ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Feasibility of student on Regents questioned ‘U’ announces updates to policies on sexual assault
Revisions aim to clarify enforced definition of consent, harassment By RIYAH BASHA Daily Staff Reporter
The University of Michigan announced an updated policy on sexual misconduct Tuesday, including changes to the enforced definition of consent, an expansion of what is considered
prohibited conduct and the consolidation of sanctioning and appeals procedures. The amendments will be effective July 1. The new policy, renamed the University of Michigan Policy and Procedures on Student Sexual and Gender-based Misconduct and Other Forms of Interpersonal Violence instead of the Student Sexual Misconduct Policy, will be officially updated and available to the public on April 6. A draft of the updated policy was released in September 2015. The policy was last revised in 2013.
The revisions expand the policy’s scope to include genderbased harassment — violence suffered due to gender identity, sexuality and orientation — and intimate partner violence in addition to sexual harassment and sexual assault. Stalking, which was originally encompassed under the label of sexual harassment, will now be addressed as its own category. Holly Rider-Milkovich, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, said in a joint interview Tuesday with University
President Mark Schlissel and Title IX Coordinator Anthony Walesby that the expansions ensure the University’s compliance with federal guidelines. “It aligns with the Clery Act and Title IX concerns,” she said. “We want these behaviors that students sometimes experience concurrently to fall under the same policy.” The University is currently under investigation by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, which enforces Title IX, over its handling of See POLICY, Page 3A
newMICH party platform includes adding member to ‘U’ governing body By CAMY METWALLY Daily Staff Reporter
A central component of one of this year’s Central Student Government platforms might require changes to either the state’s constitution or the University of Michigan’s Board of Regents’ bylaws — which has raised questions among students and other candidates for CSG executive offices on the feasibility of their plans given the legal strictures surrounding the board. The component, from newMICH’s platform, calls for the addition of a student to the Board of Regents. LSA junior David Schafer, newMICH presidential candidate, emphasized the platform point in an interview on February 11.
OPINION
CITY
From the Daily: Vote newMICH in CSG elections From T HE M ICHIGAN DAILY This Central Student Government election season has brought new debate to the often-discussed issues of mental health, diversity and inclusion and student voice. All three CSG parties — Your Michigan, the Defend Affirmative Action Party and newMICH — have commendable platforms that seek to address these issues using a multitude of means. However, newMICH’s specific plans for the most important issues facing campus today stand out among the three. LSA junoors David Schafer and Micah Griggs, running for president and vice president respectively on the newMICH ticket, are experienced, socially aware students, with detailed plans to improve CSG. The Michigan Daily’s Editorial Board endorses the newMICH candidates in this year’s CSG elections. The four core tenets of newMICH’s platform — student voice, connection, well-being and safety and opportunity — outline their plans to
implement change. Though their platform is ambitious, Schafer’s experience as a student assistant with the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives and Griggs’ experience working with the Black Student Union and as an Intergroup Relations facilitator shows their ability to work with groups dedicated to diversity and inclusion. This experience and their time working as LSA representatives in CSG demonstrate firstly that they are committed to these issues. Secondly, it shows that they have worked with administrators through these groups to accomplish goals like increasing minority enrollment, establishing international student mentorship programs and requiring CSG members to complete Integroup Relations training. However, many of their plans hinge on the crucial approval, and subsequent funds of the University’s Board of Regents. The Board of Regents is empowered by the state of Michigan’s constitution to See NEWMICH, Page 4A
“We’re very proud that newMICH is the only party that calls for student presence on the Board of Regents, either in a voting or non-voting capacity,” Schafer said. When they declared their candidacy in February, newMICH cited the progress of campus initiatives in colleges similar to the University, noting that some had succeeded in placing a student on their equivalent of a Board of Regents in a nonvoting capacity. LSA junior Micah Griggs, newMICH’s vice-presidential candidate, said in a February interview having a student sit on the board with a voting capacity would be ideal, but the overall goal is to amplify the students’ voice. She said a non-voting member would still play a large role in supporting issues pertinent to the wellbeing of students, such as the University’s Counseling and Psychological Services and Sexual Assault Prevention and See NEWMICH, Page 3A
Taylor set to run for re-election as A2 mayor Candidate declares bid for second term on existing platform
MAZIE HYAMS/Daily
Kim Travis-Ewing, a Detroit Public School social worker, speaks during a panel on misconceptions of Detroit Public Schools at the School of Education Tuesday.
DPS educators talk impact ofPresenters school perception at panel says media promotes misconceptions about controversy By LUCAS MAIMAN For the Daily
The Social Work and Education Collaboration, a new student organization based out of the School of Social Work and the School of Education at the University of Michigan, held a panel event Tuesday featuring
educators from the Detroit Public Schools system. During the event, panelists discussed what they considered misconceptions about Detroit Public Schools, such as deteriorating infrastructure, and emphasized how the controversy surrounding DPS impacts students and the school environment. Kaili McGrath, a Social Work graduate student and one of the coordinators of the event, said she found members of SWEC wanted to learn more about DPS. SWEC focuses on bridging service gaps in education and bridging
interdisciplinary professional learning communities, according to their website. “When we first started our organization, we asked if there was one thing you would want to learn more about what would it be, and the answer was Detroit Public Schools,” she said. During the event, Marnina Falk, a third grade teacher and community engagement coordinator for the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said for her, the lack of staff in the Detroit education system is the biggest See DPS, Page 3A
By BRIAN KUANG Daily Staff Reporter
Sticking to his original platform of improving basic services and quality of life in Ann Arbor, Mayor Christopher Taylor (D–Ann Arbor) formally kicked off his re-election campaign at a fundraising party in the Arbor Brewing Company Tuesday. This is his second time running for mayor, but first time doing so uncontested. Taylor previously represented Ann Arbor’s 3rd Ward as a City Councilmember for three terms before being elected mayor amid a crowded ballot in 2014. The crowded race followed the retirement of See MAYOR, Page 3A
the statement A look at the difficulty of navigating racial relations in Greek life » INSIDE
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INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 94 ©2016 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A
SUDOKU.....................2A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B