The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Thursday, February 16, 2017 — 3A
said. “During prosecuting, it
allows for all evidence to be
used against a defendant.”
The Board said it was happy
with
the
new
legislation
because it more effectively
aids sexual assault victims
within the criminal justice
system, should they choose
to prosecute the perpetrator.
Schuitmaker
said
that
the
legislation will likely provide
security to college students
who seek action through the
criminal justice system.
“Senator Warren and I have
been co-chairs on the first
ladies task force in regards to
sexual assault on campuses,”
Schuitmaker said.
The
future
of
federal
enforcement
of
sexual
assault
laws
under
Title
IX
remains
unclear.
In
confirmation hearings, new
Education
Secretary
Betsy
DeVos’
commitment
to
continuing sexual misconduct
investigations
remained
ambiguous.
Kinesiology
junior
Laura
Marsh,
vice
chair
of
the
University’s chapter of College
Democrats,
expressed
her
support for the bills and said
that on college campuses, the
issue of sexual assault is not
discussed enough, which is
why widespread legislation on
the issue is necessary.
“There’s not enough done
to stop it, so I’m really glad
Senator Warren is looking
out for her constituents on
this,” Marsh said. “Because a
lot of them are female college
students who are going to
be positively affected by the
resources
these
bills
will
provide
to
sexual
assault
survivors.”
The
University’s
chapter
of College Republicans was
unavailable for comment.
Kinesiology
junior
Cass
Bouse-Eaton is a director of
the sexual violence branch of
the Panhellenic Peer Educator
Program,
which
aims
to
spread awareness and create
a support system within the
Greek
life
community
for
women struggling with sexual
misconduct that is perpetrated
by the school’s Greek life
culture.
Bouse-Eaton too supports
the
new
legislation,
and
said
governmental
support
for victims is a step in the
right
direction,
especially
given new challenges posed
by our current presidential
administration.
However,
she also highlighted inherent
flaws
within
the
system
that legislation has yet to
address, specifically on college
campuses.
“We have such low rates
of
these
crimes
actually
being reported, but also even
getting to court,” she said.
“And in court, the odds that
a perpetrator will ever see a
day in jail are so small. So,
if this legislation allows for
something
that’s
happened
in the past to be brought
up in court, that’s fabulous.
But it also assumes that that
something has already been
brought up in the past.”
Bouse-Eaton
also
said
combatting sexual violence,
harassment
and
assault
begins with the community
on campus, and solidarity is
not always legislative. Rather,
recognizing
institutional
problems and pledging support
for victims of assault culture
are essential to decreasing the
problem on campus.
“I feel like, as women,
we have a lot more power
than we think we do in this
situation,” she said. “We talk
a lot about fraternity houses
and
fraternity
parties.
If
something like this happens
to one of our sisters at a house,
we’re not going there anymore.
We’re not feeding this culture
at this house. And fraternity
parties, whether we realize it
are not, are upheld by female
attendance. We don’t invest in
things we don’t believe in.”
LEGISLATION
From Page 1A
must work through a fantasy
world and “work together to
save humanity.” Doyle said
what makes his escape room
unique is the story, which
centers around Minerva, an
artificial
intelligence
whom
participants can either team up
with or work against.
“Every escape room is a
unique experience,” Doyle said.
“The way that I would describe
ours
is a puzzle-adventure
where you and a group of up to
10 friends have to solve a series
of puzzles to advance the story
and get out of the room. It’s like
being dropped into the middle
of the climax of an artificial-
intelligence movie, and you
happen to be there when things
go wrong.”
After playing part one in
the escape room, part two
of the story takes players to
about 15 Ann Arbor stores to
solve a scavenger hunt. Doyle
hopes to have more than 30
stores
participating
by
the
end of the summer, creating
an intellectual challenge that
focuses on the storyline in
order to engage players even
after they play part one.
“Ann Arbor is a wonderful
town,” Doyle said. “Being from
Ann Arbor, I’ve found that I
know a lot of the shopkeepers
who we’re partnering with to
post these puzzles around the
city.”
Doyle said he wants to use
the puzzles and games around
Ann Arbor and Detroit to help
revitalize urban areas. He is
trying to get people to go to
shops and stores they might
not normally visit and increase
urban tourism as best he can.
“The thing that I’m most
excited about that we’re doing
right now is we’re opening a
series of puzzles around Ann
Arbor, and soon Detroit, that
are free to play,” Doyle said,
“that are introducing people
to unique places — unique,
locally-owned shops — that
people might not otherwise
discover. What we’re trying
to do is use this escape room
trend as something that can be
a positive force for tourism for
downtown areas in Michigan.”
