Opinion
JENNIFER CALFAS
EDITOR IN CHIEF
AARICA MARSH
and DEREK WOLFE
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
LEV FACHER
MANAGING EDITOR
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Friday, December 4, 2015
Look for the helpers
“What is the world coming to?”
my 70-year-old grandmother asked
during our conversation about the
recent terrorist attack in Paris. The
scenes of carnage in a city she’s
visited many times prompted her
to reminisce, with fond nostalgia,
on the immensely different world
she grew up in — a world where
everyone supposedly left their doors
unlocked and violence was nowhere
near as common as it is today.
Statistically speaking, these rosy
memories are fallacious. Contrary
to popular belief, we’re currently
living in the most peaceful time
in human history. Homicide rates,
sexual assault rates and war deaths
are a record low across the globe.
Despite
these
improvements,
it remains easy to feel cynical
about the direction the world is
heading in because much work is
still needed to make our planet a
safer place. These negative feelings
become
especially
pronounced
after disaster, because it’s often
forgotten that after a particularly
bad storm, you can expect to find a
rainbow. Or, in the words of Mister
Rogers, after a disaster, “Look for
the helpers. You will always find
people who are helping.”
Fourteen years ago, the United
States watched in horror as the
World Trade Center fell to the
ground and into our collective
memory. The images from Sept.
11 are not only some of the most
powerful of the 21st century, but
also among the most powerful in
global history. They joined the
powerful group of media snippets
— paintings of people suffering
from the bubonic plague, pictures
from the firing on Fort Sumter and
videos of Hitler’s first speech as
chancellor, to name a few — that
captured events that went on to
permanently alter the trajectory of
foreign and domestic policy.
To
most,
these
images
of
disaster represent nothing more
than negative scars on our history.
However, what isn’t shown in these
pictures is the aid and support that
poured in after the cameras were
put down. While photos from Sept.
11 are full of death and despair,
photos from Sept. 12 tell a vastly
different and more uplifting story.
The day after the towers came
down, the world stood together in
solidarity to show that it supported
New York and to the mourn the loss
of those who died in the attacks.
Millions of dollars of aid money
poured into the city — money that
everyday working families had
earned and had every right to keep.
Yet, they found it within themselves
to put aside their wants and needs
for someone else’s benefit.
Over the decade and a half that
followed, similar scenarios have
played out across the globe. The 2004
South Asian tsunami, Hurricane
Katrina,
Haitian
and
Japanese
earthquakes, the Gulf Oil Spill and
the Ebola crisis are all rightfully
branded as disasters, and all of these
events were seen by some as a sort
of omen signaling that times are
getting worse. Yet these events ended
with people from all over the world
coming together to help the victims,
a fact that is overlooked all too often.
Here we are today, looking at
Paris and asking ourselves how we
keep letting this happen. It’s easy to
ask, “What is the world coming to?”
while we ignore all of the love that
flowed into the city after the hateful
acts. During the attacks, many
people risked their own lives to
save the lives of people they didn’t
know. After the attacks, the world
supported Paris by sending moral
support and engaging in other acts
of kindness. For example, Airbnb, a
popular service that allows people
to rent their homes to travelers,
provided homes for Parisians in
need of a place to stay. Acts like
these were common, but were
outshadowed by the negativity that
followed the attacks.
This isn’t to say we shouldn’t
discuss tragedies when they strike
— we definitely should. However,
when we have these discussions,
we shouldn’t forget to look for the
helpers who inevitably arrive when
the smoke settles, the individuals
who continue to prove that most
people do not have hate in their
hearts. If not, we might leave the
discussion with a more cynical
view of the world than what
actually exists.
Jason Rowland is an LSA freshman
and Editorial Board member.
E-mail RachEl at Rdawson@umich.Edu
RACHEL DAWSON
— President Barack Obama said in an interview with CBS correspondent Norah O’Donnell
on Dec. 2 about the mass shooting in San Bernardino, CA.
“
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
We should never think
that this is something
that just happens in the
ordinary course of events,
because it doesn’t happen
with the same frequency
in other countries.”
