ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-THREE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Wednesday, September 4, 2013
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ROSS STRIKES AGAIN ADMINISTRATION
Psych prof. appointed faculty mediator Ombuds serves as middleman in faculty conflicts
TERESA MATHEW/Daily
Stephen Ross speaks at the Business School in Sept. 2012. Ross’ total donations to the University will total $313 million with the gift, according to The Wall Street Journal.
WSJ: Real-estate tycoon gives $200M, largest gift to ‘U’ in history
also serve as the chairman of the donation would put Ross secUniversity’s upcoming multi- ond behind Michael Bloomberg, year fundraising initiative set to mayor of New York City, who begin in November. pledged $350 million to Johns The donation — reportedly Hopkins University earlier this to be split year. between A press the Athletic conference Department to announce and the Unithe donation -Stephen Ross said versity’s is scheduled business for 9 a.m. to The Wall Street Journal school that Wednesday bears his morning with name — elevates Ross’s total giv- Ross, University President Mary ing to the University to $313 mil- Sue Coleman, Athletic Direclion. His new total inches him tor Dave Brandon and Business up the ranks of top university School Dean Alison Davis-Blake. donors in the nation. AccordThe Michigan Daily could not ing to statistics compiled by The reach the University for comChronicle of Philanthropy, this ment as of 2 a.m. Wednesday
“I believe you give until it feels good.”
By PETER SHAHIN and JENNIFER CALFAS Daily Staff Reporters
Not to be outdone by Charles Munger, philanthropist and real estate mogul Stephen M. Ross nearly doubled the size of the previous biggest donation in University history with a pledge of $200 million, first reported by The Wall Street Journal early Wednesday morning. Ross will
morning. In an interview with the Journal, Ross, 73, said the donation will “finish the job” in completing renovations on the Business School’s other buildings. In the last fifteen years, every one of the top 10 business schools in the country has spent at least $30 million on upgrades to its facilities. One of the chief factors in convincing Ross to give his original $100 million donation was to help keep Michigan’s business school competitive with peer institutions. “I believe you give till it feels good,” Ross told the newspaper. Ross is the founder and chairman of Related Companies, a See ROSS, Page 3A
By SAM GRINGLAS Daily Staff Reporter
Bruno Giordani, chief psychologist in the University’s Department of Psychiatry and professor of psychiatry, neurology and psychology, began his term as faculty ombuds, the University’s chief mediator, Sunday. A faculty member at the University for 26 years, Giordani has a vast array of experience in academia and University governance. Between 2005 to 2007, he was chair and vice chair of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs and for 12 years was the director of
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
CSG holds first fall meeting Assembly resolves election issues, clarifies rules By AMRUTHA SIVAKUMAR Daily Staff Reporter
On Tuesday evening, the new Central Student Government assembly convened in the Michigan Union for the second time since the highly contested March elections. In addition to introducing new resolutions that clarified and defined rules within student government — and re-addressing an old resolution that opposed the price increase to student season football tickets — the assembly looked upon a series of agenda items. After representatives who were unable to attend the first assembly meeting in April were sworn into their positions, the assembly voted to resolve the tie in the election for the singular representative seat available for the School of Public Health. In the March elections, four students tied for the representative position, each garnering one vote from their school. But,
because all four of those students were absent at the meeting, the assembly voted to leave the seat vacant for the remainder of the semester. CSG President Michael Proppe, a Business senior, also informed representatives of developments between CSG and the University that had taken place over the summer, including the push for more student input in administrative decisions. Proppe specifically referenced the new general-admission policy for home football games, which was largely implemented without advisement from University students. Despite addressing the University’s Board of Regents at its May meeting, passing a CSG resolution against the new policy and personally speaking to Athletic Director Dave Brandon, Proppe was unable to convince the department to compromise on the issue. However, representatives from the Athletic Department will address the assembly on Sept. 17 to discuss its reasoning behind the policy and address concerns. “The resolution worked, See CSG, Page 3A
the neuropsychology section of the University Health System. As ombuds, Giordani will serve as a mediator in conflicts and as a liaison with standing to recommend changes in policy or procedures to senior University officials. According to the faculty ombuds website, ombuds — which translates to “representative” in Old Norse — is a neutral official positioned outside of an organization’s staff hierarchy. In their historical role, ombuds have provided a check on government rulers in the interest of a nation’s citizens. In 2003, following the practice of other universities, then-Provost Paul Courant created the position of faculty ombuds at the request of SACUA. See OMBUDSMEN, Page 3A
CSG adds two new boards to gov’t Commisions to focus on Detroit, civic engagement By AMRUTHA SIVAKUMAR Daily Staff Reporter ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
Notre Dame defensive tackle Louis Nix III (right) weighs in at 342 pounds. That’s more than two Dennis Norfleets. He won’t just be one of the Michigan line’s biggest tests of the year, but one of the toughest, too.
‘M’ looks for scout-team player for Nix, or two The 342-pound lineman is part of an elite front seven By ZACH HELFAND Daily Sports Editor
No one would ever accuse Notre Dame defensive tackle Louis Nix III of being petite, so Devin Funchess had to
catch himself after practice Tuesday. The Fighting Irish defense suffocated Michigan last year, Funchess said, because of their overpowering front seven. Funchess, a sophomore tight end, said Notre Dame’s defensive line in particular was especially fearsome, and this year it returns two of three starters. “The D-line, all three of
those little guys right there — ” Funchess said, then stopped. He raised his eyebrows. “Not little,” he said. “They’re kinda big.” Even that underplays the size of the three Irish linemen. Defensive end Sheldon Day, the smallest of the bunch, is 290, and he is dwarfed by his teammates. The other end, Stephon Tuitt is 6-foot-6, 312 See FOOTBALL, Page 3A
So far away
The Central Student Government has increased the number of taskoriented commissions that exist within its structure in order to grow its ability to enact change on campus. On Aug. 15, Business senior Michael Proppe, CSG President, issued executive orders to establish two commissions — the Voice Your Vote Commission and the Commission on Detroit Engagement — based on the recommendations of CSG affiliates and student-body members. The commissions, appointed by the CSG president, exist within the executive branch to conduct indepth studies on campus issues and recommend solutions for consideration. After discovering last year’s See COMMISSIONS, Page 3A
Making a Movement
Is a long-distance relationship in college really a crutch?
The Coalition for Tuition Equality forged significant change in University policy.
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NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A ARTS...........................6A
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 B
News
2A — Wednesday, September 4, 2013
MONDAY: TUESDAY: This Week in History In Other Ivory Towers
WEDNESDAY: Professor Profiles
THURSDAY: Alumni Profiles
Taking a break for African politics
What are you working on during your sabbatical? I’m finishing up a book on Guinea, which is one of the main countries where I work in West Africa. My first book is on Côte d’Ivoire , and my second book is on Guinea, and my Ph.D. research was on Guinea. But I’ve also done research in Senegal, Mali, Niger, Chad and also a fair amount in Liberia.
What does your research focus on? I mainly work on politics. But, as you may know, anthropologists approach politics from quite a different angle than a political scientist would. In social times we talk about large-end and small-end studies, which basically mean a large-end study would be more quantitative. What courses do you teach? I teach a course called Anthropologies of Insurgency, and next semester I’ll be teaching a lecture course called The State in Africa. I teach some
CRIME NOTES
graduate seminars, one that’s called Politics’ Aesthetics, and I’ve taught courses on cosmology and environs. What do you do outside of the classroom? I’m a rower. I row for the Ann Arbor Rowing Club. I like to eat; my wife is a chef. So, what’s your favorite restaurant in Ann Arbor? Oh, let me see, I just had a really nice meal at Café Zola. Grange is also a favorite, and Pacific Rim. I guess I’ll say Grange. — KATIE BURKE
ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
LSA senior Nicolette Techawatanasuk uses the new computers at the newly renovated Fishbowl on the first day of classes. Techawatanasuk thinks the changes are “quite nice” and said she might hang out at the Fishbowl more now because of them.
Window woes
Tech sale
WHERE: West Quad Residence Hall WHEN: Sunday at about 5:30 p.m. WHAT: Multiple people were spotted on the building roof. Citing disorderly conduct, University housing staff gave a verbal warning and escorted the two subjects off the roof, according to University police.
WHERE: 700th block of Fifth St. WHEN: Saturday or Sunday between 1 p.m. and 10 a.m. WHAT: A burglary with forced entry was reported when a television accessory was found on the ledge of an open window, University Police reported. There are no suspects.
WHAT: The Computer Showcase will host a sale with special prices on laptops, tablets, software and accessories. The sale will run through Sept. 13. WHO: Information and Technology Services WHEN: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union and Pierpont Commons
Skater hater
Getting smokey Harmon exhibit Career WHERE: 1800 block of workshop WHAT: The famed #98 McIntyre WHEN: Sunday around 12:30 p.m. WHAT: Several people were smoking at the bus stop near Northwood IV. Housing security advised them of the smoke-free campus policy, University Police reported.
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CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
jersey of Michigan football legend Tom Harmon will be “unretired” for a exhibit of his life here in Ann Arbor. A collection of artifacts includes photos, documents and other materials. Harmon was Michigan’s first Heisman winner. WHO: Bentley Historical Library WHEN: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Bentley Historical Library
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WHERE: Church St. WHEN: Sunday around 7:15 p.m. WHAT: Several subjects were skateboarding, University Police reported. One was given a citation for a regent’s ordinance violation.
FRIDAY: Photos of the Week
PA C K T H E B O W L
ON SABBATICAL
Mike McGovern is an associate professor of anthropology, and has been working at the University since 2012. He is on sabbatical for the fall semester.
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Spanish lunch break WHAT: Join other Spanish enthusiasts for lunch and conversation. People all levels of proficiency are welcome to attend. WHO: School of Nursing WHEN: 12 p.m. WHERE: Nick’s Cafe, 300 N. Ingalls Building
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THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
1
A new study by the World Health Organization shows women over 50 years older are living on average 3.5 years longer over the last two decades, The New York Times reports. Most of the gains were made by women in wealthier nations.
2
Though administrators seem to disagree on the group’s impact, it’s clear the Coalition for Tuition Equality was a driving force in changing University policy. >> FOR MORE, SEE THE STATEMENT, INSIDE
3
Mississippi’s first statewide alligator hunt has commenced and led to the capture of two alligators, ABC News reports. The first catch beat previous record holders, weighing in at 723.5 pounds.
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Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad talks to the media about her record-setting swim from Cuba to Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 3.
Nyad: Maturity helped me finish record-breaking swim 64-year-old swims from Cuba to Fla. without shark cage KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — The clocks Diana Nyad uses to time her training swims show that she’s a slower swimmer than she used to be. That’s only natural: At age 64, she acknowledges she is no longer the “thoroughbred stallion” she was “back in the day.” And yet, the endurance athlete says she felt stronger than ever when she completed her successful effort to become the first person to swim 110 miles from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. “Now I’m more like a Clydesdale: I’m a little thicker and stronger — literally stronger, I can lift more weights,” Nyad told The Associated Press in a oneon-one interview Tuesday, a day after she finished her 53-hour, record-setting swim. “I feel like I could walk through a brick wall. ... I think I’m truly dead center in the prime of my life at 64.” Nyad isn’t alone among aging athletes who are dominating their sports. Earlier this year, 48-year-old Bernard Hopkins became the
oldest boxer to win a major title, scoring a 12-round unanimous decision over Tavoris Cloud to claim the IBF light heavyweight championship. Tennis player Martina Navratilova played in the mixed doubles competition at Wimbledon in her late 40s, and hockey legend Gordie Howe played in the NHL in his 50s. Thousands of U.S. athletes, including 60-year-old Kay Glynn, also compete during the Senior Olympics. Glynn, of Hastings, Iowa, has won six gold medals in pole vaulting at the Senior Olympics and set a new pole vaulting world record for her age in the 2011 National Senior Games. Older athletes tend to find more success in endurance events than power events such as sprinting and other sports that rely on “fast- twitch” muscle fibers, which are more difficult to preserve later in life, noted Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, a physiologist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. But just because Nyad was swimming rather than pounding her joints against the concrete doesn’t mean she didn’t achieve a remarkable feat, Chodzko-Zajko said. “This ultra, super-length
swimming is brutal regardless,” he said, adding that another reason athletes are able to endure is because they often train smarter and have a mental concentration that is well honed over decades. “She’s one of any number of people who are redefining what happens with aging,” said Dr. Michael J. Joyner, an anesthesiologist and exercise researcher at Mayo Clinic. “If you start with a high capacity, you have some reserves,” Joyner said. “You can lose some absolute power, but what you lose in power you can make up for with experience and strategy and better preparation.” Nyad first attempted swimming from Cuba to Florida at age 29 with a shark cage. She didn’t try again until 2011 when she was 61. She tried twice more in the past two years before beginning her fifth attempt Saturday morning with a leap off the seawall of the Hemingway Marina into the warm waters off Havana. She paused occasionally for nourishment, but never left the water until she reached the white sand beaches of the Keys and waded ashore. Nyad says her age and maturity should not be discounted when measuring her most recent success.
