Thursday, June 11, 2020 INDEX Vol. CXXIX, No. 123 © 2020 The Michigan Daily NEWS .................................... OPINION ............................... ARTS/NEWS.......................... MiC......................................... SPORTS................................ MICHIGAN IN COLOR Kellon Yaani Kellon Staff writer Maya Kadouh redirects our attention to the pressing crises occurring in Lebanon. >> SEE PAGE 9 NEWS Telemedicine The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed telemedicine to flourish. Is this the future of healthcare? >> SEE PAGE 3 OPINION Continuing the fight for racial justice How students continue Rep. John Lewis’ fight for social justice. >> SEE PAGE 4 ARTS The Chicks’ ‘Gaslighter’ The band’s new album details Natalie Maines’s messy divorce and future hopes. >> SEE PAGE 6 SPORTS Flexibility Amidst the ever-changing circumstances surrounding the return of sports, coaches emphasize flexibility. >> SEE PAGE 11 inside 2 4 6 8 10 A lawsuit filed in the District Court of Nebraska Monday alleges Tamiko Strickman, director the University of Michigan’s Office of Institutional Equity, mishandled student reports of sexual assault and violated sex discrimination and civil rights laws at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nine current or former UNL students are named plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Strickland served as an investigator, deputy Title IX coordinator, Title IX coordinator and director of the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance at UNL from 2015 to 2019. The lawsuit states Strickman was terminated from UNL in December 2019. University of Michigan spokesman Rick Fitzgerald and UNL spokesperson Leslie Reed both told The Daily in emails Strickman was not terminated from UNL. Reed said Strickman is highly qualified and UNL would have “liked very much to keep her.” The University of Michigan announced Strickman’s hiring in December 2019 and became OIE Director effective in January 2020. Fitzgerald said the University is aware of the lawsuit, but declined to comment as the complaint was not filed against the University. Miranda Melson, a former UNL student, was raped by a male student in July 2016 after explicitly telling him she did not want a “one-night stand,” the lawsuit says. When the male student allegedly undressed and began touching Melson sexually, she was frozen and unable to verbalize her objection. The male student continued to contact Melson against her wishes until she reported the rape and stalking to the UNL IEC in September 2016, the lawsuit says. Strickman was allegedly assigned to Melson’s case. Melson asked Strickman to record their interviews, the lawsuit says, but Strickman refused and only recorded the male student’s interviews. IEC interviewed the male student’s witness, but not Melson’s witness, according to the lawsuit. During one meeting, Strickman allegedly told Melson, “This would be different if I were your parent, but I’m not your parent.” In a November 2016 letter to Melson, Strickman wrote that no findings were made about Melson’s stalking or assault claims, the lawsuit says. “During the parties’ sexual interaction, you did not inform Respondent through words or actions [that] you did not consent to the sexual activity,” Strickman allegedly wrote. “Therefore, no sanction is deemed to be appropriate or necessary.” The lawsuit alleges a requirement for an affirmative rejection contradicts the UNL Student Code of Conduct’s definition of consent. “‘Consent’ means agreement, approval or permission as to some act or purpose, given voluntarily by a competent person,” the Code of Conduct reads. “A person need not resist verbally or physically where it would be useless or futile to do so.” The lawsuit also alleges a requirement for an affirmative rejection contradicts the definition of consent on IEC’s website. “Consent is an affirmative decision to engage in mutually acceptable sexual activity by clear actions and words,” the website reads. “Silence does not equal consent. Moreover, Face masks required by ‘U’ on campus Coverings mandatory in outside settings in addition to inside public buildings ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Read more at michigandaily.com CALDER LEWIS Summer News Editor CALDER LEWIS Summer News Editor Read more at michigandaily.com michigandaily.com OIE Director accused of wrongfully handling cases at Nebraska-Lincoln Design by Hibah Chughtai Effective immediately, the University of Michigan will require all students, staff, faculty and visitors to wear a face covering while anywhere on campus grounds, University President Mark Schlissel wrote in an email to the campus community Wednesday afternoon. “This includes when inside buildings, outdoors and on U-M transportation on all of our campuses,” Schlissel wrote. “It is difficult on a busy university campus to maintain distance from groups even while outdoors, so requiring face coverings outdoors will help slow the spread of the virus.” Schlissel’s announcement is his first communication with the broader University community since announcing a “public health-informed in-residence” fall semester on June 22. The new policy will apply to community members inside buildings, outdoors and on University transportation. While homemade masks, scarves, bandanas and handkerchiefs are acceptable, the policy recommends face coverings that seal as tightly as possible to the face. However, there are a dozen exceptions to the face covering rule, including when one is in a private office or dorm room, eating or drinking while maintaining social distance and engaging in recreation while maintaining social distance. Medical exemptions are also noted in the policy. According to the policy, transmission of COVID-19 is greatly reduced and lives are saved when all people wear face coverings in public. “Because many cases of COVID- 19 are mild or asymptomatic and michigandaily.com Thursday, July 23, 2020 ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM michigandaily.com