The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, September 5, 2014 - 3
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, September 5, 2014 - 3
NEWS BRIEFS
LANSING
Michigan launches
new flu vaccine
challenge,
The Michigan Department
of Community Health has
announced it will partner with
colleges, universities and sev-.
eral organizations to encourage
young adults to get flu vaccina-
tions through friendly competi-
tion.
The department is launching
a new challenge among school
heath centers to see which
college or university can get
the highest percentage of stu-
dents vaccinated against the flu
this season. Thirteen schools
throughout the state are cur-
rently enrolled in the 2014-15 Flu
Vaccination Challenge.
CHICAGO
Court rules against
gay marriage bans
in two states
A U.S. appeals court issued
a scathing, unequivocal rul-
ing Thursday declaring that gay
marriage bans in Wisconsin and
Indiana were unconstitutional,
on the same day that 32 states
asked the Supreme Court to set-
tle the issue once and for all.
The U.S. 7th Circuit Court
of Appeals in Chicago was the
fourth to hear arguments on the
issue. The decision from a nor-
mally slow and deliberative court
was released a little more than a
week after oral arguments.
The unanimous, 40-page deci-
sion from a three-judge panel
blasted the states' justifications
for their bans, several times'
singling out the argument that
only marriage between a man
and a woman should be allowed
because it's - simply - tradition.
WASHINGTON
Justice Department
to investigate
Ferguson police
The Justice Department
launched a broad investigation
Thursday into the police depart-
ment in Ferguson, Missouri, fol-
lowing the shooting last month
of an unarmed black 18-year-old
by a white police officer.
The investigation, which is
separate from an existing federal
probe into the Aug. 9 shooting of
Michel Brown, will look for pat-
terns of discrimination within the
predominantly white department
and focus on how officers use
force, search and arrest suspects,
and treat inmates at the city jail.
The police department said it wel-
comed the investigation.
BAGHDAD
Sunni militants
kidnap dozens
of men in Iraq
Militants affiliated with the
extremist Islamic State group
abducted dozens of men from a
Sunni village north of Baghdad
on Thursday, residents said, as
two separate car bombings killed
23 people in the capital.
The militants took some 50
men from Tal Ali village, around
240 kilometers (170 miles) north
of Baghdad, according to resi-
dents. The men were loaded onto
trucks and driven away, they
said, speaking on condition of
anonymity out of fear of retribu-
tion.
The militants had retreated
from the village the day before,
fearing an attack by the Iraqi
army. When they left, residents
set fire to an Islamic State flag.
The Islamic State group spear-
headed an offensive in June,
seizing vast swaths of northern
Iraq, including the country's
second largest city Mosul. The
P group has published grisly pho-
tos of the mass killingof captives
in areas under its control in Iraq
and neighboring Syria.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
ISSUES
From Page 1
space desired are set for September,
October and November. After that,
blueprints willibe sketched and the
search will begin for a proper and
available plot of land.
Simpson said students are look-
ing for a place where they can eas-
ily stop by to study, organize and
meetnew people.
This summer, headquarters
of the Sexual Assault Prevention
& Awareness Center, or SAPAC,
moved locations due to renovations
underway at West Quad, which
relocated their offices to North
Quad.
SAPAC director Holly Rider-
Milkovich appeared eager to push
the small but influential organiza-
tion ahead into its busiest time of
year and solve a pressing problem:
a sexual assault reporting rate that
has improved, but has the potential
to improve.
According to a Washington Post
analysis, in 2012, the University
had the second-highest number of
reports of sexual offense on cam-
pus - 32. Rider-Milkovich said
1 in 33 men and 1 in 5 women are
assaultedin college.
"Our numbers do not yet
reflect that rate of victimiza-
tion," she said.
Though Schlissel may be
aware of the statistics, he has yet
to meet Rider-Milkovich or visit
SAPAC.
University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald said he has "no doubt"
STATUSOWL
From Page 1
launch the product.
"Ever since we've switched
to being graduates, we've been
working full time and I think
our mindset really shifted after
we graduated," Thanedar said.
"We have one shot at this kind of
thing."
Creating partnerships with
public venues is the backbone of
the app's revenue model. So far,
StatusOwl has partnered with
seventeen bars in Ann Arbor's
downtown nightlife circuit The
app acts a a marketing platform
for these bars, but could also help
students save money on drinks
and win perks. Last Wednesday,
Good Time Charley's offered
double the prize money to app
users who won trivia rounds.
StatusOwl also shares drink
specials that are created by bars
to attract students earlier in the
night.
"If a certain bar usually gets
packed by 10 p.m., we want to
help them get packed by 9 p.m.
by adding a live advertisement to
people," Thanedar said.
The founders were particular-
ly proud of the fact that the app
crowdsources its information.
"All the students together have
ownership and can make it work
together," Jobanputra said. "It's
VP
From Page 1
"It's really unfortunate that
Meagan had to step down and
I know that for her to be able to
do that was a really big thing,"
Lustig said. "It's a position she
has achieved and she won vice
president, which is fantastic. I'm
just going to try to make the best
of a bad situation."
Despite the circumstances,
Lustig said she is prepared to
manage a smooth transition.
