ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Friday, March 28, 2014
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STUDENT GOVERNMENT
CSG results stalled by numerous complaints New president, vice president to be announced after suits conclude By CLAIRE BRYAN Daily Staff Reporter
On top of an already eventful week for the Central Student Government, students were left waiting early Friday morning as CSG presidential election results were delayed by campaign infraction hearings. The results of the CSG elections are currently withheld due to two lawsuits filed with the University Election Commission by the Make Michigan and FORUM parties. According to the provisions of the new UEC election code, the results of CSG elections will be withheld until all cases are resolved, according to Law student Bryson Nitta, the Winter 2014 election director. In compliance with the election code, the UEC will issue demerits to those found responsible for the infraction. Each demerit will result in a 3-percent deduction of total weighted votes per demerits
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Paul Rusesabagina, President of the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation, speaks to a full crowd at Rackham Auditorium Thursday. Rusesabagina focused on his perspective of the Rwandan Genocide 20 years later.
Lecture examines Rwanda Paul Rusesabagina reflects on experience during genocide
near, one of the event’s most well-known figures, Paul Rusesabagina, the man who inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda,” spoke at Rackham Auditorium to more than 700 people as part of the University’s commemoration of the ethnic cleansing. During his address, Rusesabagina outlined the history of the Rwandan Civil War, as well as its aftermath and lasting effects on the country and surrounding region.
By ANASTASIOS ADAMOPOULOS Daily Staff Reporter
As the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide draws
“I hope that the students and the whole world around the University, and all the people who will see my speech this afternoon, will be once again informed that the Rwanda Genocide was not an event that came out of nowhere and found itself in Rwanda in 1994 and disappeared in 1994,” Rusesabagina told the Daily in an interview after the event. The killings began on April 6, 1994 following the assassination
of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, an ethnic Hutu. The conflict that lasted 100 days was initiated by militant Hutus against ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Rusesabagina said the history of the genocide is part of the context of a civil war between the Hutu government and the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front. The civil war began in 1990 after Tutsis who had been exiled See RWANDA, Page 2
SOUL MAN
ELECTIONS
CAMPUS LIFE
LSA Student Government pres. elected With 15-percent voter turnout, Natasha Dabrowski clinches top spot By KRISTEN FEDOR Daily Staff Reporter
LSA juniors Natasha Dabrowski and Corey Walsh were elected president and vice president, respectively, of LSA Student Government for the 2014-2015 academic year. With a roughly 15-percent turnout, 2,498 LSA students voted in the March 26-27 election. The election was the first contested LSA-SG executive race in five years, making candidates take a much more active role in external campaigning. Dabrowski said she and Walsh are ecstatic to get started in their new roles. “We’re now honored to be able to serve the organization that gave us so much since freshman year in this new role and empower new leaders and new progress,” she said. Walsh said he is ready to begin working on initiatives. “We’re most excited to really start to get to work on a lot of the projects that we set out to accomplish over the next year in terms of student life, academics and beyond,” Walsh said.
WEATHER TOMORROW
Dabrowski said external campaigning helped raise student interest in LSA-SG. She added that overall campus involvement in current CSG elections contributed to the increased attention to all of student government. “The campus is really gathering around these elections,” she said. “There are lots of different parties and lots of people running.” LSA junior Kendall Johnson, current LSA-SG vice president and presidential candidate, said it was important that students had a diversity of choices while voting. Election Director Melissa Burns said the campaigning was free of infractions. LSA senior Sagar Lathia, current LSA-SG president, said the friendly working atmosphere in LSA-SG did not suffer due to the increased campaigning. He said the absence of parties helped keep elections from interfering with the group’s work. “Because of the culture of our organization, I’m proud to say both groups have been very cordial with each other,” he said. While he has enjoyed his time leading LSA-SG, Lathia said all four candidates have and will continue to be assets to student government in the transition of power. See LSA, Page 2
HI: 41 LO: 18
issued. On Monday, Make Michigan filed a formal complaint against FORUM, particularly concerning legislative candidate Robert Greenfield, an Engineering junior; legislative candidate Jacob Podell, an LSA freshman; and vice presidential candidate Pavitra Abraham, an LSA junior. The first complaint alleged that Greenfield falsely claimed to be associated with the Campus SafeRide app in tweets and Facebook posts promoting FORUM. The second complaint stated that the FORUM party improperly implied the endorsement of the SafeRide app. “Our own Engineering candidate Rob Greenfield worked intricately on the application by working with students, the administration and top safety officials to help make this app a reality,” a FORUM party supporter wrote on Facebook on March 22. In a March 21 interview with the Daily, FORUM presidential candidate Carly Manes, a Public Policy junior, said FORUM was responsible for the SafeRide app. “The prototype is up, helped to be completed by one of our representatives, Robbie Greenfield,” she See CSG, Page 2
Student org. pioneers new mentorship program CHAMPIONS: DETROIT tutors will lead by example By SARAH BERNARD For the Daily
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Graduate student Derick White performs during Maize and Blue Revue, the Center for Campus Involvement’s annual student talent show, in the Michigan Union Thursday.
GOVERNMENT
‘Pay it forward’ tuition bill considered by legislatures New pilot program proposed for alternative payment By TUI RADEMAKER Daily Staff Reporter
Imagine attending the University for four years without ever seeing a tuition bill appear on Wolverine Access. If a new bill under consideration in the state legislature succeeds, free tuition could eventually become
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a reality. The Supporting Michigan and Retaining Talent Act would fund eligible students’ public higher education with the agreement that they would then repay a fixed percentage of their income for a set number of years following graduation. SMART would introduce a “pay it forward” model of tuition in the state. In this system, a student’s tuition is funded by the fixed payments of previous program participants. Michigan’s proposal would require gradu-
NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM Nancy Kaplan to run for Ward 2 in City Council MICHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS
ates to pay a percentage of their income — 4 percent for four-year college graduates and 2 percent for community college graduates — for five times the number of years they attended college. For example, if a student were to attend the University for four years, he or she would make payments for 20 years. Rep. David Knezek (D–Dearborn Heights), who co-sponsored the bill in the Michigan House of Representatives along with Rep. Theresa Abed (D–Grand Ledge), See BILL, Page 2
INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 92 ©2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
A teacher is more than an educator. A teacher is a reliable role model, a motivating coach, a trusted friend, and most importantly, a student’s number one fan. This is the idea that initially kick-started CHAMPIONS: DETROIT, an up-and-coming organization of student mentors on campus. Beginning next fall, student mentors will serve as examples of the opportunities that post-secondary education creates for high school students in Detroit. The organization is looking for individuals who are prepared to go above and beyond — who understand that they are both teaching and setting an example for students. In short, they are looking to provide students in Detroit with “champions.” “This is more than just another mentor, or another adviser, establishing a more compassionate type of mentorship that is relationshipbased,” said LSA sophomore Nathan Sell, a board member of CHAMPIONS. LSA junior Michael Chrzan, the organization’s executive director, said he began laying the groundwork for this mentorship program after watching a documentary titled “Waiting for Superman.” In the film, social activist GeofSee MENTORSHIP, Page 2
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News
2 — Friday, March 28, 2014
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LEFT Juicy J performs at Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac, Michigan Tuesday. (NICHOLAS WILLIAMS/Daily)
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CSG From Page 1 said. “He’s a part of the creation of that — there were no Make Michigan people actually a part of the creation of this new SafeRide app.” Previously, Public Policy junior Bobby Dishell, Make Michigan’s presidential candidate and current CSG vice president, and Campus SafeRide LLC concluded a formal agreement wherein Campus SafeRide LLC agreed to officially endorse Make Michigan and gave Make Michigan exclusive rights to promote the application. FORUM filed a countercomplaint against Make Michigan claiming the complaint was frivolous. “Long before Mr. Greenfield became an official candidate with the FORUM party, he was hard at work on a project to address student’s transportation needs,” the respondent’s reply brief read. The brief included multiple e-mails between Greenfield and University Provost Martha Pollack about the development of the SafeRide app. However, the petitioners of Make Michigan responded in another brief with a letter from Engineering senior Summit Shrestha, one of the technical developers for Campus SafeRide LLC. “No member of the FORUM political party has participated in the technical development of the SafeRide application at any stage of this process,” Shrestha wrote in a March 25 letter to the UEC. “Mr. Greenfield claims to have participated in this
frey Canada states that students in low-income neighborhoods are more likely to know someone who has served time in prison than someone who has been to college. This distinction hit home with Chrzan, a Detroit native. With the implementation of CHAMPIONS: DETROIT, he and his fellow board members aim to change the paradigm. By establishing trust-based relationships with students, mentors will be able to effectively administer six different areas of focused development. These areas include academic empowerment, identity develop-
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MENTORSHIP From Page 1
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development process, but his assertion is simply untrue.” The UEC held a hearing Wednesday night and will come to a conclusion Friday morning. If FORUM is found responsible, the UEC will issue the party a statutory maximum of eight demerits, which would result in a 24-percent reduction of FORUM’s votes, Nitta said. The second case preventing the release of election results pertains to an alleged violation of irresponsible e-mail use by the Defend Affirmative Action Party. Steven Richards, a Social Work and Public Health graduate student and FORUM legislative candidate for the School of Social Work, is suing DAAP for improperly sending an e-mail to a listserv of 630 Social Work students on March 24, encouraging them to vote for DAAP. According to the complaint brief, Social Work student Cassandra Muro sent the e-mail on behalf of Social Work student Reyna Asadizoudegani, the DAAP legislative candidate for the School of Social Work. However, the respondent’s brief read: “Ms. Muro, unlike her friend, did not become involved with DAAP and has never volunteered with DAAP. Ms. Asadizoudegani has never asked Ms. Muro for assistance with her campaign.” If the UEC finds the DAAP responsible for requesting the e-mail, three to four demerits will be issued per e-mail recipient, Nitta said. The hearing will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and the decision will be announced 36 hours after the hearing concludes.
