anonymity for this piece.

Many agreed with Krupiak’s 

statement and did not support the 
disrespect of the few who were 
disrupting the speeches with 
their outbursts of coughing orga-
nized over Yik Yak. One member 
of Greek life told the Daily Kru-
piak’s assertion at the end of the 
event resonated with her.

“The immaturity and rude-

ness that Greek life members 
showed throughout the entire 
meeting was appalling,” one 
member said. “People were 
laughing and cheering when the 
University officials were listing 
terrible cases of alcohol abuse, 
vandalism and other behavior 
that is really a problem in the 
community. Many people did 
not give the speakers enough 
respect even to sit through the 
entire meeting. I left the meet-
ing with little hope that Greek 
life will change.”

LSA junior Nicolette Taber, 

a member of Alpha Delta Pi, 
agreed.

“I thought it was extremely 

disappointing to see my fellow 
Greek students disrespect our 
school’s leadership,” Taber said. 
“While Schlissel was address-
ing our community’s alcohol 
and sexual assault issues, many 
people in the crowd coughed 
and laughed. I am proud to be in 
Greek life, but I was taken aback 
by the utter lack of respect for 
our school’s leaders.”

Still, many of those inter-

viewed said the meeting was 
handled poorly, noting in par-
ticular that the the administra-
tion offered more criticism than 
solutions or proposals.

Several students said the dis-

ruptions during the meeting 
represented only a minority of 
the Greek life community and 
did not feel it was fair for all of 
Greek life to be blamed for the 
actions of few.

Alpha Sigma Phi president 

Tom Allen, a Public Policy 
junior, said he believes Greek life 
is open to change overall.

“I think as a whole probably 

95 percent of people there were 
respectful and open and wel-
coming to the message that was 
being given,” Allen said. “Maybe 
there are a few people there who 
didn’t feel that way because 
they were forced to be there, but 
those people aren’t the ones that 
are going to be making decisions 
for fraternities and sororities 
and Greek life as a whole. (Greek 
life) is definitely going to be open 
to what was said yesterday and 
in the future work really close 
with the University to make 
things safer.”

The University’s decision to 

levy penalties on chapters who 
failed to meet the 70 percent 
attendance 
requirement 
also 

rubbed several members the 
wrong way.

“We do respect the leader-

ship, but we don’t believe in 
forced respect,” a fraternity 
member said. “We were forced 
under fiscal and social penalty 
to attend, we were forced to be 
lectured at, and that’s why there 
was not a more positive show-
ing. You can’t force people to do 
things against their will and get 
a positive reaction and spark a 
strong discussion.”

While many of the members 

interviewed agreed with those 
sentiments, others said there 
was no other way to have this 
type of discussion and reach a 
mass audience.

One person said she agreed 

with the points raised, but felt 
unfairly targeted. Others said 
the event was redundant and the 
message was lost in the process.

“I thought the meeting’s 

effect was killed by its length,” 
one sorority member said. “No 
one wanted to be there in the 
first place, and the sheer number 
of speakers did not help change 
anyone’s mind. After listening 
to the disrespectful responses of 
the crowd during the meeting, I 
don’t think it will affect change. 
They didn’t announce any policy 
changes, it was more of an hour-
and-a-half long warning.”

Most said the issues raised by 

University administrators were 
broad problems and applied to 

student communities other than 
Greek life.

“That was the one big thing 

that people were against is that 
it was spoken as just the Greek 
community,” he said. “If any-
thing, a lot of the times when 
incidents happen it’s people 
from outside of the organiza-
tion that come to our parties and 
cause trouble. So, it’s a message 
that really should have been 
transmitted to the entire Uni-
versity.”

Many members who spoke 

with the Daily said Greek life 
actually does a better job than 
other organizations at ensuring 
parties are safe. Unlike students 
hosting house parties or ath-
letic teams hosting team parties, 
Greek life parties are heavily 
regulated.

“We have sober monitors, 

attendance lists, strict alcohol 
rules 
and 
risk-management 

policies. Removing Greek life 
wouldn’t remove parties, it 
would remove safe parties,” one 
member said.

Several members said they 

did not see an actual plan that 
would be implemented and felt 
the University was just telling 
them things they already knew.

