3-News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Monday, November 21, 2016 — 3A
included
rhythmic
call-and-
repeats such as “All these racist
politicians we don’t need em” and
“When Muslims are under attack,
what do we do?” with the crowd
responding “Stand up, fight back.”
In attendance was the first SDS
president, University alum Alan
Haber, who graduated in 1965.
In speaking to the crowd, Haber,
a self-proclaimed “senior for a
Democratic society,” emphasized
that both the Democrat and
Republican parties in this country
support the act of war and students
must stand together to fight both
issues and individuals.
“Don’t be heartbroken that
we don’t have Mrs. Clinton as
our president,” Haber said. “This
woman, very good on some things,
is basically an advocate for the war
system. Politics in this country has
not gotten itself out of this imperial
mode … Trump isn’t changing that
and Hillary wouldn’t have changed
that. That’s for us to do.”
During the event, recent campus
crime alerts were cited as direct
acts of racism by speakers and
attendees. Last Friday, a woman
was told she would be lit on fire if
she did not remove her hijab while
walking downtown. The next day,
two men pushed a woman down
a hill and yelled at her for being in
America.
LSA freshman Sonny Newman
said the attacks on campus are part
of a larger attitude of discrimination
toward all minorities on campus,
including non-cisgender people.
“How can we say that Ann
Arbor is safe when my friend
was called a faggot the other day
while walking to class?” Newman
said. “How can we say that Ann
Arbor is safe when earlier this
year, when pronouns were added
to class rosters at U of M, there
was a backlash? People like Grant
Strobl changed their pronouns on
Wolverine Access to things like
‘His Majesty’ and encouraged
others to do the same using the
hashtag #UMPronounChallenge.
Well I am inviting all of you to take
the real UM Pronoun Challenge.
This
entails
asking
people’s
pronouns and respecting them.”
The issue of racial and social
impct on the election was brought
up by Ann Arbor resident Joel
Reinstein, who said because the
law does not allow former felons
and undocumented citizens to vote,
Trump was given an advantage.
“People are living in this country
and working in this country
who have no representation in
the government they live under
because they are undocumented.
Fuck that,” Reinstein said.
Speaking to how the University
is responding to multiple recent
anti-Trump protests on campus
and the student outcry about
discrimination, Knight said in
an interview he thought the
University as well as University
President Mark Schlissel are going
about the issue in the wrong way
with their poster campaign. The
posters feature slogans such as
“Listen More, Judge Less” and
“Appreciate Our Differences.”
“The point is not that people
are disagreeing disrespectfully,”
Knight said. “It’s not an issue of
values bring different. It’s an issue
of people are trying to spread hate
and we have to take the stance
that this is not acceptable full
stop. We will not tolerate white
supremacists on this campus ever
and I don’t think the University has
taken the extra step that they really
need to do.”
Ann
Arbor
resident
Katie
Whitney, a protester who was in
the crowd with her five-year-old
daughter, was holding a sign made
of duct tape that said “Hate Ain’t
Great.” Whitney said she brought
her daughter to the protest because
she wanted her daughter to see her
parents standing up to “powers of
white supremacy and saying no we
don’t accept this.”
“I’m here because something’s
got to give,” Whitney said. “I used
to not be particularly an activist.
I cared about issues but since this
election, I have been truly afraid
for my friends and my family. My
husband is Jewish and said we
need to start making plans for
how to leave this country and that
scares me.”
LSA freshman Emily Levy,
who had never attended a protest
before this year, said she wanted
people in Ann Arbor to continue
demonstrating and showing both
the University and the country that
collective voices cannot be ignored.
“After this rally is over, after
the Diag turns back to normal, life
goes on, you all go home, I want one
thing from you. I don’t want this to
be the last time I see any of you in a
crowd like this. I want all of you to
keep fighting,” Levy said.
PROTEST
From Page 1A
other team and also the elements.
Our team did both of those things
today.”
In
the
first
half,
the
Wolverines’ offense stalled early
and often, as the Hoosiers (3-5,
5-6) had little trouble getting to
O’Korn in the pocket. O’Korn had
a difficult time shedding tacklers,
and he took three tackles for loss,
including two sacks, in the half.
Michigan went 0-for-7 on
third down in the first frame,
only managing a 28-yard field
goal from Kenny Allen to get on
the board before the Hoosiers
answered
with
a
2-yard
touchdown
run
by
Camion
Patrick before the break.
O’Korn struggled to throw
the ball on a cold, windy day,
completing just 7 of 16 passes for
59 yards. He finally turned the
tide of the game with his feet,
though, pulling off a 30-yard
scramble on 3rd-and-8 that set up
Smith’s go-ahead touchdown in
the third quarter.
