CELEBRATING OUR ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Friday, April 3, 2015
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Future of ‘U’ housing renovations uncertain
ANDREW COHEN/Daily
LEFT: Students and community members attend a candlelight vigil in the Michigan for the annual “Take Back the Night” rally. TOP RIGHT: Participants in “Take Back the Night” march down the streets of Ann Arbor to protest sexual violence. BOTTOM RIGHT: Michigan Take Back the Night arranged for a police escort.
Students rally on campus for ‘Take Back the Night’ Over 200 march from the Union to protest sexual violence By EMMA KINERY Daily Staff Reporter
Thursday’s gloomy weather did not rain on the parade of activists participating in the 37th annual Take Back the Night rally. The event was hosted by the student organization University
Students Against Rape and the Ann Arbor chapter of Michigan Takes Back the Night, and was funded and sponsored by Central Student Government. The rally began at the Michigan Union where marchers gathered to watch performances by singer Hope Thomas and the dance groups Salto Dance Company and Liem Irish Dance. Several members of the organization spoke throughout the performances before the march, and one survivor gave a testimonial. LSA freshman Hayley Walton informed attendees of the organi-
zation’s new resource on the Take Back the Night’s website, which allows survivors to share their stories with the option of anonymity. Many ralliers, like LSA freshman Rachel Beglin, noted sexual assault as a pertinent issue. “I haven’t had as horrible of an experience as some, but I have been definitely personally exposed to the way people talk on campus,” Beglin said. “It’s really not OK and that’s what we’re saying tonight.” Campus and community organizations set up tables to advocate for their causes related to sexual
assault awareness and prevention. Planned Parenthood, Students For Choice, Free Hearts, I Will Week, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, SafeHouse, What the F magazine, Students For Reproductive Justice and promoters of the app Companion all had tables at the event. Take Back the Night also had tables selling T-shirts and distributing wristbands and stickers. They also had a table where marchers could write a message of hope on a balloon which would be released during the march. See RALLY, Page 3
Next stage of projects could focus on North Campus facilities By GENEVIEVE HUMMER Daily Staff Reporter
Over the past decade, the University has undertaken several significant efforts to improve residential life on campus through the Residential Life Initiatives, launched by University President Emerita Mary Sue Coleman in 2004. According to University Housing, nearly 10,000 undergraduate students live in one of the University’s 18 residence halls and 1,480 individual apartments each year. When it comes to freshmen specifically, 97 percent elect to live in University housing during their first year, meaning most freshmen students eat, sleep, study and socialize in the University’s residential spaces. Since the program was launched, the Residence Life Initiative has pumped millions of dol-
lars into the University’s residence halls. West Quad Residential Hall’s reopening in the fall will mark the end of the initiative’s second phase, which included massive projects at East Quad and South Quad as well. Though the University does not currently have the funding in place for a third phase of the project, several University administrators say North Campus dorms would likely be the focus of a future project. “Now we’re doing the planning to think, well, if that ends in 2017, we have a little time now to think about what we want to do next,” Loren Rullman, associate vice president for student affairs, said in an interview with The Michigan Daily. Residential Life Initiatives Citing the connection between living and learning, Coleman consistently identified improvements to residential life as one of the cornerstones of her presidency. “I want our university to invest time, effort and funding in expanding and improving the residential experience of our students,” Coleman said in 2004. “We can find a host of new ways to provide a better environment for learning and See DORMS, Page 3
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
ANN ARBOR
CSG results in executive race certified after cases
Ward 1 Council candidates talk zoning, safety
Make Michigan retains positions after UEC resolves litigation
Ahead of primary, newcomer Will Leaf to face long-serving member Sabra Briere
By NABEEL CHOLLAMPAT
SAN PHAM/Daily
Daily Staff Reporter
U.S. House Representative Debbie Dingell discusses her experiences as a woman in politics during the “Pathway to Politics: Women in Elected Office” panel at the Ford School of Public Policy on Thursday.
