CELEBRATING OUR ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Friday, October 10, 2014
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STUDENT GOVERNMENT
CSG Pres., AD look to build closer relationship
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Rackham student Joseph Bayer speaks about the role of Facebook in everyday life at the MCubed Symposium at Rackham Auditorium Thursday.
MCubed symposium lauds interdisciplinary approach Second annual event inspires work between departments By AMABEL KAROUB Daily Staff Reporter
University President Emerita Mary Sue Coleman was known to spin the Cube each day on her way to work, but that’s not the only cube taking off on campus.
In a different context, a “cube” is a group of three University faculty members from different departments. Each cube is formed with the intention of solving global challenges that are too difficult or broad for a single discipline to take on. At the 2014 MCubed Symposium Thursday, the cubes presented their findings from the past year. This year was the second of the inaugural MCubed cycle. MCubed was launched in May
2012 when the University’s Third Century initiative allotted $15 million for the program, which aims to encourage interdisciplinary research. Of the $15 million, each cube receives $60,000 to begin their project. All cubes are required to involve one undergraduate student, graduate student or postdoctoral fellow to train the next generation of researchers. The day began with a welcome speech from Jack
As elections approach, Daily survey shows lack of student engagement By SHOHAM GEVA Daily Staff Reporter
Student voters can be a key demographic for both Republicans and Democrats, but according to a survey conducted by The Michigan Daily, candidates in Michigan still have some work to do at the University to get students’ attention. The survey, which was sent out over email to 1600 undergraduate students late last month, was completed by about 200 students. Among respondents, fewer than 50 percent identified as either politically active or politically informed. On most specific national policy and state issues, including support for labor unions, right to work laws, aspects of the Affordable Care Act and a controversial Michigan law approved in 2013 requiring the purchase of an additional rider for abortion cov-
Daily Staff Reporter
In a plea to disillusioned students, CSG President Bobby Dishell, a Public Policy senior, released a statement Wednesday night discouraging them from boycotting Saturday’s football game “under the lights” against Penn State. His end message: #StandByBlue. Dishell was responding to a loosely organized plan to protest the game on MGoBlog. The boycott would have students gather outside the gates to each section before the game but not enter, subsequently giving the appearance of an empty student section on national television.
MGoBlog is a Michigan sports blog centered on Wolverine athletics, according to the website. It is run by a University alum and is largely catered to University alumni. The rally to fire University Athletic Director Dave Brandon Sept. 30 was also initiated by a comment on the MGoBlog site. The event ultimately mobilized current students to gather outside of University President Mark Schlissel’s house and demand Brandon’s immediate dismissal. Dishell met with Brandon Thursday morning to discuss student concerns. Dishell said he will reveal some of the department’s future plans early next week. “We are the victors and best,” Dishell wrote in his statement. “We create effective change from the bleakest of challenges, we utilize activism and enthusiasm to implement new policies, and we strike out in new directions when the chance presents itself.” “But we don’t do these things See BOYCOTT, Page 3A
RESEARCH
SWINGIN’
Survey shows mixed political participation erage on some healthcare plans, respondents consistently chose that they had no opinion as the majority response. This excluded questions gauging support for a raise to the minimum wage and a raise in taxes to fund education, which a majority of students supported. Furthermore, across the board in state races, an overwhelming percentage of respondents identified as undecided, by margins ranging from 65 percent in the race for Michigan’s governor, to 82 percent in the race for the 12th District U.S House race, which includes Ann Arbor in its borders. In the race for one of Michigan’s two U.S. Senate seats — the first open Senate seat in the state in 20 years following the retirement of Sen. Carl Levin (D–Mich.) — 73 percent identified as undecided. The numbers aren’t entirely surprising. Younger voters, both those enrolled and not enrolled in college, are typically considered a lower-engagement demographic as a whole when it comes to politics, especially in years without a presidential election. A spring 2014 study by the Harvard Institute of Politics on See SURVEY, Page 3A
By MICHAEL SUGERMAN
Hu, interim vice president for research, and a keynote by University President Mark Schlissel. At noon, researchers began to present their findings in a poster session. One innovative project was created in part by Associate Information Prof. Paul Conway. Conway’s focuses on releasing live music to the public from collections such as The Ark’s in Ann Arbor. He said this music is currently inaccessible See MCUBED, Page 3A
GOVERNMENT
Students may continue to protest Athletic Department decisions, leaders
Tech Transfer fiscal year sets record in research Historic performance involved new startups, and inventions moving to mass market By MAYA SHANKAR
VICKI LIU/Daily
Senior Hub Humphrey, a member of the University’s men’s gymnastics team, performs a pommel horse routine on the Diag Thursday. The team won the their second consecutive NCAA championship in April.
DETROIT
Speaker series examines issues with public schools Semester in Detroit launches series to engage with city By NEALA BERKOWSKI Daily Staff Reporter
The Detroiters Speak Series kicked off Thursday with the hot topic of Detroit Public Schools, prompting passionate responses and conversation
regarding the future of education in the city. Semester in Detroit and the University’s Detroit Center are co-sponsors of the six-week public mini-course, which aims to give students and the public a better understanding of historic and contemporary topics in Detroit, Craig Regester, associate director of SID, said. This is the third time the minicourse has been offered. “We want people to feel like
they have a really thorough introduction to complicated challenges in the city as well as to wonderful assets like the music scene and the jazz scene, which we’ll talk about in the future,” Regester said. “So it’s not just about covering the issues and the challenges. It’s a nice combination of what’s beautiful about Detroit, and has been for a long time, as well as what’s really challenging See DETROIT, Page 3A
Daily Staff Reporter
The University announced Monday the Office of Technology Transfer had a record-breaking fiscal year 2014, reporting a considerable increase in the number of new inventions, agreements and startups launched based on research conducted at the University, including 439 new inventions, 148 option and license agreements and 14 startups. The office serves as the University’s primary unit for facilitating movement of research technologies to the market, “as to generate benefits for the University, the community and the general public,” according to their mission statement. Ken Nisbet, associate vice president for research-technology transfer at the University, attributed the success of the office’s performance this past year to See TECH, Page 3A
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UNDER THE LIGHTS...AGAIN Needing a spark to salvage the season, Michigan battles Penn State Saturday night
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2A — Friday, October 10, 2014
MONDAY: This Week in History
TUESDAY: Professor Profiles
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers
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FRIDAY: Photos of the Week
LEFT SAFE’s Education Day featured a staged simulation of a West Bank checkpoint on the Diag Wednesday. The demonstration mimicked the daily commute of Palestinians from the West Bank into Israel. (RUBY WALLAU/Daily)
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RIGHT Chance the Rapper performs at Eastern Michigan University Wednesday. Chance featured his new works as part of “The Social Experiment.” (MCKENZIE BEREZIN/Daily)
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Clinton in Mich. BY EMILIE PLESSET
Adding to a notable line of Democratic leaders set to make campaign appearances in Michigan this month, Hillary Clinton will be traveling to the state to support campaigns for Rep. Gary Peters and former Rep. Mark Schauer in Metro Detroit next Thursday.
THE WIRE
Free screenings BY JOEL GOLDSTEIN
In support of National Depression Screening Day, the University hosted free depression screenings at a number of locations around campus. It’s estimated that depression currently affects about 10 percent of the U.S. population.
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CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
Taubman symposium
UMMA After Hours
“Good Kids” play
WHAT: The Institute will award its annual $100 thousand research grant to Carl June from the Perelman School of Medicine. WHO: A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute WHEN: Today at 10 a.m. WHERE: Kahn Auditorium at the BSRB
WHAT: The community is invited to explore the museum’s permanent and special exhibitions. Live music and refreshments will be provided. WHO: UMMA WHEN: Today 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. WHERE: Museum of Art
WHAT: Based on the 2012 Steubenville High School rape case, the play addresses sexual assault and its public aftermath. WHO: School of Music, Theatre and Dance WHEN: Today at 8 p.m. WHERE: Walgreen Drama Center
Urban Symposium
Human Rights Cabaret WHAT: The University Symposium will perform the Broadway
WHAT: Students are invited to explore the challenges, and potential solutions, of major urban issues at this year’s Urban Entrepreneurship Symposium. WHO: Innovate Blue & Center for Entrepreneurship WHEN: Today from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. WHERE: Gerald Ford Presidential Library
WHAT: The symposium will discuss social responsibility. Speakers include University President Mark Schlissel, Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Michael H. Posner, among others. WHO: Advisory Committee on Labor Standards and Human Rights WHEN: All day today WHERE: Ross School of Business
play “Cabaret.” Set in Weimar Berlin, the musical follows Clif, an American writer who is inspired by the enticing Kit Kat Club. WHO: School of Music, Theatre and Dance WHEN: Today at 8 p.m. WHERE: Mendelssohn Theatre l Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com.
1
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has not appeared publically since September because he injured his leg, Reuters reported Thursday. Kim needs 100 days to recover from the injury he sustained during a military inspection.
2
The Michigan football team hopes to earn its first win over a Power 5 opponent when it faces Penn State under the lights Saturday. It’s the third official night game in Michigan Stadium history. >> FOR MORE, SEE FOOTBALLSATURDAY
3
French writer Patrick Modiano is the 107th winner of the Nobel Prise for Literature, The Daily Beast reported Thursday. Modiano’s most popular novel, “Missing Person,” is about a detecive with memory loss.
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Coalition fighting ISIS bombs tactical positions U.S. leads charge in aerial attacks against Islamic State
MURSITPINAR, Turkey (AP) — The U.S.-led coalition intensified its aerial bombardment of Islamic State positions Thursday in the Syrian border town of Kobani as the extremist group fought street battles with Kurdish forces and reportedly rushed in reinforcements. The battle for the town near the frontier with Turkey has emerged as a major early test for the air campaign aimed at rolling back and eventually destroying the extremist group. It has also strained ties between Washington and Ankara over the long-term U.S. strategy in Syria. On Thursday, the U.S. special envoy for the coalition, retired Marine Gen. John Allen, and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg
were in Turkey to press the country to join military operations. Turkish officials have said that while they do not want Kobani to fall, they will not take on a greater role until the coalition outlines a broader strategy that also includes attacking Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is best positioned to benefit from any rollback of the Islamic State group. But attacking Assad’s regime “is not the focus of our international coalition and not the focus of our efforts by the United States,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. Psaki said Allen and Turkish officials discussed ways to advance the effort against the Islamic State group and said a joint military planning team will visit Ankara early next week. “Both sides also agreed that we will continue a dynamic and deepening bilateral consultation process across the multiple lines
of effort against ISIL, including military support, countering foreign fighters, counter-finance, humanitarian assistance, and delegitimizing ISIL’s messaging and rhetoric,” she said using and acronym for the Islamic State group. Turkey also has called for the creation of a buffer zone inside Syria to secure the border, but the White House and Pentagon said Wednesday the U.S. is not considering that option. Such a zone would be costly and complex to enforce. U.S. officials said Thursday the U.S. is largely talking to Turkey about other things it could do besides inserting ground forces into the fight: allowing U.S. and coalition aircraft to fly over Turkish territory; allowing its air base in Incirlik, some 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the Syrian border, to be used by U.S. or coalition planes or for logistics and training; and equipping moderate Syrian opposition forces fighting to topple Assad. The officials were not authorized to discuss meetings underway between U.S. and Turkish officials in Ankara and requested anonymity. The fight for Kobani has brought Syria’s civil war yet again to Turkey’s doorstep, and for weeks the U.S. and its allies have pressed Ankara to take a more robust role in the coalition. In addition, Kurds have held massive demonstrations across Turkey in which they accuse the government, which has deployed its tanks just across the frontier, of doing nothing to save the town. Ankara is suspicious of the Syrian Kurdish forces fighting in Kobani, seeing them as an extension of the Kurdish PKK, which waged a long and bloody insurgency against Turkey. Responding to the criticism, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said it was unrealistic to expect Turkey to launch a ground war against the Islamic State group on its own.
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LSA sophomore Miles Shatkin participates in Diag Day, an event used to hear concerns from the student body, Thursday.
