DELTACOLLEGIATE STUDENT RUN SINCE '61
Volume 86 • Issue 2
January 21, 2020
Michigan civil rights milestones Michigan becomes a state, has strict segregation laws
Detroit-based “Liberty Guards” organizes allblack military coalition
Michigan Supreme Court rejects the Detroit school board argument
Michigan legislature passes Michigan Civil Rights Act
Federal Civil Rights Act passes
1837
1860
1869
1885
1964
1838
Michigan repeals many of the original segregation laws
1867
Michigan legislature prohibits segregation in public schools; Detroit schools argue with decision
1883
Michigan repeals ban on interracial marriage and legitamizes all previous interracial marriages
1890
Ferguson v. Gies reverses legitimization of separate but unequal treatment of blacks
2 NEWS
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JANUARY 21, 2020
2020 Democratic Candidate Profiles Billy Badour • Reporter @BadourBilly This is the first part of a weekly series highlighting the Democratic presidential candidates for the 2020 race.
Joe Biden is in favor of: • • • •
Abolishing capital punishment, ending cash bail, and eliminating private prisons. Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour as well as indicating support for paid family and sick leave. Two years of free community college, expanding existing debt-relief programs, and increasing the pay of teachers. Gun control in the form of a voluntary buyback program and is in favor of universal background checks.
Bernie Sanders is in favor of: • • • •
• • • • •
• • • •
Abolishing capital punishment, ending cash bail, and eliminating private prisons. Paper ballots to ensure election security. Medicare for all, a single-payer national health insurance program. An “extreme wealth tax” on the highestincome Americans, as well as raising taxes on businesses where a CEO makes 50 times what a median worker does. Increasing the capital gains tax rate and eliminating tax breaks on businesses offshoring jobs. Raising federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and requiring paid leave for all employees. Waiving college tuition, cancelling student debt and boosting teacher pay to a minimum of $60,000. Banning unlimited spending in politics, eliminating the electoral college and allowing incarcerated felons to vote. The Green New Deal, closing down existing nuclear power reactors, banning fracking and imposing government restrictions on carbon emissions. Voluntary firearm buyback program and universal background checks. Legalizing marijuana and erasing past convictions. Breaking up tech giants like Amazon and Google. Universal free meals in school.
NEWS 3
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JANUARY 21, 2020
THE
LE
MI N E E R G
Michael Piwowarski News Director @DCMichaelFP
Michigan is reaping its reward for going green. MLive.com reports that the state has sold $8.3 million worth of recreational marijuana since Dec. 1, 2019, when recreational sales first became legal. From Dec. 30 to Jan. 5, the fifth week of recreational sales in Michigan, $1.77 million worth had been sold. However, Illinois has outpaced Michigan in recreational sales significantly. The Prairie State started selling recreational marijuana on New Year’s Day, and since then generated a staggering $10.8 million in sales as of January 7, the Chicago Tribune reports. This is likely due, in large part, to the amount of dispensaries in each state selling recreational marijuana. In Illinois, more than 30 dispensaries started selling recreationally right out of the gate. Michigan, on the other hand, started with a mere three licensed retailers, a number which has continued to grow ever since. For example, ReLeaf in Chesaning opened their doors to recreational customers Wednesday, Jan. 8, becoming the first recreational retailer in Saginaw County. Another major factor that contributes to Michigan's smaller number of dispensaries is that individual cities in the state have elected to opt out of allowing recreational marijuana businesses.
Going dank gets money in the bank Saginaw, for instance, is still under a 12-month "sunset provision," which means they are banning recreational marijuana from the city until they learn more about state rules allowing such facilities. Midland and Buena Vista Township are among other local municipalities and townships that have opted out of recreational marijuana. In Bay County, there are now three dispensaries listed as recreational sellers according to WeedMaps.com: Roots Medical Provisioning, Dank On Arrival and Puff. Bay City manager Dana Muscott told the Collegiate that no money has been generated for the city on recreational marijuana thus far. Once collected, the money will go toward the general fund. "We did actually end up selling out of all of our recreational inventory aside from [...] a couple of concentrate items within the first five days," says Marissa Burt, social media representative for Roots Provisioning. Burt explained that, although the high consumer response was anticipated, she's hoping for the high customer traffic to continue. The Bay City board of commissioners voted in November to double the amount of recreational licenses allowed in the city from 25 to 50, possibly allowing room for growth in the area. "We have 50 applications in some form of approval or review," Terry Moultane, planning and zoning manager, told the Collegiate earlier. "It may be too early to say when all of them will become operational and their positive and negative impacts."
