The Michigan Daily = michigandaily.com
Monday, November 5, 2012 - 6A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, November 5, 2012 - 6A
Mitt Romney, left, shakes hands with his father, then Michigan Gov. George Romney, as he graduates high school in 1965.
From Page 1A
Hills that is Romney's alma mater,
allegiances remain divided.
It was - among Cranbrook's
Tudor-style brick and stone build-
ings, nestled on 319 acres of con-
verted farmland, that the future
presidential candidate began sev-
enth grade classes in 1959.
In May, the Washington Post
article investigated Romney's
time at Cranbrook beyond his'
participation in the glee club,
the cross country team and his
role as hockey manager. Through
interviews with his classmates,
the Post detailed several Rom-
ney pranks, including an incident
where Romney allegedlyharassed
a homosexual student.
"That definitely brought extra
media attention," Cranbrook
senior George Gheordunescu, co-
president of Cranbrook's chapter
of the Teenage Republicans, said.
"You can't go to Cranbrook and
not feel connected to the student
body. I would like Mitt Romney
to be more open about his years at
Cranbrook. He doesn't talk about
his years in school."
To meet the demands of jour-
nalists digging into Romney's
Cranbrook years, the school cre-
ated a page on its website to field
requests for information and
maintains a policy of not com-
menting on the election..
"It would certainly be a sense
of enormous pride to have one of.
our alumni elected to the high-
est office in the land," the web-
site states. "However, as a matter
of policy, Cranbrook Schools does
not and will not endorse any polit-
ical ideology, party or candidate."
Karen Santana-Garces, the
president of Cranbrook's Club
for Liberals and Democrats, said
though students are excited about
his status as an alum, it hasn't been
a critical driving force in influenc-
ing student support.
"It is exciting that he is an
alumni, but that's not really the
main support that he has," Club
for Liberals and Democrats presi-
dent Karen Santana-Garces said.
"I think it's more about your polit-
ical beliefs."
Gheordunescu said it's hard to
tell where the majority of student
support lies. Like Santana-Garces,
he said Romney's Cranbrook roots
haven't played a significant role.
"A lot of people say it's cool that
Romney went to our school, but I
don't think they are going to make
their decision based on that," Ghe-
ordunescu said. "I don't think that
has as much of an effect as people
might think."
Both Gheordunescu and Santa-
na-Garces emphasized the econ-
omy and college affordability as
issues most important to students.
"Being able to afford a college
education is a very important
issue," Gheordunescu said. "Once
we graduate from college, we want
to be able to find good jobs and
start our own lives."
Cranbrook tuition itself is com-
parable to that of a college educa-
tion. While the school provides
scholarships and financial aid, and
bases tuition around a family's
income level, regular tuition costs
$28,300 per year for families earn-
ing more than $150,000 annually.
Still, Cranbrook prides itself on
a diverse student body, contrib-
uting to divided electoral senti-
ments.
While the Club for Liberals and
Democrats and Teenage Repub-
licans are working to educate
students and encourage eligible
voters to go to the polls, Santa-
na-Garces said she notices more
Romney support outside of Cran-
brook's gates in Bloomfield Hills.
When driving down Lone Pine
Road, a Bloomfield Hills street
lined with trees and large homes,
Santana-Garces said he she sees
plenty of Romney-Ryan yard signs
flankingthe roadside.
Aaron Kall, director of the Uni-
versity of Michigan Debate team,
said Obama currently holds a lead
over Romney in the state, as Nov.
1 poll data released by the Detroit
Free Press and WXYZ-TV shows
Obama holds 48 percent of state
support, to Romney's 42 percent.
Kall noted that while the lead
is narrow, neither campaign has
spent much time in the state, with
Obama's last appearance in April
and Romney's in August.
In 2008, Obama won Oakland
County by 15 points, leading Mich-
igan by a similar margin in the
final resu'lts. Kall estimates Obama
will carry Oakland County, where
Cranbrook is located, this year by
five or six points, the same margin
Obama is polling in the state.
"The fact that Romney-Ryan
have recently spent more time in
long shot states like Pennsylvania
and Minnesota led me to believe
the campaign doesn't think Michi-
gan is currently in play," Kall said.
