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Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Ann Arbor, Michigan
ACADEMICS
CSE Department under investigation for Title IX compliance
The National Science Foundation is conducting a review of the CSE Department’s compliance with Title IX JULIAN WRAY
Investigative Managing Editor
The National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency which provides research grants for science and engineering, is conducting a review of the University of Michigan’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering compliance with Title IX regulations. The CSE department has seen allegations of sexual misconduct against several of its faculty members since 2020. NSF began conducting interviews with CSE faculty and administrators from the Equity, Civil Rights and Title IX office Tuesday. CSE professor Peter Chen was charged with criminal sexual conduct in the first degree in 2021 and stood trial in late 2022. Chen was found not guilty by a Washtenaw County jury and has since returned to teaching as a professor of electrical engineering and computer science. Former CSE professor Walter Lasecki resigned from his position in August 2021 after an investigation by The Michigan Daily exposed multiple allegations of sexual harassment against him. In 2020, CSE professor Jason Mars was accused of sexually inappropriate behavior by employees of Clinc, an AI start-up founded by Mars and Lingjia Tang, his wife and
CAMPUS LIFE
fellow CSE professor. NSF awards grants in various departments, supporting over 1,000 projects at the University. NSF provided over $112 million of the University’s $1.71 billion in research spending in 2022. Gloria Hage, an attorney in the Office of General Counsel, sent an email notifying CSE faculty of the NSF’s review on March 1. The Daily has obtained a copy of this email. “(NSF) will evaluate and assess the University’s nondiscrimination policies and procedures related to Title IX, grievance and discrimination complaint processes and the role of the Title IX Coordinator in implementing and enforcing Title IX requirements,” Hage wrote. “The review will also evaluate whether the University’s procedures provide for the prompt and equitable resolution of Title IX complaints, and whether there is compliance with the notification and dissemination requirements of Title IX.” Hage provided a spreadsheet in the email for faculty members to sign up for interviews with NSF. The Daily obtained a copy of this spreadsheet, which indicated multiple ECRT administrators were to be interviewed, including ECRT Executive Director Tamiko Strickman.
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ADMINISTRATION
Court rules that UMich will not get injunction against GEO
Following an evidentiary hearing, the strike will continue
EMILY ALBERTS/Daily
GEO members and allies participate in a walkout and strike on the Diag Wednesday morning.
RILEY HODDER, MILES ANDERSON & MATTHEW SHANBOM
Daily News Editor & Daily Staff Reporters
The Un iver sit y of M ich ig a n h a s not b e en g ra nte d a re st ra i n i ng order a g a i n st t he Gradu ate E mploye e s ’ O r g a n i zat ion by t he Wa shten aw Ci rc u it Cou r t . Fol low i ng an ev ident ia r y hea r i ng Monday a f ter no on , Judg e Ca rol Ku h n ke de cide d t here i s no
ev idence of i r repa ra ble h a r m to t he Un iver sit y. Memb er s of Un iver sit y ad m i n i st rat ion were i n cou r t s e ek i ng a n i nju nc t ion t h at wou ld h ave cla i me d t h at GE O ’s c u r rent st r i ke i s i l leg a l b e cau s e it con st it ute s a breach of cont rac t . GE O ’s st r i ke b eg a n at 10 : 24 a . m . on M a rch 29, a f ter mont h s of ac t iv i sm du r i ng t hei r cont rac t neg ot iat ion s w it h t he Un iver sit y ’s Academ ic Hu m a n R e s ou rce s depa r t ment . Ni net y-f ive p ercent of GE O ’s memb er s
or ig i n a l ly vote d to aut hor i ze t he st r i ke, wh ich i s now enter i ng it s s e cond we ek . I n a n i nter v iew w it h The M ich ig a n Da i ly fol low i ng t he de ci sion , GE O P re sident Ja re d E no sa id he b el ieve s t he cou r t m ade t he r ig ht ca l l . “ The Un iver sit y wa s ba n k i ng on re s olv i ng t h i s ent i rely t h roug h t he cou r t s a nd not h av i ng to dea l w it h u s s er iou sly at t he ba r g a i n i ng t a ble,” E no sa id . “ I t h i n k t he judg e m ade t he r ig ht ca l l t h at t h at ’s not
appropr iate.” I n a n em a i l to The Da i ly, Un iver sit y sp okesp er son K i m Bro ek hu i zen w rote t h at t he Un iver sit y i s d i sapp oi nte d i n t he judg ment , but rem a i n s ready to neg ot iate w it h GE O. “ Wh i le we a re d i sapp oi nte d i n t he de ci sion , we appre ciate Judg e Ku h n ke ’s ack nowle dg ement t h at ou r st udent s a re st i l l b ei ng h a r me d ,” Bro ek hu i zen w rote. “ We a l s o u nder st a nd t he h ig h leg a l st a nda rd of ‘ i r repa ra ble h a r m’ we f ace d .”
