Thursday, July 10, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, July 10, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
17
Among these schools is Pennsyl-
vania State University in University
Park, Pennsylvania. Penn State, like
Michigan, received nation-wide
scrutiny on its administration's
response to sexual assault following
allegations of sexual abuse by former
assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
Although Penn State had the high-
est number of reported instances of
sexual assault from 2010 to 2012, it
also had the greatest rise of reported
allegations in that time frame, from
4 reported assaults in 2010 to 56 in
2012.
Penn State has recently imple-
mented several programs to aid stu-
dents, faculty and staff in responding
to and preventingsexual misconduct.
These include self-defense courses,
mass educational initiatives, open
campus discussions and changes to
police protocol.
LisaPowers, director ofthe Office
of Strategic Communications at Penn
State, said the university takes the
issue of sexual violence on campus
very seriously and encourages open,
national discussion on the issue. She
added that she believes high rates of
reported assault reflect victim com-
fort with coming forward.
"We certainly believe training is
effective, and we know that if more
people are aware they are gener-
ally more likelyto come forward and
report,"she said."That's agood thing,
since we know this is a crime that is
vastlyunder-reported."
Lisa Lapin, associate vice presi-
dent of University Communications
at Stanford University, which had
the fifth highest number of reported
sexual offenses in 2012, echoed simi-
lar attitudes toward reported assault.
"We consider the numbers actu-
ally a success, because underreport-
ingisachronicprobleminallcolleges
and universities," she said. "We look
at the increase in our numbers to
mean that our outreach programs
are working and we're helpingpeople
get access to the resources that they
need."
On the other end of the spectrum,
Johns Hopkins University, which
only had 6 total reported instances
of sexual assault from 2010 to 2012,
started takingsteps to improve their
sexual misconduct policy following
the Department of Education's man-
date clarifyinguniversity's active role
in investigating allegations of sexual
assault under Title IX, though the
school isn't currently under investi-
gation.
Dennis O'Shea, executive director
of Media Relations and Crisis Com-
munications at Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity, said the university revised
their sexual violence policy in
December 2012. It has created a 24/7
crisis hotline for survivors of sexual
assault to feel comfortable reporting
attacks and hired a sexual violence
prevention, education and response
coordinator. They are working to
reword their policy to make it more
understandable to students.
Though O'Shea did not wish to
comment on the low number of
reported assaults, he said the school
is in the process of forming a Sexual
Violence Advisory Committee with
students, faculty and staff to help
the school address prevention and
response.
"We're in no way complacent," he
said. "There is more to do and we are
determined to do it. We will live up
to the standards we have set for our-
selves."
Though university spokespeople
andfederalresearchers believegreat-
er numbers of reported instances of
assault is an improvement, it is still
only part of the problem in combat-
ing occurring sexual assault across
campuses.
For the University, Rider-Milkov-
ich said it will take continuous, vig-
orous and community-wide effort
to end instances of sexual assault on
campus, both reported and not.
"We're looking at the long hori-
zon here," she said. "Anytime you're
talking about shifting culture, you're
looking at a long horizon, but I think
that Michigan has the infrastructure,
the commitment, the expertise and
the willto makethathappen."
TRANSIT
From Page 1
with Disabilities Act
Some of the environmentally-
friendly features of the building
include the use of storm water
collected from the roof in public
restrooms, heated driveways and
sidewalks to decrease snow-salt
usage and the reuse of materials
from the former transit building in
the new facility.
Contractors and manag-
ers of the center also partnered
with small Ann Arbor-based
and Detroit-based businesses in
excavating and facilitating the
building. Managers chose these
companies under the guidelines of
federal programs devoted to fos-
tering growth in local economies
and helping minority individuals
and women run businesses. The
center received $7 million in fed-
eral funds towards the renovation
project.
Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.)
spoke at the event on the impor-
tance of mass transit to help move
communities forward. He said
though he loved to see American
automobiles on the road, mass
transit is critical in helping those
that can't afford their own vehicle.
Dingell also congratulated the
Ann Arbor community for its
achievement, and noted that this is
one step of many to improve qual-
ity of life in the city.
