ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Monday, April 14, 2014
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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STUDENT GOVERNMENT
CSG: ‘U’ mishandled misconduct guidelines Task force team to meet with federal investigators on Wednesday
VICKI LIU/Daily
Rackham student Megan Watt and LSA freshman Alex Kime raise money for the Jail and Bait fundraiser during MRelay at Palmer Field Saturday.
MRelay raises awareness, $300K for cancer research Annual event draws nearly 1,900 student participants By CHARLOTTE JENKINS Daily Staff Reporter
For 24 hours, students, survivors, caregivers and community members gathered at Palmer Field for MRelay, the University’s annual Relay for Life.
Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday and ending at 10 a.m. Sunday, a host of student organizations gathered to participate in the relay, which is one of hundreds held globally to raise awareness and funds for the American Cancer Society. To participate, each team has one member walking the track at any given time. About 1,900 students registered for the event and 102 teams signed up. Many teams were composed of members of
student organizations, Greek Life and Club Sports teams. MRelay leaders estimate that 3,000 to 5,000 people walked the event during the day. This year’s event surpassed the goal of $315,000 to raise $316,041.08. MRelay will continue to accept donations through August. Last year’s MRelay raised about $312,000. The relay is an opportunity for those affected by cancer to receive support and share their stories. The event includes a
By WILL GREENBERG Daily News Editor
Luminaria Ceremony, which commemorates those who lost their battle with cancer by placing a lighted paper latern on the track in their honor Business senior Kirby Jacobs, a member of the MRelay senior leadership team, said she most anticipated speaking in honor of her mother, who passed away last summer from cancer, during the ceremony. “She was my hero, my everything,” Jacobs said. “I knew I See MRELAY, Page 3A
Two months after its formation, a special Central Student Government task force has issued its findings and recommendations in regards to the University’s handling of former Michigan football kicker Brendan Gibbons’ sexual misconduct case. Led by CSG Vice President Bobby Dishell, a Public Policy junior and CSG president-elect, the task force investigated the Office of Student Conflict Resolution’s handling of the case. OSCR is responsible for facilitating disciplinary proceedings against students. Shortly after The Michigan Daily reported the permanent separation of Gibbons from the University, CSG formed a task force to
examine the University’s relatively new Student Sexual Misconduct Policy and review its handling of the Gibbons case. According to documents reviewed by the Daily, the violation of the Student Sexual Misconduct Policy stemmed from an incident reported to have occurred Nov. 22, 2009. Dishell said the task force will meet Wednesday with the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights officials conducting the federal investigation to discuss its findings. He said the investigators requested a meeting in late March. The task force found that the University “failed to explain the four-year delay between Brendan Gibbons’ conduct and the permanent separation,” that it “failed to investigate third-party complaints of Gibbons’ conduct within sixty days of receiving the complaint,” and that they believe “Brady Hoke knowingly issued false statements in December 2013 concerning the status of Gibbons.” The findings cite an August 2013 phone call complaint to See CSG, Page 3A
CAMPUS LIFE
ANN ARBOR
STAMPS event engages future musical talent
Student announces City Council campaign
First ‘Music Con’ features panel of local musicians By AMIA DAVIS Daily Staff Reporter
“Everyone in this room is a member of the Great Ape family.” Matthew Altruda, radio host of 107.1FM’s Tree Town Sound and voted “The One to Watch in 2013” by annarbor.com, said during his keynote address in a room filled with students and music professionals. But Altruda was not talking about evolution—he was talking about the development of music and how humans were creatures of musical passion since the caveman era. The 2014 Music Con called many aspiring musicians into the League Sunday afternoon. Presented by Stamp Nation, a student organization that supports campus musicians by exposing their music regardless of
genre, Music Con is a conference that brings veterans of the music industry to students who hope to pursue a musical career. The five-hour event helped develop and strengthen the skills of aspiring musicians looking to take the next step in their careers. As the event’s first speaker, Altruda discussed some of the basics of the music industry. To be successful, Altruda said a musician needs to ask for advice and take advantage of opportunities. “Being in the music industry is being able to kick yourself in the butt and do things you are not comfortable doing,” he said. Altruda added that musicians need to evolve in a society where technology is always improving and sending out new information at a fast pace. “If you are not willing to evolve, you will be left in the dust,” Altruda said. Following the keynote, a panel of music industry professionals answered various questions from the audience. See STAMPS, Page 3A
LSA freshman to be second student to run in past two years By EMMA KERR Daily Staff Reporter
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Kinesiology freshman Jacob Wawro competes at the Man vs. Spoon event to raise money for Relay for Life, hosted by Spoon University at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house Friday.
Magazine’s eating contest raises funds for research Spoon University’s new event adds to MRelay efforts By EMILIE PLESSET Daily Staff Reporter
Amid sunshine and temperatures in the 60s, students gathered to witness the University’s food publication Spoon’s
first “Man vs. Spoon” eating competition fundraiser on the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity lawn Friday afternoon. The event raised money for Spoon University’s team for MRelay—the University’s Relay for Life event, a 24-hour relay that raises money and awareness for cancer. The event raised more than $200, adding to their previously raised $1,000, according to LSA senior Jordan Korn,
Spoon University business director. “We wanted to do something fun that could be outside,” Korn said. “Since we’re a food-related website, it would be fun to do some kind of eating competition.” Spoon University is in its first year at the University. The publication began at Northwestern University in 2012 and has chapters at 35 colleges nationwide. See CONTEST, Page 3A
For the second election in a row, a University student is running for Ann Arbor City Council. LSA freshman Sam McMullen officially launched his campaign for the open seat in Ward 3 on the City Council Monday. McMullen is currently running against two other candidates, Julie Grand, a lecturer at the University of Michigan, Dearborn, and Bob Dascola, a barber based in Ann Arbor. Though McMullen has student status, he meets the residential requirements as a lifelong resident of Ann Arbor and obtained the necessary signatures needed to run on April 11, despite the 10-year age gap between him and his opponents. McMullen See CAMPAIGN, Page 3A
Gym-nice-tics The Wolverines are champions for the second straight year
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News
2A — Monday, April 14, 2014
MONDAY: This Week in History
TUESDAY: Professor Profiles
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers
THURSDAY: Alumni Profiles
‘U’ institutes lottery for housing Members of the University’s Board of Regents said they did not have previous knowledge of a housing shortage for the next year. The University expected a 5 to 6 percent increase in freshmen for the upcoming year, which combined with higher re-application rates from current students, meant that not everyone who wanted housing would receive it, necessitating a lottery for housing. Regent Paul Brown (D) said before the lottery occurred, he was not aware of the problem — a sentiment echoed by several
other regents. “I was not hit over the head with any sort of prediction that we were going to be short of housing next fall,” Brown said. 30 years ago this week (April 13th, 1984) Playboy magazine came to campus to recruit for its “Girls of the Big Ten” issue, drawing protests from a coalition of community and campus groups. LSA sophomore Rosalyn Watson said if she was picked to be in the centerfold, she would be thrilled. “This is one of the most wholesome ways to express yourself,” Watson said. “I would never pose
Yelawolf
BY MARINA NAZARIO
BY LEJLA BAJGORIC
The Wolverines wrapped up their regular season with a pair of 15-5 wins over Gannon and Notre DameOhio. Michigan now gets two weeks off before heading to the CWPA Championships, where the Wolverines will contend for their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2010.
THE PODIUM
Sex lecture
Free Speech
BY MICHAEL CASEY
WHAT: University professor David Halperin will discuss the philosphical basis behind sex, and how it does and doesn’t connect to pursuits of love and romance, in the contemporary world. WHO: Institute for Research on Women and Gender WHEN: Today from 4 to 6 p.m. WHERE: Gallery, Hatcher Graduate Library
BY MAURA LEVINE
Michael Casey argues that while many Americans may actually support the new healthcare legislation, they oppose it for two main reasons. First, because of its association with Obama, and second because of Republicans’ success at establishing and maintaining that link.
The University and representatives from the Lecturers’ Employee Organization came to a final agreement after an eightmonth long negotiation process, pending approval by a majority vote of LEO members. -SHOHAM GEVA
WHAT: American Libraries Association president Barbara Stripling will discuss the state of libraries in the United States today. WHO: University Library WHEN: Today at 10 a.m. WHERE: Gallery, Hatcher Graduate Library
Earlier this month, musician Yelawolf released the music video for his single “Box Chevy V.” Bajgoric discusses what the song and video, which are the fifth iteration of a series that began several years ago, says about Yelawolf’s artistic developement.
THE PODIUM
Obamacare
10 years ago this week (April 19th, 2004)
Library discussion
THE FILTER
Water polo
for Penthouse or Hustler — Playboy is more classy.” Members of the Ann Arbor Coalition Against Rape expressed opposition to the magazine. Barb Gormely, an organizer with the coalition, called the magazine exploitative and damaging to women.
