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Members of Greek life wait in line to enter a community meeting held by university administration at Hill Auditorium on Thursday.
Schlissel to Greek life: Party culture devalues University
In first allchapter gathering, administrators call for turning point
gathering of students from every chapter of University Greek life Thursday. The meeting marked the first of its kind where all members of every University Greek life chapter gathered during their 170-year history on campus. Schlissel’s argument centered on the ways in which an unfettered party culture stains the University’s reputation — not only for current students, but for the 500,000 people who graduated before them. “The value of their degrees are gonna go down because the repu-
By EMMA KINERY and LARA MOEHLMAN Daily Staff Reporters
University President Mark Schlissel discussed alcohol abuse and sexual assault — problems he said are rampant among the Greek community — during a
tation of the University of Michigan won’t be the excitement in the Big House or our teams doing well under our fantastic new coach,” Schlissel said. “It’s not gonna be the kids who receive the Rhodes Scholarships and the Fulbright Scholarships, and the famous professors who do the work that you’re going to get reflected on for, or the National Medal for the Arts that our faculty won this past week. It’s going to be the ‘Shmacked’ videos. So it’s really up to you what the value of your education is going to be, what the reputation of this institution’s
going to be.” The talk was met with mixed reactions, with some students coughing loudly when Schlissel, along with other administrators, mentioned problems such as low Greek participation in the University’s sexual assault survey, among other issues. Each fraternity and sorority was required to have at least 70 percent of its chapter attend the meeting. Those who failed to comply will face a semester of social probation, a letter to their national organization and a $1,000 fine.
The meeting comes after a year of magnified tumult in the Greek community, marked by national press coverage of numerous fraternity “ski trips” gone wrong last winter, in addition to increased scrutiny of the role of Greek life in excessive party culture in university settings throughout the country. Dean of Students Laura Blake Jones told members of Greek life that the issues facing their community are grave. “I fear some of you have embraced a work hard, play hard mentality and that you may have
RESEARCH
SCIENCE
After historic procedure, ‘U’ heart studies move ahead
Genetics could shape pediatric cancer treament Researchers use DNA to improve disease diagnoses By NABEEL CHOLLAMPAT Daily Staff Reporter
Researchers at the University’s Michigan Center for Translational Pathology announced this month a new breakthrough in pediatric cancer treatment — the use of genetic sequencing. Using a practice called precision oncology, a team of University researchers conducted a study that used genetic sequencing to tailor diagnoses and develop new drug treatment for cancer patients for whom standard treatments were no longer effective. In some cases, researchers were able to recommend early counseling for family members based on the results. Genetic sequencing is the practice of determing the
unique composition of an individual DNA strand — a process that can provide researchers and doctors with important information about a patient, the disease they have and the best approach to treating it. The study’s lead author, Rajen Mody, a pediatric oncologist at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and clinical director of pediatric hematology and oncology, said the study was the first of its kind in the field of pediatric oncology. The ongoing study, which began in 2012, is focused on 142 children and young adults who have a cancer diagnosis. Eighty percent of patients in the group had exhausted the standard treatment options available. For each patient, the sequencing produced more than two terabytes of data — a significant amount of information. The tests currently take more than six weeks to complete, significantly faster than previous gene sequencing mechanisms which often See GENETICS, Page 2A
Doctors say more research is needed despite artificial heart success By KATIE PENROD
Ann Arbor residents hold vigil in support of Iran Deal Activists hope to influence legislators before congressional vote By ALLANA AKHTAR Daily Staff Reporter
Ann Arbor residents held a vigil Thursday night to promote
diplomacy with Iran and rally support for the Obama administration’s proposed deal with that country. Chuck Warpehoski, director of the Interfaith Council of Peace and Justice and the event’s organizer, said the vigil was intended to showcase how Ann Arbor residents feel about the deal. “Our goal is to let members of Congress know their constit-
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uents support this reasonable deal that will help make the world safer for nuclear weapons,” said Warpehoski, who is a Democratic Ann Arbor City Council member from the city’s fifth ward. About 35 people — mostly Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti residents — attended the event outside the Federal Building on Liberty Street. See VIGIL, Page 2A
In January, 24 year-old Stan Larkin left the University of Michigan Health System with a SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart. He’s now waiting for a heart transplant. Many patients aren’t so lucky. According to UMHS doctors, there is much more research to be done before this technology is accessible to all patients— particularly children. John Charpie, professor of pediatrics and director of pediatric cardiology at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, said there are three categories of devices doctors can choose from when treating a patient with a failing heart. The first device, extraSee HEART, Page 6A
rom Wilming ton to Ann Arbor
Football Saturday
HI: 63 LO: 42
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Ann Arbor resident Dorothy Strotkamp and other demonstrators at the Vigil for Peace and Diplomacy with Iran hosted by the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice at the Federal Building on Thursday.
The long, turbulent path f
WEATHER TOMORROW
taken to the extreme what has us on this downward spiral, and we know we have to turn this around,” she said. “It’s clear to me that if we can’t begin to make meaningful, student-led progress and change immediately on our campus, the future of sorority and fraternity life as we know it is in peril.” Issues on campus Though Greek life represents only 22 percent of students on campus, administrators emphasized the influence members wield on campus culture. See GREEK LIFE, Page 6A
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2A — Friday, September 11, 2015
MONDAY: This Week in History
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LEFT Music, Theatre & Dance junior David Magumba performs with Amazin’ Blue at the New Student Convocation Ceremony held in Crisler Arena on Friday. (Luna Anna Archey/Daily)
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RIGHT Yoga instructor Sherryl Perry teaches a Yogalates: Yoga & Pilates class at aUM Yoga’s new location at 1220 S. University on Tuesday. (Andrew Cohen/Daily)
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CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
Urban planning Transfer student ONE DAY WHAT: Maurice Cox , director of plannning for the reception Blood Drive City of Detroit, will discuss his experience merging architecture, politics and design education. WHO: Taubman School of Architecture and Urban Planning WHEN: Today at 6 p.m. WHERE: Art and Architecture Auditorium
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NEWS
‘U’ network issues resolved BY MICHAEL SUGERMAN
Information and Technology services announced Thursday that functionality had been restored to campus networks two days of connectivity issues.
WHAT: Fall transfer students are invited to attend this welcome reception filled with food, games and prizes. WHO: Office of New Student Programs WHEN: Today from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. WHERE: Union Ballroom
Prison photography WHAT: Curator Peter Brook and University faculty will offer remarks about photography from his prison photography project. WHO: Institute for Resarch on Women and Gender WHEN: Today at 8 p.m. WHERE: Duderstadt Center
VIGIL From Page 1A The vigil, co-hosted by ICPJ and the Ann Arbor chapter of Veterans for Peace, was part of a national movement to promote diplomacy through supporting the president’s nuclear deal with Iran, called “60 Days to Stop a War.” Officially titled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the deal would reduce sanctions on Iran in return for restricting their ability to build a nuclear program. While Obama could start enacting many of the accord’s provisions, sanctions enacted by the legislature would require a green light from Congress. The Senate is currently considering a resolution to disapprove the deal, which had the potential to derail it. However, 42 Senate Democrats have announced support of the deal, making the passage of the disapproval resolution unlikely. All of the Democratic representatives from Michigan,
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
Dance class series
WHAT: The American Red Cross will host the second annual ONE DAY Blood Drive. WHO: The American Red Cross Club WHEN: Today from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, Pendleton Room
WHAT: School of Music, Theatre & Dance faculty members will teach choreography by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: Today at 12:10 p.m. WHERE: Betty Pease Studio
Policy talk
Queer carnival
WHAT: In a lecture open to the public, International Executive Service Corps CEO Thomas Miller will discuss the nexus between diplomacy and development. WHO: Ford School of Public Policy WHEN: Today from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. WHERE: Weill Hall, Annenberg Auditorium
WHAT: Join the Spectrum Center for their first Welcome Weeek event, featuring free food and activities. WHO: Spectrum Center WHEN: Today at 4 p.m. WHERE: Regents Plaza
including Sens. Gary Peters (D– Mich.) and Debbie Stabenow (D–Mich.), have voiced support for the deal. Most of Michigan’s Republican congressional delegation has announced their opposition to the deal. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette penned an open letter this month urging states to continue sanctions on the country if the deal passes. Warpehoski said he was surprised events like Thursday’s were necessary. “It is mind boggling to me that it is controversial, and we need to be organizing vigils and protests to get the number of votes to make sure a presidential veto can hold up,” he said. Bob Krzewinski, leader of Ann Arbor’s chapter of Veterans for Peace and a speaker at the event, said diplomacy is important if the country hopes to prevent the mistake of hasty military intervention, as he said was made during the Iraq War. “As a veteran, you see too much war going on,” Krzewinski said. “It is all people in the military ask — before you go
2
Redshirt sophomore left tackle Logan TuleyTillman was dismissed from the Michigan football team Thursday. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh cited “conduct unacceptable for a Michigan student-athlete” as the reason for his dismissal.
3
While carwling through a 3 million year old cave in Africa, two amatuer cavers discovered morethan1,500bone fragments that resemble the human species. The fragments underwent anaylsis from 50 international experts, the Wshington Post reported.
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to war, exhaust all diplomatic opportunities.” Krzewinski served during the Vietnam War and said he saw the mental and physical anguish of fellow soldiers and would “not wish that on anyone.” “I’m a veteran, and I’m just trying to use being a veteran for peace,” he said. Ann Arbor resident Alan Haber, a member of ICPJ, said he wanted to promote negotiation rather than war. “It is useful to give people an impression that it is okay to stand on the street and express your political view, even a controversial political view,” Haber said. Attendees also included four noticeably anti-Israel activists, holding signs that read “boycott Israel” and “defeat Israel.” According to Warpehoski, these activists were not among those who helped host the event, and they attempted to interrupt Warpehoski during an address to other attendees. Joanne Leonard, an Ann Arbor resident who attended the vigil, said she supports Israel, but also sees negotiation as a key factor in preventing war. Several pro-Israel groups have expressed opposition to the deal, arguing it would unfreeze millions in Iranian assets while failing to prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon. “I think it is always a good idea to sit down and talk,” Leonard said. “I think they have a lot of safeguards built in (to the deal), and this is probably the best way rather than just wait for everything to fall out.”
1
The United States will accept at least 10,000 refugees from Syria during the next fiscal year, the Washington Post Reported. According to Press Secretary Josh Earnest, the US will also encourage other Middle Eastern countries to accommodate refugess.
