The Oakland Post 11.23.22

THEOaklandPOST Oakland University’s Independent Student Newspaper

Rochester, Michigan

Volume 48 l Issue 13 l November 23, 2022

Exclusive: An interview with President Pescovitz on enrollment, East Campus and more Page 3

BEREAL

An unfiltered look at life on Oakland University’s campus PAGE 6

DESIGN BY MEGAN PARKER

GRATITUDE

How OU students plan to celebrate Thanksgiving this year PAGE 10

POSITIVE SPACE

Director, actress Olivia Kiefer on her directorial debut PAGE 11

THIS WEEK

2 | NOVEMBER 23, 2022

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

EDITORIAL BOARD

Gabrielle Abdelmessih Editor-in-Chief gabdelmessih@oakland.edu Tori Coker Content Editor toricoker@oakland.edu Megan Parker Managing Editor meganparker@oakland.edu

EDITORS Christopher Estrada Photo Editor cestrada@oakland.edu Brock Heilig Sports Editor brockheilig@oakland.edu Arianna Heyman Features Editor aheyman@oakland.edu Gabby Gappy SciTech Editor gabriellegappy@oakland.edu Joe Zerilli Campus Editor jzerilli@oakland.edu

EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM A picturesque sunrise over campus on a chill winter morning PHOTO BY GABRIELLE ABDELMESSH

Bella Javier Arts Editor isabellajavier@oakland.edu

DISTRIBUTION Sam Poudal Distribution Director spoudal@oakland.edu

CONNECT ONLINE AT:

oaklandpostonline.com

COPY & VISUAL Lindsey Sobkowski Photographer Jennifer Wood Graphic Designer

Elizabeth Foster Graphic Designer Emily Iatrou Graphic Designer

Melissa Collins Graphic Designer Christopher Udeozor-Nweke Graphic Designer

Leticia Cezário Santos Marketing Director lsantos@oakland.edu

Melanie Davis Distributor

REPORTERS Payton Bucki Reporter Rachel Yim Reporter DJ Lester Reporter Olivia Chiappelli Reporter Autumn Okuszka Reporter Summer Weathers Reporter

CORRECTIONS CORNER: The Oakland Post corrects all known errors of fact. If you know of an error, please email editor@oaklandpostonline.com.

ADVISING Garry Gilbert Editorial Adviser gjgilber@oakland.edu 248.370.2105 Don Ritenburgh Business Adviser ritenbur@oakland.edu 248.370.2533

CAMPUS

NOVEMBER 23, 2022 | 3

Exclusive interview with President Pescovitz on enrollment, East Campus and more GABRIELLE ABDELMESSIH Editor-in-Chief

The Oakland Post sat down with President Ora Pescovitz on Thursday, Nov. 17 for her first formal interview with The Post since the beginning of the fall semester. Pescovitz discussed her priorities for Oakland University’s financial planning, enrollment, East Campus development and more.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

The Oakland Post: We’re all aware that declining enrollment is affecting Oakland University’s financial planning.

The decline in enrollment seems to be a direct result of the pandemic and a shrinking pool of high school graduates. The number of college-bound students is decreasing nationwide, which adds to the enrollment problem.

What is OU’s plan to attract its share of this pool of students, increase recruiting and retain students until graduation while maintaining high admission standards?

Pescovitz: I think there are three major factors that are impacting enrollment, and it’s actually a national problem.

The meeting I said I was just coming back from is the meeting of one of the organizations we belong to that’s called AASCU, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, which basically educates about a third or more of the college students in America.

The problem is really national. All these university presidents were basically experiencing the same thing that we’re experiencing.

I think that the decline in enrollment is due to really three factors. One of them is a demographic problem, a decline in high school students. It’s particularly acute in Michigan. The second is COVID, and the third, which you didn’t mention, but I think it’s important to mention, is essentially an anticollege sentiment. And I think that that’s something that we have to really address, where people are saying, ‘do I really need to go to college? Can I get by in life without college?

Can I get a good job without college?’ So all three of those are factors that have been impacting enrollment pretty seriously.

Until 2017, Oakland was one of the 15 public universities in Michigan that was seeing the most rapid increase in enrollment. It was very, very substantive. In the last few years, we have seen a decline. Our decline is less than most of the other universities in Michigan, and one of the things I learned at this meeting is it’s less than many of our other peers that are in our peer group nationally, as well. So it’s important to put it in perspective. It’s significant, but it isn’t as severe as some of those others.

Secondly, it’s important to note that it appears that our enrollment is now stabilizing. And I say that because when we look at our enrollment for spring, summer and fall, the numbers are actually improving, and they actually, right now, appear to be beating even our projections. I don’t think we’re out of the woods, and I don’t think we can let our hair down in terms of our concerns, but our application numbers are significantly up.

It’s also important to note that one of the areas that we target is transfer students from community colleges and from other universities. We’ve either been number one or tied for number one for transferring students from community colleges or from other universities. We’re a very desirable place, and we continue to focus on that because we really believe that it’s fine for students who aren’t prepared to start a four-year university to start at a community college and then to transfer.

The Oakland Post: Currently, Oakland has the lowest per-student appropriation among Michigan’s 15 public universities. As there is no particular formula used to determine how much a particular university will receive for each student, politics and goals of the state come into play.

At the Oct. 6 Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting, you presented information from a Detroit News article on Michigan’s “brain drain” which revealed that many Michigan college students leave the state after graduating. This report disclosed positive news for OU, however, as 86.38% of OU graduates remain in Michigan’s workforce.

What plans do you have to petition the state to increase the per-student appropriation for the university? Is this retention

a contributing factor? Is there anything students or alumni of the university can do to help rectify the situation?

Pescovitz: Oakland is the number one — I call it “brain gain” institution, because we maintain or retain the largest number of the largest percent of our students in the state. It’s why I like to talk about us as not only the university of choice, but as the workforce university of choice. The reason I’m using that term is because our students, when they graduate, go into the Michigan workforce and they don’t leave the state. We retain the majority of our students — not just the majority, the vast majority of our students. We retain them in the Southeast Michigan workforce. And so we’re very, very proud of that.

I am really, really proud, not proud of the fact that we’re the lowest funded, but I’m very proud of our initiatives and our efforts in that regard. It’s been a huge initiative of mine.

We call it “Strive for 45.” We started this initiative just before COVID. I wish we had better timing because we got a little bit waylaid during the COVID pandemic, but the great news is that we’ve got a huge amount of traction for this and the way it was manifested.

During this most recent legislative cycle, the average university got funded by the state for basic line state appropriations.

The average university got 3.3% funding from the state.

