On Jan. 27, the Washtenaw
County Health Department issued
a two week long stay-in-place
recommendation urging University
of Michigan students living on or
near the Ann Arbor campus to stay
in their residences and avoid group
contact.
The
recommendation
came after numerous cases of the
more contagious B.1.1.7 variant
were discovered among University
students,
prompting
Michigan
Athletics to cease all activity for
two weeks.
The Daily spoke with students
about their thoughts on the recent
recommendation and whether they
believed it would successfully curb
the spread of the virus.
Is it a recommendation or an
order?
The guidelines of the current
stay-in-place
recommendation
for all undergraduate, graduate
and professional students are very
similar to the stay-at-home order
directed solely at undergraduate
students in October 2020. Other
than the expanded range, the most
notable difference is that the county
refers to the current guidelines
as recommendations rather than
orders, so there are no enforcement
mechanisms.
The difference between an
“order” and a “recommendation”
has caused some students to
question what the change will
achieve.
LSA
junior
Alyssa
Frizzo said very few of the new
recommendations
are
actually
enforced.
“I mean, the only truly enforced
thing is that gyms are closed,”
Frizzo said. “Nothing else is
actually, definitively changed.”
When asked about the difference
between the fall’s order and
the
current
recommendation,
University
spokesperson
Rick
Fitzgerald
said
the
county
health
department
has
had
time to understand what other
health departments and campus
communities have done over the
course of the pandemic.
“I
think
the
advice,
collectively, is to handle these as
recommendations, not as local
health orders,” Fitzgerald said.
LSA
freshman
Alexander
Manthous said while the order in
the fall semester helped reduce
cases among students, several
students got away with violating
those
guidelines.
According
to
Manthous,
evading
these
recommendations will be even
easier this semester.
“I know cases did go down last
semester when they put that order
in place, but it just seems like the
University hasn’t been good at
enforcing these rules,” Manthous
said.
Susan Ringler-Cerniglia, public
information officer for WCHD,
said the measure is proactive and
focuses on urging compliance.
“The
recommendation
is
a
recommendation, and we’re hoping
for good compliance, but there’s not
necessarily the same enforcement
mechanism that there is with an
order,” Ringler-Cerniglia said.
Engineering
freshman
Sam
Sugarman
said
the
issue
of
compliance
has
plagued
the
University community throughout
the pandemic.
“To some extent, people just
aren’t
going
to
follow
these
guidelines,” Sugarman said. “I feel
like people are following what they
deem is safe, not what the county
deems is safe. Kids are kids. They’re
gonna do what they want. I think
(the recommendation) is pretty
ineffective, to be honest.”
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Wednesday, February 3, 2021
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Peter
Chen,
professor
of
computer science and engineering
at the University of Michigan, was
placed on administrative leave
Wednesday
following
pending
criminal charges for sexual conduct
of the first degree with a victim
under the age of 13. The offense is
alleged to have occurred on April
1, 2017, and Chen is scheduled for a
probable cause conference hearing
on Feb. 4.
There is no information at this
time that links Chen’s charges to
his career at the University, an
email to CSE students from Alec
Gallimore, dean of the College of
Engineering, said.
“Let me be clear — sexual
misconduct
is
completely
unacceptable
in
any
form,”
Gallimore wrote. “I encourage
anyone who has any information
about misconduct to report it. It is
only when we are aware of issues
that we can address them.”
Gallimore also wrote in the
email he plans to work with CSE
Chair Michael Wellman and the
rest of the department to address
its climate and culture. When
asked how the CSE department
will be handling this situation,
University
spokesperson
Rick
Fitzgerald wrote in an email to
The Michigan Daily there was no
further information to share.
In an email to The Michigan
Daily, Mariell Lehman, Chen’s
lawyer, said Chen denies the
charges against him.
“On January 26, 2021 Mr. Chen
was made aware of the criminal
sexual conduct allegations that had
been made against him,” Lehman
wrote. “He completely denies the
allegations and has cooperated
fully with the Ann Arbor Police
Department to assist them in their
investigation. Mr. Chen is confident
that the truth will prevail and that
he will be exonerated fully. Mr.
Chen thanks the numerous people
who have reached out in support of
him over the last few days.”
In a statement to The Daily
Wednesday
evening,
the
Engineering Student Government
wrote their assembly would be
meeting with Gallimore to discuss
the situation further.
“We hope to use this time
to get a better understanding
of the details surrounding this
event,” the statement reads. “We
patently abhor any and all sexual
misconduct. Additionally, we
will be publishing resources for
students on our website promptly.”
Engineering
sophomore
Zaynab
Elkolaly,
an
assembly
representative in Central Student
Government
and
Engineering
Student
Government,
attended
a pre-scheduled meeting with
Gallimore on Thursday evening.
She said Gallimore encouraged
those at the meeting to not jump
to conclusions before Chen has
been proven guilty and expressed
concern for the wellbeing of
students.
“I could also tell that he was
personally
very
enraged
and
worried for us,” Elkolaly said. “It
just seems like he’s a guy that cares,
but his hands are tied right now.”
University
alum
Siddhant
Pagariya was enrolled in EECS 482
during his time at the University.
He said he believes that students
deserve more than just a follow
up email on the issue because
misconduct is a continuing issue in
the computer science department.
“I guess for students’ peace
of mind, they should allow for a
lot more of a conversation, and
listening to both sides would be
much better than just, ‘Hey, here’s
an email,’” Pagariya said. “They
should … have more transparency.
Obviously this is still a developing
story, but even having counselors
or some sort of conversation would
be really helpful.”
