University study
examines parental
restrictions on teen
driving habits
Though parents reported
limiting cell phone use, the
number of passengers, driving
times and driving locations of
their teen drivers, teens reported
their parents never placed these
types of limitations on their
driving, according to a C.S. Mott
Children’s Hospital National Poll
on Children’s Health.
The study, looking at parents of
teens 13 to 18 years old and teens
of the same age, found that while
nine out of 10 parents reported
they placed at least one of these
limitations on their teen driver,
only eight out of 10 teens reported
receiving at least one limitation.
Parental limits included:
requiring the teen to park to use
their phone, allowing a limited
number of friends or only certain
friends in the car and scheduling a
time at night when the teen was no
longer allowed to drive.
The discrepancy between what
a parent says they limit and what
limitations a teen perceives could
play a key role in the safety of the
teen, as well as other drivers. If the
limitations are not in place, a teen
driver’s risk of a crash can increase.
The study was released
simultaneously with another
University report which examined
a decrease in the amount of people
receiving drivers’ licenses.
Researchers from the University
Transportation Research Institute
found a decrease in the overall
percentage of people with a license
along with the teen increase.
Heightened
temperatures
point to climate
change
The year 2015 was the Earth’s
warmest year on record since
1880, according to the National
Centers for Environmental
Information in the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and NASA. Both
organizations established that
2015 was even warmer than 2014,
formerly the warmest year on
Earth.
It was also found that
December 2014 had an average
combined global land and ocean
surface temperature higher than
any other month on record in the
past 136 years.
The University press
release highlighted University
Engineering Prof. Richard Rood,
who said this trend of warmer
temperatures is expected to
continue in years to come, and
as a result, measures should be
taken to plan for and manage the
environmental changes.
Library collection of
19th century sheet
music to be digitized
After receiving a grant from
the Council on Library and
Information Resources, much
of the University library’s
sheet music collection from the
Thomas Edison Phonograph
Company will be catalogued
and digitized over the next two
years.
The Edison Sheet Music
Collection is one of the world’s
largest collections like it, and
holds nearly 75 percent of
previously unknown editions.
Following the recording
company’s closing in 1929, the
collection was given to the
Henry Ford family and other
people before the University
acquired it in 1989.
The project will result in the
largest online collection of sheet
music prior to 1870, and will
emphasize themes stemming
from the Civil War, such as
death and veterans returning
home.
As the digitalization of the
collection is completed, it will
be available via library catalogs
Mirlyn and WorldCat.
—ALEXA ST. JOHN
NEWS BRIEFS
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Thursday, January 21, 2016 — 3A
carbon emission vehicles and other
advanced technologies.
As a result of these standards,
fuel economy has reached an all-
time high and the cost for electric
car batteries has fallen 70 percent.
Obama said the American auto
industry has found a balance
between sustainability and profit.
“The auto industry here in the
United States has figured out that
we can make more fuel efficient
cars that reduce carbon pollution
that causes climate change and
make a profit and put more people
to work,” he said. “There’s no
contradiction between creating jobs
and economic growth and caring for
the environment.”
Looking more broadly at the
country as a whole, Obama said
Detroit’s progress is a lesson in how
to approach the future.
“What’s true of Detroit is true of
the country,” he said. “Here, now,
I want you to remember how far
we’ve come. The reason I want to
remind you is not because I’m on the
ticket but because I want Americans
to have confidence in where we need
to go.”
During his speech, Obama also
addressed the Flint water crisis
concerning the tainted water supply
in the city following a switch from
Detroit city water to using the Flint
River as a water source. The crisis
and the delayed response by city and
state officials to declare a state of
emergency in Flint has been a recent
topic of national conversation.
Obama also met with Flint
Mayor Karen Weaver on Tuesday in
Washington to discuss the issue. He
did not visit the city during his time
in Michigan.
In his speech, Obama said he
would support the mayor and people
of Flint through the crisis.
“I told her we were going to
have her back and all of the people
of Flint’s back as we work our way
through this terrible tragedy,” he
said. “It is a reminder of why we
can’t shortchange the basic services
we provide for our people.”
Obama concluded his speech by
expressing his confidence in the
American people and the future of
the country.