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NEWS BRIEFS
OMBUDSMEN From Page 1A
LANSING
Gov. Rick Snyder embarks on third trade trip to Asia Gov. Rick Snyder on Wednesday will embark on his third trade trip to Asia, this time with an added focus on selling Michigan as a destination to Chinese tourists. The governor will begin the 10-day mission in China and then go to Japan over the weekend before returning to China for more meetings next week with senior government officials and executives of some of the country’s biggest companies. Snyder said the focus on attracting Chinese tourists is a new one compared with similar trade trips he took to the region in 2011 and 2012. The delegation plans to have receptions in two Chinese cities to tout the state’s attractions with the “Pure Michigan” tourism campaign.
DETROIT
State certifies Detroit mayoral primary election Former Detroit Medical Center CEO Mike Duggan won Detroit’s Aug. 6 mayoral primary by more than 20,000 votes, according to official results approved Tuesday by state canvassers. Tuesday’s certification was delayed two weeks after Wayne County canvassers turned the job over to the state. County canvassers refused to count more than 24,000 writein ballots because city elections workers used numeric counts instead of hash marks to tally them.
SAN FRANCISCO
Microsoft acquires Nokia’s smartphone biz. Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s troubled smartphone business represents a daring $7.2 billion attempt by the software giant and a once-influential cellphone maker to catch up with the mobile computing revolution that threatens to leave them in the technological dust. The deal announced late Monday offers both companies a chance to make up for lost time with a strategy to meld their software and hardware into a cohesive package, like rival Apple has done. But there are plenty of reasons to question whether the copycat approach will pay off. Unlike Apple, Microsoft Corp. makes most of its money from software for personal computers — a still-profitable franchise that has gradually been crumbling as smartphones and tablets supplant laptop and desktop machines. By some estimates, more than two-thirds of the computing devices being sold now are either smartphones or tablets, and there are few signs that trend will change during the next decade.
PYONGYANG
Rodman embarks on second trip to North Korea Former NBA star Dennis Rodman landed Tuesday in North Korea and said he plans to hang out with authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un, have a good time and maybe bridge some cultural gaps — but not be a diplomat. Rodman was greeted at Pyongyang’s airport by Son Kwang Ho, vice-chairman of North Korea’s Olympic Committee, just days after Pyongyang rejected a visit by a U.S. envoy who had hoped to bring home Kenneth Bae, an American missionary jailed there. The North abruptly called off the official visit because it said the U.S. had ruined the atmosphere for talks by holding a drill over South Korea with nuclear-capable B-52 bombers. —Compiled from Daily wire reports
The ombuds must maintain confidentiality in negotiations and pinpoint new issues that may require University review. Any member of the University faculty, including professors, researchers, librarians or instructors, can use the ombuds. The University also has an ombuds designated for students that reports to E. Royster Harper, vice president for student affairs. Additionally, each academic unit has their own faculty ombuds. At the University, the ombuds provides information and options to faculty looking to resolve a conf lict with other faculty, administrators or students. Potential conf licts can
CSG From Page 1A guys,” Proppe said at the meeting Tuesday night, assuring the representatives of their success. “(The Athletic Department) got some bad press on it and now they are turning it around.” Proppe also pointed to the lack of student representatives on the University Regent’s Presidential Search Advisory Committee, saying there were even more “serious, long term
COMMISSIONS From Page 1A executive commissions were no longer operational within the dictates of the Constitution, CSG President Michael Proppe and Vice President Bobby Dishell initially issued executive orders in July to create 23 new “taskoriented” commissions. However, the reorganization granted the executive commissions additional flexibility — allowing students to recommend the establishment of any additional commission to the executive branch if they felt any campus issue was underrepresented in student government. LSA senior Hayley Sakwa, former vice presidential candidate from political party forUM and proponent of the Commission on Detroit Engagement, said the commission would bring together student leaders from various Detroit-based student organizations to facilitate collaboration. “The missions and the goals
News include disputes over hiring practices, performance evaluations or other University policies applied unfairly. The ombuds serves a resource for members — though they do not advocate or choose sides in a conf lict. “I want to assure faculty that I can be an effective voice when they need one to reach other faculty, U-M faculty governance, or University administration,” Giordani said in a statement. Giordani earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1975 from Dartmouth College and a doctorate from the University of Virginia in 1982. He came to the University in 1987 and has been a mentor in the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program since it was founded 25 years ago.
ROSS From Page 1A large real-estate development firm based in New York City. He graduated from the University of Michigan’s Business School in 1962 and later went on to earn his J.D. at Wayne State University in 1965. Ross founded Related Companies in 1972 — which has since flourished into a $15 billion enterprise. As of March 2013, Ross’ personal net worth was valued by Forbes at $4.4 billion. He is also the owner of the Miami Dolphins football team. The Ross School of Business is no stranger to sizeable donations. In 2004, Ross donated $100 million for the school’s extensive reconstruction, which opened in 2009. In honor of his contribution, the Board of Regents voted in a special session to rename the school after its largest benefactor. Ross now serves as chair for the upcoming capital campaign, which will focus on extending greater financial aid.
implications” than the lack of student input in ticketing policies. Although the push to attain student seats on the committee was not successful, Proppe said the University Council — a joint governing body composed of presidents from the student governments of all University schools and colleges — will finalize steps to gain more input on Sept. 9 in a meeting with Regent Katherine White. Tuesday’s agenda also included an item to elect and
approve leadership positions on executive and legislative boards. Once selected, representatives were elected to hold chair and vice chair positions on the four legislative committee and the assembly voted unanimously to confirm the executive nomination of Business senior Eric Kibler for treasurer and LSA senior Russ Hayes for chief of staff. They will serve on the executive branch beside Proppe and CSG Vice President Bobby Dishell.
will really come from all of the student organizations that come together in that space,” Sakwa said, citing better, lowcost transportation amenities between the University and Detroit as a possible venture. Available CSG funding would help back the commissions’ pilot projects, she added. Besides the collaborative and programmatic function she said she hopes the commission would satisfy, Sakwa said the commission would more actively present a “strong, cohesive, united voice” to University administrators where matters regarding Detroit were concerned. In an e-mail to the CSG commission chairs and assembly representatives, Proppe said an active Voice Your Vote Commission would be important in planning for the Ann Arbor City Council elections in November and begin the voter registration processes for the Michigan elections that will take place the following year. The commission, unlike the Commission on Detroit Engagement, existed within last year’s executive branch,
but Proppe said it was left out of the initial executive orders until he was aware of student interest. “Initially we left it off because traditionally Voice Your Vote has not been active when there have not been national or statewide elections,” Proppe said in an interview. “But there were some students who actually wanted to leave the commission active to (register students and plan for the future).” In the upcoming weeks, the Executive Nominations Committee will present their recommendations for the candidates that will chair the 25 commissions. Currently, Proppe and Dishell have submitted their nominations for chair positions to the Executive Nominations Committee, which is in the process of conducting reviews. As per the CSG Constitution, the recommended candidates will be inducted into their chair positions to garner a simple majority vote from the Assembly. All commission chairs will be confirmed by Sept. 23, Proppe said.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013 — 3A Ross serves on University President Mary Sue Coleman’s Advisory Group in addition to the Director’s Cabinet in the University’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. His other gifts to the University include a $5 million donation toward a new athletic academic center, $1 million to establish a professorship in real estate at Ross and $50,000 to establish the Henry Pearce Endowed Fellowship in LSA. Wednesday’s gift is only the latest in a series of large donations to the University as public universities increase their focus on private donations due to lowered government support in Michigan. During the last few months, the University has been the benefactor of several gifts targeted at graduate programs, housing and revamping certain medical facilities. In April, the University received a $110 million donation from Alum Charles Munger, the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, to build a graduate housing complex at Division and Madison Streets, on
FOOTBALL From Page 1A pounds. He is an All-American. In the middle, though, Nix’s size is unparalleled. He goes by the name Irish Chocolate. He is listed at 342 pounds. That is exactly two Channing Striblings. It’s more than two Dennis Norfleets. Offensive coordinator Al Borges said the defensive line will be the toughest Michigan will face this year. And as the Wolverines prepare for it this week, they must first solve one question: how do they replicate Nix? One reporter asked Borges if Michigan would use one scoutteam player to simulate Nix or two. He was only half joking. Borges laughed. “Boy, he is a load,” Borges said. “He’s not easy to move.” Still, as Borges talked Tuesday, inspiration struck. “We’ll find somebody,” Borges said. “Matter of fact, I have somebody in mind as you speak. Not going to say who.” Whomever Michigan picks, he’ll still be considerably lighter than Nix. Borges said the coaching staff prefers to keep scout-team players at their natural positions. The Wolverines have some hefty offensive linemen, but less on the other side of the ball. Michigan’s bulkiest defensive lineman is sophomore Ondre Pipkins, at 315 pounds, but he plays significant minutes. Redshirt junior Richard Ash is 314 pounds, 28 less than Nix. Borges said scout-team players take a certain pride in weeks like this. Tuitt’s double, for example, must create some resemblance to the All-American. Fifth-year senior Quinton Washington, Michigan’s own, smaller version of Nix, remembers playing on the scout team during Notre Dame week. Back then, Washington was an offen-
land where the Blimpy Burger restaurant and several rental houses once stood. At the time, Munger’s gift topped only Ross’ $100 million gift to his now-namesake Business School in 2004. Munger’s donation will help fund the $180 million residence project and includes $10 million for fellowships to help create a residential community. A $50-million donation from the Zell Family Foundation, granted to the LSA Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program, is the largest donation in that college’s history. The March donation, will help ease the financial burden of those participating in the program to ensure they will have the resources to continually practice and hone their writing abilities. And finally, the Frankel family has given a total of $50 million to the University’s Cardiovascular Center in the last decade — with $25 million donated in 2007 and another $25 million in March of this year. The center now ranks 12th in the nation for its specialty.
sive lineman. He had to block Brandon Graham. “You could just tell the difference between that week and different weeks,” Washington said. “It was a different feeling. You got hit a lot differently being on the scout team.” Last year, Notre Dame rode its dominant defense to the national championship game. Pressure from the front seven stifled Denard Robinson and held him in check earlier in the season. Michigan threw five interceptions in the loss in South Bend. Borges said Tuesday that the pressure caused the mistakes. Both Borges and Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly mentioned on Tuesday that Michigan has a much different offense than in past years. The new offense emphasizes the downhill running game. But Kelly has constructed his defense to defend that. “Well, we’re built that way,” Kelly said at his press conference Tuesday. “We’re a bigger, physical football team. We prefer that kind of match up.” Kelly said Tuitt could play “quite a bit” against Michigan’s own All-American, fifth-year senior left tackle Taylor Lewan. But he’ll also play on the other side of the line. Kelly added that Temple had triple-teamed Nix at times last week. That’s what happens when you’re 342 pounds. More frightening, Nix has played more consistently than last year, when Notre Dame gave him frequent breathers. Even so, Manti Te’o, who finished second in the Heisman voting last year, said he would have voted for Nix, according to the New York Times. Washington weighs 41 pounds less than Nix, but he can relate. He came to Michigan at 330 pounds. The size works for Nix, but it’s not for everyone. “I’ll never get back to it,” Washington said. “It was horrible.”
