CELEBRATING OUR ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Thursday, October 30 , 2014
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CAMPUS IDENTITY
‘U’ working to improve minority enrollment
ABIGAIL KIRN/Daily LSA freshman Darian Razder and LSA sophomore Anna Kreiner carry a mattress across the Diag Wednesday to raise awareness about sexual assault on college campuses as part of the Carry That Weight campaign in solidarity with Columbia University junior Emma Sulcowicz.
Students call for changes to sexual assault policies Demands posted on the Diag request improved training and awareness By EMMA KERR Daily Staff Reporter
Early Wednesday morning, a list of seven demands covered the block ‘M’ on the Diag, calling on
the administration to improve the University’s approach to sexual assault on campus. The protest falls on the national “Carry That Weight” day of action, which aimed to raise awareness of sexual assault and abusive relationships by asking participants to carry a standard dorm room mattress with them throughout the day. The demands were plastered in cut-and-paste style and surrounded by spray painted trigger
warnings and calls to expel rapists — protesting the University’s perceived complacency in handling sexual misconduct on campus and advocating for student voices to be heard. Beginning with a demand for further training and awareness, the list calls for a mandatory program that would educate new students on the meaning of consent, the specifics of the University’s sexual misconduct policies and information on gender-neutral
After Proposal 2, administration explores options to reach diversity goals By SHOHAM GEVA Daily Staff Reporter
language. Currently, the University provides resources for students through the Office of Student Conflict Resolution and the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center. Existing programs like Relationship Remix, a workshop aimed toward educating first year students on relationships and sex, work to educate students about sexual assault and how to prevent it. See PROTEST, Page 3A
Minority enrollment at the University has shifted dramatically in the past decade, following two court cases over the University’s race-conscious admission policies and a successful statewide referendum that banned the consideration of race in a public higher education admissions decisions. This summer, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, more commonly referred to as Proposal 2. The 2006 popular referendum banned the consideration of race, among other factors, in college admissions — rendering the final
ELECTION 2014
ANN ARBOR
Taylor’s work to DDA part of plans for development
In Senate race, Land struggles with narrative
Despite fundraising advantage, prospects grim for GOP candidate By SHOHAM GEVA Daily Staff Reporter
As the Nov. 4 election approaches, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land has become more difficult to define. She’s bringing in significant amounts of money — her campaign raised a total of $11 million in contributions as of the last quarter, more than her Democratic challenger — and she’s not short on airtime, running multiple ads in the lead-up to elections. This week, she concluded an expansive bus tour of the state, covering 3,181 miles over the course of three months. That strong showing in resources, however, is juxtaposed with some less-than-favorable numbers. By the most recent polls, Land trails her Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Gary Peters,
by an average of 11.4 points. And she’s only garnered one major media endorsement, from Crain’s Detroit Business. At the start of campaign season, Land’s chances of succeeding longtime U.S. Senator Carl Levin looked favorable — a former Secretary of State who ran two successful statewide campaigns for the position in 2002 and 2006, beating her opposition by more than 10 percentage points each time. In the Senate race, early polls had her doing well. The seat, the first open in Michigan in 20 years, was highlighted by Republicans in their effort to flip control of the U.S. Senate in their favor. “Terri’s got a great record,” said GOP consultant Stu Sandler, president of Decider Strategies. “If you look at her record as Secretary of State, she ran a statewide office for eight years and did so with extraordinary success, and it’s one of the reasons, if you look today that Crain’s endorsed her, it’s one of the reasons why.” But from the start, her campaign has been unable to escape See SENATE, Page 3A
word on affirmative action in the state of Michigan. The Supreme Court decision does not necessarily signal anything new for the University. Since the ban was passed in 2006, the institution has admitted students without an affirmative action policy in place. At least since the 1970s, and as recently as last year’s BBUM protests led by the Black Student Union, activists and student protesters have set a goal of having Blacks constitute 10 percent of the student population, a threshold that has never been reached. But now that the last glimmer of hope for a restoration of affirmative action has faded, it commits the University to a difficult situation — a time in which minority representation is at one of the lowest points and renewed protests are demanding it climb up to a goal higher than ever before. New strategies There are three steps to the See ENROLLMENT, Page 3A
Mayoral candidate aims to maintain downtown growth By JACK TURMAN Daily Staff Reporter ALLISON FARRAND/Daily Ron Weiser, Republican candiate for the University’s Board of Regents, discusses policy proposals in his office.
Regent candidate stresses strong political experience Ron Weiser tauts leadership locally and abroad By ALLANA AKHTAR Daily Staff Reporter
Though Ron Weiser has a large office on Main Street, he does his work on a small table in the corner of the room. Most of the office is adorned with University wrestling medals,
Slovakian artifacts, pictures with former U.S. presidents and senators and other memorabilia from his past. Weiser is one of the Republican candidates running for the Board of Regents, alongside Dr. Rob Steele. The two, in addition to Democratic candidates Mike Behm and Katherine White, will vie for two contested seats on Election Day. The seats are those of current regents White and Julia Darlow (D). Darlow is not seeking re-election.
Originally raised in St. Joseph, Mich., Weiser moved to Ann Arbor in 1962 to study accounting at the University. After graduating with honors, he did postgraduate work at the Law School and the Business School. Shortly after graduating, Weiser founded McKinley Associates, a real-estate venture that eventually grew to be valued at $4.6 billion. In 2001, former President See REGENT, Page 3A
City Councilmember Chris Taylor (D–Ward 3), the Democratic mayoral candidate, discussed taking a balanced approach to city issues if elected. However, Taylor has repeatedly highlighted the importance of downtown Ann Arbor in both the first postprimary debate Oct. 7 and in an interview with the Daily Oct. 16. Taylor said the downtown area needs to be a vibrant place where people can work and live comfortably, while still maintaining a focus on other issues. “It also has to have a character and finding that balance is going to be what we are trying to do here,” Taylor said. For downtown Ann Arbor to preserve this character, Taylor plans on working closely with the Downtown Development Authority. “I think the DDA has done great work for the downtown (area) and See DEVELOPMENT, Page 3A
the boo-side A look at students’ experiences with the paranormal
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2A — Thursday, October 30, 2014
MONDAY: This Week in History
TUESDAY: Professor Profiles
MIDTERM ZEN
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers
Students plan Halloween costumes
RITA MORRIS/Daily
LSA junior Rachel Richmond leads members of Sigma Sigma Rho sorority in a yoga routine at the Michigan Union Wednesday evening.
Liz Brennen, LSA sophomore Some people have difficulty arriving on one costume idea. Not Brennen. She plans to wear three over the course of the weekend, one for each day of festivities. One day, she will go as Rosie the Rivet-
er. The next, she plans to be a cat. The last, she will dress as a pilot. “Mainly, the reasons I picked all of my costumes is because it’s based off of clothes I already have, so it’s really cheap, and I’m a college student, so affordability is a bonus,” she said. Although Brennen won’t explicitly be trick-or-treating, she said variation in costumes was an important factor for her weekend celebrations. “All three days I’m going to go out with the same group of friends, and it’s more fun to switch it up,” she said. India Peterson, LSA junior Last year, Peterson’s costume was aimed at community service
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
Euphonium and Penny Stamps Law workshop Allan Rosas, a lecture series WHAT: tuba concert judge in the European
THE FILTER
‘Fog of War’ BY BRIAN BURLAGE
WHAT: Ryoji Ikeda, a Japanese sound artist who combines sound, visuals, math and ‘datamatics,’ will perform as part of the Stamps lecture series. WHO: Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design WHEN: Today from 5:10 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Theater
Union’s Court of Justice, will discuss recent antiterrorism measures reviewed by the Court and their relationship with the basic constitutional rights of citizens in the EU. WHO: Center for International and Comparative Law WHEN: Today at 11:50 a.m. WHERE: 1020 South Hall
BY MICHAEL FLYNN
Antebellum America
Zombie nightmare
Book drive
A first performance at an open mic night can be a terrifying proposition. To enjoy success, it is good to go in with a plan. Five successful tips to follow are to know what you are performing, believe in it, show up, learn from mistakes, and enjoy yourself.
