Page 4A - Wednesday, October 8, 2014
The Michigan Daily -- michigandaily.com
Page 4A - Wednesday, October 8, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
9
Elit tc 'fan fat{
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MEGAN MCDONALD
PETER SHAHIN and DANIEL WANG KATIE BURKE
EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position oftthe Daily's editorial board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
An alternative application
The problem of student economic homogeneity needs to be targeted
Last month, Goucher College in Baltimore announced its
decision to implement an alternative application process,
where students may submit two pieces of work and a two-
minute video instead of a high school transcript..Goucher College
President Jose Bowen has said that this change was made in an
effort to broaden the applicant base - financially and creatively
- to the school. The success of students who elect these different
application paths is not currently known and will be traced as
they continue their college career. Several other liberal arts
colleges have presented similar options. Bard College in New York
has introduced an entrance exam consisting of academic essays
as a substitute to the traditional transcript. Dozens of colleges
like Wake Forest University and Smith College have application
processes that don't require SAT or ACT scores and allow optional
videos. Though these strategies are helpful in attracting a more
creative applicant base, it fails to address low socioeconomic
diversity in higher education.
ast Saturday, the enduring
walls of Michigan Stadium
reverberated with a new,
deafening chant:
"Fire Hoke! Fire
Brandon!" It was
a sad sight to see
and aneven sadder "
sound to hear. The
spirit of those
walls seemed
as absent as the
upper portions ELI
of the student CAHAN
section.
That spirit, too,
seemed absent in
the play of the team that day, and
it seemed absent in the subsequent
press conferences and releases put
out by Michigan coach Brady Hoke
and Athletic Director Dave Brandon.
The burning ember of our football
tradition has seen its passion extin-
guished, replaced by an insidious
sense of disgust and shame.
The hysteriaubiquitous during the
beginning of last week began with
an irresponsible call by an ESPN
TV announcer. When the replay
of sophomore quarterback Shane
Morris' stumble played, he, as is the
tendency of the media, immediately
resorted to hyperbole. This was an
announcer in no position medically,
nor organizationally, to make a claim
about the health of our quarterback,
nor the decisions of our staff. He was
completely and utterly unqualified in
this regard. He gave an uneducated,
superficial opinion and extrapolated
that out to a manifestation of a
struggling football program. He had
no right.
I resent the amount of coverage
news outlets have given this debacle.
It is without a doubt that we should
be winning more games in the
hose who sta
fourth year of Hoke's tenure. It is
without a doubt that Morris should
have been benched, in the context
of his obvious injuries. However we,
as malleable and restless students,
have perpetuated what were two
manageable, resolvable situations
into a festering sore on the face of a
previously proud block 'M.'
The calls and petitions for firings
are the impulsive, defensive reac-
tions of a cornered fan base. I, too,
felt this immediately following what
happened and I signed the petition. I
wholeheartedly regret it. These acts
have contributed more to the defac-
ing of our
university
than any-
thing else;
particularly However we,
whatever and restless sl
nonsense
came out of perpetuated
an announc- two manageal
er's mouth.
So, to situations int
those who sore on th
continue
to rally on previously prc
the Diag or
in front of
University
President Mark Schlissel's house,
on Facebook or on blogs: what do
you intend to achieve? Attention or
relief? This is not thesort of attention
that our school needs or deserves.
Headhunting will achieve little
more than rescinded commitments
from recruits and more flux and
uncertainty. None of the above
are long term solutions: they are
myopic forms of satiation for a
bloodthirstymob.
Bo Schembechler must have
anticipated these problems long ago
when he asserted that, "Those who
r'
t
b
tc
e
o
stay will be champions." Michigan
football then was most certainly not
in championship form. Neither is it
now. Itwould have been easy for play-
ers to quit under the new, authoritar-
ian regime Bo was putting in place. It
would have been easier to speak out
and bow out. He made his rallying
crying not in the best of times, but in
the most difficult. What happened?
Bo demanded commitment, his play-
ers remained committed and they
became champions.
We students must show the same
sense of commitment now as his play-
ers did then. Loyalty is consecrated
through
hardship and
challenge.
Naturally, it
as malleable is easier to
:udenst, have love Hoke
after win-
what were ning a Sugar
)le, resolvable Bowl than it
is after los-
O a festering ing a Little
e face of a . Brown ug.
But our job
)ud block 'M'. isn't to love
the team
when it's
easy. Our
dutyis to be there, through thick and
thin: to brave the August heat, the
Septemberstorms and the November
ice, to man our posts in sections 26 to
33, to cheer for a team that may not
be the best it has ever been, but isstill
ours. We, the students, ought to be
those who stay, no matter what.