After a man was asked to leave a Michigan mall for wearing a bandana, Levine discusses what freedoms the First Amendment protects. While the amendment protects free speech and expression, each state has varying interpretations. Read more from these blogs at michigandaily.com
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Graduate student Syque Ceasar waits to compete on the vault Friday at the NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Champsionships, which the Wolverines won for the second year in a row.
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
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39 years ago this week (April 15th, 1975)
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Poetry reading WHAT: Beijing author Yang Lian, considered a leading Chinese experimental poet, will read his work “1989”, based on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. WHO: U-M Center for Chinese Studies WHEN: Tonight at 7 p.m. WHERE: Museum of Art, Stern Auditorium
Observatory viewing WHAT: Weather permitting, the Detroit Observatory will open up to the public for a night of stargazing. WHO: Department of Astronomy WHEN: Today at 8 p.m. WHERE: Detroit Observatory Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com.
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
1
Pro Russian forces have taken over a police station in Ukraine, the BBC reported Saturday. The move represents a escalation in an ongoing series of protests and occupations of government buildings by the pro-Russian movement.
2
Former Olympian Sam Mikulak dominated the parallel bars to win his seventh individual national championship. With his help, the Michigan men’s gymnastics team claimed its second consecutive national title. >> FOR MORE, SEE SPORTSMONDAY
3
The White House denied claims Friday that the NSA used the Heartbleed online security bug to gather intelligence, Bloomberg reported. An earlier insider report alleged that the NSA was aware of the bug as early as two years ago.
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U.S. looking into reports of toxic gas in Syrian village Both sides of civil war blame each other for poisonous gas attack
some 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Damascus, remain murky. Online videos posted by rebel activists showed palefaced men, women and children gasping for breath at what appeared to be a field hospital. They suggested an affliction by some kind of poison — and yet another clouded incident where both sides blame each other in a conflict that activists say has killed more than 150,000 people with no end in sight. “We are trying to run this down,” said Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, during an appearance Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “So far it’s unsubstantiated, but we’ve shown, I think, in the past that we will do everything in our power to establish what has happened and then consider possible steps in response,” she said. In the Syrian capital, Syrian
President Bashar Assad said the conflict in Syria was shifting in the government’s favor. “This is a turning point in the crisis, both militarily in terms of the army’s continuous achievements in the war against terror or socially in terms of DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — national reconciliation and The U.S. ambassador to the growing awareness of the United Nations said Sunday true aims of the attack on the that reports of a poison gas country,” state-run Syrian attack in a rural village north television quoted Assad as of Damascus were so far saying. He spoke to a group “unsubstantiated,” adding that of students and teachers from AMANDA ALLEN/Daily the United States was trying to Damascus University. Shaka Senghor speaks about youth violence at the Socially Just Neighborhoods: Urban Communities Addressing Violence establish what really happened His comments follow a string and Incarceration event hosted at the School of Social Work Friday. before it considers a response. of government triumphs against Both sides in Syria’s civil rebels, particularly around the war blamed each other for the Syrian capital. Assad’s forces alleged attack that reportedly also have struck local cease-fire injured scores of people Friday agreements with the opposition amid an ongoing international in a number of neighborhoods, effort to rid the country of where weary rebels have turned chemical weapons. over their weapons in exchange to exploit them and so, after a argument with a man to whom Sudoku Syndication http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ The details of what happened couple of weeks on the street, Senghor was selling drugs for an easing of suffocating in Kfar Zeita, an oppositionI was seduced into the crack escalated into violence: Senghor blockades. held village in Hama province Opposition groups, including trade,” Senghor said. shot him to death. He was Senghor said the violence sentenced to up to 40 years in the main Western-backed Syrian National Coalition, said the in his neighborhood was part prison. Then, he said he learned poison gas attack at Kfar Zeita of everyday life. At 18, he was the power writing gave him to shot working as a drug dealer atone and reflect on his life. hurt dozens of people, thought HARD it did not identify the gas used. By CAROLINE BARON in Detroit’s Brightmoor neigh“I sat back and started journState-run Syrian television Daily Staff Reporter borhood, an area afflicted with aling,” he said. “I was disgusted crime, poverty and abandoned with what my life turned out blamed members of the alQaida-linked Nusra Front rebel Shaka Senghor, an author, buildings. From then on, he car- to be, and more importantly I motivational speaker and ried a gun wherever he went. was tired of hurting myself and group for the attack, saying they social activist, discussed the “I made up in my mind that hurting others.” used chlorine gas to kill two people and injured more than perpetuated cycle of inner-city if I was ever in a conflict again, He spoke about solitary violence and how his experience I would shoot first,” Senghor confinement during his 100. It did not say how it conin prison led him to speak and said. 19-year tenure in prison. He firmed chlorine was used. Chlorine, one of the most write at the School of Social In response to one Social was on 23-hour lockdown Work Friday. Work professor’s question five days a week and 24-hour commonly manufactured chemicals in the U.S., is used to After he shot and killed a concerning how Senghor could lockdown the other two days. purify drinking water. But as a man at age 19 and spent nearly have benefited from a social During this period, he became two decades in prison, Senghor worker after he was shot, he depressed. gas, it can be deadly. Adham Raadoun, an is now an author of six books, said a way to deal with the “I’m not sure if we think critopposition activist on the edge youth mentor and recently trauma of violence would have ically in American society about of Kfar Zeita, said government spoke at a regional TEDx been crucial. He added that what solitary confinement does helicopters dropped a number Conference. At the event, counseling in underprivileged to human beings,” Senghor Senghor discussed his life areas is still lacking. said. “You get three five-minute of barrel bombs on the village that appeared to carry the toxic growing up on the west side of “I just knew he’d get showers, and you’re allowed to gas, killing one person and Detroit in an abusive home and treatment or counseling; but go to recreation cages on breaks, running away at age 13. just like when I got shot, they which is really a little dog kenchoking about 100 people, many of them in their homes. “One of the things that often passed him up, sent him right nel, and when they bring you out happen in inner cities and back to the hood, and nobody of your cell you’re in handcuffs Quoting eyewitnesses, © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com QUITE THE HEADACHE. tougher environments where ever intervened in that way,” with a leash attached to them. Raadoun said the gas had a thick, yellowish color that kids might run away is that Senghor said of his shooter. We don’t consider the high level smelled of chlorine. there are other people looking On a separate occasion, an See PRISONER, Page 3A Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com!
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Former prisoner talks innercity violence, his experiences Shaka Senghor stops at School of Social Work as part of national tour
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NEWS BRIEFS
CSG From Page 1A
FENTON, Mich.
Drinking water in Fenton safe again after leak fixed Fenton authorities say it’s safe for everyone in the Genesee County community to drink the water again. The city issued a boil-water warning after discovering Wednesday that a 6-inch water man on Trealout St. was broken. WEYI-TV says crews were unable to make repairs without depressurizing the system, which allows bacteria to enter pipes. That led to the warning to residents of a number of streets and apartment complexes not to use water without boiling it first. The station reported Sunday that Fenton has lifted the order after confirming the system has been decontaminated.
OVERLAND PARK, Ka.
Three dead in community center shooting Authorities say three people died in a shooting at a Jewish community center and retirement community, and two were shot at but not injured. Overland Park Police Chief John Douglass said at a news conference Sunday that the person who had been reported to be in critical condition was one of the three dead. Douglass said shots were fired behind the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City in a parking lot, and two males died. Shots were reported minutes later at the Village Shalom retirement community, where one female died. Ages and identities of the victims were not released. A man in his 70s who is not from Kansas was taken into custody at a nearby school. Douglass did not provide further information.
LONDON
Prize-winning Chihuahua and four other puppies stolen in Britain British police are appealing for help finding five stolen dogs, including a Chihuahua puppy that recently won a major prize at the prestigious Crufts competition. The thieves apparently broke into a house in the village of Lissett in central England and made off with the valuable dogs. The best known was Xena, named best Chihuahua puppy at the annual Crufts dog show in March. Her mother, grandmother and two other Chihuahuas were also taken. Humberside police said Sunday they are asking the public to provide any leads. The theft took place Thursday.
