“As
a
physician,
scientist,
father and university president, I
condemn all sexual misconduct,
especially instances that occur
under the purview of our public
mission,” Schlissel said. “This type
of conduct is reprehensible — and
whether it takes place now or took
place in the past, it is unacceptable.”
The Daily interviewed multiple
students across campus for the
perspectives of the student body
about
these
allegations.
LSA
sophomore Emma Sandberg, a
founder of the student group Roe
v. Rape, said she was angry and
confused,
but
not
necessarily
surprised,
when
she
received
Schlissel’s email about Philbert.
“The fact that the University
was aware of at least three
complaints against him and still
promoted him to the Provost
highlights how the administration
does not in any sense take sexual
misconduct seriously, and that
there is a structural problem at U
of M,” Sandberg said. “This is a
man who sounds to be outwardly
inappropriate in a sexual manner
to those working with him, and
so I’m not exactly sure why some
administrators, like the president,
are claiming that they had no idea
of any sexual misconduct.”
Ariel Friedlander, LSA and
Art & Design senior, said it is
concerning that someone who
holds a powerful position at the
University, such as Philbert, was
accused of sexual misconduct.
According to Friedlander, this gives
power to perpetrators and makes
them believe they should aspire to
powerful roles in society.
“People
see
this
predator
revealed at the University, it’s
terrible and people want to speak
out and that’s great,” Friedlander
said. “People should be speaking
out and they should be questioning
who’s in power and who’s in charge
of
overseeing
sexual
violence
prevention, who’s in charge of
taking care of survivors, women
and minorities on this campus. But
this is just the tip of the iceberg,
and below the sea, there’s a history
of violent oppression and sexual
misconduct. This is so much bigger
than this one man, and the fact
that he has so much power at this
institution means he’s upheld by
this history.”
Anderson
worked
at
the
University for 35 years and served
as a top physician for football teams
coached by Bo Schembechler and
Lloyd Carr. University alum Robert
Julian Stone filed a complaint
against the University in 2018,
nearly 50 years after the alleged
incident. The oldest complaint
dates back to 1995, when a female
student filed a lawsuit against
Anderson for an incident during a
mandatory medical examination
for employment. Anderson retired
from the University in 2003 and
passed away in 2008.
Medical student Mark-Anthony
Lingaya said he was disappointed
to read that Anderson allegedly
abused patients when serving as
UHS Director.
“As a medical student, you go
through classes where you learn the
art of doctoring, how to gain your
patient’s trust, how to keep your
patient’s trust and the privilege
you have with regards to patients,”
Lingaya said. “It’s really shocking
that someone was taking advantage
of that and traumatizing patients
and completely breaching that
relationship and its foundation.”
Medical student Andrew Shute
said he was concerned with the
University’s handling of allegations
against
Anderson,
particularly
Anderson’s transfer from the head
of UHS to team physician around
the time of the alleged incidents in
the 1970s.
“It sounded like they were
trying to sweep it under the rug by
moving him from one place to the
other,” Shute said. “If they’ve taken
advantage of patients in general
or committed sexual assault, they
shouldn’t be allowed to continue
being in a position where they take
advantage of patients.”
Lingaya said the alleged abuses
should not be taken lightly just
because it took decades for victims
to come forward.
“My perspective is that these
patients
were
terrified
and
confused,” Lingaya said. “Their
trust was betrayed and they felt
like they weren’t going to be
believed … As a future physician
and as Michigan students who
are going to go on to positions of
power and influence, we need to
influence the spaces we’re in and
make it so survivors of assault can
comfortably and bravely come
out and tell their stories without
feeling like they’re not going to be
believed.”
According to The Detroit News,
66 students and faculty from the
College of Engineering and School
of Information signed a letter
to Schlissel on Feb. 6 outlining
allegations about an unnamed
faculty member and calling on
Schlissel to make changes to
improve the campus climate. Mars
has said he is not this unnamed
individual.
Last week, Computer Science
and Engineering faculty released a
statement calling for Mars to take
a leave of absence. Though the
Information School has announced
it
would
be
suspending
its
recruiting relationship with Mars,
the University has not placed Mars
on administrative leave.
Brian Noble, chair of Computer
Science and Engineering, sent an
email to undergraduate students
in the College of Engineering
Saturday afternoon addressing the
climate within the department.
“I am writing today for three
reasons,” Noble wrote. “First,
to say that I am heartbroken
for our community. There are
profound problems with CSE’s
climate. I know that there is a lot
of frustration, pain and anger,
and I share it. Second, I am
sharing immediate steps that I
have taken to address the recent
climate concerns. Finally, I want
to update you on some in-progress
activity directed specifically at the
Undergraduate programs in CSE.”