GENETICS From Page 1A corporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, was pioneered at the University. ECMO is used to help a patient recover after an operation by distributing oxygen throughout the body until the heart can do so on its own. “ECMO is a form of artificial heart, and it is a technology that was invented here at Michigan by a gentleman named Bob Bartlett,” Charpie said. “We probably use it two or three times a month for children whose hearts do not start up after their operations.” The second technology is the Total Artificial Heart, which Larkin received. Gabe Owens, assistant professor of pediatrics, said the mechanism replaces our body’s natural pumping system until the patient can either receive a transplant or decides on “destination therapy” — meaning the patient keeps the mechanism indefinitely — if they are not a transplant candidate. The machine has tubing outside the body and pumps blood to organs that need it. This method is unique in that the patient’s biological heart is completely removed, Owens said. The third category, Charpie said, is mechanical support devices. ECMO can fall under this category. These devices still leave the patient’s organic heart inside the body, but insert an additional device to help the
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heart do its job. Owens emphasized the need for more research, especially for pediatric patients. “In the pediatric world, there’s a lot of research going on to make these assist devices or Total Artificial Hearts amenable for people who are smaller,” Owens said. “The Pediatric Cardiac transplant waitlist has one of the highest mortality rates of any other solid organ because the babies are small, they are young kids. They don’t have as much time to wait.” Owens also noted the need for research on revitalizing sub-par organs such as kidneys, so they can be used for transplants. This would alleviate some of the stress that comes from limited availability of organs from human donors for transplant. Charpie said due to lack of experience with artificial heart technology in pediatric patients, research needs to be done in many areas, including how to choose what anticoagulants, or blood thinners, to use for smaller patients. He cited a patient of his named Caden who passed away due to a stroke caused by blood complications. “Being so early on in this experience, we as cardiologists and cardiac surgeons didn’t exactly know what the optimal anticoagulation regimens were for kids on the artificial heart,” he said. “All we have is experience in adults.” Owens expressed similar concerns and said there is technology available to assist failing
hearts, but that it often cannot be applied to his pediatric patients. Even so, Charpie said there is hope. He and his colleagues are working on growing beating heart tissue from human and animal cells so that eventually patients can have their tissue used to build their own replacement heart. Through this alternative process, the patient’s body is unlikely to reject the new heart. “We’re not on the edge of creating a heart that beats in a dish yet,” Charpie said. “But we are in growing parts of the heart and getting those to a point where they may be able to transplant them back to an animal model.” In the past, the National Institute of Health has funded this research at the University. Now, according to Charpie, these grants are harder to receive. Charpie and other interested University doctors must look to foundations and philanthropy for most of their monetary support. Owens said there is also progress in miniaturizing heart technology to cater to pediatric patients and hopes the NIH would fund this research. “There have been great resources and opportunities through the National Institute of Health to fund both industry and academic centers to advance mechanical devices for the support of children,” Owens said. “I think that’s where the future needs to go.”
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Friday, September 11, 2015 — 3A
University prof. featured on NPR Bruce Conforth, professor of American culture, was interviewed on NPR’s All Things Considered. Conforth spoke about literary figures whose presence have appeared in pop culture such as Lorathio from Don Quixote, and Frankenstein, a character created by author Mary Shelley.
Michigan House stuck in standstill The Michigan House of Representatives reached a halt Thursday afternoon while voting to expel Rep. Todd Courser (R– Lapeer) and Rep. Cindy Gamrat (R–Plainwell). Courser was accused of misuse of taxpayer resources and covering up an extramarital affair with Gamrat, according to the Detroit News. The voting was delayed due to a Democratic boycott.
Mac ‘n’ cheese comes to Big House New to the Big House, Sweet Lorraine’s Fabulous Mac n’ Cheez! will be debuting a new “mac wrap.” The dish is can eaten like a sandwich or in the form of a cone. They have three varieties to choose from: classic, bacon or spinach walnut pesto.
Mich. plane crashes in Atlantic Ocean A single-engine plane left Gaylord about noon and crashed in the Atlantic Ocean about 2:45 p.m. A search party of helicopters and boats is working about seven miles off the coast of Atlantic City. It is not confirmed how many people were on board.
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President Barack Obama speaks about his plan to improve American education by calling for free and public access to two years of community college at Macomb Community College on Wednesday.
In Warren, Obama talks education President, Dr. Jill Biden highlight familiar message during Mich. visit BY SAMANTHA WINTNER Daily Staff Reporter
WARREN, Mich. — As the 2016 presidential race picks up and President Barack Obama enters his final 16 months in office, the Obama administration kicked off a nationwide tour Wednesday focusing on a familiar message — the importance of bolstering the nation’s middle class. The president and Dr. Jill Biden, a professor at Northern Virginia Community College and the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, addressed a crowd of several hundred people at Macomb Community College. During the event, Obama rolled out a $175 million apprenticeship grant program through the U.S. Department of Labor and rallied support for a proposal he announced in January to provide a guaranteed two free years of community college.
Obama announced this plan in his State of the Union address with the goal of offering responsible students the opportunity to attend two years of community college for free. He emphasized the need for every student to have a chance to succeed, arguing that the benefits of a community college degree and job skills training include the chance to live a more prosperous life. In Macomb, Biden said giving every American the highest quality education possible is the best way to ensure people from all backgrounds have a chance to succeed. “Our administration believes you should have the education and skills you need to succeed without being saddled with decades of debt,” she said. “Because it’s too hard to get ahead when you start off from so far behind.” This is the third time Obama has visited Warren. He campaigned there in 2008, and the city hosted his first visit to Michigan as president in 2009. It was in Macomb that the president first discussed his commitment to encouraging Americans to attend
community college and investing in community college programs that serve local needs. The president has visited Michigan 17 times since he took office and has continually used the state as a platform to discuss the middle class. In 2012, he spoke at the University to address the rising cost of higher education, adding that receiving an education is too valuable to carry such a restrictive cost. The president visited the University again in 2014 to advocate for raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour. He argued that workers who hold steady jobs should not be stuck in poverty because they receive low wages. In his speech at Macomb, Obama said after World War II, the United States was the besteducated nation in the world, contributing to the rise of a great American middle class. “In places like Macomb County, you could feel secure knowing that if you worked hard, you’d get a chance to find a good job, buy a home, raise a family, send
your kids to college,” he said. “We didn’t promise everybody that they would get rich, but we promised that everybody who worked hard would have a chance to get there, and have the dignity of a decent-paying job with decentpaying benefits. That’s what it meant to be middle class.” In more recent decades, Obama said, the economy has changed, and attempts to better it — including tax cuts for the upper class — created hardships for the middle class. “We together have spent the last seven years (since the 2008 recession) fighting back, getting focused on middle class economics once again,” he said. This effort, he said, includes job creation, the provision of health insurance for all Americans and a commitment to revive the U.S. auto industry. “We placed our bets on American businesses and American workers, and that bet is paying off,” he said. “Michigan is coming back.” The president cautioned that making comeback is not enough: For the sake of future genera-
tions, he said, the country has to do better for its citizens — not just restore a previous standard of living. He argued that wealth inequality remains a challenge, adding that jobs still do not pay enough and wages are still flat. “A big part of making sure today’s economy works better for ordinary folks goes back to the issue of education,” he said. “Every American willing to work hard should have a shot at higher education because as the economy globally becomes more competitive, everybody’s got to upgrade their skills a little bit.” According to Obama, a postsecondary education of some kind will be a requirement for two out of every three jobs by 2020. Specialized skills, he argued, will be necessities in the search for a good job. “Having a credential above and beyond your high school diploma, that’s the surest ticket to the middle class,” he said. “And in global competition for jobs and industries, having the best educated workforce in the world is the surest way for America to stay on top.”
Opinion
4A — Friday, September 11, 2015
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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.
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Policing with data
he shooting of Michael Brown on August 9, 2014, by Darren Wilson, then a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., was a stark wake-up call to the nation. Though ALEXIS police violence and brutality has caused controversy FARMER since the establishment of law enforcement, Michael Brown’s killing, along with several others, brought public safety and the means by which law enforcement protects the welfare of the general public under scrutiny. A sequence of racially charged police misconduct incidents has sparked a demand for police interactions with citizens to be public information. The urgency to reform community policing is prominent nationwide. The lack of transparency within police departments intensifies the strained relationship between police officers and the community members they serve. In an effort to combat crime and improve police-community relations, publishing police data can arm citizens and the police with the information necessary to reduce community violence. The federal government has taken an affirmative stance on increasing open data practices as a means of combating police misconduct. On May 18, 2015, the White House launched the Police Data Initiative, which encourages open data practices to increase transparency and accountability in order to improve community policing. The goal is for police departments to use data and technology to build community trust and inform police departments of gaps in internal policies. One component of this initiative encourages police departments to release at least three data sets previously inaccessible to the public. Such data sets can include uses of force, police pedestrian and vehicle stops and officer-involved shootings. These data sets will help communities access key information on police-citizen encounters. A commitment to cataloging such data will also enhance internal data measures, such as early-warning systems, which can assist police leadership in detecting officers in need of oversight and additional training. Increasingly, police departments across the country are meeting the public’s demands for more information, and using innovative techniques to increase transparency in their policing tactics. Cincinnati has a complaint data set that displays a description of the offense, where it occurred, the officer’s
sex and race, the complainant’s sex and race and the results of the case. Dallas publishes officer-involved shootings, disclosing information about the officer’s name, the victim’s name and the jury’s disposition. Louisville, Ky., lists assaults on officers. Los Angeles County presents a bar chart on gang-related crimes as well as a data set that includes latitude and longitude for data analysts to create maps that could display where there is gang activity in the area. Open data practices in policing can make substantial differences in how departments operate and ensure police departments receive their proper check and balance. In Oakland, Calif., use of force incidents, citizen complaints and police shootings have decreased since the department began using body cameras. Washington D.C.’s mayor is developing a policy to ensure public access to body-cam video by allowing private citizens to obtain copies of video captured on street corners, during traffic stops and other outdoor areas. Citizens would be able to access this data through a city’s open data portal. Using data analysis, data intermediaries can assist police departments in ensuring the data on the portal is up to date, machine-readable and has context to explain the narrative behind the numbers. The information should be presented not only on the open data portal, but also in PDF format to ensure that data literacy is not a barrier for residents to access and understand this information. By releasing data, police departments are able to show positive trends in policing techniques while also being transparent about areas of improvement. Citizens will be equipped with up-to-date and accurate evidence to hold their department accountable for any discrepancies in department practices. Information empowers people and drives innovation. Open data practices in policing can make substantial differences in policing practices and interactions between the police and community members. Police departments in the state of Michigan can be leaders in responding to the growing nationwide call to make police data publically accessible by joining the Police Data Initiative. Open data allows citizens and police officers to work collaboratively and authentically to keep communities in Michigan safe. — Alexis Farmer can be reached at akfarmer@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Ben Keller, Payton Luokkala, Aarica Marsh, Adam Morton, Victoria Noble, Michael Paul, Anna PolumboLevy, Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Stephanie Trierweiler, Mary Kate Winn, Jenny Wang, Derek Wolfe SPECTRUM CENTER STAFF | VIEWPOINT
A letter from Spectrum
Dear new and returning students, We at the Spectrum Center are so excited to welcome you all to (or back to) campus. At the Spectrum Center, we work with the campus community on providing support, building community and offering education around gender and sexuality. This academic year will no doubt be a time of learning and growth, both in and out of the classroom. University of Michigan students come from so many different backgrounds, ideologies and identities, and yet something we all share is the fact that we are Wolverines. As Wolverines, we try to work together to build a community of respect, safety, learning and compassion. At the core of the Spectrum Center’s mission is working toward the goal of building resources so that everyone on our campus feels supported in their own unique experience of their identities throughout their time at the University. With sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as our framework, we are committed to enriching your campus experience and developing students as individuals and community members. We strive to make our office a welcoming and inclusive space where you can study, peruse the Jim Toy Library, use the David Bohnett Cyber Center, hold group meetings or just hang out.
