4 - Tuesday, A pril 9, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4 - Tuesday, April 9, 2013 The Michigan Daily - nichigandailycom 0 c 1 4e michinan [ 3at*lv To the parade that never came Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com MELANIE KRUVELIS and ADRIENNE ROBERTS MATT SLOVIN EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR ANDREW WEINER EDITOR IN CHIEF 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. [)OM TH DAI)Y Covert (in)action Transparency should guide administrative decisions, not cover-ups ver the last few years, there seems to be a frightening trend with university scandals: Keep it under the rug until the issue gains attention. Last week, Rutgers University joined a growing list of colleges met with dishonest athletics personnel when men's basketball coach Mike Rice was fired after videos of his perverse coaching style were leaked. Rice's abusive behavior included throwing basketballs at players' heads, grabbing and shoving athletes in practice and screaming homo- phobic slurs and obscenities at every turn. "You're a fucking fairy," he told players repeatedly. "You're a fucking faggot." While the school eventually fired Rice after national outrage on April 2, Rice's abuses were initially concealed, with Rutgers Athletic Director issuing Rice a suspension and fine in November without detailing the reasons why. College administra- tors must stop waiting for public outrage to react to corrupt behavior. Y ou know, I'll be honest: I've never really cared much about sports here (Editors note: Melanie's in the Residential College). But as I sat on the steps of 420 Maynard on Monday night, just two Hamm's deep, I realized -M MELANIE there's a lot that KRUVELIS I could've gotten from this game. Not as a Wolver- ine, not as the one-time owner of a muscle tee, but as a human being. A selfish, firework-loving sonuvabitch. Slash human being. There could've been a parade. A goddamn parade. I didn't even think of that until two minutes were left. We were down - and no, apparently a five-pointer couldn't save us now. A co-worker turned to me, and with the saddest eyes you've seen this side ofa basset hound'said, "There was supposed to be a parade." A parade that Greek life would've actu- ally stumbled to! Can you imagine? Shotgunned Natty Lights, neon tank tops made for each block walked - National Champions at the intersec- tion of State and Hill, okay, now at State and Monroe. The entire Uni- versity, a sea of yellow and blue and whatever color best describes barfed- up Burnett's Peach. I bet local meteorologist Chuck Gaidica would've made it too: cry- ing, lifting up his own Burnett's in solidarity. Dream a little dream, Michigan. There could've been fireworks. Like, a lot of them. But now I stand in front of the Michigan Union, half-melted Frosty in hand, won- dering if those booms are coming from stockpiled cherry bombs or sad AK-47s. Supporters of the Sec- ond Amendment have feelings too, you know. And to think, the texts I could've received from my mom. "WE DID IT!!!!!" she would say. "MELANIE, I'M SO PROUD!!!!" Five excited Emojis would've followed - that jubilant crying face, maybe the two twinsdoinga sidestep. She wouldn't have even sent me frantic texts when I didn't immediately respond because she would just know: I was tanked. And, boy, would she have been right. Instead? "Melanie, I have two charges from Amazon on my debit card for a nose ring and ukulele strings. Don't you ever think about anyone but yourself?" The helicopters circling over Ann Arbor would've sung a differ- ent tune. The propellers would've chopped "Let's Go Blue," the engine would shoot out glitter and exhaust fumes - screw the Fed- eral Aviation Administration, we were champions. But now I'm not even sure if I'm walking toward the Jimmy John's on Ann Street or downtown Baghdad. And the Diag. Oh, for the love of E. Royster Harper, the Diag. Those five gawky engineers shouldn't be stam- mering through chants of "Fuck Louisville!" They should be spitting fight songs! Or, at the very least, just spitting. But the final buzzer rang, Trey Burke was yanked from the Player of the Year trophy, and the only thing the 62 people watching The Michigan Daily's livestream of the Diag saw was 20 dudes from Shady Phi pounding each other in the chest (Editors note: Don't forget cryingbetween ass slaps). Off in dis- tance, the familiar sound of no one gettinglaid. The whole thing's a hard shot to swallow. After all, it has been nearly two decades since we could get Football-Saturday drunk