VERACRUZ, Mexico
Thirty-six dead in bus crash on Mexican highway A passenger bus slammed into a broken-down truck and burst into flames, killing at least 36 people Sunday in southern Mexico, the Veracruz state government reported. Both state and federal officials said that four people survived the crash, which occurred shortly after midnight in the southeastern state of Veracruz. A communique from the state civil defense agency said the victims were business people from the region who were travelling from the Tabasco state capital of Villahermosa to Mexico City. The agency’s emergency director, Ricardo Maza Limon, said that victims apparently burned to death inside the bus, which was so badly charred that the tires melted and the markings on its sides were unreadable. —Compiled from Daily wire reports
the University’s Title IX coordinator regarding Gibbons’ 2009 sexual misconduct as the sole complaint submitted on the subject. Gibbons was not found responsible until Nov. 20, 2013, beyond the usual 60-day deadline for beginning a sexual misconduct investigation. The findings also note a 2012-2013 OSCR Annual Report stating that one instance of sexual misconduct filed from that year remained “Unresolved: investigation in process.” The task force could not confirm that this complaint was in reference to the Gibbons case but, if so, it would mean that more than a year passed before the University completed its investigation. Additionally, the task force found that OSCR and OIE were unable to handle all the reports of sexual misconduct by the beginning of the 2012-2013 academic year. The University acknowledged that it needed more staff to handle all the complaints. The report also read that according to the OSCR director, the OIE often was often unable to investigate complaints within the 60-day deadline. The University didn’t hire a second investigator until 2014, far too long after acknowledging the problem of poor staff, the report stated. CSG President Michael Proppe, a Business senior, said this was more indicative of a broader problem of how the University deals with sexual misconduct cases and less likely
CAMPAIGN From Page 1A said he hopes to bring a voice for the students to City Council, but his goals for the city go beyond the interests of students. He said that after researching the current state of local politics in Ann Arbor, he sees developmental and economic room for improvement, particularly in the way the council chooses to allocate its funds. “What started out my interest in this campaign was to represent the students that don’t have a voice on City Council, but as I sort of researched the state of politics in Ann Arbor, I realized there are a lot of things I care about,” he said. According to McMullen, there is potential growth and progress in areas of overspending on police, hospital and incarceration needs in Ann Arbor. He added that there is a need for affordable housing and increased care for the poor and homeless in Ann Arbor, which was demonstrated
MRELAY From Page 1A would regret not speaking.” Though Jacobs had no experience with Relay for Life before coming to the University, she became involved as a Team Captain during her freshman year. Her mother, who had been recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer, attended the 2011 MRelay and stayed with Jacobs overnight in the 30-degree weather. Kinesiology senior Sara Knysh, executive director of MRelay, said she also participated in MRelay because of her family’s experiences with cancer. This year was Knysh’s 12th year being involved with Relay for Life. The relay moved back to its usual location of Palmer Field on Hill Campus this year after taking place on Ferry Field in 2013. Knysh said the space at Palmer Field allows for more activities. This year’s MRelay was Disney-themed: Partic-
News an instance of an athlete being given special privileges to keep them eligible for play. “The University was regularly missing the 60-day deadline to investigate sexual misconduct and that delay could have undermined the confidence that survivors had in the process and may have kept people from coming forward,” Proppe said. The task force also determined that OSCR did not properly apply the Statement of Students Rights and Responsibilities — stating that the University “improperly prohibited student conduct retroactively,” using the interim sexual misconduct policy or finalized but not the pre-2011 policy that would have been in effect when Gibbons’ offenses occurred. The findings note that the differences in the new and old policies are fairly small and unlikely to change the OIE findings but wanted to make it clear the University could not retroactively apply new policies on old cases. In a statement, University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said the University applauds CSG’s investigation, as it shows the importance of the Student Sexual Misconduct Policy. “We appreciate that Central Student Government takes the issue of sexual misconduct seriously, as do we,” Fitzgerald wrote in the statement. “We hope the CSG’s focus on these issues will lead to a greater awareness of the student sexual misconduct policy and even more survivors coming forward.” Additionally, the task force could only determine that either OIE or OSCR did not
properly communicate with the Athletic Department, the Athletic Department did not communicate with the coaches or else Hoke did indeed issue a false statement; they were not able to confirm one of these scenarios specifically. However, the report notes that representatives from the Athletic Department do not believe the OIE failed to notify the department of a student-athlete being accused of sexual misconduct and it is the practice of the Associate Athletic Director to notify the head coach of the team of the player in question. When Michigan coach Brady Hoke said Gibbons would not play in the 2013 Buffalo Wild Wings game in December, Hoke said it was because of a “family matter.” The task force report lists Proppe’s recommendations, including that the University’s Board of Regents and other administrators work to involve students in such policy matters. Also, it recommends that OSCR reviews all sexual misconduct cases occurring before the interim policy but under the proper policy applicable at the time of the offense and that OSCR files a report once they complete this review. Proppe also recommended more clear and published policies be developed in regard to student-athlete disciplinary information sharing between departments, as well as creating more straightforward policies with the Ann Arbor Police Department, the University Police Department, OSCR and OIE regarding sharing of student conduct information.
by this particularly harsh winter. “I think there are better ways we can spend our money in real ways Ann Arbor can stand behind,” McMullen said. He added that relations between the University and the city would improve if he were elected to City Council and hopes to foster cooperation and communication, and use students at the University as a resource for the city. “There is a complete disconnect between the Ann Arbor community, the residents and the students, and I think that is a huge resource that isn’t being used,” McMullen said. “We have 40,000 students and if you get students involved, then real changes will happen and everyone stands to benefit.” With the election of a new mayor and the retirement of University President Mary Sue Coleman, an opportunity for real change in Ann Arbor lies ahead, he said. “I think if the question of age comes up, I really don’t think that the quality necessary for being a
good representative comes with age,” he said. “What it comes down to is that I care about Ann Arbor.” In response to concerns about McMullen’s abilities to manage being both a student and a City Council member, Councilmember Sabra Briere (D–Ward 1) said she was optimistic about his potential for the city, but recognized the issues a student faces in running for the council. “The people who vote most heavily in the Democratic primary are people over 50, so the challenge that Sam faces is how to establish, for the people he meets with and talks with, that he represents their views,” Briere said. Of the five wards in Ann Arbor, all have at least one seat up for election this year. Nancy Kaplan, who is running against Kirk Westphal for the open seat in Ward 2, and Leon Bryson, who will likely be running against incumbent Chuck Warpehoski (D–Ward 5), both officially obtained their required signatures for nomination last week.
ipants checked in at Goofy’s Registration Tent and could continue through Hercules’ Hope Tunnel to Cinderella’s Stage. Mickey and Minnie Mouse appeared periodically throughout the day. MRelay sponsors fundraisers throughout the year such as bar nights and restaurant events. For the past two years, MRelay has sponsored a fashion show with Rent the Runway, which offers rentals of designer dresses and accessories. This year, MRelay paired up with Ann Arbor restaurant guide Eat Blue. For the month of February, customers could choose to donate a portion of their bill to MRelay. Student organizations also fundraised at the event by selling food or hosting activities. The relay this year benefited from the warm weather. In the case of heavy rain, thunder or lightning, the event would have moved inside the Central Campus Recreation Building. LSA junior Chris Schaitkin, a member of the MRelay senior leadership team, said
he would have enjoyed the event regardless of the weather conditions. “My favorite thing every year is just being here as a participant,” Schaitkin said.
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Monday, April 14, 2014 — 3A
STAMPS From Page 1A The speakers of the event included Altruda, Chris DuPont, an Ann Arbor singer-songwriter; Jim Fleming, founder of Fleming Artists; Mike Green, co-owner of Mike Green and Associates; John Bommarito, radio host at Ann Arbor’s 107.1 and Mike Vial, an Ann Arbor singer-songwriter. The speakers discussed how aspiring musicians can take the next step after entering the music industry. “Keep writing and keep putting music out there,” Vial said. The panel also discussed how aspiring musicians can have their music featured on various radio stations. Vial suggested musicians
CONTEST From Page 1A At the event, the studentrun publication also sold baked goods to raise money for its MRelay team. Three teams of two to four people competed in four rounds of eating competitions, racing to eat hot dogs, donuts, bananas and plates of whipped cream. LSA sophomores Matt Gluck and Dana Abufarha won the food challenge, winning gift cards to Frita Batidos, Isalita and Mani Osteria. “I definitely feel disgusting now but it was fun, it was worth it,” Abufarha said. “It was fun and I’m happy we did it. I’m proud of myself; I beat boys!”
PRISONER From Page 2A of psychosis that happens in the solitary confinement.” Senghor completed two novels in prison, which he noted was rare for an inmate. “I represent less than 1 percent of the solitary confinement population who’s been able to make that leap,” Senghor said. Since his release in 2010, Senghor has committed himself to giving other prisoners the opportunity to address problems that are often ignored. He started a program called Live in Peace in which he speaks to students in Detroit and addresses emotional issues he also grappled with. He subsequently won the Black Men Engagement of Leadership Award funded by the Knight Foundation, which invests in community innovation in American cities. This led him to the MIT Media Lab, an “antidisciplinary” research foundation. It was working in Detroit to address ways that technolog y could improve production of new businesses in the city. Senghor and another member of the
start off small and use their time wisely. “Find your locals, and you build small and you build realistically,” Vial said. Along with taking the next step and getting featured on a radio station, the speakers stressed the importance of keep track of finances. DuPont said it was important for musicians to spreadsheet all of their expenses, whether it is touring different towns or purchasing new music equipment. “If you do that, you’ll see how much money you’ll be making, and you’ll be surprised,” DuPont said. The event closed with a concert featuring various Ann Arbor musicians, including San Cristobal, Mike Vial, Brendan Asante and KhrispyK.