45th annual Take Back the Night rally focuses on allyship
Students and community members marched through the city streets last week MADISON HAMMOND Daily News Reporter
Content warning: mentions of sexual violence. About 100 sexual violence survivors and allies gathered in the Michigan Union’s Rogel Ballroom at the University of Michigan for the 45th annual Take Back the Night rally Wednesday evening. The event was organized by University Students Against Rape in collaboration with the Standing Tough Against Rape Society. After hearing from speakers and performers, attendees took to the streets of Ann Arbor, marching with signs, drums and tambourines while shouting chants such as, “We have the power, we have the right, the streets are ours, take back the night!” In an interview with The Michigan Daily before the event, Courtney Banks, a student organizer for Take Back the Night, said the focus of this year’s rally was allyship for sexual violence survivors, with an emphasis on how men can support survivors of sexual assault. “(This event is) a little bit more about allyship, specifically male allyship,” Banks said. “I know there’s a lot of student orgs on campus that protest policy and do different things … but our sort of big thing (at Take Back the Night) is raising the voices of survivors, empowering them by doing events like this.” Banks said she thinks the annual rally gives survivors a chance to have their voices and stories heard by the Ann Arbor and U-M communities.
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“There are many scenarios, where, as survivors, your voices are taken away from you,” Banks said. “So an event like this, where we can sort of get out there, shout, yell, make ourselves known to the world so that you can’t forget about us, is so important.” The event featured presentations from a variety of student and Ann Arbor-based organizations. The rally opened with a performance by Groove, a U-M student percussion group. 13 other campus and Ann Arborbased organizations — including safeMD, Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center and SafeHouse — hosted tables in the Union so that attendees could speak to representatives from each of organization. Following the energetic kick-off by Groove, Pam Swider, STARS executive director and founder, introduced the goals of this year’s Take Back the Night. “One of our biggest hopes at Take Back the Night Ann Arbor, and even with our volunteer family, is that we have created a safe space — a space with no judgment, a space where we’re supported and listened to,” Swider said. Nicole Denson, Detroit resident and an activist against sexual violence, introduced herself to the crowd and said she was excited about being able to attend and speak at the event. “Take Back the Night is a worldwide movement dedicated to raising awareness about the prevalence of sexual violence and providing a forum to give survivors as we gather together tonight to demand recognition of the problem of sexual
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violence,” Denson said. “We take a stand against the cycle of sexual violence, and empower those that are in dark spaces to speak out.” Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor also spoke about his dedication to addressing and ending sexual violence in
governments across the country have declared April to be the month for advocacy in the area — with Taylor announcing that Ann Arbor would support that movement. “It’s time to draw attention to the prevalence of sexual violence and to educate individuals and
communities across the country to prevent sexual violence and uplift survivors of this crime.” USAR volunteers informed the audience about sexual assault risk factors and the definition of consent, which they said should be informed, sober and enthusiastic. Nursing
“According to the Department of Justice, 84.3% (of Native American women) will experience some form of violence — with 56.1% of Native American women experiencing sexual violence and 55.5% experiencing domestic violence — in their lifetime,” Sutherby said.
GRACE LAHTI/Daily Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor proclaims April to be recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness month in Ann Arbor at the Take Back the Night rally in the Michigan Union Wednesday night.
the city of Ann Arbor. Taylor noted that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month in the state of Michigan. Though there is no federal month for sexual assault awareness, many individual state and city
communities and institutions about how to protect (others) and help those in need,” Taylor said. “I proclaim the month of April 2023 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Ann Arbor and join advocates and
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INDEX
freshman Amanda Sutherby was one of the volunteers at the event and she made a specific note about high levels of sexual violence perpetrated against Native American women in the United States.
Vol. CXXXII, No. 109 ©2023 The Michigan Daily
The rally evolved into a march as volunteers handed out signs and megaphones, and attendees headed to the streets of Ann Arbor to make their voices heard throughout the night.
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