percent Asian population.
Helmkamp
said
he
also
believes that with schools such
as the University of Michigan,
UW and even the University of
California, Berkeley — which
have large student populations
and
differences
in
diversity
across the student body — there
are efforts to bring a lot of
communities together; he noted
though he expects attempts to
build community, there are also
case-by-case scenarios that need
to be considered given differences
among people.
“In
(the
University
of
Michigan’s)
case
(there
are)
probably some conversations along
the lines of, ‘We’re all Wolverines,’
and trying to build that sort of
community with thousands of
students, some of whom are
extroverts, some of whom are
introverts, some of whom are
rural, some of whom are urban,
racial
differences,
orientation
differences, international students
— it’s quite a little experiment,” he
said. “Each challenge is different.”
Proactive and reactive measures
According
to
Helmkamp,
UW takes a variety of proactive
measures against bias incidents,
with the intent of fostering a better
campus community.
The most significant effort, he
explained, is the Our Wisconsin
program, which has just completed
its second year. It consists of
several workshops that feature
structured dialogue and activities,
according to its website.
“The focus is on incoming new
students residing in university
residence halls, which here at
Madison is about 95 percent of the
incoming freshman class,” he said.
“It is essentially an ‘understand
yourself
and
the
broader
community, the roles of identity’
(program). It’s a community-
building program, we build it
around the various housing floor
communities.”
Earlier this month, the school
hosted its 19th annual diversity
forum, which consists of notable
speakers and breakout sessions,
through which attendees can learn
about inclusion, microaggressions
and a variety of other topics.
“(The forum) is a campus-wide
coming together, reviewing a lot of
the efforts of the previous year,” he
said.
On the reactive end, Helmkamp
explained there are several other
efforts used for bias incidents.
Among
them,
he
explained,
are the student conduct code
and administrative reports and
criminal reports.
He explained the university has
a bias reporting system similar to
the University of Michigan’s, but
has been handling bias reporting
in a more formal way since fall
2011.
“Over the last year, we’ve kind
of upped our game with this
where we now have an up-to-
date, accessible log of the all the
incidents that are reported to us,”
he said. “Last February we hired
a full-time staff member to act as
our bias response and advocacy
coordinator, and she responds
to the reports that come in. We
respond individually to all reports.
We offer support to individuals.”
He explained UW addresses
and tries to reach resolutions
in situations where it is able to
identify all of the parties and
people, and these people are
willing to come together to work
things out.
Instances that involve potential
criminal activity, he explained,
are referred to the UW-Madison
Police Department. If it is a
potential violation of the student
conduct code, it is referred to the
Office of Student Conduct and
Community Standards.
“Interestingly enough, and I
don’t know how this would slot in
with other institutions, this past
spring semester, we received just
over 90 bias reports for, I believe
it was, 72 separate incidents,” he
said. “Of those incidents, only
two of them were referred on for
either (the) conduct (process)
or law enforcement action. The
great bulk of what we see is really
incidents between two people,
whether it’s microaggressions or
any number of things, but they
tend to be more interpersonal as
opposed to conduct or criminal.”
Helmkamp also explained UW
does not identify any incident as a
“hate crime.”
“In our world of student affairs
here at Madison we kind of look
at it and say, we don’t do crime,”
he said. “If the police think it’s a
hate crime, we will let them label
it. Even in our processes, we don’t
have categories for people to say,
‘This was a hate crime.’ In fact,
we really talk a whole lot more
about bias incidents than we do
about hate. We keep open the idea
that some of the incidents could
certainly elevate to where it really
is hate-motivated, but we really
focus a whole lot more on those
things that so frequently happen
between two people that have
more of a bias flavor to it.”
The University of Michigan
does declare “hate crimes” on
campus. It describes them, using
the U.S. Department of Justice’s
definition, as crimes or threats
motivated by an offender’s bias
against a certain social identity.
In such incidents, Helmkamp
explained, the bias advocacy and
response coordinator might get
involved, sit with the individuals
and work through receptions,
issues and concerns. He explained
the
great
majority
of
the
university’s bias response efforts
are about improving the campus
community from an education
perspective, much more than a
punitive perspective.
Comparatively, according to
2017 enrollment data from Indiana
University, 4.4 percent of the
student body is African American,
U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich,
has been accused of secretly
making a $27,000 settlement for
a sexual harassment claim by an
employee in 2015, according to
a BuzzFeed News report. In the
article, BuzzFeed reported they
have received affidavits from four
former congressional employees
who claim they had seen Conyers
making sexual advances toward
female employees.
