The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Friday, December 2, 2016 — 3
hours in an e-mail interview.
“I couldn’t speculate that (the
ride increase was due to the fear
from crime alerts),” he wrote.
“The data doesn’t show that.”
Dolen wrote the new start time
for SafeRide is a pilot and will be
evaluated as it progresses.
“We
will
keep
track
of
demand,” he wrote in an email
interview. “Whether or not it
will be permanent is still (to be
determined).”
According to Dolen, SafeRide
currently has three operating
vans. While the University is not
looking into adding a fourth van,
he wrote that three vans have
been enough to cover student
demand. SafeRide is generally
requested a thousand times per
month and increases during the
month of November when the
weather starts to get colder.
SafeRide
is
not
the
only
transportation
system
the
University offers. Ride Home
also runs from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m.,
providing free shared taxis from
the
Shapiro
Undergraduate
Library.
State
Street
Ride
functions as another service,
transporting
students
to
the
South State Street Commuter,
and runs from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Monday through Friday.
Diane
Brown,
Division
of
Public
Safety
and
Security
spokeswoman,
said
SafeRide
was derived from an earlier
concept of SafeWalk, a campus
accompaniment service for those
who do not want to walk alone
on campus at night, in the early
2000s. The University began
offering rides in the SafeWalk
program in 2001. She said there
is talk of reviving the program
again for the upcoming months,
but they are not finalized.
Students
have
also
been
planning
programs
similar
to
SafeWalk,
independently
organizing
walking
systems
and providing support to others
after hours. Emma Kaye, an LSA
and Business senior, had been
planning for a buddy system night
since the beginning of the year
in hopes of spreading awareness
about the prevalence of sexual
assault on campus.
However, she said her plans
changed due to the crime alerts
on campus and her sense of
heightened
xenophobia
on
campus following the election.
“Part way through (the week
of elections) ... we started getting
those crime alerts and they were
talking about things going on
campus,” she said. “I think that
sparked something within us
and in our volunteers as well.
Obviously, it is a horrifying thing;
we felt like it became more about
safety in general on campus rather
than only about sexual assault.”
Trump’s win sparked negative
reactions from many University
students over worries about his
campaign rhetoric, with multiple
student protests on campus in
the weeks following his victory.
University
President
Mark
Schlissel appeared at one of the
events,
applauding
University
students
for
overwhelmingly
supporting
Democratic
presidential
nominee
Hillary
Clinton.
“Ninety
percent
of
you
rejected the kind of hate and the
fractiousness and the longing for
some kind of idealized version
of
a
nonexistent
yesterday
that was expressed during the
campaign,” Schlissel said during
the November protest.
Kaye said she and three other
friends launched a walking night
a few weeks after the election.
The volunteers, she explained,
had 30-minute shifts and worked
in teams of two, with both male
and female students in the pair.
On their first night, she said, the
group walked about 25 students
home, the majority of them
female.
“One of the greatest responses
we got was from a guy who came
and volunteered and what he
said encompassed everything we
wanted from the night too,” she
said. “He said, ‘Look, as a man,
I don’t deal with this or feel this
fear. I don’t feel afraid walking on
this campus and with everything
going on now and especially as
a white male, I don’t feel that.’
And he said it was extremely
eye-opening to see how much
people needed this and to feel to
understand what other people
went through even if it is a little
bit.”
Kaye said even a student who
declined to be walked home
volunteered to help other students
and expressed his gratitude for
the service.
“I didn’t expect the response
that it got,” she said. “Probably
one of the greatest experiences
I have had in this University
was having my friends and even
these people I didn’t know really
back this up and show a lot of
support.”
The group’s hope was to start
a culture of supporting other
students, making it a norm to
walk others home and check up
on friends regularly.
“It’s not that this one night was
going to solve it,” she said. “It’s
not. It was hoping to show that
this is a problem. And even if a
couple of people started asking if
they want to be walked home and
even to strangers, I would think
that would be a success.”
She noted frustrations with
current University services like
SafeRide, saying she believed it
to be a useful resource but, in
her experience, there was a 30-
to 40-minute wait time, leading
some students to avoid the
service.
Dolen
wrote
there
is
an
application for SafeRide that was
launched this fall that could aid
the frustration of waiting for the
ride. The app will also suggest
other ways to get home that could
be faster than the SafeRide.
“Another piece that we are
just getting launched (in the
application) is when you choose a
ride it will also let you know when
the next bus would be arriving
and if it may be closer to you,”
Dolen wrote. “So if the SafeRide
van can’t be there in 15 minutes,
there might be a bus and the bus
stop would be just outside if you
were to stay in Shapiro. There
might be a bus getting there in
10 minutes and it is going pretty
close to the same location.”
