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Wednesday October 2, 2019 vol. CXLIII no. 80
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ON CAMPUS
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Activist Naomi Klein talks global climate justice imperative By Allie Spensley
News Editor Emeritus
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.
Canadian journalist Noami Klein is best known for her attacks on capitalism and globalization.
When Naomi Klein looks at the world today, she sees flames. There are three “fires” that the global community is facing, she told an audience at Richardson Auditorium on Tuesday, and they are increasingly converging. Klein gave introductory remarks before speaking with Assistant Professor of African American Studies KeeangaYamahtta Taylor about Klein’s new book, “On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal.” She is a Canadian journalist and activist widely known for her biting indictments of capitalism and globalization. The first “fire” that Klein identified is the central concern of her book: climate change. She cited the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2018 report, which laid out both a plan and a deadline for global leaders to stave off
climate chaos. The plan, Klein said, was an “‘unprecedented transformation in virtually every aspect of society,’ in energy, in agriculture, in transportation, in building construction.” The deadline was twelve years, now down to eleven — what Klein described as a “very, very, very short window.” “Any of us who focus even tangentially on what we’re hearing from climate scientists knows that what we do or don’t do in the next handful of years will determine the lives and fates of hundreds of millions of people,” Klein said. The second “fire,” Klein said, is a political one. She pointed to the ascendancy of populist leaders in the U.S., Brazil, the Philippines, India, Australia, and Russia. In each of these countries, Klein said, politicians are defining national in-groups against a “sharply defined out-group, inside the respective countries and outside, on the borders …
the illegal, the illegitimate, the frightening other.” And these two fires — the “political and the planetary” — are linked, Klein added. “I think they are feeding each other,” she told the audience. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that at the very moment when the reality of climate breakdown ceases to be some future, abstract threat off in the indeterminate distance and becomes a lived reality, that at this very moment we have the global phenomenon of the rise of these strongmen figures, riling up hatred, turning populations against each other, using this fear and sense of scarcity.” Politicians like President Donald Trump and President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro are facilitating rather than fighting climate change, Klein said, from relaxed environmental regulation in the United States to wildfires rippling across the Amazon. Meanwhile, climate See KLEIN page 3
STUDENT LIFE
Lack of photos on Tigerbook not due to U. policy change By Zachary Shevin Assistant News Editor
Student photos have been unavailable on Tigerbook since Sept. 30. Tigerbook, an online directory of University students, was originally created by Hansen Qian ’16, Ivo Crnkovic-Rubsamen ’15, and Rohan Sharma ’14 for their capstone project in COS 333: Advanced Programming Techniques. It currently allows for the viewing of students’ names, email addresses, majors, residential colleges, and, in some cases, campus mailing addresses or phone numbers. Only members of the University community can access the site, as it requires a login through the University’s Central Authentication Service. Prior to this year, Tigerbook also contained students’ residential colleges, dorm rooms,
roommates, hometowns, states, and countries. On Sept. 6, this information was removed from Tigerbook after the University “restricted directory information about students that may have been available to University community members.” The removal of photos, however, does not follow from any change in University policy, according to Deputy University Spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss. “The issue may be related to the transition of the College Facebooks to a new publishing platform,” Hotchkiss wrote in an email to the Daily Princetonian. “If Tigerbook’s developers reach out to the Office of Information Technology, staff there can talk with them about the issue and possible solutions.” Dr. Jérémie Lumbroso, the faculty member supervising the Tigerbook development team, explained that Tigerbook repack-
ages information provided by the University and sourced elsewhere. As a result, Tigerbook did not itself host the images. Instead, the photos had been on Roxen, “a Wordpress-like platform” that was taken down on Thursday. “This change was part of broader, much-needed, and amazing work undertaken by OIT, under the direction of George Kopf,” Lumbroso wrote in an email statement to The Daily Princetonian. He noted that such work aimed “to modernize our entire data infrastructure,” but that, “as a side effect of Roxen being taken down, Tigerbook lost access to the student photos. The developer on staff, Nick Schmeller, is working hard to fix this problem.” Lumbroso further wrote that Tigerbook received no advance notice from the University of the changes to hometown, dorm room, and photo information.
