ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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AUTUMN ARBING
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
University community braces for shutdown JAMES COLLER/Daily
LSA freshmen Emily Sheridan and Molly Williams enjoy one of the first days of autumn by studying in the Nichols Arboretum Monday.
ROTC, federal recruiting, D.C. programs affected by gov’t closures By TAYLOR WIZNER
HEALTH CARE
Insurance exchanges open With opening of marketplace, ‘U’ students, faculty have new options By BEN ATLAS Daily Staff Reporter
When Dania Berjaoui graduated from Eastern Michigan University in the spring, she left behind not only the comfortable confines of a college environment, but also another impor-
tant safety net: her student health insurance. Now working as an administrative assistant in office of the University Health Service Director, Berjaoui is not eligible for University health benefits because she is a temporary employee. While some young adults can now be insured under their parents’ plan until age 26, Berjaoui’s father was laid off last year and now is enrolled in Medicaid, the federal government’s program for low-income Americans that covers children until only age 18.
Berjaoui is one of roughly 48-million uninsured Americans who have the opportunity to learn more about their options starting Tuesday, when open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace — one of the key components of the Affordable Care Act — begins. Last week, the University Benefits Office, per ACA requirements, sent out a letter to all 67,000 of the faculty and staff it services to provide notice of the beginning of enrollment. Roughly 46,000 employees are currently eligible to receive
coverage through a University health plan, and are unlikely to participate in the new marketplace, according to Brian Vasher, director of operations for the Benefits Office. However, the remaining 21,000— most of whom are temporary employees like Berjaoui — may be inclined to use the marketplace. Outside of temporary employees, it’s unclear how other University demographics, such as graduate and professional students, may benefit from the marketplace. The University’s See INSURANCE, Page 3
Daily News Editor
Now that the government has shut down, the Ann Arbor and University community are preparing for the consequences of a reduced government. The University’s three ROTC programs — Army, Naval and Air Force — are programs of the Department of Defense, which is affected by the shutdown. Captain Joseph Evans, Naval ROTC commanding officer and chair of the Naval Officer Education Program, said the possible impact on students in the program would depend on how long the shutdown lasts. Evans said there would be no immediate, “outwardly visible” effects, as most issues would be dealt with internally. He noted
CRIME
By ARIANA ASSAF Daily Staff Reporter
Trends from the University’s Annual Security Report and Annual Fire Safety Report released Monday show that sexual-assault cases and alcohol violations increased substantially from years past, while reports of most other crimes have remained steady or declined. The report, published annually by the University, contains 2012 crime statistics along with numbers from previous years and is required by U.S. Department of Education policy. The report breaks down the types of crimes reported, who crimes were reported to and if the incident occurred on campus or at an off-campus location involving students. It only details crimes that were initially reported on or near campus and doesn’t detail the outcomes of investigations There were 21 forcible rapes reported to police agencies and the University. In 2011, there were ten cases. These reports do not include confidential locations, such as those reported to the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center. The report showed that reports of rape and fondling more than doubled in 2012.
WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 79 LO: 59
There were two forcible rapes reported to University Police, up from one incident reported to UMPD in 2011. In the recent report, two forcible rapes were reported to other police, and 17 were reported to non-police. In 2011, there were two forcible rapes reported to other police agencies and seven reported to non-police. There were 21 cases of forcible fondling reported in 2012, more than double the eight cases reported in 2011. The report also noted that sexual-assault cases reported to the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center decreased from 44 in 2011 to 34 in 2012. In September, the University altered its sexual misconduct policy to be in accordance with guidelines set out in the federal Title IX mandate. As a result, every allegations of student sexual misconduct must be internally investigated by the University. Although there is no confirmed correlation, reports of sexual assault increased significantly in 2011 after the interim Title IX ordinance at the University made authority figures more responsible for reporting sexual assault. Administrators involved in the new process have said the increase in sexual assault reports may be due to the new changed procedure. Robberies and assaults reported decreased significantly from their 2011 levels. There were 14 robberies reported in 2011 compared to four in 2012. Aggravated assaults decreased from 30 in See REPORT, Page 3
Federal agencies postpone recruiting visits Several government agencies have also notified the Career Center that they would no longer be sending recruitment officials to the Career Expo on Oct. 1 and Oct. 2. The State Department and the National Security Agency, which were also holding separate events with University departments, cancelled their presentations and notified the Career Center. “Based on the uncertainty of a potential federal government shutdown, the information sesSee SHUTDOWN, Page 3
CITY
Report: sexual assault, liquor violations up In annual report University Police break down crimes on and near campus
that at least three members of his staff would be furloughed, but the rest are military employees who would not be affected. He noted that in the long term, the students’ scholarships could be in jeopardy, but those details are not clear. Officials at the University’s Army and Air Force ROTC programs could not be reached for comment.
Ann Arbor City Council member to seek mayor’s office Kunselman would challenge Hieftje for Democratic nomination ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
By WILL GREENBERG Daily Staff Reporter
Martha Pollack, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, speaks to SACUA members Monday.
Pollack reflects on first months as ‘U’ provost SACUA members seek greater administrative transparency By EMILIE PLESSET For The Daily
Martha Pollack, University provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, made an appearance at the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs meeting Monday, discussing goals for recruitment, college affordability and funding allocations. At the meeting, Pollack reflected on her first few months as provost and discussed upcoming initiatives to improve various aspects on
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campus, including improved education, a more diverse student culture, college affordability and research enterprise. During the meeting, members also discussed changes in benefits and salaries and asked for more transparency from committees discussing these changes. To improve campus inclusion, Pollack said she’s in the early stages of working on a new recruitment program for community-college students. According to Pollock, the program would “strengthen (the University’s) ties to community colleges and expand student support services” and is a “really good way to try and tackle” what she says is a diversity problem. SACUA also discussed ways to allocate resources,
NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM The Wire: Hospital employee assaulted MICHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS/
INDEX
and how to keep college affordable for students while still ensuring departments receive their appropriate funds. “We have a huge array of programs on campus that are intended to address diversity on campus,” Pollack said. “What we need to do is figure out which ones we want to put more resources into.” According to Pollock, over the past year, average student-loan burden decreased by $500 and out-of-state students saw their amount of need-based aid double. Additionally, in 2012 University had the lowest in-state tuition increase in the past 30 years. “College affordability continues to be a top priority,” Pollack said. “We still have a lot farther to go, but if you See PROVOST, Page 3
Vol. CXXIV, No. 2 ©2013 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
City Councilmember Stephen Kunselman (D–Ward 3) has begun the petitioning process to become a candidate for the mayor of Ann Arbor in 2014. Kunselman — who is an employee in the University’s Energy Management Office — went to the City Clerk Friday to obtain the petition to be nominated as a candidate in the Democratic Party. He is currently in the middle of his third term as a council member in Ward 3, having first been elected in 2006. Even though the deadline for the primary-election petition is midMay, Kunselman said he typically likes to start his campaign process early, adding that he is “not a typical candidate.” Kunselman said he wants to change the political culture in Ann Arbor and increase transparency. “I very much believe in good public policy and budget priorities that serve a broader element of our community rather than what we’ve seen in the last few years if the direction of our city is to be basically focused on downtown,” Kunselman said. He went on to say Mayor John Heiftje’s (D) lack of communication See OFFICE, Page 3
NEWS............................ 2 OPINION.......................4 ARTS............................. 5
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A SUDOKU.....................2A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A
News
2 — Tuesday, October 1, 2013
MONDAY: This Week in History
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers Before You Were Here
TUESDAY: Professor Profiles Profiles
HGAONTGSI E NR’ VOEUDT
THURSDAY: CampusProfiles Clubs Alumni
FRIDAY: Photos the Week Week Photos of the 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com
Washington Woman LSA and Public Policy Prof. Edie Goldenberg was director of the Public Policy School from 1987 to 1989 and the dean of LSA from 1989 to 1998. Goldenberg is the founding director of the Michigan in Washington Program, which is in its eighth year. What attracted you to political science?
NICHOLAS WILIAMS/Daily
Art & Design senior Jordan Barse hangs art for an IP pre-show in the Penny Stamps Building Monday.
As a sophomore, I took a wonderful course that made me switch majors from math to political science. It was an interdisciplinary social science class team-taught by four distinguished senior leaders in a newly established Department of Political Science at MIT. One of them, Ithiel de Sola Pool,
CRIME NOTES
became my adviser, and my interest in the field just kept growing. Michigan’s Political Science Department is one of the very best in the world. Being part of it has only enhanced my interest in the field. Ever since coming to Ann Arbor, I have been involved in both Political Science and the Ford School. What is your role as the director of the Michigan in Washington program? I am responsible for program design, requirements, and evaluation; curriculum; student recruitment, selection, preparation and recognitions; faculty and staff selection and evaluation; program budget,
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
Get at me, bro
Goin’ green
WHERE: University Hospital WHEN: Sunday at about 12:15 p.m. WHAT: A staff member reported he was punched in the face by an unknown male upon walking through a hallway. The victim did not seek treatment. There are no suspects.
WHERE: Stockwell Hall WHEN: Sunday at about 2:40 p.m. WHAT: A student was arrested due to suspicions of marijuana use under charges of violations of controlled substances. Suspected marijuana and paraphenalia were confiscated.