WHAT: History Prof. Mary C. Kelley will talk about the antislavery texts of African American women in during America’s Antebellum period. WHO: Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies WHEN: Today from 4 to 6 p.m. WHERE: 1014 Tisch Hall
WHAT: University Health Service will offer trick-ortreating students candy, prizes, crafts and $25 flu shots. WHO: University Health Service WHEN: Today from 6 to 8 p.m. WHERE: 207 Fletcher Street
‘Fog of War,’ an Academy-Award-winning documentary, is an amazing and haunting view into the mind of Robert S. McNamara, the longestserving Secretary of State in U.S. history.
THE FILTER
Open mic night
FRIDAY: Photos of the Week
THE PERFECT FIT
Halloween in college is an event to behold. Creatively titled parties abound, as do performances and events hosted by student organizations. But even before one attends any of these, for many, the costume is the pinnacle of the night. Some are driven by puns; others are inspired by aesthetic appearance. Regardless, costumes are important — here are some students’ plans for Halloween costumes.
ON THE WEB...
THURSDAY: Student Profiles
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
WHAT: The University’s Euphonium and Tuba Ensemble will perform a range of pieces, from seasonal music and jazz to songs originally featured in films. WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: Today at 8 p.m. WHERE: Moore Building, Britton Recital Hall
WHAT: Ongoing through Friday, the drive is an effort to collect books for innercity community centers. WHO: Detroit Initiative Student Group WHEN: All day today WHERE: School of Social Work l Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@ michigandaily.com.
of sorts. She was a “condom fairy.” “I had a pink tutu, a crop top and a fairy condom wand. And then I taped condoms all over myself,” Peterson said. “And they were all gone by the end of the night. I definitely prevented teen pregnancy … or twenties pregnancy.” She said she came up with the costume in an attempt to engage in sexual education with her peers by encouraging people to use condoms. This topic was nothing new for her, as she is on the board of the Body Peace Corps, an organization that promotes positive body image. — MICHAEL SUGERMAN
Read more of these Halloween plans at MichiganDaily.com
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
1
A river of lava slowly crawling toward a residential area in Hawaii may claim dozens of homes within the next day. The lava, with a temperature of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, travels at about 30 feet per hour.
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This Halloween, Luther House will host its annual Halloween Party, which will feature a wide selection of local bands and live performances. >> FOR MORE, SEE B-SIDE, 1B
3
More than 2,400 Chinese students were caught using high-tech gear to cheat on national exams. Radio signals would transmit codes to ear pieces or “electronic erasers” on students’ desks.
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Experts weigh in on Tobacco whistleblower ISIS threat, ideology talks cigarette policies Diverse panel provides context to evolving conflict
ISIS, short for the Islamic Joo said. By CARLY NOAH State in Iraq and Syria, is a To address the many facFor the Daily Sunni Muslim extremist group ets of ISIS, the event featured that has drawn increasing inter- four panelists, each focusing Jerry Wigand, the former vice national attention in the last few on a different aspect of the president for research and develmonths. In June of this year, the issue: History Prof. Juan Cole, opment of Brown & Williamson By GENEVIEVE HUMMER group seized control of terri- Political Science Prof. Mark Tobacco Corporation, caused Daily Staff Reporter tory in northeastern Syria and Tessler, Political Science Prof. significant public outrage when western Iraq, including Iraq’s James Morrow, and Mohamhe exposed the company’s intenDespite a summer of increas- second-largest city, Mosul. In mad Khalil, associate professor tional attempt to increase the ing fear concerning the spread the same month, ISIS declared of religious studies at Michigan carcinogenic and addictive comof the terror group ISIS in the the creation of a caliphate in the State University. ponents in its cigarettes. Since Middle East, some University conquered regions of Iraq and In Cole’s talk, he said the then, he’s traveled the world just professors argue the global Syria and named Abu Bakr al- Iraqi transition from a socialist to talk about it. threat might be relatively mini- Baghdadi as caliph. to a neo-liberal government folWigand spoke at the School of mal in the long term. The media’s growing fascina- lowing the U.S. invasion of Iraq Public Health Wednesday afterThe International Policy tion with the extremist group is in 2003 prompted Sunni disnoon to a crowd of about 100 Center and the Center for Mid- one factor that prompted Social content. The new government people, discussing the potential dle Eastern and North African Work student Angela Joo to placed the Shiite elite in power public health impact and controStudies co-sponsored Wednes- attend the event. and marginalized Sunnis, he versy surrounding e-cigarettes, day’s event at the Ford School of “ISIS has been covered in the added. the science behind Public Policy, “Understanding media a lot so I was interested in “These were the capable tobacco engineerISIS: Evolution, ideology, and learning more about it as a citi- people in Iraq, they were the ing that promotes implications,” which discussed zen, and I just wanted to know equivalent of West Point graduaddiction and the Sudoku theSyndication origins, ideology, popular what the issues were and how http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ ates and Harvard Law and high current state of the support for and international the federal government planned politicians and the people who tobacco industry in impact of ISIS. on taking care of the problem,” managed things,” Cole said. the United States. “And they were all told you’re Wigand lost his now unemployed, if you behave job at Brown & yourself you might be able to Williamson and get a job as a shoe-shiner to the received numerHARD Shiites, and so they went into ous death threats rebellion.” after disclosing the Tessler presented findings company’s secrets. from surveys he and a team conAfter his dismissducted in Iraq in 2004, 2006, al, he assisted the 2011 and 2013, the results of U.S. Federal Drug which were consistent with Association with their investimany of Cole’s assertions. Tesgation of Brown & Williamson. sler and his team also noted He became nationally known as growing Sunni discontent dura tobacco whistleblower after ing the U.S. occupation of Iraq. revealing that the company had One important shift that altered the tobacco content in its the surveys reflected was a cigarettes on the CBS news proshift from Iraqi national idengram “60 Minutes.” This exposé tity among citizens in the early inspired the 1999 movie, “The years of the U.S. occupation, to Insider.” more sectarian identities among In 1995, Wigand reached Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds in international prominence when 2011 and 2013. The surveys he became the tobacco industry’s also indicated that, with time, highest-ranking former execuSunni interest in an intersection tive to address public health and between Islam and political life smoking issues. Under incredible increased substantially. pressure himself, with even his wife and family members also © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. BEETHOVENS SONATA 29. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com receiving threats of violence, he Read the rest of this article informed the public about the online at MichiganDaily.com industry’s poor health and safety
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practices. When discussing his decision to go public with Brown & Williamson’s fraudulent practices Wednesday, Wigand stressed the importance of reacting ethically. “It’s a gradual evolution to understand what moral obligations one has with the knowledge they have and to avoid that culpability by being a bystander,” he said. “A bystander is someone who watches on and does nothing about it. I had to do something about it.” Wigand recounted how after he went public, Brown & Williamson filed a lawsuit against him because of his public disclosures about the industry’s effort
the whistle again, Wigand said his involvement in the process was simply planting the seed of change and that he was generally proud of his actions. “Never did I expect that there would be success or the belief that it would really make a difference,” he said. “The media, my students, my family, law enforcement, justice department — they all made it happen. I was just this substantial catalyst.” The event drew a wide variety of attendees, ranging from current students to international tobacco experts. Pharmacy student Brad Vincent was inspired to attend the lecture after he watched “The Insider.” “I’m in the health and tobacco class and we watched the movie ‘The Insider’ last week and it was a great movie, we learned a lot about tobacco and the whole process. I was born in the early ‘90s so I never got to know what happened,” Pittson said. LSA senior Emily Long said she found the lecture particularly relevant to her field of study. “I am actually writing a senior thesis on electronic cigarettes so I thought this would be a really interesting piece to come here and learn about someone who has a lot more expertise than I have,” Long said. Jose Monzon, a tobacco researcher from Guatemala, found the lecture to be helpful from an international perspective. “He’s a big figure in the tobacco world. I’m interested to learn about the current trends in how tobacco control is affecting populations nowadays and particularly how to reduce tobacco use in low and middle income countries, such as Guatemala.”
