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. 

