus students may not have access to food or basic supplies. Maize and Blue Cupboard will provide these needed services to all students and faculty and staff during this crisis.” Volunteers are continuing to work at both the Maize and Blue Cupboard and Food Gatherers,

but precautions are being taken to ensure the health and safety of all who come in contact with the organization. Mangan said the Maize and Blue Cupboard asks their volunteers and shoppers about their health. If healthy, they will be admitted into the store in limited numbers to encourage distance from one another. The organization also provides gloves and hand sanitizer for their shoppers. “Upon entering, shoppers are asked to present their MCard,” Mangan said. “Staff at the entry will visually observe and question shoppers about their wellness. Shoppers will be able to enter three at a time to maintain social distancing. They are instructed to use sanitizer and wear gloves that are provided by Maize & Blue Cupboard and instructions are posted regarding how to handle

food. Shopping baskets are sanitized between shoppers and surfaces are sanitized every two hours.” Starman said Food Gatherers is also taking similar precautions in terms of monitoring their volunteers and are asking about each individual’s health. “We have modified our volunteer opportunities,” Starman said. “We don’t have them in congregate situations like with our volunteers in our community kitchen. We have stopped some of our normal volunteer roles, like not having volunteers in our warehouse. We are also having everybody answer questions before they volunteer and then when they come to the shift, such as, ‘Have you been sick? Are you sick? Have you traveled out of the country within this certain amount of time? Are you in a risk group?’” Additional community groups

and individuals have reached out to Food Gatherers to donate their help, such as Cottage Inn Pizza and BD’s Mongolian Grill, according to Starman. LSA junior Aaron BoockvarKlein said he feels these food donations show a lot about the way society deals with crises. He also said he thinks there will be many eager volunteers. “During the last week or so, I’ve seen a lot of people come together and to get through this time by just being generous for no gains,” Boockvar-Klein said. “I think there are a lot of people at home right now looking for something to do, and people wanting to make a difference in this crisis. So, I think there would be a lot of people willing to volunteer their time, or extra food if they have it.” Reporter Jenna Siteman can be reached at jsiteman@umich.edu.

also announced how they would alter data collection to ensure safe procedures. Though they have suspended in-person canvassing in certain locations, they emphasized the importance of counting everyone to ensure accurate numbers once they are able to resume in-person operations. The Bureau is also placing an emphasis on locations where students often live and places where homeless populations frequently visit. “In (the in-person) operation, census takers begin following up with households that haven’t responded yet around some colleges and universities,” the Bureau said. “We can count households in areas with off-campus housing before the end of the spring semester when students may leave for another residence.” Margaret Leary, former director of the University Law Library, has given educational presentations

on the census and participated in various outreach events, such as a census town hall event in February. She said students leaving Michigan to return home could greatly impact the count and, in turn, affect the amount of representation apportioned to the state. “I expect the absence of students will lessen — and make less accurate — the count throughout Michigan,” Leary said. “College students are low responders because they are so busy. It is very possible ... they will be counted at home. Overall, this is probably bad for Michigan, because if they are not counted here, and are counted in another state, that increases the chance of our congressional numbers dropping from 14 to less. It depends on how well colleges and universities respond to the Census Bureau’s efforts.” The Bureau said people can respond online or over the phone, and

that they will also be participating in outreach efforts in hopes of increasing the initial response. This would include producing advertisements explaining the census and motivating people to fill it out. “The Census Bureau is also making changes to its paid media campaign, earned media efforts, and partnership outreach efforts to adapt to changing conditions while continuing to promote self-response,” the press release said. “The key message right now for anyone with questions about how COVID-19 will affect the 2020 Census: It has never been easier to respond on your own, whether online, over the phone or by mail — all without having to meet a census taker.” Leary commented on the Bureau’s outreach efforts and how they hope to prevent the COVID-19 crisis from affecting the census. She said she expects the changes made to the

process will reduce the number of people counted, especially among undocumented people, college students, people of color and those with lower degrees of education or low socioeconomic status. “I am very concerned because it will inevitably cause the count to be less than it would have been for several reasons,” Leary said. “(It will impact) those groups that are historically least likely to respond either from fear and/or lack of knowledge of the impact of them not being counted. There will (also) be both less time and fewer Census Bureau workers to knock on doors to encourage people to respond. Each one of these elements will compound as the coronavirus emergency worsens or lengthens.” Reporter Emma Ruberg can be reached at eruberg@umich.edu