Japan to spend $470M to plug up leaking reactor Remark by Boston Project may better Japan’s stake for 2020 Olympic bid TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese government announced Tuesday that it will spend $470 million on a subterranean ice wall and other steps in a desperate bid to stop leaks of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant after repeated failures by the plant’s operator. The decision is widely seen as an attempt to show that the nuclear accident won’t be a safety concern just days before the International Olympic Committee chooses among Tokyo, Istanbul and Madrid as the host of the 2020 Olympics. The Fukushima Dai-ichi plant has been leaking hundreds of tons of contaminated underground water into the sea since shortly after a massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami damaged the complex. Several leaks from tanks storing radioactive water in recent weeks have heightened the sense of crisis that the plant’s owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co., isn’t able to contain the problem.
“Instead of leaving this up to TEPCO, the government will step forward and take charge,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after adopting the outline. “The world is watching if we can properly handle the contaminated water but also the entire decommissioning of the plant.” The government plans to spend an estimated 47 billion yen ($470 million) through the end of March 2015 on two projects — 32 billion yen ($320 million) on the ice wall and 15 billion yen ($150 million) on an upgraded water treatment unit that is supposed to remove all radioactive elements except water-soluble tritium — according to energy agency official Tatsuya Shinkawa. The government, however, is not paying for urgently needed water tanks and other equipment that TEPCO is using to contain leaks. Shinkawa said the funding is limited to “technologically challenging projects” but the government is open to additional help when needed. The ice wall would freeze the ground to a depth of up to 30 meters (100 feet) through a system of pipes carrying a coolant as cold as minus
40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 Fahrenheit). That would block contaminated water from escaping from the facility’s immediate surroundings, as well as keep underground water from entering the reactor and turbine buildings, where much of the radioactive water has collected. The project, which TEPCO and the government proposed in May, is being tested for feasibility by Japanese construction giant Kajima Corp. and is set for completion by March 2015. Similar methods have been used to block water from parts of tunnels and subways, but building a 1.4-kilometer (0.9mile) wall that surrounds four reactor buildings and their related facilities is unprecedented. An underground ice wall has been used to isolate radioactive waste at the U.S. Department of Energy’s former site of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee that produced plutonium, but only for six years, according to the MIT Technology Review magazine. Some experts are still skeptical about the technology and say the running costs would be a huge burden.
mayor sparks anger from Detroit gov’t Detroit Mayor Bing says Menino’s remarks were ‘regrettable’ DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Mayor Dave Bing accused his Boston counterpart of insensitivity Tuesday after Thomas Menino told a magazine that if he ever visited the Motor City, he’d “blow up the place and start all over.” In a New York Times Magazine article that first appeared online last week, Menino said Detroit is a place he’d like to visit, then added the rest when asked what he’d do there. “It is extremely regrettable that Boston Mayor Thomas Menino used such an unfortunate choice of words to describe what he would do if he came to Detroit,” said Bing, who is not running for re-election after one term as mayor. “I would think the mayor of a city that recently experienced a deadly bombing
attack would be more sensitive and not use the phrase ‘blow up.’” A spokeswoman for the Boston mayor said Menino “feels strongly about cities,” cares about Detroit’s problems and “would like to help in any way he can.” “The mayor is sorry that people have taken offense,” Dot Joyce told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “It was never his intention.” She said that Menino’s proposal to “blow up the place” meant to overhaul the broken systems that have helped bring down Detroit. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured in April when pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails, ball bearings and metal shards detonated near the finish line of the popular Boston Marathon. One of the suspects was killed three days later in a gun battle with police. His brother was captured and has pleaded not guilty to using a weapon of mass destruction charges.
Opinion
4A — Wednesday, September 4, 2013
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FROM THE DAILY
Common Core, common sense It’s time to focus on educating students and end ideological debates
F
orty-four states have adopted the Common Core State Standards, a set of federal benchmarks that spell out math, reading and writing skills for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Michigan is not one of these states. Despite the fact that these standards would ensure that Michigan students are on the same level as students across the nation, state lawmakers are clearly comfortable wasting their constituents’ time with arbitrary and strictly ideological debates about the idea of mandated standards. A clear majority of states are currently working on developing curricula, educating teachers on how to help students meet these benchmarks and utilizing technology for the classroom. It’s about time Michigan does the same for its students. The Michigan State Board of Education adopted Common Core standards in 2010, and schools subsequently adopted these standards into their curriculum. However, in July, the state legislature blocked funding that would help to implement the standards. One of the main reasons Common Core is still not universally welcome is general misinformation. The Common Core establishes what students need to know by the end of the year to make them college- and career-ready. However, they do not dictate how teachers must instruct students, nor do they determine which schools get funding based on standardized test scores. An Education Next poll shows that, in general, the more people know about the new standards, the more they like them. Despite the benefits of the initiative, conservative-led opposition has prevented Common Core from becoming state law. State Rep. Tom McMillian (R-Rochester Hills) has spearheaded the campaign against the standards, spending hours badgering the subcommittee with irrelevant questions. At the crux of his dissent is the Tea Party notion that the Common Core is a gross exercise of federal power, undermining the state’s ability to develop education. Regardless of political ideology, this understanding of the standards is off base. While the federal government offered grant money to states that adopted the standards, the Common Core campaign was lead in part by the National Governors Association — in other words, it’s a
state-led effort. Common Core is not a part of No Child Left Behind, nor does it “track everything about our nation’s children and report it back to the federal government,” as U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) suggested. And while some adversaries of the initiative dubbed it “ObamaCore,” the standards were being drafted before the president took office. Common Core is not a nationalized curriculum but a set of educational goals — a list of math and English skills students should have regardless of where they are from. The standards have been developed by teachers and education experts with significant experience and understanding of where American students should be heading. Adoption of the standards is voluntary — it’s not being forced down anyone’s throat by the federal government. Gov. Rick Snyder understands this and supports the initiative. So does former Republican Gov. John Engler. While McMillian and other opponents’ dissent may make them heroes of the right-wing fringe just in time for election season, it’s not doing any favors for Michigan’s students who continue to fall behind. Michigan ranks near the bottom in most subject areas compared to other states. These standards will help Michigan to not only compete on a nationwide level, but on an international one as well. Michigan’s lawmakers need to set the ideologically driven paranoia aside and focus on what we really need — better education.
I
Weeks after the Egyptian military overthrew democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi from power, an Egyptian court ordered the release of former President Hosni Mubarak from prison after failing to charge him with any crimes — one of many testaments to the reversal of the democracy-seeking Arab Spring. These events, in tandem with the military’s new self-imposed rule, have left the country in a state of “Mubarakism without Mubarak,” and, as a result, prompted many to jump to the conclusion that Islam and democracy are irreconcilable — if they weren’t already convinced so. Egypt dabbled in democracy for a short period, but its failure reaffirmed the preconceived notion that Muslims are incapable of maintaining a democratic government due to their inability to suppress their violent tendencies, respect people of different faiths and grant basic rights by virtue of their holy book. From the onset of the uprisings in the Arab World, the West has offered its recommendations for achieving democracy in the region — imperialistically, I might add. What is unclear to many is that political beliefs are relative to individuals within a specific identity, and prescribing Western democracy is not a viable solution to the hot political climate of the Middle East, for cultures will clash with systems that aren’t mindful of their intricate dynamic. It’s not the Middle East that is unsuitable for democracy, but rather Western democracy is unsuitable for the Middle East. Indispensable in the discussion of American and European endeavors in the Middle East is the distinction between Western democracy and the shape of democracy appropriate for the Middle East. The Western prescription for democracy in the Middle East includes a substantial dosage of secularism, but neglects the most vital ingredient for democracy — pluralism. Egypt’s experiment with democracy failed for many reasons, but most importantly because it attempted to utilize an imposed model of government that doesn’t take into consideration the religiocultural fabric of the country. In failing to recognize Islam and democracy’s inherent commitments to pluralism, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood illegitimated itself and razed any hope for sound human rights policy in
the country. For decades, Egypt’s people withstood censorship in every sense under Mubarak’s despotic regime. Since being released from his stronghold, the Muslim Brotherhood has reacted erroneously to the public’s concerns. Consequently, critics around the world were quick to jump the gun and herald Egypt as the paradigm of what democracy looks like among Arabs and Muslims. Never mind that Morsi and his cronies thrived on sectarianism and followed their own deluded interpretation of Islam. And never mind that this placed the Muslim Brotherhood at odds with the legitimate democratic process that brought the party to power and Shariah law, which it claims to have been trying to implement. What is most important to note when discussing the Shariah is that men created this body of laws. The Qur’an is the primary source used to construct said laws, but it’s by no means a book of laws. This supplements the suggestion that Islam doesn’t intrinsically encourage any form of government. Seeing as the Shariah is man-made, it’s predisposed to change just as man’s opinions are with time, thus not ruling out the prospect of democracy. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not blasphemous for Muslims to live under the rule of a government by the people and for the people. In a region such as the Middle East, however, where a person’s religion defines his or her identity, it‘s difficult to isolate faith and politics. So, the most practical solution is to implement a fusion of the Shariah and democracy — in Muslim-majority countries, that is. Moreover, a culturally relativistic approach when offering advice as an outsider is imperative. The United States is without a doubt the most important actor in the global political arena, but what our government fails to recognize at times is that this isn’t a one-size-fitsall world, and what is suitable for our secular society may not be so in the Middle East. We must not impose our visions for the region in such a way that will thwart any progress towards governments that will honor the rights of their people and promote diplomatic relations with the rest of the world. Layan Charara is an LSA junior.
(Not) going the distance
f this school year is like any other, many of you new students are arriving at the University with a long-distance boyfriend or girlfriend at another college or back home. A couple of weeks ago, you left each EMILY other for what might PITTINOS be the first time. Now, as you navigate the cereal dispensers in the Hill Dining Center, you imagine them longing for you in the midst of golden wheat fields or on smoky fire escapes. As you lay awake in your dorm room with a stranger’s snoring filling the dense Ann Arbor night, you read and reread their text messages. “I love you so much,” they say. “This is the worst, but we’ll get through it.” Of course, it’s good to know that someone cares for you, especially when your surroundings are so frighteningly new. You don’t know where to find Angell Hall Auditorium A or if you’ll have to play another icebreaker tonight, but you’re sure that there’s a person missing you from miles away. Your sweetheart — excuse the genderneutral ‘50s slang — is a security blanket, a perceived constant, a reminder of the comforts of home. But, there’s such a thing as being too comfortable. I know from experience that it’s easy to use a long-distance relationship as a crutch. It can become an excuse to stay in and video chat on a Friday night while kids from your hall are exploring the mysterious streets of Ann Arbor. They’re being brave and making new friends, while you perform Skype sex in your dim dorm room — hoping to God you don’t hear the
sound of your roommate keying in the code to your door. They’re getting tipsy, maybe even laid, while you’ve got your pixelated genitals traveling all the way to a space satellite so your partner can get off on a wavering image of you. Sure, there’s something tragically romantic about having a lover so far from your fingertips, and physical loneliness may not seem so bad in the face of all your damn love. But in reality, sexting gets old real fast and relying on weekend visits with your roommate in the bunk below you is going to make the long, cold Michigan winter feel even longer. I know it can be especially hard to imagine yourself with a new person if your sweetheart was the first girl to slide her hand down the waistband of your underwear, or the first guy to treat your nakedness as a gift. However, I can promise you that there are many others out there who would gladly do the same. It’s also not just about sex. Imagine what you could be missing out on while you slip away from your friends to update your sweetheart on what you ate for breakfast or what your professor was wearing in lecture. The classes, choices and experiences you have now will change you immeasurably in the long run. College is a microcosm of endless possibility and due to its magic, it’s unlikely you’ll be the same person once you graduate. You could take geology classes that inspire you to spend the rest of your life on archeological digs. One wacky Residential College puppet-making class could convince you to join the School of Art & Design. Most importantly, no matter how great You 2.0 will be, you won’t be the same person your sweetheart signed up for, and that could be true for them as well. “This is hard!” your lover’s texts say. So, ask yourself: Why are you doing it? Do you imagine a life with them after college, a wedding
attended by your entire family and your genes converging into babies? If so, then do what you have to do; in that special case, you’ll have the rest of your lives to be together after school. If you’re unsure, have an adult discussion about the future with your partner. If you’re making the commitment to stay faithful from a distance, then you should be able to discuss what your relationship may look like in the long term.