Fall career fair Tech and WHAT: Companies to change mixer the Union come to showcase their job and internship opportunities, often leading to interviews. WHO: The Career Center WHEN: Today from 2 p.m to 6:30 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, second floor
Where’s my Phantom fight? bike?
Harmon at Michigan
WHERE: School of Public Health WHEN: Sunday at about 5 p.m. WHAT: A bicycle was reportedly stolen from a bike rack outside the building between Sept. 27 and Sept. 29. There are currently no suspects.
WHERE: Church carport WHEN: Saturday at about 11:10 p.m. WHAT: It was reported that several subjects were yelling in the structure for 30 minutes. Upon investigation, police were unable to find anyone on the premesis.
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WHAT: The opening of an exhibit that details the life and career of football legend Tom Harmon, including the ‘unretiring’ of his playing jersey. WHO: Bentley Historical Library WHEN: Today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Bentley Historical Library lobby
MORE ONLINE Love Crime Notes?
Get more online at michigandaily.com/blogs/The Wire
WHAT: A mixer for those interested in technology and social change at an interdisciplinary level. WHO: Group for Research on Infotech and Development WHEN: Today from 6 p.m. to 8p.m. WHERE: North Quad
Trippy bio lecture WHAT: Seminar by Dr. Joe Kappock on biological chemistry, titled “An Acid Trip”. WHO: Biological Chemistry WHEN: Today at 12 p.m. WHERE: Medical Science Unit 1
ANDREW WEINER
including student scholarships, fundraising and development of opportunities for program enrichment. All of this requires teamwork and we have a great program team, including staff in Ann Arbor and in Washington, D.C., a faculty advisory committee, an advisory board in D.C., student volunteers and program ambassadors, advisors and student-oriented staff, key faculty and deans in various schools and colleges on campus, liaisons in financial aid, alumni, internship providers, mentors, donors. The Michigan network is truly amazing and makes my job fun.
-CARLY FROMM
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
1
CNN reported that in light of the impending government shutdown, Congress’s national approval rating is at an all time low, with just 10 percent of Americans saying they approve of their actions.
2
The Department of Education will begin sending out e-mails this month that inform students of their loan-repayment options. SEE OPINION, PAGE 4
3
Kenyan military officers responding to a four day seige at a mall looted the stores, MSNBC reported. Owners were just allowed to re-open when officers stole jewelry, electronics, and cash.
KIRBY VOIGTMAN
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BUSINESS STAFF Amal Muzaffar Digital Accounts Manager Doug Soloman University Accounts Manager Leah Louis-Prescott Classified Manager Lexi Derasmo Local Accounts Manager Hillary Wang National Accounts Manager Ellen Wolbert and Sophie Greenbaum Production Managers The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110. Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press.
NBC news reported that
Stock levels decline again as Mali soldiers and separatist government faces standoff rebels have face off at border Wall Street prepares for federal gov’t shutdown
States is the bedrock that nearly every other investment is built upon, largely due to the assumption that the nation will always pay its debts. “The concern is government has become so polarized that if it cannot pass (a budget), there’s a greater chance that the debt ceiling battle will go to the brink or possibly lead to a default,” said Alec Young, global equity strategist with S&P Capital IQ. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 128.57 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 15,129.67. The Standard & Poor’s 500 slid 10.20 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,681.55 and the Nasdaq composite dropped 10.12 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,771.48. Monday’s decline adds to what has been eventful September for investors. Stocks hit an all-time high on Sept. 18 after the Federal Reserve voted to keep up its economic stimulus program. But that enthusiasm vanished as
After gunfire causes fear in downtown Kidal, situation deteriorates
Wall Street began to worry that the political bickering between Democrats and Republicans would lead to a government shutdown and crisis over the debt ceiling. NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks Even with the worries about fell Monday as Wall Street wora shutdown and debt ceiling, ried that a budget fight in Washinvestors are still optimistic BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Maliington could lead to an event far about the long-term health of an soldiers and ethnic Tuareg worse for the economy— a failthe U.S. economy. The S&P 500 separatist rebels clashed again ure to raise the nation’s borrowindex rose 3 percent in Septemin the northern desert town of ing limit. ber and is up 18 percent for the Kidal on Monday, a day after Investors pulled back from year. trading gunfire downtown in stocks as a budget standoff With September behind a battle that has raised fears between Republicans and Demthem, investors now head into a about whether an unraveling ocrats in Congress threatened to worrisome October. peace accord could lead to propush the government into a parA brief shutdown wouldn’t tracted fighting in the region. tial shutdown for the first time hit the economy and stock marThe clashes in Kidal began in 17 years. Lawmakers have ket hard. But a prolonged one, only a day after suicide car until midnight Tuesday to reach lasting two weeks, could lower bombers killed two civilians a budget deal that would keep the annual growth rate for the and wounded seven others in government in full operation. economy by 0.3 percentage Timbuktu, another northern There is a simple reason why point, according to a report by provincial capital. the budget battle — and, more Macroeconomic Advisers. If a And as fears rose over the importantly, an upcoming fight shutdown were to last the entire deteriorating security situation Sudoku Syndication http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ over the debt ceiling — are so month, it could cut the annual in the north there were reports crucial: the credit of the United growth rate by 0.7 percentage of tensions at an important milpoint. That is because hundreds itary barracks near the capital, of thousands of federal workers Bamako. would go without a paycheck. Soldiers at the Kati camp, “You’re putting a lot of peofrom which the March 2012 ple, at least temporarily, out coup was launched, took an EASY of work and out of pay, and army colonel hostage, saying that will affect spending,” said they had not received the proKathy Jones, vice president of motions they had been promfixed income strategy at Charles ised. Schwab. “It slows down activity In Kidal, after a lull in vioon companies that depend on lence overnight, fighting flared federal contracts.” again early Monday but was Some investors think a shutbrought to a halt when French down could be a positive event soldiers arrived at the scene in the long-term. The political several hours later. pressure could force politicians “The French forces are tryto get down to business and ing to calm the situation but it’s negotiate — particularly on the very complicated,” said Hubert issue of the debt ceiling. de Quievrecourt, a communica“This may be good thing in tions adviser with the French the long run because it may lead military mission. “For the to compromise,” said J.J. Kinahmoment there is no casualty toll an, chief strategist at TD Ameribut the fighting has stopped.” trade. Residents said the fighting on Treasury Secretary Jack Lew Monday again centered around said last week that the governa bank being guarded by Malian ment would run out of borrowing soldiers, where gunfire rang authority by roughly Oct. 17. The out on Sunday. The same Kidal bank was targeted in a grenade © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. last time the debt ceiling issue puzzle by sudokusyndication.com SMOOTH. came up in August 2011, it led to attack two weeks ago. Each side Standard & Poor’s downgrading accused the other of firing the the United States’ credit rating. first shots. Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com!
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The clashes, which wounded three people, marked the first such violence in Kidal since the rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad, or NMLA, and two other groups announced last week they were suspending participation in a peace accord signed with the government in June. Andrew Lebovich, an analyst who focuses on political and security issues in the Sahel and North Africa, said the fighting stems from divisions within the NMLA and other groups, and frustrations with progress on reconciliation coming to the surface. “Any comprehensive peace and reconciliation process is becoming more difficult, not just because the groups in question are dissatisfied but also because as fighting and insecurity persist most Malians will be less and less inclined to support any peace deal that contains serious concessions for rebel groups,” he said. The June peace accord had allowed the Malian military to return to the town, where a separatist rebellion sparked in early 2012 forced the soldiers into retreat. The June agreement also allowed for democratic elections to go forward, the first since a March 2012 coup. Coup leader Amadou Haya Sanogo was later elevated to a four-star general in the Malian military, skipping over a number of grades and drawing outrage from human rights groups who say he should be tried for abuses committed during his brief rule. On Monday, soldiers took up arms at the Kati military camp near Bamako, according to two military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to reporters. Sanogo’s spokesman, Lt. Mohamed Bou Coulibaly, said the situation was under control
Monday afternoon and blamed the unrest on elements close to Col. Youssouf Traore, who has had a strained relationship with Sanogo. Coulibaly said the soldiers accused Col. Mohamed Elhabib Diallo of taking their names off a list of those who were to be promoted. However, another Malian military official said that Diallo had been wounded by gunfire after the angry soldiers took him hostage. The tensions on several fronts underscore the enormous challenges for new Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who took office in September after winning the election in an August runoff. In an acknowledgement of those obstacles, Keita has made reconciliation a priority for his new government, even naming a minister responsible for the effort and for developing the north. Talks were to resume between the two sides in Burkina Faso later this year. However, the rebels accused the government of failing to make good on its promises under the deal. Separatist sentiment remains high in Kidal, and the presence of the Malian soldiers since June has been highly controversial. Tuaregs in northern Mali have sought autonomy dating back to the country’s independence from France in 1960. The government has put down several rebellions over the years, though the one sparked in early 2012 allowed separatists to make their greatest gains to date. After the March 2012 coup in the capital, al-Qaida-linked jihadists also sought to control northern Mali and temporarily sidelined the separatist rebels. After a French-led military intervention ousted the radical Islamic militants from power, though, the NMLA began reasserting itself in Kidal.
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NEWS BRIEFS
INSURANCE From Page 1
KALAMAZOO, Mich.