After a week of litigation, LSA junior Cooper Charlton and LSA sophomore Steven Halperin, Make Michigan presidential-elect and vice presidential-elect, respectively, will hold on to their five-vote lead in this year’s Central Student Government elections. Results were previously unofficial due to several pending cases filed to the University Election Commission by The Team and Make Michigan against each other. The last of those cases were decided Wednesday evening. Both parties were found not guilty, and both chose not to appeal those decisions. Law student Paige Becker, the University’s elections director, said the results were now certified, due to the decisions. Along with the presidency and vice presidency, results for the CSG assembly were also certified. Make Michigan won 23 seats and the Department of Public Safety Oversight Committee seat. The Team won 21 seats, the Defend Affirmative See RESULTS, Page 3
Female elected officials talk experiences in office
WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 50 LO: 30
Slate of women leaders encourage students to engage with politics By EMMA KINERY Daily Staff Reporter
Several prominent state female political leaders visited the Ford School of Public Policy on Thursday to discuss women’s experiences running for elected office. The event drew about 50 attendees, mostly female, and was hosted by Graduate Career Services and Women and Gender in Public Policy. U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D–Mich.) introduced the panel, which consisted of
Gretchen Whitmer, former Michigan Senate minority leader; Regent Kathy White (D), chair of the University’s Board of Regents; state Rep. Gretchen Driskell (D–Saline); and state Rep. Stephanie Chang (D– Detroit). Chang participated via conference call and the rest attended in person. Before the start of the panel, Public Policy Dean Susan Collins noted that each of the panelists have a connection the Public Policy School, either as students, guest lecturers or representatives of the University. In her introduction, Dingell encouraged women to run for office because of the different viewpoints she said they bring to the table. “Women bring a different perspective to the public policy arena,” Dingell said. “Women
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are people who have to balance more balls than men. The younger generation is doing more of this than some of my generation.” Referencing a book focused on the ethics of kindness that she said influenced her in college, Dingell said she felt “care” was what women brought to public policy, and that women are better at bringing people with differing viewpoints together. Chang also noted the different approaches that women bring to the legislature. She said women tend to be more collaborative as leaders, and added that women tend to understand policies affecting families, women and children better than their male colleagues. “There have been studies and See PANEL, Page 3
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By ANASTASSIOS ADAMOPOULUOS Daily Staff Reporter
University alum William Leaf, a 2012 graduate, is challenging incumbent Sabra Briere (D–Ward 1) for her 1st Ward City Council seat. In anticipation of the upcoming Aug. 4 Democratic primary election, Briere and Leaf discussed their goals and oftentimes contrasting priorities. The 1st Ward divides Central Campus in half. Extending from the Law Quad to beyond North Campus, it is exemplary of the thin lines that exist between city and campus. According to a study conducted by The Michigan Daily in February, 24.54 percent of students are registered in the 1st Ward, making it the second-highest student-registered ward after the 2nd Ward. Briere, a University alum and an Ann Arbor resident since 1973, said that prior to getting involved with City Council she worked a number of jobs. Her last job was for a nonprofit organization which she lost due during the recession. “Why do I run again? Part of
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that reason is that I think I am really effective in what I am doing. That feeling of effectiveness is remarkably rewarding,” she said. Briere has retained her seat since her first appointment in November 2007. Briere characterizes herself as a City Council member who acts independently — a strategy she says she tried to maintain in what she found to be a divided City Council in the past. “I don’t make decisions based on who else is supporting something, and I don’t make decisions based on personal loyalties,” she said. “I make decisions based, as much as I can, on the facts in front of me. Even when I don’t like the facts. They are still facts.” Briere said one of her main strengths is being open to listening to people’s problems and listening to all sides of an issue. Her main concerns are infrastructure changes that may be needed due to changing weather patterns, increasing pedestrian safety and reconsidering zoning rules, among others. “Sometimes it’s about being able to see results,” she said. “But sometimes it’s about being able to see the big picture. Seeing the moving parts and seeing the consequences, both the anticipated ones and the unanticipated ones that no one was expecting to see.” Briere is also on the city’s Planning Commission, the Environmental Commission, Housing and Human Services Advisory Board See COUNCIL, Page 3
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