The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, January 11, 2017 — 3A
HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily
Altyn Ciang Knight, coordinator of The College Postersale, sells a poster to a student in the Union on Tuesday.
POSTE R S GALORE
community? We thought they
should be working for each
other — making more revenue
and getting more foot traffic.”
Spade
takes
print
advertisements from clients —
local restaurants, for example
— and places them in local
apartment buildings such as
Zaragon or University Towers.
Consumers can download the
app and take a photo of the ad
to unlock the discount.
Fleshner said a small town
can benefit from a company like
this because small businesses
are aware of where other small
businesses fit in the market.
“We thought Ann Arbor was
the perfect place,” Fleshner
said. “Everyone knows what
each other’s gist is and what
people are trying to do.”
According to LSA junior Ben
Kriegsman, Spade’s regional
manager, Ann Arbor also serves
as a good place to develop the
company
before
hopefully
establishing
it
in
other
locations such as New York or
Los Angeles.
“The beauty of this for us is
we get to have our idea explored
in our college town,” he said.
“We get to have consumers who
are also our peers, who are also
students, use our products, use
the app and get benefits from
it. That way, we can adjust our
business model and adjust our
ideas going forward based on
how that works.”
Fleshner said he believes
students will enjoy the app as
it is easily accessible on their
phones and offers desirable
discounts.
“Students — everyone wants
discounts,
everyone
wants
content,” he said. “We’re always
looking for stuff and we’re
always on our phones. Through
this app, you’re going to be able
to unlock discounts to places
that are local. For students it’s
going to be great to unlock stuff
and it’s also going to be great
to see what other people are
unlocking.”
The app consists of a feed
that allows people to see what
their friends and other local
people are unlocking. They
can like and comment on these
items.
Overall, the company has
more than 150 app downloads,
22
partnerships
between
businesses and 12 businesses on
board overall.
Over the winter holiday,
the
company
worked
to
improve the app, specifically
by
incorporating
beacon
technology, which will allow
advertisers and partners to
connect virtually.
This new form of technology
works by way of a small device
that can pick up signals from
app users and instantly send the
advertisement to their mobile
devices. That way, store-goers
can have access to discounts
instantaneously.
Business
junior
Jordan
Golshan said she saw several
Spade ads in the elevator of her
apartment — one of which was
for 25 to 50 percent off for the
rest of the day at Bivouac, an
outdoor gear and apparel store
on State Street.
Golshan said she followed
the directions posted nearby,
downloaded the app, took a
picture of the ad and then
proceeded to buy something
from Bivouac. Golshan said she
was pleased with how user-
friendly the app was.
She also said the app is
ideal for a city like Ann Arbor
because it makes popular places
affordable to college students.
“I think this is a great
college-town
app,
because
there is already a community
of these local restaurants that
you can frequent,” she said.
“Because Spade is able to
conveniently place these ads in
places that people go a lot and
offers discounts to the places
that people go a lot, I think that
combination is really beneficial
to college students who are
interested in saving money.”
Golshan said she thinks the
app would benefit other college
towns as well.
Meanwhile, Fleshner said he
wants to encourage students to
check out their local favorite
businesses for discounts.
BUSINESS
From Page 1A
saw the woman “crying, naked,
swaying a lot, with slurred
speech, vomit in her hair, a
flushed face, and unable to
stand or walk on her own.”
Later
in
the
evening,
the
female
went
to
the
hospital, where a rape kit
was administered by medical
personnel.
No
criminal
charges were made against
the male at the time, though
it
was
investigated
by
the University’s Office or
Institutional Equity. The OIE
initially concluded the male
in question did not violate
the sexual misconduct policy
in April 2016, though the
decision was overturned by an
appeals board in May 2016.
Following the decision, the
student was expelled from the
University.
The
suit
against
the
University
by
the
former
male
student
was
filed
on Sept. 1. He said he was
forced to sign a permanent
separation agreement with
the University on June 27
based on an “improper and
erroneous
determination”
by
a
University
appeals
board made up of two faculty
members
and
a
student.
Lawson’s decision references
a preponderance of evidence
considered by the appeals
board, including the plaintiff’s
inconsistent accounts.
“Nothing about the panel’s
rationale
for
discounting
Doe’s testimony suggests that
it did so because of his sex or
gender,” the opinion reads.
“As to Doe’s own testimony, as
noted previously, the appeal
panel found his account of the
sexual encounter significantly
less
credible
because
of
his abrupt reversal during
his
interview
with
police
wherein he conceded that
his account was ‘wrong’ and
the complainant’s was ‘right,’
with the exception that he
continued to insist that he
never heard the complainant
say ‘no sex.’ ”
University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald said he was pleased
the federal judge ruled in favor
of the University’s process for
handling sexual misconduct.
“We
are
gratified
that
the federal court affirmed
the
University’s
sexual
misconduct
process,”
Fitzgerald said.
The
sexual
misconduct
policy was updated July 2016,
adding changes to definitions
of consent, sanctions and the
appeals process. An appointed
appeals board consisting of a
faculty member, staff member
and student was replaced with
an expert external reviewer
with legal knowledge.