"I'm very excited," she said.
"I talked to the assembly at the
meeting about how I think it's
going to be really important for
me to sit down with each of them
as well as the University Council
members and reach out and really
get to know them."
Lustig has served as the chair
of the Student Safety and Secu-
rity CSG commission for the past
Schlissel was aware of the campus
happenings, but the community
should be realistic about the expe-
rience of a transitioning president.
"The number of issues that he
can personally be involved in is
limited," Fitzgerald said. "Every-
body wants some of his time.
Particularly this early in his presi-
dency, he is naturally relying on the
administration around him."
At the beginning of August, the
Shared Services Center receivedits
firstwave ofstaff. Plansforthe cen-
ter were delayed last year after the
University received negative feed-
back from many faculty and staff
about the University's plan to save
money by consolidating staff from
different departments in a central
location off campus. Many critics
condemned the University for fail-
ing to be transparent and equitable
when carrying out the plans.
Pam Gabel, the director of the
center, also hasn't spoken directly
to Schlissel, but said she has kept
the center on track to transition the
next 150 staff members thisowinter.
"Certainly people weren't happy
theywereselected (torelocate),but
we have a pretty hefty engagement
plan to help themmake that transi-
tion," she said.
Fitzgerald said there is a more-
than-capable team around Schlis-
sel, adding that his restraint from
laying out detailed action plans for
many issues is for good reason.
"As (Schlissel) said very early
in that initial media briefing, he
is going to take time to listen and
understand the University deep-
ly before he creates priorities,"
Fitzgerald said.
not me that's going to make this
app successful, it's everyone on
campus."
As part of this collaborative
outlook, Jobanputra and Thane-
dar plan to organize community
events in order to give back to
various charities.
A few hundred students have
downloaded the app on their
smartphones, but the founders
said they are working with Greek
Life members to drive more users
to the product.
The founders made an agree-
ment with the social chairs of
various fraternities where Sta-
tusOwl will provide a free rush
banner and promotional events
in exchange for the fraternities
using the app to advertise their
parties.
Delta Tau Delta, whose senior
house displays a StatusOwl ban-
ner, is one fraternity that is
workingclosely with the startup.
Engineering senior Peter Lind,
a DTD brother, said he has seen
many of his friends using the
app.
"The app is really functional
and it has a lot of potential for
Ann Arbor or any campus," Lind
said. "I use it all the time."
Jobanputra and Thanedar
hope StatusOwl will spread to
other Big Ten college campuses
and also catch on with young
professionals who have moved on
past their college days, but still
enjoy hitting the town.
two years and as an assistant with
the Beyond the Diag program.
She said she intends to continue
her efforts to improve security
for students in her new role. This
includes a focus on improving
campus lighting and starting "It's
On Us," a sexual assault aware-
ness program.
Additionally, she will remain
involved inlaunchingthe Wolver-
ine Support Network, a Universi-
ty-wide peer support network,
next semester and will ensure
the U-Go's in the basement of the
Union has fresh produce available
to students everyday.
"I really would like to improve
the campus image of Central Stu-
dent Government," Lustig said. "I
think it's something that we can
really take on, especially by mak-
ing these connections with the
assembly so that the rest of the
constituency can really see that
we're working together and try-
ing to achieve the same things to
make their Michigan experiences
TECH
From Page 1
event was a way for students
to preview the Myo armband
before it is presented at this
weekend's MHacks IV.
"By having the event in a
closed setting, it's a lot more
intimate," Lee said. "It allows
for better communication, and
better understanding of what's
going on. If you were one in four
hundred kids, you can't really
ask questions."
Students first listened to
Chris Goodine, the so-called
"developer evangelist" at
Thalmic Labs - the creator of
Myo armband -, explain how
the Myo armband works and
watched him use the band to
fly a small drone around the
room.
Later, students were able to
test out the Myo armband by
putting it on their forearm and
following a number of prompts
on a computer screen. These
included waving the hand left
or right, touching the pinky to
the thumb or putting the hand
in a fist. The computer screen
then showed the user what
hand motions controlled things
such as music volume and room
temperature.
"Hardware is shifting
towards getting input from
the physical sense so it's really
interesting to see what start-
ups are coming with right now,"
LSA junior Robin Mehta said.
"And we get a hands on experi-
ence."
Goodine said the Myo arm-
band's name comes from the
gesture recognition technology,
known as electromyography.
This technology is currently
used in the medical setting for
measuring a patient's heart
activity with electrodes, among
other applications.
"Gesture control allows you
to enjoy digital technologies
with your hands," Goodine said.
"It's a more natural way of inter-
acting with everyday objects, so
the idea there is just having the
ability to do that in the digital
world as well."
The Myo armband picks up
small electrical signals that
are produced by muscles when
they contract. Over time the
Myo armband can adapt to the
motion of the users arm, giving
them gesture control.
Engineering freshman Ste-
ven Schmatz said he attended
the event to get a better under-
standing of gesture technology.
"The Myo band seems like a
device with so much potential
that you can use for hackathons,
for example," Schmatz said. "I
think wearable technology is
definitely going to revolution-
FRIENDSY
From Page 1
ence between Friendsy and
other apps is the requirement
of a University e-mail address.
