Liz Hornyak: On this week’s episode, EMU announces its single room guarantee as part of its #EMUSafe Initiative, an update on police reform in Michigan, and the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority’s gives tips on how to be safe while using public transit.

EMU announced its single room guarantee as part of its #EMUSafe Initiative.The single room guarantee will allow every student who requests a single room to receive one. This guarantee will reduce the price of single rooms by $1,700 dollars.

The new price for singles in Hoyt and Pittman will be $5,530 per year, and $6,070 for other places on campus. Students who desire a roommate still have that option. Multiple resident rooms will now cost $4,730 in Hoyt and Pittman and $5,270 elsewhere. EMU’s public health group is continuing to develop a plan to ensure students and faculty safety for the fall. Things they are considering are:

• Reducing the number of people that are on campus throughout the week 

• Safe dining

• Ads for social distancing and hygiene 

• Providing face masks on campus

• Adding more online classes

• Using larger spaces for classes to allow social distancing

Since March, there has been massive cleaning and disinfection of campus property and EMU’s public health group is looking to continue this in the fall. For more information about #EMUSafe Initiative and the single room guarantee you can go to www.emich.edu/emusafe

In state news, Sen. Jeff Irwin and Rep. Ronnie Stevenson testified in front of the Michigan Judiciary Committee to argue for police reform in Michigan. If the House passes the bill, it will require that police officers get training on implicit bias, de-escalation tactics, and get a mental health screening as part of their initial training and certification. The bill will also require officers to go through re-education of bias and de-escalation. Starting in 2022, officers would be required to do twelve hours of reeducation. In 2024 officers would have to complete twenty-four hours of reeducation every year. If you have any questions about this bill or police reform in general, you can submit them to us at the link on our website. You can find it both in the article concerning the bill, and on the transcript for this podcast.

The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, also known as ‘The Ride’ released a statement offering businesses tips on how to decrease possible transmission of COVID-19 on public transit. ‘The Ride’ suggested continuing remote work, having employees work in rotational shifts, commuting by walking or riding your bike, and supplying PPE to students and staff. ‘The Ride’ has already installed plexiglass on buses to separate passengers from the driver, is providing hand sanitizer at their transit centers, and has enhanced their cleaning procedures. As of right now, ’The Ride’ is also looking into installing more plexiglass barriers to limit passenger-to-passenger contact.

As always, thank you for listening and don’t forget to tune in next week for more news and information. Full-length articles covering today’s news are available at easternecho.com. If you like our show, please consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts.

Host: Liz Hornyak

Script: Jasmine Boyd

Produced: Lauren Smith

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