ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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The Runaround: Students, Community faculty find OIE dismissing upset by ‘U’ Unhandled bias incident reports leave accused in positions of power treatment of APIA lecturer ACADEMICS
NISA KHAN
Senior MiC Editor
This LSA senior is a model University of Michigan student. Raised in a family of educators, she is beyond attentive in class, constantly present during office hours and dedicates respect to her teachers — she is someone who cares deeply about how she earns her grade in a class. She said she is also an anxious student, to the point of being a perfectionist. It felt like it was these traits, she said, that were taken advantage of by her GSI when he harassed her and several other female students in her Communications class. But what is also comes across surprising to the LSA senior, along with others, is the lack of follow-up from the administration after they spoke about their experiences. It was the first semester of her junior year in the 2016 fall semester and she was taking a class with Assistant Professor Muzammil Hussain. After a particularly difficult exam and an upcoming project, the LSA senior and her group were directed to meet with their graduate student instructor, Naz Khan. Khan was also a law school student. Sitting in Espresso Royale after class, Khan and the group talked for two hours, the LSA senior said, and nothing was related to class. When she said she needed dinner, he offered to take them to a restaurant so they could talk about the project they had not touched on enough. The senior and her female group member wondered if that was even allowed. She said he assured them it was normal for student conferences. There was still no discussion of the class. He began talking about past relationships. She said he asked a question that implied what the potential consequences of having a sexual relationship with a student would be. “I literally was like, ‘I cannot
believe you just said that,’” she said. “And he was like, ‘No, no, no, I don’t have someone in mind.’ He was sitting next to me and I was like, I can’t even look at him right now.” She recalled some of the inappropriate dialogue of that night. “Oh my God … this was the worst part,” she said. “And he said something like, ‘I think about ass and titties all the time.’ And my friend and I were like, ‘I’m sorry?’ I literally was like, jaw-dropped, like, I can’t even believe these words are coming out of your mouth. And he just laughed and he was, like, very much treating us like we were in no way students.” At the end of the dinner, the girls tried to pay, but he took the bill. She said she felt compelled to stay because she felt like her grade was in question. “I was having this horrible internal conflict knowing, like, this is incredibly wrong,” she said. “And yet he’s totally using that because he knows that that would work (with someone like me). I was very aware of the fact that, like, there was some manipulation and I was falling for it … That was the weirdest part.” After the dinner, she said she had other homework and was going to another restaurant to work on it. The GSI continued the conversation — following the girls there. “I shouldn’t care about more an A than I care about my agency and yet it was still enough to get me to stay there,” she said. Later that night, the LSA senior said she had to go home. Despite her insistence she could walk alone, she said the GSI walked her to her apartment building. Once at her apartment, she said he kept trying to stall. She said once she checked her phone, she realized it was dead. “I didn’t expect to be as afraid of that as I was in that moment,” she said. “Like, so then I was like really checking my watch. And he was like, ‘Stop checking your watch’ … And then I was at one
ACADEMICS
Grad, PhD tracks see high rates of anxiety Study shows grad students over six times as likely to have mental illnesses REMY FARKAS
Daily Staff Reporter
A Nature Biotechnology study claims graduate students across the country are more than six times as likely to experience depression and anxiety compared to the general population. Nature Biotechnology attributes these mental health concerns to social isolation, abstract work, job-search pressure and feelings of inadequacy. Laura Monschau, a psychologist at the University of Michigan Counseling and Psychological Services psychologist for the Rackham Graduate School, wrote in an email interview that See CAPS, Page 2
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After 18 years at the University, beloved Emily Lawsin’s contract not renewed MAYA GOLDMAN Daily News Editor
ROSEANNE CHAO/Daily
point I literally yelled at him, I was like, ‘No, stop. I have to go upstairs, I have to go to bed, I have registration for classes at 8:00 a.m., I need to go to bed,’ and he like laughed and was like, ‘Fine, fine.’” But before she could go up, the GSI pulled up Facebook and
