bv

A 

University 
of 
Michigan 

student reported 
being 
sexually 

assaulted by her 

Graduate Student Instructor 
this summer in June. She 
filed the report, met with a 
U-M Title IX investigator and 
submitted evidence to back 
up her claim months ago. But 
the University’s investigation 
of the student’s case has 
been ongoing for almost four 
months now — and she’s 
running 
out 
of 
patience.

The 
School 
of 
Music, 

Theatre & Dance senior — 
who will be referred to as 
Taylor in this article — said 
her relationship with her 
GSI began in the middle 
of 
her 
junior 
year. 
The 

GSI is a doctoral student 
studying conducting under 
Prof. 
Michael 
Haithcock. 

He 
teaches 
band 
classes 

and 
is 
a 
GSI 
for 
the 

Michigan 
Marching 
Band.

For 
a 
while, 
the 

relationship was consensual. 
But the student said her 
GSI 
became 
increasingly 

aggressive 
during 
their 

time together. At the end of 
their relationship, she said, 
he sexually assaulted her.

That GSI did not respond 

to an email request 
for an interview.

After 
reporting 

the 
incident 
to 

the 
Office 
of 

Institutional 
Equity 
this 

summer, 
Taylor 

says she feels like 
her mental health 
and 
professional 

future is not being 
considered 
by 

the 
University.

Much 
has 
been 

said about biases in 
the University’s sexual 
misconduct 
reporting 

process 
against 
accused 

students. 
An 
investigation 

of this student’s case by The 
Michigan 
Daily 
reaffirms 

the tired runaround students 
and faculty still face when to 
comes to reporting concerns 
to their safety and well-being.

***
Taylor’s story begins this 

February when she added 
her GSI on Facebook. He 
was her GSI for concert 
band 
and 
immediately 

started 
messaging 
her.

Taylor 
didn’t 
think 

anything of the conversation 
at first, as close relationships 
between 
faculty 
and 

students 
in 
SMTD 
are 

common 
between 
long 

hours practicing, traveling 
together and a smaller, tight-
knit academic community.

The GSI first made physical 

contact with Taylor on an 

SMTD 
band 
trip, 
touching 
Taylor’s 
legs 

and kissing her 
multiple 
times 

— 
without 
her 

consent. 
Afterward, 

she messaged him expressing 
she felt his conduct was 
inappropriate. 
The 
Daily 

reviewed screenshots of these 
texts provided by Taylor. 
They then didn’t talk until 
after spring break. Though 
he was still her conductor, 
Taylor 
said 
he 
seemed 

to 
purposely 
avoid 
her.

But then he approached 

her again, informing her that 
he registered a relationship 

with her. 

Faculty 

members 

and 
teaching 

staff 
to 
are 

required to register 

relationships with students, 
but The Daily was not able to 
confirm the GSI filed such a 
record due to privacy laws.

So 
they 
began 
dating. 

Despite 
some 
of 
his 

unsettling practices, Taylor 
was flattered. The GSI was, 
after all, extremely well-liked 
among students and faculty.

“I was like, oh my god, like 

he’s paying attention to me 
and he’s like, everyone loves 

him,” 
she 
said. 

“So I was like, 
wow, I must be 
really 
special.”

He 
did 
not 

acknowledge her 
in public, she said, 
and the two did 
not go on dates. 
Texts detail few 
people knew about 
their 
contact.

The GSI: Nope!! 

I 
had 
many 

problems like that.
I 
worked 
in 
4 

different places so far 

and in the beginning 

something 
like 
that 

always happened. But now 
I know and I can avoid it.

Let’s 
be 
careful

At 
school 
we 
just 

say 
“hi” 
for 
a 
while.

Taylor: Yes I know we 

should be careful. I don’t 
have 
to 
talk 
to 
you 
at 

school at all not even hi.

Taylor 
mentioned 
she 

heard from other students 
the GSI had been accused 
of harassment at previous 
schools. 
The 
Daily 
filed 

a 
federal 
information 

request to the University 
of 
Minnesota-Duluth, 
the 

institution 
he 
worked 
at 

immediately prior to coming 
to Michigan, but there were 
no 
Title 
IX 
complaints 

with 
his 
name 
on 
it.

Taylor said after those 

text messages, he started 
becoming 
aggressive. 
He 

began to accuse Taylor of 
cheating on him, which she 
denies. In the texts shared 
with The Daily, he repeatedly 
accused her of going to bars 
and having sex with other 
men, and that it was a well-
known fact in the music 
community. 
Throughout 

the texts, Taylor protested 
his accusations, which he 
glossed 
over 
every 
time.