JASON ROWLAND | VIEWPOINT
Blame it on our generation?
Do you remember what happened
at the University of Connecticut
a few months ago? A kid pulled a
total “college bro move,” but it was
taken to an extreme. He was drunk,
but also turned out to be underage.
In the process of the student
demanding the famous jalapeño
bacon mac and cheese from one
of the school cafeterias, he was
physically restrained by two of the
cafeteria managers after repeatedly
pushing one of them. The student
was clearly intoxicated. Student
bystanders quickly busted out their
camera phones, and the whole thing
went viral on YouTube.
There are so many problems
in this one incident. First of all,
the disrespect displayed by the
students
toward
the
cafeteria
manager is simply hard to watch.
Yes, the student was under the
influence, and we all get that
sudden craving of food when we
feel a bit tipsy, right? But this isn’t
something normal or OK. Not only
does the student repeatedly swear
at someone who works for him
day and night, but he also clearly
shows he believes the manager is of
a lower rank of some kind, simply
because he is a cafeteria manager.
A teenager looks down upon
a man around the age of his par-
ents because of his occupation. We
might all be hesitant to admit this is
true, but this happens far too often.
Some of us nonchalantly poke fun at
people with more laborious occupa-
tions, such as janitors or cafeteria
managers. It may all be fun and jokes
until this disrespect manifests itself,
especially in an educational environ-
ment, where we are meant to learn to
become respectful citizens. Janitor
jokes and lunch-lady jokes, where we
either consciously or unconsciously
consider them inferior solely based
on what their subjects do for a living,
aren’t the type of laughs we should be
sharing as adults.
What else went wrong here?
If you checked YouTube when
it happened, there were, and still
probably
are,
countless
videos
of the same incident, taken from
several different angles. Everyone
at the cafeteria found this drunk
student demanding some mac and
cheese amusing enough to record it
on video and shamelessly upload to
the Internet.
But if you watch any version of the
video, hardly anyone present jumps
in to break up the situation, not
to mention at least try to calm the
drunk student down before things
escalated. While nobody there may
have instigated or directly taken
part in, it’s concerning that nobody
tried to step in and take action
to prevent things from going so
far south. People were recording
it on their phones, laughing and
generally drawing an unnecessary
amount of attention to the incident.
Finally, someone who seemed to
be a fellow school employee tried to
tell the student to leave the prem-
ises. But the drunk student didn’t
listen, and the police had to show
up to put an end to the situation.
I can’t guarantee I would have
been courageous enough to stop the
student from going crazy, but I can
definitely admit that pulling out my
phone to share this with the world
wouldn’t have been the first thing on
my mind if I was there. Maybe the
atmosphere or the cultural ambience
of college has set a deep-rooted tone
or sense of humor that makes us find
incidents like this funny, and so we
let them happen and laugh at them.
However, as adults, most, if not all of
us should be concerned if anything
like this were to happen around us.
In the case that it does, at least some
of us should be able to be in the video
as the “party poopers” and spoil
the “fun.”
Ever since the introduction of
social media, everything is very
short-lived. The memes we see on
Facebook, the hilarious videos on
YouTube and all the Internet good-
ies don’t stay with us for longer
than a week; at least in my case.
So naturally, people already forgot
about this Internet sensation.
To whoever is reading this,
I apologize for digging this old
topic back out. But we could learn
a few things from this happening.
Besides, how good could that mac
and cheese really be?
Minsoo Kim is an LSA freshman
and Editorial Board Member.
MINSOO KIM | VIEWPOINT
FROM THE DAILY
AD search must include students
The next Athletic Director should prioritize diversity, inclusion
T
he University confirmed Wednesday that the search for a
permanent athletic director has begun and that interim
Athletic Director Jim Hackett does not wish to be considered
for the position. For better or worse, the University’s reputation is
intertwined with athletic success, affecting all community members,
including student-athletes, student-fans and even students who don’t
care about athletics. Following the disastrous tenure of former Athletic
Director Dave Brandon and a remarkable past 13 months with Hackett
as interim Athletic Director, the University must be diligent in finding
an applicant who’s committed not only to maintaining Hackett’s
success, but also to increasing diversity and promoting inclusion in the
Athletic Department. Furthermore, the University must keep in mind
students from across campus — not just ones who are passionate about
sports — to ensure all perspectives are taken into account in the search
for a new athletic director.
