10
: 00 a.m. By 7:00 p.m. on
Nov. 5, Jonathan Vaughn,
the Anderson survivor and former
Michigan football player who has
been leading the protest, will have
been camping out in front of President
Schlissel’s house for 28 days.
On a normal day during the
protest, Vaughn wakes up in his tent
around 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. and heads to
the Michigan Union, where he orders
a coffee and breakfast sandwich from
Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea. One of his
favorite parts of the day is enjoying a
morning cigar with his coffee.
At 10:00 a.m., Ann Arbor is a brisk
37 degrees, and Vaughn is getting out
a pack of hand warmers from his tent
to stuff in his pockets. Putting the
hand warmers in his pants pockets,
Vaughn said, targets a main artery
and keeps his toes warm during the
day. Spending anywhere between 14
to 18 hours of the day outside in the
elements, Vaughn said staying warm
is crucial to his endurance.
In terms of the camp, Vaughn said
he has gotten used to sleeping outside
but will have to prepare his tent better
for the winter ahead. Currently,
Vaughn said he relies on generators
and heaters to keep him warm, but
they do not last the entire night.
What makes his days go by faster
and what keeps his mind off the cold,
Vaughn said, is being able to talk to
his fellow campers and those passing
by who stop to check in and offer
their support.
11
: 00 a.m. Vaughn estimates
that in his 28 days camped
outside the president’s house, he
has personally met around 4,000
people who have shared their stories
and supported his cause. Out of the
people who have come up to talk to
him, Vaughn estimates he has heard
around 200 to 300 individual stories
of sexual assault or rape occurring on
campus in the past several years.
Vaughn said he finds it interesting
that young women tend to feel more
comfortable sharing their stories
with him than with their families and
school administration.
“Some of the freshmen are two,
three months in and they don’t feel
safe, you know?” Vaughn said. “The
newness has worn off and they don’t
feel safe or they’ve already been a
victim. I find that — the word’s not
sad, more angered — at how did the
resources go so wrong?”
If anything comes from this
protest, Vaughn said he hopes he can
create a safer campus environment
for the students and professors of the
University. Later tonight, with the
help of other student organizations
on campus, Vaughn hopes to use
the manpower to bring even more
attention to the protest. He notes,
toward the end of our conversation,
that he will spend most of the day
planning logistics for the expansion.
Schlissel himself, Vaughn says, has
never walked across the sidewalk in
front of his home where the protest is
located, opting for an alternate route
around the side. Vaughn notes that
someone from the president’s house
consistently checks for the protesters
each morning.
12
: 00 p.m. Vaughn and Jack
Hanna, another survivor of
Anderson’s sexual abuse, sit in chairs
in front of the tents. It is cold, but the
two are more focused on their shared
goal than the weather. They pull six
large boxes of t-shirts, which they will
distribute that day and the next, out of
a car.
Hanna is an Ann Arbor resident
and a former rower for the U-M
rowing club. Though he was not a
student at the time, Hanna received a
physical examination from Anderson
so he could compete in a regatta with
the club. Both Hanna and his wife
were victims of Anderson’s abuse.
“It’s healing for me every time I
come up here,” Hanna said of the
protest site.
Chuck Christian, an Anderson
survivor
and
former
Michigan
football player who said he has been
camping with Vaughn for 18 days
after driving from Boston to Ann
Arbor, returns to the site at 12:40 p.m.
He and Vaughn speak with passersby,
many of whom sign a large “Support
the survivors” poster board or take a
“Hail to the Victims” button.
“I think they’re letting us know
that they realize that this rape culture
is a problem,” Christian said of the
passersby. “And that they realize that
things need to change.”
1
: 00 p.m. At about 1:40 p.m., a man
arrives at the protest and introduces
himself to Vaughn and Christian. The
men hug after the newcomer, who
preferred to stay anonymous, tells
Vaughn and Christian that he was a
victim of Anderson. He had flown in to
support the protest after hearing about
it on the news.
2
: 00 p.m. The camp is humming
along. Vaughn is playing some
music from a bluetooth speaker, while
Christian talks with passersby near
their large sign. A few people sign the
poster, but most who walk by either
have already signed, or they ignore
the protest and mutter quietly.
“I walk past every morning, so
I do know that it’s about the sexual
assault, sexual allegation situation,”
Engineering
sophomore
Collin
McManus said. “I can see obviously
it’s peaceful, these guys always have
great energy. They’re making a
statement for sure.”
Christian shares that he is an artist,
producing paintings for many notable
celebrities and athletes, including
head football coach Jim Harbaugh.
Everyone is very excited for the
campout scheduled for later in the
evening. The mood overall is very
cheerful. Christian dances, noting
how he is grateful that he is still able to
despite his prostate cancer diagnosis.
“I dance everywhere,” Christian
said after hearing a catchy song. “See,
‘cause the thing is, I was supposed to
be dead two and half years ago. So it’s
like, I dance every chance I get.”
3
: 00 p.m. Christian and Vaughn
are sitting in the chairs outside of
their tents with music playing from
the speaker. The two talk to a few
passersby, passing out pins to those
who want them. At about 3:20 p.m,
Vaughn leaves and does not return
during this hour.
Most of the conversation during
this time is with Christian, who
speaks with another survivor and
us while gluing together more
pins. When he was a student at the
University, Christian said he painted
the mural in the Bursley Residence
Hall’s multicultural lounge. Two
years ago, Christian returned to
repaint the mural after renovations.
