Opinion
JENNIFER CALFAS
EDITOR IN CHIEF
AARICA MARSH
and DEREK WOLFE
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
LEV FACHER
MANAGING EDITOR
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
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Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s editorial board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Ben Keller, Payton Luokkala,
Aarica Marsh, Victoria Noble, Michael Paul, Anna Polumbo-Levy,
Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Matthew
Seligman, Linh Vu, Mary Kate Winn, Jenny Wang, Derek Wolfe
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
A
fter reading the Daily’s spe-
cial report and editorial on
University procedures for
responding
to
reports of sexual
assault last week,
I
was
enraged
and disheartened.
My
countenance
hardened into a
piercing glare as
I walked around
campus
last
Wednesday morn-
ing.
Immense
aggravation
and
embarrassment consumed me as I
realized the University would, yet
again, add to the prevalent narrative
of sexual assault permeating college
campuses. I was dismayed at hearing
the University associated with sex-
ual assault and inaction. I was tired
of feeling as if the threat of sexual
assault continuously looms on college
campuses nationwide — especially
when definitions of consent remain
immersed in misinterpretations.
I tossed around a multitude of
heated musings: Why can’t we settle
on an explicit definition to protect
every individual? Why — as a popula-
tion of highly educated young adults
— is establishing consent shrouded in
uncertainty? Why is this knowledge
gap so apparent as students enter
college? Shouldn’t these issues have
been discussed earlier in our lives?
The last question prompted me
to consider my own experiences.
I asked friends to describe what
definition of consent they were
exposed to and when that exposure
occurred. However, when they redi-
rected the question to me, I was at a
loss. I couldn’t even remember how
old I was when I learned anything
remotely resembling the recently
disputed definitions of consent.
I knew I had learned about prac-
ticing safe sex. I remembered numer-
ous lectures about waiting until
marriage. I vividly remembered
learning biological processes respon-
sible for pregnancy. I recalled discus-
sions about “saying no,” but knowing
a clear definition of what actually
constitutes consent wasn’t apparent
until I came to college — which is
extremely problematic.
The issue of consent needs to be
addressed far before students cross
the threshold into their first dorm
room on move-in day. Universities
must be held responsible for ensur-
ing the continual education and
safety of their students. In fact, Holly
Rider-Milkovich, the director of the
Sexual Assault and Prevention and
Awareness Center, recently demon-
strated an excellent example of this
by responding to an appeal from the
Daily’s Editorial Board.
Arguing that the phrase “ ‘mutu-
ally understandable words or actions’
is too ambiguous” and that “the cur-
rent policy sets a dangerously low
threshold for consent that can be
misconstrued and misunderstood,”
the editorial called for the elimi-
nation of inconsistency between
SAPAC’s definition and the defini-
tion offered by the University’s Sex-
ual Misconduct Policy, and for more
specificity in each definition. Rider-
Milkovich, responding to the request
in a recent op-ed piece, notified both
the Daily and campus at large of
SAPAC’s actions to revise its defini-
tion to diminish the discrepancies.
However, despite the admirable
receptiveness of institutions such as
SAPAC, the knowledge offered by
universities should act as a supple-
ment, rather than the foundation of a
student’s knowledge.
The editorial also acknowledged
the inadequacies of the University’s
sex education programs. While cur-
rent initiatives may be beneficial
and enlightening in some respects,
assuming one or two programs during
the first year or so of a student’s aca-
demic career is sufficient is a highly
flawed preparation method. It’s like
saying one doctor’s appointment is
sufficient to ensure one’s health for a
period of four years. Yet, college pro-
grams and initiatives aren’t meant to
act as substitutes for information stu-
dents should have received when we
were younger. They should be effec-
tive, continual enhancements to a
knowledge base
fostered early in
our lives.