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
OBAMA
From Page 1A
EnvoyNow. “Most people have told
us they love the service because it is
very convenient for them because
they don’t have to go anywhere”
The company was started by
Anthony Zhang, a University of
Southern California student, who
wanted a more convenient way to
have food delivered.
In an interview, EnvoyNow’s
University executive board said
Zhang realized that the only way
the food could be delivered directly
to him was if students were the
delivery people and were able to get
through the dorm or library security
systems. This led to the formation
of EnvoyNow at USC, and after a
$100,000 investment from Shark
Tank’s Mark Burnett, it has made
its way to universities all around the
United States.
LSA freshman Patrick Skelly,
the
senior
expansion
manager
at EnvoyNow, knew Zhang from
his high school, and brought the
company to the University, where he
helped develop the executive board
of seven members, six of whom are
freshman.
In order to use the service,
students connect their credit cards
to the EnvoyNow app, which allows
them order food from restaurants in
Ann Arbor like Burger Fi, Salads UP,
Chipotle, Buffalo Wild Wings, Frita
Batidos and more. The first delivery
fee is waived and for subsequent
orders a flat $2.99 delivery fee is
added to each order.
The
University’s
EnvoyNow
executive
board
noted
positive
responses from students, leading to
the fast growth of the company — in
the month and a half since launching
they said they’ve gone from 30 orders
a week to 200.
“Students reactions have been
overwhelmingly
positive,”
Jacob
Frank, an LSA junior and strategic
development manager, said. “We
have about an 80 percent yield rate
in overturning customers, which
is like 50 percent more than other
delivery services. People really like
the fact that it is student oriented and
convenient.”
LSA freshman Rachel Liebergall,
a user of the app, said she thinks the
fact that EnvoyNow is student-run
makes the idea of the delivery service
more appealing.
“I think it’s a really great app
that makes food delivery very pain
free and easy,” she said. “I like
that it’s student-run and that I’m
contributing to a student business.”
The board said they thought the
high demand for the service is due to
students’ appreciation for the service,
and
the
company’s
grassroots
marketing strategies.
“We literally have gone up to all of
the kids in Markley with their doors
open and just talked to them about
Envoy, and our plans for the future,”
Skelly said. “We found that kids
were extremely receptive and many
of them helped us by telling their
friends.”
They have also reached out to
students studying in the Shapiro
Undergraduate Library, employed
30 Envoy representatives in different
sororities and fraternities to speak
at their chapters and posted on
Facebook and Instagram promoting
the service.
“We attended the startup career
fair this week so we posted a
photograph of that on Facebook,”
said Engineering freshman Enis
Habib, head of marketing. “We are
getting more likes on that page, and
we want to keep growing in social
media.”
The executive board is also
striving to get more restaurants to
sign with them. Once a contract is
signed, Envoy began to receive 20
percent of the order’s profits, and
Envoy is given privlages, like being
able to skip the lines in various
restaurants,
allowing
for
faster
delivery.
In accordance with the positive
responses and fast growth, the
demand for service has surpassed the
company’s supply of labor. This past
weekend, they had to ask customers
to wait 15 minutes to place an order
while the Envoys finished the orders
they were working on, an issue the
company will have to address as it
moves forward and continues to
grow.
“We found that students absolutely
love our service. So much so that it is
at a pace that is hard to keep up with
delivery people,” Skelly said. “We are
looking for more delivery people.”
START-UP
From Page 1A
year.
The University is currently
under federal investigation by
the Department of Education,
for its handling of several
sexual assault cases.
Of the 172 cases presented
in 2015, 29 were investigated,
66 were referred to the Review
Panel and 78 did not fall within
“the scope of the Policy,”
according to the report. The
number of cases reviewed by
the panel — which included
representatives from SAPAC,
police and general counsel
Timothy Lynch — or addressed
in
an
alternative
manner
increased by 18 and 21 from
2014 respectively.
In an interview with The
Michigan
Daily,
Anthony
Walesby, the University Title
IX coordinator, who also serves
as the senior director of OIE,
suggested the rise in sexual
misconduct
reports
stems
from
improved
education
efforts and awareness of the
definition of misconduct, as
well as of the policies and
procedures involved.
A 2015 University campus
climate
survey
on
sexual
misconduct revealed that only
3.6 percent of students who
reported having at least one
unwanted sexual experience
at the University chose to
report the incident to an
official University resource or
law enforcement.
