Krzysztof
Smiszek,
a
Polish
human
rights
lawyer,
activist,
and
managing editor of The Anti-
Discrimination Law Review,
spoke Monday at Weiser Hall
to University of Michigan
students and faculty about
the obstacles and successes
with modern LGBTQ rights
in Poland. Smiszek’s lecture
was broken up into four
key parts: the legal system
of
Poland,
the
lack
of
transgender rights, how the
European Union influences
Poland’s laws and the future
of LGBTQ rights.
Smiszek
spoke
to
the
legal
system
of
Poland
being particularly difficult
to crack through, and how
he and his team of lawyers
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STUDENT LIFE
University President Mark
Schlissel sat down with The
Daily Monday morning to talk
about recent developments on
sexual misconduct training
and
investigations
at
the
University
of
Michigan,
voting
laws
in
Michigan,
recommendations to change
the current Regent investment
protocols and more.
Sexual
Misconduct
Data
and
Sixth
Circuit
Court
Ruling
The
recent
Sexual
Misconduct
Report from the Office for
Institutional Equity, released
in early September, shows
an increase in reported cases
of sexual misconduct, even
while the number of case
investigations dropped.
Schlissel said he interprets
the number as a sign that the
rate of reporting is increasing,
and credited the #MeToo
movement
and
broader
societal change for increased
willingness to report.
“In general, it’s actually a
good thing that the number of
incidents reported is going
up,”
Schlissel
said.
“The
incidence
of
this
conduct
is
intolerably
high, but
the
frequency of reporting is far
lower. So, it’s a good thing, and
I think it’s a product of some
of the educational campaigns
we’re doing on campus but
also heightened sensitivity and
awareness of misconduct in the
broader society.”
Schlissel
said
there
are
several reasons for the reduced
number of investigations. He
noted the University doesn’t
have
jurisdiction
in
cases
that don’t involve students or
faculty at the University — in
which case a report is filed
and the case is referred to the
Ann Arbor Police Department
—
and
said
complainants
sometimes
choose
not
to
pursue
investigations
into
reported misconduct.
“We’re going to continue
to try to get everyone who
feels as if they’ve been treated
inappropriately to step forward
and ask for help,” Schlissel
said. “And then we’ll work
with them to figure out the
Amid
national
uproar
following
multiple allegations of sexual
assault against Supreme Court
nominee
Brett
Kavanaugh,
students and faculty at the
University of Michigan campus
are
protesting
and
finding
ways to discuss the issue, how
it pertains to campus climate
and its relevance in national
discourse.
After
first
sending
several
anonymous
tips to U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo,
D-Calif.,
and
Sen.
Dianne
Feinstein, D-Calif., Christine
Blasey Ford, a professor at
Palo
Alto
University,
came
out
publicly
in
September
with
details
regarding
Kavanaugh’s alleged attempt of
sexual assault when the two of
them were high school students.
Kavanaugh
allegedly
pinned
Ford to a bed, groped her and
when she resisted and tried to
scream, he put his hand over
her mouth. Ford has provided
notes telling the same story from
a couple’s therapy session in
2012, as well as individual
therapy
in 2013 and results from a
polygraph test she passed in
which she detailed the incident.
In
a
statement
released
through the White House last
Monday,
Kavanaugh
denied
the accusation and claimed no
memory of this incident or Ford
herself.
“This is a completely false
allegation,” Kavanaugh said. “I
have never done anything like
what the accuser describes — to
her or to anyone. Because this
never happened, I had no idea
who was making this accusation
until
she
identified
herself
yesterday.”
Deborah
Ramirez,
a
woman
who
attended
Yale
University
with
Kavanaugh,
came forward yesterday with
her
own
allegationsagainst
Kavanaugh.
Democratic lawmakers are
calling for a more in-depth
investigation of the allegations
set forth by Ford. President
Donald Trump also weighed
in on the issue, emphasizing
Kavanaugh’s
“impeccable
reputation” and his doubt in the
allegation because
of the
lack of a police report and time
passed from the alleged assault.
In response, Twitter saw a
surge of tweets with the hashtag
#WhyIDidntReport,
detailing
the shame and difficulty people
had faced in reporting their own
sexual assault.
LSA
senior
Sarah
Saks-
Fithian, a volunteer at Sexual
Assault
Prevention
and
Awareness Center, emphasized
the difficulty for survivors of
sexual
assault
to
overcome
trauma amid media and the
internet opinion that criticizes
victims for not coming forward
sooner.
According
to
Saks-Fithian,
victims begin to feel their
experience
is
invalid.
More
locally, she underscored the
importance
of
organizations
on campus such as the Peer-led
Support Group program through
SAPAC, which supports and
advocates for survivors of sexual
assault.
“I think that the Kavanaugh
case affects survivors on campus
as
most
highly
publicized
scandals
involving
sexual
violence
impact
survivors,
Schlissel: New ruling may deter
reporting of sexual misconduct
Polish LGBT activist
discusses similarities
within Poland and U.S.
ADMINISTRATION
Future of OIE investigations remains unclear after filings published in case
University’s Donia Human Rights Center hosts
prominent human rights lawyer and journalist
The University of Michigan
Senate Advisory Committee
on
University
Affairs
convened
Monday
to
vote
on endorsing the Big Ten
Voting Challenge and discuss
updates
to
the
external
review of the University’s
sexual
misconduct
policies
with
University
President
Mark
Schlissel.
Members
also debated the controversy
surrounding
a
University
professor who rescinded a
letter of recommendation for
political reasons for a student
applying to study abroad in
SACUA
endorses
Big Ten
Voting
Challenge
ACADEMICS
Faculty also criticize OIE
proceedings and professor
boycott of Israel study trip
Students, city activists protest
Kavanaugh Court appointment
Law School faculty, students push for increased sensitivity, survivor support amidst sexual assault allegations against SCOTUS nominee
See SACUA, Page 3
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
CATHERINE NOUHAN
Daily Staff Reporter
ANDREW HIYAMA
Daily News Editor
MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily
University President Mark Schlissel discusses the Office for Institutional Equity’s yearly sexual misconduct report
during an interview with the Daily at the Fleming Building Monday morning.
ALICE LIU/Daily
The Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigration Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) protests the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court on the Diag Monday.
SAYALI AMIN
& RILEY LANGEFELD
Daily Staff Reporters
See SCHLISSEL, Page 2
KATHERINA SOURINE
Daily Staff Reporter
MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily
Krzysztof Smiszek, a Polish human rights lawyer and managing editor of
The Anti-Discrimination Law Review, speaks about LGBTQ rights in Poland
at Weiser Hall Monday afternoon.
See POLAND, Page 3
See KAVANAUGH, Page 3