hired, the auditor will evaluate 
AAPD community engagement 
processes through the end of 
June 2017, with a final report 
communicated by the end of July 
2017 and a follow-up performed 
in February 2019. However, the 
other main recommendation 
— the oversight board — won’t 
start being implemented until 
August 2017.

Lazarus said in an interview 

Friday that he chose to delay 
the 
implementation 
of 
an 

oversight board until after the 
completion of the audit to allow 
for sufficient public input and to 
ensure transparency. He added 
that 
all 
major 
stakeholder 

groups he has communicated 
with 
— 
the 
HRC, 
AAPD, 

National Association for the 
Advancement of Colored People 
and the local police union — 
have all responded favorably to 
his framework.

“I want to make sure there’s 

sufficient 
time 
for 
public 

discussion, and I want to not 
be guilty of over-promising 
and under-delivering,” Lazarus 
said. “This is an important 
effort, and I don’t want to rush 
through it. I don’t want either 
side to think we just went 

through the motions to get to a 
pre-determined outcome.”

Lazarus 
also 
emphasized 

that 
public 
discussions 

regarding 
the 
creation 
of 

a civilian review board — 
which would have the power 
to independently investigate 
complaints against the AAPD — 
will also not begin until August 
2017, using the audit’s findings 
as a framework.

This decision comes after 

the HRC and AAPD Chief 
Jim Baird publicly disagreed 
during the summer on whether 
a civilian oversight board is 
necessary in Ann Arbor.

In a June memo to City 

Council, 
Baird 
expressed 

reservations that the push for 
increased police oversight in 
Ann Arbor was tied to national 
events as opposed to actual 
local problems. He suggested 
that concerns about a lack of 
transparency in how the AAPD 
investigates complaints against 
its 
officers 
are 
overblown. 

While not outright ruling out 
support for a civilian oversight 
board and the HRC’s other 
recommendations 
of 
the 

creation 
of 
crisis 
response 

teams, Baird urged that no 
further action be taken until 
after the completion of an audit.

Amid a renewed national 

outcry over police brutality 

in July, the HRC put out its 
own statement calling for the 
implementation of a review 
board to begin independently 
of the audit of the AAPD. The 
HRC also noted it was not 
directly criticizing the AAPD, 
but rather emphasized the goal 
of its recommendations is to 
build police-community trust.

In 
an 
email 
interview, 

HRC chair Leslie Stambaugh 
expressed 
support 
for 
the 

timeline outlined by Lazarus. 
Though 
she 
acknowledged 

some people may be concerned 
by the long timeframe before 
the creation of a review board, 
Stambaugh 
wrote 
she 
was 

confident this would allow for 
an effective implementation.

“At this point, any timeline 

might seem too long to some, 
but the one described here is 
realistic and promises to be 
both inclusive and effective,” 
Stambaugh wrote, also noting 
that her commission intends 
to be active through the entire 
process. 

“I think the fact that this 

process is designed to be 
inclusive 
early 
on 
should 

create a good foundation for 
implementation 
down 
the 

road and appreciate that the 
City Administrator made it his 
priority in the first two months 
of his administration.”

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, September 6, 2016 — 3A

POLICE 
From Page 1A

on campus, though it is worth 
noting that in both 2013 and 
2014 a home football game took 
place during Welcome Weekend. 
In 2015, one did not.

Wolverine Wellness director 

Mary Jo Desprez said certain 
factors 
during 
periods 
like 

Welcome Week that contribute 
to alcohol- and drug-related 
conflicts, 
such 
as 
a 
home 

football game, are out of the 
control of Wolverine Wellness 
and the police departments.

Because of that, Desprez 

said 
the 
University 
began 

launching efforts to reduce 
those instances. Recently, this 
has included the University’s 
creation of an alert system for 
parents of freshmen students 
who have had a second run-
in 
with 
alcohol 
or 
drugs. 

Additionally, they have updated 
the Stay in the Blue phone 
app. Created in 2013, the app 
helps students estimate their 
blood alcohol content, order 
cabs, track drinking events and 
even displays a list of events 
happening in Ann Arbor.

The University also hosts 

marketed dry events, such as a 
Friday-night event at the Union 
that provides activities, games 
and food as a sober alternative 
to off-campus parties.