SCREENSHOT FROM TIGERBOOK
The Tigerbook profile of the Daily Princetonian’s Editor in Chief
“While over the years, there have been many friends of Tigerbook and student developers within Princeton campus (especially at OIT), it feels like Tigerbook is still a consistent afterthought, despite receiving traffic from an
overwhelming majority of undergraduates on campus,” he wrote. “This is probably part of a broader conversation about the legitimacy of student-developed apps used to streamline our campus experience.”
BEYOND THE BUBBLE
BEYOND THE BUBBLE
General Mark Milley ’80 sworn in as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
Judge rules in favor of Harvard in admissionsdiscrimination suit
Staff Writer
General Mark Milley ’80 was sworn in as the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a ceremony on September 30. Milley will now hold the highest officer position in the United States military. Milley began his military career as a Reserve Officers’ Training Corp (ROTC) cadet during his time at the University. He was confirmed by the Senate in July and will now take over the role of President Trump’s most senior military adviser from General Joseph Dunford.
In Opinion
Milley received a bachelor of arts in politics from the University, served as an ROTC cadet, and played for the University hockey team. Since his time at the University, Milley has risen through the ranks of the U.S. Army, serving as a four-star General before his appointment as Chairman. In his time as the 39th Chief of Staff of the Army, he led some of the largest counterterrorism efforts in U.S. history. During his swearing-in speech, he gave thanks to his classmates in college, as well as to the University’s hockey team. See MILLEY page 3
Columnist Claire Wayner argues the University’s #1 ranking doesn’t apply to all aspects of the University’s conduct, while columnist Braden Flax criticizes social norms that encourage civility over resistance. PAGE 6
By Mallory Williamson Senior Writer
On Monday, Sept. 30, Judge Allison D. Burroughs of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled in favor of Harvard University in a civil-action lawsuit filed by Students for Fair Admissions, a group alleging that Harvard discriminates against AsianAmerican students in its admission process. The ruling holds that “the use of race benefits certain racial and ethnic groups that
would otherwise be underrepresented at Harvard and is therefore neither an illegitimate use of race or reflective of racial prejudice.” The decision follows months of media and public scrutiny of the Harvard admission process. Students for Fair Admissions argued that Harvard’s use of race in admissions is not in keeping with prior judicial allowances and that Harvard “discriminates against Asian-American applicants in the undergraduate admissions
Today on Campus 4:30 p.m.: The Challenge to “Brain Death”: Are We Taking Organs from Living Human Beings, and If We Are, Does It Matter? McCosh Hall 50
process to Harvard College in violation of Title VI.” In the suit, Harvard stressed that considering race in admissions furthers its mission “to create opportunities for interactions between students from different backgrounds and with different experiences to stimulate both academic and non-academic learning.” Harvard lawyers emphasized that race was never the sole factor in deciding the fate of a student’s application. Princeton and other elite See HARVARD page 2
WEATHER
By Rooya Rahin
HIGH
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Mostly Sunny chance of rain:
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The Daily Princetonian
Wednesday October 2, 2019
Ruling: Harvard’s use of race in admissions legally permissible
PHOTO COURTESY OF JOSEPH WILLIAMS / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
In the ruling, Harvard’s race-conscious admissions system was deemed non-discriminatory.
