2A - Thursday, December 5, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
2A - Thursday, December 5, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
The next Jason Sudekis
In 2009, Mike O'Brien moved to
New York City when he was hired
as a writer for "Saturday Night
Live," Lorne Michaels's prolific
weekly sketch comedy show. He
became a featured player this past
year and is the first writer after
Jason Sudekis to move to an acting
role. After considering a major in
a pre-med-related degree and then
engineering, O'Brien graduated
from the University in 1999 with
a degree in film-video, a program
that is now knowh as Screen Arts £t
Cultures.
What activities were you
involved in at Michigan?
I was on the men's rowing team
for four years. I also was founder
and editor of a monthly com-
edy newspaper called The Anti-
Daily. It was started in rebellion
because I tried unsuccessfully for
two years to get a job writing a
humor column for The Michigan
Daily. So, you can imagine the
soul-searching needed before I
agreed to this interview.
What is it like working at
Saturday Night Live?
I love it. It's perfect for dra-
matic people with short atten-
tion spans. There are extreme
highs and lows. And then it's
gone. You move on from that
host, that sketch, that embarrass-
ing moment because you have to
focus on the next one.
What's the most important les-
son you learned University?
By having to search around for
my major, I learned that you have
to love what you do. And you have
to receive some feedback that
you're doing well at it. If you're
just doing the career that you feel
is correct or garners the most suc-
cess, you won't attack it with the
same passion and will actually
be less successful than if you do
something you truly love. It just
takes forever to find sometimes
- CLAIRE BRYAN
LILY ANGELL/Daily
James Douglas, a fellow in the Department of Chem-
istry explores new uses of visible light and photo-
chemistry.
CRIME NOTES
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
T HR EE T HINGS YOU
5Hf~ II l Dk NOW T ODAY
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0
Cashin' out This car emits Healthy
WHERE: The Duderstadt coolness Holidays
C ..mn -
uompex
WHEN: Tuesday around
9:45 p.m.
WHAT: An unattended
purse was taken from near
the cafeteria, University
Police reported. The subject
later realized that her credit
cards had been used at
retail stores.
WHERE: East Medical
Center Lot
WHEN: Tuesday at about
7:05 p.m.
WHAT: Antifreeze leaked
from a vehicle was found
at a stopsign near the East
Medical Center Lot M-10,
University Police reported.
WHAT: The eco open
house will offer healthy
snacks, a light lunch and a
lecture on toxins found in
everyday items.
WHO: Planet Blue
WHEN: Today from 12 p.m.
to 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: Hatcher Gradu-
ate Library
The Comedy
Netflix announced that
of Errors it will renew its original
Emmy-nominated series,
WHAT: Come see Shake- House of Cards, for a second
speare's comedy directed by season, USA Today reported
John Neville-Andrews. Tick- Wednesday. The season will
ets are available in the Michi- be available to fans on Valen-
gan League ticket office. tine's Day. Frank Underwood
WHO: School of Music, strikes again.
Theatre & Dance
WHEN: Today at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Power Center for
the Performing Arts
Free for all It's like you're Jazz ensemble Variety show
WHERE: Mason Hall
WHEN: Wednesday 12:35
p.m.
WHAT: A vending machine
broke in the main lobby,
allowing free access to
the food inside, Univer-
sity Police reported. The
machine broke between
11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.;
the number of items stolen
isim-nu
my mirror
WHERE: 1600 block Plym-
outh
WHEN: Tuesday at about
3:40 p.m.
WHAT: A vehicle's mir-
ror accidentally grazed a
Blue Bus while passing it,
University Police reported.
Min..dm a ,- -.....od
concert
WHAT: The Jazz Lab
Ensemble will be perform-
ing music by Lee Konitz,
Gordon Goodwin and
Quincy Jones, among other
artists. Tickets are not
required.
WHO: School of Music,
Theatre & Dance
WHEN: Today at 8 p.m.
WHERE: Rackham Audi-
torium
WHAT: This showwel-
comes singers, actors, come-
dians and dancers.
