Page 4A - Thursday, September 25, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Page 4A - Thursday, September 25, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
4
4t Mihigan 4aily
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
_ -tothedaily@michigandaily.com
MEGAN MCDONALD
PETER SHAHIN and DANIEL WANG KATIE BURKE
EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflectthe official position of the Daily's editorial board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
More than sticks and stones
twas sprin
if you rem
you may ns
spring. Still,
was green and
blossoms were b
the courtyard of
That Friday, the
and birds wer
We wore sweat
just gotten outc
lecture in Den
was walking b
along the glass
of Dennison.
A dead bird
students gavei
running away is
their eyes. I wal]
This was the sec
days. It was lyi
just dead.
Birds are beat
are all the colors
look upon a bird
dry. Pitiful that
Here was a blu
feathers transiti'
that sprouted in
blue. Its tail then
the end, ever mo
The blue-wing
that run from its
the warbler, I sav
scrunched up.
black streaks tha
them were tears.
Something c
me, and I felt I s
the bird a prop
place. There wa
there, and so Ic
bird, holding itv
to the base of the
a little hole wit
stick that I foun
the mulch. To
no one really b
dropped the bird
a little mound o
with sticks andr
head was. As I s
send-off had not
I looked about
petals from blor
swirling about in
archway in the c
there were so m
little grave, I spr
no sooner had tI
flew away in the
No, that woul
the grave, Ihadt
a line. There we
on that island. B
had ended a wh
snapped a single
on the mound. I
fit to leave.
As I headed b
Renewing ait
g semester in Ann Arbor, and What was that?"
ember this past spring at all, I turned on my heels and saw a grounds
ot remember it as your typical worker walking up to me. He had a hardened
the grass look, a fatherly one. Aside from that, I hardly
the pink remember him, as much as he impressed me
looming in that day. I imagine he had a balding crown,
West Hall. his hair speckled gray, and he wore a cap. And
sun was out there was an undeniable dignity about him.
e chirping. He asked again, "What was that?"
ters. I had I became uncomfortably aware, at that
of a physics moment, of how silly I was being moments
nison and OMAR earlier, saluting a dead warbler on the
sack home MAHMOOD pavement of Dennison. I might romanticize
pane walls these little things, but I am not immune to
escape tactics either, and I did not want to do
lay upon the pavement. The my physics problems.
it a wide berth, some girls "A bird," I said. I expected I would be in
a fright with their hands over trouble. I had messed up the mulch, snapped
ked up to it and kneeled down. twigs off the tree, even plucked a good rose.
ond one I had seen in as many "Oh, bless yoursoul.Bless your soul! I thought
ng there, pristine, not broken, it might have been a mole, or a chipmunk. I've
seen a couple around here." He spoke earnestly.
utiful. In a single family, there He meant it.
of the wind. As long as he can I thanked him, and explained that I had
, the poet's ink may never run found the bird dead. It had flown into the glass
a bird is best admired dead. walls of the Dennison tunnel.
e-winged warbler. Its yellow He was sorry. We shook hands. His were
oned beautifully to larger ones calloused, rough. I asked him his name, which
ito wings of gray touched by I have forgotten. But I'd rather hold on to his
1took that blue and carried it to story. He was a cancer survivor. Nineteen years
re vibrant. ago, he had been diagnosed with a malignant
ged warbler has streaks of black brain tumor. He took off his cap and showed me
eyes to its ears. As I examined the scar that ran across the top of his forehead.
w that its beady black eyes were When he was diagnosed and given a death
And the sentence so long ago, his
at ran from daughter was five years old.
Today she is a student atthe
same over University where he kept
hould give Faith is not easy, but the grounds, and he was
er resting sometimes random a proud father. Before we
s a tree by split, we promised to keep
carried the encounters help each other in our prayers.
with twigs, Faith is not easy. But
tree. I dug renew my faith. whenever I meet somsgne
th another like that man, my faith is
sd there in renewed. In my time inAnn
my relief, Arbor I've had such fleeting
othered to stop and watch. I encounters, each of which I carry with me. I
I into the little hole and packed rarely take names away. Often all Itake are some
ver it. Then I ringed the place words. Sometimes one glance is enougi.
placed a stone where the bird's Since meeting the grounds worker, I've
tepped back, I thought a final begun to notice the litter on our campus. Every
yet been performed. time I walk to class I see Slurpee cups, straws
t and saw that there were pink and all, on the lawns of churches. The Diag is
ssoms all over the pavement, trashed with candy wrappers, dug in between
the wind. I walkedback to the leaves of grass. I see cans of soda, burger
courtyard in West Hall, where wrappers, Styrofoam. Once a piece of litter
any of these petals. Back at the catches my eye, I cannot keep that grounds
inkled them over the bird, and worker out of my mind, and I cannot bear to
hey hit they ground than they walk past it without picking it up and throwing
wind. it away. And if it hurts me to walk by without
dn't do. I had to put flowers on picking it up, how could someone cast it aside
to do it right. So now I crossed and walk away? If we all just picked one piece
re a couple red tulips growing of trash up off the ground on the way to class,
3y now it was just me. Classes just once every day, we might be worthy of our
ile ago. And so I walked back, grounds staff.
tulip stem, and lay the flower Or maybe we just need to talk to them.
eaves disintegrated beneath
soles of exhausted feet
hurrying to return to dorms.
