by Joel Elconin

LAST WEEK THE national media poured into Ann Arbor, Michigan to cover a protest over the recent events surrounding the school’s football team. The mainstream media portrayed the protest as some isolated event based on specific circumstances. Obviously, the press is very unfamiliar with the most politically-active and socially conscious city and university in all of America—maybe the entire world.

If the media wanted to cover a protest on the campus and paid close attention, they would have the opportunity on a daily basis. Michigan breeds independent thinking and has provided a constant flow of rebellion for many years in the past, and will do the same for the remainder of time.

Being able to protest at Michigan happens freely on a daily basis. Any visitor to the main gathering place on the campus, the Diag may observe one group of protesters on their initial stroll and witness an entirely new group upon a return visit.

Whether the situation involves Born Again Christians, Hare Krishnas, Orthodox Jews, Liberals, Conservatives, NOW,  or Gay and Lesbian groups, all are welcome to share their views to whomever wants to listen. In turn, those who disagree with others’ respective stances can come forth and state their own cases. On many occasions, crowds of hundreds of students will engage in lively debates, even though their next class has already started.

What better education could students have than being able to express their views in an open forum and have them challenged? Always questioning authority and expressing one’s opinion is just part of the curriculum.  Any student that does not participate in the banter is missing one of the best things the University of Michigan has to offer.

Where did the inaugural protests of the Vietnam War begin? Ann Arbor, Michigan.  After the first Students for Democratic Society teach-in (March 1965) took place at the University, over 3,000 students attended, and the pace of demonstrations accelerated across the country.

Where was marijuana first decriminalized? In Ann Arbor, Michigan.  In 1967, the student newspaper, The Michigan Daily, urged the legalization of marijuana, but it was not until an ordinance was passed in 1972 that possession was decriminalized. The end result: the ordinance reduced city penalties for less than two ounces to a $5.00 civil infraction ticket (just about the same penalty as a parking ticket at the time).

Now, marijuana is legalized for public sale for private use in a few states and almost nationally accepted for medicinal purposes. It only took these states over forty years to replicate the policies already in place in Ann Arbor, Michigan for decades.

Why did the media flock to Ann Arbor, Michigan to cover the protest? Could it have something to do with the constant headlines about the concussion issue in the NFL, that they did not want to miss out on the next news event that even remotely focused on concussions? After all, the status of the football team’s recent woes is certainly not worthy of national attention.

So the next time the media pour into Ann Arbor, Michigan to cover a protest, let’s pray they can place the event in its proper historical perspective, and not produce an oversimplification that merely portrays a group of students who are unhappy with the status of their football team. Instead, the press should treat student unrest with the proper respect it deserves, by recognizing how protest is embedded in every hallway, classroom, and common area at the University of Michigan.

Joel Elconin is a financial journalist for Benzinga. He co-hosts their Pre-Market Prep Show.  He graduated from U-M in 1985,  with a Bachelor Of Arts, Political Science.