Of the three teams that competed, many participants were AEPi brothers. Students watched and cheered as the participants gorged themselves on doughnuts and face-planted into plates of whipped cream. “It’s definitely entertaining to watch boys be in an eating competition,” said LSA sophomore Nicole Axelowitz, a member of the Spoon University public relations team. However, after a recordbreaking winter, some students were just excited to enjoy the warmth. “It’s great just being outside for the first time in months and having everybody happy and together and just doing something for good cause,” Axelowitz said.
MIT Media Lab created the Atonement Project, dedicated to bettering Detroit. “Detroit is a very, very complex city,” Senghor said. “While there are a lot of amazing things taking place, there’s still a very different reality that people are afraid to talk about and afraid to discuss. And that reality is that there are people living in communities who don’t have access to anything, and there are police that just don’t respond in these communities.” They brought the Atonement Project to the University to engage with the Prison Creative Arts Project, an initiative collaborating with incarcerated people to strengthen creative expression. Students can take a class with Senghor and PCAP director Ashley Lucas. LSA senior Judith Rontal, one of Senghor’s students, said Senghor emphasized a focus on antoning for one’s actions and not judging someone on their current situation. “Perpetrators were often victim,” Rontal said. “We try to bring this theme of reconciliation and atonement to our project, and the guys we work with are so brilliant with what they do with that.”
Opinion
4A — Monday, April 14, 2014
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
Renovating Detroit Duggan’s proposal will strengthen and help the Detroit community
A
pril 9, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced that owners of 79 vacant homes in the Marygrove neighborhood will have three days to make arrangements to fix up their homes before the Detroit Land Bank Authority auctions them off to new homeowners. This marks the beginning of the mayor’s ambitious plan to target blight across the city. The plan was realized with the help of Talmer Bank, which will offer each bid-winning homeowner $25,000 of forgivable loans at the rate of $5,000 to be forgiven each year the owner lives in the home, for a maximum of five years. This proposal is worthy of praise. It’s an efficient form of blight removal and control because it maintains salvageable homes and also works with community members to guide the process. Currently, blighted properties drive down the prices of the surrounding houses and neighborhoods, don’t generate tax revenue for the city and jeopardize the safety of the surrounding area. This new program aims to combat many of these issues, while also stimulating the rehabilitation of clearly salvageable properties in an important area of Detroit — Marygrove College, University of Detroit Mercy and SinaiGrace Hospital are all in the neighborhood — with a free incentive to new homeowners. In the future, this new plan will serve to increase neighborhood safety, generate tax revenue and drive up the property values in the neighborhood. However, Detroit must be cautious of the fact that not all homeowners of abandoned houses have left them intentionally, and that this program shouldn’t have an agenda to push new homeowners into the area while pushing community members out. In order to ensure that current homeowners receive adequate help and information in retaining their homes, the city should reach out to residents at risk of losing their homes and provide them with preventative
the podium
assistance and help in acquiring control of their foreclosed homes. Furthermore, though the Detroit homes are salvageable, the Talmer Bank loans of $25,000 each may not be sufficient for full reparation. In the future, larger loans may be needed to fully incentivize homeowners to make the necessary repairs. Other land banks within the area — many of which are already involved in some sort of corporate giving in Detroit — should also partner with the city to help expand the scope and scale of the loans. Duggan’s plan is a step in the right direction — many other cities such as Minneapolis and Baltimore have implemented similar programs to combat blight. A similar measure has been taken in New Haven, Conn., with the formation of a task force called Real Options Overcoming Foreclosure. Blight removal is a major stepping-stone in the revival of Detroit. Duggan’s plan for forgivable loans will drive up property value, incentivize migration into the city and expand the tax base. Both Duggan and Republican Gov. Rick Snyder must help expand this program to a larger scale.
Policy Matters: Maura Levine discusses the way First Amendment protections apply in private places that attract the public, such as shopping malls. Go to michigandaily.com/blogs/The Podium
ALEX ABDUN-NABI | VIEWPOINT
Funding the Michigan Difference
Student organizations at the University of Michigan are an incredible source of vibrancy and community on our campus. More than 1,400 of our organizations are run by students and for students to provide our campus with opportunities for personal growth, professional development, education and advocacy. Students benefit massively from student organizations and their activities, gaining not only skills, but memories and friendships that they will retain well beyond their days in Ann Arbor. The only mission of the Student Organization Funding Commission of the Central Student Government is to support these students and their organizations. We provide about $300,000 a year in funding for students to explore our world, make it a better place, educate themselves and be the Michigan Difference. We are committed to ensuring that as many events as possible take place on our campus, and that the events we fund have a broad campus impact or bring benefit to students, faculty and staff at the University. We are focused on providing funding to a wide cross section of campus. Last semester alone, we funded 222 groups, providing more than $130,000 in funding. We provide funds for conferences, speakers, performances, social events, travel, service and many, many other types of student activities. It’s almost impossible for a student to graduate from the University without attending at least one CSG-funded event. We’re very proud of this impact, and humbled that you, the students of the University of Michigan, have entrusted us with such an important responsibility. But we believe that our impact has been limited by our own funding constraints, something that inhibits us from supporting students. Our mission is simple, to enable students to do what they want to do. We are not failing that mission, but we’re not achieving it in the manner we would like. Each year, we receive an average of $1.16 million in funding
requests and we only have about $300,000 to disburse. That means we’re leaving more than $700,000 of student requests for funding unmet, forcing the cancellation of some events and the re-organization of others. We don’t believe that this is right, fair or appropriate for a campus that values student activities and boasts about the number and activity level of its student organizations. Ideally, we would like to be able to fund every student group that walks in the door, allowing all students to achieve what they wish to achieve. This is impossible with our current level of funding, and is, in reality, almost impossible to ever achieve. But we believe we can and we must do more. CSG exists to serve students, and if we have to turn away hundreds of students who need thousands of dollars, then we are not doing our job the way it ought to be done. This is why I and my fellow co-chairs of the Student Organization Funding Commission wholeheartedly and unequivocally support a $2 increase in the CSG student fee. This increase will generate a minimum of $75,000 for SOFC, all of which will be budgeted to support student organizations in their important endeavors. The cost increase is less than the cost of a cup of coffee, but the impact will be immeasurable, increasing the already impressive diversity of events and programming on campus, and allowing Michigan students to achieve their best. The increase is covered under financial aid, and we believe that it will not be detrimental to students to pay $2 more for the benefits they will receive. We are conscious of the rising cost of education, but we believe that education is not just what you learn in the classroom, but what you learn outside of its four walls, and that we should all be willing to pitch in at least a little bit to enrich our Michigan experience, and make our time at Michigan more valuable. Alex Abdun-Nabi is the Co-Chair of the Student Organization Commission.
CHECK US OUT ONLINE Keep up with columnists, read Daily editorials, view cartoons and join in the debate. Check out @michigandaily and Facebook.com/MichiganDaily to get updates on Daily opinion content throughout the day.
I
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Blessings in disguise
was set on Notre Dame. No question about it. I had toured the school and had fallen in love with the campus, the students and the tradition. Notre Dame was the school for me. Unfortunately, the kind folks at the University of Notre Dame PATRICK MAILLET Admissions Office didn’t agree. When I received my rejection letter, I was heartbroken. How could this have happened? I worked so hard throughout high school, took SAT prep classes, wrote great essays — Notre Dame was the perfect fit for me. After getting rejected from the school of my dreams, I had to decide which school would be the right fit for me. I began touring the schools that I had been accepted to. Actually, to be fair, I only went on one of these post-acceptance tours. When I arrived in Ann Arbor for the first time, I liked the general feel, but wasn’t entirely sold right away. My tour guide was atrocious and my parents and I were famished. Instead of finishing the tour, we dipped out midway through as we passed through the Diag. We decided to have lunch at this quaint little restaurant called Good Time Charley’s. We had nachos and talked about how terrible the tour guide was. Little did I know that three years later, I would be celebrating my 21st birthday a few feet from the very table we ate at — a night I will remember forever … well most of it, at least. After eating, we decided to embark on a self-guided tour of campus. During college visits, my mom would always pick out students and ask them about the school. Though this method was quirky and downright embarrassing, it actually helped me gauge schools and the type of kids at the institution. At Michigan, every kid my mom stopped was ecstatic to tell someone new about how much they loved the school. I noticed that everyone wore maize and blue and everyone was involved in one of the 1,000-plus student organizations.
