ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Monday, January 13, 2014
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‘U’ charged for nuclear security violations
Nuclear Regulatory Commission fines for multiple incidents By AUSTEN HUFFORD Online Editor
The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Friday a proposed $3,500 fine against the University’s Radiation Safety Service for “security-related violations” discovered during a routine inspection. The security violation occurred on the Ann Arbor campus and the University “took immediate corrective actions” after it was informed of the violation. The NRC found two safety violations and one security violation during its June 2013 inspection and subsequent interviews, according to the inspection report sent to the University and obtained by The Michigan Daily. All of the violations are classified as Severity Level IV, the lowest level violation for those that are “more than minor concern.” In the inspection report released to the public, information about the violation that resulted in the fine was withheld for security reasons.
RYAN REISS/Daily
Music, Theater & Dance junior Elias Wygodny creates bubbles in front of the UMMA during an A2 Bubbles event on Sunday.
RESEARCH
Brehm center, national org. to enhance diabetes studies University receives $1 million grant to examine the disease By AMABEL KAROUB Daily Staff Reporter
The University’s Brehm Center and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation have partnered to investigate a new hypothesis about the origins of
Type 1 diabetes. Scientists have long supported the idea that in Type 1 diabetes, the body loses its ability to produce insulin due to the death of beta cells, which are insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Recently, however, researchers at the Brehm Center found evidence that beta cells may not be dying, but instead regressing to an immature state and losing the ability to produce insulin.
JDRF, the top Type 1 diabetes fundraising organization worldwide, granted the center roughly $1 million to explore the hypothesis. Andrew Rakeman, director for JDRF’s Cure Therapies division, said the collaboration intends to confirm the process is occurring and, if it is, to look for ways to disrupt and reverse beta cell regression. “The first steps will be to really show through animal
models, mouse models with Type 1 diabetes, as well as with samples from humans with Type 1 diabetes whether or not this process is occurring,” Rakeman said. “Second, we’ll be beginning to look at what are the mechanisms that cause the beta cells to lose function, and could we think about drugs or therapies that would disrupt that mechanism.” The Brehm Center was See DIABETES, Page 5A
ANN ARBOR
GOVERNMENT
City could claim land wanted for campus growth With the right of first refusal, A 2 can purchase Edwards Bros. land By EMMA KERR Daily Staff Reporter
More property, more problems. While the University has plans to purchase the $12.8 million Edwards Brothers property on South State Street, the city of Ann Arbor holds the power to use its right of first refusal to block the University’s purchase of of the 16.7 acres of land. However, the city would then be compelled to purchase the property, and most likely, search for a private entity to buy the land. Although the city does not have a specific need for the extra property, many city
council members see its purchase as important to maintain Ann Arbor’s quality of life and prevent the property from falling off the tax rolls. Conversely, the University holds that its growth is in the best interests of students and faculty at the University, as well as the city of Ann Arbor. The Michigan Department of Treasury reports that Ann Arbor’s tax base has grown by 36 percent since 2001, while comparable communities in Michigan experienced a decline of 4.9 percent. The difference is in part due to the University’s presence and growth in Ann Arbor, according to Jim Kosteva, the University’s director of community relations. The growth translates into about $23 million of additional annual tax revenue for the city. “You shouldn’t look at the purchase of a property by the See LAND, Page 5A
One of the safety violations concerned a 2012 incident in which cadmium-109 was used on two human research subjects without the proper licensing. The report said while the University took “corrective action” at the time, not enough was done subsequently to “prevent recurrence.” The other safety violation said the University did not properly notify the NRC after it stopped using its license at the Murchie Science Building on the Flint campus. The report said this violation occurred because of a “misinterpretation” of the statute. The RSS is part of the University’s Occupational Safety and Environmental Health office and is charged with providing training, guidance and technical support regarding radiological material at the University, according to its website. The University was sent the inspection report on Oct. 4 and appears to have responded on Nov. 8. According to a “conversation record” made by the NRC, Dennis Palmieri, a senior OSEH representative, told the NRC that the University “does not dispute any of the violations referenced in the subject letter,” referring to the University’s response sent in November.
Sierra Club asks Snyder for policy changes Report card gives Gov. a weak review before annual State of the State address RUBY WALLAU/Daily
Omar Barghouti speaks on why the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement asks the world to boycott Israel until it ends its mistreatment of Palestinians on Friday at Hutchins Hall.
Palestinian activist urges ‘U’ to divest from Israel Barghouti’s talk draws praise and ire across campus By MICHAEL SUGERMAN Daily Staff Reporter
With a focus on universal human rights and activism, Omar Barghouti — a key mem-
ber of the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel — received a standing ovation from those in attendance at his guest lecture in Hutchins Hall Friday night. “The very basis of BDS is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in that, a very basic concept that has been forgotten to an extent: that all human beings are born
free and equal in dignity and rights,” Barghouti said. Barghouti, a Palestinian activist and commentator, explained BDS’s mission by focusing on what he said were oppressive Israeli policies, including a lack of access to education for many Palestinians. “BDS was launched by PalSee ACTIVIST, Page 5A
By SHOHAM GEVA Daily Staff Reporter
The results are in, and the Michigan chapter of the Sierra Club has given Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder weak reviews. The club’s “gubernatorial Scorecard” — an evaluation of environment-related actions during Snyder’s tenure — ranked Snyder on energy, environment and what the group calls “good government” policies. The group found that the governor made only eight decisions the Sierra Club approved of as environmentally sound. The evaluation was originally based on the group’s evaluation of 36 bills and administrative actions, See SIERRA CLUB, Page 5A
Winless in Wisconsin Michigan’s first Big Ten series against Wisconsin ended in a fistfight and two losses.
WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 33 LO: 16
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News
2A — Monday, Janurary 13, 2014
MONDAY: This Week in History
TUESDAY: Professor Profiles
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers
THURSDAY: Alumni Profiles
Tribes gather at ‘U’ for pow wow Thirty years ago this week (January 14, 1984)
Native Americans from 24 tribes gathered in the Michigan League ballroom for a pow wow sponsored by the University’s Native American Student Organization. More than 200 Native Americans from cities and reservations across the country attended the pow wow. Teddy Deverney, Native American from the Ottawa tribe and student at the time, supported the pow wow because he said many people “think Indians are a defeated race.”
Two students were sexually assaulted, one off campus and one in South Quad Residence Hall. The assaults, assumed to be unrelated, occurred at about midnight. An 18-yearold woman was raped in the driveway of a residence at the intersection of Washtenaw and South University avenues. She was walking home when a man grabbed her from behind and attacked her. The other student was in a South Quad bathroom when a 20-year-old male, whom she knew, sexually assaulted her.
The University’s Black Student Union boycotted events for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Symposium because they thought the University failed to “honor the history of activism out of which the symposium was created.” BSU said the theme of the activities, “‘American Culture’ or ‘America—the Multicultural’?” was not relevant to the Black community King represented. “This holiday is not just a Black celebration. It was not intended that way,” Jack Matlock, Director of Academic and Multicultural Initiatives, said. — CAROLYN GEARING
RYAN REISS/Daily
LSA sophomores Jessica White and Anne Pingel talk to Sean Miller during Dance Marathon at the University’s Charity ball on Friday.
Internship workshop
WHAT: A Cornell University professor will discuss local government responses to fracking. WHO: Center for Local, State and Urban Policy WHEN: Today from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. WHERE: Weill Hall
WHAT: Participants in these small group discussions will focus on the internships search process. WHO: Career Center WHEN: Today from 6:307:30 p.m. WHERE: Student Activity Building, Career Center Program Room
Chicago Public Anxiety workshop Schools play
WHERE: School of Dentistry WHEN: Friday at 11:20 a.m. WHAT: A third floor leak damaged ceiling tiles and may have also damaged an elevator, University Police reported. Plant Operations was contacted for repair.
WHEN: Saturday at about 4:15 a.m. WHAT: A University vehicle was struck by another vehicle, University Police reported. The car in question was found nearby shortly afterward and the driver was arrested. No injuries were reported.
WHAT: Framed by discussion, this performance depicts a first-year teacher’s experience in Chicago Public Schools. The script was developed from an interview with a teacher who worked with struggling students. WHO: Ford School WHEN: Today from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. WHERE: Weill Hall
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Shale gas lecture
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WHERE: Argus Building II WHEN: Friday at about 10 a.m. WHAT: A bike was reported stolen sometime between Dec. 20 and Jan. 5, University Police reported. There are no suspects.
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WHERE: Biomedical Science Research Building WHEN: Friday at about 12:40 p.m. WHAT: A University delivery account was used fradulent during the past week, University Police reported. There are no suspects.
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WHAT: Counselors will discuss managing anxiety. WHO: CAPS WHEN: Today from 4:15 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, CAPS Office 3100 CORRECTIONS l Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com.
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
1
Businesses, restaurants and schools in Charleston, West Virgina have been closed and 300,000 residents have been left without tap water following a chemical spill into the water supply Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
2
The Michigan football team, which recieved an invitation to the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, will play its postseason in Arizona for the first time since 1986. >> FOR MORE, SEE OPINION, PAGE 4
3
Following his arrest for using Nike brand shoes to stomp in the face of a client, Oregon pimp Sirgiorgio Clardy is suing Nike for not warning consumers that the shoes can cause injury if used as a weapon, The Oregonian reported.
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Top envoys insist peace talks Federal gov. recognizes marriage equality in Utah in Syria will help restoration Gay marriage first allowed, then repealed and later reinstated
Syrian National Council agreed to uphold a cease-fire
from the Obama administra- exclude us.” tion. The action means that more A federal judge overturned than 1,000 same-sex couples Utah’s ban on same-sex marwho were married in Utah in the riage on Dec. 20, and hundreds last month can file federal taxes of couples got married. The U.S. jointly, get Social Security bene- Supreme Court put a halt to the fits for spouses and request legal weddings until the courts sort out PARIS (AP) — Syria’s Westimmigration status for partners, the matter. Utah then declared it ern-backed opposition came SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — among other benefits. would not recognize the wedunder steely pressure Sunday to Gay couples in Utah have expeGay couples rejoiced over the dings, but would allow couples attend peace talks in just over a rienced a helter-skelter wave news. to continue to receive whatever week as envoys from 11 countries of emotions over the last three Seth Anderson and Michael benefits they had obtained before converged to help restore, and weeks: They were suddenly Ferguson were the first gay cou- the high court ruling. test, credibility of a rebel coaliallowed to marry, then saw the ple to legally marry in Utah, and Utah leaders reiterated on tion sapped by vicious infighting weddings stopped by the U.S. they were thrilled at the thought Friday that the state would not and indecision. Supreme Court and were told of having the same federal ben- recognize same-sex weddings, But diplomacy’s limits were the state wouldn’t recognize the efits as straight couples. They meaning couples can receive starkly apparent in Syria itself, unions. plan to file their taxes jointly federal benefits but are limited where activists said rebel-onNow, the federal government because of the change. at the state level. The Mormon rebel clashes have killed nearly has intervened and said it will “Our apartment burst into cel- church weighed in again Friday, 700 people in the deadliest bout recognize their weddings. ebratory anthems of Cher and instructing local leaders that of infighting since the civil war The announcement Friday Beyoncé,” said Seth Anderson same-sex wedding ceremonies began. by U.S. Attorney General Eric about his reaction to Holder’s and receptions are prohibited in The bloodshed, pitting alHolder that the government statement. “It is a great feeling its churches and reiterating its Qaida-linked militants against will honor gay marriage in Utah to know the federal government belief that homosexuality is not several Islamist and more modSudoku Syndication http://www.sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ marked the latest strong show of stands with us, especially in a condoned by God. erate rebel brigades, has begun support for same-sex weddings state that has for years tried to But for same-sex couples who to overshadow the broader war have experienced a wave of emoagainst the government. tions, the show of support from Sunday’s meetings in Paris the federal government turned came just over a week before the a rally at the Utah state capitol scheduled talks in Switzerland, into a raucous celebration. as the Syrian National CoaliEASY People held signs that read, tion nears collapse, its influence “Two moms make a right,” eroded by the chronic infight‘’Love is love” and “Marriage is ing, international pressure and a human right — not a heterodisagreement over whether to sexual privilege” and “We are negotiate with Syria’s president, Family” played through loudBashar Assad. speakers. U.S. Secretary of State John Laura Fields, who retired Kerry joined 10 other foreign from the Air Force in 2006, ministers who urged coalition said her new wife can now get a President Ahmed al-Jarba to military identification card that deliver his group to the Switzerwill allow her to take advanland talks and finally meet facetage of benefits offered military to-face with the government it spouses, such as health coverage hopes to overthrow. Kerry said and access to commissaries and he was confident the coalition exchanges on the base to buy would be at the talks, and hinted food and household items at a at a diplomatic backlash from its discount. allies if it skips the meetings. Until now, Fields said she has “I think they understand the had to carry an extra insurance stakes,” Kerry told reporters policy to cover her partner of Sunday. “But I’m not going to get five years. They live in a small into consequences other than to city outside Hill Air Force Base say it’s a test of the credibility in northern Utah and married of everybody, and it’s why I am © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. on Christmas Eve. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com CASE OF THE MONDAYS. confident that they will be there. “It has a real effect,” Fields Because I think they understand said. “Legal limbo hurts.” that.”
