Two lawsuits have been
filed in the past month over
an alleged sexual assault at
a
University
of
Michigan
fraternity party in January
2016.
The first lawsuit, from a
now-former male University
student, was filed against
several
employees
of
the
University of Michigan for
wrongfully
causing
the
student leave the University
following the alleged assault,
according to court documents.
“The Appeals Board applied
an unconstitutionally vague
or legally incorrect definition
of the term ‘incapacitated,’
applied incorrect standards
of review, and arbitrarily
and capriciously set aside the
investigator’s findings and
conclusions,
thus
denying
Plaintiff due process,” the
complaint reads.
The second lawsuit, filed
Wednesday by the female
University
student
who
filed the claims of sexual
assault
against
the
male
student, seeks to block the
male student from gaining
readmission to the University.
It charges that he is not
respecting the terms of an
agreement
reached
during
UM’s investigation of the
female student’s complaint
Faced
with
a
changing
city landscape and student
anxiety
about
high
off-
campus housing costs, Central
Student
Government
has
begun
exploring
options
for
cooperation
with
city
government to address the
issue.
However, it remains unclear
which specific policies CSG can
realistically coordinate with
city and county government
officials on tht would alleviate
off-campus housing costs, or
even to what extent off-campus
student rental costs have been
changing.
CSG President David Schafer,
an LSA senior, told the Board
of Regents at their September
meeting he hopes to start a
dialogue between students and
local officials on off-campus
student housing.
“The issue of increasingly
costly
off-campus
housing
for students is an issue that I
believe we’d be well-served to
tackle together,” Schafer told
the Regents, adding preliminary
meetings with city and local
officials have already taken
place, including with Ann Arbor
Mayor
Christopher
Taylor
(D) and Washtenaw County
Commissioner Andy LaBarre
(D).
The median rate for rent in
Ann Arbor has increased 14
percent to $1,075 per month
from 2010 to 2015 — even as the
amount of high-density housing
has jumped by 32 percent —
according to the U.S. Census
Bureau. However, this data is for
the entire city and may not be
reflective of the cost of housing
for students specifically, most of
which are clustered downtown.
Nadine Jawad, CSG senior
policy
adviser
and
Public
Policy senior, said CSG does
not yet have concrete data on
off-campus
student
housing
costs or trends, noting they
are
conducting
preliminary
research to collect this data.
She added, however, that the
initiative began in response to
numerous students approaching
CSG with concerns pertaining
to the cost of off-campus living.
“I strongly believe that when
students come and talk with
us, their concerns should be
top priority,” she said. “We
wanted students to have a better
understanding of off-campus
housing
dynamics
in
Ann
Arbor because a lot of students
expressed that the current
rental prices were an issue.”
A major hurdle for CSG’s
initiative will be limits on the
city of Ann Arbor’s ability to
exert control on housing prices,
which includes rental costs
for students. State law bars
municipalities from setting rent
controls on private landlords,
and while housing subsidies
and incentives are possible, they
cannot be made exclusive for a
specific demographic, such as
students.
Schafer acknowledged these
challenges and that meaningful
change may take well over a
year to take effect. Nonetheless,
he said he hopes to see greater
student involvement in City
Council decisions, especially
ones about housing.
“I think students would be
well served to know their innate
powers as a state constituency,”
said Schafer. “Making their
voices heard is so important
because when students come
together,
when
students
mobilize, when they make their
voices heard — that can lead to
tangible, positive results for the
general constituency.”
CSG is planning to initiate
public
dialogue
between
students and officials at a panel
Oct. 13 in the Union, with
speakers from City Council,
the University of Michigan
and other officials. Executive
members
of
the
housing
The average Central Student
Government member is most
likely to be a wealthy, white,
heterosexual
male,
according
to results of a comprehensive
demographic
self-survey
released Wednesday morning.
The report, which breaks
down the assembly by a number
of factors including race, gender,
sexuality and family income,
comes after campaign promises
from
CSG
President
David
Schaefer, an LSA senior, to bolster
diversity
efforts
in
student
government. CSG assessed the
makeup of its membership in
comparison
to
Engineering
Student
Government,
LSA
Student Government and the
University as a whole.
In
the
breakdown
of
demographics
presented
in
the report, 69.8 percent of CSG
self-identify as white. This is
compared to 64.7 percent of LSA
student government, 47.6 percent
of Engineering representatives
and 56.2 percent of the entire
student body that claim the same
identity, according to the report.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, September 22, 2016
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INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 139
©2016 The Michigan Daily
NEWS......................... 2A
OPINION.....................4A
CL ASSIFIEDS............... 5A
SUDOKU..................... 2A
SP O RTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5A
B S I D E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B
See LAWSUIT, Page 3A
GRANT HARDY/Daily
LSA sophomore Chanelle Miles discusses how the recent events at EMU’s campus have impacted her at a speakout on the Diag Wednesday.
About 150 students gathered on
the Diag Wednesday night for a
speakout held in response to recent
incidents of police brutality and
racism both across the nation and
locally.
The event was hosted by the
University of Michigan chapter of
the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
and the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
The speak out, emceed by
University
NAACP
chapter
president Travis Jones III, an LSA
senior, began with a crowd reprisal
of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,”
referred to by event organizers as
the Black national anthem.
“In this past week, we have
witnessed on our campus, within
this community, and in the country,
that racism is alive and well,” Jones
said. “This isn’t our first one, and it
won’t be our last one.”
Organizers said they planned
the speakout to commemorate the
fatal shootings of three black males
and recent incidents of racism
at Eastern Michigan University,
located in Ypsilanti.
The event specifically aimed to
remember 40-year old Terrence
Crutcher in Tulsa and 43-year old
Keith Lamont Scott, who were
killed by police officers this week,
See DIVERSITY, Page 3A
What the Sound
The BSide explores the work
of a student who created a
website to promote a wide
range of musical talent
» Page 1B
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
See HOUSING, Page 3A
See NAACP, Page 3A
Many
environment-focused
organizations
from
the
University of Michigan and the
broader Ann Arbor area set up on
the Diag for the annual EarthFest
Wednesday.
EarthFest began under the
name “Energy Fest” in 1996 and
has since evolved, taking on its
current name in 2010 with the
establishment of the Planet Blue
Initiative, an initiative from the
University that aims to promote
sustainibility.
The
University
recently
identified
four
campus
sustainability
goals
around
climate action, waste prevention,
healthy
environments
and
community awareness. These
goals are both guiding principles
for the University, as well as
concrete objectives to be fully
implemented by 2025.
For
example,
the
Health
Environments
goal
mandates
that the University must protect
Huron River water quality by
working to minimize runoff.
Ken
Keeler,
senior
sustainability
representative
See EARTH, Page 3A
Two lawsuits
filed over ‘U’
recent sexual
assault case
NAACP holds Diag speakout on
police shootings and EMU protests
CRIME
Former student sues for readmission
to University after voluntarily separating
KATIE PENROD & ALLANA
AKHTAR
Daily News Editors
Event aims to show solidarity with families, students impacted by both incidents
RIYAH BASHA
Daily Staff Reporter
CSG reps.
generally
white, male,
study finds
CAMPUS LIFE
Body releases self-
survey Wednesday
morning
RIYAH BASHA
Daily Staff Reporter
Student government aims to decrease
average housing costs in Ann Arbor
Median rent has been increasing since 2010, to $1,075 per month in 2016
NISA KHAN & BRIAN
KUANG
Daily Staff Reporters
Earthfest
highlights
UM green
initiatives
SUSTAINABILITY
Diag event includes
several environment-
focused student groups
ALI SAFWI
For the Daily