The Athletic Department’s revenge
By Andrew Grossman, written on Mar. 18, 2008
Earlier tonight, Daily Managing Editor Gabe Nelson was going through football recruiting news at the computer terminal next to mine when he happened upon a set of shocking coincidences. I asked him to share his theory with you here:
You might have heard about the series The Ann Arbor News is running
this week investigating academics for student-athletes at the
University.Well, the Athletic Department has concocted a sadistic way to get back
at the press: making sure that sportswriters covering the University’s
sports teams will forever be confused by the names of Michigan
athletes.It all started two years ago, when former Michigan basketball coach
Tommy Amaker recruited a player named DeShawn Sims. You see, Sims, now
a sophomore, played for one year alongside senior center Courtney
Sims. The two are not related, and aren’t even from the same state.
Coincidence? Perhaps. But it gets more interesting.The bewildering recruiting tactics continued last year, when Amaker
recruited guard Manny Harris to replace guard Dion Harris, whose
eligibility ended the year before. He also recruited guard Kelvin
Grady, brother to Kevin Grady, a running back on the football team.Now, Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez has offered a scholarship
for 2009 to a tight end named — get this — Dion Sims.Perhaps the Ann Arbor News ought to investigate whether Michigan is
skirting eligibility rules by enrolling the same athletes multiple
times under different names.Dion Harris and Manny Harris? Same guy.
Courtney Sims and DeShawn Sims? Ditto.
Kevin Grady and Kelvin Grady? Well, that might have been a typo.
But now that I think about it, maybe this isn’t such a bad idea. Just
keep an eye out for basketball recruiting next year, when new
basketball coach John Beilein signs top prospects Lester Petway and
Jalen Webber.
I have my doubts. But don’t be surprised if you see a few extra corrections about athletes’ names in the Michigan press this year.
The sunlight principle
By Andrew Grossman, written on Mar. 14, 2008
On Tuesday morning, the Daily received a letter from an LSA senior named Chris Vessels. He blamed wheelchair users for the fact that Michigan Stadium would no longer be the largest in the country (click here for the backstory) and sarcastically called on them to make up for it by cheering louder than everyone else:
Here is what I ask of all people who will be helped by this agreement: I expect all people in wheelchairs to work extra hard to make up for the loss in seating. I expect to be deafened by the roar on third downs coming from wheelchair sections. I expect to see every wheelchair decked out in maize and blue. I expect that wheelchair sections have their own original cheers.
The letter was nasty, insensitive and near the edge of what’s acceptable for civil debate on campus. For that reason, we spent some time debating whether or not to publish it. We get plenty of offensive letters that don’t make it into the paper because few people take their arguments seriously. I thought this case was different.
I heard arguments similar to the one Vessels made all over campus when the news about the stadium came out. By printing that letter, we pushed his argument (disabled people selfishly reduced the capacity of the Big House) out into the open.
The Daily’s readers responded, eloquently laying out all the reasons why that argument was abhorrent. Here’s Brian Choi, an LSA senior:
I would prefer to boast a Michigan tradition of upholding civil rights, rather than filling up seats. It’s not an honor to declare that we have the largest stadium of able-bodied people.
Had we not run Vessels’s letter, people like Choi probably wouldn’t have had the urge to respond to a view that was, unfortunately, widespread on campus last week. Before people can debunk a bad argument, they need to know that it exists.
The Daily is on spring break
By Andrew Grossman, written on Feb. 22, 2008
Today’s paper was the last print edition of the Daily until classes resume after spring break on March 3. But we’ll be updating michigandaily.com all week. Check back often for updates, especially on all the sporting events taking place this weekend.
An open letter from the Daily’s editors to LSA
By Andrew Grossman, written on Feb. 21, 2008
The Daily’s Management Desk, made up of the paper’s senior editors, sent an open letter earlier today to Bob Johnston, LSA’s director of facilities and operations. In it, we strongly condemn LSA’s proposed policy limiting the distribution of student publications. Full text is after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »From London, an idea for Ann Arbor
By Andrew Grossman, written on Feb. 21, 2008
Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje rides his bike to work. He’s pushed to make the city more bike-friendly. He even launched a bike ambassadors program that apparently includes valet parking for bikes at events.
But there is one problem that still faces cyclists in Ann Arbor: bike theft.