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Al-Jarba, who will meet again with Kerry on Monday, tried to put the best face on his coalition’s precarious position. The Syrian National Council will vote Friday on whether to attend the peace talks but already has agreed to uphold a cease-fire once negotiations begin. “We have made clear the reality of the situation on the ground,” al-Jarba said. “We have addressed issues, preoccupations and worries that we know exist.” Sunday’s gathering clearly aimed to boost the coalition, in part with a 14-point declaration of goals to allow the Syrian people “to control its own future” and “put an end to the current despotic regime through a genuine political transition.” Within Syria, the moderate rebels say the coalition-in-exile is little help as they find themselves battling on two fronts — against al-Qaida-linked militants on one side and Assad’s forces on another. One brigade after another has broken with the group, calling it out of touch with the harsh reality of a war that activists say has killed more than 130,000 people. Assad himself has said there will be no discussion of giving up power, throwing the entire premise of the peace talks into doubt. On the other side, the rebel groups with the most men, arms and territory have already rejected any idea of an armistice. Sunday’s declaration released by the 11 envoys included an explicit request for the Syrian National Coalition to accept the invitation to the peace talks. “As the weaker party, they could agree to things that are not in our interests. And most of them are exiles, or have been outside the country for such a long time now that they don’t even feel the suffering of their people,” said Abu al-Hassan Marea, an activist from Syria’s northern city of Aleppo, which has seen near-daily combat for
months as rebels and the government fight for control. “If they agree to things that we don’t approve of, it will be betrayal of the revolution.” The indecision and weakness of the Syrian coalition also has tested the patience of its backers, including the U.S. Washington had to suspend shipments of nonlethal aid to moderate rebel fighters last month after insurgent groups broke into a warehouse where it was stored, raising the specter that the U.S. supplies and equipment would fall into extremists’ hands. Kerry on Sunday said the Obama administration is considering when it can restart the aid shipments and indicated that moderate rebels may now be able to better secure them. He also cited an unidentified “extremist group on the run” that he said is losing strength among the rebel factions. But overall, the Syrian moderate opposition would lose moral authority if it refuses to engage in negotiations — especially considering Assad’s regime has long signaled it plans to attend the peace talks. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the talks were the only hope for a political solution in Syria, “the only prospect that can lead to a true solution.” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier made clear that the series of meetings, which include talks with the Russian leadership, would include pressure for the peace conference. “We want to do some persuading here and clear away the last obstacles that might exist — at least try to do that,” Steinmeier said. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the coalition had, in fact, agreed last fall to attend the meeting, but since then has reconsidered as the result of renewed violence and brutality he blamed on the regime.
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News
Monday, January 13, 2014 — 3A
Court to rule on abortion clinics as a protest-free zone
NEWS BRIEFS GREEN OAK TOWNSHIP, Mich.
Woman allows her child to drive, receives probation A southeastern Michigan woman has received probation for letting her 9-year-old son drive around their neighborhood. Thirty-three-year-old Leah Jaglowski pleaded guilty Nov. 19 to allowing an unlicensed minor to drive. In exchange, a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor is being dismissed. Lenawee County District Judge L. Suzanne Geddes on Thursday sentenced Jaglowski on one year’s probation, telling her the action was “quite negligent” and more than just bad judgment.
DRY BRANCH, W. VA.
Water tainted by coal companies in West Virginia For Bonnie Wireman, the white plastic bag covering her kitchen faucet is a reminder that she can’t drink the water. The 81-year-old woman placed it there after forgetting several times the tap water was tainted after a coal processing chemical leaked into the area’s water supply. Every time she turned on the water, she quickly stopped and cleaned her hands with peroxide — just to make sure she was safe. The widow of a coal miner, Wireman was angered about the chemical spill that’s deprived 300,000 West Virginians of clean tap water for four days, but doesn’t blame the coal or chemical industries.
TRENTON, N.J.
Christie believes controversy won’t affect future goals Prominent Republicans leapt to GOP Gov. Chris Christie’s defense on Sunday, insisting that an ongoing traffic scandal wouldn’t ruin any presidential ambitions, while Democrats say it’s difficult to believe such a hands-on manager knew nothing about a plan by a top aide to close lanes at a bridge into New York City. Politicians from both sides of the aisle took to the Sunday talk shows to debate the fallout from the traffic jams near the George Washington Bridge in September and any role Christie may have played. Documents show Christie’s aides appeared to engineer lane closures at the heavily traveled bridge for political retribution. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Christie could move past the scandal and still win support from primary voters in the 2016 presidential race.
TEHRAN, Iran
Nuclear program to be open to daily inspection in Iran Iran has agreed to limit uranium enrichment and to open its nuclear program to daily inspection by international experts starting Jan. 20, setting the clock running on a six-month deadline for a final nuclear agreement, officials said Sunday. In exchange, the Islamic Republic will get a relaxation of the financial sanctions that have been crippling its economy. The announcement that Iran and six world powers had agreed on the plan for implementing an interim agreement came first from Iranian officials and was later confirmed elsewhere. Some U.S. lawmakers have been leery of the agreement, calling for tougher sanctions against Iran, rather than any loosening of controls. —Compiled from Daily wire reports
Similar case upheld in 2000 Supreme Court decision
ODED BALILTY/AP
Members of the Knesset guard carry the coffin of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the Knesset plaza, in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Israelis pay final tribute to former Prime Minister Sharon guided Israel through 1982 war with Lebanon JERUSALEM (AP) — Israelis from all walks of life flocked to parliament Sunday to catch a glimpse of Ariel Sharon’s coffin and pay their final respects to the iconic former prime minister and general. A stream of visitors ranging from former army comrades to political allies to citizens who only knew him from afar remembered Sharon as a decisive leader, for better or for worse, and one of the final heroes of Israel’s founding generation. “Words escape me. He was just a man who was larger than life,” said a choked-up Shlomo Mann, 68, who served under Sharon’s command in the 1973 Mideast war. “Those who didn’t know him from up close can’t truly understand what a legend he was. There will never be anyone else like him.” The 85-year-old Sharon died Saturday eight years after a devastating stroke left him in a coma. In a career that stretched across much of Israel’s 65-year existence, his life was closely intertwined with the country’s history. He was a leader known
for his exploits on the battlefield, masterminding Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, building Jewish settlements on warwon land and then, late in life, destroying some that he deemed no longer useful when he withdrew from the Gaza Strip. As one of Israel’s most famous generals, the man known as “Arik” was renowned for bold tactics and an occasional refusal to obey orders. To his supporters, he was a war hero; to his critics, a war criminal. As prime minister late in life, he was embraced by the public as a grandfatherly figure who provided stability in times of turmoil. “Arik was, first and foremost, a warrior and a commander, among the Jewish people’s greatest generals in the current era and throughout its history,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a fierce political rival of Sharon in the Likud Party, said Sunday. “I think he represents the generation of Jewish warriors that arose for our people upon the resumption of our independence.” President Shimon Peres — a lifelong friend and rival — and former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who succeeded Sharon after the 2006 stroke, were among those who paused before the closed flag-draped coffin displayed in a plaza in
front of the Knesset and surrounded by an honor guard. But the event was mostly an occasion for everyday Israelis to honor him. With tears streaking behind dark sunglasses, 44-year-old Anat Amir said she felt compelled to bid farewell. “These are tears of pain and parting but also joy in a way for him since now he can finally rest,” she said. “He was a leader you could count on, someone you could trust. He looked into the future, relied on the experience of the past and had the courage to make tough decisions and carry them out.” Norman Zysblat, 64, called Sharon a “hero of Israel,” whose death left the 90-year-old Peres as perhaps the last remnant of Israel’s greatest generation. He recalled crossing the Suez Canal in 1973 under Sharon’s command, a move widely seen as turning a war against Egypt and Syria in Israel’s favor. “I saw and felt firsthand the strength he gave the soldiers. He was the one who pushed ahead and provided the spirit,” Zysblat said. “He was one of the greats. When the history of Israel is written, he will be in the first row.” News of Sharon dominated Israeli newspapers. Israel’s three main television stations all broadcast the memorial live.
‘Sister Wives’ reality TV stars react to cohabitation decision Federal judge ruled in Dec. that family could cohabitate SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — There was no fist-pumping or wild celebrations by the polygamous family that stars in the TLC reality TV show “Sister Wives” when a federal judge in Utah struck down key parts of the state’s polygamy laws. In an interview with The Associated Press, Kody Brown and his four wives said they felt humbled and cried when they heard in mid-December the judge ruled in their favor in a lawsuit they brought against Utah in July 2011 after they fled the state for Las Vegas under the threat of prosecution. “The first thing I thought about was all those families that for 100 years had lived and loved in obscurity, just in secrecy,” said Kody Brown in a phone interview from Las Vegas. “Not being able to claim their family or openly love one another.” Kody and his wives — Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn — said they hope the landmark ruling stands and enables other polygamous families in Utah to live open and free without fearing prosecution. “It’s been incredible not having to live in fear anymore and being able to fully claim who we are,” said Christine Brown, Kody’s third wife. “We wish that for every plural family out there.” The Utah attorney general’s office has not yet decided if they will appeal the ruling, said spokesman Ryan Bruckman. The state’s new attorney general, Sean Reyes, has been in
office for less than two weeks. Jonathan Turley, the Browns’ Washington, D.C.based attorney, said he’s been told Utah will appeal. He said he’s eager to defend the ruling before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups said in the decision handed down on Dec. 13 that a provision in Utah’s bigamy law forbidding cohabitation with another person violated the First Amendment, which guarantees the freedom of religion. The ruling decriminalizes polygamy, but bigamy — holding marriage licenses with multiple partners — is still illegal. Utah’s law was considered stricter than the laws in 49 other states because of the cohabitation clause. If the ruling stands, Utah’s law would be identical to most other states that prohibit people from having multiple marriage licenses. In most polygamous families in Utah, the man is legally married to one woman but only “spiritually married” to the others. There are an estimated 38,000 fundamentalist Mormons who practice or believe in polygamy, most living in Utah and other Western states. Polygamy is a legacy of the early teachings of the Mormon church but has no place in modern Mormonism, church officials said in a statement. The Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abandoned polygamy in 1890 and it strictly prohibits the practice today for its 15 million members worldwide. Though some have correlated the Browns fight to decriminalize polygamy with efforts to legalize gay marriage, the
Browns don’t see the two as being the same. “Though we support the choices of other people organizing their families however they choose, our argument has always been very different,” Kody Brown said. “What we’ve been looking for is simply to live free and to be able to live our religion without the threat of prosecution.” The family says they never intended to challenge Utah’s polygamy law in court when they decided to do the show. Janelle Brown, Kody’s second wife, said they wanted to dispel the negative stereotype of polygamous families. “We were tired of Warren Jeffs being the only image people had of polygamy,” she said. One of the most infamous polygamists, Warren Jeffs, is serving a life sentence in Texas for sexually assaulting two underage girls he considered his brides. Jeffs still rules a sect of fundamentalist Mormons on the Utah-Arizona border from jail. The Browns are now living in four new houses in a Las Vegas cul-de-sac. That’s where TLC films episodes of the show, which debuted in 2010 with footage of the family at their house in northern Utah. But despite an arrangement that looks comfortable, Kody Brown said they miss living in the large house they called home in Utah. In fact, they miss Utah dearly. They said leaving the state has left many scars for them and their children. They fled in January 2011 after local prosecutors opened a criminal bigamy investigation after the first episodes aired.
BOSTON (AP) — Eleanor McCullen clutches a baby’s hat knit in pink and blue as she patrols a yellow semicircle painted on the sidewalk outside a Planned Parenthood health clinic on a frigid December morning with snow in the forecast. The painted line marks 35 feet from the clinic’s entrance and that’s where the 77-year-old McCullen and all other abortion protesters and supporters must stay under a Massachusetts law that is being challenged at the U.S. Supreme Court as an unconstitutional infringement on free speech. Arguments are set for Wednesday. Outside the line, McCullen and others are free to approach anyone with any message they wish. They risk arrest if they get closer to the door. With her pleasant demeanor and grandmotherly mien, McCullen has become the new face of a decades-old fight between abortion opponents asserting their right to try to change the minds of women seeking abortions and abortion providers claiming that patients should be able to enter their facilities without being impeded or harassed. In 2000, the Supreme Court upheld a different buffer zone in Colorado in a decision that some free speech advocates, who also support abortion rights, heavily criticized. Noted First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams recently called the decision in Hill v. Colorado “what may well be the most indefensible First Amendment ruling so far this century.” The three dissenters in that case — Justices Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas — remain on the court. They have been joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, who may be willing to provide the two additional votes in support of the protesters. McCullen and other abortion opponents sued over the limits on their activities at Planned Parenthood health centers in Boston, Springfield and Worcester. At the latter two sites, the protesters say they have little chance of reaching patients arriving by car because they must stay 35 feet from the entrance to those buildings’ parking lots. Planned Parenthood provides health exams for women, cancer screenings, tests for sexually transmitted diseases, birth control and abortions at the clinic, although on this day Boston clinic employees said no abortions were performed. McCullen doesn’t know which services arriving patients are
seeking, but she said that women arriving with someone else usually are about to have an abortion because they need a ride home. Sometimes McCullen is able to start a conversation before a woman reaches the yellow line. Protesters can usually be close by when people emerge from taxicabs. But when a couple approached from the opposite way, McCullen could only call out to them. “There’s so much help available. Can we just talk for five minutes?” she said. The man and woman showed no reaction and entered the clinic unimpeded. “This is what we have to deal with,” McCullen said, on the first of two days in mid-December on which she spoke with an Associated Press reporter outside the Planned Parenthood facility. Planned Parenthood workers and state officials said that the buffer zone has reduced significantly the harassment of patients and clinic employees. Before the 35-foot zone went into effect in 2007, protesters could stand next to the entrance and force patients to squeeze by, said Marty Walz, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. While in the state House, Walz was the lead sponsor of the law. Walz said safety is paramount for patients and her staff. Other than Walz, people at the clinic refused to have their faces photographed because they fear anti-abortion activists would post the pictures online. Clinic director Cheryl Sacks said she is granted a special registration status for her car to keep the information private. The concern about safety is not theoretical. In 1994, a gunman killed two receptionists and wounded five employees and volunteers at a Planned Parenthood facility and another abortion clinic in nearby Brookline. The most recent killing was in 2009, when Dr. George Tiller, who performed abortions, was shot in a church in Wichita, Kan. “We’re concerned for patient and staff safety if the current law is overturned,” Walz said. Mark Rienzi, the Catholic University law professor who represents the protesters, said there has not been a documented case of violence at a Massachusetts clinic since the 1994 killings. “The idea that someone like that will be deterred by a painted line on the ground is nonsensical,” he said. “In the meantime, you shouldn’t be able to use that to stop women from being offered these other options. As a practical matter, that’s what happens.” Other state and federal laws already protect health center workers and patients, as well as access to clinics, Rienzi said.
