8A - Tuesday, September b, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.corn 8A - Tuesday, Seplember 6, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MS 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com HANNAH DOW The recent summer crimes have led to some changes at theuniversity tow even guys are carrying pepper spray. E-MAIL HANNAH AT HDOW@UMICH.EDU Quadruple yoga flame, perfect. No Thai! STEPHANIE STEINBERG EDITOR IN CHIEF MICHELLE DEWITT and EMILY ORLEY EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS NICK SPAR MANAGING EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors. Be safe and smart 'U' should respond reasonably to near-campus attacks As students returned to campus this past week, in the back of many of their minds was the string of sexual assaults that occurred near campus in July and August. With the perpetrator of these attacks still at large and students settling into their routines, there are concerns about personal safety and the nature of the threat. It's important for mem- bers of the University community and greater Ann Arbor area to be cogni- zant of these concerns and employ reasonable safety measures as the fall STEPHANIE STEINBERG I Connecting the Daily with you semester begins. The six attacks this summer have justifiably piqued students' attention to issues of personal safety; prevention has become a prominent term. To ensure they aren't led into dangerous situations, students should follow the appropriate actions outlined on the Information Regarding Recent Assaults Near Campus website put together by University officials in response to the increase in attacks. But students need to also help protect their peers. Students should watch out for others in the event of suspicious activity. Awareness and com- munity support are essential to make sure Univer- sity students remain safe, according to Ann Arbor Police Chief Barnett Jones. The creation of the website was a significant step by the University to not only provide the commu- nity with valuable information, but also show that administrators are responding seriously to these attacks. Students should take advantage of this resource and use the tools at their disposal, like late-night transportation options offered by the University. It's necessary that students adhere to the preventative measures outlined on the site by walking in groups when possible, being aware of their surroundings and locking their doors. Ann Arbor police and DPS have demonstrated that they are working hard to catch the one or mul- tiple attackers by increasing their patrol hours. However, the city of Ann Arbor needs to demon- strate that they take these attacks seriously by responding to student concerns about off-campus lighting. Studies of how effective street lighting is in deterring crime are inconclusive. However, lighting improves students' sense of personal safe- ty and their ability to monitor their surroundings. City Council members need to respond to students' calls for increased street lighting and make off- campus areas more secure for students. While the recent off-campus attacks are extremely concerning, it's important to acknowl- edge that these types of attacks don't represent the norm in college campus sexual assaults. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 80 percent to 90 percent of sexual attacks on col- lege campuses occur among people who know each other. The same study found that 5 percent of completed and attempted rapes of college stu- dents go unreported to police or other campus law enforcement. Returning to campus for the fall semester is an exciting time and should be enjoyed by students. While the recent attacks near campus have many students concerned about their safety, taking reasonable measures on and around campus will help students to feel more secure at the University while the perpetrator(s) remains at large. Welcome!Whetheryou're afreshmanterrifiedof stepping on the 'M' in fear of failing your first blue book exam or a senior dreading graduation day and takingthe first step into the real world, The Michi- gan Daily is here to guide you through the year and keep you up-to-date on the latest campus news. Who we are Our staff of about 150 student reporters, pho- tographers and designers work together to put out a daily newspaper that reflects the traditions and standards upheld by generations of Daily staffers from the past 121 years. Some days, we produce a paper with front page stories that take hours of reporting, research and investigating. Other days, we're running around the second floor of the Stan- ford Lipsey Student Publications Building scram- bling to meet 2 a.m. deadline. The Daily is run entirely by students. We receive no funding from the University, which ensures we have complete editorial control and can freely report any University wrongdoings. The student journal- ists at the Daily take their jobs seriously and often work untilthe early hours of the morning to produce stories that inform students, faculty, staff and Ann Arbor residents aboutissues that affect their lives. Connecting withyou Over the past few months, the Daily has expand- ed the way we deliver news in an effort to get you the stories you want - when and where you want them. In keeping up with the ever-evolving digital landscape, we have increased our Facebook and Twitter use. After a Facebook competition with the school down South last semester, the Daily became one of the most 'liked' college newspapers in the nation. (And thanks to you, we beat the Buckeyes.) We've also increased the number of Twitter profiles and have accounts for almost every section of the paper. You can follow us: @michigandaily, @michdai- lysports, @michdailyarts, @michdailyphoto and @michdailyfball. In October, we will compete against The State News to see which school news- paper can dominate the Twittersphere - stay tuned to learn how you can help us crush the Spartans. What's new This year, the Daily has appointed its second-ever public editor (also known as an ombudsman) who will write columns about good and bad Daily cover- age, decisions made by Daily staff and respond to readers who have concerns about anything they see in the paper. We've created this position in order to keep us accountable for our coverage and to better address your concerns. To contact the public editor Imran Syed, please e-mail publiceditor@michigan- daily.com. In