One candidate for mayor of London has a solution: “Catch thieves by placing decoy bicycles around the city with electronic trackers.”
What’s wrong with LSA’s distribution policy
By Andrew Grossman, written on Feb. 6, 2008
The Daily published an editorial today slamming LSA’s proposed policy regulating the distribution of student publications in LSA buildings. It spells out in detail what’s wrong with the proposal. We also published a news story about the policy yesterday.
I agree with most of what the Daily’s editorial board had to say. The regulations are antithetical to the University’s values. Walking around Central Campus has always meant subjecting one’s self to an of assault of flyers, newspapers and leaflets. That’s a good thing. It means we’ve got a University full of people trying to do things they care about. It doesn’t matter whether that’s winning a new contract, saving Darfur or telling students about what’s going on around campus. The proposed policy would end much of that activity in LSA buildings, which include some of the most well-traveled places on campus. Think about the chill on the exchange of ideas and information that would be caused by a two-week wait before you can pass out flyers or distribute your newspaper. Or no distribution during the first two weeks of class.
For obvious reasons, the proposal is a big problem for the Daily, just as it is for other campus publications like The Michigan Review. It’s something we’re determined to see changed.
A meeting to discuss the policy scheduled for this afternoon between a few members of the Board for Student Publications, a representative of the Gargoyle humor magazine, myself and someone from LSA has been postponed. Even though this policy has supposedly been in the works for two years, that meeting was going to be the first time the Daily would have a chance to talk to LSA about the proposal. Hopefully it will be rescheduled soon.
This isn’t a policy that just hurts The Michigan Daily. It’s a policy that hurts any student group trying to get its message out in an LSA building. It’s a draft right now. We’re going to make sure it stays that way. E-mail me if you want to help.
The Daily changes hands
By Andrew Grossman, written on Jan. 31, 2008
Tomorrow’s paper is the last edition of the Daily officially edited by the people who have been on the masthead for most of 2007. On Monday, a new group takes over. We’ve been effectively in charge since the beginning of the semester, but January is a wierd transitional period during which the old editors still pitch in a bit and have final say on all editorial decisions.
My name’s Andrew Grossman. I’m the new editor in chief. Last year, I was the managing news editor. I’m going to use this blog a bit more than my predecessors did. I’ll try to explain a bit more about why the Daily does certain things. I’ll also comment occasionally on things going on around Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan, higher education and the media world, especially college media. And sometimes I’ll just post things I find interesting or amusing.
Please get in touch with me if you have questions, concerns or comments about this blog or the Daily. I want to know what you think, especially if you don’t like something published in the Daily or on this blog. My e-mail address is grossman@michigandaily.com.
This is your opportunity
By Karl Stampfl, written on Dec. 5, 2007
Gary Graca, the incoming editorial page editor, is soliciting applications for coveted opinion columnist spots for the winter semester. If you’re a University of Michigan student, send a cover letter and one or two 750-word sample columns to gmgraca@umich.edu by Thursday, Dec. 27. In the cover letter, include why you’re qualified, your unique perspective and some of the issues you’re interested in.
Graca is looking specifically for diverse experiences and arguments. The opinion page also has a strong focus on issues that relate to the University of Michigan and its students, so be aware of that.
You don’t have to be a Daily staff member to apply, and most columnists will write once every two weeks.
In football, Michigan Daily beats State News
By Karl Stampfl, written on Nov. 4, 2007
On the eve of the Michigan-Michigan State football game, the schools’ two newspapers, The Michigan Daily and the State News, play each other in a game of their own. This year, the Daily won for the third year in a row, 10-6.
Here is a clip from the broadcast of the other game on Saturday. The announcer says the score was 10-7, but he’s wrong. Daniel Bromwich, a senior sports editor, threw all 10 of Michigan’s touchdowns (each score counts for a point; there are no field goals). Six went to Managing Sports Editor Scott Bell and three others went to Alex Prosperi, a women’s basketball writer.
The Daily’s first video
By Karl Stampfl, written on Oct. 23, 2007
Multimedia Editor Peter Schottenfels posted the Daily’s first video today. It’s a piece about the Residential College’s quite bizarre 40th anniversary parade (I can say that because I’m in the RC). Expect many more videos and other multimedia to come. Visit michigandaily.com/videos and click on the Campus Videos tab to see it. It’s worth two minutes of your time.