LSA SG hosts event to hear student concerns Diag Day seeks to provide avenue for student needs to be addressed on campus By ALYSSA BRANDON Daily Staff Reporter
LSA Student Government held their annual “Diag Day” Thursday to give students an opportunity to voice their concerns about the University. Representatives from LSA SG set up a station on the Diag at which students were able to submit written complaints and express concerns to representatives that they would like to see addressed. LSA freshman Caitlin Stewart, an SG representative, worked at the event and heard a wide variety of complaints from students. “We’ve heard everything from getting more silverware in some of the dining halls to having a girls-only section in the CCRB,” Stewart said. “We’ve
also heard complaints that the Fish Bowl is too cold.” The Student Life Committee is responsible for addressing the various concerns students voice at the University. Public Policy junior Hilary Forrest, SLC chairwoman, said LSA SG started holding Diag Day five years ago after working to gather all the complaints they received from LSA. “It started with the creation of the e-mail account ThisSucks@umich.edu, where students could send emails about things they didn’t like so much here at the University,” Forrest said. From there, Diag Day was created to further publicize the creation of the e-mail account, as well as to give students an opportunity to discuss their concerns in person. Based on the comments LSA SG received Thursday, Forrest said students seemed to be concerned about the condition of the facilities at the University, ranging from getting more printers in the UGLi, to having more bike racks installed around
campus. Committee members already have an idea of how they’ll address some of these concerns in the future. “We plan to serve as a liaison for the students, and to work to set up meetings with appropriate administration to bring these concerns to their attention,” Forrest said. “For instance, regarding having more printers in the UGLi, we’ll work with ITS to see what we can do to get more printers for students.” The Student Life Committee also plans to meet Oct. 14 to read through all the concerns they received in detail and develop a plan to address them. Overall, Forrest said the committee hopes that Diag Day and the promotion of the e-mail account will let students know they have a forum they can use to safely express their opinions. “We want students to know that they have an outlet they can use to voice their concerns, and that they have a committee that is working hard to make sure they can maximize their college experiences.”
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NEWS BRIEFS
DETROIT From Page 1A
FLINT, Mich,
Man sentenced to five years for drunken accident A young man has been sentenced to at least five years in prison for a drunken wrongway crash that killed a woman in Genesee County. Zachary Parker shed tears Thursday as he told a judge that he wishes he could trade spots with the victim, Mariah Bailey-Collins, who was killed in February. The 19-year-old Parker was driving the wrong way on U.S. 23 in Mundy Township. He was 18 at the time, and his blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit. Bailey-Collins’ son and new husband were injured in the crash. Parker will be eligible for parole after five years. His maximum sentence is 15 years in prison.
OAKLEY, Mich.
Judge: Oakley police department is closed for now A judge has declared there’s no police department in a small town in Saginaw County. The Saginaw News says Judge Robert Kaczmarek granted an injunction Thursday, saying Oakley can’t have a police department after the village council voted to disband it last month. Chief Robert Reznick had resumed patrols after obtaining a privately funded insurance policy. Oakley has roughly 300 residents, but Reznick had a corps of 12 officers and 100 reserve officers who lived around the state and helped pay for the police budget.
AUSTIN, Texas
Texas judge rules against voter ID requirements A federal judge likened Texas’ strict voter ID requirement to a poll tax deliberately meant to suppress minority voter turnout and struck it down less than a month before Election Day — and mere hours after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a similar measure in Wisconsin. The twin rulings released Thursday evening represent major and somewhat surprising blows to largely Republicanbacked voter identification rules sweeping the nation that have generally been upheld in previous rulings. Approved in 2011, Texas’ law is considered among the nation’s harshest and had even been derided in court by the Justice Department as blatant discrimination. Wisconsin’s law was passed the same year and has remained a similar political flashpoint.
MEXICO CITY
Leader of Juarez drug cartel arrested by Mexican officials Federal police arrested alleged Juarez drug cartel leader Vicente Carrillo Fuentes in the northern city of Torreon on Thursday, Mexican officials announced. After investigators narrowed Carrillo Fuentes’ whereabouts to a neighborhood of Torreon, he was taken into custody at a traffic checkpoint without a shot being fired, National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido said. Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam called the arrest “a capture of great importance.” “We are extremely heartened by the court’s decision, which affirms our position that the Texas voter identification law unfairly and unnecessarily restricts access to the franchise,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. “We are also pleased that the Supreme Court has refused to allow Wisconsin to implement its own restrictive voter identification law.” —Compiled from Daily wire reports
people.” The series is held weekly in Detroit, with program operators offering transportation for students of the class and others. Thursday’s event, “Reflections on the State of Detroit Public Schools,” focused on controversial topics around education in Detroit and featured three guest speakers. Linda Spight, former Mumford High School principal, Asenath Andrews, former principal of Catherine Ferguson Academy, and Yolanda Peoples, the parent of both a current and former DPS student, all voiced concerns about the schools in Detroit. Peoples called for the University to give up its partnership with the Detroit School of Arts, saying the school is being mismanaged. She cited overall attendance dropping, arts programs being cut and what she sees as a poor decision to replace the school’s certified teachers with teacher volunteers from Teach for America. “What self-governing schools are supposed to do is to allow the school and the community to run itself,” Peoples said. “It is supposed to work to improve academics and whatever performance is lacking. But remember DSA wasn’t lacking. It wasn’t lacking in attendance, it wasn’t lacking in performance, it wasn’t lacking in overall academics. So we have to ask ourselves, ‘Why are you here?’”
TECH From Page 1A the ingenuity of the tech transfer team, the quality of research being done at the University and the resources and support provided by the University and community. “The record number of new inventions is a reflection of the level of engagement our researchers are having,” Nisbet said. “Because of their creativity, we are seeing more of their work coming to us.” University research discoveries are implemented around the world, Nisbet said, though tech transfer tries to boost the local economy by finding local businesses that can benefit from the inventions and creating startups that are — at least initially — located in Ann Arbor. When looking to put their discoveries on the market, researchers first report their idea to tech transfer. The office gets more
BOYCOTT From Page 1A – we don’t leap to conclusions or take on new projects – until we’ve completed the first step: trust,” he added. “Trusting the team, its leaders, and those who help it develop – that is how we open doors to a brighter future.” As confirmed by a search of MCommunity, all respondents to Dishell’s statement in the comments section of the CSG website were alumni. In addition to thoughts posted on MGoBlog and the CSG website, recent data analysis conducted by The Michigan Daily revealed that the majority of signatures on the CSG petition to fire Brandon were also graduates. University alum Joseph Lechtner said he agreed with Dishell’s sentiment that students must support their athlete peers on football Saturday. That, however, was why he endorsed the boycott. “As you clearly state, it’s critical to support the players off and on the field,” Lechtner wrote in his comment. “With the current
Spight voiced separate concerns, saying Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s Educational Achievement Authority initiative, implemented in 2012 and designed to improve struggling schools, is experimental and not turning around schools. Andrews, whose school exclusively enrolls pregnant and parenting teens, criticized DPS for dropping Catherine Ferguson from the district after it became expensive, forcing it to become a charter school. After the lectures, the floor opened to the audience for commentary, resulting in heated comments from attendees. Elena Herrada, member of the DPS board, asked for the EAA to revert DPS back to Detroit and for the University to withdraw its presence from the Detroit School of Arts. “We’re asking for the support of U of M students to go to the School of Education and to tell them to get out of Detroit School of Arts,” Herrada said. “Students have the power to do this. You don’t have to live with what Detroit students are living with. They will never get to U of M if they continue on the path that they’re on. You have the power to make this happen for our students. I’m asking you to go to your Board of Regents, go to your professors, go everywhere and tell them hands off Detroit Public Schools.” LSA junior Amy Kanka said she took the mini-course to learn more about the current events and history of the city she enjoys visiting and where her father grew up.
“I just thought it was really interesting that I actually never knew about any of these topics,” Kanka said. “I thought with discussing schools in Detroit, we would talk about unions or the effect the economy had on schools. I didn’t know it was such a deep, emotional topic, or that the University of Michigan had a direct relationship with it. I’m applying to the School of Ed. and I had no idea that the school had any correlation to DPS.” Regester said SID has a philosophy that there are many different kinds of educators for their students, including Detroiters who have formal and informal qualifications. The series is open to the public to enable deeper learning for everyone in attendance. Members of the public who attend at least five lectures will receive a certificate of participation, Lolita Hernandez, SID creative writing lecturer and Detroit native, said. “When we open it to the general public, we’re going to get a wider array of perspectives, viewpoints, life goals, and developmental phases,” Regester said. “All of that just makes for a richer conversation, and everybody ends up learning more in the end.” The series will take place most Thursdays this fall at the U-M Detroit Center until November 13. The University’s Detroit Center Connector bus, which travels between Ann Arbor and Detroit, provides free transportation to and from Detroiters Speak. Spaces for the public can be reserved on the UM Detroit Connector website.
than 400 reports per year, Nisbet said. Specialists at tech transfer then work on assessing, technically and commercially, what would need to happen to make the discovery a viable and valuable market item. They work with the researcher on either integrating the technology into an existing business, or creating a startup with the new technology at its core. After initial success, the businesses and startups pay royalties to tech transfer and that money is reinvested into research at the University. The record number of agreements reflects a growing interest in collaboration between businesses and the University, Nisbet said. For example, the Michiganbased engineering corporation Michigan Aerospace has licensed University technology through tech transfer that allows for better detection of ice and snow on aviation equipment. University startups are created with the help of Tech Trans-
fer’s Venture Center. A start-up located in Ann Arbor called AlertWatch, which allows physicians to see all their patient information in one centralized location, was created with guidance from the Venture Center. “That’s the whole idea,” Nisbet said. “It’s to have the work of our research help the general public.” Nisbet also spoke about the reputation of the University and the research being done here, tying the record-breaking success of Tech Transfer this year to the success of the University as a whole. “The reason we have over $1.3 billion in research expenditures every year is because our researchers are of such high quality,” Nisbet said. “We’re viewed as one of the best research universities in the world.” The University will recognize Tech Transfer’s endeavors at the 14th annual Celebrate Invention reception, which will be held in the Michigan League Ballroom Oct. 28.
AD in place, the correct coaching staff will never be here in Ann Arbor and we’ll continue to let down the next group of Michigan Student Athletes.” Law School student Zachary Robock added commentary in support of Dishell’s statement, writing that he is a proponent of Brandon’s firing, “But … waiting outside the game is not the way to send this message.” “Regardless of the intended message, an empty student section is a signal to our players that we don’t support them,” Robock wrote. “We should not be airing our concerns over Dave Brandon by undermining our support in the football team.” In a phone interview Thursday, Dishell said he understands the student body’s call for a personnel change, but feels that working to create effective policy changes within the preexisting boundaries will be the most realistic method of creating a positive student experience. As to Brandon, Dishell said meeting with the Athletic Director was a humanizing experience, and explained Brandon is different than the pejorative way some students portray him.
“He’s someone who we’re looking to build a relationship with to bridge the gap that exists between students and the Athletics Department,” Dishell said. “Absolutely it’s going to take time but I can tell you, the way to build relationships is not by going out and attacking someone. At the end of the day, agree with him or disagree with him on certain things, he’s still our athletic director.” To mitigate this perceived gap, Dishell said CSG will soon be releasing a survey where students can respond to questions and publish their criticisms of the Athletic Department, which he will parse through with Brandon in subsequent meetings. Although he couldn’t reveal the exact plans for working with the department until next week, he hinted that they will entail setting up a new, streamlined way for students to communicate with the Athletic Department, while making administrators more transparent and available to the student body. “I’m still going to go to represent the student voice, but the way to do that is not by boycotting,” Dishell said.
Friday, October 10, 2014 — 3A
MCUBED From Page 1A because it often isn’t digital, or is restricted by copyright laws. “Our solution is to build a system that would deliver the songs in context of the performance and then engage performers in cataloguing their music,” Conway said. “We educate them about their options for copyright release and ask them to make some decisions song by song.” Rackham student Venkatram Pepakayala was participating in a much different project. He spent the past year working to improve biomedical implants by removing cells that would cause scar tissue formation. Pepakayala said he was in need of funding when he heard about MCubed. “I was looking for funding for my Ph.D. work, and my previous budget ran out last
SURVEY From Page 1A American 18 to 29 year olds eligible to vote found that overall, only 19 percent of those surveyed considered themselves to be politically active. In contrast, 30 percent of respondents in the Daily’s survey said they were “politically active” and an additional 5 percent who said they “strongly agreed.” Peter Levine, director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, said low levels of engagement among young people and differences between young people enrolled in college and those who are not can often be explained by differences in mobilization — the process of disseminating campaign information and encouraging voter participation. “There’s a good effect to mobilization. It works,” Levine said. “The University can be a place that’s targeted for mobilization for party operations and party volunteers to reach out … and that’s a good thing. Relative to suburban neighborhoods, there may be less mobilization going on (there). Everybody’s young and they tend be off lists and not noticed. On the other hand, relative to low-income working twenty-year olds in Detroit, a University of Michigan student is much more likely to be contacted.” He added that at four-year, competitive institutions like the University of Michigan, several factors can contribute to relatively higher level of engagement in comparison with others in the same age demographic, most namely higher levels of societal advantage among the campus population. Michael Burns, director of the Campus Vote Project, said in terms of direct political participation by voting, there are also several basic structural barriers to the act of voting for college students, namely lack of knowledge about deadlines, residency requirements for out-of-state students and other logistics. Only 23 percent of voters in the Harvard survey said they would “definitely be voting” in this year’s November midterm elections, and in the last midterm elections in 2010, 24 percent of 18-29 year olds voted, according to U.S. Census data. On college campuses, a little over 30 percent of college students voted in 2010, according to data from CIRCLE. In comparison, the average voting rate among eligible voters in U.S in the 2010 midterm election was 45.5 percent. “I think a lot of it is just overcoming — I like to call it an information deficit,” Burns said. “Only about 13 percent of (college students who don’t vote) say ‘Oh, it just wasn’t important’ or ‘Oh, my vote wasn’t going to
year,” Pepakayala said. “My adviser got in touch with one of the doctors from the eye clinic, and they applied for a grant and they got it.” LSA senior Jeff Pituch was at the Symposium not as a member of a cube but for personal enjoyment. A researcher himself, he said he came to the Symposium the year before and found it inspirational. “I found it really helpful in terms of giving me new ideas to approach other people in different areas of research that have similar ideas that I could collaborate with in the future,” Pituch said. “We’re always looking for new, innovative solutions that I think are best brought about when you talk with somebody who really doesn’t know exactly what you’re doing, but likes to research and has a passion for finding out new things about literally anything.”