Though the policy change
was not in effect at the time
of the case, Deborah Gordon,
his lawyer, said her client
would have not been expelled
under the updated appeals
process
and
definition
of
incapacitation in the new
sexual misconduct policy.
“My client did have a fair
hearing in front of the OIE
investigator,” she said. “That
was all swept away by this
appeals
panel.
I’m
really
surprised by the lack of due
process rights provided to
students whose lives are going
to be completely changed
forever.”
Gordon
applauded
the
updates,
though,
which
Fitzgerald
said
were
not
instituted in relation to the
case in question.
“Like so much of the policy,
we
spent
several
months
looking
at
other
schools’
policies, doing outreach in our
community with open forums
and meetings,” he said. “Most
of the changes grew out of
that process.”
In
response
to
Doe’s
lawsuit, the female victim —
identified as Jane Doe — filed
a suit of her own in Washtenaw
County Circuit Court on Sept.
21, in which she claimed
battery and assault stemming
from
the
alleged
sexual
assault, as well as a breach
of contract over the male’s
decision to seek readmission
to the University following
his agreement to permanently
withdraw. Jennifer Salvatore,
the female student’s lawyer,
welcomed the federal court’s
decision.
“It has been very difficult
for
my
client
to
come
forward and go through the
university’s
process,”
she
wrote in an email interview.
“Then with the respondent
suing and attempting to get
back into the university after
he agreed to withdraw — it
injected a lot of uncertainty
into
her
life
and
her
educational experience. She is
relieved that his case has been
dismissed and is grateful for
the court’s swift decision.”
ASSAULT
From Page 1A
Because Spade
is able to
conveniently place
these ads in places
that people go a
lot, I think that
combination is
really beneficial to
college students
We are gratified
that the federal
court affirmed
the University’s ...
process
disabilities.
Pile
also
mentioned
the
handicapped
ramp
on
the
north end of the building
needs renovation. After the
construction, Pile said, the
building will be much more
accessible for all patrons.
“One
of
our
challenges
with a building that’s going
to be 100 years old in 2019
is that it was built in a time
that really didn’t need to take
(physical
disabilities)
into
consideration,” Pile said. “And
that’s a commitment that we
have today, to ensure that
we’re going to be able to better
address those needs and make a
more inclusive community.”
Engineering freshman James
Surge said the direct passenger
elevators will contribute to the
Union’s plan of inclusion for
everyone.
“I approve of that,” he said.
“It makes it easier for everyone
to get around. If there’s one
elevator that goes to all the
floors, then everybody has
equal access to the space.”
LSA
freshman
Alexandra
Niforos said the fact that the
improvements to handicapped
resources haven’t been a larger
issue earlier is concerning but
the renovations are better late
than never.
“I don’t know why we don’t
have elevators right now that go
all the way up to all the floors,”
Niforos said. “But anyways, it’s
good that they’re doing this.”
One of the largest spaces
slated for renovation is the
courtyard in the middle of
the Union. According to Pile,
the outdoor courtyard behind
Starbucks will be covered and
converted into a larger study
space for students.
Niforos said the plan to
build the ceiling over the
courtyard closes off the Union’s
connection to fresh air in the
warmer months.
“I
think
it’s
cute,
the
courtyard,” Niforos said. “I
mean I’ve never been into it
but I feel like we have enough
rooms in this place that we can
have one outdoor space.”
As of right now, Pile said
there are no further plans
for
renovations
after
the
$85
million
is
exhausted.
Furthermore, she said as much
will be done with the budget as
possible.
“This isn’t a phased project,”
Pile said. “This isn’t phase
one of more to come. We’re
spending the budget that we
have and moving forward with
that.”
UNION
From Page 1A
under DACA in the United
State.
BAMN returned to CSG
to propose a resolution that
would urge Obama to use
his executive power to stand
against President-elect Donald
Trump’s
future
intentions
to overturn DACA, an act
that
allows
undocumented
immigrants who were brought
to the United States by their
parents as minors to defer
deportation. The resolution
asked CSG to directly send
a statement to the White
House expressing support for
students under DACA.
University of Michigan alum
Kate Stenvig acknowledged
the past resolution, hoping to
now directly talk to the White
House instead of merely the
previous general statement of
solidarity.
“The reason that we want
you to take it a step further
to
specifically
ask
Obama
to do this action is this is a
real concrete thing that can
be done, that can be a real
victory against the threat of
deportation,” she said. “If
Obama does nothing to protect
those people, the people who
have DACA and the people
who applied for DACA would
be in a worse position than
before
they
applied.
That
would be a real betrayal, and I
think it would show the huge
bankruptcy of principal in our
whole political system.”
The
new
resolution,
authored by CSG members who
are also involved with BAMN,
cites several problems left by
the Obama administration.
“Applying
for
DACA
required
giving
the
government extensive personal
and
familial
information,
including
school
records,
addresses, fingerprints and
a DNA sample,” it stated.