I support Hoke and Brandon
because I support Michigan Football.
I think you should, too. Forever and
always, Go Blue.
- Eli Cahan can be reached
at emcahan@umich.edu.
These nonstandard ways to apply for college
benefit students who might learn and best
present themselves in nontraditional fashions.
The conventional college application simply
requires a high school transcript, one or more
personal essays and standardized test scores,
sometimes with a recommended interview.
Students that express themselves better
visually, or through additional samples of
academic writing, may be eager to opt for these
alternative processes. Colleges receive a wider
range of creative applicants, and potentially
diversify the student body with leaders in
different avenues. Itappears to be a greatoption
for economically disadvantaged students who
do not perform as highly in grades and test
scores due to a lack of additional educational
resources. Goucher'spresidentsuggeststhatthe
move will encourage students of lower-income
areas to apply to selective schools because they
can more easily represent themselves. They can
"show" their story instead of telling it through
current means that favor classically successful
and affluent applicants.
It is well known that disparities in financial
resources, and thus education, across
communities place extreme obstacles on
students of lower socioeconomic status as they
head toward college. While Goucher's new
policy is well-intentioned, this method does not
address the source of a major problem in the
college application process. Widening the range
ofmediathat students mayuse does not account
for the financial inequalities that pervade the
application process each step of the way. Just as
with normal applications, well-off students can
hire producers or other professionals to help
them create a higher quality video or academic
essay. Financially privileged students will
continue to have the upper hand in admissions,
regardless of the manner in which they are
allowed to express themselves. The measures
Goucher and other colleges have taken help to
even differences in learning and expression,
but do not extendbeyond that.
The University of Michigan currently
provides programs to recruit students of
lower socioeconomic status. The University's
Center for Education Outreach collaborates
with schools in Michigan to provide college
awareness and preparation for students in
kindergarten through12th grade. Its Michigan
College Advising Corps aims to increase the
number of underrepresented students in
higher education by hiring recent Michigan
graduates to work as college advisers in a few
high schools throughout the state. Michigan's
Detroit Center specificallyfocuses on coaching
students in schools of the Detroit metropolitan
area as well.
The University should consider expanding
and intensifying its efforts toward poorer
areas, and fully committo the goal of spreading
awareness for underprivileged students in
a broader context. Comprehensive outreach
that includes information about securing
financial aid, supplemental after-school
curriculums and positive attitudes toward
higher education increases success rates of
underprivileged students. If universities
truly intend on opening their doors to less
conventional students, they could start by
aiding those of lower socioeconomic status
years before applications even begin.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Devin Eggert, 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
A little bit of ourselves
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JAKE ROTHENBERG |
The real problem with Dave Brandon
'd like to believe that sports are
purely entertainment. That we
all watch purely to see athletes
run, jump and
throw faster,hard-
er and stronger
than the average
fan could dream ofs
doing. Obviously,
this isn't reality.
If you heard about
the rally lastweek-
end in Ann Arbor DEREK
calling to fire Uni- WOLFE
versity Athletic
Director Dave
Brandon, sports are anything but
just entertainment. The thousands of
hours I've invested in watching and
discussing sports would attest to that
as well.
There's no denying that sports
have the unique ability to rally com-
munities and, in many cases, repre-
sent the character of a city. This leads
to millionsofpeople regularlyrelying
on well-paid athletes or a bunch of
18- to 22-year-old kids to define their
moods. And despite having never
met these athletes, we genuinely care
about howthey perform. Win and it's
ecstasy. Lose and depression sets in.
That passion made this past
weekend especially tough for fans of
Michigan football, the Detroit Tigers
and Detroit Lions. They all lost. Butit
wasn't just that they lost; it was that
they all lost having failed to meet
high expectations.
Michigan lost again despite
having all the talent in the world. It
was supposed to be a great season.
The Lions lost because their
kicker missed three field goals. It was
supposed to be a big win.
The Tigers lost because their best
players didn't come through when it
counted most. There was supposed
to be a World Series celebration.
At one point, all of these teams had
somethingto play for - and the Lions
still do - but because of not meeting
these high expectations, Michigan
football and the Tigers' seasons can
only be looked at as failures. Goals
were not met, plain and simple.
Now of course, the teams''
performances don't have any tangible
effect on my life. Win or lose, I still
have an 8 a.m. class on Tuesdays.
Yet like most fans, I was and still am
upset. However, it was in the midst
of this downright disappointment
that I realized why sports
matter and where this emotional
dependence originates.