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universities came out in support of Harvard shortly after the lawsuit was filed. In a joint amicus brief with 15 other universities, Princeton stressed that “[enrolling] a diverse student body … significantly deepens the students’ educational experience” and that “holistic review of applications is the best means that universities can employ in pursuit of meaningful diversity.” Cecilia Rouse, Dean of the Woodrow Wilson School, and the late Alan Krueger, the James Madison Professor of Political Economy, signed onto an amicus brief in support of the statistical analysis used by Harvard to justify its admissions practices in the lawsuit. In a statement to The Daily Princetonian, University spokesperson Ben Chang reaffirmed the University’s support for Harvard in the case, as well as its dedication to attaining a diverse student body as part of “our educational mission.” “Princeton University strives to enroll a diverse student body because doing so significantly deepens our community’s edu-
cational experience,” Chang noted. “And we stand by the belief that individualized and holistic review of student applications is the best means that a university can employ in pursuit of meaningful diversity, with race and ethnicity as one factor among many in order to better understand each applicant and the contributions he or she might make to the university environment.” Although Harvard emerged victorious, the public scrutiny that Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard brought to Harvard’s admission process was not all favorable for the university. Documents released as part of the lawsuit indicate that the “personal ratings,” assigned to students by admissions officers — who consider subjective factors, such as “positive personality” and “kindness” — were meaningfully lower for Asian students than those given for students of other races. While Judge Burroughs ruled in Harvard’s favor, Students for Fair Admissions has indicated it will appeal the decision, and even months before the ruling, experts predicted that the case will ultimately end up on the Supreme Court’s docket.
T H E DA I LY
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Wednesday October 2, 2019
Milley led some of the largest counterterrorism efforts in U.S. history MILLEY
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Milley also emphasized the strength of the military and its dedication to fighting “on freedom’s frontier.” Milley also spoke of his new role as Trump’s most senior military adviser. “I will always provide you informed, candid, impartial military advice to you, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council and to the Congress,”
The Daily Princetonian
Milley said. Milley has assumed the position from General Joseph Dunford, who was first nominated by Obama in 2015 and renominated by Trump in 2017. Milley praised Dunford’s work as Chairman and thanked him for his years of service during the ceremony. He said that he considers Dunford to be a “close, personal friend” and hopes to continue Dunford’s legacy of military service. Dunford’s retirement marks an end to his over 40 years of service.
COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
General Mark Milley ’80 speaks at the 2019 commissioning ceremony for graduating Princeton ROTC Cadets.
Klein: Climate movement needs to be intersectional KLEIN
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events are having the most devastating impact in other countries, those without the infrastructure and resources to adequately deal with them. Klein argued that this imbalance has “created the cruel irony that the very people who are forced to move first are the people who did the least to create this crisis.” “They deserve not just asylum but an apology,” she added. Rather than asylum and apologies, however, Klein claimed that powerful countries are responding to climate change with a model of economic development that profits off of climate refugees. She traced the origin of this model from the “Island Solution” in Australia to criminalization of migrants in the E.U. to the treatment of immigrants at the U.S. border. The result, Klein asserted, is “climate barbarism,” a me-first response to climate change that entails cutting down on foreign aid and funneling money into the containment of climate refugees. But there is an important alternative, she argued, to the policies of climate barbarism, and it lies in the “third fire”: the global climate justice movement. This fire is being stoked by Greta Thunberg and the Sunrise Movement, and it is proliferating, Klein stated, gaining followers in an exponential and unprecedented fashion. In September, over seven million people took to the streets in worldwide climate strikes. “There is incredible urgency in the fires that have been lit in this coming generation, and they’re trying to light fires in the generation that came before them,” Klein said. Klein also emphasized that the global climate movement needs to be intersectional in order to match the demands of “intersecting crises” in political, economic, and social realms. In this sense, the radical scope of these crises pres-
ents an opportunity for a radical re-envisioning of society’s most basic yet problematic structures — a central argument in her book. “It’s going to take an all-out war on pollution and poverty and racism and colonialism and despair, all at the same time,” Klein read from the introduction to her book. In conversation with Klein, Assistant Professor Taylor asked what factors have contributed to the sudden, rapid visibility of the climate movement, particularly in the United States. Klein said that the lived experience of climate change — hotter, longer summers; wildfires in California — are helping to bring urgency to the movement, along with publicized scientific reports and collective action. Klein and Taylor also discussed the role that climate policies are playing in the 2020 election. Klein critiqued Senator Elizabeth Warren’s recent interpretation of climate change as an issue of political corruption, emphasizing instead that it is inextricably linked to capitalism. She also said that Senator Bernie Sanders’ “Green New Deal” proposal is the most internationally focused. But across the slate of Democratic candidates, the unprecedented attention given to climate policy indicates an “absolute sea change” in the way we are approaching the climate crisis, Klein emphasized. “Just a few months ago we were talking about whether we can get Republicans on board for a revenue neutral carbon tax,” she said. “This really is a shift.” The lecture, entitled “A Call to Action: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal” was held at 7 p.m. in Richardson Auditorium. It was organized by the Humanities Council’s Gauss Seminars in Criticism in partnership with Labyrinth Books and co-sponsored by the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI), the Department of English, the Program in Latin American Studies and New Jersey Policy Perspectives.