Opinion
4A — Monday, January 13, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
The senior shriek Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com PETER SHAHIN EDITOR IN CHIEF
MEGAN MCDONALD and DANIEL WANG EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
KATIE BURKE MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
FROM THE DAILY
Supporting student-athletes Closing the graduation gap requires personalized support for athletes
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recent study conducted by CNN reported “many (public university) students in the basketball and football programs could read only up to an eighth-grade level.” Although the study doesn’t include numbers from Michigan, the University’s student-athletes have exhibited a history of poor academic performance. Graduation rates for Michigan student-athletes have traditionally been much lower than those of the general student body. In order to facilitate the improvement of academic performance among athletes, the University needs to provide more attentive and personalized support to its student-athletes. CNN reached out to 40 public universities, asking for the SAT, ACT and reading comprehension scores for its admitted student- athletes. On Jan. 7, 2014, CNN published its findings on the 21 schools that responded, and discovered that a majority of schools had “between 7 percent and 18 percent of revenue sport athletes who are reading at an elementary school level.” Michigan was one of the schools that failed to provide information on its students. In 2013, the University’s Federal Graduation Rate — which measures the graduation rate of freshmen within six years — for football players was 57 percent. The men’s basketball team showed a FGR of 50 percent. Michigan’s six-year graduation rate for all students — athlete or not — was 89.7 percent in 2012, good for fourth-best in the nation. Student-athletes are pressured into certain degrees, whether they actually find an interest in them or not. For example, within the Kinesiology Department, 60 slots are saved specifically for student-athletes. However, more often than not, athletes find themselves unprepared for the major and shift into general studies. In 2004, 49 percent of students completing general studies majors were being pursued by athletes. This
major has no foreign language requirement, fewer graduation requirements and lacks concentration in one subject area, making it a vague and bland degree to pursue. Athletes should be given the same academic attention as any other student at the University, and be encouraged to pursue a major they find an interest in, not the one they are pressured into. Focusing on the athlete’s academic desires will allow student-athletes to achieve their greatest potential, both on the field and in the classroom. The University and NCAA should also consider relaxing the time and financial constraints put on student-athletes through the limitations of four-year scholarships and other restrictive rules that push students to graduate as quickly as possible. However, the negative trend between athletes and academics isn’t something the University, or any college, can solve. Most of these students enter the University unequipped for rigorous higher education, starting at the elementary school level. The mere fact that some athletes are barely literate and not graduating shows that the education system is failing to teach students, and is emphasizing too much on athleticism. Without reforms to the present education system, athletes will continue to be left in the dust.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Barry Belmont, James Brennan, Rima Fadlallah, Eric Ferguson, Nivedita Karki, Jordyn Kay, Jesse Klein, Kellie Halushka, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Victoria Noble, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe MAURA LEVINE | VIEWPOINT
Dynasty disaster Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the family featured in the unusual and wildly popular TV show “Duck Dynasty,” has started a controversy across the country. On Dec. 18, the television network A&E announced that the anti-gay statements Robertson made to GQ magazine were disappointing and that he would be suspended from the show “indefinitely.” The country went wild. Supporters of the program claim he had the constitutional right to express his religious and personal beliefs without being kicked off the show, while A&E supporters said the network had every right to suspend him. In fact, since A&E is a private enterprise and the “Duck Dynasty” family signed a contract with them, the network was within its legal rights to suspend him, despite the petitions flying around the web to boycott them. Legal experts have confirmed that generally when people sign contracts with TV networks for a new show, a “morals” clause is included in the writing. Although the specifics of the Robertson contract aren’t known, there likely is a morals clause in his contract as a matter of general practice. If so, this would prohibit Phil Robertson and other members of the show from using any language or performing any actions that are “insulting or denigrating.” While that seems like a broad spectrum with a lot of gray area, these definitions are basically left up to the network to decide. In this case, A&E has determined that Robertson’s statements do not stand for what the television program wants to promote. Throughout the GQ article, Robertson compared homosexuality to bestiality and included homosexuals in a category with “adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers …” who are all denied access into heaven according to the Christian Bible. Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin of Alaska and Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana have both criticized A&E for being “intolerant” of Robertson’s religious beliefs, which they say are protected under the First Amendment. The politicians are not quite accurate in their citing of the Constitution, however, because the First Amendment only protects citizens from encroachment by the government. It is not
likely that Robertson could find legal recourse due to any constitutional rights because his contract was signed with a private TV network under guidelines that he agreed to. Others may say that A&E is discriminating against Robertson’s religious beliefs and his ability to express them in a free country, but this too would be hard to prove in court. According to Eugene Volokh, a professor at University of California, Los Angeles Law School, “It doesn’t sound like they were taking him off the show because they don’t like the fact that his message is religious; I think they don’t like the fact that his message is antigay … I imagine if an atheist on an A&E show said things that A&E thought disapproved of homosexuality, they would deal with it the same way.” In other words, Robertson would have a hard time convincing anyone in the legal system, a judge or a jury, that A&E was discriminating against his religion. The problem was that the network was upset with his anti-gay and thus offensive comments, which he couched in a religious pretext. Considering that Robertson’s comments were on such a hot-button political issue, this story has sparked controversy and garnered a fair amount of media attention. Even though many people are invested in his comments and the ongoing countrywide debate about religion and homosexuality isn’t likely to be solved for a long time, this doesn’t mean that anything illegal happened. Americans are apt to quote the First Amendment with little knowledge of its limitations and requirements for application. Freedom of speech does not mean you can say whatever you want, whenever you want with no consequences. In this situation, Phil Robertson signed a contract with the private, non-government television network A&E, and when he made comments in violation of his contract, they were within their legal rights to suspend him per the contract he signed. Just because Robertson is famous doesn’t mean he can say whatever he wants. As he is still connected with A&E, they “own” his words and have the ability to kick him off the show if his behavior is contrary to their morals. Maura Levine is an LSA junior.
I
may be graduating in the spring. Or I may not be. It becomes less and less clear as I stare deep into the LSA Course Guide and try to decipher its dry recipes: one part Upper Level Writing (didn’t I already take that twice?), two parts Social SOPHIA Science and an USOW attempt to fit in a minor to taste. I wish my mom were here to set up a play date with my academic advisor. Roll over in bed, check Instagram. Why does everyone hate my generation again? Georges Perec’s Things: A Story of the Sixties is a tribute to another generation in which a hunger for material and immaterial things (experiences, clothes, prestige and likes) hid the emptiness of people’s lives. Its perpetually frustrated characters are described as being caught in a web of their own vast desires. As I think about my own future, the idea of paralysis by sheer magnitude of aspiration first introduced to me through Perec’s work comes to mind. I want to be a filmmaker. I want to make money. I want to help people. I want to move far away. I want to stay close to home. I want everything and act upon nothing. I envy mercilessly: cheapening what I have by peering over my neighbor’s wall and coveting their summer internships. In the black silence of greed I
wallow. I take online personality quizzes that are supposed to tell me what careers would be a good fit for my personal brand of incompetence. Apparently I’d make a great guidance counselor or carpenter. Maybe I should change majors. I am invited to the Rhodes Scholars reception. Mistakenly, I think it is an informal information session so I go wearing a sweat suit and smelling like yesterday’s pizza. As the wine and cheese pageantry climaxes the candidates for the various fellowships offhandedly list their accomplishments, I wonder what types of time management strategies go into winning research awards by day and fighting crime by night. What would these Sundaybest baby geniuses do if I lifted my coffee cup and poured its contents on my head? I leave and make a mental note to work harder to end global warming. They have jobs for people like me at specialty coffee shops and whitewalled minimalist boutiques. I’ll be excellent at greeting costumers with intelligent, noncommittal banter, allowing them to peruse their options with amused ease. My fellow employees will love me for my well-constructed work time playlists and caffeine-induced bursts of creative energy (which will result in elaborate window displays and behind-the-counter tomfoolery). I might even get a new boyfriend who plays bluesy guitar in a band that’s blowing up on the local scene. He won’t let me shoot his music videos because he has a friend who could do it better, but I’ll
take many Vines with perfect shot compositions. I won’t have to live in my parents’ basement because they’ll let me use my old room with its bumbling mountains of camp photos and young adult literature. “You’re still my little girl,” my mom will say as she drops me off for work, “Don’t forget to e-mail your résumé to Dad’s friend tonight.” For now I let myself love this cocoon of a university, its Midwestern warmth, its self-assured machinery. Every day I walk its campus, my flaws and strengths become more evident; defeats scab over with time and experience while victories are cauterized by reality’s harsh flame. This is a place that has made me feel incredibly proud of myself, yet small as hell, hellishly small, looking the wrong way through a telescope. Michigan is the place where I began to fathom how much someone my own age can accomplish. It is where I fumblingly began to understand the concept of self-discipline and the power of the uncool. Maybe I will end up as a professional coffee crafter, queen of the pour-over brew … but Michigan keeps whispering that maybe I will accomplish something beyond my own vast imaginings, past Hollywood and Wall Street, around the curve of Madagascar, to the stars. I may be graduating in the spring. Or I may not be. For now I dance the Mambo No. 4, the fourth year, the senior shriek, hoping that the future is as bright as they say. — Sophia Usow can be reached at sophiaus@umich.edu.
The GOP vs women ... again
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he new year is supposed to bring in rejuvenation. Considering that everyone is one year older and hopefully wiser, the new year should usher in new goals, insights and evolved ideas. One thing it should not bring in is the same old PATRICK MAILLET ideas of the past. 2013 was a rough year for the American government. From the NSA leaks to the government shutdown to the continuing debacle that is healthcare.gov, the American people lost a lot of faith in their government this past year. In particular, Americans got to see just how polarized Congress is. In 2013, the first year of the 113th Congress, a total of 65 laws were passed — the fewest of any single Congressional session on record. The House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act 42 times while much-needed legislation on immigration reform, a farm bill and an act ensuring the creation of jobs all floundered and were unable to get out of committee. Instead of approaching the new year with optimism and potential bipartisanship, the House is simply repeating the errors of the past year. Last week House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R–Va) released the congressional calendar for 2014. In an effort to maximize campaign abilities for the upcoming midterm election, the House will be in session just 97 days prior to Election Day, and 112 days altogether. In 2013, the House was in session 118 days before Election Day and 135 days altogether. Just when we thought the “do nothing Congress” had done as little as they possibly could, we discover that Congress can somehow stoop even lower. While the GOP is maintaining its strict philosophy that “a
government that does nothing is a good government,” the party has also renewed another one of its past initiatives: its war on women. Last Thursday, a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on H.R. 7, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.” This subcommittee, consisting solely of 12 men, reviewed a bill that would “deny tax subsidies to women and small businesses who purchase health insurance plans that include abortion coverage.” This bill would ban insurance coverage for abortion in all of the newly created state-level insurance marketplaces from the ACA while also forcing small businesses to pay additional taxes on health benefits for their employees if the company’s insurer offers abortion coverage. The bill’s only exceptions are for women who are victims of rape or incest, and for cases in which the life of the mother is at risk. This distinction of whether or not an abortion fits these exceptional circumstances will likely be decided by the IRS, meaning that a rape victim would potentially need to plead her case for an abortion to an IRS auditor. Don’t let the name of the bill fool you. Taxpayer dollars are already banned from going toward abortions as reinforced by the Stupak Amendment of the ACA. The “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” instead works to curtail women’s rights by penalizing those who offer such types of insurance. But the GOP’s war on women’s health doesn’t stop there. Rep. Paul Ryan (R–Wis.) announced last month that he plans on attaching a rider to the appropriations package that is likely facing a vote next week, which would allow employers to refuse offering health insurance that covers contraception for moral reasons. As Ryan said on a talk radio interview last month, “I’m fighting for a conscience clause rider on appropriations because I’m very worried about religious freedom.”
Religious freedom is certainly something worth defending, and it is guaranteed to us in the First Amendment of the Constitution. But that same document establishes the judicial branch of government headed by the Supreme Court. The Court has made it clear time and again that a woman has the right to choose what she does with her body. Instead of appreciating the law of the land set forth by the Supreme Court, the GOP continues to do everything in its power to strip women of their legal rights. This battle is particularly relevant here in Michigan, as this state has now become one of the single most restrictive states for women’s health. Last month the Republican-dominated state legislature approved a bill that bans both public and private insurers from covering an abortion even in the cases of rape, incest or endangerment to the mother’s life. Now a woman in Michigan will have to purchase an additional rider on her insurance policy if she wishes to proactively prepare for getting pregnant from rape. Unfortunately, other states are following Michigan’s lead and working to pass similar laws. So for those of us who are ready to fight for women’s health, get ready for another year filled with the same old arguments perpetuated by the same old list of characters. Instead of focusing on pressing issues that should be a goal of legislative action, the GOP has decided to continue its war on women in the coming year in order to rally its conservative base for the upcoming midterm elections. Another year will likely be wasted on partisanship. Although I’d love to say that 2015 might usher in an era when middle-aged white men stop making decisions about what women can do with their bodies, I’m not too optimistic. — Patrick Maillet can be reached at maillet@umich.edu.