If there’s no endgame, then why commit yourself to years of shared lonliness? But, if there’s no endgame in mind, if there’s no plan, then why are you committing yourself to years of shared loneliness? Is it true love propelling your long-distance relationship or fear of the unknown? New social and sexual experiences are worth the uncertainties that come along with being on your own in an unfamiliar place. At this very moment, there are thousands of other new students wandering starry-eyed through campus. Their collective excitement is building an energy that sparks new friendships and bravery, but it will dissipate once classes fall into full swing. This is the sweet spot — now’s the time to take advantage of the fact that everyone is jittery and unsure and open to new experiences. Be nervous with them. Get out there and use your fear. You could be anyone, and do almost anything. This is the time to move on from your old life and join in on the excitement of firsts sweeping through campus. — Emily Pittinos can be reached at pittinos@umich.edu.
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One size doesn’t fit all
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
A
Go nuclear?
cross party lines, politicians in recent elections have agreed on one thing: We have an “energy issue.” What precisely that issue is has been more difficult to define, but whether the motivation arises from geoJULIA politics, environ- ZARINA mental concerns or technological forecasts, the widely accepted consensus is that we, as a nation, simply cannot stay the course when it comes to fuel. Last November, Michigan voters struck down a ballot proposal that would have mandated that 25 percent of the state’s energy usage be supplied from renewable sources. Scientifically, it was a feasible goal, although the outcome of the vote shed light on a more complex reality. The roadblock to reaching a solution to our “energy problem” isn’t technological, but political. If Michigan is serious about being a leader in addressing the energy concerns, we must be serious about supporting alternative fuels. The most economically, technologically and geopolitically sustainable way to do this is to advocate for the continued growth of nuclear energy throughout Michigan and the rest of the country. Opposition to alternative energy often comes from an economic standpoint. Fossil fuels provide more energy output per unit than many other types of fuel and are easily deliverable to consumers given current infrastructure. For many Americans, the price at the pump is the measure for whether or not we have an “energy problem” worthy of political action. We expect our fuel to be cheap, consistent and available. If the costs are too high, there’s an issue. But,
currently, we don’t have another choice besides literally buying into the problem. The technology required to achieve independent, sustainable energy already exists. If the United States undertook a massive overhaul of our current electrical grid and replaced all power stations with breeder nuclear reactors, we’d be able to meet our energy needs at the current consumption rate for up to five billion years. France already gets almost 80 percent of its electric power from nuclear sources compared with Michigan’s 22 percent and the United States’ 19 percent. So why don’t we “go nuclear?” Simply put, the technological switch to more sustainable fuel sources is being held back by a society that has adapted to fossil fuels. Even if the infrastructure of our current power grid were taken out of the equation, many examples of societal rejection of energy alternatives would still exist. From the long-established coal mining communities of the eastern United States to the powerful anti-nuclear lobbies, the energy issue isn’t played out in research labs, but in political campaigns. Fear is also a strong motivator against change. Although there are legitimate concerns about what the United States would do with its nuclear waste, the issues raised about the safety of nuclear power are largely misconstrued. Nuclear power is statistically the safest form of energy currently available. When assessed by the number of deaths per terawatt hour of energy produced from each commercially viable power source, nuclear energy is at the very bottom of the list. Coal and oil combined are responsible for almost 5,000 percent more deaths than nuclear power. More people have had fatal accidents falling off their roofs installing solar panels than have ever died by nuclear incidents.
Despite these statistics, the fact that nuclear power was first introduced to the world as the atomic bomb — a devastating source of destruction — continues to have lasting effects. Following the Fukushima Daiichi disaster of 2011, public support for nuclear power dropped to 43 percent, though public support for hydroelectric power has remained fairly consistent over the years, even in the wake of the dam failure in China that killed an estimated 171,000 people. If we’re to fairly address energy issues, we must present the facts accurately and encourage a culture in popular media and schools that leans away from an anti-nuclear bias.
The roadblock to reaching a solution to our “energy problem” isn’t technological but political. Michigan’s rejected ballot proposal represents a crossroads that the United States must contemplate. Have we reached the point in our society where we perceive the limitations of our fossil-fuel-dependent infrastructure to finally overshadow the costs that overhauling the system would incur? Or do we still perceive our economic and societal situation as one where the opportunity cost of devoting significant effort and resources to this kind of overhaul would be too great? At this point, the limiting factor in preventing a solution to our “energy problem” isn’t technological, but rather political and ultimately, societal — a problem that we can and must change through education, policy and politics. — Julia Zarina can be reached at jumilton@umich.edu.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Mayor says Jerusalem can’t be split Critics note disparites in Arab neighborhoods JERUSALEM (AP) — Jerusalem’s mayor presides over perhaps the most complicated city in the world: deeply divided between Arab and Jew, religious and secular, rich and poor, and claimed as a capital by both Israelis and Palestinians. But Nir Barkat, a successful former high-tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist, told The Associated Press that Jerusalem is thriving like never before and in a re-election pledge insists the key to success is keeping its various fragments united. With peace negotiators discussing the potential future partition of Jerusalem, Barkat emphatically says the city can’t be split and urges negotiators meeting in Jerusalem Tuesday to take any such talk off the table. “It will never function, it will never work. It is a bad deal,” he said during an interview in his office at City Hall. “Doing a bad deal is worse than no deal.” Jerusalem is Israel’s largest city and its 800,000 residents are split almost evenly among secular and modern Orthodox residents, Muslim Palestinians and ultraOrthodox Jews. The Arab population lives almost entirely in east Jerusalem, the sector captured by Israel in 1967 and claimed by the Palestinians as their capital. Elected in 2008, in a victory seen as a backlash against ultraOrthodox control of the city, Barkat claims to have stopped the exodus of tens of thousands of secular Jerusalemites, invigorated cultural life in the city and improved quality of life for the city’s Arabs. But it remains one of the poorest cities in Israel. Barkat, who is seeking a second five-year term in October, laid out his goal of maintaining Jerusalem as “the center of the world” — a city that is open and accessible to all.
Drawing on the city’s ancient history, Barkat said Jerusalem has always been at its finest when it allowed all those who entered its gates to feel equality and a sense of belonging. He said Jerusalem had to go “back to its roots” and rediscover what made it so special. “Jerusalem of 3,000 years ago was not divided into tribes. All people that came to worship ... at the Temple felt that Jerusalem belonged to them as much as it belongs to everyone else and that feeling created a very special atmosphere of belonging,” he said. “There is only one way this city can function — it is a united city that all residents and visitors are treated honestly and equally. It is the only model.” Before turning to politics, Barkat was the first chairman of Checkpoint Software, a leading maker of computer security technology, and an Israeli business magazine recently ranked him as the country’s richest politician with an estimated net worth of roughly $125 million. Barkat earns a symbolic salary of one shekel a year and drives his own car to work. Israel captured east Jerusalem, home to key Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed the area in a move that has not been recognized internationally. The fate of Jerusalem remains at the heart of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. While past peace talks have discussed partition options, Israel’s current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says that is out of the question. The Israeli government is responsible for peace talks with the Palestinians, and Jerusalem’s mayor has no official say in the city’s political future. But as chief executive he can affect the delicate balance between Arab and Jew, especially in regards to daily life issues like building permits, construction, education and public services. Barkat, 53, said his administration has treated the city’s Arab
residents “honestly and equally” by building roads and classrooms, increasing budgets and investments in their neighborhoods and expediting building permits. Critics, including human rights groups, say public services in Arab neighborhoods continue to lag far behind Jewish areas. In a report coinciding with the opening of the school year this week, two Israeli human rights groups accused the city of discrimination and neglect toward the schools in east Jerusalem. It cited a dire shortage of classrooms, a double-digit dropout rate and disparities in key resources between Jewish and Arab schools. Altogether, some 36 percent of east Jerusalem Arabs fail to complete 12 years of schooling, the report said. “Deep disparities in the educational system are not accidental but rather the product of policymaking that results in a lack of funding, resources and efforts to ameliorate the current situation,” said the report, issued by The Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Ir Amim, a nonprofit group that promotes equality between Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem. Oshrat Maimon, Ir Amim’s policy director, said it was “regrettable” that the mayoral candidates have paid little attention to closing these gaps. “While parents in west Jerusalem are excited about their children’s first day in school, a few meters away parents in east Jerusalem don’t know if there will even be a place in school for their children. This gap, which continues to increase every year, requires an urgent response from elected officials,” she said. Barkat rejects such criticism, and claimed Arabs also oppose dividing the city, a claim that is open to debate. A 2010 poll of east Jerusalem Arabs found that 35 percent of respondents said they would prefer to become citizens of Israel if a Palestinian state was established, compared to 30 percent who would prefer Palestinian citizenship and 35 percent who didn’t know.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013 — 5A
Arts
6A — Wednesday, September 4, 2013
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
A playlist of advice for freshmen Lyrics to hit songs can tell you how to live life at the ‘U’ By KENDALL RUSS Online Arts Editor
You’ve arrived at Michigan. You’ve enjoyed your first win at the Big House, cheering raucously as you and thousands of your neon Maize-clad peers form a cowbell-and-lanyardfueled euphoria. You’ve stubbornly worn your freshman lanyard to every single orientation event. You’ve decided to frame your lanyard for the good luck it brought you at UMix trivia. You love your lanyard. You look at your lanyard and think, Oh, lanyard, can college possibly get any better than this? Now, I’m not here to answer that admittedly difficult question. And I am absolutely not here to patronize you. I wore my lanyard once, too. I’m merely here to offer you some totally unwarranted, probably undesired and yet, perhaps, marginally helpful guidance on approaching your college experience. Since I usually write about music, and since I lack authority to speak on the matter on any grounds other than the I’vebeen-here-F O R E V E R-so-letme-tell-you-how-to-do-it angle, I thought I’d invoke a muse, or four, and try to spell out some lessons I’ve learned — or wish I had learned sooner — during my three-plus years at Michigan. Make of them what you will. Animal Collective — “College” Relevant lyric: “You don’t have to go to college.”
The question appears in many forms, usually first in high school. “Where are you going to school?” Eventually, once you’ve settled: “What school do you go to?” When you near the finish line, it alters slightly: “What kind of job are you looking for?” The fundamental premise underlying these questions, though, suggests there is a path we must follow, a structure we must fit in to, a game we have to play. Today, the question is not, “Do you want to go to college?” It’s “What college are you going to?” There’s an implied sense of obligation, of having no viable alternative. I was asked the other day if I went to school. It was refreshing to hear, not least of all because I’m tired of all the questions about what my post-graduation plans are. It was asked without pretext, and it reminded me of that Animal Collective lyric. You don’t have to go to college to be successful, find your passion or eat a lot of pizza (though it might help for that last one). Sometimes it feels like college is something we have to do. When it does, it becomes a lot less enjoyable. Don’t go to college because you think you have to. You don’t. Go to college because it offers you the best resources for learning — about yourself, about growing up, about the world. Robyn — “Call Your Girlfriend” Relevant lyric: “Call your girlfriend / It’s time you had the talk / Give your reasons / Say it’s not her fault / But you just met somebody new” Your brother is telling you to. Your parents are telling you to. Your friends are telling you to. Even you’re kinda telling you to. And now I’m telling you to. Trust me on this one.
Relevant lyric: “You know I’ve dreamed about you / For 29 years / Before I saw you” Don’t wait 29 years like Matt Berninger — go out and meet people! Introduce yourself to that cute boy or girl you always sit next to in Statistics. Maybe you’ll get married on the spot. Join that club you’re interested in but overwhelmed by. Be overwhelmed. It’s normal. Michigan is a huge school. Make it smaller. All orientation speak aside, don’t refuse a potentially great thing by defeating yourself. If someone’s a jerk to you, they aren’t worth it anyway. Don’t let a jerk dictate your life. Nobody likes jerks anyway. Pink Floyd — “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” Relevant lyric: “Shine on you crazy diamond / Come on you raver, you seer of visions / Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!” A lot of things are going to happen to you in college. Some of them will be really good, and some will be truly awful. You’re going to make a lot of mistakes. People (like me) will try to tell you how to avoid making those mistakes, but at the end of the day, you’re on the hook. Don’t worry so much about doing it right or doing it wrong that you wind up doing nothing at all. You’ll end up learning a lot more about yourself if you don’t let other people’s experiences direct your own. Do your thing. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Enjoy your time at Michigan and shine on like only a crazy diamond could. Because you know what they say: #YOLO — You Only Lanyard Once.