We host tons of great events throughout the year, including educational trainings, mentorship, volunteer and leadership opportunities. Check out our website for more details. As you unpack your last box, start your first homework assignments and begin to find your community on campus, we hope you will think of us. We invite you to drop by the Spectrum Center office on the third floor of the Michigan Union for a visit. We’d love to get to know you, help you find ways to get involved in our work and learn how we can make your campus experience amazing. If online interaction is more your style, you can also connect with us on our website (spectrumcenter.umich.edu), via e-mail (spectrumcenter@umich.edu), by phone at 734-763-4186 or by social media (visit our website for links). Finally, from 4 to 6 p.m. tonight we will be hosting our first ever “Queer Carnival” at Regents Plaza (look for the big, spinning cube). There will be carnival snacks, games and a chance to connect with LGBTQ faculty and staff, as well as friends and allies. We hope to see you there. Wishing you all an exciting and rewarding year and Go Blue, Spectrum Center staff
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A column about nothing
his isn’t a column talking about how to solve gun violence. Nobody else seems to care about talking about fixing gun violence, so neither will this column. Elected senators and presidential can- DAVID didates didn’t HARRIS have much to say about it after Charleston. The media even tired of covering gun control after a vote for slightly more stringent gun control methods failed in April 2013. And as support for any sort of gun-control measures similarly mirrors media coverage trends, it has been nothing but inaction on any front to help curb a problem that’s uniquely American in scale. This isn’t a column talking about the at least 885 mass shootings, incidents in which four or more people were shot, that have occurred since Sandy Hook in December 2012. Sometime in between writing, editing and publishing this column, that number will grow, as will the number of days that the government sits idle as if everything is fine. Far too often, a lead story on the news is how someone else was shot, including recently in Virginia where the shooting was on the news itself. This isn’t a column about the victims of such violence, because the victims do not have a voice. Untold thousands pass away too soon, and thousands more will follow them each year with no attempt to change policy that could potentially save even a fraction of gun violence victims. Even the living victims have their voice shut out. Even after former Congresswomen
Gabrielle Giffords survived a mass shooting at a congressional event and campaigned for better gun policies in our nation, she could not overcome the roadblocks. When she has to urge voters to vote out the current leadership in office because that’s the only way to possibly make a change, the culture is broken. This isn’t a column about the shooters, their motives or their personalities. Perhaps they do it for the fame, fame they should never be given. Undoubtedly mental health treatment is a huge issue in this country, another problem which needs solutions, especially when a large percentage of deaths from firearms are suicides. But placing too much blame on these problems continually sidesteps the issue that we keep witnessing shootings over and over, and shifts blame to the individual instead of recognizing that we have a serious problem with firearms that can’t be avoided. This isn’t a column about numbers and data, which are perhaps the most sensible way of devising solutions to issues, because numbers and data don’t exist by accident. Legislation prevented the Centers for Disease Control from conducting research on gun violence and gun control policy, leaving lasting effects that have crippled any effort to make data-driven decisions. There are plenty of statistics that agree that Americans own a lot of guns and shoot a lot of people, a lot more than any of our international peers. But when it comes to statistics on the impact of policy and procedures working towards curbing the astronomical numbers of incidents, there aren’t any. This isn’t a column about politics, because this issue is already so political. The National Rifle Association
is infamous for its involvement — about $25 million of it in one election cycle — in the cutting of gun violence research funding from the CDC and its adages of “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Despite overwhelming support for background checks for those purchasing weapons, legislation for them has been unable to pass, and it’s no doubt that fear of retribution from candidates that receive donations from the NRA has some effect. Perhaps that money could go to places other than political campaigns, and go toward funding actual solutions like better mental health or gun safety clinics. And no, this column isn’t about taking away guns, gun control, gun registration or anything of the sort. Ownership of guns is, and always will be, protected by the Constitution. But our country wasn’t founded on just the Bill of Rights and the rights to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It was also founded on the inherent and inalienable right that is the preservation of life. There has to be a better way to uphold all of these. This column is about nothing, because nothing accurately describes what we have done in response to the lives claimed by gun violence every day. It doesn’t take a senile Shakespearean king to tell us nothing will come of nothing, but instead of doing something — anything — we continue to move nowhere in solving the issue. Doing nothing will not stop the mass shooting that might occur tomorrow or the next day somewhere in the United States, but something, anything, might save a life. And a life is certainly about more than nothing. — David Harris can be reached at daharr@umich.edu.
HAVE YOU EVER HAD THOUGHTS? WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THEM? Check out The Michigan Daily’s editorial board meetings. Every Monday and Wednesday at 6 p.m., the Daily’s opinion staff meets to discuss both University and national affairs, and write editorials. E-mail tothedaily@michigandaily.com to join in the debate. CHRISTINA MONIODIS | VIEWPOINT
A post-9/11 adolescense Over the 14 years since 9/11 — dating back to when I was turning 14 years old — it’s been hard for me to distinguish between what developments were the result of a changing nation and what were just part of the natural course of a girl growing up. The 9/11 terrorist attacks and adolescence coalesced so as to muddle my interpretation of that day and its consequences. But it was clear that afterward, things changed. For a while, I was fooled and believed this change to be merely an effect of growing up, amounting to paperwork, busyness and evolving inventions. But it was something more. It’s possible I was just old enough, yet just young enough, to feel it. I was beginning my sophomore year of high school in Metro Detroit. The president and I were both sitting in school that day. At mine, the news of the World Trade Center and Pentagon aired on TV, but it seemed fictional — impossible to process. The splinters bursting from the towers seemed much less real than those breaking off my aging public school desk. But soon my world would be deluged with procedure and policy, making it quite real: school security officers became prison guards, prop-
“
erly packing a carry-on bag became a required life skill, telephone antennas and cords became leashes. Each technological “upgrade” amplified an inescapable surveillance. This progression to a surveillance state made it easier for our country to impose structure and accountability, but such constant policing posed its own problems. We became accustomed to a culture lacking privacy, such that we addictively share all aspects of ourselves through social media. Afraid to be alone, we’ve embraced constant connectivity. Ultimately, an attachment to sleepless keepers — both NSA watchmen and phone companions — developed. This attachment diverts and stunts personal growth. It created a stifling order with no room for introspection on issues such as war, loss of life and moral principles. It is in this stifling order that I see what was fundamentally lost by our nation: solitude. This loss was a shift in our nation’s consciousness. Privacy and anonymity now feel criminalized, as if we must account for every action and thought. The sentiment permeates popular culture such that posting images and having social media followers is paramount.
Are these not the same shadows that Plato warned against in his Allegory of the Cave? Can one “know thyself” so tethered? To participate as citizens, we must see reality. Disconnect from chains and venture out alone from the cave to seek natural light and truth. Solitude, in its quiet independence, offers us that chance. I recall riding a bicycle as a little girl on my grandma’s Michigan farm. Taking turn after turn down the gravel road in a hand-me-down jacket hanging below my knees, on a mission as if to find Narnia — until realizing I had become lost. Bright, open farmland surrounded me, and only brown and yellow fall leaves shuffled about. I needed to find Wright Road, the old road named after my family who settled on the empty land. No gadgets to guide me and no one watching. Panic turned to inspiration. I kept pedaling and exploring. The air tasted fresh. It felt as though I had pedaled to the pinnacle of freedom. Now, accustomed to the shackles of connectivity, I wonder if I’d be brave enough to do something so simple. Christina Moniodis is a University alumnus.
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Education has always been the secret sauce, the secret to the country’s success.” — President Barack Obama at Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich., while promoting America’s College Promise, which would grant two years of community college to qualified students.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, September 11, 2015 — 5A
MUSIC COLUMN
TV REVIEW
Why do you hate Carly Rae Jepsen? By ADAM THEISEN Daily Music Columnist
The biggest, loudest gust of a saxophone you’ve heard since the ’80s blows through your speakers over an anthemic synth foundation. Enter the steady bass drum, a calm taking over as the singer ADAM quietly THEISEN muses on running away, escaping everything with one special person, until all of a sudden everything rises into a firework of ecstatic release. Like a gunshot she announces all of her desires, dreams, loves, goals and glories. “Baby! Take Me! To The! Feeling!” belts the singer of “Call Me Maybe.” “I’ll be your sinner in secret!” shouts 2012’s viral sensation, new architect of “Run Away With Me,” 2015’s greatest pop song. Yes, this was the summer of Carly Rae Jepsen. Please, I promise you I’m not kidding. I swear that Carly Rae Jepsen’s third studio album Emotion is a real thing and that it will absolutely blow your mind. It’s 12 songs (18 if you get all the bonus tracks) of the greatest pop music that will ever grace your ears. From the demolishing power of opening track “Run Away With Me” through all of its dancefloor grooves and songs about puppy love and boy problems and timeless giddy adventures that could happen in any city on Earth. And yet, nobody seemed to notice. Lead single “I Really Like You” scored buzz with its Tom-Hanks-starring music video and sugary sweet bubble-gum chorus, but that song feels long dead in popular consciousness. You’ll find some true CRJ believers on Tumblr or on some non-pretentious music blogs, but Emotion only hit #16 on the Billboard 200, and at the time of this writing, after only two weeks since its release, the album has completely fallen off the iTunes
200, placing it behind records like Linkin Park’s Meteora and The Essential Billy Joel. Why the hell did Emotion not sell? I understand, to some people, Carly Rae Jepsen trying to be culturally relevant in 2015 is almost as absurd as if Rebecca Black were still releasing music, and Emotion did come out into a crowded pop landscape still dominated by Taylor Swift, Drake, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Dr. Dre and so many more. But this still would’ve been the perfect summer to hear all of Emotion on the radio. The Weeknd and Fetty Wap excluded, this was another terrible summer to be in a car without an aux cord, with the buzzkill of “See You Again,” the annoying-on-purpose melodies of “Cheerleader” and the last wheezing gasps of “Thinking Out Loud” all getting way too much play. Any song on Emotion
This was the summer of CRJ would’ve been a perfect hit. “I Really Like You” already came and went as the lead single — part novelty with its easy chorus of “I really really really really really really like you,” part extremely true reflection on the euphoria of a crush. But you could get 12 people to listen to this album and each one would probably name a different key song. The title track’s effortless disco groove and jumpy synths make it a lovely throwback jam; the Sia assist on “Boy Problems” helps create a bubbly, carefree romp of a break-up song; “Making the Most of the Night” has giant energetic percussion and glittery brightlight synths; and personally, I just love the way Jepsen seems to slip two syllables off the title phrase of the slinky, sassy “LA Hallucinations.” There’s no filler on Emotion, and this record is the rival of Taylor Swift’s 1989 in every way except sales numbers. In keeping with the tradition
of every tremendously underappreciated album having a curious backstory, Jepsen reportedly wrote over 200 songs for Emotion, meaning we’ve only heard, at most, 10 percent of the greatness she has to offer. She had sessions with Max Martin, of all people, and somehow the king of the charts for the last 15 years couldn’t get a song to make the final cut. There’s even gold if you mine Emotion’s bonus tracks, with “I Didn’t Just Come Here to Dance” lighting up a room with its simple-yet-perfect mix of pure pop and EDM. I caught wind of some of the Emotion buzz and found it online after it came out in Japan a full two months before its U.S. release (weird, right?). I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but I found the rare pop record that holds up beyond dozens of spins, catchy music that lasts beyond the next Next Big Thing. I’ll admit that Carly Rae Jepsen isn’t exactly my idea of an artistic visionary, so I understand why so many are hesitant to embrace her, but I want Jepsen to have a large enough audience that we can hear everything she writes, and if I ever see her live, I’d love for it to be in a 15,000-seat arena, because that’s what her songs are built for. I’m worried, though: does intense, spontaneous fame for one summer mean that nobody will pay attention to her again? Did Jepsen wait too long to capitalize on her sudden ubiquity, losing her chance at superstardom forever? All I know is that Emotion is undeniably the pop album of the year. Listening to it, it’s obvious how much work and effort Jepsen put into make a coherent, valuable collection of music, but it all feels so natural. I never hear Jepsen break a sweat as she swirls through, delivering songs that should appeal to every age and demographic. Even if I never heard it on the radio, everything on its tracklist is my song of the summer. Theisen obviously didn’t hear “Hotline Bling.” To send him that fire, e-mail ajtheis@umich.edu.