Jermaine House, the Obama
campaign's deputy press secretary
.in Michigan, said Bloomfield Hills
has strong support for the presi-
dent and the campaign is working
every day to turn out voters on
Election Day.
"Michiganders, including those
in Bloomfield Hills, stand with
the President because he stood
with them during the dark days
of the auto industry crisis," House
said. "The auto industry supports
one in five Michigan jobs, so the
President's decision to rescue the
industry bodes well with Michi-
ganders."
For many in Michigan, Rom-
ney's 2008 New York Times Op-Ed
titled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt"
was difficult to reconcile in a state
whose economy is driven by the
auto industry.
In the article, Romney empha-
sized his love for American cars,
his Detroit roots and his father's
position as chairman and president
of American Motors Corporation. .
"In a managed bankruptcy, the
federal government would pro-
pel newly competitive and viable
automakers, rather than seal their
fate with a bailout check," Romney
wrote in 2008.
House said Romney's plan
would have cost one million jobs, a
crippling blow for the state.
The Michigan Republican
Party, the acting spokesmen of the
Romney campaign in Michigan,
could not be reached for comment.
While it is uncertain whether
Romney's branding as Michigan's
native son will deliver votes in
Bloomfield Hills, Romney's Detroit
roots, along with his much-dis-
cussed views on the auto-bailout,
have generated significant media
attention focused on Metro Detroit
and Cranbrook.
Romney has visited the campus
of his alma mater in recent years.
The school's website said Romney
las visited the campus in 2005 to
receive an award from its alumni
association. In 1995, Romney deliv-
ered Cranbrook's commencement
speech, encouraging students to
make choices consistent with their
deepest values.
"Will you choose to sit on the
sidelines in the great battle for
justice, equality of opportunity,
decency, and freedom?" Romney
said.
Almost 20 years later, Rom-
ney will spend the 24 hours days
awaiting America's choice in plac-
es like Bloomfield Hills and other
towns across the country.
Toward the end of Romney's
commencement speech, he said:
"Winning is not the only success;
entering the fray is success, in and
of itself."
On Tuesday, voters will learn
whether Romney will succeed in
Bloomfield Hills, in Michigan and
in attaining the highest office in
the nation.
POLLS
From Page lA
firing up voters.
All four men touched on the
state's importance in the election,
sharing their common confidence
that ultimately Obama will win
the state, as he did in 2008.
Johnson said the Obama cam-
paign is not especially concerned
with narrowingthe Michigan poll
results, noting that it's part of an
inevitable trend across the coun-
try to see the race getting more
competitive in the final days.
However, despite the general
air of confidence, Debbie Dingell,
John Dingell's wife and a Demo-
cratic activist, and Levin empha-
sized that every vote matters.
Levin recalled volunteering
after graduating from law school
for John Kennedy's 1960 cam-
paign by driving veterans to poll-
ing places, sometimes spending
hours driving one voter.
"(I thought) what am I doing -
four hours, one vote? That night,
Kennedy won by one vote per pre-
cinct - my veteran." Levin said.
All were in agreement that
the way to garner support was
through continuing to pursue
a vigorous ground campaign,
which entails canvassing and
making phone calls. In a press
release, the Obama campaignsaid
it has created the largest grass-
HOLOCAUST
From Page 1A
II with LSA sophomores Mary
Bari and Nicole Berman and LSA
junior Blake Orman.
In accordance with his note,
Vine spoke slowly and eloquently
as he shared his story. When he
was 12 years old, his family was
taken from their home in Ciecha-
now, Poland where they lived in a
ghetto before traveling by. cattle
car to Auschwitz in 1942. He
remained in concentration camps
until 1945, when his camp near
Munich, Germany was liberated
by American forces.
Vine was the.only member of
his family to survive, losing his
parents and four brothers in the
genocide.
Vine described that the words
his father told him in the crowded
cattle car on the third day of their
four-day transport to Auschwitz
served as his motivation to sur-
vive in the camps.