“It’s a gradual evolution to understand what moral obligations one has with the knowledge they have to avoid that culpability by being a bystander” to diminish the health and safety issues with tobacco use. The lawsuit was dismissed as a condition in the historic 1996 settlement agreement between the U.S. Attorney General and the tobacco industry. Currently, Wigand spends his time in lectures around the world advocating for employees of morally corrupt companies to not stand by idly. He is still active in ligations in the tobacco industry and is works as consultant on tobacco. He also leads a non-profit organization for kids, Smoke-Free Kids Inc., with which he concentrates his energy educating kids about the tobacco industry. When asked if he would blow
News
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SENATE From Page 1A concerns of poor management, some coming from within her own party. She’s faced criticisms both about her policies, which have been seen as out-oftouch with the state, and about her interactions with the public and the media, which have been characterized as limited and awkward. Earlier this month, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, a major group working to fund the GOP push for the Senate, pulled funding for advertisements for Land, concentrating instead on races in other states. Both the Land campaign and the NRSC said at the time that the funding was pulled because Land had resources from other groups. Neither responded to requests for comment about potential reinvestment in the race by the NRSC. Sandler said it seems like a narrative has been constructed around Land, one he said hasn’t done her justice. “I think the criticism has been unfair,” he said. “Terri has done a variety of public appearances, she’s done a variety of media appearances. For some reason, a narrative started about her being less willing to be in public, which I think is a false narrative. I think it’s unfair, because I think she’s been out quite a bit.” This narrative can also be defined by Land’s policy decisions, Political Science Prof. Vincent Hutchings said. He pointed to issues that have been prominent in political messaging during the campaign such as pay equity, climate change and affili-
DDA From Page 1A I look forward continuing with it,” Taylor said. DDA Executive Director Susan Pollay said she looks forward to building downtown and ensuring the high quality of life that is associated with downtown Ann Arbor. “As we have with the previous mayors, the DDA will strive to find projects and initiatives that serve its mission, which is to strengthen downtown and encourage private investment that also serve the city administrator, mayor and city council goals,” Pollay said in an e-mail interview. “We all are working toward community prosperity and quality of life.” Taylor said the DDA is currently working on long term transportation issues, one of
PROTEST From Page 1A University spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald said the University offers a variety of effective programs and that it is continually looking for ways to improve how it responds to and prevents sexual assault. “There are lots of programs, and in fact, the University of Michigan is often looked to as a leader in this area among other higher institutions,” Fitzgerald said. “I think the most effective thing we can do is to engage the students who are passionate about this topic, to engage in conversation and work through these issues.” The anonymous list of demands presented on the Diag and published in The Michigan Daily may be in conjunction with the Carry That Weight day of action. Women carrying mattresses walked through campus, stopping in the Diag in front of the list of demands to display their mattresses, marked with the Twitter hashtag #carrythatweight. Other college campuses, including Stanford University and Harvard University, participated in similar protests and calls to action. LSA junior Fabiana Diaz said she hopes to use her own experiences through this event to offer support to other survivors. “I’m a survivor of sexual assault, so this is very personal for me,” Diaz said. “This is a day to show solidarity and be symbolic of the weight that all women carry as a result of sexual assault. As a woman, even if you aren’t directly involved in sexual assault, you still carry that burden. Our goal really is to get even one person to just Google it.”
ation with the Koch brothers — a pair of Republican billionaires tied to the more hardline side of the party — as having the most impact on how Land is viewed. Though Land has fired back on those messages in several ways, namely emphasizing her campaign message that she’s a mom, and moms “get things done,” Hutchings said the narrative is prominent because there’s some truth to many of the issues presented. “I haven’t seen any accusations that appear to be wholly offbase,” he said. “Now, there’s a lot more going on as well of course — Land has a whole range of different characteristics. She can’t be reduced to those in particular. But the point is that they’re qualities that are associated with that candidate.” The Land campaign did not return requests for comment. This has been the most expensive Senate race in Michigan’s history — more than $50 million has been spent on either Land or Peters’ behalf thus far, most coming from contributors outside of the state. Over the past few election cycles in Michigan, Democrats have typically been more successful for federal positions, making winning roles like U.S. Senator an uphill battle for Republicans. Ultimately, Hutchings said, instead of an external factor that’s causing Land to perform poorly, the negativity that’s followed Land throughout the campaign may actually be a reflection of her poor showing in the polls. “I don’t think that the candidate is doing poorly because of a poor public image,” he said. “I think that the candidate has a poor public image because she is
his priorities, and is exploring other areas of concern. Though the DDA requests city assistance on downtown matters and has to receive city approval of development and financing plans, Taylor said he doesn’t want to overstep boundaries and exert too much influence on the DDA. “The DDA takes a pretty careful approach to the issues that it tackles,” Taylor said. “I don’t want to get in the way of that.” “It is a weak mayor administrative system,” he added. “The DDA is a separate entity, which has budget review from City Council, but makes its own decisions.” The free decision-making process has led to concerns, often raised by Councilman Stephen Kunselman (D–Ward 3), regarding the lack of transparency with the DDA.