STYLE COLUMN
Pining for a Parisian lifestyle By CAROLINE FILIPS Daily Style Columnist
As a partially irrational, wholly self-indulgent 19-yearold college girl, I know a thing or two about omanticizing people, places and ideas. When I stumbled upon My Paris Dream, Kate Betts’ CAROLINE enchanting FILIPS memoir of the postcollegiate Parisian caper that eventually catapulted her fashion career, my annual summer malaise went into overdrive — you can only watch “Midnight in Paris,” livestream haute couture shows and eat TeaHaus macaroons so many times before you’re hankering for the real thing. Betts’ storied soirée along the Seine accelerated my own, unoriginal Paris dreams. As the winter semester died down, I opted to spend my impending summer in Ann Arbor. I figured I could conquer my nasty Natural Science credits, save up (to buy overpriced Fall footwear, probably) and edit the collective lovechild that is Daily Arts. And then, just as I’d felt live streaming the recent Valentino
haute couture show, the FOMO ran deep, because deep in the soul a palm reader once told me I had, I felt as if I wasn’t where I was supposed to be. In that particular case, I needed to be in Rome’s Piazza Mignanelli, admiring the label’s extensive history rendered even richer by the collection’s Neapolitan pastels and marine motifs. Yet in the greater scheme of my Francophile existence, I was desperate for the experiences I’ve never had, the culture I’ve never explored, the learning my sartorial psyche has yet to absorb … I longed for the Champs Élysées. Sorry, Main Street. I started alternating my stalk sessions between Facebook and Instagram, primarily those of my University acquaintances who were living out not only my Paris dream, but also my deep reveries of Rome, Barcelona and London during their spring study abroads. And by the time I realized the seasonal wheels were in motion and I didn’t have enough cash to swing international travel (i.e. I spent too many paychecks on beaucoup de vin et fromage), I did the next best thing and bided my time with what I now refer to as the “non-annoying “Eat Pray Love”-esque fantasy”; I picked up Betts’ memoir — a petite gout de Paris. As I tore through the pages,
engrossing myself in the international exposures I’ve yet to experience, my subconscious surrendered to exhaustive wanderlust, (Case #1: maybe I didn’t actually need highlights and the faintly orange tint of Jergen’s, I just yearned for the sun-kissed cascades and bronzed glow that only a Brittany beach can provide). Betts painted the picture of the holiday I’ve always wanted — one of plenty of croissants and French lovers, but primarily a fortuitous string of events leading to an impressive fashion resume … and besides, like her, “I was (am) in love with fashion and culture, specifically French culture.” Her story begins with her graduation from Princeton in 1985, a time when her aspirations didn’t match up to the trite realities of her college companions. As a history buff, she toyed with the possibility of war correspondence, but was ultimately disconcerted with her future. She had no desire to rush into entry-level positions at advertising firms like J. Walter Thompson and rather opted for the extended education of a Français foray. The memoir opens with a wistful retrospective of her primary exposure to the city a few years back — how she was moved in ways she couldn’t comprehend, high off of delusions of glamour
COMEDY CENTRAL
“One of us likes football.”
‘Key and Peele’ ends its remarkable run By ALEX INTNER Daily Arts Writer
2015 has not been a great year for Comedy Central, which has faced a major talent exodus throughout the year. While we did know about A the ending of “Kroll Show,” Key & the sudden Peele departure of Series Finale Jon Stewart from “The Comedy Central Daily Show” in Wednesdays Augustand the at 10 p.m. short-notice announcement in July about the ending of their longrunning sketch comedy “Key & Peele” came as a surprise to the industry. While it never had the highest ratings, “Key & Peele” was a hugely important show for Comedy Central, especially because it was the first in a series of sketch series that started a creative renaissanceof-sorts at the network (others that have followed in its footsteps include the highly-regarded “Inside Amy Schumer” and “Broad City”). In losing the show, created and written by Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele (“MADtv”), it loses the two voices who helped the network build its identity and helped make television a more diverse place. What made “Key & Peele” astounding was the range of sketches that the show created during its four-season run. They varied from fun to dark and utterly ridiculous to making serious points about real life and politics. Probably their most well-known recurring
political sketch involved Peele’s spot-on impersonation of Barack Obama and Key playing his “anger translator” Luther. Throughout the show’s run, the characters were used to skewer everyone from Mitt Romney to the Republican Congress. (Just to show how far the character became integrated into pop culture, Key even appeared in-character at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner and did a bit with President Obama.) However, some of “Key & Peele” ’s best sketches were some of its weirdest, aided by the show’s darker turn in the first half of its fourth season. A great example of this is the sketch “Aerobics Meltdown,” where Key and Peele play two dancers competing in an 80’s style dance-off when Key’s character gets some news that his wife and child are in the hospital after an accident via cue card from the stage manager. Like the brilliant Urkle Sketch from the same season, it kept pushing in a more twisted direction as it goes on, subverting expectations in a strangely hilarious way. However, what really made “Key & Peele” special was that it wasn’t afraid to touch on the subjects of race and deal with the intolerance which African Americans face in this country today. The show tackled these issues. Take the sketch from the series finale, “Negrotown,” for example. In it, Key is arrested by a white cop and hits his head on the way into the car. After the hit, he’s introduced through song-and-dance by Peele’s homeless man character to a kind-of paradise where racism doesn’t exist. At the core of
the sketch is important social commentary about the state of racism, and via the unexpected vehicle of a catchy tune, the show finds a way to present it in a new and engaging manner. This last type of sketch will probably what will define “Key & Peele” ’s legacy, which is why it’s fitting that “Negrotown” was the show’s last regular sketch in a finale that, with the exception of the last few minutes, felt like a normal episode of the comedy, with a series of funny sketches involving Peele as Ray Parker Jr. (the singer of “Ghostbusters”) singing on-the-nose themes from other movies and Key falling in love with a woman on the who’s passed out sidewalk while Peele’s 911 operator directs him though saving her life. These sketches are representative of what the show did so well: seemingly random, but always hilarious comedy bits. The last moments took a turn in a more retrospective direction. There was a fun gag reel which revisited some of the show’s best sketches, and the answer to where the two were driving during their talking head segments (finding the right place to scream “I said bitch!” in a callback to their first sketch). As a whole, television is a less fun place without “Key & Peele,” and, more crucially, television is a less diverse place without “Key & Peele” and its social commentary. Even though this isn’t the end of Key and Peele’s professional relationship (they have a movie “Keanu” which releases in April), the world of Comedy Central, and TV as a whole, will feel emptier without new episodes of their show.
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E-mail adepollo@umich.edu and chloeliz@umich.edu for information on applying. and grandeur. She yearns for that potent je ne sais quois she knows she can’t find elsewhere. And so, as I wish I could, she flees to France. She spends her days on the narrow streets, surveying the inherent chicness of the elusive Parisiennes, with panoptic nightly studies of the culture’s nuances, slang and mannerisms through the lens of her homestay family, the Deschamps — Bibiane and her husband Antoine, and their two enfants — Maxime and Guillemette. Yet perhaps the cocktail hour of gossip with Bibiane’s girlfriends is the most intriguing segment of her education.
Aside from the fact that any mention of careers or ennui of one’s daily minutia is absolutely off the table for discussion, the women possess an intoxicating allure that Betts’ can’t ignore. They’re walking hallmarks of stylish simplicity — fresh faced with a slash of red lipstick, dressed in perfectly tailored separates, sporting un-fussed coifs and topped off with minimal to no accessories — France’s quintessential, effortlessly chic breed of women. I so desperately wanted to find a feminine, Française icon to guide me in my never-ending quest of stylish pursuits. But after a decent hour into the search, I knew it was far fetched.
And as I dwell on the minute details of my daily strolls along Main Street, I can’t help but recall the otherworldly, yet shockingly simple fashions I see each day. Sure I’ll return home to reread a chapter of Betts’ tale, transporting myself into a realm of chicness, class and champagne I can’t help but covet; but I take her tokens of truth and find my dreams of Paris in the stylish absurdism of the brazen Ann Arborites. I may not always have Paris, but for now, I have my quirky counterparts. Filips is desperately searching for Parisian boys. Hit her up at carofil@umich.edu..
News
6A — Friday, September 11, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
F E S T I FA L L J A M S
CONNOR BADE/Daily
LEFT: Jake LeMond, Joe May, and Karl Heitman of the Detroit-based band The Gravity Club perform at Festifall on Thursday. RIGHT: Engineering sophomore Skylar Buchan, Public Policy junior Daniel Sharp, LSA junior Colin Rankin and LSA senior Katalina Faraon perform at the Groove stand at the student organization fair.