Engineering
freshman
Kaelan
Oldani
worked
at
Decode
Detroit
over
the
summer and developed one of
the puzzles for the scavenger
hunt in Ann Arbor. Oldani said
every puzzle takes particular
attention to detail.
“Patton knew I was about
to begin my first year as an
engineering
student
at
the
University, and was willing
to give me the opportunity to
get a head start with hands-
on
experience
through
his
company,” Oldani said. “So
much thought and planning
went into every single detail of
the puzzle room.”
Rackham student Meghan
Clark, chair of the CS KickStart
program, brought her group of
undergraduate mentees from
CS
KickStart
through
the
escape room last fall.
“Around the time we were
organizing
our
fall
social
event for alumni, we got an
email from Decode Detroit
describing their escape room,”
Clark said. “It sounded like a
fun, computer-themed outing,
which was exactly what we
were looking for.”
Clark said Doyle gave her
group a behind-the-scenes tour
of how things worked, which
she said was a valuable way
to learn more about computer
science.
“(This) was very educational
for them as budding computer
scientists,” Clark said. “Seeing
how computers were used to
create the awesome experience
they just had made computer
science look cool.”
Not yet complete, part three
of the Minerva Project will take
players back to the escape room
with new puzzles, in order to
finish the adventure. Doyle said
this is significant because, for
most users, escape rooms are a
one-time thing.
“They (escape rooms) don’t
have much replayability,” Doyle
said. “We’re building what is
effectively two escape rooms in
one location.”
Additionally, the co-founders
wish to open a second escape
room in the New Center area
of Detroit, with hopes of taking
what they have now in Ann
Arbor and replicating it in
another city. The location will
be connected to the midtown
and
downtown
corridors
through the QLine light rail,
which will help them in having
puzzles throughout the city.
“The goal is to harness this
game and these creative ideas to
help the ongoing revitalization
of southeast Michigan,” Doyle
said. “We have one and a half
(escape rooms). We have one
that’s fully operational, and one
in Detroit that’s in progress.
We’re working to turn that into
something that can be used as
an escape room, either indoor
or outdoor.”
Doyle said many students,
young
professionals
and
families have come to their
escape room, with 55 percent of
groups “escaping”—winning—
part one.
“One of the first groups
we had was a student group,”
Doyle said. “They still to-date
my favorite group that went
through. The students that
come through really seem to
enjoy it. The entire game isn’t
open yet, but plenty of players
have
beaten
what’s
been
released. Some people really
enjoy the puzzling part of it,
some people are more there for
the story.”
Oldani said the escape room
could have a big impact on the
region, and would recommend
University
students
go
try
to solve the escape room for
themselves.
“It’s
impressive
to
see
the company grow from a
mere passion for puzzles and
interest in escape rooms into a
successful company spanning
across the region,” Oldani said.
“It’s a local escape room right
off of campus, and is tons of fun.
Regardless of how clever you
think you are, this escape room
will be an exciting challenge.”
In a broader scope, Doyle
said
the
games
serve
to
bind together urban areas,
especially in an era where
retail has been suffering in the
Internet age. Clark added she
is looking forward to playing
part two in Ann Arbor in the
near future.
“I’m really excited about
the new stage of puzzles that
Decode Detroit just released,
where
you
walk
around
downtown Ann Arbor solving
clues
and
find
out
what
happens to Minerva,” Clark
said. “I haven’t done it yet,
but I can’t wait to see what
happens next in the story.”
Though
Doyle
doesn’t
know how long this trend will
last, he is looking forward to
giving users an experience
they will want to continue.
Furthermore,
he
hopes
to
work with the creative culture
movement in Detroit.
“Our long-term goal is to
turn this not into just an escape
room,” Doyle said. “We want
it to be something that’s more
of a community of puzzlers, of
game-designers, who create
games that are physical in
nature.
Doing
the
puzzles
around the city has brought
people to us. This is different.
It is clearly no longer just an
escape room. I hope this lasts
for 10 to 20 years.”
CHALLENGE
From Page 1A
were
consistent
with
City
finance records.
“I
received
the
e-mail
below from Ms. Lesko late
yesterday afternoon, and the
request from Mr. Eaton this
afternoon,” Lazarus wrote to
the City Council members on
Saturday. “Kindly note that I
have asked Purchasing staff
to inquire into the means by
which the contracts with the
organizations cited have been
awarded. We will also look
at the dates of service of the
individuals
identified
with
the dates of award. Finally,
this provides an opportunity
to review and validate our
contracting procedures with
regard to conflicts of interest.”