K. River oil spill relatively harmless to humans People who canoe on, or wade or swim in, the Kalamazoo River near Marshall in southwestern Michigan are not expected to suffer any long-term harm from chemicals left in the water when an oil pipeline burst in 2010, according to a state report. Oil-related and non-oil related chemicals were measured in the surface water following the Enbridge Inc. pipeline rupture that sent 800,000 gallons of oil into the river and a tributary creek. Only a very few of these chemicals were detected above health-protective screening levels in surface water samples, said the public health assessment released Monday by the Michigan Department of Community Health for portions of the river in Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties.
SALIDA, CO.
Colorado hikers trapped in rock flow Five hikers were trapped by a rock slide on a trail in southcentral Colorado on Monday, and another was pulled out with injuries and flown to a hospital, authorities said. A seventh person was unaccounted for, the Chaffee (CHAY’fee) County Sheriff’s Department said. The slide occurred at about 11 a.m. on the trail to Agnes Vaille (VAYL) falls in the Pike and San Isabel National Forest, an easy day hike about a 2 1/2 hour drive southwest of Denver. A 13-year-old girl was extracted from the slide and flown to Children’s Hospital in Denver, sheriff’s spokesman Dave Cotten said. He didn’t know the nature and extent of her injuries. The names and hometowns of the hikers haven’t been released. Rescuers from at least five agencies were working at the scene Monday afternoon.
RALEIGH, NC.
NC challenges new election law North Carolina’s Republican governor is vowing to fight a lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department challenging the state’s tough new elections law on the grounds it disproportionately excludes minority voters. Gov. Pat McCrory said Monday he has hired a private lawyer to help defend the new law from what he suggested was a partisan attack by President Barack Obama’s Democratic administration. “I believe the federal government action is an overreach and without merit,” McCrory said at a brief media conference during which he took no questions. “I firmly believe we have done the right thing. I believe this is good law.”
RALEIGH, NC.
Congo refugee numbers swell A new U.N. report says the number of refugees fleeing the war in Congo swelled by more than 350,000 in just the past few months as fighting escalated, pushing the number of people uprooted in the long-running conflict to 3 million. The Congo conflict is a spillover from the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda. Hundreds of Hutus who participated in the mass slaughter escaped into Congo and still fight there. Fighting has continued over two decades. The report to the Security Council released Monday said that as of the end of August, about 440,000 Congolese had become refugees in neighboring Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. A report three months ago put that number at 70,000. —Compiledfrom Daily wire reports
GradCare plan currently covers 5,900 students, including graduate student instructors, graduate student staff assistants, graduate student research assistants, benefit-eligible fellowship holders and benefit-eligible medical students. While enrollment data for the fall has yet to be released, combined graduate and professional student enrollment has exceeded 14,000 in each of the past three years, meaning that GradCare likely covers less than half of that. For those outside the GradCare network, there are a variety of options: The University offers the Domestic Student Health Insurance Plan to graduate and doctoral students who are completing requirements. Graduate or professional students may be able to become insured through their parents if they are under age 26, or through a spouse. The deadline to enroll in DSHIP for the fall semester was September 23, and uninsured students were encouraged by University Health Services to enroll if they wanted insurance that could be used sooner than offerings on the marketplace. Business graduate student Tiffani Bender decided that DSHIP’s $3,284-per-year premium was too expensive, instead opting to see if marketplace options would be cheaper. Though exact costs have yet to be released, the marketplace will offer four plans: bronze, silver, gold and platinum. A consumer who purchases the bronze plan would pay the cheapest monthly premium, but would also bear roughly 40 percent of out-of-pocket costs — the
REPORT From Page 1 2011 to 16 in 2012. Burglaries reported have increased steadily over the last several years with 68 reported in 2012 and 60 reported in 2011. Larcenies on campus — such as laptop thefts — in 2012 added up to 734, compared to 617 in 2011. Statistics also show that alcohol-related crimes, such as Minor in Possession of Alcohol, have also increased in recent years.
News highest proportion of any plan. Someone on the platinum plan would pay the highest monthly premium rate, but would be responsible for only 10 percent of out-of-pocket costs. Each plan provides the same set of essential benefits, including doctor visits, emergency services and prescriptions, but the more expensive options could include additional services. UHS director Robert Winfield, the University’s chief health officer, said that the University’s health coverage most resembles the silver plan in terms of its proportion of covered to out-of-pocket costs — silver leaves patients responsible for 30 percent of out-of-pocket costs, while University policyholders pay roughly 28 percent. Although the gold and platinum plans offered on the marketplace cover a greater proportion of costs, Winfield said the University health plan covers a broader range of pharmacy benefits and physical-therapy services. “The University’s benefits for those non-essential covered items are for the most part going to be better than most of the insurances offered on the exchange,” Winfield said. Despite all of the attention given to the marketplace, another component of the ACA may be more relevant for the uninsured University population: Medicaid expansion. This provision gives states the option of expanding Medicaid eligibility to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, all at the federal government’s expense. Gov. Rick Snyder signed Medicaid expansion into law in September, but the Republican-led state Senate did not grant the bill immediate effect, meaning it won’t be implemented until
late March or April. Temporary University employees and uninsured graduate or professional students may qualify for Medicaid because of the income eligibility expansion, which makes individuals with income of roughly $15,000 or a family of four with roughly $31,000 in income eligible. Implementation aside, Winfield said one of the biggest challenges will be helping people figure out all of their options between the federally-run insurance marketplace and the state-run Medicaid program. “I think it’s just a great example of the struggle between federalism and states’ rights,” Winfield said. “(There is) compromise after compromise which leads to more and more confusion.” Consumers and health administrators share this confusion. For people like Bender, the Business graduate student who left a job in advertising at McCann Worldgroup to return to school, the insurance marketplace allows people to learn more about their options, but all that information can be hard to comprehend. “When I got (insurance) through my employer, it was almost like a black box: You pay a premium every month, you know when you go to the doctor you may or may not have a certain copay, or if you needed prescriptions you’d know if it’s covered,” Bender said. “I’m 26; I’ve had health insurance my whole life, but now I feel like I’m just learning about it, because now it’s being put in my control.” It is unclear how the government shutdown early Tuesday morning will affect the Marketplace, but it appears the program will open for enrollment as planned.
The report discloses both alcohol-related crimes handled by police organizations and allegations handled internally by the University. In 2012, the state of Michigan adopted a medical amnesty law which gives students the ability to seek medical help for excessive alcohol consumption without facing legal repercussions. However, the law does not prohibit the University from taking disciplinary action against students involved in underage drinking. Liquor law arrests, citations and violations reported to University and Ann Arbor Police
totaled 426 in 2012 with 941 alcohol cases handled internally, though some of these reports may have been for the same violation. In 2011, liquor law arrests, citations and violations reported to University and Ann Arbor Police totaled 358 and 857 were handled internally. Fires in 2012 caused more than $500 in damage, versus about $350 in 2011, according to the report.
—Online Editor Austen Hufford and Daily News Editor Taylor Wizner contributed to this report.
Syrian minister claims to be at war with al Qaida-linked miliants ‘Terrorist’ activity a possible cover up for the disposal of chemical weapons UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Syria’s foreign minister claimed Monday that his government is fighting a war against al-Qaida-linked militants who eat human hearts and dismember people while they are still alive, then send their limbs to family members. Walid al-Moallem, addressing world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, also charged that the U.S., Britain and France had blocked the naming of the real perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks in Syria, which he blamed on the opposition. President Barack Obama told the same forum last week that it was the President Bashar Assad’s regime that was behind a chemical weapons attack in August that killed hundreds in the Damascus suburbs and brought threats of a retaliatory U.S. strike. After the U.S. threatened to attack Syria, the Assad regime committed to getting rid of its stockpiles of chemical weapons. The U.N. Security Council then voted unanimously on Friday to oblige it to do so based on a plan made by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The resolution broke 2-1/2 years of paralysis on the Syria conflict in the Security Council. U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky was asked after the speech why the U.N. was not
assigning blame for the chemical weapons attacks in Syria. He said that U.N. guidelines mandate that U.N. inspection teams determine whether chemical weapons were used, but not who used them. Syria’s main opposition group in exile called al-Moallem’s speech “an attempt to hide from the world a totalitarian regime’s systematic and indiscriminate attacks against its own people.” The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) said the minister “denied the Assad regime’s fundamental responsibility for creating and perpetuating this conflict.” Syria’s civil war, raging for 2-1/2 years, had killed more than 100,000 people. “The Syrian regime has abandoned all responsibility to protect its people,” the SNC claimed. Al-Moallem claimed “terrorists” fighting the regime are being supplied with chemical weapons, but he did not name specific nations accused of supplying them. The Syrian regime has long referred to the entire opposition rising up against Assad as “terrorists.” Al-Moallem claimed that it was clear to all that offshoots of al-Qaida — “the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world” — is fighting in the civil war. But some countries refuse to recognize it, he charged. “The scenes of murder, manslaughter and eating human hearts were shown on TV screens, but did not touch blind consciences,” al-Moallem said “There are innocent civilians whose heads are put on
the grill just because they violate the extremist ideology and deviant views of al-Qaida. In Syria ... there are murderers who dismember human bodies into pieces while still alive and send their limbs to their families, just because those citizens are defending a unified and secular Syria. A video published online in May purported to show a member of Syria’s armed opposition eating a human heart while the body of a Syrian soldier lay close by. The video drew condemnation from human rights groups as well as the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), one of the main opposition groups. Another video the minister referred to purportedly showed rebels grilling the head of a Syrian soldier. As rebels gain more territory and a multitude of militias, jihadists and criminals join the fight against Assad, reports of serious human rights abuses committed by armed opposition elements are on the rise. Summary executions committed by rebel forces — albeit on a far smaller scale than the regime’s alleged atrocities — have put the West in a difficult position as it seeks to arm, train and otherwise aid the rebels. Al-Moallem said his government was committed to a political solution to the conflict, which he called a war against “terror” and not a civil war as the international community has been referring to it for months. He added that “terrorists” from 83 countries are operating in Syria
Tuesday, October 1, 2013 — 3
SHUTDOWN From Page 1 sion on Internships (sic) with the U.S. Dept. of State has been cancelled. We anticipate the session will be rescheduled at a later date,” read an e-mail sent to an International Center listserv. A Career Center official said most of the time the center is unaware of cancellations until they don’t show up for their scheduled time. Students in Washington, D.C. affected by shutdown Students in D.C. for the Michigan in Washington semester are still largely unaware of whether they should attend their internships in the morning. Of the 23 students in D.C., 11 are working in government internships, according to Margaret Howard, MIW program manager in Washington, D.C. Howard said so far one student has been told to stay home and four students have been notified that they should to go to work. Though the shutdown may be a lost day of work for some students, LSA and Public Policy Prof. Edie Goldenberg, who is also the director of Michigan in Washington, said the shutdown should be a good lesson. “They are going to learn quite a bit about how the government does or doesn’t function,” Goldenberg said. “Mainly, we are interested in them learning while they’re there, and this is going to be a very educational experience for all of them.” LSA senior Andy Craft, a current Michigan in Washington participant, said his internship with government access TV network C-SPAN would not be directly
PROVOST From Page 1 look at socioeconomic diversity in-state we see continued steady progress over the past decade. It’s still not where we want it to be, but we’re definitely on the right track.” Pollack also discussed potential ways of using technology to increase efficiency and use the savings to increase hands-on learning and integrated learning experiences.