GREEK LIFE From Page 1A Thursday’s meeting comes as administrators continue to emphasize the dire need for culture change in the Greek community — a point with which Blake Jones opened the conversation. “I’m hoping tonight will be remembered as a turning point when the Greek community came together, reinforced and recognized its positive attributes, contributions and influence and was willing to thoughtfully reflect and consider the need for significant changes in the community,” Blake Jones said. In particular, administrators said they fear the impact of Greek life-organized parties on the University’s image. Blake Jones said the popularity of the 2012 “I’m Shmacked” video — which showcased and glorified the party scene featuring University students — ultimately casts a shadow over the institution. The result: potential students are drawn in for the wrong reasons or others are turned off for fear of a wild social scene. This was a point that Mary Jo Desprez, director of Wolverine Wellness, spoke to in an exclusive interview with The Michigan Daily on Sept. 4. She said balancing this kind of negative picture of
the University with more positive messages that better reflect the school’s values is increasingly difficult in the digital age. “The one thing that’s different today that we didn’t have to deal with 10 or 15 years ago is the 24/7 instant visual of party,” she said. “For those of you who saw ‘I’m Shmacked’ and how quickly that went around and how many views it got — now you’re a 10th grader looking at the schools you want to go to and you type in the University of Michigan. U of M’s admissions tour had like 70,000 (views) and the ‘I’m Shmacked’ had 800,000 ... so who’s doing your recruiting and does that change the way people decide to come to schools? “That might have been 1,000 students in that video, but we have 43,000 students here and now you have a video that we’ll never be able to get rid of that sort of shows our campus, but it shows this one teeny-tiny bit of the story,” Desprez added. “We’ll never get that sort of traction with any counter story.” The virality of “I’m Shmacked” seems to be representative of what Schlissel sees as an increasingly poor understanding of what it means to have “fun” at school. Referencing his roles as a father and, previously, a practicing doctor, Schlissel emphasized the negative effect the party climate can
have on students’ health. “I don’t like the idea that we measure how good or bad a weekend was by how many of you ended up in an ambulance taken to our emergency room,” he said. “That’s not how we should measure how good a time we are having.” According to the Campus Climate Survey taken last year and released over the summer, students involved in Greek life have a 40-percent higher chance of experiencing sexually assault. At the meeting, E. Royster Harper, vice president for student life, stressed that the perception of Greek life on campus isn’t always positive. “There are others in the community that see your behavior as racist and homophobic and sexist and unsafe,” she said. “Some see you as giving back to the community and others see you as sucking the life out of the community. Some see only the worst in you and others only the best.” Schlissel said the issues described are best dealt with at the student-leadership level because students are more willing to cooperate with the changes if they are promoted by fellow members of Greek life. He noted, however, that the problems don’t have a short-term solution. “They’re culture problems,”
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The first part of the plan requires all Greek organizations to participate in the Achievement Expectations Program, which mandates that all chapters record and submit to the University their philanthropic and service hour achievements. Walsh noted that last year, Greek students raised roughly $150,000 of the $450,000 raised for charity. Walsh also addressed concern over social life and the Greek system. She recommended chapters reduce the size and visibility of their parties to downplay the association between parties and Greek life. She said this reduces the liability and risk of hosting many potentially non-Greek students, who could be the ones destroying the reputation of Greek life. Another suggestion: reduce the amount of hard liquor at Greek parties. Gee, the Multicultural Greek Council president, said the Greek community is working to improve diversity and inclusion. Until this meeting, the four branches of Greek life did not ever meet together for this type of discussion. Next year, a Greek life Diversity and Inclusion taskforce will be launched for that purpose. Walsh said compared to other universities nationwide, the University’s practices for dealing
HEART From Page 1A
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Friday, September 11, 2015
Schlissel said. “They’re aspects of how our culture and our behavior line up with our values and who we think we are — who we say we are.” A turning point for Greek life Blake Jones said the need for a turning point for Greek life has been on the horizon for some time, and that the problems were evident for many years prior to the high-profile Treetops ski trip incident in January. Over the summer, administrators began taking steps to curb these incidents by developing a task force composed of four leaders from the four branches of the Greek community: LSA senior Alex Krupiak, Interfraternity Council president; Business senior Maddy Walsh, Panhellenic Association president; LSA senior Reid McManus, National Pan-Hellenic Council president; and LSA senior Kelly Gee, Multicultural Greek Council president. At February’s meeting of the University’s Board of Regents, Walsh said leaders from the Greek community were planning to work with the University to shift Greek life culture. During Thursday’s event, Walsh told the assembled crowd that the taskforce had created a plan to improve the reputation of Greek life members on campus.
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took years. Mody said researchers hope to ultimately cut this time down to three weeks. The study used new technology called Next-Generation DNA Sequencing to sequence a patient’s tumor’s DNA and RNA, as well as their normal genome. The genome is the complete set of genetic information inside a cell. Through comparing the tumor’s genome and the normal genome, researchers were then able to identify the source of the cancer and any potential difficulties the patient could facing during treatment. Out of the entire study, the doctors found that 46 percent of patients had “actionable findings,” from the sequencing. However, they were only able to take action with 25 percent of the total number of patients. “Just because you have this information where you know what you can do does not mean you can do something,” Mody said. “Sometimes there are no drugs available, the patient is too sick, there are no clinical trials available, there are no small tablets available for children, etcetera.” John Maris, a pediatric oncologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who published an editorial along-
with alcohol and other behavioral issues appear fairly advanced. “We contacted universities across the country and found, to some extent, we are above the curve,” Walsh said. “Campuses with problematic Greek life communities are implementing sober monitors and social behavior policies which are things our Greek community at Michigan has had since the early 1990s.” Frequent, loud coughs echoed throughout the auditorium and were regarded by several speakers as a purposeful disruption and show of disrespect. As Schlissel spoke, members coughed so loudly that Harper, the following speaker, said while she rarely is intimidated by a large crowd, the negative atmosphere created by the coughing made her rethink her words. Administrators weren’t the only ones to comment on the behavior. Krupiak, IFC president, noted the display in his final comments. “Think for a second about how much your chapter means to you,” Krupiak said. “I know it means a hell of a lot to me … But when students sit here and blatantly disrespect the leaders of our University and fellow students like myself and the three behind me, it’s flat-out embarrassing to say I’m a member of Greek life today.”
side the study, told HealthDay that an additional challenge for treatment was that drug companies are also reluctant to study children. “There’s a fear of the drugs being more toxic in children,” Maris told HealthDay. Of the 25 percent of patients treated, doctors were able to change an original diagnosis, begin early treatment on family members for prevention or change treatment strategies entirely. According to Mody, in at least 10 percent of the patients, the team was able to produce six months of remission or symptom relief. “I think one of the things that people lose sight of is that 10 percent either sounds large or small, depending on what you know about the patients,” he said. “These are patients for whom there is nothing else out there. These people have tried everything that they’ve wanted to try, so these are the worst of the worst cases.” Moving forward, he said, the biggest challenges include decreasing the time it takes to begin treatment, producing more drugs that are available for young children and increasing the availability of clinical drug trials. “This is a seminal and landmark study, but there’s a lot more work to be done,” Mody said.
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Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, September 11, 2015 — 7A
Possession leads ‘M’ to win over Central By KATIE CONKLIN Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women’s soccer team’s style is all about keeping possession. Thursday night against Central Michigan, the players remained collected as they effortlessly connected pass after pass, knowing their next move far before 1 CMU the ball 3 MICHIGAN landed at their feet. It was with this fluidity that the Wolverines scored their third and final goal of the game, putting them on top, 3-1. With the Wolverines up 2-0 in the 64th minute, Central Michigan midfielder Eliza Van de Kerkhove got her foot on a bobbled ball at the top of the 18-yard box and sent it just over the head of Michigan sophomore goalie Megan Hinz. The Chippewas were within one. However, Michigan (5-2) was unfazed. Winning 50-50 balls in the midfield, the Wolverines settled down the speed of play while keeping possession, waiting for their opportunity to break through their opponent’s defense. And in the 77th minute, that’s just what Michigan did. Freshman forward Abby Kastroll controlled the ball along the goal line, saw a hole
in the Chippewas’ defense and slipped the ball through the 18 to the foot of senior forward and co-captain Corinne Harris. With one touch, Harris redirected the ball into the back left corner of the net to seal the Wolverines’ victory. “Defensively, we just never gave up,” Kastroll said. “Finally, we got forward and got one in the back of the net. That slowed the game down and gave us more confidence.” Outshooting Central Michigan, 24-4, it was obvious that Michigan’s forwards rose to the occasion. However, the Wolverines’ defensive unit was more important to the win than the scoring may indicate. “We’re able to keep the ball in the back, and that opens opportunities further up the field,” said Michigan coach Greg Ryan. “As the other team comes high, we can begin to slip balls in behind.” Using this tactic, Michigan held the ball from Central Michigan (1-3-1) for the majority of the first 20 minutes of the game before the Wolverines knocked in their first goal. Sophomore forward and leading scorer Taylor Timko took full advantage of a rebound off of a Chippewa defender, hammering Central Michigan’s remains towards the far right post. Timko clenched her fist in
celebration before the ball even hit the net, knowing the shot was clearly out of reach of any deflection. Less than 10 minutes later, Kastroll capitalized on a failed clear by Central Michigan. Taking a right-footed volley, Kastroll pummeled the ball toward the far left post, putting Michigan up 2-0 going into the half. With all three Michigan goals scored by different players, the Wolverines put their depth on display. And the first seven games this season have proved that any Michigan player in the offensive third is a threat. “It’s nice to know that all of your teammates are there to support you and can all come in and make a difference,” Kastroll said. “When you have a lot of goalscorers, it’s really hard to defend.” Michigan needs to continue such ruckus as they head into the weekend, where they will take on their first ranked opponent of the season in No. 13 Notre Dame. “We’re a very good team, (Notre Dame’s) a very good team,” Ryan said. “We’re gonna play our style, they’re gonna play theirs.” Given Thursday’s result, Ryan’s style is working just fine.
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Sophomore forward Taylor Timko scored one of Michigan’s goals in the Wolverines’ 3-1 victory.
Offense keys victory Wolverines took advantage of opportunities Thursday night By BETELHEM ASHAME Daily Sports Writer
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Michigan freshman midfielder Abby Kastroll works to gain possession during Michigan’s win.
