If individual damages were to
total between $1,000 and $20,000
each, the individuals would face
felony charges — which could
result in up to five years in prison,
“a fine of not more than $10,000
or three times the amount of the
destruction or injury, whichever is
greater,” or both.
However, no individuals have
yet been identified, at least pub-
licly, as culpable for the damages.
Beyond state law, E. Royster
Harper, vice president for stu-
dent life, said in an interview last
week with The Michigan Daily
the students will also face Univer-
sity-centric procedures to address
their actions.
The
Statement
of
Student
Rights and Responsibilities is a
set of rules to which all students
who attend the University are
bound. In its introduction, the
document states that the Univer-
sity’s standards of conduct extend
beyond the University and Ann
Arbor “only if the behavior poses
an obvious and serious threat or
harm to any member(s) of the Uni-
versity community.”
Harper
said
individuals
involved in damages to resorts
exacted not only physical dam-
age, but also reputational damage
to the school — as there has been
national attention surrounding
the issue.
“How do we as an institution do
what’s right?” she asked. “Lots of
people were harmed by the irre-
sponsible behavior. So then the
question becomes, ‘How do you
repair that harm?’ And that’s what
we’re trying to think about.”
Student violations to the State-
ment of Student Rights include
“stealing, vandalizing, damaging,
destroying or defacing Univer-
sity property or the property of
others” — which the resorts have
accused all six Greek organiza-
tions of doing.
The process under the State-
ment of Student Rights would
likely deal with individual stu-
dents, and subsequently these stu-
dents would have three options for
resolution of the issue. However,
because individuals have not yet
been identified, the proceedings
are as of now undetermined.
If the students came to a “gen-
eral agreement” with the involved
resorts about how to resolve the
conflict, they could discuss poten-
tial sanctions before entering
into a formal agreement whereby
they accept “responsibility for the
alleged violations of the State-
ment.”
Informal
conflict
resolution
processes “such as mediation,
facilitated dialogue and restor-
ative justice circles” are available.
However, these are highly unlike-
ly to be employed given the large
monetary damages inflicted in
this situation.
The students could have a
University-affiliated
hearing
arbitrated by either a Resolution
Officer or a Student Resolution
Panel. These hearings could take
place in a group or on an individ-
ual basis. They would ultimately
“result in findings of fact” and
subsequent recommendations for
punishment, which would then
be reported to Dean of Students
Laura Blake Jones. Jones has the
final say on either accepting or
modifying the recommendations.
Potential
punishments,
referred to in the Statement of
Student Rights as “sanctions/
interventions,” include a “formal
reprimand,” which is essentially
a warning; “restitution” which
is “reasonable compensation for
loss” through community service,
money or material replacement;
suspension from coursework and
University activities; and most
severely, expulsion from the Uni-
versity.
SOAR,
a
University
body
housed in the Center for Campus
Involvement, is meant to create a
formal relationship between the
University and its student organi-
zations. Its accountability proce-
dure outlines how the University
responds to student organizations
that violate the Standards of
Conduct for Recognized Student
Organizations.
University students, faculty and
staff can bring complaints against
student organizations through the
SOAR accountability process.
Any enrolled student, faculty
Americans are immigrating to
Detroit to seek refuge from dan-
ger in their homeland.
Thibodeau said some Latinos
have difficulty finding jobs if
their education from home isn’t
recognized in the United States
or if they are undocumented. In
these cases, the Latino commu-
nity has been able to support itself
by establishing its own work.
“We have someone who came
from Honduras recently and
she was a teacher in Honduras,
but obviously that’s not going
to translate here in America,”
Thibodeau said. “The Latino
community does an awesome job
with really creating their own
economy, creating their own
businesses. Usually it’s labor
work: building up houses, fixing
up houses, landscaping, they do a
lot of work in the suburbs and sur-
rounding areas.”
Southwest Detroit is also a
cultural hub, which helps immi-
grants adjust to life in Detroit,
Thibodeau said.
“It’s very possible to grocery
shop, go to school, go to church, live
in the community and be in this
insulated cultural community,” he
said.
Detroit’s 300-year legacy of
immigration and migration to
Detroit has contributed to the city’s
culture and growth, but DeBarde-
laben, who moved to Detroit three
years ago, said the city continues
to provide opportunities for both
newcomers and former residents
deciding to return home.