OFFICE From Page 1 has failed to foster trust in the community and noted problems with budgeting in the Downtown Development Authority. “Leadership doesn’t have to result in distrust,” he said. “Leadership is about totally up to the issues and making those decisions and trying to impart upon the good public policy of those. You can’t do that if you’re playing games.” Hieftje said he’s been happy
affected by the government shutdown. However, he said the shutdown would limit his ability to do his job, as C-SPAN covers many government-sponsored events. In a meeting Friday, Craft said MIW officials discussed plans to set up walking tours and other activities should the government shutdown last throughout the week. “All the monuments and museums will be closed, so there won’t be anything to do anyways,” Craft said. Craft said it has been a “tumultuous semester” with the Navy Yard shooting closing down some students’ workplaces, and now the government shutdown could further impede work. “This city never sleeps for sure,” he said. Transportation, veteran care and financial aid Airports and Amtrak — including the station in Ann Arbor — are among the systems that will remain open, the Washington Post reported. Derek Atkinson, spokesperson for Veteran Affairs Ann Arbor Health System, said the hospital’s operations will not be affected, regardless of the shutdown. The Post also reported that Pell Grants and Federal Direct Student Loans will continue to be processed, although payments may slow as there may be fewer employees to process them. Other grants previously approved by the Department of Education, such as Race to the Top, Investing in Innovation and Promise Neighborhoods will also continue to be distributed.
—Daily Staff Reporter Will Greenberg contributed reporting.
Associate Prof. Sally Oey expressed concerns about allocated resources among research departments. “The research quality is really what drives the quality of our teaching and everything else,” Oey said. “I feel like the IT support that we have right now is being physically removed from us and is reducing its efficiency. I am concerned when I looked at who was advising the faculty committees because there are few faculty directly on these committees.”
with the transparency shown by his administration, as well as with the city’s operations during his time as mayor. “I’m sure that anyone that’s new in the office would want to make changes to a whole bunch of things, but our city is doing very, very well,” Hieftje said. Hieftje said he has not made an official decision on whether or not to run again, saying he typically announces at the beginning of the calendar year. He added, however, that Kunselman running won’t have any effect on his decision.
4 — Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SOPHIA USOW
E-mail Sophia at sophiaus@umich.edu
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com MELANIE KRUVELIS ANDREW WEINER EDITOR IN CHIEF
MATT SLOVIN MANAGING EDITOR
and ADRIENNE ROBERTS
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
COLEMANBERG
FROM THE DAILY
Know your debt Students should learn about loan repayment options early on
I
n an effort to help borrowers who are struggling with their student loans, the U.S. Department of Education will begin contacting borrowers to inform them of their available options. Starting this October, officials from the Department of Education will send out e-mails to students who borrowed money for their education about paying off their debt. In line with the Obama administration’s goal of lowering student debt, which totals over $1.1 trillion, this plan is a needed move. Students should be encouraged to consider their options in paying off their loans — and that process should begin early. Part of the confusion surrounding loan repayment is the vast number of programs available through the Department of Education. According to The New York Times, enrollment in the department’s income-linked debt repayment plans — plans that target those with lower incomes following graduation — is “modest.” Programs like Income-Contingent Repayment, Income-Based Repayment, Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Pay as You Earn are alien to most college students and even graduates — partially due to lack of communication to seriously consider options. “The challenge is getting the word out,” said Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Outreach has now become a mainstay of the Department of Education’s future plans. With this effort, students can learn of their options sooner — hopefully reducing incidence of defaulted education loans. Action just from the Department of Education, however, will not suffice. The University must also take steps to help its students understand their options in paying off their debts.
With the average Michigan graduate owing, on average, more than $27,000, it’s now time to take a proactive role to help students from being buried under an insurmountable debt. Following the lead of the Education Department, the University’s Office of Financial Aid should make a concentrated effort to inform students of debt-repayment options — and not just after students earn their degrees. E-mail reminders early on, debt counseling and lessons on how to manage debt should be incorporated into student advising as soon as students arrive on campus. The Department of Education’s active role in tackling the debt of graduated students should be commonplace. The Obama administration has prioritized higher education, and students should be able to do so while understanding their financial options from the get-go. It may not be the most pleasant thing to think about while on campus, but knowing your options before leaving Ann Arbor may save you from serious financial woes in the future.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Barry Belmont, Eli Cahan, Eric Ferguson, Jesse Klein, Melanie Kruvelis, Maura Levine, Patrick Maillet, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Harsha Nahata, Adrienne Roberts, Paul Sherman, Sarah Skaluba, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe REBECCA LIEBSCHUTZ AND EMILY LUSTIG | VIEWPOINT
Contribute to a safer campus Do you think the University’s crime reports aren’t effective? Have you ever had your laptop, bike or cell phone stolen? Do you wish you knew how to defend yourself in an unsafe situation? Campus safety isn’t something most students think about on a daily basis. Between managing busy class schedules and balancing time for friends and studying, there isn’t always a lot of time to think about safety. But what about your personal safety while commuting to class or other involvements? Or your walk home at night? Personal safety should be a priority, but it’s often overlooked. Regardless of where you live, there are times when you must venture off campus, walk alone at night or feel unsafe in certain situations. Central Student Government’s Campus Safety and Security Commission wants to help make students not only feel safe but also be more aware of their own safety and security. We have big plans this year to help students help themselves. Last year, we hosted free personal-safety workshops with Katy Mattingly, chair of the Self-Defense Subcommittee of the Student Safety Work Group, to help educate students on safety. We’d like to host these workshops again this year. CSSC will also be hosting Bike and Laptop Registration with the Ann Arbor Police Department in the Shapiro Undergraduate Library throughout the year to help students prevent theft. We will also be involved in launching safety awareness campaigns, which will educate students on their rights. We will be working closely with Beyond the Diag to help spread awareness of these
resources to the off-campus community. We will be contributing various safety information tips in the monthly Beyond the Diag newsletter to reach more off-campus students. We will also be promoting student use of Beyond the Diag’s housing-listing service to securely aid students in finding offcampus housing, roommates and subletters within the University community. This will help eliminate scams and let students safely browse available housing options without scouring the neighborhoods door-to-door. Students will be able to browse housing options through pictures available on the new website. The CSSC will be working in collaboration with the Off-Campus Transportation and Safety Commission with the goal of implementing a more extensive off-campus bus route. Hopefully, this will reach many of the densely populated student neighborhoods that do not currently have night and weekend public transportation services. This will help alleviate dangers that students face while walking home alone late at night in unlit, off-campus areas or other unsafe traveling options. Do you have any safety concerns? Are you interested in joining the Campus Safety and Security Commission to make a difference on campus? The CSSC would love to hear from you. Please contact the commission via email at csg.campus.safety@umich.edu. The Commission meets Monday evenings from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in CSG Chambers (third floor of the Michigan Union) in Conference Room A. Rebecca Liebschutz and Emily Lustig are LSA juniors.