Evelyn
Alsultany,
associate
professor of Arab and Muslim
American Studies, is the head of
the Islamophobia Working Group,
another organization on campus
aiming to make the walk home
more comfortable for students.
The group is currently building a
way to have specialized walking
systems for Muslim students,
as many felt Islamophobia on
campus after the female student
wearing the hijab was threatened.
“After the recent hate crimes,
we updated the resource list
to include information on safe
rides
since
many
students
are fearful of walking alone
on campus, especially female
students who wear the hijab,”
Alsultany wrote in an email. “The
Muslim Students’ Association is
facilitating a system of walking
in pairs and groups, especially at
night.”
LSA junior Haleemah Aqel,
part of the Islamophobia Working
Group’s
student
initiative,
said she is working with the
Muslim
Students’
Association
representatives
to
create
a
walking system for those who feel
unsafe walking home at night.
“We sent out reminders after
the first crime alert like, ‘Hey,
remember not to walk home at
night. Make sure you are always
walking home with a buddy,’ ” she
said.
The MSA’s Facebook page
currently has a list of phone
numbers of students willing to
walk people home.
“I am definitely hoping this is
something we can keep for the
future,” Aqel said. “I know that a
lot of these initiatives have come
out of aftermath of the election.
But I think in general, safety
should be considered. Whatever
the politics and climate around
our (campus) is, safety should
always be something. Because
who knows what could happen?
Because this could be a great
system for the future, maybe 10
years from now.”
Aqel said overall, the crime
alerts were a sad reminder about
the general sentiment toward
Muslims in the United States.
“It’s sad to say I am not
surprised that happened because
of the climate not only on
campus but in the U.S.,” she said.
“Xenophobia is such a prevalent
issue
in
our
society.
These
instances are so ‘Wow I can’t
believe this,’ but at the same time
I can. It was bound to happen.”
Another
organized
effort
to
create
walking
systems,
Wolverine
Guard,
has
also
launched in the past weeks and
has a list of phone numbers
on Facebook similar to MSA’s
approach.
Faculty
have
also
gotten
involved — a team of faculty
recently launched Teamworks,
a Canvas site that provides
resources
and
support
for
students.
Anne Berg, assistant director
of undergraduate studies and
the organizer of Teamworks,
said the site was created after a
graduate student told her some
of her students wouldn’t come to
class the Friday after the election
because they were too scared
to be on campus. Berg said she
attended post-election events to
hear from students as well.
“I went to the meeting that
Dean
Martin
organized
for
students and spoke with a bunch
of students there, on the Monday
after the election,” Berg said.
“And many said that they were
terrified walking around campus
— that was just after the woman
was threatened. … People were
really, really raw in general.”
Berg said she hopes Teamworks
can stay in place for the long term.
After presenting the idea to the
administration, the site is set to
be a trial run to see how students
respond to it.
“(Students) said that something
faculty monitored would give
them a better sense of security
because
what
students
have
done is quickly set up Facebook
groups,” she said.
The Canvas site currently has
30 members, most of whom are
students.
Berg said building a community
within Teamworks would help
create
a
more
comfortable
space, adding that the team was
interested in planning events
to allow more networking. She
added that she thought it was the
job of students and faculty alike
to keep both the walking system
and the general climate of campus
safe and supportive.
“I
think
what
is
really
important
in
this
political
situation is that students of color,
minority students, for whatever
reason they feel, it is not upon
them to stake their claims and
be safe,” she said. “But rather it is
for everyone on campus to make
sure we are a community and we
belong together. And the type of
rhetoric and actions has no place
in Michigan. I think there really
is a responsibility of students who
do feel safe and faculty as well
to offer themselves as a resource
and to be there and say, ‘This is
our community and we are here
to defend it. We won’t let this
destroy us.’ ”
SAFE RIDE
From Page 1
7-percent enrollment for Latino
students.”
The Black Student Union and
Students4Justice both declined
to comment.
Latina student organizations,
like the Lambda Theta Alpha
Latin
sorority,
expressed
optimism due to the increase in
Hispanic
student
enrollment.
Roxana Taginya, an LSA junior
affiliated with Lambda Theta
Alpha, noted the importance
of
enrolling
more
Hispanic
students each year to the Latino
community
“Given my work with the
Latin@
community
here
on
campus, being able to see the
enrollment numbers for incoming
Latin@s increase has been really
amazing,” Taginya wrote in an
email interview. “I personally
have done a lot of work to build
the Latin@ community here on
campus and I find that there is
strength in numbers.”
