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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, October 31, 2013
michigandaily.com
GREEK UFE
Theta Xi's
racialized
party plans
draw ire
LILY ANG LL/Daily
A University employee hangs lights on trees at Ingalls Mall Wednesday in preparation for the launch party for the University's next fundraising campaign, Victors
for Michigan, Thousands of lights will be put up around the Diag and Ingalls Mall in anticipation of the Nov. 8 kickoff,
CAMPUS LIFE
SAAN talks domestic violence,
Students file
complaints with
administration
By$TEPHANIE SidENOUDA
aily StafReporter
An investigation has been
launched into the University's
chapter of the Theta Xi fra-
ternity after several students
filed formal complaints with
the University administration
regarding the fraternity's now-
cancelled plans to host a party
with a "ratchet" theme next
Thursday.
Many students of color say
they were personally offended
by the invitation that was sent
via Facebook, complaining
that it parodied Black culture
and offended women, refer-
ring to twerking contests,
"bad bitches," gang references
and repeated use of the word
"ratchet."
Early Thursday morning,
Theta Xi members said the
fraternity won't be comment-
ing on the matter. Fraternity
brothers were camped out
on the Diag for their annual
"Defend the Diag" ritual.
Dean of Students Laura
Blake Jones, who lodged a
formal complaint with the
fraternity, said the University
responded immediately and
took student complaints very
seriously.
Jones held a meeting yes-
terday with the Greek Life
Director Mary Beth Seiler,
Interfraternity Council lead-
ers and LSA senior Eric Quang,
Theta Xi's president. The
University also reached out
to Theta Xi's national board,
whose members expressed
concern and are conducting
their own investigation.
The administration made it
clear that the party will not be
allowed to take place on Nov. 7,
and Theta Xi's national head-
quarters has determined all
further social events will be
suspended until their investi-
gations are concluded.
"It was very important that
See PARTY, Page 5A
County SafeHouse
intern discusses
types of abuse
By CARLY FROMM
Daily StaffReporter
Social Work graduate student
Krysten Gonzalez, standing in a
huddled group of about 20 stu-.
dents in East Quad Residence
Hall Wednesday night, capti-
vated the audience with a simple
line: "Domestic violence does not
discriminate." i
Gonzilez is an intern at the
SafeHouse Center, which pro-
vides support for Washtenaw.
County victims of domestic vio-
lence. Gonzalez and a colleague
led a discussion Wednesday
about domestic violence and
the importance of educating the
community on the epidemic.
The event was sponsored by
the South Asian Awareness Net-
work, in observation of Domestic
Violence Awareness Month. The
talk focused on different types
of abuse - verbal, emotional,
economic, sexual and physical
- and how individuals can cope
with abuse.
"The most at-risk age group
for women is ages 16 through 24,
and that's a lot of undergradu-
ates - even some graduate stu-
dents - so it's reallyimportantto
get the message out there: what
this is, what you can do and what
resources are available to you,"
Gonzalez said.
LSA junior Shaina Shetty,
education and outreach co-chair
of SAAN, emphasized the impor-
tance of a safe space for discus-
sion.
"The goal behind the work-
shop series as a whole is to pro-
See SAAN, Page 5A
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
CSG internship
program gears
up for new year
DEFENSE!
Interns are given
opportunities not
available to other
freshmen in gov't
By PAULA FRIEDRICH
Daily StaffReporter
Central Student Govern-
ment's internship program is
gearingup for another year.
The goal of the program is*
to give motivated freshmen a
chance to hone their leader-
ship skills, get involved quickly
and have a "big picture" view
of CSG. The program was cut
in 2007, but Manish Parikh,
then CSG president, revived it
in 2012.
CSG President Michael
Proppe sail the intern experi-
ence is something that is usu-
ally only accessible through
the Exegutive Commission or
the General Assembly, both of
which aren't open to freshmen.
Proppe said the program
was scaled down considerably
from last year to create a more
valuable experience forinterns.
The program has shifted from
24 internsto eightinterns, each
with an executive officer to
help ease their workload.
Proppe said the program
also benefits interns by giving
them responsibility early in
their CSG careers, along with
taking sdme of the research
load off of himself.
LSA sophomore Bryan Fred-
erick said without the intern-
ship program he would never
have gotten involvedwith CSG.
"I wouldn't know what the
heck CSG is," Frederick said.
"I think that's the reality of
a lot of freshmen. They don't
know what CSG stands for or
they just don't know how to get
involved."
Frederick was part of last
year's intern outreach team,
which has since turned into a
commission that he chairs.
He said the intern program
gave him "the guts" to do
See CSG, Page SA
Students participate in Theta Xi fraternity's Defend the Diag ritual Wednesday. Members of the fraternity set up
couches around the Block M and had a raffle to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research.
ACADEMICS
$2M Info School initiative
to boost student outreach
ANN ARBOR
Student runs
for A2council
with focus on
zoning reform
Running with Mixed
Use Party, LSA senior
hopes to clinch Ward 2
By MATTHEW JACKONEN
DailyStaffReporter
The Mixed Use Party is shaking
up Ann Arbor's Ward 2 elections this
November.
LSA senior Conrad Brown, running
for City Council as an independent,.
hopes to be a force to be reckoned with
against independent incumbent Jane
Lumm and Democratic challenger
Kirk Westphal.
Brown, along with the rest of the
Mixed Use Party, bases his platform
on concepts of fiscal conservatism and
"classical liberalism."
"We are a political party that start-
ed in order to address some of these
fundamental issues facing the city of
Ann Arbor that in most ways our cur-
rent and past city leaders have failedto
address," Brown said. "We are trying
to offer some real reforms to address
these issues, such as reforming the
See REFORM, Page 5A
Funds will support
service projects,
global impact
By JENNIFER CALFAS
Daily StaffReporter
With just a week left before
the launch of the University's
next fundraising campaign on
Nov. 8, the School of Informa-
tion has a new endeavor of its
own.
The school's Initiative
for Information Impact,
announced Monday, aims
to establish new programs
and enhance existing ones
to engage more University
students in information and
technology related service
projects. The $2-million
program will sponsor proj-
ects that put experience and
interdisciplinary to work to
improve quality of life for
people around the world.
Funded from a variety
of outlets - including the
school's general fund budget,
gifts, faculty donations and
fundraising - the initiative
introduces a host of new pro-
See INITIATIVE, Page SA
.1
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