the coming months, you'll notice more online videos and new blogs, including ones devoted to fashion and crime notes. We've added new e-news- letters. Visit www.michigandaily.com/subscribel- ist to sign up for breaking news, football, arts, Ann Arbor news and more. The Daily also created a website, www.maizeandbluereview.com, where students can view results of teacher evaluations and grade distributions by instructors. In another endeavor to connect the University community, the Daily recently launched www.themichdiff.com' Have a short, funny story that could only happen to a Wolverine? Share it on the website, where you'll find other maize-and-blue related anecdotes that will surelymake you laugh - or cry. Share your thoughts We recognize that the Daily wouldn't exist in print or online without you. At the end of the day, your support, opinions and ideas make this paper one of the best in the country. (And I'm not just being biased. In April, the Society of Professional Journalists named the Daily among the top 10 col} lege newspapers in the United States.) We want to keep open communication with readers going. If you're part of an organization that wants to publicize an event or saw something on campus that would make a great story, e-mail news@michigandaily.com to let us know. We can't promise to include everything in the paper, but we'll do our best. While we strive to get every name, fact and quote right, we're human and make mistakes. But it's important to us that they're corrected. If you spot an error, please let us know by sending an e-mail to corrections@michigandaily.com. You can also voice your opinion about a story by sending a let{ ter to the editor at tothedaily@michigandaily.com or contact me personally at steinberg@michigan dailycom. We welcome all feedback, whether it's constructive criticism or just criticism. Join the staff If you're interested in a journalism career, want to test out your writing skills or flat out hate the Daily and want to turn things around, come join our staff. Just be prepared to also join midnight games of four square, 24/7 coffee runs and a group of students who eat, sleep and breathe at 420 May- nard. Come find out more at our mass meetings at 7:30 p.m. Monday, September 12 Tuesday, September 13 Sunday, September18 Tuesday, September 20 Can't make it? Check out www.michigandaily. com/join-us for a description of available positions and applications. The Daily is one of the few platforms on campus students can use to express their opinions and initi- ate change that betters the University of Michigan. Whether it's on Facebook, Twitter or the newsprint delivered around campus Monday through Friday, we hope to hear fromyou this year. Stephanie Steinberg Editor in Chief 0 ASHLEY HARRISON I Crime reports are too generic 4 Dear University of Michigan Department of Public Safety: In light of the recent sexual assaults that have occurred in Ann Arbor, I would first like your department to know that I appreciate your efforts to make our community safer. I am comforted in knowing that you have increased the number of patrol cars and are educating our community about what precautions we can take to avoid sub- sequent incidents. I would, however, like to bring to your attention a growing and prevalent problem regarding DPS crime alerts. According to your website, the mis- sion statement of your department is "to contrib- ute and to promote a safe and secure community, while respecting the rights and dignity of all per- sons utilizing the facilities and programs of the University of Michigan." I feel that the vague and/ or conflicting descriptions of black male suspects in these crime reports do not respect the rights or dignity of the black community of this campus. These descriptions do not prevent crime or help us find suspects, but instead promote racial pro- filing. On Aug. 27, 2011, the University community received a crime report in which the suspect of an assault incident was described as a "black male, possibly bald or with dread locks, wearing an orange, black, or red t-shirt, with gray sweat pants." Unless both the suspect and victim of this assault were Stevie Wonder, this description is highly unlikely. Dave Chappelle, a black male who, unlike Ste- vie Wonder, is indisputably bald, jokes that the police alert people to "be on the look out for a black male between 47" and 6'8," between 120 and 280 pounds." While this may sound ridicu- lous, direct quotes from DPS crime reports like "group of black males" and "five black males" offer the same amount of information as Dave Chappelle's humorously absurd description. With vague descriptions such as these, what is the University community to do? Should we stop every group of black males we pass (carefully counting to make sure that there are, in fact, five of them), or are we condemned to forever "change the world" via Facebook statuses? I urge DPS to stop sending out these ambiguous crime reports if only for the sake of the generic black male. Six- foot black males are people too. Sincerely, Generic Angry Black Woman Ashley Harrison is an LSA senior. EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Aida Ali, Michelle DeWitt, Ashley Griesshammer, Patrick Maillet, Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata, Emily Orley, Harsha Panduranga, Teddy Papes, Timothy Rabb, Seth Soderborg, Andrew Weiner Iom RUN Michigan Running Club CALLING ALL ABILITY LEVELS! Sprinting* Field Events* Distance XC Practice Weekdays 4:15pm CCRB Workouts: MW 6pm CCRB(sprint), TTh 9pm Vars. track 5k, 6k, and 8k XC races, New Track Program, Easily Break Records at National Track Meet! Social events, community service, all races optional! For more info email: Chrissie Costakise President mrunpresident@umich Will Kane* Training Chair kanewil@umich.edu Andrew Lee Track training Chair ahle@umich.edu http://mrun.clubrunning .org COME RUN WITH US! *I Undergraduate Research Journal UMURJ is Michigan's premier undergraduate research journal: Positions available for new students! Apply Today! Interested in undergrad research? Want to review work done by peers? Visit www.umurj.org for details a SMALL GONE or (excludes waffleoile) Va lidatAnn Arbr, MScoop Veldat ror, MI Soop aSo. Lt xone Shp. Lmto opo eresot,5 - S on pe customerpr vsit Ben8eJerrys tmrprvsi.@n&Jrrys od Holdings, Inc. 2006 Homemade Holdings, I. 200, Is.05 -- I # - - -,o - - - - I,. 0000