OT: EMU offensive lineman volunteers scholarship to a teammate
Great story here. EMU has a senior walk-on offensive lineman who has paid his own way. Tuition is not cheap, so that has meant donating plasma to afford tuition. As EMU was already at 85 scholarships, a fellow senior lineman who has seen this guy's work ethic and struggles volunteered to transfer his scholarship to his teammate.
Selfless acts like this are what make team sports so special.
Love to see things like this. Let's get some NIL cash to Dooley.
The story is "why is a teenager donating plasma to afford an education in the richest country on earth."
Yeah, this feels very much in the vein of "Single parent working 70 hours a week to keep up with interest payments on medical debt receives generous gift of used wheelchair after coworkers pool their lunch money."
Good for this kid, but please ask the next logical question.
Gotta pay up to stop the orphan crushing machine.
August 7th, 2023 at 11:32 AM ^
This is why the “pay off all student debt” concept breaks down so fast. The real reform and funds should be directed at solving institutional greed and outrageous college inflation over the last 20 years. Why is college this expensive, what can be done to help solve some of the costs and what institutional regulations can be put in to ensure affordable college for our young people stepping into a world that already has so many chips stacked against them?
August 7th, 2023 at 11:39 AM ^
From what I've read it's over-building facilities and amenities to compete for students with shiny things + bloated administrative salaries at the Executive levels.
August 8th, 2023 at 12:37 PM ^
There's been an arms race in colleges / universities - and, a great deal of investment addresses "differentiation" in the environment, housing, food, recreational facilities, etc. - rather than academic staff and facilities.
In 2015, an interesting book - "The End of College" - touched on this topic. It was an interesting read - and touches on where the value / learning in higher education is realized.
Advances in technology - and school philosophy (hoarding or exporting knowledge) - factor significantly. Coursera is a technology platform where students can take courses - some free - and certifications for fee.
There's a US school that offers some free courseware - and, even has a website with that content. Here's the link: https://ocw.mit.edu/ Oh, the school that offers this - is known for "exporting knowledge" - and is located in Massachusetts. The school also goes by the acronym of "MIT".
August 7th, 2023 at 11:40 AM ^
Because college is a racket.
August 7th, 2023 at 11:44 AM ^
This. I was asked to pay thousands of dollars in tuition for classes I already took in the 9th grade. An absolute waste of money and time. Until colleges allow students become focused on their majors as soon as they arrive, they're just a means of gouging students. Vocational schools, while looked down upon by some, are far more useful than a major institution.
Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but for the most part, college is a financial black hole in the lives of most students. Many of us don't even use the education we paid for. My manager (at a car dealership) went to Oklahoma State and majored in Agriculture. He's putting that degree to good use!
I supported a lot of EMU students by going to Deja Vu and the Bender.
August 7th, 2023 at 10:31 AM ^
Did any OL throw you out when you got out-of-line? :P
August 7th, 2023 at 10:54 AM ^
I nearly broke my new glasses at the Vu on my brother’s bachelor party in 2012.
Great story. Donating plasma isn't going to make much of a dent in paying tuition. Having some experience in the field, I know. Plus, it's a huge time commit for a student athlete. It can take 2-3 hours and longer if the donation center is busy. And being he is over 175 lbs, he donates a larger volume of plasma. And that's twice a week. Plus the complications that come with donating plasma like anticoagulant reaction, Some might ask WHY one gets paid for donating plasma and not blood? Time involved and the fact you are getting your RBCs back. Why donate? Proteins found in the plasma (Factor VIII & IX help hemopheliacs) and IG are big ones. Specialty centers also collect Anti D (given to pregnant women to avoid rejection of their child - typically 2nd pregnancies) in patients who make it.
August 7th, 2023 at 10:00 AM ^
So how much do you get paid?
