The University of Michigan
Central
Student
Government
passed
multiple
resolutions
Tuesday
evening,
including
amendments to the Statement
of
Students
Rights
and
Responsibilities
regarding
medical amnesty for all ages of
students and more substances
than alcohol, as well as a new
definition of “hazing.” In the
current
statement,
medical
amnesty
is
only
applicable
to minors and when under
the influence of alcohol. This
resolution aims to expand the
definition to encompass other
substances as well as people of
any age.
As of October 2016, the
Michigan
Medical
Amnesty
Law was expanded to include
any controlled substance and
apply to individuals of any age.
Rackham
student
Nicholas
Fadanelli, one of the authors of
the resolution, expressed the
importance of the resolution
and
was
extremely
pleased
the resolution passed at the
meeting. Fadanelli also said
he and the other authors of the
resolution were surprised these
protections were not aligned
with the state law already.
“I
am
very
excited
that
CSG has agreed to author this
amendment … because I think it
is very important that we extend
these protections to students
who have consumed drugs that
are not alcohol that need medical
attention,” Fadanelli said. “The
fact that this is not currently
protected under University of
Michigan policies is a big shock
for me and other authors, and we
are very gracious for the support
that the other members of CSG
and the members of SACUA and
other administrators have given
us thus far in the process.”
Other
resolutions
passed
put forth a request to the
University to create a concrete
definition of hazing in the
Statement of Students Rights
and Responsibilities. In the
resolution, the authors stated
in
the
current
statement,
the definition of hazing is
hyperlinked
with
references
to
‘Campus
Community
Perspectives,’
‘University
Policies’ and ‘Michigan State
Law.’
“The lack of a definition for
hazing leaves unclear how the
Statement will be interpreted,”
the
Hazing
Statement
Amendment Resolution read.
“The ‘University Policy Against
Hazing,’ last updated 2 April
2004, remains the basis for
current policy, yet is insufficient
to match the contemporary
needs of our student body by
failing to explicitly define and
condemn acts of hazing.”
Both
amendments
to
the
statement will be sent to the
Students
Relations
Advisory
Committee of the Faculty Senate
to be reviewed.
Revolution, Ryu said people
were coming up with new
slogans and artwork for their
protests
based
on
global
popular culture. Ryu also said
one podcast in particular, “I
Am a Petty Cheat,” had a large
impact on generating interest
in the revolution.
Throughout
the
event,
Ryu emphasized the peaceful
nature
of
the
Candlelight
Revolution. She attributed this
as an explicit shift toward a
new era for South Korea and is
hopeful this trend will change
the country’s diplomacy in the
future.
“The fact that it was
peaceful — not a single window
was broken — even though
some 16 million people came
out on the streets was itself
also a departure and paradigm
shift from earlier histories
of
more
violent
protests,”
Ryu said. “It brought about a
complete change in the way
South Korea has engaged with
North Korea and a possible
path to ending the Korean War
that now seems to be a real
prospect.”
anger.
Other
prominent
figures
associated
with
MSU
and
USA
Gymnastics
were
arrested
earlier
this
year
in the wake of the Nassar
scandal. Steve Penny, former
chief executive officer of USA
Gymnastics, was arrested in
October for tampering with
evidence. Kathie Klages, former
gymnastics coach of MSU, was
arrested for lying to police.
William Strampel, former dean
of MSU College of Osteopathic
Medicine,
was
arrested
in
March regarding his handling
of the Nassar investigation.
Lindsey Lemke, a survivor
and
former
Michigan
State gymnast, wrote in a
Twitter statement that she
is not surprised by Simon’s
arrest, and sees it as taking a
step forward toward holding
enablers
of
sexual
abuse
accountable.
“She knew all along that
Nassar should not have been
treating us but yet she chose
not to do the right thing and
continued to employ Nassar at
Michigan State University,” the
statement
said.
“When
I
confronted Lou Anna in the
court
sentencing
of
Larry
Nassar, she had no answers,
she didn’t know who I was, and
she proved that she was unfit
to be in the position she was
in … this serves as a statement
that we are continuing to hold
our fight and that we are not
backing down until all enablers
are held accountable for their
poor actions.”
LSA
sophomore
Morgan
McCaul,
also
a
survivor,
echoed Lemke’s sentiment that
these charges represent an
important moment of increased
accountability regarding the
Michigan
State
University
administration,
as
well
as
justice for survivors.