According 
to 
the 
Center 

for 
Campus 
Involvement, 

the number of students who 
attended 
UMix 
has 
almost 

doubled since last year, with 
5,258 students attending the 
nearly weekly events in 2014 
and 10,132 in 2015.

Other 
efforts 
include 

sober 
monitor 
training 
for 

new 
Interfraternity 
Council 

members and the mandatory 
AlcoholEdu 
online 
course 

for incoming freshmen and 
undergraduate 
transfer 

students. 
This 
is 
the 
first 

academic year that all four years 
of students on campus have 
completed this course.

Desprez 
said 
it 
is 
the 

combination of these efforts, 

among others, that makes the 
difference in reducing alcohol-
related incidences. 

“The most important thing 

to know is that these efforts 
are most effective when they’re 
done in combination, not just 
as one thing,” she said. “We 
always try to do the next best 
thing or we use evidence-based 
strategies. We have dogged 
determination 
to 
prevent 

harm. I think having a plan but 
then also having collaborative 
partnerships are the two most 
important things.”

DPSS Chief Robert Neumann 

also cited programs aimed at 
off-campus students such as 
Beyond the Diag, as well as a 
partnership between the DPSS 
and the Ann Arbor Police 
Department serve to reduce 
conflict.

Last 
week, 
Beyond 
the 

Diag, 
working 
with 
DPSS, 

canvassed the neighborhoods 
near campus. This included 
providing off-campus students 
with information about Stay 
in the Blue, wellness coaching 
and other safety and security 
resources.

Neumann said the community 

canvassing event allows them to 
meet off-campus students and 
inform them about resources.

“It’s an important part of the 

whole picture of engagement 
with our off-campus residents 
to promote their safety and to 
let them know what services are 
available here at the University 
of Michigan, as well as services 
that are available from the city 
and other providers,” he said.

As for Welcome Week itself, 

Neumann said DPSS prepares in 
advance to keep students safe.

“We do bolster patrols and 

enforcement activity because 
this is a high-risk period — 
this time between move-in and 
classes,” he said.

Before last year, DPSS was 

not responsible for off-campus 
incidents, though they could 
work in cooperation with AAPD. 
As of last year, however, DPSS 
gained county-wide authority 
to 
operate 
independently 

from AAPD. Though it still 

coordinates its work with the 
city police, a formal agreement 
was made with the Washtenaw 
County Sheriff’s Office that 
grants it permission to enforce 
the law beyond the bounds of 
campus.

Brown 
said 
the 
main 

objective with this expanded 
authority is to continue to raise 
awareness and educate people 
about off-campus safety by 
doing presentations in Greek 
houses and co-ops as well as 
working with Beyond the Diag 
leaders.

“(The police officers) are 

there to help build relationships, 
share 
information, 
answer 

questions about nuances with 
the laws, and discuss when 
students can say, ‘No, you can’t 
come in my house,’ to a police 
officer, and when they need to 
allow them in,” she said.

Desprez also said fraternities 

have helped contribute to the 
reduced number of alcohol-
related incidents in recent years 
by not serving hard alcohol at 
early parties.

Engineering junior Roy Ziv 

said sober monitor training, 
required 
for 
all 
fraternity 

pledges, was useful in terms of 
preparing for a party.

“I 
thought 
it 
was 
very 

helpful,” he said. “It highlighted 
the importance of how we 
should split up sober monitors: 
some at the front door, some by 
the bathrooms or staircases, 
some roaming around the party. 
It showed us what to keep an 
eye out for, and what to do in the 
case of an emergency.”

Ziv also mentioned that his 

fraternity house has a water 
fountain and water bottle filler 
in order to keep people hydrated 
at parties.

“We are always exceeding 

the minimum number of sober 
monitors we should have,” he 
said. “We had our biggest party 
the other night. We’re supposed 
to have a minimum of five 
sober monitors, but I believe 
we had seven or eight because 
we understood the importance 
of keeping everyone safe and 
organized.”

HOSPITAL VISITS
From Page 1A

the 
state, 
Michigan 
is 

considered a possible swing 
state this election cycle. 
Trump receives a large 
amount of support from 
non-college educated white 
men, making the middle 
class and the Rust Belt states 
particularly 
important 

for Clinton. In 2012, this 
demographic 
represented 

nearly half of all voters, and 
currently Trump is doing 
even better with this group 
than Mitt Romney, the 2012 
Republican nominee.

CLINTON 
From Page 1A