But that doesn’t mean they 

disagreed with the points given.

Several members said they 

identified with the problems 
outlined — one even agreed 
with Schlissel’s statement on the 
party culture devaluing the Uni-
versity.

Members said they’re just not 

sure what should be done about 
it.“They did address Greek cul-
ture, partying and drinking, but 
that’s also a nationwide prob-
lem which is something we can 
help but it’s not just us,” another 
member said. “They were talk-
ing about I’m Shmacked videos 
a lot and how they think it’s 
attracting the wrong crowd, but 
at the same time the people in 
admissions are the ones mak-
ing the decisions. Just because 
you want to go to a party school, 
you still have to have the grades 
to get in. The people that want 
to come here don’t just want the 
party scene.”

of the University community.

“We enjoy that,” Harbaugh said. 

“You’re a very small part.”

But Harbaugh’s return brought 

more than a small dose of excite-
ment to the Big House. It brought 
fans who came early and stayed 
late, and students who remained 
standing at their seats well into the 
second half, even in what became 
a blowout.

It 
also 
brought 
something 

rarely seen from Michigan in 
recent years: smashmouth foot-
ball. Junior running back De’Veon 
Smith bulldozed his way to 126 
yards and three touchdowns. He 
ran through tacklers, and he ran 
around tacklers. The first phrase 
Smith uttered in his postgame 
press conference was telling.

“Shout-out to the offensive 

line,” he said.

The unit has been criticized 

and picked apart in recent years, 
known more for allowing hits 

to the quarterback than making 
holes for running backs. That was 
not the case Saturday. The offen-
sive line’s play improved as the 
game wore on. Michigan rushed 
for 215 yards after the first quar-
ter, while the Beavers ran for 
minus-28 in that time.

Oregon State was able to hide 

its offensive ineptitude early on. 
The Beavers picked apart the 
Wolverine defense on a seven-
play, 79-yard touchdown drive on 
their first possession of the game. 
Oregon State then forced a fumble 
when the Michigan offense took 
over, regaining possession on the 
Wolverines’ 24-yard line.

The opportunity to take a 14-0 

lead was short-lived. Michigan 
junior defensive end Taco Charl-
ton stripped Oregon State running 
back Victor Bolden of the ball, 
and Michigan senior linebacker 
Joe Bolden snatched it out of the 
air and returned it 17 yards. With 
that, the Beavers’ opportunity for 
offensive productivity had ended.

The Wolverines’ offensive pro-

duction did not begin in earnest 
until 7:01 remained in the first half. 

Michigan orchestrated a 69-yard 
touchdown drive that featured a 
heavy dose of Smith. He ran for 
22 yards on the drive, added 20 
more on a 4th-and-5 reception and 
capped it with a touchdown.

Smith’s second touchdown of 

the game was the result of what 
Harbaugh called a fortuitous play 
with 1:12 left in the first half. Ore-
gon State punter Nick Porebski 
settled back to punt, and booted 
the ball out of bounds on Michi-
gan’s two-yard line. However, a 
penalty called the kick back.

The ensuing attempt resulted 

in disaster for the Beavers. The 
snap sailed over Porebski’s head, 
and the Wolverines took over on 
Oregon State’s three-yard line.

“That happens once a half-a-

century for your team,” Harbaugh 
deadpanned.

Smith punched the ball into the 

end zone three plays later. Min-
utes earlier, Harbaugh had been 
furious at a roughing the punter 
call on Michigan, throwing his 
play sheet in disgust while relent-
lessly chirping at the referees. 
The stadium roared in agreement, 

basking in Harbaugh’s emotion, 
but his prior dissatisfaction mat-
tered little after the Wolverines 
scored.

Michigan never relinquished 

the momentum as Oregon State 
reeled. The second half was simi-
lar to the end of the first. Smith 
finished the game with 23 carries, 
nine more than junior running 
backs Derrick Green and Ty Isaac 
combined. Smith and Green each 
added touchdowns to the Wol-
verines’ lead, and the size of their 
running holes only increased.

Fifth-year senior quarterback 

Jake Rudock, charged primar-
ily with managing the game 
while Smith did the heavy lift-
ing, finished 18-for-26 on passing 
attempts for 180 yards. He threw 
one interception, well after the 
result had been decided.