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Wednesday October 2, 2019
Opinion
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Number one in what? Claire Wayner Columnist
Last month, Princeton secured the number-one spot among national universities on the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges ranking, for the ninth year in a row. As I read more into what criteria the rankings take into account, however, I realized that our first place position should come as no surprise, for U.S. News weighs only those criteria at which Princeton most excels, such as student test scores and alumni donation rates. The ranking system seems to be written almost specifically for Princeton (perhaps because we’ve been around for 273 years). It is dangerous to blindly assume that our position at the top extends to all aspects of the University, because that is far from the truth. Many critical factors, in which Princeton would certainly not receive a first-place ranking, are excluded by U.S. News. Perhaps U.S. News’s rating system captured the essence of a high-performing educational institution 50 or 100 years ago. In the 21st century, however, with increasing emphasis on both equitable
representation among undergraduate students and ethical institutional behavior, there is more to a university than test scores and salaries postgraduation. U.S. News should recognize this and incorporate these components into their assessments. For now, though, it’s up to us to comprehensively evaluate what score Princeton really should receive and what our number one rating means in this day and age. Consider, for instance, the University’s finances. Should a first-place institution refuse to divest from various exploitative industries such as fossil fuels and private prisons? On a planet suffering from accelerating climate change and in a country grappling with its racist incarceration policies, this most certainly isn’t A+ behavior. The University’s investments send a powerful statement about the values that it supports — yet, “ethical investment” is nowhere to be found within U.S. News’s numbers. If they did, “lesser” schools by U.S. News’s standards, such as University of Dayton (U.S. News #132) and Syracuse University (U.S. News #54), could take top slots, because of their commitments to full
fossil fuel divestment. More mundane operational elements also need improvement. For instance, does a number-one university still procure electricity from fossil fuels when viable alternatives exist? Not when 44 other schools across the country have successfully switched to 100% renewable energy generation. Princeton could do significantly better than the five percent it generates from our on-campus solar farm. Does a first-place university still rely on single-use plastics and have a student body so unaware of how to properly recycle that we’ve witnessed a decline over time in our recycling rate to an incredibly low 23%? Not in an era when we know the toxic effects plastics are having on our environment and on human health (to be fair, most universities would receive poor scores on recycling, because of the abysmal education and awareness of sustainable waste management that we receive in America). I’ve cited examples related to sustainability, with which I’m most familiar, but I’m sure that if you asked other students around campus, they’d cite a variety of other areas in which Princeton
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could improve, from Title IX enforcement to student engagement at University-wide meetings. I still believe that Princeton deserves its numberone position for many of the reasons that U.S. News cites. We cannot, however, let this score limit or prevent us from seeing our shortcomings. Princeton has long held a reputation of being conservative and resistant to rapid change. Perhaps that’s because we want to maintain our firstplace ranking and are afraid of doing anything differently. Instead of hiding under our first-place prize and committing to as little change as possible to maintain the status quo, we need to start living up to our comparative failures, the ways in which we are actually doing worse than other institutions, in order to come to terms with where we need to go. That’s what a number one university does in the 21st century — seeks out how it can improve not only at teaching, but at making the world a better and more sustainable place. Claire Wayner is a sophomore from Baltimore, M.D. She can be reached at cwayner@princeton. edu.