Want to know of a cooler place to the visitDailythanIn-jest: Detroit? Andrew Lieberman guides you the sites and sounds of West Bloomfield. podium through Go to michigandaily.com/blogs/The Podium
“T
Fuck the police
he police are not on your side.” As the son of an attorney, I heard my father say this more times than I can count. He repeats it to me over and over, not in an attempt to indoctrinate me, but because JAMES he wanted to BRENNAN protect me. Throughout his career he has seen far too many people sent to prison, not for genuine wrongdoing, but because the police were simply out for blood. Whether they’re filling quotas, following orders from the chief or just having a bad day, police are too often more interested in making arrests and handing out tickets than improving public safety. Being from a wealthy, white suburb, I experienced plenty of this first hand. Police had little to occupy themselves and developed an intense scrutiny for underage drinking while profiling teenagers as dangerous troublemakers. Luckily for my friends and me, getting a citation for speeding or having a party carried minor consequences, if any. In urban areas with more crime and less money for police, however, young black men along with other minorities often profiled as criminals have their lives turned upside down by the police every day, while violent crime continues to cripple neighborhoods. To be clear, this isn’t a personal indictment of every single police officer in the United States. The vast majority of the boys and girls in blue are hard-working people who want to uphold the law. Bad policies — policies that direct police to ignore the Constitution and focus on numbers rather than on people — are making officers look and act like villains instead of heroes. Take New York City, for example. As a response to relentless, violent
crime, police began using the controversial “stop-and-frisk” policy while cracking down on even the most minor of offenses, such as jaywalking and drug use — known as the nowdebunked broken-window theory. Yes, crime rates have dropped significantly in New York City since the 1990s, with the New York City Police Department trying to claim as much credit as possible for this, but economists, sociologists and attorneys aren’t convinced by the department’s reasoning. Crime rates were already falling before the development of these programs, and multiple studies have shown “stop-and-frisk” and broken-window policies aren’t the true cause of falling crime rates — some even suggest “stop-and-frisk” increases crime. Along with questionable impacts on crime statistics, these policies hurt communities in ways that cannot be quantified. Residents of largely minority, highcrime neighborhoods don’t see the police as protectors or friends, but rather as enemies. Many crimes end up going unreported, as residents often fear the police too much to call them. When talking with Detroiters at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen on the east side of the city, police were painted as symbols of fear, intimidation and extortion. Some stories are repeated over and over again: Police stop you on the street or in your car for no reason, perform a search, then give a bogus ticket. Some stories are much worse, from an officer forcing his way into a car without probable cause, to police consistently robbing residents and threatening arrest if they report them. Detroit is the epitome of a failed city in many aspects, but none may be worse than its dismal public-safety record. A lack of
police funding is a huge problem, but showering cash on a poorly run, corrupt institution with little respect for the law may not be the best course of action. Money would help a bit, but a change in attitude needs to occur. As a recent article in The New York Times article describes, Los Angeles has decided to take a new path in public safety. In the highcrime neighborhood of Watts, community leaders and police have started an active partnership to stop gang violence. By collaborating with residents, the police have been able to build trust and gather information on crime more effectively than ever before. The partnership hasn’t only helped the community’s confidence in police, but it has legitimately improved the quality of public safety. Police are no longer enemies or outsiders — they’re members of the same group, working toward a common goal. Stopping crime should certainly be the general aim of police, but it can’t come at the cost of an entire community’s civil liberties or trust in their officers. By stressing fairness over simple crime fighting, the Los Angeles Police Department has been able to develop collaborative strategies for reducing gang-related violence. As the city of Detroit has begun to consider implementing “stop-andfrisk” as a policy, residents need to not only voice their opposition, but also offer alternatives. Community policing and cooperation with neighborhoods is a great start, but both parties have to come to the bargaining table. That is, so long as the police agree not to search anyone before they sit down.
Bad policies are making officers look and act like villians instead of hereos.
— James Brennan can be reached at jmbthree@umich.edu.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and viewpoints. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while viewpoints should be 550-850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation. to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.
ERIN PAVACIK | VIEWPOINT
No scrubs, please
The first time a boy popped his head out of a moving car’s window and asked me, “How much?” I think I may have smiled. When you’re 16 years old and walking to the beach in a bikini, you’re eager for any boost of self-esteem you can get — even if that means that it’s coming from a pimply 20-year-old kid who doesn’t have the guts to ask you respectfully for sex. You’re 90 pounds and still you feel as though your thighs are too fat, your face is too round and your stomach is too soft. So, when you hear what you mistakenly assume is validation, you blush bright and giggle at the car that has already sped away. Today, I’m 21. I passed the 90-pound mark a few years ago and also gained back a good amount of confidence that my teenage years had stolen from me. I was taught about self-respect and the respect that others owe to us. And, yet, I am still dealing with the same catcalling that I encountered at 16. Men have gotten slightly more creative, if not more barbaric — my best friend will frequently stick the entire top half of his body out of a window and pound on the car door, yelling “Shawtayyy” while I watch uncomfortably from
the back seat. His actions and those of others have forced me to face the sad reality that remains five years later: Catcalling is not receding; it’s only getting worse. Ask any of your female friends, and they will repeat my same frustrations. The comments range from “Nice ass” to “How you doin’, baby?” These cat-callers always assume you will comply. When you fail to smile in return the man “complimenting” you may react with anger. Even if you’re one of those quick enough to yell out “fuck you”, the man who has objectified you is able to speed away without knowing or caring that his words may have just ruined your night, made you feel uncomfortable or driven you inside your home by sunset. Either way: You lose. You have been degraded, and the man who committed that act is already gone. And he got to look at your ass. Sadly, the only way to fix this is to revolutionize the way that these men see all women. I’m hoping that this might reach some of the men around campus who’re hanging out of their car windows — including my best friend. If a man respected each woman he passed
on the street, catcalling would cease to exist. The women on this campus need to realize that the comments hurled out of car windows and on the street are not compliments and shouldn’t be taken as such. These comments are part of a bigger frame of forced submissiveness, but they’re also indicative of a lack of the respect that every woman on this campus and beyond deserves. If this doesn’t change, I worry that our future daughters will endure the same shame that we’ve endured on the sidewalks of small towns and big cities alike. I fear that our mothers have already seen this, and they feel for us, knowing the helplessness of what some call “victimless fun” by rowdy teenage boys. I hate that my sister, a fresh 20-year-old on whom I could write an entire book about self-esteem, takes it as a compliment when a man says “Mmm, I like that” as he walks past her. I want change, but I don’t see it coming soon. Instead, I’ll keep walking, middle finger ready for a new assault, and head home — where I know I’m safe. Erin Pavacik is an LSA senior.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
BOOK REVIEW
Ashbery continues to defy criticism ‘Quick Question’ features 63 new poems By MAX RADWIN Daily Fine Arts Editor
It’s hard to tell if John Ashbery is still writing everybody’s autobiography. He’s got to be done soon. “Quick C Question,” a collection of Quick 63 new poems, Question proves that America’s John Ashbery greatest living poet isn’t Ecco done just yet. Following its hardcover release nearly a year ago, Ashbery’s 26th book is now available in paperback. Ashbery is a machine. He churns out poems as epic in proportion as they are in quality. … Maybe. Who knows? I certainly don’t. Ashbery’s work defies criticism. Not just mine, not just Harold Bloom’s. Everyone’s. That’s the point. Or at least it was when poets like Robert Lowell were whining about daddy issues in the 1960s. But that time has passed. Poets like Carson and Collins have taken American literary tradition and fallen into place. Where is Ashbery? Stuck in time, I suppose, and still writing about
the “experience of experience.” Or maybe, at this point, the experience of experience of experience, etc. Ashbery’s poetry is unbearably paratactic in this volume. His poems are constructed in such a way that the reader gets a sensation or an emotion upon completion, an intangible understanding. But at times, in poems like “The Allegations,” the reader is left only with the experience of searching for that sensation in a way that is hardly intentional on the poet’s behalf anymore. “It’ll come true for you in Kansas City, Iowa,” the final sentence of that poem reads, a line that reminds of “Worsening Situation” (1975) for its want of self-improvement and obscurity of location (“Oslo, France, that is”), but which fails in a flood of ambiguity. Is he talking to me? Is he talking to himself? The words don’t tell the story like they used to. They used to anchor the reader in the typhoon of white space between stanzas, so maybe you might survive from one to the next. Now Ashbery is too deep inside his own head, and the words don’t anchor you, they pull you under. The book is not a flop by any means, though. It offers a moderate-sized selection of exceptional poetry. “Puff Piece,” “Laundry List” and “Quick Question” — the poem
for which the book is named — jump out as writing grounded and concrete enough to leave a lasting impact on the reader, and which frustrates in a way that still satisfies after multiple reads. It’s not a somber collection, either. There’s no shortage of snarky quips and colorful sarcasm, which readers have come to expect out of the 86-year-old. “In all my years as a pedestrian / serving juice to guests, it never occurred to me / thoughtfully to imagine how a radish feels,” Ashbery writes in “This Economy.” Lines like these pepper nicely across Ashbery’s collection. And while that’s all well and nice, they have little functionality or poetical weight. They aestheticize only, like a hobo hanging frilly drapes in a ramshackle house. Poetry is supposed to be problematic. It is supposed to invite discussion. But most of these poems silence the room with answers to questions that nobody asked. Or maybe they don’t. His poetry defies criticism, as I mentioned before, so it’s really up to the reader, and everything else is made tediously moot. “Now that wasn’t so easy, was it?” Ashbery asks at the end of “More Reluctant.” You’ve got that right, buddy. And I’m more reluctant than ever.