"He leaned over to me so my
mother shouldn't hear, and he
says, 'Son, I apologize for telling
you that the Germans are won-
derful people.' And then he low-
ered his voice and said, 'We are
going to die here. We are going to
get killed. I leave you a command-
ment: you must survive. You must
do it. Because no one in the world
will ever believe that you are tell-
ing the truth,"' Vine said.
Vine was separated from his
parents after arriving in the
camp. He said the words of his
father echoed in his mind after
arriving at Auschwitz, and about
10 days later he devised a plan to
leave his bunk at night and get
shot by a guard.
"As I was going out trying to
get myself killed, I heard those
words from my father, and I knew
I couldn't do it. And I'm here to
tell the story myself," Vine said.
"The reason I try to talk slowly
is because I want you to believe
me, and what could be more.than
showing you documents, real doc-
uments, that I found after the war
hidden in Auschwitz, that told the
story."
Vine then referred to the two
scanned documents in his manila
envelope: the records made bythe
Germans upon his arrival to Aus-
chwitz.
After liberation, distant fam-
ily members brought Vine to the
United States in 1947, where he
lived in New York before settling
in the Detroit suburbs in 1952,
FINAL PUSHES
From Page 1A
occasionally be confusing.
"A lot of students are con-
fused about what the actual
stances are, whether it beon the
economy or social issues," Bren-
nan said. "So we're informing
people. We're informing them
about the candidates and about
the six Michigan ballot pro-
posals, which is really impor-
tant because a lot of people
don't take the time out to really
understand how (the proposals)
are going to affect them."
roots effort in Michigan history.
Johnson said while the cam-
paign has the resources to put
money toward television ads,
which remains a key strategy of
winning support in many states,
community organization is still a
crucial weapon.
In June's opinion, a similar
grassroots effort is what put
Obama in the White House in
2008. He emphasized the impor-
tance of young people turning up
to the polls, since there is a wan-
ing interest in politics within
today's generation.
"People that are doing all the
grassroots level work are the peo-
ple that are really going to make
the difference in the election
because we saw last time around
that when people actually got out
and voted, wow people (were)
taken back ... the voice of America
(was) actually being heard," June
said. "Now we have to continue
with that same energy, with that
same passion."
Field organizers and volun-
teers initially focused on regis-
tering people to vote. However, at
this point in the race, their efforts
through "Get Out the Vote" have
been more focused on encourag-
ing registered voters to turn up at
the polls, regardless of their polit-
ical affiliation. Johnson said early
voting is somethingthe campaign
is continually encouraging.
"We've been working really
according to his biography in the
event program.
Vine found his Auschwitz
records after returning to the
camp for atourlaterinhis life. For
him, the documents serve as key
pieces of evidence in illustrating
the truth of his own experiences
and the experiences of millions
of Jewish people throughout
Europe.
Vine added that though the
events were difficult to speak
about at first, he now finds inspi-
ration sharing his story with oth-
ers.
"You got a happy Holocaust
survivor," Vine said. "I'm living
with hope ... and the greatness
you can do for mankind and for
yourself by being kind."
Another survivor at the event
was Albert Fein. Fein said he
and his family were deported to
a ghetto in Ukraine in 1941 and
managed to escape death by pre-
tending they were Christians,
ultimatelyreceivingidentification
from the Germans verifying they
weren't Jewish, an act that saved
their lives.
Fein's daughter Renee, who
helped bring survivors to the
event through her work at the
Program for Holocaust Survivors
& Families Foundation in Detroit,
explained why her father has
attended the event at Hillel since
its conception.
"He feels it's important to tell
his story to younger children,"
Renee Fein said, "The story is
really important for them, for all
the survivors, to let people know
what happened to them because
they are the last of the survivors.
The youngest survivors right now
are in their late 70s, and in five,
10 years they are going to be gone
and it's our responsibility to tell
their stories."
For Business senior Lindsay
Davis and LSA senior Jessica
Randel, the highlight of the event
was talking with the two survi-
vors at their table, Lola Taubman
and Kathy Sattler.
Both survivors, currently 87
years old, met in Auschwitz as
teenagers in 1943 when they were
assigned as bunkmates. The two
women were separated before
the end of the war, not sure if the
other had survived. Miraculously,
they found each other by pure
coincidence in Detroit in 1953.