“DACA applicants relied on
the
promises
of
President
Obama and his administration
that the data they provided
would never be used against
them or their families, and
took this risk in order to
advance their own futures as
well as their families and their
communities.”
LSA senior Keysha Walls
said protecting documented
students
was
Obama’s
obligation, since he was elected
with the promise of protecting
them. The resolution’s authors
believed Obama failed to take
appropriate
action
toward
immigration
rights
during
his final days of presidency,
pointing to this as evidence
of abandoning those under
DACA.
Walls
noted
applying
to DACA was a large risk
for
undocumented
youth
as
it
required
personal
information, including DNA
samples, that could be used
to identify and deport them.
According to BAMN, this data
should be protected through
executive action because of
his
administration’s
moral
obligation
to
continue
protecting immigrant youth.
“The
safety
of
these
undocumented
immigrants
is only promised under the
Obama
administration,”
Walls said. “For Obama to
know these things, and not
take every cautionable step to
ensure the continued safety
of undocumented peoples in
this nation is disgusting and
inhumane … If he will not
act on his own, then we must
take action, in doing so set the
example for him.”
Trump’s campaign has been
controversial
—
especially
in regards to immigration.
Trump
has
promised
to
build a wall on the United
States’
southern
border,
and claimed Mexico would
pay for it — though recently
Trump has asked Congress
to do so instead. Trump has
discussed a “Muslim ban,” and
has suggested stopping those
who practice the religion or
come from Muslim-dominate
countries from entering the
United States.
CSG had a heated debate over
whether to keep the political
aspects
of
the
resolution.
Schafer asked the authors to
remove references to Trump in
order to keep CSG politically
unbiased. This decision was
contentious among the body,
as a few members felt that the
resolution should hold Trump
to official statements he has
made during his campaign and
the impending prospects of his
presidency.
“Understanding the ability
and the responsibilities of
this
organization,
I
don’t
feel
comfortable
the
way
in which it’s worded,” he
said, explaining CSG should
support students across the
political spectrum.
Despite the debate, Schafer’s
suggestion was included in the
draft. Ultimately, with several
modifications
eliminating
all mentions of Trump, the
resolution passed.
Engineering
senior
Alex
Brewster
commended
Schafer’s
amendment,
stating he feels University
students
could
still
show
their support for immigrants
without pointing fingers and
implicating certain figures.
“As an immigrant myself,
I think it’s really important
to stress immigrants rights,
but on the other hand, I think
one thing that, even though
I did vote for the resolution,
I didn’t enjoy was that we
were playing the blame game,
and I do appreciate David for
taking the names out,” he
said. “I think the resolution
that we passed still hammers
home
that
University
of
Michigan students still care
about immigrants … whether
they
are
documented
or
undocumented,
we
accept
them as human beings.”
CSG
From Page 1A
still band together.”
Also prior to the start of the
speech, LSA junior Ellen Endres
echoed this statement, expressing
her belief that Obama would
deliver a strong farewell address.
“I really expect him to give the
speech with the same amount
of grace and intelligence that
he’s carried out throughout his
campaign,” Endres said. “I’m
really not expecting anything less
tonight.”
As President Barack Obama
took the stage at McCormick Place
in Chicago and began his speech,
murmurs of “this is the last one”
echoed throughout the room and
faded into silence. Some students
in the auditorium pulled out
tissues to wipe away tears.
Obama framed most his address
around urging his listeners to
respect all American citizens,
and fighting against the political
division caused by issues such as
terrorism, economic crisis and
race relations. He said Americans
must respect one another as equals
and work to empathize with
the immigrants coming into the
country.
“So regardless of the station
that we occupy, we all have to try
harder,” Obama said. “We all have
to start with the premise that each
of our fellow citizens loves this
country just as much as we do, that
they value hard work and family
just like we do. That their children
are just as curious and hopeful and
worthy of love as our own.”
The president also encouraged
Americans to not be complacent
and to exercise their full rights as
citizens in a democracy.
“So you see, that’s what our
democracy
demands,”
Obama
said. “It needs you. Not just when
there’s an election, not just when
your own narrow interest is at
stake, but over the full span of a
lifetime. If you’re tired of arguing
with strangers on the Internet, try
talking with one of them in real
life. If something needs fixing,
then lace up your shoes and do
some organizing.”
LSA junior Collin Kelly, College
Democrats chair, said he thinks
all of Obama’s speeches have been
remarkable, including his farewell
address. He explained he was sad
to see his long-time role model
leave office, but said he found
Obama’s words both empowering
and inspiring.
“He has a sense of optimism
about the country that’s inspiring
and that’s really all we can say
about it because he makes us want
to keep working hard to fight for
the values that we believe in and
that definitely accomplished it,”
Kelly said. “It was bittersweet for
sure to see someone that we all
grew up with as our president,
someone that we all adore and
look up to as a role model, it’s sad
to see him go in his final speech as
president, but he left us with words
to continue living and fighting by.”
College GOP did not respond
for comment by the time of
publication.
WATCH PARTY
From Page 1A