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, July 16, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com NEWS
The School of Music, Theatre
& Dance released the results of
a schoolwide climate survey on
Thursday as part of the administra-
tion’s efforts to foster a transparent,
inclusive environment.
This survey was conducted after
sexual misconduct allegations were
reported against two high-profile
SMTD faculty members, David
Daniels and Stephen Shipps, in
2018.
An investigation by The Daily
from October 2018 revealed that
SMTD awarded Daniels tenure in
May 2018 despite knowledge of
allegations of sexual misconduct
against him. The Board of Regents
has since fired Daniels after an
eight-month process. Daniels cur-
rently faces a criminal charge of
sexual assault in Texas along with
his husband, Scott Walters.
An investigation by The Daily
from December 2018 uncovered
40 years of previously undisclosed
allegations of sexual harassment,
misconduct and assault against
Shipps, then-chair of strings and
former associate dean. Shipps has
since retired from the University.
SMTD has publicly committed
to fighting a culture some have
described as particularly condu-
cive to sexual misconduct, as many
arts disciplines require individual
or physical lessons. The adminis-
tration has held events on how to
report sexual misconduct and has
installed transparent panels in
offices. The survey is just one step
in an ongoing, multidimensional
process to enact change, according
to SMTD Dean David Gier.
“The
emotional
vulnerability
that artists bring is a necessary part
of the training and we need to make
sure that our environment is a com-
fortable environment for this to
take place,” Gier said.
According to the report, the
survey was conducted by Giffen &
Kaminski, LLC, a law firm hired
by SMTD to help “learn what mem-
bers of the SMTD community have
experienced and solicit positive and
negative feedback” so that “issues
did not fester in an atmosphere of
secrets and darkness.”
657 participants responded to
the survey, which asked about both
the overall climate and specifics
around sexual misconduct, dis-
crimination and retaliation within
SMTD.
These
657
participants
included students, faculty, staff and
alumni. The survey was distributed
in January of 2020 to a representa-
tive sample of SMTD with 37% of
students, 64% of faculty, and 73% of
staff responding, according to the
report.
The report noted that while 59
percent of participants felt satis-
fied by the climate over the past 12
months, women found SMTD to be
less safe than men and faculty less
safe than students, alumni and staff.
Also, while 90 percent of the partic-
ipants reported no experience with
discrimination, Latinx individuals
and people who identify as queer
were the most likely to report expe-
riences of discrimination.
In terms of sexual misconduct,
the report documented 107 inci-
dents over the past 12 months. Sex-
ual comments made up 40 percent
of this total.
The report specifically said “the
role of the Faculty as accused per-
petrators of Sexual Misconduct is
an overarching theme that should
be noted.” 41 percent of the sexual
comments and 43 percent of the
incidents of forcible touching over
the past 12 months were allegedly
perpetrated by faculty.
The report found that only 27
percent of participants who alleg-
edly experienced sexual miscon-
duct reported their experiences to
authorities. In terms of discrimi-
nation, the report said “most Par-
ticipants would not involve the
resources of the University or of
SMTD.”
SMTD reveals climate report
to improve transparency
ELIZABETH LAWRENCE &
SAMMY SUSSMAN
Editor in Chief &
Daily Staff Reporter
Design by Hibah Chughtai
1U calls for equitable
funding in report
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Daily News Editor
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and U-M Dearborn amid the pandemic
Survey results conducted
after sexual misconduct
allegations are released