WHO: Center for Campus
Involvement
WHEN: Tonight at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Michigan League
CORRECTIONS
" Please report any error
in the Daily to correc-
tions@michigandaily.
com.
After Detroit formally
entered bankruptcy
Tuesday, Emergency
Manager Kevin Orr must
cut pensions to over 20,000
Detroit retirees who previ-
ously believed they would
receive their full pension.
>> FOR MORE, SEE OPINION, PAGE 4
A video of Harrison
Odjegba Okene'sarescue
from a submerged ship
in May went viral on Tuesday,
the Associated Press reported
Wednesday. The Nigerian
cook survived underwater for
three days before a diver dis-
covered him.
01
Sandy Hook 911 calls released,
show anguish, tension in school
Detroit bankruptcy decision
allows city to cut pensions
Multiple calls made
during shooting
now public
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - As
gunfire boomed over and over in
the background, a janitor begged
a 911 dispatcher to send help, say-
ing, "There's still shooting going
on! Please!" A woman breathless-
ly reported seeing a gunman run
down a hall. And a teacher said
she was holed up in her classroom
with her children but hadn't yet
locked the door.
Recordings of 911 calls from
last year's Sandy Hook Elementa-
ry School shooting were released
Wednesday, and they not only
paint a picture of anguish and
tension inside the building, they
also show Newtown dispatchers
mobilizing help, reassuring call-
ers and urging them to take cover.
"Keep everybody calm. Keep
everybody down. Get everybody
away from windows, OK?" one
dispatcher told the frightened
teacher who reported hearing
shots in the hall.
The calls were made pub-
lic under a court order after a
lengthy effort by The Associated
Press. Prosecutors had argued
that releasing the recordings
would only cause more anguish
for the victims' families.
The gunman, 20-year-old
Adam Lanza, shot his way
through a plate-glass window at
the front of the school on Dec. 14.
The office staff saw the shooter,
who was wearing a hat and sun-
glasses, as he entered the building
with a rifle and began firing down
a hallway.
One of the first callers to New-
town police was a woman who
said in a trembling, out-of-breath
voice: "I think there's somebody
shooting in here at Sandy Hook
school."
Asked what made her think so,
she said: "Because somebody's got
-S .
a gun. I caught a glimpse of some-
body. They're running down the
hallway. Oh, they're still running.
They're still shooting. Sandy
Hook school, please."
Another woman, who was shot
in the foot, calmly reported that
she was in a classroom with chil-
dren and two other adults, but
that there was no way to safely
lock the door. The dispatcher
told her to apply pressure to the
wound.
"OK, are you OK right now?"
the dispatcher asked.
The woman answered: "For
now, hopefully."
Another call came from a cus-
todian, Rick Thorne, who said
that a window at the front of the
school was shattered and that he
kept hearing shooting.
While on the line with Thorne,
the dispatcher told somebody
else: "Get everyone you can going
down there."
Thorne remained on the phone
for several minutes.
"There's still shooting going
on! Please!" the custodian plead-
ed as six or seven shots could be
heard in the background. "Still,
it's still going on!"
Within 11 minutes of enter-
ing the school, Lanza had fatally
shot 20 children and six educa-
tors with a semi-automatic rifle.
Lanza also killed his mother in
their Newtown home before driv-
ing to the school. He committed
suicide as police closed in.
Newtown police officers
arrived at the school within four
minutes of the first 911 call, but
nearly six more minutes passed
before they entered the building
while they sorted out concerns
over a possible second shooter,
according to a prosecutor's report
issued last week.
It's not clear whether the delay
made a difference because Lanza
killed himself one minute after
the first officer arrived on the
scene, according to the report.
In one of the recordings
released Wednesday, dispatchers
were heard making three calls
to Connecticut state police that
apparently rang unanswered.
Case serves as
largest municipal
bankruptcy in
U.S. history
DETROIT (AP) - A judge
has given Detroit the green
light to cut pensions as a way
out of the largest municipal
bankruptcy in U.S. history, a
decision that puts the case in
the laps of thousands of retir-
ees who had hoped that the
Michigan Constitution would
protect them from getting
smaller checks in their golden
years.