The Carry That Weight event at the University is officially sponsored by the Feminist Forum, but student volunteers at SAPAC actively participated and organized volunteers for the event. “It’s not just SAPAC, but we did want to show our support for this event,” Gillies said. “It’s not just to raise awareness, but it’s to show support for survivors. There are a lot of survivors on campus and you can feel very alone, so this is our way of saying we support you.” An analysis done by the Washington Post in July found that the University ranks second in number of reported instances of sexual assault. Though the director of SAPAC interpreted this data as showing their sexual assault awareness programs to be effective in encouraging individuals to report misconduct instances, the anonymous group making these demands believes SAPAC and its resources are not enough. LSA freshman Kate Heinz, who noticed the installments while walking to class, said she knows sexual assault happens on campus, but that statistics of how often sexual assault occurs are still shocking. “Everyone knows it’s a big thing on college campuses but it’s hard to really see,” Heinz said. “You would never know that the University is second in the nation for reported assaults. It’s hard to gauge, so it’s just a matter of understanding the scope of it and bridging the gap between reports and actual happenings. It’s a matter of communication between the administration and students.” LSA junior Kathleen Abenes, a Resident Adviser, said existing initiatives are not sufficient for incoming students. “I know we have the AlcoholE-
Thursday, October 30, 2014 — 3A
by the Office of Budget and Planning, that figure stands at 5.8 percent. In this year’s freshman class alone, the number is significantly lower for Black enrollment — 3.84 percent. In contrast, roughly 19 percent of Michigan’s college-aged population is Black. During last year’s BBUM protest, students cited a host of ways low minority enrollment impacted their experiences at the University, including facing harmful stereotypes and repeated instances of microaggressions. The protest went viral on Twitter, resonating with students in schools across the country. LSA senior Arnold Reed, BSU president, said the low numbers aren’t always visible from a distance, but their impact becomes evident once students arrive on campus. “Coming for a huge football game, you’re going to see a huge diverse crowd of people,” he said. “It really actually kind of hit me when I was here, how big of an issue it was.” At the University, the first efforts after Proposal 2 passed in 2006 were centered largely around outreach and recruitment, focusing on building pipelines from underserved communities to the University, following the recommendations of a 2007 Diversity Blueprints committee. When it comes to measuring the long-term outcomes of these programs, there are anecdotal stories of success but not much concrete data as of yet. “It’s a complicated issue, and an easy, direct yes or no type of answer is probably not appropriate,” he said. “We have lots of recruitment efforts underway — our admissions staff does an excellent job in getting out to high schools, summer programs, we do reach students in high schools,
try to cultivate interest in going to college and so forth. At the same time, what we know is that many first generation, low income students, or underrepresented minority students, who perform well in high school apply to no college whatsoever.”
Beyond the numbers Since the release of the latest enrollment data, the University’s Black enrollment still currently hovers around 5 percent, capping
off a decade-plus long slide in percentage. However, many of the University’s initiatives are long term with impacts that won’t be visible for multiple year, Sellers, Ishop and Collins all pointed out, especially those launched during the last school year and even those started back in 2006-2008. Whether they’ll be able to fix the problem eventually is unclear, especially when it comes to the BSU’s goal of 10 percent — a mandate that technically, under Proposal 2, the University is unable to directly aim for, because it constitutes a quota. “Could it happen? Yes, it could,” Collins said of achieving 10 percent. “But I think that means working closely with some school districts. I think it may mean the admissions office giving a broader look at characteristics that students bring with them. I’m not saying they don’t do that now, but such things such as your leadership— we’re the leaders and best, so one could theoretically say that if you were president of your class, we could give you some extra consideration.” For now, though, the low numbers still matter, even if the University is working to change them. Reed said in talking to a potential student about attending the University, given his experience on campus, he would highlight two things — both that the numbers have a presence, but also that there’s a lot the University has to offer. “The statistics — you can’t really fight numbers,” Reed said. “It’s real. It’s a real thing, and you will feel it. I would definitely never sugarcoat that. I feel like that’s also part of what makes our experience unique. I would also tell that student that if you do choose to come here, there are a lot of things that the University does have at your disposal.”
George W. Bush appointed Weiser as Ambassador to the Slovak Republic for four years. During his time, he organized three international investment conferences for the country and coordinated American support for the restoration of the medieval Trencin Castle. His diplomatic service inspired him to create the Ronald and Eileen Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia and the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies at the University. The former ambassador has also been an active member of the Republican Party, serving as the Chair of the Michigan Republican Party in 2009 and the National
Finance Chair of the Republican National Committee in 2011. Weiser intends to bring his wide array of skill sets to the Board on a platform of keeping tuition low and strengthening the University’s satellite campuses in Flint and Dearborn. “I’ve got political background, diplomatic background, business background, financial background — that is different and unique compared to the current regents we have,” he said. Weiser said the University’s current budgeting method does not incentivize savings and does not allow budgets from one area to be moved to other, more constrained areas. He plans to change the way the University budgets funds as a method for bringing down tuition. He also plans to provide prospective stu-
dents with a clear understanding of what their tuition will be over the entirety of their undergraduate career. In addition, Weiser said he understands the importance of the University’s satellite campuses for lower-income, part-time working students, as the cost of living in Flint and Dearborn is much less expensive than in Ann Arbor. He plans on developing classes and programs at the Flint and Dearborn campuses at the same educational standard as in Ann Arbor through increasing online learning and requesting Ann Arbor professors commute to the other campuses. “It’s not difficult — assuming there’s the demand for courses that are offered here that are not offered in those campuses — for
professors or whoever is teaching to put a section into those schools and give them the same opportunity,” he said. Weiser also said he recognizes the importance of a diverse student body to the overall educational atmosphere. Last school year, many students expressed discontent with the lack of diversity at the University, most notably through the Black Student Union’s viral #BBUM Twitter campaign that garnered national attention. Weiser said he plans to increase diversity in part by lowering tuition. “There’s all kinds of diversities that I think are important to give everybody the opportunity to have the broadest interaction and to have the best ability to work and live in the world that we have,” he said.
du program but why don’t we have something just as serious for sexual assault? I know that there is Relationship Remix and the Change it Up initiative going on, and I know that they swipe MCards, but as an RA there is no way for me to make sure they go,” she said. “There are no consequences for not going to these workshops.” The AlchoholEdu initiative, an online program that addresses the use of alcohol and other substances on campus and is required for all incoming students, discusses sexual assault in the context of a person’s ability to give consent and discusses the sexual assaults that occur while under the influence of alcohol. LSA senior Stephen Goldenthal said sexual assault isn’t just a result of alcohol consumption or attending Greek life events. “You hear of things on campus, I know people who have been sexually assaulted, so it just really changes your perspective,” Goldenthal said. “I think that the people committing sexual assault might not even see their actions as being sexual assault. And it doesn’t just occur at parties or when you are under the influence, it’s an entire cultural issue.” The second demand calls for all fraternity, sorority and cooperative houses to put up a sign defining consent in common areas, similar to signs prohibiting anyone under the age of 21 from consuming alcohol. Furthermore, the list demands that athletes be held to the same sexual conduct standards as nonathletes. This demand appears to be related to the University’s handling of sexual assault allegations on campus following student and legal scrutiny surrounding the “permanent separation” of Brendan Gibbons, the Michigan football
team’s former starting kicker, for violating the Student Sexual Misconduct Policy. His removal came nearly four years after the incident of assault, which is reported to have occurred Nov. 22, 2009, during Gibbons’ freshman year at the University. One month after the incident was brought to light, Central Student Government formed an executive task force aimed at investigating Gibbons’ sexual misconduct case, ultimately finding the University’s administration and athletic department responsible for failing to investigate the Gibbons case in a timely, transparent manner. Fitzgerald said the University’s policy already aligns with this demand and affirms the equal treatment of athletes and non-athletes. “Athletes are treated exactly the same as every other student,” Fitzgerald said. “There is no separate process when it comes to sexual misconduct as the new policy makes clear.” The fourth demand calls into question the education of University staff and DPS in issues of sexual assault response, stating that current training is surface level and insufficient. The list of demands goes on to call for providing survivors of sexual violence the option to have the responsible party expelled from the University. The demands also ask that support be increased for survivors of sexual violence beyond the resources offered through SAPAC. This would include an increase in widely-known, immediate counseling services and would require that the parties found responsible for an act of sexual assault be restrained from interacting with
the survivor in his or her personal community. LSA sophomore Meredith Gillies, a SAPAC student volunteer, said because of the broad issues SAPAC attempts to address, there is room for improvement within the organization. “We do have a limited budget
and limited resources, so we do the best with what we have,” Gillies said. “We still have a lot we could do in terms of name-recognition because there are still students who really don’t know what SAPAC is. When it comes to giving students a voice, we really need students to be educated and that takes time.”