Just as dis-
crepancies exist
between
the
University’s
definitions
of
consent,
incon-
sistencies within
sexual education
programs across
the nation may
further knowledge gaps and risk
leaving students in precarious situa-
tions. A recent survey by the Public
Religion Research Institute stated
that “four in 10 millennials report
that the sex education they received
was not helpful.” To further illus-
trate the ineffectiveness of these pro-
grams, 37 percent of those surveyed
claimed that “their education was
‘not helpful’ in navigating decisions
about sex and relationships.”
In an effort to explain why mil-
lennials feel underprepared, Debra
Hauser, president of Advocates for
Youth, highlights the variation of
content taught in programs across
the country. She stated: “Many
were in school during a time when
schools taught only abstinence. Oth-
ers may have received clinical infor-
mation about disease or pregnancy
prevention, but few were provided
the information young people truly
need to traverse puberty, understand
the difference between healthy and
unhealthy relationships, develop a
positive body image, make informed
decisions, communicate effectively
or navigate the health care system.”
Another critique was offered by
Adam Tenner, executive director of
Metro TeenAIDS, an AIDS-oriented
community health organization, as
he urged the idea school sex educa-
tion programs are far too delayed
to be truly effective. In fact, a study
conducted by the American Acad-
emy of Pediatrics found 71 percent
of Americans have sex before the age
of 19 — suggesting that a majority of
students may need to know about
obtaining clear consent before even
coming to college.
Rather, to ensure future genera-
tions — along with our own — fully
understand the tenets of consent
for sex as “sober, verbal and enthu-
siastic,” comprehensive sex educa-
tion must not remain confined to
college or even high school class-
rooms. Age-appropriate education
regarding consent should be taught
throughout our lifetimes, beginning
at childhood.
Our relationships — sexual or not
— evolve over time and so too must
our understanding of demonstrating
respect for our friends, peers, class-
mates and our potential sexual part-
ners (especially considering these
individuals may come from one of
the previously mentioned groups).
While I certainly don’t advocate
exposing
chil-
dren
to
inap-
propriate
material,
steps
can be taken to
shape children’s
mindsets about
consent in non-
explicit
man-
ners,
such
as
avoiding touch-
ing or hugging a
friend
without
their permission, developing empa-
thy toward one another, stressing
the importance of listening and
respecting someone’s decision to say
no, straying away from talking about
individuals in an objectifying man-
ner or simply waiting to hear some-
one verbally and enthusiastically say
“yes” before partaking in any poten-
tially uncomfortable activity.
We need to treat sexual encoun-
ters like any other interaction with
those around us — with mutual
respect, understanding, empathy
and agreement. Consent must not
remain an issue we solely view in
hindsight. We need to correct the
current state of consent education
and extend it to younger generations
who can assist in breaking the cycle
of sexual assaults. These problem-
atic attitudes and behaviors must
be corrected before they become an
issue that can cause future emotion-
al and psychological harm.
— Melissa Scholke can be
reached at melikaye@umich.edu.
Between the sheets
Continually teaching consent
MELISSA
SCHOLKE
W
hen I was in high school,
we all were required to
take a health class that
informed us of our
changing
bodies
and what dangers
lurked
between
the sheets when
sleeping with oth-
ers. They threw
some numbers at
us, and all I can
remember
was
thinking,
“Wow,
those odds of get-
ting ____ are so
small!” That likelihood was never
something I needed to worry about.
At that point, I was a naïve, young
girl who didn’t know much about
sex — let alone anyone who was
“doing it.” The dangers seemed like
some far-off mythical creature that
could never be in my life, but it was
at college that I realized just how
often sex-related infections and life-
changing experiences could occur.
That was all people would talk
about: sex and hookups. The whole
“hook-up culture” consumed the
lives of a bunch of horny freshmen
who were glad that alcohol could
make a lot of bad decisions happen
very quickly. We knew about the
basic dangers: sexually transmit-
ted infections, pregnancy and the
emotional damage that came with
getting busy with a lot of different
people. But did that resonate with all
people? No. And that’s why there are
so many instances of STIs, especially
on college campuses.