ment, community service, career planning, nutrition and fiscal understanding. Through individual interactions, workshops, field trips and presentations, Detroit students will learn how to apply new information in each of these fields to their own lives. For both Chrzan and fellow board member and Education graduate student Angela Abiodun, who also grew up in Detroit, academic empowerment and identity development signify two of the development plan’s most crucial components. Chrzan said academic empowerment means not only tutoring students, but also providing them with exposure to different campus environments through the arrangement of college visits. For many high school students in Detroit, this type of firsthand
RWANDA From Page 1 from the country since 1959 began to return to the nation. The genocide ended in 1994 with the victory of the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front, leaving between 500,000 and 1 million Rwandan people dead. During the war, Rusesabagina offered refuge to 1,268 people, both Hutu and Tutsi, in the Mille Collines, the large hotel where he had previously served as manager. As a result of paying off generals and wielding his connections, all of the hotel guests survived the genocide. Rusesabagina’s story was later depicted in an Academy Awardnominated film starring Don Cheadle. The film was shown Monday as part of the University’s commemoration activities. In his remarks, Rusesabagina said many of the problems in Rwanda have been caused by politicians and government-sponsored media and not the country’s average citizens. Rusesabagina also said other countries require collective action to intervene in international conf licts, as well as time to make decisions and then take actions. He also claimed the United Nations is ruled by six or seven powers that intervene in other countries only to protect their own interests. Rusesabagina, who was also a 2005 recipient of the Presidential
collegiate experience can often be extremely limited, Chrzan said. Mentors will also help their students analyze the important components of their personal identities, specifically focusing on what it means to be a Detroiter. Chrzan said this means educating students about their communities and the role they play within them. With many of the University student mentors not being from Detroit, the group stresses that mentors be aware of the specific challenges Detroit students face. The students will be paired with mentors based on an assessment of their compatibility with potential partners. Surveys will be administered to both mentors and students that will help to establish academic strengths and weaknesses, extracurricular interests and plans for the future. More generally, the organization hopes that the closeness in age between mentors and students will facilitate a quality of comfort in each relationship. The goal is for students to feel as though they can relate to the experiences of each mentor. The creators of CHAMPIONS: DETROIT are looking for Michigan students who understand the power of relationships, and who feel passionately about making a difference in the city of Detroit. Most importantly, Chrzan said, they are seeking not just mentors, but loyal champions who will cheer students on in their pursuit of future success. CHAMPIONS: DETROIT will release their applications for student mentors in the coming weeks. Following the application process, board members will quickly begin training future mentors so that they will be ready to start working with students in September.
Medal of Freedom, has previous history with the University. In 2005, he was awarded the University’s Wallenberg Medal, an honor that recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions toward furthering human rights. Allan Stam, professor of Public Policy and Political Science and director of the International Policy Center, said he, along with Political Science Prof. Christian Davenport, first thought about organizing a commemoration of the genocide six months ago. Stam said Rusesabagina’s own observations during the event as well as 20 years of study would provide a perspective that people in the United States don’t often hear. “That there is hope for progress in the future but that there is still a lot of people who need to be held accountable for what took place in the past,” Stam said. Rusesabagina, who now lives in Belgium and has not been to Rwanda since 2004, said he does feel nostalgic about his home. He also established the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation, which works to prevent future genocides and promote the healing process in Rwanda. “My dream is that one day we see Hutus and Tutsis sitting around that table,” he said. “We’ll see all of these people talking. Bringing the whole truth to the table. Practicing equal justice towards sustainable peace, not only for us but also for our neighbors.”
LSA From Page 1 Dabrowski is currently already on the Executive Board of LSA-SG as academic relations officer. In this role, she chairs the Academic Affairs Committee. In the past, Dabrowski worked on the Taking Responsibility for the Earth and Environment Subcommittee and Student Life Committee of LSASG. Walsh is the current counsel on the Executive Board. He has been
BILL From Page 1 said this interest-free tuition plan would eliminate financial barriers to higher education. The bill was introduced in February. “Interest is taken off the table,” Knezek said. “By doing the program interest-free, we’re saving students tens of thousands of dollars — literally with the swipe of a pen.” The current legislation includes only the implementation of a pilot program. Funded with an initial $2 million grant, the pilot would consist of 100 community college students and 100 four-year university students. Knezek said lawmakers would monitor the program’s success over a five-year period with the possibility of then considering system-wide legislation. Knezek said one of the proposal’s best features is its ability to be self-sustaining in the long run. “When you pay back into the program, this isn’t going to banks, this isn’t going to line anybody’s pockets, nobody is making a profit off you having attended an institution of higher learning,” he said. “Those dollars are going into the
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active in LSA-SG since he worked on the Taking Responsibility for the Earth and Environment Subcommittee as a freshman. He was later elected chair of that subcommittee and previously served on the Curriculum Committee for the College. Dabrowski and Walsh will focus on specific goals regarding academic projects and new student life initiatives. A key point of their platform is to make course evaluation data public for students to use while choosing courses. “We hope to empower students to take ownership of their educa-
tion,” Dabrowski said. Another goal outlined in their platform is to reevaluate the current LSA Race and Ethnicity requirement to broaden the program and include courses on Intergroup Relations. Regarding student life initiatives, Dabrowski said she and Walsh want to address current campus climate by fostering collaborative dialogue between student groups. Johnson and LSA junior Allie Hammond, vice presidential candidate, both active members of LSA-SG, lost the election.
program to fund the next generation of students.” Knezek said the legislation was introduced through identical House and Senate Bills, the latter of which is sponsored by Sen. Jim Ananich (D–Flint). The House bill is currently being reviewed in the Committee on Competitiveness chaired by Rep. Mike Shirkey (R– Jackson). However, unlike in other states, support for SMART is not unanimous in Michigan. Audrey Spalding, director of education policy at the Mackinac Center of Public Policy, said tuition model plans are simply not sustainable in the long term. “Is an engineering major who might be facing the prospect of earning $100,000 after graduation really going to sign on to a program where he’s promising a percentage of his income? Probably not,” Spalding said. “Is someone who’s considering majoring in a less lucrative major more likely to sign on to this program? Absolutely.” Spalding said without those high-earning graduates, the fund would not be substantial enough to continually finance rising tuition costs. Spalding said she is also concerned by the fact that “pay it
forward” plans ignore the root problem — the exorbitant price tag of higher education. She said legislative initiatives such as SMART would actually incentivize universities to raise tuition, given that students would pay a fixed percentage of their own salary regardless of the institution’s price. “It completely eliminates the connection between what you pay for your degree and what degree you get,” she said. Last summer, the University’s Board of Regents approved the smallest annual tuition increase in 29 years. Still, the change is part of a broader trend of upwardly spiraling tuition. LSA in-state tuition increased by 60 percent between academic years 2004-05 and 201314. Despite the opposition, Knezek said part of his confidence in SMART lies in the fact that everyone can agree that some kind of reform is necessary. When it comes to student loans, barriers to access and the cost of higher education, he said he remains committed to improving higher education in the state. “Everybody acknowledges the fact that we have a crisis right now as it relates to college tuition.”
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FROM THE DAILY
Staying behind the times Michigan’s government should support same-sex marriage decision
O
n Friday, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman issued a ruling that lifted Michigan’s 2004 ban on same-sex marriage. In less than 24 hours, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary stay on the judgment, which on Tuesday was extended indefinitely by the appeals court. Filed by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette (R), the stay means the government does not recognize the marriages of hundreds of couples who rushed to get married. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s ambivalence on the issue is not only discouraging, but also f lies in the face of a majority of Michiganders, who are now in favor of same-sex marriage. By denying LGBTQ citizens equal protection under the law, the ban is in direct violation of Section 1 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and requires immediate attention and action from the judiciary. The state government should support legal marriage for LGBTQ couples. The court should also revoke the stay on Friedman’s ruling. Schuette’s argument that Michigan voters approved the existing ban in 2004 completely ignores the public’s current opinion, as well as the fact that this decision is coming a decade later. There is a clear mandate for the courts to strike down the ban on same-sex marriage. Since the passage of the 2004 ban, the public support for same-sex marriage has shifted. National support for same-sex marriage is the highest in history, and this cultural acceptance has been manifested in film, art, television and other forms of popular culture. Furthermore, 54 percent of Michiganders support samesex marriage. The courts have historically followed the trend of public opinion in their interpretation of how the Constitution, written more than 200 years ago, is to be applied to present-day society and should continue to work within this framework to extend protection to more citizens. After the ban was lifted last Friday, more than 300 couples across Michigan were legally married. The fact that these couples have now been placed in legal limbo is the latest unjust decision in a long debate over an outdated constitutional amendment. Snyder affirmed that the marriages were legal at the time they occurred but that the state will not recognize them. Not affording legal recognition to these
O
unions cheats the couples out of full legal benefits — the very reason April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse brought their case to court. Instead of intervening in DeBoer and Rowse’s case by filing a holding, Schuette should recognize these couples in order to ensure that they have the same protections and benefits as other married citizens. The behavior of our elected officials is neither appropriate nor representative of the collective will of Michigan’s citizens. Both Schuette and Snyder need to respect the majority opinion before advancing their own agendas. Snyder’s unwillingness to reconsider his stance on same-sex marriage or call for a legislative step toward to marriage equality is disheartening to the many couples married this weekend and unfair to the people whom he serves. Snyder has claimed that he only has the power to enforce the law, but continually backs legislation that makes its way through Michigan’s legislature. His hypocritical behavior and lack of leadership on this controversial issue during an election year is cowardly.