ENROLLMENT From Page 1A process of bringing any student to the University of Michigan: outreach, admittance and conversion, a term used to describe the process of convincing admitted students to enroll. William Collins, executive director of the University’s Center for Educational Outreach, said when it comes to increasing minority enrollment without affirmative action, each of those steps presents unique challenges. He said University officials have grown more cognizant of those challenges in the years since Proposal 2. “It’s not simply a matter of ‘can you get people to apply?’ although that’s an issue,” Collins said. “It’s not simply a matter of admitting (people), although that’s an issue. So when you look at it as a constellation of issues here, from aspirations to preparation to application to admission to conversion to matriculation, those are the things that I think there is a growing awareness of.” In 1996, Black students made up nearly nine percent of the student body, the highest it has ever been. By 2006, right before Proposal 2 came into play, that number had already dropped slightly, to 7.2 percent. The federal guidelines for measuring race changed in 2010, so the numbers aren’t entirely comparable, but over the next eight years, the percentages began a slow and steady decline to an even lower point. According to figures released last week by the Office of the Registrar, Black enrollment stands at 4.63 percent of the undergraduate population. When that number also includes a breakdown of students who identify as more than one race, as is in data compiled
REGENT From Page 1A
Ongoing initiatives As Michigan’s affirmative action ban moved from district court, to state court, to a sixmonth wait before the Supreme Court, and also amid renewed student protests such as BBUM, the University broadened its efforts in the two other steps of the admissions process — admittance and conversion — and beyond into addressing the climate on campus. Last spring, the University’s Board of Regents appointed two new administrators — Robert Sellers, vice provost for diversity, equity and inclusion Kedra Ishop, associate vice president for enrollment management. In an e-mail interview in early October, Sellers pointed to several factors as representative of the diversity, equity and inclusivity in his job title, including both recruitment and retention not only of students, but also staff and faculty, along with improving their campus experience. Earlier this year, Sellers chaired the newly formed Provost’s Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which released a report in May. The committee was structured to continue the work started by the original 2007 Blueprints on Diversity task force, which spawned the CEO, among other initiatives.
Opinion
Page 4A — Thursday, October 30, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Six words Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com PETER SHAHIN EDITOR IN CHIEF
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Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
FROM THE DAILY
I
Profiting off students
For-profit colleges yield high student debt and low graduation rates
n the past decade student debt has nearly tripled, rising to an alarming $1.2 trillion. A disproportionately high percentage of this debt is owed by students at for-profit universities, which specifically market their education as a product to targeted students while also often charging more in tuition fees than comparable community college programs. It is imperative that Gov. Rick Snyder and the Michigan State Legislature work together to swiftly regulate the for-profit college education industry as part of a strategic policy for reducing student debt overall. According to a 2012 report by the United States Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, 96 percent of for-profit university students hold education-related debt, compared with 48 and 57 percent of students at public and private nonprofit colleges, respectively. Further, 22 percent of students at for-profit schools will default on a loan payment within the first three years, as compared with about 9 percent of students at a nonprofit college. For-profit institutions, as the name implies, operate as businesses — some even with shareholders and a corporate organizational structure — that sell education as a product. With the incentive to earn a profit, they must find ways to attract students to enroll. For-profit schools spend about 22.7 percent of their total revenue on sales and marketing. The University of Phoenix alone spends about $400,000 a day on advertising. Other institutions like DeVry and ITT Tech are among the largest advertisers on Google. Some of these unsavory business practices by for-profit institutions of higher education have also precipitated government legal action. Last year, California’s attorney general took a large for-profit chain to court for fabricating statistics, creating false advertising and engaging in other deceptive practices to lure minority or low-income residents to their schools. In February, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued ITT Educational Services, Inc., for predatory lending to students. Acceptance rates are comparatively high and tuition is about twice that of non-profit institutions. Meanwhile, only about 31.5 percent of students in for-profit schools graduated
compare to 57 percent for public nonprofits and 66 percent for private nonprofits, according to a 2014 article. The University of Phoenix, which has a location in Ann Arbor, graduates only 16 percent of its students through campus learning, and only 4 percent of its students who take courses online, according to a 2013 article. For those who do manage to graduate, students are less likely to receive callbacks from employers. This evidences that students are paying a high cost for a low return on their investment. Advertisements for for-profit schools boast their accelerated learning, online options and job placement records. They claim to offer to students what they may think is not available to them through traditional schooling, like targeted curricula, specific or technical job training, accelerated degrees or optimal return on investment. Likewise, prospective students may choose for-profit schools because they may initially appear less expensive than a traditional college. However, these students may be unaware that nonprofit schools often offer scholarships and grants to cover some, sometimes even all, of the costs for qualifying students. In planning for their educational futures, students should consider a wide variety of schools. But this problem extends far beyond individual decision-making. Systematic changes and regulation of for-profit schools need to be implemented to curb predatory practices. It is important that the state takes seriously the negative long-term effects, most notably high student debt, of enrolling in a for-profit university for students who might best benefit from other forms of education or work experience.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Devin Eggert, David Harris, Rachel John, Jordyn Kay, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Victoria Noble, Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Mary Kate Winn, Jenny Wang, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe
M
Jihad porn
id-Facebook procrastination session recently, I came across a video titled “[Graphic] Footage Recovered of ISIS Butchering 1500 Hostages Like Cattle.” The picture preview under the post was of what looked like a twenty-something, likely Arab, crouching and grimacing straight at the camera with a man behind him sprawled on the dirt with what looked like a blood YARDAIN splotch on his bare foot. AMRON Call me fucked up, but I clicked. And I’m still trying to understand why. The title was no exaggeration: open-bed trucks with plain-clothed prisoners packed in like cattle; said prisoners lined on their bellies, faces in the dirt; gunmen shooting the prisoners point blank. You can’t see the bullets or even where they hit exactly, but after each kickback from the assault rifle, a body bounces or jolts off the ground like Jell-O. After the last clip — in which a procession of prisoners kneel on a bloody dock and are executed by a masked man with a pistol and dumped in the water — I just sat there in the dark of my room for a moment, listening to the dehumidifier rattle. I tried quixotically for a few seconds to place “my feet” in masked pistol man’s “shoes.” To grasp the fact that such evil exists in the world today. To feel something for the slaughtered. I failed, I think, on all counts, and simply conjured an associative image of Holocaust cattle cars I had seen in a history textbook. I took a heavy sigh, and returned to my newsfeed where I chanced upon a compilation video of babies farting. I clicked and spooned a clump of Life cereal in excitement. Next thing I know, I’m spewing milk-soaked bits across the screen
as a baby rips one at an open-casket funeral. I feel guilty about my laughter. Desensitized surely. The juxtaposition of such heart -curdling and -cuddling content is terrible, and can’t be healthy for my psyche. It was during the Vietnam War (or the American War to the Vietnamese) that death and bloodshed first entered the average American living room on a wide scale. As the sprinkler watered the lawn and the pot roast broiled, our parents and grandparents gathered around the tube to watch the destruction their country was unloading across the globe. But even then, what the media chose to televise was filtered and censored. Only today, with the advent of the Internet, is it possible to bypass big media altogether and still reach the populace. And when radical groups like ISIS upload their terror videos, in their eyes, the more gruesome the better. The wickedness of the world in such raw form has not before been viewable to the clean-handed masses. Still, I’m sure there’s a sizable group out there that would rather avoid watching death, and chose not to click on ISIS’s video in the first place. But I’m also sure I’m not the only one who did click. I’ve never seen someone die, or even someone dead for that matter — in real life I mean — but I can say now that I’ve seen humans die on camera. What scares me is that nothing has changed. Why I can’t post the ISIS link here is because it would drive web traffic to the video. I completely get that reason, but I also feel justified for watching the slaughter to sympathize and actualize the dead. For understanding more lucidly, the evil that exists in this world. It’s a tricky line to maneuver, no doubt, but imagining without seeing isn’t always enough. — Yardain Amron can be reached at amron@umich.edu.