It's because ___
we all see or
want to see That pass
a little bit of his past
ourselves in
our favorite especially to
athletes - well, of Michiga
not the physical
skills, but the the Detroit'
storylines. Detroit
It's seeing
a player come
back from injury,
make a major impact on the team and
then making a connection such as,
"This is kind of like when I failed my
first chemistry test, then somehow
pulled off an A in the class."
It's the Detroit Pistons of the late
1980s and early 1990s where the
"Bad Boys" symbolized the tough,
underdognature bywhichthe people
of Detroit identified themselves.
That brings me back to-my point
on expectations. Seeing our favorite
teams lose and fail to meet expecta-
tions triggers a soft spot, because
we're all dealing with trying to meet
expectations in our ownways.
Sure, ours aren't coming from
millions of fans. They're coming
from friends, family and ourselves.
But that doesn't make them any less
significant. I despise-not meeting
my goals. I don't want to let anyone
down.
And I now realize that I project
those feelings onto my favorite
teams. After all, they're supposed
to be representing me. Therefore, I
expect the players to react the way
I would if I failed: I expect them to
care as much as I do.
"You feel like you let the fans
down. You feel like you let the
organization down. But there is
nothing we can do about it now,"
Brad Ausmus, the manager of Tigers,
said after Sunday's season-ending
loss to the Orioles.
ion made
weekend
ugh for fans
n football,
Tigers, and
Lions.
Great. That
sounds about
right.
On the other
hand,junior wide
receiver Devin
Funchess, after
losing to Rutgers
said, "Wins and
losses, that's just
a statistic."
Seriously?
I
I
Last year, 50 Michigan students and I,
under the leadership of the Student Union
of Michigan, marched through the Diag to
protest an Athletic Department that cared
more about its money than our safety. The
protest was in response to something I
would assume most people have heard about
by now. If you haven't, I will sum it up as
bluntly as I can: In 2009, Brendan Gibbons,
who eventually became our football team's
starting kicker, sexually assaulted a girl. In
the years following the event, the Athletic
Department has all but covered up the
incident. Gibbons went on to play for four
more years as our school's beloved kicker.
Sitting and studying on the fifth floor of
the Hatcher Grad library last week, I was
startled to hear 1,000 protesters, marchingto
do what we had intended to bring about less
than a year ago. This protest, though, wasn't
initiated to fire the Athletic Department
officials because of their rape-enabling cover-
up. Indeed, it didn't have anything to do with
justice at all. This protest was a reaction to
our team's losing streak, mixed with the
frustration about sophomore quarterback
Shane Morris' concussion and rising ticket
prices. If justice had been the reason for
last week's protest, it would have occurred
months, if not years ago.
Don't get me wrong - I love our football
team, and I too am upset by our losses and
dwindling student attendance at the games.
I stopped going to them this year because I,
as well as other members of the Big House
family, stopped feeling like fans and began
feeling like data. To Brandon, we have
all become the extension of his reign as
Domino's CEO. The fan base has morphed
into a fan market, the importance of student
support has been replaced by the importance
of student dollars and most importantly, our
safety has been compromised for our money.
Yet, what we all need to understand is
that these issues - the low attendance at
games, the exploitation of Shane Morris,
the rising prices - are all part of Brandon's
same dehumanizing scheme that became
immediately apparent when the Gibbons
cover-up was revealed. That is why instead
of marching against the Athletic Department
for losing games and raising ticket prices, we
should be marching for justice for the victim.
We should be marching to let our University
and Athletic Department know that we will
not accept the mere lip service they pay to
"our safety." Until this occurs, and until Dave
Brandon steps down for these reasons, we are
all complicit in the sexual assault of a fellow
student. And until we reassess what we are
marching for, we are all committed to making
this campus unsafe.
Jake Rothenberg is an LSA junior.
Indifference?
That's not me. Well, I guess you can't
expect everyone to think like you.
Regardless, I'm probably going to
keep lookingto athletes for direction.
Not because it's the best idea, but
because it's natural.
Sports find a way to simplify the
intricacies and complexities of life
and make nearly every scenario -
the last-second shot, winning after
being really down in the first half,
etc. - somehow applicable to a real
life scenario.
Itwouldn'tbeastretchto saythese
athletes embody the human condi-
tion: the good, the bad and the ugly.
And that's something an Introduc-
tory Psychology class can't teach.
- Derek Wolfe can be reached
at dewolfe@umich.edu.
I
I think it's something that can and will be
used on the first mission to Mars."
- NASA-contracted SpaceWorks engineer John Bradford said on the company's study of hibernation
technology that could be used on astronauts traveling to Mars.
I
I
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