In the game’s final moments, 

Harbaugh walked straight to the 
center of the field to shake Ore-
gon State coach Gary Andersen’s 
hand. If he was excited for his first 
win as Michigan’s head coach, he 
didn’t show it. He celebrated little 
on the field.

3-News

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Monday, September 14, 2015 — 3A

 

El Niño could 
bring end to harsh 
winters

Weather 
forecasters 
are 

predicting a more mild winter, 
with less precipitation, this year 
in Michigan, the Detroit Free 
Press reported. This change will 
be due to a natural warming of 
the surface waters in certain 
regions in the Pacific Ocean, a 
phenomenon called El Niño.

Tom 
Di 
Liberto, 
a 

meteorologist with the National 
Oceanic 
and 
Atmospheric 

Administration, said there is a 
95-percent chance El Niño will 
last through the winter.

A warmer, drier winter could 
 

limit the flooding Michigan has 
seen in recent springs, as well as 
mean fewer logistical problems 
for the shipping industry. 

38-year-old rushes 
frat at University

Alex 
Stone, 
a 
38-year-

old fellow in a program for 
mid-career journalists at the 
University, decided to check out 
the fraternity scene on campus, 
as he wrote in a The New York 
Times piece. Stone wanted to 
see what all the recent hype 
surrounding 
Greek 
life 
was 

about.

Stone 
reported 
fraternity 

brothers 
were 
frequently 

skeptical 
of 
his 
age, 
but 

ultimately he bonded with the 
members of Alpha Delta Phi. 
That is, until he partied too hard, 
and they learned he was indeed 
38.

In the tell-all piece, Stone said 

he ended up joining the Acacia 
Fraternity — a group of men he 
had first judged as “desperate.” 
He learned he had much in 
common 
with 
the 
Acacia 

brothers, and spent his year at 
the University with them, until 
returning to life in New York.

NEWS BRIEFS

MICHIGAN
From Page 1A

GREEK LIFE
From Page 1A

that she has a problem with. It’s the 
excess. 

“All we’re trying to say is, ‘Look, 

we’re putting up some guard rails,’ 
” she said. “ ‘We want you to have 
as much fun as you want within the 
bounds of this guard rail … there 
are boundaries. We need to agree 
on what they are and stay within 
them.’ ”

In this vein, the University 

recently unveiled a new policy to 
call the parents of students who 
have broken the school’s alcohol 
guidelines more than once, or 
those of students who have gone to 

the hospital for overconsumption 
of alcohol or drugs.

The University is also offering 

its Change it Up program — which 
promotes bystander intervention 
and inclusive language — to stu-
dent cohorts in individual schools, 
as opposed to solely freshmen stu-
dents living in the dorms.

However, following on the heels 

of a University survey that indi-
cated a higher prevalence of sexual 
assault in the Greek life commu-
nity — and other data showing the 
strong link between sexual assault 
and alcohol — University officials 
say there is more work to be done.

One measure being considered, 

Harper said, is delaying rush.

“Does it make sense to have 

students come, and in a week, by 
the whole pledging process, we 
have thrown them into a whole 
environment that we’re worried 
about?” Harper asked. “Should we 
stay on this path we have, where 
we’ve been so committed to self-
governance, that we allow rush 
to happen sometimes less than a 
week after students get here? So 
we’re certainly going to take a look 
at that.”

Another measure, she said, will 

involve putting rogue Greek hous-
es under greater scrutiny.

Harper said she understands 

some students may perceive these 
new policies to be punitive.

“That’s not what you do with 

people you respect,” she noted, 

adding that she is a supporter of 
all the good the Greek life com-
munity contributes. “I think what 
we were trying to do (Thursday) 
night is have an authentic conver-
sation.

“I think that was a little bit 

of what we were trying to say 
(Thursday): We can’t collude 
with you to be unsafe,” Harper 
said. “So I think what we’re likely 
to see is, many more strategies 
that are designed to say, there 
are boundaries, and yeah, you’re 
going to live within them. And if 
that’s not possible, perhaps we 
need to rethink who’s coming to 
Michigan. Because we are not 
going to become the party school 
… that’s not this place.”