However,
Taginya,
despite
feeling
optimistic
about
the
class of 2020’s increased Latino
student enrollment, wrote that
she hopes the increasing trend
will continue going forward.
“Seeing more Latin@s on
campus
means
a
stronger
network and a larger community
through
which
incoming
students
can
feel
welcome,”
Taginya
wrote.
“However,
I
hope that this increase continues
from year to year because I
believe there is a lot of work to
be done at this school in terms
of diversity, equity, and inclusion
and a greater presence from the
Latin@ community would make
a huge difference.”
Despite the mixed record
of
success
in
increasing
representation
for
all
demographics, Ishop said she
thought the University’s efforts
to improve economic diversity for
the freshman class was reflected
in enrollment figures.
“We are looking for diversity
across all lines,” Ishop said.
“This includes socioeconomic
diversity as well. One of our
goals is to make an education
here accessible not just to the
wealthiest students, but also
to low and moderate income
students. In order to achieve
this, we put a lot of money into
our financial aid departments so
that cost — as much as we can
control for — is not the reason
why somebody who is accepted
does not attend the University.”
For the class of 2020, the
University increased budgeting
for financial aid by 10.8 percent,
according to a University press
release, including a total of $170
million
allocated
specifically
for
need-based
financial
aid
packages.
One of the factors Ishop
attributed to the improvement
in
economic
diversity
was
the
introduction
of
the
HAIL scholarship, which is a
scholarship designed for high-
achieving
and
low-income
students from Michigan.
“The
HAIL
scholarship
is a terrific example of our
deliberate
efforts
to
bring
in
people
from
different
backgrounds
and
of
our
efforts to inform prospective
applicants that a Michigan
education can be affordable,”
Ishop said. “And this wasn’t
necessarily
a
policy-driven
change, but more of a shift
in messaging. We want high
achieving students to know
that you should still apply even
if you are unsure of how to pay
for college because cost should
not be a factor. The University
can help you need.”
ENROLLMENT
From Page 1
with Bernstein, quit his full-
time job at Dell and became a
co-founder of LoftSmart.
Earlier
this
year,
Kumar
said the company received $1.7
million in funding from venture
capital firms, letting LoftSmart
develop into an online platform
in which students can complete
the whole housing process in one
place, including read reviews,
apply for housing, get screened
for credit and criminal history,
sign a legally binding lease and
submit a deposit.
Kumar
said
while
the
company
initially
gained
traction at University of Virginia
and colleges in Texas, it has
seen increased usage in the Ann
Arbor market since launching
three months ago, with property
reviews on the site growing from
zero to about 500 in that time
period.
“We’ve seen a lot of good
traction at Michigan, actually,”
Kumar said. “Landmark, the
Zaragons, 411, ArborBlu and the
Courtyards can all be booked;
you can basically take care of
that entire process through
LoftSmart.”
Kumar said the company
interviewed students from the
University and heard horror
stories about problematic leasing
in Ann Arbor, including times
when students had to pay extra
fees, didn’t get their security
deposits back or weren’t satisfied
with their properties.
“Our first and main goal is to
help be almost a representative
for them and act as a third
party where they can sign
through us and really gain a
sense of security, a sense of
trustworthiness and definitely
a sense of convenience,” Kumar
said.
Currently,
Kumar
said,
LoftSmart
is
focused
on
connecting
students
with
apartments, but in the future,
they are looking to expand into
houses and also facilitate greater
relationships
between
students and property managers.
“There
are
so
many
opportunities — the goal is to
kind of take over that entire
rental market in Ann Arbor, get
not only apartments but also
houses and any other rental
units,” Kumar said. “We’d like
to also help students manage the
relationship with the property
managers and allow for a lot
more transparency.”
He added this philosophy
ties in with the goal of making
sure students who don’t have
experience with signing leases
aren’t being taken advantage of.
“The
housing
market
for
students
is
very
interesting
because you’re dealing with
people that are newcomers to
the market and there is a lot of
room to kind of take advantage
of them,” Kumar said. “We want
to empower students to not only
make better decisions but to
ensure they are picking places
that will take care of them.”
Business sophomore Connor
Baechler, who recently secured
a house for his off-campus
living accommodation next year,
said he could have benefited
from a more straightforward
relationship with the realtor and
rental company.
During his search, Beachler
said, he knocked on the door of
the property he was interested in
three separate times so he could
talk to the current tenants about
the property and what their
relationship with the landlord
was like.
“I had to go to the house I
was interested in and speak
with tenants,” Baechler said.
“It would have been much more
convenient had there been an
easier way to reach out to them.”
Baechler said he had never
heard of LoftSmart, but thinks
it is an intriguing idea and might
be inclined to utilize it in the
future.