change anything.’ So I think the majority of folks would vote, even in midterm elections, if they had the right information.” For two of the biggest partisan political student organizations on campus — the College Democrats and the College Republicans — high levels of potentially unengaged and undecided eligible voters are something they see as both an opportunity and a responsibility. According to The Daily’s survey, along with a lack of demonstrated political engagement and a tendency toward indecision, only 40 percent agreed that they were well informed about political issues. “I think that there is a huge problem of disengagement from politics with young people,” LSA senior Trevor Dolan, chair of the University’s chapter of the College Democrats, said. “A lot of it is people haven’t necessarily had the time to experience what political processes can do for them, and they’re sort of divorced from it because they haven’t been moved by it ever.” LSA senior Gabriel Leaf, chair of the University’s chapter of the College Republicans, said especially on college campuses, the first step towards becoming engaged can be difficult. “It’s hard for youth to get involved in politics … it’s definitely not something we think about all the time,” he said. “It’s the first election for many of us.” Dolan said for this year’s midterm election, College Democrats is choosing to focus on specific issues and the progressive values they speak to, as opposed to simply encouraging people to vote Democratic, in an effort to better cater to students. He pointed to several issues as particularly relevant for students from the Democratic perspective, including incumbent candidate Republican Gov. Snyder’s 15 percent cut to university funding in 2011 and the recent introduction of amendment to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act by several Democratic state senators and representatives, which would change the act to include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as protected classifications. “It’s really important that people understand that what’s being debated impacts them very directly, like for example their tuition increase, or that they’ll be secure in their job and can’t be fired because they act too effeminate,” he said. “I think that’s what our responsibility as the College Democrats is, to convey to them why what is happening right now matters, and why the people they vote for matter.” Leaf said College Republicans was also taking an issues-based approach, namely focusing on jobs and the state’s economy. “I see us as an opportunity,” he said. “We are there to educate everyone, to provide opportunities, to give people access to that (and) further their involvement.”
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Opinion
4A — Friday, October 10, 2014
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com PETER SHAHIN EDITOR IN CHIEF
MEGAN MCDONALD and DANIEL WANG EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
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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.
FROM THE DAILY
A major wake up call
Athletic Department must repair relationships
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viral campaign began earlier this week, urging students to boycott the kickoff of Michigan’s home game against Penn State Saturday. Originating from the comments section of MGoBlog, an online blog that chronicles Michigan Athletics, the boycott is a student response to a series of mistakes and failures from Athletic Director Dave Brandon and the University’s Athletic Department. This list of grievances begins as early as 2009 — before Dave Brandon’s tenure — and concludes as recently as two weeks ago. Student outrage has reached a peak, culminating with protests on the Diag and outside University President Mark Schlissel’s house. Such an outburst is not easy to incite and should not be taken lightly. The University, the Athletic Department and Dave Brandon need to begin a serious push to win back the student body by implementing policies that can preemptively address potential crises. Perhaps the most alarming fault was the perceived mishandling of the sexual assault case involving former Michigan kicker Brendan Gibbons. Though Gibbons was accused of sexual assault on Nov. 22, 2009, he was not suspended from play until more than four years later, in December of 2013. This delay in confronting the issue revealed a clear flaw in the system that various University units have since had to remedy — including upholding the Student Sexual Misconduct Policy. The Athletic Department played a significant role in mistreating the situation by concealing Gibbons’ separation from the University. After the Office of Student Conflict Resolution issued Gibbons’ suspension Dec. 19, 2013, a copy of the expulsion letter signed by Gibbons was faxed from the Athletic Department on the same date. This indicates that athletic officials were aware of the separation at that time at the latest. Only a very serious breakdown in communication would explain Brandon’s ignorance of the separation at this point. However, at the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl Dec. 28, Michigan Coach Brady Hoke claimed that Gibbons would not play because of a “family matter.” Hoke also stated that Gibbons would not participate in the regularseason finale against Ohio State due to an undisclosed injury. Again, either the Athletic Department had a very troubling problem with communication, Brandon failed to inform Hoke of the situation or Hoke’s statements were made up. Regardless, Hoke’s indirect manner of addressing the questions, as well as providing false information, brings to light an institutional problem within the Department. The U.S. Department of Education has since opened a federal investigation into the University’s handling of the case. The Department’s Office for Civil Rights is now reviewing whether or not the University violated the Title IX legislation in relation to the Gibbons case, as well as sexual assault and harassment on campus in general. The fact that the Athletic Department and University bungled a situation so seriously as to draw the attention of federal investigators aligns with its repetitive lack of transparency and questionable procedures. Ticket pricing and policies have also
angered students and non-students alike. The increase in the cost for season tickets, coupled with the weakest home schedule in recent memory, makes the Athletic Department seem out of touch with the reality of fans unable to afford tickets. The switch to general admission seating for students last season also caused students to lose trust in the department’s ability to make decisions regarding student ticket policy, as the system was a failure that had to be altered again in short order, this time with the Central Student Government and the department working together to institute the new policy in place for this year. The Athletic Department’s failure to include student input from the beginning not only manifests in negative opinion, but smothers school spirit and future fans of University athletics. Most recently, the Shane Morris incident has driven student patience to the brink. By allowing a concussed sophomore quarterback to continue to play, the Michigan Football program put a 20-year-old’s life at risk. Morris’ injury showed that sideline medical policies — which have since been updated — weren’t thorough enough to protect student health. While Brandon has said that it was a miscommunication and a “mistake that cannot occur again,” the fact that it happened at all suggests incompetence, as negligence is an unacceptable excuse for risking student lives. Brandon and the Athletic Department need to be proactive rather than reactive. The Athletic Department’s communication issues were not isolated to the field. After the game, Brandon and Hoke publicly contradicted each other multiple times, the most concerning of which was when they were spoke of Morris’ condition. The fact that a group of students is willing to sacrifice the public image of the University to institute a boycott at this Saturday’s game is a clear example that student opinion of the Athletic Department under Dave Brandon has hit an extreme low point. The Department has lost support of fans with its ticket pricing and policy, and the support of sports fans and non-fans alike with its handling of the Gibbons incident and Morris injury. This outcry and negative sentiment cannot be ignored by the Athletic Department, which must now bring about substantive change to rebuild lost trust.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Devin Eggert, David Harris, Rachel John, Nivedita Karki, Jacob Karafa, Jordyn Kay, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Victoria Noble, Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Paul Sherman, Linh Vu, Meher Walia, Mary Kate Winn, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe
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NOTABLE QUOTABLE
All signs point to a cover-up, but I want to give the White House a chance to explain itself.” — Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) , chairman of a House oversight subcommittee investigating the Secret Service prostitution scandal, said after the release of new information in the case
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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor’s housing headache
s we’ve entered October, I’m sure everyone’s settling into their apartments, houses and dorms. But don’t feel too settled, because now’s the time that you really need to think about housing. Simply put, a student’s search for housing in Ann Arbor is ridicu- MICHAEL lous. Not only are SCHRAMM housing prices unreasonable relative to what students at other colleges pay, but the process of finding housing contains an unreasonable number of traps and difficulties. The process’s stress stems from issues explained by basic economics. A culmination of factors — including the renovations in large student housing facilities like South Quad and West Quad, a consistent increase in admitted students and off-campus housing reaching or exceeding capacity — has created an excess demand that the housing supply struggles to meet. With so many students looking for housing, tenants in convenient locations can charge higher prices and expect students to sign leases in October or November. The expectation of signing a lease in October or November can lead to serious issues. You’ve lived in your current housing for a month or two, so you really haven’t lived with your housemates or roommates long enough to know whether your living styles are similar. But you don’t have the time to see how things play out. If you’re even considering living with them, you have to immediately look into the possibility of living with them next year. If they’re down, that’s great, and you can renew your lease or find new housing and pray that you’ll live well together for the next two years. However, this doesn’t always happen, and sometimes your roommates want different housing experiences or already realize your living situation isn’t suitable. This would be stressful in any circumstance, but you don’t really have time to think your other options through. You only really have three weeks before all your friends solidify their plans, so you have to scramble and accept any housing offer you find — even if it’s one that you don’t want. This isn’t even taking into consideration how much relationships can change in a year. If you sign an
August-to-August lease in October, you have 11 months until you live with those people. Eleven months of time can have a pretty significant impact on a person’s social life. You could very well realize in January or February that you would have preferred to live with other people, particularly if you’re a freshman or sophomore who immediately signed a lease with people you barely know. But let’s just assume that you find the right people to live with next year. Now you can actually begin your housing search. However, this is by no means a period of leisurely searching options to determine your best fit. You have at most a month and a half to decide where you want to live, so your search turns into a rabid hunt to find a place that you don’t hate, is located somewhere you want to live and falls within your budget. Unfortunately, you’re not the only person in your living group, and each individual has different preferences. These people are your friends, though, so you don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, and you also don’t want to say anything that would remove you from the group. These issues obviously arise in any housing situation, but the higher-priced student housing in Ann Arbor coupled with the expectation of signing a lease so soon elevates the need to find something — whether it’s perfect or just OK. These issues are significant, and I think the University should be advocating for changes in leasing policies to alleviate the situation. No, the University cannot do anything to guarantee that housing will be effortless, but it could fight for regulations if it really cared about students’ well-being. Codes exist in Ann Arbor that prohibit renters from allowing anyone to sign a lease or view housing until 70 days after current leasers have lived in the property. However, landlords can allow unattended viewing of housing units and force students to sign prelease agreements in order to sidestep these codes. Furthermore, with the options of May-to-May leases, some renters don’t need to sidestep the policies and can immediately find students to sign a lease within the first weeks of school. Rules
should be developed to stop these sidestepping policies. The University should advocate to the Ann Arbor City Council for a 100-day period as opposed to the current 70-day policy. Additionally, rules should exist to prohibit students from touring or signing May-to-May leases until Dec. 15. These policies would allow students to sign leases during midDecember at the earliest. Coupled with exams and Winter Break, students would likely not be able to sign a lease until they return for second semester. Having all of first semester to brainstorm housing groups would give students an opportunity to make informed and intelligent decisions. This could also decrease housing prices as landlords may lower rent to attract more students given that they have less time for students to sign leases. This policy change would also be optimal as second semester is around the time that the University opens up the process for on-campus housing, allowing students to realistically consider both possibilities. As it is now, if a student chooses to live on-campus for the following year, they take a risk because if they don’t get housing, the off-campus market is essentially drained. Going to Michigan already entails numerous responsibilities. Students struggle juggling school, organizations and their social life. With all of these issues going on, housing should be the least of students’ concerns, but nevertheless remains one. This is my third year of experiencing an unreasonable amount of housing stress coupled with hearing about how all my friends are stressed out. And from what I hear, this isn’t something that students at schools with more relaxed housing markets experience. After spending six years renovating on-campus facilities without making efforts to alleviate the extra students in the off-campus market, I hope that the University (or some force with political clout) makes an effort to alleviate some of these issues.
Simply put, a student’s search for housing in Ann Arbor is ridiculous.
Michael Schramm can be reached at mschramm@umich.edu.