Respecting mental health
f all people, I never thought I’d find myself empathizing with Chris Brown. In fact, given his Rihanna-beating and general cockiness, I essentially abhorred him. But now, as I’ve read more and more about his recent stints in rehab and in jail, I find myself relating to him — on some odd level — more and more. Chris Brown is 24 years old, and suffers from bipo- CAITLYN lar disorder. Like him, I am BRENNAN a young person faced with the challenges of the same mental illness. Bipolar disorder is characterized by periods of depression and mania. The depression side is easy enough to relate to — most people go through at least one depressive period in their life. The mania side is more difficult, though. I can’t completely accurately describe what mania is like. To lose your sanity, slowly and then so quickly, is impossible to put into words. Like water slipping through cupped hands, no matter how hard you squeeze your fingers together, your sanity just drips through to its escape, leaving you with nothing. The sheer terror and agony of watching yourself melt away and feeling unable to stop it, as you transform into something you don’t recognize — the deep levels of insecurity and uncertainty you are brought to — it’s all so much for one person to handle. And while experiencing the mania is one thing, managing it is another. From falling into dangerous drinking habits, chasing bottles of Xanax with bottles of wine in an attempt to keep your mind calm, to getting yourself regulated on antipsychotics, often with serious side effects, it’s easy to find yourself in a place you really don’t want to be. The frustration and anxiety brought on by treating the mania can beget worse mania. It’s for these reasons I find myself empathizing with Chris Brown. While we, the public, don’t know the intricacies of his incarceration, I feel like I know fairly well the intricacies of his illness. The way that the media handles his behaviors is that of a circus act, not that of someone suffering a serious illness. Radio DJs talk about him going into solitary
confinement — “He can’t shower except every two days! Ew!” — but not about the ramifications that might have on someone already mentally unstable. Chris Brown has obviously done some terrible things to merit the punishments he has received, and arguably has gotten off with less punishment than the average person might. Still, I think there is a moral obligation to at least try to understand and acknowledge the mental illness from which he purportedly suffers. The same goes for someone like Amanda Bynes, who though clearly suffered (is suffering?) a mental health crisis, was turned into the laughingstock of the public. Would someone with an illness like cancer be treated the same way? Would someone with a mental disability be laughed at like she was? This is a person clearly suffering very serious mental health issues, but look at the way she was treated. As I experience my own extreme ups and downs trying to find a course of treatment that works for me, I find myself constantly on the verge of “crazy.” As I switch medications, trying to find one that doesn’t turn me into a zombie but keeps the mania at bay, there are days I start to feel my sanity slip through my fingers again. And it scares me, because at times, I am only days away from the possibility of being Chris Brown or Amanda Bynes. Would I be laughed at? Would I be ostracized? Would everyone so quickly forget my competencies and achievements as a “normal” person, in favor of reveling in my loss of reality? I’m fortunate to have an amazing system of supportive family, friends, instructors and clinicians. I’m fortunate to have been raised to not shy away from issues of mental health, but to work to overcome them. Most fortunately, I think, I suffer mainly in privacy, not in the public eye. While I can imagine what celebrities with bipolar disorder go through, I cannot imagine what it is like to go through it publicly. It’s easy to get caught up in the whims of gossip magazines and TMZ, but I ask regardless — for my sake and the sake of others — that when it comes to issues of mental health, we afford people a bit more compassion as they endure their challenges. — Caitlyn Brennan can be reached at caibre@umich.edu.
L
3 — Friday, March 28, 2014
Don’t go (micro)soft on your future
ast week I met Bill Gates. The day began just as every Wednesday does these days. My alarm went off at 7:35 a.m. and I managed to get out of bed at 8:02 a.m. My hair was 24 hours overdue for a good dose of shampoo, so LAUREN I pulled it into MCCARTHY an unflattering but effective low bun. A dash of CC cream, a few strokes of mascara, wrinkled pants and a borrowed blouse later, I was out the door at 8:37. At 20 years old, I’ve been working full-time in Washington, D.C. for three — going on four — months now and have been schooled in the art of effective media relations strategy, as well as the mastery of brewing coffee via a Flavia Creation Station 400. The most important insight I have gained, however, occurred outside of the office (although I was out on official C-SPAN business). It was day three of relentlessly dropping off press releases, meeting with communications directors, and having already stopped by over 50 House Representative Offices — by the time I reached the Senate I was in a groove. I was unfazed by the large group of people gathered outside an inconspicuous room on the fourth floor of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, as well as the television crew that accompanied them. Just as I had made my way past them, a door opened behind me. “Mr. Gates, will you stop for a photo please?” “Mr. Gates, why are you here today? What is the Gates Foundation currently working on?” Bill and his entourage ignored
both his admirers and the television cameras, and came hurtling in the direction I was already headed. Bill freaking Gates was trailing me. Or we happened to be walking in the same direction. Whatever. I just kept walking forward in shock and as the crowd began to dissipate, Bill and I found ourselves alone (with six of his security guards) in the hallway. So I did what every selfrespecting American would do — I frantically rummaged through my bag in hopes of locating my phone and attempting an inconspicuous Bill Gates selfie. And in the process I dropped my metro card (an item even more beloved than a Skeeps card in Metropolitan D.C.). Luckily, one of Bill’s security men stopped to pick it up. This was my moment, my in. Fight or flight. Do or die — and so I did. “Excuse me, I know you said you didn’t want to take any pictures but will you take one with me?” I asked. Without missing a beat one of his security men turned me down, saying, “Sorry miss but we’re busy.” To which Bill shook his head with a faint laugh and responded, “No we’re not.” With that, he walked over next to me, posed and smiled as the man who retrieved my metro pass excitedly snapped several photos. I thanked him, told him I admired his wife and the Gates Foundation and floated away as they boarded the elevator. I do like that photo of me and Bill, though despite its obvious popularity amongst social media — it makes me cringe a little. I should’ve washed my hair. I should have ironed my pants and I should not have worn a shirt that revealed the straps of my camisole. It was a below-average outfit and a pedestrian moment. I know that may sound superficial or trivial, or both, but I could have looked more put
together. I could’ve at least introduced myself or shaken his hand. Only three months into my semester sabbatical spent in the “real world,” that afternoon caught me in full-blown banality. I belong to a generation of Millennials that are allegedly the “most affirmed” generation to date, repeatedly told that we can do whatever we sent our minds to, and assured that we have the necessary talents and skills to become exceptional. But sometimes we don’t. We have the talents and skill sets to be acceptable. We do just enough to get by, we look in the mirror and think a greasy, low bun is “good enough,” and consider the Bwe scraped by with just fine. According to studies cited by the New York Times, our generation lacks the attitudes and behaviors needed for job success. We don’t have a strong work ethic, we aren’t motivated and we don’t take initiative. Our employment expectations are too high, and our commitment levels too low. Maybe they’re on to something. I often hear my friends claiming not that they would like a job — but a job in Industry X, with company Y, at level Z. Yet the rate of 16 to 24-year-olds that are out of school yet out of work is unusually high at 15 percent, and many college graduates take jobs that do not require a degree. I think we can change these perceptions. I think we can get up, wash our hair and approach each workday as if we may spontaneously bump into the wealthiest man in America — not approach each workday as if we’ve already achieved it. Mediocrity is tempting, and having endured a short stay in the American work force, allow me to warn you that your pants will wrinkle far sooner than you hoped. — Lauren McCarthy can be reached at laurmc@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Barry Belmont, Edvinas Berzanskis, Nivedita Karki, Jacob Karafa, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Victoria Noble, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Paul Sherman, Allison Raeck, Linh Vu, Daniel Wang
T
Unfinished business
he fall of my junior year, I was supposed to write a secondary on feminism for The Statement. I eventually backed out from the secondary, opting instead to start this column, but while initially preparing to write it, KATIE I decided to STEEN create a survey that attempted to (super informally) measure attitudes toward the need for feminism on campus. I shared the survey on Facebook and checked it a couple hours later, and was pleased to find I had already received lots of responses. I know the results were automatically skewed since they were responses from Facebook friends of a feminist (uh, me), but I remember reading one particularly disheartening response. The responder wasn’t only indifferent to feminism on campus — they were actively against it. I remember their response to the question “How do you define feminism?” was “Whining and victimization.” This was just one response in a digital collection of many other intelligent and overall inspiring responses, but it freaked me out a little to think that I was “friends” with someone who thought of something so central to who I am as “Whining and victimization.” “Whining.” “Bitching.” “Nagging.” These are typically gendered words used to take away credibility from the complaints of women. But here’s the deal: I’m going to keep “whining” about feminism. I’m going to keep writing about it, talking about it, blogging about it. Some days I will keep feminism hidden beneath my long hair, tucked into the back pocket of hip-hugging jeans. Other days I will wear it in the
red of my lips, breathe it out in the hard exhales of my afternoon runs. Some days, I will share it with others in the form of projecting the writing of a reserved, polite female student in class who deserves to feel proud of herself. Other days I’ll share it in the form of “Get the fuck out of our house.” You can call that whining if you want. You’d be wrong, and it wouldn’t change a thing. Feminism will always be a part of me, and it will never go away. It will never go away, and neither will this sense of “victimization,” because statistically, women are victims. One in every five women in the United States is a survivor of rape or attempted rape. One in every four women in the United States will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. One in every six women in the United States has been a victim of stalking. Rape, physical and verbal abuse, stalking — these are extreme yet disturbingly prevalent examples of why we still need feminism — of why, yes, we feel victimized. But I want to focus on more than statistics that we’ve heard time and time again. Wednesday, I went to a staff meeting at a local high school. I learned that one teacher had asked her class something like, “How many of you have witnessed or experienced hateful language specifically targeted toward the appearance of a female online?” Apparently, everyone in her class raised their hand. She asked the same question, but replaced “female” with “male.” Unsurprisingly, fewer hands. This is something women grow up with. From the time I began processing the world around me and consuming media in the form of sugary Disney princess movies, I’ve always known that women achieve power through beauty — that we will always be judged by the way we look. If women’s beauty begins to fade, or doesn’t live up to the arbitrary standards of the men who surround them, we’re put on
the chopping block. And I don’t just mean our looks are bashed — our very being starts to lose credibility, influence, respect. It’s easy to think about this in terms of numbers and theoretical women and girls and think, Yeah, we need feminism. But something hit me when I heard that teacher talking about this subject. I began to imagine my own female students, and realized it was entirely possible that these students could be the subject of hateful comments and nasty tweets. Hell, I could be the subject — but it’s one thing when I’m the one being attacked. It’s another thing when it’s one of my students. Even in one of the most ideal settings to be a female — Ann Arbor in the 21st century — there really still is no escaping the shit we put up with on a daily basis — the shit that has been woven into our country’s foundation so deep that we’ve planted flowers and built houses and monuments over it celebrating the end of sexism and misogyny. I had a high school teacher who used to say something like, “Women in the United States have more rights than ever before. This is the best time to be an American woman.” That used to piss me off and I never really knew why — now I do. It’s not OK to look at the progress we’ve made in feminism, pat ourselves on the back and call it a day. Ask anyone who knows me — one of my favorite characters and top role models — feminist or otherwise — is the yellowjumpsuited super-killer Beatrix Kiddo from Kill Bill. In the movie, she repeats the phrase, “You and I have unfinished business.” I’m not going to kill anyone. But I have a similar message to feminists on campus, in the United States and in the rest of world: We all have unfinished business. — Katie Steen can be reached at katheliz@umich.edu.