“This
is
a
very
underreported
issue
that
happens, and so I think the
more and more reports that we
get and the more opportunities
we have to address concerns is
a good thing,” Walesby said.
“We are addressing issues on
our campus, and so we see it
increase in number of reports
that come forward.”
Of
the
29
reports
investigated, OIE concluded
10 cases to be in violation of
the policy, with a total of 33
potential
policy
violations
considered. In 17 of the 29
cases, investigators did not
find enough evidence to cite a
sexual misconduct violation.
Two cases are still pending.
Walesby is responsible for
deciding whether a University
investigation
will
be
conducted, although a review
panel provides input in the
decision, what actions should
be taken if the perpetrator is
unknown and whether they
believe other measures could
be considered.
Walesby said while only
29 were fully investigated
from beginning to end, he
considers all cases to have
been thoroughly reviewed.
“I would say that all 172 are
investigated,” Walesby said.
“There is effort that goes into
each one of those matters …
we are looking into it. I can
definitely guarantee you that
if there is an issue that can be
investigated and is appropriate
for us to investigate, we don’t
hesitate.”
As of Oct. 1, 2015, three
students who violated the
policy by engaging in sexual
assault
were
permanently
separated from the University,
according to the report.
Additionally,
the
OSCR
proposed
temporary
separations — a set period of
time in which students are
unable to enroll in classes
or participate in University
events — against two students
for one year or less.
Other students found in
violation of the policy received
a
series
of
disciplinary
sanctions
including
probation, no contact between
respondent and complaint, and
educational measures. These
sanctions could also have been
applied to the two students
who
received
temporary
separations.
Overall,
four
sanctions
of
disciplinary
probation,
seven
sanctions
mandating
no
contact
between
the
respondent
and the complainants and
four sanctions that included
educational measures were
given. If any of the respondents
still at the University engage in
any other form of misconduct,
they will face further sanctions
up to expulsion.
Seventy-eight of the 172
cases this year were deemed
to be outside of the scope
of the policy. The report
highlighted three reasons this
may occur: the behavior is not
considered sexual misconduct,
the respondent is not affiliated
with the University or the
alleged victim reveals no such
unwanted conduct took place.
When there is insufficient
information
to
classify
a
complaint— the respondent’s
identity
is
unknown,
the
investigation is unwanted and/
or the complainant requests
confidentiality — the Review
Panel
then
discusses
the
report and advises the Title IX
coordinator on the next course
of action. Sixty-six cases of the
cases reported this year were
reviewed by the panel, which
consists of University faculty
and staff, in this fashion, and
of the 66 reviewed, 55 were
“closed.”
However,
Walesby
emphasized that when OIE
finds insufficient evidence to
prove violation of the policy,
it does not mean the conduct
did not occur. He stressed that
when reviewing a report, he
and the other panel members
consider the concrete facts of
each individual case.
“When we issue a report of
no violation, we’re not saying
that it didn’t happen,” Walesby
said. “We’re saying that the
evidence was insufficient in
terms of knowing enough to
say that there was a violation.
It doesn’t mean it didn’t
happen,
but
the
evidence
doesn’t support that.”
Panel
members
decide
whether the case falls within
the scope of the current policy.
According to the policy, the
Title IX coordinator makes
the final decision on “whether,
how, and to what extent the
University will conduct an
investigation,
and
whether
other measures will be taken.”
Walesby said even in those
cases outside of the policy’s
scope, the University does all
it can to support complainants.
In all cases of misconduct,
complainants and respondents
are
offered
appropriate
support
and
resources
as
well as interim measures —
steps taken to protect those
involved,
including
safety
escorts, scheduling changes
and housing changes.
“We may not be able to
address
the
allegations
themselves, but we might be
able to do something,” Walesby
said. “There may be something
that falls outside of our policy
but we still make sure persons
have resources.”
The University’s Student
Sexual Misconduct Policy has
undergone several revisions
over the past years, starting
with an interim policy put
in place in 2011 in response
to a “Dear Colleague” letter
from
the
Department
of
Education to colleges across
the country recommending
that they update their policies.
A 2012 revision to the policy
prompted
the
creation
of
the now-annual OIE report,
among
other
changes
—
previously,
the
Office
of
Student Conflict Resolutions
handled the publication of
this data, incorporating the
sexual misconduct cases in a
subsection of a larger report of
student complaints, violations,
resolutions and sanctions.