Judge Steven Rhodes said
the city is eligible to stay in
bankruptcy court and scrub
$18 billion in debt, with about
half of that amount linked to
underfunded pensions and
health care obligations. But
he also warned officials that
they'll need to justify any deep
reductions.
The case now turns to
crunching numbers and try-
ing to strike deals, although
unions are pursuing an appeal.
Some retirees said they felt
socked by the outcome Tuesday.
"We'll be thrown out of our
homes and starving if they
seriously slash our pensions.
Then they'll tell us to go to the
soup lines," said David Sole,
65, who retired from the public
works department in January
after 22 years and whose wife
also is a city retiree.
"We don't know what they
are going to take," Sole said.
"The judge said he would not
tolerate steep cuts. What's
steep?"
The judge, who wondered
aloud why the bankruptcy
had not happened years ago,
said pensions can be altered
just like any contract because
the state constitution does not
offer bulletproof protection for
public employee benefits. But
he signaled a desire for a mea-
sured approach and warned
city officials that he would not
"lightly or casually" sign off on
just any cuts.
"This once proud and pros-
perous city can't pay its debts.
It's insolvent," Rhodes said in
formally granting Detroit the
largest public bankruptcy in
U.S. history. "At the same time,
it also has an opportunity for a
fresh start."
The ruling came more than
four months after Detroit filed
for Chapter 9 protection.
Rhodes agreed with unions
and pension funds that the
city's emergency manager,
Kevyn Orr, had not negoti-
ated in good faith in the weeks
ahead of the July filing, a key
condition under federal law.
But he said the number of
creditors - more than 100,000
- and a wide array of compet-
ing interests probably made
that "impossible."
Detroit "could have and
should have filed for bankrupt-
cy long before it did. Perhaps
years," the judge said.
The decision set the stage
for officials to confront debt
with a plan that might pay
creditors just pennies on the
dollar and is sure to include
touchy negotiations over the
pensions of about 23,000 retir-
ees and 9,000 workers. Orr
says pension funds are short by
$3.5 billion; most who collect
get less than $20,000 a year.
"We're trying to be very
thoughtful, measured and
humane," Orr told report-
ers. "The reality is there is not
enough money to address the
situation no matter what we do."
The city has argued that
bankruptcy protection will
allow it to help beleaguered
residents who for years have
tolerated slow police respons-
es, darkened streetlights and
erratic garbage pickup - a con-
cern mentioned by the judge
during a nine-day trial that
ended Nov. 8.
Before the July filing, nearly
40 cents of every dollar col-
lected by Detroit was used to
pay debt, a figure that could
rise to 65 cents without relief
through bankruptcy, accord-
ing to the city.
City truck mechanic Mark
Clark, 53, said he may look for
another job after absorbing pay
cuts and higher health care
costs. Now a smaller pension
looms.
"Most of us didn't have too
much faith in the court.... The
working class is becoming the
have-nots," Clark said outside
the courthouse. "I'm broke up
and beat up. I'm going to pray
a whole lot."
Marcia Ingram, a retired
clerical worker, said she may
need to find work but added:
"How many folks are going to
hire a 60-year-old woman?"
The judge spoke for more
than an hour in a packed court-
room, reciting Detroit's proud
history as the diverse, hard-
working Motor City devoted
to auto manufacturing. But he
then tallied a list of warts: dou-
ble-digit unemployment, cata-
strophic debt deals, thousands
of vacant homes and wave after
wave of population loss.
Behind closed doors, media-
tors have been meeting with
Orr's team and creditors for
weeks to explore possible set-
tlements. The judge has told
the city to come up with a plan
by March 1 to exit bankruptcy.
Orr has said he would like to
have one ready weeks earlier.
The city is so desperate for
money that it may consider
peddling masterpieces from
the Detroit Institute of Arts
and selling a water department
that serves much of south-
eastern Michigan. In a report
Wednesday, New York auction
house Christie's pegged the
value of city-purchased art at
$452 million to $866 million.
It's just a fraction of what the
museum holds.
The American Federation of
State, County and Municipal
Employees, which represents
half of city workers, vowed to
appeal Rhodes' decision.
A