ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Friday, January 24, 2020
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Sam Epstein remembered: ‘His door was always open’
Colleagues, students reflect on legacy of Cognitive Science Institute founder KATHERINA SOURINE Daily Staff Reporter
School of Business senior Maha Zeidan and graduate student Noor Ghali attend the Paani Culture night in UMMA Thurday evening.
KELSEY PEASE/Daily
2nd Paani Culture Night celebrates history, diversity with food and dance
Student organizations represent countries facing shared sanitation issues KRISTINA ZHENG Daily Staff Reporter
Just a few minutes before 7 p.m. on Thursday, the front steps of the University of Michigan Museum of Art were dotted with students dressed in a collection of cultural attire and winter jackets. Despite the cold, more than a hundred students were all there for the same reason: Paani Culture Night. Paani is a non-profit organization comprised of student volunteers dedicated to creating sustainable, evidencebased solutions to supply clean
water and improve health disparities. The organization has built more than 200 wells and donated around $100,000 towards alleviating the sanitation crisis in Pakistan. To host the event, Paani partnered with 10 cultural student organizations across campus, including the Bangladeshi, Egyptian, Iraqi, Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian, Pakistani, Persian, Syrian and Yemeni student organizations. Last year, Paani launched their first culture night at Rackham Graduate School which drew more than 100 attendees not just from the
University but also from across metro Detroit, including from schools such as the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Michigan State University and Wayne State University. LSA sophomore Sukaina Himmati said the organization hoped to make this year’s event even bigger. “It was very important for those who initially started it and for us now to uplift the community that we started from,” Himmati said. “We noticed that a lot of our friends were a part of cultural orgs, and all the countries that we represented, all of them suffered from serious
sanitation issues that affected the lives of the people back home.” Comedian Abdallah Jasim emceed the event, entertaining the crowd and helping to bring awareness to Paani’s sanitation efforts. Decked in colored lights and music, the UMMA was filled with people of all backgrounds and interests. From card games to papyrus making, each organization set up a booth where attendees could learn about traditions and activities most meaningful to their organization’s culture. See PAANI, Page 3
When remembering Sam Epstein, linguistics and cognitive science professor, who passed away on Nov. 29, colleagues and students reflected on his brilliance. During his 22-year career at the University of Michigan, Epstein was the founding director of the Weinberg Institute for Cognitive Science in 2014 and worked closely alongside Noam Chomsky, famed intellectual and linguist. Colleagues say his work in linguistics and cognitive science propelled forward these departments at the University, and his teaching was recognized by a 2009 John D’Arms Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentoring and an Arthur F. Thurnau Professorship in 2013. Marlyse Baptista, Department of Linguistics and the Weinberg Institute faculty member, met Epstein during her time as a student at Harvard University nearly 30 years ago, where he was an assistant professor. They kept
in touch when Epstein came to the University, and when Baptista received a position, they were able to continue their close working relationship, which became a life-long friendship. His knack for complex thinking, she said, was one of a kind. “If you think of Sam Epstein, one of the first things that come to mind is his brilliance,” Baptista said. “The brilliance of his intellect. And whenever you had a conversation with him, both as a colleague and as a friend, you knew that you were going onto some type of academic journey, whose endpoint would always be so deeply satisfying, because he had that kind of mind. It was always very elegant in the way that he reasoned and argued for a specific point. I don’t know anybody who can match what he had to offer.” While Epstein’s excellence as an academic is undisputed, Baptista and other colleagues unanimously emphasized the personality, charm and empathy he brought to campus. See EPSTEIN, Page 3
Following claims against Philbert, Cannabis Many Big 10 student a look at The Daily’s reporting on OIE company STUDENT GOVERNMENT
councils to convene
BUSINESS
Office has received criticisms for length, effectiveness of investigations
sees high sale levels Largest A 2 retailer obtains a license to sell recreationally after legalization in 2018
Indiana meeting brings together leaders to share ideas, collaborate on upcoming legislation JULIA RUBIN
ANGELINA LITTLE
Daily Staff Reporter
The University of Michigan’s Central Student Government will send five representatives to the Association of Big Ten Students winter conference at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., on Friday. The Association of Big Ten Students brings together representatives from each of the Big Ten schools’ student governments to share information about student governance and represent students to administrations and governments. LSA junior Aidan Sova is the executive director of ABTS and said he is excited to bring 20 pieces of legislation to the conference, up from CSG’s typical 10 items. The legislation includes tackling student affordability and developing ABTS partnerships with student advocacy groups. The flagship piece of legislation urges all Big Ten universities to invest with a climate conscious lens. “Ben Gerstein wrote on behalf of Michigan a piece of legislation that would increase our commitment to sustainability in asking our respective administrations across the Big Ten to no longer invest in fossil fuels,” Sova said. See CSG, Page 3
Daily Staff Reporter
DESIGN BY MAGGIE HUANG
EMMA STEIN
Daily News Editor
The Michigan Daily has a tip line just for these kinds of stories – tipline@ michigandaily.com. This is a private tip line viewable by a small team of reporters committed to this work. The Michigan Daily is listening. University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel’s announcement on Wednesday of numerous sexual misconduct allegations against Provost Martin Philbert follows long-running criticism of how the University’s Office of Institutional Equity has handled such claims in the past, as reported on by The Daily.
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Philbert, who was Schlissel’s second-incommand, was placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday after the University received multiple allegations of his misconduct on Jan. 16 and 17. The Office of Institutional Equity investigates sexual misconduct claims, among other allegations. OIE reported directly to Philbert as of Sept. 2019. University spokesman Fitzgerald said, despite supervising OIE, Philbert had no direct involvement with the investigations. “On a day-to-day basis, he has no hands-on role with the office or investigations at all,” Fitzgerald said. He noted that any allegations made against
Philbert “absolutely do not” taint OIE investigations conducted while they reported to the provost. Fitzgerald emphasized the provost did not play a role in OIE’s investigations, adding that the office conducts its investigations independently. “It would be a mistake to think the provost, or anyone, had power or inf luence over investigations,” Fitzgerald said. “The investigations are done by trained investigators in the Office for Institutional Equity and they’re signed off by the Title IX coordinator if it’s a sexual misconduct investigation.” Philbert had been on leave for part of last semester for medical reasons, Fitzgerald
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confirmed. Amy Dittmar, acting provost at the time, is not resuming the role as that particular administrative leave has ended. Before May 2019, OIE reported to both the Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and University Human Resources. Fitzgerald said the University administration changed who OIE reported to in order to make the process more efficient. “It (the move to have OIE report to the provost) was partially to indicate the importance of this office, but it reported to two different offices,” Fitzgerald said. “And sometimes a joint reporting relationship
Vol. CXXIX, No. 56 ©2019 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor’s recreational marijuana businesses reported higher levels of sales since local retailers took advantage of the statewide legalization of marijuana. Skymint joined five other cannabis retailers in Ann Arbor licensed to sell recreational marijuana on Jan. 9. Skymint, which is owned by Green Peak Innovations, is the largest marijuana company in Michigan. The dispensary has been open since November, and is one of six locations throughout the state, including one in Flint, which opened on Thursday. Summer Ransom, Skymint’s president of retail, said gaining a license for recreational sale has transformed business at the Ann Arbor location. “It’s been night and day for how busy we are,” Ransom said. “It has increased business by five times — certain days even more than that — so it’s been pretty crazy.”
See OIE, Page 3
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 CLASSIFIEDS................6
See MARIJUANA, Page 3
SUDOKU.....................6 ARTS...................5 SPORTS.................7