Fireside Chat with President Schlissel

Submitted by Killewis on

Just got this email, who knows what its going to be like, but at least the President is doing something to acknowledge the protest.

 

EDIT: (http://i.imgur.com/gij98YZ.png) -> image link 

And for lazy "Dear Students, 


President Schlissel would like to invite you join his Fireside Chat tomorrowWednesday October 84:00-5:30 pm at the Michigan Union in the Pendleton Room. He hopes to encourage feedback on the recent issues related to athletics as well as other important topics of concern to U-M's student community. [The fireside chat is an invitation-only event so the president has the opportunity for a thoughtful, engage discussion with a wide range of students. Please RSVP to me at [email protected].] 
 
Best, 
 

Royster"

Wolverine Devotee

October 7th, 2014 at 6:42 PM ^

What's this? An email for an ants?

/s

He'd instantly become my favorite Michigan president if he fired DeeBee.

BeileinBuddy

October 7th, 2014 at 6:40 PM ^

Get the point across that the outrage isn't solely based on the losing record, but how Dave Brandon has systematically alienated students, alumni, and general fans and has cheapened the honor, dignity, and tradition of the University with his marketing techniques and practices. Potentially creating a generation of apathy and disenfranchisement towards University athletics. 

M-Dog

October 7th, 2014 at 6:55 PM ^

Our issues with Dave Brandon have nothing to do with football wins.  Our issues are:
 
- Gouging the fanbase in the most insulting ways possible(water bottles because of "terrorism", seat cushions because of "safety", dynamic pricing that only goes up but never down . . . ) 
 
- Lying, spinning, and deceit as the default means of communication ("Probable" concussion?  What?  There will be a "probable" sunrise tomorrow.  That's not technically a lie in that it's more likely than not, but its only purpose is to obfuscate and cast doubt that is not real . . . )
 
- Selling out Michigan traditions for a buck (the AD being willing to be the mouthpiece for moving the Ohio State game from the last game of the season so as not to overshadow a lucrative B1G Championship game . . . )
 
- Pitting the student-athletes against the fanbase, alumni, and students, and then hiding behind them (student athletes being told they will assemble and show support at the command of the AD . . . ) 

XM - Mt 1822

October 7th, 2014 at 9:32 PM ^

and i mean those patches that are on each shoulder, those uni's are fine.  helmets too.  maybe make the shoulders a solid blue in that patch, add a maize outline (or vice-versa) and as alternates go, they'd be okay.   and if memory serves, michigan did used to wear white pants in my lifetime or shortly before that. 

Michigan Arrogance

October 7th, 2014 at 10:42 PM ^

they banned any outside water bottles (sealed or not) allegedly b/c of terrorist-related concerns.

they banned seat cushons (that you buy at Mden for like 15-25 bucks), but offered seat cushions to be installed at your seat location for like 50 bucks a season or something.

aaamichfan

October 7th, 2014 at 8:57 PM ^

So you're seriously trying to say if this team were undefeated that you'd be calling for the ouster of Dave Brandon?!? People are always going to be pissy about small things. However, the only reason anyone is calling for anyone's job is the football record.

evenyoubrutus

October 7th, 2014 at 9:19 PM ^

If Brandon were not pissing all over Michigan football tradition right now and showed competence as a leader, even with the current football record, then people would NOT be calling for Brandon's head.  They would be calling for Hoke's head, and people would trust that Brandon would be competent enough to make the decision to fire Hoke and go out and get a competent head coach.  Instead it is very clear based on his past decisions and actions that Brandon cannot be trusted to handle filling the head coaching job next year with the right guy.

aaamichfan

October 7th, 2014 at 9:52 PM ^

How can you claim that Brandon isn't competent enough to fill a HC position? For all we know, he could already have a deal locked up with J Harbaugh after this season........... Before this season started, I'd guess Brandon would have received a 90% approval rating from Michigan fans due to everything he's done for the athletic department. Now, he would probably only get a 75% approval rating. The only difference? A couple of losses in a year where we have limited options at QB and some unfortunate injuries.

rob f

October 7th, 2014 at 10:41 PM ^

90% and 75% approval rating #'s from, but I'm guessing Dave himself was kind enough to make sure someone in his office did the computations for you.  Just like they give accurate attendance figures for each and every home game.

As I don't have the access you must have to such information, all I can do is monitor what I hear and read from fellow fans and friends and any other source there is to tap into in the real world.  After having done so and then inserting a decimal point into the middle of your #'s, coming up with a 7.5% approval rating, I might be fairly close to a more accurate figure..

Commie_High96

October 7th, 2014 at 10:46 PM ^

Who ever, in the history of sports protests the athletic director? At other schools students don't even know the name of their AD. You have to F up royally to get where DB is. I don't think you are really in touch with the reality of the situation here and what this man has done to infuriate students. Go find some current students and talk to them, it may help it sink in.

