The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, September 3, 2013 - 5A
NEWS BRIEFS
NEW YORK
Steering-shaft
corrosion causes
Ford to recall
370,000 cars
Ford is recalling 370,000
cars due to potential corrosion
to their steering shaft that may
result in loss of steering.
No incidents or injuries have,
been reported.
The cars include 2005 to 2011
Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury
Grand Marquis and Lincoln
Town Cars. About 355,000 are
in the U.S. and 15,000 in Canada.
Dealers will inspect the cars
and may replace the lower inter-
mediate steering shaft and if
necessary resecure a lower steer-
ing column bearing and replace
the upper intermediate steering
shaft.
NEW YORK
Time Warner,
CBS end
dispute, resume
programming
TV network CBS and cable pro-
vider Time Warner Cable have
ended their payment dispute and
expect programming to resume in
millions of homes Monday night.
The agreement ends a month-
long blackout of CBS and CBS-
owned channels including
Showtime Networks, CBS Sports
Network and the Smithsonian
channel that affected more than
three million homes in Dallas, Los
Angeles and New York and began
Aug. 2.
The companies were in dispute
about how much Time Warner
Cable Inc. would payfor CBS Corp.
programming. Specific terms of
the deal were not disclosed.
RIO DE JANEIRO
Brazil condemns
U.S. spy program
as 'unacceptable
invasion'
The Brazilian government
condemned a U.S. spy program
that reportedly targeted the
nation's leader, labeled it an
"unacceptable invasion" of sov-
ereignty and called Monday for
international regulations to pro-
tect citizens and governments
alike from cyber espionage.
In a sign that fallout over the
spy program is spreading, the
newspaper Folha de S.Paulo
reported that President Dilma
Rousseff is considering cancel-
ing her October trip to the U.S.,
where she has been scheduled to
be honored with a state dinner.
Folha cited unidentified Rous-
seff aides. The president's office
declined to comment.
The Foreign Ministry called in
U.S. Ambassador Thomas Shan-
non and told him Brazil expects
the White House to provide a
prompt written explanation over
the espionage allegations.
JOHANNESBURG
Mandela released
from hospital, will
receive home care
South Africans on Monday
welcomed Nelson Mandela's
discharge from a hospital after
nearly three months of treatment
amid concerns that his health
remains so poor that he still must
receive intensive care at home.
An ambulance returned the
95-year-old leader of the anti-
apartheid movement to his
home in the leafy Johannesburg
neighborhood of Houghton on
Sunday. The office of South Afri-
can President Jacob Zuma said
Mandela remains in critical and
sometimes unstable condition
and will receive the same level of
care that he did in the hospital,
administered by the same doc-
tors.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
CRIME
From Page1A
alert was sent out.
The student's name is being
withheld at her request and in
accordance with Daily policies
regarding survivors of sexual
assault.
The student questioned wheth-
er a crime alert should be sent out
because she was concerned about
the safety of the other members
of her apartment building.
"I'm wondering what has to be
deemed dangerous enough to get
an alert," she said.
According to the Clery Act, the
University is required to send out
crime alerts only when a crime,
considered to be a public safety
threat, occurs on campus. In the
past, UMPD has gone beyond its
jurisdiction and released alerts
about crimes that occurred near-
by and are considered threats to
public safety.
In order. to receive informa-
tion about crimes that occur off
campus, University Police said
they must establish relation-
ships with AAPD. Past incidents,
including the*delayed discovery
of repeated sexual assaults at a
Zaragon Place apartment, shed
light on communication, issues
between the University and the
city.
AAPD is not required to volun-
teer the information and, unlike
the University, does not employ a
full-time public information offi-
cer to coordinate with media and
make the public aware of dangers
to public safety.
MISCONDUCT
From Page 1A
ly begin an investigation during
the course of a private conversa-
tion.
SAPAC Director Holly Rider-
Milkovich said first-year students
are informed multiple times
about confidential and non-confi-
dential locations.
"Many times students have
trust relationships with people
who are in non-confidential
locations and chose to share
their information with them,"
Milkovch said. "And we want for
that to happen because we want
students to share their informa-
tion in a place where they feel safe
but we hope always that that is an
informed choice."
Once allegations are made, the
first step is to provide the survi-
vor with support services, like
a SAPAC advocate, per the new
policy. Next, the University pro-
vides an assessment to determine
if any temporary intervention is
needed, such as if the accuser and
the accused share classes or live
in the same residence hall.
Two employees in the Office
of Institutional Equity, which is
responsible for investigating civ-
il-rights abuses at the University,
have been assigned to investigate
all sexual misconduct allegations.