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Wednesday October 2, 2019
Opinion
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Compelling conformity Braden Flax Columnist
In the course of our education, employment, and lives in general, we are often encouraged to refrain from rocking the boat. If we become frustrated with the behavior of another, especially in the case of an institutional higher-up, we are told that we should pick our battles, that it is not worth the trouble of addressing the issue at hand. While valid in many cases, when this pragmatic piece of advice becomes internalized and too liberally applied, it can reproduce the problems that, so long as our heads remain buried in the sand of short-term convenience,
continually hinder us in our personal and occupational lives. Ironically, children are sometimes better-equipped to exemplify the advocacy and assertiveness that the rest of us might do well to more frequently adopt. Socialized by a morality-obsessed culture to practice virtuous behavior, stand up for others, and speak up, the youngest among us can be amusingly forthright and straightforward. More than that, though, children are uniquely positioned to articulate and highlight inconsistencies and interpersonal wrongdoings. Despite attempts by elementary and secondary schooling to quash this impulse, children often demonstrate a refreshing candor that, though absent theoretical rigor, represents a departure
from the go-with-the-flow attitude built into the fabric of mainstream discourse and straight-backed professionalism. When confronted by bullies, for instance, children often will defend themselves in a manner unacceptable according to “zero tolerance” policies, the first among measures in a long line of efforts to enforce docility and solicit self-restraint. Tragically, self-defense and solidarity instincts are not permitted to come to full fruition. Instead, they are forced to degrade through a process of maturation that, though it facilitates effective navigation of the adult world, also serves to curb the rebellious attitude so desperately needed in that very sphere. In some cases, children are indoctrinated with a disarming “turn the other cheek”
orthodoxy right away, facilitating an even smoother eventuality of mistreatment, exploitation, and passivity. Even in ideal cases where such a worldview is not so thoroughly inculcated, children almost invariably go from being told to stand up for what is right to being instructed to fall in line. This is clear in how we casually discuss nontrivial transgressions perpetrated by members of University faculty with comments such as, “after all, you’re going to have employers you don’t like, so you may as well get used to it now.” Applied to the case of bullying, this is literally an argument in its favor. Its implications for life after college are even more depressing, as it normalizes and validates the capacity of those on the top to cement their dominance against
timid and submissive subordinates. In the abstract, it is reasonable to argue that ideals of civility, forgiveness, and non-confrontation have their place in the organization of our social life. Furthermore, they are necessarily and properly constitutive of how we approach any number of interactions in our daily lives. Yet, absent an account of the actual nature of the bonds that tie us together, it is impossible to distinguish between battles that are and are not worth the effort. As a consequence of this moralistic muddling, we are unprepared to take on those who behave as genuine adversaries, from the schoolyard bully to the misanthropic manager. Braden Flax is a junior from Merrick, N.Y. He can be reached at bf lax@princeton.edu.