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ACTIVIST From Page 1A estinian civil society in 2005 specifically because the United Nations has been unable or unwilling to help Palestinians attain rights under the hegemony of the U.S. government and Congress,” he said. Barghouti highlighted statements made by United Nations officials that he said deemed Israel, by international standards, an apartheid state, drawing comparisons between Israel and apartheid South Africa. In his lecture, he accused the Israeli government of being a racist regime, pointing to the lack of an official Israeli national identity as evidence of discrimination. “If you recognize an Israeli nationality, that means equality for Arabs and Jews within Israel, and that cannot be allowed,” Barghouti said of the Israeli government’s motives. Students Allied for Freedom and Equality sponsored Barghouti’s visit to the University. SAFE collaborated with the Jewish Force for Peace and the Students for Justice in Palestine at University of Michigan, Dearborn to host his lecture. The lecture followed last month’s controversy over #UMMockEviction, and a month after the American Studies Association and Association for AsianAmerican Studies endorsed an academic boycott of Israel. “We are trying to generate some kind of action for the University to divest from companies that profit from Israeli occupation,” said LSA senior Yazan Kherallah, a SAFE member. However, following the ASA endorsement of BDS, University
SIERRA CLUB From Page 1A giving him a 22 percent approval overall. However, several factual inaccuracies were reported after the scorecard’s initial release. The group dropped four bills in question on Jan. 8, changing the ranking to 25 percent approval. The scorecard was released a week before Snyder’s annual State of the State address, during which he will outline his agenda for the next legislative year. Mike Berkowitz, legislative and political director of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, said the rating’s timeliness should prompt Snyder to weigh environmental issues more seriously. “We hope that Governor Snyder will see this and reflect with his team the impact that his decisions have had on the environment,” Berkowitz said. “We think that he has not been primarily concerned with that.” Public Policy prof. Barry Rabe said the Sierra Club’s low score may come from ideological differences between themselves and the governor on approaches to environmental policy. “On this one, the Sierra Club has probably taken one of the more aggressive stands of any environmental group against any further development of fossil fuels — the use of coal, oil and also natural gas,” Rabe said. “The
DIABETES From Page 1A founded in 2004 with a $44 million gift from Bill and Delores Brehm, frequent University donors. They have also sponsored the construction of the Brehm pavilion at the School of Music, Theater and Dance. However, the center’s researchers do not work in the same place. Instead, researchers are joined through the Brehm Coalition, a group of nine senior scientists with labs at eight different universities across the country. Dorene Markel, director of the Brehm Center, said such a coalition was unprecedented in diabetes research. “The Brehms actually had this
President Mary Sue Coleman and Provost Martha E. Pollack released a statement opposing the academic boycott. “At the University of Michigan we are committed to global engagement at all levels and believe the free exchange of ideas is essential to advancing knowledge and strengthening mutual understanding,” Coleman and Pollack wrote in their statement. The administrators’ stance was criticized at the event Friday. Asian-American Studies Prof. Scott Kurashige, the opening speaker, expressed his disappointment with the University within the first few minutes of the program. “I’m proud of the leaders of AAAS and ASA,” he said. “I’m not as proud of the Michigan president and provost, who rushed to issue their statement denouncing our resolutions by slavishly parroting the press releases others had drafted before them.” Barghouti’s speech explored how Palestinians face difficulty in obtaining access to education in Israel. Barghati’s remarks were contested during a question-andanswer session later in the night. While Barghouti has Master’s degrees from Columbia University and Tel-Aviv University, one student called his stance hypocritical, questioning Barghouti’s involvement in the Israeli education system he admonishes. “Palestinians living under oppression with Israeli IDs who pay tax to the Israeli system of oppression, to the apartheid state, have no choice but to use the services of the oppressor,” Barghouti said. University alum Amer Zahr was a Palestinian activist when he attended school in the late
‘90s and early 2000s. He said he recalls attending pro-Israel discussions at Hillel and noted that Friday night’s discussion seemed canned. Zahr also pointed to a change in the climate of activism on campus. “What I heard today was talking points to poke little holes in the debate, rather addressing humanitarianism as a whole,” Zahr said. Some felt that the Q&A created a one-sided atmosphere. LSA sophomore Erica Mindel, the president of Israel – Leadership, Advocacy, and Dialogue, said she felt there was not much room for conversation. “I went to the event tonight to listen and ask questions,” she wrote in a statement to The Michigan Daily after the lecture. “I felt that the speaker’s response, but especially the audience’s reaction, shut down the opportunity for discussion. As a student, I felt our academic institution was overtaken by closed-minded community members.” Barghouti explained BDS’s mission prior to the Q&A, focusing on addressing what he said are oppressive Israeli policies. He emphasized that although BDS is an anti-Zionist movement, it strongly opposes anti-Semitism. History Prof. Victor Lieberman teaches a course on the Arab-Israeli conflict and said the BDS movement oversimplifies the complicated political and sociological situation within Israel. “The occupation embodies a reciprocal dynamic over many years in which visceral insecurity, provocation and a zero-sum mentality have captured both sides,” Lieberman wrote in a statement. “Without nuanced perspectives, stable political solutions seem to me unlikely.”
Sierra Club has probably gone farther than most other major mainstream orgs. in making that a signature focal point.” In contrast to the Sierra Club’s pro-conservation stance, Snyder emphasized his belief that energy and the environment that protecting the environment does not mean abandoning the development of energy resource in a Nov. 2012 address. “We have many successful companies that have safely produced oil and natural gas in Michigan, while protecting Michigan’s waters,” Snyder said at the time. Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel characterized the scorecard as erroneous, adding that in contrast to the Sierra Club’s scorecard, the governor has done many things during his tenure to help the environment. “Gov. Snyder is working to ensure a Pure Michigan for years to come — a place that all will want to live, work and play,” Wurfel said. A similar scorecard, maintained on an ongoing basis by the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, ranks Snyder higher, characterizing 72 out of a total of 124 tracked actions as positive, 24 as neutral and 32 as negative. The one major policy referenced on the scorecard that the Sierra Club and Snyder did agree on was the creation of a regional transit authority, which will
bring a unified public transit network to Southeast Michigan. Public Policy prof. Elisabeth Gerber, one of Washtenaw County’s representatives on the regional transit authority, said the creation of the authority should be seen as a major success for the governor. “The state legislature has attempted 33 times to pass legislation to create a RTA,” Gerber said. “This is try number 34. I would say that his political leadership was essential — it wasn’t the only factor that helped pass it this time, but I think without him it would not have passed.” The RTA is projected to be a positive development for the environment because of its role in shifting people away from traveling using individual vehicles. None of the policies on the scorecard directly relate to students, but Rackham student Charlotte Jameson, who is studying environmental policy and planning, said the governor’s environmental track record should still be seen as important. “I think the whole argument about this is setting the stage for future generations and really should resonate with people my age and younger,” Jameson said. “It sounds kind of cliché to say that because it’s generally overhyped in a lot of communications and organizations, but I think it really does matter.”
idea of forming the Brehm Coalition — sort of a dream team of scientists who would work as if they were all co-located, except they wouldn’t be,” Markel said. “It was formed to really have a team of scientists who would work together in a way that really had not happened in diabetes research before.” While many members of the Brehm Coalition are already funded independently by JDRF, Markel said this will be the first time JDRF has funded the coalition as a whole. In response, Markel said the coalition will ensure that JDRF will be an active participant in the research process. “We have suggested that this be a learning exercise where the JDRF scientific members and the JDRF will participate,”
Markel said. “They can help drive where the research goes, and be an active piece of the research, which is not something that JDRF has been invited to do before.” Markel added that the finding of immature beta cells raises a list of questions that can only be answered by probing further into the biology of Type 1 diabetes. “Why do these beta cells stop producing insulin?” Markel said. “Are there going to be treatments down the road that we can then develop based on what we discover about how the beta cells actually are impacted by diabetes? This is actually throwing a whole set of new approaches to better understand what’s happening to the beta cells in Type 1 diabetes so that we can ultimately have better treatment.”
OMG JOIN THE MICHIGAN DAILY mass meetings: thursday, jan. 16 & monday, jan. 20 7 P.M., 420 MAYNARD
LAND From Page 1A University in isolation,” Kosteva said. “The city may be experiencing a short term loss of some of those tax revenues, Kosteva said, but through most of the efforts of the University, there has been a demonstrable longterm gain in taxable value in the city.” The University has created more than 9,000 jobs since 2001, and without the University, property value in Ann Arbor would likely have suffered tremendous losses in 2008 and the years that followed. “During the recession, University communities were better insulated against property value declining,” Kosteva added. Speculation has already
Monday, January 13, 2014 — 5A
begun as to how the University will be using this property, or if the city will purchase the property and look for private investors and new business to buy the land later on. Edwards Brothers, Inc. — the fifth-largest book and journal manufacturer in the country — currently owns the property, and the building that stands on it will likely be demolished. “We don’t have any specific plans for the site,” Kosteva said, “With that being said, it is also apparent that it is in the immediate proximity of major portions of the Ross Athletic Campus as well as the South State commuter lot, so I think that there is a reasonable assumption that if the University were successful in acquiring it, part of the utilization of this property would be to support the Ross Athletic
Campus.” University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said in December that the property could expand the Athletic Department facilities, as it sits in a prime location for University expansion. “When strategic pieces of property like this become available, it makes good sense for the University to pursue properties that would be in such strategic locations,” Fitzgerald said. City Administrator Steve Powers is in the process of assessing the city’s strategic options for the Edwards Brothers property, and the Ann Arbor City Council is expected to make a final decision in February. City Council members have already begun looking for other prospective buyers, though there is no indication what other parties might be interested.
Berlin synagogue feud captured in viral video German government has scrutinized the community’s rising expense requests BERLIN (AP) — Under the golden dome of the Berlin synagogue, elderly worshippers traded shoves and obscenities flew. A man held up his phone to film the ruckus; the leader of the city’s Jews snatched it away. Then punches began to land in a chaotic scrum, a man rammed a table into another’s stomach, and demurely clad women put each other in chokeholds. Police had to be called to restore calm. The ugly scene, described in interviews with witnesses and seen on an Internet video, is indicative of a Berlin Jewish community in crisis — riven by cultural rivalries, its finances under official scrutiny. It’s hard to say who is at fault, but the feuding is fed at least in part by a clash between an old guard of German Jews dating to before World War II, and a growing presence of relative newcomers from the former Soviet Union. What is clear is that the 10,000-member Jewish Community of Berlin, having experienced a stirring post-Holocaust rebirth, now fears it’s in danger of falling apart. And Berlin authorities are so alarmed by alleged financial irregularities that they have suspended millions of euros (dollars) in subsidies the community has enjoyed for decades. “The quarrels highlight the demoralization that has been taking place in this community,” Lala Suesskind, who headed the Jewish Community of Berlin until February 2012, told The Associated Press. “The community is in such a hopeless
situation that even violence and intimidation are being used. That’s unprecedented.” At the center of the storm is Gideon Joffe, who was elected nearly two years ago as community president, and whose leadership style has alienated members even as he comes under official scrutiny of his financial management. The brawl in the famed Neue Synagoge on Oranienburger St. erupted last May after the Berlin Senate, the community’s main source of funding, made a stunning announcement: It was cutting off payments for the community’s salaries until Joffe explained why his latest budget included an 11 percent increase in subsidies for personnel costs — a jump of about 600,000 euros (more than $800,000). Joffe refused to give details of where the money would go — or even the number of staff the community employs. The city responded by blocking the funds — and the community was unable to pay salaries. Joffe declined to be interviewed, but his spokesman, Ilan Kiesling, speaking to the AP, said: “A small group from the opposition is trying again and again to create a bad atmosphere in public, even though the community’s institutions are working very well. The opposition does in no way reflect the entirety of this community.” The Senate pays about 5.5 million euros a year toward community salaries — 40 percent of the total — and can’t calculate the budget without knowing exactly how many employees are involved, city officials said. Estimates provided by Joffe of between 300-350 persons on the payroll are too vague, they said. “We are happy to provide
money to the Jewish community. We’re eager to support its growth, and due to our historical responsibility we’re willing to be generous,” said city spokesman Guenter Kolodziej. “After the war, the rebirth of Jewish life was worth its weight in gold. “However, we are obligated to control how the money is being spent, and we weren’t able to do so.” Joffe has sued Berlin over the interruption of subsidies and a decision is expected this year. Meanwhile, a temporary court order obliges the city to pay what it owes under previous agreements, but it is still refusing to hand over the extra 11 percent demanded by Joffe. The overall amount of public money the community receives is determined by the deal it struck with the Berlin state parliament in 1994. It entails paying the community a lump sum for employees’ salaries and further contributions for schools, nursing homes and synagogues — adding up to 18.5 million euros a year. That treaty followed the fall of Communism in 1989, when some 200,000 Jews from the former Soviet Union were allowed to settle in Germany. Julius Schoeps, a member of a prominent German Jewish family, says he quit the organization because he was fed up with Joffe’s leadership. But he added that the overall problems were long in the making, stemming from the huge sums Berlin doled out over the years without demanding a full accounting. “I told Berlin lawmakers years ago to check where the money is going, but they always replied they were too afraid to be depicted as anti-Semites to conduct any thorough controls,” he said in an interview.
Arts
6A — Monday, January 13, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM REVIEW
FILM REVIEW
PARAMOUNT
Brick still loves lamp.