W
hat memory or event is worthy enough to stand as your memoir, to be the sole representation of who you are as a person? Oct. 20 was the National Day on Writing. In celebration, Sweetland Writing Center hosted the “Iron Writ- SIERRA ing Challenge,” BROWN which consisted of four challenges. This social media-based challenge required students to respond to the challenge prompts via Sweetland’s Facebook page as a comment on the desired challenge, or tweet a response with the hashtag #SweetlandNDOW. The number of likes, favorites or retweets determined the winner of each challenge. When reading through the prompts I contemplated whether or not I wanted to complete all or just a few of the challenges. Challenge one: “If I were to teach academic OR creative writing at U-M I would ____.” I didn’t know where to begin with this prompt and never had the desire to instruct a class, so I pushed this challenge to the side and considered the next one. “Write a limerick about writing.” My initial thought was this sounds fun, but the thought that followed was I hate writing poetry. Since limericks have a strict format — AABBA rhyme scheme — I decided to give my poetry writing a try. This task quickly lost its flare. Finding rhyming words was not as always as easy as it seemed, at least not for a poetry illiterate like myself. Since the limerick was becoming a pain in the neck, I crossed that challenge off of my to-do list. Two down, two to go was my thought upon moving to the third challenge: “Reimagine the thesis for a paper you’re working on or have already written AS a haiku.” Great, more poetry. I wanted to throw in the towel on this challenge immediately, but convinced myself to give this poem a try though I foresaw an uphill battle. To be fair, I told myself, these are challenges, and what would a challenge be
without a little struggle? Or a lot. Thinking, rather hoping, that I’d have better luck with haikus, another poem with a strict format — 17 syllables divided into lines of five, seven and five. I was able to spend more time on this poem, first deciding which class from which to borrow a thesis from. I settled on a Literature and Social Change English class. I’d recently had the thesis for my first paper approved by my professor. Selecting a thesis proved to be the easy part; condensing a five sentence thesis into a 17-syllable poem was much harder. After working on this for a while, I took a break and examined the last challenge option. “Write your memoir in six words.” This prompt intrigued me and I initially wrote it off as a piece of cake. Six words was the shortest requirement for the challenges and it seemed like a no-brainer. However, once I began brainstorming, this prompt was by far the most challenging one. After spending more time than expected analyzing my possible responses, I decided to disregard the other prompts and focus solely on this one. Technically, completing these challenges was a competition, but I was not competing to win any prize. I wasn’t even competing to win, but I was dedicated to writing this memoir for two reasons. One, this prompt was the most intriguing, and two, this prompt was the most challenging. While I backed down from the other challenges, I forced myself to complete this one. After filling two pages of ideas for my memoir I took a hiatus from writing, and made a plan to write more the next day. The following day, when I found a bit of free time, I wrote more ideas. Nothing seemed to work for me. Each time I wrote something too long. After allowing myself to become frustrated, I stopped and actually thought about what a memoir was — a piece of writing that details memories of moments and events in the public
and private life of the author. This definition in mind, I tried to write again. No words came to mind. I couldn’t think of any events that occurred in my life worth discussing. I supposed I could talk about high school, or college, or maybe even my family. But what could I divulge to readers about myself? Brainstorming went from fun to challenging to ugh! Later in the day, I began asking friends to write their memoirs in six words. Few were able to, most were not. I had an extended conversation with my best friend and she began asking questions about how I define myself. As a student, daughter, sister and friend. How about that, she asks. I considered it, but something about those words was still unsatisfying. I felt like I wanted to actually discuss an event or moment that made me who I am today. My school, family and friends did play a role in that, but I had this urge to say more. Oct. 20 came and I was still wrestling with ideas. I went to Sweetland’s Facebook page to view others’ responses. After logging in, I stopped myself. I didn’t want to get any ideas from others’ work. I sat in front of my computer, notebook in lap, and flipping through page after page, I circled a few of my favorite six-word sentences. After a game of eeny, meeny, miny, moe, I selected one and submitted it. I logged out of Facebook before I had time to reread my response and regret my decision. Though the challenge gave me more trouble than expected, I still enjoyed trying to write something impressive. I never considered how hard it would be to discuss something about myself in six words. How many of us have considered the battle of writing about our lives, something that we should be experts on, when given a word constraint? What six words are worthy enough to make the cut for your memoir?
I never considered how hard it would be to discuss something about myself in six words.
— Sierra Brown can be reached at snbrown@umich.edu.
Stuart Rankin’s simple reminder
C
oming from a family of educators, professors and school administrators, Stuart Rankin enrolled at the University of Michigan in the summer of 1945 with every intention of becoming an engineer. Throughout his LAUREN freshman year at MCCARTHY the University, Rankin discovered that he had no issue completing the logistical portions of the engineering course load, but found that he was not entirely interested in the nature of the work. He transferred into the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, and sampled a number of courses before graduating with a degree in Economics and no definite career path. Shortly after Stuart Rankin graduated from the University of Michigan in 1949, however, he was drafted into the U.S. Army as it prepared for the Korean War. On post, Rankin met a number of people who had not yet been activated, and like himself, they spent their time enlisted living and working on the army base while stationed safely in the personnel office. In the evenings and on weekends, Stuart and a handful of his friends from the base — seven or so — developed a routine of heading into Highland, Illinois, to grab a few drinks. After some time, these seven friends mustered up the courage to confront Rankin. They knew he had gone to college, and having graduated from the University of Michigan, that made him the minority in their circle. For these seven friends of his, attending a university had never been an option. They hadn’t tried particularly hard in high school because there was nothing to come of it. However, following the enactment of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act — informally understood to be the G.I. Bill — a college education had suddenly become a reality.