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Sports
Wednesday October 2, 2019
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{ www.dailyprincetonian.com } WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Women’s volleyball looks to extend its winning streak against Columbia, Cornell By Alissa Selover Associate Sports Editor
Princeton women’s volleyball (5–5 overall, 1–0 Ivy) began Ivy League play with a 3–0 sweep (25–20, 26–24, 25–18) over Penn (7–3 overall, 0–1 Ivy) on Friday. During the first set, neither the Tigers nor the Quakers led by more than two points until senior outside and right side hitter Devon Peterkin had a service ace, giving the Tigers an 18–15 lead. The Tigers took the next five out of eight points in the set. The Quakers added two more points to the board, settling the score at 24–20 before a Tiger kill from junior middle blocker Clare Lenihan gave set one to the Tigers. The score was tied eight times during this set. The Quakers held their first large lead in the second set, taking a 11–6 lead after five consecutive points. The Tigers came back with a 9–4 run to tie the set at 15–all. The Tigers and Quakers shared a tied score six more times, until two kills from sophomore outside hitter Elena Montgomery and Lenihan, respectively, gave the Tigers victory, at 26–24. Set three was a quick one for
the Tigers, starting off with a 9–2 lead, forcing a Quaker timeout. The Quakers attempted a comeback, but the closest they came to the Tigers was three points at 20–17. The Tigers rallied off five of the next six points to give them the 25–18 victory, securing the sweep. Princeton had 45 kills during the match, 14 of which went to Montgomery. Peterkin and Lenihan added 12 and 11, respectively. Senior setter Jessie Harris had 38 of the 41 assists to lead the Tiger offense. Three Tigers had double-digit digs during the match. Sophomore libero Cameron Dames had 14, and Peterkin and Montgomery both added 10. The Tigers gear up for two more games of Ivy play this weekend against Columbia (7–4 overall, 0–1 Ivy) and Cornell (8–2 overall, 1–0 Ivy). Columbia faced Cornell last weekend and lost 0–3. The Tigers have swept both Columbia and Cornell three out of the last four times they have played. Columbia lost outside hitter Luciana Del Valle to graduation in 2019. De Valle helped Columbia offensively, carrying 135 combined kills during the 2018 season. Despite this loss, the
PHOTO COURTESY OF BEVERLY SCHAEFER / GOPRINCETONTIGERS
Junior middle blocker Clare Lenihan.
Lions still have sophomore Emily Teehan contributing to the offense from the outside. In the 2018 season, Teehan contributed 265 kills. The Lions also have two strong middle blockers, sophomore Isa Lamus and senior Chichi Ikwuazom; the two had a combined 249 kills from the middle in 2018. Ikwuazom has already beat that combined number, adding 250 kills alone this season, making her a large
offensive force for the Lions. Finally, junior setter Audrey Cheng is a force to be reckoned with for the Lions. Leading the offense, she had 743 assists in 2018 and is already at 401 assists this season. Defensively, the Lions have senior libero Kalie Wood, who brought in 362 digs last season and is sitting at 150 this season. Cheng isn’t far behind, with 124 digs this season.
Cornell was third in the Ivy League in the 2018 season. The Big Red lost outside hitter Carla Sganderlla, who managed 199 kills last season, making her the team leader. There are currently no players with more than 75 kills this season, but six of Cornell’s players currently hold over 50 kills this season, underscoring that junior setter Zoe Chamness and first year setter Emma Worthington have spread their sets out. Each of the setters have reached 199 assists this season. Sophomore Jillienne Bennett is leading the Big Red with 68 kills; not far behind is senior middle blocker Jada Stackhouse, with 66 kills. Stackhouse leads the team in blocks with 43. Senior libero Lily Barber is carrying Cornell’s defense with 140 total digs. The next highest is first year Joanna Chang with 77 digs. The Tigers will look to keep their perfect record in Ivy League play against the Lions on Friday and Big Red on Saturday. Friday’s match will begin at 7 p.m. in Dillon Gymnasium and Saturday’s is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Dillon Gymnasium. Both matches can be streamed on ESPN+.
FOOTBALL
Calvin Johnson and marijuana in sports
By Matthew Fuller Senior Columnist
Last week, former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (nicknamed Megatron) caused a stir in sports media by admitting he would smoke marijuana after almost every game he played starting in 2007 until the end of his career in 2015. Johnson, who for most of his career was considered the best receiver in the league, used the drug medicinally to deal with the severe pain experienced by many who play professional football. In addition to concussions, Johnson once injured his foot, ankle, and both of his knees all in one year. Although cannabis is prohibited by both the World Anti-Doping Agency and the National Football League, Johnson was never punished for violating the league’s ban. Among the media’s most vocal critics of players using marijuana is ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith. On the show “First Take” Smith argued that he had no objection to marijuana being used medicinally, but added that players who take it a step further and use it recreationally do so at risk of losing focus on their NFL careers or six or seven figure salaries. Smith’s cohost Max Kellerman and guest moderator Rosalyn Gold-Onwude were quick to respond, contending that the NFL’s policy should adapt regardless of recreational use to deter players from using opioids and make it easier for them to remain safe. During his time with the Lions, Johnson complained that opioid abuse was clearly visible. In an interview with “Sports Illustrated” Megatron recalled, “You really could go in the training room and get what you wanted. I can get Vicodin, I can get Oxy[Contin]. It was too available. I used Percocet and stuff like that.