Comedy ‘Legend’ fails to continue ‘Anchorman’ sequel fails to live up to the original By CONRAD FOREMAN Daily Arts Writer
2013 was a great year for movies — a new Scorsese/DiCaprio collaboration in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” another C+ David O. Russell act- Anchorman 2: ing clinic in The Legend “American Hustle” and Continues “12 Years a Slave,” one Rave 20 and of the most Quality 16 powerful Paramount stories ever told on film — were just a few of the impressive achievements brought to the big screen this year. However, for die-hard Will Ferrell (“Step Brothers”) fans, as well as stoners (perhaps some overlap there?), the most anticipated movie of the year may have been “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues — ” the long-awaited sequel to 2004’s “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” This time around, Burgundy (Ferrell) and his news team find
another opportunity to broadcast news in their own distinct style, now across the country from New York, after Ron loses his dream job to his wife, Veronica (Christina Applegate, TV’s “Married With Children”). In this continuation of the legend, the news team toes the line of journalistic ethics and confronts their own deteriorating friendship, while Ron Burgundy struggles between his ambition as an anchorman and his desire to be a good husband and father. To (insultingly) oversimplify it, you have two directions you can go with comedy: you can be silly, but witty and intelligent (i.e. one of the silliest/smartest shows on TV, “Community”); or you can be stupid, but serious. The first “Anchorman” is classic stupid-but-serious comedy. The characters say and do ridiculous things, but because they take it (and themselves) so seriously, the style works despite the dumbed-down comedy. “Anchorman 2” is as stupid as its predecessor, but the story gets lost in its silliness and fails to recapture its charm. Ferrell and director Adam McKay (“The Other Guys”) go out of their way to pay homage to the first film, which is cute and funny at times, but mostly feels forced. Rather than build-
ing on the magic of the first installment, the second rides on its coattails. Where the film excels is in its social commentary, which plays a much bigger role in this second go-round. Through their own desire for ratings, the news team unwittingly spawns a new era of reporting, littered with sound-bytes, car chases, sex and drugs. As Burgundy says, “Why do we have to tell the people what they need to hear? Why can’t we just tell them what they want to hear?” The moral lessons Burgundy learns in the sequel are also more significant. In the first film, he’s able to find happiness with Veronica despite her success, but that happiness is still contingent upon his own success as an anchorman. We quickly discover that he hasn’t learned much of anything. “2” demonstrates a much greater change in Burgundy, as he finally learns to accept familial harmony as a greater joy than professional success. In the end, though, “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” falls flat — the brilliance found in the spontaneous stupidity of the first film is absent. And at its best, the film is a youknew-it-was-coming barrage of cameos that are only mildly entertaining.
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Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle DOWN 1 Log cutters 2 Condo division 3 “Inside” facts, briefly 4 Meditative exercise regimen 5 Teardrop-shaped nutlike snacks 6 Answering machine cue 7 Part of MIT: Abbr. 8 South Seas getaway 9 Substitute (for) 10 “To thine __ self be true” 11 Ohio city 12 Work on dough 13 Titillating cellphone messages 21 Green Hornet’s sidekick 22 Extremely 27 Male deer 28 Game on horseback 29 Valid 30 Christmas toymaker 31 Gadget used on an apple 32 “__ the fields we go”
36 PC alternative 37 Relax in a hammock 39 California’s Santa __ 41 ICU drips 44 Poet whose work inspired “Cats” 45 Director Preminger 47 Woman on stage 48 Bok __: Chinese cabbage
51 Consumes avidly 52 Take a stand against 53 Series of links 54 Lacks 59 Word before five or ten 60 __-steven 61 State known for its caucuses 62 Business bigwig 63 Gunpowder holders 65 “__ Doubtfire”
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“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other and to feel. That is B+ the purpose of life.” The Secret “The Secret Life Life of Walter of Walter Mitty Mitty” lives Rave 20 and by this creed, which serves Quality 16 as the motto 20th Century Fox for Life Magazine in the story. Using this mantra as its guide, the film tells the tale of a man who seizes control of his life for the first time. The most recent adaptation of James Thurber’s 1939 short story (which was first adapted to film in 1947) stars Ben Stiller (“Zoolander”) as the titular
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Not-so-secret plot in dreamy ‘Walter Mitty’
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Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis ACROSS 1 Business attire 5 Somewhat 9 Punches hard 14 Tolstoy’s “__ Karenina” 15 Jazz singer Horne 16 Packing rope 17 Hot spot connection 18 What gears do 19 Addition to a school, say 20 Noncash executive compensation 23 Siamese or Abyssinian 24 Solo in “Star Wars” 25 Seminary deg. 26 Dog tags, for instance 27 Close boxing match outcome 33 Part of a foot 34 Norway’s capital 35 Low soccer score 38 Aquatic plant 40 Work wk. end for many 42 “__ Lama Ding Dong”: doo-wop hit 43 Enter 46 Hurricane rescue op 49 Omnivorous Looney Tunes devil, familiarly 50 Folgers competitor 53 Greek letter between phi and psi 55 Airline approx. 56 Tee or blouse 57 Sandwich meat 58 Randomly determined NBA draft choice 64 “Me, too” 66 Use a piggy bank 67 Overflow with, as charm 68 Prelude, for short 69 Hawaiian strings 70 Thief’s haul 71 Explosive experiment 72 Felt tips and ballpoints 73 Dumbo’s wings
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character, a negative assets manager at Life Magazine with a habit of slipping into elaborate daydreams that exemplement his mundane existence. Walter finds himself in hot water when he can’t locate the photograph that’s supposed to serve as the final cover of Life, which is converting to an online publication. The predicament launches Walter on a journey of self-fulfillment and discovery, one which transforms his daydreams into an adrenaline-packed reality. Stiller’s performance carries just the right amount of trepidation and wishfulness, but his direction provides the magic. A wonderful sequence at the beginning of Walt’s adventure places the aforementioned Life motto onto the background scenery, and a beautiful matchcut with water is one of the most memorable, fluid transitions of the year. The dream sequences are creative and funny, although one in particular (a fight scene between Walter and his boss, in which they concrete-surf through the streets of New York) drags on too long. Kristen Wiig (“Bridesmaids”) plays Cheryl Melhoff, Walter’s newly hired co-worker and love interest (and thus a main subject in many of his daydreams). More understated than in her usual roles, Wiig is charming and cute as a single mom facing an almost assured lay-off from her new job. Behind all the main plotdriving forces is Walt’s account on the dating website eHarmony, which has received zero “winks.” Throughout the film, he receives phone calls from Todd (Patton Oswalt, “Rata-
touille”), whose commitment to “beefing up” Walter’s profile is either phenomenal customer service or borderline harassment. The hilarious subplot is a key part of why “Walter Mitty” is successful.
Predictable storylines, comforting themes. The main reason the film works, though, is Walter’s relatability. His problems include dealing with changing family dynamics, confronting his new asshole boss (Adam Scott, “Step Brothers”) and gathering his courage to finally approach the woman he admires. These are problems virtually everyone has faced at one point, and Walter’s daring adventure deals with them in a way that everyone wishes they could recreate. While the message of the film is obvious on the surface ( just check out the tagline: “Stop Dreaming. Start Living.”), it’s ironic that Walter only truly lives when his reality becomes dream-like, as opposed to finding solace and peace in his everyday life. The end is predictable, the lessons have been taught many times before and most viewers will never have adventures quite as grand as Walter. Still, his “Secret Life” is a story worth telling — and re-telling — and worth experiencing on the big screen.
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Arts TV/NEW MEDIA COLUMN
FILM REVIEW
Falling out of love with ‘The Vampire Diaries’ WARNER BROS.
And you thought you had a special connection with Siri.
Spike Jonze’s complicated ‘Her’ Director creates fresh take on traditional love story By JAMIE BIRCOLL Daily Film Editor
On the surface, “Her” is the story of a man and a woman who fall in love. But the film expands into something far more A+ powerful: a meditation Her on existence and love, and Rave 20 and one’s capac- Quality 16 ity to endure Warner Bros. the highs and lows of the modern relationship. It is at once moving and transcendent, sweet and philosophical, melancholic and inspiring. Joaquin Phoenix (“The Master”) plays Theodore Twombly, a man battling depression who doesn’t quite realize it. Having been separated from his wife for nearly a year, he pours himself into video games, the internet and his work, where he writes emotional, eloquent cards for others at BeautifulHandwrittenLetters.com. It’s at his work that the film opens; we see Theodore go through the motions of surviving, expressing himself vicariously through his letters, attempting to distract himself from the emptiness created by his broken marriage. Theodore installs a new operating system on his computer, the first of its kind in that it is artificially intelligent, crafted to uniquely meet the needs of its user. The computer speaks softly, affectionately; her name is Samantha, and Theodore is
immediately smitten. They slowly open up to each other, exploring their fears and desires, their loneliness, their very being. Phoenix, demonstrating an impressive and heartfelt range of emotion and pain, gives possibly the second-best performance of the year as Theodore. He is only outdone by Scarlett Johansson (“Don Jon”) as Samantha. Despite never appearing onscreen, Johansson has a commanding presence, her voice earnest and charming. Writer-director Spike Jonze (“Where the Wild Things Are”) does masterful work behind the camera and infuses his script with indelible wit and nuance that allows him to ask questions that go beyond this unusual love story. Perhaps most immediately, he asks: Can Theodore and Samantha’s relationship be considered real? To blur the answer, he often moves the camera off his actors so we can hear them but not see them; by doing so, Theodore becomes as real or as unreal as Samantha. The film is intercut with flashbacks to Theodore’s relationship with his ex-wife (played by Rooney Mara, “Side Effects”). The vignettes reveal the man Theodore once was, the love he once cherished and has since left him in a deep sadness. As he becomes closer with Samantha, he comes out of that sadness and begins to see the world anew. Samantha, too, is able to grow and understand herself and the world around her saying, “I want to learn everything about everything.” She challenges Theodore with her unique personality and desires, and that challenge allows Theodore to feel again despite believing he has felt “everything I’m ever going to feel.”
Ultimately, their relationship becomes more and more complicated as we come to understand that Theodore cannot simply turn off his relationship with the touch of a button. Samantha exists beyond Theodore’s computer: she composes music, she sings, she draws. As an AI, she can grow to the world around her, and she can do so without Theodore. Slowly, the line that defines their relationship becomes distorted. The premise could have been nothing more than a gimmick for a comedy. Instead, Jonze takes the ridiculous and morphs it into the profound. While at first the film seems to be concerned with whether a love with a computer can be real, its focus becomes much simpler: does it matter? Whether or not Samantha is real is irrelevant; she shapes Theodore’s life just as much as his ex-wife, as his friends and his colleagues. As Salman Rushdie wrote, “I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done, of everything done-to-me. I am everyone everything whose being-in-the-world affected was affected by mine.” Arcade Fire’s song “Supersymmetry” is featured in a brief montage where we see Theodore and Samantha first connect and fall in love. The song adds a layer of wonder to the scene, but it’s name rings more important. The principle of supersymmetry proposes that the particles of matter and force, once thought to be separate entities, are actually interconnected by partner particles, or superpartners. This is the heart of “Her,” to unite what is thought to be dissonant, to imagine what is thought to be unimaginable, and to rediscover purpose and hope where they had been abandoned.
TV REVIEW
Stale jokes on ‘@Midnight’ By JOE REINHARD Daily Arts Writer
Sometimes, a good idea on paper doesn’t turn out as well when brought to life. Comedy Central’s “@ Midnight” Bmight not always be a @Midnight show with this prob- Season Two lem, but the Premiere season two Monday to Thursday premiere at 12 a.m. certainly Comedy Central indicates that this might be the case. At the very least, the show doesn’t have a good enough handle yet to make its strong mix of ideas into an excellent program. The show is led by a panel of guest comedians who do improv comedy under a mock game show format that largely draws from absurd material on the web. The show, hosted by Chris Hardwick, pulls from a variety of places — including “Jeopardy!” and Hardwick’s own “Web Soup” — which creates an interesting premise. Over the course of its 30-minute runtime, however, it becomes pretty clear that the show’s premise might not be enough. In fact, as it stands now, the premise is what holds the show back from producing consistently great comedy.
Monday, January 13, 2014 —7A
Consistency is the key word here. “@Midnight” does have some laughs, particularly in its stronger second half where more jokes hit than miss. Of course, the improvisational nature of the show entails that at least some jokes will fall flat, but the number of things that simply don’t work is too obvious to ignore. This is where the show’s game show format becomes problematic. Too often, the panel of comedians struggle to produce something funny because the questions and tasks are too restricting. In one round, the comedians had to say what pinboard a Pinterest photo should be posted to, and each response was underwhelming. An eerie black and white photo of a man holding a deer skull over his face isn’t the worst choice for such an activity, but it failed to generate funny responses that we know each of the individual panelists are capable of. To the show’s credit, having three guests increases the chances of at least one joke being funny, but when all three fail to deliver, it’s hard to watch. The problem lies in how the format prevents them from moving on when a weird Tweet, video, or Instagram photo clearly isn’t working out. It isn’t that the comedians involved aren’t funny. The particular guests for this episode — Kumail Nanjiani
(“Franklin & Bash), Paul Scheer (“NTSF:SD:SUV”), and Andrea Savage (“Step Brothers”) — all have impressive comedy résumés, and each manages to bring about some genuinely hilarious moments. Chris Hardwick, love him or hate him, has plenty of experience hosting, including experience hosting a show with internet based content, and does a decent job. Each person helps stop the show from sinking to mediocrity. It just doesn’t rise to greatness, either.
Don’t stay up for this one. In theory, the mock game show format should provide a fun and unique backdrop for the comedians to work with. Unfortunately, “@Midnight” ends up creating something that isn’t as fun or as engaging as it could be. If the show placed more emphasis on the game show elements (which it doesn’t, seeing how points are awarded according to what Hardwick finds funny and not under a balanced, objective system), that would be one thing, but when the show’s clearly out for laughs first and foremost, the inconsistency is hard to forgive.