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Arts
4 — Friday, March 28, 2014
LITERATURE NOTEBOOK
A fan’s defense of YA Literature Don’t bash it just because it’s written for teens By ALEX BERNARD For the Daily
Good day, Michigan Daily readers. I’d venture to guess that if you read this student newspaper, you probably read other things too. You know, books. Maybe even a few novels. Perhaps you’ve even dipped your literary toe into the clean, cool waters of young adult literature (NOTE: these waters are subject to skinny dipping, Goblet of Fire mermaids and werewolves kissing humans who are in love with sparkling vampires. You have been warned). In your adventures with young adult literature, maybe you’ve encountered classics like “Catcher in the Rye,” “The Outsiders,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Huckleberry Finn” and “The Giver.” These books are frequently featured on class syllabi, must-read lists and rankings of the best books of all time. Apart from these influential novels — that your parents probably read when they first came out — YA Lit has reached a second Golden Era of instant classics. Critically acclaimed novels like “The Fault in Our Stars,” “Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “The Book Thief,” “The Magicians” and some out-of-the-way series about a boy wizard with an ugly forehead have brought teen literature to a position of prominence within the publishing industry. These novels consistently receive
stellar reviews, feature on “Best Books of the Year” lists and even win prestigious honors like the National Book Award. And yet, despite recent success, YA Lit still faces its fair share of obstacles, specifically the issue of public perception. Instead of regarding these novels as explorations into arguably the most turbulent and unpredictable time of a person’s life, skeptics of YA’s validity see the genre as an immature breeding ground for flimsy plots. They claim that, more often than not, teen literature encourages twodimensional characters and shallow writing. Unlike more traditional literary classics — the types you’d read in your upper level English class — young adult novels fail to seriously explore what it is to be human, dealing instead with “inconsequential” and juvenile questions like “Does she like me?” and “Does he like me?” In addition, many believe the YA industry is dominated by paranormal romances that also ask the questions listed above, save a single caveat: The teenagers are vampires or werewolves … or both. The above arguments miss the point though. But remember, bad books are published in every genre, not just in teen fiction. Flat characters, shallow plot, and choppy prose are a result of poor writing, NOT the protagonist’s age. We have seen time and time again that neither age of the narrator nor the age of target audience play any factor in the quality of a book. J.D. Salinger, one of the most influential American writers of the twentieth century, predominantly
wrote about teenagers struggling with everything from relationships and sex to death and suicide. Does Salinger’s exploration of the former make his work less meaningful? Of course not. Like the best writers of his day, Salinger’s prose flowed from the page like water from a tap, gripping his readers and forcing them to hang on his every mysterious publication. Now, some may criticize contemporary YA Lit as diverging from the Salinger model by using these issues without addressing “deeper” concerns like the brevity and tragedy that is the “human condition.” I offer this to you though: The little issues are what it means to be human. Does he like me? Does she like me? These questions bounce around our brains like lottery balls. Young adult novels explore these questions and more. And that’s what is so great about teen fiction: the unironic examination of adolescence and life beyond adolescence. Why doesn’t she like me? Will I ever meet anyone? What is my future? Who will I become? How should I live my life? What is a good life? And for that matter, what is death? These questions drive young adult literature into what it is today: a thriving industry on the rise. A genre in which an honest exploration of what it means to be anything at all is valued above unnecessary complexity. Through this examination, unique plot, unforgettable characters and captivating prose pours out the faucet into the cool, not-so-calm YA waters where the deep end isn’t just for adults.
TV NOTEBOOK
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ALBUM REVIEW
COLUMBIA
Oxford is near London, and a comma is grammar. Get it?
Reid powers London Grammar debut album By YARDAIN AMRON Daily Arts Writer
Without Hannah Reid, London Grammar doesn’t exist. If you want to get technical, it was guitarist Dan RothAman who first reached out If You Wait to Reid back London in 2009 when they were Grammar both freshmen Columbia at University of Nottingham, but it’s Reid’s wholesome voice that stands apart and carries the trio. Without it, you’re left with keyboardist/drummer Dominic Major and Rothman’s minimal accompaniment — indeed graceful and sensitive, but not worthy of all the hype the band has already garnered. Its debut album If You Wait has already made waves across the UK since its release this past September. Americans can finally join the conversation later this week when the record officially drops in the US. I’ve been listening to all 11 tracks non-stop for a few months now (thank you Spotify gods). Usually this over-playing leads me to sickness, but I have a theory that Reid’s voice could cure cancer. It’s angelic yet brooding, pure yet fierce, consuming yet ethereal. Her range is incredibly wide, flirting
swiftly between a deep chest voice and tragic falsetto. Florence Welch is first to mind, but Reid fills the room with melancholy melodies that swoon with little support, unlike Florence who’s backed by her grand group of Machines. I don’t mean to diminish Rothman and Major’s role in London Grammar. It’s their subtle instrumentation that is the current under Reid’s soothing waves. Major’s simple arpeggios and distant drumming layered with Rothman’s soft staccato picking compliment Reid from underneath, like she’s the guide and they her aides. They give her powerful voice the support of a defined
Vocals are beyond good; they’re out of this world. classical ambience, but more so, the room it requires to breathe and pierce souls. But it’s Reid’s melodies that keep the album captivating. Rothman and Major’s delicate style on the lead track “Hey Now” is indicative of their style on the next ten, and they
never stray too far from the box they’ve defined. Reid’s melodies are distinct, each different from the last, all equally gripping and gut-wrenching, yet inherently similar in some way that may stay best undefined. The album holds together tightly, almost too tightly, and if I had one wish, it would be a song or two that step farther from the band’s glumly ethereal sound. For that reason, don’t play London Grammar at a party. If you happen to make that mistake, you may find all your guests curled up in separate corners pondering existence and sobbing into their own shoulders at the realization that this seemingly happy gettogether is an illusion hiding the blue truth that we are all actually alone and will always be. Forever. It would be quite a forlorn party you see — memorable I don’t doubt — but for all the wrong reasons. No, instead I recommend London Grammar at night, in the dark, when in need of inspiration, after a break-up or before bed. To be honest, I have this weird fantasy where Reid tucks me in and sing’s me John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane” like mom used to back when I slept in a bunk bed. And lucky for me, London Grammar will be at the Shelter in Detroit April 5. I hope she says yes, because certain voices in this world stand apart.
WHAT’S NEW ON NBC
OMG is that a TMNJ
There’s no shame in your TV preferences By DREW MARON Daily Arts Writer
A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article about the shows I was most excited to see this year. One of those shows was “Believe,” a sciencefiction drama created by Oscar winning director, Alfonso Cuarón (“Gravity”) and produced by J.J. Abrams (“Star Wars Episode VII”). It seemed like a magic combination. Then I started reading reviews. Words like “clichéd” and “cheesy” were thrown around by numerous critics and Rotten Tomato’s Tomatometer dropped to 36 percent approval. I was disappointed before I even saw the show. I kept thinking, “How could this have happened? How could such talented people fail so miserably?” Prepared to utterly despise the show, I downloaded the first two episodes and braced myself for the worst. But something happened that I didn’t anticipate: I actually enjoyed it. Yes, despite all the critics and friends who warned me of the gigantic letdown that was “Believe,” I honestly really enjoyed those first two episodes. Sure, they weren’t transcendent and there’s a lot of room for improvement, but for
a brand new show on network television? Yeah, it was pretty cool. The characters are interesting, notably Joey Sequoyah as super-powered Bo, and the effects are great for TV. The direction in the pilot is classic Cuarón and while certain aspects weren’t perfect, it definitely had the same things going for it as the dearly departed “Fringe.” Too often, people will begin a conversation about TV with “I know I shouldn’t like it” or describe a certain show as a
Like what you like. “guilty pleasure.” But what’s so guilty about connecting with any type of fiction? Sure, reality TV is pretty much blatantly lying to the audience (making things up and calling it “real life” is pretty much the definition of the phrase “blatantly lying”), but I never understood the same complaints about fiction. How can someone uninvolved in the creative process say, “I just real-
ly don’t like what the character did,” or “they shouldn’t have done that one thing, now the show’s ruined forever.” Critics have already branded “Believe” as “rotten” or “bad.” Yet, from the two episodes that have aired, how the hell can we already be so sure that “Believe” is a dud? Don’t get me wrong; there are many valid critiques of the show. Yet, there’s something mean-spirited in adamantly trashing a TV show before it even finds its footing. A lot of great television shows have had rocky starts: “Parks and Recreation,” “Bob’s Burgers” hell, even “Breaking Bad” took a while to really get going. But once they did, we saw something truly special. There are plenty of shows out there from talented creators that might actually be interesting if given the chance. If you don’t like the characters, fine. If you think the story’s dumb, that’s your call, too. But understand this: there’s a big difference between something being bad and simply not liking something. The only rule for television is this: Love what you like, ignore what you don’t.
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Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
EVENT PREVIEW
Friday, March 28, 2014 — 5
FILM NOTEBOOK
DAILY/Adam Glanzman
Students rehearse at the Yellow Barn.