The University cannot afford to hire
another Dave Brandon. Despite his ties to
the University as an alum and former regent,
Brandon’s
mismanagement
of
multiple
situations outweighed any of the positive
contributions he made as Athletic Director.
Brandon’s mishandling of quarterback Shane
Morris’ concussion — which included a press
release sent at 1 a.m. and statements that
contradicted former football coach Brady
Hoke — was abysmal. During Brandon’s
tenure, former football kicker Brendan
Gibbons was allowed to play a game on
Nov. 23, 2013 after being found responsible
for a 2009 sexual misconduct allegation by
the Office of Student Conflict Resolution
on Nov. 20, 2013; a change to the Student
Sexual Misconduct Policy in 2011 allowed
the incident to be investigated by the Office
of Institutional Equity, which resulted in
Gibbons’ “permanent separation” from the
University. Brandon also reportedly wrote
denigrating e-mails to alumni, neglected
to involve students in numerous important
decisions regarding athletics and raised
student ticket prices to astronomically high
levels. Ultimately, under his leadership, the
Athletic Department became more about the
bottom line than heart and tradition.
Enter
Jim
Hackett,
the
Athletic
Department’s soul doctor. Hackett became
the interim Athletic Director in October
2014, heading a department in disarray. In
his first decisions as director, Hackett fired
an unsatisfactory football coach, hired the
dream coach the Michigan fan base wanted
and orchestrated a $169 million deal with
Nike. Growing up in an atmosphere that
promoted deep respect for coaching and
sports, Hackett has routinely supported all
athletes and coaches throughout the past
year. In an open letter after Michigan’s last-
second loss to Michigan State on Oct. 17,
Hackett condemned the violent comments
directed at Michigan punter Blake O’Neill,
who made a mistake in the last play of the
game. Hackett’s demeanor and attitude
about the job is admirable. Continuing this
culture of respect, financial success and
understanding of tradition is an imperative
task for the next athletic director.
In a conference call with local media
outlets Wednesday, University President
Mark Schlissel said, “I’m looking for the
best person for the job. It is a $151 million
enterprise. It’s a complex enterprise that
requires somebody with business accounting
and leadership skills and experience.” These
skills, along with an understanding of college
athletic departments, which Schlissel also
mentioned as a criterium, should be the
baseline requirements.
The new athletic director must have
an unwavering commitment to increasing
diversity and inclusion at the University. The
Athletic Department has immense influence
in steering campus culture and should
feel a responsibility in providing students
of all backgrounds with a full University
experience. This begins by making student
tickets more affordable. Earlier this year, a
need-based reduced price ticket program
for football, basketball and hockey was
implemented for students who receive Pell
grants. The new athletic director should
work to expand this program to include more
low-income students, not for just those on
Pell grants. Furthermore, student discounts
at M-Den locations should be implemented
to allow every student to show school spirit
affordably.
Currently, the search committee consists
of eight indviduals including a coach, a
current and former student-athlete, a faculty
representative, a member of Schlissel’s
special
counsel,
the
University’s
chief
financial officer and the current medical
director at Renown Rehabilitation Center in
Reno, Nev. Though Schlissel and Hackett said
during the conference call they will make it
a priority to seek student opinions, it should
be done formally in open forums or meetings.
In these forums, there must be a deliberate
effort to include students of all backgrounds.
Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Ben Keller, Minsoo Kim, Payton
Luokkala, Aarica Marsh, Anna Polumbo-Levy, Jason Rowland,
Lauren Schandevel, Melissa Scholke, Rebecca Tarnopol, Ashley
Tjhung, Stephanie Trierweiler, Mary Kate Winn, Derek Wolfe
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
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