The report states that while
three of these affidavits have been
notarized, all four come from
documents within a complaint
reporting Conyers had “made
sexual advances to female staff
that included requests for sex acts,
contacting and transporting other
women with whom they believed
Conyers
was
having
affairs,
caressing their hands sexually,
and rubbing their legs and backs
in public.”
The documents also include
details of the 2015 dismissal
complaint settlement, a process
which the alleged victim described
to BuzzFeed News as one that
provided her no other choice but to
keep her accusations a secret and
accept the settlement offer.
“I was basically blackballed.
There was nowhere I could go,”
she told BuzzFeed News.
Other
representatives
have
spoken
out
against
Conyers,
calling
the
reports
deeply
troubling, including Speaker of
the House Paul Ryan and U.S. Rep.
Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.
These allegations follow a
series of other accusations against
prominent figures in politics and
other realms including Sen. Al
Franken, Harvey Weinstein and
former CBS news anchor Charlie
Rose.
Later, Conyers confirmed he
reached a financial settlement
with the staffer who brought a case
against him for sexual harassment
but emphasized he did not admit
to guilt in the case.
“I expressly and vehemently
denied
the
allegations
made
against me, and continue to do so,”
Conyers said in a statement. “My
office resolved the allegations —
with an express denial of liability
— to save all involved from the
rigors of protracted litigation. That
should not be lost in the narrative.”
Engineering
sophomore
Lincoln
Merrill,
press
correspondent for the University
of Michigan’s chapter of College
Republicans, stated that while he
finds the allegations alarming,
immediate repercussions for the
accused perpetrators may not be
entirely visible.
“The number of allegations
that have come out in the past
month is ridiculous. It’s an
interesting note that on both
sides of the aisle there’s been
so many allegations recently,”
Merrill said. “I don’t think
it’s going to change anything
visibly but I think it will change
people’s
attitudes
towards
government.”
In a statement to The Daily,
Public Policy junior Lauren
Schandevel, communications
director for the University of
Michigan’s chapter of College
Democrats,
highlighted
the importance of looking
at such issues in a non-
partisan manner, and said the
organization will be continuing
to monitor the outcomes of this
case.
“The reports are troubling
and we will be watching
intently over the next few
weeks
to
see
how
this
unfolds,” she wrote. “Charges
of
sexual
misconduct
are
extremely serious and should
be condemned regardless of
the
perpetrator’s
political
leanings.”
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Egyptians UMich
@ESAumich
Happy Lebanese
Independence Day @
Lebanese_UMich we are all
celebrating with you today!
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@Deak_TM
I just saw a guy wearing an
MSU shirt while I was wearing
a Michigan XC shirt and I swear
we connected on an existential
level
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Leaving the city of Ann Arbor
is a cathartic experience.
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As we head into Thanksgiving
break, I wonder if @DrMarkSchlissel
and other @UMich officials
will show thanks to graduate
students by publicly opposing
the #gradstudenttax, which will
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North Campus
Sustainability Hour V
WHAT: Enjoy lunch with Tau Beta
Pi engineering fraternity while
listening to a talk on sustainability.
WHO: Tau Beta Pi
WHEN: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
WHERE: Lurie Robert H.
Engineering Center - Johnson
Rooms
SLE Board Meeting
WHAT: Gain leadership through
planning social, service and
sustainability events with the
Sustainable Living Experience
board.
WHO: Sustainable Living
Experience
WHEN: 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
WHERE: Matthei Botanical
Gardens
Food Distribution with
Community Action
Network
WHAT: Volunteer to help
distribute food from the truck,
shop with families or clean the
community center afterward
at a large-scale food pantry in
Ann Arbor. Sign up with Health
Promotion at U-M to attend.
WHO: Maize Pages Student
Organizations
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
WHERE: Bryant Community
Center
Michigan Knitting Club
Weekly Meeting
WHAT: Come hang out and knit
or crochet with the Michigan
Knitting Club at their weekly
meeting!
WHO: Maize Pages Student
Organizations
WHEN: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
WHERE: Michigan Union -
Welker Room
RESPONSE
From Page 1A
Conyers accused of blacklisting,
sexually harassing employees
Buzzfeed News reports Rep. Conyers paid $27,000 settlement in secret
JORDYN BAKER
Daily Staff Reporter
See RESPONSE, Page 3A