An open letter to President Obama
T
o Mr. Obama, To Mr. Obama, I address my letter to you in earnest. I write in the full faith that one day, somehow, you will read it. I write you as an American. But I do not write you as my president. OMAR I write you as no one else will, for MAHMOOD the war criminal that you are. Of course, being a war criminal is a prerequisite for taking residence in the White House. The CIA, under LBJ and Nixon, would keep a kill list of Viet Cong members. In a covert operation called the Phoenix, they would send out assassins to check off those names. So you are hardly being creative. Instead, you have earned your place in a long-standing American tradition, and are on the wrong side of history. Decades from now, students of history will remember you as the drone president. What I remember of the Vietnam War from my history class is not the valor of the Americans in the jungle. I remember the piles of dead villagers all reported by our soldiers as Viet Cong members. Squadrons of American soldiers would rifle through the villages and count dead babies and even pet dogs among the terrorists they had killed. No American can walk out of history class with his head held high. We have blood on our hands. What you are doing, Mr. Obama, is even more sinister. You deliver death in the most cowardly of ways. And you revel in it. At the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2010, you dressed up in your tuxedo and bow tie and flirted with the crowd. The Jonas Brothers were there, and we learned that Sasha and Malia were big fans. But you warned them to tread carefully. “Boys, I have two words for you,” you said. “Predator drones … you will never see it coming.” I dare you, Mr. Obama, to look into
the eyes of any one of the children whose fathers and mothers you’ve taken away and crack that same joke. But you persist in your reign of terror. In 2011, the Air Force trained 350 drone operators and only 250 fighter jet pilots. Never does a drone operator have to leave the ground. And never does a drone operator have to see the face of the man he is killing. Instead the target appears as a red body on the heat sensor, and once his body is ripped apart by a Hellfire missile, the operator can watch as it bleeds out and turns blue. In military slang, drone operators call their victims “bug splats.” This is how you killed Nabila Rehman’s grandmother. She was out picking okra in the never-ending fields of Khyber in between Pakistan and Afghanistan on the steppes of great mountains. Her grandmother was telling her which was ready to pick and which was not yet ripe, and for that you decided she was a terrorist. The field was engulfed in flames and darkness, and when they subsided her grandmother was dead. Momina Bibi had been flung a league away, so badly disfigured that the villagers would not let her sons see her body. She was a grandmother of nine. The children of Khyber are scared of blue sky, because your drones will see them. Only five members of Congress were there to hear Nabila speak when she visited you in the Capitol. You’ve chosen Malala as your Pakistani poster child, and I suppose you don’t need another. In any case, it probably is awkward to look into the eyes of a little girl whose grandmother you killed. She has hazel eyes, Mr. Obama. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has done well to try to procure from you the numbers of those you have killed. You’ve kept
them well hidden. I think it might be best to not tell how many you have killed, and how many more whose lives you have ripped apart. Not only because they can’t be told, but that to quantify death is more the practice of the politicians and cynics that defend your drone program. But I do have to address my detractors, simply because they are in power. Some, such as Douglas Murray of the Henry Jackson Society, argue that you should be congratulated for having “landed on the most efficient means known to kill Western enemies while harming as few potential friends as possible.” Another, Norton Schwartz, retired U.S. Air Force general and former chief of staff of the Air Force, was just as eloquent in declaring that your drone program “minimizes loss of life for friendly forces and maximizes the opportunity to avoid needless casualties of friendlies; in other words, collateral damage.” But so what, I ask, if drones minimize civilian casualties? So what if they are surgical and precise? Your program can only be justified with such jargon, because the plain truth belies it. These megalomaniacs have turned warfare into ratios, into a trolley problem, and humanity is lost. Those who defend the program profess that terrorist cells are being decapitated. But they have no ground to stand on — if anything, it helps recruitment. Decapitating organizations has historically been ineffective and counterintuitive. One needs only point to the assassination of Chechen leaders by the Russian government from 2002 to 2006. As explains Professor Audrey Kurth Cronin of George Mason University’s School of Public Policy, the conflict changed from a “separatist insurgency to a broader See OBAMA, Page 5A
Decades from now, students of history will remember you as the drone president.
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
OBAMA From Page 4A radical movement in the Caucasus.” The conflict spread to nearby areas like Dagestan, from where the Boston bombers hail, motivated by that same Russian crackdown. Your drone program has become a recruiting poster for al-Qaida and other insurgent groups. For every father we kill, we leave behind more children who want to avenge him. We create our own enemies. In the words of one of your victims, “May Allah give me power for one day to use a single drone on the American people so that the American politicians understand how much it pains when a missile comes from the sky and kills your relatives in front of your eyes, and you can’t revenge them any more.” We can argue against your drone program from a rational perspective, as concerns efficacy in war strategy. But our argument must not be one of numbers. It must be one of principles, a moral argument. We stake our
contention on the simple human truth that to take an innocent life is wrong. Because your ratios will not bring back the dozen lives that you took in a wedding procession in Yemen. What do your assurances do for Juda? She is 40 years old and her youngest is 15 days old, and she is now a mother and a father. Will you bring back her husband? One of the first drone attacks to be carried out killed two people. One of them was a man who was mistaken for none other than Osama bin Laden, because of nothing other than his height. And since then, it seems that as Afghanistan is a declared combat zone, any male found there with a weapon is a potential target who can be engaged. A prompt death sentence, the push of a joystick, as far as a drone is concerned. How many innocent lives is your drone program worth? How many innocent Muslim lives? American lives? Is it worth Momina Bibi’s life? Would you not abort the program, Mr. Obama, if your own daughter were abroad in that part of the world? I know
from your writings that you shun religion. But it is nevertheless a powerful maxim of the Hebrew tradition, and our tradition, that to kill a single innocent life is like killing the whole world. And that saving a single life is like saving the whole world. So don’t count lives. My name is Omar, Mr. Obama. It is true that I am a Muslim. It is true that my blood is of the steppes of Asia. But I write you as an American who wants to hold his head high, but who can only look down in shame when he walks out of history class. I know nothing about killing. But if you want to be rid of me, have some dignity about it. Don’t send a drone after me. Have dignity enough to look your victim in his eyes. Will you not have some dignity, Mr. Obama? Will you not look into Nabila’s eyes and tell her that her grandmother’s death was a minimized casualty, that it was surgical and precise? She has hazel eyes, Mr. Obama. Omar Mahmood can be reached at syedom@umich.edu.
BOBBY DISHELL | VIEWPOINT
Why you shouldn’t protest the Penn State game Dear Students: This Saturday, on October 11th, our football team will play Penn State at home under the lights. Families from the greater Ann Arbor area will come to campus to support our school, alumni from across the country will venture here, to their home, to show their continued support, and we, the students, will recognize and celebrate the unparalleled community we have here at Michigan. Football games are a time-honored tradition, a tradition that stretches back over a century, one that thousands of people have enjoyed long before us, and one that thousands of Michigan fans will continue to follow long after we’ve left. Earlier this week, on the MGoBlog message board, several Michigan students made posts about a protest that would take place this Saturday. The original poster believes that students should “unite” against Dave Brandon, and that they should strive to “dispatch” him while doing everything in their power to make him feel “embarrassed” on the sideline. The protest organizers hope to achieve these goals by encouraging students to wait outside the section gates before and during kickoff, essentially aiming to construct the image of an empty Big House, a massive no-show, and worst of all, a community that refuses to support the people who’ve made so many weekend games so worthwhile. This strategy is problematic for several reasons. First, we should not, under any circumstance, make it our mission to disrespect,
isolate, and otherwise harm our players. They play for Michigan. We, as students, are Michigan. To disregard the work of the athletes who play for us would be detrimental not only for the players themselves, but for the image of the University as a whole. We do not succumb to struggle. We don’t give up in the face of adversity. Instead, we rise above and support the athletes that sacrifice so much to represent the University of Michigan. Second, it is crucial that we not only support our players off the field, but also on the field. In this time of division, confusion, and uncertainty, Michigan must stand behind its team – not behind the section gates. We should seize every opportunity to align ourselves with the team, with its goals, its hopes, and successes because that is what makes the sport thrive: fans and players completely in-tune, ready to negotiate challenges together. If we want to create a better program environment, it starts by supporting the team this Saturday. Third, we are the victors and best. We are leaders, doers, achievers, innovators, inventors, organizers, and pioneers. We create effective change from the bleakest of challenges, we utilize activism and enthusiasm to implement new policies, and we strike out in new directions when the chance presents itself. But we don’t do these things – we don’t leap to conclusions or take on new projects – until we’ve completed the first step: trust. Trusting the
team, its leaders, and those who help it develop – that is how we open doors to a brighter future. Members of CSG have created a survey to learn more about how you would want the current athletic situation to improve. We want your feedback about your own Michigan football experiences, which policies you prefer, and your thoughts on ticket prices. This will help us understand how best to voice your concerns and create new policies in line with your interests. Please take the time to respond and speak out in a respectful and constructive manner. Students will be able to find the survey in their email inbox later this week. Once again, now is the time to support our team and our players. I encourage you not to participate in the protest on Saturday, as it does not reflect the true nature of Michigan. Community, unity, fellowship – we strive for these ideals as students. We find them not outside the gates, not outside the section stands, but inside the stadium, right alongside the players. “The love of the game must be genuine,” Fielding Yost said about football, “it is not devotion to a fad that makes men play football; it is because they enjoy their football.” We, as Michigan’s greatest football fans, must enjoy the struggle as well. We must #StandByBlue Go Blue! This article was originally published on CSG’s website. Bobby Dishell is a Public Policy senior and CSG President.
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.
SUMANA PALLE | VIEWPOINT
Horrible leadership at the University Part 1: Introduction The It’s On Us campaign is a response to a national swell of activism and protests in recent months about universities’ failures to address sexual assault. The White House created this campaign as a response and has allowed universities to implement the campaign as they see fit on their campus. At U-M, it has meant that a small group of elite white men with no clue what sexual assault is, led by Central Student Government President Bobby Dishell have tasked themselves with single handedly stopping rape on campus from happening, seemingly under the illusion that they are the hallowed chosen ones that will lead us all out of the darkness. Part 2: The Meeting Despite previous disastrous dabbling in social justice on campus where Dishell was allegedlyexposed as slanderous, grossly racist, and anti-Arab, he took it upon himself to arrange for all the logistics for the first meeting, which was to gather major student leaders on campus in one room. I had the misfortune of par-
ticipating in this first meeting. Despite my past work on the issue of sexual assault. I knew of it only because a close friend had been invited and extended an invitation to me. And as soon as I walked into the room, I realized what a glitch my invitation had been; I felt the all-too-familiar sickening sensation of being one of the very few people of color in the room. In a room of about 40, I was one of two students of color and the only woman of color. It was painfully clear that only people close to Bobby had been invited and that there had been absolutely no effort to include anyone else on an issue that pervades all areas of campus. There had been no outreach done to activist and advocacy groups that could have knowledgably discussed how these issues were impacting communities of color and queer people on campus; the real travesty is that it obviously had not even occurred to Dishell to reach out. Where was the representation from Coalition of Queer People of Color? The Black Student Union? Anyone from the historically Black, Latin@, Asian and South
Asian fraternities and sororities? Did CSG not realize that sexual assault happens to people who are not white and straight? To men? The revolting amount of obliviousness and aloofness was a cruel irony. Despite all the movements and campaigns that had occurred in the past few years to combat that constant exclusion of minorities and all the promises of inclusion that had followed, there was still no inclusion. Our fearless leader Dishell, and therefore Central Student Government, missed, once again, that people are sick and tired of being excluded from and forgotten about in policy discussions that impact their living spaces, learning conditions and general safety. To say that the meeting was disheartening is a gross understatement. Bobby’s first order of business was to get people talking. Which meant get the straight, white, cisgender men in the room with no ostensible direct connection to the issue talking, throwing around “solutions,” and making assumptions without proper education about the issue. Sexual
Friday, October 10, 2014 — 5A
assault was confused with sexual harassment and some people did not even know what consent really meant, despite using the word profusely. There was an excruciatingly painful lack of understanding and no substantial amount of research (if any) had been done into the root cause of the issue. In an attempt to depoliticize and de-emotionalize sexual assault, which by its very nature cannot be depoliticized and de-emotionalized, none of the balloonheaded, moronic men overly enthusiastic about “ending rape on campus” had assessed their role and space in a sexual assault awareness campaign. There was no self-awareness, no thought of assessing their own privilege, and no intention of criticizing their own role in rape culture. And there was especially no mention of ideas that helped other communities decrease violence. Buzzwords such as “Twitter campaigns,” “campus culture,” etc., were thrown around at a dizzying pace with no real substance attached. Representatives from the Athletic Department made sure they ate up half the time by talking about all the great initiatives they were taking to combat sexual assault in, I think, a desperate attempt to stop anyone from bringing up former Michigan kicker Brendan Gibbons. People were throwing around ideas for petitions (you heard right: petitions to end sexual assault on campus). Bobby jumped on this train of thought and threw out the idea for having a set goal of the amount of signatures and perhaps have a contest with Ohio State University to see who reaches the goal the fastest. People apparently missed the obvious irony of using the very spirit of competitive football culture that enabled the mishandling of the Brendan Gibbons case to combat sexual assault. Even now, the goal of the It’s On Us campaign at U-M is to get 10,000 signatures committing a stance against sexual assault. That’s right, everyone! We can just throw out our pepper sprays and start carrying around copies of this commitment/petition/ statement and stick it in the face of our assailant next time we are under threat of sexual assault! The focal point of this campaign is supposed to be an event (yes, a singular event that will thwart all rapists in town) that is titled (“tentatively,” as Bobby assured those of us who were concerned) “Social Entrepreneurial Event with Focus on Sexual Assault.” Yes. Think about that. Let that truly sink in for a second. An alternative title that was thrown around: “Entrepreneurial Solutions to Sexual Assault.” I have no idea what kind of drug-induced psychedelic dream leads someone to think that entrepreneurship is the answer to sexual assault. What would that even mean? A group discount on rape nail polish? Free tampon daggers on the Diag? University-sponsored start-ups for other things that women can buy in order to protect themselves from rapists who have not yet read the petition? At this point in the meeting, despite the sinking feeling that all hope was lost, I raised my hand to ask that everyone truly reflect on their reasons for being at the meeting and to center the voices of survivors and experts. I mentioned that to truly create change, we needed to separate our long-term goals from the trendy aspects of the campaign. Bobby jumped in as soon as I finished speaking to say that we didn’t have time for it and we needed to move on, making it clear that the people in the room do not have desire to understand the problem and think about what is at stake. This petition battle with Ohio State was so urgent that no one had time to think twice about the bodies and voices at the center of this discussion. As a survivor of rape on campus, I was thoroughly disgusted as I left the meeting that day.