@michdailyarts
Classifieds Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
FILM REVIEW
The National — “Slow Show”
SEND US A TWERK.
RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, September 4, 2013
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
A24
An intimate game of Pacman.
Ponsoldt paints ‘Spectacular’ love story By ANDREW MCCLURE Daily Arts Writer
Amid all the superficialities of high school, there’s something real and foretelling about those four years: the bullshit Aclasses, the hard classes; The the odd gym Spectacular teacher, the cool one; the Now druggies, the At State straight-edges; the sex, the A24 non-sex. It’s merely life in microcosmic form, where a line of chalk distinguishes elite from average, yet everyone’s equally flawed. For most, the epiphany monsoons in around late junior year, when it hits them — this “future” shit sort of matters. In the poignant “The Spectacular Now,” two unlikely sweethearts
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ACROSS 1 Saw point 6 Etching fluid 10 Touches affectionately 14 Prenatal exam, for short 15 Body part that smells 16 Jump in a skater’s short program 17 Legend with an ax 19 Actress Hayworth 20 Dinner pair? 21 Like cough syrup 22 Indigenous New Zealander 23 Legend with a clarinet 26 Alcove 29 Not at all welldone 30 “Let’s Get __”: Marvin Gaye hit 31 Udder parts 33 Jamaican genre 36 Legend with a vine 40 Animal on Michigan’s state flag 41 Coffee shop cupful 42 Fishing tool 43 “Your Majesty” 44 It includes a bit of France 46 Legend with a bat 51 Betting every last chip 52 Hat-borne parasites 53 Toward the rudder 56 Charlatan, e.g. 57 Legend with a bathrobe 60 Sour 61 Actor Morales 62 Dutch pianist Egon who taught Victor Borge 63 Lime beverages 64 Holiday song 65 Important word for 17-, 23-, 36-, 46- and 57Across DOWN 1 Packer’s need 2 Arab League member 3 Burden 4 Up to, briefly 5 Bindle carriers
6 Former U.N. chief 7 How some flirt 8 Life-cabaret link 9 Place to relax 10 Where to see floats 11 Self-evident truth 12 Flashy tank swimmer 13 Like many characters in Shakespeare’s dramas 18 Catering hall dispensers 22 Dashing inventor? 23 1885 Motorwagen maker 24 Reduce to small pieces 25 Inauguration Day pledge 26 Customary observance 27 Reference list abbr. 28 Bulletin board material 31 Icon on a pole 32 Immature newt 33 Goad 34 “Felicity” star Russell 35 Like the Flying Dutchman
37 “In space no one can hear you scream” film 38 Not, quaintly 39 On the safer side 43 Bypasses 44 Chickenpox symptom 45 Expletive replacements 46 Sicily neighbor 47 Epic that ends with Hector’s funeral
48 County on the River Shannon 49 Pond plants 50 Zero, to Nero 53 Prefix with war or hero 54 Forest floor flora 55 High school math class 57 Feathery layer 58 Club for GIs 59 “... but __ are chosen”
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CHILDCARE
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09/04/13
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cross but ignore the integral lesson that each offers the other. For his third feature-length release, filmmaker James Ponsoldt (“Smashed”) might’ve had a drinking problem himself as we see booze integrate and disintegrate his leads from “Smashed” to his new “Spectacular.” He uses scotch and brandy as a link to connect people in a basement-party sense but also to peel back the layers of their masks, to zoom in on their unadulterated sentiments. He does this particularly well as he paints vulnerability all over his “to care is to surrender” leading loudmouth. Sutter Keely (Miles Teller, “Footloose”) is the man, the homie, the dude, the coolest. His confidence in his car, naturally coiffed hair, blonde girlfriend and undeserved job at a men’s clothier balance his outward confidence. When push comes to shove, his girlfriend dumps him for the jocky, otherwiseperfect class president. Sutter’s only clue to his recent dumping is that he needs to look beyond the present, a clear problem he considers his biggest asset. Unfortunately, that asset entails something grimmer and in disguise as an 80-proof stress reliever. Kid’s got a problem, and the abrupt trauma leaves him in despair.
HAPPY WEDNESDAY!
Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley, “The Descendants”) is the supreme foil of Sutter: She has one friend, likes sci-fi books, doesn’t go to parties and is a virgin. To boot, her dad died and she lives in a one-story flat with
a belligerent mother. Unlike Sutter, she hasn’t undergone a recent hardship like breakups because, frankly, her life’s pretty simple with few moving parts so emotional collision is rare for Aimee. They make the happiest, saddest, afflicted and entirely unaware couple. And it’s good. Film whiners love to bitch about believability in casting choices, but for just reason. Some directors like to idealize while others seem to strip off the glitter so severely that we’re left with skin and bones and a quivering lip. Ponsoldt manages a happy medium where Sutter’s cool, but not enviably so, and Aimee’s beautiful, but not in a describable way. This allows us to engross in the story, a story that can be told without secondguessing Aimee’s chiseled facial features or Sutter’s alluring, scratchy voice. You never have to grimace in this coming-ofager. You’re in the good hands of Ponsoldt. Teen flicks usually tell viewers how to feel through sappy scores or original soundtracks. You’ve screened too many “American Pie”-like pics if the Coldplaybacked final scenes extract tears. “Spectacular” skips the piano and emo lyrics and instead delivers slow, heartfelt moments. During their drive back from visiting Sutter’s estranged father for the first time, a loaded Sutter swerves horribly into the left lane almost silencing Aimee and himself. A voice-cracking Sutter demands Aimee get out of the car because she can’t see that he “is bad for her.” No song or church organ would enhance this scene; the longer the raw silence, the better. Sometimes a small town can spin a yarn better than Gotham. And that’s precisely what “Spectacular” sets out to do: use all the core ingredients of a highschool stew devoid of any superfluous salt, trans fat or sugar cubes. And Woodley provides the best bite.
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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Contrite Gordon rejoins team
VOLLEYBALL
Field hockey sets sights on Final Four Seasoned team finished returns nearly every starter from 2012 squad
By MATT SLOVIN Managing Editor
Fifth-year senior safety Thomas Gordon addressed the media Tuesday for the first time since his one-game suspension that kept him out of Saturday’s season opener. Gordon referred to Michigan coach Brady Hoke as a father figure and showed regret for his actions, which the program has only referred to as a violation of team rules. He learned that he would be missing the Central Michi- NOTEBOOK gan game through a conversation with Hoke some time in the last month. “(Hoke) told me I let the team down, and I let him down,” Gordon said. “Me and coach Hoke have a great relationship. It was like a father-son talk. I knew what was going to happen.” The suspension left the Wolverines without both of their starting safeties, as senior Courtney Avery underwent arthroscopic surgery last month that could also keep him out of the game Saturday against No. 14 Notre Dame. Gordon was forced to watch the game at home in Detroit with family, away from the teammates he so badly wanted to lead in his senior season. And though it was incredibly frustrating to watch from a new perspective — he rattled off defensive schemes as
By ZACH SHAW Daily Sports Writer
TERRA MOLENGRAFF/Daily
Fifth-year senior safety Thomas Gordon had to watch Michigan’s opener at home while serving a one-game suspension.
his family watched him in amazement — Gordon said he had no choice but to understand why the decision was made. His status as a five-year veteran earned him no sympathy. “It doesn’t matter what type of player you are, especially in this program, there’s not going to be one who is more important than the team,” he said. “That’s the message that had to get out.” NERVOUS BORGES: In the now-iconic photograph of former Michigan men’s basketball star Trey Burke putting up a 30-footer with time winding down in regulation of the Wolverines’ Sweet Sixteen contest against Kansas, coach John Beilein is kneeling. His right hand is tightly clenched. His eyes are fixated on the ball as if it could fall out of the sky any minute, ending his team’s tournament run. Watching a 3-pointer in the air is exactly how offensive coordinator Al Borges said he feels
sometimes when redshirt junior quarterback Devin Gardner drops back to pass. He’ll watch with baited breath as the read is made and hope for the best. Last year against Notre Dame, all the hoping in the world wouldn’t have bailed out Denard Robinson, who threw four firsthalf interceptions in the 13-6 loss in South Bend. Borges is hoping his offense can learn from that disaster and improve the game plan for Saturday. “Denard took a lot of figurative and physical hits in that game,” Borges said. “They weren’t all easy, pitch-and-catch throws. That tells us we’ve got to take care of our quarterback. That’s part of our planning, too.” KELLY RECANTS: Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly began his press conference Tuesday by changing his position from a teleconference Sunday, when he said he didn’t consider the series with
Michigan to be a “historic, traditional Notre Dame rivalry.” Kelly said he would like to “dispense with the nonsense,” adding that the rivalry is “great and historic.” Since Kelly’s comments on Sunday, Hoke has repeatedly said Notre Dame is a great rival and even said Tuesday that he hopes for the sake of college football that the series continues one day. Hoke has previously stated that the Fighting Irish are “chickening out” of playing Michigan. Notre Dame opted out of the series for 2015-2017, the last scheduled games between the two schools. NOTE: Borges said fifth-year senior wide receiver Joe Reynolds is “going to be fine” after suffering an apparent leg injury in the game against the Chippewas. Reynolds scored his first career touchdown, and Michigan’s first of the season, on a 29-yard punt block that he took back for a touchdown.
Volleyball position-by-position preview By ERIN LENNON
1,622 assists — good for third in the U-M record book and with as many as 59 in a single match. Dannemiller aided in over 11 kills per game for the Michigan and recorded 15 double-doubles on the season. As the sergeant on the court, Dannemiller is responsible for directing both the defense and the offense on nearly every play. The Wolverines add a second setter in 6-foot Cindy Zhou, a top50 recruit out of Libertyville, Ill. With her height, Zhou will likely earn time on the right side, in order to run what is called a sixtwo system to give Dannemiller an opportunity to swing from the opposite position.
Daily Sports Writer
Following a season that brought an unranked team to its first Final Four appearance in program history, the Michigan volleyball team enters the 2013 season ranked seventh in the AVCA preseason poll. At No. 7, the Wolverines claimed their highest preseason position in 40 years and fall just behind conference foes No. 6 Minnesota and No. 2 Penn State. Michigan sits among seven other Big Ten teams represented in the top-25, including No. 10 Nebraska, No. 14 Michigan State, No. 16 Purdue and No. 20 Ohio State. The Wolverines are scheduled to play three other regular season opponents — Illinois, Texas A&M and Wisconsin — who each narrowly missed a top-25 nod. For a team whose late-season success was attributed to chemistry both on and off the court, this season presents a whole new challenge. Michigan coach Mark Rosen acknowledges that, with a target on their backs, the Wolverines will have to be solid at every position. “Everyone is coming after us,” Rosen said. “I think in some ways, it won’t be that much different. When it comes to Michigan and the block ‘M’ , most teams we play in and out of conference, we get their best shot. I’ d rather wear a big target and be good than hide around in the background and just be average. We proudly wear that target, but we have to understand that we can’t take any nights off. The name doesn’t get us any points, it’s how we play.” Michigan returns 13 letterwinners and five starters. Only fifth-year senior middle blocker Claire McElheny has graduated. Previously a young team, the 2013 roster boasts five seniors and one junior. The Wolverines swept their first challengers since a summer tour in South America at the Xavier Invitational. After three weeks in the gym, here is a look at the Michigan volleyball team by position: Outside hitters Senior co-captain Lexi Erwin proved herself among the nation’s elite hitters with her recordsetting junior season. In 2012,
Wednesday, September 4, 2013 — 7A
PATRICK BARRON/Daily
Sophomore libero Tiffany Morales returns as a leader of Michigan’s back line.