M-Dog

October 7th, 2014 at 11:37 PM ^

He lost me early on when he was willing to be the mouthpiece for the B1G moving the Ohio State game from the last week of the season so as not to overshadow the nascent B1G Championship game with a potential rematch.
 
I would expect the Michigan AD to scream bloody murder from the highest rafters:  "OVER MY DEAD BODY!!".  But he was willing in a heartbeat to sell out one of the traditions that defines Michigan.
 
Instead he breezily stated that times change and that fans would just need to get used to the idea that the Ohio State game would not necessarily be the last game of the year.  Talk about selling out your University. 
 
Why? Because he wants to be B1G Commissioner one day?  Because he saw a buck to be made in a lucrative B1G Championship game that he would get a piece of?  Because nothing really, he just does not care enough to fight for Michigan's identity . . . it's easier to just schmooze and get along with his corporate buddies in the B1G front office? 
 
It took the screams of outrage from the Michigan and Ohio State fanbases to stop this from happening.  Doing the right thing was forced on Brandon.
 
As soon as that incident occurred, I wanted him gone.

M-Dog

October 8th, 2014 at 2:08 PM ^

That was very topic-specific . . . football coach search process.  There was not general annimosity toward the AD to the point of protests at the President's House.

Blue in Yarmouth

October 8th, 2014 at 9:20 AM ^

Whomever goes to this event has to be a well spoken individual who is well aware of ALL the issues fans have with DB. The second this president gets even the slightest inclination that this is about wins and losses he will stop taking anything else people say on the subject seriously. The wins and losses are meerly a symptom of the larger issue and that needs to be clear when addressing the president. 

GoBlueSimon

October 7th, 2014 at 6:41 PM ^

You mean the 500 students voicing their solution to the problems in the athletic department outside of his house wasn't clear enough?  Fair enough, meet with them again.

rob f

October 7th, 2014 at 11:09 PM ^

Do you mean Schooos, these tasty lil' creatures:

Meets the Shmoo (Lil Abner Dailies, Volume Fourteen: 1948): Books 

 

 

 

A shmoo is shaped like a plump bowling pin with legs. It has smooth skin, eyebrows and sparse whiskers—but no arms, nose or ears. Its feet are short and round but dextrous, as the shmoo's comic book adventures make clear. It has a rich gamut of facial expressions, and often expresses love by exuding hearts over its head. Cartoonist Al Capp ascribed to the shmoo the following curious characteristics. His satirical intent should be evident:

  • Description[edit]
    • They reproduce asexually and are incredibly prolific, multiplying exponentially faster than rabbits. They require no sustenance other than air.
    • Shmoos are delicious to eat, and are eager to be eaten. If a human looks at one hungrily, it will happily immolate itself — either by jumping into a frying pan, after which they taste like chicken, or into a broiling pan, after which they taste like steak. When roasted they taste like pork, and when baked they taste like catfish. Raw, they taste like oysters on the half-shell.)
    • 
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    • They also produce eggs (neatly packaged), milk (bottled, grade-A), and butter—no churning required. Their pelts make perfect bootleather or house timber, depending on how thick you slice it.
    • They have no bones, so there's absolutely no waste. Their eyes make the best suspender buttons, and their whiskers make perfect toothpicks. In short, they are simply the perfect ideal of a subsistence agricultural herd animal.

Naturally gentle, they require minimal care, and are ideal playmates for young children. The frolicking of shmoon is so entertaining (such as their staged "shmoosical comedies") that people no longer feel the need to watch television or go to the movies.

Some of the more tasty varieties of shmoo are more difficult to catch. Usually shmoo hunters, now a sport in some parts of the country, utilize a paper bag, flashlight and stick to capture their shmoos. At night the light stuns them, then they can be whacked in the head with the stick and put in the bag for frying up later on.

.)

They also produce eggs (neatly packaged), milk (bottled, grade-A), and butter—no churning required. Their pelts make perfect bootleather or house timber, depending on how thick you slice it.

They have no bones, so there's absolutely no waste. Their eyes make the best suspender buttons, and their whiskers make perfect toothpicks. In short, they are simply the perfect ideal of a subsistence agricultural herd animal.

Naturally gentle, they require minimal care, and are ideal playmates for young children. The frolicking of shmoon is so entertaining (such as their staged "shmoosical comedies") that people no longer feel the need to watch television or go to the movies.

Some of the more tasty varieties of shmoo are more difficult to catch. Usually shmoo hunters, now a sport in some parts of the country, utilize a paper bag, flashlight and stick to capture their shmoos. At night the light stuns them, then they can be whacked in the head with the stick and put in the bag for frying up later on.