Falling out of love sucks. At first, you don’t really know what’s going on. You look at the other person and don’t necessarily see a stranger, but there’s something different, something off. They chew too loudly or their hands are too rough or KAYLA their laugh UPADHYAYA grates on your ears. Is it in your head? Were these imperfections there all along and you just found them endearing, even sexy, before? Small fights become big fights, and the apologies are fewer and farther between. You wish things could go back to the way they were. But they don’t. Things worsen. You’ve fallen out of love, and falling out of love sucks. Recently, I fell out of love with “The Vampire Diaries.” And even though we’re talking about a TV show and not a fellow human being, I can assure you that in this case, falling out of love still sucks. I first fell in love with “The Vampire Diaries” during my freshman year. Despite my love for Kevin Williamson and most things supernatural, I avoided the show for a long time. Vampires? Who write in diaries? Please. At the time, I was the person I would soon came to hate, the TV snob who was better than the CW, the person who insisted that network television can’t possibly hold a candle to its cable superiors. “Just get past the first four or five episodes,” my friend and TVspiration LaToya insisted. “It’s terrible for the first several episodes, but then it transforms into an amazing show. You’ll be obsessing by the end of the week.” I was officially considering it. “Oh, and they ditch the diaries,” she added. OK, let’s do this. I fell fast and hard for “The Vampire Diaries.” Pretty soon, we spent all our meals and evenings together. I introduced her to as many friends as I could, talked about her (perhaps a tad too often) in the dining hall, at parties, in my dorm room. I started calling her by her nickname, “TVD,” and dedicating 90 percent of my tweets to her (almost all of them including a generous helping of OMGs and WTFs). And I didn’t just fall in love with the show; I fell for its brilliant cast, its well-written characters, its wicked smart creative team led by Williamson and Julie Plec. I fell for Candice Accola in every way. I fell for the deftness with which Nina Dobrev so expertly played two different characters, to the extent that you forget both were her (which led me to write a leng thy blog post about the differences between Elena and Katherine’s physicalities … Dobrev’s mouth moves differently depending on which she is playing! I’m not making this up! Look for it!). I even fell for the emotional tumult of it all, the fact that no character is ever safe, that death is as much a part of the
series’s narrative fabric as young love is. I watched most of the first season with LaToya (forever thankful I finally listened to her) and our friend Ilona. Even though we all lived in different states, we scheduled group gchats, pressed play simultaneously, and spent the next 43-ish minutes going through a whole range of emotions together, because that’s what this damn show about too-pretty teenagers and their vampire cohorts does to you. It wasn’t long before I caught up and the bingewatching had to come to an end. But I still found ways to spend time with “TVD” between its Thursday night airings. I read Price Peterson’s f lawless photo recaps and continued, almost always unsuccessfully, to convince my friends to start watching. When I read reviews disparaging my favorite character, I posted a manifesto on my tumblr that declared my love for Caroline Forbes, in both her human and vampire forms. But something started happening during season four. At first, I didn’t really know what was going on. I watched “The Vampire Diaries,” and it was more or less the same show, but there was something different, something off. The dumb Elena-StefanDamon love triangle was suddenly taking up too much of the narrative. Caroline had been pushed to the back burner. Nothing Bonnie did made any sense anymore. Careful character development that had been steadily building since season one was balled up and thrown in the trash. Had these imperfections been there all along and I had just found them endearing, even sexy, before? Small qualms become big qualms, and the redeeming qualities were fewer and farther between. I wished things could go back to the way they were. But they didn’t. Things worsened. I had fallen out of love, and falling out of love sucks … even when it’s with a TV show. At least in this case, I wasn’t going through it alone. Ilona stopped watching entirely. LaToya returned to the early seasons so she could remember how things used to be. Reviews became more and more critical. Ratings for season five have dropped, on average, by one to two million from what they were per episode in the first two seasons. I could forgive some of the baseless character changes and story missteps. Most shows slump at some point. And season four, despite its troublesome sire bond plot and overemphasis on the love triangle, also includes episodes that embody everything “TVD” does well: “Memorial” jerks tears from even the most heartless of monsters while also serving up a blinding dose of suspense. But now, we’re in the midst of season five, and “The Vampire Diaries” doesn’t just look unfamiliar; it has morphed into something absurd, toxic, even nauseating. Love has taken center stage, and the show that once burst with themes of family and friendship now sags with some seri-
ously fucked up philosophies on romance. The once strong and clear-sighted Caroline has melted into a helpless, lovesick vamp who clings to her fading relationship with Tyler. Elena constantly asks herself: Stefan? Or Damon? When really, she should be asking: Can’t I just be single for once and stop letting these men dictate my every move? The writers room also seems to have become obsessed with the concept of post-traumatic stress disorder. The writing feels sloppy, as if someone opened up their kid’s psych textbook, found a basic definition of PTSD and said “yeah, let’s do that,” without trying to connect it to the characters’ emotions or the story’s trajectory. So now, Stefan suffers from PTSD. Which, yeah, makes sense. I mean, the dude was trapped in a sealed vault and tossed into a river, where he drowned, died, and came back to life about a thousand times over the course of several months. That’s going to take a psychological toll on a fella. Caroline attempts to cure him by trapping him in the very vault which causes his trauma (a solution she pulls from her own psych textbook), but it’s Katherine who finally gets through to Stefan. In the process, Katherine reveals that Stefan’s PTSD results not from the whole drowning repeatedly for months thing but rather because of … wait for it … Elena dumping him. Huh? I get it. We all do stupid things for love. We’ve all had tiny panic attacks when someone doesn’t reply to a text message in less than three seconds. We’ve all wondered about exes and read too much into tweets, putting subtext where there is none. And I’m not suggesting “TVD” eliminate love from its thematic spinnings entirely; it would lose an essential part of itself. It hasn’t always gotten romance wrong. Early on, Caroline and Tyler’s relationship was wonderfully complex, and Rebekah and Matt’s unlikely pairing glistened with honesty. For a while, the show’s characters were so intertwined in each others’ lives that it seemed anyone could hook up with anyone and it would make sense on a deeper, more emotional level beyond just “they’re both pretty.” But the current season of “The Vampire Diaries” has a lot to say about love, and none of it is healthy: Do anything for love, even if that means placing yourself or others in danger; love is all that matters; love love love. The show’s current conception of love resembles that of a pre-teen who still doesn’t know or understand anything about this nebulous concept beyond the borders of their diary. Well, I’m sorry, “TVD,” but I don’t love you anymore. I can’t love you anymore. But if you want to win my love back, you can start by letting these characters remember who they are, what they care about, what drives and scares and worries them. Because right now, they look like strangers. Upadhyaya is eating lots of garlic. To join her, e-mail kaylau@umich.edu.
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SCREENSHOT FROM MGOBLUE
WHIPPED IN
WISCONSIN PHOTOS FROM PATRICK BARRON/Daily
By ERIN LENNON Daily Sports Writer
WHAT HAPPENED FRIDAY: For the fourth time the No. 8 Michigan hockey team flung shot after shot at the net — 56 in total — but managed to find twine just twice, this time against No. 14 Wisconsin. Wisconsin FRIDAY (4-2 Big 2 MICHIGAN Ten, 13-6WISCONSIN 5 1 overall) jumped SATURDAY out to an early lead 1 MICHIGAN with two WISCONSIN 3 goals in the first period. Though Michigan players were quick to call most of the Badgers’ five goals “fluky,” the early deficit was too steep for the Wolverines (2-2, 10-6-2) to overcome, despite their two late goals in the third period, as they fell, 5-2. SLOW START: The Wolverines rode a 125-minute scoreless streak dating back to Dec. 27 at the Great Lakes Invitational all the way into the third period before sophomore forward Andrew Copp buried his teamleading 15th goal of the season. Berenson has said a good start has been trademark of all prolific Michigan teams. So two periods without a score was uncharacteristic for a team that outscored opponents 17-6 in the first frame through the first half of the season. BIG ICE, BIG PROBLEM: Seven feet wider than Yost Ice Arena, the Kohl Center may have had no effect on Michigan’s performance this weekend, but the team has certainly had problems adjusting to different ice conditions. On a larger rink in New Hampshire, the then-rolling Wolverines narrowly escaped two overtime defeats. And outside at Comerica Park in December, the Wolverines were shut out for the first time. Michigan will likely see bigger ice on more than one occasion the rest of the season.
WHAT HAPPENED SATURDAY: Though Michigan got off to a better start than it had Friday, the same problems that plagued the Wolverines in Friday’s loss were far from eliminated. Against a strong Wisconsin penalty kill and lightsout goaltending by Joel Rumpel for a second time, the Wolverines struggled to find success. Though the shot selection was slightly improved, Michigan scored only once. With the score 2-1 in Wisconsin’s favor after 18 minutes of back-and forth-hockey in the third period, Michigan’s hopes of escaping the weekend with a split were put to rest when Badgers forward Joseph Labate netted a breakaway attempt to push his team’s lead to two. With 41 seconds remaining, an apparent goal from freshman forward JT Compher was overturned, and the clock ran down. NAGELVOORT NEEDS HELP: Freshman goaltender Zach Nagelvoort — who allowed four goals on Friday, tying a season high — got the nod for the second matchup. And again, Nagelvoort did his job. He completed 33 saves on Saturday to keep Michigan in the game, allowing just two goals despite many more scoring chances from a potent Wisconsin offense that ranks in the top 10 nationally. What’s more, the defense began to let up in the second period. The unit allowed 23 shots through two frames and turned the puck over several times. THE BRAWL: Beginning when sophomore forward Andrew Copp skated up behind a Wisconsin player and shoved him into the boards and onto his back. As he skated away, the Badgers on ice swarmed Copp, and punches were thrown between both teams as helmets went flying. The scrambles resulted in four ejections, including Copp, senior forward Derek DeBlois and junior forward Alex Guptill for Michigan. However, they are eligible for their next game, according to NCAA rules.
FIVE-STAR FALLACY
n For the Michigan football team, recruiting alone won’t save the program from a 7-6 season, but winning will. Page 2B
Minus Copp, ‘M’ falters offensively Wolverines score three goals in two games, lose fourth in a row By JEREMY SUMMITT Daily Sports Editor
MADISON — Andrew Copp returned to Ann Arbor this past Sunday, tired and jet-lagged after competing with the USA World Junior team in Sweden since Dec. 27. His arrival came nearly two weeks after the rest of the team was on campus after the holiday season, and at practice Wednesday, he said he was still trying to get back into the swing of things. But the sophomore forward didn’t show many signs of fatigue throughout No. 9 Michigan’s two-game series at No. 14 Wisconsin this weekend. As he has for much of the season, Copp remained the lone bright spot for an offensive unit that’s been lulled into a sleep for the past
month. Dating back to Dec. 11, Michigan has scored seven goals in five games, all of them resulting in losses. It narrowly escaped being shutout in consecutive outings for the first time since the 1942-43 season, thanks only to Copp’s late power play goal in the third period of Friday’s 5-2 loss. Senior forward Luke Moffatt added the second tally minutes later, but it was too little for a team that needed production 58 minutes earlier. The Wolverines’ potential to score a few goals every night is high on paper, but the talent hasn’t materialized into ”W’s” on the ice. “(Copp’s) playing hard, and he’s establishing himself again in the second half as one of our top players,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “We just need more players getting into that groove.” Michigan possesses already-proven goal scorers in junior forwards Alex Guptill and Phil Di Giuseppe, but they’ve been streaky at best See OFFENSE, Page 3B
This isn’t a rivalry series, not yet at least M ADISON — The crowd of over 14,000 fans roared, hollered and called for the heads of the No. 9 Michigan hockey team. The officiating crew, outnumbered and outmuscled, separated the two teams into their own penalty boxes while they sorted out the last minute of brawling like parents separating children. And when the commotion had ended, the Wolverines’ penalty box looked even more crammed than Score- GREG keepers Bar GARNO and Grill on a Tuesday night. In it, stood six of Michigan’s best scorers, and arguably best players off all classes — seniors Derek DeBlois and Mac Bennett, juniors Phil Di Giuseppe and Alex Guptill, sophomore
OH SO CLOSE
n The Michigan women’s basketball team came minutes away from moving into first in the Big Ten. Page 4B
Andrew Copp and freshman JT Compher. Each one had been on the ice after freshman goaltender Zach Nagelvoort had been pulled and all of whom were quiet and motionless with the exception of the chatty Guptill. They collectively looked up at the screen after a matter of seconds for a replay and then turned to the officials to learn their fate. Six men in the box at once! It symbolized everything about the weekend for the Wolverines. The offense was bottled up, with little room to push the puck around. The defense was trapped in its own zone early and often. With 33 seconds to go, trailing 3-1, Michigan faced a series sweep and its fourth consecutive loss as the massive penalties were handed down. In the penalty box, the Wolverines presented as much of a threat to win off the ice as they did on the ice. In its first Big Ten series since See RIVALRY, Page 3B
SportsMonday
2B — Janurary 13, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
SportsMonday: When recruiting isn’t enough R
ecruiting. It’s the buzzword that has kept Michigan coach Brady Hoke further away from the hot seat than he probably should be and the word that’s getting people excited about the next season of a football team that just finished 7-6. The word was one of the big focuses in Friday’s press conference, held to introduce former EVERETT Alabama offensive COOK coordinator Doug Nussmeier into the same position at Michigan. It shouldn’t have been, but it was. “Obviously, we are in the heart of recruiting season,” Nussmeier said. “It’s important. As they say, it’s about Jimmy’s and Joe’s — not Xs and Os. The first thing is on the recruiting front. The football will take care of itself.” Nussmeier seems like a good guy, a family man. Used the word “special” six times in his press conference. Said this is a “darn good” football team, which anyone with even the most basic football knowledge knows isn’t true. (He gets a pass in hopes that his duties with the Crimson Tide prevented him from actually watching the Wolverines this year.) But his statement was a per-
ADAM GLANZMAN/Daily
Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier (left) and coach Brady Hoke (right) are known for their recruiting success, but it takes coaching to develop players.