With little to offer in return, they asked Rankin if he would be willing to teach them weekday evenings and help them prepare for higher education. He agreed, and in return, he never had to purchase himself another beer. All of Rankin’s friends were ultimately admitted into and graduated from college, and consequently, the man who had once entered college with the intention of never teaching, decided that he no longer wanted to do anything but teach. When speaking with Mr. Rankin this past weekend, he was adamant on conveying this anecdote and its importance to me. He instructed that I listen closely, affirming that it is perfectly fine to be undecided on a choice of major and convincing me that there is no proven formula to determine the correct career path. Mr. Rankin’s message came as a welcomed, simple reminder. Now retired from 37 years of service in the Detroit Public School System and 20 years at the University’s School of Education, Mr. Rankin is viewed as the archetypal Michigan Man in the eyes of his colleagues, friends and family due to his deep respect for knowledge and the strength of his commitment to institutions of education, particularly the University of Michigan. Rankin humbly and systematically worked his way up through the educational ranks, ending his time in DPSS as Assistant Superintendent. He spent his time at the School of Education enthralled by and dedicated to curriculum development and research. Mr. Rankin’s sentiments reminded me of the modest insight that my eclectic, yet effective, English 425 professor refuses to let his students forget: “Scratch your itch.” Though at this point in our lives, it seems as though we may still be attempting to discover said itch. When I spoke with Mr. Rankin
he could not recall the record of the football team during his four years at the University, nor could he cite the effectiveness of head coach Bennie Oosterbaan’s leadership strategies. Rather, he was unconcerned with these particular details as he relayed to me his experience at the University, if not utterly confused why I had even bothered to ask. Nonetheless, he did report that he started watching the Michigan football team in 1936, and has seen at least one game every year since. Now celebrating his 80th year of unwavering fanhood, Rankin will be in attendance as the Wolverines take on the Indiana Hoosiers in the Big House this Saturday. When we are 65 years removed from the University, we will not remember the debates surrounding exactly who should replace Michigan coach Brady Hoke, and we won’t remember what was said at any given “Fire Dave Brandon” rally. We may not even remember the almost obscene amount of money that made possible the transplantation of a single tree. Yet somehow, I’ll hedge my bets that we too will celebrate 80 years of unfailingly cheering on the Wolverines. Ultimately, what will resonate with us are the same realizations that I am grateful Stuart Rankin was so intent on sharing with me. Explore this five-figure education you are investing in and exhaust the options for what may eventually be etched onto your diploma. Do not put too much stock into the confines of your concentration, and allow yourself to find your itch — and then scratch it. If you’re lucky enough, you may even be able to orchestrate a way in which to scratch that itch, while also never having to buy yourself another beer.
I’ll hedge my bets that we too will celebrate 80 years of unfailingly cheering on the Wolverines.
— Lauren McCarthy can be reached at laurmc@umich.edu.
Weekend Roundup
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Thursday, October 30, 2014 — 5A
THIS IS HALLOWEEN: the Do’s and Don’ts By Jaclyn Nagel, Weekend Roundup Contributor | Photos by Emilie Plesset, Weekend Roundup Editor
When you look back on Halloween in a week, a month, or a year, you want to remember it as one of the best weekends of your life. Follow these do’s and don’ts to ensure your weekend is a dream, not a nightmare.
DO DRESS UP Halloween is the one time of year that you can pretend to be anything or anyone you want. You could be anything from a beanie baby to Austin Powers to Harry Potter to a dust bunny. This is your opportunity to escape from reality, which is pretty ideal right after midterms. Especially after getting your grades back. GO ALL OUT Throughout the year, you may go to a variety of themed parties, but wearing a sequin headband isn’t exactly “dressing up.” Halloween is the time to go all out. From your head to your
toes, nothing should be out of character. EAT EVERYTHING I don’t care if you’re on a liquid diet; eat everything. There will be candy all over campus so there’s no reason to try to resist. You will lose. Give in to temptation with a caramel apple, candy corn or a pumpkin-shaped cookie. I promise, you won’t regret it.
DON’T DISRESPECT RELIGIONS, BACKGROUNDS AND CULTURES Being a part of a diverse campus, we all know people who are from different backgrounds and dressing up as someone’s race, culture, ethnicity, etc. is inappropriate and disrespectful. Remember to be mindful of everyone else’s backgrounds while picking out a costume. For example, being Ariel won’t make any one feel discriminated
By BRAD WHIPPLE Weekend Roundup Editor It’s finally Halloween, giving students across campus an excuse to dress up in ridiculous outfits for one night of the year. Whether you’re at a Halloweenthemed party or trick-ortreating, you’ll eventually have some down time. I know there’s homework to do and tests to study for, but take a break from all of that. Instead, sit back and choose from one of these mustwatch Halloween movies. HALLOWEENTOWN If you had any sort of childhood, you had to have seen the great Disney classic from 1998, “Halloweentown.” In a time before DVR cable boxes, watching “Halloweentown” annually became a tradition for many. “Halloweentown” follows Marnie Piper’s family as they try to stop the darkness from taking over Halloweentown, a society full of ghouls and ghosts that is separate from society. Even now, this movie still packs all of the enjoyment my younger self felt every year. If you love this movie enough, watch the sequel “Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge.” It doesn’t have that feeling of originality, but is still fun like the original. But be advised: avoid “Halloweentown High” and “Return to Halloweentown,” both of which may lead you to throw up the candy you worked hard to get. ALIEN “In space, no one can hear you scream.” If that doesn’t make your blood curdle, good for you. But for the rest of us, “Alien” is a classic sci-fi horror movie that follows a group of scientists traveling in outer space on a research mission. If you like Sigourney Weaver, chest-bursting aliens and
‘face-huggers’ (still give me nightmares), this is the movie for you. ALIENS If you want less of a psychological thriller and more of a sci-fi action movie with horror elements, watch “Aliens.” This sequel is just as scary, but focuses more on the fight against the xenomorph aliens. The movie’s most memorable line is “They mostly come out at night. Mostly.” In other words, save this movie for the daytime if you like sleeping soundly. CABIN IN THE WOODS When I first watched “Cabin in the Woods,” my first thought was, Isn’t that the actor who plays Thor? It has to be a good movie. But I quickly learned that Chris Hemsworth’s painful-towatch performance signaled this was a movie poking fun at horror movie culture while also trying to be considered a legitimate scary movie itself. The movie is about a group of teenagers who decide it would be a great idea to stay alone in a cabin in the woods. If you’ve ever seen a scary movie, you can probably infer how the rest of the story goes. There are moments where I laughed, moments where I hugged my knees, and moments where I cried (from more hysterical laughter). Overall, this is a great movie to get a kick out of with your friends. The ending of the movie escalates very quickly, and will leave you absolutely flabbergasted. BEETLEJUICE “Beetlejuice” is a classic late ‘80s movie starring Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis. More importantly, “Beetlejuice” is directed by Tim Burton. Burton, an expert in quirky horror films, takes us on an adventure with Baldwin and
HALLOWEEN S TA F F P I C K S THR I LLER BY M. J. BEST SONG
THE WA LKI N G D EA D BEST TELEVISION SHOW
S N I C KERS
EVENTS
against. GO OUT ALONE The University of Michigan may not be known for being a party school most of the year, but when it comes to Welcome Week, Halloweek and St. Patrick’s Day, it’s a whole different story. Make sure you go out with friends and stay with them throughout the night; that is the best way to keep yourself and each other safe, especially during these extracrazy occasions.
Thursday, 10/30 Zombie Nightmare on Fletcher Street 6-8p.m. UHS Reverse Trick or Treating
7 p.m. Mary Markley
Friday,10/31
GO OVERBOARD I know that midterms are over and we are all ready to let loose and go a little wild, but don’t take it too far. Halloweek is such a surreal time, it’s easy to forget that we all have limits and those limits might be lower than usual. Our last few weekends have been spent at the UGLi studying for finals and living off Dayquil, so make sure to go slow and be aware of how many drinks you’ve indulged in and how many more you can safely handle.
The most spooktastic movies to watch during Halloweekend Davis, a married couple who die in the beginning of the movie. Upon their death, we follow them through the world of the dead until they return to the home they left behind and haunt its newest residents. “Beetlejuice” is one of the funniest Halloween movies I’ve seen. If you’ve never seen it, you’re definitely missing out.