What you need to know for the student government elections this week

The Daily compiled a list of frequently asked questions regarding how to vote ALEX HARRING Daily News Editor

Though students are scattered across the globe as classes move online for the semester, the University of Michigan student governments will still hold elections online this Wednesday and Thursday, March 25-26. Here is what you need to know. What am I voting on? Students are electing representatives for their schools to the Central Student Government Assembly. There is also a Universitywide election for the executive ticket of Central Student Government, the Michigan Police Department Oversight Committee and the adoption of an instant run-off voting policy. These positions are all yearlong terms. Depending on the school, there may also be specific proposals or policies for students to vote on. Who is eligible to vote? For the executive ticket of CSG, any student regardless of grade or

school is eligible to vote. There are also elections for CSG Assembly representatives within each school at the University and any student can vote for their respective school’s representative. Some school-wide student governments, like LSA’s, are also housing their ballots within the election website, where any student in any school will be able to vote for their school’s student government. How and when can I vote? Voting begins on Wednesday, March 25 at midnight and closes on Thursday, March 26 at 11:59 p.m. All voting takes place online at vote. umich.edu except for the College of Engineering’s election, which happens at vote.studentlife.umich.edu. Why do some schools have more openings than others? Each school is allotted a certain number of representatives based on the total number of students at the University enrolled in each school. LSA, the largest school at the University, has 14 representatives,

while smaller schools, like the School of Education, have as few as one seat. Does how I rank the candidates matter? Yes. In student government elections, a form of ranked-choice voting is used. This means students rank their preferences for the position with the option to rank as many candidates as there are open positions. So, for the CSG executive ticket, there is only one spot to rank because only one pair can hold the office, while for representative elections with multiple seats, voters can rank multiple candidates for those seats. For the smaller schools, this has little impact. However, when there is more than one seat open, like for LSA’s 14, a different numerical value is given to each candidate based on how high they are ranked. That means a candidate who is ranked as a voter’s first choice receives more points from that voter than the candidate ranked as their second choice. The voting frequently asked

questions webpage offers this example: If there are three open seats, a vote for the No. 1 preference would give that candidate three points, the No. 2 selection would receive two points and No. 3 would receive one point. What is the difference between CSG and school-wide student governments? CSG is the student government of the entire University student body, containing representation from every school, including graduate programs. CSG is known for its AirBus program offering free rides to and from the airport, its game day hydration stations and for providing funding to student organizations. Individual schools’ student governments are composed of students in programs within those schools. These student governments are typically more focused on the needs of

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KEITH JOHNSTONE | COLUMN

What it takes to be a successful woman in the Trump GOP

ct. 5, 2018. The Senate chamber held its collective breath as Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, rose from the desk once occupied by civil and women’s rights activist Sen. John Sherman Cooper, R-Ky., to waste nearly an hour of time and announce that she would vote to elevate accused sexual assailant and calendar enthusiast Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. During her winding speech, Collins addressed everything from her reservations about the judge to the reality of the #MeToo movement. Collins was flanked by two fellow GOP senators: Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss. The former is supposedly proabortion rights, yet she voted to permanently ban federal funding for abortions, including Medicaid. So, for Capito, it’s morally permissible to have an abortion ... as long as you’re not poor. The latter made a truly inexplicable joke about lynching during her 2018 Senate campaign against a Black man. When asked if she regretted the comment, HydeSmith said she was sorry that people were offended. This trio elevated the first explicitly pro-beer Supreme Court justice, which allowed Republicans — especially the 6’3” Cheeto topped with a Pringle in the White House — to use Kavanaugh to galvanize the base in the 2018 midterms. Enter Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. As a politics nerd, I first saw Blackburn when she was just a climate-change-denying representative who debated Bill Nye — yes, that Bill Nye — about global warming on NBC’s Meet the Press. As someone who easily experiences secondhand embarrassment, watching the vice chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee get ripped to shreds on national television made me experience several levels of discomfort. Highlights of the debate include Blackburn calling climate change an “unproven hypothesis” and claiming that the Earth had cooled over the last 13 years. The constant lies and disinformation made her a darling of the right-wing. This energy also fueled her 2018 Senate campaign against Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen. Conventionally, Bredesen — being a former governor, centrist and generally boring guy — would have been competitive in