Christian’s
wife,
then
his
girlfriend, originally recommended
him for the project. He begins
talking about his family life and his
prostate cancer diagnosis. About 18
months ago, Christian was placed
on hospice and given very little time
to live. Christian has previously
attributed his late-stage diagnosis to
his unwillingness to go to a doctor
after being abused by Anderson.
From his perspective, everything
changed when Christian saw his
wife praying for his illness to be
cured. After that, Christian said
he lifted himself up and used the
bathroom on his own for the first
time since being placed on hospice.
He slowly worked his way through
to be able to “light up” his son in
basketball once again and now sleep
outside for the protest.
4
: 00 p.m. Christian and Vaughn
are in their element as South
University Avenue buzzes with
students wrapping up class for the
week. Just a couple hours after
meeting, Christian and a survivor
speak like old friends while they
glue together pins and “Hail to the
Victims” buttons to hand out.
Vaughn takes an order for a dozen
“Hail to the Victims” t-shirts that
families of soccer players are going to
wear to this Sunday’s game, six maize
and six blue.
Christian said he prefers the maize.
“They stick out more,” he said.
Kenneth Stockton, an Ann Arbor
resident who is a survivor of sexual
abuse from a Little League baseball
coach when he was a boy, comes to
visit the protest once or twice a day.
He gives Christian a fist bump when
he first arrives.
“Christian, with all of his health
issues, it’s amazing that he’s here,”
Stockton said. “What Vaughn and
Christian and the others are doing
here is really crucial — it’s very
courageous.”
When Stockton and Christian
pose for a photo, The Daily’s
photographer remarks on the height
difference between the two men.
Stockton says he recently had a
nightmare about being haunted by
someone seven feet tall.
“It’s because I’ve been spending
so much time with you, Chuck!”
Stockton remarks.
5
: 00 p.m. In just two hours at the
protest, more than 450 people
walk, bike, jog or otherwise pass by
Vaughn and Christian. Vaughn and
Christian put up signs, make “Hail
to the Victims” buttons, discuss their
dinner plans and talk with people
who stop by.
Christian proudly shows us a video
of a song his son had written for him
following Christian’s prostate cancer
diagnosis.
A large number of passersby are
students walking home from class
or heading out to begin their Friday
nights. LSA freshman Sam Lipsit stops
to sign the petition and comments on
the lack of education about Anderson’s
horrible legacy at the University.
“I think being a new student here
and not knowing much about the
Anderson situation shows a lot about
the situation in of itself,” Lipsit said.
“So I think it’s really important that
especially younger students here like
myself come and learn about this and
support the protest.”
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
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The Daily joined protesters from 10 a.m. Nov. 5 to 10 a.m. Nov. 6. Here is what we observed.
DAY&NIGHT
24 hours with Anderson survivors, protesters
Design by Madeline Hinkley, Photos by Michigan Daily Photo Staff
Since Oct. 8, survivors of late University of Michigan athletic doctor Robert
Anderson have been camping outside of University President Mark Schlissel’s
house in protest against the University’s handling of the nearly 1,000 individuals
who have come forward with sexual assault allegations against Anderson. Over
the past few months, survivors have appeared in front of the Board of Regents,
rallied students and community members at numerous protests on the Diag and
testified at hearings in support of legislation protecting survivors.
Schlissel has apologized to survivors indirectly at Regents’ meetings and in
the press, but the survivors are asking Schlissel and the Board of Regents to hold
a formal conversation with them about the University’s role in perpetuating
Anderson’s abuse as well as the larger culture of sexual assault at the University.
You can read all of The Michigan Daily’s coverage of Anderson, starting since
news first broke in February 2020, at michigandaily.com/news/robertanderson.
In a statement to The Daily, University spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald wrote
that the University is currently in the process of confidential mediation and that
they have been hearing from Anderson survivors since allegations surfaced:
“President Mark Schlissel and members of the Board of Regents have
repeatedly apologized to all of those who were subjected to abuse by the late
Robert Anderson.
“We cannot provide an update on the mediation that is ongoing because it is
under court supervision and the judge has asked the parties not to share details
of the process.
“We’ve also heard directly from several Anderson survivors at meetings of
the Board of Regents, through media reports and other direct messages. The
president, regents and many others have been listening very carefully.
“We will continue to meet in mediation with the attorneys the Anderson
survivors have hired to represent them and we will continue to heed the judge’s
direction not to discuss the process outside of the mediation sessions.
“At the same time, the university continues to implement new policies,
processes and procedures in order to make our campus safer for every member of
the university community.”
To document the day-to-day of protestors, the encouragement they receive
from the University community and the challenges they face in making their
voices heard, reporters, photographers and videographers from The Daily sat
outside of Schlissel’s house from 10:00 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 5 to 10:00 a.m. on
Saturday, Nov. 6. Here is what we observed, hour by hour.
Daily News, Photo and Video Staff
Read the full story.
at michigandaily.com
Chuck Christian, a football player for Michigan for the 1977-80 seasons, has been camping alongside Jonathan
Vaughn. They, and other Anderson survivors, demand action from the University.
Jonathan Vaughn and Chuck Christian have pitched tents on South University Ave. on the grass in front of President
Schlissel’s house. Vaughn has been there since Oct. 8 requesting a direct meeting with Schlissel.