Student produced ‘Nights’ premieres Raw and rustic Yellow Barn frames student written story By KATHLEEN DAVIS Daily Arts Writer
Just off West Huron street — a few blocks from campus — lies a small wooden building painted a cheery shade of yellow that looks Doing better suited for rural Mid-Mich- White igan than down- Nights town Ann Arbor. Inside this space Sunday, 9 pm appropriately Saturday, named The 9 pm Yellow Barn, a handful of Uni- Friday, versity students 10:30 pm have been tirelessly perfecting The Yellow Barn the original play Free “Doing White Nights,” which is preparing for its debut this weekend. What sets “Doing White Nights” apart from the myriad of shows that grace Ann Arbor each year is that from beginning to end, the play has been completely student run and organized. “Doing White Nights” is the collaborative final college project between long-time working partners Music Theatre and Dance senior Ellie Sachs, who directed the play, and LSA senior Jacob Axelrad, a former Michigan Daily arts contributor, who wrote it. “Doing White Nights” is first and foremost a story of the friendship between two best friends, Mike and Aaron, both UM seniors taking a cross-country road trip. However, trouble strikes when their car breaks down in a deserted Ohio cornfield outside of civilization. To make matters worse, Mike, who has recently been released from a mental hospital , has run out of his medication. The pair must survive the battle against cold, hunger and Mike’s inner-demons as their friendship takes the ultimate test.
and get excited about it.” Axelrad and Sachs started conceptualizing the play last summer. The script was finished by January and the casting complete by early February. “This is probably (the play) based most on my own experiences because I’ve never written about people who are directly my age or anything so personal,” Axelrad said. “Seeing everyone come together with different skills and expertise to make this vision that was originally an idea I had on paper is pretty awesome.” Many of the students working on the show have previously collaborated with Sachs and Axelrad. Because of limited funding by the University, the play has been significantly funded by a Kickstarter project. “Jacob and I were really committed to doing the show on our own and doing it within the city of Ann Arbor, much like we would be if we were trying to do our own work in New York, Chicago or LA,” Sachs said. “You’ve got to do it yourself, you’ve got to find the venue, you’ve got to find the people and you’ve got to make it work.” “It’s been a challenge but so rewarding when the pieces come together, and you’ve got be a gogetter,” Sachs added. “You’ve got to go out and get it done, and I think it’s good practice for what the future might look like for us.” As a venue, The Yellow Barn adds a perfect ambiance to the setting of the story. The barn’s raw and rustic, yet cozy interior allows for significant creative liberty from the show’s art director, Music, Theatre and Dance and LSA senior Madalyn Hochendoner, while also letting the audience use their imaginations. “This is a wonderful space to have, and you’ve got to be self-motivated. As much as Ellen is a good motivator, there’s only so many times she can tell you to do something,” Hochendoner said. “You’ve got to be willing to collaborate and go out on your own and be the one to do the research bring the stuff
MARX BROTHERS
I still can’t hear you.
Timeless Marx Brothers still dynamic, hilarious By GRACE PROSNIEWSKI Daily Arts Writer
Hochendoner previously worked with Sachs in various classes during their time at the University. Being from Ohio, the cornfield setting appealed to her and drew her to the project. Hochendoner has also dealt with mental illness personally through family members with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and took that experience into the shaping of her work. The decorative cornstalks that are present on the set throughout the play differ aesthetically based on Mike’s state of mind, and Hochendoner incorporated pill bottles and other trinkets where she thought tasteful. The play’s small cast and crew has allowed the group to become close knit and supportive of each other’s artistic talents. An actress in the production, LSA freshman Anna Garcia, was discovered by Sachs after an improvisational comedy show in February. Although she’s done theater for most of her life, this is her first theatrical production at the University. “Ellie is so talented when it comes to directing, she has such a clear vision,” Garcia said. “The show is going to be great and a lot of that is due to her.” Garcia is playing the role of Alicia, the deceased sister of the character Mike who appears during the character’s hallucinations. Alicia’s entrances bridge moments of reality and reconstructed memory with tap-dancing interludes from the 1980s film “White Nights”, the play’s namesake. The various artistic mediums and subtleties with which the play takes the audience between the inner landscape of Mike’s mind and the realities of the cornfield, showcase the distinct creative talents behind the play. “Just being a part of (Doing White Nights), I feel cool just to be involved,” Garcia said. “I’m surrounded by all these people with these great visions who just exude talent. I’m just proud to be here for the ride.”
Are you in need of a good laugh? Yes, yes you are. Because between the soul-crushing despair of this never-ending winter and the sickening realization that participation is 20 percent of your grade in that class you’ve never said a word in, the world can often seem like a humorless place. So allow me then to introduce you to misters Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo, better known to the world as the Marx Brothers. The kings of comedy during the 1920s and ’30s, the Marx Brothers’ special brand of anarchic and improvisational humor catapulted them to stardom and ensured comedic relevance for generations to come. Now some people will immediately assume black-and-white films aren’t funny. Luckily for the rest of us, those same people aren’t inclined to pick up a newspaper. So let’s begin. Sons of Jewish immigrants, the brothers grew up in a relatively poor section of New York City’s Upper East Side. Coming from an artistic family, the brothers were encouraged to develop their musical skills and eventually began performing vaudeville. Success there led to shows on Broadway and eventually major motion picture deals. It was in the early vaudeville performances that they created and perfected their individual stage personas. Groucho, instantly recognizable by his trademark greasepaint mustache and eyebrows as well as his glasses and cigar, always played the fast-talking, wisecracking man in charge. With his biting oneliners and off-the-cuff innuendos, Groucho exudes the most modern of comedic sensibilities of the brothers. Take his line in “Duck Soup” about Margaret Dumont’s character: “Remember men, we’re fighting for this woman’s honor; which is probably more than she ever did.” Chico, known by his exaggerated Italian accent and Tyrolean
hat, played the dim-witted con artist, usually partnered with Harpo. Much of Chico’s humor comes from unintended word play and puns from his accented pronunciation. He was also a talented piano player and often shares musical numbers with Harpo. Harpo, known by his reddish curly wig, usually played the criminal associate of Chico. In the films, Harpo remains completely silent, using only a horn or another prop to communicate. As you can guess, Harpo was a master of physical comedy and sight gags. Impressively, Harpo could play six different instruments, including his nicknamesake, the harp. Zeppo, who only appeared in the brothers’ first five movies, never cre-
After 70 years, the brothers remain a comedy staple. ated a persona quite as hyperbolic as those of his older brothers. Usually cast as an assistant to Groucho, Zeppo filled the role of the romantic straight man, despite being known as the funniest brother offstage. But don’t feel too bad for Zeppo. He became a multi-millionaire and engineer and moved next-door to Frank Sinatra. Of course, Sinatra ended up having an affair with his wife. All right, I guess you can feel a little bad for Zeppo. To begin your exploration of Marxism, I would highly recommend starting with their earliest works, the films done with Paramount Pictures that include Zeppo. While “A Night at the Opera” and “A Day at the Races” have their moments, the true chaotic essence of the Marx Brothers is in their first few works. Their first film, 1929’s “The Cocoanuts” was based off their
Broadway musical of the same name. “The Cocoanuts” is probably the hardest of the set to get into, as production wise it shows a bit more age than the later films and contains far more musical and dance numbers. I would save this for later viewing. The next film, 1930’s “Animal Crackers” is my personal favorite Marx movie. Again, an adaptation of a Broadway show, “Animal Crackers” takes a satiric look at high society. Not only does it up the comedic value of the musical numbers, it contains Groucho’s “Strange Interlude,” the most random, hilarious breaking of the fourth-wall ever. 1931’s “Monkey Business” is great, but might be a bit intimidating for first-timers, as there’s essentially no plot. It is however, emblematic of the brothers’ disorderly, anything-goes style of humor. 1932’s “Horse Feathers” was one of their most popular films, satirizing higher education and Prohibition. Mainly revolving around a rivalry football game, the commentary about college athletics is still spot on. And the actual game is hysterical. Chico’s directions as quarterback: “Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, this time I think we go up the middle. Hike!” Which is actually depressingly similar to Michigan’s offensive play calling last season. Their last Paramount film, 1933’s “Duck Soup” is undoubtedly the Marx Brothers’ best. A scathing look at dictators and authoritarian governments, “Duck Soup” came out the year Hitler rose to power and remains politically salient today. It contains some of their best bits, including the oft-parodied “mirror sequence” in which Harpo, dressed as Groucho, pretends to be his reflection. As with all comedy, seeing is believing, so take a few hours off and watch some Marx Brothers’ films. I guarantee you’ll join the fan club. And with that I leave you with the immortal Groucho, “I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member.”
EVENT PREVIEW
RC Players present ‘God Pan’ Student directs a new twist on a classic play
focusing on in this play and the thing we’re trying to get at from a variety of angles is the idea of memory,” said LSA junior and director R. Tristan Rewald. “We’re using By REBECCA GODWIN animations and we’re using Daily Arts Writer film to convey (memory), so it’s absolutely a multi-media Great theater is the result of production.” a core concept that performers Memory plays an integral and directors add personal part in the play, which tells touches to. For the story of a young man the RC Players, named Jamie, who is told by a theater group The Great an old friend that he may have based in the God Pan been sexually abused in the Residential past. The show continues as College and Friday and Jamie tries to fig ure out what housed in East Saturday 8 pm the truth is while dealing with Quad, Amy Sunday 2pm distant parents and a newly Herzog ’s play Keene Theater pregnant girlfriend. “The Great God “We as the audience don’t Pan” provides Free know if this is the truth. an opportunity Jamie himself can’t tell if to add some new twists to an this actually happened or already dynamic piece. not,” Rewald said. “And so “The biggest thing we’re his quest for the truth kind of
leads everyone around him to rediscover the darker times in their past.” To really display the unique qualities of memory, the RC Players employ different media formats. Some of the
Play ‘plays’ with memory via multimedia displays. characters’ memories are recreated using 16-millimeter film that will be projected in the theater while others are depicted through a variety of animations that have been created for the performance. “This all goes along with the
idea of magic realism, which is the idea that something in the play is surreal but the characters treat it as normal life,” Rewald said. “So the way they will appear in the performance is the characters will definitely be seeing these memories and so we’ve worked them into the script.” For Rewald, this is his first time directing a play and with the experience has come a series of challenges, but he has found the most difficulty in developing the 16mm film for the show, which must be sent away to be processed. “It’s a medium that is slowly going away so places that develop it are closing left and right,” Rewald said. “And we can only send it at certain times because the school sends it in bulk and so sending it on our own is massively expensive.”