I have had the opportunity to meet
people who have experienced STIs
— those that are curable, and those
that are not. For some people, it was
something that had been a part of
their lives for many years; for others,
it was friends that had just recently
found out. And from what I have seen
and heard from those people, the
stigma is the worst part.
There’s such a bad reputation
that accompanies STIs — that you
are some slut who played the num-
bers game, and of course you got a
disease. It’s the look of disappoint-
ment in others’ eyes that solidifies
the shame. Sex is something that
every damn living organism does
in some form, and somehow, we are
constrained by the societal stan-
dards of when we should open our
legs and for whom, and humiliated
when we go outside of those lines. If
we manage to get a disease? Well, of
course it’s our fault.
Have you ever considered that
there are other
ways to contract
STIs outside of
having sex? Did
you know you
could have her-
pes your entire
life due to it just
being
in
your
body? You could
have contracted
it in a sandbox
when you were a child when some
other kid with a cold sore touched
the same Tonka truck that you did,
and still never know to this day. What
about a partner who lied? Say, a one-
night stand that would rather get it
in than admit some dark truth. For
some diseases, it’s a crime to know-
ingly have sex with someone if you
have a contagious STI and do not
inform them. What about if you get
it from your partner, but you knew
about it going into the relationship?
Can you be OK with that decision
down the road if you get the disease,
or if you give it?
To the naïve girl back in high
school who thought that her chances
were pretty low, think again. It’s all
around you. Because we are so scared
to tell the world that we have a dis-
ease, it’s likely you’ll never actually
know who has what. The person sit-
ting next to you could have just con-
quered chlamydia, or the guy behind
you in line at a coffee shop could have
just found out he has herpes. You
never know. But we need to get rid
of this notion of the blame game that
comes with STIs. It isn’t necessarily
the person’s fault, and we must be
more sensitive to the issues.
The
disap-
pointment
in
self;
the
fear
of telling fam-
ily, friends and
partners;
and
the worry about
the future are
things to which
only those going
through it can
relate. By put-
ting extra societal blame on those
who are either just finding out or are
living with a sexually transmitted
infection, it only makes the process
of living that much more difficult.
— Sara Shamaskin can be
reached at scsham@umich.edu.
SARA
SHAMASKIN
Where is hoMe?
O
n April 7, the University’s Center for
Campus Involvement announced it
would cancel the screening of “Ameri-
can Sniper,” following a
letter started by LSA sopho-
more
Lamees
Mekkaoui,
raising concerns about the
movie being shown at UMix.
The CCI planned to resched-
ule the movie to a different
location, followed by a panel
and discussion.
The letter of concern
regarding the movie has
been framed as an initia-
tive from Middle Eastern
and North African and Muslim students when
more non-MENAS and non-Muslim students
signed on than the former. Mekkaoui said,
“This is the first time that I have personally
seen a letter where it had students from Cen-
tral Student Government, students from Stu-
dents for Choice, Sikh Student Association,
Muslim Student Association and Hillel all
signed up to the same letter.”
Law student Rachel Jankowski created a
petition calling for the movie to be played at
UMix again, which stated, “If the University
prevents a movie like this from being shown, it
promotes intolerance and stifles dialogue and
debate on the subject and goes directly against
the atmosphere UMix purports to provide.”
UMix is a program that hosts events from
10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday nights for students
who want somewhere to have alcohol-free
fun. Considering that the movie was resched-
uled to a different venue with a panel and a
discussion provided, it opened the way for
more intellectual dialogue on the movie than
in the UMix environment.
University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald com-
mented on the situation after the movie was
rescheduled to be shown last Friday night at
UMix. “I think ‘American Sniper’ didn’t quite
fit this venue and this event,” Fitzgerald said.
“But, having said that, we made the commit-
ment, we made that decision, and in the final
analysis we needed to honor that decision that
was made to show, and so tonight we have two
movies.”
I question whether the
University’s decision to
honor this decision should
take precedence over con-
cern for the safety of its
own students.
