3
NEWS
Thursday, June 21, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
AA water rates to increase
Single-family units
could pay more
for water due to
Council decision
By RACHEL CUNNINGHAM
Summer Daily News Editor
On Monday, City Council
decided to postpone proposed
changes to zoning codes regard-
ing University of Michigan
Greek life until July 16.
The proposal, if approved,
would require new or expand-
ing fraternities and sororities
to maintain affiliation with the
University in order to obtain
a city permit. The ordinance
would also set a maximum
occupancy level for the Greek
life houses.
Ann Arbor resident Josh
Winegas discouraged the coun-
cil from approving the ordi-
nance, saying it seemed unfair
to Greek life homeowners.
“I must urge you to vote no on
this current proposal,” Winegas
said. “You have heard numer-
ous opinions suggesting why
this proposal is unfair to the
homeowners. I completely con-
cur with these opinions and as
a fraternity homeowner, I can
attest that if we were prohibited
from operating as a fraternity or
sorority, we’d be forced to sell
our house.”
City Council also voted 7-4 to
change water, sewer and storm-
water rates throughout the city
to better reflect usage. Stantec
Consulting Services was hired
to conduct a cost-of-service
study for this proposal. The con-
troversial proposal is intended
to better reflect water usage
throughout the city, specifically
in single-family homes, while
others say it unfairly increases
rates for single-family users.
Non-residential units would pay
a flat rate for their water usage.
Effective July 1, stormwater
rates would also increase by 14
percent. The proposal is reve-
nue-neutral for the city.
Councilmember
Zachary
Ackerman, D-Ward 3, stated
that a resident is not solely pay-
ing for water, but paying for
the infrastructure required to
transport that water to the resi-
dence.
“I think I reject the prem-
ise that a gallon of water is a
gallon of water because you’re
not necessarily paying for the
water,” Ackerman said. “You are
through your customer charges
and piece of your per gallon rate
but what you’re really paying
for is the infrastructure to pay
for that water. A gallon of milk
is a gallon of milk but if a house-
hold wants to buy 500 gallons
of milk, you’re going to need a
larger refrigerator and you have
to pay for that larger refrig-
erator. Similarly, if a household
wants to use more water, they
have to pay for that larger pipe
and the bigger system to getting
it there.”
Craig Hupy, Ann Arbor pub-
lic service area administra-
tor, addressed misconceptions
about the proposal by explain-
ing that the city’s goal is not to
seek new growth of the system.
“Our policy is that develop-
ment pays for development,”
Hupy said. “We do not look for
new growth and extension to
come out of the ‘right’ dollars.
This is to maintain the existing
system and to pay for the exist-
ing delivery of services.”
Mayor Christopher Taylor
supported the proposal, saying
water usage varies by user and
class and must be billed accord-
ingly.
“The different classes we
serve have different costs of
service, and this makes sense
because it costs us more to pro-
vide service to neighborhoods
because they are less dense than
it costs us to serve other users
downtown because they are
more dense,” Taylor said.
The council voted 11-0 to
allow vertical expansion for
Espresso Royale on South Uni-
versity Avenue and 10-1 regard-
ing modifying parking tickets
to $35 for an expired parking
meter.
City Council also voted
11-0 for a new question on
the Nov. 6 ballot regarding
a “Center of the City” urban
park and civic center. This
comes after a petition with
over 5,000 signatures was filed
following a previous rejection
by the council to put it on the
ballot.
Schlissel responds to free speech lawsuit
By GRACE KAY
Summer Managing News Editor
The University of Michigan
claims free speech and the cam-
pus atmosphere have been mis-
characterized in their official
response to the free speech law-
suit.
“Perhaps because Speech First
itself has no connection with the
University, however, the picture
it paints of the University and its
policies is a false caricature,” the
statement reads.
University
President
Mark
Schlissel explains the U-M has
been
mischaracterized
inas-
much as not only has the Univer-
sity’s vibrant atmosphere been
entirely overlooked and misrep-
resented, but the role of the Bias
Response Team has also been
completely misunderstood by
the plaintiff.
“Free speech is obviously
incredibly important to the Uni-
versity,” Schlissel said. “Actually,
we can’t be a research univer-
sity without putting a high value
on free speech. You can’t learn
unless people are free to express
their opinions whether or not
other people find them harmful,
insulting, annoying, disagree-
able — it’s critically important —
so our policies don’t impede free
speech.”
In response to the lawsuit,
the University has streamlined
the definitions of “bullying” and
“harassment” in the Statement
of Student Rights and Responsi-
bilities. Initially, the Statement
included multiple definitions,
with
dictionary
definitions
alongside Michigan law defini-
tions. However, on Monday the
University eliminated the dic-
tionary definitions.
“The goal is to remove poten-
tial ambiguity,” Schlissel said.
“We’re changing the way we
describe things, but we’re not
changing the function of these
groups.”
Schlissel went on to explain
that
despite
criticism
from
Speech First the University has
several outlets for conservative
students,
referencing
groups
such as Young Americans for
Freedom and College Repub-
licans as well as the various
conservative speakers like Ben
Shapiro who have hosted events
on campus over the past few
years.
In the official statement the
University defends the campus
atmosphere.
“The university’s implementa-
tion of its policies has been com-
pletely faithful to this overriding
commitment,”
the
statement
reads. “And, in fact, the actu-
al intellectual life on campus
includes student groups, student
publications, and outside speak-
ers who are comfortable advo-
cating and debating strongly
held and sometimes controver-
sial views across the full ideo-
logical spectrum.”
According to Schlissel, con-
servative students at the Uni-
versity feel uncomfortable with
organizations
like
the
Bias
Response Team due to mounting
societal tensions.
“In general, and not just on
college campuses but all across
society we are becoming an
increasingly politically fractured
society,” Schlissel said. “People
don’t feel comfortable talking to
people they disagree with.”
The Bias Tesponse Team
is a way Schlissel believes the
University can create a healthy
learning environment.
“We are responsible for mak-
ing sure that students can express
themselves
freely
regardless
of the ideas they are express-
ing but also we are responsible
for establishing and maintain-
ing an environment where all of
our students feel as if they have
equal ability to participate an
environment that is inclusive
and free of discrimination and I
really very strongly believe that
those things are not inconsis-
tent with each other,” Schlissel
said regarding finding a balance
between protecting students and
preserving free speech.
Contrary to the way the Bias
Response Team is represented
in both Speech First’s and the
Department of Justice’s state-
ments, according to Schlissel,
the Bias Response Team cannot
investigate or punish students.
Schlissel said a student cannot be
punished for an act of bias in and
of itself. The Bias Response Team
acts solely as a support system to
give advice to students, and only
in extreme cases such as violence
or vandalism the team reports
the incidents to the Division of
Public Safety and Security.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
U-M president calls lawsuit a “mischaraterization” of campus policies
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
DARBY STIPE / DAILY