“Those Detroiters who leave
for college, they come back,” she
said. “A lot of young profession-
als have options of going any and
everywhere. They can go to L.A.,
New York, Philadelphia, but they
want to come back to Detroit to
work because it’s a place where
they have a passion for and it’s in a
period of transition and they want
to be a part of that. People see the
opportunity to shape a better
future for Detroit.”
2-News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Monday, February 2, 2015 — 3A
mittee chair for CSG and SAPAC
volunteer, said the retreat was
designed to create an environ-
ment conducive to serious dia-
logue around sexual assault on
campus.
“I think we are fed up with the
national narrative that is being
portrayed in the media — and not
just that, but in our campus,” she
said.
Diaz alluded to students call-
ing for former Athletic Direc-
tor Dave Brandon’s termination
from the University, where more
than 1,000 students gathered in
protest. Brandon came under fire
after a series of events, most nota-
bly the Athletic Department’s
controversial handling of sopho-
more quarter-back Shane Mor-
ris’s concussion in a September
game against Minnesota.
“Where is that when it comes
to real, serious issues, such as
rape?”
From the start of the retreat,
Anna
Forringer-Beal,
co-coor-
dinator of SAPAC’s Networking,
Publicity, and Activism program,
emphasized using the word “sur-
vivor” as opposed to “victim” in
conversations about sexual assault.
“We use the term ‘survivor’
instead of ‘victim’ because it’s
a more empowering term and
because sexual assault at its core is
such a disempowering thing, one
of the ways to regain control is to
refer to yourself as a survivor and
show that you have ownership over
this event,” she said.
On Friday, SAPAC Director
Holly Rider-Milkovich and Dean of
Students Laura Blake Jones deliv-
ered a presentation on the Univer-
sity’s Student Sexual Misconduct
Policy.
“Basically, our policy falls into
four categories: respect, report,
respond
and
review,”
Rider-
Milkovich said.
Both went on to discuss the
definitions of important terms per-
taining to sexual conduct, namely
consent. She said consent must be
given on a continuous basis, not
just once. She also emphasized that
consent can’t be given by “a person
who is incapacitated.”
“Students need to be mutually
agreeing to each step of behavior as
it’s happening,” Rider-Milkovich
said.
The speakers also highlighted
the fact that one in six men and
one in four college-aged women
will experience some form of sex-
ual assault. However, Jones said
because sexual assault is the most
underreported crime in the United
States — with about 60 percent of
cases going unreported — the sta-
tistics can vary depending on the
source.
LSA junior Jacob Abudaram,
an LSA representative in the CSG
Assembly who attended the confer-
ence, said the topics were impor-
tant to discuss given the prevalence
of sexual assault.
“People think, ‘Well, I don’t need
to go to these workshops because I
would never sexually assault some-
one’ and that’s not the right role to
play,” he said.
The topics discussed at the
retreat focused heavily on preven-
tion from all parties involved.
For example, LSA junior Don
Lyons, co-coordinator of SAPAC’s
Men’s Activism program, led a pre-
sentation Saturday on bystander
intervention that considered the
concepts of coercion and sexual
harassment.
After showing the group an
advertisement for an episode of
FX’s “It’s Always Sunny in Phila-
delphia,” in which one character
discusses isolating a girl on a boat
so that she will have sex with him,
Lyons explained coercion as “tak-
ing away someone’s ability to say
no.”
To curb sexual assault, Lyons
also said people must take sexual
harassment more seriously.
“It’s a really horrible thing
that leads to other really horrible
things,” Lyons said. “A lot of the
times this is how someone will
start exerting their power over
someone.”
On campus, the topic of sexual
misconduct has attracted signifi-
cant attention in recent months. In
October, student protestors called
on University officials to address
several demands to address per-
ceived issues in the University’s
procedures
to
combat
sexual
assault on campus.
Earlier this month, Univer-
sity President Mark Schlissel, who
attended a portion of the Culture
Shift retreat, announced the Uni-
versity’s plans to survey students
on campus climate surround sexu-
al misconduct and public safety.
CULTURE
From Page 1A
of scientific ideas,” SLC Director
Claire Sandler said in an e-mail
interview.
The panel of judges was com-
posed of five individuals with
expertise in a wide variety of
fields, including science, art, edu-
cation and literature. The submis-
sions were ranked according to
their scientific basis, originality,
skill and technique and quality of
the written explanation.
This year, the grand prize was
awarded to Art and Design senior
Sidney Krandall for her piece
“Progressive Resistance Exercise
Design Concept,” a pen and ink
illustration.