4 NEWS
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JANUARY 21, 2020
Deepfake technology begets fake news RJ Murphy • Reporter @rjmurphwords
“We’re entering an era in which our enemies can make anyone say anything, at any point in time.” Former President Barack Obama begins his 2018 public address with this statement. He goes on to make inappropriate statements which would shock most viewers. Before the address is over, the screen splits in half revealing Jordan Peele, an American actor, director, writer and producer, on the other screen mouthing the words Obama is speaking. Despite appearing gravely realistic, the video of Obama is fake. These heavily manipulated videos are known as “deepfakes,” a technology that is a product of machine learning and artificial intelligence. A research team from the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Southern California developed a digital forensics technique that was able to detect at least 92% of different deepfake content. But as detection techniques develop, manipulation technology grows stronger. It is important that the public knows how to consume news. Luckily, there are free
Lindsay Lang • Illustrator courses and guides online, like this one from Reuters News Agency, which teaches people how to identify manipulated media. Deepfake technology began garnering attention for its use in celebrity pornography and Nicolas Cage parodies. Reddit.com, a popular online forum, updated their involuntary
pornography and sexual or suggestive content involving minors policy, banning several subforums (called subreddits) devoted to deepfakes. Many users replied, voicing their concerns toward the tech being used in political propaganda. The admin advised users to report the content and downvote the post. A similar situation arose on Facebook. Facebook vice president Monika Bickert outlined what manipulated media would be allowed. Content will be removed from the website if it’s extremely edited or synthesized in a way that would mislead a lay person or content manipulated using artificial intelligence or machine learning to appear authentic. Bickert added: “This policy does not extend to content that is parody or satire, or video that has been edited solely to omit or change the order of words.” This statement was met with controversy. In response, Bickert wrote: “If we simply removed all manipulated videos flagged by fact-checkers as false, the videos would still be available elsewhere on the internet or social media ecosystem. By leaving them up and labelling them as false, we’re providing people with important information and context.” We live in an age of information, overflowing with media outlets and sources. Even with advanced tools and expert guidance, it is ultimately up to the individual where they get their content and how they interpret it.
Applications open for redistricting commission Michael Piwowarski • News Director @DCMichaelFP Michigan citizens are now able to apply to serve on the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. The commission exists to redraw congressional districts every 10 years, in order to accurately reflect their population. A proposition was passed in the November 2018 election to restructure Michigan’s redistricting process, amending Article IV, Section 6 of the Michigan Constitution. The work is now done by a commission of 13 randomly selected voters: four that identify as Republican, four as Democrat and five independents. Applicants are required to be registered voters in the state of Michigan. Certain groups of people, including partisan government officials and political candidates, or other special interests, are disqualified. The deadline to apply is June 1. Following the deadline, 200 applicants will be randomly selected as semi-finalists. The final selection of 13 will be made randomly by August 2020. The newly selected commission will start convening in the fall. Each commissioner will receive approximately $40,000 in compensation. District lines will be drawn by November 2021 and will take effect for the 2022 election cycle. Citizens can apply online and find more information, including guidelines and requirements for applications, at RedistrictingMichigan.org.
NEWS 5
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JANUARY 21, 2020
Bay County citizens stick to their guns for ‘Second Amendment Sanctuary’ Michael Piwowarski • News Director @DCMichaelFP BAY CITY - “It’s my civic duty as a United States citizen.” Bay City resident Padraic Ingle is an unapologetic supporter of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. He is among the many residents of Bay County who are lobbying to make their county into a “sanctuary” for Second Amendment rights. Second Amendment sanctuaries refer to states and counties in the U.S. that have adopted resolutions that do not allow the enforcement of certain measures that infringe on Second Amendment rights. Individual counties in several states - including Colorado, Florida and Illinois - have become second amendment sanctuaries. However, no counties or governances in Michigan have followed suit yet. Ingle’s Facebook event “Bay County 2A Sanctuary Resolution,” to which 30 responded “going” and 136 “interested,” rallied his fellow citizens to attend the Bay County board of commissioners meeting Tuesday and present them with a “sanctuary county” resolution. After the citizens voiced their support at public comment, the commissioners agreed to review the resolution and look into putting it up for vote at the next meeting. “I don’t think there’s any reason why the resolution shouldn’t pass,” says Ingle. “It’s simply a reaffirmation of oaths that they have already taken to the U.S. and Michigan Constitution.” Ingle says that it is important for the commissioners to reaffirm their oaths because of legislation happening in other states which undermines the second amendment. “Specifically, extreme risk protection orders - also known as red flag laws - they are unconstitutional and they are in place, and they are being enforced, and we don’t think it’s fair on
BULLET POINTS
Michael Piwowarski • News Director
Earl Lackie, Republican candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in Michigan’s 5th district, talks with citizens of Bay County at the board of commissioners meeting. Lackie came to public comment to express his support for making Bay County a “sanctuary county” for second amendment rights. Bay City, MI. the law enforcement officers to have to enforce unconstitutional laws and put themselves in harm’s way,” says Ingle. Earl Lackie, Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Michigan’s 5th congressional district, also came to the meeting in support of the measure. “These red flag laws that are coming down the pipeline; what we’re trying to do is head it off so we don’t have a problem like they got in Virginia,” says Lackie. On Monday, several gun control bills were passed in Virginia by the state’s senate judiciary committee, as reported by WTVR-TV. Background checks, monthly gun limits, red flag laws and restrictions are among the restrictive measures that they have put into place. When talking to the Collegiate about his beliefs, Ingle quoted author Robert A. Heinlein: “An armed society is a polite society.” “When people don’t have the right to defend themselves,” Ingle continued, “criminals sweep in
and they’re the only ones with the means to exert their power over anybody else. How are you going to defend against that?” Michael Duranczyk, chair of the board of commissioners, also supports the Second Amendment, citing other states that have passed similar measures to the sanctuary county measure. “If you look out west, just about all of the western states have passed it statewide [...] so they’re [...] concerned about their firearms rights and the second amendment rights being deterred upon,” says Duranczyk. Lackie and Ingle are both optimistic that a Second Amendment sanctuary measure can be passed in all other Michigan counties. “People who favor gun control don’t understand that all these things that are happening with gun violence; it’s not the gun, it’s the person,” says Lackie. “What we need to do is put more money into the mental health of the people involved, and more money into mental health overall.”