August 7th, 2023 at 10:06 AM ^
It's been awhile so I don't know current payments but it ranged between $30-40. Usually the first donation was lower and the 2nd was a higher payment to encourage one to donate for the 2nd time. Those who had the anti D protein received $50 per donation plus bonuses for hitting 7 and 8th donation for the month. AT the time, they could earn ~$800 per month tax free. The non specialty donors, ~$400 a month
The one thing you have to okay with is sitting in a bed with a 17 gauge needle in your arm. The machines they use draw a certain volume of blood out, spin it to collect the plasma, and then feed you back your red blood cells. This goes in cycles until they collect the right volume based on your weight.
There is a lot you have to go through to donate. The rules and regulations regarding donating plasma is insane. It isn't as simple as just walking in and doing it.
The player is probably going to this octapharma center in Ypsi
https://www.octapharmaplasma.com/plasma-donation/ypsilanti-mi-500/
August 7th, 2023 at 10:28 AM ^
I'm glad they've tightened up the regulations. Back in the late 70s when I was donating, the rules were quite lax.
August 7th, 2023 at 11:05 AM ^
HIV/AIDS was the catalyst of implementing safety controls. It has never stopped as the SOPs for the industry is quite extensive and always changing.
August 7th, 2023 at 10:51 AM ^
Wouldn't that affect his ability to exercise and perform on the field too? I know donating blood can mess with your energy levels. Does donating plasma have a similar or worse effect?
Seems like a lot to go through for 400 to 800 dollars a month. Also I just googled that needle size. Yeesh!
August 7th, 2023 at 11:08 AM ^
You need a big needle as not only do you need to extract a large volume of blood but you also need to pump back the RBCs for each cycle.
Fatigue is an issue. You are literally going through rapid dehydration while sitting in a chair enjoying an air conditioned environment. Some places give you 500ml Saline at the end of your donation but some do not as it is an added cost.
Fractionation of plasma is not inexpensive.
Very cool. Thanks for posting.
August 7th, 2023 at 10:47 AM ^
People are selling parts of their body just to afford tuition, I think that’s a sign tuition has got completely out of hand.
August 7th, 2023 at 11:42 AM ^
It's especially egregious when EMU is a public university with relatively low tuition AND enrollment that has fallen off a cliff since the 2010s.
Maybe cut costs and pass the savings onto students. Seems like a much cheaper enrollment solution than hiring an entire team dedicated to solving the issue by not changing the fundamentals of the money machine.
August 7th, 2023 at 11:05 AM ^
Why wouldn't we he get a student loan? The point of them is to pay the tuition back when you have earnings from a job post-graduation and the job market is overall good now. Not interested in any political discussion regarding student loans.
Unless he can't qualify for some reason, I would do that before taking a gift scholarship from someone. Tuition is 7,250 per semester so it's not a suffocating amount of debt.
August 7th, 2023 at 11:45 AM ^
Don't lose the empathy and kindness of Dooley and his family in the discussion of social implications of a needy situation. He saw a teammate struggling and decided to do something about it. Also, I'd like to give props to Chris Creighton, EMU's head coach, who helped create that environment where this empathy for a teammate flourishes. I hope other institutions are paying attention to this when having to replace a head coach who has cultivated a toxic environment in the locker room. I'm looking at you, Northwestern.
More stories like this would be awesome.
Less stories about DJ’s and light shows at our games would be awesome also. I haven’t read them here but they are starting to pop up recently.
I think I may have run into 3 people out of around 20 who have season tickets that are happy with the stadium discotheque atmosphere at games.
This is college football not the World Wrestling Association or Roller Derby. Reviews last year were mixed on the topic but seemingly more thumbs down than up. What is Michigan thinking - do they really think fans 50 and older want to hear that? If you look at camera pans of the fan base during games there are an awful lot of fans in the 50 and over group plus they are more likely to stay for the whole game than the kiddos.
How about just sticking with the band rather than the either too loud or too staticky hip hop junk some people call music. Anything the band plays is superior to the DJ noise.
Sir this a Wendys