Oakland got 12.5%. That was because the state built in the first part of what we requested in base funding for basically the part that we called Strive for 45. That’s what we call floor funding. Now, it didn’t bring us all the way up to the others.

We’re still the lowest funded, but it is the beginning of what we requested.

Now we have to work really, really hard, and students can really contribute to this — as can faculty, staff, supporters and others — to help us advocate for the rest of that floor funding, because we’re not yet at $4,500 per student. The plan was to have that happen over three years. So we got the first third of it in this first year, and now we hope to get the second 3rd this coming year and the third 3rd over the next year.

It’s very, very important for us to continue to do that legislative work and advocate for it. I am optimistic because I hope that the current election has brought people on board who are supportive of higher education.

The Oakland Post: The Post has received several letters to the editor from students, faculty and community members regarding their concerns about the university’s commitment to sustainability and the potential development of East Campus into a commercialized space. The October Sustainability Awareness Rally was met with peaceful protests against the development, and an OUSC petition citing concerns over traffic, sustainability and safety has over 3,000 signatures.

It appears that a significant portion of the OU community is against this plan. Is the university and the BOT taking this negative feedback into consideration? What are the benefits of pursuing this plan that make the case to pursue the development, even with the pushback?

Pescovitz: This is an initiative of the Board of Trustees. It’s something that actually predates my arrival. It’s something that the board has talked about for actually more than 30 years.

It’s an area that’s a very valuable piece of land, and the board feels an obligation to consider what we do with any of our resources. That’s our obligation to always consider: Are we always doing the best that we can do with any resource that we have?

They’ve contemplated for decades whether or not we make the best utilization of all of our resources. They’ve entertained that corner for possible development for a very long period of time.

From my perspective, I think that it is my responsibility to wait and see what the proposals are that come in. I have not weighed in on it at all. I’m a scientist. I’m an evidence-based person. I don’t really think that it’s appropriate to decide that it’s not sustainable or that it’s going to impede traffic, or that it’s going to be unsafe, or that it’s not going to be helpful to the university when I don’t have the foggiest idea of what’s been proposed.

What I do know is that one of the commitments of the board is to solicit proposals that are consistent with the mission, vision, values and goals of the institution and/or that would generate revenue for the institution that can be used to support

the mission, vision, values and goals of the institution. So what I think is very important is that we wait and see what the proposals are and see whether or not they are beneficial to the institution.

For me, and I was asked by several students if I would [sign] the petition, I said no, because I need to see their proposal. As an evidence-based person who’s grown up with a science background, I would never weigh in on anything until I saw the data. That’s where I am with it, and that’s what I would encourage everybody else to do, too. That’s where I sit with it.

If it can benefit us, we should see. And I think that there’s been a very thorough process today to try to look at exactly that. Could it be beneficial? If it isn’t beneficial, then it’s reasonable to object. But I don’t know why someone would object before, you know, what’s actually being proposed.

I’m supportive of the process, but I’m not supportive of a particular proposal because I haven’t seen a proposal.

The Oakland Post: I know you’ve spoken before about how important your Jewish values are to you and how they’ve shaped you. As the second Jewish president of the university, what are your thoughts on the recent rise in antisemitism and why is it important to stand up against it?

Pescovitz: I am very concerned about antisemitism on college campuses. This is not a random issue. It is pervasive.

And I worry about hate becoming more permissible across the entire country.

This hate speech is not free speech, and we have to be able to differentiate between free speech and hate speech. They are not one and the same. We should not tolerate any form of hate speech. And a particular form of hate speech is antisemitism.

It is one of the most dangerous forms of hate speech. And it’s not just in the form of speech. There have been actual antisemitic acts against people everywhere, but in particular on college campuses. And I am very, very concerned about it.

I am aware of a few incidents here at Oakland — not nearly as many as there have been on other campuses, but it worries me greatly, the fact that it’s occurring in colleges, because I am aware of Jewish students who’ve been afraid to admit that they’re Jewish for fear that they might be discriminated against in some way. And it is very, very concerning to me.

I am openly Jewish. I’m very proud of my identity and my affiliation. I would want any Jewish students on our campus to feel comfortable talking to me about their identity. It is something that we as a campus need to speak openly about.

I would hope that we will have some more open dialogue about this. I’d like us to be a leader in this. We’ve been a leader in Oakland on tolerance. We’ve been a leader in diversity, equity and inclusion. And when we see this kind of thing — hate and people not being respected — we have to speak out about it. I would like to see us take the lead on this and be open to any thoughts that students might have.

PHOTO BY LINDSEY SOBKOWSKI

CAMPUS

4 | NOVEMBER 23, 2022

OU community reacts to East Campus development JOE ZERILLI Campus Editor

From current students to faculty members to alumni, Oakland University community members are sharing their thoughts and reactions to the potential development of East Campus. Even without plans being finalized, there is a large number of people who oppose such advancements.

About a month ago, The Post was able to meet with Vice President of University Advancement Mike Westfall, who answered questions regarding East Campus. One update provided since revealed there will now be a Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting in April to finalize the proposal, in addition to the February meeting.

Another update revealed the OU Police Department (OUPD) will not be the leading police force for the area if it is built upon. This update came from Westfall’s meeting with Student Congress (OUSC) on Oct. 28.

Student responses One of the biggest shows of opposition to the project came at OU’s sustainability rally on Oct. 4 when a group of silent, student protestors arrived with cardboard signs. One protestor was quoted stating President Pescovitz and the administration “care more about their profits than their university community.”

The pushback from students found its way to local news stations, with OUSC president Andrew Romano and sophomore Randilynn Heichel sharing their thoughts. Students were also unhappy with the way they found out about the developments, with Heichel saying she only found out through social media.

“We’re a largely commuter campus here, so no matter what you’re always going to have traffic concerns,” Romano said on WDIV Local 4, “and we don’t have any public transit on campus, so you just have a lot of cars, and we’re dominantly a singlelane campus.”

OUSC stated three main reasons for their opposition to potential developments; traffic, sustainability and safety. They have already submitted an article to The Post sharing their thoughts, but to help create a voice for others against the development, they started a petition.

The petition currently has roughly 3,900 signatures and a goal of 5,000 signatures with the aim to cancel the entirety of the development.

As of now, there have been four letters to the editor from students regarding East Campus. Of those, there have been 35 comments — all of which agreeing with the sentiment stated in the letters — and a total of 80 likes on them, demonstrating opposition to the project.

Faculty & staff responses In regard to faculty and staff, there have been three letters to the editor with a total of 26 comments — with all but one seemingly agreeing — and 68 likes.

One of those letters was from the Campus Alliance for Sustainability & the Environment (CASE).