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Sports
6 — Friday, March 28, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
2014 Baseball Preview Position-byposition: How does ‘M’ play out By BEN FIDELMAN Daily Sports Writer
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily Michigan coach Erik Bakich, in his second year, has made this year’s goal for his team simple: to win a Big Ten regular-season championship. The achievement would be its first since 2008.
On baseball: A new beginning By JASON RUBINSTEIN Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan baseball team is near the bottom of the league in every statistical hitting category. Its 175 strikeouts are 34 more than the next Big Ten team. The woeful hitting is, perhaps, the principal reason for the team’s underwhelming 10-14-1 record. Now, as the Wolverines enter the heart of Big Ten play, the excuses — dominant opposing pitching, freshman mistakes and, yes, even bad luck — are starting to fall on deaf ears.
Michigan has shown glimpses of being a Big Ten title team. At times, it looks like a lastplace finisher. But after a 4-3 win against Indiana on Sunday, arguably the conference’s top team, there’s reason to believe this team is underachieving. Before the season, Michigan was faced with a number of questions. How would the team’s youth fit into the lineup? Who would fortify the bullpen while sophomore right-hander Jacob Cronenworth recovered from See RUBINSTEIN, Page 7
After playing 24 games in five different states, the Michigan baseball team made its home debut this week. The team got off to a frustrating 2-8-1 start to the season, but it has rebounded of late and is trending upward moving into Big Ten play. The Daily broke down the team, position by position. Outfield Led by junior center fielder Jackson Glines, the Wolverines’ outfield has provided a solid footing for the lineup on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the starting trio of Glines, freshman right fielder Jackson Lamb and junior left fielder Kyle Jusick combine for a .300 batting average and make up just under half of the team’s runs batted in. This is a new combination for the team — it’s Glines’ first year at Michigan after transferring from Fresno City College, Lamb is fresh out of high school and Jusick was primarily a first baseman and designated hitter in the 2013 season. The three have big shoes to fill, including accounting for the absences of former outfielders Michael O’Neil and Patrick Biondi, who are now playing minor league baseball. Often, when a group of players pack such a punch on offense, there is skill conceded on defense, but not here. All three see significant time in the field and have only committed one total error. Not only are they consistent, but they also come through when it counts. In the
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third game of the Indiana series, Lamb made a game-saving catch in the eighth inning that is an early candidate for Big Ten defensive play of the year. One of the team’s major focuses is defense, and this is one position area that has shown tremendous consistency all year. Glines was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on March 9, after going 9-for-17 with eight RBI in the Wolverines’ Spring Break trip in Florida. Infield Michigan is loaded with young and versatile infielders, many of whom are raising eyebrows throughout the Big Ten. Freshman Ramsey Romano and sophomore Jacob Cronenworth have proven to be flexible when it comes to positioning — both have split time evenly between second and third base. Cronenworth is coming off a 2013 campaign that yielded a .320 batting average, 41 RBI and a Freshman All-American Team selection. Though he’s overcoming early-season struggles at the plate, he posted a .416 batting average in the Wolverines’ opening Big Ten series at Indiana. As one of two freshmen regularly starting for the squad, Romano went through some expected early-season turbulence. His average is a modest .247, but he has proven to be a key role player at the bottom of the lineup. Perhaps the most wellSee MICHIGAN, Page 7
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ALLISON FARRAND/Daily Freshman right-hander Keith Lehmann will have tough competition ahead.
Big Ten Preview: A rough road Indiana heads in as conference favorite By BRAD WHIPPLE Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan baseball team has shown in the past that it is capable of being a legitimate contender in the Big Ten. The Wolverines boast 35 conference titles but the program has been in a six-year drought. The last time Michigan (1-2 Big Ten, 10-14-1 overall) won the regular-season title or the postseason conference tournament was in 2008 under coach Rich Maloney, but Maloney is now out of the picture and Erik Bakich has stepped into the frame. After the Wolverines posted losing seasons in 2011 and 2012, Bakich brought Michigan back above .500 in his first season. He’ll try to keep Michigan on the road to becoming Big Ten Champions once again but will meet roadblocks along the way. Indiana (2-1, 12-10) The Hoosiers are the reigning Big Ten conference and tournament champions, earning an automatic bid into last year’s NCAA Baseball Championship where they made it to the College World Series — the first Big Ten team since 1983. They remain one of this year’s toughest conference teams and were unanimously chosen by Big Ten coaches to win the conference for a second straight year. After going 2-1 against the Wolverines last weekend, Indiana is tied for first in the standings with Ohio State, Minnesota and Iowa. Players to watch: third baseman Dustin DeMuth and catcher Kyle Schwarber. DeMuth currently leads the Indiana roster with a .343 batting average, good for 10th in the conference. Meanwhile, Schwarber was named the top MLB draft prospect by Baseball America. The junior led the conference with a .647 slugging percentage and had the third-best batting average at .366 last year. Ohio State (2-1, 16-7) The Buckeyes are in a slump — they finished 2013 with their worst hitting since 1971, combining for a .258 batting average. In Ohio State’s final 15 games last season, the team scored more than three runs only once and let a share of the conference title slip away with two straight losses in the final regular-season series against the Hoosiers. Third-year head coach Greg Beals will try to get his team back into the NCAA Tourna-
ment after a four-year drought. Players to watch: righthanded pitcher/first baseman Josh Dezse. Out of high school, Dezse turned down a chance to play professional ball as a 28th-round pick by the New York Yankees so he could play in college. He earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year due to his performance on the field and the mound, where his fastball broke 100 miles per hour on the radar gun. Nebraska (1-2, 14-10) In the program’s third year in the Big Ten, the Cornhuskers were picked to finish second after dropping last year’s conference tournament championship game to Indiana. Nebraska is ranked second in Big Ten fielding percentage at .975, but went 1-2 in its opening Big Ten weekend against Iowa. But don’t let the Cornhuskers’ current fifth-place standing fool you. Nebraska is returning some injured players this year, both in the bullpen and at the plate. Last season, left-hander Kyle Kubat started eight games, with opponents hitting .208, but he missed 33 games due to shoulder soreness. With him back in the rotation, the Cornhuskers have a deeper bullpen to fall back on. Players to watch: First baseman Austin Christensen and outfielder Ryan Boldt. Christensen is a redshirt sophomore who missed 2012 due to an elbow injury and spent 2013 recovering from Tommy John Surgery, but his senior year in high school showed potential that may surface this year. He led the entire state of Iowa in batting average (.555) and home runs(19) and was the 2011 Gatorade Player of the Year. Boldt injured his knee in April, but is still shaping up to be a possible first-round pick in the MLB draft and is currently hitting .342, 12th in the Big Ten. Illinois (12-10) Last season, the Fighting Illini earned an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament but were eliminated in Regionals. In the conference coach’s preseason poll, they were voted to end this season in a fifthplace tie with Michigan. Illinois has won its last three games and will play its first conference game against Purdue on Friday. The Illini have the second-best ERA in the Big Ten at 3.23 and come in at fourth with a .267 batting average. Player to watch: catcher Jason Goldstein. Goldstein has posted a .373 batting average, good for fourth in the Big Ten.
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, March 28, 2014 — 7
BASEBALL PREVIEW 2014
In Maezes, Wolverines have new leader Sophomore shortstop the spark for Wolverines By ZACH SHAW Daily Sports Writer
I
ndiana pitcher Christian Morris stepped up to the mound and gazed at his opponent strolling to the plate. The 6-foot, 190-pound figure 60 feet away was as cool as the March Midwestern air around them. Travis Maezes swung his bat around him like a toy, his still face treating every movement with the same precision and care as the last. A calm confidence sets in as Maezes digs into the left-handed batter’s box. For the sophomore, the confidence has always come easily. No matter what sport he tried growing up, he couldn’t lose. Today, that sport is baseball, and as Michigan’s man, it was on his shoulders to prevent Michigan from losing a third straight game and falling to 0-3 in the Big Ten. The 0-1 pitch by Morris came in low and away. But Maezes made solid contact and shot the ball into the Hoosiers’ bright new turf at Bart Kaufman Field. As the ball bounced high into the air, Maezes took off. The former hockey player glided down the line, touching the bag before the ball even reached the shortstop. Within seconds, Maezes’ job as leadoff man was done. Energizing his teammates and getting on base, the sophomore helped pave the way for other Wolverines. After mustering just five hits the previous game, Michigan posted three in the first inning, allowing Maezes to score the opening run.
Like with many leaders, the progress of the Michigan baseball team mirrors the progress of Maezes. Using the momentum of a freshman year full of potential, the sophomore is looking to take the reins from former outfielder Patrick Biondi as the team’s leader and sparkplug. Michigan’s latest leader is looking to use natural ability and a lifetime of athletic intensity to deliver the program’s 36th Big Ten Championship. And possibly beyond. “He’s going to play this game for a long time,” Bakich said. “But for him, the best thing he can do now is be in our leadoff spot and be our sparkplug and our catalyst and get on base. When he can get on base, he can get things in motion and make things happen.” ***
K
ids who grow up in Ann Arbor often dream of one day competing for Michigan. Whether it’s high-stepping into the end zone at Michigan Stadium or stopping a slap shot beneath the cathedral lighting of Yost Ice Arena, the allure of donning maize and blue can be as strong as any. Living less than two miles from Michigan Stadium, Maezes was one of those children. But as a member of the Michigan baseball team, his fate strayed from the initial goal. “I can honestly say that baseball was definitely second growing up,” Maezes said. “I was into hockey. I played baseball over the summer, but I felt like hockey was my sport and always came first.” As the years went on, it looked like Maezes’ commitment to
“He’s always been a confident kid. He has always had the right work habits.”
