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SEXUAL ASSAULT
SAPAC, ‘U’ respond to group’s list of demands Schlissel calls for improvement in handling of sexual assaults on campus By EMMA KERR Daily Staff Reporter
CHARLES KOWALEC/Daily
Engineering senior Emma Backman receives an award at the 1000 Pitches Award Ceremony in the Michigan Union Ballroom on Monday.
Finalists named in seventh 1,000 Pitches competition Organization narrows 4,500 contest applicants to nine projects
nine Monday. The University has been 1000 Pitches’ vanguard since the organization was established on campus seven years ago. The entrepreneurial contest has also made its way to Penn State University’s campus, but its national scope did not fully evolve until this past year when 1KP found a home away from home at four additional institutions. The organization has received more than 7,500 pitches in total this year, nearly 4,500 of which came from the University.
By HILLARY CRAWFORD Daily Staff Reporter
1000 Pitches, one of eight projects directed by the entrepreneurial organization MPowered, narrowed a pool of nearly 4,500 University student pitches to just
Nine winners received prize money to support their ideas. Students can pitch ideas as an individual or as a group. Each individual is allowed up to three pitches which last anywhere from 30 seconds to three minutes. Student groups, some of which have competed in other competitions such as optiMize, participate to gain additional funding. Additionally, some individuals are required to participate by courses such as the Ross School of Business’s Entrepreneurship Hour.
The categories for the competition were Environment, Health, Consumer Products & Small Businesses, U-Provements, Education, Web & Software, Tech & Hardware, Mobile Apps and Research. A sports category was also sponsored by Bizdom, a startup accelerator in Detroit. Some winning ideas included biodegradable isolation gowns, an automated washer and dryer system that to the audience’s delight also folds clothes and an app that tracks the nearest doctor in thirdSee PITCHES, Page 3
On Oct. 28, students crossing the Diag would have seen something beside the block ‘M’. That morning, an anonymous group spray-painted slogans reading “Expel rapists” and “Rape happens here,” and published a list of seven demands calling for change in how the University approaches sexual assault on campus. The group’s demands touched on issues beyond the University’s Student Sexual Misconduct Policy, addressing preventative measures, staff and faculty training as well as sexual assault in Greek life and the athletic community. According to University officials, however, some of these demands have already been or are in the process of being met. First demand: Unified training system, including threat of disenrollment.
CAMPUS LIFE
ANN ARBOR
Council talks open records, speaking time City approves resolution to consider FOIA policy changes By JACK TURMAN Daily Staff Reporter
The Ann Arbor City Council voted on several resolutions at its meeting Monday, including the adoption of revised Council rules and protocols for releasing public documents under the Freedom of Information Act. Resolution to adopt revised Council rules Councilmembers passed a resolution to revise multiple Council rules, including those governing limitations on speaking times. The final resolution included several amendments that were successfully tacked onto the original proposal. Councilmember Jack Eaton (D–Ward 4) proposed an amendment, which passed with six votes, to eliminate a section of the rules that cap councilmembers’ speaking time at 25 minutes. Eaton argued the cap is unnecessary. “It’s pointless to try to stifle debate to arbitrary time limits,” he said. “We should all be more respectful of each other’s time.” Councilmember Chuck
WEATHER TOMORROW
Warpehoski (D–Ward 5) opposed the amendment, but not because he disagreed with Eaton’s proposal. Warpehoski said he would like to give the current time limit a try and evaluate its effectiveness. Similar to Warpehoski’s position, Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor (D) said the time limit was manageable. “I think this would be a mechanism that staff could easily take care of,” Taylor said. “They could do so in a nonjudgmental manner. They would communicate that to me. They would communicate to the councilmember.” However, Councilmember Stephen Kunselman (D–Ward 3) supported the amendment because he said the time limit infringes on his role as a representative. “I was elected twice on behalf of constituents,” he said. “To stifle (debate) as a representative of constituents, I think it is not democratic.” Along with Eaton’s amendment, Warpehoski proposed an amendment, which the Council also passed, to limit councilmembers’ speaking time on a given question to three minutes the first time and three minutes the second time. The previous rule allowed councilmembers to speak five minutes the first time and three minutes the second time.
HI: 37 LO: 30
Resolution to revise FOIA policy See COUNCIL, Page 3
The first demand called for the creation of a unified training system for incoming students before they come to campus, including the punishment of disenrollment if this training is not completed. The University currently administers educational programs to new students such as AlcoholEdu, an online alcohol training program that indirectly addresses sexual assault prevention, and Relationship Remix, which encourages positive relationships and educates students about consent. However, there are currently no consequences for failing to complete either program. These programs were created in part by SAPAC, which provides preventative education as well as support for sexual assault survivors. SAPAC’s effectiveness on campus has come under criticism following a Washington Post report citing the University as having the third-largest number of reported forcible sex offenses on campus in the nation. SAPAC Director Holly Rider-Milkovich said this first demand has already been met in part by the University, and the See DEMANDS, Page 3
Blood Battle encourages new rivalry week goal OSU, ‘U’ competed to increase number of organ, bone marrow donors By RACHEL PREMACK Daily News Editor
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
English Prof. Laura Kasischke speaks at the Author’s Forum in the Hatcher Graduate Library Gallery Room on Monday.
Professor debuts new book of poems in front of crowd Panel discussion examines poet’s voice, meaning behind pieces By EMMA KINERY Daily Staff Reporter
An author and a poet, English Prof. Laura Kasischke wears many literary hats, often simultaneously. On Monday night, she spoke at Hatcher Graduate Library on a panel with poet Megan Levad, assistant director of the Helen Zell Writers’ Program, to debut her new book of poems, “The Infinitesimals.”
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At the event, Kasischke read her poems “Maid in the Moorway,” “Mushrooms” and “At the End of the Text a Small Bestial Form.” Kasischke also had Levad read her own poem “Bullying.” The audience of about 30 people was composed of community members and students. LSA senior Bennet Johnson, who had read Kasischke’s book in his English 424 advanced poetry workshop, said hearing the poems aloud gave him a different take on them. “In general, her voice on the page, for me at least, was somewhat different because I get so absorbed into her figurative language and I have to stop and think about it, whereas when
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INDEX
you hear her read it you kind of are pushed a little bit more through it,” Johnson said. “… For me hearing it, I enjoyed it more than when I read it on the page.” While her poems are full of vivid figurative language, Kasischke emphasized her use of rhymes, repetition and mystery during the talk. “I like rhyme and I like repetition. It has to be what inspired me in the first place,” she said during the panel discussion. “A good rhyme, same with repetition, there’s just something really spooky about it.” Kasischke said when she feels a poem is not her “most brilliant utterance,” she will See POEMS, Page 3
Vol. CXXIV, No. 34 ©2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
Three life-saving donation challenges concluded last weekend with victories for Wolverines and Buckeyes alike. The challenges included encouraging students to donate blood and sign up to be organ and bone marrow donors as well. This year, Ohio State University won the Blood Battle, a 33-yearold tradition in which each school encourages students to donate blood in the weeks leading up to their contentious football showdown. Ohio State collected 2,414 pints of blood, while the University collected 2,298, according to a University press release. “It allows students a convenient place to donate, and, by playing off the athletic rivalry, the Blood Battle gives students incentive to donate,” said LSA senior Sam Rea, an executive officer of Blood Drives United. The University has won the Blood Battle each year since 2008, except for this year and 2012. “Although we didn’t win the competition, it was incredibly See RIVALRY, Page 3
NEWS.........................2 SUDOKU.....................2 OPINION.....................4
ARTS...........................5 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS.......................7