And I did not like the way that made me feel. I had my preferred choice of medicine. Cannabis.” For Johnson and many others, marijuana seemed like a much safer alternative to highly addictive and potentially dangerous opioids. Cannabis has even been used on occasion to improve an athlete’s performance. Athletes like bodybuilders have admitted to smoking marijuana in order to reduce soreness, and runners have used it to relax and loosen up. Runners also claim it can better induce runner’s joy and decrease distraction. The Beckley Foundation reports that significant research has focused on the psychological benefits, such as reducing anxiety and promoting better sleep, cannabis gives to athletes. Although the effects of the drug are not usually associated with high levels of physical performance, research has also shown that after exercise, the body naturally produces high levels of a cannabinoid called anandamide, which could be mimicked by ingesting cannabis. This being said, it is worth noting in detail the negative effects of marijuana. For many, cannabis can impair short-term memory, decrease alertness, lower reaction time, accelerate muscle fatigue, or cause extreme anxiety or paranoia. The effects of opioids — which can depress the respiratory system, cause severe dependence, and risk overdose — are much more dangerous than cannabis, but the dangers of marijuana usage are still real. Even when taking an edible form of marijuana, users can frequently misjudge the strength of what they ingest, resulting in more acute side effects, which may include vomiting. Still, smoking marijuana is
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even more dangerous. Inhaling smoke into one’s lungs is never beneficial and will suppress the immune system, risking, among many conditions, lower respiratory-tract infections and chronic bronchitis. Marijuana smoke also contains a number of carcinogens, though not to the degree of tobacco. Still, as Max Kellerman points out, cigar paper is often used when smoking marijuana and contains high traces of nicotine, which heightens its addictive potential. Regardless, when fighting the pain of playing in the NFL, whether it be Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) or another injury, marijuana is comparatively safer than other alternatives, and often necessary. Kellerman reported that many players, such as his colleague Marcellus Wiley, could not get out of bed on Mondays or Tuesdays after games and had to keep a bottle by their beds because they could not walk to the bathroom. To deal with the pain, Wiley said
he was given pills like Vioxx, which is stronger than Advil but was banned after just five years by the NFL because it increased risk of heart disease and stroke. “You don’t know what you’re taking, how to pronounce it, you don’t have any pamphlets or brochures,” he said. “We’re not medical students.” Robert Sims, Johnson’s former roommate, believes that “99% of football players have some form of CTE.” Together with Sims, Johnson and his wife, Brittney, have started a medical marijuana business in southeastern Michigan that aims to help players plan for their careers after football. Recently, their company partnered with an institute at Harvard to research the benefits of medical marijuana, including ways it can treat cancer cells in patients. Though the NFL has been very stringent in the past on marijuana usage, it has taken measures this past offseason to explore mental health and assess pain manage-
ment alternatives to painkillers. To combat mental illness and depression, the NFL has mandated a mental health practitioner for each team, but as more players, both former and active, are turning to marijuana, the NFL still has a way to go in turning away from opioids. Calvin Johnson suffered at least nine concussions while he played in the NFL. He recalled to reporter Michael Rosenberg, “Bam, hit the ground real hard. I’m seeing stars; I can’t see straight […] But I know in a couple minutes I’m gonna be fine. Because I’ve done that plenty of times before.” Whether marijuana helps performance, anxiety, or physical pain, Johnson now aims to help remedy a harmful lifestyle of chemical dependence, to which too few football players know they are heading. When Megatron retired, many said that he gave up football much earlier than he could have. It is now becoming clear, however, that no player can retire early enough.
COURTESY OF ATHLETES IN ACTION
Former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson.
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Field hockey overcame No. 12 Delaware for their fourth win against a ranked opponent this season.