The resolution states that the board "affirms its support for the Bay County Sheriff and the Bay County Prosecuting Attorney, in the exercise of their sound discretion to not enforce against any citizen an unconstitutional firearms law." Bay County is one out of five Michigan counties that were the first in the state to consider becoming Second amendment sanctuaries. Supporters hope that all other 82 Michigan counties will eventually pass a sanctuary resolution
6 COLLEGIATE LIFE
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Carlos McMath embodies the “Spirit of MLK Jr.” Haeley Huggard • Reporter @HaeleyHuggard Where Carlos McMath grew up, there were two choices for how to spend his time: be an athlete or be out in the streets. “One of the things that I learned early on in childhood was that you can never take the pride out of the struggle,” says McMath. “Meaning, you are more prideful when that struggle comes.” McMath grew up in a single parent household with a mother that worked two fast food jobs to support her children. Though the family had their struggles, the McMath family worked tirelessly to overcome adversities and take care of one another. “Our neighborhood we grew up in was very rough, but at the same time extremely challenging,” says McMath. “Around fourth or fifth grade, I read a poem called ‘Mother to Son.’ What it talks about is [...] that life is not built on crystal staircases — there are going to be bumps along the road, but you have to hold your head up and keep persevering.” On Monday, Jan. 20, McMath was presented with the Spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. Award at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw. “I feel overwhelmed and humbled that, first of all, anyone would even nominate me,” says McMath, “to believe that I have that type of spirit [...] It’s a testament to the way I was raised.” McMath’s family was enthused about him receiving the Spirit of MLK Jr. Award. His wife, Asheley McMath, has encouraged him along his journey. “They seemed more excited than when I won coach of the year, so it was really big for them, but they understand how hard I work and how much this means to me,” says Carlos McMath. “My wife has been by my side the
Lindsay Lang • Illustrator entire time and she’s been supportive; she’s also held me accountable when I didn’t want to be. She is my biggest cheerleader.” McMath graduated in 2005 from Arthur Hill High School and went to college at Wayne State University. He continued his
Inclusion is the air that we breathe. Exclusion equals suffocation, and so we have to be more inclusive, - Carlos McMath
studies at Thomas M. Cooley College and eventually graduated from the Michigan State University College of Law in 2013. “I came to Delta as an assistant basketball coach,” says McMath. “Then I became head coach, then I got my first job downstairs, and I think Dr. [Jean] Goodnow admired some of the work that I was doing [because] she appointed me to be the first Director of Diversity and Inclusion here.” McMath devotes his time to promoting diversity in his community and on Delta’s campus, but he thinks forums such as social media — and the media in general — still need improvement. “I think there are a lot of times in which we have conversations that are filled with hypersensitive terms, but people don’t understand what those terms mean, or understand language and how powerful it is and the everlasting effect that it has,” says McMath. McMath stresses the need to have more conversations with people that are not filtered through only one lens. Talk to people who are different — whether it’s someone with a different sexuality, ethnicity or religion. “Inclusion is the air that we breathe,” says McMath. “Exclusion equals suffocation, and so we have to be more inclusive.” Aside from encouraging diversity on Delta’s campus, McMath remains active in his community and encourages the next generation to flaunt their talents. “There’s a lot of times when people have talent and don’t want to show it in their community — they’d rather go elsewhere and let that talent be recognized,” says McMath. “I think the biggest thing that anyone can ever do is go back home and then show people that, ‘hey, I made it from here and I am continuing to strive for success and greatness and you can do the same thing.’ Just being that beacon of light.”