Several new categories were
incorporated for the first time,
including the People’s Choice
award, which allowed attendees to
vote for their favorite pieces.
LSA
junior
Ashley
Miller
won this year’s People’s Choice
award for her piece, “Unobjec-
tive Research,” which depicted
a woman’s face surrounded by a
mass of long, flowing hair from
which
different
three-dimen-
sional shapes protruded. The hair
curled into the form of a hand,
choking the woman. The submis-
sion was done in acrylic paint and
clay.
“My piece is about doing
research and how sometimes
some of the things that you want
to do in research are not always
things that you want to do,” Mill-
er said. “It’s really hard to work
with animals, but you just have
to look at what comes out of it
and the good that you’re working
towards.”
LSA junior Lawrence Chen also
participated in the exhibition with
a large piece examining the seem-
ingly chaotic, yet strictly struc-
tured nature of DNA.
“Science and art are both a very
large part of my life and I see them
intersect all the time,” Chen said.
“This competition is exactly what
I’m looking for. Both bring great
joy to my life.”
Miller emphasized the impor-
tance of the event in that it pro-
vided a more visual medium of
science.
“This event is really important
because it shows people what sci-
ence is doing through more of a
visual and easier way to get it out to
people who aren’t particularly sci-
entifically-knowledgeable,” Miller
said. “It makes it more interesting
to the everyday person.”
SCIENCE
From Page 1A
SANCTIONS
From Page 1A
HISTORY
From Page 2A
to close the University even if we
wanted to,” she said. “Closing a
university is more like closing a
city than closing a building. You
can’t just close; there is a hospital,
there is a police force, there are
students on campus who need to
be fed.”
After last January’s cold day,
the University created a com-
mittee to update its severe-
weather policy. The updated
policy, released in October, pro-
vides more detailed protocols for
reducing service in the situation
of severe weather. To do so, the
executive director of the Uni-
versity’s Division of Safety and
Security and the executive vice
presidents assess the weather
conditions and provide recom-
mendations to the University
president, who makes the final
decision.
Eddie Washington, executive
director the University’s Divi-
sion of Public Safety and Security,
wrote in a release that dangerous
road conditions factored into his
recommendation to cancel classes.
“Snowfall totals of 12 to 18 inch-
es with high winds are making the
roads dangerous, especially for the
many faculty, staff and students
who live outside the city of Ann
Arbor,” he wrote.
Despite the closure, Atmo-
spheric
Sciences
Prof.
Perry
Samson said he will still hold his
class Extreme Weather, or AOSS
102. Students were “advised to
stay home, but can use the class
Echo360 technology to view the
live broadcast.”
This story has been updated
to include additional background
and information from a University
release.
SNOW DAY
From Page 1A
drivers, who honked as they
passed the demonstrators. How-
ever, most waited for the protest-
ers to continue down the street.
Police arrived when the protest
reached the intersection of Huron
and Main streets. Officers did not
interfere with the protest and
allowed the group to continue
marching.
Saturday’s rally was not the
first in recent months. In Decem-
ber,
demonstrators
convened
on the Diag and outside Winter
Commencement for “die-ins” to
protest police brutality.
Shae Ward, Rosser’s younger
sister, participated in the march
and thanked the protesters. In
an interview Saturday with The
Michigan Daily, Ward said she
appreciated the turnout. Ward,
who lives in Detroit, noted that
this is her first time in Ann Arbor
since Rosser’s death.
“I’m disappointed, but I hate
to say that it is to be expected,
unfortunately, with our history
in this country,” she said. “I am
hoping for a change. I am hoping
that the American people — right
now, 2015 — will wake up and
see what’s going on. And It’s not
about class and color. It really is
about money.”
Ward described Rosser as a
kind, compassionate, soft and
highly educated woman who
loved Ann Arbor. She added that
while Ann Arbor is supposedly a
liberal city, racism is prevalent in
the AAPD and that citizen groups
have spoken about this.
“My hope is that I can get
strong enough to speak for her,”
Ward said. “Because I know her
person. She would have never
attacked Officer Ried. She would
have never made him feel that
he would have to take her life to
defuse the situation. That is just
outlandish. It totally is outland-
ish.”
Rackham
student
Austin
McCoy, a member of Ann Arbor to
Ferguson, said he hopes that the
protest raised awareness about
the issue.