“Her
charges
mark
a
significant
moment
in
the
course of this story, one where
enablers of sexual violence
begin to face accountability
for their failure to ensure the
safety of those they were legally
responsible to protect. This has
been a long time coming, but it
is one more long-sought step
towards collective justice,” she
said.
She
further
recalled
the
hearings last January, in which
Judge
Rosemarie
Aquilina
garnered
national
acclaim
for her empathetic support of
the “sister survivors.”
“Back in January, I asked
Judge Aquilina to impose a
sentence upon my abuser that
would send an unmistakable
message to those who ‘look
the
other
way
to
protect
their
green-and-white,’”
she said. “Today, that feels
realized.”
it, because I feel like people
should be about they business
more than trying to trick
somebody or get over them. If
there ain’t no lease, then I’ll
take a chance because I feel like
they wouldn’t jeopardize they
business to do me wrong.”
The owner of the house on
State Street, who also owns the
Campus Student Bike Shop on
Maynard Street, declined to
comment.
Young,
a
gregarious
grandfather, moved to Ann
Arbor in 1989 for a better life. He
works part-time as a custodian
and receives disability benefits
for a leg injury.
“I haven’t seen an abandoned
building here since I’ve been
here and I’ve never heard no
gunshots,” Young said. “I feel
like this is a good place for me.
The cost of living is high, but
there’s jobs here, so you can
afford to live here. I just like
Ann Arbor. The atmosphere,
it’s a walking, running, talking,
active town. The future is
bright for me here. I tell my
friends and people that wanna
have something in life, that
want to enjoy life, come to Ann
Arbor.”
While Young said he has
never experienced any issues
with no-lease rentals, those
familiar
with
affordable
housing policy in Ann Arbor
still caution against it.
Zack Ackerman, Ann Arbor
City Councilmember, D-Ward
3,
strongly
advises
against
entering into a rental agreement
without a lease. The liability, he
said, is too great. And while the
flexibility of no-lease renting
may be attractive to tenants
without dependable streams
of
income,
Ackerman
said
it’s not a solution to the lack
of affordable housing in Ann
Arbor “by any means.”
“I think it’s a profiteering
band-aid
to
the
affordable
housing issue. Leases mostly
exist to protect tenants’ rights,”
Ackerman said. “And if a tenant
is entering in a relationship
with a landlord without a
lease, they’re entering into it
without any right whatsoever,
which means any personal
property they bring into the
property, they’d have no proof
it’s their own. And the landlord
or any other tenant could lay
claim to it, and the original
tenant would have no legal
recourse whatsoever. So this
is an extremely dangerous
proposition for a tenant, and I
would strongly not recommend
any tenant enter into it unless
they’re in desperate enough
straits.”
LSA
senior
Christopher
Olson,
co-president
of
the
University
of
Michigan’s
Roosevelt
Institute
––
a
student-run, progressive think
tank and advocacy organization
–– said the phenomenon is
a symptom of the affordable
housing problem in Ann Arbor
and similarly cautions renting
without a lease puts tenants at
the whims of their landlord.
Rents have risen steadily in
Ann Arbor in last decade —
the median rate for rent in Ann
Arbor increased 14 percent
from 2010 to 2015 reaching
$1,075
per
month,
despite
the amount of high-density
housing areas also rising by 32
percent.
“I would think that (month-
to-month rentals) are more
of a symptom of the fact
that we have an affordable
housing problem here,” Olson
said. “Leases provide legal
protections to tenants in a
number of ways. They have to
give you notice of entry, they
have to fix the stuff that you ask
them to fix. Not having a lease
puts you more at the discretion
of the landlord.”
Gayle
Rosen,
a
lawyer
with Student Legal Services,
the
University’s
law
office
for
students,
said
verbal
agreements between a tenant
and landlord can be legally
binding, if they meet certain
criteria, though she “certainly
wouldn’t recommend” it.
“You have to agree to certain
terms in order to have a valid
verbal agreement,” Rosen said.
“You have to agree on the rent
amount and the length of time
that you’re going to be there,
but it could just become a
month-to-month lease, where
each month the other party
gives notice that they were
terminating the lease, that
it continues. It’s effectively
a verbal agreement, a verbal
lease.”
