ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY ONE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
DAY& NIGHT 24 hours with Anderson survivors, protesters
Design by Madeline Hinkley, Photos by Michigan Daily Photo Staff
The Daily joined protesters from 10 a.m. Nov. 5 to 10 a.m. Nov. 6. Here is what we observed. Since Oct. 8, survivors of late University of Michigan athletic doctor Robert Anderson have been camping outside of University President Mark Schlissel’s house in protest against the University’s handling of the nearly 1,000 individuals who have come forward with sexual assault allegations against Anderson. Over the past few months, survivors have appeared in front of the Board of Regents, rallied students and community members at numerous protests on the Diag and testified at hearings in support of legislation protecting survivors. Schlissel has apologized to survivors indirectly at Regents’ meetings and in the press, but the survivors are asking Schlissel and the Board of Regents to hold a formal conversation with them about the University’s role in perpetuating Anderson’s abuse as well as the larger culture of sexual assault at the University. You can read all of The Michigan Daily’s coverage of Anderson, starting since Daily News, Photo and Video Staff
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: 00 a.m. By 7:00 p.m. on Nov. 5, Jonathan Vaughn, the Anderson survivor and former Michigan football player who has been leading the protest, will have been camping out in front of President Schlissel’s house for 28 days. On a normal day during the protest, Vaughn wakes up in his tent around 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. and heads to the Michigan Union, where he orders a coffee and breakfast sandwich from Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea. One of his favorite parts of the day is enjoying a morning cigar with his coffee. At 10:00 a.m., Ann Arbor is a brisk 37 degrees, and Vaughn is getting out a pack of hand warmers from his tent to stuff in his pockets. Putting the hand warmers in his pants pockets, Vaughn said, targets a main artery and keeps his toes warm during the day. Spending anywhere between 14 to 18 hours of the day outside in the elements, Vaughn said staying warm is crucial to his endurance. In terms of the camp, Vaughn said he has gotten used to sleeping outside but will have to prepare his tent better for the winter ahead. Currently, Vaughn said he relies on generators and heaters to keep him warm, but they do not last the entire night. What makes his days go by faster and what keeps his mind off the cold, Vaughn said, is being able to talk to
his fellow campers and those passing by who stop to check in and offer their support. : 00 a.m. Vaughn estimates that in his 28 days camped outside the president’s house, he has personally met around 4,000 people who have shared their stories and supported his cause. Out of the people who have come up to talk to him, Vaughn estimates he has heard around 200 to 300 individual stories of sexual assault or rape occurring on campus in the past several years. Vaughn said he finds it interesting that young women tend to feel more comfortable sharing their stories with him than with their families and school administration. “Some of the freshmen are two, three months in and they don’t feel safe, you know?” Vaughn said. “The newness has worn off and they don’t feel safe or they’ve already been a victim. I find that — the word’s not sad, more angered — at how did the resources go so wrong?” If anything comes from this protest, Vaughn said he hopes he can create a safer campus environment for the students and professors of the University. Later tonight, with the help of other student organizations on campus, Vaughn hopes to use the manpower to bring even more attention to the protest. He notes, toward the end of our conversation, that he will spend most of the day planning logistics for the expansion.
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news first broke in February 2020, at michigandaily.com/news/robertanderson. In a statement to The Daily, University spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald wrote that the University is currently in the process of confidential mediation and that they have been hearing from Anderson survivors since allegations surfaced: “President Mark Schlissel and members of the Board of Regents have repeatedly apologized to all of those who were subjected to abuse by the late Robert Anderson. “We cannot provide an update on the mediation that is ongoing because it is under court supervision and the judge has asked the parties not to share details of the process. “We’ve also heard directly from several Anderson survivors at meetings of the Board of Regents, through media reports and other direct messages. The
Schlissel himself, Vaughn says, has never walked across the sidewalk in front of his home where the protest is located, opting for an alternate route around the side. Vaughn notes that someone from the president’s house consistently checks for the protesters each morning. : 00 p.m. Vaughn and Jack Hanna, another survivor of Anderson’s sexual abuse, sit in chairs in front of the tents. It is cold, but the two are more focused on their shared goal than the weather. They pull six large boxes of t-shirts, which they will distribute that day and the next, out of a car. Hanna is an Ann Arbor resident and a former rower for the U-M rowing club. Though he was not a student at the time, Hanna received a physical examination from Anderson so he could compete in a regatta with the club. Both Hanna and his wife were victims of Anderson’s abuse. “It’s healing for me every time I come up here,” Hanna said of the protest site. Chuck Christian, an Anderson survivor and former Michigan football player who said he has been camping with Vaughn for 18 days after driving from Boston to Ann Arbor, returns to the site at 12:40 p.m. He and Vaughn speak with passersby, many of whom sign a large “Support the survivors” poster board or take a “Hail to the Victims” button. “I think they’re letting us know that they realize that this rape culture is a problem,” Christian said of the passersby. “And that they realize that things need to change.” : 00 p.m. At about 1:40 p.m., a man arrivesattheprotestandintroduces himself to Vaughn and Christian. The men hug after the newcomer, who preferred to stay anonymous, tells Vaughn and Christian that he was a victim of Anderson. He had flown in to support the protest after hearing about it on the news. : 00 p.m. The camp is humming along. Vaughn is playing some music from a bluetooth speaker, while Christian talks with passersby near
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Chuck Christian, a football player for Michigan for the 1977-80 seasons, has been camping alongside Jonathan Vaughn. They, and other Anderson survivors, demand action from the University.
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their large sign. A few people sign the poster, but most who walk by either have already signed, or they ignore the protest and mutter quietly. “I walk past every morning, so I do know that it’s about the sexual assault, sexual allegation situation,” Engineering sophomore Collin McManus said. “I can see obviously it’s peaceful, these guys always have great energy. They’re making a statement for sure.” Christian shares that he is an artist, producing paintings for many notable celebrities and athletes, including head football coach Jim Harbaugh. Everyone is very excited for the campout scheduled for later in the evening. The mood overall is very cheerful. Christian dances, noting how he is grateful that he is still able to despite his prostate cancer diagnosis. “I dance everywhere,” Christian said after hearing a catchy song. “See, ‘cause the thing is, I was supposed to be dead two and half years ago. So it’s like, I dance every chance I get.” : 00 p.m. Christian and Vaughn are sitting in the chairs outside of their tents with music playing from the speaker. The two talk to a few passersby, passing out pins to those who want them. At about 3:20 p.m, Vaughn leaves and does not return during this hour. Most of the conversation during this time is with Christian, who speaks with another survivor and us while gluing together more pins. When he was a student at the University, Christian said he painted the mural in the Bursley Residence Hall’s multicultural lounge. Two years ago, Christian returned to repaint the mural after renovations. Christian’s wife, then his girlfriend, originally recommended him for the project. He begins talking about his family life and his prostate cancer diagnosis. About 18 months ago, Christian was placed on hospice and given very little time to live. Christian has previously attributed his late-stage diagnosis to his unwillingness to go to a doctor after being abused by Anderson.
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president, regents and many others have been listening very carefully. “We will continue to meet in mediation with the attorneys the Anderson survivors have hired to represent them and we will continue to heed the judge’s direction not to discuss the process outside of the mediation sessions. “At the same time, the university continues to implement new policies, processes and procedures in order to make our campus safer for every member of the university community.” To document the day-to-day of protestors, the encouragement they receive from the University community and the challenges they face in making their voices heard, reporters, photographers and videographers from The Daily sat outside of Schlissel’s house from 10:00 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 5 to 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6. Here is what we observed, hour by hour.
Jonathan Vaughn and Chuck Christian have pitched tents on South University Ave. on the grass in front of President Schlissel’s house. Vaughn has been there since Oct. 8 requesting a direct meeting with Schlissel.
From his perspective, everything changed when Christian saw his wife praying for his illness to be cured. After that, Christian said he lifted himself up and used the bathroom on his own for the first time since being placed on hospice. He slowly worked his way through to be able to “light up” his son in basketball once again and now sleep outside for the protest. : 00 p.m. Christian and Vaughn are in their element as South University Avenue buzzes with students wrapping up class for the week. Just a couple hours after meeting, Christian and a survivor speak like old friends while they glue together pins and “Hail to the Victims” buttons to hand out. Vaughn takes an order for a dozen “Hail to the Victims” t-shirts that families of soccer players are going to wear to this Sunday’s game, six maize and six blue. Christian said he prefers the maize. “They stick out more,” he said. Kenneth Stockton, an Ann Arbor resident who is a survivor of sexual abuse from a Little League baseball coach when he was a boy, comes to visit the protest once or twice a day. He gives Christian a fist bump when he first arrives. “Christian, with all of his health issues, it’s amazing that he’s here,” Stockton said. “What Vaughn and Christian and the others are doing here is really crucial — it’s very courageous.”
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When Stockton and Christian pose for a photo, The Daily’s photographer remarks on the height difference between the two men. Stockton says he recently had a nightmare about being haunted by someone seven feet tall. “It’s because I’ve been spending so much time with you, Chuck!” Stockton remarks. : 00 p.m. In just two hours at the protest, more than 450 people walk, bike, jog or otherwise pass by Vaughn and Christian. Vaughn and Christian put up signs, make “Hail to the Victims” buttons, discuss their dinner plans and talk with people who stop by. Christian proudly shows us a video of a song his son had written for him following Christian’s prostate cancer diagnosis. A large number of passersby are students walking home from class or heading out to begin their Friday nights. LSA freshman Sam Lipsit stops to sign the petition and comments on the lack of education about Anderson’s horrible legacy at the University. “I think being a new student here and not knowing much about the Anderson situation shows a lot about the situation in of itself,” Lipsit said. “So I think it’s really important that especially younger students here like myself come and learn about this and support the protest.”
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