Spookappellooza
6:30 p.m. MLB Auditorium 3
Saturday, 11/1 Michigan Football vs. Indiana
3:30 p.m. The Big House
Halloween Tailgate
12 p.m. The Diag
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Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Thursday, October 30, 2014
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
BEST MOVIE
Día de Los Muertos
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Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Crawled, perhaps 5 Broadway show whose title woman can “coax the blues right out of the horn” 9 Renege, with “out” 12 Andalusian appetizer 13 Accord competitor 15 Hole starter 16 Postal service 18 __-pitch 19 Kanakaredes of “CSI: NY” 20 Plastered 22 Curled-lip look 23 Brigades, e.g. 25 The tar, in Spanish 27 Anonymous John 28 “The Black Cat” author 31 __ moss 32 Mountains dividing Europe and Asia 35 With 37-Across, sentence openings, and what the ends of 16-, 23-, 47-, and 57-Across can be when rearranged 37 See 35-Across 40 Hop follower 41 Modest dress 42 NASCAR __ 43 Lion or tiger 45 Exercises begun in a supine position 47 “You made your point” 50 “... if you want to __ man’s character, give him power”: Lincoln 54 Part of 56-Across 55 Eats pretzels, say 56 Google hit 57 Form small teams at school 60 What “I” may indicate 61 Common soccer score 62 Only 63 June honorees 64 Blind component 65 Breyers competitor
DOWN 1 Restrains 2 Like Madame Tussauds figures 3 Traditional temptation 4 “Manhattan” Oscar nominee Hemingway 5 Galaxy gp. 6 Source of 20s, briefly 7 Harmful gas 8 One of the Brontës 9 Dishonorably dismissed 10 Bird that’s probably not wise and certainly not old 11 Trudges 13 Fit __ fiddle 14 One way to think 17 Mesmerized 21 Porcine sniffer 23 Kazakhstan border sea 24 Collecting Soc. Sec. 26 Arthur who won a Tony for 5-Across 28 IBM 5150s, e.g. 29 Furniture wood 30 Inner circles, in astronomy models
33 Coach Parseghian 34 ’60s hallucinogen 36 Old Bristol-Myers toothpaste 37 Beer choice 38 College email ending 39 Extreme summit 41 Former space station 44 “Solve __ decimal places”
45 Reddish-brown horse 46 Bagel choice 47 Eat loudly 48 Main artery 49 Mars pair 51 Drew back 52 NFL analyst Bradshaw 53 Beasts of burden 55 St. Louis-toChicago dir. 58 Place to see RVs 59 NFL mistake
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Sports
6A — Thursday, October 30, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Passing game seeks With LeVert, Spike, ‘M’ in good hands remedy in practice T
FOOTBALL
By GREG GARNO Managing Sports Editor
The Michigan football team passed for 503 yards in a 63-47 victory over Indiana last year. The Wolverines haven’t reached that many yards in their past three games combined. Last year, Michigan passed for more than 200 yards in nine of its 13 games, including seven of its first eight. This year, it hasn’t recorded a single game with more than 200 passing yards. Most importantly, the Wolverines passed for 21 touchdowns last year, including 13 through eight games. This year, they’ve recorded just six. It’s in large part why they’ve been scoring less and explains in part the struggles of a poor season. The passing game hasn’t played at a level to win games, and with just four contests left, the chances to improve its aerial attack are looking less likely by the day. “I don’t think it’s anyone individually that’s caused that problem,” said sophomore tight end Jake Butt. “We left a lot out on the field. I think that’s just more of a need to execute.” The Wolverines have failed to execute in nearly every aspect of the passing attack, though, from the catching to the blocking. Fifth-year senior quarterback Devin Gardner has proven inconsistent enough to be benched, or more recently against Michigan State, pulled for a play. Last week, he threw two interceptions. Other times, he has missed an open receiver like Butt, instead opting to air it out to junior wide receiver Devin Funchess. He targeted Funchess 17 times in the past three games and 41 times
on the season — the most of any receiver. But his offensive line hasn’t blocked long enough to let him set his feet and pass. If Gardner wasn’t being hit by the Spartans as he threw, he was scrambling for room after they hurried him four times and sacked him twice. And when he did get the ball out, his wide receivers couldn’t hang onto it. Michigan receivers dropped seven passes on Saturday, a rarity this season. “In the passing game, routes being cut short, routes not being exactly what we want.,” said Michigan coch Brady Hoke. “Again, we’ve got to do a good job of catching the football. There’s multiple reasons (for struggling in the passing game).” Often, the passing game will be dependent on the running game for its success, which has become tougher after the loss of sophomore running back Derrick Green to a season-ending injury. The Wolverines, under offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, ran just under a dozen pass plays out of play action Saturday, including three in the fourth quarter when they had yet to score a touchdown. This week, practice has pitted first-team defensive players against first-team offensive players, as opposed to playing against a scout team, for the sake of simulating game speed and intensity. But that might be the only difference. “We still do the same stuff. If not, in similar forms,” said redshirt junior Justice Hayes. “We’re very confident in our schemes and gameplan.” If they won’t change their offense, than they’ll need to be near perfect in execution to succeed through the air.
wo Thursdays ago, Spike Albrecht and Caris LeVert had job interviews. They’d both been preparing for this day for years, but neither thought it would actually come. The two underrecruited high school players stood in the SIMON shadows of KAUFMAN the other members of the Fresh Five recruiting class. But now, with just two of the original five remaining, it’s up to Spike and LeVert to accept a promotion. Instead of a single interviewer, a handful of reporters surrounded the junior guards and started firing questions. The interviewee’s goal wasn’t a new job as much as it was to prove he was worthy of the one he already had. The job description? Leading a team that includes six true freshmen deep into the NCAA Tournament. Spike and LeVert answered one question clearly: Despite losing five players from last year’s team, the Wolverines are in good hands. Compared to last year, the roles aren’t as clearly defined this season. But one thing is — the first tier of leaders will be Spike and LeVert. *** Early in his interview, Spike starts hearing questions about that night. The one that transformed the under-recruited 5-foot-11 guard from a nobody to a guy whom nobody forgets. The reporter finishes his question, and Spike turns to another who says he won’t be
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Juniors Caris LeVert and Spike Albrecht have a new role in their junior years — leading the Michigan basketball team.
asking about that game or that tweet. Spike is relieved. He doesn’t mind reminiscing about that night or that tweet, but he’d rather talk about this season. That night is just one line on his lengthy résumé which also features a team-best 4.6 assist-to-turnover ratio from last season. That night doesn’t showcase his selflessness. That night is in the past. He has been there, done that, and wants to do it again. That’s why the selfadmittedly shy guy will be one of Michigan’s most vocal leaders this year. He has to be. *** LeVert sits on the other side of the table taking his own questions. He’s asked about his body. The one that came onto campus as a scrawny 170-
pound brace-faced freshman and is listed now at 200 pounds after long days spent in the gym. The one whose owner has demonstrated a gym-rat work ethic and already has people talking about a potential promotion to the NBA. In his seat at media day, he thinks about each question, hesitates briefly and gives quick, quiet responses. You wouldn’t know that when the suit comes off and the jersey goes on, he’s capable of crossing over defenders and attacking the rim or spotting up behind the arc to knock down 3-pointers. College coaches looking to employ his talents sure didn’t know it. And now, LeVert, who was named to the Preseason AllBig Ten team, is ready to live up to the expectations.
“This year, (my role) is a lot more clear, so I’m definitely more prepared for my role,” he said. “(My role) is to be the leader of the team. One of the captains, hopefully me and Spike can really take on that role.” *** As the interview comes to an end, the two get up from their seats. The day isn’t over yet. LeVert has a photo shoot with ESPN, and Spike has a radio interview with SiriusXM. Spike and LeVert don’t need a letter of acceptance to know that they aced the interview and have the job already. Now it’s time to make the money. Kaufman can be reached at sjkauf@umich.edu or on Twitter: @sjkauf.