The crinkled
pages clasped
within my hand
reflected the,
luminosity of
the streetlight
overhead.
Classmates
disappeared MELISSA
into shadowy
vapors of the SCHOLKE
evening, but I
idled in the crisp
air reviewing the introductory
letter I was required to write for
my first-year writing course. One
sentence in particular claimed my
attention: "I think far more often
than I speak, andI'muncertain about
almost everything." Originally, the
statement was intended to provide
an explanation for the demure
personality and restraint I regretfully
expected to display during future
class discussions. Yet, asIlater stood
in the same spot - ready to hand in
my final - I realized I was certain
about one thing.
Although my voice is seldom
heard in a room, words are of the
utmost importance to me. They're
sacred entities. I hoard caches
of words upon my shelves, and
I treasure expressive lyrics far
more than any melody. Perhaps
my identities as an overzealous
bookworm and an English major
make me biased. However, whether
written, spoken or texted, words
are more than symbols on a page.
Wrapped up in a few syllables
are the essences of who we are as
people. Words are the suitcases in
which we transport our passions,
our memories, our traumas and our
regrets throughout our lives.
When the individuals around us
use words carelessly, the emotional
baggage we may harbor is snatched
from us, scattered across the
ground and exposed to the world.
For each individual, I imagine
there's at least one word or phrase
capable of unearthing repressed
feelings of insecurity or oppression sexual assault or references female
when its syllables smack their ears. anatomy as an insult. However,
As students, we understand some words that inflame invisible
words are derogatory or offensive, wounds sting the most. As an
and we'd never intentionally utter individual plagued by anxiety,
them directly to another person. hearing classmates jokingly accuse
Yet when our conversations assume others of being "crazy" or "insane"
lighter tones, the magnitude of instills in me the paralyzing fear
these words can be dismissed, and these words will someday be
this impulsive language can have hurdled in my direction. Likewise,
a negative effect on those around every instance I hear "faggot,"
us. During my past few years here "fag," "that's so gay" or "no homo,"
at Michigan, I've encountered I infuriatingly remember each
unintentionally stinging words moment these slurs and derogatory
far too frequently; however, I was statements were used to degrade
thrilled to learn action was being and attack a person I consider my
taken to remedy this problem and dear friend and brother.
improve our campus culture. However, Zollweg stressed the
Recently, an initiative known as list of exclusionary language is not
the Inclusive Language Campaign exhaustive, and the ILC isn't meant
commenced with a kick-off event. In to eliminate vocabulary. Rather,
partnership with the Expect Respect it's designed to illustrate words
campaign, the Inclusive Language and actions do matter, to continue
Campaign engaging
centers upon the students and
goals of creating to ensure
a more "positive Whether written, students have
campus climate" the authority
by raising spoken or texted, and the
awareness about words are more than responsibility
the language of stepping
students utilize SymbolS On a page. in and saying
in their lives. something
Elizabeth in reaction
Zollweg, North to offensive
Campus project language.
manager and a member of the One step for further engagement
Inclusive Language committee, includes a program called Change
noted that words carry tremendous It Up! that provides bystander
weight. In a brief interview, Zollweg intervention training to incoming
stressed that "we don't know the freshmen. Like many, I've lacked
stories and experiences of those mindfulness when I speak or write,
around us," and as result, we cannot and I've struggled with intervening,
fully comprehend the indirect effect in scenarios where I encountered
our words have. exclusionary . language. However,
This point strongly resonated with the formation of the ILC and
with me. Pamphlets listing some its subsequent initiatives, I believe
of the language the ILC deems Wolverines will learn their words
"exclusionary" that has been heard aren't only important in term.
around campus were distributed papers. Rather, thinking deeply and
at the kickoff, but one cannot empathetically about the words we
determine what another would use defines our environment and
deem "exclusionary" by merely the well-being of those with whom
considering an individual's gender, we interact.
race or sexuality. For example,
I certainly detest any language - Melissa Scholke can be
that belittles women, trivializes reached at melikaye@umich.edu.
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Kegs a i
lingered a little, and then saw
tack, a voice called out, "Hey!
- Omar Mahmood can be reached
at syedom@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Barry Belmont, David Harris, Rachel John, Nivedita
Karki, Jacob Karafa, Jordyn Kay, Aarica Marsh,
Megan McDonald, Victoria Noble, Melissa Scholke,
Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Paul
Sherman, Allison Raeck, Linh Vu, Meher Walia, Mary
Kate Winn, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe
Wanna shotgun?"
That's the typical
wakeup call from
my roommates
-on gamedays,
the proverbial
Saturday
morning rooster I
during the fall.