"I met her on a street in
Detroit," Sattler said. "I said to my
husband she looks familiar ... so I
went over and tapped her on the
shoulder and she turned around."
Similarly, College Democrats
is busy reaching out to students
and the community. LSA senior
Lauren Coffman, the communi-
cations director of the College
Democrats, said they are less
focused on persuasion and edu-
cation and more heavily empha-
size getting their supporters to
the polls on Tuesday.
"The last four days before
the election, our campaigns are
really focused on getting out
the vote," Coffman said. "We
had persuasion earlier in the
election cycle, but these last
few days (are) really going to be
about making sure those people
hard for early vote and absentee
balloting is important - we think
that gives us an advantage in a
number of states ... Election Day
is no longer just a day, that's for
sure." Johnson said.
Dingell's confidence that
the Obama campaign will take
Michigan stems from his belief
that come Election Day, voters
will be able to see the differences
between the two candidates.
"I have never seen, in my long
political career, such desperate
abandonment of the truth or resort
to falsehood as I have seen on the
part of the Romney-Ryan Repub-
lican campaign," Dingell said. "I
have never heard folks stray so far
fromthe truth ...the Romney cam-
paign seems to take its foot out of
its mouth only to change feetL"
Dingell said General Motors
and Chrysler denial of Romney's
recent claim - that their compa-
nies are sending jobs to China -
marks the first time that they have
openly criticized a Republican
politician, a turning point which
he said emphasizesthe misconcep-
tion characterizing the campaign.
With a select few states ulti-
mately deciding the election,
Johnson admitted that winning
Ohio was so important that he
was going to temporarily change
out of the Michigan apparel he
was proudly sporting when he
traveled to the Buckeye state that
afternoon.
Sitting across from the two
women, Davis said their story
seemed surreal.
"It's something you only hear
about in movies about reconnect-
ing in the middle of a street eight
years later," Davis said. "I think
it's beautiful that they come to
an event like this and are still sit-
ting at the same table and we can
hear that story from both of them.
It just says a lot about the human
spirit and persevering and con-
tinuingon."
Many students attending the
event had family ties to the Holo-
caust through their grandparents
who were survivors. Kappy, who
provided opening remarks at
the luncheon, said all four of her
grandparents survived the Holo-
caust and organizing the event
helped her continue sharig the
stories of her family.
"It's important for my family to
have this connection and for me
to continue telling my friends and
strangers," Kappy said. "(Survi-
vors) here know my grandparents,
and they know my name and they
love hearing, 'Oh, you're so and
so's grandchild.' I've grown up
having survivors as grandparents
and it's easy for me to connect
with these survivors."
A new edition to the event this
year was a violin performance by
School of Music, Theater & Dance
freshman Maxwell Karmazyn.
Karmazyn's grandparents are
also both survivors who lived in
a military internment camp in
Morocco. Karmazyn, who is a
violin performance major, shares
his musical talent with his late
grandfather.
"My grandfather was a violin-
ist and he used his violin playing
to help him survive the Holocaust
by teaching the commandant's
daughter of the concentration
camp how to play the violin for
better care for both he and his
wife, my grandmother," Karma-
zyn said.
Karmazyn closed the lun-
cheon after a ceremonious can-
dle lighting with a performance
of the theme from the movie
Schindler's List, composed by
Itzhak Perlman.
Schwartz said the Conference
on the Holocaust Committee will
host another annual event in the
spring for Holocaust Remem-
brance Day, where the group will
read the names of those who per-
ished, and they plan to organize
a trip to the Holocaust Memo-
rial Center in Farmington Hills,
Mich. later this year.
we've already persuaded are
getting out there and making
their voices heard at the ballot
box."
She added that College Dem-
ocrats is holding an Election
Eve rally at 8 p.m. Monday with
speakers including Sen. Deb-
bie Stabenow (D-Mich.) to U.S.
Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.).
"The event should be a lot of
fun," Coffman said. "We will
also be sending people out with
promotional material afterward
to make sure that they make
their voices heard across cam-
pus and to get them pumped up
for voting the next day."
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