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. JOIN THE DAILY! Come to our mass meeting on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 7:30 PM @ 420 MAYNARD HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE! FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @MICHIGANDAILY + LIKE US ON FACEBOOK! FACEBOOK.COM/ MICHIGANDAILY WE <3 SOCIAL MEDIA Redefine your Future Choose your country and program. peacecorps.gov/openings It only takes an hour to apply! Campus Office: 734.647.2182 or peace.corps@umich.edu