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.” michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Wednesday, February 3, 2021 ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. INDEX Vol. CXXX, No. 18 ©2021 The Michigan Daily N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 ARTS............................ 5 MIC...............................8 OPINION.......................9 STATEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 michigandaily.com For more stories and coverage, visit Follow The Daily on Instagram, @michigandaily 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