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COLLEGIATE LIFE 7
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JANUARY 21, 2020
Real pictures of real women
Photo courtesy of Raegyn Jesyka Alexis Welter (left), Jazmynn Rosenbrock (middle) and Madison Hites (front) pose to promote positive body image on Friday, Jan. 10 in Bay City. Jordan Green Reporter @Jordan_Green6 BAY CITY—Monday, Jan. 13 wasn’t the typical girl’s night for Alexis Welter, Madison Hites, Jazmynn Rosenbrock and Raegen Jesyka. The night began with applying make-up to one another but not the typical lipstick, mascara or blush. These four Delta College students were rallying behind the body positivity movement. Welter, a second year student studying music, was fed up with the societal beliefs that one body type is more acceptable than another. So, she decided to paint empowering words on her body— covered by a simple black bra and underwear—using liquid eyeliner. Recruiting her friend Hites and Rosenbrock, the girls duplicated the words onto their bodies. “Not only [is it] getting us to do something out of our comfort zone to help us feel more comfortable about our bodies, but to stress the importance that we all have different body types. We’re all beautiful,” says Welter. “We shouldn’t have to feel society’s
pressure to be a certain size.” Body image is comprised of how we view ourselves and how we feel others perceive us. Social media’s omnipresence drives our temptation to compare ourselves to others, and our self-esteem begins to unravel with every unrealistic post, tweet and picture. Social media now primarily consists of sharing photos. Jeffrey Dykhuizen, a psychology professor at Delta College, weighs in. “If society generally is saying ‘unless you fit this body type, you aren’t up to par’ and those messages are consistent, which they are now, [...] your self-esteem for your body image is going to be negative,” says Dykhuizen. Like many others, Welter has struggled with body image issues her whole life. Looking to inspire others, she took to Facebook and asked her friends and family to comment empowering words to show how much social support there is for positive body image. The post received 38 comments. “I figured, why not have all these different body types with the same words to describe
them,” explains Welter. Rosenbrock, a friend of Welter’s and photographer, says she was excited to participate in the shoot. “I thought it was a great idea. We see similar shoots all the time on Facebook and Instagram with people we don't know who are trying to spread a similar message.” Rosenbrock adds, “I think if we saw someone we personally know doing something like this, then it might get through to us that self love and being comfortable in our own skin is possible.” In America, the second leading cause of death for young people is suicide. The rate has had a 56 percent increase from 2000-2017, according to an article on PBS. Young
adults also have the highest self-harm rates with 17 percent of college students and 15 percent of adolescents partaking in different forms of self-harm according to the American Psychological Association. Chris Curtis, a psychology professor at Delta College challenges students to answer this question to boost their self-esteem. “What are the things that I find important in myself and in other people?” Curtis asks. “The first thing we all need to do is stop relying on what [this] person thinks of me and really focus on these are things that I think are important. [Tell yourself], ‘These are things in myself that I like’ and be realistic.”
Photo courtesy of Raegyn Jesyka Empowering words such as “strong,” “beautiful” and “unique” mark Alexis Welter’s and Jazmynn Rosenbrock's bodies.
Jordan Green Reporter Jazmynn Rosenbrock writes “extraordinary” on Alexis Welter’s arm in Welter’s Bay City home.
8 FEATURE
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JANUARY 21, 2020
Delta College art wing renovations lack female inclusion Guest Opinion By Bonnie Lalley, Adjunct Instructor
In traversing the hall between the S-wing and the rest of campus at Delta College, one will pass through a dazzling new display of art hung on newly painted walls. It is part of the admirable art initiative taking place on campus. The display begins with three compelling pieces by current art and design faculty, then continues with pieces by regional artists, including retired faculty of Delta College, followed by
reproductions of paintings by historic artists — a.k.a. dead Europeans — and wraps up with contemporary installations. The subject, media and style of the work represented here is widely varied. The common thread running through the exhibit, however, is singular; all of the art here was made by a man, currently living or dead. The current narrative in the arts, nationwide, is about progressive change regarding the weak representation of work by women. According to Artnet. com, just 11% of all acquisitions and 14% of exhibitions at 26 prominent American museums over the past decade were of work by women artists. This year, several great American museums committed to aggressive correction of this disparity. The Baltimore Museum of Art has dedicated all acquisition funds to the purchasing of art by women of all ages and ethnicities for their “2020 Vision” initiative. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is following suit. The exhibition last year at
the Guggenheim, featuring littleknown Swedish artist Hilma af Klint, illustrates how important to a young audience as well as to a museum, art made by a woman can be. According to Artnet.com, it was the most-attended museum show in the Guggenheim’s history, drawing the youngest audience of any exhibition drove a 34% increase in membership. The lack of representation of art made by women in the new exhibit on Delta’s campus says to young art and design students that women artists don’t exist or are unimportant. There were several missed opportunities regarding the exhibit on campus — not only the inclusion of the women who teach art and design at Delta, but also the chance to educate viewers about the great historical pieces by women. These are in the permanent collection at the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA), one of the world’s great museums in our own neighborhood. There is a reproduction in Delta’s exhibit by Orazio Gentileschi, an Italian Renaissance painter. His daughter Artemisia Gentileschi is
now considered the greater artist of the two, despite the tradition of non-education for women in the 17th century. Her painting of “Judith with her Maidservant” is part of the permanent collection at the DIA. Well-known and beloved by many, Frida Kahlo might have been a choice for one of the reproductions. An opportunity to showcase art made by a woman from another country and culture, who suffered hardship, could have been a terrific springboard for student discussion. The DIA is holding a major exhibition of her work in 2020. And so despite the admirable art initiative happening on campus, one has to ask, “What happened here? Were women involved in the selection? Why is the narrative from a male perspective?” In order to change the narrative and bias, it must first be recognized and the public must be acknowledged for what it is: a public comprised of women and men of all ages and ethnicities.
Rebecca Roberts • Photo Editor Newly installed screens throughout the halls on Delta’s main campus display campus events and information for students. Thursday, Jan. 16.
Rebecca Roberts • Photo Editor Associate Professor of Art Michael Glowacki poses with his piece, “Home Is Where The Art Is” being displayed in S-wing. Thursday, Jan. 16.
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FEATURE 9 JANUARY 21, 2020
New art featured in the S-Wing Jordan Green Reporter @Jordan_Green6 Rebecca Roberts Photo Editor UNIVERSITY CENTER— While students took a hiatus from their studies over winter break, Delta College was hard at work updating various wings on campus. The Place Making Committee was created to decide what would be included in the updates and how they would be implemented. The goal of the committee was to give the building more vibrancy and to designate areas of study on campus. Delta College’s President Jean Goodnow led the initiative. Ben Clore, an associate professor of art at Delta, served on The Place Making Committee. “It livens it up,” says Clore. “For the longest time, we didn’t really have artwork hung in the S-Wing and it’s where the art faculty work and art students come to learn.” Clore hopes the renovations inspire students and make it a more exciting learning environment. Updates to Delta’s main campus included new artwork, benches, couches, outlets and an electronic light display. The committee hopes to expand the renovations in the future.
Rebecca Roberts • Photo Editor (Above) The interactive digital art installation encourages students, faculty and visitors to exert some of their creative energy. (Left) achael Bender makes a masterpiece on the new digital installation, a popular addition in the A-wing/S-wing. Tuesday, Jan. 14.
10 S&H
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Dow Gardens teaches Midland about beekeeping Rj Murphy Reporter @rjmurphwords MIDLAND - Is beekeeping right for you? Nearly 50 people swarmed to a seminar hosted at Dow Gardens Wednesday, January 8, eager to learn about possibly raising these arthropods. Entomologist Elly Maxwell, an insect scientist, led the seminar accompanied by a panel of beekeeping enthusiasts including Barb Plezia, Chuck Neal, Chuck Martin and Debbie Anderson. To become a beekeeper, one must be ready to commit their time, money and emotion to the bees. Maxwell has kept bees for more than 12 years. “Beekeeping is a lot like making chili,” says Maxwell. “No two beekeepers do it the same.” Bees need a place to live. The hives that beekeepers use have special screens called frames, where the bees hang out and turn nectar into honey. A multi-purpose hive tool is needed to work with the hive, and a smoker is also required. Smoke keeps the bees from emitting “alarm” pheromones, distracting them and preventing an attack. Bees communicate with pheromones, so when a beekeeper introduces smoke into the environment, the bees cannot communicate. The panel claimed to use a variety of material in the smoker. Wood chips, pine needles and twine were some of the materials mentioned. An allergy may be a barrier to entry. It is ultimately up to the individual if they want to keep bees, but it may not be the best idea if they are deathly allergic to stings. Protective gear is optional, however a veil is recommended. Beekeepers are typically not afraid of getting stung since it does happen. As long as a beekeeper is careful when working with their bees, stings are fairly uncommon. The majority of the panel reported receiving only a couple stings per season. So what is so special about
bees? Other than making delicious honey and useful wax, bees pollinate plants. The University of California estimates that in North America, 30% of the food humans consume is produced from bee-pollinated plant life. The value of pollination by bees is estimated around $16 billion in the U.S. alone. “I think beekeeping is important because it keeps people active,” says Maxwell, expanding on the importance of bees to a community. “It’s the same reason keeping a garden is important and learning where food comes from [is important].” Dow Gardens publishes a “Bee Blog” at https://www.dowgardens. org/beeblog. The blog, run by Debbie Anderson, is a great resource for someone interested in keeping bees. For those interested, there are more upcoming events.
