The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, September, 5, 2012 - 7A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, September, 5, 2012 - 7A
CENTRAL STUDENT GOVERNMNT
Assembly holds first
meeting of semester
CSG members talk
administrational
matters, positions
By GIACOMO BOLOGNA
Daily Staff Reporter
Despite taking office more
than five months ago, the Cen-
tral Student Gove.....,_. han-
dled mainly administrative
procedures in its first meeting
of the semester on Tuesday.
The new assembly lost mul-
tiple meeting opportunities at
the end of last semester when
approval of the March elections
took much longer than antici-
pated. That, coupled with sum-
mer meetings designed only to
give out student organization
funding, meant a fair portion
of the meeting was spent elect-
ing committee positions and
discussing plans for the year.
No new resolutions were pro-
posed, and no old business was
discussed.
CSG president Manish
Parikh and CSG vice president
Omar Hashwi - who upheld
their campaign promise to
dress in business casual attire
- spoke to the group about
their plans for the semester.
Parikh said he already start-
ed new projects with multiple
representatives. Specifically,
he said he is working on social
media initiatives and videos
for CSG with LSA representa-
tive Harnek Singh, creating a
centralized student calendar
with assembly speaker Michael
Proppe,, promoting tuition
equality with LSA representa-
tive Daniel Morales, and com-
municating with the student
governments of other Univer-
sity schools with LSA represen-
tative Arielle Zupmore.
He added that. CSG execu-
tive positions will be decided
in the upcoming weeks, noting
that he has received 40 candi-
date applications for a handful
of executive positions, and he
said he expects to receive more
before the application period
closes on Sunday. ,
In his address to the assem-
bly, Hashwi said representa-
tives need to make sure they do
the majority of their positions'
duties outside of Tuesday night
meetings to ensure they remain
productive during their weekly
time together.
"I know these meetings may
seem really boring, most of the
time they are," he said. "But
this is not the time where we
should be getting stuff done ...
these meetings are just to talk
about what we have done."
Earlier in the meeting, all
of the chair and vice chair
positions were determined
in uncontested elections, and
several took place only after
multiple students declined
nominations to run for the posi-
tions.
The assembly also consid-
ered holding an election for
the vice chair of 'the execu-
tive nominations committee
after the status of its current
office-holder, Rackham rep-
resentative Jennifer Dibbern,
was deemed unclear. Rackham
assembly representative Pat-
rick O'Mahen said h( "
sure if Dibbern is still actively
enrolled at the University.
Dibbern was dismissed from
her position as a graduate stu-
dent research assistant LA.
but attended classes in Rack-
ham with a different concen-
tration. The incident attracted
significant coverage when a
press conference was held in
January by Dibbern and the
Graduate Employees' Organi-
zation - the union of graduate
student instructors and gradu-
ate student staff assistants at
the University - who claimed
Dibbern was unfairly dismissed
from her position for her ties to
GEO.
The newly-moved SAPAC office, now located inside the Michigan Union.
SAPAC office fin
new home in Union
Director says move
is beneficial to
program, students
ByBRANDON SHAW
Daily Staff Reporter
An important resource for
University students, faculty and
staff has moved closer to the
people it serves.
The Sexual Assault Preven-
tion and Awareness Center,
which provides support services
to survivors of sexual assault
and educates members of the
University community on sex-
ual violence, moved last month
to the Michigan Union from its
previous location on North Uni-
versity Avenue between Thayer
and South State streets.
SAPAC director Holly Rider-
Milkovich said the new location
puts it closer to its most impor-
tant campus partners, including
Counseling and Psychological
Services and the Office of the
Dean of Students, both located
in the Union.
Rider-Milkovich said the
North University location had
the benefit of discreetness, but
the Union location is more con-
venient for inter-departmental
TRANSIT
From Page 1A
Marcia Higgins (D-Ward 4)
and Carsten Hohnke (D-Ward
5) were not present at Tuesday's
meeting.
Eli Cooper, the city's trans-
portation program manager, said
without the study,1 there would
be a significant strain on Ann
Arbor's transportation systems in
the future. He noted that as more
jobs come to the city as a result of
the establishment of new Univer-
sity facilities, more cars may cre-
ate congestion and force asphalt
to deteriorate more quickly.
one of the main issues that
councilmembers considered was
thecostofthe study;whichwould
have borrowed $60,000 from the
city's general fund to supplement
federal and state grants.
Kunselman voted in favor of
the project, but said he worried
POLICE
From Page 1A
All three incidents are clas-
sified as fourth-degree criminal
sexual conduct, which involves
an instance of sexual assault that
does not include penetration.
A campus-wide crime alert was
only sent out for Monday's inci-
dent. DPS spokeswoman Diane
Brown said by the time the other
two assaults were reported to the
police, too much time had lapsed
since the alleged crimes. The
other tw" incidents were posted to
DPS's website Tuesday morning.
