michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, October 2, 2015

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

New initiatives, 
evaluative process 
kick in a year after 
Schlissel arrives

By ALLANA AKHTAR

Daily Staff Reporter

University Presi-

dent Mark Schlissel 
and his administra-
tion have spent the 
last 
academic 
year 

working to roll out new 

policy initiatives regarding sever-
al campus issues — most notably, 
athletics, diversity, sexual assault, 
alcohol abuse and Greek life. The 
Michigan Daily concludes this 
week’s “Campus Context” series 
by delving into the chain of events 
that has led to a closer examina-
tion of the University’s approach 
toward sexual assault on campus.

The overview: Though dis-

cussion of sexual assault on col-
lege campuses has generated 
discussion in the past, the case of 
former football kicker Brendan 
Gibbons brought the issue into 
the increased public focus. In 
January 2014, the Daily reported 
that Gibbons had been perma-

nently separated from the Uni-
versity for violating the school’s 
Student Sexual Misconduct Poli-
cy — four years after the case had 
been reported.

The delay brought into ques-

tion the efficacy of the Uni-
versity’s adjudication policies. 
Months later, the U.S. Depart-
ment of Education Office for 
Civil Rights opened an investiga-
tion into the University and more 
than 100 other schools’ handling 
of sexual assault cases.

Since then, the University has 

been working to improve its pre-
vention programs and make its 
policies more effective and trans-
parent.

The changes: Some changes 

are more visible than others. In 
2013, the University updated 
its sexual misconduct policy 
to meet new standards recom-
mended by the U.S. Department 
of Education. The updated policy 
decreased the burden of proof 
applied in sexual misconduct 
cases. Under the policy, decisions 
require a “preponderance of evi-
dence,” which means an incident 
is more likely to have occurred 
than not. The University took 
part in two sexual assault sur-
veys under Schlissel’s aegis — one 

New technology 
improves ability 
to view important 
cellular interactions

By TOM McBRIEN

Daily Staff Reporter

In 2004, Eric Betzig was 

unemployed, tinkering in his 
friend Harald Hess’s living room. 
In 2005, he was a research group 
leader at the impressive Janelia 
Research Campus in Virginia 
on his way to winning the 2014 
Nobel Prize in chemistry. The 
tinkering had paid off, leading 
Betzig to invent a microscope 
that saw things no other micro-
scopes could.

Betzig spoke at the Medical 

School on Thursday morning 
about developing the photo-acti-
vated localization microscope, 
or PALM, and gave an overview 
of the recent developments in 
microscopy.

Traditionally, the limiting fac-

tor for microscopes was not their 
magnification. Instead, it was 
a property called “resolution,” 
which refers to the shortest dis-
tance between two separate 
points in a microscope’s field 
of view that can still be distin-
guished as distinct entities. If 
you imagine a microscope as 
drawing a picture, microscopes 
with poor resolution draw with 

Gathering supports 
women’s health org. 
amid accusations, 

controversy

By EMMA KINERY

Daily Staff Reporter

Students pledged to “Stand 

with Planned Parenthood” in an 
event on the Diag on Thursday to 
show support for the embattled 
women’s health care organiza-
tion.

In recent months, Planned Par-

enthood has faced a firestorm of 
accusations suggesting the non-
profit organization profits from 
the sale of fetal tissue of aborted 
fetuses to medical researchers — 
which would violate federal law. 
In July, an anti-abortion group 
released a series of undercover 
videos featuring Planned Parent-
hood representatives describing 
the process of preserving aborted 
fetuses for research purposes.

LSA senior Amanda Vita, 

co-communications 
chair 
of 

Students for Choice, the organi-
zation that hosted the event, said 
the purpose of the event was to 
show support for the organiza-
tion amid the controversy.

“We are trying to raise support 

for Planned Parenthood amongst 
the media firestorm that’s hap-
pening 
surrounding 
Planned 

Parenthood and all of the con-
gressional opposition,” Vita said. 

“We’re trying to show Planned 
Parenthood that we still stand 
with them.”

Planned 
Parenthood 
has 

repeatedly stated it does not prof-
it from the sale of fetal tissue, and 
that the videos are manipulated 
to create a fabricated message. 
Several state investigations have 
found the organization has not 
mishandled fetal tissue.

The House Oversight Com-

mittee and Government Reform 
Committee grilled Planned Par-
enthood President Cecile Rich-
ards about the videos for more 
than four hours Tuesday, and 
many Republicans threatened 
to block budget resolutions to 
fund the federal government if 
funding for the organization was 
included.

A bill to fund the government 

through December that included 
funding for Planned Parenthood 
was passed Wednesday.