ALBUM REVIEW
Retro rap finds a home in futuristic ‘Event II’ By JOSH FRAZIER For the Daily
The hip-hop landscape has changed dramatically in the 13 years since Deltron 3030 was initially released. The B+ eponymous debut album Event II from rapper Del tha Funkee Deltron 3030 Homosapien, producer Dan Deltron Partners the Automator and DJ Kid Koala, received widespread critical acclaim and gained a ravenous niche fanbase. The record told the story of Deltron Zero, an escaped prisoner in an interplanetary rock opera set in the year 3030. The group’s latest work, Event II, picks up the narrative paranoia and political themes of Deltron 3030 and continues to explore those realms with densely packed wordplay.
Questionable features bloat otherwise focused album. As a body of work, Event II is a culmination of an obviously practiced emcee working with a familiar production duo. The beats on this album stand in stark, welcome contrast to the sounds currently popular on rap radio. There are no bombastic Lex Luger-esque horns, nor are there sanitized synthesizers, a la Drake’s recent smash Nothing Was the Same. Dan the Automator and Kid Koala serve up a varied sonic landscape that meshes well with Del’s underground style of rap. True to form for an independent label release, there are no lead singles that will receive heavy radio airplay on Event II, nor will there be any big-budget videos. The cinematic aspect of Event II is due to the heavily visual wordplay and the streamlined, futuristic plot. Typically, a
concept album as a specific genre project has no place in the rap world, but Deltron 3030’s risk-taking pays off to create a fully realized vision. Ambitious projects are a signature of Del, who is best known to most audiences for his verses on Gorillaz’s “Clint Eastwood.” Damon Albarn, the man behind Gorillaz, is one of the many guest appearances on Event II, which features a diverse cast of characters. Guest features include Albarn, Aaron Bruno of AWOLNATION fame and Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine, who carries the chorus and backing vocal duties on the album’s standout track, “Melding of the Minds.” Other appearances bog down the album, dulling Del’s sharp-witted rhymes with interludes that disrupt the pace and extend the length of Event II to a swollen 16 songs. Hollywood actors like Joseph Gordon-Levitt and David Cross (of “Arrested Development” fame) lend their vocals to the album’s many irritating intermissions, leaving only 11 full-length tracks. Event II contains only two songs that don’t feature other artists, and many of these guest choices are unconventional. Comedy rap group The Lonely Island appears for an ill-advised sidestep sandwiched between the fiery rhymes of “The Agony” and “Talent Supersedes.” Another misstep features celebrity chef David Chang discussing futuristic cuisine on the aptly named “The Future of Food,” which is an overall lackluster track compared to the slickly organized ambience of the song that follows, the Damon Albarn-featuring “What Is This Lonliness.” Pacing and cohesion are two critically important factors in crafting a successful album, and Event II’s interludes jar the listener and feel more like interruptions than anything else. Though the album stands out due to its faux-futuristic feel, Event II is still decidedly retro. The throwback production techniques wouldn’t sound out of place on an A Tribe Called Quest album, for instance, or on
the original Deltron 3030. Over a decade after the initial release date, Event II is a worthy spiritual successor to what most hip-hop heads recognize as a cult classic. Del’s rhymes are as densely worded as ever, and the production holds its own with the lofty standards of Deltron 3030’s debut. Del’s storytelling abilities put him in the same league as anyone in rap music today, and with the exception of several ill-timed features which disrupt the album’s flow, Event II successfully continues the narrative of Deltron Zero’s passionate rebellion against oppression. Sharp rhymes and hypnotic beats are sure to engage familiar listeners and energize rap fans who are exhausted by the onslaught of generic trap beats and club-ready, wealthcentric lyrics. Event II succeeds by serving up untraditional tracks that create a cohesive, entertaining story.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013 — 5
TV REVIEW
NBC
Hope there isn’t any Stevia in that tea.
Characters grow in ‘Parenthood’ premiere By EMILY BODDEN Daily Arts Writer
After eight painstakingly long months and a very noticeable absence, NBC’s “Parenthood” is back. B Luckily, the producers Parenthood made it up to the audience Thursdays by providing at 10 p.m. a fairly NBC satisfying season-five opener. Crosby (Dax Shepard, “When In Rome”) and Jasmine (Joy Bryant, “Hit and Run”) have their healthy baby girl within minutes of the episode’s opening, and they make at least two jokes about her being whiter than they would have thought for someone biracial. Aside from that slight discomfort, the baby provides a situation that pushes Crosby to take on a more serious role, feeling like a continuation of themes in season four. Crosby may not be the youngest child in age, but he definitely is personalitywise. His charm has worn off, and he has become that aggravating 14-year-old boy stuck in a late-30-something’s body; audiences need to see emotional growth at this point, because otherwise he will soon bore. Baby Aida provides this opportunity. The writers have created a natural way in which to make Crosby grow up
by raising a child — remember, Jabbar, his son, was already five he met his father. Kristina (Monica Potter, “The Last House on the Left”) also sees character growth in the season opener. After several sob-inducing episodes about her breast cancer diagnosis last season, she walked away in remission. After being approached by Bob Little — the politician who both Kristina and Amber (Mae Whitman, “Arrested Development”) worked for last season — to run his mayoral campaign, she declares she’d rather run for mayor herself.
Kristina Braverman for mayor. Sure, Kristina fought cancer last season, but this decision is active and conscious. No longer making excuses for herself, season-five Kristina has potential to kick some serious butt. She may finally show off the intellect and drive suggested previously and only reflected in brief instances. It would be great for her to unapologetically seize what she wants after seasons of bending over backwards to help her family — taking charge of her life in a way previously unseen. As evidenced in her performances again and
again, if anyone can solidify her character as an audience favorite, it is Monica Potter. One of the notable omissions in the season opener was Amber’s drool-inducing boyfriend Ryan (Matt Lauria, “Friday Night Lights”). In the eight months between seasons, he was redeployed to an undisclosed location. His face is seen momentarily in a glitchy Skype call with Amber before the connection is dropped — but then Ryan comes back with a rather cliché move. The writers of “Parenthood” have Ryan return from his deployment to get down on one knee as soon as he is reunited with Amber. “Parenthood” is better than this. Proposals of this nature are commonplace and unoriginal television. Considering how emotionally guarded Ryan is, the proposal seems out of character. The presentation did not hint at a cause for this sudden-changing life plan. Hopefully the writers have something up their sleeves because the development in current context is eye-roll inducing. “Parenthood” sets up a potentially great start for season five with pivotal growth moments for several characters. Perhaps this season will not be as emotionally taxing as last season, but watchers beware: “Parenthood” pulls on the heartstrings. Viewers can look forward to another wrenching, albeit sometimes too much so, season with the Bravermans.
Arts
6 — Tuesday, October 1, 2013
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ALBUM REVIEW
Dr. Dog bears soul on LP ‘B-Room’ experiments with live sound By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Daily Arts Writer
Earlier this year, Dr. Dog embarked on an ambitious, laborious project … and then turned its focus to music. Before A recording B-Room — the B-Room band’s eighth album — Dr. Dr. Dog Dog spent Anti months working tirelessly to convert a former silversmith mill into a brand-new studio. The psychedelic rockers then brought this spirit of do-it-yourself collaboration into the recording process, opting to forgo their usual layering and overdubbing, and instead taping most tracks as a live band. The result is Dr. Dog’s most soulful record to date, showcasing an emotional earnestness that often goes unseen beneath the indie-rock veterans’ sprightly luster. Structurally, B-Room plays like a collection of timeworn snapshots, a patchwork of the past in which lightweight, 1960s-era pop can sit comfortably next to lo-fi indie folk and psychedelic funk. And while Dr. Dog has always embraced these influences unapologetically, one
senses a renewed commitment to push the boundary of the genre even further. It’s surprising, then, that B-Room still manages an impressive cohesion, with each song building on the previous in a logical yet unexpected manner. The album opens with “The Truth,” a breezy, Motowninfluenced track that moves just slow enough to make the listener miss the danceable, summery sing-alongs on the band’s previous album, Be the Void. This inclination is quickly rewarded as singer/ bassist Toby Leaman delivers the necessary shot of energy on the next track, with the instrumentally upbeat “Broken Heart.” But with the opening lines, “Love for me just been a walk in the park / It doesn’t really matter / It never really mattered,” the song quickly defies any expectations derived from the initial cheerful guitar work. While certainly catchy and on some levels simplistic, “Broken Heart” introduces themes of nihilistic detachment that will lie consistently under the surface for the remainder of the album. This struggle with despondency is most evident on the piano-heavy “Distant Light.” Culminating with lines, “Following the distant light / Don’t I know if I keep walking I’ll never touch it / But as long as I move it’ll shine on me,” the song is a meditation on maintaining optimism — however unfounded — in the face of purposelessness. Without question, B-Room’s
ANTI
Dog MD.
standout track — and also its most unprecedented — is the bare-bones ballad “Too Weak to Ramble.” Backed only by Scott McMicken’s acoustic guitar and delicate harmonies, Leaman’s harsh bellow plays like a lament to the false hopefulness of “Distant Light.” It’s a rare moment where the album’s undercurrent of hopelessness is brought to the surface. With Leaman’s voice reaching a fever pitch then nearly shattering alongside an increasingly soft guitar part, this divergence from the norm feels like a much-needed reprieve. Closing the curtain on an album’s worth of cross-genre experimentation, B-Room’s final track, “Nellie,” sees Dr. Dog at its most Dr. Doggian — though still a far cry from what anyone could call conventional. Behind a steady electric piano, Leaman and
McMicken harmonize McCartney and Lennon-style, wailing in unison, “You know you love her but do you really know her … I can’t help myself from going wandering with her from room to room.” And while the influence of both The Beatles and The Beach Boys is sonically evident, “Nellie”— and the rest of B-Room — is simply too existentially burdened to be placed in the realm of sunshine pop. Dr. Dog has made a career of muddling the edges between real and psychedelic, emotive and desolate, impassioned and hopeless. It paints the world in vibrant colors, just barely concealing an ominous aura that occasionally reveals itself. That descent into nihilism looms urgently on B-Room, though thanks to a heavy varnish of Motownsoul, Dr. Dog’s preoccupations sound better than ever.