this race. But, on the back of the Kavanaugh-induced conservative rage, Blackburn wiped the floor with Bredesen, winning by 10.8 percent despite being outspent by $3 million. Since she has been in office, Blackburn has continued to support the far-right and the interests of the president, blocking three different election security measures in a move that made #MoscowMartha trend on Twitter. She has also baselessly attacked Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman for being “unpatriotic.” The midterm elections also brought Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., to national prominence through her loss to the most interesting woman in the world, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. Now, while I would love to spend the rest of this article talking about Sinema’s illustrious side hustle as a triathlete, I cannot. Suffice it to say, she is amazing, which fueled her 2.34 percent win to take over the seat previously held by Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. However, after the election, Gov. Doug Ducey pulled a switcheroo on the people of the Grand Canyon state and appointed McSally, who had just lost statewide, to sit in the other Senate seat vacated by the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. In McSally’s time in the Senate, she has taken on the mantle of a “warrior,” repeatedly berating journalists, blaming Democrats for the coronavirus and belittling sexual assault survivors, despite being one herself. Now, don’t get me wrong, I believe McSally sharing her story is incredibly brave and commendable, but stealing a Senate seat and using that national perch to degrade our country and make lasting structural damage to our institutions is completely unacceptable. However, McSally is not the only person who cheated and lied in order to gain power. Remember how I said earlier that there was a 6’3” Cheeto topped with a Pringle who was in the White House? Well now, sadly, we have to talk about him. Specifically, we have to talk about his role in shaping all of the aforementioned women’s political careers. Prior to the Trump era, Collins was moderate, pro-abortion rights and consistently spoke in defense of moral leadership. Capito was a moderate with a strong women’s rights agenda. McSally was a Paul

Ryan critic. The Trump effect has been pronounced for all of these women, especially those who have received promotions in the Trump era: Blackburn and McSally. Their political legacies are so intertwined with Trump that they must echo not only his policy preferences but also his toxic rhetoric and lies. See, since the Republican Party is increasingly male-dominated in both representatives and constituents, the women who remain have become “Trumpified.” Unlike the old white guys who are inherently assumed to be on their side, GOP women have to prove themselves to a sexist base. This extra level of scrutiny and purity testing makes female senators from moderate Maine to ruby-red Mississippi reconsider political positions that they previously held, which in turn gives the president an increased hand in shaping the Congressional GOP. While Republicans have pursued this strategy, Democrats have taken a different approach by allowing their young female representatives to span the ideological spectrum, from Bloomberg-endorser Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., to Bernie Bro and democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. This diversity inside the Democratic caucus has allowed for a robust policy debate surrounding issues like Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, while the Republicans’ united front has not yielded much except a ballooning deficit and a corporate tax cut. The Democrats have been allowed to build such a broad coalition by not having a Trump-like figure to dominate the scene. Instead, the national party has allowed for debate and discussion around policies rather than insisting on political allegiance. Now, I’m not saying Republican women should want Trump to lose in 2020 — especially because that would change many of their political fortunes — but it would ultimately be better for democracy and the GOP. A debate over Trumpism among Republicans and, more importantly, a reckoning for the behaviors of this era might just usher in a kinder, gentler, more compassionate conservative party. Even though I still won’t vote for them, it’s a movement I can support. Keith Johnstone an be reached at keithja@umich.edu.