Erwin set a school record for most kills (614) and hitting attempts (1,701) in a single season. She led the team with 17 double-doubles and recorded double-digit kills in 34 of 38 games last season. Her postseason performance earned her a spot on the Division-I Volleyball Championships all-tournament team, Berkeley Regional Most Valuable Player and AVCA All-America honorable mention. Erwin enters her senior year as one of three Wolverines selected to the All-Big Ten team. Senior outside hitter Molly Toon represents the second in the hitting one-two punch. In her junior season, Toon started 28 games and finished with 528 kills. Known for her live arm and explosive streaks — she bested her career high with 25 kills against then-No.4 Nebraska — Toon will need to improve upon her consistency in order to compete against the many skilled blockers in the conference.
man middle blocker Abbey Cole represents the Wolverines’ tallest member, and will likely start in September. Though Michigan will need to fill the loss of McElheny at the net, the fifth-year senior made her home on the right side for most of her final year in Ann Arbor. It is likely that Cole or 6-foot-four freshman Gabbie Bulic will likely make the transition to the opposite position, giving the Wolverines a towering front line. Michigan returns two middle blockers in senior co-captain starter in Jennifer Cross and sophomore Krystalyn Goode. The pair led the team in blocks, with Goode’s 112 blocks falling second to Cross’s 181. Cross was named to the preseason All-Big Ten team following a year that included 379 kills and a spot on the AVCA All-America third team. Having recorded 908 career kills, Cross will likely join the 1,000-kill club by the midway point this season.
Middle blockers With the addition of three tall freshmen, the roster now boasts 11 players over 6-foot, a potential X-factor against conference opponents like Penn State, Nebraska and Minnesota. At 6-foot-4, fresh-
Setter Entering her third year as the Wolverines’ starting setter, Lexi Dannemiller rounds out the AllBig Ten preseason selections. In 2012, Dannemiller started all 38 matches at setter en route to
Defense A Final Four run forced a young Michigan defense to earn its stripes against some of the league’s toughest arms — and they did just that. Despite early-season jitters, libero Tiffany Morales finished her freshman year as the leader of the Wolverines’ back line with 559 digs and as a member of the All-Big Ten freshman team. Morales was also a threat with her serving (.928) and sets out of the backcourt. Though Rosen did not add anything to the defense, a confident Morales and an experienced back line should take care of business for Michigan. Morales will be aided by Erwin — who plays her position all the way through — and defensive specialists junior Ally Sabol and freshman Lindsay Lerg. But if there is one place where the Wolverines will look to improve, it is on serve reception. Michigan committed 132 receiving errors in 38 games last season. “We’re a good blocking team and we’re constantly getting better at blocking,” Rosen said. “But we’re also a very good floor defensive team. We’re bigger than we’ve been in the past so I think we can be a little more aggressive at the net but I think we still have great backcourt defense. Defense is certainly going to be a big focus for us as it always is. I like what we have to work with defensively, but yet I think we can also be a very, very physical offensive team. We’re big, we’re balanced, we can control the ball well on serve-receive, so I see us being a very steady physical offensive team as well, which is a great combination.”
After just three days of practice, the Michigan field hockey team had already looked ready to begin the regular season. It was all there on Phyllis Ocker Field: crisp passes, precise plays and energetic communication. Three weeks later, it’s still only the first week of September, but the Wolverines just might be close to ready for the November postseason. Despite a pedestrian 7-5 start last year, a thrilling overtime victory over rival Michigan State propelled the young Wolverines to win eight of their final 10 games, good for second in the Big Ten and ninth place in the NCAA Tournament and final rankings. “I was very proud of the team at the time and in hindsight,” said Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz. “Coming just short of a Big Ten title with one senior and starting six freshmen is something I’ve never heard of happening before anywhere.” Nearly all of last year’s team returns this year, and that has raised the bar. With veteran leadership and youthful depth at all positions, Pankratz will once again be able to pull out the playbook that has won seven Big Ten titles and a national championship in her 13 seasons at the helm. “The expectations can be a little higher with this group,” Pankratz said. “We can pick up where we left off last year since everybody’s back, and we can start at a higher level tactically and not go back and learn things. We can just move forward. “Last year we overachieved, but remain unsatisfied. Our seniors are very hungry and looking for more out of this season.” Among those hungry for more is senior forward Rachael Mack. The two-year captain led the team in scoring the past three seasons and has compiled a 46-23 record as a starter. “We have very high expectations for ourselves,” Mack said. “We want to reach the Final Four. That’s our aim. But first we want to win our regularseason games and go for a Big Ten Championship.” Perhaps even hungrier than Mack is her fellow captain, redshirt junior midfielder Ainsley McCallister. After being named captain to begin the 2012 season, McCallister was forced to watch the season unfold from the sidelines due to an injury. With a
redshirt as a consolation prize, McCallister was itching to get back to competing again. She got her wish a few months later, as she was selected to represent the United States as a member of the under-21 World Cup team in July. After playing against the best in the world, McCallister rejoins a team loaded with both talent and aspirations. Adding another leader is always good, but Pankratz wants to make sure McCallister sticks to being the same player that played every game in the Wolverines’ 2011 Big Ten title campaign. “When you play against the best in the world, your game picks up ,” Pankratz said. ”You get stronger and faster and better than you ever knew you could be before. Having her back this year gives us a lot of leadership and experience on the field. We just want her to play her game and do what she can do, and not try to do everything. If she does that and everyone else does their job, we’ll be fine.” If Michigan’s captains aren’t enough, the addition of an eight-member freshmen class should help. The freshmen give Pankratz the depth she needs in order to keep up. “They all are here because they’re tremendously athletic, smart and love Michigan,” Pankratz said. “The big class gives us a tremendous amount of depth. They’ve done a nice job of jumping right in and learning what they need to learn.” Rolling subsutitions have become more common in field hockey, meaning more and more of the team will see the field this year. As the freshmen quickly try to learn what Michigan field hockey is all about, Mack knows it’s important to make them feel welcome and ready to play. “What we took from last season is how to better communicate and link with the younger players and create team cohesiveness with each other,” Mack said. “That’s something we’ve been really focusing on so far this season, and I think we’ve done a pretty good job with it so far. A wealth of additions and minimal subtractions add up to lofty goals for the Wolverines. Michigan has started the season 1-2. The players and coaches alike know that while November’s NCAA tournament looms ahead, the Wolverines must work hard to get there. “Every year we expect to win the Big Ten championship and to reach the final four and contend for the National Championship,” Pankratz said. “(The girls) know that they have to work for it though. One of our other goals is to outwork anyone else, and if you do that, good things tend to happen.”
statement SEP TEMBER 4 , 2013
Making a Movement
2B Wednesday, September 4, 2013 // The Statement
we want you
ann arbor affairs: a thing by carlina duan
Welcome back to The Statement. This semester, we have one major goal: to put you in the magazine. You’ll notice the new “Statement on the Street” section, which takes us out of our newsroom cave at 420 Maynard and to the streets to hear your voice. And we want to hear back from you. Share your opinion on our content, and let us know what gets you thinking on campus. You can even write a Personal Statement to share your own experiences with our readers. So you — person excited to hold the first issue of the semester — comment, tweet, e-mail or snail mail us what you want to read and say. This is your chance to make a statement, so speak up — we’re listening.
The Statement Staff
THE
statement
Magazine Editor: Haley Goldberg Deputy Editor: Paige Pearcy Design Editor: Alicia Kovalcheck
Photo Editor: Teresa Mathew Illustrator: Megan Mulholland Editor in Chief: Andrew Weiner
Managing Editor: Matthew Slovin Copy Editor: Tom McBrien Josephine Adams Jennie Coleman
I bumped into him on my way back from a club meeting. The October moon glazed over the street. I barely made out his face in the dark. Tentatively, I called out his name. He paused, then walked closer. Behind us, a streetlamp beat out its own steady light. His eyebrows kicked upwards in recognition. “Carlina! How’ve you been?” We chatted briefly. No, he wasn’t in school this semester. He was working at a restaurant in town. He’d be traveling abroad in the winter. The talk ended after we’d exchanged numbers, and I hustled back to South Quad to gush to my roommate over how cute he was. A few weeks later, he texted me: “Sooo… we should hang out.” And so, I found myself in Kerrytown in early November, drinking hot chocolate with a cute boy and blabbing earnestly. More of a friend-date than anything, I convinced myself. Until he texted me later that night: “you’re awesome Carlina. Like really. we should chill again soon.” My heart winked for a tiny second. I analyzed the text over dinner with my friend Andrew. “He’s definitely interested,” Andrew declared, stirring a watery bowl of lentil soup. Still, I wasn’t sure. I hung out with him a few more times that month before I realized how much I was beginning to like him. It seemed that I had finally found a guy who got it. How to listen and absorb, how to be fascinated by the world, how to be sexy and modest at the same time. When I went home one weekend, I told my sister he
had potential to be The One. “I’ve never felt like this before with anybody,” I exclaimed. “I just like him so much.” He kissed me over Thanksgiving break. A small kiss. He had to duck down, tap his mouth to mine, standing beneath the streetlamp by his car. I adored him: his cheeks, the Angela Davis books scattered in rectangular piles all over his room, the blonde splash of hair nestled in the center of his head. I thought I was on my way to being in love. And then, it stopped. He
ILLUSTRATION BY MEGAN MULHOLLAND
stopped calling me as frequently. Wouldn’t reply to my texts for days. Acted uncomfortable and distant when we hung out. The confession came past midnight, both of us nested on a curb by East Quad. “I’m about to leave in less than a month, and we got into this so fast… too fast, almost,” he blurted, “I just don’t think this is feasible, given the time that we have.” When he finally left, I cried. I cried at the Diag, running into a friend who fetched me toilet paper from the men’s room at Mason Hall. Cried in my room,
unleashing my inner-emo while staring at a blank ceiling and listening to Bon Iver. I wanted him to be The One. Or if not THE One, then A One. I loved his hands, and his eyebrows and the stupid dog hairs on his shirt. I loved how he surprised me, constantly, with his brain. For six months, we exchanged the occasional Facebook message or email. His messages were always simple, short. Nice. When I left for my spring semester in New Hampshire, he told me to expect a letter. I spent six weeks in New Hampshire painfully checking the mail every day, awaiting an international postage-marked envelope that never came. If one flavor of love is yearning, then I suppose I did love him. For half a year, I wanted him to think of me as the girl he might want to love back, time given. But I also wanted, desperately, for us to keep on having our cool and calm conversations in comfort without the wrenching anxiety that came with waiting for his replies back, his affirmation. My two wants seemed incompatible with each other. “Love” versus Friend. “Thing” versus Friendship. When he finally came home over the summer, we split a sandwich at Jimmy Johns and read astronomy books at Dawn Treader. Neither of us mentioned our “thing.” But he told me I was an important friend. “I’ve learned a lot from you,” he said, “I’m grateful.” I never told him how much, exactly, I thought I’d been in love with him. In a way, it didn’t matter anymore. I still loved him, but it was a love that wasn’t curried with demand. He gave me a letter he meant to send me a month ago. It was signed, “Your friend.”
THE No. 482:
A new year, a new dorm that’s better than all the rest.
No. 483:
It’s OK to miss Rick’s more than the Ref Room.
rules
No. 484:
Thanks to Instagram, “How was your summer?” is no longer applicable.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013 // The Statement 3B
statement on the street 7 a.m., 8.5 hours to go The first few brave souls in the general admission football line on Saturday at 7 a.m. explained what else could keep them waiting in a line for 8.5 hours.
“
on the record
“Love it or hate it, the “Noodle” was ONLY inside Michigan Stadium as part of the inaugural W.O.W. Friday (i.e. Gameday Destination). #GoBlue”
– @umichfootball, Michigan football program’s Twitter account, on the 20-foot long noodle spotted in the Big House last Friday.
“It’s 10 o’clock, man. Where is everyone?”
– A PRIVATE SECURITY GUARD, about the lack of students in the general admission line for the first football game.
“I already don’t like this eight-hour wait … This might be about it.”
“Luke Bryan. Meet and greet — the whole package.”
“I don’t know, maybe if I had a kid some day? Not much.”