on the Monday before finals. It wasn't just our pride on the line comrades, but an opportunity to bring together our current students, our loyal alumni base, our diehard, non-affil- iated Wolverine fans who've never even stepped foot in the UGLi, but always smell like stale beer and corn nuts. What could've been. But here we stand - or if you're outside Scorekeepers, wobble - wal- lowing in what we bacne-ridden Wolverines like to call "reality." No more Get Out of Jail Free cards, folks: Today marks the end of classes gen- erously canceled by proud professors who just wanted one last keg stand. We may never know how it feels when a graduate student instructor cuts discussion short because they know we've all had a "rough night" rooting for the team at Rick's Ameri- can Cafe - well, unless we transfer to Michigan State. II Anyone got a trash can I can knock over? When videos from the team's practices were released in November, it became clear that Rice's coaching style was offensive, harmful and represented Rutgers University and the athletic department in the worst way possible. Rice's choice of coaching language is unaccept- able and is physically and emotionally abusive. From calling his players "motherfuckers" and "sissy bitches" to calling out a player from Lithuania the "Lithuanian faggot," Rice turned everyday practices into a degrading environ- ment. This behavior is far from acceptable, and in no way resembles the mutual respect that should define a coach-player relationship. The fact that Rutgers athletic department allowed such behavior to continue in the first place isan embarrassment, and the lack of disclosure sur- rounding Rice's initial penalties mirrors other scandals that recently have damaged other athletic programs. However, the players on Rutgers Univer- sity basketball team came to the aid of Rice. "He did a lot for us off the court," argued AustinJohnson, a sophomore forward. While the opportunity to play for Rutgers may have increased opportunities for the play- ers, Rice's coaching style certainly did not. Instead of teaching players that this behavior is acceptable, universities need to take a more proactive role in ensuring the fair treatment of players. An often repeated, yet underval- ued aspect of college athletics is that these athletes are indeed students first, and should be protected as such. Ignoring such abuses doesn't guarantee championships; it only proves that universities aren't acting in the best interest of their students. Cover-ups and pacified abuses shouldn't be synonymous with college administra- tion decisions. From the Pennsylvania State University scandal to underreporting sexual assault at our own University, colleges across the country seem to be sticking to a pattern of waiting to defend their actions until the actions become public. These institutions that praise transparency in practice need to start acting with their values in mind. Wait- ing until a news report surfaces only serves to damage these schools, and by extension, their students. Times are tough, I know. But when push comes to shove, we've got to remember what we still have. Like white dudes lighting couches on fire. Moms wondering what hap- pened to their Pottery Barn sofas. An entire campus, drowning in faded maize and blue melancholy, wondering if the five hours spent waiting for a table at Blue Lepre- chaun was worth bombing another Economics final. But if there's any- thing we've learned since the Fab Five era, it's that together we stand strong. Like the brightest constella- tion in the sky or the clouds parting to reveal a magnificent, Wolverine sun, we must remember - Wait,AthleticDirectorDaveBran- don used to own Domino's Pizza, right? Does that mean we missed out on free Parmesan Bread Bites? Goddammit. Anyone got a trash can I can knock over? - Melanie Kruvelis can be reached at melkruv@umich.edu. EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Barry Belmont, Eli Cahan, Eric Ferguson, Jesse Klein, Melanie Kruvelis, Maura Levine, Patrick Maillet, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Jasmine McNenny, Harsha Nahata, Adrienne Roberts, Paul Sherman,Sarah Skaluba, Michael Spaeth, Daniel Wang, Luchen Wang, Derek Wolfe Kafka, take the wheel I Our place at TEDxUofM 4 Last Friday, the Power Center was ablaze with the untapped potential of TEDxUofM. Above the energy of more than 300 attendees, 20 inspiring talks and a delicious lunch, one theme stood out to us: social justice. Some ofus have been to TEDxUofM before, but never have we seen so many different advocates for equality on stage in front of us. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design - seemingly not leaving much room for people like us. We spend our time on campus encouraging dialogue across identi- ties and advocating for environmental justice, immigrant rights and educational equality. But on Friday, we happily found nine inspiring speakers who had social justice as a central theme throughout their talks. Michael Williams, a Detroit native and current Semester in Detroit student, asks us to see beyond the dominant narrative of Detroit as a broken city. Instead, he encourag- es us to honor the complexities of a city where concentrated poverty, hipsters, vacancy and gentrification all exist in one vibrant place. Williams provokes us to see the immense value of Detroit and its strongest asset: the people. They, more than any new startup or outsider reinvestment campaigns, are going to lead Detroit's rebirth. Then we have Julie Steiner, graduate of the School of Natural Resources and Environment. She has devoted countless hours to ending poverty in Arizona, fighting for civil liberty in Tennessee and lobbying for women's rights in Washington before returning to Ann Arbor to serve as the inaugural director of the Univer- sity's Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center. Now, Julie's mission is to end homeless- ness in Washtenaw County. Her diverse work experiences are tied together by a common thread: a passion for social justice. Evelyn Alsultany spoke to the negative media portrayal of Muslims and Islam and its impact on American society. She discussed a study of 900 films, where only 12 had posi- tive portrayals of the Muslim community. In all other films, Muslims were portrayed as harem women, oil tycoons or terrorists. She invited us to wrestle with the idea that these stereotypes aren't entirely false, but rather that those stories are incomplete. Recently released after serving 26 years in prison, Mary Heinen courageously called attention to America's system of mass incar- ceration. Focusing primarily on the struggles of re-entry, Heinen explored the stigmatiza- tion that ex-prisoners must face when they leave the confines of the prison walls. Mary also stressed the importance ofstrong support networks, continued education and personal expression in helping to interrupt the school- to-prison pipeline. She currently works with the University's Prison Creative Arts Project to give voice to people like her - people strug- gling to survive in a system with far too many institutional barriers. The final speaker of the day was Chris Armstrong, recent alum of the University and the University's first openly gay student body president. Chris brought to light the ugly truths of bullying, as he shared stories of those who've taken their own lives as a result. He spoke to the daily acts of hate and torment that many children and adults are subjected to - something Chris himself experienced during his public battle with a former Michi- gan assistant attorney general. Chris concluded by reminding the audience of their inherent privilege as students at the University: our ability to attend TEDxUofM, to hear these stories and to gain this knowledge. He exposed us to our responsibility to continue the conversations that started at TEDx and to take action on what we have learned. We wanted to collectivelythank the TEDx- UofM organizers for including these stories and messages in the program this year. It truly was a bold step. You should feel proud of the social progress you helped bring about. Now we turn to you, TEDxUofM attendees - those who watched live and those who will watch the videos later - to turn your inspira- tion into action. As TEDxUofM showed us this year, social justice isn't an isolated theme pertaining to a few issues. Rather, it's a core value we all must live by; the pursuit of equality is relevant and integral across all paths. Take a trip down I-94 and work with native Detroiters. Take action to end homelessness. Stand up to our biased media portrayals. Edu- cate others on the institutional barriers to post-prison re-integration. Be proactive to end bullying. We have untapped opportunities on this campus. Let's use our privilege as University students productively. Yonah Lieberman, Abby Krumbein and Emma Rosen are LSA seniors. Maris Harmon, Ariel Kaplowitz, Nina Pressman and Marissa Soloman are LSA sophomores. Chirapon Wangwongwiroj is an Engineering senior. Dustyn Wright is a Kinesiology senior. don't think Franz Kafka ever drank