RUBINSTEIN From Page 6 from off-season labrum surgery? How would the outfield rebound after losing Michael O’Neill and Patrick Biondi to the MLB minor leagues? Early on, the concerns were justified. The team struggled to definitively answer any of the above questions and lost virtually every close game. Now, just short of the season’s midpoint, Michigan has played in 12 onerun games and lost nine. The margins have been close, sure, and this record could be vastly different. In their opening weekend, the Wolverines blew early leads against Texas State, Washington and Houston. Blame for those losses landed on the bullpen, which wasn’t at full strength and relied heavily on freshmen. “Figuring out the roles in the bullpen was certainly a process that we didn’t have nailed down going into the season,” said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. Cronenworth was sorely missed, but now has five saves, a win and a 0.96 ERA in six appearances since his return. But as the pitching strengthened, the bats became anemic. After a strong start to the season offensively, the Wolverines are currently batting .242, good for second to last in the Big Ten. Even so, Bakich is still primarily concerned with the team’s strikeout rate, rather than batting average. “We lead the Big Ten in strikeouts; well that’s not shocking,” Bakich said. “We’re going to have to make an adjustment because it’s just too many easy outs for the defense. That’s no
pressure on the defense when you strike out and don’t put the ball in play. We know it’s a problem; it’s not going to continue to be a problem.” Bakich consistently points out that he doesn’t look at batting average as an indicator of his players’ hitting ability. Rather, he looks to quality at-bat percentage, which gives players credit for hard-hit balls, seeing more than eight pitches with two strikes and a bunt for a hit, among other things. Quality at-bat percentages above 50 percent tend to lead to wins. Right now, Michigan’s quality at-bat percentage is between 45 and 46 percent, which is just below where Bakich wants to be. But the stat doesn’t matter when an opposing pitcher racks up 15 strikeouts, while conceding just two hits. Regardless, Michigan needs an answer on offense, and the battingaverage cover-up isn’t doing it any good. To its credit, Michigan has squeaked out a few tough victories against solid opponents. To begin, look back no further than the Wolverines’ win against Indiana. The Hoosiers are a favorite to win the Big Ten, and this could be the win Michigan has been looking for all season: It showed that the Wolverines can compete with anyone. And even though Indiana edged the Wolverines, 5-3, Friday night, the Wolverines tallied three runs against the Big Ten’s best pitcher, Joey DeNato, who held a three-year ERA of 2.90 before the season. “I think some guys who have really been struggling offensively probably look at conference
“These guys are ready to start playing a really good style of baseball here.”
hockey would pay off. Playing for elite Triple-A youth hockey team Compuware and for Ann Arbor Pioneer High School, Maezes began drawing attention from colleges for his play on the ice. After a promising freshman season, Maezes’ name began popping online as a potential candidate for the U.S. National Team Development Program. But in the fall of his sophomore year, an ankle injury wiped out his season. Unable to sit still, Maezes turned to a different sport to keep busy. “I started hearing from schools for hockey and baseball,” Maezes said. “I had to pick which route I wanted to take. Sophomore year, I needed surgery on my ankle that took me out of the entire hockey season. I couldn’t go skate, but I was able to go hit, so I did that and baseball kind of took over from there.” Once focused solely on ALLISON FARRAND/Daily baseball, Maezes began to Sophomore shortstop Travis Maezes could have been a hockey player, but his path to baseball led him to Michigan. shine brighter on the diamond. *** The Pioneers won the state last year. A summer in Ann Arbor dispute that hand in hand. Now championship in Maezes’ first spent rehabbing and training has he’s become more of a voice, year as captain. put Maezes in position to change whereas he didn’t have to be the s Indiana pitcher ChrisThe following two seasons, that. voice last year. Now he’s one of tian Morris stepped up Maezes was named first-team the guys who’s speaking up and to the mound again, all-state while his potential made *** talking on the field and directing and once more gazed at his him the consensus No. 1 prospect traffic and showing others how opponent strolling to the plate. in Michigan, drawing attention n paper, the young to do it.” Again, Maezes swung his bat as far east as Maryland, where 2014 season doesn’t As the team enters Big Ten around him like a toy, his face Bakich was then coaching. look much different play seeking its 36th title, with the same precision, same “Everyone recruited Travis,” from 2013. Maezes’ average has Maezes will have to be at his focus and care as the last. Bakich said. “He was a national climbed to .322, but the rest best each day. Already lauded Michigan was down 2-1 to the recruit and a great player. He’s of his numbers are consistent by scouts for his abilities to Hoosiers with two outs in the one of the fiercest competitors with this point last year. Yet, throw, run, hit and field at a fourth this time. A bloop single, I’ve ever coached, and he’s an since moving to the leadoff spot, professional level, Maezes will Indiana throwing error and hitextremely aggressive kid — a Maezes has only further estabone day eye the big leagues. But by-pitch had loaded the bases, hockey player with a hockey lished himself as the leader of for now, Maezes — ineligible and Maezes was looking to come player’s mindset. He is full-speed, the team. for the draft until the end of his through for his team with a 2-0 full-tilt, 100 percent all of the “He’s always been a confident junior year — is focusing instead pitch on the way. time, every day. Practice, games kid,” Bakich said. “He has on leading his teammates and With the same smooth, — doesn’t matter.” always been an aggressive kid, being a sparkplug for success to confident swing, he did just that. During his first year at he has always had the right work come. This time, he pulled a careful Michigan, Maezes refused to habits, but where he has turned “He’s staying in the moment, pitch on the inside corner down slow down. Starting at shortstop the corner is not just his ability focusing on the process of, how the right-field line, sailing past for all 56 games, Maezes hit .313 to lead by example and play is he going to get better today?” the right fielder for a baseswith 44 RBI and stole 16 bases in hard, but to inspire other people Bakich said. “What is he going to clearing double. 2013, good enough to be named to play better than they are. His do to get better today? Because With two celebratory to the Big Ten and Louisville work ethic is contagious. he’s never going to get today back. claps and a hand signal to the Slugger All-American freshman “The younger guys feed off And by doing that and getting Michigan dugout, Maezes made teams. that, and even the older guys better everyday, championships, one thing clear: This is his team But the number that sticks out see it. Anytime you see a guy getting All-American, getting now, and after a lifetime of most to Maezes is 0-2, Michigan’s work extremely hard and have drafted and getting into the big athletics, Travis Maezes is more record in the Big Ten Tournament positive results, it’s hard to leagues, that stuff will happen.” than ready to take control.
A
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play as a new beginning,” Bakich said. “But if they weren’t really struggling offensively, then they wouldn’t say that. I think that’s pretty normal.” In the Indiana series, Michigan showed it has what it needs to contend. It’s all about piecing the puzzle together, which for the Wolverines may finally be solved after all. Maybe all it needed was a fresh start, or the Big Ten season. Michigan’s freshmen have gotten valuable road-playing experience, with 24 of 25 games being away — the youth jitters are gone. The bats have shown to be effective against the best of the best. And with the heart of Big Ten season looming, there’s no time for excuses. After all, Bakich defines success as a Big Ten title. Anything less is a mere improvement. The Wolverines can’t play sloppy baseball anymore. “We know that we haven’t caught any breaks,” Bakich said. “I think these guys are ready to start playing a really good style of baseball here, and hopefully we can make it last as long as we possibly can.” It’s time to show it.
MICHIGAN From Page 6 rounded player on the Michigan roster is sophomore shortstop Travis Maezes, whose average has been sitting in the low .300s for much of the year but has undergone a recent uptick. The lefty showed power when he pounded two home runs in the same day against the College of Charleston. With a tremendously young infield, senior catcher Cole Martin provides a breath of leadership where it’s most desperately needed. Perhaps his greatest strength this season has been durability. Multiple times, Martin has held his post behind the plate for three or four games in a weekend — a physical toughness that not all catchers can offer. Though he is putting up a miserable .176 batting average, his worth is well-covered by his defense and leadership. Two other offensive forces reside at first base in Jusick and junior Kendall Patrick. The duo usually fills the four and five holes in the batting order, with one or the other at designated hitter. Patrick has two home runs on the season — one of just three players
on the team to hit a single dinger this year. Starting Pitching The starting rotation has given a mixed bag of results so far this season. Many expected more stability from a rotation that returned every arm that started a game in the 2013 season, but that dependability is hit or miss. The group is led by fifth-year senior right-hander Ben Ballantine, who carries a 2.81 earned-run average through six starts this season and has tentatively been named the team’s ace. Ballantine’s ERA was among the best in the Big Ten until his start Friday against the Hoosiers, when he was roughed up for three runs in 1.2 innings pitched. The combination of sophomore left-hander Evan Hill and junior left-hander Trent Szkutnik have combined for a shaky tail-end to the weekend rotation. Though they only have one combined win, their strikeout numbers are among the best in the Big Ten. Power pitching is one of the staff’s goals, and these pitchers perfectly fill that role. Bullpen The story of the season so far has been the young bullpen’s highs and lows. It’s the area that
the team lives and dies with — when playing in so many close games, having reliable arms in the late innings is key. Junior right-hander Donnie Eaton, senior right-hander Alex Lakatos, freshman right-hander Mac Lozer and freshman righthander Keith Lehmann are pitchers who have emerged as being most dependable. Cronenworth acts as the closer and is considered one of the best in the country. Offseason labrum surgery kept him off the mound through the first few weeks of the season, but he has rebounded well enough to maintain an 0.96 ERA while racking up a Big Ten-best five saves. The veterans and the newcomers have a sense of optimism about the team and its future. Bakich’s methods and style have meshed well with the Wolverines, by all accounts. Bakich is focused not only on this teams success but on the program’s future. “The players are buying into the enthusiasm and the style that we bring,” Bakich concluded. “Our program will have an identity, we don’t have an identity right now, but I think all great organizations know exactly what they stand for.”
