The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, October 22, 2012 - 7A
Before win over MSU, Cantor SAEYA
tailgates with College GOP
House majority
leader says Romney
will spur job
growth
By CASSANDRA BALFOUR
For the Daily.
In addition to cheering on the
Michigan Football team to their
victory against the Spartans on
Saturday, students rallied in sup-
port of the Republican ticket
during a tailgate event featuring
U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the
House Majority Leader.
Cantor, whose daughter
attends the University, came
to Ann Arbor to campaign for
Republican presidential nominee
Mitt Romney and other Michigan
Republicans. As supporters sur-
rounded the congressman to take
pictures and shake his hand in
the parking lot outside of Crisler
Center, Cantor spoke to attendees
about the pivotal role Michigan
will play in the upcoming presi-
dential election.
In an interview during the
event, Cantor said it's impor-
tant for students to consider job
growth and creation when head-
ingto the polls.
"I think the people here and
the students in Ann Arbor under-
stand this is a huge election.
We've got a big choice to make
as to which direction we want to
go in as a country," Cantor said.
"How we can create more jobs
for students coming out of these
fantastic, world class educational
institutions like U of M?"
LSA senior Jared Boot, the
chair of the University's chapter
of College Republicans, empha-
sized the importance of inviting
respected names in the Republi-
can Party to Ann Arbor to garner
excitement and support for the
GOP presidential ticket.
"We probably aren't going to
win Ann Arbor, but we really
want to maximize Republican
turnout," Boot said. "And maybe
change some minds."
Matt Frendewey, the director
of communications for the Michi-
gan Republican Party and a Uni-
versity alum, distributed T-shirts
and other Romney/Ryan gear at
the event. He highlighted why he
believes Romney should appeal to
students on campus.
"More than half of all gradu-
ates right now don't have a job or
they're underemployed and car-
rying a massive amount of debt,"
Frendewey said. "So there are
serious issues that college stu-
dents are facing and coming to
termswith ... issuesthatGovernor
Romneyis talking about."
Boot added that he supported
what he described as Romney's
moderate positions on issues such
as Pell Grants, student loans and
domestic partnerships.
"I'm a moderate Republican,"
Boot said. "That resonates with
youngRepublicansbecauseyoung
Republicans aren't necessarily
as conservative as older Republi-
cans" in terms of social issues.
The Students for Romney tail-
gate also included supporters and
volunteers for the campaign to
elect Republican Dan Horning to
the University's Board of Regents.
Horning also hosted a tailgate
nearby. Boot discussed the close
relationship the College Repub-
licans have with Horning, who
perviouslyservedas aregentfrom
1995-2002. He also described his
plans to curb University spending
and fight union influence, as well
as increase the number of in-state
students at the University.
Boot discussed how important
it is to campaign for Republican
candidates since Romney is nar-
rowing his margins with Presi-
dent Barack Obama in the polls in
Michigan. He added that if both
Republican candidates for regent
are elected, the GOP will control
the board.
Ann Arbor volunteers phone
banked after the tailgate on
behalf of Romney. Boot noted
that despite Ann Arbor's liberal
reputation, he plans to lure out as
many Republicans as possible for
this election season.
"I feel like on campus it's very
homogenous with political ideol-
ogy and people might not feel like
they'd be accepted," Boot said. "A
lot of people on campus are closet
Republicans and we want to get
them out of the closet."
ing issues.
DPSS will encompass DPS,
Housing Security and Hospitals
& Health Centers Security, and
be led by an executive director
who reports directly to the Uni-
versity president. Current DPS
executive director Joe Piersante
will assume the positions of
DPSS executive director as well
as police chief until a national
search for a DPSS executive
director is completed.
The report, which was origi-
nally estimated to cost the Uni-
versity $105,000, showed that in
many instances, DPS, Hospital
Security and Housing Security
do not cooperate effectively.
Specifically, it reported a "sys-
temic lack of mutual respect and
appreciation" between Hospital
Security and DPS.
"The lack of a healthy work-
ing relationship between the
three organizations contributes
to confusion, misunderstand-
ing, miscommunication (and) a
lack of trust and respect," the
study said.
DPS, also known as Universi-
ty Police, is an accredited, armed
police force composed of sworn
officers who serve as the prima-
ry police on campus. Housing
Security and Hospital Security
are composed of trained but
non-armed, non-sworn officers
who protect residence halls and
hospital buildings, respectively.
The report compared the
University's security operations
to those at eight other universi-
ties, including Ohio State Uni-
versity and the University of
Chicago. In contrast to the Uni-
versity of Michigan's results,
when distinct units were pres-
ent at other schools, they were
observed to be more efficient
and cooperative.
However, many used their
official university police force
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to fill the distinct roles of the
University's divided DPS,
Housing Security and Hospital
Security.
The report noted there is no
formal organizational connec-
tion between the branches, and
the director of each reports to
a different division within the
University, claiming this nega-
tively affects their respective
duties and creates a disconnect
among the three groups.
The study said each individ-
ual unit was "well-run, profes-
sional and efficient," but as a
whole the three do not coordi-
nate effectively.
It also stated that while
individually the units tried to
ensure safety, there was an
"absence of a shared overall
vision for public safety," noting
that unit goals differ greatly.
The report also noted that
students and staff may not
understand the differences
between the three units, con-
sidering officers from all three
departments refer to them-
selves as public safety officers.