When
the
University
made the initial decision
to remove the movie show-
ing from UMix, Mekkaoui
was interviewed by mul-
tiple media outlets on what happened. How-
ever after the University changed its decision
to show the movie at UMix, they did not per-
sonally inform Mekkaoui of the change. “If we
had just written the letter and they said no that
would be one thing,” Mekkaoui said, “but they
made the decision and then pulled out the rug
from under us.”
Despite the countless bias incident reports
— reports to the University from community
members about hate crimes — from Muslim
and MENA students, the University has done
little to address the effects of its decisions
on the Muslim and MENA community. The
only response to these bias incident reports
was the e-mail sent out for students to give
and expect respect, which was originally only
going to include a general statement that stu-
dents should give and expect respect. It was
only after MENA and Muslim students asked
that they be mentioned was it stated explic-
itly. The University acted as if threats to
students was not grounds for issuing a state-
ment. They acted as if it was not enough that
DPSS made a student wait over an hour and
a half for a response to verbal harassment.
They acted as if it was not enough that there
is clear evidence that Muslim and MENA stu-
dents are facing hate speech and threats to
their physical safety.
Despite these incidents, the University
has not addressed the fact that students
have been accused of being anti-free speech,
when the movie showing was moved to a dif-
ferent venue with a panel and a discussion
after being cancelled from UMix. This forced
these students to defend themselves. Mekka-
oui said, “They left it to one individual stu-
dent to deal with the media bombarding her
and harassing her, and allowed her to get her
name slandered in the media because they
just didn’t issue a clarifying statement.”
This University has fostered a climate that
is unsafe for Muslim and MENA students. On
Friday night, the room screening “Padding-
ton” was mostly empty, and there was no pro-
test from students at the “American Sniper”
showing. Amidst the verbal harassment and
threats of violence, Muslim and MENA stu-
dents collectively decided that going to this
movie showing would not be in the best inter-
ests of their safety. Allowing the students the
opportunity to watch “Paddington” in a room
where they could easily be found and targeted
was clearly not in the best interests of these
students. We have had to create methods to
protect ourselves like creating safe spaces
and a texting group for people that do not feel
safe walking alone. Unlike for other students,
the University is not protecting Muslim and
MENA students.
As a Muslim student and columnist for The
Michigan Daily, I have emphasized time and
time again that I am writing from a perspec-
tive of an American Muslim in order to validate
my claims. Today, I am writing both from the
perspective of an American Muslim and as a
Wolverine to validate that these communities
are a part of my identity. I am just as much of an
American as anyone who is
a fan of the movie “Ameri-
can Sniper;” and I am just
as much of a Wolverine as
anyone else who is a part
of this University. I have
no other country to go to
and no other University to
call my own. I am tired of
having to validate my feel-
ings and my identity, like
after the three American-
Muslims — Deah, Yusor and Razan were killed.
I related to their stories because they looked so
much like me, and since this movie controversy,
these feelings hit even closer to home.
I have to live with the repercussions of the
University’s decision, as I do not have the lux-
ury of parting myself from this identity that
holds so many stereotypes. They get to brush
off the decision that they made as a “mistake”
and move on while I have to live with an
unsafe campus climate. I have to live with the
media backlash. All because I am a Muslim.
I am asking the University to do the right
thing and protect its students instead of shying
away from its responsibilities. I am asking stu-
dents at this University to recognize that your
fellow Wolverines are hurting.
I am a Wolverine, and this is my hoMe.
— Rabab Jafri can be reached at rfjafri@umich.edu.
RABAB
JAFRI
It isn’t necessarily
the person’s fault,
and we need to
be more sensitive to
the issues.
The issue of
consent needs to
be addressed far
before students
enter college.
I have no other
country to go
to, and no other
University to call
my own.
Rabab Jafri/Daily
Love giving your perspective to others? Apply to be a summer opinion columnist!
For more information, e-mail Melissa Scholke at melikaye@umich.edu.