In an email to the Daily on
Monday, Lazarus confirmed
an internal investigation had
been initiated, and it would
determine whether any ethics
rules were violated. He said
the
investigation
will
also
review the city’s contracting
process.
Councilmember
Chuck
Warpehoski (D–Ward 5) said
it would be premature to
conclude ethical rules had been
violated before the internal
review is completed.
“On the one hand, we want
to take the concern seriously,
on the other hand we also don’t
want to assume malintent until
it’s been found,” Warpehoski
said.
“(But)
I’ve
seen
no
evidence of impropriety.”
Eaton echoed Warpehoski
and
added
that
the
investigation would provide
an opportunity to examine the
consistency and oversight of
the city’s contracting process.
“Part of the review Mr.
Lazarus has requested will
be a review of contracting
procedures,” Eaton wrote in an
email to the Daily. “If we find
our policies to be deficient, we
will take steps to address those
deficiencies. Council member
(Sumi)
Kailasapathy
(D–
Ward 1) and I are discussing
an
ordinance
that
would
address the ethical standards
for members of boards and
commissions.”
Ann
Arbor
residents
have
raised
allegations
that
several
prominent
members of the Downtown
Development
Authority,
Planning
Commission,
Local Development Finance
Authority
and
Public
Art
Commission
have
been
benefitting from approximately
$1.33 million worth of city
contracts. According to Lesko,
the
city’s
finance
records
reflect
that
once
certain
members were appointed to
their respective boards and
commissions, the companies
they own or work for began
obtaining city contracts they
had not received prior.
Following resident concerns,
Lesko began to investigate
on the city’s website. All the
city’s vendor contract records
are available to the public
through A2OpenBook. Lesko
sifted through contracts filed
between 2010 and 2016, first
looking solely at McWilliams’
media agency Q+M, formerly
Quack!Media.
Lesko argued there needs
to be more oversight on city
contracts that involve city-
affiliated personnel to prevent
conflict-of-interest cases.
“What I’ve said to Mr.
Lazarus
in
my
email
is
that they need to do some
investigating going back at
that case, so that the public
knows over the last ten years
how much money total in
city contracts … have gone to
city board and commission
members,” Lesko said. “I think
every time something comes to
City Council where city staff
are recommending a former
city staff member or a current
board or commission member
or their employer, Council
must be told in public.”
Warpehoski
noted
that,
though
stringent
oversight
is
necessary,
having
local
business leaders on city boards
and commissions can have a
positive impact.
“I don’t think we should have
a policy where the only way to
serve on a board or commission
is to give up your hope of being
able to do any business with the
city or the DDA or the AAATA,”
Warpehoski said. “I want our
local
units
of
government
supporting local businesses.
I want local business leaders
sharing their expertise of local
government and contributing
in that way. But I don’t think
that should give anybody any
special treatment.”
According to Lesko, just 10
percent of the contracts were
above
the
threshold
price
of $25,000 that would have
required a City Council vote.
City Administrator Lazarus
has the discretion to award
contracts under the $25,000
threshold.
In
many
cases,
the
council
looks
to
insight
from
appropriate
boards
and
commissions
for
recommendations on contracts.
“More
frequently,
staff
will seek input from a board
or
commission
during
the
development of a statement of
work prior to commencement of
the formal solicitation process
to help define an approach to
achieve a City goal,” Lazarus
wrote in an email.
CITY
From Page 1A
get into the real world,” Blaemire
said. “After the incubation of
college, you’re suddenly dealing
with a very real drought of the
dreams that we all think are going
to happen for ourselves.”
When asked about the next
four years after college, University
students
tend
to
share
this
sentiment
of
uncertainty
and
stress. For years, LSA sophomore
Camille Phaneuf had one word to
describe that period: uncertain.
“Anxiety,”
Phaneuf
said.
“There’s so much uncertainty, and
I don’t really know what I’m doing.”
While some people, like LSA
freshman Lily Barash, are excited
for their four years of college
because it means independence
and
freedom
from
parental
supervision and the pressures
of school, stress and anxiety
are common sentiments about
this time. Kinesiology freshman
Sydney Grant was most nervous
about the lack of a clear path.
“You need to make decisions
fast compared to going from high
school to college, which is like a
common thing where everyone
mostly knows that’s what’s next,”
Grant said. “But after college,
people go to grad school, they
travel, they get a job, and you need
to make these decisions quickly.”
Blaemire says he definitely
related
to
these
feelings
of
uncertainty himself after leaving
the University, but says college
prepared him as well is it could for
these strange years.