“If it catches on I’ll have more
trust in a company like that, so
I’d be curious to see how it plays
out and the reputation they build
here in Ann Arbor,” Baechler
said.
multiple times throughout the
talk that the tension between the
two countries should be seen as a
new normal.
“While
regrettable,
this
negativity, I think, is to be
expected,” he said. “We China
specialists, or social scientists,
should not be surprised by this,
and moreover, I think it’s the new
normal. We have to get used to it.
This is the natural paradigm, not
some sort of false, cooperative,
harmonious paradigm.”
Shambaugh also discussed
how Trump’s presidency will
affect
U.S.-China
relations.
Though Trump has called for
increased tariffs on Chinese
goods and the labeling of China
as
a
currency
manipulator,
Shambaugh
noted
that
the
president-elect has offered little
in terms of other foreign policy.
Despite
Trump’s
isolationist
rhetoric, he said he doubts
the president-elect will walk
away from a trade deal like the
North American Free Trade
Agreement, which Trump said
he may do during his campaign.
“I would highly doubt a Trump
admin will walk away from
these
alliances,”
Shambaugh
said. “Isolationist rhetoric would
meet resistance, if he wanted to
pull away from Asia and NATO.”
Though Shambaugh noted
multiple variables behind the
increasing tensions between the
United States and China, such as
rising Chinese national identity
and the United States’ position
in the Asian-Pacific region, he
ended his discussion on a lighter
note.
“This is a transitional time;
the relationship is categorized
by
rising
competition
and
predominant
competition,
secondary cooperation but it’s
not about to go off the cliff,” he
said. “Since 1972, and through
nine American presidents and
eight Chinese leaders, this is
not the first time we have had
frictions. We have had them in
the past, and the relationship has
continued to endure and grow to
both societies’ benefit.”
Rackham student Ding He
said she felt the talk made a
variety of perspectives on the
U.S.-China relationship more
clear.
“I think because I read a lot
of articles about the relationship
between America and China, so
this one is like how the people
from the policy committees
think about the relationship,”
He said. “So actually I’ve heard
these kinds of opinions in China a
lot, so this is just to confirm some
of the ideas and information that
I have taken from before.”
LOFTSMART
From Page 1
CHINA
From Page 1
asylum, or they can have had no
persecution but they can prove
that they have a well-founded
fear of future persecution,” she
said. “If they prove that they
truly are at risk, that their fear
is well-founded both subjectively
and objectively that they will be
persecuted if returned, they can
receive asylum.”
In the United States, refugees
can apply for asylum for both
themselves
and
their
family
by filing a Form I-589, which
prevents them from being forced
to leave. Once an individual
is granted asylum, they are
permitted to work and live in the
United States in the same way as
a natural-born citizen.
Elizabeth Scruggs, a third-
year medical student who was
the first author of the new
study and is a member of the
UM Asylum Collaborative, said
based on their findings, medical
examinations appear to be a
key part of applying to another
country.
The
UM
Asylum
Collaborative is a student-led
initiative that “mobilizes health
professionals to advocate for
victims and survivors of human
rights violations.”
“Our
study,
given
that
it’s
qualitative,
can’t
make
any
definitive
or
statistical
statement,
but
really
every
lawyer we’ve spoken to agreed
that it’s a key or crucial piece of
the application,” Scruggs said.
“It’s
something
that
should
always be present, but often is
not present simply because of
lack of access, lack of resources
or simply lack of a physician to
perform the evaluation.”
Carr, though not a researcher
in the study, said she agreed
about
the
importance
of
a
medical exam.
“If you’re doing a female
genital mutilation case and you
don’t have a medical affidavit
from a doctor in the U.S.
examining your client that says
it’s happened to her, if that’s your
claim of past persecution, you
won’t win,” she said.
Even
in
cases
where
no
physical proof of past abuse
remains, a medical exam can
greatly boost a refugee’s chances
of
being
granted
asylum,
according to the study. Scruggs
said psychological exams play an
important role in corroborating
a refugee’s story and assessing
for the clinical findings of post-
traumatic stress disorder.
Most refugees aren’t afforded
this
chance,
however,
as
obtaining a medical exam as a
refugee can be very difficult.
“You’re not entitled to a
lawyer,” Carr said. “If you are not
represented by a lawyer, what
you can bring forward might be
pretty minimal, and if you’re
represented by a lawyer or an
NGO that has a ton of resources,
then what they can cobble
together will be fundamentally
different. I would say that for
the majority of clients who seek
asylum, the majority of their
evidence is their testimony.”
REFUGEES
From Page 1
Read more online at
michigandaily.com