Professor Lily Mendoza, a member of the steering committee for CASE, spoke at the aforementioned sustainability rally. At the rally, she discussed the importance of sustainability and CASE-OU’s beginning, but specifically mentioned East Campus.

The following is a snippet of her speech from the rally: “The task is complex and daunting, requiring courage to explore uncharted territories and governance strategies that fully recognize the stakes involved. As such, we are having to ask really hard questions about our received, exclusively human-centered paradigms of economic growth and development.

“How do we show our commitment to disinvesting from old notions of land and nature as “exploitable commodity” — mere “resource to leverage income”— and begin seeing, like our Native kin do, that the morethan-human-world is, literally, womb and mother of this wonder called “Life,” at every level?

“Woodlots, marshes, forests, grasslands are not “undeveloped assets” awaiting chainsaws and concrete to secure a status quo future — and a shortsighted calculus in an accounting office — but an intricately complex web that knows how to care for and heal itself if not pillaged and wrecked.”

On Oct. 17, the OU Senate passed a resolution calling for a withdrawal of current plans for East Campus. The OU chapter of the American Association of University Professors (OU-AAUP) released the following statement after the decision: “Today Oakland University’s Senate responded to a Board of Trustees initiative to develop a hotel and retail space on the northeastern corner of campus.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on the Board of Trustees to ‘abandon this ill-conceived proposal and any future development proposals that do not align with the goals and mission of the university and to work instead on elevating OU’s profile as a living example of a university seriously committed to sustainability.’

“This University Senate action correlates with an initiative by Student Congress to voice concerns regarding East Campus development. A petition recently launched by Oakland students also calls for an end to the proposed East Campus Development project, citing deep concerns for its environmental impact, diversion of campus resources and the potential threat to the safety of the campus. This petition calls on OU to ‘invest in community initiatives that will improve campus,

not further corporatize and commercialize a nonprofit university.’

“Faculty and student opponents of East Campus Development have stressed how proposed construction on this parcel would violate the university’s commitment to sustainability, and conflict with the traditions of using campus property to cultivate scientific understanding, regional history and natural aesthetics. Moreover, opponents argued that the resources used in this development project would inherently divert from teaching and research, and muddle the image of Oakland for the surrounding community.

“Oakland’s University Senate is responsible for ensuring that the academic mission of the university is central to our activity. The faculty has made it clear that the proposal to develop East Campus will divert from OU’s instructional mission, undermine our efforts to lead the community in a drive for sustainability, and permanently destroy the unique natural environment at the university.

“As the collective bargaining unit that represents the faculty, the AAUP will continue to support our members’ efforts to focus the university’s attention on its mission to ‘be recognized as a strong research and scholarly environment focused on creative endeavors and on the discovery, dissemination and utilization of knowledge.’ The plans for development on the university’s East Campus do not support the academic mission of Oakland University.”

The Post is aiming to work with OUSC to create a student survey asking those in the campus community their thoughts on potential East Campus development plans when more specific information is released. The survey will most likely take place in January to gather feedback ahead of the BOT meeting in February.

PHOTO COURTESY OF OU

CAMPUS OSI, LVC team up for OU Day of Service PAYTON BUCKI Campus Reporter

The Office for Student Involvement (OSI) and the Leadership and Volunteer Center (LVC) hosted OU Day of Service on Nov. 16 in the Banquet Rooms of the Oakland Center. OU Day of Service is an annual drop-in volunteering event that allows students to work on a variety of service projects to benefit the local community.

At the event, several tables held detailed instructions for students to follow and supplies to utilize for each project. Some of the activities included writing thank you cards for the American Red Cross, creating friendship bracelets and designing onesies for families in need.

Student organizations, classes and club sports teams that participated in OU Day of Service each had an opportunity to sponsor a table. These groups brought their own supplies for a project to benefit the charitable organization of their choosing.

Event organizers encouraged attendees to donate nonperishable food at the event. These donations were to be sent to the Golden Grizzlies Food Pantry, benefiting students who are struggling with food insecurity.

“There was a steady flow of students coming in throughout the day,” Daryl Blackburn, coordinator of leadership and service programs at the OSI, said.

“We are so pleased with the turnout at OU Day of Service.”

The Student Program Board (SPB) also made an appearance at the event, providing attendees with “comfort food” during lunchtime. SPB staff members dished out free plates of turkey, mashed potatoes and corn to hardworking volunteers.

OU’s Running Club canceled their practice for the day to engage in community service at the event. The group worked on coloring pages, which will be hung in a children’s hospital throughout the holiday season.

PHOTO COURTESY OF OSI

NOVEMBER 23, 2022 | 5

“I liked working on the coloring pages project because it was very relaxing and fun,” sophomore Nicholas Skinner said. “It feels great to give back to the community while having fun with my friends.”

Several other groups attended the event, including Honors College 1000 (HC1000) classes and various student organizations. Since club sport teams, Honors College students and some majors are required to meet certain volunteer requirements, OU Day of Service proved to be a convenient option due to its drop-in aspect.

“OU Day of Service is an annual event that prioritizes the value of service amongst the student body,” Blackburn said. “The day is fun for students and the projects are simple, yet the volunteer efforts create huge, lasting impacts on the local community as a whole.”

Besides OU Day of Service, the OSI hosts a variety of on-campus service opportunities for students. They will conclude the semester by inviting students to serve at commencement for graduates in November, and donating winter clothing for children in need through their Mitten Tree project in December.

For students looking to volunteer off-campus, they may apply for Alternative Spring Breaks, a program that allows students to provide service to charitable organizations across the country.

FEATURES

6 | NOVEMBER 23, 2022

‘It’s Time to BeReal’ — The app offering unfiltered look at campus life AUTUMN OKUSZKA

the only reason people are drawn to it. Sophomore Katie Kraemer uses the app because it helps them stay connected with people they don’t see everyday.

“I like BeReal because it’s a good way to keep in touch with friends and family I don’t see or talk to often, because I still get to be a part of their daily life,” Kraemer said.

Features Reporter

Students can BeReal here or there, students can BeReal anywhere — including Oakland University.

BeReal is a social media app that asks its users to share a glimpse into their daily lives through the form of a photo within a constantly changing twominute window. Released in 2020, the app lived in obscurity until 2022 when it gained widespread popularity on college campuses. As of today, 20 million people access the app daily.

The photos — which are taken using the front and back-facing camera of the user’s phone — are then shared with an audience that the user curates. They also have the ability to view and react to the photos that their friends took at the same time. BeReal allows its users to live in the moment — a trait that many other social media apps lack.

OU senior and Oakland Post photographer Lindsey Sobkowski uses BeReal because of its authenticity — specifically because it shows the normal aspects of people’s lives that other social media apps do not.