Chen, who has taught at the
University since 1993, was a
professor for EECS 482 and EECS
498 this semester. He was the last
person you would expect to do
this, University alum Chris Combs
said.
“It’s a very horrible situation
where someone who, on the one
hand, so many students looked up
to and respected, may have done
something truly evil,” Combs said.
With toddlers swaddled warmly
in strollers, babies on parents’
shoulders and homemade signs in
hand, over 100 parents, community
members and Ann Arbor Public
School
students
gathered
downtown
Saturday
afternoon
chanting “lead with facts, not with
fear” in protest against AAPS’
decision to offer remote-only
instruction indefinitely during the
pandemic.
Ann Arbor Reasonable Return
(A2R2) — an advocacy group
seeking a reasonable approach to
reopening schools — protested
in front of the Ann Arbor Post
Office on E. Liberty St. to demand
in-person options for AAPS. More
than 600 community members
have signed a petition for in-person
options, and nearly 130 physicians
and pediatric providers signed a
letter supporting A2R2’s goals.
Since Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
shut down all K-12 schools in
Michigan at the start of the
pandemic,
the
district
has
implemented a virtual learning
plan called Reimagine Learning
to help students succeed during
the pandemic. In early January,
Whitmer announced that the state
was recommending that all K-12
schools offer in-person learning
options by March 1.
Last week, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
released
updated
guidelines
saying schools can safely reopen
with masks and social distancing
requirements,
citing
evidence
that shows schools are not a huge
driver of community transmission.
‘They are playing
catch-up’: ‘U’ community
talks new stay-in-place
“Get them back in school”:
Ann Arbor Reasonable Return
hosts rally for in-person school
Longtime EECS instructor was teaching two Winter 2021 classes before allegations arose
Crowd of more than 100 call for optional end to virtual learning
Students react to sexual misconduct
charges against Professor Peter Chen
See RALLY, Page 4
Students and families gather together to rally for opening Ann Arbor Public Schools amidst the COVID-19 pandemic Saturday afternoon.
Engineering students react to criminal sexual misconduct charges against Peter Chen, computer science and engineering professor at the University of Michigan.
Recommendation follows 14 confirmed B.1.1.7
variant cases among University students
U-M is negotiating with
Anderson survivors. Here’s
what that means
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
SHANNON STOCKING
Daily Staff Reporter
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Hundreds have alleged that the late doctor sexually abused them from 1968 to 2003
Since the late University of
Michigan athletic doctor Robert
Anderson was named in numerous
allegations of sexual abuse dating
back to the 1970s, more than 70
lawsuits have been filed in federal
court. Hundreds of former students
allege Anderson sexually abused
them while he was employed by the
University from 1968 to 2003.
Among these suits is a class
action complaint which, unlike
the individual lawsuits against the
University representing specific
plaintiffs, seeks to prosecute the
University on behalf of all students
affected by Anderson.
The lawyers bringing the class
action suit and those representing
the
University
have
been
in
mediation since mid-October. A
settlement between the parties
would offer monetary damages to
the hundreds of former students
Anderson allegedly abused. By
including reform measures in their
negotiations, it would also result in
changes to the University’s sexual
misconduct policy, which applies to
all students, faculty and staff on the
University’s three campuses.
In an interview with The
Michigan Daily last September,
Annika Martin, the interim class
counsel for the class action suit,
said the lawsuit is unique because it
aims for institutional reform as well
as collecting monetary damages for
survivors. Martin has worked on
previous class actions, including a
now-settled case against George
Tyndall,
a
former
University
of Southern California campus
gynecologist, who sexually abused
thousands of former patients.
“Class actions can ask for
change, not just money,” Martin
said. “So that was one thing that
was really important because when
you have these institutions like
USC, like U of M, like churches,
like youth organizations, sports
organizations, the institution needs
to make changes to make sure that
these kinds of things can never
happen again.”
When contacted by The Daily,
University
spokesman
Rick
Fitzgerald declined to comment on
active litigation.
In October 2020, Fitzgerald told
The Detroit News that “substantial
changes” have been made to the
University’s
sexual
misconduct
policies and procedures over the
past few years. The interim sexual
misconduct policy, which took
effect in August 2020, received
a mix of support and criticism
from
the
campus
community
for including cross-examination
between the accuser and accused
in cases of sexual misconduct.
Fitzgerald also told The Detroit
News the University is continuing
to review the recommendations
from
WilmerHale,
the
law
firm hired by the University to
investigate
decades
of
sexual
misconduct from former Provost
Martin Philbert, as they consider
further changes. In July, the
WilmerHale
report
found
Philbert
committed
numerous
acts of sexual misconduct over
the course of two decades at the
University. The University has
hired WilmerHale to investigate
Anderson’s alleged behavior as
well.
Given a string of additional
allegations
against
faculty
in
recent years — including against
two professors in the School
of Music, Theatre & Dance, an
English professor in LSA and,
more recently, two professors
in the College of Engineering —
some student organizers argue
the University’s policy changes
are insufficient and hope the
Anderson case will compel more
robust change.
Business freshman Aditi Jain,
co-president of the on-campus
survivor advocacy group Roe v.
Rape, said the University’s choice
to appoint professor Jason Mars’
to teach a required computer
science
course
this
semester
despite
allegations
of
sexual
misconduct can be compared to
the University’s alleged failure
to respond to warnings about
Anderson in the years he was
employed.
CITY
ADMINISTRATION
ADMINISTRATION
CHRISTIAN JULIANO &
JARED DOUGALL
Daily Staff Reporters
JULIANNA MORANO
Daily Staff Reporter
JASMIN LEE &
NINA MOLINA
Daily News Editor
& Daily Staff Reporter
See CHEN, Page 4
DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily