ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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ELECTION 2014
Governor candidates to meet for first debate LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Members of the Muslim Student Association pray during FestiFaith on the Diag Tuesday.
Students of faith gather for intercommunal celebration Festifaith coalition plans to hold panel in the future By CHARLOTTE JENKINS Daily Staff Reporter
Students from eight different religious organizations gathered on the Diag Tuesday for Festifaith: An Interfaith Celebration. Festifaith was the largest interfaith event hosted on
campus in recent years. The student leaders who coordinated the event said they also plan to host an interfaith panel about faith in the context of relationships, and potentially partner with the School of Social Work. The event featured students from each of the eight organizations, and opened with a speech by University President Mark Schlissel, who said he wanted to show support for the students and discussed how the United States was formed on the
basis of religious freedom. “It’s a wonderful thing that people are free to come to the center of the University and express their faith and share it with one another,” he said in an interview. The event featured posters where attendees could write answers to questions including “what could interfaith programming look like on campus,” and “how do people with diverse faiths on campus interact?” Students responded with
phrases including “collaborating and celebrating,” “connecting through passions” and “seeking common ground.” Kelly Dunlop, campus minister at St. Mary Student Parish, the primary Catholic Church serving campus, said she wanted the event to show how many people of faith there are at the University, and that this fact should be celebrated. Dunlop added that faith does not receive the same amount of attention as other identities on campus. See FESTIFAITH, Page 3A
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
By ALYSSA BRANDON Daily Staff Reporter
The Central Student Government met Tuesday night to discuss a resolution to stand with protesters in Ferguson, Missouri against alleged police brutality, passed a resolution to improve CSG oversight of student rights and responsibilities and passed a resolution to give more funding to the Student Organization Funding Commission. Resolution to stand with Ferguson Following the introduction of a resolution that would express CSG’s solidarity with the people of Ferguson last week, CSG continued discussion on the item but ultimately postponed a vote. The resolution would pledge CSG’s support for Ferguson residents and decry what many perceived as police brutality in response to protests in the wake of the death of local teenager Michael Brown. Brown, who was Black and unarmed at the time of the shooting, was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson police officer on Aug. 9. Ferguson residents and people around the nation have protested what they see as racist and violent practices of police officers in the wake of the incident.
WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 74 LO: 46
Tuesday night, members of The Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action attended the assembly and spoke about why the resolution needs to be passed. “When Black and Latino youths being murdered by police becomes a commonality, something accepted, something gone unchallenged, a call to action becomes necessary,” BAMN organizer Jose Alvarenga said. Alvarenga said he believes that the response from Ferguson residents following the death of Michael Brown is incredibly inspiring and is something that needs to be replicated everywhere, especially on college campuses. “Tonight the student government has the opportunity to stand behind Ferguson in their struggle and join the national movement against police brutality and ultimately make the lives of Black and Latino youths safer,” he said. However, the assembly postponed the vote on the resolution because the authors of the resolution were not present during the meeting, as is necessary. CSG members said they are hopeful that they will be able to be able to vote on the resolution during next week’s meeting. Student Rights and Responsibilities Last year, following The Michigan Daily report revealing former kicker Brendan Gibbons was permanently separated from See CSG, Page 3A
By SHOHAM GEVA Daily Staff Reporter
After some uncertainty, the candidates in this year’s gubernatorial election — incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and his Democratic challenger Mark Schauer — will meet at least once to debate before the Nov. 4 election. The debate, which will be held in a town hall format at 6 p.m. Oct. 12, was announced Monday evening. Hosted by the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit News and Detroit Public Television, it will be broadcasted live on Detroit Public TV. Questions will come from an audience of undecided voters pre-selected by polling companies employed by the two news-
MORE COWBELL
CSG increases student org. funding budget Leaders postpone vote on stand with Ferguson resolution
Snyder, Schauer to meet for town hall forum in Detroit on Oct. 12
papers and from co-moderators Stephen Henderson, Detroit Free Press editorial page editor, and Nolan Finley, Detroit News editorial page editor. The event will be hosted by Christy McDonald, Detroit Public TV anchor. In a statement Monday evening, Dianne Byrum, debate negotiator for the Schauer campaign, said the campaign was excited for voters to have the opportunity to see Schauer and Snyder side-by-side. “Mark will share his vision of a building an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top, and the governor should be prepared to defend his record over the past four years,” Byrum said. It was previously unclear whether there would be any debates at all in the gubernatorial election. A proposed first debate between the two to be hosted by WOOD-TV was canceled earlier this month after only Schauer, whose campaign has called for a series of live, televised debates, See DEBATE, Page 3A
GOVERNMENT
Kennedy’s assassination examined in guest lecture Last member of the Warren Commission defends group’s definitive 1964 report By EMMA KERR
» SEE THE STATEMENT RUBY WALLAU/Daily
While student season ticket holders fell by 40 percent this year compared to last year, fans still showed their game day spirit on Saturday’s game against Utah.
CAMPUS LIFE
President of Women’s Law Center calls for equal pay Speaker emphasizes value of women’s economic agenda By STEPHANIE DILWORTH Daily Staff Reporter
Droves of women — and a few men — went to the Rackham Graduate School Amphitheater Tuesday to hear why the nation needs a women’s economic agenda. Nancy Duff Campbell, copresident of the National Women’s Law Center, spoke to these students, faculty and visitors as part of the Visiting Social Activist program sponsored by the University’s Center for Educa-
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tion of Women. The presentation was followed by a Q&A and a reception at Rackham. Throughout her lecture, Campbell focused on the ways that gender stereotypes, unreasonable and unpredictable hours in low wage jobs and inadequate government and employer response support for pregnant workers negatively affect women’s ability to succeed in the workplace. Campbell drew much of her lecture on research and statistics gathered by both the National Women’s Law Center and government agencies such as the Census Bureau. “Giving women the chance to have their voices heard in American workplaces is key to
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their economic security and the economic security of American families,” Campbell said. “And ensuring this economic security is why we need a women’s economic agenda.” Campbell also emphasized the correlation between poverty and gender. According to her research, 59 percent of poor children live in families headed by women. She also said more than three-quarters of workers in the 10 largest low-wage occupations are women and over one-third are women of color. Some employees refuse to provide accommodation for pregnancy-related needs such as requesting a chair when working as a cashier but are willing to See WOMEN, Page 3A
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Daily Staff Reporter
University alum Howard Willens is the only living supervisor of the commission that investigated United States President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. In his book History Will Prove Us Right, he asserts that there is no evidence supporting any conspiracy theories that call into question the presidentially-mandated commission’s findings. Willens addressed theories Tuesday night ranging from the missing bullet to the many photos not released to the public from that day in a talk at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Despite nationwide criticism of the Warren Commission —named after Chief Justice Earl Warren — Willens defended that the original commission’s investigation through a perspective he can offer from his own first-hand experiences. “It was an extraordinary assignment, and I worked with an incredible group of people, but in my experience, eventually you sort of move on,” Willens said. Launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson on Nov. 29, 1963, the Warren Commission’s report was released in 1964, and included the testimonies of over 552 witnesses, See KENNEDY, Page 3A
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Arts
2A — Wednesday, September 24, 2014
MONDAY: This Week in History
TUESDAY: Professor Profiles
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers
THURSDAY: Alumni Profiles
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FRIDAY: Photos of the Week
MO’ MONEY
FA R M F R E S H
UCLA alumnus makes near-historic donation Los Angeles attorney Harry Sigman funds undergraduate Israeli studies
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Tom Zilke of Zilke Farms sells produce at the Law School’s Fall Health and Wellness Fair at South Hall Tuesday.
The University of California, Los Angeles will receive a $900,000 donation from Harry Sigman, an alum and Los Angeles attorney, for its Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, The Daily Bruin reported Friday. Sigman donated the money for undergraduate scholarships to study in Israel, a graduate fellowship as well as lecture series and panels on Israel that are open to students and the public all under his name. This donation was the second-largest the Nazarian Center has received.
Duke University endowment sets new record At the end of the 2013 fiscal year, Duke University’s endowment totals reached $7 billion dollars, which set a new record for the university, The Chronicle reported Monday. The growth was a result of a 20.1 percent return from investments and was a $1 billion dollar increase from the 2012 fiscal year. The previous endowment’s peak was valued at $6.1 billion in 2008 before the economic downturn.
University of Maryland donors open new resource room Donors John and Stella Graves officially opened the John and Stella Graves MakerSpace resource room at the University of Maryland, The Diamondback reported Tuesday. This MakerSpace resource room allows students to support and use new technologies, including 3-D printers, Google Glass and a vinyl cutter. Students, faculty and staff can use this room by making an online appointment. —JACK TURMAN
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
Dinner and trivia night
Foreign Service Improv comedy Thief lecture WHAT: Investigative career event auditions journalist Michael Blanding
WHAT: Food and competition come together at Pizza House tonight at the Michigan Aviators’ first social event of the year. WHO: Michigan Aviators WHEN: Today at 8 p.m. WHERE: Pizza House, 618 Church Street
WHAT: Students who want to work for the U.S. Department of State can hear from a diplomat in residence. WHO: International Institute WHEN: Today from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: School of Social Work, Room 1644
WHAT: Images of Identities are hosting auditions. They advocate not just humor, but being able to think on your feet. WHO: Images of Identities WHEN: Today at 9 p.m. WHERE: Angell Hall Auditoriums
Career Expo workshop
Saturn moon lecture
Linguistics of music lecture
WHAT: Students can prepare for the upcoming job search and fall recruiting during open advising and a question and answer session. Experts will be on hand to field questions. WHO: The Career Center WHEN: Today at noon WHERE: The Career Center, Student Activities Building
WHAT: Johns Hopkins University professor Ralph Lorenz will lecture on new discoveries on Saturn’s largest, most ecologicallydiverse moon, Titan. WHO: Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Resarch WHEN: Today from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. WHERE: Michigan League, Hussey Room
WHAT: This lecture is part of the Confucius Institute’s Chinese Arts and Culture Festival and will focus on analyzing Chinese cultural and aesthetic concepts in traditional music. WHO: Confucius Institute WHEN: Today from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: Michigan League, Koessier Room
will lecture on a map thief who stole $3 million worth of antique maps. WHO: William L. Clements Library WHEN: Today from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. WHERE: Hatcher Graduate Library
Chinese film screening WHAT: “Finding Mr. Right” (2013) is a romantic comedy set in Seattle and Beijing. WHO: Confucious Institute WHEN: Today at 7 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Theatre CORRECTIONS l Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com.
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
1
On Tuesday, the CDC said that the West African Ebola outbreak could total 1.4 million cases by January if there is not proper intervention, ABC News reported. The outbreak started six months and there have been 5, 357 reported cases.
2
The number of this year’s student season ticket holders have declined by 40 percent from last year. What does this mean for Big House culture and tradition? >> FOR MORE, SEE STATEMENT, PAGE 1B
3
Cuddlr is a new app that allows people to cuddle with strangers, the Huffington Post reported on Tuesday. Cuddlr is similar to Tinder, except with the dating aspect involved. Cuddlr includes photos, names and upvotes and downvotes.
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Life sentence for Chinese scholar globally condemned Professor is ethnic minority in increasingly intolerant China BEIJING (AP) — A life sentence given to a moderate Chinese scholar on Tuesday shows the ruling Communist Party is cutting off dialogue on ethnic tensions and could backfire by radicalizing minorities, scholars and analysts said. A court found economics professor Ilham Tohti, an ethnic Uighur Muslim, guilty of separatism and sentenced him to life in prison. It was the most severe penalty in a decade for illegal political speech in China and eclipsed the 11-year jail sentence given Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo on subversion charges. “Ilham Tohti’s situation gives
scholars like me who ... work on the issue great concern about our safety and academic freedom,” a scholar said after Tuesday’s sentencing, requesting anonymity because of fear of punishment from authorities. Ilham Tohti is seen as a moderate voice with ties to both ethnic Uighurs and the Han Chinese majority. A Communist Party member and professor at Beijing’s Minzu University, he ran the website Uighur Online that highlighted issues affecting the ethnic group. The sentence of life imprisonment “is a very disturbing message, as the door to dialogue is closed because this scholar promoted dialogue between the Uighurs and the Chinese intellectuals,” said Willy Lam, a political analyst at the City University of Hong Kong. “Beijing’s message is that they do not look to dialogue with the Uighurs but suppression.”
China says it faces grave terror threats, particularly in Xinjiang, the ancestral home of Uighurs. Riots in 2009 in the regional capital of Urumqi killed nearly 200 people, according to the government, and violence over the past year and a half has left more than 300 people dead, nearly half shot by police in a strike-hard campaign by the government to fight what it calls terrorist cells. Beijing has blamed the unrest on foreign-influenced terrorists seeking a separate state. But many Muslim Uighurs bristle under Beijing’s heavy-handed restrictions on their religious life and resent the influx of the Han majority into their homeland. For years, Ilham Tohti has been speaking openly about the problems in his home region. “At present in Xinjiang, the exclusion of and discrimination against Uighurs is quite systematic, with the government leading the way,” he said in an interview with Voice of America last year, following a deadly attack involving Uighurs in the heart of Beijing. Prosecutors said Ilham Tohti was the ringleader of “a criminal gang seeking to split the country” and “caused severe harm to national security and social stability.” His lawyers said the scholar’s remarks — on the Internet, in his classrooms or with foreign media — did not advocate separatism and instead sought to resolve the region’s ethnic tensions. James Leibold, a scholar of ethnic policies at La Trobe University of Melbourne, said Ilham Tohti “made a positive, moderate, and courageous contribution to the ongoing discussion on China’s ethnic policy” and his life sentence is a “real tragedy.” “The sentencing will clearly have a chilling effect on other minority scholars, especially those within the Uighur and Tibetan communities, whose voices and opinions are clearly crucial to fixing some of the problems with China’s ethnic policies and creating an environment
RICHARD DREW/AP
United States President Barack Obama addresses the Climate Summit, at United Nations headquarters Tuesday.
Obama urges world to follow U.S. lead on climate strategy United States, other Western powers pledge to halt deforestation by 2030 UNITED NATIONS (AP) — In the first international test for his climate-change strategy, President Barack Obama pressed world leaders Tuesday to follow the United States’ lead on the issue, even as a United Nations summit revealed the many obstacles that still stand in the way of wider agreements to reduce heat-trapping pollution. “The United States has made ambitious investments in clean energy and ambitious reductions in our carbon emissions,” Obama said. “Today I call on all countries to join us, not next year or the year after that, but right now. Because no nation can meet this global threat alone.” But none of the pledges made at Tuesday’s one-day meeting was binding. The largest-ever gathering of world leaders to discuss climate was designed to lay the groundwork for a new global climate-change treaty. It also revealed the sharp differences that divide countries on matters such as deforestation, carbon pollution and methane
leaks from oil and gas production: — Brazil, home to the Amazon rainforest, said it would not sign a pledge to halt deforestation by 2030. — The United States decided not to join 73 countries in supporting a price on carbon, which Congress has indicated it would reject. — And minutes after Obama said “nobody gets a pass,” Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli insisted the world treat developing nations, including China, differently than developed nations, allowing them to release more heat-trapping pollution. China, the No. 1 carbon-polluting nation, signed on in support of pricing carbon and vowed to stop the rise of carbon-dioxide emissions as soon as possible. “Today we must set the world on a new course,” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who added that pricing carbon was critical. “Climate change is the defining issue of our age. It is defining our present. Our response will define our future.” In some ways, the summit, which was part of the annual U.N. General Assembly, answered that call. The European Union said its member nations next month
were set to approve a plan that would cut greenhouse gases back to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. The EU also called for using renewable energy for 27 percent of the bloc’s power needs and increasing energy efficiency by 30 percent. The United States will not release its new emissions targets until early next year. “There were not that many surprises,” said Connie Hedegaard, the top climate official for the European Commission, referring to Obama’s speech. Hedegaard said the first-ever limits on carbon from power plants, proposed by Obama back in June, were “a good signal to send, but after today we will still have to wait until first quarter of 2015 to see how ambitious the United States will be.” By 2020, China will reduce its emissions per gross domestic product by 45 percent from 2005 levels, Zhang said. But because economic growth in China has more than tripled since 2005, that means Chinese carbon pollution can continue to soar. Still, outside environmentalists hailed the country’s promises because they went beyond any of China’s previous statements.
News
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DEBATE From Page 1A replied to the invitation. Schauer and Snyder have also been unable to find a common time to appear at the Detroit Economic Club, a popular forum for gubernatorial candidates. Both accepted invitations to speak at the club at the same day, but at different times. “The ball is in Congressman Schauer’s court,” wrote Emily Benavides, Snyder campaign communications director, in a statement earlier this month in regards to the DEC event. “We look forward to discussing the issues facing Michiganders and are proud of our record.” Along with the newly
CSG From Page 1A the University after violating the Student Sexual Misconduct Policy, CSG created a task force responsible for investigating and implement policies regarding sexual misconduct. The assembly discussed a resolution Tuesday to propose amendments to some of the language written within the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Passing the resolution would call for the Code of Conduct Advisory Board to receive monthly confidential reports from the Office of Student Conflict Resolution. In addition, the chair of the Code of Conduct Advisory Board will be trained on how to handle issues regarding sexual misconduct by OSCR.
announced debate, the Snyder campaign announced last week a series of town halls to be held with the governor and undecided voters all around Michigan, starting next week in Kalamazoo. In a press release, Snyder said the town halls were a way to communicate with voters about Michigan’s progress over the past four years and listen to their needs, according to CBS Detroit. In campaign ads and separate public appearances thus far, the main point of contention between the two campaigns has been that progress and whether the state and its economy is on the “road to recovery,” as Snyder has repeatedly said it is. Schauer has criticized Snyder over aspects of his record includ-
ing cuts to education funding, reductions to tax exemptions on retirement income and changes to property tax credits, all of which he has said aren’t productive towards building the economy. Snyder has touted a streak of balanced state budgets during his tenure, a lowered unemployment rate and varied efforts towards job creation as proof of positive impact. These are all issues that have figured prominently into the campaigns thus far and could come up in the town hall debate. The Schauer campaign has also accepted several more invitations to debate from groups including WXYZ, CBS Detroit and Michigan Public Television. Thus far, October’s debate is the only one scheduled.
CSG President Bobby Dishell, a Public Policy senior, explained the benefits of passing the resolution to the assembly. “Passing this resolution will solidify the policies more for the public and demonstrate that the student body supports measures against sexual misconduct,” he said. CSG leadership plans to prepare a press release to inform the student body of the Task Force’s recommendation to improve sexual misconduct procedures.
Student Organization Funding Commission. “SOFC is responsible for distributing funds to various groups and organizations on campus as they need like for events and other things throughout the school year,” said CSG Treasurer Alex Abdun-nabi, an LSA senior. “All in all, passing the resolution would ensure that student organizations have the funds they need to be successful,” In the end, after the first unanimous decision of the year, the resolution was passed. “We believe that funding SOFC allows the vibrancy of student orgs to remain and grow and flourish on campus,” Abdun-nabi said. “By committing significant levels of funding to SOFC, we are able to increase the quality of every Michigan’s students experience on campus.”
More funding for the Student Organization Funding Commission CSG leaders passed a resolution to amend budget distributions for this semester. The amended budget distributions would call for allocating 50 percent of the annual budget to the
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
University President Mark Schlissel addresses students at Festifaith on the Diag Tuesday.
FESTIFAITH From Page 1A “Our feeling was that while social identity is a conversation that is very active on campus around gender and sexual orientation and race and ethnicity, faith matters and religious identity were not open to conversation,” she said. LSA junior Meagan Shokar, public relations chair of the Sikh Students Association, said she thinks that interfaith collaboration is necessary on college campuses around the country. LSA sophomore Talha Ghazi,
KENNEDY From Page 1A
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Nancy Duff Campbell, founder and co-president of the National Women’s Law Center speaks on women’s representation in the workforce at the Rackham Ampitheater Tuesday.
WOMEN From Page 1A accommodate other work related needs such as a temporary injury from playing soccer the previous weekend, Campbell said. She added only 12 percent of workers have access to paid family leave from their employer and more than 40 million workers don’t have paid sick days, which she attributes to women’s decreased involvement in the workforce. The Family Medical Leave Act also doesn’t cover workers in companies with under 50 employees, meaning 50 percent of all workers go without these benefits, she said. Campbell said more than one in five mothers would get a raise if the federal minimum wage went up to $10.10. Though raising the minimum wage would affect many low wage workers, she said it would affect over 15 million women specifically who are supporting their families on lowwage jobs. Campbell concluded the lecture by explaining ways to improve women’s economic agenda. She
advocated specifically for the Paycheck Fairness Act, which is designed to close loopholes in the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and will help prevent further pay discrimination between men and women. She also discussed the Strong Start for America’s Children Act, which will fund education programs for children from birthto-age-five as well as the Fair Minimum Wage Act. She said she believes will not only provide low wage with a more reasonable pay but will help closer the gender pay gap and end up putting more money back into the economy. Campbell also emphasized the importance of collective bargaining and union membership. “Women in unions not only earn more, they are paid more equally. Among union members the wage gap between women and men is half the size of the gap between women and men who are not union members,” Campbell said. “Collective bargaining also empowers women and men to have a voice in the work hours, their scheduling practices, time off so they can better attend to both their work and family responsibilities.” Several students in various
women’s studies classes at the University were in attendance, and expressed interest at the real-world application of concepts they’d discussed in class. The event was co-sponsored by the Center for the Education of Women, the Ford School of Public Policy, the Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning, the LSA Women’s Studies Department, the Michigan Journal of Gender and Law, Rackham Office of Graduate Student Success and the Social Work Learning Community on Poverty and Inequality. “I was surprised that it’s so frequently considered a women’s issue but a lot of stuff she talked about was about was low wage jobs and poverty issues,” said Leia Squillace, a Music, Theatre & Dance junior. “As excited as I am about the thought of pay equality among genders, I think the more underlying issue that really needs to focused on is the wage inequality overall, not solely between genders.” Campbell will be on campus for one more week to complete her month working on her paper and time as part of the Visiting Social Activist program.
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Wednesday, September 24, 2014— 3A
including Jacqueline Kennedy. Despite four further investigations into the commission’s findings, none resulted in any new evidence or were able to dispute its conclusions. “They had about 150 questions for Jacqueline Kennedy, but I took the liberty of cutting that down to around 40,” he said. “A different set of investigators at a different time might have pressed her more fully.” The 888-page report also said Lee Harvey Oswald acted independently in the assassination. In his talk, Willens also addressed the question of a possible second shooter. Polls following the commission’s findings said the majority of the public still held the belief that Oswald did not act
interfaith coordinator for the Muslim Student Association, said that the experience of working on Festifaith was an interfaith experience in itself. “Forget tension, it really bonded us together,” he said. School of Information graduate student Sidharth, who said he could not provide his last name for religious purposes, said his goal for the event was to remind students about the positive aspects of faith. “Faith is something that is put off, but it is still deep in the hearts of students,” Sidharth said. “We want people to bring the faith back into their lives, so they can be more peaceful and happy.”
alone, but Willens continued to dispute this. “The fact is, when you look at the slides … in fact it shows the president’s head did move forward two inches as the bullet went through his head,” Willens said. The report came despite a considerable amount of difficulty. The FBI and CIA did not reveal to the commission that they were monitoring Oswald months before the assassination. Willens also defended the single-bullet theory. The Warren Commission report found that one bullet struck Kennedy and then Texas Governor John Connally. “He heard a shot, then he turned around, then he was hit. The only real question is, well if the first shot missed and there was no bullet, what happened to the bullet when it came out? I think the majority of the commission knew that the facts supported the single bullet theory,” he said.
Student speakers echoed this sentiment. Nursing senior Jill Grabowski, a member of the Catholic Student Association, spoke about how the church made her feel peaceful and at home. “Give faith a shot if you’re struggling on campus,” Grabowki said, “Choose joy.” LSA junior Lukonde Mulenga, outreach, campus and service coordinator for the Wesley Foundation, a United Methodist organization, said she felt lost on campus as a freshman from outof-state before joining Wesley. “Wesley is a backbone to who I am right now,” Mulenga said. “Without them I don’t think I would be the strong person I am today.”
According to Willens, only one pathologist still disputes the single bullet theory, though Kennedy’s wound was consistent with one bullet. The commission was required to make a determination, and though there was initially dispute, everyone on the commission agreed to release a finding of there having been one shooter and one bullet, as directed by Warren. “I can see why the chief justice valued unanimity,” he said. “What would the public have thought if there was division?” Following his talk at the Gerald Ford Presidential Library, Willens held a question and answer session. This was one of many talks Willens has given over the past year discussing his book and his personal experiences during the assassination and subsequent investigations.
Denver students protest controversial proposal School board aims to focus education topics on following authority ARVADA, Colo. (AP) — Hundreds of students walked out of classrooms around suburban Denver on Tuesday in protest over a conservative-led school board proposal to focus history education on topics that promote citizenship, patriotism and respect for authority, in a show of civil disobedience that the new standards would aim to downplay. The youth protest involving six high schools in the state’s second-largest school district follows a sick-out from teachers that shut down two high schools in the politically and economically diverse area that has become a key political battleground. Student participants said their demonstration was organized by word of mouth and social media. Many waved American flags and carried signs, including messages that read “There is nothing more patriotic than protest.” “I don’t think my education should be censored. We should be able to know what happened in our past,” said Tori Leu, a 17-year-old student who protested at Ralston Valley High School in Arvada.
The school board proposal that triggered the walkouts in Jefferson County calls for instructional materials that present positive aspects of the nation and its heritage. It would establish a committee to regularly review texts and course plans, starting with Advanced Placement history, to make sure materials “promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free-market system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights” and don’t “encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law.” The proposal from Julie Williams, part of the board’s conservative majority, has not been voted on and was put on hold last week. She didn’t return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment Tuesday, but previously told Chalkbeat Colorado, a school news website, that she recognizes there are negative events that are part of U.S. history that need to be taught. “There are things we may not be proud of as Americans,” she said. “But we shouldn’t be encouraging our kids to think that America is a bad place.” A student demonstrator, Tyrone G. Parks, a senior at Arvada High School, said Tuesday that the nation’s foundation was built on civil protests, “and everything that we’ve done is what allowed us
to be at this point today. And if you take that from us, you take away everything that America was built off of.” The proposal comes from an elected board with three conservative members who took office in November. The other two board members were elected in 2011 and oppose the new plan, which was drafted in response to a national framework for teaching history that supporters say encourages discussion and critical thinking. Detractors, however, say it puts an outsize emphasis on the nation’s problems. Tension over high school education has cropped up recently in Texas, where conservative school board officials are facing criticism over new textbooks. Meanwhile, in South Carolina, conservatives have called on an education oversight committee to ask the College Board, which oversees Advanced Placement courses, to rewrite their framework to make sure there is no ideological bias. The College Board says the outline provides a balanced view of American history, and officials plan clarify instructions to teachers to make that clear by the end of the month. Participating students were not punished, school district spokeswoman Lynn Setzer said. They will receive unexcused absences unless their parents call to relay permission for missed classes, Setzer said.
Opinion
Page 4A — Wednesday, September 24, 2014
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FROM THE DAILY
A crisis of ignorance
Sexual assault on campus can be reduced through education
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exual assault on college campuses is enabled by a multitude of influences, but cultural perceptions of women and sex undoubtedly have a significant effect. While ill-intent may play an undeniable role in many sexual assaults, ignorance and societal factors are equally at work, if not more influential. Educating university students and faculty about sexual assault may not directly help survivors, but creating a foundation of knowledge and compassion could potentially prevent these awful crimes from happening in the first place. According to the controversial first report published April 2014 by Not Alone, a White House Task Force created by President Barack Obama in an attempt to address sexual assault on college campuses, approximately one in five women ranging from freshmen to seniors indicated that they had been sexually assaulted at some time during their college experience. Despite typical critiques of data sampling, each one of these responses indicate an individual scarred by the traumatic experience of sexual assault who felt the need to share this information for a greater good. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has their hands full investigating 78 universities charged with mishandling sexual assault cases on their campuses, including the University of Michigan. In a study conducted by the Air Force Academy in 2003, female students who came forward to talk about their experiences described the problem of sexual assault as “widespread and the product of a culture hostile toward women.” Advocates for Human Rights and The First World Report on Violence and Health indicate that sexual assault seems to correlate with social conditions — societies that honor male physical aggressiveness, entitlement and dominance generally have higher numbers of sexual assault. Further exploration of sexual roles of the “male aggressor” and the “demure female” finds that “No” is seen as a kind of obstacle that the male must overcome because he is “not convinced she means it.” This kind of aggression is unfortunately well known on the college party scene. In this regard, the University’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center notes on their website, “Alcohol use may raise certain expectations about gender under the influence of alcohol. Men/masculine individuals may feel as though they are expected to be sexually/ physically aggressive, and may also ascribe to discourse about the sexual availability of women/feminine individuals who drink.” Faced with the facts that nearly one in five women will be sexually assaulted during college, that 78 universities are under federal investigation for mishandling of sexual assault cases, and our culture is primed with male sexual entitlement and the objectification of women, it’s not a question of should the University do something to stop this alarming trend; it’s what are the fastest and most effective means of preventing sexual assault on our campus? If society does deserve some blame for these sexual abuses, then part of the problem must lie in how students think of and understand it. A 2010 study by The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction at the University of Indiana found 10.9 percent of survey respondents don’t consider it “having sex” if there’s no ejaculation, 29 and 27.1 percent don’t consider performing or receiving oral sex to be sex, respectively, and 55.1 percent don’t consider touching or manually stimulating a partner’s genitals to be sex either, indicating that many sex-related crimes may be attributed to ignorance. These blurred or misguided definitions of what constitutes a sex act may lead to sexual assault if the offender doesn’t consider certain acts to be “real” sex. The legal definition of sexual assault generally refers to any unwanted sexual activity. The 2010 study’s findings point toward a societal failure to adequately educate people about sex and therefore sexual assault. Current sex education briefly explains what sex is and
the different ways to have sex while thoroughly covering sexually transmitted diseases. Sexual abuse, however, is often not covered or simply skimmed over, making it appear less important. A more productive route would be to educate students from a young age, eventually developing a working knowledge of sex and its potential for abuse as students come of age. Confronting this issue head-on would force students to consider the seriousness of sexual assault as much as, if not more than, the other risks of sex. However, changes made for younger generations still leaves the current student body without any immediate confrontation with issues surrounding sex and sexual assault. To compensate for this, the University should lead the way by addressing problematic cultural norms and educating students about sexual rights. It’s unreasonable and unrealistic to place all responsibility for student safety on the University, but the school clearly cares about the well-being of its students and can do more to protect them. This begins with educating and engaging the student body in a continuous discussion about sex and consent. It’s important to combat complex problems like sexual assault at the source in order to cut down on its recurrence — preventing a tragedy is always better than having to deliver post-trauma care. Currently, the University offers Haven — an online course for incoming students to complete the summer before freshman year — and Relationship Remix, a 90-minute program covering approaches toward healthy relationships at the beginning of freshman year. Both of these programs are described as required, but are not seriously enforced. The logical aim for the University should be to implement a mini-course that is required for all incoming students. This course may model the current Race and Ethnicity Requirement in its mandatory and academic nature, or just a more in-depth orientation type course similar to AlcoholEdu that includes a regular discussion component. This requirement should apply to all students and take place during freshman year to address the issue as a preventative measure, instead of retroactively. The class, more far-reaching than current protocol, allows for time to discuss the factors contributing to sexual assault, as well as the definition of consent, the effects of misogyny in our daily lives, how to step in as a bystander and methods of practicing safe sex. Engaging student conversation is key, as merely presenting a slew of facts and numbers through a computer screen can hardly be expected to elicit any real empathy from students. Of course, the implementation and extension of a complete course takes time and isn’t immediately feasible. Possible intermediary solutions include comprehensive online courses or nonacademic weekly courses taught in the dorms in a comfortable setting. The University should explore its potential to truly engage students and illustrate the significance of consent. Michigan has the capacity to play a key role in the protection of — and awareness among — its students and faculty. Gender roles and sex are shaped by societal norms, and the effect this has on student perception of sex and women cannot be understated. Combating sexual crimes means addressing ignorance, and the University has an opportunity now to lead the way in sexual education and prevent rape and assault on campus.
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.
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Focusing on today
hen I told Dan Wang, the editorial page editor of The Michigan Daily that I wouldn’t have this column submitted on time, he told me to take the week off. He’d find a way to fill the content on short notice. While I am beyond DEREK WOLFE appreciative of his support, I didn’t and couldn’t listen. The truth is that this week, especially, I needed to write. I needed a chance to muse and reflect in between studying for my upcoming exams and papers. Let me tell you why. Last Wednesday my stepgrandmother — Nani, as her family knew her — passed away. Though I have included the “step” designation, by all accounts she was my grandmother. No question about it. She loved and treated me as one of her own, even though I came into her life nearly nine years after I was born. To her, it didn’t matter, and I could not be more grateful. Not many people can say they had three grandmothers who deeply cared about them. I’m lucky Ann Arbor is so close to my family because on Tuesday night, my stepbrother drove us to the hospital in West Bloomfield, where I had a chance to say goodbye one last time. Her brutal battle in and out of rehabilitation centers due to heart problems and several falls ended its final chapter. Of course, death of family and
friends happens to everyone. My situation isn’t unique, and I don’t want to portray it as such. That being said, despite all that is written about death, it gets overlooked that coping never gets easy. At least in my experience. We had known her days were numbered since January. The next time she would have to go to the hospital would likely be the end. So naturally, I, and I’m sure the rest of my family, tried to mentally prepare for her departure from this earth. It started as an occasional thought, but the feelings accelerated significantly after hearing she was back in the hospital last week. The outlook from a broken hip in old age is nearly always grim. “She’ll no longer be suffering,” I told myself. “No one should have to live like she did over the past year.” And so for a while I thought I’d be fine. It was her time to go. You have the funeral. You sit Shiva (if you’re Jewish). You move on knowing that you had great times together. And for a couple of days, that was my mindset. However, after being updated by my dad last Wednesday evening that she was in her final moments, memories started rushing back to me. This was going to be harder than I thought. All the preparing I had done was for naught. Even though she was unconscious the previous evening when I saw her, I felt emptier knowing that she was actually gone. A woman who had affected my life in so many positive ways wasn’t there in flesh anymore and would never be again. There was never going to be a
next time. There would be no more family dinners with her there. No more conversations about school and life. The days at her pool where she would feed us until we were bloated were all officially just wonderful memories now. She could no longer tell me how she was going to bake cookies for me and mail them to Ann Arbor. I never received that package. And now I never will. She was a wonderful, generous lady who sported an incredible hairstyle — a blonde poof. I know I said it earlier, but I’m so thankful to have known her and loved her. And that made this past weekend especially difficult. Preparing for a loved one’s death feels like a natural thing to do. We want to cope as best we can. Sure, you want to get some logistical details in order, like funeral arrangements, but the reality is that the mental gymnastics isn’t worth it. It’s impossible to prepare. You’re going to fall down at some point. And you know what, that’s OK. Because to put it bluntly, mourning sucks, and forcing yourself to “keep it together” doesn’t prove anything to anyone. There’s nothing wrong with letting emotion take over, at least for a little while. We only have so much control over our thoughts, so it just makes sense to exhibit control as best we can. We can do this by fully enjoying the time we have with the people we love. Stay in the present. That’s why it’s a gift. I think that’s how the saying goes. Derek Wolfe can be reached at dewolfe@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Barry Belmont, David Harris, Rachel John, Nivedita Karki, Jacob Karafa, Jordyn Kay, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Victoria Noble, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Paul Sherman, Allison Raeck, Linh Vu, Meher Walia, Mary Kate Winn, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe
Lessons gathered from Pussy Riot
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e all held our breath. We all let our common eagerness cloud the room. They were about to appear magically right before us. The superheroes of Pussy Riot were inches away and we yearned to mirror their MAJA reflections. After waiting TOSIC in lines outside and in chairs inside, two women of Pussy Riot, a Russian punk rock protest group, finally walked quickly across stage and sat down in the boxy leather chairs positioned on-stage. They stared into the audience as bright lights and cheers pounded upon them. We all focused on them and were met by what could only be described as poised nervousness. Our superheroes weren’t flexing or chanting or smiling with cockiness (no pun intended). They looked just like you and me. As Pussy Riot sat gracefully on stage, they allowed us to get up close and personal. Not only were we able to lean in to their thoughts and statements, but we were also able to inhale their appearance. Their image and poise reflected back upon us, and we were able to learn valuable lessons about one’s strength and ability. At first, it was odd to see such strong and rebellious individuals sitting so calmly and delicately. I had envisioned revolutionaries to be beyond human — something entirely different than myself. To my surprise, I found myself
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admiring Nadya Tolokonnikova’s nail polish and Masha Alyokhina’s shoes. I was quickly envisioning us connecting over the latest trends and exchanging makeup. Their presence humanized their movement. And most significantly, their downto-earth presence signaled that potential revolutions are burning within each of us. It doesn’t take a superpower to spark the fire, but it does take courage to unleash it. In addition, I came to see strength in their softness and uncomfortableness. They didn’t have to flex their muscles or raise their voices to exude strength. They didn’t have to use their exterior to prove that strength lay within their interior. Their presence also taught us that strength and courage are internal qualities that reside independently of appearance. You don’t have to look tough to be tough. Beyond their appearance and poise, Pussy Riot’s words taught us the power of their reflections and resulting actions and called for us to do the same. They explained that every action starts with a reaction — a recognition of injustice. Within their own lives and during their imprisonment, they came to understand how unfairly the low-income and incarcerated populations are treated in Russia. Their reaction led to their actions of protest and the formation of their latest organization, Zona Prava. Their new organization hopes to provide support and legal rights to incarcerated populations. Throughout the interview, their responses were often interjected with the encouragement for us to disrupt similar disorder. They repeatedly mentioned that we too
have the ability to reclaim our power by unleashing our refusal to be silenced. But can Pussy Riot’s protests and tactics act as a guide for us to follow in Ann Arbor? As with any situation, context is important. We may search for the same media and world recognition in our pursuits of justice, but the avenues to reach them will look different. Ann Arbor is often labeled as progressive and liberal. Though seemingly positive, these descriptors may in fact inhibit change. It may blind people into truly believing that we have reached equality and liberality. To create change, in an institution that believes change has already been reached, requires different tactics and a harder road to awakening. It’s easy to reflect upon Pussy Riot’s imprisonment and see how injustice is rampant in Russia. But to do the same amongst privileged folks in a place that deems itself as progressive is more difficult. In order to create protests and change that resemble Pussy Riot’s efforts, the blind must first be awakened from their deep sleep. At this University, that task is not a small feat. If we truly wish to mirror Pussy Riot, we must first tackle the difficulty of justifying a protest. We must first unveil injustice within institutions that have become very good at hiding it. We must first learn that not only do powerful institutions take away our right to humanity, but they also silence us so that the echoes of our pain may never reach the surface. We must first listen to these commonly threaded echoes. Then we may protest. Maja Tosic can be reached at tosimaj@umich.edu.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
I think that’s one of the really profound parts of this style of service is that it’s driven by students and students know students best.” — CAPS staff psychologist Karin Arizala said about the newly launched Wolvering Support Network in an interview with the Daily earlier this week.
Opinion & News
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Redefining flattery
he University of Michigan is an undoubtedly unique school. According to 2014 rankings from U.S. News, the University is number 29 on a list of the nation’s best colleges. Recently, it’s been ranked as the 15th-best party school in the country (one above Michigan State University; go blue!). Not only do we maintain strong academics, we also dish out RENNIE a notable party scene. PASQUINELLI A few weeks ago, I was immersed in my first Welcome Week. It primarily consisted of aimlessly wandering around sorority row in attempts to find parties that didn’t have a line circling the respective fraternity house. True to its title as the 15th best party school, parties weren’t hard to find. I, along with my three female friends and one male friend, got into each party we waited in line for, based largely off of the fact that there were more girls in our group than guys. “Where are your bitches?” I heard one member of a fraternity ask a group of guys that were waiting in line without their expected female counterparts. Aside from this approach being particularly misogynistic, it makes these parties predominantly female-populated with dispersed groups of guys who were lucky enough to have made the cut. The sense of entitlement of the boys that I encountered was absolutely astounding; a boy asked me to dance and subsequent to my rejection of the request, he forcibly grabbed my waist when a new song came on and said, “I waited my turn.” This behavior is certainly not reflective of all males at the University, but there does seem to be a large amount of these types of guys at large parties. The seemingly permitted behavior partly stems from the alcohol, I would imagine. Another factor is the general sexism and misogyny that surrounds every female in all environments, not just festivities. Most girls have heard something along the lines of “you should be flattered that men think of you in that way,” implying that unsolicited sexual advances are something to be wanted and prideful of. This being said, every time a guy grabs a girl’s waist and pushes it into his crotch isn’t always a reflection of sexual desire, but perhaps just a desire for a dance partner. But, why does that make it any better? Frat culture, and
American culture in general, has taught the heterosexual male population that if they’re dance partner-less, grabbing whoever is closest is pretty much acceptable. Because of that, it’s difficult for girls at parties to determine why they were the chosen objects of a particular male’s desire. I sat down with an anonymous group of three females who regularly attend parties thrown by fraternities and asked them basic questions about their treatment at an average party. When I asked them how they felt about an unknown man grabbing their waist as a way to initiate dancing without consent, they all said that they feel flattered in that kind of situation, but preferred the dance partner to ask first. When I asked them the second question, however, the responses were much different. “Do you think it’s flattering when a boy doesn’t see your face or what you look like, but still dances with you without consent?” “Not at all flattering! I am not an object. That’s disrespectful and rude.” “No. It’s rude. Like I’m a person not a freaking pole you can grind all up on.” “No, then I feel like I’m just being used so he can feel good…” This logic, unintentionally of course, is exemplary of ideas that uphold frat culture. We live in a society where girls believe that it’s flattering if a boy welcomes them because of their looks (who doesn’t want to feel pretty?), but when the lust stems from general sexual desire, the flattery often disappears. The latter half of this belief is a perfectly rational and progressive belief to have, in my opinion. But the former part is questionable. Why should girls be flattered by actions that are rooted in a place of disrespect and misogyny? The answer: they shouldn’t be. A girl shouldn’t be flattered when a man forcibly initiates a form of dancing that resembles having sex with clothes on. Even if the man doesn’t have any intention of further sexual contact, the nature of this action is inherently chauvinistic, and sustains structural power relations between males and females. So, for any girl out there reading this: the next time a guy doesn’t ask to dance with you, dances with you and essentially has intercourse with you while being clothed, be mindful that your body is yours, you have the right to say no, and what he is doing isn’t flattering. Rennie Pasquinelli can be reached at renpasq@umich.edu.
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Wednesday, September 24, 2014 — 5A
ELLA ATKINS | VIEWPOINT
Quadrotor ban raises serious questions A Federal Aviation Administration ruling recently halted a historic event and violated a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in doing so. The University’s aerospace engineering department, the first such department in the United States, celebrated its centennial anniversary this past week. More than 200 alumni and distinguished members of the aerospace community attended the three-day event consisting of tours, presentations, panel discussions and celebratory dinners. As is tradition at Michigan, the celebration ended with a football game at the Big House. To commemorate the centennial, a number of vintage airplanes were approved to fly over the stadium, and a small quadrotor would carry the game ball down the field as part of a pregame ceremony organized by a model aircraft hobbyist and a local startup company. This quadrotor flight was initially approved by the University. I am director of the University’s Autonomous Aerospace Systems Lab, where I conduct research in autonomy, aviation safety and novel unmanned aircraft. I also advise the Michigan Autonomous Aerial Vehicles student team. This past week, visitors toured my lab, and we engaged in lively discussions mostly centered on the future rather than the past of aerospace. The game would include elements of past and future — really cool airplanes from our history and a “drone” that just happened to also be able to safely carry a football down the field. Unfortunately, what I had hoped would be an awesomely fun event turned into a nightmare for me courtesy of the FAA. University of Michigan cancels quadrotor flight due to FAA lawsuit threats: Centennial organizers worked closely with the FAA to gain approval for a variety of historic aircraft to fly over the stadium before and during the game. These airplanes would fly low enough to be clearly visible to the crowd but certainly not so low that they might risk impacting the stadium structure. A TFR, or temporary flight restriction, was issued as is conventional for major stadium events; the TFR prevents other aircraft from flying over or near the stadium. An avid hobbyist, Peter Baumeler from Traverse City, Michigan, asked the University to be part of the event by operating the quadrotor carrying the game ball down the field. He engaged local Ann Arbor startup SkySpecs, whose employees are primarily University alumni and former MAAV team members who had dreamed as undergraduates of somehow connecting their quadrotor to the famed football venue. Peter, SkySpecs and the University worked arduously to ensure the flight would be safe in the presence of so many spectators. The team rehearsed, analyzed the impact of spectator cell phones on communication links and carefully addressed each problem. In the ideal case, the football would successfully be flown across the field. In the worst case, the flight would be terminated over an empty field, falling ingloriously but safely to the ground. There would have been no danger to aircraft flying above the stadium or to the crowd. The quadrotor in question would have emerged from the tunnel and flown a maximum of 23 feet above the stadium floor. This maximum height was below the bleachers, lower than most of the stadium structure and well below overhead Skycams on wires. In fact, because the Big House is built into a depression in the ground,
the quadrotor would have actually remained below ground level throughout its flight. SkySpecs engineers volunteered their time and equipment, hobbyist Peter Baumeler trekked from Traverse City to Ann Arbor several times to plan and practice, and the aerospace department thought this would be a great way to celebrate our centennial at the game. The day before the game, the FAA threatened to bring a lawsuit against the University if the flight was conducted. Despite an offer to deliver the ball with the quadrotor continuously tethered by strong ropes to handlers on the ground, the FAA stood its ground in banning the flight. There was no indication of which (if any) of the code from 14 CFR — in the code of Federal Regulations — would have been violated, and there was no response to the University’s offer to fly with a tether. The question of “Who owns the sky?” The FAA’s decision to threaten suit against the University for a small football-carrying quadrotor flown 23 feet above the Big House turf makes it clear the FAA has firmly staked a claim to the air inside the Big House. The University might secure approval from the FAA for a future Big House quadrotor flight through a Certification of Authorization, exemption or waiver. However, none of these mechanisms will improve safety of flight as the University is expected to “self-certify” its aircraft in the end. Furthermore, these steps don’t resolve the larger question of who owns the air or sky inside the Big House. The Ann Arbor Municipal Airport is within a few miles of the Big House. Except for times when TFRs are issued due to stadium events, general aviation aircraft are able to fly over the stadium. When Finlay Beaton, Michigan Flyers chief flight instructor and long-time certified flight instructor — instrument (CFII) — was told about the FAA’s ban of the quadrotor flight, he offered the following: “I am completely confused as to how a quadcopter delivering a football would impact safety at the U of M game. Bottom line is there is no impact to safety.” Regarding unmanned aircraft flight more generally, he indicated, “If they (UA) keep away from airports and below safe altitudes for (manned) airplanes, then I’ve got no problem with that.” In United States v. Causby (1946), the U.S. Supreme Court stated, “We have said that the airspace is a public highway. Yet it is obvious that, if the landowner is to have full enjoyment of the land, he must have exclusive control of the immediate reaches of the enveloping atmosphere … The landowner owns at least as much of the space above the ground as he can occupy or use in connection with the land.” The University of Michigan owns the Big House and the land surrounding it. Clearly the air inside the stadium is used by the University to allow the crowd and media cameras to view and enjoy the game. We must support the FAA, NASA and other government agencies engaged in developing unmanned aircraft policy to appropriately manage the risks introduced by UA flight through navigable airspace. We also must be vigilant to ensure this policy respects the rights of landowners to exclusively control their “immediate reaches” airspace. Ella Atkins is an associate professor in the aerospace engineering department.
NEWS
Hillary Clinton highlights Cadillac to ditch Detroit for gender as 2016 approaches trendy NYC headquarters Clinton involved in fundraising for female candidates NEW YORK (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign emphasized her experience, competence and preparation to become president. Her 2016 pitch could be simpler: She’d be the first female president. As Clinton considers a second White House bid in 2016, she is making a pronounced case for female empowerment and the role of women in the nation’s economy and politics. From the stage of the annual Clinton Global Initiative to the campaign trail, the former secretary of state has emphasized breaking barriers and the need for female leadership — themes that could resonate in a future campaign in which women voters will be critical. “Don’t let anyone dismiss what you’re doing today as women’s work,” Clinton told a women’s leadership forum last week at the Democratic National Committee. “Don’t let anyone send you back to the sidelines.” Along with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, the former first lady spent the week highlighting the role of women leaders this week at their family’s annual conference. The ex-president spoke to Chilean President Michelle Bachelet about the challenges female leaders face. Other panels
featured General Motors CEO Mary Barra and IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, the first female heads at their respective companies. Mrs. Clinton is raising money for Democratic women running in the 2014 elections and is expected to campaign for Democrats in the coming weeks. In Iowa, she praised Democratic congressional candidate Staci Appel, noting that the early presidential state has never elected a woman to Congress or governor. During her DNC speech last week, Clinton rattled off the names of 10 Democratic women whom she said gave her hope, from candidates for governor like Mary Burke of Wisconsin and Wendy Davis of Texas to Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. The former New York senator’s remarks frequently touch on a number of policy issues important to woman. Clinton called for a “movement” to bring equal pay, access to child care and raising the minimum wage, reminding her audience that two-thirds of minimum wage earners are women. Anytime she is introduced, speakers invariably mention Clinton’s 1995 United Nations speech in Beijing, when she declared that “human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights.” Her campaign message to women wasn’t always so explicit; her advisers were concerned that being a woman could hurt
her with male voters. When Clinton sought the presidency in 2007 and 2008, her team presented her as a strong leader — in the mold of the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher — with the toughness and experience to lead the nation. One of her most memorable television ads involved a 3 a.m. phone call, which implied her Democratic primary opponent, Barack Obama, wasn’t ready to respond to a crisis. But when she ended her campaign amid praise for her tenacity, Clinton gave what might have been a preview of her approach to the gender question, noting she hadn’t shattered the White House’s glass ceiling, but had left 18 million cracks in it — a reference to the votes she won in the primaries. Six years later, one of her main priorities at the Clinton Foundation is a project called, “No Ceilings,” aimed at empowering women around the planet. “There may be new attention to these issues, especially as we’ve plateaued in some important indicators, but she proposed universal (pre-kindergarten) and national paid leave in ‘07 and ‘08 and those issues have only gained in importance in the last few years,” said Neera Tanden, a former Clinton policy adviser who leads the Center for American Progress. In a nod to her past, Clinton’s speeches now often include anecdotes emblematic of the barriers many women have faced in the work force.
General Motors’ division makes move after 112 years DETROIT (AP) — Cadillac wants a jolt from the city that never sleeps. General Motors’ 112-year-old luxury car division, founded in Detroit and named for the city’s founder, is moving its headquarters to New York. Cadillac, which has been steadily losing sales to its German rivals, wants to get closer to its ideal buyers. Executives and marketing staffers will set up shop in a loft office in Manhattan’s trendy SoHo neighborhood starting next year. “There is no city in the world where the inhabitants are more immersed in a premium lifestyle than in New York,” Johann de Nysschen, the brand’s new president, said in a statement issued Tuesday announcing the move. “It allows our team to share experiences with premium-brand consumers and develop attitudes in common with our audience.” Cadillac will become a separate business unit, giving it more freedom to chase global growth. Most product engineering and design will remain in Detroit. Cadillacs will continue to be built at plants in Michigan, Texas, Canada, Mexico and China. The company is still evaluating which employees go to New York, but spokesman David
Caldwell said it’s likely fewer than 100 people will move in the first phase next year. Allen Adamson, managing director of branding firm Landor Associates in New York, said the advantage of New York is its proximity to the luxury market. “You have to catch trends closer to potential buyers,” Adamson said. “There are more hedge fund billionaires in NYC than there are in Detroit. The team will be closer to the luxury market and luxury users.” Adamson said it’s also less important today for car brands to be linked to manufacturing centers like Detroit. Fiat Chrysler’s new global headquarters will be in London, for example. “Cars today are less about the functionality of wheels and transmission and more about total experience: music, computer integration, the experience driving it. I don’t think the expertise is necessarily tied to a particular geography,” he said. Right now, New York is Cadillac’s fourth-best U.S. market, behind Texas, Florida and Michigan. That could change, although analysts say most consumers won’t know where the brand is headquartered. GM is also the maker of Chevrolet, Buick and GMC. Corporate moves are something of a specialty for de Nysschen, who became Cadillac’s chief in August. He was head of Audi’s U.S. division when it
moved its U.S. headquarters from suburban Detroit to Virginia in 2007. In 2012, he took over Nissan’s luxury Infiniti brand, which had just moved its headquarters from Japan to Hong Kong. Infiniti struggled immediately after the move, but new products helped its sales jump 30 percent in the first half of this year. Cadillac sales are up 10 percent worldwide through August. Sales are up 70 percent in China, where the newly revamped CTS sedan just went on sale. But in the U.S., Cadillac isn’t performing as well. Sales have slumped nearly 5 percent this year despite well-reviewed new vehicles like the ATS coupe and XTS sedan. U.S. luxury car sales have grown at more than double the pace of non-luxury car sales so far this year. But Cadillac is missing out on those buyers. Audi sales are up nearly 15 percent, BMW is up almost 12 percent and Mercedes-Benz is up 9 percent, according to Autodata Corp. Toyota’s Lexus luxury brand posted a 16 percent increase through August. GM’s product development chief, Mark Reuss, said Tuesday that Cadillac’s sales have been disappointing. Reuss said Cadillac is making good products but needs better support from marketing. The move to New York should help that, he said. “We need to get some fresh thinking into that brand,” he said.
Arts
6A — Wednesday, September 24, 2014
FILM REVIEW
‘The Tombstones’ a gritty noir revamp
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
TV REVIEW
Frank replaces action thrills with a solemn Neeson By JAMIE BIRCOLL Daily Film Editor
This is not “Taken.” This isn’t “Nonstop” or “Unknown.” This is sharp, gritty film noir set in the underbelly of New B+ York City, but it’s not A Walk your typical New York Among the Cityscape; Tombstones the richest Rave 20 and inhabitants are the drug Quality 16 Universal traffickers, the pure-atheart are the homeless — no glistening skyscrapers watching over the good people, only grey and dark and gloom, and a man, with his own demons, who slips in and out of the shadows. That man is Liam Neeson, and at last, in “A Walk Among the Tombstones,” he is presented with a film for which his imposing stature and acting gravitas are put to good use. Here, he is not the badass running around the city killing all those who stand in his way, dropping threatening phone calls and occasional oneliners in an only mildly concealed Irish accent. Instead, his badassery stems from screen presence alone, in the way the camera sits at his back as he walks through the rain of a dark fall night, slightly slouched to broaden his already large 6’4 frame. God he’s cool. Neeson plays Matt Scudder, a retired cop and recovering alcoholic who now works as an unlicensed private eye, unbound by the law. Through a fellow AA attendee, he is set up with heroin trafficker Kenny (Dan Stevens, TV’s “Downton Abbey”), who offers Scudder $20,000 to find the men who brutally murdered his wife. From there, we get a slow-
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burning mystery that progresses at a sometimes uneven pace as Scudder works a particularly unglamorous case — unglamorous in that it’s sometimes kind of boring. The job consists of a lot of research, a lot of discussing and a lot of sitting, contemplating, replaying events. The adrenaline junkie should find his fix somewhere else. But writer-director Scott Frank (“Minority Report”) opts to replace those action-thriller clichés with something more thoughtful: his leading man. Notice how many shots there are of Neeson with his back to the camera just staring or walking, and notice how effective they are at setting the solemn tone of this New York underworld. Marvel at the camerawork as it pans from Neeson’s face, tracking his eyes first to the right to the man he’s following, then to the left to the man who’s following him. Frank submerges the viewer in this world, this throwback to the archetypal days of film noir. All those classic noir flourishes (the hero patiently waiting in the dark room reveals himself to a suspect with the illumination of a desk
Classifieds
lamp, etc.) make appearances but with an updated yet natural feel. Supporting turns by Stevens and Brian “Astro” Bradley (“Earth to Echo”), as a spunky homeless kid Scudder takes under his wing, are welcome, but it’s the few scenes that put Scudder with cemetery groundskeeper James Loogan (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) that really shine. Ólafsson, best known as The Yellow King of “True Detective,” brings just the right amount of weird and vulnerable to match Neeson’s cool and confident to create some truly compelling moments; one can only wish they were more plentiful. Because “A Walk Among the Tombstones” is just one book in a 19-book series by Lawrence Block, one can only hope for more Matt Scudder. The film is something of a throwback, taking place in 1999 — the decade of “Seven” and “Primal Fear” and “The Silence of the Lambs.” Movies like “Tombstones” are rare these days; they’re the kinds that don’t explode in your face but force you to take in the gravity of the moment, to experience the darkness and to hope that the man in the shadows is on your side.
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RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
PARKING
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Loop in old Westerns 6 Kind of purpose 10 Future J.D.’s exam 14 Putting green border 15 Welding sparks 16 Sicilian smoker 17 *Arm, to an ace pitcher 19 Turkey or fox follower 20 Opposite of ecto21 “Moonstruck” Oscar winner 22 Valerie Harper role 23 Statement of agreement 24 *Issue that halts negotiations 26 Sluggish 28 What a goldbrick does 29 Cooking aids 30 Cry of surrender 33 *Monetary love, in Timothy 38 French wine region 39 “Hands off!” 40 Deck crew boss 43 Full of spunk 45 *One in the infantry 49 __-Aztecan languages 50 Finish by 51 Bird along the coast 52 Beat it 53 Pinball goof 54 Unswerving, and a hint to the starts of the answers to starred clues 56 Fit to __ 57 “Come Back, Little Sheba” playwright 58 Asian vine leaf 59 Stockholder’s concern 60 Former OTC watchdog 61 Bobrun runners
DOWN 1 “You’ve got carte blanche” 2 Nondiscriminating immigration policy 3 Mendelssohn’s “Elijah,” for one 4 Unaided 5 Tolkien giant 6 Russian country home 7 “Family Matters” nerd 8 Biting 9 WWII carrier 10 Deadly 11 Butterfly, e.g. 12 Voltaic cell terminals 13 Golden Horde member 18 Treated, as a sprain 22 Christ the __: statue in Rio 24 Have little faith in 25 Little stream 27 Gaza Strip gp. 30 Sci-fi vehicle 31 One of the Bobbsey twins 32 A.L. Central team, on scoreboards
34 Cry of woe 35 Sundial number 36 Protect against heat loss, say 37 Made it big, as in school athletics 40 Mackerel relative 41 Truckloads 42 Conditions 43 Charges for services 44 Alpine airs
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09/24/14
Flawless ‘On The Run’ more than documentary Superstar couple puts on concert special for the ages By ALEC STERN Senior Arts Editor
If the rumors are to be believed, Beyoncé and Jay Z have been living separate A+ lives for a while now. In a On The July New York Post article, a Run Tour source claimed Beyonce the couple was and JAY-Z finding a way to split that HBO wouldn’t disrupt their huge concert tour, the last show of which was secretly set to be the subject of HBO’s “On The Run Tour: Beyoncé and Jay Z.” But when the concert documentary premiered on Saturday, it wasn’t just a rehash of the show’s Sept. 13 Paris-set finale. Instead, “On The Run” seemed more like the couple’s response to the gossip, culminating in a glorious tribute to America’s royal couple, who most definitely seem to remain (drunk) in love. If you thought you’d seen it all from Beyoncé in the last year — a surprise album, a soldout worldwide tour, that showstopping VMA performance last month — she raises the bar yet again in “On The Run,” while her husband continues to be one of rap music’s most dominant and talented musicians. In fact, the concert brings out the best in each performer — infectiously likable and, if possible, even more elite when sharing the stage together. The concert’s set list is masterfully crafted, and it’s clear as soon as the opening guitar strums of “ ’03 Bonne & Clyde” disseminate through the Stade de France for the first time. Throughout the special’s twoand-a-half hour running time, the couple’s newest releases, Beyoncé and Magna Carta Holy Grail, are heavily featured, but without neglecting the classics
— “Crazy in Love,” “Baby Boy,” “99 Problems,” “Hard Knock Life” and many others. “On The Run” is also surprisingly inventive. Instead of lazily running through each of their vast catalogs of crowd-pleasers (there are certainly enough of them), Beyoncé and Jay Z reworked and remixed their greatest hits while simultaneously highlighting a number of lesser-performed titles — the jazzed-up rendition of “Ring The Alarm,” a Nikki Minajassisted, elevator incident-referencing version of “Flawless” and a “Love On Top”/“I Want You Back” mash-up are just a few instances of the powerproducing that elevate “On The Run.” But it isn’t simply Bey and Jay’s musical proficiency or palpable chemistry that propels the concert doc to such soaring heights. Director Jonas Åkerlund proves to be “On The Run”’s indispensable thirdwheel — its success as attributable to the man behind the camera as it is to the duo occupying the stage. Supported by the disclaimer that “this is not real,” “On The Run” appropriately tells the story of a fugitive couple. Beyoncé and Jay Z drive fast cars, brandishing big stacks and even bigger guns as they flee the authorities that chase them. In the wrong hands, the sequences could have easily been overshadowed by the power of its subjects or dismissed as merely interludes allowing for costume changes. But instead, Åkerlund’s gritty, atmospheric visual story unfolds as a defining centerpiece of “On The Run,” drawing upon French filmmaking and the country’s romance-tinged aesthetic. There are stateside influences that are also present in Åkerlund’s “On The Run,” as imagery from Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” is a ubiquitous presence that informs much of the narrative and in turn, enhances the visual splendor. It’s not the first time Beyoncé and the director have paid homage to the bold 2004 revenge flick. In “Telephone,” their
collaboration with Lady Gaga, Beyoncé rescues the blonde singer from prison in the yellow, “Pussy Wagon”-branded truck famously driven by Uma Thurman’s character in “Volume 1.” In “On The Run,” however, the nods to “Kill Bill” are more significant. Even from HBO’s first promo for the concert special, in which Beyoncé serenades Jay Z with a rendition of Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang” (a song prominently featured in the opening credits of Tarantino’s film) it was clear that “On The Run” would draw upon similar themes. A decade after the release of “Kill Bill,” Beyoncé embodies an updated iteration of The Bride — clad in white, doomed by her love for a dangerous man, hell-bent on wreaking havoc against her oppressors. The tribute gives “On The Run” artistic merit separate from its performances, amounting to something much more significant than your average concert tour (or concert film). Ultimately, the onscreen versions of Bey and Jay meet a violent demise in a stunning sequence that samples both Sinatra’s “Bang Bang” and The xx’s sultry “Angels.” But the characters’ deaths allow for “On The Run” to make yet another powerful declaration. “This is real life,” Jay pronounces to the packed crowd of over 60,000 people. And suddenly, Mr. and Mrs. Carter are performing against a backdrop of videos of a very different nature. “Young Forever” and “Halo” provide the soundtrack to a striking montage of home videos from the Carter’s more than decade-long relationship, including footage of their engagement, wedding and journey into parenthood, spotlighting a vulnerable side to the couple uncharacteristic of their exceedingly private past. “This is real life” is not only “On The Run” ’s powerful ending, but its lasting impact — the dichotomy between real and not real, genuine and manufactured, facts and rumors. And the result is ***flawless.
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Arts
Wednesday, September 24, 2014 — 7A
EXHIBIT PREVIEW
COMMUNITY & CULTURE COLUMN
Karady to depict Why does our transition from war generation shy from classical music? New York artist to exhibit project that recreates veterans’ memories By GRACE HAMILTON Daily Arts Writer
Photographs, as snapshots of time, can tell stories — uplifting stories, tragic stories, simple stories and complicated The Institute ones. Phoof Humanity tographs can paint Gallery histories, of places and of Hosts people, cap- Soldiers’ turing the Stories From singularity and intrica- Iraq and cies that Afghanistan define them. For the Sept. 25-28 past eight 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. years, Jennifer Karady, 202 S. Thayer a New York- Free based artist has been working on Soldiers’ Stories from Iraq and Afghanistan, a project that recreates veterans’ memories from war in their home environments with staged photographs. Last year, Karady brought her creative vision to the University to work with student veterans over a period of three months. The exhi-
bition will debut at the Institute of Humanities on September 25 and run through the 28th. The process was collaborative, including extensive interviewing and planning with the veterans to bring to life a specific memory of war in the context of their civilian lives. Karady hopes to portray how war manifests itself back in the civilian world. “Soldiers come home from war deeply changed and they kind of disappear into the civilian world,” Karady said. “They look to us like civilians, not soldiers, even though they are in their heads and minds still that. These photographs are attempting to make that visible.” Many of the photographs include families and friends, highlighting the way in which these students’ memories and feelings “ripple through the people around them, families, friends and communities.” The photographs will be accompanied by sound stories from the veterans. More recordings will be available in a listening room, designed to feel like a soldiers’ bunk when inside. The sound component adds a greater level of intimacy to the project. “I have to say that that is a really courageous thing to do, revealing vulnerability,” Karady said of her participants. “The duality about how soldiers think about war and their experiences at home,” Karady said, was striking. She was sur-
prised and interested to notice the intensity of this contradiction in her first interview. “He said ‘I would go back there again in a second.’ He’s dying to go back, he would love to go back. So there are a lot of conflicted emotions about their experiences.” The photographs, meticulously composed over the course of a month or so, are intended to convey this. For this particular exhibit, student contribution played an integral role. Aside from the student veterans, Karady worked with sound engineers and a group of art students. The art students helped in the planning and execution of each photo shoot, in addition to location scouting. “The thing about this project is that it’s really interdisciplinary, so that it’s going to appeal to lots of different kinds of students,” Karady said. “It was interesting to talk after interviews about impressions, and I had never let anyone into the interview process before,” Karady. The project offers a bold and fresh exploration of war and its significance to society. A theme that is almost exclusively revealed to us through news and media will be addressed in an intimate light. The intention is that “some eyes might be opened,” Karady said. Surely, with appeal to such broad interests, Soldiers’ Stories will do just that, and likely more.
TV NOTEBOOK
L
ast Thursday, Beethoven’s music was given new life by the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and André Watts for the Hill Auditorium’s Beethoven Festival. Watts, a Germanborn pianist, is truly a modern-day classical music superstar, a child prodigy KATHLEEN turned DAVIS virtuoso performer, who has maintained relevance in the classical community for decades. The press geared towards students for this concert was mostly lost amongst the announcement for Schoolboy Q’s upcoming show and the Pussy Riot Stamps Lecture, both incredible events, but ones that left Beethoven’s music out on the fringe. Like many young adults my age, I do not mention classical music when I’m asked what kind of music I like, or what my favorite songs are. It’s a genre that for me has fallen to the wayside, discarded amongst wrapped mint candies, dentures and the geriatric. All musical genres take cues and inspiration from their predecessors. Modern rap evolved from funk, blues and spoken word poetry; country music has come from western swing music and bluegrass; EDM draws from disco and ‘80s techno. This Andre Watts visit made me wonder: how did classical music, once considered the highest form of entertainment, become nearly irrelevant to this generation? If we’re to believe
our grandparents (at least mine), young people once flooded concert halls to listen to wordless symphonies and sonatas. Even my mom likes to listen to some Chopin while she cooks. Why does much of our generation just not care? My personal relationship with classical music has been complicated. Starting at seven years old, my parents enrolled me in classical piano lessons with a sugary-sweet old woman who I was convinced was no younger than 100 years old. Her papery skin was magnified significantly under her enormous glasses, her house smelled like cigarettes and she kept mint Lifesavers in a wicker bowl on the piano, which I would eat out of pity and then immediately excuse myself to the bathroom where I could spit them out in the sink. Nonetheless, she was far too talented to be teaching incompetent elementary schoolers scales and chords for the entirety of her day, and I continued taking lessons with her until she passed away in 2009.
It’s not like we get bored from a lack of words. Here’s the thing: no matter how sweet Mrs. W was or how long I kept it up, I really did not enjoy taking piano lessons. At all. I appreciated the fact that my parents could afford to send me week after week, I liked making my grandmother happy when she asked me to play a sonatina, but I really didn’t understand what the big deal was all about. Of course I feel guilty about this,
but I know I’m not alone. Many of my childhood friends who played classical instruments in their youth, mostly coerced by parents, dropped it as soon as they found a way out. It’s a time-consuming hobby that can easily become a drag if your heart isn’t into it. Getting good at a classical instrument isn’t easy. In fact, it’s really fucking hard. It takes years, even decades to master a classical instrument, with hours of practice a day. It could easily be argued that classical musicians are the hardest working and most talented performers of any genre. The average member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra has a salary of $98,000 a year. Last year, Katy Perry made $39 million. Why does our generation shy from classical? It’s not like we get bored from the lack of words — wordless electronic music artists have become music festival headliners and influencers. I’d say the answer lies somewhere between our association of classical music with our grandparents and the genre’s lack of adaptation to satisfy millennials’ ears. The truth is, classical music is beautiful and universally considered so, and I would argue that a lot of this beauty comes from the fact that the same pieces were considered beautiful a couple hundred years ago, and are still beautiful now. The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s 2014-2015 season runs until April 25th, and I’m making it a goal for myself to immerse myself in this beautiful culture a couple times this school year. Join me? Davis is being a cavalier millenial. To join her, e-mail katjacqu@umich.edu.
ALBUM REVIEW
King Tuff’s weak ‘Spell’ By NICK BOYD FOX
Summer camp just got a lot less interesting.
FOX begins to implode Network suffers from lackluster ratings By ALEX INTNER Daily Arts Writer
This summer, FOX’s president of entertainment Kevin Reilly “resigned” from his position. After promising a new way of doing business and development at the network, and some disagreement with his boss, he left, and Gary Newman and Dana Walden were brought in to turn the ship around. Their jobs, however, just got a little more difficult this week because they’re starting with a schedule that’s imploding — early premieres for FOX have been as close to disastrous as you can get. It all started with the poor initial results of the new reality show “Utopia.” Back in May, Reilly described the show as one that would be “very noisy and the most exciting new entry in unscripted for quite some time.” It’s been everything but that. After an NFL-driven Sunday premiere, the show settled around 2.4 million viewers and 1.0 million in the much soughtafter 18-49 demographic for its Tuesday episodes. In its most recent Friday broadcast, only 1.5 million viewers tuned in, fewer than the “Red Band Society” repeat that aired before it. Instead of helping two nights of
the schedule find their footing, the show’s ratings are crumbling and taking those nights with it. “Utopia” isn’t the only failure on the Fox schedule this year. The aforementioned hospital drama “Red Band Society” scored only 4 million viewers and 1.3 million in the key demo. The show did very well with young women, though, finishing Wednesday as the top program among females between 12 and 17. Those numbers will also rise significantly when viewers who DVR-ed the show are factored in. It also maintained the majority of its “Hell’s Kitchen” leadin, which was 4 million viewers and 1.4 million in the key demo. Still, a series led by Academy Award Winner Octavia Spencer should have a bigger draw. Fox’s Tuesday comedies also suffered losses in their premieres, with “New Girl” opening to its lowest-rated season premiere (3 million, 1.7 key demo) and “The Mindy Project” failing to improve on its low numbers from last season (2.7 million, 1.3 key demo). “New Girl” is one of the biggest DVR gainers out there, and both shows improved upon their “Utopia” lead-in, but those numbers are still low. Despite all of the misfires, it’s not worth calling FOX’s season a loss yet. On Monday, the network will debut the drama
it has the most investment in this year: “Gotham.” The network has been significantly promoting this show and it could be one of the biggest hits of the season. Fox also has its surprise hit from the previous year, “Sleepy Hollow,” returning the same night. “Sleepy Hollow” has been off the air for nine months, and it remains to be seen whether it can keep the momentum it built last season. Even if the show simply matches its numbers from the previous year it’ll be considered a win for Fox. While the Monday premieres should create something to build upon, the rest of Fox’s schedule is collapsing. The question going forward: Does Fox exhibit patience with “Utopia” and “Red Band,” or do they pull them in favor of something else? It has a lot in the pipe for midseason, but I’m not sure how many of those shows could be ready to premiere in the next six weeks. Fox has a ringer in “Masterchef Junior,” but, that show being a legitimate triumph in its Friday slot, it seems an unlikely play. The network has a history of such moves (it moved “Bones” off Friday right as it was starting to build momentum); “Masterchef Junior” could be used in the same fashion to save its schedule. Whatever Fox is going to do, it’s going to have to do it quickly. If it’s not careful, it’ll turn into a smoldering pile of dust.
Daily Arts Writer
It’s hard to tell whether King Tuff doesn’t care or if he’s just trying too hard. Since releasing his last selftitled record Bin 2012, Kyle Thomas (aka Black King Tuff ) has Moon Spell radicalized his persona King Tuff and it shows on his latest Sub Pop release, Black Moon Spell. Tuff offers a blend of original style and influence in his latest work, sounding like an unlikely mixture of Frank Zappa, The Shins and Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins. Black Moon Spell possesses some impressive moments, transporting the listener back in time to other eras of rock. However, at its worst, the album is a giant cluster of lowfi, whiny, ironic self-indulgence that leaves the listener wondering if even Tuff himself likes the end product. At its strongest points, Black Moon Spell delivers a refreshing garage rock vibe that defies the current trends in alternative rock. The title track delivers some crispy, distorted guitar licks that exemplify King Tuff at his musical best. “Black Moon Spell” doesn’t take itself too seriously, like any other Tuff jam, but the musical quality doesn’t suffer any collateral damage. The lyrics are fairly uninspiring, but it’s a pretty enjoyable mindless journey speckled with impressive retro guitar solos that leave no doubt about Thomas’s technical prowess. “Magic Mirror” and “Rainbow’s Run” also strike a successful balance between Tuff’s tireless drive for satire and
SUB POP
Lifeeeee, bruh.
his musical ability. On other parts of the album, quality is subservient to Tuff’s supreme goal of not giving a shit. “Headbanger,” “I Love You Ugly,” “Madness” and “Demon from Hell,” sound like they belong in Tenacious D more than an authentic rock album. That’s not to say that Tenacious D is bad or that Tuff fails in his attempts at humor — there are some hilarious lyrical gems on “Demon from Hell” that I don’t even feel comfortable quoting in a polite publication — but the moments when musicianship is sacrificed for a laugh leaves the album feeling disjointed and severely boring at moments. “Headbanger” begins in promising fashion, but goes full Hindenberg before all is over with an ingenious chorus of “Bang your head,” repeated several times.
Too hip for his own good. Even though King Tuff changes up the pace and style throughout Black Moon Spell, his whiny vocals are one-
dimensional, and coupled with the low-fi garage rock sound, the entire record becomes a bit monotonous. It is a struggle to listen to the entire album. Black Moon Spell is the kind of album that Pitchfork gets off to — I’m sure it will get rave reviews from hip young writers everywhere. That’s because the album is less about the music and more about King Tuff’s Persona, making it a perfect candidate for a Pitchfork rave review. Black Moon Spell is too “hip” for its own good. At some points, King Tuff seems desperate to establish himself as a musical outlier, unconscious of mainstream pressures — but I think the tracks suffer in his exasperating search for a character. It’s a shame, because you don’t need to listen too long to realize what an incredible musician Thomas is. However, unlike other goofy guitar gods from bygone eras like Zappa, Tuff is struggling to form a coherent musical identity that balances his own carefree personality and musical abilities in the right ratio. If King Tuff had concentrated more on his technical talent and less on posturing, his album would have lived up to his potential.
Sports
8A — Wednesday, September 24, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FOOTBALL
Former player not pleased By ALEXA DETTELBACH Daily Sports Editor
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
The Michigan men’s cross country team’s coach and captains have changed this season, but its expectations have not.
Wolverines’ captains not slowing with new coach By JAKE LOURIM Daily Sports Editor
Mason Ferlic was in Ann Arbor. Ben Flanagan was in Canada. And James Yau was in Taiwan. So of Michigan’s three current cross country captains, only one was even in the United States when the program announced in June that head coach Alex Gibby wouldn’t be returning. But they were named captains by their team last week for a reason. Gibby may have been gone, but the nowcaptains weren’t about to let his old program falter. Ferlic — who also traveled to Sacramento, California and Kamloops, British Columbia for postseason track and field competitions in the summer — sent an email to the whole team. He reminded the Wolverines that none of their expectations for the summer and the following season had changed. “I guess (I) maybe just reassured the guys,” Ferlic said. “Everyone runs to panic scenarios about who the new coach is going to be and how everything’s going to change. Once you get over the jitters that we’re moving forward as a program, everyone got back into training.” What Ferlic said worked. When the team got word of Gibby’s departure, Flanagan drove back to Ann Arbor from Kitchener, Ontario to be with the team for a while. Assistant coach Dusty Lopez helped keep the team’s training plan in place. Michigan stuck to its
goals over the summer, putting itself in position for a top25 ranking in the preseason poll. Former Michigan runner Kevin Sullivan replaced Gibby and kept the program’s basic philosophy largely in place. “I think it went very well in terms of our mindset coming into it, just accepting what happened and knowing that we’ve got to do whatever it takes to push this program forward,” Yau said. “The Athletic Department made the decision that they thought was best for us, and going with the flow helped us move into a really smooth transition.” Then, days before his team won the Big Ten Preview in Iowa City, Iowa over the weekend, Sullivan announced that the team had elected Ferlic, Flanagan and Yau as captains for the season. Together, the trio helped ease any worries about the coaching transition. “The fear would be that with the new coaching transition, people feel like there’s no authority figure left in place,” Ferlic said. “Nothing is changing in terms of what we’re trying to accomplish as a team.” Yau, a fifth-year senior from Troy, Michigan, is the oldest member of the current squad. Flanagan, just a sophomore, was a second-team All-Big Ten honoree last season. And Ferlic, a redshirt junior from St. Paul, Minnesota, is another experienced runner with a strong track background. The captains said the rest of the team is a motivated group on its own, though. “I would like to ideally think that I would act the same
regardless, but now that there’s a captain behind it, people look up to you more,” Flanagan said. “The main thing is leading by example.” That leading started with the unexpected news in June. Each captain had only ever run for Gibby, who took the program from eighth in the Big Ten, to tied for third, to second, to second again in four seasons. “When I came in four years ago, the team was kind of disoriented, and it took four years for Gibby to build us up to where we are now,” Yau said. “Having that solid foundation that was built before Sullivan came here definitely helped the transition and allows us to take the next step forward.” Though Gibby’s cross country program was on the rise, the Wolverines didn’t earn enough points in long-distance events in track to satisfy Clayton. So the cross country team’s concern over the summer was valid, but as it turned out, Sullivan didn’t reshape very much at all. “To give credit to Gibby, he didn’t leave the program in shambles,” Ferlic said. “We had talent developing, and we already had talent there. We had the makings of a good program, so when (Sullivan) stepped in, he didn’t really have to reorder everything. “When he saw the program and observed it and got to know us, he realized things were there and he didn’t have to overhaul anything. He could make the tweaks he wanted to. He was left with a good basket of eggs.”
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On Twitter over the last four days, 2,000 people have used #FireHoke and another 1,100 have used the words ‘fire’ and ‘Hoke’ in the same sentence. The cry for change in the Michigan football NOTEBOOK program has gotten louder. Former players are now speaking out following last week’s loss to Utah. Former quarterback Michael Taylor, who played for the Wolverines from 1986-1990, took to the airwaves Tuesday morning on Detroit’s 105.1 FM to share his thoughts on the state of the program. “Actions speak louder than words,” Taylor said. “What we’ve become is a propaganda football team, telling people how great we are when we’re mediocre. When, in your last 12 games, you’ve only got victories over Northwestern, App State, Indiana and Miami (Ohio) that is not good. That is not good. “We’re mediocre right now. Will it stay that way? I don’t know. I don’t work there. I don’t have the say-so. But I do know this: I know a few hundred players who are not happy with what is going on and definitely think changes need to be made.” Taylor, who led the Wolverines to back-to-back Big Ten championships in 1988 and 1989, also spoke out regarding
Athletic Director Dave Brandon. “All I do know is Dave Brandon should not be let to make another decision at Michigan. Period,” he said. “Regardless (of ) what they do (with Brandon), there needs to be change.” Current players are starting to take notice of the uproar from fans everywhere. “I took that to heart this morning,” said junior wide receiver Dennis Norfleet. “They were really talking down on coach Hoke saying that his time is coming. Coach Hoke did a lot for me and the team. “There’s more than football. In life he’s a good coach. And right now, I don’t feel, and the team doesn’t feel, that that’s right.” NO QUARTERBACK DECISION: After telling the media on Monday that a starting quarterback decision would be made Tuesday, Michigan coach Brady Hoke quickly changed his tune. “We’ve got some ideas with what we’re going to do, but we’re still going to evaluate it,” Hoke said during the Big Ten teleconference Tuesday afternoon. “We’ll probably end up (deciding) later in the week. “Any personnel decisions that we make this week, we want to make sure we’re right and we don’t want to mislead (the media) at all, we want to make sure we’re doing it the right way.” But when asked when the decision would finally be made, Hoke replied, “On Saturday, it
definitely will be hammered down.” So rest easy Michigan fans, a quarterback will start Saturday. SIMILIAR START, DIFFERENT FINISH?: Last season, Michigan entered Big Ten games at 4-0, but barely squeaked by against Akron and Connecticut. Once the Wolverines entered into conference play, the season unraveled and Michigan finished just 7-6. This season, with two losses entering conference play, the rest of the season feels eerily familiar. But ‘Team 135’ maintains it will end its season differently. “Speaking defensively, I believe our defense is way better than it was last year,” said senior defensive end Frank Clark. “We’re doing some great things on defense.” But with the Wolverines’ struggles taking full hold during conference season last year, this team wants to change last year’s narrative. “The biggest thing is learning from your mistakes,” Clark said. “If (your team) can learn from the mistakes they’ve created your possibilities are limitless. You can go places with that. … When you learn from those things you grow as a team, you grow as a player.” But as Michigan has maintained after both losses, its goal of winning a Big Ten championship is still out there.
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Junior wide receiver Devin Funchess won’t care who’s throwing to him, as long as the ball is put somewhere he can get it.
Whether it’s Gardner or Morris, players still believe By MAX COHEN Daily Sports Editor
Ask Devin Funchess about the differences between fifthyear senior Devin Gardner and sophomore Shane Morris while they are enveloped in a quarterback competition and he will state the obvious. “One of them is right-handed, one of them is left-handed,” the junior wide receiver said. Michigan coach Brady Hoke still hasn’t made a decision about who will be his team’s quarterback Saturday against Minnesota and said he’ll do so later in the week. Hoke has said that he views both quarterbacks as capable of being the starter. Funchess and Gardner, the right-hander, have displayed a significant rapport so far this season, but the wide receiver said he would feel just as confident with Morris, the left-hander, throwing the ball his way. Funchess has 20 receptions for 284 yards and three touchdowns, all from Gardner, in three games this season. He sat out against Miami (Ohio) with a leg injury sustained late against Notre Dame and said Tuesday that he’s still not at 100 percent. He said he expects to be in some pain for the rest of the season. Despite his effectiveness with Gardner, Funchess says he would do nothing differently if Morris were to start. “We just listen to the quarterback,” Funchess said. “Whoever’s playing
quarterback, we just listen to him call the play.” Gardner has been the team’s starter for the first four games this season and held the position for all of last season. Morris started against Kansas State in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl last season in a 31-14 loss for Michigan. Despite the result of that game, Funchess thinks the experience was important to Morris’s development and handling the expectations that may come with being named the Wolverines’ starter. “When you’re a ballplayer, there’s no pressure,” Funchess said. “He started a bowl game, so he’s used to it.” Conversely, Funchess believes Gardner would be able to handle a possible demotion. When he was pulled for Morris in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game after throwing two interceptions, Gardner was disappointed, but not too down on himself. If he’s benched, Gardner will be able to draw upon his experiences backing up former quarterbacks Denard Robinson and Tate Forcier. “When you mess up, you’re always going to be frustrated,”
Funchess said. “You’ve got to try to hide it and just be a team player.” Hoke agreed, saying Monday that he believed Gardner would still be able to lead the team even as the backup. Senior defensive end Frank Clark said Gardner has remained positive despite the turmoil at his position. Though he said he knows Morris could do a good job, Clark was unequivocal in his belief in Gardner. “Devin has always been a guy, when you know you mess up, that separates the great players from the good players,” Clark said. “And he knows he did a bad job and he knows he messed up. But then again, he came out in practice today and had a great practice. He was on point with his throws, on point with his option plays. “When you’re a guy like that, you can only respect that. That’s a guy I want to play next to, that’s a guy I can trust.” While Michigan fans wait to see which quarterback Hoke names starter, his players believe, at least publicly, either one could get the job done. But only one will get the opportunity to help the Wolverines rebound from their 2-2 start. At least he knows he will have Funchess to throw to.
“One of them is right-handed, one of them is left-handed.”
statement THE MICHIGAN DAILY SE P TEMB E R 24 , 2014
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Wednesday, September 24, 2014 // The Statement
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uzzfeed, but better
Five ways to be the star of a career fair OK seniors, graduation is just around the corner. Time to kickstart the job search. With the engineering career fair behind your back and the fall career fair coming up next week, now is the perfect time to perfect your career fair presence.
1. Dress for success
While the black pants can never put you in the wrong, adding a sense of personality to your outfit might make you more memorable.
2. Practice without the pressure See a job at the fair that doesn’t seem all that appealing?
Find a line at the fair that doesn’t seem too long in an industry similar to what you want to apply to. Present your pitch to the recruiter and gauge carefully his or her reaction.
3. Create a relationship Find that underlying connection with your recruiter and get
them to smile, showing some personality while you’re at it. It’s a hard skill to be able to maintain professionalism while being candid, but it’s not impossible.
4. Remember their names
Address your recruiter by name. Even better, in your cover letter, mentioning the recruiter’s name and personal fact that you enjoyed learning from the recruiter can put you in the hiring manager’s mind as someone who’s personable and empathetic.
5. Follow up, right away
Just because applications aren’t usually due for a month doesn’t mean procrastination is in order. Send the hiring department a statement of interest the day after the fair and ask some intelligent questions to prove that you’re on your game.
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Magazine Editor: Carlina Duan Deputy Editors: Max Radwin
Photo Editor: Ruby Wallau Illustrator: Megan Mulholland
Amrutha Sivakumar Editor in Chief: Design Editor:
Peter Shahin
Amy Mackens
COVER BY RUBY WALLAU
Managing Editor: Katie Burke Copy Editors: Mark Ossolinski Meaghan Thompson
ann arbor affairs: me and my big bossy heart by carlina duan At a recent dinner, I was asked to describe myself in three words to a circle of friends. Outside, the moon pouted, and we spooned chili into our mouths, puckering lips at the strange and salty heat. “I think I’m funny,” said one friend, as I watched a piece of diced zucchini swim through his bowl. “I’d say I’m aloof,” said another. When it became my turn, I balked. My friend struck his lighter, and the flame rose, tenderly, to meet the slow lip of the candle. “I think… I think I have a bossy heart,” I said, surprising myself. “Like, my heart owns me in a way… but maybe it’s just that I’m always in love.” When I got my heart kicked in high school after a bad breakup, I walked around shiny-eyed — wanting to touch and torch everything. I painted my nails on the porch, and the sharp, waxy scent of polish rammed through the air. When I clenched and unclenched my fist, my fingernails glinted a wicked red. I felt strangely powerful. I couldn’t get my heart to shut up. While friends peppered me with advice on how to quell an achy heart, I spent late nights awake in bed, blasting electro-pop and drinking galaxy after galaxy of skim milk. My heart was noisy — told me to suck it up. Years later, walking through the Diag one morning, I watched a boy with a cigarette nested behind his ear; I watched a woman flashing her arms in silver rain. In the bathroom, my roommate called his boyfriend’s name, said, “I love you,” softly, into the wet sink. And his boyfriend said it back.
THE
In college, my heart cracked when I recognized the kid I loved wasn’t going to say it back. At least, not like that. I loved him, but we were friends, and when we passed each other on the street, we fist bumped — his rocky hand pulsing against mine. Some nights we would eat takeout on the floor of my room, amid black hairs patterned on the floorboards like wires. “Hey,” he’d say, looking up. “You want a ILLUSTRATIONS BY MEGAN MULHOLLAND bite?” When I say my heart’s bossy, I mean it’s oversaturated shape. I start off loving somebody at times, with all the joy, all the as X, and as we both grow, it shifts. angst, memories of river walks Suddenly, I’m loving them as Y. and collared shirts, all the love The love shimmies and evolves. I have for dozens and dozens of And sometimes, that feels bad. But people, dozens and dozens of plac- most of the times, it feels impores. Watery muscles. Heart seeped tant: unlearning a specific kind of with everybody I try love I’ve had for somebody. Growto love at all the ing new love on top of it: thicker, “right” times — callused love. Activist and writer Audre in all the “right” Lorde notes, “Love is a movement. ways. In allowing Actually, love is the movement. my heart to take It is that which moves each of us over my body, I toward one another … Indeed, the forget. The love radical potential in love is its abilgrows famil- ity to destroy the walls, fortificaiar, feels dumbly tions, edges, spaces, which work immovable. But it’s to separate us.” What strikes me not. When I was in ele- about Lorde’s observation is that mentary school, my love not only moves and builds — sister ate strips of it also deconstructs. Whenever salmon from a glass my heart starts beeping inside my container and talked about loneli- body, I think about all its “abilness on the swings, and my heart ity to destroy the walls,” but also hissed. The love rushed. So often, how necessary it is, sometimes, for my love for everybody sprawls the heart to learn how to stretch. through windows. Whether I love When I say my heart is bossy, I others as friends, sisters, dance mean that my love stomps and partners, strangers wearing pur- struts, and it’s not shy about it. It ple scarves — it still surprises me crashes often, it changes shape, how over time, the love changes and by doing so, it grows.
rules TMD’
s weekly survival guide
No. 558:
No. 559:
No. 560:
Don’t give up coffee and sleep at the same time. It doesn’t work out.
Make sure you preorder your iPhone 7 now!
Have a Coke and a smile? More like have a Coke and some football tickets.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014 // The Statement
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Personal Statement: Life after skating By Stephanie Shenouda
ILLUSTRATION BY MEGAN MULHOLLAND
I don’t remember the moment I fell in love with figure skating, but I’m positive it wasn’t the moment I first stepped on the ice. My mom and one of her friends decided to sign all of the kids up for group lessons at the local community rink because it was cheap, fun and, maybe, a good skill to have for potential dates later in life. Armed with a ladybug helmet, I took my first steps toward what I was certain would be Olympic fame. In my five-year-old mind, I knew that I wouldn’t be Michelle Kwan on my very first day, but I expected at least basic proficiency. I was royally pissed when I faceplanted after my first step on the ice. I decided right then and there that I was done with this stupid sport, if only I could get back up. Fortunately, one of the instructors scooped me up and hand-delivered me to my class before I could make my escape. It was somewhere around then that my love affair with ice skating began. Flash forward a few years later, and things have gotten serious between skating and me. Group classes have been replaced with private lessons from several different coaches, all attempting to teach me the different disciplines of skating: freestyle, ice dance, field moves and synchro. Synchro — short for synchronized skating — meant more ice time, more coaches and more pretty dresses, as well as the opportunity to eventually travel the world with the U.S. flag embroidered on my jacket. What had started out as
a fun hobby had taken over my life — and I couldn’t have been any happier. Skating was no longer cheap and my mom would regularly ask me if I was sure, absolutely sure, that this was what I wanted to do. Skating also wasn’t making me into a wellrounded person, but rather a one-dimensional one because I had completely thrown myself into it. And just to throw the romantic notions out the window, I hadn’t been ice skating on a date. Skating shouldn’t have been any fun at all. What was fun about getting up ungodly early to hang out in the one place that was colder than it was outside? There was nothing amusing about falling and slamming into the boards so hard that you still have scar tissue to this very day, or having to respond “Sorry, I can’t, I have skating,” to every invitation that was ever extended to you. Was it enjoyable to spend six hours a day learning choreography so difficult it made your head spin, only to have your coach yell and threaten to replace you when you didn’t do it right? In a word: yes. While the grueling practices and challenging moments themselves weren’t fun, it was all part of the bigger picture. Skating allowed me the chance to perform. I’ve got a big personality, and I loved being the center of attention. I was always a nervous wreck leading up to competitions, but there was something about putting on the makeup (copious amounts of glitter and red lipstick) that relaxed me. In the locker room
my teammates and I would play “booty jams” to get pumped up, and once we were dressed in our costumes it was time to visualize our performance and get serious again. Once I took the ice, everything melted away and it was just me and the music. No matter the competition, whether I was with my team or flying solo, time always used to feel like it was speeding by at twice or three times the speed it was. My heart would pound and my body would be on autopilot, knowing exactly what to do after hours of rigorous training. In those moments, I felt like I could fly, like anything was possible. Even when our music took on a serious tone, I always had a big smile plastered on my face because I was doing exactly what I loved to do. The program would come to an end and I would gasp for air — beaming at the realization of another successful skate. You’re supposed to be professional and stand still until someone gives the count to release you, but I would always smile knowingly at my family in the crowd, even as a collegiate athlete. Years have gone by, and I’ll never forget my first Synchronized Skating Championship — hitting the final pose in our long program at the Spring Cup in Milan, Italy, or the feeling of my first collegiate medal hanging from my neck as a member of the University’s team my freshman year. Each moment, though they all seemed monu-
mental at the time, was part of larger picture that will never fully fade away; my life as a competitive skater. No matter what, those memories will never leave, and if I try hard enough, I can still recreate those precompetition jitters in my stomach and legs like it was yesterday. Some of my happiest moments come from those years when I was missing school, surviving on four hours of sleep a night and skating was truly my whole life. What skating really gave me, from that very first day until the day I hung up my skates, was my identity. When people asked what I did, I said competitive figure skating. When they asked who I was, it was the name of the team I was on. While I’ve found ways to fill the gaps in my schedule, there’s no club or meeting that will ever compare to a packed stadium or getting a standing ovation from hundreds of people. People tell me that I’ll find something else I’ll love just as much, but I’m not so sure. I died a little bit inside the first time I told someone that “I used to skate,” but I’m accepting the reality of my first grown-up decision. In truth, my love affair with figure skating never really ended, and I don’t think it ever fully will. It taught me how to push myself to the absolute limit. My story is about a little girl who fell head over heels in love with figure skating, which gave me experiences that shaped who I am today, and will help me become the woman I hope to be 15 years from now.
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Wednesday, September 24, 2014 // The Statement
Wednesday, September 24, 2014 // The Statement
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RUBY WALLAU/Daily
SCHLISSEL
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
he wants a balance between athletics and academics in University life — a value the University has held since its inception. “What I want to be sure of is that athletics exist in an appropriate balance with everything else the University does,” Schlissel said in a July press conference. “Athletics isn’t part of the mission statement of the University. We’re an academic institution, so I want to work on the appropriate balance between athletics and academics.” For Schlissel, however, the Athletic Department influence is not slowing down anytime soon — the numbers will only keep growing. Big House bucks It’s easy to assess the University’s athletic reputation based on its successful programs. The University’s football team has the most wins in college football — though a 2-2 winloss ratio for the first four games of the 2014 season weakens that status in the modern context. But even as the winning percentage falls, the Athletic Department’s revenue and expenditures are on the rise. During University Athletic Director Dave Brandon’s tenure, the department’s operating revenues have increased from $105 million in 2011 to $151 million in 2015 — which excludes the approximate $350 million budgeted for infrastructure and renovations at the Stephen M. Ross Athletic Campus. At Brown University, the school’s athletics program worked with a budget of $11 million in 2013. In comparison with a 43.8 percent increase over the past four years, the Athletic Department’s revenue is now more than half of what the state of Michigan appropriated to the University last year — $295 million. Former University President Mary Sue Coleman recommended Brandon’s hiring and highlighted athletes as a way to celebrate the University’s achievements as a whole. When Schlissel was appointed last January, Brandon said he admired Coleman’s work, and anticipated Schlissel to share the same spirit. “President Coleman has been engaged and helpful and been a pattern of Michigan Athletics — loves and respects the role it plays on campus,” Brandon said. “And I’m sure the new president will have the same point of view.” Athletics remain an integral part of the University of Michigan experience. With the recent 2013 Final Four appearance by the Michigan men’s basketball team and Nov. 2013 football win against Michigan State in the Big House, the celebration of sport and camaraderie is a defining moment in a University alum’s remembrance of college. “I think every individual here is an expert in athletics, which is incredible,” Schlissel said in an interview with The Michigan Daily. “It’s something that people pay great attention to; it’s a part of the culture. I couldn’t change that even if I wanted to.” And Schlissel’s not the only one to think that athletics are a huge part of the campus culture. University Lecturer John Bacon, a prominent sports journalist and author, said the Michigan athletics experience should be an organic one which transcends the bound-
aries usually presented between students who may be separated by age, socioeconomic class, race or ethnicity. “It’s the one time of the year when none of that matters, where the second you walk past the turnstile, all of it breaks down,” Bacon said. “If you know when to jam your fist into the air and sing ‘Hail,’ then you’re one of us. And we’re all connected and we all belong.” Sure, the atmosphere is invigorating. As soon as that cowbell rings, thousands of students clap and cheer with chants of “Go Blue” without any external instruction. And, of course, there’s the student-led wave that captures every person sitting in the Big House. But the recent dwindling attendance paints a different picture of the game-day experience. This year, with what Bacon called the “worst home schedule in Michigan football history,” the Athletic Department sold 8,000 fewer student ticket packages for Michigan football — a 40 percent decrease from last season. The prices for each home game remained about $40 per game, but something caused this large drop. After scrapping the General Admission ticketing policy last year, Brandon worked with the Central Student Government to create a better ticketing option for students. Together, the Athletic Department and CSG created a
$315
new loyalty-based ticketing program, which bases ticket group placement by its previous attendance record, thus prioritizing the most loyal fans. Though students have voiced positive reviews of the new program after several home games, the process of resolving the issues between the Athletic Department and the student body is still underway. In a meeting with CSG in April, Brandon expressed little concern for the prices of student tickets. When asked how students who can’t afford the $40-per-game fee can still attend games, he suggested the common practice of buying a season ticket holder’s ticket off of them for the game. Despite consistent questioning at the meeting, Brandon told CSG he was thankful for their collaboration. “We’re not perfect, but our intentions are good,” Brandon said in April. For the football game against Miami University Sept. 13, 102,824 fans attended the game. Though it upheld the University’s longstanding streak of holding over 100,000 fans, the crowd fell well below a typical football game day. The next weekend’s game versus Utah drew 103,890. Bacon said the biggest issue is not the shortage of fans — since the decreased attendance
was expected due to what was expected to be an underwhelming game — but of what the implications of Athletic Department policies will have in the future. As ticket prices rise and home schedules become less desirable, the outcome for the future may not be as promising. “(The Athletic Department) needs to finally realize that we can’t charge steakhouse prices for fast food schedules,” Bacon said. “The bigger issue is not just this season or next season, but what happens in 20 years when your student tickets have basically cut in half — the number of student holders. If you’re not a happy 20 year old with the department, you’re not going to be a happy 40 year old who’s going to want to buy a very expensive sky box. So, that’s what the real problem is: they’re killing the future with the present.” From Brown to Blue As Schlissel takes the reins of the University and its Athletic Department, his experience with athletics comes from a much smaller venue. Before Schlissel became Brown’s provost, a project aimed to cut funding from their athletics program began. Under former Brown University President Ruth J. Simmons, who
visited the University Sept. 5 for Schlissel’s inauguration, Brown administrators created an Athletics Review Committee to assess the role athletics played on campus, along with what areas of the program to cut due to dwindling funding. Athletics was the focus of one of 12 groups formed to assess how to increase Brown’s revenues and cut its expenditures. With the overall goal of saving $60 million after the 2008, the athletics committee contributed $1 million worth of savings toward that sum. The subcommittee cut this goal to $300,000 after experiencing difficulty in decreasing the program’s expenditures by that much. Instead, the athletics subcommittee created a plan to over time provide a larger budget to some athletic units by cutting several teams and programs offered within the department. Though creating plan came with many hurdles, the subcommittee reiterated Brown’s goal for athletics on campus, the report read. Margaret Klawunn, Brown’s vice president for campus life and student services, works closely with Brown’s athletic department. In a statement, Klawunn said the Ivy League’s overall goal is to find that balance between academics and athletics. “A lot of the Ivy League regulation is intendSee ATHLETICS, Page 8B
ATHLETIC VS. ACADEMIC ANNUAL REVENUE U of M General Fund Revenue (millions)
$295 $268
$105
$121
$273
$130
Athletic Dept. Revenue (millions)
2011
2012
$279
$146
$151
DESIGN BY MEGAN MULHOLLAND
2013
2014
2015
SOURCE: BOARD OF REGENTS AGENDA RECORDS
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
hen University President Mark Schlissel ran into Michigan Stadium minutes before the football team’s season opener, he entered a world beyond the sport. He entered a world of tradition, history and more than a few numbers. With the usual crowd of well over 100,000 fans cheering in the largest stadium in college football, the atmosphere was overwhelming — and it should be. After all, students paid about $40 per game for their seats — a fee that ranked as the second highest in college football last year, just behind the University of Oregon. And for the rest of the crowd, the expense was larger, starting at $70 for less notable home games, like the contest with the University of Maryland. Working with numbers is a familiar task for Schlissel. Before becoming the University’s 14th president, he served as Brown University’s provost — a role focused on the academic and budgetary planning for the University. His previous experience with athletics, however, does not compare to the role that athletics currently plays at the University. Though Brown University has 37 Division I varsity sports teams within its department, it is in the Ivy League — which is no Big 10. Football tickets are a mere $15 per game for non-students, and funding for the program comes as its own budget offered from the Office of Student Life at Brown which works under a centralized funding model. For Schlissel, the numbers at the University of Michigan are just bigger. Though his transition comes with many hurdles, taking hold of the Athletic Department is a significant one. To those outside of academia and the alumni pool, the University is perhaps best known for its Athletic Department. Instead of building the athletics brand to follow its exponential upward trend, Schlissel has said
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6B Wednesday, September 24, 2014 // The Statement
F I L L I N G T H E S ix hours before Michigan is set to kickoff against Miami University (Ohio), Roland Jersevic sets up his tent where the railroad tracks intersect Hoover Street. His truck is backed in, the tailgate is down and a 60-inch TV is set up in the back. His TV stands out, with a satellite and a pair of speakers that face out to the street. The table is there, near the grill, with chairs that form a semicircle around the truck. A former timer for the track teams, Jersevic sits alone now, adorning a blue vest over a yellow sweater on an abnormally chilly September Saturday. Jersevic has done the same thing for decades. He’s been coming since he was a freshman in 1970. His friends will join him later, as they always do, and he’ll head to his section in the stadium because “a Michigan Man sticks by his team,” he says. Fans will walk by, watch his TV and maybe strike up a conversation. And Jersevic wears a smile on his face as if it’s new to him every time. Even as ticket prices rise, commercials spread, schedules disappoint and records fluctuate, Jersevic — a Saginaw, Michigan native — returns to his spot at Hoover and the railroad tracks. He’s one of many, who despite
changes to the Football Saturday experience, renew their season tickets every year and show up, ready to tailgate. “This is a way of life,” Jersevic said. “We came here to Michigan because it’s a great school and this is what makes it part of it.” There are people from all around who have a similar view as Jersevic, who are motivated to return to a struggling program because it’s as engrained in them. The program, after all, revels in tradition. Yet to many fans, the game day experience at Michigan Stadium has become more like a business and less like an experience. But does it need to be? *** The parking lot at Ann Arbor Pioneer high school fills up slowly before Miami (Ohio) comes to town. The RedHawks haven’t won in their last 18 games. There are people like Lisa Neitzer who tolerate the repeated losses. She’s been coming to games with her family since she was a young child. She parks her RV at Ann Arbor Pioneer’s parking lot. It’s decorated with block ‘M’s’ and the Big House and Wolverines and the yellow striped helmets. “This is something, instead of going on a vacation with the family, wherever Michigan goes, we go,” she says. “This is fun.”
She sets up with her family outside the RV — paying the $225 to park it kitty-corner from Michigan Stadium. Neitzer will travel to Piscataway, New Jersey in a few short weeks to watch the Wolverines game against Rutgers. And later, she’ll go to Evanston, Illinois to see them play Northwestern. Neitzer remembers watching Bo Schembechler, Lloyd Carr, Rich Rodriguez and now Brady Hoke carry on the Michigan coaching legacy. She went with her father to the games when she was young, a tradition which “brainwashed in her,” she described. 100 feet away from Neitzer, Jackson resident Tyler Sebastian throws a football back and forth with his brother. “There’s just nothing else I would rather do on a Saturday,” Sebastian says. “I’ll watch them even if they do play smaller teams or have rough weeks.” He shows up early because these opportunities don’t come around often. He shows up early because that’s what he’s done since he was 13. “The biggest thing that brings fans to the Big House is the need to be together, to have
shared values, to have that barriers that are all too present too often — race, religion, nationality, age,” said John U. Bacon, University lecturer and New York Times best-selling author, in an interview with The Michigan Daily. “All of these things, whether you’re pursing poetry, engineering, or Law — it’s the one time of the year when none of that matters, where the second you walk past the turnstile, all of it breaks down.” *** Across Ann Arbor-Saline Road, the Ann Arbor Country Club golf course also fills up with fans who begrudgingly pay the high price to park their car. Eric Rife of Temperance, Michigan, still shows up hours before kickoff, setting up a grill with venison wrapped in bacon. Since the beginning of this season, he’s been coming to the games and gets “chills” every time he walks into the stadium. For all the fans that return to Ann Arbor for the game day expe-
rience, every year brings a whole new set of Michigan fans to the nation’s biggest stadium — Rife included. “New fans are experiencing Michigan Stadium that have never experienced it before and we are confident once they attend a game, they will want to come back in the future,” said Hunter Lochmann, Chief Marketing Officer within the Athletic Department. This season, Michigan’s sevengame home slate includes one team with more than seven wins — Minnesota, who fell to Michigan last year, 42-13. The better games are on the road, and ticket prices, despite not rising, are still more than a $1,000 investment for regular season-ticket holders. According to ticket data from Craig Barker, a long-time fan and blogger at the Hoover Street Rag, ticket prices have increased by $30 per game since 2000, averaging to $65 per contest in the 2014 season. The Athletic Department hasn’t raised prices since 2012, but the price per ticket is still at its
Wednesday, September, 24 2014 // The Statement 7B
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STA N D S historical high. That doesn’t include the hundreds of dollars fans pay for a Preferred Seat Donation Program to maintain the same seating location every year. *** The frat houses lining State Street rope off their property as if they’re enclosing themselves from the outside. But they blare their music as if they’re holding a wager. There are empty cans of beer crushed on the sidewalk, girls wearing fanny packs and guys wearing sleeveless shirts. There’s dancing, there’s smoking, there’s drinking. But nowadays, there isn’t always football. Football Saturday means something different for younger fans — the ones who haven’t grown up with Michigan football. According to Lochmann, this year’s student season tickets holders decreased by 40 percent from last year, during which a generaladmission policy that upset upperclassmen was implemented and recalled.
It was enough for the Athletic Department to extend the deadline for purchasing tickets twice,
validation cost for student tickets. In fact, just Monday, the Athletic Department teamed up with Coca
We don’t need a scoreboard to tell us when to say ‘Go Blue’ — we do that together. That is a place that doesn’t need to be programmed.” —John U. Bacon, University lecturer
change the ticket policy for older students to sit closer and offer other incentives such as waving the
Cola to give away two tickets with the purchase of two Coke products. “This has been a challenging
year,” Lochmann said. “A lot has been written about our student ticket situation and while we are pleased with our new policies and working closely with student groups (Central Student Government and the Football Advisory Council), a 40 percent decrease in our student season ticket number put us in a hole we are still climbing out of.” Students like LSA senior Lauren Kettle and LSA sophomore Alex Herzog both had tickets last year, but this year, only Herzog purchased them. For Kettle, the decision is one she’s been satisfied with, “With the schedule, and it being out of the budget, I just decided not to get them,” she said. Herzog says she regrets purchasing student tickets. “I kind of felt like it was something you have to do,” Herzog said. “I feel like I should have gotten some individual games, because I feel that I’m not going to go to all of them.” Their friends didn’t get tickets and the friends of their friends didn’t get tickets for the same reason: if the tradition of Michigan football isn’t engrained, the value
to watch mediocre program does not live up to the cost. “As a sports marketer, one of the first things you learn is you can’t affect what happens on the field, court, etc.,” Lochmann said. “So you need to be prepared off the field, court, et cetera.” With that comes added pressure of having to fill a stadium with over 100,000 people for every game. Michigan currently holds a 254game streak of having more than 100,000 tickets sold. But losses like last week’s don’t make maintaining the streak any easier. *** It isn’t easy to have a profitable program without upsetting fans deeply rooted in tradition. Athletic administrators such as Athletic Director Dave Brandon and Lochmann and have learned that the hard way. Over the last few years, they’ve partnered with sponsors like Chobani, which sponsors tweets, and Lowes, which sponsors score updates from around the country. On top of that, there’s the Athletic Department’s $84 million, 12-year partnership with IMG — the owner of the University’s media rights — that contractually allows for advertisements, Lochmann See EVOLUTION, Page 8B
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Wednesday, September 24, 2014 // The Statement
EVOLUTION From Page 7B confirmed. And though commercialization is within the Athletic Department’s contractual rights, it doesn’t mean fans are always receptive. Last year, a macaroni and cheese noodle from Kraft in the north side of the stadium upset fans enough that it was removed from the premises within a week. The marching band, once used as the primary form of entertainment, is replaced by music played through the speakers. “If it wasn’t broke, don’t break it,” Bacon said, referring to the organic Michigan Marching Band chants that once held the place of piped in music. “Yes, things change, and I get that.” “The most fundamental thing occurred organically, from students, fans, the band,
the ‘Go Blue’ cheer,” he added. “We don’t need a scoreboard to tell us when to say ‘Go Blue’ — we do that together. That is a place that doesn’t need to be programmed.” University alum Ari Schorr, a marketing professional with Microsoft in Seattle, understands that over time, Michigan athletics will become more of a business. “It doesn’t bother me, it’s just something we have to accept about college sports,” Schorr said. “There is a commercialization in that it’s almost like a professional sport.” At the end of the day, Michigan isn’t a professional sport. It’s part of what people like Jersevic pride about being a “Michigan Man.” After all, if Michigan is one of the “leaders and best,” does it need advertisements to sell its brand? “It doesn’t bother me to the point where I
wouldn’t come back,” Jersevic said. “I think it detracts from the Michigan tradition.” *** The game day experience at Michigan is undergoing a change — one that moves from selling itself independently, to one that needs help being sold. Lochmann and the marketing department will continue to take advantage of social media and online ticket ordering, utilizing digital trends that continue to progress. There will be piped in music and there will be ads. It will be a business. It doesn’t have to be completely eliminated to still have fans such as Jersevic or Rife or Neitzer filling the stands. But it will be difficult to draw in audiences that aren’t as faithful to Michigan’s history.
For now, the program is banking on fans that believe in tradition and have been “brainwashed,” like Neitzer, to love Michigan football. “The Big House is what bonds us,” Bacon said. “No matter what else you have going on campus ... it’s the one building on campus where everybody is welcome, everybody knows what to do. “You feel that energy — 100,000 of your best friends are all feeling the same emotion at the exact same time. There’s something very electric about that; it’s a very basic human need, and you can’t get that on TV. That’s what the department should be selling.”
monumental athletic history.
tee, said creating a theme semester was the best way to do it — and potentially launch more courses offered like this in the future. “We decided it would be really fun to sponsor a theme semester on sport and the university to highlight all RUBY WALLAU/Daily these intersections — and to see what departments would come up with related to the theme,” Curzan wrote in a statement. “And it has been exciting to see the range of events and topics that have come together around this theme.” Physics Prof. David Gerdes, who works with Curzan as co-leader of the theme semester, said the courses in the theme semester encompass a myriad of aspects of the complexity of sports: ranging from the physics of baseball to the history of college football. The Athletic Department will sponsor several events produced by the theme semester. For the program’s kickoff, a panel titled “Game Plan: Achieving Success at Michigan and Beyond” was comprised of several distinguished professors and accomplished coaches, including Men’s Basketball Coach John Beilein. The panel discussed how students can reach their goals, whether they be in sports, academics or any other field.
Curzan said the theme semester aims to encourage students and faculty to take a closer look at how these two monumental parts of the University of Michigan experience interact. “At Michigan, you find passion for academics and passion for athletics,” she said. “And we don’t think that we need to see athletics and academics as inherently or necessarily at odds with each other.” For Schlissel, finding a balance between athletics and academics and forming an understanding between the two is vital. Though the numbers may be bigger for Schlissel, he aims to ensure the Athletic Department upholds one value: integrity. Since Brandon reports directly to him, Schlissel said they have meetings every other week to ensure their communication runs smoothly. University Athletic Department spokesman Dave Ablauf described their partnership as “a good working relationship,” adding that they have met several times for dinner in addition to their regularly scheduled meetings. To get a better grasp of the department, Schlissel is aiming to attend at least one event every year for each varsity sport the department offers. This goal will allow Schlissel to interact with what he calls the most important part of the department: the student-athletes. “I want to make sure the student-athletes get benefits from their program,” Schlissel said. “I want to make sure our athletics program operates with unquestioned integrity, with a focus on the athletes and the experience the studentathletes are having.” Athletics will remain a landmark to the University experience. As Schlissel continues to adjust to his new leadership role, his exact approach to working with the Athletic Department will come through.
ATHLETICS From Page 5B ed to insure that our students can excel in academics and in competition,” Klawunn wrote. “It is very important that our students excel in both areas.” Klawunn added that Brown’s athletics do not attract similar audiences to those at Michigan sporting events, given the smaller size of the school’s student body and the reputation of the Ivy League’s sports division in general. Schlissel said during his three years at Brown, the sum total of ticket sales for athletics events probably did not amount to that of one game in the Big House. As Provost, Schlissel oversaw all of Brown’s budgeting, which includes athletics. At the University of Michigan, University Provost Martha Pollack does not oversee funding for athletics. Instead, Jason Winters, the Athletic Department’s chief financial officer, oversees funding and reports to Brandon, who in turn reports to the University’s governing Board of Regents and the University President. As Schlissel noted, the Athletics Department at the University is entirely self-supporting — which is not a common funding model when compared to nearly every other national university. By the numbers, Brown has 900 student-athletes involved in 31 varsity sports. In comparison, the University has 29 varsity sports with 931 students. Though the percentage of student-athletes overall is technically larger at Brown, the University’s budget is larger. But that distinction, however, comes with the University’s
Sport and the University It’s clear that both athletics and academics are identifiable, historic aspects of
the University. In order to examine their relationship to each other, this year’s LSA Theme Semester was created. Each term, LSA creates a Theme Semester to provide a more focused group of classes to offer to its students. This fall, the theme is “Sport and the University.” English Prof. Anne Curzan, who serves as the faculty liaison to the Athletic Department, is one of the leaders and organizers of the theme semester. The idea stemmed from a committee a few years ago aimed to identify ways to increase courses offered at the University relating to sport and physical activity. Curzan, who was part of this commit-