The number of reported sexual
assault, sexual harassment, dating
violence and stalking cases at the
University of Michigan increased
from 2017 to 2019, according to two
reports released in January, one by
the University’s Division of Public
Safety and Security and the other
from the Office of Institutional
Equity. In this article, the term
“sexual misconduct” will refer to a
grouping of sexual assault, sexual
harassment, stalking and dating
violence cases, unless otherwise
noted.
According to the DPSS report,
from 2017 to 2019, the number
of reported sexual misconduct
incidents increased from 96 to
140. The greatest increase was in
reports of stalking, which grew from
24 incidents in 2017 to 50 in 2019.
Incidents of fondling and domestic
violence also increased between
2017 and 2019.
DPSS used data from OIE and
the Sexual Assault Prevention and
Awareness Center, as well as its
own data, to formulate the Annual
Security and Fire Safety Report.
This report, released in January,
includes statistics not only on sexual
misconduct but also other types of
crime.
While the total number of
sexual misconduct incidents per
year reported to Sexual Assault
Prevention and Awareness Center
from 2017 to 2019 stayed around the
mid- to low-300’s, sexual harassment
cases specifically sharply increased,
according to the DPSS report. While
there were 45 sexual harassment
cases reported to SAPAC in 2017 and
10 in 2018, this number grew to 89 in
2019. The number of stalking cases
reported to OIE also grew, from 40
in 2017 and 31 in 2018 to 52 in 2019.
OIE also released its own January
report separate from DPSS only on
statistics of the cases reported to
OIE, which, like the DPSS report,
show the total number of sexual
misconduct cases reported went up
significantly starting in 2017 and
has continued to rise since then.
Starting in 2014, there were 134 OIE
violations, which increased to 322
in 2020. Between 2014 and 2020,
annual OIE violations increased
almost every year.
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Wednesday, March 17, 2021
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ADMINISTRATION
VACCINE
BECCA MAHON/Daily
All adults in Michigan will become eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on April 5.
All Michigan adults eligible for
COVID-19 vaccine starting April 5
All Michigan adults will be
eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations
beginning April 5, Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer announced Friday.
Whitmer also announced Friday
the opening of an eight-week mass
vaccination site at Ford Field in
Detroit on March 24. The mass
vaccination site was selected by
the Biden administration and the
Federal Emergency Management
Agency
under
the
federal
government’s
vaccination
pilot
program. The site will have the
capacity to administer 6,000 doses
per day to what the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
determined to be a hard-hit and
vulnerable population.
The announcement comes after
Whitmer previously reported that
all adults 50 years old and older will
be eligible to receive the vaccine
beginning on March 22. Under the
new guidelines announced Friday,
adults ages 16 to 49 with underlying
medical conditions will now also be
eligible for the vaccine on the same
date.
“I want to thank President Biden
and FEMA for the opportunity
to build one of the nation’s first
community
vaccination
sites
to service the entire Southeast
Michigan region,” Whitmer said
in a press release Friday. “Over one
million Michiganders of all races
have already been safely vaccinated,
and this site will help us to reach
our goal of equitably vaccinating 70
percent of Michiganders who are 16
years or older more quickly.”
As of March 5, roughly 26%
of
University
of
Michigan
students
and
employees
have
been vaccinated. As of March
11,
Michigan
Medicine
has
delivered nearly 74,000 total first-
and
second-dose
vaccinations.
Currently,
Michigan
Medicine
is in Phases 1A and 1B of vaccine
prioritization, which include all
Michigan Medicine employees,
frontline and essential workers and
adults 65 years old and older.
During
a
pandemic
that
disproportionately affects minority
communities — particularly Black
communities — and individuals
with lower social vulnerability
indexes, the Detroit vaccination site
aims to serve those who are most
vulnerable to infection, Lieutenant
Governor Garlin Gilchrist said.
The vaccination site was chosen
in accordance with the CDC’s
prioritization
recommendations
and aims to serve all southeastern
Michigan communities.
“After a year of tremendous
challenges and heartache, the new
vaccine site at Ford Field will be a
beacon of hope in a community that
was hit hard by the devastating
impacts of this deadly virus,”
Gilchrist said in the press release.
“When we saw this virus targeting
Black and Brown communities,
Michigan got to work setting up
one of the nation’s first task forces
to help reduce the staggering,
disproportionate rate of COVID-19
cases and deaths in communities of
color.”
During its first three weeks,
the
site
will
administer
the
Pfizer vaccine to individuals who
qualify according to the social
vulnerability index, guaranteeing
them a second dose in the fourth,
fifth and sixth weeks of operation.
The social vulnerability index is
a tool developed by the CDC to
analyze how social factors impact a
community’s health risk.
Detroit to open 8-week mass vaccination site with FEMA at Ford Field
LILY GOODING &
HANNAH MACKAY
Daily Staff Reporter &
Daily News Editor
U-M to have most classes
in-person, open residence
halls at nearly 80%
capacity for fall semester
Plan is predicated on assumption that faculty,
staff and GSIs will be vaccinated by August
Most classes will be taught
in-person, residence halls will be
open at almost 80% capacity and fans
will be allowed to attend sporting
events in-person “as allowed by the
public health measures” during the
Fall 2021 semester, the University
of Michigan announced Friday
afternoon.
