CELEBRATING OUR ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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SEXUAL MISCONDUCT POLICY
Admins talk changes to misconduct procedures AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Political Science Prof. John Chamberlin speaks about the process of electing local public owfficials at “Ann Arbor Elections: Exploring Options” panel discussion hosted by The League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area at the Ann Arbor downtown public library on Tuesday.
Panel discusses election 2 cycles, term lengths in A Several members of City Council attend discussion on local electoral system By ANASTASSIOS ADAMOPOULOS Daily Staff Reporter
With a heavily Democratic electorate, Ann Arbor City Council elections are typically determined
during primary season. But since a large portion of Ann Arbor voters absent in August, some residents have called for changes to election dates. According to an interactive panel discussion hosted Tuesday by the League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area, the dates aren’t likely to change in the near future. About 25 attendees, including councilmembers Jack Eaton (D– Ward 4), Julie Grand (D–Ward 3) and Kirk Westphal (D–Ward 2),
joined a panel of experts inside the Ann Arbor District Library to discuss election dates, voter turnout and partisanship in Ann Arbor elections. Panelists first responded to questions prepared by the LWV — a nonpartisan organization that promotes political awareness and activism — and then took questions from attendees. The panel consisted of John Chamberlin, a professor of public policy, Lawrence Kestenbaum, the Washtenaw County clerk and
Joseph Ohren, a political science professor at Eastern Michigan University. The panel stressed that election dates in Ann Arbor cannot change without changes to Michigan Election Law. “When we talk about changing the schedules of elections in Ann Arbor, the elections pretty much have to be in November and the primaries in August,” Kestenbaum said. According to a 2005 See ELECTIONS, Page 3A
University considers changes to appeals process, witness testimony By ALLANA AKHTAR Daily Staff Reporter
University administrators sat down with students Monday and Tuesday night to discuss potential changes to the Student Sexual Misconduct Policy. Holly Rider-Milkovich, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, and Patricia Petrowski, associate vice president and deputy general counsel, told students that revisions to the policy will be based on a variety of factors — including comparisons to peer institutions’ policies and suggestions voiced by students, faculty and SAPAC. “As we’ve been gathering that information, we’ve been thinking about what are some ways we can strengthen the policy and respond to some of the concerns,” Rider-
GOVERNMENT
HEALTH
Snyder vows to veto religious freedom bill After RFRA passes in Indiana, similar proposal generates discussion in Mich. By EMMA KINERY Daily Staff Reporter
A bill that would allow individuals to claim exemptions from certain laws on religious grounds has garnered new attention in Michigan following controversy over the passage of a similar Religious Freedom Restoration Act in Indiana. A RFRA bill was originally introduced to the Michigan state Senate in January. Currently, 20 states have passed versions of the RFRA following a 1997 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled a national version of the law was not applicable to state laws. Though they vary between states, RFRA bills generally allow businesses and citizens to claim exemptions from state laws if they can prove the laws violate
strongly-held religious beliefs. A similar version of the bill introduced last year failed to pass in the year’s lame-duck session. Opponents of the bill have said the RFRA will hinder discrimination protections for multiple groups, namely the LGBTQ community. These concerns were highlighted after several incidents in Indiana have occurred — including a pizzeria that gained national attention saying it would refuse to cater to same-sex weddings. Michael Woodford, an assistant professor of social work at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Canada who studies the LGBTQ community, said RFRAs are a concern for a variety of reasons, including their potential to imply that some groups have less legal protection than others. “We think about the stigma and marginalization — especially when we’re talking about legislation,” Woodford said. “It’s basically saying the people we elect to make laws think that See RFRA, Page 3A
The year in review
Milkovich said. The pending changes come two years after the Student Sexual Misconduct Policy was last revised in August 2013. Rider-Milkovich and Petrowski had already proposed a number of changes to the current policy, which they discussed with students in a round table format. Under the current policy, either the complainant or the respondent can appeal a case’s outcome after the Office for Institutional Equity reviews the report and the Office of Student Conflict Resolution decides sanctions. According to Rider-Milkovich, this can render potential respondents and complainants unable to agree upon sanctions because they are not finished disputing evidence — which could lengthen the procedure. Subsequently, she said, the first and most complex policy change would involve separating the appeals process to allow for objections at both the OIE and OSCR levels, as opposed to appealing them collectively. See POLICY, Page 3A
CDC reports fewer Ebola cases than anticipated
WILLIAM LYNCH/Daily
LSA sophomore Ben Meisel, a CSG representative, asks fellow representatives to consider him as the speaker of the assembly during the CSG meeting in the CSG chambers on Tuesday.
CSG swears in leadership during inaugural meeting Director also suggests changes to University Election Code By LEA GIOTTO Daily Staff Reporter
The newly elected 2015-2016 Central Student Government assembly met for the first time Tuesday night.
The first order of business was swearing in LSA junior Cooper Charlton and LSA sophomore Steven Halperin as the new CSG president and vice president, respectively, and the fifth assembly as a whole. “I ... do solemnly swear that I will to the best of my ability preserve and champion the all campus constitution of the Ann Arbor student body,” the assembly announced together. After being sworn in, Charlton promised three things
to the assembly: confidence, respect and execution. “If we do not do the first two — confidence and respect — we will not be able to execute,” he said. “I hope we will all be able to work together to make sure next year is a hell of a year for not only our students but for the University of Michigan as a whole.” The assembly also held elections for assembly leadership positions, including See CSG, Page 3A
‘U’ researchers explain why officials overestimated the disease’s spread By IRENE PARK Daily Staff Reporter
According to figures updated generated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the federal government likely overestimated the extent of Ebola’s spread. In Septmember, the CDC predicted Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia would experience 1.4 million cases of Ebola cases by Jan. 20, 2015 without the implementation of additional interventions. As of Tuesday, the total number of suspected or confirmed cases totaled 25,611 in the three countries — far lower than originally predicted by the CDC. In a recent study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, See EBOLA, Page 3A
» INSIDE
Students and photos of the year
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 103 ©2015 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A ARTS..........................5A
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A T H E S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . .1 B