According
to
Rosen,
University
students
almost
always sign leases and she does
not often see cases of disputes
between tenants and landlords
without a lease.
“I don’t see it frequently,”
Rosen
said.
“I’ve
seen
it
probably less than five times.
Sometimes
they’re
sublease
situations,
where
someone
wants to sublease and they
do that without a written
agreement and that’s a little
bit more common. Why they
do it, I don’t know. In some
instances it might be they never
got around to signing a lease.
I certainly don’t think it’s a
preferred option because the
lease is a little bit unclear.”
Students and Ann Arbor
residents alike have mobilized
this year to revive the Ann
Arbor
Tenants’
Union,
which shut down in 2004 due
to lack of funding. Students
were
then
redirected
to
Student Legal Services for
mediation and legal assistance.
Last month at a Central Student
Government meeting, however,
SLS director Doulgas Lewis
said he’d like to see the union
in action again.
“The tenants’ union helped
a lot of things happen in
government
in
this
town
that wouldn’t have happened
without it,” Lewis said at the
meeting. “I think their last shot
was trying to get rent control in
Ann Arbor.”
In the end, Young and his
girlfriend did not rent the space.
The room in question was $600
per month with a bathroom
and access to a kitchen and
living room, but Young did not
feel the space was an adequate
return for the rent.
Young
said
his
past
experiences
have
led
him
to trust his landlords. He
would, however, like a written
agreement stating his security
deposit is refundable.
“I’ve done it before in the
past and never had no problems.
But I feel like you ought to
have something written out
to give me so you can let me
know that I’ll be assured I
can get my security deposit
back,” Young said. “We be on
even playing fields. Because
(the landlord) needs a security
deposit, to make sure his place
won’t get damaged, and I need
something written saying that
I get my security deposit back if
nothing’s damaged. And that’s
good business.”
The Native American Student
Association contributed eight
turkeys to the center, where
AIHFS staff planned to both
deliver food and hold a feast
Tuesday night. MESA also
funded a community lunch
Tuesday during which members
of
AIHFS
and
University
students
talked
about
contemporary issues affecting
Native American communities,
and
especially
students.
These issues spanned from
the
increasing
need
for
Native students to specialize
in environmental preservation
as well as maintaining cultural
values.
Shiloh Maples, the healthy
foods initiatives coordinator at
AIHFS and member of the Little
River Band of Ottawa Indians,
highlighted the necessity for
Native American people to
work
together
to
continue
growth
and
development
within communities.
“Native culture relies on
interdependence
to
survive,
whereas
dominant
culture
really relies on independence,”
she said. “The interdependence
is about growing together. We
support one another because
our future and well-being are
interconnected.”
Teia McGahey, a 2017 U-M
Dearborn alum from the Ojibwe
tribe, serves as an assistant for
the youth program AIHFS runs
for students in high school and
higher education. The program
works with young adults to
help prepare for college or
joining
the
workforce
and
facilitate cultural engagement.
She stressed the importance of
outreach for Native American
youth and collaborations with
the University.
“I feel like a lot of Native
people and people from all over
have been very disconnected
from our culture, histories and
ways of living, and I feel that
it’s really important to have
those and hold on to them,
for anyone who wants to,” she
said. “That’s the most fulfilling
thing about working here, is
being able to help be the bridge
for people to their culture and
where they come from. I think
that’s very healing, and that’s
how I see a lot of the work our
community programs do here,
is facilitating healing for our
people.”
McGahey
explained
how
partnership with the University
can
provide
resources
to
educate and mobilize Native
and non-Native students alike.
“Collaborations
like
this
are so powerful because it’s
just growing our work in so
many different ways, it can
be planning events, starting
movements,
getting
in
the
social justice world in a way
that is beneficial for us, and
being able to collaborate totally
increases our potential,” she
said.
LSA
sophomore
Samara
Jackson
Tobey,
activism
chair
of
Native
American
Student Association External,
has
spearheaded
Native
American
Heritage
Month
initiatives
and
explained
how reconnecting with these
communities
will
benefit
students on campus.
“As
MESA
evolves
their
relationships
with
(Native
American
Students
Association)
students
and
tribal communities, it’s vital
MESA finds time to honor the
commitment and opportunities
AIFHS offers to its community,”
Tobey
said.