“I’m not real pleased with the
way I threw the ball, but that’s
part of battling the elements,”
O’Korn said. “Gotta complete
passes
when
opportunities
present themselves. … Luckily,
our run game and our O-line
had my back today, and it doesn’t
matter how we get the win as long
as we get the win.”
Indiana had more success in the
passing game than the Wolverines,
as quarterback Richard Lagow
tallied 191 total yards. His 37-yard
pass to Nick Westbrook in the
third quarter that ended up being
the longest completion of the
game for either team.
The Wolverines’ defense held
the Hoosiers in check, though,
tallying 11 tackles for loss — led
by senior defensive end Taco
Charlton’s 2.5 — and eight pass
breakups. As a result, Indiana’s
offense managed just a field goal.
Michigan’s special teams made
its mark as well. Fifth-year senior
kicker/punter Kenny Allen gave
the Wolverines a boost in the
field-position battle with three
punts of more than 50 yards.
The coverage unit also came up
big, as fifth-year senior tight end
Michael Jocz and freshman safety
Khaleke Hudson both blocked
punts in Hoosier territory.
Now, the focus will shift to
next week’s matchup with No.
2 Ohio State in Columbus, with
a Big Ten Championship Game
berth
and
potential
College
Football Playoff appearance on
the line for Michigan.
Even with that daunting task on
the horizon, Harbaugh is pleased
with where his team stands, even
despite Saturday’s early struggles
and the Wolverines’ quarterback
uncertainty.
“Every week is a test, every
game that you line up is a test,”
Harbaugh said. “There’s gonna
be a lot of tests in life. It comes
in many forms and fashions.
Our team playing a really good
Indiana football team — that was
a huge test for us today. Coming
off a loss — that was a huge test
for us.
“Playing in big playoff-type
games and responding, coming
together as a team gives us a great
feeling. I feel good about it.”
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Art & Design senior Talia Mayden performs in a What the Sound concert at the Blind Pig Saturday.
WHAT THE SOUND
months since athletes first began
demonstrating in this way, at
every game, the fists still go up,
sometimes even without attention
from the cameras.
Priscilla Huddleston, an LSA
junior
and
cheerleader,
said
she feels she cannot ignore the
platform she has on the field
during
the
national
anthem.
Leading three other teammates,
Huddleston was the first student
to take a knee and raise her fist.
“It’s
historically
been
the
athlete’s position to empower
their community,” she said. “It’s
sparking conversations in classes.
I only have a platform for four
hours … I only matter in uniform,
and I have to use that time and
make it count. I have a block ‘M’
on and I’m not just supposed to
wave a pompom and cheer you on.
You can’t expect me to be silent. I
didn’t understand how much of a
platform I had until now.”
Demonstrations
at
the
University mirror similar actions
by athletes at both the collegiate
and professional level across the
country. Huddleston recalled a
discussion
with
All-American
senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis
— who, along with senior tight end
Khalid Hill, outside linebackers
senior Mike McCray and freshman
Devin Bush and freshman inside
linebacker Elysee Mbem-Bosse
participated in the demonstration
— before the Penn State game.
She said she and Lewis noticed
a feeling of hypocrisy during the
national anthem, especially in
the wake of a series of fatal police
shootings of Black Americans.
“Don’t sing this song, and a
Black man just died. I haven’t sang
(the anthem) since Ferguson,”
she said, referring to the non-
indictment of the police officer
who fatally shot Michael Brown.
“(Lewis) wasn’t sure if he wanted
to do it at first, but then he and
other players looked at the actual
words of the national anthem,
and did it because they didn’t feel
comfortable with it. I did it because
I didn’t feel comfortable with
the actions of law enforcement.
Jourdan and I both said, ‘You
know what, this is disrespectful
against our people.’ ”
The
University
Athletic
Department
did
not
make
players
participating
in
the
protest
immediately
available
for comment, but in a press
conference after the Penn State
game, Lewis noted his long-
standing frustration with racism
in America not only in the recent
climate following the election, but
more generally throughout time.
“It’s not just this week, it’s the
whole mess,” he said. “Regardless
of anything, I’m going to stand
up for injustice. That wasn’t
disrespecting anything. I love this
University. I love this country, but
things can get better.”
Harbaugh,
who
originally
opposed Kaepernick’s “method
of action,” reversed his position
at the same press conference.
He later clarified, saying that he
supports Kaepernick’s motivation,
but not his approach.
“Because I am the football
coach doesn’t mean I can dictate to
people what they believe,” he said.
“I support our guys. I think this is
something — it’s not going away,
it’s going to keep happening.”
Michigan cheerleading coach
Pam St. John supported the
protests from the start, facilitating
team conversations about the
actions
and
blocking
some
cameras to protect her athletes
from backlash. The cheer team’s
number of minority cheerleaders
has grown in the last few years,
and both St. John and students
said this has contributed to a more
inclusive environment.