During 
the 
day, 
students 

wrote letters to current Planned 
Parenthood staff members and 
launched an Instagram campaign 
to rally support by taking photos 
of students holding “Stand With 
Planned Parenthood” signs.

By 12:00 p.m., Vita said she 

estimated about 100 students had 
stopped and spoke with members 
of the organization.

“I’m really, really passionate 

about this cause,” said Engineer-
ing sophomore Sonia Thosar, 
who stopped by the event. “I just 
think that women’s bodily auton-

Host Peter Sagal 
talks Greek life, 
Michigan football 
at Hill Auditorium

By EMMA KERR

Daily News Editor

Peter Sagal, host of National 

Public Radio’s “Wait, Wait… 
Don’t Tell Me!,” opened Thurs-
day night’s live show to a sold-

out audience in Hill Auditorium.

Hosted in collaboration with 

public radio affiliate WEMU 
and the Ann Arbor Summer 
Festival, the show returned to 
Ann Arbor for the first time 
since 2007, when it was hosted 
at The Michigan Theater. Pro-
ducers and hosts of the show 
entered the stage clad in maize 
and blue hats and attire. Sagal 
was not hesitant to joke with 
the audience about the Univer-
sity’s recent notoriety in regard 
to student alcohol consumption 

and Greek life.

“This is the first time we have 

been allowed to the University’s 
campus. They had to make sure 
we could handle our liquor — 
I’m hoping to pledge a frat while 
I’m here,” Sagal said.

Sagal continued, referencing 

the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity’s 
suspension following a January 
ski trip incident, saying, “As a 
Jewish man myself, I felt proud.”

The famous quiz show’s spe-

cial guest this week was Uni-
versity lecturer John Bacon, an 

award-winning sports journal-
ist and University alum. Bacon 
is also a member of the Board 
of Student Publications, which 
works with The Michigan Daily.

Having written three of his 

seven books specifically about 
Michigan football, Bacon told 
stories of his time interviewing 
and even training with players. 
By way of explanation for the 
national 
attention 
Michigan 

football receives, Bacon told 
Sagal, “When you put your fist 

Students talk 

about how Black 
identity is defined 

on campus

By ALYSSA BRANDON

Daily Staff Reporter

Dozens of students crowded 

into the main lobby of Trot-
ter Multicultural Center on 
Thursday for “I’m Black and…” 
— an open discussion that 
parsed the various cultural, 
ethnic and sexual identities 
within the Black community.

Hosted by the Black Student 

Union, the forum was geared 
toward educating students on 

intersectionality — the concept 
of recognizing the intercon-
nections between identities, 
particularly when it comes to 
discrimination.

Public Policy senior Hattie 

McKinney, BSU vice-speaker, 
began the conversation by ask-
ing attendees how they would 
define being Black.

While some attendees said 

Blackness is defined by music, 
dance, hair or fashion, LSA 
sophomore Shavon Edwards 
said she feels Blackness is often 
misdefined by people within 
the Black community.

“I feel like a lot of people in 

our culture define Blackness 
in terms of a textbook defini-
tion and by history, and as we 
all know, history is never told 

in our favor,” she said. “When 
we are describing what Black 
should be, we should not base 
it off of books or how other 
people told us how we were at 
that time. For us to progress 
as a people, we need to come 
up with our own definition of 
what Black is.”

McKinney then extended 

the question and asked attend-
ees to think about what it 
means to be a Black student at 
the University.

Some 
attendees 
said 
it 

means to be from Detroit and 
to be attending the University 
on a need-based scholarship. 
One student said it means to 
be the sole liaison to the Black 
community when any Black 

CAMPUS LIFE
RESEARCH

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

Host Bill Kurtis at a taping of National Public Radio’s “Wait Wait ... Don’t Tell Me!” at Hill Auditorium on Thursday. The show was presented by Eastern Michigan 
University’s public radio station, 89.1 WEMU, in honor of their 50th anniversary.

GREG GOSS/Daily

LSA Senior Lania Robinson holds up self identifying sign during the Being Black Discussion at Trotter Multicultural 
Center on Thursday. 

See SCHLISSEL, Page 3

See NOBEL, Page 3
See BSU, Page 3
See PARENTHOOD, Page 2

See WAIT WAIT, Page 2

With survey 
data, admins 
 

assess sexual 
assault at ‘U’

CAMPUS CONTEXT

Wait, Wait... Don’t Tell Me 
brings famed show to A2

Black Student Union hosts 
event on intersectionality

Students rally 
for Planned 
Parenthood

Nobel Prize 
winner talks 
advances in 
microscopes

INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 3
©2015 The Michigan Daily
michigandaily.com

NEWS......................... 2A

OPINION.....................4A

ARTS...........................5A 

SPORTS ......................7A

SUDOKU..................... 2A

CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A

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