Maddie Fordos • Photographer Common beekeeping supplies and information on display to complement the ‘Is Beekeeping for Me?’ forum at Whiting Forest. Midland, Wednesday Jan. 8.
A healthy hive has approximately 50,000 worker bees. Worker bees are female and are responsible for way more than just reproduction. Some of these tasks include foraging for pollen and nectar, building and cleaning the hive, nurturing the growing larvae and defending the queen. There are 100 worker bees for every drone.
Worker
-bigislandbees.com
Larger in size than the worker, the male drone’s only responsibility is to mate with the queen. These bees are incapable of creating food for themselves and have no stingers. They die after mating with the queen and are kicked out of the hives before winter. -bigislandbees.com Drone
The queen is the ruling reproductive center of the hive. There is only one queen bee per hive and she leaves only once in her life, in order to mate. The queen feasts on “royal jelly” and may lay around 1,500 eggs per day. -bigislandbees.com Queen
Wasps are insects that are neither bees nor ants. Yellow jackets and hornets are both considered wasps. A carnivorous predator, wasps are considered pests. The majority of wasps can’t pollinate and perpetrate more stings than bees. -wikipedia.org/wiki/wasp Wasp
S&H 11
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This flu season may be the deadliest yet Jordan Green Reporter @Jordan_Green6 BAY CITY — Stock up on your portable hand sanitizers and pocket tissues. This flu season could be hitting the nation hard. In fact, it’s on track to be the deadliest on record, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Last season’s virus was the deadliest in more than 40 years. Data from the CDC reveals that the flu afflicted at least 6.4 million people so far this season, with more than 2,900 deaths this year. On Jan. 10, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services released a statement declaring Michigan’s first two pediatric flu deaths of the 2019-2020 season. The influenza virus is a respiratory illness affecting the nose, throat and occasionally the lungs. The virus can cause mild to severe illness and, at times, death. “The common symptoms are chills, fever, fatigue and headaches,” says Diamond Roby, pharmacist at the Walgreens on Euclid Ave in Bay City. “You won’t feel like doing anything.” Roby recommends that you should seek care from a local RediMed, urgent care or your
doctor’s office if you think you have the flu. The sooner you can get tested and use medication, the better the outcome. “It won’t stop the flu, but it will help with the symptoms,” says Roby. The CDC warns that people with influenza can be contagious for up to 5-7 days after contracting the infection, making it difficult to contain before it wreaks havoc. Employees and students often attend their jobs or classes while sick, in fear of missing hours and falling behind in school. Nicole Ortega, a nursing student at Delta College, says she still attends class and work when she gets sick, because there is no choice. “I have to go to work to pay bills and if I miss a class, I’ll fail the course,” says Ortega. “Definitely, people are afraid to call off work because they don’t want to lose time or money and [then] they pass the infection on to other employees,” says Roby. Healthline reports that $16.3 billion dollars are lost in earnings annually as a cause from the seasonal influenza. Every year, influenza costs Americans $10.4 billion dollars in hospitalizations and outpatient visits according to the CDC.
12 A&E
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JANUARY 21, 2020
Will AI endanger the art of moviemaking? Samuel Philpot Associate Editor @Philpoteropolis Corporate Hollywood made a major move in money-making machines when Warner Bros. purchased Cinelytic’s newest artificial intelligence system — a technology that decides whether or not a new film is worth creating. Focusing on 15 attributes that drive film performances, the tool is meant to supplement the creative process of executive producers by solving algorithms that took days, in only a few hours. Using advanced pattern recognition, the technology can determine how a piece of film could perform in theaters. It can also review potential cast choices and decide which talent would be better suited for the film being made. Mark Brown, associate professor in English, says this technology is a
catastrophic decision. “Reducing moviemaking down to numbers and demographics is a terrible idea,” says Brown. Using this AI may be a bust, or it could break ground and churn out one blockbuster hit after another. It may not be long before other companies get their hands on similar technology. “Hollywood is a business,” Brown adds. “People want to make art, but Hollywood wants to make money.” With this new technology in place, fewer films might make it to the big screen. Movie pitches could be forced to endure more barriers and survive a computational test to decide if they’re worth being made. Jeff Vande Zande, English professor and independent filmmaker, worries that this AI technology will reduce the creativity of film. “[That means] artful, important films might not get green-lighted because they don’t meet some metric,” says Vande Zande. “What if someone had run
Samuel Philpot • Associate Editor AI now has the power to predict what people want to see at the box office. Goodrich Quality Theaters in Bay City, Friday, Jan. 3 Citizen Kane through an AI predictor and it came back that it wouldn’t be a hit? It’s dangerous to the purity of an art when its value is strictly assessed by its potential for monetary gain.” Moviemaking as an art form hasn’t been around for long — roughly a hundred years. In that time, films have been made on gut instinct, creative decision and raw intuition. Now this platform is adding in a business element
Maddie Fordos • Photographer Theater goers look forward to their cinema experience at Midland NCG Cinemas, Friday Jan. 17
that could hinder the art form as a whole. The big name directors may not have an issue with getting their films fasttracked to being made, but what kind of hindrance could this technology bring for up-and-coming filmmakers? “The more seasoned, talented directors are gonna do whatever they want,” says Delta College student Jard Harris. “Odds are, no one is going to turn down Quentin Tarantino, or Scorsese.” This is a piece of technology that can be bought by big Hollywood companies. However, some creative decision making still remains intact. Casting directors can still opt to go with their gut feelings; directors can still choose the movie they wish to make. But as this technology grows and expands, what will the future of film look like?