“I think I got an incredible
amount
of
information
from
Michigan that has totally shaped
me as a person, and I think that
the world is changing too fast for
any one form of education to really
fully prepare you; the experience
of being introduced to (the real
world) is sort of like the fifth year
of college,” Blaemire said. “I look at
the world through the lens of the
way I took in information about
Michigan, only now I’m sort of
creating my own school and my
own projects at home.”
“The Next Four Years” is
Blaemire’s first venture into the
web-series format. While Blaemire
has used many platforms for his
art, including musicals and TV,
he says there is value in the more
recently popularized web series
format.
“I love it,” Blaemire said. “I
think there’s a lot to be said for the
proliferation of ways you can tell
stories, and I think that there’s a
freedom in a web series that you
don’t have in a long-form narrative,
because you can tell as much of the
story as you want and whatever
part of the story you want, and
in a way it becomes more like a
snapshot than like a fully rendered
narrative.”
Blaemire
said
that
this
“snapshot” way of telling stories
allowed him not only to tell
more stories, but gave him the
opportunity to use his script and
camera angles as a way of telling
the story as well, a sort of second
layer to his storytelling.
“Where you put the camera and
what part of the story you decide
to script can tell so much more
than what’s actually happening,
and it can reverberate into other
characters’ arcs,” he said. “You can
really create this interesting web of
stories that you’re kind of telling by
juxtaposing against others. You’re
sort of shadow-telling more stories
than just the foreground.”
One shadow story Blaemire
identified was that of the current
presidential administration — not
a surprising one, given the name of
the series. While Blaemire and the
other creators did not intend for
the title to have a double meaning,
Blaemire thinks it fits in with the
themes of the series.
“It sort of nails a theme that the
show really has, which is like when
we’ve been learning our whole
lives in four-year chunks, from first
to fifth grade, and then high school
and college, we’re sort of built in
this four-year mentality, and part
of that is the presidency,” Blaemire
said.
Blaemire didn’t seem to mind
the connotation the title might have
with the current president, calling
it “unavoidable,” but also noted
that having the president as one
of these aforementioned “shadow
characters” is rather fitting.
“While we don’t speak about
politics really in it — it’s much more
about young people trying to make
their own way — they’re still trying
to make their own way in America,
and so I do think that in a way he
becomes a shadow character in the
same way that there are many more
stories than the one that we’re
telling, that resonate because we’re
pointing the camera at this real
chasm between the reality that we
thought existed in college and the
reality that actually exists in the
real world, and since reality is quite
the buzzword these days, it only
helps the story resonate more.”
Reflecting on his college years,
Blaemire has one simple piece
of advice for current University
students.
“Read,” Blaemire said. “Read
about what’s happening in the
world. Pay attention. And find that
beautiful balance between being in
this incredible incubation chamber
surrounded by a bunch of other
vivid, smart, attractive people,
and then also know that you live
in the world as well, and how do
you balance against having this
idealized college experience while
also slowly but surely becoming
a citizen of the planet and taking
advantage of that town and that
state and that part of the country.”
SERIES
From Page 1A
in
health
care
operations
research.
Daskin works with students
to use optimization in other
contexts, such as understanding
the causes of drug shortages
in the US or how to maximize
diversity within groups in his
classes.
Daskin
views
the
honor
as a way to give back to the
engineering community.
“I
also
think
it’s
an
opportunity for service,” he
said. “I believe the National
Academy of Engineering is
called on for various studies
when people in the government
want to do so, so it’s an
opportunity for service.”
Arruda is also excited for
the opportunity to serve the
engineering
community,
specifically
women
and
underrepresented
minorities,
through her membership in
NAE.
“I want to learn more about
what opportunities there are
to work with members of the
academy,” she said.
Arruda
and
Daskin
are
two of 106 new members of
the NAE. This year’s new
membership
will
up
the
American membership to 2,281
and international membership
to 249.
The two, who will be formally
inducted into the NAE in
Washington D.C. on Oct. 8, are
among the Leaders and the Best
at the University, according
to Alec Gallimore, dean of
engineering and professor of
aerospace engineering, in a
Michigan News article.
“This
signature
accomplishment
by
these
esteemed
faculty
members
represents
the
leadership
and excellence we value at
Michigan
Engineering,”
he
said.
Arruda looks forward to
working with the NAE, and she
is thankful for her peers that
nominated her.
“It seems that a good deal of
people work hard to make these
nominations possible, and it’s a
lot of work to nominate a peer
and get them to the point that
they get elected, so I would like
to express gratitude to those
anonymous people out there
who made this happen for me,”
she said.
AWARDED
From Page 1A