“I went to school here and
came during the end of the
Vietnam War during a time of
civil unrest,” St. John said. “This
is part of the culture that I believe
is the University of Michigan.
My first instinct is to protect my
student athletes … my opinion is
that that’s their right to do that
as part of freedom of expression
and freedom of speech. It’s my
responsibility as an American to
protect that.”
“I’ve
never
felt
tokenized
because of my coach, and she
protects me,” Huddleston said.
“My teammates stopped and
listened (about the protest).”
In contrast to the football and
cheerleading coaches, marching
band directors released a policy
on
“student
self-expression,”
banning band members from
engaging
in
demonstrations
during
performances.
In
an
email statement, directors wrote
the policy, dated Sept. 30, was
a preemptive measure against
student disruption.
“Their work as a band is nuanced
and coordinated — any personal
expression would disrupt the
band’s overall performance,” the
statement reads. “Band members
would be held accountable for
displays of expression during a
performance.”
Neither
marching
band
members
nor
directors
were
available for direct comment.
University
President
Mark
Schlissel’s
49-unit
Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion strategic
plan,
released
in
October,
includes a sub-plan created by the
University Athletic Department
focusing on minority recruitment,
diversity and cultural sensitivity
training
for
coaching
and
management staff and improving
the literacy of student-athletes on
the DEI objectives.
St. John said student action
this year demonstrated both the
urgency and necessity of diversity
education in athletics.
“Staff and coaches were out in
front of this with the DEI plan,”
she said. “Any time awareness is
brought, it fortifies the action.”
Kaepernick’s original protest
drew
objections
from
many
pundits
and
commentators
accusing him of a lack of patriotism
and of disrespecting the national
anthem. While most criticism of
University participants has been
relegated to social media, teams
have still reckoned with internal
disagreements. In an interview,
defensive end Ron Johnson, an
LSA freshman, voiced personal
disagreement with the fist raising,
but emphasized the team’s overall
support.
“Players did it of their own will,”
he said. “I want to show respect for
people who fight for our country
… I’ve been singing the national
anthem all my life, and I just think
there’s other ways of going about
it. We haven’t talked about it as a
full team, but every game they still
keep doing it.”
Huddleston pushed back against
the idea that the demonstrations
disrespect those who serve the
country, recounting her experience
kneeling
before
the
Oct.
22
homecoming game against Illinois.
“I started freaking out because
the Navy was right in front of me,
and I have family members in the
military and I know how hard
they work,” she said. “I jumped out
of line and went up to someone in
uniform and cleared it with her,
and made sure she knew it was
not me trying to disrespect her
and her sacrifice for her country. I
heard her talking to her coworkers
about it after and they were saying
‘No, that’s extremely brave of her.’
It shouldn’t be that brave to protest
something you believe in. People
in the Navy almost die, and for
one of them to say that, we need to
reevaluate how we feel about our
First Amendment rights.”
Student-athletes
have
also
been invoked in other protests
on
campus
this
year,
with
student organizers calling out
the assumption that Black male
students are athletes, with a group
at a September protest saying, “You
cheer us on the football field... we
are more than your money.”
BIG HOUSE
From Page 1A
supports such efforts to employ
Detroit natives.
“I intern for a company in
Ann Arbor that actually employs
women from Detroit and so I
really resonated with the whole
story about the startup in a city
that is having a lot of problems,”
she said. “I just really resonated
with the background of Shinola
and how that really contributes to
the same work I’m doing now.”
Since its inception in 2011, the
compant made a name for itself
as a luxury lifestyle brand, with
products such as watches and
leather goods, as well as other
items such as bicycles and record
players.
“We look at opportunity in
the marketplace, we look at
opportunity in our expertise,
with the men and women who
design our products who have
the ideas — we are a tremendous
entrepreneurial
company,”
Lewand said of the range of
products. “We saw an opportunity
in the audio space, just like we saw
in the watch space.”
Lewand’s also noted Shinola’s
success with this model.
“We’re a $100 million company
this year but really in our third
year of sales,” Lewand said.
Business
senior
Moynawk
Gangopadhyay said he attended
because he was interested in
learning about that structure.
“I liked how (Lewand) talked
about what particular branding
strategies they have and whether
or not they could have the scale to
expand internationally,” he said.
Beyond product mix and sales,
Lewand also said diversity, in
gender, race and background,
has played an important role
throughout his career, from his
time at the Lions to his time
at Shinola. He advised crowd
members to lead a balanced life.
“I believe in physical, mental
and spiritual health,” Lewand
said. “There are three legs to the
stool and if you don’t have all three,
you’re not going to be successful as
a human being.”
SHINOLA
From Page 1A
FOOTBALL
From Page 1A