“Bridging
our
students on campus with a
greater network is what Native
American Heritage Month is all
about, learning your support
systems.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Wednesday, November 21, 2018 — 3A
RENT
From Page 1A
CSG talks medical
amnesty, hazing
CATHERINE NOUHAN
Daily News Reporter
I think it’s a
profiteering
band-aid to
the affordable
housing issue
It brought about
a complete
change in the
way South Korea
has engaged with
North Korea
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
DRIVE
From Page 1A
PODCASTING
From Page 1A
NASSAR
From Page 1A
the day has commemorated
the lives of many transgender
people lost to violence and thus
begun an important tradition
of recognizing the many who
fight for the rights of their
community.
Raivynn
Smith,
program
specialist
for
events
and
partnerships at the Spectrum
Center,
highlighted
the
fears that many transgender
individuals have of coming
out and presenting themselves
in the world. Smith said she
hoped for a day when Black
trans women could not only
exist, but thrive, and non-
binary children could grow up
without the fear of violence in
their own homes.
“Maybe one day I can wake
up and breathe knowing that my
community is safe. However,
today, unfortunately, is not
that day,” they said. “I hold my
breath for over 350 trans and
gender nonconforming people
that we know of were murdered
this year … My people are
drowning in the ills of the
world, drowning at the hands
of transphobia and misogyny
and racism and poverty and
deep discrimination.”
Smith’s
introduction
was
followed by a performance
by the Out Loud chorus, a
community
chorus
group
dedicated
to
creating
safe
spaces for LGBTQ folks and
their allies. The Out Loud
Chorus is a performance group
that uses music as an outlet and
is a community to promote open
environments where gender
non-binary individuals can feel
welcomed.
They
performed
two songs that paid homage to
the deaths of their peers and
reflected on the power of the
trans community.
“We
try
very
hard
to
get people to think about
acceptance and LGBTQ issues
in the general population; it’s
part of our mission to educate
people and hopefully reduce
discrimination,” Tim Hamann,
a member of Out Loud Chorus,
said. “The way we do that is by
changing gender pronouns in
music, flipping things upside
down, taking traditional songs
and changing them.”
The
memorial
concluded
with
the
invited
speaker,
Nursing
graduate
student
Vidhya
Aravind,
speaking
about her narrative and the
personal impact the memorials
have on her every year. Aravind
has been doing activist work
for
years
to
create
local
change within her immediate
community. Aravind has led
multiple advocacy efforts for
trans
students
on
campus
through
the
Graduate
Employee Organization and
other channels.
Aravind began by speaking
about
the
disproportionate
violence against trans women
of
color
to
highlight
the
intersections of racism, sexism,
transphobia and homophobia.
“It’s a full-blown crisis,”
Aravind says. “I want to be
clear and say that transphobia
is a cis problem but I don’t
know what it will take for them
to shift their opinions on such a
massive scale. Our bodies’ very
existence challenge capitalist
and colonialist structures so
much.”
She expressed her desire to
focus on growing the strength
of the trans community rather
than trying to fight against
the inevitable nature of cis
mindsets.
Such
bottom-up
solutions, Aravind said, are
indicative of her acceptance of
the structural nature of anti-
trans violence. She argued it is
a systemic problem where anti-
trans or anti-Black thoughts
cannot be reformed and where
assimilation
will
never
be
enough.
“Promises of not being the
grotesque creatures they think
we are continue to remain
unheard,” Aravind said.
She
recognized,
though,
there is a future for the
community. She said her fight is
not against the cis community
but rather, with the community
of supporters and allies. She
desires to build a world for the
trans community rather than
change the anti-trans world
they live in right now.
“I still think there’s hope
to be had. There’s hope in a
different world where instead
of fighting for cishet change,
we become a resilient enough
community that they can’t
touch us,” Aravind said.
The last 30 minutes of the
memorial was open to any
attendees to speak about their
personal experiences. Erica, a
member of Out Loud Chorus
who requested her full name
not be published, also shared
her story. After transitioning
at 13 and getting kicked out of
her family’s home, she went
years without having a proper
community. She described her
experience of finding herself
through the Out Loud Chorus
and spoke of her gratitude.
“It was the first time that
I had a group of people who
accepted me for who I am,” she
said.
Aravind’s last words to the
audience were a call to action.
“Practice
radical
and
creative compassion,” Aravind
said. “Especially when you feel
uncomfortable doing so.”
SPECTRUM
From Page 1A