By the third kid my mom stopped, I was sold; I knew that Michigan was the place for me. When move-in day came, my parents and I noticed that my dorm was not part of the original tour we had gone on. In fact, the entire campus my dorm was part of was not seen during our tour. I had been assigned to Bursley Hall on North Campus and it didn’t take me long to realize my dorm was separated from everything else. Needless to say, I was upset. While helping me move in, my mom couldn’t help but notice that the kid across the hall from me was playing some classic music. A diehard Bruce Springsteen fan, my mom has a special place in her heart for classic rock and approached the kid to tell him that he was playing some great hits. His name was Chris and before I knew it, my mom was introducing him to me. When I met him, I had no idea that four years later I would’ve lived with Chris and that he and his friends from high school would become some of my most cherished friends. The people that lived in my hall with me in Bursley helped define the trajectory of my Michigan career and looking back, I wouldn’t have wanted to live anywhere else. Soon after getting comfortable with campus, classes and developing a good group of friends, I decided that I needed to get involved. Considering that I’d been a part of student council throughout middle school and high school, I decided to run for Central Student Government (back then it was called Michigan Student Assembly.) I recruited all of my friends to help get the vote out and we even threw a few campaign parties. When the results finally came out, I was about 60 votes short of what I needed to be elected. I felt disillusioned and lost. The only way I had ever known how to get involved was through student government. As I was sitting in the Bursley Dining Hall reading a publication that I was getting very accustomed
to, The Michigan Daily, I saw an advertisement that said, “Write for The Daily! Come to one of our mass meetings!” Considering that I had nothing else to do with my recently freed-up schedule, I decided to stop by. When I walked into the newsroom of the Daily for the first time, I had no idea that over the next four years, I would sit on the editboard, be an Assistant Editor of the Opinion Section and eventually a columnist. Though the Daily is famous for its openness, it has but one restriction on who can be on staff: no members of CSG. Throughout my life, my parents have raised me to look at life’s mishaps as blessings in disguise. Though this mindset is hard to appreciate when life throws an unfortunate obstacle your way, accepting the fact that things happen for a reason is truly the key to happiness. The fact that I am a student at Michigan, writing this very column. Even acknowledging some of the people who are reading it are all results of blessings in disguise. I have written more than 50 pieces for The Michigan Daily. This column will be my last. I will never be able to fully thank the editors of this incredible institution, nor my readers for their enthusiasm and dedication. To my family and friends: thank you for your continued encouragement and unwavering support — even when my columns pertained to things that meant absolutely nothing to you. And to this University and the incredible people that make it up: I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have allowed me to join a family that I am honored to be a part of. The friends that I have made, the games that I have watched and the lessons that I have learned during my time here will not soon be forgotten. These last four years have been the greatest of my life. Attending this school has been the best blessing in disguise of all.
Accepting the fact that things happen for a reason is truly the key to happiness.
— Patrick Maillet can be reached at maillet@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Barry Belmont, Edvinas Berzanskis, David Harris, Rachel John, Nivedita Karki, Jacob Karafa, Jordyn Kay, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Victoria Noble, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Paul Sherman, Allison Raeck, Linh Vu, Meher Walia, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe
JORDYN KAY | VIEWPOINT
It’s OK to feel a little lost I was always goal-oriented. I actually can’t recall a time when it was any different, even when I was four years old. There had to be an end in sight, I would not just do something for the hell of it, there had to be purpose. Now, being goaloriented when you’re in elementary school and being goal-oriented when you’re (almost) 21 and in college are two very different things. When I was 11, being goaloriented meant needing to finish a book, or place first overall at my dance competition. Today, as my junior year in college begins to come to a close, being goal-oriented means figuring out what I want to do with my life, figuring out my future. And it’s because of that, that for the first time in my life being goal-oriented actually scares me to death instead of bringing order to my life. Honestly, the word future makes my heart race a little. I came to college believing that I was going to be a doctor, a neurosurgeon to be specific, because God forbid I make my life easier in any way. I am now planning on going to law school. Let’s just say chemistry was not my forte, but I digress. The point is that I’m expected to have this goal, as a junior, I am supposed to know whether or not I want to go to grad school or law school or if I plan on just making an attempt at entering the workforce right out of college (I
definitely am not). Having a goaloriented attitude is no longer an option or something I pride myself on, or one of my weird personality quirks, it is something society has forced upon me. But what if I really just don’t know yet? Or what if I still want to be everything from a dancer to a veterinarian like I did when I was 10? Why has the option to explore my options been stripped away from me just because I am older? Picking a career is not something anyone should do lightly. After all, it could end up defining the rest of your life (yes, that sentiment makes me want to cry also). However, there is somewhat of an expectation that you should know what you want to do upon entering college. Find a major, find a career, have a goal. Just pick one. Obviously, give it some thought and take some time to figure it out, but not too much time, I mean, how dare anyone be a junior who hasn’t declared a major yet, which I was. I was the junior who hadn’t declared her major yet. Everyone else had declared, but I wasn’t ready, it’s a big commitment and if I was to say I didn’t have commitment issues I would be lying. And yet, I’ve committed to psychology because I wouldn’t dare go into my second semester of my junior year without having declared my major. That simply was not allowed.
So now here I am, a junior in college with a major and two minors and a pre-law track. Can you tell I’m confused? If you can’t you’ve clearly missed the point so far. I am confused but I’m also only 20, so shouldn’t that be OK? Isn’t this the time in my life where I’m supposed to be unsure and make mistakes and just throw caution to the wind? It was just about two years ago that I moved out of my parents’ house and now I’m supposed to know what I want to do with my entire life? It seems absurd. What if I get to law school and I hate it? What if I should’ve become a teacher? Or a writer? Or famous? OK, that last one is a bit of a stretch, but still. Most college students have just become legally responsible for themselves and then they turn around and are expected to make all these life-changing decisions. I have no idea where I will end up and that’s OK. We need to realize that our major or career aspirations do not have to define the rest of our lives. Our goals change since we as people continually change, and if it takes a little longer to figure out what exactly our goals are, that’s OK too. And when all else fails, you can always audition to be on “Survivor.” At least that’s what my plan is. Jordyn Kay is an LSA junior.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and viewpoints. Letters should be fewer than 300 words, while viewpoints should be 550-850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.
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Photo
Monday, April 14, 2014 — 5A
BACKYARD BRAINS
RIGHT: A member of the Backyard Brains production team solders connections on spiker boxes used for demonstrations at Backyard Brains on State Street. LEFT: Students from Saline, Milan and Scarlett Middle School participate in academic demonstrations at the Michigan League where they make severed cockroach legs dance by stimulating muscle nerves with electrodes. MIDDLE: John Nagle, known as “Tinker”, works for Backyard Brains at All Hands Active makerspace. BOTTOM: Using electrodes, severed cockroach legs are made to dance to “Gangnam Style” during an academic demonstration at the Michigan League.
In a small basement workshop in downtown Ann Arbor, two workers mold and assemble devices to allow anyone to explore the brain. From elementary school children to fascinated adults, the team at Backyard Brains is working to innovate the neuroscience education world. Started by two University graduate students while working in their neuroscience lab, Greg Gage and Tim Marzullo co-founded Backyard Brains in 2009. Today, they have a team that performs research and development, production, sales and educational demonstrations located in Ann Arbor. The team of scientists perform experiments on cockroaches to demonstrate the inner-workings of nerves and the brain. During their demonstrations, they are able to make a cockroach’s severed leg dance to the beat of “Gangnam Style,” use electrodes to stimulate nerves controlling muscles and show how nerves respond to stimulus. -TEXT AND PHOTOS BY JAMES COLLER
Arts
6A — Monday, April 14, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
TV/NEW MEDIA COLUMN
FILM REVIEW
A
LIONSGATE
“And, uh, yeah, I guess screenwriters just hate the state of Ohio.”