ince the University of Michigan’s initial COVID-19 announcement on March 11, students have been feeling overwhelmed, to say the least. The uncertainty that comes from a surreal crisis like the one we are facing induces heightened levels of stress and anxiety for both students and community members. The University administrators’ fumbled, multi-day rollout of their response measures did little to mitigate these fears. In the midst of universities and governments around the globe enacting unprecedented policies, people want to cling to what is comfortable. Yearning for normalcy during a crisis is natural. Some students are still hanging out with friends and visiting on-campus spots while taking precautions. To many, this type of response seems reasonable. It is not. By only providing additional clarity and toughening their policies March 17, the University helped facilitate this dangerous attitude. The March 11 statement did not take a clear stance on whether or not students should leave campus, only specifying that housing and dining halls would continue to operate. By not conspicuously stating they wanted students to leave if they were able to, the University caused confusion and many people, quite understandably, decided to remain on campus for the time being and go about their lives as normally as possible. This widespread desire to stay in Ann Arbor for the semester briefly influenced my plans. I could have easily driven myself an hour and a half to my moms’ house in Kalamazoo, but I wanted to stay on campus. I figured being in Ann Arbor would help me focus on my schoolwork and avoid the probable challenges of moving back home. I reasoned that I could stay if I exercised precautions, such as limiting my movement outside of my residence hall and not meeting up with large groups. Many of my friends and hallmates were planning on sticking around, too. This sentiment was echoed by what I witnessed on my social media feeds, as students posted photos from bars, joked about spending $20 to fly internationally and shared statments like the following: “I’d rather be dead in Ann Arbor than alive in my hometown.” Soon after the University switched to online classes, I noticed that students were continuing to attend informal events with more than 10 people and neglecting to adhere to proper social distancing measures at such gatherings. This approach exhibits privilege that is, quite literally, deadly. It is imperative for those who have the ability to go to an alternative, safe location to do so. Crowded living environments like residence halls and sorority houses would make the virus remarkably easy to spread to others and

make it difficult for individuals who have been exposed to properly selfquarantine. Many people who have the coronavirus might not even realize they are carrying it, being that some of those who are infected are asymptomatic. About 81 percent of cases are mild, which is likely higher among younger demographics. A lack of caution among students, coupled with the effortless transmission of the virus, will only spread it wider and faster, further risking vulnerable populations and increasing the number of patients that health care workers will need to aid. Additionally, not taking the advice to move home is seriously harmful to students who have no other choice but to stay. Some people simply don’t have the funds to travel or a safe place to go. International students are caught in incredibly difficult situations due to travel restrictions, while out-ofstate students have to choose between waiting it out or making the trek back home — potentially increasing their risk of exposure by traveling across the country — to be with their families. Others might need the food provided by campus dining halls or need to work jobs in Ann Arbor to make ends meet. Staying on campus means frequenting common spaces like dining halls and grocery stores while continuing to live in tight quarters, making social distancing harder and putting the students who must stay here at an increased risk of exposure. By risking transmission of the virus in a condensed campus environment like that of Ann Arbor, people with the ability to return to safer homes elsewhere are only adding to the problem. Even though it might not present a severe risk to you personally, staying on campus and spreading the disease could mean life or death for others. Although not explicitly, doing this prioritizes those who are healthy, young and wealthy over those who are immunocompromised, elderly, undocumented, disabled and impoverished. Not taking the threat COVID-19 presents seriously is a demonstration of blatant privilege that will inevitably weaken public health efforts to combat the virus and prolong its adverse effects on society. This is our chance to come together and do something good. By following preventative measures — like moving off-campus and not socializing with friends in person — we can prevent this pandemic from saturating the capacity of our health care system and causing long-term disruption to society. If you are privileged enough to have a choice, choose to help the vulnerable people who need us to do our part. Lily Antor is a sophomore in the College of Literature, Science,& the Arts and can be reached at lilyant@umich.edu.

SUBMIT TO SURVIVORS SPEAK The Opinion section has created a space in The Michigan Daily for first-person accounts of sexual assault and its corresponding personal, academic and legal implications. Submission information can be found at https://tinyurl.com/survivorsspeak2020.

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Arts

Wednesday, March 24, 2020 — 5

DAILY DIY COLUMN

Live music learns to adapt in the days of COVID-19 RYAN COX

Daily DIY Columnist

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the cancellation of South by Southwest resulting from the COVID19 pandemic. It’s safe to say that in the two weeks since that article was published, a lot has changed in the state of Michigan. As of midnight on Monday, Mar. 23, Governor Whitmer’s Stay Home Stay Safe executive order (which intends to halt any “non-essential” public gatherings or activities) was brought into effect. This policy was enacted with the news of over 1,000 cases of COVID-19 being found in Michigan in the last 13 days. I’m sure this news is (hopefully) not new to anyone, and I’m sure most people are aware of how this global pandemic is affecting every industry. The entertainment industry, specifically live music, has especially felt the impacts of this situation, with countless tours and performances canceled. For some, these cancellations come with the loss of income. Two weeks ago, I don’t think that I had yet grasped the gravity of the situation. But over the past fortnight, I’ve started to realize just how impactful this will be for the world of music as well as the world at large. I spoke with Ypsilanti musician Chandler Loch, known for his project Ness Lake, about how things have changed in the music community over the past few weeks. Loch spoke about the

