This spring, the city of Ann
Arbor will welcome a cohort of
25 residents for its inaugural
“Citizens
Academy”.
The
program aims to broaden civic
understanding and offer Ann
Arbor residents a perspective
into the functioning of local
government.
Over
the
course
of
six
weeks from March 28 to May
2,
participants
will
have
the chance to attend weekly
sessions
covering
topics
ranging from the mechanics
behind
city
budgeting
to
water quality. Each week’s
session will meet at a different
location
ranging
from
the
Water Treatment Plant to the
Communication
Television
Network offices.
The initial idea for an Ann
Arbor Citizens Academy came
from the popular Ann Arbor
Citizens’
Police,
Fire
and
Courts Academy, established
in
2008,
which
provide
citizens the opportunity to
engage
with
public
safety
operations.
AAPFCA
has
been well received by the
community according to Ann
Arbor Police Service Specialist
Jamie Giordano, who has been
at the helm of the program for
the past two years. The success
of
the
AAPFCA,
Giordano
said, can be seen with the
participants’
willingness
to
contribute to the city and their
community.
“Last year in our group we
had many of the members
that were part of our group
also were part of the Citizens
Emergency
Response
Team
program, so they’re are helping
out the community in that
way. Many of them went on to
become neighborhood watch
captains, so they are a liaison
between the police department
and their neighborhoods
to bridge the gap and get
information out into the
community and from the
community to us. Sharing
their experiences helps the
relationship between our
department and the city,”
Giordano said.
The application process
includes two components.
The first component is
a
required
application
form
with
two
short
answer
questions.
The
second component is an
optional photo challenge
where applicants have the
opportunity to send photos
of themselves at various
Ann
Arbor
landmarks.
Applications are due on
March 2 by 5 p.m.
The city has provided
a detailed explanation of
the selection process on
their website. Applicants
must be eighteen years
old to apply. Ann Arbor
residents and those who
indicate they can attend
all
meetings
will
be
given preference in the
application review. A point-
based system will be used to
identify the top 25 scoring
participants who will then be
offered a spot in the Citizens
Academy.
Ann Arbor resident Kathy
Griswold applauded the effort
by the city to create a citizens
council, but has reservations
concerning
the
application
process.
“On the surface it sounds
like
an
excellent
goal.
In
looking
through
the
application process and how
selective they plan to be, I
am a little concerned about
whether they are going to be
selecting citizens that could
be like-minded and use this
as a development for potential
council candidates who agree
with the majority,” she said.
Ann Arbor resident Mary
Morgan,
the
founder
of
the
CivCity
Initiative,
a
nonpartisan
nonprofit
with
the mission to increase civic
participation
within
Ann
Arbor, was excited about the
announcement of a Citizens
Academy
and
believes
it
is too early to tell if there
are
consequences
to
the
application requirement.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, January 5, 2018
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 50
©2018 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
SARAH KUNKEL/Daily
This spring, the city of Ann Arbor will welcome a cohort of 25 residents for its inaugural “Citizens Academy.”
Ann Arbor launches Citizens Academic program to
increase civic engagement & voter participation
25 residents will have chance to attend weekly courses on budgeting, water and sewage infrastructure in city
SHANNON ORS
Daily Staff Reporter
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
A
new
student
start-up
company
that
transports
luggage for business travelers
to airports and hotels in
the San Francisco and Las
Vegas areas will launch at
the International Consumer
Electronics
Showcase
held
next week in Las Vegas.
Engineering
junior
Benjamin
Eu
and
his
co-founder Max Yong met
while taking entrepreneurship
courses at Stanford University
last
summer.
Yong
had
previously faced issues with
luggage
transport
because
his flight arrival time was
much earlier than his check-
in time at his hotel. Yong had
a meeting to attend, so the
process of transporting his
luggage and traveling to the
meeting took an additional
hour of his time –– the two
saw an opening in the market
and founded Luggage Teleport
Inc.
Luggage
Teleport
Inc.
works to transport luggage
for business travelers from
See START-UP, Page 3
University
student to
launch bag
start-up
BUSINESS
Luggage Teleport Inc.
will transport travelers’
bags to airports, hotels
RACHEL CUNNINGHAM
Daily Staff Reporter
Thus far, the University of
Michigan hasappeared in 12
alleged
incidents
of
sexual
harassment and assault taken
from acrowdsourced database
circulating
in
academic
communities.
Since December, over 2,000
individuals
from
academic
institutions in the United States
and abroad have responded to
the sexual harassment survey
created
by
Karen
Kelsky,
founder
of
the
academic
career-advisory business The
Professor is In. The anonymous
contributors who shared their
stories range from students to
professors.
Perpetrators,
all
anonymous and in academia,
also have also contributed to the
survey.
The 12 alleged incidents
centered at the University vary
in demographics and situation
–– and some of the incidents
date back to the 1980s. The
unidentified
sources
wrote
about
inappropriate
sexual
advances, sexist comments and
rapes.
Entries ranged from “raped
during my PhD program” to
tenured
professors
“serially
groping” students. According
to the log, of the four cases
that were allegedly reported at
the University, investigations
were launched for two of them,
and only one incident ended
in disciplinary action. Many
entries do not mention specific
dates, but some refer to incidents
that allegedly occurred in the
last decade.
“He berated me for being
a
‘tease,’”
one
University-
affiliated contributor wrote of
her experience working in a
University counseling center
in the 1980s. “He said that I
shouldn’t have agreed to come
to his place if I didn’t want to
have sex. And then he pointed
to his crotch and said, “What am
I supposed to do about that?”
And he unzipped his pants and
masturbated in front of me
while I sat, frozen, on the
‘U’ affiliates
report dozen
harassment
allegations
First-gen students struggle to find
support in adjusting to campus life
See HARASSMENT, Page 3
ROSEANNE CHAO/Daily
ACADEMICS
Crowd-sourced sexual misconduct log
includes 12 faculty, student survivors
ANNA HARITOS
Managing Social Media Editor
In new academic environments, first-generation students must navigate structural hurdles
Taubman sophomore Wendy
Zhuo moved herself into college.
She bid farewell to her parents
and hopped on a train from Boston
to Ann Arbor. When she arrived,
four suitcases in tow, she had no
idea where she was. Eventually
she called a taxi, which then
dropped her and her belongings at
her dorm.
Zhuo is part of the 8 percent of
first-generation
undergraduate
students
at
the
University,
according to the 2016 Campus
Climate
Survey
on
Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion, and her
story is just one of many that
first-generation
students
have
to tell. Navigating the complex
academic and social environment
of college is difficult enough,
but it is compounded by a lack of
parental guidance and, in the case
of many first-generation college
students, a low-income status.
According to a 2017 report from
the National Center for Education
Statistics, 27 percent of first-
generation students come from
homes making $20,000 a year or
less, whereas only six percent of
continuing-generation
students
do.
The setbacks these students face
can create feelings of isolation and
dissatisfaction with the campus
climate, as shown in the results
of the University’s 2016 Campus
Climate
Survey
on
Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion. To combat
these struggles, the University has
various resources and programs
to help first-generation students
throughout their college careers.
Adan
Hussain,
a
first-
generation project manager in the
Office of Academic Multicultural
Initiatives, detailed the four major
events he oversees: a student and
parent open house at the start of
the year, two large community
dinners and a first-generation
graduation ceremony.
“The major goal is community
building, so that first-gen students
can meet other first-gens who
might be like them, or who might
not be like them,” Hussain said.
“Meeting both is just really
ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
Daily Staff Reporter
See SUPPORT, Page 3
See PROGRAM, Page 3