“I like the minimal features, as it doesn’t allow me to get sucked into it,” Sobkowski said. “Other social media apps, like Instagram, have endless scrolling, which leads to me getting stuck in a loop of non-stop content.”

PHOTO BY AUBRIE EARL Earl took a BeReal at the end of a Grizzlies for Choice meeting with e-board members Hannah Brendle, Katie Kraemer, Mags Rose and other regular members.

claim to being “real’’ isn’t real at all. Washington Post reporter Molly Roberts believes that being on BeReal is a performative act, an opportunity to tell everyone that “I am authentic.”

“The whole point is to prove that you’re not seduced, like the rest of society, by the appeal of a false persona,” Roberts said. “We’re already trying to prove we’re capable of showing our ‘true’ selves — fighting desperately against the impulse to pick the best to share, and hold the worst back. Yet pushing back against that all-too-human impulse is, in many ways, less natural than giving in.”

However, BeReal’s claim to authenticity isn’t

PHOTO BY KATIE KRAEMER Kraemer’s phone notified them that it was time to BeReal while studying in the Oakland Center with Luke Sirbu.

Junior Hannah Pafford also enjoys interacting with her friends through the app, who are all relatively on there at the same time due to the twominute timer.

“I like how everyone uploads [at the same time] and you can see it and respond to your friends,” Pafford said.

BeReal is available to download on Google Play and the App Store.

PHOTO BY LINDSEY SOBKOWSKI Sobkowski had to BeReal at Meadow Brook Hall while covering the Yappy Hour for the Oakland Post.

Sophomore Aubrie Earl said BeReal allows her to be candid, granting her the ability to not put too much thought into what she’s posting.

“I feel like other social media apps [have] so much planning and editing that goes into all of these posts,” Earl said, “but on BeReal, it’s just, ‘oh, stop whatever you’re doing, take a picture and share it with everyone.’”

Although BeReal is an app that grew in popularity namely because of its authenticity, some believe its

PHOTO BY ELIZABETH FOSTER

PHOTO BY HANNAH PAFFORD It was time for Pafford to BeReal during the Golden Grizzlies first basketball game of the season against Defiance College at the O’rena.

FEATURES

NOVEMBER 23, 2022 | 7

Oxford High School at one year: Ella Klimowicz’s resiliency AUTUMN OKUSZKA Features Reporter

Nov. 30, 2021 began as a normal day for Oakland University freshman Ella Klimowicz. It ended with her life being changed forever.

Klimowicz is a student who attended Oxford High School that fateful day in which a mass shooting occurred that killed four students and injured seven.

From then on, the eyes of the nation have been on the school, its staff and students.

Klimowicz remembers the day feeling unreal. What occurred didn’t process for her right away.

“Before it happened — everything seemed like a normal day,” Klimowicz said. “When it happened, I kind of was confused. It didn’t really hit me until later that night.”

Klimowicz was a normal high school senior one day, and tied to people all across the country the next. She now had a bond with other survivors of school shootings from Parkland, Florida and Newtown, Connecticut, among others. They all shared comfort with Oxford as they became the next school to become a household name under grim circumstances.

“People from Parkland, Sandy Hook, Columbine — different people would reach out to Oxford kids and show them support and talk to them,” Klimowicz said.

Klimowicz had to take on the role of comforting other survivors of school shootings far too soon when on May 24, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 students, two teachers and injured 17 others. Klimowicz was angry that what she went through at Oxford happened again so soon, and this time to children as young as nine.

PHOTO BY ELLA KLIMOWICZ Ella Klimowicz poses with the stuffed wildcats she gifted to the students and staff of Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas on behalf of the Oxford community.

“I was watching TV and I went into shock again — like it happened all over again,” Klimowicz said. “The fact that it was elementary students, little babies — it really sucked.”

Klimowicz’s anger fueled her to do something to help the survivors of the shooting in Uvalde cope with what they went through, aside from extending a hand.

She thought about what helped her cope in her time of need — therapy dogs, blankets and stuffed animals.

“I started talking to my family and I was like, ‘what if I gave them stuffed animals? Everyone loves stuffed animals regardless, if you’re younger or older, guy or girl,’” she said. “And they were like, ‘oh, that’s a really good idea.’”

Klimowicz researched how much stuffed wildcats — Oxford’s school mascot — would be per unit and how many students she would be buying for. She then set up a GoFundMe that the Oxford community immediately rallied behind.

Although she had the support of the local community, the GoFundMe didn’t truly take flight until Klimowicz’s story was featured on ABC News. Within a couple of days of the broadcast, Klimowicz had raised over $20,000 — more than enough to purchase the stuffed wildcats for the children of Uvalde.

“So I was like, ‘okay, now I gotta do something else,’” Klimowicz said. “So I bought little worry stones on Amazon and I wanted to give them to all of the teachers and the staff at Robb Elementary. We still had leftover money, so I gave $250 visa gift cards to all of the displaced teachers.”

Alongside the stuffed wildcats and worry stones, Klimowicz also spent a majority of her summer break writing cards for all of the students. She had the opportunity to hand-deliver them this past September when she traveled to Uvalde, Texas. The highlight for Klimowicz was meeting with some of the students. “[My favorite part was] being able to see their reaction when they got the stuffed animal,” she said.

“I met a couple people I still talk to to this day. Even though they’re fourth graders, we still communicate.”

Klimowicz says her relationship with the Uvalde community changed her. She learned that positivity can come from the negativity that occurred nearly a year ago at Oxford High School.

“It made me realize that if you want to [do something], you can,” Klimowicz said.

WINTER PAYMENT DUE DATE OAKLAND UNIVERSITY’S WINTER PAYMENT DUE DATE: DECEMBER 15 Students who do not pay their balances in full or sign-up for a payment plan (and make the required installment(s)) may be dropped from classes and University housing (if applicable), and may be subject to late payment penalties and registration holds.

If you have questions or are experiencing circumstances that may prevent you from paying your account balance, please contact Student Financial Services at (248) 370-2550. We are ready to support you and help with your financial aid and billing options.

LEARN how to avoid cancellation (drop) at oakland.edu/financialservices/payments-refunds/payments-cancellation

Thanksgiving:

American’s origin and a tour around the world Thanksgiving is here! Yes, I know.

Already! Besides eating pumpkin pie, you might want to use the next few days to learn more about this important national holiday.

According to History.com, Thanksgiving started a long ago, in 1621, with Native Americans, who had been holding harvest festivals long before Europeans.

“The Plymouth colonists [the Pilgrims] and the Wampanoag, [a local tribe of Native Americans] shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.”