“We believe that since the
prosecutor made the announce-
ment so late last night that they
were trying to evade accountabil-
ity,” he said. “So this is partly to
show that we have some strength
and to try hold people responsible
but then we hope that this action
is one of many. We hope to actu-
ally put out some demands and go
from there.”
“I think what people can do
is join organizations like ours,
educate themselves about the
criminal justice here, especially
it’s inequities when it comes to
people of color in this country and
make sure they are involved.”
Darius Simpson, a student at
Eastern Michigan University who
participated in the march, said he
hopes the protest inspired further
action rather than just personal
feelings of accomplishment.
“This is a first step rather than
the end all,” Simpson said, “I am
hoping folks leave with inspira-
tion and curiosity, because the
reality is that people don’t know
what to do. They’re not doing
stuff because they have no idea
where to go and who to talk to.”
In a statement released Fri-
day evening on Facebook, Ann
Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor
(D) noted the ongoing necessity
of combating racial injustice, but
also said he believes the officer’s
actions were justified in this situ-
ation.
“The events of that night of
course were a tragedy, but not
a tragedy of racism, which is
loathsome
and
unacceptable
and contrary to everything Ann
Arbor and the Ann Arbor Police
Department stands for,” he said.
“The events of November nine
were a tragedy of mental illness
untreated and drug use unabated.
They were a tragedy of a society
that does not devote the resourc-
es necessary to give help to those
who require it.”
Protesters also demonstrated
against police brutality at the
Ann Arbor City Council meeting
in December. During that meet-
ing, the Council voted to equip
AAPD officers with body cam-
eras, which are expected to be in
operation by the summer.
PROTEST
From Page 1A
member or staff member at the
University can file an official
complaint form at the Center for
Campus Involvement within six
months of the incident. These
complaints must include back-
ground facts showing which
Standards of Conduct have been
breached and a request for relief.
Complaints can be referred
to the student governing body
that has jurisdiction over that
organization if the body has a
written procedure for investiga-
tions, though some cases may be
referred to the Office of Student
Conflict Resolution, which can
conduct their process currently
with the SOAR process. The direc-
tor of the CCI can also refer the
complaint to a specific academic
unit for an informal resolution.
In this case, the “student gov-
erning body” that the complaint
would be referred to is the Greek
Activities Review Panel, the judi-
cial branch for the University’s
Greek Councils — the Panhellenic
Association, the Interfraternity
Council, the National Pan-Hellen-
ic Council and the Multicultural
Greek Council.
GARP, which includes up to
eight justices and one chief jus-
tice from each Greek council, is
in charge of investigating and
resolving misconduct allegations
against any chapter or individual
members affiliated with the Greek
Councils.
Complaints submitted to GARP
can be filed by any individual or
organization and must provide
written details of the violation.
Within seven days of receiving
the complaint, the chief justices
must review the complaint and
determine one of the following
outcomes: to dismiss the case, call
for a mediation or call for a hear-
ing.
Mediation requires the com-
plainant and the defendant to
reach a mutual agreement, facili-
tated by the chief justices. If the
mediation succeeds, the agree-
ment will be put in writing and
enforced by GARP.
If not, the complaint proceeds
to a GARP hearing. In the event
of a hearing, the complainant car-
ries the burden of the proof and
the involved parties are expected
to present relevant evidence and
testimony.
After all testimony and evi-
dence is presented, the justices
deliberate until a decision is
reached, requiring two-thirds of
the justices to agree.
The final agreement is put into
writing, provided to all involved
parties and filed as a public record.
Similar to the Student State-
ment of Rights and Responsibili-
ties, GARP’s imposed sanctions
vary depending upon the case, but
can include: a letter of reprimand,
restitution
charges,
monetary
fines, community service require-
ments, educational programming,
or more severely, probation, sus-
pension or expulsion from mem-
ber’s respective Greek Council.
The final decision can be
appealed by submitting a written
notice of appeal within seven days
of receiving the GARP decision to
the Greek Appellate Board, which
comprises two chapter presidents
from each of the Greek councils,
randomly selected by the chief
justices, and a ninth member who
is selected from the list of GARP
members uninvolved in the origi-
nal case.
A two-thirds vote is necessary
to overturn GARP’s decision.
Jones, the dean of students, is
charged with imposing sanctions
based on the student governing
body’s decision, which in this case
is GARP. Though the dean of stu-
dents will focus the recommenda-
tion in most cases, she can deviate
from the recommended sanctions.