“Defense wins championships” is a common mantra in sports. However, it’s the offense that has been the driving force behind the Michigan women’s soccer team’s successful start to the season. In Thursday night’s 3-1 victory against Central Michigan (1-3-1), Michigan continued its impressive offensive stretch. With first-half goals by sophomore forward Taylor Timko and freshman midfielder Abby Kastroll, and a second-half goal by senior Corinne Harris that sealed the win for the Wolverines, Michigan (5-2) demonstrated its ability to consistently put the ball in the back of the net at any point during a given match. Creating a multitude of scoring opportunities has been one of Michigan’s dominant traits so far this season. The Wolverines were leading the Big Ten in shots per game (21.5), points per game (9.0), goals per game (3.17) and corner kicks per game (8.67) heading into Thursday’s game. They had also outshot their opponents by a 129-39 margin, and they continued that trend
by outshooting the Chippewas, 24-4. According to Timko, that is part of the game plan. “(Michigan coach Greg Ryan) is so encouraging. He believes in every single one of our abilities,” Timko said. “Game by game, his confidence in us is becoming more evident, which plays into our confidence in ourselves. Anyone has the capability to take people on in the box, turn, take a shot or score a goal.” Ryan echoed a similar sentiment when describing the amount of freedom he allows his players on offense and the level of trust he has in their decision-making. “Once the ball is in their hands up there, they’re going to do what they think is best,” Ryan said. “We have a basic structure of two strikers with one normally coming underneath to receive the ball and the other trying to get in behind to create lanes for Taylor and Abby and Corinne to run through; however, once they get in, it’s their decision, and I think they’re doing really, really well.” Timko, a potential breakout star who entered the game tied for second in the Big Ten in points (11) and goals (five), added a sixth goal with the opener in Thursday’s match.
As one of the catalysts behind the Wolverines’ dominant offensive performance to start the season, she credited their teamwork and selflessness for her offensive outburst. “None of my goals would have happened without the hard work of the girls around me that comes before the final pass,” Timko said. “A lot of my goals have been off of crosses and little combinations in the box. It’s the continuous effort from the goalie to the forward that makes everything happen.” Despite the offense’s strength in generating chances, Ryan still sees room for improvement for the team in terms of capitalizing on each of those chances. “It’s fantastic to create so many scoring chances by taking so many shots, but we’re not finishing a high enough percentage of them,” Ryan said. “We’re focusing on improving our finishing, because it’s critical that we do better with the chances we get.” If Michigan succeeds in making the most of the opportunities it’s producing, its offense could go from potent to unstoppable. With a match-up against No. 13 Notre Dame coming up this weekend, that transformation could pay dividends for a team still growing.
“He believes in every single one of our abilities.”
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8A — Friday, September 11, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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September 12, 2015: Oregon State
the road
out
How Freddy Canteen and Brandon Watson made it from Wilmington to Ann Arbor by Jake Lourim
2015 Schedule
After 29 years away, Jim Harbaugh returns to Michigan Stadium on Saturday as a head coach. He has downplayed the importance of the moment all week, but it will be a career milestone when he runs out of the tunnel before the game. His Wolverines face another Pac-12 foe this week, this time as favorites looking for their first win against Oregon State.
Max Cohen, Jake Lourim, Max Bultman and Zach Shaw
TABLE OF CONTENTS
3 4 6
Oregon State freshman quarterback Seth Collins will give Michigan another tough test. Freddy Canteen and Brandon Watson took the road less traveled on their path to the Michigan football team. Breakdown: Michigan has the upper hand against Oregon State in the home opener on Saturday.
Utah (Sept. 3): Well, at least the mountains were cool?
Michigan State (Oct. 17): These teams play a week earlier than last year, which Mark Dantonio will take as a sign of blatant disrespect.
Oregon State (Sept. 12): Michigan will leave it to the Beavers to earn its first win.
Minnesota (Oct. 31): Plot twist: Michigan plays Minnesota for the Little Orange Pumpkin.
UNLV (Sept. 19): Did you mean the University of Nevada-Loss Vegas?
Rutgers (Nov. 7): Will Michigan fans storm the field if the Wolverines avenge last year’s loss in Piscataway? We hope not.
BYU (Sept. 26): We don’t know who will score more points, but we do know who will leave the game with more wives.
Indiana (Nov. 14): Boring state. Hopefully not a boring game.
Maryland (Oct. 3): Rumor has it, if you stare at Maryland’s state flag for too long, you become absorbed into the pattern.
Penn State (Nov. 21): Christian Hackenberg could be a first-round pi — aaand, he just got sacked again.
Northwestern (Oct. 10): Are you ready for M00N pt. 2: N00M?
Ohio State (Nov. 28): We wanted to make a joke, but the only one we could think of was, “Haha, your backup QB might win the Heisman.”
Cover by Shane Achenbach, Levi Kipke & Jake Wellins
STAFF PICKS The Daily football writers pick against the spread to predict scores for the top 25 and Big Ten in the 2015 football season.
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Jake Lourim
Max Cohen
Max Bultman
Zach Shaw
Crisler Spider-Man
Oregon St. (+14.5) at Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Oregon State
Michigan
Hawaii (+41) at No. 1 Ohio State
Ohio State
Ohio State
Ohio State
Ohio State
Ohio State
Middle Tennessee (+35.5) at No. 2 Alabama
Alabama
Alabama
Alabama
Alabama
Alabama
Stephen F. Austin at No. 3 TCU
TCU
TCU
TCU
TCU
TCU
Lamar at No. 4 Baylor
Baylor
Baylor
Baylor
Baylor
Baylor
No. 7 Oregon (+3) at No. 5 Michigan State
Michigan State
Oregon
Oregon
Oregon
Oregon
Jacksonville State at No. 6 Auburn
Auburn
Auburn
Auburn
Auburn
Auburn
Idaho (+43) at No. 8 USC
USC
USC
USC
Idaho
Idaho
No. 9 Notre Dame (-11.5) at Virginia
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
No. 10 Georgia (-21) at Vanderbilt
Georgia
Georgia
Georgia
Georgia
Vanderbilt
South Florida (+28.5) at No. 11 Florida State
South Florida
Florida State
South Florida
Florida State
South Florida
Appalachian State (+18.5) at No. 12 Clemson
Clemson
Clemson
Clemson
Clemson
Clemson
No. 13 UCLA (-30) at UNLV
UCLA
UCLA
UCLA
UCLA
UCLA
No. 14 LSU (-5) at No. 25 Mississippi State
LSU
LSU
Mississippi State
Mississippi State
LSU
Tulane (+29) at No. 15 Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech
Tulane
Georgia Tech
Tulane
Tulane
Ball State (+29.5) at No. 16 Texas A&M
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
Ball State
Fresno State (+30) at No. 17 Ole Miss
Ole Miss
Fresno State
Ole Miss
Ole Miss
Ole Miss
Toledo (+20.5) at No. 18 Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas
Toledo
Arkansas
No. 19 Oklahoma (-1.5) at No. 23 Tennessee
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Tennessee
No. 20 Boise State (-2.5) at BYU
BYU
BYU
Boise State
Boise State
Boise State
No. 21 Missouri (-10.5) at Arkansas State
Missouri
Missouri
Missouri
Missouri
Missouri
No. 22 Arizona (-11.5) at Nevada
Arizona
Nevada
Arizona
Arizona
Arizona
Utah State (+13) at No. 24 Utah
Utah
Utah
Utah State
Utah State
Utah
Bowling Green (+7.5) at Maryland
Bowling Green
Maryland
Bowling Green
Maryland
Maryland
Buffalo (+19) at Penn State
Buffalo
Buffalo
Buffalo
Buffalo
Buffalo
Minnesota (-5) at Colorado State
Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota
Iowa (-3) at Iowa State
Iowa
Iowa
Iowa
Iowa State
Iowa State
South Alabama (+27.5) at Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska
Last week
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Overall
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FootballSaturday — September 12, 2015
‘M’ braces for Oregon State’s Collins Wolverines will face another speedy quarterback in home opener Saturday By MAX BULTMAN Daily Sports Editor
Last Thursday, the Michigan football team got a stiff test for its run defense when it took on Utah and Devontae Booker, the Pac-12’s second- Oregon St. leading rusher at Michigan in 2014. And Matchup: on Saturday, Oregon St. 1-0; when Oregon Michigan 0-1 State visits When: Ann Arbor, the Saturday Wolverines will 12 P.M. face yet another Where: fleet-footed Michigan challenge. Stadium In Jim Harbaugh’s first TV/Radio: ABC home game as head coach of the Wolverines, Michigan will try its hand at containing a quarterback who will be looking to run all game in Oregon State’s Seth Collins. Against Utah, the Wolverines saw a healthy dose of Booker and kept him mostly in check for the first half. But they were burned by senior quarterback Travis Wilson, who sucked momentum out of the Michigan defense by scrambling to the tune of 12 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown. Collins has played only one game in his career, but he was impressive on the ground, ripping off 152 yards rushing on 17 attempts — a whopping 8.9 yards per carry. Then again, that performance came against Weber State, so the gaudy numbers don’t mean as much as they would have against a Football Bowl Subdivision team. What the numbers do provide, though, is a glimpse of how Collins will try to beat the Wolverines (0-1). Throughout the Beavers’ opener, it was clear Collins would prefer to run
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
when possible. He attempted just 18 passes, completing 10 for 92 yards. So when he lines up against Michigan on Saturday, the Wolverines will need to have the QB contained at all times. Fortunately for Michigan, its athletic linebackers should be up to the task. Seniors Joe Bolden, James Ross III and Desmond Morgan will bear the brunt of the responsibility in stopping the run, and if they can go sideline to sideline and keep Collins in front of them, they’re a solid bet to keep the Beavers (1-0) in check. Outside of Collins, Oregon State also has a steady stable of backs who can carry the load as well. Storm Woods and Chris Brown combined for 117 yards on 29 carries against the Wildcats. Michigan’s run defense is expected to be its strength going forward, so if the Beavers’ trio of runners can produce, it could cause some alarm at the Big House. But the Wolverines will have to be careful to not get caught watching for a run. Wednesday,
“There’s only one mouthwash for (losing), and that is winning.”
Michigan defensive backs coach Greg Jackson cautioned that while the run game is clearly a focus for the Beavers, it can also be used as an effective decoy. “We still think (when) there’s more runs, there’s more deep balls,” Jackson said. “So we’re going to come up and leverage all the players with safeties, but at the same time we’re going to be prepared for deep balls as well, because with the runs, there’s a whole bunch of play actions to come with it.” Michigan is favored by more than two touchdowns in the home opener, and ESPN’s SportsCenter will be broadcasting from Ann Arbor, which is sure to energize the city. And in Harbaugh’s Big House debut, it’s a safe bet that the Wolverines will be fired up to face the Beavers, especially after last week’s season-opening loss. “Some people walk right out of the locker room and they’re over (a loss),” Harbaugh said Monday. “I’m not one of those guys. It stays with me — I choose to have it stay with me, and in the mindset of our team, it’ll stay with us. “There’s a bad taste in our mouth when you lose a football game and there’s only one mouthwash for that, and that is winning.”
