Alec Gallimore, University of
Michigan dean of engineering,
and Laura Blake Jones, dean of
students, held a town hall with
various student groups involved in
plans for the upcoming school year
on Monday afternoon following
University President Mark Schlis-
sel’s announcement regarding fall
semester earlier in the day.
After walking through informa-
tion presented in Schlissel’s email
and the new website, Gallimore and
Jones answered student inquiries
in an event moderated by Public
Policy senior Amanda Kaplan, Cen-
tral Student Government president.
The town hall was primar-
ily intended for the more than 600
students involved in the COVID-
19 Campus Challenge, a student-
created competition to brainstorm
solutions for various problems that
may arise in the fall. Kaplan said
students in the Campus Climate
Advisory Council, a group of about
40 students from various boards,
organizations and student employ-
ee groups advising on fall planning,
were also invited.
In an email to The Daily, Jones
wrote the town hall was meant to
highlight key elements of Schlis-
sel’s announcement as well as to
continue seeking input from chal-
lenge participants.
“The
Challenge
participants
are a large representative group of
undergraduate and graduate stu-
dents from a wide variety of schools
and colleges,” Jones wrote. “Their
keen interest in the COVID Chal-
lenge and commitment to planning
for a safe residential experience
made them an ideal constituent
group to talk with.”
According to Gallimore, the orig-
inal timeline planned for a decision
about fall semester was to be made
in July. The timeline was moved up
one month, allowing for the deci-
sion to come at the end of June.
“What we will do actually is
in some respects use June and
July and August to do a number
of things, to do some practice ses-
sions, dry runs et cetera, so that
we’re ready for you when many of
you come back in late August for a
wonderful semester of mixed edu-
cational experiences,” Gallimore
said. “We will use the fall term to
evaluate how things worked and
improve upon them for winter
2021.”
Gallimore
emphasized
the
hundreds of administrators, fac-
ulty, staff and students involved
in planning efforts by pointing to
the numerous committees work-
ing on issues ranging from testing
to transportation to student mental
health. Similar to the new Campus
Maize & Blueprint website, Galli-
more said success of the school year
would depend on “stacking” mea-
sures from physical distancing to
administrative controls on density.
Generally, classes with over 50
people will be conducted remotely,
while classes with 10 to 15 or fewer
students will be held in-person,
subject to space availability, Gal-
limore explained. Classes in the
in-between range may be offered
in-person if physical distancing is
possible in the learning space.
Jones focused on the need for
students to be responsible, which
both she and Gallimore expressed
was one of their greatest worries
about the upcoming semester. She
shared a draft of a behavior pledge
which
includes
current
public
health guidelines such as wearing
masks, maintaining social distance
and limiting social gatherings.
To encourage individuals to fol-
low the pledge, Jones said there
will be education efforts and social
media campaigns to emphasize
its importance. Jones said she
hoped the University community
would embrace a “culture of care”
in which everyone acts according
to the well-being of those around
them — particularly those most
vulnerable to the virus — and
beyond their own desires of what
they want to do.
3
Thursday, June 25, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com NEWS
After the killing of George Floyd,
protests against police brutality
and racism erupted nationwide,
calling for an end to systemic rac-
ism, police department oversight
and defunding the police.
With elections coming up on
August 4, City Council candidates
from all five of Ann Arbor’s wards
have turned their focus to fighting
police brutality in Ann Arbor. In
interviews with The Daily, candi-
dates detailed policies such as real-
locating the police budget, implicit
bias training for officers and police
oversight.
Anne Bannister, Democrat for
Ward 1
City Councilmember Anne Ban-
nister, D-Ward 1, is running for re-
election and said she believes all
citizens of Ann Arbor deserve to be
treated humanely, justly and with
dignity.
According
to
her
platform,
Bannister supported the creation
of the Independent Community
Police Oversight Commission and
strongly believes in communicat-
ing with victims of systemic racism
and ensuring their problems are
addressed.
Bannister said she plans to
ensure better training of police
officers to reduce implicit bias
and also believes the community
should be able to easily access law
enforcement data. With the help of
Police Chief Michael Cox, Bannis-
ter hopes community policing will
be improved.
“Like our whole country, I’ve
been very hurt and disappointed
and disturbed by the incidents of
police brutality around the coun-
try,” Bannister said. “(We have to)
further this philosophy of compas-
sion and well-trained officers that
are here to protect us.”
Lisa Disch, Democrat for Ward 1
University of Michigan profes-
sor Lisa Disch is running against
Bannister.
Disch said she believes creating
a community that upholds safety
is essential. Her platform includes
ensuring the safety of people being
stopped by law enforcement with-
out cause and also expanding com-
munity policing.
Disch said she has heard about
numerous
incidents
of
racial
harassment from Ann Arbor resi-
dents. She said she wants to work
on eradicating the fear residents
may feel when reporting these inci-
dents. She said she aims to change
local law to increase the over-
sight power of ICPOC, review and
reallocate the Ann Arbor Police
Department budget and reorient
policing to focus on the causes of
crime.
“I am struck, but not surprised,
by hearing people say that they feel
free to relate their concerns in pub-
lic forums but that they hesitate to
file official grievances,” Disch said.
“That fear itself, let alone the treat-
ment they describe, tells me that
this city has urgent work to do.”
Disch supports the prevention of
biased crime reporting and wishes
to implement implicit bias training
for all police officers.
“This is just a start,” Disch said.
“I continue to listen and learn, and
hope to work collaboratively with
other council members and ICPOC
to find creative solutions moving
forward.”
Jane Lumm, Democrat for Ward
2
Jane Lumm, I-Ward 2, who is
running for re-election as a Demo-
crat, has represented Ward 2 as an
Independent since 2011. She is one
of the two councilmember liaisons
on the ICPOC and has been work-
ing towards police oversight since
2018. She believes ICPOC needs to
have more access to police records
to ensure effective oversight.
Lumm said she supports Police
Chief Cox and believes that he
will lead the AAPD towards better
policing policies, tactics and train-
ing.
City Council candidates
address police brutality
NAYVA GUPTA
Daily Staff Reporter
Design by Hibah Chughtai
Town hall talks
Town hall talks
in-person semester
in-person semester
CLAIRE HAO
Daily News Editor
Read more at michigandaily.com
Read more at michigandaily.com
After the Schlissel’s announcement, Dean
of Engineering explains the decision
In light of recent events,
contenders add reform
measures to platforms