Engineering sophomore Tara
Sabbineni said she was confused
about the context of the email
because Mars was not directly
mentioned.
“We got an email that said
something really vague about ‘We
know there’s a lot of issues in CSE,
here are some of the things we’re
trying to do to solve it,’ but I wasn’t
aware of what they were talking
about until my friend showed me
The Verge article,” Sabbineni said.
“They haven’t fired him or done
anything about it yet. I understand
why they sent such a vaguely
worded email, but it was definitely
a little weird.”
Mars was a speaker at the
TedxUofM event on Feb. 14, which
occurred after he resigned as CEO
from his company Clinc. Though
Mars was slated to speak at the
event for months in advance, LSA
freshman Ceciel Zhong said it was
concerning that he was allowed to
speak after the allegations were
made public.
“I heard that he spoke at the
recent TED Talk, which is very
unacceptable,” Zhong said. “There’s
more than plenty of evidence that
he had done such things, but it’s
very disappointing that he’s still not
on leave.”
Students who spoke with The
Daily noted a specific cultural
climate
surrounding
sexual
misconduct
nationally
and
on
campus.
Friedlander
said
conversations she has heard around
the Philbert and Mars accusations
have often missed what she sees as
structural issues on campuses.
“A lot of people see situations
like these occur and they appear
to be some type of isolated incident
of some serious predator who has
gotten away with so much, but it’s
just one in a million people who
commit acts of sexual violence
and sexual misconduct against
women,” Friedlander said. “These
incidents were not a surprise to
me. I don’t think the culture on
campus is made to uplift women or
survivors of sexual violence, or that
(the University) breeds this type of
culture.”
Music,
Theatre
&
Dance
sophomore
Helen
LaGrand
reflected on instances of sexual
misconduct within her school that
The Daily reported on last year. She
specifically noted Stephen Shipps,
a former professor at the School of
Music, Theater & Dance, who was
accused of sexual misconduct and
ultimately resigned. To LaGrand,
these
allegations
were
not
surprising, as she said the culture
of attending a large academic
institution can make situations
regarding
sexual
misconduct
inevitable.
“It’s what I would expect from
an institution as huge as and as
established this,” LaGrand said.
“I know there are other schools
around the country — particularly
music schools because I can speak
more to that — that have the same
situations going on and a lot of
those cases haven’t come to light.
My opinion of the University hasn’t
really changed. I think this is just
inevitable that this would happen
and I think it still has happened in
a lot of other schools.”
LSA sophomore Ethan Hauser
referenced the #MeToo movement
when
discussing
the
sexual
misconduct
allegations
against
faculty. Hauser said he thinks the
University is only bringing up these
allegations now because society has
made these issues more acceptable
to bring to light.
“It doesn’t look good if you’re
covering stuff up,” Hauser said.
“Given how our society has
changed the last few years with the
#MeToo movement, it makes more
sense that they’re coming out now
compared to the past.”
Students told The Daily they
believe the University does not
have a strong history of being
transparent with students and
faculty about sexual misconduct
allegations. Though students see
the emails about Philbert and Mars
as progress, many agreed more
work needs to be done.
Schlissel addressed concerns
about transparency around the
Philbert investigation at the Feb. 20
Board of Regents meeting.
“Because
this
investigation
is so critical, and because we
must ensure that the outside,
independent firm is able to conduct
their investigation in a thorough,
reliable and fair way, I will not be
able to share any details while the
investigation is underway, even
though I know that there is wide
interest in this case,” Schlissel said.
Even
though
students
are
asking for more clarity about
the situations regarding sexual
misconduct allegations, LaGrand
said she believes the legal aspect of
the allegations makes it hard for the
University to be totally transparent
about the situation. However, she
said students and faculty who were
directly involved with the accused
should have a warning before the
situation goes public.
“It’s a very sensitive matter
because the law is involved and
there are victims involved who
might not want to be spoken about.
Transparency is tough,” LaGrand
said. “Maybe it should be brought
to students’ attention before they
actually go on leave. Maybe if the
professor is being looked into, more
faculty should know about it or
more students who are in contact
with them should know about it
before the decision is made to put
them on leave. They shouldn’t wait
to hear about it until then.”
Though
Sandberg
said
she
thinks Schlissel’s email to the
student body is an improvement,
she said the University could still
provide more clarity.
“I wasn’t very surprised by it
based off of what I know about
the University’s history with the
issue,” Sandberg said. “I was more
surprised by the fact that they
emailed all of the students because
that is pretty rare. Normally
they sweep this under the rug.