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Fifth-year senior linebacker Desmond Morgan (top) and senior linebacker Joe Bolden (bottom) will be tasked with slowing down Oregon State freshman quarterback Seth Collins in Saturday’s home opener.
For full coverage of Saturday’s game Check MichiganDaily.com throughout the day
TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com
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An unusual path to Michigan
COURTESY EASTERN CHRISTIAN ACADEMY Michigan sophomore wide receiver Freddy Canteen graduated from Eastern Christian Academy in Elkton, Maryland, in 2014, after overcoming obstacles similar to many of his high-school teammates.
By JAKE LOURIM Managing Sports Editor
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — David Sills IV sits at a desk in the den of his weekend home here, on a country club just a few miles from the beach. A table off to the side holds a laptop decorated with logos from several colleges, most prominently West Virginia, where his son, David V, is a freshman quarterback. He drinks out of a cup from Mississippi State, where his adopted son, Jahmere Irvin-Sills, now plays football. Jahmere was a child at a youth football game when he learned his mother had been killed. He went into the witness protection program and spent a year in North Carolina before returning to live with his grandfather in Delaware. Soon after he returned, his brother was killed in a house fire. The day his family continued to break apart, he started to form a new one when he met David Sills IV at a football practice facility nearby.
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Years later, Jahmere won a skills combine, and he returned that night to learn that his grandfather had passed away. No good news came without a little bad. Amid unbearable tragedy, Jahmere moved in with the Sills family, who later adopted him. Eventually, he changed his last name to IrvinSills and earned his scholarship to Mississippi State. Kids like Jahmere come around often in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, near Eastern Christian Academy in Elkton, Maryland. Sills founded the school in 2012 as an all-online school intended initially for only football players. There are no school plays, chess clubs or marching bands at Eastern Christian. The school exists with one goal — get kids off the streets and into college for free, using football. The model has been overwhelmingly successful so far — Sills estimates that in a graduating class of 15, on average 13 will go to college for free — and it stretches to Ann
FootballSaturday, September 12, 2015
Arbor, too. Michigan sophomore football players Freddy Canteen and Brandon Watson once called the troubled streets of Wilmington home, but they made it out. Some kids from Wilmington struggle to find themselves. So they find Sills, they find coach Dwayne Thomas, they find Eastern Christian and they find other kids — role models like Canteen and Watson. On a Saturday afternoon in late July, only Sills is at his Rehoboth Beach home for most of the afternoon. It’s a “quiet day,” he says, which is unusual. The next day, his son and Canteen would be there after training together. Both his daughters would be there, too, as would Jahmere, and likely a bunch of their friends. The Sills have a dormitory-style room above the garage that can sleep 16. Sills refers to all of the kids as his own, and the family has been hosting them since before they founded Eastern Christian. “I’m happy to be able to host them as much as I can,” Sills said.
“I love the kids. I think they’re all good for each other.” The kids agree. Watson said he used to drive a teammate to school and buy him lunch, hoping that teammate can now do the same for someone else. Canteen, while home from Michigan for a week this summer, went back to Eastern Christian and rode the bus with the team up to Camden, New Jersey, to watch their 7-on-7 workout. Together, they serve as role models for the next group of kids looking to make something of themselves. And so after growing up with little reason to believe in their future, they end up with little reason not to. *** The players at Eastern Christian come from all over, but most are from nearby New Castle County in Delaware, especially Wilmington. Wilmington is the largest city in Delaware, with 71,525 people as of
2013. It is also one of the most dangerous small cities in the country. A Newsweek piece last December labeled it Murder Town, USA. According to the Wall Street Journal, last year’s 28 murders fell one shy of the record set in 2010 and 2011. In 2013, the per-capita rate was more than four times the national average. “As long as I’m around, we’re going to always be the least, the last and the left out,” Thomas said. “Because that’s what I was. Kids that need the most get the most.” These kids come from a wide range of family situations. Some have single parents, some have parents in jail, some have no parents. One, Angelo Blaxon, came from another high school in northern Delaware and grew up with his sister. His mother was a drug addict. His sister, though she was a “very strong, valued individual,” as Sills said, struggled to feed and raise Angelo, as he was 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds. He started playing football for Thomas at nearby Red Lion
Christian Academy, and moved in with another family on the team. He earned a full scholarship to Auburn, and his new family and Blaxon’s sister all came together last spring to see Blaxon drafted by the Tennessee Titans. “This is a kid who could have been walking the streets of Wilmington, Delaware, having drive-by shootings or doing drugs or whatever the case may be,” Sills said. “We have a lot of those situations.” Some kids have fathers in jail for murder. Another’s father hung himself in prison. “It’s a struggle,” Sills said, “and the school really is a ministry.” Religion is a top priority at Eastern Christian (a job advertisement on the school’s website requires applicants to be born-again Christians). On the sign in front of the school is a Bible verse, 1 Corinthians 9:24, which says, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners
run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” At Eastern Christian, they know they have to run faster to get that prize. But they succeed at an incredibly high rate. Sills estimated that out of 15 in a graduating class, 13 will play football in college for free or virtually free. And they come a long way from where they started in order to do it. Some kids come to school and don’t have any lunch, so the Sills family used to send extra food to school. “Over the course of time, we get the kids that have been forgotten,” Sills said. “It just always makes you cry when you see some of the situations that some of these kids are in.” *** As for Canteen and Watson, they know they’re relatively lucky. There’s a gamut of family situations
at Eastern Christian, and Canteen and Watson were at the upper end of that spectrum, despite growing up in or just outside Wilmington. Their parents made sure they had everything they needed. But the two players could always have gotten into trouble. They were right next to what Watson calls “the worst part” of town. They know the future they have in front of them was never inevitable. They agree they wouldn’t be here if not for Eastern Christian, if not for their hard work, even if the ball had bounced differently. The world they left behind is a constant reminder. “I knew kids, of course I knew kids,” Canteen said. “I had friends I grew up with that chose the wrong path. You’ve got to let those go.” For both, the route was simple. They went to school from around 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. on weekdays. Then came football practice, weight
training, walkthroughs and extra workouts. On fall weekends, they’d travel to games all over the East coast. Then came more offseason training, and then camps to gain exposure to college coaches. Canteen and Watson cleared every hurdle. “They proved to me who they were through handling that ethic,” Thomas said. “Never complained. Them two? Never heard a peep out of them. Ever.” Thomas coached Canteen and Watson starting in middle school, before Eastern Christian even existed. They worked year-round to get to this level. Watson became an interception machine, always finding himself around the ball when it was thrown. Though he hasn’t seen the field much at Michigan, he showed a glimpse of his capabilities with an interception in the Spring Game. Canteen, meanwhile, worked
with David Sills V relentlessly to develop chemistry to match his blazing speed. When Sills threw a back-shoulder fade, Canteen would know, and he’d adjust. When Canteen switched his route before the snap, Sills would know, and he’d adjust. Canteen has also played sparingly in the past year (in part due to a shoulder injury in camp), but the Michigan coaches have started using him on offense and defense, presumably to try to utilize his speed. “Those are two kids that get it,” Thomas said. “It’s not recreation for them. This is something that’s very, very special and near and dear to them. They both have those dispositions, which affords them the opportunity to challenge themselves. “At the end of the day, we live in a microwave society. Everything’s got to be done in 30 seconds. Most young people are focused on other
COURTESY EASTERN CHRISTIAN ACADEMY Sophomore defensive back Brandon Watson grew up right outside the struggling town of Wilmington, Delaware, but he and Canteen worked hard enough to earn football scholarships to Michigan.
TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com
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Breakdown: ‘M’ vs. Oregon State By MAX COHEN Managing Sports Editor
On a day that will in all likelihood be remembered as Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Stadium coaching debut, there will indeed be a football game played after Harbaugh jumps up and touches the banner. When the Michigan football team plays Oregon State on Saturday, it will mark a matchup between two head coaches at new schools. The Beavers’ Gary Andersen left Wisconsin after last season to take the helm in Corvallis. The Beavers, unlike the Wolverines, won their season opener, defeating Football Championship Subdivision foe Weber State, 26-7. Here’s the Daily’s breakdown of the upcoming matchup. Michigan pass offense vs. Oregon State pass defense Members of the Wolverines’ offense said throughout the week that they see a great deal of potential in their unit. Saturday’s game will be their chance to prove it. For fifth-year senior quarterback Jake Rudock, the key will be taking care of the ball. Rudock threw three interceptions against the Utes in his Michigan debut, a number that displeased him greatly. Saturday will be another chance for Rudock to further his rapport with his receivers after transferring from Iowa over the summer. The process appeared to be going smoothly with junior tight end Jake Butt and redshirt junior wide receiver Amara Darboh, each of whom hauled in eight passes from their new quarterback in the opener. Exactly how productive Oregon State’s defense will be against Rudock and company is difficult to predict. The Beavers return just two defensive starters and didn’t face much of a test against Weber State in their season opener. Wildcats quarterback Jadrian Clark completed 19 of 35 passing attempts for 120 yards to go along with one interception against Oregon State.
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Fifth-year senior quarterback Jake Rudock makes his first career start at Michigan Stadium on Saturday against Oregon State.