Moving forward in the timeline, the festive day just became an official holiday only a century later with George Washington.

“In 1789, George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States; in it, he called upon Americans to express their gratitude for the happy conclusion to the country’s war of independence and the successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution.”

Extra curiosity: New York was the first state to officially adopt Thanksgiving as an annual holiday in 1817.

Still, Thanksgiving feels like a very American holiday. What if I told you that it is not? Besides the U.S., many other countries have their variations of harvest festivities.

Find below 10 curiosities about Thanksgiving outside the United States: 1. Canada (second Monday in October): The Canadian first Thanksgiving was held before America’s (surprise!) in 1578. Besides some similarities, Canadians and Americans do not celebrate the same Thanksgiving.

“While the US celebrates the ‘feast’ shared by Pilgrims and Wampanoags, Canadian Thanksgiving started when British explorer Frobisher and his crew returned from their search of the Northwest Passage. To give thanks for their safe return, they organized a feast.”

2. Germany (first Sunday in October): German celebration is mainly religious and occurs around the time of the main harvest.

“During a typical Erntedankfest, celebrants may carry an Erntekrone (“harvest crown”) of grains,

fruit, and flowers to the church in a solemn procession, and feast on such hearty fare as die Masthühnchen (fattened-up chickens) or der Kapaun (castrated roosters).”

3. The Netherlands (fourth Thursday of November): Unlike other countries, only a city called Leiden celebrates Thanksgiving, and it has everything to do with the U.S. celebration.

Why? The English settlers who traveled to the New World [the Pilgrims] spent years in Leiden.

“As a result, some have claimed that the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving celebration was actually inspired by Leiden’s annual commemoration of the breaking of the Spanish siege in 1574. In any case, the people of today’s Leiden continue to celebrate their ties with the Mayflower’s passengers by holding non-denominational church services.”

4. Liberia (first Thursday of November): Liberian Thanksgiving is largely a Christian holiday, but it started in the early 1880s when Liberia’s government passed an act declaring the National Thanksgiving Day. “Formerly a colony of the American Colonization Society, Liberia declared its independence in 1947. However, the freed slaves from the United States who returned to the country around 1820 brought the Thanksgiving celebration with them. Liberia is probably the only other country in the world that celebrates the American Thanksgiving.”

5. Grenada (October 25): Grenada Thanksgiving celebration has an interesting history. The Caribbean Thanksgiving marks the anniversary of a joint Caribbean and U.S. military invasion of Grenada in 1983.

“As a result, on Thanksgiving, Grenadians give thanks for the American-led invasion that helped them take back their country [from Grenada’s deputy prime minister who executed the prime minister and seized power].”

6. Japan (November 23): Japan Thanksgiving is less about celebrating and more about reflecting.

Kinro Kansha no Hi (Labor Thanksgiving Day) evolved from an ancient rice harvest festival.

“The modern tradition of Labor Thanksgiving Day began in 1948, just three years after World War II ended, as a celebration of the rights of

Japan’s workers. Today, the public observes it as a national holiday, and labor organizations lead events where citizens are encouraged to celebrate the principles of hard work and community involvement.”

7. United Kingdom (late September or early October): UK actually celebrates a Harvest Festival.

The curiosity is that even if churches still celebrate the holiday, its origin dates far back before Christianity become the country’s religion.

“During pre-Christian times in Britain, the Saxons would offer the first sheaf of cereals to fertility gods, then come together and celebrate the harvest with a supper.”

8. Norfolk Island (last Wednesday of November): A former British colony and current Australian territory, this remote island is another unlikely place for a holiday celebration with American roots. Their Thanksgiving celebration comes from a tourism strategy from the mid-1890s.

“Thanksgiving tradition dates back to when the American trader Isaac Robinson decided to put on an American-style Thanksgiving service in the All Saints Church in Kingston to attract some visiting American whalers to the celebration.”

9. Puerto Rico (fourth Thursday in November): Being part of the U.S. territory, Puerto Rico celebrates Thanksgiving in a very Americanized way but still finds a way of adding its own details.

“There is usually turkey—whether a roasted, seasoned pavochón or a turkey stuffed with mofongo (a mashed plantain dish)—but roast pork is also a common item on the menu, accompanied with more plantains, rice, and beans.”

10. Most civilizations that built their history and habits from agriculture celebrate some form of a harvest festival. Another root of the holiday is external influences from colonization.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Independently of where you are and how you do it, may your celebrations be full of reasons to be thankful!

STORY BY LETICIA CEZÁRIO SANTOS | DESIGN BY MEGAN PARKER

FEATURES

10 | NOVEMBER 23, 2022

How students plan to celebrate Thanksgiving this season ARIANNA HEYMAN Features Editor

Thanksgiving is a time for reflection, but also for relaxation, good food and family. As Oakland University students prepare for Thanksgiving break, many of them are anticipating their holiday plans and what traditions they are looking forward to most this year.

Below, OU students share their most treasured Thanksgiving customs and detail how they plan to spend the day.

Erika Head, Junior “On Thanksgiving, I enjoy taking intentional time to be present with my family for the day. My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is eating lunch and dinner at my grandma’s house and spending time with my cousins.

“This year, I plan to host a Friendsgiving with my high school and college friends on Wednesday and celebrate Thanksgiving with my family on Thursday. In recent years, I have invited my out of state college friends (who live too far to go home for a few days) to come to my family’s Thanksgiving dinner and other holiday celebrations.”

Isabella Pacifico, Junior “What I enjoy about Thanksgiving would probably be cooking for my family and spending the whole day with them. All of my siblings are in school and my parents are teachers, so we have never spent a Thanksgiving apart. We always

celebrate by watching the Thanksgiving parade and cooking dinner together.

“My favorite Thanksgiving tradition would probably be what comes after dinner: we always spend the whole night playing board games while eating pumpkin pie and drinking coffee. I just love being with my family and enjoying every moment with them.”

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Murryum Farooqi, Junior “We usually all get together and do a reading of the Islamic holy book the Quran in honor of my late grandmother while the turkey bakes. I have a big family with a lot of cousins, and now they have kids too, so I am most excited to hang out with everyone and catch up on what’s going on in everyone’s lives.

“My absolute favorite Thanksgiving food I wish I could eat all the time is stuffing. Also, pecan pie is the best pie — no ifs, ands or buts.

Haley Allen, Senior “What I enjoy most [about Thanksgiving] is spending time with family and catching up with people I don’t see that often. For this Thanksgiving, I will be going to my grandma’s, my mom’s and my aunt’s house. We do not have any traditions — we usually just eat and then get to hang out together.”