financial implications over the halt of live music. “You can see the desperation and sadness in every tour and show cancellation because in the ‘digital streaming age’ the most profitable way for musicians to stay afloat is by selling physical merchandise at their shows,” Loch said. Even though musicians have lost such a major avenue for revenue with the cancellation of live performances, they still have options. “The digital age also allows us a sense of online community that’s being fully utilized by musicians,” Loch said. Platforms like Bandcamp allow fans to purchase merchandise and albums as well as stream them, while taking only a small percentage of the profits. However, even with the small commision the platform takes, the site decided to waive their revenue share this past Friday and give 100% of the profits to the artists

in an attempt to support these musicians. And it worked. The site reported that, “on a typical Friday, fans buy about 47,000 items on Bandcamp, but this past Friday, fans bought nearly 800,000, or $4.3 million worth of music and merch. That’s more than 15 times our normal Friday, and at the peak, fans were buying 11 items per second.” All for the music makers. Amid all of the cancellations announced over the past few weeks, it started to seem like live music may be halted for a bit. But in the age of the Internet, that wasn’t the case. As time has gone by, I’ve started to see more and more musicians hosting live streams on various platforms, whether it’s my friend practicing his scales on his oboe through Facebook live, or Willie Nelson and Neil Young streaming on Twitch. Ness Lake was recently able to perform on a

Even though musicians have lost such a major avenue for revenue with the cancellation of live performances, they still have options.

livestream for Common Ground Collective and Home Outgrown Presents, two organizations that put together live performances; the digital show was live streamed on Instagram. “I think that the event that I participated in went really well!” Loch told me.“It was exciting to ‘share a stage’ with some of my favorite musicians across the country. Many people logged in to see the art that I have to share and they said nice things about it. I always chalk that up as a win.” With musicians trying to adapt to this new situation, it’s more important than ever to offer them support, even when live performances start happening again. “I think that consumers have to realize that artists make next to nothing off of music,” Loch said. “Even the ones in my circles that folks may consider ‘more established’ often have to work menial jobs whenever they’re not creating just to keep their lives afloat. The unfortunate reality is that the industry is created to sap the hard-earned compensation we deserve.” See Ness Lake perform from the comfort of Loch’s apartment this Wednesday, Mar. 25 with the Obsessives and Shortly at 5:00 p.m. on @ homeoutgrown’s Instagram channel, and stay safe. Along with supporting these musicians, following the CDC’s guidelines is incredibly important. Creating and consuming art has been incredibly therapeutic for me in these times, and I hope it can be for you, too.

FILM NOTEBOOK

Finding solace in Wenders’ ‘Until the End of the World’ ANDREW WARRICK Daily Arts Writer

At some point, everyone pictures their life as a movie. Be it studying to “Battle Without Honor Or Humanity” and pretending to wield a samurai sword, mourning a breakup to “Visions of Gideon” and doing your best Chalamet or driving like James Bond to his theme song, we’ve turned the world into our own film, soundtrack and all. Lately, though, my inner movies have all veered toward one genre: apocalypse. To paraphrase Bob Dylan — Corona, Corona, gal, you’re on my mind. Coronavirus came slowly, advancing like the horde in “Night of The Living Dead.” At first, it seemed too far away to do any damage, and slow enough to be stopped by a capable government. Yet in the beginning of March, there it was, pounding our door down and stretching its filthy hands toward us. First it took the schools. Then the restaurants. The bars, the libraries, the movie theatres. Borders, airports, friends. Writing this article, outside my window, the streets are practically desolate, like something out of “28 Days Later.” To make things worse, our situation is more “War of The Worlds” than any zombie movie. Zombies are easily killed while, without a vaccine or cure, coronavirus is a much more complex threat, attacking a society powerless to stop it. We spend our days waiting, watching for symptoms that could appear at any moment and wreak havoc. If my life was actually a movie, I would scream, “Cut!” Yet I, like everyone else, am stuck living through this horror show. We’re all (if we’re smart) socially distancing. That means most of us are living out our own renditions of “I am Legend” or “10 Cloverfield Lane.” So how should we fill these empty hours, waiting for the zombies to come? All jokes aside, what I watch is vital to my mental state, especially in times of stress. A few days ago, in a moment of weakness, I made the ill-advised choice to watch “Outbreak.” Needless to say, I became even more terrified than I already was. Watching a fictional deadly American pandemic while living through a deadly American pandemic isn’t exactly the most comforting pastime. Don’t