Quoting Churchill, he said, "It is
not the beginning of the end, it is
perhaps the end of the beginning.
More needs to be done and has to
be done quickly."
Ann Arbor Mayor John Hief-
tje echoed Dingell's observations,
speaking on the affordability of
public transit for citizens. He also
brought up the federal funds the
AAATA received to build a new
train station in Ann Arbor.
"I think that this is one of the
best things that we can do for our
city in the future, it helps every-
one, it lifts all boats," Hieftje said.
Larry Krieg, Ypsilanti repre-
sentative on the AAATA's board
of directors, was in attendance at
the event. He said he was excited
to see the center transform into a
social gathering site over the next
few years and was proud of the
eco-friendly and user-friendly fea-
tures of the building.
"The whole thing is so accessible
to mobility challenges, that's avery
important thing," Krieg said. "Peo-
ple say that ifa system, a building
or a transportation system, works
well for disabled people, it'll work
better for everyone else."
'U' ranks second in total number of reported sexual assaults
More survivors
coming forward first
step in changing
campus culture
By ALLANA AKHTAR
Daily NewsEditor
According to a recent analysis
done by the Washington Post on
data from the U.S. Department of
Education, the University of Michi-
gan had 34 total reported instances
of sexual assault last year - the sec-
ond highest number in the nation.
The University had 64 total
recorded instances of sexual assault
on campus from 2010 - 2012. There
were 0.78 reported offenses per
1,000 students in 2012.
Of the nearly 1,570 colleges and
universities listed, Pennsylvania
State University had the highest
number of reported sexual assaults
with 56 in 2012. Harvard ranked
third, behind the University, with
31.
In contrast, 45 percent of univer-
sities with enrollment of 1,000 or
higher had 0 reported instances of
sexual assault last year.
Overthe pastyear,theUniversity
has been no stranger to scrutiny by
both outside law enforcement and
students over its handling of sexual
assault allegations.
The Michigan Daily reported
in January the permanent separa-
tion of Brendan Gibbons, a kicker
for the University's football team,
from the University for sexual mis-
conduct. Following a complaint
filed by former University professor
Doug Smith, the U.S. Department
of Education Office for Civil Rights
opened an investigation on the Uni-
versity's handling ofthe separation.
Central Student Government also
commissioned atask force to review
the circumstances surrounding the
separation. The task force found the
University responsible for mishan-
dling Gibbons' sexual misconduct
case after two months of scrutiny.
Though high reporting rates,
coupled with the allegations sur-
rounding Gibbons' separation could
create an unfavorable perception of
the University, Holly Rider-Milkov-
ich, director of the Sexual Assault
Prevention and Awareness Center,
said she believes the rates are likely
not different from other universi-
ties nationally. What's different,
she said, is the atmosphere around
reporting incidents when they hap-
pen, making high reporting rates
more of a positive than anegative.
"When I see those high report-
ingrates, Ithinktomyselfthat's one
more student who has felt comfort-
able in sharing the feeling of harm
and has connected to the spectrum
of resources," she said. "I am proud
of the reporting rate that we have
achieved."
RecentchangestoUniversity
sexual misconduct policy
In January 2014, the White
House Council on Women and Girls
published a sexual assault report
entitled "Rape and SexualAssault:A
Renewed Call to Action" that stated
nearlyl in5 women have been sexu-
ally assaulted while in college and
7 percent of college men admitted
to committing rape or attempting
rape. The data reveals that only 12
percent of student survivors report
the assault to law enforcement.
To combat these statistics and
others on sexual assault on campus-
es, the University began a30-month
long study on campus climate
regarding sexual assault and new
methods to prevent and respond
to it for the purpose of revising the
sexual misconduct policy at the
University. The policy sets the Uni-
versity's procedures for responding
to sexual assault cases and issues on
campus.
During an initial interim stage
beginning in 2011, the directors of
office of Student Conflict Reso-
lution, the Office of Institutional
Equity, SAPAC and a staff member
in the Office of the General Counsel
gathered to review data and brain-
storm new initiatives. Survivors of
sexual assault and others impacted
by the previous policy were also
consulted.