Heywood Banks comes to Bay City Self-described as one-ofa-kind, somewhere between a genius and a buffoon, Heywood Banks is best known for his cornucopia of comedic songs, with a sense of humor fit for everyone. The Howell native comes out swinging with seven albums worth of songs, packed to the brim with jokes and imitations throughout. No matter your taste in comedy, there’s bound to be something here for you. The show kicks off Saturday, Feb. 8 at the State Theatre in Bay City, with the performance starting at 7p.m. Tickets will run for $25; get them quick if you want a shot at seeing the madness that is Heywood Banks.
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Have the Detroit Pistons ‘pist-on’ themselves? Kelvin Butler Sports Reporter @KelvinButler19 At the start of the 2019-2020 NBA season, a lot of people and analysts thought the Detroit Pistons would make the playoffs. The belief was that they’d secure it around the fifth or sixth seed in the eastern conference. The Pistons were coming off of a season where their two stars — Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond — were having career seasons. The play from those two got the Pistons to the playoffs, where they lost in a sweep to the one-seed Milwaukee Bucks. Making an unexpected move, the Pistons signed former NBA MVP Derrick Rose. Rose was recruited from the Minnesota Timberwolves after he revived his career in the previous season, when he was having his best games since his time playing for the Chicago Bulls. The Pistons also bought a reliable bench player out of
his contract — Markieff Morris — from the Oklahoma City Thunder. These acquisitions added some great rotation players onto the Pistons’ team. Downhill fast Once the season started, the Pistons’ starting point guard, Reggie Jackson, got injured. Jackson has missed 30 straight games with the injury. Following Jackson, Griffin got injured and also missed several games. Now he’s opting to get a season-ending surgery. These injuries forced Drummond and Rose to carry the load while forcing other players to step up, like Luke Kennard and Langston Galloway. Those two, unfortunately, don’t have much to give because of inconsistency in their play. The injuries put them in the 11th seed of the eastern conference. This seed is like a limbo stop — they’re too good to lose to bad teams, too bad to beat good teams. Can they bounce back? With the Pistons being the 11th seed in the east, it's not impossible to make the playoffs.
They are a couple of games behind the Orlando Magic, who currently hold the last playoff spot. The east is known to be the worst conference out of the two, so the Pistons could definitely take it from them. There are about 50 games left in the season, so the Pistons have plenty of time to improve their team’s chemistry and health. Then if they get hot and go on a little win streak, they’ll be back
in the playoff race. We have to hope that happens; if it doesn’t, the Pistons are in a world of hurt. The team is also looking to trade away Drummond and Rose after the slow start while moving in a direction that develops their younger players. So never mind how long it would take for them to get back to championship contender status. If they do trade those two away, then let God take the wheel.
score twice. Then, they stopped the Packers’s ground game by limiting their leading rusher, Aaron Jones, to only 56-yards. The 49ers completely owned the Packers offense — stuffing them on third downs — letting them complete only 33% of them. Seeing how the 49ers can pass and run the ball extremely well, they’re a balanced team with great receivers like George Kittle and Emmanuel Sanders for Jimmy Garoppolo to throw to. And with a three-headed backfield including Matt Breida, Tevin Coleman and
Mostert, they’re a dangerous team. The Chiefs are a passdependent team — and they should be, when have the best thrower in the game and two offensive masterminds, Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy, to coach him. Their defense is good enough to stop teams; it’ll be a very tough matchup. After the Chiefs locked down Henry and made a 24-0 comeback on the Texans, I got the Chiefs beating the 49ers 3428 in a high-scoring escapade.