‘EP2’ shows off FKA Twigs’s sound Daily Arts Writer
English singer FKA Twigs grew up in Gloucestershire, the petite daughter of a Jamaican father and part-Hispanic mother. As she B+ revealed in a recent Pitchfork EP2 interview, she developed her FKA Twigs musical persona Young Turks singing choruses over rap songs at local Jamaican youth centers. She
felt more at home with her father’s culture, feeling out of place in the largely white English farm country. Traces of that lonely, “sort of off” girl leak through on FKA Twigs’s EP2 in the morose atmosphere of brooding bass lines and heavy reverb underneath her ethereal voice. The four tracks on the EP — produced by Yeezus collaborator Arca — take cues from the 1990s British trip-hop scene (think the theme song to “House, M.D.”) and from the so-called PBR&B styles of The Weeknd or How To Dress Well. But Arca lets these influences
Classifieds
marinate and blend together into something a bit darker and more industrial than either. The swelling bass line at the beginning of the opening track “How’s That” meshes well with the dull thud of the kick and the echoing of the delay-laden snare drum, only to have that solidarity shattered by what sounds like a ping-pong ball bouncing back and forth between the right and left sides of the stereo. Arca’s penchant for unusual percussion continues on the crushing “Water Me,” where a clicking radiator
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RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
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ANNOUNCEMENT
By C.C. Burnikel and D. Scott Nichols (c)2013 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
10/01/13
Calculating the true costs of movie piracy
H
ALBUM REVIEW
By ADAM DEPOLLO
FILM COLUMN
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seems to chug along under ghostly vocal samples and Twigs’s multitracked voice. The end result feels like walking through the metallic shell of an abandoned factory while disembodied voices echo out of the walls. Twigs’s singing isn’t overshadowed by Arca’s production, however. The clear tone of her voice and the power of her lyrics demand attention. On “Ultraviolet,” she sets herself adrift in an endless expanse of broken promises and hanging questions, layered with sexual tension and basking in sensuality and all of its dark pleasures. Sexuality, of course, is and has been an important part of the appeal of R&B since its inception, and it’s an aspect which Twigs doesn’t shy away from on EP2.
Honest and indecisive. Her sexuality is nothing like the egotistical showmanship of R. Kelly: She prefers to outline the subject without filling in all of its scandalous detail, singing “I want you / In my / Oh, oh, you / You feel right, and that’s so amazing” on “How’s That.” She approaches sex in a way reminiscent of The Weeknd, acknowledging both the physical pleasure and emotional ambiguity of the act. Indeed, Twigs’s perspective — assertive and yet aware of the two-sided nature of sexuality — is an interesting foil to The Weeknd’s occasionally repentant scumbag (he has been giving out condoms on his Kiss Land tour). On “Water Me” in particular, Twigs recognizes the reciprocal nature of the love-making act, acknowledging her own errors as much as those of her lover. EP2 does run into some trouble, however, in that Twigs seems stuck on more or less one topic on all four tracks. She vacillates between losing herself in the sensual pleasure of physical love and languishing in remorse after the fact, and in the end never really comes to a conclusion. Her singing seems to reflect being trapped in this dilemma, as she never ventures far out of a single octave over the entire EP. That being said, Twigs’s indecisiveness is a refreshing perspective in a culture where sexuality is an unquestionable good. The contrast of Arca’s dark beats and her delicate voice mirrors the emotional ambiguity of sex, forcing you to ask if it’s quite as good as it seems to be.
is name is Joe. From the usual vantage points, Joe is like any other schmoe — most of his life revolves around going to school, taking his dog on walks, maintaining some semblance of a social life and, on AKSHAY occasion, SETH trying to make time to watch weekly “Maury” marathons on Lifetime. But there’s something about Joe most people don’t know. Joe, over the course of the past six years, has illegally downloaded 971 movies using file-sharing services such as The Pirate Bay and Torrenthound. That’s the equivalent of approximately 1,700 hours of film, close to 71 days of sitting still and doing nothing but watching a computer screen glow. Joe knows he’s not a bad guy, but he has no delusions about the 71 days of his life he has spent breaking the law. So from this sentence on, I won’t hide it behind words like downloading or file-sharing. It’s stealing, plain and simple. So plain, so simple, so where’s the solution?
Services like Netflix are changing the landscape. From a purely monetary standpoint, the legal consequences are debilitating in their severity, or in the form of my brother’s artful elocution, “dat pay be cray.” Any stolen document, whether it be a 30-second MP3 file or an entire Bollywood celebration of song and dance, is punishable with up to $150,000 in fines, necessary adjustments made for first-timers, repeat offenders and people who somehow figure out a way to successfully convince the judge they had no way of knowing they were breaking the law (it might work if you’re Amish or over the age of 60). So to allow my TI-89 calculator to put things into perspective, Joe would be paying somewhere in the ball park of A Shit Ton Of Money, and while doing so, he’d be sitting in the clink for up to five years per file stolen (“A Shit Ton of Years,” said TI-89). The severity is a scare tactic that fails to scare, simply because the last few years have shown us that the Motion Picture Association of America is unable to enforce their policies, no matter how draconian they may be. People unavoidably get caught, but in a world where it’s harder to be found accountable than it is to get away, it shouldn’t really be a surprise that the government has had difficulty finding a starting place. In the face of ever-savvier Internet users and an ever-evolving piracy market, the MPAA has struggled to keep pace. Successes have been had, and
for the first time in nearly a decade, piracy has shown signs of stagnancy, neither growing nor shrinking in volume. Yet, it’s still there. So why not legalize it? The harsh reality is, no matter how many roadblocks we throw up, no matter how many people we try and make an example of, piracy won’t go away. The Internet is simply too big. To put it in terms most geeks would understand, getting rid of file sharers individually would be like playing a game of “Duck Hunt.” Everyone wants to cap those damn ducks, but each time you shoot one down, another is more than willing to take its place, secure behind a shroud of anonymity. There’s no stupid laughing dog to rub it in your face when you inevitably fail, but you get my point. The question remains: Why not legalize it? Stealing should never be legal, so of course, money would have to exchange hands (and we’d have to stop calling it piracy), but for people like Joe, the ones just looking for an efficient, anonymous means of delivery, virtual access to uploaded files in exchange for a periodical fee is a necessity. Pause, homie. Netf lix got dat game on lock. The streaming service is a step in the right direction, but it only has access to a drop of the vast sea of content out there. The rigmarole of drawing up licensing deals, ironing out distribution quotas and God knows what else with individual studios and production houses is too cumbersome, so why not allow governments to enforce a blanket licensing methodology that requires a small input, say $7, from every citizen? The tax revenue would go partially to the government for maintaining the service and largely to content producers themselves. Detailed distribution of revenue would have to depend on relative popularity of specific content, but it’s crucial that all content be available. It’s a simple solution but a daunting task. France tried to pass a similar piece of legislation called the Global License in 2005, inspiring the Don’t Make Me Steal movement that gained some steam but, like the legislation, was ultimately forgotten in the shadow of a much more direct, futile hunt for pirates. Even though the movement failed, it raised the question everyone involved in the piracy debate should be asking themselves: When it’s so easy to break the law, should all the blame rest on the criminals’ shoulders? Through SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), a now-dead proposal that, if passed, would have forever changed the notion of online freedom, the past few years have shown us that most of our lawmakers thought the answer to that crucial question was “yes.” At a time when piracy has finally shown signs of stabilizing, and for the sake of “criminals” like Joe, I think it’s time to try again. Seth is taking down the pirates. To duel him, e-mail akse@umich.edu.
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Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, October 1, 2013 — 7
Is solid secondary enough? By EVERETT COOK Daily Sports Editor
Throughout his Monday press conference, Michigan coach Brady Hoke answered questions about the struggling or inconsistent groups on his football team. He fielded questions about the Wolverines’ offensive and defensive lines, the running backs and quarterback Devin Gardner. He also answered questions about the secondary, which is different than those other units. The group isn’t exactly struggling, but it isn’t exactly blowing anyone away, either. It’s not like the offensive line, which has clear issues on the interior, or the defensive line, which has been inconsistent in its pass rush. It’s solid. But what do you do about solid? Can you do anything about solid? “I think we need to get a little better from a run-support standpoint first,” Hoke said. “And then we’ve got to get a little better when you look at some of the coverage aspects, the concepts a little bit at times. I think there was some real ground we could gain, and I think we did. Last week was great for us, and then some of the fundamental stuff.” Through four games, Michigan has defended an astounding 162 passes, more than all but 12 Division I teams. That number gets more interesting when considering the quality of the opponents the Wolverines have faced. Notre Dame attempted 53 passes. Akron, 49. UConn, 32. And while Michigan has done a fine job against those 162 attempts — allowing just over 50 percent of those passes to be completed — teams wouldn’t be attacking the secondary unless they saw gaps on film. The young unit has been a revolving door of personnel. Senior defensive back Courtney
FOOTBALL
Wolverines need revamped run game By LIZ VUKELICH Daily Sports Editor
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Redshirt sophomore defensive back Blake Countess leads Michigan in interceptions with three on the year.