fect viewpoint of the divide of this program, where recruiting rankings seem to keep everything afloat amidst the sinking product on the field. Hoke is known for his prowess as a recruiter. He’s pulled the 12th-best class in the nation for 2014 after the sixth-best class in 2013 and the seventhbest in 2012. And yet, right now, that doesn’t matter. 7-6 matters. Getting blown out in a bowl known more for
chicken than football matters. Watching Michigan State win the Rose Bowl from a couch at home matters. It matters that after the loss in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, linebacker James Ross III said, “We weren’t totally into it.” Getting the highest-ranked recruits and more stars to fill up an elementary school bulletin board doesn’t mean a damn thing if those recruits don’t get developed properly. That is
where Hoke and company have failed so far, and why the focus on five-star recruits is irrelevant if those recruits don’t actually end up doing anything. The best talent in the world still needs to be refined. That’s the reason why Michi-
gan redshirt sophomore running back Justice Hayes was ranked higher out of high school than Auburn running back Tre Mason, but the former had two carries this season while the latter was a Heisman Trophy finalist and ran for 195 yards and a touchdown
“The football will take care of itself”
in the national championship game before declaring early for the NFL Draft. That’s the reason why Michigan’s secondary — full of highly recruited players — was torched by a junior college transfer at quarterback and a two-star recruit at wide receiver in the loss to Kansas State in Tempe. That’s the reason why the top-three players in Michigan’s 2012 recruiting class have done a whole lot of nothing in two seasons in Ann Arbor, while three-star recruit Willie Henry became one of the best Wolverine defensive tackles down the stretch. He’s done better than defensive back Terry Richardson, who didn’t see game action this year, and Royce Jenkins-Stone, who played in one game this year as a reserve linebacker, and offensive guard Kyle Kalis, who only regained his starting job after walk-on Joey Burzynski tore his ACL. Rankings and stars only matter so much. They can only get your program so far. Maybe Nussmeier will be the magic touch. Maybe he’ll be the one missing component in the current talent divide on this football team, at least on offense. Or, maybe he won’t. But as we saw in 2013, the Jimmy’s and Joe’s — as highly ranked as they might be — can only do so much without the X’s and O’s. Cook can be reached at evcook@umich.edu and on Twitter @everettcook
WRESTLING
Wolverines down Purdue By BEN FIDELMAN Daily Sports Writer
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
The Michigan women’s gymnastics team cruised past Iowa State and Illinois State, bolstered by a pair of freshmen.
Inexperienced pair helps Michigan win tri-meet Young duo performs like veterans in victory By CINDY YU Daily Sports Writer
Nicole Artz and Talia Chiarelli are the newest additions to the No. 7 Michigan women’s gymnastics team this season. Though they entered unproven and inexperienced, the duo proved that they belonged to start at the beginning of the season. On Friday, the pair helped the Wolverines score a 196.525 team total to win the tri-meet at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa over Iowa State (194.600) and Illinois State (187.400). Unfazed by the pressure of not only competing in their first collegiate meets, but also performing in the lead-off positions on beam and floor, the freshmen executed their routines like veterans. In her debut, Artz matched senior Joanna Sampson with a 9.825 to place first on the balance beam. Chiarelli followed immediately with a 9.775 to tie senior Shelby Gies for second overall. As a last-minute replacement, Chiarelli kicked off the
floor rotation and scored a 9.850. With an upgraded tumbling pass she plans on implementing in the near future, her already impressive routine can only get better. Artz nailed her 9.900 floor set, highlighted by a stuck double pike, to finish runner-up to Sampson, the reigning national champion, who scored a 9.925. “They really showed me the kind of competitors they are,” said Michigan coach Bev Plocki. “It gives me a lot of optimism for what they’re going to be able to show the rest of the season.” Both freshmen earned impressive accolades in their club gymnastics careers prior to entering college. Artz won floor at the 2012 Junior Olympic National Championships in the Jr. D Division and traveled to Brazil as a member of the Region 5 All-Star Team. Chiarelli contributed to Canada’s silver medal at the Olympic Qualifier and was slated as one of 12 gymnasts to compete at the 2012 Canadian Olympic Trials prior to injury. Because club gymnastics is much more individualized than college gymnastics, the two best friends impressed Plocki with their quick, smooth transition. Living across from one another in Alice Lloyd Residence Hall, the inseparable teammates have
fun and motivate each other. “(College gymnastics) really is indescribable,” Artz said. “You never really know what it’s like until you experience it.” In addition to the added freshmen, the Wolverines return 10 and add Alabama transfer Brooke Parker. On the uneven bars, fifthyear senior Natalie Beilstein anchored with a 9.900 routine capped by a stuck full-twisting double layout dismount. Senior captain Shelby Gies finished a close second, scoring a 9.875 in the event. While junior Annette Miele led off on bars with a 9.675 routine, Plocki opted out of using her on vault and beam to let her recover from back issues. “Having the depth to be able to pull somebody else from the lineup and have them do such a great job is the beauty of this team,” Plocki said. Michigan finished the meet on vault, where sophomore Austin Sheppard and Sampson nearly stuck Yurchenko fulls to go 1-2 with scores of 9.900 and 9.875, respectively. Still early in the season and with room for improvement, the Wolverines are on track to their quest to return to the Super Six — the equivalent to the Final Four.
The No. 18 Michigan wrestling team overcame a slow start Friday evening to win its Big Ten opener, 22-12, against No. 20 Purdue at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines (1-0 Big Ten, 5-2 overall) started off with a win in the 125-pound weight class by redshirt freshman Conor Youtsey. That opening match was a fine representation of the first quarter of the duel, where Michigan had trouble putting themselves in a position to wrestle with a lead. Michigan then took the matches in the 165-, 174-, 184and heavyweight classes in an impressive domination of the final three-quarters of the meet. Youtsey dominated the third period and ended up walking away with an opening 7-4 decision at 125 pounds. A quick start has been a focus preached by the coaching staff all year, and it looked as if Michigan had gotten just that. “Purdue has a lot of scrappy guys,” said Michigan coach Joe
McFarland. “We got a nice win from Youtsey at 125. He started off a little sluggish in that match but was able to finish.” But the next two Wolverines weren’t able to push through adversity quite as well as Youtsey. Michigan sent sophomore Rossi Bruno to the mat for the 133-pound weight class match. Failing to get out to an early lead has been a problem for Bruno, and that issue flared up again against the Boilermakers (0-3, 3-3). Bruno gave up a takedown with just 25 seconds left in the first period and fought from behind for the rest of the match. The match eventually came down to double overtime, where Bruno gave up an escape to go down by a point in the first of two 30-second extra periods. In the second half of the second overtime, Bruno had just 30 seconds to take back the point he had given up, but was unable to do so, and Purdue took the duel to a 3-3 tie. Next up was redshirt freshman Angelo Larota at 141 pounds. After a back-and-forth first two periods, the third was
dominated by the Boilermakers, earning them a 6-3 lead in the duel. At the 149-pound weight class, fifth-year senior Eric Grajales provided a solid outing, bringing home a 6-3 decision to push the duel to an early 6-6 tie. It’s a position Grajales has been in multiple times this season; when the team flounders early and then looks for a veteran in the middle of the lineup to set the tone for the Wolverines in the remaining matches, Grajales has answered that call nearly every time. Freshman Brian Murphy came through next at 157 pounds and pushed Michigan into the lead at 9-6. The meet was the first step for the Wolverines as they head into a Big Ten schedule that features six of the top 11 teams in the country. “(A strong start) is very important,” Grajales said. “Sometimes it’s hard to get going if you get your head down, so you have to start strong and continue through. It’s motivation through the whole season.”
JAMES COLLER/Daily
The Michigan wrestling team is beginning a grueling Big Ten schedule that boasts six of the top 11 teams in the nation.
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January 13, 2014 — 3B
MEN’S SWIMMING
Wolverines slow, but remain undefeated ‘M’ tops Purdue and Northwestern in consecutive days By MAX BULTMAN Daily Sports Writer
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Freshman guard Derrick Walton hit the game-winning shot in Michigan’s 71-70 win over Nebraska on Thursday night.
Walton emerges as late threat In need of a replacement for Burke, can Walton step up? By DANIEL FELDMAN Daily Sports Writer
Throughout the past two seasons, and especially last year, former point guard Trey Burke dominated play late in games. When the game was on the line, the ball ran through Burke. In the Michigan men’s basketball team’s 71-70 victory over Nebraska on Thursday, the ball ran through Burke’s replacement, Derrick Walton Jr. As the main ballhandler for the team, it’s typically his responsibility to facilitate plays throughout the game, while picking his spots here and there to score himself. On Thursday, two of those moments helped lead Michigan to its victory. The freshman first asserted his presence as he sunk a basket from beyond halfcourt to break a 30-30 tie before halftime. Then on the Wolverines’ last offensive possession, Walton drove on the side of the basket and drew a foul in the process as his shot attempt splashed through the net. While the basket gave Michigan the lead and ultimately the victory, the possession once
again backed up Michigan coach John Beilein’s assertion about his young team: There is no automatic choice to go to in high-pressure, big-time moments. Michigan has been cast in this situation earlier in the season and in those moments, the option of who could play hero has varied. In the Wolverines’ games in Puerto Rico, specifically against Florida State, they rode the back of sophomore guard Nik Stauskas, who finished with a career-high 26 points. Versus No. 1 Arizona, Stauskas once again was called upon to take the last-second shots. In Brooklyn, N.Y. against Stanford, the final minutes of the win relied on the play of Stauskas and sophomore forward Glenn Robinson III. And in Michigan’s 63-60 win over Minnesota to begin conference play, the play of Walton and redshirt junior forward Jon Horford that helped seal the win. Without Burke and his superhero-like performances, Thursday’s game represented what the Wolverines will have to deal with, especially with the ruggedness of Big Ten play now underway. Though all five Michigan starters scored in double-figures against Nebraska, including 19 by Robinson and 15 by fifth-year senior forward Jordan Morgan, there were multiple options of who would take
the pivotal shot. So when the Wolverines were down by one with 30 seconds remaining, the designed play wasn’t just an isolation play that Michigan had grown so accustomed to last year with Burke. “It was actually something (Walton’s) been working on, we’ve been working on, that particular play,” Beilein told reporters after Thursday’s game. “He just took it right at him and scored. He had some other options; he didn’t look at those other options. He looked to score. That was one of the options: go in and score. “If it blew up at all, we were going to call timeout. With that amount of time on the clock, we wanted to see if we could get them quick before they could set.” While the play called for multiple possibilities, the one that unfolded showed the aggressiveness of Walton — something the guard hadn’t been called upon to display in the final stretches of play. “I think it’s great for him,” Morgan said Thursday. “I think it’s been a little bit difficult for him to find out where he can get his looks and where he kind of has to pull back. We want him to be aggressive and keep putting pressure on the rim because it makes the (opposition) honor that and gets everyone else open.” With that newly found confidence, the decision for Beilein of who will take the shot with the game on the line just got tougher. Another option has emerged.
several times at the left post to no avail. The puck trickled into the slot for senior forward Derek DeBlois, who shot it directly into Rumpel’s pads. For one final attempt, with the Wisconsin defense gassed, Guptill fired from the point but was blocked. “It’s frustrating when you’re throwing pucks to the net and they don’t go in,” said senior defenseman Mac Bennett. The troubling part, though, is the weekend wasn’t an isolated incident but rather an unfavorable theme of Michigan creating quality scoring chances and failing to finish them. On Friday, many of the forward lines looked desperate at times, simply flinging pucks into open space, missing rudimentary passes in the neutral zone and failing to get set up in the final third of the ice for extended periods. When the chances started flowing in on Saturday, things looked less bleak but the pucks still stayed out. For a team that started eight freshmen this weekend, the play
of the upperclassmen becomes more important and eventually more magnified. Despite his absence in the Great Lakes Invitational, Copp leads the team with nine goals in 15 games. In the competitive Big Ten, with Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin all ranking in the top10 nationally in goals per game, the Wolverines can’t afford a stagnant attack. Even if Copp is able to maintain his recent tear, help from his teammates will have to come quickly if the Wolverines hope to stay in the midst of the conference title race.
“We want him to be aggressive”
OFFENSE From Page 1B this year. Di Giuseppe has hit twine just four times this season, while Guptill has been stymied since holding a six-game point streak leading into conference play. “We haven’t got to that level where you can just about count on certain players getting good scoring chances every night,” Berenson said. On Saturday, Di Giuseppe and Guptill both had opportunities to solidify their place on the stat sheet, but couldn’t break through. Di Giuseppe perhaps had the best chance of the game on a breakaway opportunity in the first period, but his shot was pushed to the left of the net by goaltender Joel Rumpel. The second period of Saturday’s rematch provided the most promising chances all weekend for the Wolverines, but Rumpel continued to stand tall. At one point, freshman forward JT Compher jammed at the puck
“It’s frustrating when you’re throwing pucks to the net and they don’t go in”
BY THE NUMBERS
Michigan’s 4-game losing streak
5
Goals scored in the four-game span.