In the weeks following the meeting, lots of heterosexual, white, cisgender men changed their Facebook profile pictures to include the It’s On Us logo; released videos on how sexual assault on campus should totally be stopped, complete with compelling background music and random zoom-ins; and aggressively shared blog posts (written by themselves obviously). Apparently, the karmic laws of social media and the Internet state that publicizing how in support you are of a movement is exactly the same as challenging your own privilege and status as an oppressor in order to affect real change. So, instead of doing proper research, self-educating, and assessing space and power dynamics, these men were on a social media self-promotion campaign, intent on boosting their own image (for future POTUS races, I’m sure). A dinner with Mark Schlissel was announced a few weeks after the meeting and I had the misfortune of attending that event too. Part 3: Dinner With Mark Schlissel The dinner took place this Saturday and had “leaders on campus” to kick off the It’s On Us awareness campaign at U-M. In keeping with the absolute shitshow leading up to the event, the dinner with Schlissel itself was absolutely horrific. Dinner consisted of President Schlissel making a feeble attempt to give a fuck about the issue. In between munching on his chicken, he asked vague questions and then changed the topic every few minutes. For example, he asked about the ties between mental illness, sexual assault, and how the university was addressing all of this. The room of 50 people had 10 minutes to quickly state their opinions to him, classroom style where those who wished to speak raised their hand and spoke. It was a joke. Most of the people there talked just to hear themselves talk and curry favor with Schlissel; it was a sickeningly masturbatory contest that I had apparently missed the memo on. Even at this point, at an event with the president of the University about sexual assault, most people had clearly not done any research. In fact, the president himself had not done any homework. Schlissel, I kid you not, started the dinner out with a question about what the university does well to address sexual assault. The room was filled with a heavy and awkward silence as headlines from the mishandling of the Gibbons case rolled through everyone’s mind. Here’s the real kicker of the night: when the Gibbons case actually was brought up, Schlissel stated that he had not really looked into it. Right. The president of our esteemed university, which is under federal investigation for gross violation and has been the fodder of national media for a few months, said, during a dinner about sexual assault awareness, that he hasn’t really looked into its most infamous incident of sexual assault yet. Not a diplomatic “No comment.” Just a shameless confession. How is this acceptable? How is he competent to lead our university? When will sexual assault become something that he takes seriously? And then, in celebration of our apparent efforts, we went to a play about rape at a high school that was one of worstwritten, misogynistic, heteronormative, atrocious plays I’ve seen. There was absolutely no trigger warning yet the naked body of a rape survivor was shown. There was complete disregard for any type of intersectionality; it excluded male survivors, homosexual instances of assault, and had no acknowledgement of racial dynamics. It neatly categorized high school students into the category of jocks (the rapists), the cheerleaders (the stereotypically “catty” girls who bully the survivor), the survivor and her friend, and the punk emo goth (the outcast voice of reason during the play). The incompetent playwright did not lend the
play the gravity, nuance or emotion it required. Despite being based on the Steubenville rape case, there was absolutely no consideration given to the privacy, dignity and humanity of the Steubenville rape survivor. This disgusting play was proof of how much damage is done when people take on serious issues without bothering to educate themselves and do not take into consideration the emotional and social needs of the people who are being impacted. Part 4: Painful Realizations This campaign so far is painfully indicative of our leaders’ cluelessness and recklessness regarding addressing sensitive and dire issues. Our leaders do not care about truly addressing the issue at hand or centering the voices of survivors and experts. Social justice has become a trend on this campus (and this nation) and sexual assault awareness is only the latest avatar of this trend. Absolutely no one is concerned with centering the voices and experiences of those affected by this issue. The ultimate purpose of those seeking to get involved is not to enact real change, but the appearance of change, the appearance of effort, because this is the only way to assuage the campus just enough so nothing drastic happens. Dishell, Schlissel, and most others in those events are not concerned with learning the mechanics of social justice as much as they are attending glamorized events and appearing in videos with their names in huge letters that give them the credit of caring without doing any of the work. For those of you who think that this article is a piece of vitriol: you’re right. I am a queer brown woman and this campus has shown me no mercy; now, I run out of mercy for it. I previously clung onto wisps of optimism when a leader promised some kind of change, halfheartedly nodded when friends assured me that the treatment of this campus’s minorities stemmed from ignorance and not cruelty, dismissed men’s obvious displays of sexism. Now, I’m out of justifications for this institution’s structural animosity and its hegemony’s lack of concern for others. Professors have looked at me in the eye as they insisted that the colonization, enslavement and genocides that occurred in the Indian subcontinent were for the greater good; administrators have told me as I teared up after blatant displays of sexism that I was at fault for speaking up; I was raped numerous times on this campus and had absolutely nowhere to go to. These are not isolated events; this university is intricately woven together and so are these issues. And the tragic truth is that this university does not give a shit about anyone except its powerful. It does not care for its womyn, its minorities, its queer, its anything-but-cisgenderwhite-men. Our leaders’ grand speeches about the importance of diversity and promises to take action are all just that: hollow sounds that vanish into thin air. The leadership at the University of Michigan is plagued with the very systems that are the root cause of the problems it faces. By constantly giving white, hetero, cisgender men power, it is actively stifling the lived experience of and continuing to take voice away from everyone else. I’m tired of having my voice repeatedly stolen by rich, white, heterosexual, cisgender men like Dishell and Schlissel who claim they care for political reasons but have made it very evident that they do not. I am out of tears, out of cookies to give to privileged folk who sometimes behave like decent human beings, and generally just out of fucks to give. Schlissel, Dishell, and other “leaders and the best” who have proven themselves to be incompetent, get your shit together. Or get out. Sumana Palle is a Business senior, founder of Shakti, leader of the Women of Color Collective, and e-board member of What the F Magazine.
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News
6A — Friday, October 10, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Obama: Elections to focus on economy In speech, President promotes resurgence in midterms SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — President Barack Obama is all in with his economic pitch. The American public is not. Over the next 27 days, either the public or the president is going to get the message. In a midterm campaign strategy fraught with risk, the White House is betting that Obama’s tight embrace of the economic recovery and populist proposals for gender pay equity and a higher minimum wage will galvanize his core supporters and persuade fence-sitting independents to help Democrats retain narrow control of the Senate in November. Addressing young entrepreneurs Thursday at a startup center in California, Obama highlighted his economic record for the third time in eight days. “A lot of you entered into the workforce during the worst financial crisis and then the worst recession since the Great Depression,” he told the gathering of mostly millennials, those born after 1980. “You are coming out of this recession with the best educated, most diverse, most digitally fluent generation in American history.” While noting that he’s not on the ballot in this election, Obama has become fond of saying that his policies are at stake. The line has prompted a reflexive flinch from Democrats who are trying to fend off a concerted Republican campaign to link Democratic opponents to the president. For Democrats, the problem is not Obama’s message; it’s the pitchman. “The messenger is not the most popular guy on the planet right now,” said Democratic pollster Mark Mellman. Public opinion polls show
substantial support for Obama’s proposals to raise the minimum wage, seek pay equity for women and close corporate tax loopholes. But on the economic issues he’s most associated with — the fitful recovery from the Great Recession and his health care law — the American public is not with him. A September AP-GfK poll found 40 percent approve and 58 percent disapprove of his handling of the economy, and that 41 percent approve and 58 percent disapprove of his handling of health care. Overall, Obama’s national approval ratings are 44 percent, compared to 51 percent who disapprove, according to the latest numbers from Gallup. That said, Obama does have an economic story to tell. Unemployment has dropped from a high of 10 percent in 2009 to 5.9 percent last month. The economy grew last quarter at a better clip than many expected. The stock market has rallied to record highs. He inherited a federal deficit of more than a trillion dollars; the deficit has been cut by more than half to $486 billion. But, to the frustration of the White House, that message hasn’t gained much traction against a headwind of nearly stagnant wage growth. “An awful lot of Americans, they read in the paper that the economy is growing, but they haven’t seen their own paychecks advance, they haven’t seen their old opportunities grow and they haven’t seen their own children get good job offers,” GOP pollster Whit Ayres said. Ayres recently conducted a joint poll with Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg for NPR and discovered that in states with closely contested Senate races, both Republicans and Democratic voters were equally energized “It’s all about the independents in those states,” he said. “The independents are going to be moved more than
anything else by the reality of the economy they feel in their daily lives. At least at this point, far too few have felt a significant recovery.” It’s a point not lost on the White House. “Even though the economy is growing, productivity is growing, wages and income have been flat,” Obama said Thursday. “And so the gains in the economy, not just over the last six years but really over the last 20, have more and more been going to the top of the economic pyramid.” As a result, Obama is also pushing his proposals to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, to ensure equal pay for women, to overhaul the immigration laws and provide universal pre-school for children as an effort to create contrasts with Republicans who have opposed those efforts. “The president does believe there is a clear choice for voters across the country between candidates who are supportive of policies that will benefit the middle class, and candidates who are supportive of policies that will benefit those at the top in the hopes that the benefits will trickle down to the middle class,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. On Thursday, Obama was aiming his pitch to young people born after 1980, an age group that has been reluctant to vote in nonpresidential contests. Obama was to hold a town hall at Cross Campus, a Santa Monica, California, hub for startup companies and entrepreneurs, where he was to highlight policies such as college aid and health care that officials say have especially benefited members of the millennial generation. Thursday’s speech is one of several White House efforts to draw the attention of demographic groups that are crucial components of the Democratic voting coalition, including women, AfricanAmericans and Latinos.
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Friday, October 10, 2014
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
JEFF ROBERSON/AP
People gather to remember Vonderrit D. Myers, Thursday in St. Louis. Police say Myers was shot Wednesday after he opened fire on a white, off-duty officer, but Myers’ parents say he was unarmed.
Shooting in St. Louis inspires more protests Another police shooting of a Black teenager reignites outrage ST. LOUIS (AP) — Two months after a Ferguson officer killed Michael Brown, setting off intense national debate about law enforcement treatment of minorities, the shooting death of another black 18-year-old by police in nearby St. Louis has reignited anger among activists already planning weekend protests. Police say Vonderrit D. Myers was shot Wednesday after he opened fire on a white, offduty officer, but Myers’ parents say he was unarmed. Some activists and lawmakers say Myers was targeted because he was black and are asking the Justice Department — which has opened a civil rights investigation into the death of Brown, who was unarmed — to investigate his shooting. “This here was racial profiling turned deadly,” said state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, a St. Louis Democrat. The shooting happened as activists and other protesters from around the country prepared for four days of rallies, marches and protests over the Brown shooting. Organizers say
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the events, which start Friday and include a march Saturday in downtown St. Louis, have taken on added urgency. “This is a racial powder keg,” said Jerryl Christmas, a St. Louis attorney who was among more than 20 black leaders who joined Nasheed at a news conference Thursday outside police headquarters. “All this is going to do is escalate the situation.” Brown’s Aug. 9 death spurred weeks of unrest in Ferguson and the rest of the St. Louis area. A state grand jury is deciding whether the officer who shot him, Darren Wilson, will face charges. Police say Myers was both armed and aggressive, using a stolen 9 mm gun to shoot at the officer. Syreeta Myers said her son was holding a sandwich, not a gun. “Police lie. They lied about Michael Brown, too,” she told The Associated Press by phone Thursday. About 200 people gathered Thursday night for a quiet candlelight remembrance at the sight where Vonderrit Myers was shot. Later, protesters shut down a major street. St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said the officer spotted Myers and two other males around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday while working a security job and patrolling a neighborhood
near the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Dotson said the officer, who was off-duty but wearing his uniform, became suspicious when one of them started to run. He heard one of them say, “No, that’s just a security officer,” Dotson said. When the officer made a U-turn, all three ran and the officer chased them — first in his car and then on foot, Dotson said. During the chase, he got into a physical altercation with Myers, who ran up a hill, turned and fired at the officer, the chief said. The officer, who wasn’t hurt, shot back. Ballistic evidence shows Myers fired three shots before his gun jammed, Dotson said. Police said they recovered the 9 mm gun, which had been reported stolen on Sept. 26. The officer fired off 17 rounds. Preliminary autopsy results show a shot to the head killed Myers, according to medical examiner Dr. Michael Graham. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Graham said Myers was shot six or seven times in the lower extremities and the fatal shot entered his right cheek. The 32-year-old officer, a sixyear veteran of the department whose name was not released, is on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
Same-sex couples wed in Las Vegas After ruling, several partners marry in legal ceremonies LAS VEGAS (AP) — Gay couples began getting married Thursday in Las Vegas — the self-proclaimed marriage capital of the world — ending a dizzying legal fight that had kept them waiting for days. Thomas Topovski cried as the Clark County clerk announced to cheers that marriage licenses would finally be issued. He and Jefferson Ruck, his partner of 14 years, returned Thursday for their marriage license after standing in line for hours the day before. About 10 same-sex couples were standing in line as the announcement came shortly after 5 p.m. “It’s amazing, this is it,” said Theo Small as he stood next to his partner, Antioco Carillo, and looked down at their marriage license, the first issued in Las Vegas. “We’re walking on clouds,” Carillo said. “This is unreal.” State Sen. Kelvin Atkinson wed Sherwood Howard shortly after gay couples began receiving marriage licenses. Atkinson, during an emotional legislative debate on same-sex unions last year, stood before the chamber and announced that he is gay. A few feet from the crowd that had gathered to witness Atkinson and Howard’s union on the steps of the marriage license bureau, Dave Parry married Morgan Floyd under a tree just outside the bureau’s doors. “Oh, my, gosh. It’s done,” Parry said, before embracing Floyd.