STAFF PICKS The Daily baseball beat writers do their best to predict what will happen in the world of college baseball this season. Ben Fidelman Michigan regular-season record Big Ten record Big Ten Champion Big Ten Tournament champion Big Ten MVP Michigan Freshman of the Year Big Ten surprise team Michigan MVP Michigan Offensive POY Michigan’s season ends here
29-26-1 13-11 Indiana Ohio State Jake Mangler, Iowa Jackson Lamb, OF/RHP Ohio State Travis Maezes, SS Kyle Jusick, OF/DH Big Ten Tournament Final
Brad Whipple 32-23-1 15-9 Indiana Indiana Pat Kelly, Nebraska Lamb Ohio State Jacob Cronenworth, RHP Jackson Glines, OF B1G Tournament 2nd Rd.
Jason Rubinstein 30-25-1 16-8 Indiana Nebraska Kyle Schwarber, Indiana Lamb Iowa Cronenworth Maezes B1G Tournament 2nd Rd.
Zach Shaw 29-25-2 14-10 Nebraska Nebraska Schwarber Lamb Iowa Maezes Glines B1G Tournament 2nd Rd.
Sports
8 — Friday, March 28, 2014
‘M’ finishes season By ALEXA DETTELBACH Daily Sports Editor
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — It’s safe to say the Michigan women’s basketball team will want to beat Bowling Green next year. Badly. The Wolverines kicked off their season with a loss to Bowling Green (17-1 MAC, 30-4 overall) in early November, and just four-and-a-half months later, the Falcons picked up where they left off. Michigan’s season ended just like it started after the Wolverines (8-8 Big Ten, 20-14) fell 63-53 in the third round of the WNIT. In one of the loudest venues Michigan has played in this season, Bowling Green pushed the Wolverines from both teams’ favorite spot — the 3-point arc. The Falcons hit five of nine from beyond the arc in the first half and added four more in the second, holding Michigan to 3-for-13 from three. Sophomore guard Madison Ristovski, who in recent weeks has become the Wolverines’ most lethal long-range threat, was unable to find a rhythm. And freshman guard Siera Thompson, who has hit a three in all 35 games this season, went just 1-of-5. “I think our team really grew (between matchups with the Falcons), really improved and really found its identity,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “Bowling Green is a tough matchup, and they’re extremely tough at home. They had a great atmosphere here tonight, but I think they had the edge playing here.” Despite getting out of reach late, the game looked promising early for the Wolverines who, after trailing for the first few minutes of the game, got a jumper from the right side of the key from junior forward Nicole Elmblad to put them up 12-10 five minutes in. The basket not only marked Michigan’s new program record for points in a season but also the
Wolverines’ last lead of the game. From there, Michigan went tight when its baskets weren’t falling. “I think this time that we played them we definitely started off a lot stronger,” Elmblad said. “This time we were more focused and ready to lock up on defense, but unfortunately we didn’t hold that the entire first half and they
17.5 turnovers, Michigan couldn’t overcome the turnovers in conjunction with a 40-percent shooting night. “We got some good looks, but we couldn’t get shots to fall and there were some calls we didn’t get to go our way,” Barnes Arico said. “I think that took the wind out of our sails and they coun-
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Poor first half dooms Wolverines in final game By LEV FACHER Daily Sports Writer
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Several hundred orange-clad Bowling Green students who occupied 15 rows behind an
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Junior guard Shannon Smith and the Michigan women’s basketball team finished their season in the WNIT on Thursday.
were able to make a good run.” With 5:02 left in the half and the game still within reach, Elmblad hit a fadeaway that put Michigan within one, but the Falcons countered with a 9-1 run to end the half, putting the Wolverines down nine going into the locker room. Bowling Green used strong 3-point shooting, going 5-for-9 in the first 20 minutes, to pad its lead. Unfortunately for Michigan, the second half wasn’t any prettier. The Wolverines were once again plagued by turnovers, committing 12. After beating their last two WNIT opponents by an average of 38 points while committing
tered and scored. … But overall this season, we’ve shown tremendous growth.” With a little more than six minutes left in their season, the Wolverines were able to get within nine after freshman guard Paige Rakers hit a triple off the bench followed by a layup from Elmblad. But Michigan was unable to make the necessary stops on the defensive end and halt the momentum inside Stroh Center. By the end of the night the Bowling Green crowd was deafening and the Wolverines couldn’t generate a last-minute spark — ending their season just like it began.
entire baseline began to sing as the first half wound to a close. They sang a song familiar to Michigan fans, though perhaps not to the Michigan women’s basketball team — a tune about how they didn’t give a damn for the whole state of Michigan. The Wolverines didn’t seem particularly affected by the rowdy students, or by the hostile environment at the still-sparkling Stroh Center,
Bowling Green’s two-year-old gem of an on-campus arena. What did bother them was the same thorn that has been planted firmly in their side throughout the year — the inability to close out the first half. It’s not a new narrative, but one that made the difference for the fourth time this year. Tonight, it gave Bowling Green a 63-53 win that knocked the Wolverines out of the WNIT, leaving them with an impressive 20-14 record in what was widely identified before the season as a transition year. With eight minutes remaining, Michigan was deadlocked with the Falcons at 19. As junior forward Cyesha Goree picked up a charge trying to beat the buzzer on a halfcourt prayer, the score stood at 31-22 following a fast-paced, back-and-forth first half that escaped the Wolverines entirely in the final five minutes. “That took the wind out of our sails a little bit,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “We could never get back over that hump.” That hump gave Michigan State two wins over the Wolverines, both results that could have easily gone the other way. On Jan. 12, the Spartans broke a tie with a nine-point run to close the first half. In the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on March 7, Michigan State put together an 11-2 in the half’s final minutes to cut Michigan’s lead to three. It happened in the non-rivalry games, too — Iowa finished the first half with an 8-2 run on Feb. 22, a game the Hawkeyes
“This team really exceeded expectations.”
eventually won, 74-70. “It’s definitely been a difference at times,” said junior forward Nicole Elmblad. This time around, the Wolverines’ final eight minutes were troubled in every phase of play. The foul on Goree was her second, a completely unnecessary pickup for a player plagued by foul trouble all season. Michigan’s shots weren’t falling, not even a wide-open, point-blank Elmblad jumper with two minutes left. Bowling Green forward Jill Stein’s layup on the next possession brought the raucous crowd to its feet. Though the halftime deficit stood at just nine points, it became clear early in the second half that the night belonged to the home team. The only true glimmer of hope came when freshman guard Paige Rakers cut the lead to single digits on a corner 3-pointer just seconds after checking into the game. There’s no telling what might have been, had the Wolverines closed out the first half on a stronger note — while frenetic 3-point shooting from the Falcons kept the Wolverines from getting any closer, the eventual 10-point margin suggests that it could have been kept competitive throughout. On Nov. 1, Bowling Green beat the Wolverines, 63-52, in both teams’ season opener. Tonight’s nearly identical scoreline, though, belies the tremendous growth that Barnes Arico witnessed throughout the season. “I think our team really grew, really improved and really found its identity,” Barnes Arico said. “This team really exceeded expectations, and the kids really grew throughout the year. They did a tremendous job.”
FOOTBALL
Early enrollees excelling By MAX COHEN Daily Sports Editor
They should be seniors in high school, but Michigan football’s seven early enrollees haven’t been acting their age. NOTEBOOK While their peers are preparing for prom, many of the early enrollees have impressed during spring practice, according to Michigan coach Brady Hoke. Early enrollee Mason Cole has been mentioned multiple times as a standout among the team’s young offensive line. There’s no guarantee Cole will see the field in the fall at a position where freshmen usually ride the bench, but Hoke mentioned that he has played himself into the mix. “He’s a pretty mature guy,” Hoke said. “Physically, he’s probably a little ahead of a lot of
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freshmen as an offensive lineman.” Hoke also said wide receiver Freddy Canteen was among a list of the team’s wide receivers who have stood out during competition for playing time. Canteen is expected to compete for immediate playing time in the slot position. Defensive tackle Bryan Mone was also named a candidate for early playing time on an interior defensive line looking for depth with junior Ondre Pipkins out with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Early enrollee quarterback Wilton Speight likely won’t see the field this season, but Hoke said he is still involved in the team’s quarterback competition. Hoke likes what he has seen from Speight, but noted that if the season started today, fifthyear senior Devin Gardner would likely be the starter
over second-string sophomore quarterback Shane Morris. The only flaws Hoke mentioned about the early enrollees were injury-related. Freshman wide receiver Drake Harris has been dinged up in practice and Hoke expected him to be held out Thursday afternoon. Harris missed all of his senior season with a hamstring injury but enrolled at Michigan healthy. “We’re probably being a little bit more safe with it,” Hoke said. Harris participated fully in the Wolverines’ early practices, and Hoke thought he was progressing nicely, learning how to properly run Michigan’s routes. Young running backs improve: Because of a combination of poor offensive line play and personal underachievement, Michigan’s running backs endured a frustrating 2013 season. The Wolverines’ top returning running backs, sophomores Derrick Green and De’Veon Smith, combined for just 387 rushing yards last season on 109 attempts for an average of 3.55 yards per carry. Hoke says he has seen improvement in the pair through the beginning spring practices compared to their contributions in the fall, particularly for Green. “(Green’s in better) shape, in experience, understanding the expectations, maybe a little more of a clarity, I think it’s all part of it,” Hoke said. Hoke also noted that he has seen immense improvement from the pair in pass protection. Offensive line transfer: Hoke also responded to rumors that Michigan is interested in Alabama guard Chad Lindsay, a graduate transfer, to shore up the offensive line. Lindsay played for offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier and would be eligible to play for the Wolverines in the fall because of graduate transfer rules. He spoke in vague terms, but didn’t rule out the possibility. “We’ll investigate all those guys, just to see where we’re at,” Hoke said.