Rider-Milkovich said the new
policy respects the values and
expectations of University staff,
students and faculty.
"Unlike many campuses, the
University of Michigan's policies
are unique to our needs and it's
unique to what we value," she said.
"It's not an off the shelf product."
The new University policy
encourages any and all reporting
of sexual misconduct, and gives
faculty and administration a great-
er responsibility in investigating
assault allegations. Two full-time
investigators also work regularly on
analyzing and studying sexual mis-
conduct cases.
Since the implementation of the
interim policy in 2011, the Univer-
sity has seen far greater reported
instances of sexual assault - the
number of reports in 2012 is more
than double thatof2010.
SAPAC student director Kathryn
Abercrombie attributed the spike
of reported incidences to the policy
change.
"We've seen the number of
reports rise because there has been
a different reporting process that
make it easier for survivors tocome
forward," Abercrombie said.
LSA senior Katelyn Maddock
agreed. She lauded the University's
system of supporting sexual mis-
conduct survivors and giving them
the confidence to report crime.
"High reporting doesn't really
reflect that we have a problem,"
Maddock said. "I think it does
reflect that people are coming for-
ward. We have a really good system
in place."
Reporting sexual assault
across U.S.universities
In light of the White House
report, the Obama administration
created a task force to combat cam-
pus sexual assault as well as nation-
wide sexual violence.
"To make our campuses safer,
change still needs to come from
many quarters: schools must adopt
better policies and practices to
prevent these crimes and to more
effectively respond when they hap-
pen,"the reportstated. "And federal
agencies must ensure that schools
are livingup totheir obligations."
Federal law agencies took action
again last May when the U.S.
Department of Education's Office
for Civil Rights opened an investi-
gation on over 60 universities for
possible violation of Title IX of the
Education Amendments of 1972
which prohibits gender-based dis-
crimination in federally funded
programs and organizations.
CAFE
From Page 1
ing, but we didn't think that
was the proper fit and wanted to
do the leasing correctly," he said.
"We tried to select a good vari-
ety of retailers and restaurants."
"Sweetwaters is a wonder-
ful tenant and a great addition
to the building," he said. "They
are local, they have a great brand
and a great image."
Sheila Li and her husband Roy
Xu, owners of the new Sweetwa-
ters cafe, said they were happy
to be able to share more of the
Sweetwaters experience with
Ann Arbor customers.
"It has been very exciting to
have the grand opening and to
see customers come in and enjoy
the atmosphere and the design of
the store," Li said. "We already
have a steady customer base,
since Sweetwaters have been in
Ann Arbor for over 21 years."
Li also highlighted several
unique sustainable designs of
the store, including LED light-
ing, an energy-saving instant
water heater, motion sensors for
lighting control and a self-suf-
ficient green wall that features
live plants, as features she was
particularly proud of.
The cafe will be the first cof-
feehouse to be certified LEED by
the U.S. Green Building Coun-
cil, she said. LEED certification
indicates that a business has met
certain construction and build-
ing prerequisites that reduce the
impact they have on the environ-
ment.
Sweetwaters founder Lisa Bee
said they are thrilled to be in the
East Liberty space. The energy
level and the business at the new
cafe have been great and it's get-
ting busier every day, she added.
"We have a lot of students
who are customers," she said. "I
really think students are going
to make the cafe their own and
we'll adopt to their taste."
Slurping Turtle Sous Chef
Juan-Paulo Garcia said his res-
taurant, which neighbors Sweet-
waters, has been successful since
its April 21 opening and the loca-
tion has exceeded their initial
expectations.
"Sweetwaters will be a great
addition and will definitely bring
a lot of foot traffic to the area,"
he said.
Take
the bus
to the
Bot!
And treat yourself to some flowers and trails this summer at
Matthaei Botanical Gardens-for free! It's easy: reserve your
free ride on the MDetroit Center Connector shuttle bus at
detroitcenter.umich.edu/mdcc and board at the Central
Campus Transit Center with your Mcard.