“It’s nice not to be a second class citizen anymore,” he said. “It’s been a long time.” About 430 miles north, Kristy Best and Wednesday Smith became the first same-sex couple in the state to get a license at about 3 p.m. Thursday, said Elizabeth Phelps, a clerk in the Carson City marriage license office. Best said in a telephone interview that she and Smith were surprised to get their license when they showed up at the Carson City marriage office with the $75 filing fee they borrowed from Smith’s mother. “We went to see what would happen, and they gave us the license,” Best said. “I feel amazing. So happy. Lov e doesn’t discriminate, so why should we?” “Nothing,” Smith said, “stands in the middle of true love.” Best and Smith have been together almost 7 years, and they plan to be married Saturday with a gathering of family and friends. The hopes of gay couples in Nevada had been in limbo since the 9th Circuit ruled Tuesday that gay couples’ equal protection rights were violated by same-sex wedding bans in Nevada and Idaho. The ruling triggered a Supreme Court memo that left Idaho gay couples in tears after they had gathered early at courthouses hoping to marry. A clarification hours later said the ruling did not apply to Nevada, but clerks didn’t budge. The last Nevada challenge was dropped early Thursday, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals again declared that its ruling allowing same-sex couples to marry in the state was “in full force and effect.”
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
TV REVIEW
Friday, October 10, 2014 — 7A
EVENT PREVIEW
FOX
‘Hey, Tina.’ ‘What?’
‘Burgers’ reopens FOX animated comedy returns with musical episode By ERIKA HARWOOD Senior Arts Editor
I love Tina Belcher. I often feel like I am Tina Belcher. Like Tina, my crotch occasionally itches, I have an affinity for boys’ butts B+ and would betray my own Bob’s blood to be in a musical of Burgers “Working Girl.” Season five “Work Hard premiere or Die Trying, Girl,” the Sundays at 7:30pm season five FOX premiere of “Bob’s Burgers,” isn’t really about Tina, but the Belcher’s musically inclined middle child, Gene. It’s not that I don’t like Gene — Gene’s fine. He’s the loud-mouthed, pop-culture savvy brother I sometimes wish I had — and voiced by Eugene Mirman to boot. But I don’t really love Gene — at least not enough to get enthused about entire episodes being devoted to him. And not just any episode, a musical episode. It shouldn’t be the case, but musical episodes — of any show,
be it animated or one with real, live, breathing people — strike me as a cop out, because for whatever reason, people love watching other people sing sort of funny songs. It’s a guarantee for laughs that shouldn’t be guaranteed at all. In actuality, they probably take double the work and effort of an average episode. Writing songs that can weave a cohesive and funny narrative probably takes up a lot of time. I realize that I’m wrong, but I still largely hate musical episodes (I say largely because the one “Even Stevens” musical episode was, and is to this day, on point). “Work Hard” isn’t about one, but two battling musicals. As the Belchers argue with Gene’s exgirlfriend Courtney and her father in Principal Frond’s office, we’re treated with flashbacks detailing the competition between Gene’s idea for the school musical (one based on the movie “Die Hard”) and Courtney’s (based on the movie “Working Girl”). Courtney’s father promises that if her musical is chosen Carly Simon will show up on opening night. She doesn’t, but even the unlikelihood of the gesture is enough to sell the school on going with “Working Girl: The Musical,” which is rightfully stocked with big hair and shoulder pads. Thanks to his conniving younger sister Louise, Gene is encouraged to take his “Die Hard”
musical underground — literally — in the school’s boiler room where he will put on a one-man guerrilla performance the same time as “Working Girl” ’s opening night. Despite the complete lack of burgers (the entire episode is restricted to the confines of Wagstaff), the gang is mostly all here. Linda sings in the joint “Die Hard/ Working Girl” musical at the end, the entire Pesto family is present, from Jimmy Pesto to the twins, and even Daryl (Aziz Ansari, “Parks and Recreation”) shows up to help Gene out with his production. Gene is no Tina, but “Work Hard” is full of Gene quips and unhealthy albeit hilarious knowledge of “Die Hard” specificities that shine through his performance reminding you why he’s a valuable personality within the Belcher clan in the first place. As for the musicals, the episode doesn’t end up being as much of a musical episode as it is an episode about musicals — musical adaptations of 1988 movies to be much more specific. The songs do have their moments though, and in true “Bob’s Burgers” fashion, they’re as off-beat and charming as always. Despite my preconceptions, “Work Hard” turned out and laid down a solid foundation for a season full of Belcher mischief and unconventional yet endearing antics.
TV REVIEW
THE CW
‘Hey!’ ‘What?’ ‘Nothing, we’re just really looking.’
‘Vampire Diaries’ all bark without any bite By JORDYN KAY Daily Arts Writer
“The Vampire Diaries” is entering its sixth season on the CW Network and, like last year, the ratings are continuing C to take a hit. Coming off of The what could be its worst sea- Vampire son yet, “The Diaries Vampire Diaries” had a lot Wednesdays at 8 p.m. to prove in this six week’s pre- Season premiere miere episode. The CW Unfortunately, it seems that the writers are sticking to old tactics and viewers shouldn’t expect to fall back in love with the series that once had the vampire television genre cornered. In the season premiere, all of the vampires, werewolves and few humans that are still left are coming to terms with the death of both Damon (Ian Somerhalder, “Lost”) and Bonnie (Kat Graham, “17 Again”). Elena (Nina Dobrev, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”), who has lost more people on the show than anyone else, has decided to take the route of denial when it comes to her grieving for Damon. Along the way, Elena also picked up a nice drug habit. The
once-stable Elena is now taking hallucinogenic witch herbs in order to see Damon. Elena refuses to grieve and without Bonnie or Caroline, (Candice Accola, “Juno”) who’s off on her hunt to find a spell to fix everything, Elena has no one to stop her from taking this one-way train to crazy town via witch drugs. In all honesty, “Diaries” ’s stories are boring. The writers seem to be killing off whomever will make it easiest for them to toy with Elena’s emotions without really taking into account the rest of the story or the viewers. While Damon is definitely the right choice if this is their tactic, it wouldn’t hurt for them to let someone in Mystic Falls be happy for longer than five minutes. With two of the main characters gone (but not really gone, since we see Bonnie and Damon at the end in some cottage), the plotline lacks creativity. Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen, “Everwood”) also refuses to mourn Bonnie; like Elena, he is having trouble accepting her death. Jeremy and Elena should have this grieving thing down to a science with all the losses they’ve faced, but when it comes to the loves of their lives neither one of them has figured it out yet. Stefan (Paul Wesley, “Fallen”) has run away, per usual, shacking
up with some unnamed female character. This lacks any level of interest, as it has become a routine that has been used again and again. Instead of being there to support the people around him, he goes off on some mission to get Damon back from the land of the dead. And each time, he gives up on the mission. The biggest change this season will be the return of Alaric (Matthew Davis, “Legally Blonde”), which was the high point of the entire premiere. Finally, an adult figure for these vampire teenagers to look to for advice has returned. Alaric was a fan favorite for many, and if anything, his return gave the season premiere hope for future episodes. “The Vampire Diaries” was the CW’s attempt to capitalize on the latest vampire craze. The first four seasons were compelling and exciting, holding viewer’s interest from week to week. But based on the first episode of the new season, the writers have not looked at the dwindling ratings and refocused their energies on bringing viewers back. It seems to be time that the writers should begin to wrap up the series and deliver a payoff to their longtime fans. In other words, a happy reunion between Damon and Elena. If not, it seems as if this could be the end of “The Vampire Diaries.”
COURTESY OF HANNIBAL BURESS
Buress is a cohost of ‘The Eric Andre Show,’ whose third season premieres in October.
Hannibal Buress talks social media, sitcoms ‘Broad City’ star to perform at Royal Oak on Saturday By AKSHAY SETH Managing Arts Editor
“I’m a little foggy from drinking last night,” Hannibal Buress said. “But just Hannibal know that I love and Buress: respect you, Comedy brother.” Unsure Camesado how to reply, I laughed. Tour But inside I Saturday, knew, and October 11 just so there’s no doubt Royal Oak Music in anyone’s Theatre mind, I’ll $29 write it out loud: I love you too, Hannibal. In a phone interview with The Michigan Daily, Buress — a burgeoning stand-up who’s gone from that all-too-common category of Just Another Rising Comic to becoming an unavoidable, brilliant mainstay in today’s comedy world — spoke at length about breaking into the limelight. He spent nearly a decade honing his craft on stage behind a mic, quickly drawing attention for an oftenendearing brand of storytelling that has seen him wearing a jumpsuit plastered with giant blow-ups of his own face to railing against the racial stereotypes overshadowed by a good glass of apple juice. Then after a stretch of time behind the scenes, in writers’ rooms for “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock,” Buress has had one of those years: regular appearances in Comedy Central’s acclaimed “Broad City,” a well-received hour-long special in the form of “Live From Chicago,” capped off by a memorable role in this summer’s hit Seth Rogen vehicle “Neighbors.” Now, the comedian is bringing a slew of newly written material along for the Comedy Camisado Tour, which stops by at the Royal Oak Music Theatre on Saturday. “This is my first ever big theater run as a headliner, you know? So I’m excited, man,” he said. “This’ll really be the first time I get to just hit the road and play for large, 800to-1000 seat audiences. My following’s as big as it’s ever
been right now so I’m looking forward to getting this material out there and seeing that reaction on the larger scale.” One of the things that’s distinguished Buress’s stage presence at live comedy shows over the past few years has been his tendency to gravitate toward an odd-yettranscendentally-energetic style. In many of the recent performances he’s put on, it isn’t uncommon to see ballet dancers or costumed characters interjecting at natural lulls in classical joketelling to keep audiences perked for the next punchline. “It’s fun to mix up the monotony of stand-up for the audiences, or even myself, and have a chance to mess with the pacing aspect of it all. I go to a lot of Cirque-du-Soleil performances in Vegas where I get to see all these different elements coming together — the music, the acting, the athletic aspect,” Buress elaborated. “But ultimately, it’s about what it means to put on a polished event.” Though that event won’t be coming directly to campus this year, Buress has performed in Ann Arbor in the past, most recently alongside Aziz Ansari at the Comedy Showcase. In a famous bit from his 2012 special “Animal Furnace,” he describes an awkward Facebook-messaging encounter he had with an Ann Arbor woman he wanted to hook up with while in town.
