ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Thursday, January 30, 2014
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
ADMINISTRATION
‘U’ declines to release Gibbons final ruling Experts say FERPA empowers institutions to release outcome of sexual assault cases
PATRICK BARRON/Daily
A worker carries in equipment to dry East Quad’s floors after a flooding occured Wednesday. Classes in the building were subsequently canceled.
Pipe burst cancels classes Flood affected first level of newly renovated residence hall
press release. According to the press release, the break occurred at 9:30 a.m. but caused no damage to residential areas of the building. University Housing spokesman Peter Logan said he could not confirm the precise time of the break, but said the flood was the result of a frozen one and a half inch pipe in the fire suppression system, which ruptured over the first floor theatre area. Fire alarms were set off throughout the building as a result of the flooding immediately after the line break. Logan said the alarms automatically activate when the
By IAN DILLINGHAM Daily News Editor
One day after the first University weather-related closure since 1978, some students were told to take another day off Wednesday. Classes in East Quad Residence Hall were cancelled Wednesday in response to a pipe burst in the early morning, according to a University
system senses a discharge of water, since that can be an indicator that the system is attempting to suppress an active fire. Fire officials must investigate the area to determine there is no fire present before the alarms can be deactivated. Logan said fire suppression systems in the building are now fully operational. Most classes in East Quad will resume normal operations Thursday, with the exception of five classrooms that may require additional repairs. Students with classes in affected rooms will be contacted by their professors to arrange alternate schedules or loca-
SAPAC pilots online chat to increase aid By JULIA LISS Daily Staff Reporter
The Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center has officially launched its new online chat feature, a program that will allow members of the University community to anonymously chat with an advocate. The chat feature will be available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free to use. Amy Burandt, SAPAC program manager for survivor care, came up with the idea for the new feature in collaboration with SAPAC Director Holly Rider-Milkovich. The two women began discussing the idea for an online chat feature about two years ago and began the process of creating
and implementing the program about a year ago. Ensuring users’ confidentiality was a primary concern when selecting a chat provider. SAPAC decided to work with an Ann Arbor-based company, Alark, on the project. Next, the technical staff worked to set up the chat on SAPAC’s website in a way that would be visible and accessible. SAPAC began piloting the feature in a beta version last semester, during which interns would test it a few days a week to work out any bugs that might have come up. Given the new feature is intended for use by the University community, users are asked to enter their Kerberos password to verify their identity, although this information is not revealed to the SAPAC expert responding to the chat request. Users are also shown a detailed explanation about confidentiality and who will be corresponding with them. See SAPAC, Page 3A
Daily Sports Writer and Daily News Reporter
tions, Logan said. Wednesday’s pipe break reflects a similar situation in March 2013 — the flooding at North Quad — when a fire suppression supply line, much larger than the pipe in East Quad, broke and triggered a similar evacuation procedure. The flooding primarily affected the first level corridors and main concourse areas. Logan added that regular dining operations resumed as normal after the incident, although an e-mail from residential advisors to students suggested that the flooding might have reached some parts of the dining facilities. See FLOOD, Page 3A
After The Michigan Daily reported Tuesday that former Michigan kicker Brendan Gibbons was permanently separated from the University in December, University officials declined to release any information pertaining to his academic status, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and University policy. University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald reaffirmed that stance Wednesday and cited University precedent of not discussing disciplinary records. “It’s a combination of being sensitive to FERPA, the law, as well as the University policies that are more restrictive than FERPA,” Fitzgerald said.
VO IC E S H E AR D
CAMPUS LIFE
Anonymous message system to be open to all University students
By MATT SLOVIN and ADAM RUBENFIRE
Fitzgerald said administrators deliberated Wednesday on what course of action to pursue, taking into account “the letter of the law, the spirit of the law and longstanding University policies.” “After consulting the law, consulting the attorneys in the Office of General Counsel, giving careful consideration to our long-standing policy of not discussing student disciplinary matters publicly, this is the only information we are releasing,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re not releasing any additional details.” Without directly referring to Gibbons, a written statement e-mailed to the Daily from Fitzgerald stated that allegations of sexual misconduct made in 2009 were “handled in accordance with the University policy in effect at the time.” Though FERPA does not prohibit the University from relying on its institutional policies as reason to withhold the results of a disciplinary proceeding, two experts specializing in media and records law said in interviews with the Daily on Wednesday that the outSee GIBBONS, Page 3A
RESEARCH
Engineering prof. works to prepare for epidemics Team creates model for policymakers to consider in potential disease outbreaks VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily
BAMN organizers Joseph Semana and Jose Alvarenga speak at Activism Night as part of the exposure series at North Quad Wednesday.
ANN ARBOR
Construction on high-rise buildings moves forward Luxury apartments to bring over a thousand new rooms By HILLARY CRAWFORD Daily Staff Reporter
Two development companies have received authorization from the Ann Arbor City Coun-
cil to build new high-rises near campus. One building will be built on top of the south side of Pizza House at 624 Church Street, near South University Avenue. The 14-story building will consist of 76 units, 74 percent of which will be either one bedroom or two bedrooms. It is projected to open to tenants in August 2015.
University alum Bradley Moore, owner of the Ann Arborbased architecture firm J. Bradley Moore and Associates, will oversee development and construction of the high-rise above Pizza House. The restaurant’s owner, Dennis Tice, and Opus Group, a Minneapolis-based development company, partnered with J. Bradley Moore. See HIGHRISE, Page 3A
By PAULA FREDRICH Daily Staff Reporter
A flu epidemic in Portland? There’s a model for that. Engineering Prof. Siqian Shen and collaborators from Sandia National Laboratories, a contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy, have created an optimization model that could help public health officials make decisions about which places to close in epidemic situations. The project uses data from Portland, Oregons social networks and censuses to model how the flu would spread when cities close facilities to contain it. It builds on previous simulations by taking into account people’s continued movement after certain facilities are closed, known as compensatory behaviors. The model gives the option of closing five different facilities and then See EPIDEMICS, Page 3A
Independent food A look at the unique culture of co-op cuisines on campus.
WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 26 LO: 21
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 58 ©2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A SUDOKU.....................2A OPINION.....................4A
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A B-SIDE ....................1B