In an email to students and fac-
ulty Monday, University of Mich-
igan President Mark Schlissel 
outlined the new interim policy 
on sexual and gender-based mis-
conduct, which will go into effect 
Aug 14. The policy will apply to 
students, faculty, staff and third 
parties on all three campuses and 
Michigan Medicine.
“Improving how we prevent 
and address sexual and gender-
based misconduct in our com-
munity must always remain a 
foremost priority at U-M,” Schlis-
sel said. “We strive to do better, 
always, and creating an umbrella 
policy that covers all members of 
the U-M community is one key 
measure we are implementing.”
The policy includes definitions 
for prohibited conduct, separate 
procedures for addressing allega-
tions against students and allega-
tions against employees or third 
parties, and clarifies confiden-
tial resources and ways to report 
misconduct. 
This policy, which was ori-
ginally set to be released in early 
2020, was postponed in order to 
take the Department of Educa-
tion’s new regulations into con-
sideration. The new regulations, 
announced in May by Secre-
tary of Education Betsy DeVos, 
announced new title IX proced-
ures and protocol which will 
change the policy draft shared by 
University administration in the 
fall. 
According to the University 
Record, one of the most signifi-
cant changes is the new federal 
regulations having a more nar-
row definition for sexual harass-
ment. 
Rather than the previous def-
inition, which said sexual harass-
ment is conduct that is “severe, 
persistent, or pervasive,” the 
new definition says it is conduct 
which is so “severe and pervasive 
and objectively offensive that it 
effectively denies a person equal 

access to education.”
The new University policy 
includes a definition of Title IX 
regulations to meet federal regu-
lations, as well as a broader def-
inition that includes sexual and 
gender-based misconduct out-
side of federal regulations. It also 
includes two separate procedures 
for staff, faculty and third par-
ties, depending on which defin-
ition the allegation falls under.
The 
policy 
also 
retained 
reporting 
obligations, 
despite 
federal regulations removing ref-
erences and requirements related 
to responsible employees. Indi-
viduals with reporting obliga-
tions are identified and obligated 
to report information regarding 
prohibited conduct to the Office 
of Institutional Equity.
For 
students, 
new 
federal 
regulations also require that 
cross examinations be held by a 
student’s adviser. These advisers 
can be outside attorneys provid-
ed by the University for students 
who need them.
Public Policy junior Emma 
Sandberg is the executive dir-
ector of Roe v. Rape, a nonprofit 
organization that advocates for 
sexual assault survivors. In an 
interview with The Daily, Sand-
berg emphasized the policy chan-
ges announced by Schlissel are a 
huge improvement over previous 
policies. 
“One thing that we have been 
advocating for throughout the 
past year is for the University to 
provide students with free attor-
neys, rather than advisors for 
cross examination,” Sandberg 
said. “According to the Univer-
sity Record, it looks like U of M 
has this demand in their policy 
changes, which is a major win for 
survivors.”
According to Sandberg, the 
group was also glad to see the 
University maintain the prepon-
derance of evidence standard and 
continue to investigate off cam-
pus sexual misconduct, both of 
which were not required under 
the new federal regulations. Both 
of these were among the seven 
demands made by a petition that 
circulated in May regarding the 
new regulations.

2

Thursday, August 13, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NEWS

‘U’ updates sexual 
misconduct policy

The University of Michigan prides 
itself on being one of the nation’s 
top public research universities. 
Across all three campuses, 20,540 
graduate students and 8,598 faculty 
members study and work at the 
University, many of whom are 
active in research. In addition, over 
1,500 undergraduates participate 
in the Undergraduate Research 
Opportunity Program at the Ann 
Arbor campus.
Despite 
the 
thousands 
of 
researchers, 
the 
University’s 
anonymous 
reporting 
system 
received only seven reports in 
2019 related to “issues arising in 
the research setting,” according 
to University spokeswoman Kim 
Broekhuizen.
A Michigan Daily investigation 
found that flaws in the system 
deterred student researchers from 
reporting alleged abuse. The Daily 
spoke to three students who claimed 
the small size of their lab prevented 
them from using the University’s 
reporting system to report alleged 
misconduct. The Daily also found 
that little oversight of research 
supervisors 
strengthens 
the 
hierarchical system in research labs. 
Jason Altom, a graduate student 
in Harvard University’s chemistry 
department, died by suicide in 
1998. Two of the three suicide notes 

Altom left called for changes to the 
department that he felt could have 
prevented his death.
“Professors here have too much 
power over the lives of their grad 
students,” Altom wrote in one of his 
notes.
After 
extensive 
coverage 
by 
The New York Times, Harvard’s 
chemistry department adopted a 
series of changes, including a three-
member 
committee 
to 
monitor 
student 
researcher 
progress 
and free, confidential access to a 
therapist. Since Altom’s passing, 
journalists have uncovered alleged 
research abuse at other institutions 
like Stanford University and the 
University of Wisconsin-Madison. 
In a report released last month, 
WilmerHale, the law firm hired 
to investigate former University 
of Michigan Provost Martin A. 
Philbert’s 
sexual 
misconduct 
allegations, 
found 
he 
harassed 
women, including graduate students 
who worked in his research lab. 
Philbert made comments about their 
bodies, 
redireced 
conversations 
toward sex and insisted on receiving 
hugs.
In 2005, specific allegations of 
sexual assault arose in which one 
of Philbert’s research assistants 
reported Philbert had “asked her 
for sex, to marry him, to run away 
together and to ‘have caramel (sic) 
colored babies’ with him.” The report 
found “significant evidence that 
Philbert engaged in a wide range of 
sexual misconduct, including sexual 
harassment, for at least fifteen years.”

Abuse in research 
goes unreported

Read more at michigandaily.com

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 Students allege 
ineffective filing system 
due to major flaws

The new regulations 
set to take effect 
on Aug. 14