Don’t try to be a comedian. You’ll be miserable. “It’s funny because she tweeted at me the other day complaining about why I don’t post any real jokes on Twitter. She said something like ‘I’m ending our friendship ... now,’ ” he recounted. “Then I looked at her Facebook page and I guess she’s a wannabe model or something? And there are all these weird, just strange, pictures of her wearing a bra or a bikini top while holding a nine millimeter gun to a football.” “So I screencapped that pic, tweeted it to her and said
‘I think I’m OK with you not following me anymore,’ ” he laughed. “It’s always funny when people see proof that something I talk about in my stand-up actually happened, because they’re always like ‘holy shit you weren’t fucking around, dude.’ ” Buress explained how his writing process has changed a little over the years to incorporate material unfolding around him. He described his comedic style as more reactionary as opposed to pure exaggeration, a brand of jokes which try to capture some of the strangeness he sees everyday, as in the case with the Ann Arbor’s resident model/football assassin. Speaking of strange — “I respect the hell out of that segue, man. Nice.” Buress interjected — the conversation turned to “The Eric Andre Show,” which he’s co-hosted with Andre on Adult Swim since it first aired in 2012, the season 3 premiere debuting late in October. The 11-minute “talk show” features both hosts conducting nonsensical faux-interviews with celebrities (or celebrity impersonators), eventually cutting them together with hilarious surrealist skits that Andre writes, stars in and usually edits himself. “Eric shoots literally hours of material for every episode,” Buress said. “It’s crazy how much stuff he has. I can’t give away too many secrets, but it’s always a weird dynamic.” Like “Broad City,” a lot of the show’s acting requires a type of free-range improvisation which Buress feels is becoming extremely prevalent in a lot of the filmed comedy projects he has undertaken over the last couple years. Currently, he’s in the process of developing his own show — something he can’t yet discuss at length, but which he promises will mine from the same vein of humor showcased in his stand-up. When asked what advice he’d give aspiring college-age comedians, he paused for a few seconds. “Don’t try to be a comedian,” Buress said. “There’s no money in it. You’ll be miserable. All the parts are taken. We don’t need you.” He paused for another beat before laughing. “Invent a mobile app. Like the Uber version of hiring private jets,” he said. “That’ll do it.”
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8A — Friday, October 10, 2014
EVENT RECAP
TV REVIEW
The Chance ‘Experiment’ By WILL GREENBERG Daily News Editor
FX
‘I’m not sure where my vagina is’
A ‘Horror Story’ so good, you’ll freak By CATHERINE SULPIZIO Daily Arts Writer
Guys, “American Horror Story” is officially back and better than ever. For such a dark show, it has a real knack A for bringing glee to its fan American base — but horror lovers Horror Story everywhere Season 4 premiere should Wednesdays rejoice over at 10 p.m. “American Horror Story: FX Freak Show,” because it looks to be the scariest season yet. Let me take a step back for a second and put on my critic’s cap. Part of “American Horror Story” ’s flair for fear is that it refuses to really take itself seriously even as it ambitiously barrels through six or seven plot points per season. The dizzying maze of storylines tends to keep a viewer on edge even if they don’t all come to fruition, and where some horror maintains solemnity even as it verges on parody, “American Horror Story” swings from the chandeliers. It holds no subject sacrilegious — from school shootings to Nazis to slavery, “American Horror Story” shocks equally by its daring to really go there. Last season, “AHS” overstepped itself with a race-focused storyline that’s problem wasn’t irreverence but its premature disappearance by end of the season; Murphy has a tendency to blow full steam ahead with some storylines then mysteriously discard them for reasons unknown. The whirlpool strategy undeniably succeeds in keeping its fans coming though, as last year’s premiere peaked with 5.54 million viewers. However, there is a method to Murphy’s excessive madness. “American Horror Story” really knows how to scare: as much as content drives fear, the formal elements are integral in heightening it. On Wednesday’s premiere episode, the camera pounces from high fish-anglelens shots that make us feel like a fly on the wall to shaky P.O.V. shots of murder victims; it cowers in the corner as villains loom over us, the camera careens through forests and hallways with dizzying speed — and it switches between all of these shots too quickly, with music a hair too loud, lighting a shade too lurid (or blood red). In short, “American Horror Story”
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uses a lot of classic techniques to effectively induce horror. Narrative plot arcs can be sloppy or ridiculous sometimes, but the technical tightness of the show consistently grounds it. “Monsters Among Us,” the first episode of “American Horror Story: Freak Show,” is set in 1952 Jupiter, Florida in a struggling freak show. Florida jokes aside, I was doubtful this would be a scary premise. “A homicidal clown?” I laughed when I heard about the signature seasonal monster, alas, I believed myself immune to the scary clown trope. Forgive me, Ryan Murphy, but I was so wrong. Unlike other seasons’ villains, “AHS” wastes no time introducing the monster, who with the smart costuming and makeup is insanely disturbing. For all its meticulous crafting of fear, “AHS” knows there’s something uncanny about simply seeing a monster in plain day — remember the last minutes of the episode in “True Detective” where we see Reggie Ledoux stalking the plains with his gas mask and machete? It’s a fear that wallops you in your primordial core, seeing a creature so discordant with a familiar environment, yet threateningly at ease in it. We relegate our fear of monsters to their slow emergence from the shadows, but sometimes it’s the clown traipsing through a pastoral picnic scene that delivers the panic. The camera’s wide lens works well here, it highlights the surreal tension between clown and landscape.
Revels in Catholic Guilttripping even the most secular. Regardless, if “AHS” is so confidently delivering this powerhouse of a monster in the first episode, I’m going to assume they have some even scarier tricks up their sleeve. The rest of the episode introduces us to the ragtag world of “Freak Show.” Like the other seasons, our protagonists dance the line between heroes and villains. Do we root for them or run from them? Jessica Lange (“The Postman Always Rings Twice”) is back and more fabulous than ever as Elsa Mars, circus
ringleader, with a Marlene Dietrich wardrobe and a pinch of manipulation à la Blanche DuBois. With her GIF-able quips and Instagram-worthy hatwear, it makes sense Lange is the social media tour de force of “AHS.” Mars is just a new spin of the femme fatale Lange dazzles as every season, but that’s part of the fun. “AHS” has assembled a core cast that we, if not exactly love, have built loyal ties with — it’s a wink to the fans and way of maintaining continuity in an anthology format. The episode also introduces Sarah Paulson (“Martha Marcy May Marlene”) as Bette/Dot, a two-headed woman (or women, I’m not sure of the etiquette), which is yet another example of the technical rigor “AHS” is capable of. Lange usually pulls the spotlight from Paulson, who takes the more reserved characters, so I’m excited to see her take up a little more room (literally) this season. Bearded lady Ethel Darling (Kathy Bates, “Misery”) is wonderful and so is her son Jimmy (Evan Peters, “Kick Ass”) with lobster claw syndrome (ectrodactyly) — his condition pays the rent in the licentious way only Ryan Murphy can dream up. As a side note, “American Horror Story” positively revels in Catholic Guilt-tripping even the most secular of us, with its constant marriage of sex and fear. Besides moonlighting as a David Bowie cover singer, Mars runs a side film production company whose business model relies heavily on date-rape drugs and slut-shaming. Perhaps this will be one of the moral seeds Murphy loves to scatter through every season, though the obvious is the freak angle. If there’s one major critique, it’s the superimposed morality Murphy insists on less and less overtly through the seasons, the karmic comeuppance that restores order in the end. “Murder House” and “Asylum” handled it perhaps effectively, but “Coven” had some truly tasteless moments (though Anne Frank’s cameo in “Asylum” can’t be excluded) that weren’t justified by Murphy’s half-hearted attempts to reconcile racism. Regardless, “American Horror Story: Freakshow” is a riveting first episode. Even after three seasons, “AHS” still retains a talent for lassoing scare, social critique and camp into one dazzling show. - Jessica Lange hat count: 1 Dietrich-esque fedora 1 toque hat with decorative plume.
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Chance the Rapper is in the middle of what he calls “The Social Experiment,” a project of new songs that emphasize his band and choir that breaks away from the typical ideas of the rap genre. Here is the lab report from the Wednesday night iteration of the experiment. Hypothesis: Rap loving 20-somethings will enjoy a more musically-infused sound. Materials: Eastern Michigan University’s basketball stadium, large stage, intricate lighting and sound systems, security guards, Young & Sick, Sweater Beats, Travi$ Scott, Chance the Rapper, roughly 2,000 college students, a handful of uber-excited high school students, alcohol, marijuana, vaper pipes, giant glow sticks and DJs who “aren’t here to mess around.” Procedure: 1) Set up stage, lighting and sound systems inside of basketball stadium. 2) Administer alcohol, marijuana, tobacco products to the college students and record how they react with security guards. 3) Have a promoter throw glow sticks from the stage and ask college students, “Are you ready for Chance the Rapper?!” for 20 minutes of slightly drawn-out hype time. 4) Bring artists onto stage and observe. Results: The most notable observation of the evening was the stark contrast in stage presence, philosophy and overall mood between Travi$ and Chance. Travi$, an up-and-comer out of Chicago and recent addition to the Good Music label, brought plenty of energy to his set, warning the crowd early on that he likes to “rage, mob and sweat,” at his shows. Travi$ himself was fully committed, hopping from either end of the stage through
his best known songs like “Upper Echelon” and “Sin City,” his lyrics entirely screamed amongst gasps for oxygen. It was a little crazy, essentially mindless, but overall pretty fun. Still, he had some pretty high expectations for a Wednesday night. A majority of his songs were paused 30 seconds in so he could admonish the audience for not being loud enough, jumpy enough, “turnt” enough, etc. After about his fourth re-started song, it was clear the crowd would have settled for a solid three minutes of continuous music. Travi$ wrapped up his set awkwardly after abruptly ending “Don’t Play.” And then there was the other Chicago rapper. It really was remarkable how much more excited the crowd was to sing along to Chance’s melodic opening number, “Everybody’s Everything.” Chance and The Social Experiment band have found the mid-point between traditional musical proficiency and 2014 concert explosiveness and it’s hypnotizing to watch. The first 20 minutes consisted of the Acid Rap staples like “Pusha Man” and “NaNa” before moving into the new “Social Experiment” project works, currently being promoted via Sound Cloud but not from any official album. Chance took a moment to explain the meaning of the project and the audience’s role as guinea pigs for the group to try their new work. The results were truly spectacular. Short of the rebranded “Arthur” theme song, “Wonderful Everyday,” attendees knew sporadic pieces of the other songs like “Back Up in this Bitch.” It didn’t matter, the place was fully committed to everything Chance was spitting. Each new song featured a deadly combination of Chance’s already exceptionally
written rhymes, a veteranlevel performance from the band and noteworthy lighting arrangement. Chance made sure to highlight his trumpet player in particular, fellow Chicago native Nico Segal, who now runs under the stage name Donnie Trumpet. Segal is a show himself, demonstrating a soloing ability and wind instrument stamina beyond his years. As far as the social experiment goes, these millennials showed nothing but love for a band that is essentially a retooled and modernized jazz ensemble. Chance’s rapping was crisp, his dancing impressive and his even his singing was good. While not always perfectly pitched, Chance sings fearlessly, leaning into his falsetto and commanding his melodies. What made Chance’s time on stage so different than Travi$’ was that he didn’t demand the crowd get excited to see him, he asked them to have fun with him. The atmosphere was notably more inclusive than most rap shows you might see (think Kanye’s wheelchair debacle) and this was best highlighted during “That’s Love” when Chance literally stood at the edge of the stage, pointed from person to person saying, “I love you, I love you, I love you.” Were it anyone else in the world, it would have been a strange, awkward mess of a stunt but there was a unshakable sincerity in his words that had the crowd calling back, “we love you too.” Conclusion: It’s clear that the Wednesday night crowd found enjoyment from the show, in both the original mix tapes 10 Day and Acid Rap and the “Social Experiment.” What’s less clear is whether they even cared that they saw a rebranded version of Chance’s sound or if it was just Chance himself that they were there to see. Probably the latter.