Apps like Tinder, on the other
hand, show potential matches
based on geolocation.
Another component of
Friendsy is a feature similar
to the popular app Yik Yak,
called Murmurs. Users can
post comments anonymously
or non-anonymously to the
constantly updating Murmur
feed, which other users can
read and upvote. On Friendsy,
users can also direct anony-
mous comments at a specific
user, similar to mentioning
someone in a tweet. Pinsky
said the entire feature began
as a way for users to compli-
ment each other.
Pinsky added that Friendsy
emphasizes moderating content
to ensure users have a positive
experience.
"On Friendsy, all content
is moderated, so you're never,
ever going to have a negative
experience," Pinsky said, "The
worst case scenario is you like
someone who doesn't like you
back, but that's sort of life some-
times."
US to provide $75M to
expand Ebola care centers
The aid agency has
already donated
$20 million to
afflicted Liberia
MONROVIA, Liberia (AP)
- The American aid agency
announced Thursday it would
donate $75 million to fund
1,000 more beds in Ebola
treatment centers in Liberia
and buy 130,000 more protec-
tive suits for health care work-
ers.
West Africa's struggling
health systems have buckled
under the pressure of an Ebola
outbreak that has already
killed about 1,900 people.
Nurses in Liberia are wear-
ing rags over their heads to
protect themselves from the
dreaded disease, amid con-
cerns that shortages of pro-
tective gear throughout the
region are responsible for the
high Ebola death toll among
health workers.
The U.S. Agency for Inter-
national Development also
urged American health care
workers to respond to the
outbreak. Rajiv Shah, the
agency's administrator, told
The Associated Press that
several hundred more inter-
national experts are needed
and the agency will help send
Americans health care work-
ers there.
"This will get worse before
it gets better," he said. "We
have a coherent and clear
strategy ... but it will take
weeks to months to get opera-
tional at that scale."
The $75 million comes in
addition to about $20 million
the agency has already donat-
ed to fight the outbreak that
was first identified in March
in Guinea, -and has spread
to Liberia, Sierra Leone and
Nigeria. The killer virus is
spread through bodily fluids
such as blood, sweat, urine or
diarrhea.
Health workers account for
about 10 percent of the deaths
so far. Much of the protec-
tive gear they use must be
destroyed after use, so Ebola
wards need a constant flow of
clean equipment.
One nurse at a hospital in
Monrovia, Liberia's capital,
said she and her colleagues
have resorted to cutting up
their old uniforms and try-
ing them over their faces to
protect themselves, looking
out through holes in the fab-
ric. She spoke on condition of
anonymity because she was
not authorized to talk to the
media.
"It is really pathetic," she
said. "We are not equipped to
face the situation."
With no goggles to protect
them, their eyes burn from
the fumes of chlorine used to
disinfect the ward, the nurse
said.
David and Nancy Write-
bol, American missionaries
who worked at another hos-
pital in Liberia, echoed those
concerns, speaking to the AP
in North Carolina. They said
doctors and nurses are over-
whelmed by a surge of patients
and there aren't enough haz-
ard suits to keep them safe.
Health care workers can go
through thousands of the suits
a week, David Writebol said,
and the suspension of flights
to the region by many airlines
is making it harder to get gear
in.
Three American health care
workers have been sickened
with Ebola while working in
Liberia. Nancy Writebol and
Dr. Kent Brantly were flown
back to the U.S. to be treated
and have since recovered,
while the third only recently
tested positive for the disease.
Another doctor who was
infected with Ebola while
working in Liberia is being
flown to a Nebraska hospital
for treatment, doctors there
said Thursday.
Officials at the Nebraska
Medical Center in Omaha said
Dr. Rick Sacra, 51, is expected
to arrive sometime Friday.
Sacra will begin treatment in
the hospital's 10-bed special
isolation unit, the largest of
four such units in the U.S.
Liberia has been hardest hit
by the current outbreak, with
the largest number of cases
and deaths. Doctors Without
Borders, which is running sev-
eral Ebola treatment centers,
said last week that its clinic
in Monrovia is overrun with
patients and doctors are no
longer able to provide intrave-
nous treatments.
The Liberian nurse, mean-
while, said she and her col-
leagues live every day with
the fear that they'll become
infected.
"When you go through this
and return home, you lie in
bed asking yourself: I am still
safe? Or I have contracted the
disease?" she said.
Meanwhile, health officials
were monitoring more than
200 people who may have been
exposed to Ebola in southern
Nigeria.
Authorities had been cau-
tiously optimistic that they
would be able to keep Nigeria's
outbreak relatively small since
the one sick Liberian-Amer-
ican who brought the disease
to Nigeria by plane was quick-
ly isolated.
But then last month a per-
son he had come into contact
with escaped surveillance and
fled to the southern oil hub of
Port Harcourt. The contact
infected a doctor, who, in turn,
exposed dozens of people to
the disease, the World Health
Organization said.
Of the 200 people identified
as exposed to the ill doctor,
WHO said about 60 are con-
sidered at high risk of getting
Ebola.
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