Matt Viola, Engineering senior
Hayley Burnash, Nursing freshman
Grady Chang, Engineering graduate student
“If you don’t like money, drugs, strippers or murder, you should turn this album off. Quickly.”
”
– JACKSON HOWARD, Daily Arts Writer about the requirements for listening to Juicy J’s new album Stay Trippy.
trending
At 64, Diana Nyad became the first person to swim the 110-mile route from Florida to Cuba without a shark cage protecting her. This was her fifth attempt at the feat in 35 years, proving to us all that anything is possible (and her body must be rockin’).
#NoMoreNokia #GeneralAdmission #SerenaWilliams
In a $7.2 billion all-cash deal, Microsoft plans to buy Nokia’s Lumia devices and services to launch their own mobile platform in the future. With this deal, we say goodbye to the Nokia’s deidcated smartphone line.
#FiftyShadesCast #swim2cuba #HeroicDetroit #Syria #collegedrop
The new Superman-Batman movie is slated to bring in $131 million to the state when filming in Detroit in early 2014. Ladies, get ready— Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck will be looking for their Loises and Mary Janes.
New numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show that college enrollment has declined by 467,000 students from fall 2011 to 2012 for both undergraduate and graduate schools. Now is it time to roll back tuition costs?
4B
Wednesday, September 4, 2013 // The Statement
Wednesday, September 4, 2013 // The Statement
COALITION FOR TUITION EQUALITY:
HOW A SMALL GROUP OF STUDENTS UNITED BEHIND A FRINGE ISSUE AND CHANGED UNIVERSITY POLICY By Sam Gringlas
I
t’s possible that the Coalition for Tuition Equality’s defining moment was neither in a University Board of Regents meeting nor inside the Fleming Administration Building. At this decisive junction, there were no microphones, yellow shirts or senior University officials —instead, just two guys at a table in a quiet section of the Shapiro Undergraduate Library. At nearly four in the morning, Kevin MersolBarg, then a Public Policy junior, and Yonah Lieberman, an LSA junior at the time, were up late studying like they did most Sunday nights. “We’d be in the UGLi talking about stuff, and Kevin mentions, totally offhand, ‘Dan Morales was speaking at the regents meeting on Thurs-
day,’ ” Lieberman said in an August interview. It was February 2012, and Morales, a then LSA freshman and a current CTE spokesman, was set to share his experience struggling to afford a University education before he gained U.S. residency. Lieberman, ruminating on class readings on the Civil Rights Movement, suggested CTE allies hold up signs to represent the University student organizations that composed the coalition during the speech. CTE had 12 members, and Mersol-Barg had founded CTE only a few months prior to the regents meeting. About 30 students, representing the coali-
tion’s member organizations such as the College Democrats and the ACLU, held up signs as Morales spoke. Then, the students walked out. “We had no idea what we were doing. It was the first direct action any of us had ever done,” Lieberman said. At the time, granting in-state tuition costs to Michigan’s undocumented residents was a virtually unknown issue on campus. But with sharp focus on a singular goal — securing instate tuition fees for undocumented students — CTE soon packed regents meetings so tightly they were moved from a small room inside the Administration Building to one of the Union’s ballrooms. CTE, and what they stood for, became unavoidable. However powerful the coalition’s strategy, its platform was not void of controversy. Tuition equality, as the issue became branded by advocates, is complicated; it is an issue that tested the University’s ability to respond to student grievances and forced a community to take a hard look at ideas of citizenship and scholarship. At the July 2013 regents meeting, after consistent protests and months spent pouring over the issue in a task force, regents passed new tuition equality guidelines by a 6-2 vote from the regents. Set to take affect in January 2014, undocumented students who graduated from and attended three years of a Michigan high school and two preceding years of middle school at a Michigan school will receive in-state tuition. Under the new guidelines, military veterans will also receive instate tuition fees, regardless of residency. In a matter of two years, a small group of students took on what had been a fringe issue,
rallied support, built their case and ultimately changed University policy. So how did they do it? MAKING A MOVEMENT In February 2011, Mersol-Barg was gearing up to run for president of Central Student Government and looking to build a platform that addressed issues of social justice and diversity. After attending an event sponsored by student organization Human Rights through Education, Mersol-Barg found an issue for his platform. At the event, a former student from Ann Arbor spoke about being denied in-state tuition once the University discovered his undocumented status. Shortly after the conference, MersolBarg began thinking of ways to engage issues facing undocumented students on campus. To form CTE, Mersol-Barg laid out three main factors that helped set up a successful movement. First, Mersol-Barg chose a coalition structure, an entity made up of many existing University groups, which today includes 32 member organizations. He said the coalition was crucial in involving a large and diverse cross-section of students. Second, Mersol-Barg said the coalition was better able to “harness the power of members” by avoiding leadership hierarchy. By focusing on a singular goal — one where students had a tailored perspective to contribute to the conversation surrounding immigrant rights — members were able to keep the coalition together. By June of 2012, it was clear CTE’s presence
at regents meetings would not quietly disappear. Students showed up to CTE events in droves, regardless of their relation to undocumented students. Many viewed CTE’s platform as an issue perfect for student activism — it was a problem within the larger immigration debate where student voices mattered. After Regent Julia Darlow (D-Ann Arbor) asked the University to explore the issue at the March 2012 regents meeting, then-Provost Phil Hanlon created a task force to examine the University’s residency guidelines that dictate how the University grants in-state tuition. Led by Lester Monts, Vice Provost of Academic Affairs, the task force included two other administrators and four CTE members: Mersol-Barg, Lieberman, Luz Meza, then an LSA senior and Sanjay Jolly, then a Public Policy senior. With the goal of producing a report to present to the regents, the task force began meeting twice a month. In interviews with The Michigan Daily, Monts and the student representatives said they viewed the task force as an open, collaborative working environment, while Lieberman and Jolly said its creation was initially a mechanism of deference. “When Phil Hanlon proposed this task force, it was 100 percent a measure for the University to drag their feet,” Jolly said. “They didn’t want to touch this. They wanted to show the world that they engage our students and we have a task force just for this issue.” However, Jolly and Meza said Monts and the other task force administrators were entirely genuine throughout the process. “I don’t have words to say how much I appre-
ciate them for working with us,” Meza said. Jolly said Monts encouraged the task force to leave no stone unturned and to take a meaningful look at the University’s undocumented population in realms such as campus life, financial aid and admissions. In a recent statement to the Daily, Monts lauded the work of the student committee members. “Given the nature of the issues at hand, there were often differences of opinion regarding the interpretation of data and its implications for the creation of a new policy regarding tuition equality,” Monts said. “However, I’m pleased to say that the report is a product of a consensus building process that was pervasive in our deliberations.” But throughout much of 2012, University President Mary Sue Coleman avoided any public position on tuition equality while the task force investigated the issue. In a January 2013 interview with The Michigan Daily, Coleman emphasized the importance of immigration reform at a state and federal level, rather than through University governance. “It would be so helpful if we could change things at the state level and do it as a comprehensive plan because I feel it’s just an issue this country has stuck its head in the sand about forever, and it’s not right,” Coleman said. Republican Regent Andrea Fischer Newman, who voted against the final measure granting instate tuition fees along with Republican Regent Andrew Richner in July, expressed reluctance similar to Coleman’s January 2013 stance.
ACHIEVING TUITION EQUALITY 2011 October 26 - The Coalition for Tuition Equality is established.
2012
January 24 – Central Student Government unanimously passes a resolution supporting tuition equality. February 16 – First CTE protest. During the public comments section at the University Board of Regents meeting, CTE member Daniel Morales reflects on the challenges of being an undocumented student before he achieved Michigan residency. Then, 30 supporters carrying signs representing members of the coalition walk out of the meeting. March 15 – CTE protests at the Regents meeting for the second time. CTE member Luz Meza discusses how the University’s residency guidelines have affected undocumented students in her Southwest Detroit neighborhood. Students walk out after her speech. Regent Darlow requests then-Provost Phil Hanlon provide further information on a potential plan for tuition equality. April 19 – CTE protests at a Regents meeting for the third time. CTE assembled a large outdoor rally and nearly 200 students march to the Regents meeting to support multiple CTE speakers.
December 12 –29,000 Silent Voices Protest. Clad in yellow shirts, CTE fills the December regents meeting in a visually symbolic display. Over 150 protestors cover their mouths with red tape to represent the silenced voices of undocumented students.
June 2012 – The task force officially forms to examine residency guidelines and the experience of undocumented students on campus. The task force is composed of students and administrators. September 18 – CTE holds a mock graduation ceremony for undocumented students outside the Hatcher Graduate Library. September 20 – CTE protests for the fifth time at the Board of Regents meeting.
2013 January 31 — In an interview with The Michigan Daily, President Mary Sue Coleman says reforms related to immigration should be enacted at the state and federal level, rather than through University governance. March — The task force presents their report to the Regents.
DESIGN: ALICIA KOVALCHECK
April 17 — CTE participates in a protest sponsored by One Michigan, a Detroit-based organization of undocumented students. Protestors march from the Michigan Union to President Coleman’s house chanting “Education, not segregation!” Later, eight students are arrested when protestors block traffic on State Street and South University. October 25 – Protest outside the Fleming Administration Building. More than one hundred students form a circle around the building to raise awareness among administrators. To show willingness to collaborate with the University, CTE hands out coffee and bagels to staff and officials entering the building.
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
TERESA MATHEW/Daily
April 18 – At the April Regents meeting, President Coleman announces the University will have a “positive recommendation” on tuition equality in the coming months. CTE holds a “study-in” at the meeting. July 18— The Board of Regents pass new guidelines which grant in-state tuition to military veterans and students who graduated and attended three years of a Michigan high school and two years of a Michigan middle school, granting tuition equality to undocumented students.
5B
6B
Wednesday, September 4, 2013 // The Statement
“I have concerns about whether this is appropriate under federal law and believe this type of national issue should be resolved at the federal level,” Newman said in a statement. Opponents of the measure have also expressed concerns, mainly regarding undocumented families not paying state taxes. According to an Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report families of undocumented students often pay some state taxes, such as sales and property tax, contributing about $126 million in local and state tax revenue in Michigan. However, the University’s initial concerns focused on changes to residency requirements. “I think we are in a circumstance now where we have residency requirements and we need to be consistent without undermining the residency standards that we’ve had in the past because those have been important for the University,” Coleman said in January. “I’m hopeful that we can get there, but we’ll see.” As a result of these concerns, the University administration and task force carefully considered the impacts of potential changes to residency guidelines.