While
most
small
classes,
seminars and discussion sections
will be in person, most large lecture
classes will continue to be remote,
though the announcement said this
could vary by school and college for
pedagogical purposes. On-campus
dining halls will offer in-person
and
carry-out
meal
options.
Residence halls and living-learning
communities will be open to
students. Libraries, museums, study
spaces, gyms and student support
centers will have more in-person
components available while still
offering some remote options.
Additionally, campus employees
who have been working remotely
throughout the pandemic will
return to campus in a phased
manner over the summer. Some
will continue to work remotely for
some of the workweek. Research
opportunities for graduate and
undergraduate
students
will
continue expanding gradually as
well.
The plan presumes that all faculty,
graduate student instructors and
staff will have access to a COVID-
19 vaccine before the fall semester
and that a significant proportion
of students will have also been
vaccinated, according to University
President Mark Schlissel.
According to the announcement,
“this will all be accomplished within
the boundaries of the state and local
public health safety measures in
place at that time.” At a COVID-
19
briefing
Friday
afternoon,
Schlissel noted recent COVID-19
developments such as lowering case
numbers and improving vaccination
rates.
“A third highly effective and
safe COVID-19 vaccine has been
approved, President Biden has
called for all adults to be eligible
for vaccination by May 1, we’re
seeing fewer cases on campus and
across the nation, and forecasts for
hospitalizations are decreasing,”
Schlissel said.
Furthermore,
the
state
of
Michigan
announced
Friday
morning that all adults in the state
will be eligible for a COVID-19
vaccine starting April 5, tossing
out the phased approach the state
planned while vaccine supply was
more limited.
Chief
Health
officer
Preeti
Malani
said
weekly
COVID-
19 testing would continue to be
offered throughout the summer
and possibly the fall semesters and
urged all U-M community members
who are eligible to get vaccinated
wherever possible.
“I’m very optimistic that the fall
will look and feel more like a typical
semester on campus,” Malani said.
“We’ll all need to continue doing
our part by remaining flexible and
vigilant. I encourage everyone to
get vaccinated against COVID-19
whenever you become eligible.”
By the end of the summer,
Schlissel said the vast majority of the
U-M community will be vaccinated.
As of March 5, The Michigan
Daily found that 26% of the U-M
community has been vaccinated.
Dr. Sandro Cinti said that 22% of the
state is fully vaccinated in Friday’s
COVID briefing.
“We will be moving quickly to a
safer environment,” Schlissel said.
Still, Malani said students should
expect face coverings and social
distance to continue to some extent
in the fall.
The fall semester plan is still
flexible, so if vaccinations exceed
expectations, in-person activities
will expand and public health
measures will be modified, Schlissel
said.
HANNAH MACKAY &
CALDER LEWIS
Daily News Editors
Order of Angell votes to
permanently disband
CAMPUS LIFE
Order of Angell, a controversial
exclusive society for seniors at the
University of Michigan, announced
on March 12 their vote to officially
disband in a letter signed by Order’s
class of 2021. Order — previously
an all-male secret society known as
Michiguama — is often criticized
for its elitist behavior and past
appropriation of Native American
culture.
In the letter, the class said its
decision to disband, which the
organization says occurred on
Feb. 22, came after months of
discussion and reflection on the
society’s history of harm, racism
and elitism.
“Order of Angell was founded on
the mission to make the Michigan
campus a better place for students,”
the letter reads. “We realized that
any actions we could take would
not be adequate in healing the
past and improving the future of
the organization. Ultimately, the
historical lack of transparency
and sufficient action prevent the
achievement of this core mission.”
The letter said the organization’s
class
of
2021
learned
about
Order’s
past
“misappropriation
of Indigenous cultures, exclusion
of certain social identities, and
perpetuation of white patriarchal
structures of power” upon being
initiated and looked to reform
the society. However, the class
of 2021 wrote they recognize
their complacency in joining and
continuing Order caused further
harm.
“In the strongest terms possible,
we condemn any attempts to keep
the organization alive in secret,
restart the group, or build a new
one that seeks to erase the history
of the Order of Angell,” the letter
reads.
The announcement of Order’s
vote to disband comes after the
current 2021 class sent an email
to the society’s alumni on Feb. 17
asking for feedback on Order’s
value to the University and on if
Order should continue on campus.
According to the email, a copy
of which was obtained by The
Michigan
Daily,
Order’s
class
of 2021 did not start “on a solid
footing” due to the COVID-19
pandemic, small class size and
being perceived as racist, among
other reasons.
Exclusive honor society was often criticized for elitist
behavior, past appropriation of Native American culture
BARBARA COLLINS &
LIAT WEINSTEIN
Managing News Editors
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Graphic by Alex Cotignola, Naitian Zhou, Eric Lau
Source: University of Michigan DPSS
The number of sexual misconduct cases reported has increased from 2017-2019
The overall number of sexual misconduct incidents has steadily increased from 96 to 116 to
140 from 2017-2019, driven by increases in Fondling, Stalking and Domestic Violence.
Annual reports show increase in number of U-M
sexual misconduct cases from 2017-2019
CRIME
Reported sexual harassment, stalking , domestic violence and fondling instances up from years past
CAROLINE WANG
Daily Staff Reporter
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
See MISCONDUCT, Page 3