Brown added that DPS and the
Ann Arbor Police Department
work and better suits the orga-
nization's strategic vision and
objectives.
She noted that the U ..
position as a cornerstone of stu-
dent life at the University allows
SAPAC to educate as broad an
audience as possible by making
itself more prominent on cam-
pus and may allow it to reach
students who may not have
known the service existed una
now. '
Rider-Milkovich said the
proximity to the rented offices
of student organizations also
provides abeneficial component
in allowing students 'coming
and going to those organiza-
tions to see SAPAC, and it also
serves to forge further strategic
partnerships between SAPAC
and other campus groups.
While the new space is some-
what smaller than the old loca-
tion, Rider-Milkovich said it is
designed to meet the needs of
SAPAC's clients.-The new loca-
tion and its renovation was
designed with the assistance.
of focus groups and blueprints
designed by current and for-
mer SAPAC students and volun-
teers.
"From the placement of
walls, to the moving of where
walls would have been, right
down to the color we ended
up painting the walls, this is
very much a student-led, stu-
dent-inspired location," Rid:.
Milkovich said.
Another component to the
Union location is increased
privacy for confidential visits.
Unlike the previous location,
there is now an open area for
volunteers and full-time staff
to convene duringthe week, but
also a more enclosed area for
visits by students seeking per-
sonal resources and services.
When SAPAC celebrated its
25th anniversary last year, Rid-
er-Milkovich said current stu-
dents and staff members were
surprised by the irony of the
move, as SAPAC was founded in
the Union in 1986.
"We told them we were mov-
ing to the Union, and they said,
'back to where it all started,"'
she said.
"One thing, though, hasn't
changed at all," Rider-Milkov-
ich added. "We continue to try
every day to build awareness
that there are resources avail-
able on this campus for sur-
vivors of sexual and intimate
partner violence, and we hope
that this move makes those
resources even more acces-
sible."
U don leaders confront
backlash at public event
about how much the city would
have to contribute, especially
from the general fund.
"We are all over the place,"
Kunselnian said. "The idea that
we are going to be building a lot
of things for mass transit without
any idea of how we are going to
pay for the operations.leaves me
with a little concern."
Lumm said she was dissatis-
fied with the information provid-
ed from similar studies that are
currently being performed.
"We continue on this path to
implement studies without ask-
ing basic questions... So in the
spirit of transparency, the com-
munity deserves to understand
the whole picture," Lumm said.
"I don't, and they don't. And I
believe that rather than embark
on another transportation study
we owe the community some
answers first."
Toward the end of the dis-
cussion, Derezinski pledged his
support for the study. In an inter-
view after the meeting, he said he
felt the councilmembers made an
oversight.
"Thinking down the road, not
getting the data I think is a big
mistake," Derezinski said. "If
we finally come to a crisis where
everything is just stagnated in
terms of transportation then it
is so much more expensive to fix
the problem, but if we start now
we can solve a problem in an effi-
cient and prudent way."
Briere wavered between both
sides of the debate. She said in
an interview after the meeting
that her vote came down to what
would be the greatest benefit to
Ann Arbor residents.
"I'm still stuck on how the
rest of us (besides the Univer-
sity) benefit except indirectly,"
Briere said. "I want someone to
make that connection for me.
Not somebody telling me another
study they need to do."
Prime Minister,
Treasury chief
chastized for
economic policy
LONDON (AP) - The pub-
lic's verdict was clear: Prime
Minister David Cameron and
Treasury chief George Osborne
.:d a chorus of boos at Lon-
don's Paralympic Games - a
rare flash of hostility toward
their belief that a sharp aus-
terity drive is the best way to
repair Britain's debt-ravaged
economy.
Anger is mounting amid a
grueling four-year program
of cuts to public sector jobs
and welfare payments, which
Osborne has conceded will
need to be extended by at least
two years and which some
opponents worry has fueled
Britain's slump in" ro'-st
recession since 2009.
Seeking to win back support
and boost his prospects before
the 2015 national election,
Cameron on Tuesday made the
first major overhaul of his Cabi-
net and 100-strong ministerial
team since taking office in 2010.
While Cameron left most
senior allies in place, he sought
to sharpen his e"-mic mes-
sage by promoting, a crop of
young fiscal conservatives, and
looked to exploit the success of
the Olympic Games in appoint-
ing Paul Deighton, chief execu-
tive of the London organizing
committee, as a new finance
minister.
Osborne- architect of the
unpopular 81 billion pounds
($130 billion) in budget trim-
ming - gave an uncomfortable
smile late Monday as he faced
loud heckles at a Paralympic
Games medal ceremony. Cam-
eron, meanwhile, heard both
boos and cheers when his image
was shown on a jumbo screen
inside the Aquatics Center.