Chiefs v. 49ers for Super Bowl LIV Will Andy Reid finally secure the Lombardi? Kelvin Butler Sports Reporter @KelvinButler19 The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are headed to Super Bowl LIV. The Chiefs just came off a win against the Tennessee Titans — the same Titans who had a seemingly unstoppable force in Derrick Henry, showing that the old Chiefs defense is dead and gone. That defense has been replaced by a new, much stronger lineup that includes players like Daniel Sorensen and Frank Clark. If the Chiefs defense stays hot, they can completely shut a team down like what they did against the Houston Texans. The Chiefs offense is deadly; it will be a very difficult task for any defense to hold up against. The greatness of Patrick
Mahomes combined with a seemingly endless arsenal of receivers like Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Travis Kelcea give them a real shot to win. On top of those receivers, the Chiefs have three competent running backs in their lineup. But unlike the Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers ran their way to Super Bowl 54. The 49ers gave the ball to Raheem Mostert 29 times and he produced 220 yards and four touchdowns. They only threw the ball eight times in the whole game. This gave the 49ers an easy 37-20 win over the Green Bay Packers, who did their best to make a second half comeback. The 49ers defense did their job by not letting Aaron Rodgers do his thing, forcing him to throw two interceptions and only
14 OPINION
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JANUARY 21, 2020
The University of Michigan; Michigan State University; Northern Michigan University; Western Michigan University; Saginaw Valley State University. These schools all have something in common — they are all closed on January 20. Delta College though, remains open. Jan. 20 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the day that many businesses, schools and government bodies close their doors to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. and his sacrifices for American civil rights. The date is synonymous with the fight for equality. Martin Luther King Jr. sacrificed his life to help bring about equal treatment of AfricanAmericans during a time that lynch mobs and the Ku Klux Klan were killing random blacks in the streets. His life is honored by the federal government, mirrored only by the first President of the United States, George Washington. Banks are closed, the post office is closed — every government body is shut down. Delta College though, remains open. Delta’s Black Faculty and Staff Association sponsors the Spirit
Delta College remains open on MLK Jr. Day — Editorial —
of MLK Jr. Award for receipt to a deserving employee. Delta’s library is creating a tribute to articles and pages published between the civil rights era, dating from 1963-1969. This is fantastic and will last for more than just the day of Martin Luther King Jr.’s celebrated holiday. But does Delta College itself celebrate the spirit of the man this award is named after? According to the calendar of events on delta.edu, the answer is a resounding “no.” We have a duty as members of this free nation to stand up — to vocalize our support for those who work hard for change and equality. Delta should do something in the same vein as Aquinas College in Grand Rapids: close for the day and host a litany of events. They should do something in likeness to Eastern Michigan, which hosts a six-day string of events to celebrate the life of this great martyr. Or Delta could just close for the day and allow its students to express themselves in the community through volunteering, to further civil rights. Anything Delta did would be better than having nothing listed on the event calendar.
Lindsay Lang • Illustrator
"What would you do on your day off from Delta?"
“I would probably just stay home and read to be completely honest.” Olivia Urbain-Drews, 18, Marion Springs
“It would depend on if I had any homework from the previous days before, but probably nothing other than that.". Marissa Steff, 18, Bay City
“I would probably talk to friends and watch videos.” Michaelangelo Rusch, 21, Sebewaing
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fitness drop outs
Written by Maddison Godi Illustration by Lindsay Lang
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upcoming events Wednesday Jan. 22 - Monday Jan. 27 Zehnder’s Snowfest 2020 @ Frankenmuth, MI For nearly 30 years, Zehnder’s has provided winter fun for everyone in Michigan and beyond. Enjoy ice sculptures, a warming tent, winter activities, refreshments and much more.
Tuesday Jan. 28 Lunch and Learn: Historic Saginaw Club 12 to 1 p.m. @ Castle Museum in Saginaw John and Roberta Morey are coming to discuss their new book “Historic Saginaw Club.” Light refreshments will be provided; attendants can bring their own lunch too.
Sunday Feb. 2 The Un-Super Bowl Party 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. @ Bemo’s Bar in Bay City Looking for an alternative to the big game? Bemo’s is having live music, as well as food and prizes. They’ll still have the Super Bowl on TV if you wanna keep up with the scores.
Saturday Jan. 25 Lightnin’ Licks Dance Off 7 to 11 p.m. @ Arbeitoer Hall in Bay City The Lightnin’ Licks Vinyl Preservation Society is bringing in their DJs for some funky grooves. Governor’s Quarters is also bringing in a cash bar and refreshments. Show ‘em what you got!
Friday Jan. 31 Zoso: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience 8 p.m. @ Dow Event Center in Saginaw (Red Room) Tickets $24 All ages are welcome to come in and experience the music of legendary British rock band Led Zeppelin. Get your tickets at Ticketmaster.com or the Dow Event Center box office.
Monday Feb. 3 Winter Blood Drive 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. @ main campus (west main hallway) Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood, from car accident victims to cancer patients. You can help by donating blood - while you wait for your next class!
MADE TO MOVE Your future, your opportunity, your next move. Find it all here. Ferris offers flexible, convenient classes in the Great Lakes Bay Region and online. Transfer up to 90 Delta College credit hours. Meet with an advisor now to maximize your transfer credit and move Ferris Forward.
Ferris State University is an equal opportunity institution. For information on the University’s Policy on Non-Discrimination, visit ferris.edu/non-discrimination. 20191021