Enthralling ‘Draft’ Cleveland sports culture mocked once again By CONRAD FOREMAN Daily Arts Writer
There’s something about a Kevin Costner sports movie that just feels right. Whether he’s meeting Joe Jackson on his B farm, mentoring Tim RobDraft Day bins in the minor leagues At Quality 16 or pitching a and Rave perfect game Lionsgate in Yankee Stadium, Costner (“Dances With Wolves”) and sports go together like lamb and tuna fish (props if you get the “Big Daddy” reference). Costner’s latest endeavor into the genre is “Draft Day.” In this race-against-the-clock drama, Costner plays Sonny Weaver, Jr., the general manager of the Cleveland Browns, who, after more than a decade of losing seasons, is desperate for a winning team that could revive the franchise and its stubbornly loyal fanbase. With the owner demanding that he make a splash at this year’s draft, Sonny makes a desperate trade to keep his job and finds himself facing enormously consequential circumstances in his career as well as his personal life. While no one can deny that it’s a “Kevin Costner film,” the performance that shines in “Draft
Day” belongs to Jennifer Garner (“Dallas Buyers Club”). She plays the salary cap manager for the Browns, but also serves as the de facto den mother of the office and Kevin Costner’s soon-to-be baby mama. She delivers her lines like an assassin precisely handling a dagger and her emotions display on her face in an appropriately subtle manner. Her role is rather one-dimensional, but Garner provides enough attitude and personality to bring the character to life. The real stars of the film, though, are director Ivan Reitman (“Ghostbusters”) and cinematographer Eric Steelberg (“Juno”). Throughout the plot, Sonny frequently converses on the phone; the presentation of these conversations divides the screen unevenly and crosses characters over the dividing line (think “Life of Pi,” when the fish swim over the black bars on the edges of the screen). These guys deserve credit for finding a creative way to visually represent the fluid power dynamics of the conversations. They also take advantage of the simple majesty found in football stadiums, swooping in over one with beautiful aerial shots each time a new team is introduced to the plot. Of course, a film about the draft wouldn’t be complete without an endearing cast of high-profile prospects. Chadwick Boseman, coming off a lead role as Jackie Robinson in “42,” plays compassionate and ambitious linebacker Vontae Mack from Ohio State, while real-life
Houston Texan Arian Foster (who was never drafted himself ) is Ray Jennings, a Florida State running back with a Browns legacy. The top quarterback prospect, around whom much of the plot revolves, barely speaks and is overshadowed by his agent, a crazy-eyed Sean Combs (“Get Him to the Greek”), who seems misplaced in a small, completely flat role — at least they let him crack a joke in “Muppets Most Wanted.” Like “Major League” before it, “Draft Day” simultaneously embraces and mercilessly mocks Cleveland culture. It may sound redundant, but people love lovable losers — in both sports and movies — and apparently Hollywood has decided that Cleveland sports teams are the ultimate underdogs. For lovers of sports films, this one’s essential, and anybody familiar with media coverage of the NFL at all will enjoy the abundance of cameos of analysts and former players. For everyone else, “Draft Day” is still a visually impressive film (especially notable, considering that the vast bulk of the action is busy-work in an office) with a storyline that never loses its audience. NO, its heart and depth of emotion aren’t its strengths, and YES, the whole film is a glamorized billboard for the NFL, but “Draft Day” is a good bit of fun. And you never know, maybe this is the last time we’ll get to see Costner in the genre he’s dominated for decades.
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Monday, April 14, 2014
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle DOWN 1 Zeus and Apollo 2 Idi of Uganda 3 None 4 Way in 5 Nor. neighbor 6 DVR pioneer 7 “Not a chance!” 8 Steeple section with a ringer 9 “The __ of the Opera” 10 Touch down 11 Jason’s ship 12 New driver, often 13 Immigrant’s subj. 18 Closing documents 22 German automaker 24 Cross-shaped Greek letter 26 Played a part (in) 27 SeaWorld orca 28 Poisonous, as waste 30 Mil. roadside hazard 31 Winona’s “Beetlejuice” role 32 Prom hairstyle 33 Mark with an iron 34 Introvert 35 “__ Breath You Take”: Police hit
37 Internal color of a medium steak 41 Puncture sound 44 1970s Mary Tyler Moore co-star 45 Folk story 47 Non-prescription: Abbr. 48 Used a keyboard 50 Tattoo tool 54 Not urban 55 California wine valley
56 Textbook chapter 57 Fork prong 58 Big cat 59 Test for a future atty. 61 Like a red tomato 62 Cookie cooker 63 Modern message between trysters, perhaps 64 Spreadsheet feature 66 Metric distances: Abbr.
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04/14/14
bout two weeks ago, someone very important to me moved away. I helped him pack his things into a car much too small to fit four years of college life. On his last night, a group of us sat around on stained couches KAYLA and shared UPADHYAYA our favorite memories of him. Except me. Because I hate goodbyes. The next morning, before he drove away in his filled-to-the-brim Range Rover, I kept most of what I wanted to say to myself as we hugged and waved. I’ve never done too well with goodbyes. And as with most things in my life, I think that probably has something to do with my love of television. You see, us TV obsessers never do too well with closure. We’re spoiled. When we find a new show to settle down with, we (usually) get to be a part of that world and spend time with those characters for years. I’ve watched a lot of series finales over the years and feel pretty comfortable declaring that they’re mostly garbage. Particularly in the world of broadcast television, so long as a show is making enough money, the show keeps on getting made, even when it should probably be put to rest. In these cases, by the time we get to the end, the writers have squeezed every drop of blood out of the series that we’re left with something hollow and sagging that looks nothing like the show you fell in love with. “Alias,” for instance, devolved into an entirely different show after its third season (I would say “never forget those season-four zombies, but you should actually definitely forget about them because what?”) If you are one of those people who stopped watching “Battlestar Galactica” during
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Sean Dobbin is an English teacher at the Community High School of Vermont (CHSVT) in St. Johnsbury. 12 students worked on today’s puzzle. ACROSS 1 Steady look 5 Uneducated guess 9 Knife and fork separator, in a place setting 14 Black cat, to some 15 Like a guru 16 Long-eared hoppers 17 Hand Vac maker 19 Haloed messenger 20 Nocturnal annoyance 21 Once in a while 23 Until now 25 Road groove 26 Bermuda hrs. 29 Special “Jeopardy!” square 36 Stir-fried hodgepodge 38 Ad-lib comedy style 39 Hailed vehicle 40 Cavity filler’s letters, or, said another way, a hint to 17-, 29-, 49- and 65Across 42 Comedian Cook 43 “The Real Slim Shady” rapper 46 Big name in gloves 49 A&E reality series featuring the Robertson family 51 Arid 52 Past-tense verb that sounds like a number 53 EMT technique 55 Squirrel’s discard 60 Continental bank notes 64 Hauled to the hoosegow 65 Computer component 67 Speak one’s mind 68 Good earth 69 Peak 70 Moisten, as a lawn 71 Tolkien tree creatures 72 Ash Wednesdayto-Easter time
The finale
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its final season, I don’t blame you. In fact, don’t force yourself to finish it. It’s not a polarizing finale like that of “Lost” or “The X-Files” — it’s just straight-up bad. Most days, I pretend seasons six and seven of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” never even happened. Of course, that would mean we never would have gotten “Once More With Feeling” or “Tabula Rasa” or “Self less,” the rare but treasured gems buried among trash like “Doublemeat Palace” and “First Date” (another thing you should erase from your TV memory: “Special Guest Star Ashanti”). Maybe it would have been worth drudging through all that hell if the series finale had recaptured the heart and soul of the series. But it didn’t. Instead, it validates an abusive relationship (Spike/Buffy) and spends way too much time on the season’s most boring plot device (the Potentials). Worst of all, Anya dies, and the entire Scooby Gang spends about two seconds being sad about it until they start patting themselves on the backs for saving the world. I’m still mad at Joss Whedon for that one. Season five’s finale “The Gift” should have been the series finale. I’ll stand by that opinion to my grave. Do you even remember what happened in the “Gilmore Girls” finale? Lorelai kissed Luke and Rory decided to follow the Obama campaign. It was 2007, I was 14 years old, and I was so disappointed in the remarkably average ending to the series that backdropped my after-school snack time for seven years that I turned off my TV and stormed upstairs to air my grievances on the message boards, because that’s what you did in the preTwitter days. Flash forward to today. As I wrote that paragraph, I shared my very strong feelings with my friend Alex and he looked at me like I was a monster. Before I know it, we’re watching a scene from the finale. Richard tells Lorelai what an amazing mother and person she is and suddenly I’m sobbing in Mighty Good. What? Where were these feels seven years ago? Why can I so distinctly remember slumping away from that finale so unsatisfied? Well, the obvious answer is that I’m a different person now. I’m weeks away from graduating, and watching Rory say goodbye to all the people she loves so she can start the next phase of her life hits way too close to home. TV doesn’t exist in a vacuum; when we watch, we bring in parts of ourselves and our lives that affect the way we interpret and receive what we see on screen. But even though the “Gilmore Girls” series finale has more emotional power over me now than it did seven years ago, I still found myself snapping, “yeah, but that Lorelai-Luke kiss is still so anticlimactic,” at Alex as I wiped away my tears and remembered I’m supposed to hate this episode. Yes, the “Gilmore Girls” series finale is anticlimactic. Of course it is. The only shows that don’t have anticlimactic finales are the ones that are canceled before the writers get to write a true finale. Well, and “Angel” ’s “Not Fade Away,” which somehow manages to end on an upbeat note but also with a sense of finality, and I’m not really sure how it strikes such a magical balance; I’d be tempted to say Joss Whedon is a wizard, but again, see: the “Buff y” finale. Series finales are anticlimactic because they’re not climaxes; they’re resolutions. There’s a reason why penultimate episodes are almost always going to be better than finales: They’re the exciting buildup and the finale is the slow exhale. I gave “30 Rock” ’s finale an A+, but “A Goon’s Deed in a Weary
World” is a better episode. So, yeah, even the finales I love never leave me wholly satisfied. Everyone loves the “Friday Night Lights” finale, but WHERE WAS SMASH WILLIAMS, HUH? Sure, there are about a million logistical reasons the writers probably couldn’t bring back Smash — many of which were probably out of their control. But how can I be logical about the television industry and all its moving parts at a time like this?! When I’m emotionally fragile, logic and reason pack up their bags, and few things make me as emotionally fragile as a series finale. Because series finales are goodbyes and goodbyes are always going to suck. There’s no such thing as a perfect goodbye. You’re always going to want more time. You’re always going to wish you had done something differently. This is my last television column for The Michigan Daily and I know I have about a hundred more columns in me, and, yes, most of them would probably include the words “feminist,” “the CW” and “witches” because those are indeed my favorite things to write about. I never wrote that column about “H2O: Just Add Water.” I never wrote about how my dad learned English from American television when he emigrated from India or how he used to say phrases like “I can’t do it, captain” and “beam me up, Scotty” so often when I was growing up that I thought they were just reg ular American idioms and not references to a TV show. That one probably would have been called “Kayla Upadhyaya: TV is in my DNA” and, as usual, I would have pissed off my editors by writing 500 words over the limit.