The outbursts were rare
amid the upbeat mood of Brit-
ain's summer of sports but
underscored resentment over
cuts to welfare payments, par-
ticularly a program assessing
whether those who receive dis-
ability payments should contin-
ue to be eligible.
Those checks are being car-
ried out by ATOS, the lead
technology company for the
Olympics and Paralympics.
"When people were first
told that there would be cuts to
benefits and tax rises over the
next five years, they seemed to
accept it. Now that those cuts
are starting to bite, people are.
beginning to complain," said
Victoria Honeyman, an expert
on British politics at the Uni-
versity of Leeds.
In another indication of the
country's mood, Britain's ex-
Prime Minister Gordon Brown
- the former Labour Party
leaderwho was hugelyunpopu-
lar while in office and defeated
in the May 2010 election - was
cheered during an appearance
at the Paralympics.
Cameron's Conoervative
Party and the smaller Liberal
Democrats formed a coalition
government after the incon-
clusive election and pledged to
cut Britain's debts, which had
piled up amid the global finan-
cial crisis and costly banking
bailouts.
Osborne has acknowledged
that he is a lightning rod for
public dissent. "In a difficult
economic environment, it is not
surprising that the chancellor
is not the most popular mem-
ber of the government," he told
the BBC on Sunday.
However, Cameron backed
his friend and longtime ally by
keeping him in his post - sig-
naling that the U.K. won't ease
up its austerity program, as
some including the Internation-
al Monetary Fund have urged.
The staffing shifts do offer
hints of change on other issues.
Culture Secretary Jeremy
Hunt lost his post after criti-
cism of his close ties to James
Murdoch, media mogul Rupert
Murdoch's son. Maria Mill-
er, a junior welfare minister'
and previously an advertising
executive, takes on the task of
implementing new regulation
in the wake of Britain's phone
hacking scandal - which
erupted in 4 Murdoch tabloid.
Hunt becomes Health Secre-
tary, though campaigners have
already raised concerns. In his
previous job, he questioned a
section of the Olympic Games
opening ceremony which
hailed the actievements of the
publicly fundedhealth care sys-
tem.
Justine Greening, a fierce
opponent of expanding Lon-
don's Heathrow Airport, was
switched from Transport Sec-
retary to Britain's aid minis-
try - a move that could let the
government authorize building
a third runway.
Advocates insist a new run-
way is needed because British
business is being hampered by a
lack of flightsto Chinaand many
developing economies. Those
opposed say the impact would
be severe on communities close
to Heathrow, including Green-
ing's Parliamentary district.
Sayeeda Warsi becomes a
member of Foreign Secretary
William Hague's team. Warsi,
the first female Muslin, o' oe
in a British Cabinet, has stirred
controversy by attacking Paki-
stan over women's rights and in
claiming that prejudice against
Muslims was pervasive in Brit-
ish society.
Veteran legislator Ken
Clarke, 72, leaves his job as
Justice Secretary. His replace-
ment, Chris Grayling, is likely
to take a tougher line on penal
policy.
To take his new economic
role, Deighton will be appoint-
ed a Conservative member of
the House of Lords and begin
work next year, once he has
completed Olympic and Para-
lympic duties.
Liberal Democrat David
Laws, a staunch supporter
of the - austerity program,
returned with a joint role in
the education department and
Cabinet Office, which handles
government administration.
Laws quit in 2010 after he
admitted claiming taxpayers'
money to pay rent to his long-
term partner, which is banned
under Parliamentary rules.
Cameron hopes the moves
will kick-start a government
that has been humbled in recent
months by policy reversals. A
series of planned tax rises were
ditched amid public dissent and
opposition fromn his own party
nixed Cameron's pledge to
transform Britain's unelected,
700-year-old House of Lords
into a mainly elected 462-seat
chamber by 2025.
have an increased presence on
and near campus during the first
weeks of the school'year because
more students are active then.
Holly Rider-Milkovich, direc-
tor of the University's Sexual
Assault Prevention and Awareness
Center, said students should con-
tact someone if they feel violated.
"We want students to reach
out whenever they experience
conduct that doesn't feel right
to them," Rider-Milkovich said.
"They may not choose to label itas
sexual assault, but they may feel
'what happened to me just didn't
feel right."'
Rider-Milkovich noted that
sexual assault is one of the most
underreported crimes.
"As the rate of reports rises,
that doesn't necessarily reflect
that we have an increase in the
number of incidents, just the
number of those reporting," Rid-
er-Milkovich said.
SAPAC visits are confidential,
and the center offers services to
students who have, been victims
of anytype of sexual assault.
"Once a student connects with
SAPAC, we continue to provide
support for the entire time a stu-
dent is at the University," Rider-
Milkovich said.
SAPAC is open Monday
through Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. in
the Michigan Union. It also offers
a 24-hour crisis line at (734) 936-
~~. dJ
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