He 
replied: 
“Learn 
a 

lesson...you 
can 
regret 

about things you’ve done 
but the past is always part 
of 
what 
you 
are 
today.”

“Sometimes I still question, 

like, did (the harassment 
and assault) really happen?” 
she said. “Because I, for 
most of the relationship, did 
anything he wanted. I did 
whatever, just to make him 
like me because I thought 
he was like an important 
person in the music world — 
and making connections and 
networking is so important.’”

She went to pick him up 

from the airport on June 
4. When they went back 
to her place, Taylor said, 
he sexually assaulted her.

She was bleeding heavily 

afterward, 
and 
continued 

to bleed for days after the 
encounter. She texted a friend 
in a panic. She went to an 
OB-GYN, who later confirmed 
to The Daily Taylor visited his 
office and reported the assault.

Tuesday, October 23. 2018

The International Youth and 

Students for Social Equality 
hosted David North, national 
chairman 
of 
the 
Socialist 

Equality Party, Tuesday evening 
for a lecture on the global history 

of socialism, discussing what he 
perceived to be the corruption 
of the ideology’s true intent 
on the left and the need for a 
worldwide socialist revolution. 
An audience of approximately 50 
University of Michigan students 
and members of the Ann Arbor 
community gathered in Angell 
Hall to listen to North and Niles 

Niemuth, the Socialist Equality 
Party’s candidate for Congress in 
Michigan’s 12th District.

North 
is 
currently 
on 
a 

speaking tour celebrating the 
80th anniversary of the founding 
of the socialist organization 
“Fourth International” by Soviet 
revolutionary Leon Trotsky.

In his lecture, North urged 

a better historical awareness 
among students to contextualize 
contemporary events taking place 
in the world and allow for a better 
understanding 
of 
socialism, 

which he argued has been 
corrupted by the modern left.

“A fundamental problem … 

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Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail 
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Daily Weekly 

INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 15
©2018 The Michigan Daily

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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
michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit

RESEARCH

ROSEANNE CHAO/Daily

David North, Chairman of the Socialist 
Equality Party, talks future of socialism

North spoke to a crowd of 50 students, residents on ideology, progressive politics

The University of Michigan’s 

Office for Institutional Equity 
released a report on Monday 
regarding University responses 
to reports of sexual harassment 
pertaining to staff, faculty and 
third parties during the past year. 
The report was the first to include 
details of sexual misconduct 
among faculty; annual reports 
on sexual misconduct among 
students have been released 
since 2014. In future years, there 
will be a single report released by 
OIE yearly, including all sexual 
misconduct cases for students, 
faculty, staff and third parties.

“We share this information 

in order to be transparent, 
to 
acknowledge 
that 
these 

behaviors 
occur 
within 
our 

community, and to show how the 

A recent study conducted by 

University of Michigan Rackham 
student Shannon Ang has revealed 
that social media use among older 
adults can limit the effects of pain 
on depression. 

Ang, the study’s lead author 

and a doctoral candidate in the 
Department of Sociology and 
Institute for Social Research, 
was 
curious 
of 
the 
long-

term 
consequences 
of 
online 

participation 
through 
social 

networking platforms. He was 
interested specifically in the elderly 
population because of the lack of 
studies related to the age group.

“I was interested in whether 

social media would be able to 
supplement the effects of people 
who are in pain or are physically 
limited,” Ang said.

Reports of 
misconduct 
increase by 
161 percent

Mobile tech 
could help 
depression 
in elderly

ADMINISTRATION

OIE handled 232 sexual 
harrasment cases by 
faculty, staff in FY18

Social media could lessen 
impact of depression on 
elderly in pain, ‘U’ finds

MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily

David North, national chairman of the Socialist Equality Party, discusses the history of class struggle and socialism in the U.S. during a lecture organized by 
the International Youth and Students for Social Equality at Angell Hall Monday evening. 

Student survivor navigates painful reporting process through Office of Institutional Equity

See REPORT, Page 2
See DEPRESSION, Page 3

See TITLE IX, Page 3

See SOCIALISM, Page 3

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

DANIELLE PASEKOFF

Daily Staff Reporter

CHRISTOPHER SULLIVAN

For the Daily

AIDAN WOUTAS

For the Daily

Broken Record

MAYA GOLDMAN & 

NISA KHAN

Daily News Editor & 

Senior Michigan in Color Editor

“I can’t wait to get out of here,” Taylor said. “I don’t wear anything Michigan anymore. I don’t want to go to tailgates or 
go to football games. I don’t want to support this school. Like, I’m not afraid to say out loud that I hate U-M. I don’t care if 

U-M is this prestigious university … It feels unfortunate that I came here.”