be like me. After “Outbreak,” I searched for another movie. Choosing something too carefree wouldn’t work, plastic and sugar-sweet would just remind me of the dire straits my life was veering toward. Yet darkness clearly wasn’t a good idea either; just looking at the poster for “The Mist” gave me a cold sweat. I needed an escape, but one that was honest. Thankfully, I found the perfect film on the Criterion Channel. When “Until The End of The World” was released in 1991, it was a critical and commercial failure. Even at almost four hours, it was deemed inscrutable — Roger Ebert called it “a film that was photographed before it was written, and edited before it was completed.” Yet the film that was released in 1991 wasn’t director Wim Wender’s (“Paris, Texas”) true vision: The studio had forced him to trim the movie by at least an hour. No wonder things were jumbled. Wenders and his editor then copied the film negative at their own expense, making a fivehour version that they showed throughout the world. This September, the Criterion Collection made it official, restoring and releasing the Wenders Cut. “Until The End of The World” is a road movie, a love story, a noir film, a science fiction allegory and a hopeful meditation on storytelling. It’s the apex of what cinema can achieve, crossing continents, genres, tones and technological eras. Best of all, the plot matches what we’re going through almost exactly. It begins with Claire Tourneur, played by Solveig Dommartin (“Wings of Desire”), waking up in Venice toward the end of a Rococo-futurist style party (think “Marie Antoinette” meets “Blade Runner”). To the tune of “Sax and Violins” by Talking Heads, she walks through this fading celebration, passing intoxicated dancers in silk dresses and stepping over passed out drunks in tuxedos. In her eyes we see that she’s tired of this life, sick of the overwrought frivolity on display. After she leaves the party and decides to head home to Paris, we learn that it’s also the end of the world. In this alternate, futuristic 1999, a malfunctioning nuclear satellite heads toward Earth and nobody knows where it will hit. Many

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clog the streets in a panicked effort to escape predicted drop zones, some hunker down and stay home, while many party their days away. In the age of COVID-19, this situation was hauntingly relevant. As I watched many I knew get drunk, lock themselves in their rooms or pack in a flurry and rush home, I wondered if the world would ever become normal again. All around me, lives were upended because of an unstoppable, inexplicable existential threat. Like Claire, I felt lost and was sick of it. Yet Claire is soon rescued by this ennui when her car crashes and she meets two bank robbers who need her help. This quest soon becomes another, then another, and before one knows it they have followed Claire from Venice to Paris, Lisbon, Berlin and Moscow, all before the movie is even halfway over. Almost instantly, this traveling cured my quarantine blues. The soundtrack mirrors the breadth of scope, too; there’s music from the likes of Talking Heads, U2, Lou Reed, REM, Elvis Costello, Patti Smith and Julee Cruise. If nothing else, “Until The End of The World” will add some new songs to your playlist. The film’s final act takes place in the stunning Australian Outback and involves a scientist played by the recently departed, legendary icon Max Von Sydow (“The Exorcist”). As always, his performance is a highlight. The scientist lives with an Aboriginal tribe, and has shades of Steve Jobs, Doctor Moreau and Colonel Kurtz. The

Aboriginal characters’ culture, like the other cultures depicted in this movie, are treated with great depth and respect, which even now is incredibly rare. There’s also an anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist message that still rings true, especially when many modern movies’ versions of representation so frequently involve a white savior. So much of the film is relevant that I’m tempted to call it prophetic. Characters use video chat to communicate, all money is electronic, the wealth gap is horrific, gun violence is rampant, substance abuse is widespread, the globe is connected both virtually and physically and everyone lives in fear of an imminent, deadly threat. Sound familiar? The movie predicted the technology boom and globalization of the 21st century, while also seeing the dangers of climate change, nuclear power and the addictive nature of digital life. It displays how advancement isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be — after all, haven’t these past few weeks shown us how those in a connected world suffer together? Yet, time and time again in “Until The End of The World,” characters still seek joy. Be it through music, a walk through the woods, a trip to another city or just a good book, Claire and those around her find happiness through escape, even if it is in the briefest of moments and the direst of situations.