Michigan rush offense vs. Oregon State rush defense Michigan junior running back De’Veon Smith was hard on himself after the Wolverines’ season-opening loss, saying he missed some holes that were the size of a bus. Smith finished the opener with 47 yards on 17 carries, while junior backup Ty Isaac finished with 12 yards on four carries. Michigan’s longest run of the game was just seven yards — hardly an explosion. Fifthyear senior offensive lineman Graham Glasgow said Tuesday that he believes many of his unit’s problems can be solved by the linemen lowering their pad levels, something they have been working on all week. Oregon State allowed 58 rushing yards on 18 attempts to Weber State in the opener, good for an average of 3.22 yards per carry. Edge: Michigan Oregon State pass offense vs. Michigan pass defense
Collins made his career debut in the team’s opener, completing 10 of 18 attempts for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Collins is known primarily as a rushing threat, but Michigan will also be wary of his arm. Michigan defensive backs coach Greg Jackson said this week that the Beavers’ emphasis on the running attack could potentially open up some opportunities for deep passes, putting the Wolverine defense on alert. Michigan’s secondary played with mixed results against Utah — they didn’t allow the Utes to break the game open, but there were certainly lapses in coverage. Another area in which the Wolverine secondary hopes to improve is in creating turnovers. Michigan’s lone takeaway in the opener came on redshirt junior Jeremy Clark’s interception of a Hail Mary at the end of the first half. The Wolverines will have an opportunity to increase that number against an unseasoned quarterback. Edge: Michigan
Edge: Michigan Oregon State quarterback Seth
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FootballSaturday, September 12, 2015
Oregon State rush offense
vs. Michigan rush defense The Beavers rushed for 281 yards against Weber State, with Collins leading the way with 152 yards on the ground. The Wolverines struggled to contain Utah quarterback Travis Wilson last week, who scampered for 53 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries. However, Michigan did limit Devontae Booker, expected to be a top running back in the Pac-12, to 53 rushing yards and one touchdown on 12 carries. The Wolverines also made some big plays defending the run, recording nine tackles for a loss. Edge: Michigan Special Teams Michigan fifth-year senior punter Blake O’Neill had a strong debut, with a long of 50 yards and another punt that pinned Utah within its own five-yard line. Senior kicker Kenny Allen missed one field goal in the opener to go along with one make. Michigan redshirt freshman Jabrill Peppers will be a threat in
the return game, both on punts and kickoffs. Though he was largely held in check against the Utes, he displayed electricity on his lone opportunity, returning a kick for 36 yards in the fourth quarter. Oregon State kicker Garrett Owens was a perfect 4-for-4 in the opener, with a long kick of 45 yards. Punter Nick Porebski, an Australian like O’Neill, punted six times for 226 yards last week. Edge: Oregon State Intangibles Harbaugh’s home debut could provide the Wolverines an edge. The Michigan fan base has been waiting for this moment since Harbaugh’s hiring last December. Crisler Center erupted in a state of euphoria when Harbaugh was introduced on the day of his introductory press conference, and the Big House is sure to follow suit. Edge: Michigan Prediction: Michigan Oregon State 10
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What to watch for: Offensive line seeks breakthrough vs. Beavers By ZACH SHAW Daily Sports Editor
1. Can the offensive line finally improve? With all five starters returning from 2014, the general sense was that this season would be the one when Michigan’s offensive line returned to the program’s bruising ways of old. That was half-true in Thursday’s loss to Utah. The Wolverines kept the nation’s leader in sacks last season from getting to Rudock, but still failed to create holes in the running game. It didn’t matter if it was up the middle or to the outside or whether it was De’Veon Smith, Derrick Green or Ty Isaac. The junior backs only earned 2.6 yards per carry, far from a victorious formula. “Of course we want to be better at rushing the football,” said Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. “And that comes with the interior line, and the interior line has got to play as an entire unit. We talked about it a little earlier, (the key is all 11 players) playing together and not one guy having a breakdown or missed block.” The answer to the offensive line woes may have taken a hit early Thursday afternoon, when junior offensive tackle Logan Tuley-Tillman was dismissed from the team for what Harbaugh called “conduct unacceptable for a Michigan student athlete” in a statement. Though Tuley-Tillman was on the line’s second unit, the dismissal puts a large dent in the offensive line’s depth. Those still with the team will look to live up to their big expectations against another Pac-12 defensive front.
defensive starters returning and (previously) turnover-proof gradute transfer quarterback Jake Rudock taking control of the offense, many expected the team to turn the tables and table the turnovers. Instead, a Rudock pick-six — his third interception of the game — turned what could have been a Michigan gametying drive into a dagger by Utah, while the defense mustered a meaningless Hail Mary interception at the end of the first half. Though Rudock threw just five interceptions in 345 attempts last season, it took him just 31 throws to reach three for the Wolverines. “I would like to see more aggressiveness in terms of the ball,” Harbaugh said. “Clubbing it,
ripping it, getting it out, getting it over to our side. Be more handsy. Getting our hands on balls, whether they’re tips or (pass break-ups) or interceptions.” Fortunately for Michigan, Utah had the 18th-best turnover margin among Power Five conference teams last season, and the Beavers didn’t. With less defensive pressure from Oregon State and a true freshman starting for the Beavers, the Wolverines will have a great chance to win the turnover battle for just the second time since 2013.
“It’s a one-of-akind experience from what I’ve heard.”
3. Can Michigan contain a spread offense? Michigan’s defensive problems
against the spread date all the way back to the Lloyd Carr era, but until they go away, no game is a cupcake for the Wolverines. Against Utah, Michigan allowed quarterback Travis Wilson, who didn’t earn the starting job until days before the game, to scramble for 53 yards on the ground — more than any Wolverine in the game. Things don’t look much easier this week. True freshman quarterback Seth Collins scampered for 153 yards on 17 carries in the Beavers’ 26-7 win over Weber State on Saturday. Michigan provides a much tougher test for Collins, but as Michigan fans know all too well, mobile quarterbacks from Ohio State to Appalachian State can wreak havoc in the Big House if given room to run. “We’ve got to start playing more aggressively and stop waving and start going to attack the offenses,” said defensive backs coach Greg Jackson. “I don’t think we did that enough as
a secondary last week.” 4. Will Michigan Stadium explode from Harbaugh fever? This is the safest bet of all. You can be sure the biggest cheer of the game will be when the former quarterback officially returns to the Big House sidelines as a coach. ESPN’s SportsCenter has even traveled to Ann Arbor to broadcast live from the scene. Though the coaches — including Harbaugh — have largely downplayed the homecoming event, Harbaugh’s son, tight ends coach Jay Harbaugh, admitted that after hearing about Michigan Stadium so much as a kid, his first game in Ann Arbor will be one to remember. “I’m excited for it, I’m really excited for it,” Jay Harbaugh said. “I tell all these recruits about it, and I haven’t even experienced yet. It’s a one-of-akind experience from what I’ve
2. How will Michigan win the turnover battle? Sometimes, even free sweatshirts in exchange for interceptions aren’t enough to get the Wolverines to win the turnover battle. Last season, Michigan was 124th out of 128 teams in the country in turnover margin, handing the ball over 16 more times than it took it. With eight
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Redshirt junior guard Kyle Kalis and the offensive line will look to improve on the 2.8 yards per carry Michigan averaged last week at Utah.
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things other than training, academics. … Because they are driven individuals, they didn’t mind the time they had to commit to this program in order to obtain or reach their goals.” Back in high school, that work paid off when former Michigan assistant coach Curt Mallory noticed the two at a Michigan summer camp and recruited them. Those camps ran well into the summer, and then it was time for training camp to prepare for another season. Thomas and the staff at Eastern Christian didn’t leave time for anything else. “I never really went to any parties or anything,” Watson said. “I wanted to, but I was too tired. I had stuff going on the next day. There is no other choice.” *** It hasn’t taken long for the players and staff at Eastern Christian to become confident in their model, to keep pursuing bright futures in spite of a bleak past. The school started in 2012, when nearby Red Lion Christian was sold to another church that de-emphasized athletics. At that point, the football players (including Canteen, Watson and Sills), parents and coaches at Red Lion gathered and decided they had
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three options: They could each go their separate ways, staying at Red Lion or transferring to a new school of their choice. They could all transfer to the same school en masse. Or they could create a new school. Of course, the latter of those three options presented the most challenges. They would need teachers, classes, approval from the state and a host of new administrative measures. But that’s what they voted to do, and Eastern Christian was born. “It was challenging, but it wasn’t like climbing Mount Everest,” Sills said. “It was challenging, I’ll say that. It was a lot of work.” Sills’ son still had three years of high-school eligibility left, and he had been offered a scholarship to Southern California at age 13. If the elder Sills had only his own son’s football interests in mind, he could have sent him anywhere, most likely Oaks Christian in California, where he could work with private quarterback coach Steve Clarkson. But Sills had his other sons, his adopted sons, to worry about too. To create a new school, take in underprivileged kids and travel around the country playing highschool powerhouses required belief — belief in the staff, belief in the players and belief in the system.
FootballSaturday, September 12, 2015
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If Sills, Thomas and the rest of the foundation of Eastern Christian didn’t have that belief, Eastern Christian wouldn’t exist. And Freddy Canteen and Brandon Watson don’t know where they’d be right now. The new program at Eastern Christian needed a strong leader as coach, so when Sills founded the school, he brought Thomas with him. After growing up in Paterson, New Jersey, Thomas played at Northern Arizona and then coached at Montclair State, Tennessee State and Delaware State. A strong personality, Thomas is very philosophical and exceedingly confident. He says North Jersey is becoming a recruiting hotbed, so he says he’ll take his team up to beat — not just play — some teams in North Jersey. Last week, they did, defeating Michigan safety Jabrill Peppers’ alma mater, Paramus Catholic, 42-20. “There’s a cockiness here, where I think we can develop people wherever,” Thomas says. Just before Eastern Christian started, Thomas took a visit to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Eastern Christian has drawn comparisons to IMG because of its strong focus on athletics and the criticism that it is too intense in that area. In fact, the schools will play each other in football next month. During Thomas’ visit, the coach walked around the facility, had lunch and met with thenIMG coach Chris Weinke. At the end of the visit, Thomas went to Weinke’s office and saw several of his players’ names on the wall.
Weinke wanted them to transfer to IMG; Thomas said absolutely not. He offered Thomas a job; Thomas said absolutely not. Weinke said if Thomas left Red Lion, he would never surface again. “I said, ‘Yeah, we will,’ ” Thomas said. “You can drop me off in Beijing, China, and in two years Nick Saban is gonna have (Chinese players) on Alabama’s team. Because we have a formula.” That was the end of that conversation. Thomas is his serious about his coaching job. He believes he was called to do this. Years ago, his father told him the Confucius saying that when you choose a job you love, you never work a day in your life. He likes the intimacy of Eastern Christian’s program, where he gets to urge kids to realize their full potential. College coaches ask him when he’s going to return to college. He tells them he never will. “At the end of the day, when we win, I feel like we just beat Alabama,” Thomas said. “And when a kid gets a scholarship, it seems like we just won the national championship. I’ve had years where we get 14 kids scholarships, so I won the national championship 14 times that year.” Thomas came to Eastern Christian, taking the leap of faith along with everyone else, to keep teaching lessons to the kids. “You’re going to win some, you’re going to lose some and some are unfortunately going to get rained out,” he said. “But when there’s a lesson learned, you really don’t lose anything. That’s where
the confidence comes from.” *** Eastern Christian’s building sits in the bottom of an industrial park off Maryland’s Route 272. It shares the park with a closed sandwich shop, a fencing academy and a cork production plant, among other things. One has to pass a preciousmetal factory and an agricultural supplier to see the first sign of a high school, a lone tackling sled in the middle of a field of knee-high grass. But inside the building at the bottom of the hill, it looks like a high school. The lobby is furnished, with flowers lining the front wall. Photos, trophies and other mementos decorate another wall. A poster reads, “We Don’t Keep Calm. It’s Football Season.” Another lists four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer and Football. Still another, “It’s not whether you get knocked down. It’s whether you get up.” The staff hangs flags on the wall from all the schools former players have attended. Last year’s schools haven’t even gone up yet, and they already need a new wall. “Good bunch of guys, man,” Thomas says. “We’re going to get 15 kids to college every year. That’s our contribution to society.” On the front desk, another stack of mail from interested schools has arrived for players. Thomas begins to sort through the schools: Yale, Army, Liberty, Maryland, Rutgers, UCLA, Michigan State, Kentucky. He reaches the bottom of the stack, then sets it down, pauses and says, “We’ll be all right.”