Blair Sakwa, Senior “Some of my favorite family traditions include rooting for the Lions with my cousins, listening to Taylor Swift in the kitchen while helping my mom and eating myself sick while wearing an oversized sweater. Thanksgiving rocks.”

Madi Saunders, Graduate student “I would say the thing I enjoy the most is seeing my extended family that I only see once a year. I plan to celebrate at my Aunt’s house in Pennsylvania. Not too many traditions — just watching the parade, cooking thanksgiving dinner and being together under one roof.”

ARTS Positive Space: Director, actress Olivia Kiefer

NOVEMBER 23, 2022 | 11

BELLA JAVIER Arts Editor

Olivia Kiefer, senior acting major, spent her recess days organizing little plays on school playgrounds and making home movies with her sisters. This childhood passion came to fruition in her adulthood when, just this past weekend, she wrapped up her directorial debut with advanced directing project, “Pizza Man.” Kiefer is a transfer student from Michigan State University (MSU). After discovering MSU lacked directing classes, she transferred to OU in pursuit of a goal to direct a full-length play.

“I’ve wanted to [direct] since high school, [...] so when I got to college, I made it a goal to direct a piece,” Kiefer said. “[...] When I went [to MSU], I asked if there was a directing course and they said, ‘not until your senior year.’ And I said, ‘That’s no good for me.’

So, I decided to switch to coming here.”

Aside from directing, Kiefer has been a part of shows both within and beyond her department’s curricula, including Shakespeare Royal Oak’s “Romeo and Juliet” and SMTD’s “Sense and Sensibility.” Her favorite project this far in her career, however, has been the theatre department’s study abroad production of “Trojan Women.”

Given Kiefer’s credentials, it goes without saying — she’s a fan of the classics.

Classic literature typically receives moans and groans from the general public, but for Kiefer and other appreciators, the genre offers messages that force us to question whether the classics really are all that “classic.”

“I think there’s a lot to be said about going back and revisiting the classics and learning from history and old stories that still apply to today,” Kiefer said, “going back and seeing how these morals and ideas and messages have really been fixed since the time that they

PHOTO BY OLIVIA KIEFER

were written.”

Another common thread in Kiefer’s interests are good, grounded stories about women, which are hard to come by. Stories about women have a tendency to be superficial and stereotypical in such a way that downplays the weight of the story itself. Crucially, stories which defy the norm are those which Kiefer is especially interested in bringing to light. “[Another thing] I enjoy working on are pieces that have an ensemble of women going through very human and worldly problems – problems that are very grounded and serious,” Kiefer said. “Not so much romantic or head problems, but things that are very immediate and earthly.”

Take her most recent work, “Pizza Man,” for example: while it is a dark comedy about assault and the female experience, it also brings forth a broader

conversation about the temper of the everyday person.

Even though the story itself is a little campy and wild, it has a lesson spoken through the lens of a woman about what results from the troubles and hardships we must endure in our day to day.

“This piece teaches a lesson that is so important in this day and age, [...] focusing on the idea that the society that we’ve built has beaten out empathy in the everyday person,” Kiefer said.

This element of “Pizza Man” that Kiefer finds so significant can be thought of, in some ways, as an exploration of the female dilemma — or the idea that women feel pressured to be put into a box and act within those bounds.

Kiefer said the female dilemma will sometimes impede on her own craft as she struggles with secondguessing herself. However, this issue of self-doubt evaporates when she has the opportunity to portray farce characters.

“I’ve always wanted to be a character actor, mainly because it [is like] a form of therapy,” Kiefer said. “You can reach points of yourself that you don’t normally access on a day-to-day basis when you’re playing a character.”

One actress she looks up to for this style of acting is Helena Bonham Carter. When it comes to directing, however, Kiefer turns to the people she’s worked with — namely, the director of Shakespeare Royal Oak’s “Romeo and Juliet,” Stephanie Buck.

What Kiefer appreciates in a creative workspace is collaboration, something she felt Buck excelled at.

For Kiefer, collaboration opens up a story to a broader audience — especially in the case of classical theatre, where audiences have a tendency to get lost in translation.

At the end of the day, Kiefer believes it’s important to stay humble. It is through a sort of modesty – listening to others, collaborating to share important stories – which allows genius to happen.

I’m ‘Disenchanted’ with the newest Disney+

D’JUANNA LESTER Arts Reporter

After 15 years, Disney’s “Enchanted” finally has a sequel. The long awaited film starring Amy Adams dropped on Disney+ on Nov. 18. This will be a spoilerfree review.

In a twist from Disney, this movie is a musical.

This movie musical can and does cram in every single song it can, even if it means three songs within twenty minutes of the movie starting. On top of that, the songs didn’t stand out to me, which is odd for a Disney film.

The plot follows Giselle and her new family moving from New York City to Monroeville. I feel like there wasn’t enough build up or reason as to why they were moving. Giselle’s daughter, Morgan, is a teenager now; she’s portrayed as moody and sarcastic, as most are portrayed in the media.

The movie does a decent job of establishing how difficult the move is for everyone, which makes me wonder why they chose this particular place to move to. It’s relatable for everyone who’s moved to a new city before.

I enjoyed the plot line of Giselle’s wish. Seeing the regular world becoming a fairy tale-esque utopia was a fun twist to watch. The villain twist was also cool to see, as it’s an unusual direction for a Disney movie.

Giselle’s character does a complete 180 in this film.

While it’s an interesting twist, she doesn’t feel like the character from the first movie. Probably because she isn’t. It feels like a completely different movie, and the change in character happened way too fast.

This film is two hours long, and I feel like the pacing could have been much stronger. Some things felt drawn out, others rushed.

A key part of what made the first movie special was the blossoming relationship between Giselle and Robert. In this film, it’s mostly the beginning. The rest of the movie follows Giselle and Morgan, with Robert feeling like a side character at best.

Having an evil queen and a wicked stepmother be separate characters was an interesting addition to the movie. In these kinds of movies, they’re one in the same. I enjoyed the banter between the two wicked characters and wish we got more of their conflict.

My favorite parts of the movie were whenever Nancy was on screen. You can’t throw Idina Menzel into a movie and expect me not to watch her. I was happy to see that she got her own song. I mean, it’s Idina Menzel.

The movie really picked up in the second half once there were less songs and more story focus. The witch’s battle was pretty epic. The characters have clear goals, whereas in the beginning, a lot was glossed over with character progression.

Overall, this is a movie that has its bright spots,

but doesn’t live up to the original film. I feel like this would’ve been better as an original movie instead of an “Enchanted” sequel. It feels like the two films are from completely different worlds.