mented students. Instead, students on Ohio’s border who attended a Michigan high school or boarding students at private schools, such as Cranbrook, would receive the largest, unintended benefit. Thus was born the middle-school clause in the adopted version of the guidelines, which requires two years attendance at a Michigan middle school as a condition for receiving instate tuition. EVOLVING VIEWS While the task force trudged on inside the Administration Building, CTE continued their protests down State Street at regents meetings. Jolly and Lieberman said the progress of the task force often influenced the tone and scale of direct actions such as protests and sit-ins, with organizers carefully considering the demands of the moment. December 2012, just before students left
attaching a human face to a not particularly interesting area of University governance. Storytelling is the most effective form of advocacy, and they mastered that.” Provost Martha Pollack, who succeeded Hanlon last spring, tempered CTE’s role in influencing the policy. Contrary to Coleman’s January statements stressing the firm nature of residency guidelines, Pollack said the University had already been considering revisions prior to CTE protests. Pollack emphasized the broader nature of the new guidelines, created to streamline paths to in-state tuition, rather than promote larger policy concerning undocumented students. “That being said, it’s certainly true that as the students from CTE and the various veterans groups spoke over the year, that they raised our awareness of this and that got built into the process, but again the changes in the policy are much broader,” Pollack said. But Bernstein said CTE protests might
TUITION’S NITTY-GRITTY Between June 2012 and February 2013, the committee explored the ways in which university, state and federal policies affected undocumented students. As part of this process, the task force examined policy at three especially progressive universities in the area of tuition equality: the University of Texas-Austin and the University of California-Berkeley and Los Angeles. In addition to Texas and California, 16 states have provisions allowing in-state tuition rates for undocumented students. Fourteen states provide these provisions through state legislation and two states allow in-state tuition rates for undocumented students through Board of Regents decisions. While the report was not intended to make a final recommendation, the task force considered potential methodology to qualify undocumented students for in-state tuition. Previously, the University based tuition fees on residency, meaning students needed to be recognized by the state as Michigan residents. This policy prevented undocumented students from taking advantage of the hefty difference between in- and out-ofstate tuition. Following the example set by the UC campuses and the UT-Austin, the report found tuition fees could be based on a student’s high school education rather than residency. While it seemed the task force had narrowed in on a possible solution, the University’s Office of General Counsel, represented on the committee by Donica Varner, University Associate General Counsel, raised concerns regarding potential externalities of revised guidelines. “We (the University) get sued on our (prerevision) residency policy all the time and we always win because our residency policy is airtight,” Jolly said. “It’s legally rock solid.” With a high school-based guideline, the General Counsel said the largest demographic affected by the policy would not be undocu-
TERRA MOLENGRAFF/Daily
Ann Arbor for semester break, CTE members and allies, now numbering in the hundreds, wore yellow t-shirts and donned red duct tape over their mouths to represent “silenced” voices of undocumented students. The protests and task force meetings continued simultaneously. “For maybe six months, through December, it did not seem as if we were going to get our way,” Lieberman said. As protests continued, the task force was meeting simultaneously, sometimes the day before or after an action from CTE. “It was awkward, but at least (the administration) understood we weren’t going to put up a white flag due to the task force,” Jolly said. According to administrators, the protests did not stifle the working relationship of the task force. University Regent Mark Bernstein (D–Ann Arbor), an early proponent of granting in-state tuition to undocumented Michigan students, deemed CTE’s protests as thoughtful, dignified and effective—especially in sharing the stories of affected students. “It was a blueprint for effective advocacy,” Bernstein said. “I was deeply moved by the stories that these students and their allies shared. They were very successful in
have guided the direction of the changes to in-state tuition guidelines. “The tuition guidelines are a dynamic document,” Bernstein said. “They change every once and a while to keep pace with the changing nature of the University. There are lots of ways tuition guidelines can change. The advocacy work by these students had a significant impact on the evolution of our tuition guidelines.” THE HISTORICAL ARC Though various parties may dispute CTE’s ultimate influence, it’s difficult to discredit the scope of their on-campus presence. In less than two years, what began as a small group of students organizing at four a.m. in the UGLi reached a visible crescendo last April when eight students were arrested outside the Union in a display of civil disobedience. Protestors marched from the Michigan Union to Coleman’s house shouting, “education, not segregation!” before blocking traffic at the intersection of State Street and South University Ave. Even after the passage of new in-state tuition guidelines a few months later, it’s still difficult to tell what CTE might mean for the larger arc of University narrative. For many, the movement translated into more than policy
change or civil rights dialogue — CTE was also a conversation about what student activism might mean and look like in the 21st century. “It’s the biggest thing that’s happened in Michigan student activism since the ‘60s,” Lieberman said. “It’s the story of students coming together, identifying a problem and thinking about how to change the issues facing them. I think a lot of people paint our generation as apathetic people who don’t really care. This story fundamentally challenges that narrative.” The movement also placed a spotlight on the inflexible nature of higher education. While multiple coalition members have recognized the success in the movement’s turnaround time —less than two years — some characterized the University as traditionally slow to change. “If the threshold for change required an entire movement, I don’t think that’s reasonable,” Mersol-Barg said. “I think the University decisionmakers could not only be doing a much better job engaging a students who want to change campus, but proactively seeking them out and ensuring their vision is realized.” Mersol-Barg is convinced the University could have issued a decision without waiting a number of months. “Ultimately, direct actions like the sit-in in front of the Union are what pushed the regents over the edge,” Mersol-Barg said. “As I understand, a number of regents just wanted to get it taken care of because we were making too much noise.” Though some administrators have discounted CTE’s total influence, they have frequently applauded the movement’s displays of student activism. “Dialogue on challenging issues is what we’re all about here at Michigan, and I hope it doesn’t go away,” Pollack said. “I won’t always agree with the students, but I certainly want to hear what they have to say.” Still, Mersol-Barg said it’s difficult to pinpoint the extent to which CTE truly influenced the opinions of regents or administrators. While Pollack characterized the administration’s views on tuition equality as evolving, Mersol-Barg said the administration didn’t follow a uniform progression, adding that some administrators and regents were more receptive than others. “On one hand, this is a wonderful success in that we demonstrated that the regents will respond to students, especially when it comes to matters as complicated and controversial as this one,” Mersol-Barg said. “However, I don’t think that this establishes too much precedent in terms of students who want to change the University.” But for now, CTE is not going away. LSA senior Meg Scribner and Morales, current CTE leaders, said the new focus of the movement will be securing financial aid for undocumented students. “It’s really important not to let this issue disappear,” Scribner said. Though the impact of the recently inked policy may remain uncertain, one thing’s clear: Less than two years ago, a couple of students had a grievance and an idea.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013 // The Statement
7B
Do you have a girlfriend? by Andrew Weiner
T
he bus is packed, but we’re the only people talking. Maize and blue freshmen stare at us with wide eyes. I’m red, visibly sweating and incoherently mumbling the words I so badly don’t want to say. Rewind 20 minutes. Surface-level, Taylor Lewan is intimidating. “I’m just there to be big and hit guys,” the football team star lineman has told me before about his football skills. At 315 pounds he’s a hummer H2 of a guy, and standing anywhere near him is dwarfing — and I’m 6-feet-3-inches tall. The Michigan Man incarnate and I walk to catch a bus from North Campus to Central. “So, umm, you play ... football?” It’s a stupid question that I already know the answer to, but as friends and failed dates will confirm, one-on-one situations with men I don’t know well are not my strong suit. Taylor Lewan doubles the usual anxiety. While I avoid eye contact, Taylor is friendly and normal as he casually describes turning down his first-round NFL Draft pick — read: fame and fortune — to finish up with Blue. College is pretty fun, it turns out, and he isn’t done with Ann Arbor just yet. As we walk down Bonisteel, the freshmen stare, incredulous that he exists outside of the Big House. Taylor waves at one or two with a friendly laugh, much to their embarrassment. Like them, I have forgotten how to act like a person in his presence. Taylor tries to spark conversation, but I can’t seem to rattle off more than a few words at no more than a whisper to any of his attempts. He told me weeks later he couldn’t figure out why I disliked him so much at first. “No, man, I was just straight up terrified of you.” Note: Tay-
ILLUSTRATION BY MEGAN MULHOLLAND
lor had a pet teacup pig, fedora and moped scooter. Terrifying stuff. Finally, we board the bus. It’s the day of the last game of the Final Four. The campus has been electrified for the last couple weeks by the success of the men’s basketball team, which has made it to the national championship for the first time in 20 years. In lieu of shuttle buses to Atlanta, the Athletic Department is showing the game on big screens at the Crisler Center. Slack-jawed and silent, the kids heading to Crisler stare at Taylor and me — read: Taylor — as we talk. I start to act like a human being again. He speaks at a normal volume on the quiet bus. I’m not sure if he notices that all conversation has stopped to eavesdrop on his, or if it’s such a commonplace occurrence that he’s learned to feign ignorance. The bus curves down Fuller. The conversation takes the turn I was hoping it wouldn’t. Taylor tells me about how his girlfriend — Alex, who’s very sweet and coowner of the teacup pig — is the sister of his teammate Drew Dileo and of the occasional awkwardness of that arrangement. At this point, the freshmen’s eyes are heat lamps in my direction. I begin to panic sensing the question I can see coming as clearly as the cars headed toward us one lane over. “Do you have a girlfriend?” I lift my sleeve to my forehead to wipe away sweat as I stammer sounds too incoherent to qualify even as syllables. Somehow the words fall from my mouth at a nearly inaudible volume. My anxiety level is better fit for a lifethreatening situation. Without a beat of pause: “Oh my god, I’m so sorry I used gay as an adjective before, I totally shouldn’t —” I wave my hands for him
to stop, it’s cool, it’s cool. I’m not offended, and, hey, let’s talk quieter! The adjective use before we got on the bus had barely registered with me, but he hadn’t forgotten. His reaction tackles me, I nearly fall over as the bus stops at an intersection and deservedly feel like an asshole for making assumptions Sudoku Syndication about someone I barely knew at that point based on a few keywords: big, football, Southern. “You know, I’ve never met a gay person before, I think.” I skip the pedantic rant about how that’s statistically impossible. Instead we talk — he’s legitimately interested. Is it hard to meet guys? Do my parents know? As my profuse sweating subsides and I really hope I put on deodorant that morning, I answer. I answer as easily as if he had asked me if I’m Canadian — I’m not, NICE N’ EASY thank God — or about being Jewish. Smil-
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ing since his initial reaction, I can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the setting, actors and dialogue of this scene. “Do you have a girlfriend?” The question doesn’t really scare me any more. The bus keeps rolling forward.
http://sud
Andrew Weiner is a Public Policy senior.
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8B
Wednesday, September 4, 2013 // The Statement
“How has student activism changed at the ‘U’?” with Assistant Professor Stephen Ward and Professor Scott Campbell Assistant Prof. Stephen Ward who teaches courses in urban studies, community development and African-American studies and Communication Studies Prof. Scott Campbell met at The Michigan Daily newsroom to discuss this question. Below are selected excerpts from their conversation. Prof. Scott Campbell: One of the things I’ve noticed with students over the last couple of years is it seems like they’re feeling an increasing amount of pressure to be involved in various social causes and volunteer organizations and things for the sake of getting that scholarship, or even getting that job or that internship, in bolstering their resume and getting their leg
up. It just seems like they’re feeling a lot more pressure to do that then they used to. Prof. Stephen Ward: Almost like, for lack of a better term, the professionalization of activism or really, engagement. That’s a word that’s used a lot now and covers a wide range… Really what do we mean by student activism? What counts as activism? What constitutes activism? So we can sort of talk about what we’ve seen there and we can also talk about student activism, having been in another time period. I think a lot of activist energy has been transformed into what we call engagement in many ways, so social service, activities, service learning
ADAM GLANZMAN/Daily
activities, so you referenced it in terms of students feeling the pressure to do these things for their resume, right? So that’s for their personal, which is very different from the sense of social responsibility that we might think of previous generations like the ‘60s generation. SC: Right. When I was offered
my position here … I had kind of the preconceived notions of what the culture is like at the University of Michigan from kind of a stereotypical point of view. SW: Such as, what would that mean? SC: Historically, I think of Michigan as a very progressive place with protests, you know? Vietnam-era protests, Civil Rights protests. And I got here, and I felt like the activism that I saw was highly engaged, but, to use a word that you dropped, professionalized in a way. People in the B-school bolstering resumes…
and a couple of them deal with student activism, one of them is a student climb up of this very building protesting how the University was dealing with Student Publications. Others are from the ‘60s dealing with things off campus as well as challenging the University. A couple of them are about affirmative action, so at the time you and I have been here, it seems to me two of the main spaces of student activism which were more generally active in terms of challenging the University and things across society were affirmative action about a decade ago, and more recently tuition equality, which is going to be in the news today.
SW: Right, right. SC: Right. SC: … and that kind of thing. And it felt like they were a little bit more personally ambitious in their goals than collectively trying to change the world. --SC: It does feel to me, and again I wasn’t here a generation or two ago, but it does feel to me that student activism is happening perhaps a bit more in concert with institutional efforts. SW: Oh absolutely. SC: … rather than oppositional. So I would say that probably at least seems to be one of the major differences in terms of the visible forms of activism. SW: Absolutely. I mean, we’re here in the Daily offices and around the room they have past front pages
SW: So I see those as students engaging with issues that are related to them here on campus — happening here on campus but having broader social implications. So the protests are prodding at the University to do something for affirmative action same as the policy which now has been changed with tuition equality for students who are so-called undocumented … So, tuition equality, my understanding, is that all the students, many of the students, who are involved in that struggle are not themselves students who would benefit, and they see that as an issue. In the affirmative action case it was less so, but, still, many white students were involved in affirmative action, so that’s not a particularly important point, but that’s what I think about how activism takes place.