14
Goals conceded, including five on Friday at Wisconsin,
21
Combined points by those freshmen on Sunday
35.6
Average points per game by those same five freshmen
In most sports, the term “midseason form” implies a peak fitness level and an increased appetite for competition. In swimming, though, midseason form is associated with sore muscles and fatigue. It’s a time when the yardage and rigor of practices increase in order to build strength for championship meets at the end of the year. It was only natural, then, that the No. 1 Michigan men’s swimming team experienced a bit of a drop-off this past weekend from the times it posted before the holidays. But the Wolverines (4-0 Big Ten, 7-0 overall) were still fast enough to win 11 of 16 events Friday, beating Purdue 176-12. The next afternoon, in Evanston, they won every swimming event to beat Northwestern, 177115. “They’re fatigued,” said Michigan coach Mike Bottom. “They’re tired, but that’s a good place to be to practice details.” Friday in West Lafayette, Bottom elected to keep senior Connor Jaeger out of the 1,000-yard freestyle, an event in which Jaeger is among the nation’s elite. Instead, sophomore Anders Nielsen was given the opportunity and he justified the selection, winning in 9:19.37. Though he was held out of
arguably his strongest event, Jaeger was still a major factor against Purdue (2-1, 5-2). Jaeger won the 500-yard freestyle in 4:27.02 and he, junior Justin Glanda and senior Abdel Khalik Hassan took the top three places in the 200-yard freestyle. “This is a meet where we’re practicing some details and pushing through some fatigue,” Bottom said. “We wanted to give (Jaeger) some other options.” Junior Richard Funk continued his impressive season, winning the 100-yard and 200yard breaststrokes in 54.67 seconds and 2:00.59, respectively, against Purdue. Saturday, sophomore Dylan Bosch stole the show. Though Michigan was technically only swimming against Northwestern (1-3, 5-2), Notre Dame also joined the Wolverines in the pool. And while beating the Wildcats was the priority, the Fighting Irish ultimately posed the biggest threat. Bosch started the day strong as a part of the 200-yard medley relay with senior John Wojciechowski and juniors Richard Funk and Bruno Ortiz. The relay won the race in 1:28.36, an NCAA ‘A’ cut qualifying time. After a close race in the 200yard butterfly, which he won in 1:47.58, Bosch had a long time to recover before swimming two races back-to-back at the end of the meet. Bosch beat out Notre Dame’s John Williamson by touching
“They’re tired, but that’s a good place to be.”
the wall in 48.26 in the 100-yard butterfly, then got right back onto the blocks for the 200-yard individual medley. In his last race, Bosch showed his endurance, narrowly winning in 1:48.96. “It’s always fun to have someone who pushes you to get to the wall,” Bosch said. “We always want to win for Michigan and get our hand on the wall first.” Back in the 1,000-yard freestyle against Northwestern, Jaeger also got a chance to show off his broad skill set, taking third place in the 200yard butterf ly in 1:51.37. What was most surprising was that senior John Wojciechowski, who had been Michigan’s lead backstroker earlier in the season, was not the Wolverines’ top finisher in the individual backstroke races. Instead, senior Ryutaro Kamiya took full control of the stroke, winning both the 100yard and 200-yard events in 49.63 and 1:46.20, respectively. Backstroke has been one of the few question marks for Michigan after the departure of Miguel Ortiz last season. “We’re still looking for our relay backstroker,” Bottom said. “(Wojciechowski) swam some freestyle today and a butterf ly in a relay, so we’re still working on filling that spot.” Kamiya’s performance over the weekend was encouraging, but, like the rest of his team, he has plenty of room to improve once the team can taper and recover from the intensity of the midseason and brutal travel schedule. “The guys are tired,” Bosch said, “but all the traveling and that stuff, it makes you better.”
RIVALRY From Page 1B the beginning of December, this weekend’s contest had the physicality of a rivalry game, the talk of a rivalry game and the atmosphere of a rivalry game. But it was not. For it to be a rivalry, Michigan would need to have won. The Wolverines would also have to play Wisconsin regularly. Because if there are two things that have never been seen in Michigan hockey, it’s six men in the penalty box and the Wolverines and Wisconsin facing off in the Big Ten conference. Though these two teams first faced each other 91 years ago — on Jan. 12, as a matter of fact — the Badgers have not played a conference series against the Wolverines since 1982 and last played in 2010. Both teams certainly have rivalries, bigger ones at that, and this isn’t one of them. “A rivalry is usually because you’re playing a team a lot and you get to not like them,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “We’ve only played them two games.” *** So why are we already calling Michigan-Wisconsin a rivalry? Why does senior forward Luke Moffatt call this a rivalry? Why does Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves say it had the feeling of a rivalry series? Because of a fight? For Michigan, the fight that took place at the end of Saturday’s game was a result of built up frustration, not a rivalry. It’s the frustration that leaves Berenson staring into the cold, grey concrete of the Kohl Center when he speaks, pondering the weekend. It’s the frustration that compels the Wolverines to walk out of the locker room with their lips pursed shut and eyes staring straight ahead, or others to speak
PATRICK BARRON/Daily
Junior forward Alex Guptill, a noted scoring threat, was held to just one assist.
softly and briefly about the weekend. “Frustrated is a really good word to describe it,” Bennett said. “We’ve had good times. Like any hockey season, you have ups and downs. Unfortunately, we’re a little bit down right now.” Added Moffatt: “We didn’t have a good experience at the end of the game. Things got out of hand, and I’ll just leave it at that.” *** Ultimately, this series can become a rivalry three weeks down the road when the two teams face off again, this time at Yost Ice Arena. But the Wolverines must play a better hockey game than they played this weekend. They’ll have to play smarter defensively, bury their chances and stay out of the penalty box. The things they did successfully when they won before. “We’re a good team this year,” Moffatt said. “We know we can win this year, we’ve proven it.” And the fans at Michigan will
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have to show up like the 14,000 fans did on Saturday, and will have to be just as loud and boisterous. It’s about treating the series the same way they treat that of Michigan State or yes, even Miami (Ohio). A rivalry won’t happen in the blink of the eye, and a rivalry won’t change the fact that the Wolverines are just two points away from sitting fifth in the sixteam conference. Even though it’s unlikely there will be six Badgers in the Yost penalty box, will it become a rivalry then? If there’s a fight, will others jump to label it as one? What will make this a rivalry? It’s a rivalry when the Wolverines beat the Badgers with their gloves on, not off. It’s a rivalry when Michigan makes it a fight to the finish, not a fight at the finish. It’s a rivalry when those same six players show up on the score sheet, not in the penalty box.
Come to a mass meeting Thursday, Jan. 16 or Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 7:00 p.m. at 420 Maynard!
Garno can be reached at ggarno@umich.edu or on Twitter: @G_Garno.
SportsMonday
4B — January 13, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Dose of reality: Wolverines slip up late Second-half comeback falls just short in rivalry. By MAX COHEN Daily Sports Editor
It could have been the Michigan women’s basketball team’s statement win in a season full of surprises. But the team fell just short. 72 MICHIGAN In MICHIGAN ST. 79 what could’ve been a coming out party for the Wolverines in front of a pompom waving lower bowl, the Spartans (3-0 Big Ten, 11-6 overall) played the role of spoiler. Michigan left the Crisler Center with the first blemish on its Big Ten schedule. The Wolverines (2-1, 11-5) couldn’t shake off early offensive shortcomings produced by Michigan State’s smothering defense en route to a 79-72 loss. Though Michigan eliminated the early deficit on the scoreboard, the expended efforts of the comeback prevented a second one later. Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said the stingy Spartan defense took a physical toll on the Wolverines, particularly the guards. “That wear and tear — (freshman guard Siera Thompson) played 40 minutes — really takes a toll.” Michigan State took a 67-65 lead with 2:47 left when forward Becca Mills made a jumper from the key. The Wolverines responded with turnovers on their next two possessions. Mills extended the lead to 69-65 with just over a minute remaining. After Smith missed wide on a 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring, the Spartans sealed the game from the free-throw
TRACY KO/Daily
Sophomore guard Madison Ristovski made two key 3-pointers in the second half, but Michigan lost its first Big Ten game this year at the hands of the Spartans.
line. For much of the first half, Michigan could get little going offensively, cloaked by a tight Spartan defense. Forced to frequently take unbalanced shots as the shot clock wound down, the Wolverines were down 26-17 with under four minutes left in the half. Then, Michigan’s offensive focus shifted. The Wolverines needed to pound the ball inside to create a comeback, and junior forward Cyesha Goree was the catalyst. Smothered by her defender with five seconds left on the shot clock late in the first half, Goree advanced towards the basket, taking it straight at her defender. Even with the arrival of the extra defender, Goree laid the ball in over both
defenders and was fouled to start the spurt that ignited the Wolverines. “If I want the ball, whether I get it or not, I’m going to draw attention to myself to create shots either for my teammates or myself,” Goree said. Michigan ended the first half on an 11-2 run, largely due to a strong presence in the paint. On the possession that brought the Wolverines within two, they collected two offensive rebounds before Goree fought off contact for another layup.
The forward scored nine consecutive points to end the first half. She finished with 11 points on the night. Michigan continued penetrating the ball inside to start the second half. The Wolverines scored their first 11 points of the half either around the basket or on free throws. After Michigan took a 37-32 lead, Michigan State went on an 8-0 run to take a lead of its own. The Spartans stretched their lead to 44-41 before the Wolverines extended their offense
“I think tonight we showed that we’re right there”
to beyond the 3-point line. Ristovski and freshman guard Paige Rakers made back-to-back 3-pointers to give Michigan a brief lead in the seesaw-like second half. Lead changes became abundant, with the Spartans attacking the Wolverines’ interior, while Michigan went right back at them on the other end. Ultimately, the Wolverines didn’t have the power to mount another comeback. Michigan State settled in to a 65-60 lead with just under six minutes left in the game before Ristovski hit another 3-pointer to bring the Wolverines to within two. On Michigan’s next possession, senior forward Val Driscoll found Goree inside for a layup with a defender in her face to tie
the game. The Wolverines fared much better from the field in the second half, finding more quality shot opportunities after the Spartans placed a more concerted effort on stopping Michigan’s interior game. The Wolverines shot 56.7 percent from the field in the half, including four-for-nine from beyond the arc. But even that wasn’t enough to earn a victory, because Michigan State fared even better from the field, knocking down 58.1 percent of their shots after the break. Thompson led the four Wolverines who scored in double figures with 16 points. Goree led the team with 10 rebounds in the narrow defeat. Though Michigan State came away with the victory, Barnes Arico is confident that the Wolverines are on their way to narrowing the traditional gap between the two programs. “I think tonight we showed that we’re right there,” Barnes Arico said.
BY THE NUMBERS
Michigan vs. Michigan State
4,510
Attendance at the Crisler Center, the most this season.
58.1
Shooting percentage for the Spartans in the second half.
36
Points in the paint scored by both Michigan and Michigan State.
16
Points scored by Siera Thompson, her 14th double-figure game this year.
TRACY KO/Daily
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico appreciated the crowd that watched Michigan face Michigan State on Sunday night.
Large crowd gets a show By SHANNON LYNCH Daily Sports Writer
With nearly two minutes left in the first half of the Michigan women’s basketball game on Sunday afternoon at Crisler Center, junior forward Cyesha Goree went on a 7-0 run, bringing the Wolverines within two points of Michigan State for the first time all game. The 4,510-person crowd erupted at a decibel usually reserved for the men’s team. Seconds later, freshman guard Siera Thompson tied the game at 28 with one minute left before half. It’s commonplace to see a large amount of green and white in the stands of any sporting event in Ann Arbor that hosts the Spartans. This fact stood true once again, but the voices of the Spartan fans couldn’t hold a candle to the roar of loyal Wolverine supporters. Though Michigan fell 79-72, that fan presence made a big impact and kept the team in the game until the very end, even if it isn’t quantifiable. “Anytime you can get a group of people behind you, cheering for you, regardless of if they think they hear it or not, they get excited about it,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “I know that Michigan State has fans like this every single game, so for us to be able to have that support tonight means a tremendous amount, and that’s what we are striving for night in and night
out.” While Michigan fans didn’t disappoint, it looked as though the team might not give them a worthy show early in the first half. The Wolverines, who currently rank 14th in the nation in field goal percentage, fell behind quickly, going 5-for-18 in the first 13 minutes of play. Michigan kept the Spartans from gaining an insurmountable lead in the early going, grabbing a number of defensive rebounds and hustling hard to keep possession of the ball. But at one point, Michigan State led by nine. The Wolverine faithful continued to play its part, trying to fake out the Spartans by counting down their shot clock five seconds early a number of times. Goree singlehandedly kept the Wolverines in the game at the end of the first, and her team returned the favor after halftime. Michigan came out and scored the first points of the second half, and then held onto the lead for almost four minutes. Fans continued their efforts into the second half, chanting “Let’s go blue,” along with the pep band, booing questionable calls from the referees and exploding with excitement after a layup from Thompson or points off a turnover for senior forward Val Driscoll. Even after the run by Goree, scoring wasn’t easy. The Spartans’ defense continued to pile on the pressure, limiting junior
guard Shannon Smith’s production. She was held to two points and three assists in the first 30 minutes. “Shannon is our scorer and as a team when the game is on the line, we always want the ball in her hands,” Barnes Arico said. “I always feel like the next time she has the ball in her hands, she can make a play.” But Smith never got in a groove. In fact, every Michigan player had difficulty finishing plays on offense. Most of the Wolverine attempts came with less than three seconds left on the shot clock. By the second half, those attempts started turning in points, but the Spartans’ ability to force Michigan to run the shot clock down to get better looks on offense gave Michigan State the upper hand to win the game. “We had to cut, and we were doing a lot of standing around,” Goree said. “Once we actually ran our offense and got it moving I think we were able to create shots for ourselves or get to the rim and attack.” Though the Wolverines couldn’t come out on top, the crowd was almost four times the number that Goree and her team are accustomed to at home this year. And the increase in attendance didn’t go unnoticed. Without question, Barnes Arico says, everything they did impacted the aggressiveness of the Wolverines.