Avery started the season off as the starting free safety before needing arthroscopic knee surgery prior to the Notre Dame game. Since his return, he’s moved back and forth from cornerback, bumped from the safety position by sophomore Jarrod Wilson, who has seen a significant increase in playing time over the last month. Avery has also been fighting for playing time with junior Raymon Taylor, who has been beat by deep balls several times. “Courtney coming off the knee, I think they’ll both compete,” Hoke said. “And that doesn’t mean (redshirt sophomore cornerback Blake Countess) is not competing. I think they all are. Courtney coming off the knee we thought looked pretty sharp.” The situation has been so undetermined that Michigan’s best cornerback, Countess, has
been moved inside to the nickel cornerback position when the Wolverines bring an extra defensive back on the field. The only defensive back who has been in one place for most of the year is Thomas Gordon, and even he missed the first game of the year with a suspension. Besides the fifth-year senior, every other back has been rotating all over the field. So it begs the question, is the play from Michigan’s defensive backs so strong that no one’s job is safe, or is it so weak that everyone has an opportunity to earn playing time? At times, it looks like the former, but at times against UConn, it looked like the latter. There are desperate situations, and then there is the conversion UConn had to complete in Michigan’s last defensive play two weeks ago. Down three with less than two minutes to go, the
Huskies had a fourth-and-29 from their own 33-yard line. They needed a miracle to convert. UConn wide receiver Deshon Foxx ran a simple post route down the middle of Michigan’s secondary for a 26-yard completion. Michigan was a missed tackle away from a massive fourth-down conversion given up with the game on the line. On the other side of the field, toward Michigan’s sideline, Avery had been beaten over the top on a straight-up fly route. One flick of the wrist in the other direction from the quarterback and it would have easily been a first down, maybe even a bigger gain than that. For the most part, the secondary has done its job so far, but with Big Ten competition and better quarterbacks on the horizon, maybe that isn’t going to be enough.
At this point in the Michigan football season, it’s no secret that the Wolverines have struggled on offense, in large part due to all the turnovers from redshirt junior quarterback Devin Gardner. Michigan coach Brady NOTEBOOK Hoke has preached Gardner’s faults are as much his own as the team’s. And in that same spirit, he now believes the best way to reduce Gardner’s turnovers may be as simple as establishing a dominant ground game. “Us running the football, that’s part of it,” Hoke said. “Taking some of the pressure off of him to do everything.” Fifth-year senior running back Fitzgerald Toussaint has carried the bulk of the load for the Wolverines, rushing for an average of almost 80 yards per game. Gardner may be the backbone of the offense, but when he has difficulty, the Wolverines have to look to the rest of the backs for production. Part of the reason the Wolverines struggled during the first half of the Akron and Connecticut games was because the offensive line couldn’t open enough holes for Toussaint. Hoke has talked all season about getting some of the other running backs — freshmen Derrick Green and De’Veon Smith and junior Thomas Rawls — more reps during games, but so far, that trio has played sparingly. Green has gained the most rushing yards of the other tailbacks, but that’s still just 60 yards total — 58 of them came against Central Michigan. Hoke has minimized the number of Toussaint’s reps in practice
recently and wants it to translate into a more well-rounded ground game. “We would love to (lessen Toussaint’s load),” Hoke said. “I think it gives him where he can be fresh, and I think it gives another guy an opportunity, who’s a little different than what Fitz is.” CHANGE AT CENTER: With the bye sandwiched between the Connecticut game and Michigan’s Big Ten opener against Minnesota, there was some speculation that Hoke would use that time to change up the interior line that has struggled lately. But as of Monday, there was still no change in the lineup — Hoke said the coaching staff won’t have a decision of what it wants to do with the group until after Tuesday’s practice. “We wouldn’t have a problem making a change if that’s what we deem we want to do,” Hoke said. “I think we’re at the point where we want to make sure (of our decision), so one more day isn’t going to hurt us.” The biggest change would come at center. Hoke is flirting with the idea of moving redshirt sophomore left guard Graham Glasgow over to replace redshirt sophomore Jack Miller at center. Then, either redshirt sophomore Chris Bryant or redshirt junior Joey Burzynski would fill in for Glasgow at guard. A RESTFUL BYE: After Connecticut, Hoke said Gardner was a little banged up. When Michigan returned to practice last week, though, it was nothing to be concerned about. “We went out (last) Tuesday, and (Gardner) didn’t look sore,” Hoke said. “He may be doing a good job acting because he knows there are lot of guys who are sore out there. It’s just part of it.”
Michigan’s 12th man on the field By JUSTIN STERN For the Daily
For Michigan freshman defenseman Lars Eckenrode, motivation to take the pitch doesn’t come from a game-winning shot or a goal-saving tackle. It doesn’t come from one day drawing corporate sponsors on clothing or the prospects of a professional career. For Eckenrode, the fire within isn’t stirred by something so materialistic. For him, taking the field is about honoring a fallen friend. It’s about remembering one moment in high school that not only motivated him as he continued his soccer career, but also made him into the man he is today. In March 2012, Eckenrode’s classmates at West Springfield (Va.) High School were struck with tragedy. Football player Jordan Trunfio was diagnosed with a brain tumor that would later take his life. “I first found out when (the quarterback of the football team) had just told me, ‘Jordan was diagnosed with brain cancer and they don’t know how long he has,’ ” Eckenrode said. “My initial reaction was being horrified, because how often do you hear of an 18-year-old being diagnosed with cancer? Especially for it to be someone that I know and who went to the same school as me, it’s hard.” Whether it was the quick glances in the weight room or making each other laugh during class in a school of 2,285 students, the two became very familiar with one another and formed a unique friendship. “Jordan wasn’t one of my closest friends, but everyone at school knew him because he was a fantastic football player,” Eckenrode said. “I put myself in his position and thought, ‘What would I want from the people around me if I was in this situation?’ ” Once treatment started, Eckenrode was unaware of the hos-
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
COURTESY OF LARS ECKENRODE
Freshman defender Lars Eckenrode was a four-star prospect out of high school and is seen as a big factor in the Wolverines’ future plans.
Jordan Trunfio passed away earlier this year from a brain tumor but not before becoming an inspiration for an entire community, including Eckenrode.
pital’s visitation rules until his friend made him aware that he was able to visit. What started off as a few weekly visits to the hospital turned into daily rituals, like feeding Jordan Fruity Pebbles or buying milk for his dad. “When I visited the hospital,
high school to help pay for Trunfio’s medical bills. The event raised nearly $12,000. A few days before the game, Eckenrode and his friends printed out flyers and placed them around local businesses to raise awareness and ask for donations. “I have never seen the school
he would yell out, ‘Hey Lars!’ ” Eckenrode said. “Just hearing how happy he was to see me, I said to myself, ‘I have to do everything I can to help him out.’ ” Eckenrode began to lend an even bigger hand toward the end of his senior year. He organized a charity basketball game played at his
“What would I want from the people around me...?”
gym so full,” Eckenrode said. “The students took up one half of the gym, and families from around the community gathered in the other half. I was shocked at the amount of people that came.” As the game ended, all of the participants gathered at half court. They put their arms
“...Nothing compared to what he went through.”
around each other and sang Jordan’s favorite song — Don McLean’s American Pie. Before long, the audience joined in and the entire gym served as final tribute to Jordan. Students, parents, and community members shed tears, unable to hold back their emotions. “It was possibly the singlemost saddest moment of my life,” Eckenrode said. Eckenrode also planned a charity carwash with the help of the football staff, which also raised around $12,000. Even though Jordan lived longer than doctors anticipated, the tumor took his life on June 6th, two months before Eckenrode began his journey in Ann Arbor. “He showed me that attitude and being strong really matters,” Eckenrode said. “Never make excuses. Sometimes people think they are having tough times, but in reality, it is nothing compared to what he went through.” Jordan Trunfio passed away holding a pendant with the Bible verse of John 3:16 written on it. In honor of Jordan’s memory, Eckenrode and his fellow highschool friends wear the verse on a necklace every day. As Eckenrode heads to the locker room to change into his uniform before every match, he is required to take off this jewelry, per NCAA regulations. However, Eckenrode wears a wristband with No. 58 (Jordan’s football number) and a grey ribbon printed to support the American Brain Tumor Association. And now, whenever Eckenrode runs onto the field, Jordan runs with him. “Jordan’s story made me realize that life can go before you in the blink of an eye,” Eckenrode said. “You never know what you are going to lose and how you are going to lose them. We all need to cherish the people we have in our life and be grateful for them because you never know when they are going to go.” That’s all the motivation Eckenrode needs.
8 — Tuesday, October 1, 2013
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com