"Shotgunning" ALL
beers and _
"handle-
passing" hard ELI
liquor are CAHAN
staples of my
rowdy tailgate
moments. These drinking habits lie
in stark contrast to what I remember
from freshman year: waiting in the
omnipresent keg line for a small,
filthy cup of flat beer and chugging it
as fast as physically possible. Pulling
from a triple-distilled bottle of pure
class was a rare delicacy back then.
Oh how the times have changed.
Nov. 1, 2011, the Michigan Liquor
Control Commission rolled its
their "keg tag registration" law.
The law requires retailers to keep
records of keg purchasers, and
purchasers to affix tags to their
kegs until returned. Rep. Mark
Meadows (D-East Lansing), stated
at the time that the law "creates a
paper trail for police to hold the
buyer accountable ... identifying the
individual who's really responsible
for the problem." The intent of the
law was to curb "out-of-control
college parties and blind pigs." A
secondary objective was to staunch
the supply of alcohol to minors, and
reduce binge drinking.
The law, however, has not had
that effect. According to an owner
at Champions, it has reduced keg
purchases at some campus liquor
stores by up to 95 percent, though
it has done little to slow underage
drinkers. In the absence of kegs,
party hosts have resorted to buying
cases of beer and hard liquor. While
the Department of Public Safety
stopped keepingstatistics on Liquor
Law Violations at the end of 2012,
the 2014 Annual Security Report
shows that, in the year following
the keg registration law, citations
for LLVs increased dramatically.
This includes a 10-percent increase
in "referrals for disc
(colloquially kno
"write-ups"), a 16-I
in total citations, a:
increase in citati
property." These
by comparing 201
LLVs, as reported
property, in the t
refers to the sidewa
between parties.
These numbers a
experiences of vari
campus. In regard.
of the law, Busines
David, a member
noted that "in the
(upperclassmen) h
responsibility to
... result(ing) in ti
exorbitant amounts
it. That has
facilitated even
more drinking
and alcohol
consumption."
Indeed, in the
context of a
college party,
it is important
to understand
that the real
"regulators"
of drinking at
the party tend to b
who are responsi
acquisition and dist
registration laws
keg-leasing, cans h.
fortuitous opportu
host liability.
Furthermore,
whether the prolif
has accelerated dri
at parties, David s-
keg ban, you had
behind six people to
beer. Now, there's a:
of cans at every pri
we attend, with ea
constraints ... Bing
definitely increase(
are many more gar
a beer can rather
beer." Suffice it tc
accounts support t
registration laws hr
curb binge drinkini
underage drinking.
Yet despite
i d regs
ciplinary action" experiences, scientific studies
wn as dorm continue to emerge which
percent increase demonstrate the efficacy of keg 6
nd a 239-percent registration laws in lowering,
ons on "public binge drinking. A 2011 study from
were calculated the Journal of Adolescent Health
2 LLVs to 2011 clearly indicates the negative
by DPS. Public correlation between per-capita beer,
ailgate context, consumption and the institution
alks and areas in of keg registration laws. It appears
that the confounding factor here is
re codified by the cost. Since kegs are typically much
ious students on more economical on a price per
s to the efficacy fluid ounce basis than cans (about,
ss senior Jordan 45 percent cheaper in some cases), it
of a fraternity, seems logical that the introduction
absence of kegs, of liability would, across the general,
ave a lessened population, dissuade drinking
take ownership rather than suffering the significant
he purchases of premium for cans. However, with,
of cans to replace a significant body of students from
wealthier
backgrounds
than those
Cans have introduced contained
within the study,
a fortuitous party hosts can
opporunit for (and do) bite the,
opportunity for cost bullet.
reduced host liability. So the
question
remains: how
we can reduce
underage
e older students, and binge drinking on campus?
ble for alcohol The danger of such activities is
tribution. As keg obvious: manifested acutely in the
have dissuaded forms of trauma and asphyxia,
ave introduced a and chronically as developmental
nity for reduced and addiction issues. Well, the
Interfraternity Council got it right
addressing in February, banning hard liquor
feration of cans from open parties. Further steps in
inking behaviors this direction would be prudent, as
aid "prior to the hard liquor is a key culprit behind
to wait in line dangerous and debilitating binge
fill up one cup of drinking. University authorities
n overabundance must take a stance on these issues:
egame and party they must be held responsible to
sy access and no draft better, bespoke policies in lieu
ge drinking has of ineffective and inadequate broad
d because there keg registration laws. A plea from a
mes surrounding former football star is hardly enough
than a cup of to influence students to "Stay in the
o say, anecdotal Blue." Especially when they'll have@
he idea that keg to go watch Team 135's offense two
ave done little to hours later.
g, large parties or
- Eli Cahan can be reached
these campus at emcahan@umich.edu.
All I do know is Dave Brandon
should not be let to make another
decision at Michigan. Period."
- Former Michigan quaterback Michael Taylor said to Detroit's 105.1 FM on Tuesday
morning regarding the current state of the Michigan Football Program.
II
r