Rating: 3/5

PHOTO COURTESY OF DISNEY+

ARTS ‘A World Without Princes’ is a beautiful twist 12 | NOVEMBER 23, 2022

D’JUANNA LESTER Arts Reporter

After Netflix dropped their movie based on the book “The School for Good and Evil,” I was hooked into the series. I decided to go and check out the second book, and it defied my expectations.

After fans debated whether or not the Netflix adaptation would work better as a film or series based on all of the content left out, I wanted to see the series in full, and was surprised by the second book in the series — “A World Without Princes.”

This book picks up where the first one left off, with our heroes Agatha and Sophie back in Gavaldon. The characters are written so well, and their personalities remain intact from book to book. Although Agatha is having a change of heart, longing for the prince she left behind in the School for Good and Evil.

Agatha is my favorite character, and I enjoyed seeing this book focus on her being caught in her feelings between her best friend, Sophie, and her true love, Tedros.

Sophie is a very annoying character, and I can’t stand how she thinks she’s Good when her entire character up until this point is being selfish over Agatha. Still, the book managed to make me have some sympathy towards her in wanting Agatha to stay with her and not return with Tedros. She doesn’t want to be alone forever.

When the heroes return to the School, they learn

that it is no longer the School for Good vs the School for Evil, but the School for Boys vs the School for Girls. I thought this was a very fun twist.

I enjoyed seeing the Evers and Nevers getting along this time around. Agatha and Sophie caused all of this, and end up on opposing sides trying to fix it.

The dynamic between the friends is beautifully written. The book itself has many twists and turns that challenge the duo, leading to realization and character growth that I was intrigued to read about.

The setting was an integral part to what made this book fun to read. The shift from the first book’s schools and this one’s was compelling and well thought out — nothing felt confusing or like it came out of nowhere. I’m glad that we got to see the perspective of different characters and how they felt about the changes, not just the main pair.

I think this book is stunning, and overall very creative. The way the world is written and the twists that come with that make it clear why this series is so popular and has such a dedicated fan base.

As much as I would love to see this book hit the screen, I’d prefer Netflix not touch this book.

Knowing it will be a movie, so much of this complex story will be cut out. If Netflix does decide to adapt, they should do a short series like they are with “Shadow and Bone.

Rating: 4/5

PHOTO COURTESY OF GOODREADS

SPORTS

NOVEMBER 23, 2022 | 13

Townsend’s 30-point game not enough: Toledo pours 112 on OU BROCK HEILIG Sports Editor

The Oakland men’s basketball team dropped its third straight game on Wednesday, Nov. 16 to Toledo. Trey Townsend posted a career high 30 points, but the Rockets shot over 50% from 3-point range to secure the win.

With the loss, Oakland fell to 1-3 on the season with other losses to Bowling Green and Oklahoma State.

The game didn’t start out particularly well for Oakland. Toledo jumped out to a 6-0 lead less than a minute and a half into the game. Keaton Hervey and Rocket Watts each knocked down 3-pointers not too much longer afterward, and the Golden Grizzlies cut the lead to three.

However, Toledo then began to take over. The Rockets went on an ensuing 19-5 run, and Oakland was behind big early on.

Toledo continued to expand its lead, and the Rockets built a 20-point lead with 9:13 still to play in the first half.

Each team had its own runs to close out the first half, but ultimately the Rockets carried that same 20-point lead into the locker room for halftime.

Things didn’t exactly go Oakland’s way in the second half, either. The Golden Grizzlies cut the lead to as few as 11, but Toledo’s great shooting night continued.

The Rockets finished up with a 112-90 win over

Oakland. They shot 61.6% from the floor and 53.8% from behind the arc as they easily disposed of the Golden Grizzlies.

Townsend had a heroic 30-point effort in the loss. The junior forward shot 12-21 from the floor and a remarkable 6-7 from distance,

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OAKLAND POST Jalen Moore scored 24 points in a losing effort against Northern Kentucky.

finishing with no turnovers and 10 rebounds to secure the double-double.

Jalen Moore added 19 points in 35 minutes. The senior guard didn’t have a great 3-point shooting night as he failed to connect on four attempts, but he was 6-16 from the floor, and he added seven points from the charity stripe.

Osei Price scored 13 points off the bench in 23 minutes of action. He finished with a very efficient 4-6 shooting night from the floor, including 2-4 from beyond the arc.

Blake Lampman and Keaton Hervey each scored 12 points. Lampman shot 4-11 from the field and 3-8 from deep, while Hervey shot 5-10 from the floor and 1-4 from distance in the loss.

Obviously it wasn’t a great defensive performance from Oakland, but other teams practice, too, and Toledo’s J.T. Shumate came ready to play.

The 6-foot-7 forward tallied 33 points on an astounding 15-21 shooting. He shot 3-6 from 3-point range and was the driving force in helping Toledo to the big victory.

Oakland went on to defeat Eastern Michigan in its next game, and now the Golden Grizzlies will pack their bags as they embark on a trip that should create memories to last lifetimes.

Greg Kampe’s team will head to the Bahamas to compete in the 2022 Nassau Championship. The team will open with Long Beach State on Friday, Nov. 25 at 8 p.m.

Oakland offense stymied in blowout loss to MSU BROCK HEILIG Sports Editor

The Oakland women’s basketball team struggled in an 85-39 blowout loss at the hands of the Michigan State Spartans (MSU) at the Breslin Center on Tuesday, Nov. 15.

Oakland hung around for a quarter, but extremely poor second and third quarters resulted in the demise of the Golden Grizzlies. After the first quarter, Oakland trailed by only eight points, 23-15.

However, the Spartan lead would only grow from there. Oakland was outscored by a 16-point margin in the second quarter, and MSU carried a 24-point lead into the halftime locker room.

In the second quarter, Oakland shot an unbelievably poor 1-15 from the floor, including 0-4 from deep. Although MSU only shot 5-15 from the floor and 1-7 from behind the arc, the Spartans took a major advantage into the locker room thanks to the abysmal shooting performance from the Golden Grizzlies.

The Spartans scored almost half of their second-quarter points at the free throw line. They got to the charity stripe 11 times in the quarter, and they sank nine of those shots.

Oakland’s shooting woes continued in a major way to begin the second half, although it did improve — slightly.

The Golden Grizzlies, once again, shot the ball

15 times in the third quarter, but one more shot was able to fall, and Oakland came away with a 2-15 shooting performance in the third quarter.

Through the middle 20 minutes of game action, Oakland shot 3-30 from the floor. If that mark wasn’t bad enough, Oakland had yet to make a 3-pointer through three quarters of play.

The Golden Grizzlies attempted four 3-pointers in each of the first three quarters, but they were unable to hit on any of them, and they began the

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OAKLAND POST The women’s basketball team in a huddle against IU

game 0-12 from deep.