Specifically, members of
the campus community are
reported to have in many cases
believed they were speaking
with sworn University police
officers and filing official police
reports, but they were actually
dealing with non-sworn Hous-
ing or Hospital Security offi-
cers.
Confusion about the role
of Hospital Security officers
was cited in the University's
internal audit of the delay in
reporting Jenson's possession
of child pornography, where
several staff members said they
believed they were being inter-
viewed by University Police
when in fact the investigators
were Hospital Security officers.
The report also noted that
only one in three resident advi-
sors interviewed knew the
difference between Housing
Security and DPS. One in ten of
those interviewed did not know
the University has its own police
force. Many of them believed
the Ann Arbor Police Depart-
ment responds to incidents in
the residence halls.
The report said Housing
Security worked better with
DPS than Hospital Security
regularly does. It acknowledged
that Housing Security did not
hesitate to request assistance
from DPS when needed and
that when DPS arrived, Housing
Security let officers take con-
trol while continuing to provide
assistance.
The assessment said many of
those interviewed in the Divi-
sion of Student Affairs - which
oversees University Housing -
viewed DPS as more of an on-
call service than a partner in
ensuring the safety of the resi-
dence halls. Staff members also
expressed concern at the pres-
ence of armed police officers
within halls.
"We don't need or want
police in the buildings... no guns
patrolling the hallways," one
staff member said.
There were clear and per-
sistent problems with the rela-
tionship between Hospital
Security and DPS, which the
report alleged stemmed from
the differing approaches of each:
organization. The report noted
that Hospital Security focuses
on safety and customer satisfac-
tion, while DPS is primarily con-
cerned with law enforcement.
UMHS staff had a positive
view of Hospital Security and
its professionalism, the study
said. Many hospital employees
interviewed for the study said
they viewed Hospital Security
as an important member of the
UMHS team and viewed DPS as
"pushy and intimidating."
The report noted that many
DPS staff members do not view
Hospital Security as a help-
ful ally in law enforcement.
Hospital Security officers also
expressed concern with their
police counterparts, noting that
many DPS officers appeared
condescending and heavy-
handed.
"We are always under attack
by DPS and we do not know
why. They do not look at us as
a valuable resource/partner,"
Hospital Security officers told
the investigators.
Many hospital employees said
DPS did not respect UMHS pro-
tocols. The report said on mul-
LIKE TH
tiple occasions that when DP
officers became impatient they
threatened UMHS staff with
obstruction of justice charges. {
Concerns regarding DP
officers carrying firearms in
hospital buildings were also
a common issue noted in the
report. The Hospital Security
department prefers to operat
within a weapons-free zone,
which has caused some security
officers to question DPS person-
nel about retaining their fire-
arm while in the building.
However, many DPS officer
said they felt they were unfairly
targeted, alleging that armed
Michigan State Police troopers
and Ann Arbor Police officers
were not asked to remove their
weapons, while DPS officers
*ere.
The report's authors applaud
ed DPS for their sophisticated
training and professionalism;
but expressed concern that DPS
focuses too much on "old-style"
policing, which may be the root
of the problems arising in Hos4
pital and Housing Security. 1
"The Department of Public
Safety is focused more on law
enforcement, criminal interdic-
tion and arrests than on a broad-
er role as steward of the safety
and security ofthe campus," the
report stated.
The report further noted:
"DPS police officers appear
to be directing their attention
towards validation from the
greater law enforcement com-
munity and away from their
focus on serving a university
community as a community
oriented campus public safety
organization."
On Friday, a report by the
University's Safety and Securit'
Steering Committee was alsd
released explaining the prog-
ress of the University's manage-
nient response to an internal
audit of the child pornography
incident.
Many of the responses to the
internal audit also answer con-
cerns expressed in the Margolis
ealy assessment, which was
largely conducted in April.
The committee said it had
addressed the recommenda
tions made in the internal audit,
adding that it informed many
University employees about
their responsibility to report
suspected crimes.
Since early April, assigned
DPS liaison officers have been
required to contact the Hospital
Security shift supervisors daily
during the day and afternoon
shifts, according to the com-
mittee report. The committee
said it also implemented cross-
unit training and team-building
exercises between units.
The committee also noted
&hat the University's 911 system
Has changed. Previously, 911
calls made in University hospital
buildings would go to a hospital
emergency operator who would
then dispatch Hospital Security
officers if needed. Those officers
would then decide if contacting
DPS was necessary.
Under the new system, DP
is able to monitor all 911 calls ta
the Hospital emergency center
and can be patched in as neces-
sary.
,The committee also autho4
rized the creation of shared
databases between the three
units. This allows each unit
to access security reports and
dispatch information from one
another more easily. While the
system is currently not updated
ittreal time, the committee said
that feature will be implement-
ed by next month.
The regents released a state-
ment Friday condemning the
lack of communication between
the security organizations
and vowing to fix the problemj
mainly through the creation of
the DPSS.
"The relationships and
communication between the
University's Health Systen
Security and the Department
of Public Safety are broken and
demand repair," the statement
said. "There must be a Univer-
sity-wide system that guar-
antees timely and effective
mmunication of potential
rious misconduct, as well as
e safety and security of all
our University constituen
nies."
- Ariana Assaf
contributed to this reports
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