sweet tea or wore a seersucker suit, but his spirit haunts the American South. Maybe not the entire thing, but at least the tiny swath of land between the McDonald's, Wendy's and ANDREW the Gas'n'Go in Podunk- ECKHOUS nowheretown, Georgia. The late author's twisted world of senseless decisions and illogical consequenc- es is alive and well in Dixie. Thirteen hours into the long trek south to the National Champion- ship in Atlanta, and hunger had set in. It was late, we'd already suffered a three-hour detour and two near- death experiences, and all we want- ed was cheap food. Every moment of temporary salvation turned into disappointment, however, as each 24-hour "restaurant" had locked its doors and thrown away the key. Cashiers stood behind registers, but wouldn't respond to our desperate taps on the windows. Nothing made sense. Somewhere, Kafka smiled. Welcome to the road trip from hell. Let me rephrase that, actually. Welcome to the second half of the road trip. A harrowing seven-ish hours where everything came crashing down around us. To put it in March Madness terms: Good had been upset by evil, and evil's fans had stormed the court. Good put up respectable first-half numbers, but was just outworked by a more motivated team. Road trips have changed now that everyone and their dog has an iPhone. Our parents, clad in bell bottoms and covered in weird facial hair, read maps and never had to worry about them running out of battery. Today, if you handed an actual road map to the aver- age college kid, they'd probably ask you if it came in touch-screen. Our Kafka-esque McDonalds catastro- phe wouldn't have occurred just a decade ago, since only .5 percent of them operated 24 hours a day in 2002 nationally. That number now stands at about 40 percent. Is the "new" road trip more valu- able than the "old," though? I'm not really sure. I asked the people in my car, but they were too busy on Face- book to answer me, so I guess I'll think for myself. I don't think the essence of a road trip has changed substantially, and I doubt it ever will. Some of the tools may have changed such as sat- ellite radio and GPS, but many have not - the car, the highway and the realization that Ohio actually sucks as much as they say. Road trips don't exude glitz and glamour, but rather a romanticism for the open road and the freedom that comes with it. Finishing a road trip is a victory. The vanquished foe can be some- thing powerful, like the elements or something a little less legendary, like a wrongturn, but reaching your destination carries with it a unique sensation. It's a mixture of satisfac- tion and relief and though it may sound kitschy, it can be a bonding experience. My road trip from hell contained aspects from both the good and the bad, but more than anything else, it was an adventure. A semi-truck nearly demolished us, but after the initial scare, we laughed since we were still breathing. We took a three-hour detour through the Bible-Belt version of Las Vegas - Dolly Parton has a theme park there - and drove for 30 minutes through an unlit, backcountry neighbor- hood in the Smoky Mountains. We even ran into a 50-strong biker gang in Kentucky that wasn't particular- ly keen on sharing the road. From Ann Arbor to ATL: Welcome to the road trip from hell. For seven hours straight, it was blunder after blunder, but when we arrived in Atlanta, I think I under- stood, on a much smaller scale, what Odysseus felt. While we'd only been blown off course for a few hours, and not a few decades, seeing Atlanta's skyline reminded me of a homecoming of sorts. Even though I had hopped in the car with no tickets, no place to stay and no idea who two of the people in the car were, everything ended up working out. Within five minutes of entering Atlanta, my tickets and my lodging were confirmed, and I found 10 of my friends. Kafka-esque usually carries a negative context about a world where nothing makes sense. For a few hours, I agreed. I was having a miserable time, and I just wanted to get out of the damn car. In ret- rospect though, everything that happened was just part of the expe- rience. While I absolutely would prefer not to lose three hours of my day again, I don't think I'd trade the experience - unless you've got floor seats for the game. - Andrew Eckhous can be reached at aeckhous@umich.edu. 0 #WEON(LINE) Keep up with columnists, read Daily editorials, view cartoons and join in the debate. Check out @michdailyoped and Facebook.com/MichiganDaily to get updates on Daily opinion content throughout the day. I