Although the Grizzlies’ shooting improved in the fourth quarter, MSU had led Oakland 65-24 through three quarters, and the latter team’s fate had already been decided.

With the loss, Oakland fell to 2-1 on the season as nonconference play continues. The Golden Grizzlies will travel to Champaign, Illinois this week to take on another Big Ten opponent.

It should be an interesting game for Oakland sophomore Aaliyah McQueen, who played one season at Illinois before transferring to Oakland at the beginning of last season.

McQueen played in 19 games for the Illini as a freshman, and she averaged 9.6 minutes per game. Last year as a sophomore, McQueen played in 19 games once again, but she averaged 11.4 minutes per game and 5.1 points.

After the trip to Illinois, Oakland will head east to compete in the TD Bank Classic in Burlington, Vermont. Oakland will take on Siena College to begin, and then, based on various results, will either take on Vermont or Stonehill.

Following the TD Bank Classic, the Golden Grizzlies will begin conference play with back-to-back road games against Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne on Dec. 2 and Dec. 4, respectively.

SPORTS

14 | NOVEMBER 23, 2022

Team effort plays big role in defeating Emoni Bates, Eastern Michigan BROCK HEILIG Sports Editor

The Oakland men’s basketball team welcomed Emoni Bates and the Eastern Michigan Eagles to the O’rena on Saturday, Nov. 19. Fans were either on the edge of their seats or on their feet as the game crept toward the finish line.

A Trey Townsend layup late in the second half sent the game to overtime, where Oakland eventually won 92-90.

Emoni Bates, who was one of the most highly rated recruits coming out of the 2021 high school class, spent one season at Memphis before transferring to Eastern Michigan over the offseason. He’s a 6-foot8 do-it-all prospect who has been compared to NBA Star Kevin Durant throughout most of his recruitment.

Despite the future NBA player on the floor, Oakland played excellent team basketball to help knock off the Eagles.

Oakland jumped out to a blistering start. Rocket Watts scored eight quick points and the Golden Grizzlies established a commanding 16-3 lead early in the game.

Eastern Michigan continued to hang around, though. The Eagles trailed by as many as 19 in the first half, but a late first-half surge brought them to within nine as the teams headed to the locker rooms.

Eastern Michigan trailed much of the second half until a Noah Farrakhan jump shot tied the game at 70 with 6:44 left in the game.

As crunch time ensued, numerous Golden Grizzlies stepped up. Townsend, Blake Lampman, Osei Price and Keaton Hervey all scored in the game’s final six minutes.

Down by two with 16 seconds left, Oakland turned to perhaps its best option — Townsend. And the junior delivered, making a layup with three seconds left to send the game to overtime.

Although Oakland maintained all momentum going into overtime, Eastern Michigan stole it right back. The Eagles scored the first bucket of the overtime period, and they never trailed in the 5-minute overtime until there were just nine seconds left.

Another Townsend layup proved to be the difference between the two teams as the game came to a close. With nine seconds left, this layup ended up being the game-winner, and Eastern Michigan failed to even get another shot off.

Bates led all scorers with 19 points in 41 minutes.

The sophomore shot 7-16 from the floor, including an outstanding 5-11 from distance.

A slew of other Eagles had strong performances as well, but Oakland’s gritty team performance won the game.

Townsend and Hervey each scored 17, Watts added 15, Will Shepherd scored 12 and Lampman and Jalen Moore both finished with 11.

It was a solid win for Oakland over an Eastern Michigan team that took Michigan down to the wire at Little Caesars Arena back on Nov. 11. Bates poured in 30 points in that game, so the defensive effort by the Golden Grizzlies is not something to be taken lightly.

To hold a budding superstar to 19 points on sub50% shooting is quite an accomplishment.

Oakland will depart from the United States and venture out to the Bahamas this week to compete in the 2022 Nassau Championship.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OAKLAND POST Trey Townsend reads the defense versus the Penguins. The Golden Grizzlies won in overtime, 87-83, and Townsend drew a key charge in overtime.

Ohio State, Michigan sneak past trap games, set up epic showdown BROCK HEILIG Sports Editor

Entering the 12th week of the college football season, there were four undefeated teams, and two of them resided in the Big Ten. Big Ten powers Ohio State and Michigan have cruised through their respective schedules so far this season, and the two teams had looked rather unstoppable through the first 10 games of the year.

And then the 11th game hit.

Michigan kicked things off on Saturday with a noon meeting with Illinois, a team that had lost its previous two games and surrendered its position as the Big Ten West’s best team.

The Wolverines received the ball first, marching right down the field and scoring a touchdown.

Blake Corum ran in his 19th total touchdown of the season, and Michigan claimed an early 7-0 lead.

Illinois struggled to move the ball on offense, but much to its luck, Michigan’s offensive rhythm also disappeared. It was one of the lower scoring games in college football at halftime, with the Wolverines leading 7-3.

The Fighting Illini kept, well, fighting. Heisman Trophy-contending running back Chase Brown scored two third-quarter touchdowns, and Illinois found itself with a 17-10 lead over Michigan at the Big House heading into the fourth quarter.

It was the first time Michigan had trailed in the fourth quarter all season, and the tension in the air

at Michigan Stadium could be felt.

However, much like in its game against Michigan State, Michigan field-goal-kicked its opponent to death, and a Jake Moody 35-yard field goal gave Michigan a 19-17 lead with nine seconds remaining.

Illinois couldn’t create any late-game magic, and Michigan improved to 11-0.

Not long after Michigan’s game ended, its arch rival Ohio State took the field in College Park, Maryland against the Terrapins. The Buckeyes

were a heavy favorite, but the game didn’t quite go as planned for Ryan Day’s team.

TreVeyon Henderson caught a 31-yard touchdown from C.J. Stroud, and Ohio State took an early 7-0 lead just over a minute and a half into the game.

Maryland continued to hang around, though, and the Terrapins led 13-10 going into halftime.

Ohio State kicker Noah Ruggles sealed the deal with a 45-yard field goal with 42 seconds left, and a late fumble recovery gave Ohio State an extra touchdown.

Neither Michigan nor Ohio State was comfortable with its performance on Saturday, but each team was able to accomplish the ultimate goal — victory.

Now, the two teams will square off in an undefeated showdown in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday. It will be the first time the two teams meet at 11-0 since 2006 in what was deemed the Game of the Century. The Buckeyes won that game 42-39.

The winner of Saturday’s game is almost certainly in the College Football Playoff, while the losing team might have to resort to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Either way, this will be the most highly anticipated regular season college football game this season, and it should be one for the history books.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OAKLAND POST

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