EVENT PREVIEW
A Gershwin restored By REBECCA GODWIN Daily Arts Writer
If you’ve never heard of George Gershwin — and there aren’t many who haven’t — you’ve no doubt heard some of his songs, SMTD either in movies or on Gershwin stage. He was renowned for Performance his composing October 10, 8p.m. and piano Hill Auditorium playing abilities. His Free music crossed genres, from classical to folk to jazz and he wrote songs for various media, from Broadway to movies to operas. He was born in 1898 in Brooklyn, New York and started composing songs for money at the young age of 15. He went on to create hundreds of original songs, some on his own and some with his brother Ira, for the next two decades. In early 1937, Gershwin’s health began to deteriorate, but it wasn’t until July that doctors discovered he was suffering from a brain tumor. By that point it was too late and he passed away on July 11, 1937 at the age of 38. Even though he died young, Gershwin left a musical legacy that has yet to be forgotten by family, fans, or fellow musicians. Throughout his career, he played many different pianos, but there are only three known pianos in the United States that he personally owned. One is at the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in New York City, the second is at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. and the third is now at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, where it has just undergone a complete restoration over the last year and a half. The piano, a 1933 Model A Steinway, resided in Gershwin’s New York apartment up until the time of his death, and was then passed on to various family members, starting with his mother and eventually ending with his nephew Marc George Gershwin, the man responsible for donating
the piano to the university. “It arrived in April or June of last year,” said Mark Clague, an Associate Professor of Musicology and Director of Research in SMTD. “Before it got to us it had always resided in a Gershwin apartment in New York.” The piano was donated shortly after the Gershwin Initiative</a> was started in 2013. The Initiative is intended to be a partnership between the Gershwin Family and the University by allowing the University complete access to the Gershwin Archives. The archives in turn will then be used to create the George and Ira Gershwin Critical Edition, which is the research project at the core of the Initiative. “A Critical Edition is sort of a scholarly researched publication where you go back and basically find every little scrap of paper having anything to do with any aspect of musical work,” explained Clague. “It could be for a literary work or an opera or just a book of poetry, and then you process that using editorial judgment to come up with the most reliable text possible of the represented work.” The piano, which hadn’t been used, or used very infrequently, since Gershwin’s death, came to the University in need of some critical repairs if anyone wished to play it again. “We discovered that there was a crack in the soundboard that was irreparable because its particular location crossed one of the bass bridges of the instrument,” Clague explained. “So the soundboard had to be replaced because the soundboard is basically the natural resonator of a piano … and that particular piece of wood had a crack in it so it didn’t vibrate right.” Thanks in part to the Charles H. Gershenson Piano Fund, which provides the University with the resources it needs to repair its various Steinway pianos, the instrument was sent away to be fixed. It was sent to PianoCrafters, Inc., a company located in Plymouth, Mich., for meticulous restoration under the supervision of Assistant Professor Robert Grijalva,
who is a certified Steinway Concert and Artist Division technician and U-M Director of Piano Technology. Over the years, it had suffered some damage that needed to be addressed in order to return it to full working order. Because some of the damage was quite extensive, several of the original pieces needed to be replaced. The piano received a new soundboard, strings, keyboard, hammer and damper actions, but the exterior was left unchanged. While these parts did need to be replaced, the originals were by no means gotten rid of. “One thing we did preserve was the keyboard,” Clague said. “The keyboard has ivory keys, which would be illegal today, but it will be preserved as a historic document about the way the instrument was made and manufactured in the 1930s because this particular piano is quite rare.” Now that the instrument is finally finished, SMT&D will be having a special dedication ceremony to welcome it officially to it’s new home at the University. Members of staff as well as several students will perform a selection of Gershwin melodies, with the piano, of course, center stage. Members of the campus community as well as the Ann Arbor community are encouraged to attend the free concert, alongside members of Gershwin’s family. Clague, while excited to hear the piano after its lengthy repairs, is more excited by the historical significance of the event and what the piano represents in the world of music. “George developed his own unique voice and a lot of his music, with this combination of melody and this 20th century mechanical sound, was literally created in conjunction with the instrument,” Clague said. “It’s not like you touch it and George speaks to you, at least not in any literal way, but I think it’s a kind of symbol of the partnership between the University and George Gershwin, but I also think it’s something that will serve as a source of inspiration for our students.”
October 11, 2014: Penn State
Hello Darkness
Turn the lights on By ALEJANDRO ZÚÑIGA Managing Sports Editor
There’s something magical about the Big House under the lights. Anyone who has played there will tell you that much. As former wide receiver Braylon Edwards said when the Michigan football team pulled off a fourth-quarter comeback to stun Michigan State after triple overtime in 2004, “It was not meant for us to lose. … It’s divine intervention. It comes from above.”
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FootballSaturday, October 10, 2014
Officially, that wasn’t a night game — kickoff was at 3:30 p.m. Michigan Stadium didn’t even have permanent lights, instead using temporary solutions for fall games that threatened to end after dusk. On Oct. 30, 2004, that’s exactly what happened. The sun set, and the lights came on. Facing a 27-10 deficit in the fourth quarter, the Wolverines put a Garrett Rivas field goal on the board and recovered the ensuing onside kick. Then, quarterback Chad Henne found
Edwards in the end zone with 6:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, then again with 2:59 remaining in the fourth quarter and once more in the third overtime period. Minutes later, when Spartan quarterback Damon Dowdell threw incomplete on fourth down, the Wolverines poured onto the field to celebrate the victory in front of 111,609 fans. It marked the highest-scoring game in the rivalry in more than a century. The game was legendary. The
atmosphere, perhaps even more so. “I wish we had a night game here at Michigan Stadium,” safety Ernest Shazor said afterward. “I think the fans get into it a little bit more under the lights,” added tight end Tim Massaquoi. “I felt the crowd. The crowd got rowdy.” It was one of the greatest comebacks in the program’s illustrious history, and everything had to break perfectly for it to happen.
But funny things happen at the Big House after dark. Against Penn State in 2005 — another 3:30 p.m. start — former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr convinced the referees to put two seconds back on the clock as the Wolverines drove for the game-winning score. With only one tick left in the game, Henne found Mario Manningham on a post route for a 27-25 win. Somehow, the freshman receiver had blown by the Nittany Lions’ best cornerback to catch the final touchdown. Without those extra seconds, Henne to Manningham wouldn’t have happened, and the Nittany Lions might have played for a national championship instead of settling for a berth in the Orange Bowl. “That’s the best game I’ve ever seen or played in,” defensive end
Alan Branch said then. “It was an unreal feeling.” Five years later, Michigan finally took the necessary action to make night games a fixture at Michigan Stadium. On Sept. 16, 2010, the Board of Regents approved the Athletic Department’s request to install permanent lights at a cost of $1.8 million. A year later, the venue hosted Under the Lights against Notre Dame. And we all know how that turned out. No reasonable person expected the Wolverines to score 28 points in the fourth quarter after managing just seven through the first three. No reasonable person expected to see four Notre Dame turnovers in eight possessions, the last an unforced fumble by quarterback Tommy Rees on
first-and-goal. No reasonable person expected the Fighting Irish to forget how to defend a wheel route. Even when Michigan was at Notre Dame’s 16-yard line with eight seconds left, most thought the Wolverines would kick a game-tying field goal instead of asking Denard Robinson to throw to Roy Roundtree in single coverage. But the unpredictable happens when they turn the lights on. Even after the game, thousands of fans remained in the Big House bleachers, roaring when Robinson stepped out of the tunnel for a post-game interview. “I just want to remember all this,” Robinson said. “Look at all this. Look at all of them fans! They’re still here! The game is over.”
And then in 2013, a record crowd saw something unusual again: No. 98 in a winged helmet, leading an efficient offense to 41 points in another win over the Irish. They saw Gallon, all 5-foot-8 of him, spin through three defenders for a touchdown — one of his career-high three on the night. It has been more than a year since that game, the last night before things began to fall apart. This season, Michigan is 2-4 and can’t come within a touchdown of Power 5 teams at home, much less pull out dramatic wins. Doug Nussmeier hasn’t fixed the Wolverines’ offense, and the secondary has issues, too. But on Saturday, we get two blueblood programs and a 7 p.m. kickoff. And strange things happen under the lights.
FootballSaturday, October 10, 2014
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PSU defense could be too much for ‘M’ By GREG GARNO Managing Sports Editor
Michigan pass offense vs. Penn State pass defense The Wolverines have failed to throw for more than 200 yards as a team this season, and against the No. 21 pass defense in the country, it doesn’t look like they’re going to reach the mark this season. As usual, junior wide receiver Devin Funchess will be Michigan’s prime target, which should be easy for the Nittany Lions to prepare for. Sophomore tight end Jake Butt hasn’t caught enough of the targets thrown his way, and redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jehu Chesson is coming off an ankle injury against Rutgers. Gardner won’t just need one of the best performances of his season to make an impact in passing; he’s going to need one of the best games of his career. Edge: Penn State Michigan rush offense vs. Penn State rush defense Penn State’s defense is the strength of its team, and the rush defense has been at the heart of that. The Nittany Lions rank second in the nation in rush defense, having allowed 60.2 yards per game. Their front seven, which Brady Hoke calls “salty,” is led by linebacker Mike Hull — whose 53 total tackles are 30 more than the next closest on his team. Sophomore running back Derrick Green was declared out for the season with a broken clavicle sustained against Rutgers. Unless sophomore running back De’Veon Smith can step up in his absence, Michigan’s offense should be rendered moot Saturday. Edge: Penn State Penn State pass offense vs. Michigan pass defense Nittany Lions quarterback Christian Hackenberg isn’t expected to be the surgeon who picks apart Michigan’s secondary, but then again, neither was Nova. Hackenberg has a better corps of wide receivers to throw to, though, highlighted by 6-foot-1 standout Greg Lewis. The Wolverines’ starting cornerbacks — senior Raymon Taylor and sophomore Jourdan Lewis — are both 5-foot10 and haven’t shown they can play
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bigger than their height. In his second year as a starter, the sophomore sits second in the Big Ten in yards per game (295.4). But he’s completing just 57 percent of his passes, having thrown six interceptions. But he should look just fine against a secondary that allowed more than 400 yards through the air. Edge: Penn State Penn State rush offense vs. Michigan rush defense If there’s one thing Michigan continues to do well, it’s stopping the run. The Wolverines have allowed only one team — Minnesota — to rush for more than 100 yards in a game. The Nittany Lions sit 13th out of 14 teams in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game, with no true starter in the backfield. Running back Bill Belton tops his team with 189 yards this season. And the offensive line lacks the experience to pick up the slack. Players like Bolden and Ryan should excel at plugging holes in this matchup. Edge: Michigan Special Teams Michigan has put 10 men on the field on two separate occasions this season during punt or puntreturn coverage. It hasn’t returned a punt or kickoff for a touchdown. Nor has it blocked a field goal. And senior Matt Wile has made five of nine field goals this season. So regardless of kicker Sam Ficken’s 10-for-12 mark this season and one blocked punt, Penn State is better by default. Edge: Penn State Intangibles The team is under the lights and at home, and it has proven that anything can happen under those circumstances. If there were ever a chance for Michigan to have a breakout game, this would be it. While Penn State has struggled itself this season, including a loss to Northwestern two weeks ago, the Wolverines are going to need a coaching effort beyond what they’ve received this season to capitalize on a squad lacking depth. Edge: Michigan Prediction: Penn State 31, Michigan 21
FootballSaturday, October 10, 2014
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Fifth-year senior quarterback Devin Gardner scored two rushing touchdowns last week in Michigan’s road loss to Rutgers.
Chance to stop spiral By ALEXA DETTELBACH Daily Sports Editor
Michigan football has one last shot to turn its season around, one last shot to try and save a possible coaching change and one last shot to make a bowl game. The Wolverines host Penn State on Saturday in the program’s thirdever home night game. Under the Lights I and II were met with huge success, as Michigan beat Notre Dame both times in front of record-setting crowds. And with road games against Michigan State and Ohio State still looming on the schedule, Michigan needs to repeat those victories. But the stakes are different this time. Last year, the Wolverines were 5-0 going into their matchup with the Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. After leading for most of the game, Michigan lost in devastating fashion in four overtimes. Following the defeat, the Wolverines finished 2-5, including a blowout loss in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. The Penn State game was a turning point for the Wolverines, and this year’s squad needs it to be the same — just in its own favor. But it won’t be easy.
The Nittany Lions started off the season winning four straight, before losing 29-6 to Northwestern two weeks ago. Penn State hasn’t played at Michigan Stadium since 2009, so it will be a new trip for most of the players and first-year coach James Franklin. “We are excited about the opportunity,” Franklin said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. “This will be my first time going to Michigan. Looking forward to that and experiencing that.” Quarterback Christian Hackenberg leads the Nittany Lions amidst struggles on the offensive line. The sophomore has the makings for a future NFL quarterback with his size, arm strength and accuracy, but has had issues as of late behind suspect pass protection. After throwing four touchdown passes in Penn State’s first two games, the 2013 Big Ten Freshman of the Year has been held without a score since the fourth quarter against Akron on Sept. 6. But coming off a bye week, Hackenberg should be as explosive as ever. Michigan’s secondary and pass rush, which struggled mightily against Rutgers last week, will
need to make quick changes if it hopes to contain Hackenberg and his two favorite targets, Geno Lewis and DaeSean Hamilton. “As far as Hackenberg, he’s good,” said defensive coordinator Greg Mattison during his Monday press conference. “He’s got a great arm. He can make all the passes. He’s a football player. He’s a football player, and this will be a big challenge.” Like Michigan, where Penn State’s offensive line falls short, its defensive line excels. The Nittany Lions’ front seven is ranked second in the country in rush defense, but its defensive unit has allowed six rushing touchdowns by quarterbacks because of weak linebacker play. The Wolverines will need to utilize Devin Gardner’s mobility to get into the end zone and keep Penn State’s defensive line on its toes. “They’ve got a very salty front,” Hoke said Tuesday during the Big Ten’s weekly teleconference. “When they need to bring pressure, they’ve been able to do that and be successful.” So the offensive and defensive lines are on notice: Michigan needs this one, or the 2014 spiral will continue.