Saying goodbye is never easy. So don’t make me say it, please. So, if this column is my series finale, I hope it’s like the “Clarissa Explains it All” finale, in which Clarissa writes her very last article for the school paper and everyone is sad but then she dedicates the article to The Future, which is I g uess what I dedicate this column to, too. But this column is probably more like that “Gilmore Girls” finale; it’s not my best work, it could be better, but it’ll possibly make me cry in seven years when I revisit it. I apologize in advance to everyone who I have to say goodbye to in a few weeks. I got a taste of what it’s going to be like two weeks ago, and I can tell you, it’s definitely going to suck, and it’s definitely not going to satisf y. It’s going to feel like your favorite TV show is coming to an end. And maybe those two characters who you were always rooting for don’t end up together. And maybe not everyone gets a happy ending. But looking back, you’re going to remember your favorite episodes and not that painful goodbye. OK, I might be a little too married to this metaphor. But so long as we’re lost deep within it, I’ll keep it going by calling the post-grad part of my life my spinoff series. I’m off to Los Angeles to try to be a professional Funny Lady, whatever that means, and to hopefully eventually create my own TV series that ends up at the top of everyone’s “10 Shows With the Best Series Finales” lists. But it probably won’t. Because I’m terrible at goodbyes. So don’t make me say it, please. This is Upadhyaya’s last column. To thank her for her work, e-mail kaylau@umich.edu.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Monday, April 14, 2014 — 7A
TV REVIEW
FILM REVIEW
AMC’s ‘Turn’ to 1700s By JOE REINHARD Daily Arts Writer
RELATIVITY MEDIA
“Ain’t nobody got time for this!!!”
Stunning ‘Oculus’ Film calls upon horror classics in winning story By SEAN CZARNECKI Daily Arts Writer
This past weekend I had forgotten my ID when I went to see “Oculus” with some friends, and the cashier told me she could not admit me. AIt was against policy to admit Oculus anyone into an At Quality 16 R-rated film and Rave under the age Relativity Media of 18 without a legal guardian after “bedtime.” I am beardless and skinny; I look like a child. I have no ID and my friends, who are younger and shorter than I, must now argue on my behalf. Yep. This is feeling 22. I start laughing. Kids may buy tickets to watch “Rio 2,” but when no one is watching, they will steal away into the theater to see what others would protect them from. The fact I have to grovel my way past security confirms that our fascination in horror and violence is still strong, and our desire to “protect the children” stronger yet. And “Oculus,” a near masterpiece, demonstrates the ability of that genre to lead us further into the territory of madness in a well-structured, well-executed story that tests and violates your sensibilities. Call “Oculus” the MacGyver of horror. Like the “Saw” franchise (a dumber concept), there is a winding assembly of machines in this film, and they are set going on a clock right off the start. Tim Russell (Brenton Thwaites, “Blue Lagoon: The Awakening”) is a man recently freed from a mental institution, determined to split himself from the past. As a child, he shot dead his own philandering father, whom the police called a sick man in need of help. His mother is also dead, driven to insanity at the end of her life.
Tim is free to move on and continue his healing process. But his sister, Kaylie Russell (Karen Gillan, TV’s “Doctor Who”), has other plans. To her, the guilty party has yet to be revealed. She believes their father was not seduced by a woman, but by something else: a mirror. A mirror that possesses you and consumes you. The siblings reunite at last, and she has decided for the both of them, they will destroy this paranormal object. The buildup to this showdown takes time and energy, sometimes overwrought, sometimes overdramatic, and you may wonder whether there will be a payoff — a pouring of gore (the money shot) or at least a jump scare. It’s tedious, but you have to admire the plot’s mechanics (Despite the really dumb-looking ghosts.) The structure of this film is almost untouchable. Much of the plot operates through flashbacks. Two timelines move parallel to each other: the past and the present. Writer-director Mike Flanagan (“Absentia”), who based this feature-length film on his own short film “Oculus: Chapter 3”, moves between these two dimensions effortlessly. But the mirror, a supernatural force, as the tagline of the film puts it, only lets you see what it wants you to see. These two dimensions, past and present, overlap. That the brother’s and sister’s sense of reality is also split from each other only exacerbates the problem, makes it more complex, and yes, horrifying. This is perhaps the film’s most unsettling quality: the mirror delineates reality. All of the mirror’s victims have gazed into its reflection. You see their yearning, an excruciating sense of incompleteness, and they want inside its image. Each time reality is split, fissured, fractured into shards, our dread grows. The characters are fighting their madness, kicking off its cloak like they’re trying to wake from a nightmare, and the horror lies in a realization: what have I done while I was away?
The mirror itself, once brought into the room, fills the atmosphere with ghosts. By virtue of there being a reflection, there is already the added presence of unseen observers. Horror films are most electric with dread when we sense eyes on our back. Their voyeurism fills us with premonition. And the mirror is a great eye (an oculus) that opens alternate realities, ghosts that trace the curve of our spines. Two horror classics, “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and “The Shining” explored similar themes of madness and reality through the manipulation of their physical and figurative space of setting. Freddy Krueger, a specter of a killer, bends and reshapes the boundaries of the dream and reality. You descend into a place whose horror depends on the imagination of its villain. The Torrance family wanders the passageways of an immense hotel. You lose your way and you lose yourself. “Oculus,” however, brings you into the intimacy of a home. Its killers are mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters. The visual culture of Japan understands the terror of mutation. The perversion of nature, the Unnatural, repulses our sensibilities. It goes against our innate sense of what is “correct.” As in “Akira,” which provides one of the most stunning transformations in cinema, you can still see where there was once a human. In “Oculus” you will find yourself thinking: This was once a mother, a father and so on. The power of mutilation is profound in our imaginations. (I would also recommend playing through the “Silent Hill” franchise. Just a screenshot makes me tighten up.) Still, this is a film that understands possession, its essence, the deeper reason why it terrifies us: It is the agony of living in a body not your own. In a mind outside your control. This is why we wander into the dark and invite horror into our lives. We come because we like the thrill, we are masochists and sadists, and it leaves us violated.