showed her pictures of a girl in her discussion section. “He was like, ‘I mean, she’s decent in class but look how pretty she looks in there,’” she said. “He was like, ‘Yeah, I looked at all of you on Facebook before.’” See GSI, Page 3
As a student at the University of Michigan, 2008 alum Aisa Villarosa fell in love with the Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies Program — housed in the American Culture Department — because it allowed her to learn about other cultures and her own heritage; she learned lessons she hadn’t been exposed to growing up in the majority-white suburbs of Detroit. She said she owes this great experience in A/PIA Studies to faculty members, including longtime Lecturer Emily Lawsin. Lawsin has been teaching at the University since 2000. “The number one thing is just how amazing the A/PIA Studies faculty are — the ones that built our experience as undergraduates,” Villarosa explained. When news began to surface earlier this year about the American Culture and Women’s Studies Departments’ decision to not renew Lawsin’s contract, Villarosa took action. Villarosa is now an attorney, and aided in the drafting of updates, fact sheets and a viral petition on Lawsin’s case. These documents can all be found on the A/PIA Alumni Tumblr page, organized by a coalition of
A/PIA alumni. “I think that (Lawsin) is just a really special mentor,” Villarosa said. “So, it’s been quite easy for me to say, ‘Hey, I do have a job, or hey, I have these other things going on,’ but I would support her in a heartbeat. And I think that many other folks also feel the same and it’s been edited in the petition, the website, the Tumblr — these are all just voluntary things, but we are happy to do them.” Villarosa, who wrote an op-ed published in The Daily earlier this month, said she is especially disheartened because the A/PIA program was so strong during her time as a University student, and she
I have a lawsuit against the University. It’s clear that this is an act of retaliation. does not see it as the same now. “I think something really powerful about the A/PIA See A/PIA, Page 3
City Council decides to postpone “Y Bookseller Lot” vote, cites need for further debate agreement CAMPUS LIFE
The new vote is scheduled to take place during a closed session next Monday ALEX COTT
Daily Staff Reporter
The Ann Arbor City Council convened Monday evening to vote on a $4.2 million repurchase of the “Y Lot,” the former site of the local YMCA on Fifth Avenue, from local real estate developer Dennis Dahlmann. The city originally bought the land in 2003 and Dahlmann purchased it four years ago. The council voted to postpone the resolution until April 23, when they will vote in a closed session. The legislation amends the budget to not exceed the $4.2 million from the General Fund. Councilmember Jane Lumm, I-Ward 2, emphasized the vote’s postponement will allow the Council to properly review the implications of the decision and the legal risks of the project. “I’m glad we’re going to take the time and I think there are important objectives to achieve in postponement,” Lumm said. “I would like to see resolving any litigation and avoid risks
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associated with the city holding this property for a long period of time and also avoid the possibility of nothing happening on this property and I will be sending some recommendations
for some milestones because I think it’s imperative that we understand what it would take to proceed with the project and withdraw the lawsuit or the complaint.”
Four years ago, Dahlmann bought the 0.8-acre property for $5.25 million and pledged to revive the vacant lot with affordable housing and See COUNCIL, Page 3
to increase availability
Barnes & Noble will be primary textbook seller, offer free shipping to stores MATT HARMON Daily News Editor
MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily
Mayor Christopher Taylor listens to proposed changes during the city council meeting at City Hall Monday.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 113 ©2018 The Michigan Daily
Starting fall 2018, the University of Michigan will partner with Barnes & Noble College on a new textbook supplier program that works to increase convenient textbook purchases, rentals and returns on campus. The partnership will also reportedly assist students with textbook affordability and provide various price options for conditions of returned books. The program will make Barnes & Noble the primary textbook dealer for the University, requiring the retailer to stock all textbooks and materials requested by professors for their classes. Students will be able to search for their textbooks through an online See B&N, Page 3
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS....................7