“The problem with looking 

at post-mortem human brains 
is that we could not tell the 
difference between something 
that 
predisposes 
someone 

toward getting depression ver-
sus a result of a person having 
had depression for years,” Aur-
bach said.

To 
address 
this 
limita-

tion, researchers did further 
experiments with live rats. 
They observed three key find-
ings. When rats were exposed 
to social stress, they showed 
increased levels of FGF9 in the 
hippocampus, the part of the 
brain associated with emotion 
and memory. If injected with 
FGF9, rats displayed increased 
anxiety — a common symptom 
of depression.

The third key finding: After 

using a virus to interfere with 
FGF9 production, the rats’ 
anxiety decreased.

These experiments showed 

increased FGF9 is not only a 
result of depression, but can 
actually cause depression in 
rats. As a result, Aurbach said 
this discovery has far-reaching 
implications.

“This study reinforces the 

idea that depression is a physi-
cal illness of the brain,” she 
said. “It is not a problem of 
willpower or of people being 
able to snap their fingers and 
adopt a different coping strat-
egy.”

Inui, co-author of the study, 

said the findings of the paper 
offer potential for design-
ing novel therapeutics. The 
results are especially promis-
ing because it is safer to design 
drugs that block the actions of 
something harmful rather than 
those that increase the actions 
of something beneficial.

“It is a lot easier from a 

drug perspective to knock 
that expression down than it 
is to increase the expression of 
another target,” she said. “That 
can potentially have many 
more side effects.”

Central to this study is its 

connection to the lives of col-
lege students, Aurbach said. 
Faced with the task of suc-
ceeding academically while 
maintaining social and extra-
curricular 
commitments, 

college students experience 
numerous stressors that can 
lead to a wide variety of mental 
health issues.

LSA senior Anna Chen is 

the president of the Univer-
sity’s chapter of Active Minds 
at the University of Michigan. 
This nonprofit organization is 
dedicated to raising awareness 
for mental health issues among 
college students.

Chen said she is very excited 

for the therapeutic potential of 
the study. Even so, she recog-
nizes there is no “quick fix” for 
mental illness.

“The causes of any mental 

illness are multifaceted,” Chen 
said. “I hope that the increas-
ing effectiveness of medica-
tions doesn’t cause people to 
devalue the benefit of supple-
menting psychiatric treatment 
with behavioral therapy.”

In the future, Aurbach said 

she aims to better understand 
how FGF9 is functioning in 
more areas of the brain and 
whether FGF9 is working 
with or against other mol-
ecules in the brain to change 
behavior.

“If we can understand how 

FGF9 is involved in all areas 
of the brain, then we can build 
a much bigger picture of how 
we can develop a drug to tar-
get depression effectively,” she 
said.

RESEARCH
From Page 1A

HARPER
From Page 1A

client’s rights.

“We are very pleased with the 

settlement,” Gordon said. “It null 
and voids the findings against Mr. 
Sterrett and cleans his records 
against and removes the prior 
findings against him.”

The 
female 
student 
who 

claimed Sterrett engaged in non-
consensual sex with her said in a 

statement that by the University, 
by signing the settlement, is not 
following through on its com-
mitment to support survivors 
of sexual assault. She also cau-
tioned other students from going 
through the school’s Title IX pro-
cess.

“Worst of all, I have come to 

believe they do not care about 
individual 
students 
seeking 

help and are more concerned 
with producing the paperwork 
which demonstrates compliance 

with U.S. Department of Educa-
tion mandates,” the student said 
in a statement provided through 
her attorney, Douglas Fierberg. 
“With the multiple efforts and 
initiatives the University has 
undertaken 
and 
administra-

tors have espoused, the big-
gest threat on campus has now 
become the Title IX Sexual 
Assault Policy as implemented 
by the University.

University spokesman Rick 

Fitzgerald said in an e-mail that 

students have a number of options 
for seeking support in the wake of 
a sexual assault, including strict-
ly confidential resources. 

“The University offers exten-

sive, 
research-informed 
edu-

cational programs designed to 
reduce sexual misconduct and 
increase reporting,” he wrote. 
“We strive to continually improve 
our processes to improve the 
experiences and outcomes for 
students who report sexual mis-
conduct to the University.”

RULING
From Page 1A

