(1ie idjigan 0aihj Ann Arbor, Michigan Wednesday, October 1, 2014 michigandailycom a1 FOOTBALL FALLOUT Thousands sign petition to fire AD (LEFT) LSA junior Alex Hartley mocks the rnistaken Coke prornotion that allowed football fans to receive discounted tickets at the President's House Tuesday. (RIGHT) Hundreds of students rally for President Mark Schlissel to fire Athletic Director Dave Brandon. SdS e gather to calor Brterm ination After controversy Saturday, student- driven petition draws 10,000 By WILL GREENBERG Daily News Editor A University student petition calling for Athletic Director Dave Brandon to be relieved from his post has collected 10,101 signa- tures as of 1 a.m. Wednesday. Ford School graduate student Zeid El-Kilani has created a peti- tion through the Central Student Government's UPetition web- site, stating that the University's football program has become a "black eye" for the University and requests President Mark Schlis- sel remove Brandon. The petition summary notes the athletic pro- gram's historic ability to provide prestige to the University, both as a recruiting aid for new students and a source of pride for alumni, saying the department currently runs the risk of "producing a gen- eration of alumni that are disin- terested and disengaged." El-Kilani's petition was launched late Monday evening ;n tvw wue f the football team's third loss in a row over the week- end, a game that generated a range of criticisms of Brandon and the department forpoorlead- ership and treatment of player safety. He said the petition speaks to broader concerns about Bran- don's handling ofthe department. "It didn't have anything to do with the football field. I think it comes at a time where we're facing national attention and increased scrutiny about the way our Athletic Department handles situations," El-Kilani said. Since Saturday, both Bran- don and Michigan coach Brady Hoke have received criticism for improper practices.. For Hoke, his failure to remove sophomore quarterbackShane Morris from the game following a helmet-to- helmet hit - causing what Bran- don called a "mild concussion" - had fans calling his concern for player safety into question. Bran- don released a statement early Tuesday morning admitting the situation was poorly handled, specifically citing sideline com- munication. Additionally, fans of the teamhave voiced displeasure at the team's historically poor per- formance, as Michigan lost three matchups in September for the See PETITION, Page 7A MGoBlogcom comment initiates protest on Diag By STEPHANIE SHENOUDA Daily News Editor At 5-50 p.m. Tuesday, the Diag looked no different than it does on any other school day. By 6:15 p.m., it was flooded by hundreds of students calling for the remov- al of Athletic Director David Brandon after the department's widely criticized response to Sophomore quarterback Shane Morris' concussion in Saturday's football game against Minne- sota. Initiated by a comment on the MGoBlog.com website, some stu- dents carried homemade signs and vied for camera time, while others were content to stand in the crowd in solidarity with their classmates. Same scrawled "Fire Brandon" on apiece of cardboard or notebook paper before head- ;ing to the protest, while 6ther.s Brand, The Brand, The Brand is found more creative ways to hot The Way." voice their dissatisfaction with Graham said Michigan foot- the current athletic climate. ball coach Brady Hoke's failure One student carried two bot- to remove Morris from play after ties of Coca-Cola in addition to a he displayed concussion-like sign reading "Buy two cokes, get symptoms was the "last offense a new AD," in reference to a con- in a long line of transgressions," troversial promotional eventthat committed by the Athletic resulted in non-student foot- Department in recent years. ball tickets for last week's game "Dave Brandon should not against Minnesota being sold at retain his position as Athletic an effective 98-percent discount. Director at this University," Gra- Business senior Ryan Graham ham said, citing increased stu- penned a sign that read, "The See PROTEST, Page 7A " CAMPUS LIFE Albanian, P resipdent Ptalks pride in ethnicity Bujar Nishani meets with members of Albanian diaspora By ANASTASSIOS ADAMOPOULOS Daily StaffReporter The controversial situation surrounding sophomore quar- terback Shane Morris has now garneredtheattentionoftheU.S. Congress, after it was confirmed he suffered a mild concussion during Saturday's game against Minnesota, but continued to play the remainder of the game. U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ) has submitted a let- ter to Big 10 commissioner Jim Delany, advising him to launch an investigation regarding deci- sions made in the wake of Mor- ris' apparent injury. Pascrell's Communications Director Tom Pietrykoski told The Michigan Daily that the congressman is a longtime advo- cate for those suffering from brain injuries, and believes that See CONGRESSMAN, Page 7A GOVERNMENT Congressman calls for NCAA investigation Head of brain culture in Michigan. UNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily Agnes Heller speaks after accepting The 2014 Wallenberg Medal at Rackham Auditorium Tuesday. Wallenberg winnerrelects on Holocaust exprec M edal recipient and Holocaust survivor. She pre- sented the Wallenberg Lecture discusses philosophy, and received the Wallenberg Medal. resilience in annual Heller's philosophy focuses on the role of morality and ethics in ceremony the modern world and the resil- ience of the human spirit in the By EMILIE PLESSET face of evil. She and her mother Daily StaffReporter avoided deportation during the Holocaust, though her father Nearly 1000.members of the was deported to the Auschwitz University and Ann Arbor com- concentration camp and died munity gathered at Rackham before the end of World War II. Auditorium Monday evening to Although she was briefly a celebrate Agnes Heller, interna- member of the Communist party tionally recognized philosopher between 1947 and 1949 Heller advocated for self-determination during the Hungarian Revolu- tion of 1956 and was exiled after the 1968 Prague Spring. While in exile she taught philosophy in New York and Australia. Since her retirement in 2009, she has moved back to Hungary. The University Raoul Wal- lenberg Medal Ceremony is sponsored by the Wallenberg Endowment in recognition of Raoul Wallenberg, a University student in the early 1930s who rescued around 100,000 Jews in Budapest during World War II. See MICHIGAN, Page 7A injury task force expresses concern for student athletes By STEPHANIE SHENOUDA Daily-NewsoEditor Though not quite the Unit- ed Nations compound in New York, Aventura in downtown Ann Arbor hosted Albanian President of Albania Bujar Nis- hani as he concluded his activi- ties in Ann Arbor Tuesday with a large breakfast. The tightly-secured event had about 150 attendees, including members of the Albanian-American Student Organization, Michigan Alba- nian community and Univer- sity faculty and staff. Aventura, a Spanish tapas restaurant, is owned by an Albanian Ameri- can, Sava Lelcaj. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Nishani said he was especially proud of the success of Albanian-American "My message was just to congratulate them for their achievement here," Nishani said. "We have a very good and strong Albanian-American diaspora here in Michigan, a number which has increased year after year and most of them have been very successful in their life." The southeastern European country, whose population totals more than three mil- lion, is the latest candidate for European Union membership. He spoke Tuesday about his country's development in recent decades, focusing on reforms since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Although it was never part of the USSR, Albania maintained close relations with Moscow until the 1960s when it aligned with Communist China after the Sino-Soviet split. LSA senior Linda Camaj, the president of the AASO, said funds raised by the breakfast will go to a new fund from the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia that assists Univer- See PRESIDENT, Page 3A WEATHER HI: 75 TOMORROW LO:58 GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and letus know. NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM University Prof. appointed interim AAATA CEO MICHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS INDEX Vol. CXXV, No. 3 ©2013 The Michigan Daily michigondoilycom NEWS .........................2A ARTS.............5A SUDOKU.....................2A CLASSIFIEDS ...............6A OPINION.....................4A STATEMENT.........1.......1B I