2A — Monday, February 24, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
TUESDAY:
By Design
THURSDAY:
Twitter Talk
FRIDAY:
Behind the Story
WEDNESDAY:
This Week in History
MONDAY:
Looking at the Numbers
DESIGN BY HIBAH CHUGHTAI
MISCONDUCT
From Page 1A
The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during
the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is
available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the
Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long
subscriptions are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription
rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid.
ERIN WHITE
Managing Editor
ekwhite@michigandaily.com
SAYALI AMIN and LEAH GRAHAM
Managing News Editors news@michigandaily.com
Senior News Editors: Barbara Collins, Claire Hao, Alex Harring, Ben Rosenfeld,
Emma Stein, Liat Weinstein
Assistant News Editors: Francesca Duong, Julia Forrest, Brayden Hirsh,
Jasmin Lee, Hannah Mackay, Parnia Mazhar, Alyssa McMurtry, Emma Ruberg,
Julia Rubin, Michal Ruprecht, Arjun Thakkar
EMILY CONSIDINE and MILES STEPHENSON
Editorial Page Editors tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Senior Opinion Editors: Alanna Berger, Brittany Bowman, Zack Blumberg,
Timothy Spurlin, Joel Weiner
JOHN DECKER and JULIANNA MORANO
Managing Arts Editors
arts@michigandaily.com
ALLISON ENGKVIST and ANNIE KLUSENDORF
Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com
MAGDALENA MIHAYLOVA
Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com
Deputy Editors: Emily Stillman, Marisa Wright
MADISON GAGNE and SADIA JIBAN
Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com
Senior Copy Editors: Olivia Bradish, Sophie Kephart, Silas Lee, Olivia Sedlacek,
Ellie Scott
TIM CHO and SIMRAN PUJJI
Managing Online Editors
webteam@michigandaily.com
Senior Web Developers: Parth Dhyani, Abha Panda, Rohan Prashant, Jonathan
Liu
ALEC COHEN and ELI SIDER
Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com
Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Zoha Bharwani, Lora Faraj, Ayomide
Okunade, Gabrijela Skoko
Assistant Michigan in Color Editors: Cheryn Hong, Anamkia Kannan, Vaishali
Nambiar, Sean Tran, Angela Zhang
Senior Sports Editors: Aria Gerson, Bailey Johnson, Ben Katz, Jacob Kopnick,
Anna Marcus, Rian Ratnavale
Assistant Sports Editors: Connor Brennan, Lily Friedman, Lane Kizziah,
Brendan Roose, Kent Schwartz, Molly Shea
Senior Video Editors: Ryan O’Connor, Joseph Sim
Senior Social Media Editors: Jessie Norris, Mya Steir, Kristina Zheng
Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327
www.michigandaily.com
ARTS SECTION
arts@michigandaily.com
SPORTS SECTION
sports@michigandaily.com
ADVERTISING
dailydisplay@gmail.com
NEWS TIPS
news@michigandaily.com
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
EDITORIAL PAGE
opinion@michigandaily.com
ANITA MICHAUD
Business Manager
734-418-4115 ext. 1241
ammichau@michigandaily.com
ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
Editor in Chief
734-418-4115 ext. 1251
esla@michigandaily.com
PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION
photo@michigandaily.com
NEWSROOM
734-418-4115 opt. 3
CORRECTIONS
corrections@michigandaily.com
THEO MACKIE and ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com
Senior Arts Editors: Jo Chang, Elise Godfryd, Zoe Phillips, Jonah Mendelson,
Ally Owens
Arts Beat Editors: Samantha Cantie, Dana Pierangeli, Andrew Pluta, Cassandra
Mansuetti, Anish Tamhaney, Sophia Yoon
SHERRY CHEN and CHRISTINE JEGARL
Managing Design Editors
design@michigandaily.com
Senior Design Editor: Lizzy Rueppel
MAYA MOKH and ANA MARIA SANCHEZ CASTILLO
Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com
JACK GRIEVE and BEN KORN
Managing Social Media Editors
Editorial Staff
Business Staff
Senior Photo Editors: Keemya Esmael, Asha Lewis, Miles Macklin
Assistant
Photo
Editors:
Olivia
Cell,
Ryan
Little,
Emma
Mati,
Alexandria
Pompei,
Alexis
Rankin
SAMANTHA SMALL and SONYA VOGEL
Managing Podcast Editors
MOLLY WU
Creative Director
RYAN KELLY
Sales Manager
LILLY HANSON
Senior Account Executive
ANALISE DOORHY
Senior Account Executive
TARA MOORE
Senior Account Exeucutive
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Expires: March 9, 2020
Excludes eggels
Can’t get out to get the best bagels in town?
Use Doordash for delivery as they are now partnered with Barry Bagels!