The policy also indicates that
no party has an obligation to
meet with the investigators, and
can choose not to cooperate with
an investigation. In cases when
the survivor does not want to
meet with investigators, a special
review panel will meet to deter-
mine if the investigation will con-
tinue.
The panel is charged finding a
balance between survivor choice
and campus safety, and the Title
IX coordinator having the final
say on the future of the investi-
gation. In many cases, because
of the nature of the sexual mis-
conduct, an investigation cannot
continue without the cooperation
of the survivor.
Title IX Coordinator Anthony
Walesby, associate vice pro-
vost and senior director of OIE,
explained that in a typical inves-
tigation, OIE staff meet sepa-
rately with the complainant and
accused.
"There's never'this back and
forth; no one's cross examining,"
Walesby said. "We ask questions.
We ask follow up questions based
on the information we have, but
you never have to worry about,
being in the same room as the
person you are accusing and vice
versa."
Law enforcement investiga-
tions and interviews are inde-
pendent of OIE activities, but
Walesby said UMPD and investi-
gators frequently share informa-
tion.
When determining guilt, OIE
investigators will use a lower
standard of proof. Known as
preponderance of the evidence,
the standard declares that guilt
is determined if there's enough
evidence to suggest a complaintis
more likelytrue than not.
The final report is then given
to the Office of Student Conflict
Resolutiorl, where consequences
can include probation, suspen-
sion and other sanctions. OSCR
also coordinates efforts to com-
munities affected by misconduct.
The differences between the
old policy and the interim policy
have already resulted in a signifi-
cant increase in the number of
sexual misconduct cases report-
ed to the University. During the
2010-2011 academic year, three
cases of sexual misconduct were
reported to the University, but in
2011-2012, there were 62 cases of
sexual misconduct investigated
under the interim policy.
CSG
From Page1A
ises - but these achievements
were not without struggles.
Graduate students sought
secession from CSG, claiming the
assembly did notfocus due efforts
toward their needs despite utiliz-
ing funds received from graduate
tuition. The student government
was forced to spend what Parikh
recalls as several hundred hours
seeking a resolution.
Like in Winter 2013, when
independent candidates Parikh
and Hashwi were faced with
the task of leading an opposi-
tion-dominated Representative
Assembly, Proppe and Dishell
will lead an assembly domi-,
nated by members of opposition
party forUM in the wake of elec-
tion disputes<\a> that led to the
disqualification of that party's
presidential candidate, who won
the popular vote. In May inter-
views, Proppe and LSA sopho-
more Pavitra Abraham, forUM's
party chair, both said they didn't
believe party politics would
interfere with the efficiency of
student government.
"All the representatives will
be working on their individual-
ized platforms and will be work-
ing with other members of the
Assembly to draft their resolu-
tions," Abraham said. "But they
will definitely be able to work
(with the executive) to accom-
plish all goals for the year."
During Tuesday's assem-
bly meeting the representa-
tives will discuss and vote on a
series of resolutions pertaining
to CSG rules and look back on a
resolution from the winter per-
taining to the increased price
of student football season tick-
ets. Additionally, Proppe and
Dishell will finalize and present
selected nominations to serve as
the chairs of the newly created
executive commissions and the
executive board to the Assembly.
"We're still in the process
of interviewing (candidates),"
Proppe said. "We were thrilled
with the number of applicants
we had; it's a great problem to
have, but it gets bogged down a
little bit in terms of processing all
of them."
The assembly meets every
Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. on the third
floor of the Michigan Union.
HOUSING
From Page 1A
improving the quality of the resi-
dential experience and strength-
ening that connection between
living and learning," Logan said.
Most renovations added
enhanced study spaces as well
as community areas, two items
requested by students in early
surveys on housing.
On a larger scale, efforts were
made to connect students from
different dorms within particular
neighborhoods, Logan said. The
dining halls have played a role
in bringing different students
together by creating communal
dining locations - such as the
Hill Dining Center and The Blue
Apple at Bursley Residence Hall.
"Before the Residential Life
Initiative, so many of our halls
had individual dining places, and
while students with their meal
plans could still dine at other
locations, the tendency was to
dine where you live," Logan said.
Logan went on to say that hav-
ing fewer but larger dining halls
rather than one in each dorm is
cost-effective and helps create
the neighborhood atmosphere
the RLI project intends. New
entrances between South Quad
Residence Hall and West Quad
Residence Hall will also serve to
connect students between differ-
enthalls.
Though a main focus of RLI is
on student learning and interac-
tion, Logan emphasized that the
renovations were "not simply cos-
metic."
Construction focused primar-
ily on older heritage buildings,
while leaving major changes to
comparatively newer dorms, such
as the Mary Markley and Burs-
ley Residence Hall, for later. The
total project costs $750 million,
funded by 2-percent increases in
room and board every year since
renovations commenced, Logan
said.