The
current
sexual
misconduct
policy
was
implemented in August 2013.
The updated version decreased
the burden of proof applied
in sexual misconduct cases,
requiring decisions to be made
based on a “preponderance of
evidence.”
After
extensive
data
collection
and
feedback,
University
President
Mark
Schlissel saidin September he
aims to release another revised
version of the policy before the
year’s end.
“It’s
ongoing,”
Walesby
said of the revisions. “But we
expect to finalize the latest
version shortly. The intent is
to make it understandable and
readable.”
Draft
changes
released
by the University in the
fall
included
altering
the
definition
of
coercion,
force
and
incapacitation.
Attendees
at
an
October
SAPAC roundtablediscussion
noted that the current policy
does not clearly specify the
number of drinks it takes to
be incapacitated and unable
to give consent. They also
expressed concern about the
current definition of consent.
“We got great feedback
from our campus community,
and we’re still looking at all
that and what it might mean,”
Walesby said. “Some of the
things that we grapple with
within the definitions is trying
to be fair to both parties.
We’re hopeful that wherever
we land in terms of the
language that it’s sending the
clearest message that we can,
recognizing that these issues
themselves are difficult.”
At the SAPAC roundtable
discussions, there were also
discussions
about
several
other draft changes, such as
improving interim measures,
increasing
support
for
survivors,
deciding
how
students should be chosen to
sit on the advisory board and
whether to identify witnesses.
“Any
suggestions
that
folks have, we’re very, very
interested in that,” Walesby
said. “I think our new policy
will be great, but it’s informed
by the responses that we
get from all our campus
community.”
REPORT
From Page 1A
reflected
on
militants’
targeting of Pakistani schools.
“It was very numbing to be
back to the same place and have
the same emotions resurface as
a year ago (in Peshawar),” she
said. “It’s extremely upsetting
to know that while Pakistan
has
progressed,
there’s
so
much work to be done.”
All of the speakers at the
vigil were either from or still
had family in Pakistan, and
shared emotional impact and
links to individuals affected by
the violence.
“It’s unfortunate that people
can’t go to school in safety,” said
LSA freshman Ramsha Awan, a
Pakistani-American
student.
“And it hits home. It’s where I’m
from, it’s where my ancestors
are from. I want those people to
feel safe and be educated.”
The attack was a part of
what speakers at the event said
was a recent spike in violence
in Pakistan, but many speakers
challenged the idea of the
country as a violent state. LSA
senior Haider Malik, who is
from
Peshawar,
compared
the militants’ fanaticism to
the wave of political anger
sweeping America.
“We live in times where our
problems are amplified and our
solutions simplified,” he said,
citing a recent poll in which
30 percent of Americans said it
would be OK to bomb Agrabah,
the fictitious capital of the
cartoon Aladdin.
“Think
about
the
juxtaposition.
Think
about
Pakistan. Those people have
been subject to the same
demagoguery and rhetoric that
sways extremist opinion in this
country.”
Hijab
said
political
ramifications
aside,
it’s
important
for
University
students
to
pause
and
emotionally
process
these
instances of violence.
“I
never
want
myself
or anyone to ever become
desensitized to the loss of an
individual,”
she
said.
“We
can’t be perpetuating the same
violence and hostility that was
the root of these shootings …
and need to recognize that it’s
OK to feel upset, to feel loss
and grief, but always honor and
remember those victims.”
VIGIL
From Page 1A
JAN.
2007:
52,000
JAN.
2009:
24,100
JAN.
2011:
35,200
JAN.
2013:
40,600
NOV.
2015:
47,400
JAN.
2005:
64,100
In January 2005, 64,100 Michigan
residents were employed by the
automotive industry.
In 2009 that number dipped to 24,100
and has since recovered to 47,400.
“You can feel the difference. You can feel
something special happening in Detroit.”
- President Barack Obama
AUTO EMPLOYMENT: 2005 - 2015
SOURCE: US BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Responses to Reported Issues
Investigation
Review Panel
Other
29
48
66
58
79
2014
2015
Source: University of Michigan Office of Institutional Equity
Design by Carolyn Gearig
Design by Anjali Alangaden