There are no current plans to
renovations non-RLI dorms, like
Bursley and Markley.°
Gregory Wright, assistant
director of planning and design
for University Housing, said the
buildings included in the project
needed facility repairs and those
not included will likely need
them soon.
All residence halls received
upgrades to fire-alarm and sprin-
kler systems, and most dorms
also required upgrades in wire-
less Internet capability. Many of
the listed repairs in the RLI brief-
ing included mechanical, electri-
cal and plumbing overhauls inthe
outdated buildings.
"There was a lot of 'band-aid-
ing' going on over the years, and
that's why they reached a point
where they were putting Band-
Aids on Band-Aids," Wright said
of the plumbing system.
Wright explained that many of
the major issues came from try-
ing to include modern systems
in older buildings. Issues like
improper floor height to accom-
modate Internet and other wir-
ing, and inability to distribute
electricity and plumbing in taller
buildings, required improvised
solutions.
The building renovations have
also included updates in sustain-
ability. Most notably, all buildings
are now equipped with occupancy
sensors for the lights, and many
have low- or dual-flush toilets.
"I'm really excited about what
we've done and what we're still
doing," he said. "The transfor-
mation of these buildings is just
incredible."
Wright said the South and
West Quad renovations will take
a similar approach to the model
used for East Quad Residence
Hall.
The South Quad project will
not alter dorm rooms, but instead
focus primarily on lounges and
the dining hall. It is scheduled
to be completed by August 2014,
a tall order accordingto Wright.
"There's a lot packed into the
short amount of time that we
have," Wright said. "It's always
touch-and-go, but we've always
made it."
The University isn't the only
Big 10 institution improving
its residence facilities in recent
years:Thedininghallrenovations
and improvements are similar
to those undergone at Michigan
State University's Brody Neigh-
borhood in 2009.
The Brody dining hall, used
by the six residence halls in the
neighborhood, now includes a
two-story student lounge and
community spaces. The cafeteria,
named Brody Square, features
nine different eating venues. Five
of the residence halls themselves
have been renovated, and the
sixth is currently under construc-
tion.
An $83-million renovation to
Pennsylvania State University's
South Hall dormitories was also
completed this year. The dorm
rooms, lounges and community
spaces were all upgraded and
air conditioning was installed.
Unlike renovations here in Ann
Arbor, building exteriors were
also redesigned. A second phase
of renovations will be completed
at Penn State in 2015.
Indiana University has
upgraded and built several resi-
dence halls in recent years and
hopes to improve all of its resi-
dence halls by 2020.
LSA sophomore Samantha
Lyons never felt that her former
dorm, South Quad, was desper-
ate for repair, but after moving
to Stockwell Residence Hall this
year, she's is glad to see the dorm
updated.
"It's nice to try and keep up
with the other Big 10 schools and
other schools around the coun-
try," Lyons said.
When you ask a resident of the
renovated dorms about their liv-
ing situation, the word "hotel"
tends to come to mind.
LSA junior Iqra Nasir lived in
luxury last year in Couzens Resi-
dence Hall and said the dorm felt
extremely comfortable.
"The areas set up in Couzens
are wonderful," Nasir said.
"There' are lounges on every
floor, and it was really helpful to
have study areas so close to your
room."
Since the implementation
of RLI, the total dorm capac-
ity of the past several years has
been notably lower. After clos-
ing Baits I Residence Hall and
beginning renovations to East
Quad in 2011, housing priority
was reversed - freshmen were
given priority in dorm place-
ment.
Logan said givingthose rooms
to younger students helped ease
the transition into college life and
relieve the burden of trying to
find off-campus housing.
"That was not a popular deci-
sion," Logan said, noting the
frustration of the upperclassmen
who expected precedence in the
housing lottery. "What we're
anticipating is with our full com-
plement of rooms back in order of
Central Campus, we'll actually
have more choices for returning
students."
The dorm re-openings could
also mean fewer undergraduates
in Northwood Apartments I and
II, though the specifics on the
housing selection process have
not been finalized.
FRATS
From Page 1A
"I'm not sure what's stopping it or
how soon anymore progress can
be expected to be made."
Seiler said houses here on cam-
pus are in desperate need of reno-
vations.
"Greek life has been in exis-
tence at Michigan since 1845,
and less than half of the houses
have-sprinkler systems installed,
which is a major factor in safety
and fire prevention," she said.
"Because these houses have been
around so long, especially the
ones in the historic district, the
electrical wiring, plumbing and
other safety measures necessary
are very expensive to make."
Seiler said she believes more
people would be willing to sup-
port facility upgrades if their
donation could be classified as a
tax write-off.
The bill is currently pending in
the U.S. House Ways and Means
Committee.
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