TV REVIEW
‘Silicon Valley’ shows promise By EMILY BODDEN Daily Arts Writer
“Silicon Valley,” HBO’s newest series, premiered last Sunday, April 6, and it seems to hold a lot of promise. Despite its underwhelming B pilot, the show Silicon as a whole seems to be a Valley smorgasbord Series Premiere of other wellSundays at 10 p.m. received comedies — HBO particularly prominent in the writing of the characters. Intelligently constructed, the show takes place in the titular Silicon Valley and revolves around website and app developers. Unlike Comedy Central’s “Workaholics,” the type of work that the characters do is very much at the show’s forefront. Several times during the premiere, a social hierarchy within the tech world is established. While the writers obviously play up stereotypes (the coders are described as “douchebags” and characterized much like the douchey jocks that can be found roaming the halls of America’s high schools), it seems crucial to the show’s future development. Even within a world that could easily be filled with the dorki-
est and smartest kids you grew up with, audiences discover that Richard (Thomas Middleditch, “The Wolf of Wall Street”) and his friends still remain at the bottom of the social ladder, casted as the underdogs. Some of the secondary characters are brilliantly written. Some personal favorites include Peter Gregory (the late Christopher Evan Welch, “War of the Worlds”) and the doctor (Andy Daly, “Eastbound and Down”). Welch plays Peter Gregory beautifully. In his first scene, Gregory gives a TED Talk with a cadence so painfully awkward and forced that it’s clear the writers are entirely familiar with the banality of the real TED lectures. The doctor gives nods to Dr. Spaceman from NBC’s “30 Rock” through a few slightly incompetent and selfinvolved mannerisms. His pitch at the end of the visit, which sent Richard into even more of a downward spiral, is similar to the times Tracey visited Dr. Spaceman in “30 Rock.” But not all of the secondary characters are welcome inclusions; having a hot, yet well-informed techie as a love interest for our socially awkward, but endearing protagonist, seems undeniably trite. Even if Richard does not get romantically involved
with Monica (Amanda Crew, “Charlie St. Cloud”), the writers will surely play up the sexual tension. Hopefully HBO doesn’t fall into this repetitive pattern and instead looks to use the character for something more compelling.
HBO’s latest has plenty room for growth. The character Gavin (Matt Ross, “American Psycho”) seems like he could have been taken out of a sketch in “Portlandia.” When Richard goes into his office to discuss selling his website, all of Gavin’s employees gush about their employer in a seemingly cultlike manner. While Richard does not prescribe to the vibes of Gavin’s office, the discomfort of the relationships permeated the scene. While not HBO’s best premiere, “Silicon Valley” has plenty of room to grow. The characters, evoking those of shows past, are solid, and the writers have set themselves up for potential greatness as the season progresses.
You shouldn’t always judge a show by its pilot, but in the case of AMC’s “Turn,” it’s hard not to have a few reservations. For a program that’s B+ supposed to be a mix of a spy Turn thriller and a Series Premiere Revolutionary Sundays at 9 p.m. War drama, it’s AMC disappointing that the first 90 minutes aren’t as exciting as one would hope. The show opts for a slow-burn approach, and that isn’t to say there’s nothing to enjoy here, but it’s clear it’ll take some time before there’s any real payoff. Luckily for “Turn,” its first episode, a well-rounded premiere if nothing extraordinary, helps it along in proving itself a worthwhile investment. In part, that’s because the program’s slower pace is rather deliberate. Just by taking a look at the source material — Alexander Rose’s book “Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring” — it’s interesting to see the show’s approach to the history. “Turn” stars Jamie Bell (“The Adventures of Tintin”) as Abe Woodhull, a man who’s hesitant to work as a spy because of conflicting priorities between family, country and what he feels is right. Because the book doesn’t give Abe’s perspective alone, they could have easily chosen a more heroic lead, such as Benjamin Tallmadge (Seth Numrich, “The Good Wife”), whose early involvement with the rebellion could have lent itself to more exciting stories sooner in the season. Instead we primarily follow Abe, and as of right now, he’s not the most interesting character. Bell does a fine job in the role though, so it should be interest-
AMC
“Running water would be nice.”
ing to watch Abe become more and more involved with spying against the British, especially since he has to juggle the priorities of keeping his family safe and appeasing his father, Judge Richard Woodhull (Kevin McNally, “Pirates of the Caribbean”). Choosing Abe as the protagonist may seem questionable right now, but seeing how the choice seems to be a conscious one, hopefully we’ll look back on the pilot as a necessary piece to a thrilling story (and not as a major misstep).
It’s “slowburning,” not “slow.” To the show’s credit, one shouldn’t confuse the phrase “slow-burn” with just “slow.” A fair amount is accomplished in the pilot, as it provides Abe with a decent backstory, enough
to work off of moving forward anyway, and a good supporting cast. The few exciting sequences and flat-out cool moments (particularly at the end) also do enough to tease the spying and backstabbing that’s to come. In general, it does merely “enough” to present itself as a well-rounded show, but seeing how it’s in it for the long haul, this is forgivable. “Turn” really shines in its portrayal of the Revolutionary era, which might not do enough to make the story into mustwatch material, but the setting and tone will appeal to those with an interest in the time period. The main concern right now is that people might not watch until later on (at a point when it presumably picks up and becomes especially thrilling), consequently leading to low ratings and an early cancellation (and so never getting the chance to reach its potential). For now though it gets a recommendation, and we can only hope that it doesn’t betray our trust.
Arts
8A — Monday, April 14, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM NOTEBOOK
IFC
“What year is it?”
Postmodernism and Gondry’s ‘Is the Man...’ Director presents animated talk with Noam Chomsky By ZAK WITUS Daily Arts Writer
I want to do the impossible here: I want to talk about “Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?: An Animated Conversation with Noam Chomsky” without really talking about Chomsky, author of works such as “Manufacturing Consent.” Instead, I’m interested in the filmmaking of Michel Gondry (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) and in the fate of the present postmodern project. Will selfreference and self-deprecating humor continue to excuse postmodern artists from their own creative critiques, or will their irony transform into a stain of hypocrisy that justifies the present postmodern temple’s collapse into abysmal absurdity?
Gondry’s new film is a case study for these larger questions. To those already interested in the postmodern project, these questions will probably seem obviously imperative. To those who have no idea what I mean by “postmodernism,” maybe this article will illuminate the subject. For starters, take a popular film like “The Muppets” that recognizes itself as a film with in-dialog ue statements like, “Here comes a major plot point.” That sort of ironic self-reference is a typical postmodern motif. Getting back to the subject at hand, I actually only want to directly talk about the first three minutes and 30 seconds of “Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?” — before Chomsky formally enters it. Analyzing this section of the film allows me to (I think) fairly ignore Chomsky in order to pay closer attention to the filmmaking itself. Further, the first three minutes and 30 seconds feature an inciting explication
ofthe film by Gondry that reveals the film’s intended philosophical and artistic paradigm in a very useful way, analytically speaking. Accompanied by his own handwritten scrawl, Gondry (off-screen) speaks directly to the audience: “Film and video are both by their nature manipulative: the editor/director proposes an assemblage of carefully selected segments that he/ she has in mind … And, as a result, the voice that appears to come from the subject actually comes from the filmmaker. And that’s why I find the process manipulative: the human brain forgets the cuts — a faculty specifically human, that, as I will learn, Noam calls psychic continuity. The brain absorbs a constructed continuity as a reality and consequently gets convinced to witness a fair representation of the subject.” Gondry does an excellent job reciting the typical postmodernist claims about
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film: Film often pretends not to be film and that, more or less, makes it coercive. Therefore postmodern filmmakers want to find ways to make films that express this critique without being hypocritical. In this film, Gondry does so with animation. “(Animation) is clearly the interpretation of its author. If messages, or even propaganda, can be delivered, the audience is constantly reminded that they are not watching reality.” The film, therefore, can be seen through the lens of Gondry’s desire not to deceive the audience. And thus his goal for the rest of the film has been firmly established: Don’t let the audience “forget the cuts.”
So how does Gondry try to not to let us forget the cuts? The first three minutes and thirty seconds provide an overture to the work as whole, at least in this regard. The film’s exposition works to reveal and subvert the inherent coerciveness of film by inventorying the film’s cinematic tools. The very first frame, squarely bird’s-eyeview over Gondry’s backlit animation desk, displays Gondry’s colorful palate of Sharpies. Then Gondry’s hand physically enters the frame, declaring, “Here I am! I am the filmmaker manipulating the film.” His hand draws a hand, desk, lamp and sheet of paper. Once again, he is inventorying, saying, “This is the stuff of my film.” Gondry’s hand exits the frame and the now animated hand begins to draw. It draws a cartoon Gondry sitting at a desk, creating the animation. Lastly, on the subtitle frame, Gondry displays his own Bolex film camera, which he used to record his conversation with Chomsky. Thus here, in short, is supposed to be the (at least partial) achievement of Gondry’s goal of artistic honesty: deliberate showing of the constitutive elements of his film in order to expose the subjectivity of Gondry’s artistic interpretation. But I’m not convinced that Gondry is really as honest as he’s trying to be, and I’m skeptical that he’s even capable of being so honest considering the constraints of human “psychic continuity,” which he recognized himself. Gondry sees animation as distinctly different from other forms of film. Thereby he grants ( his) animation relative propagandistic immunity. But this is strange to me. Why should animation be exempt from Gondry’s critiques of film? Gondry gave us some reasons, but I’m not so sure they hold up. For example, when I was a kid, Bugs Bunny didn’t feel like it was “clearly the interpretation
of its author.” One might arg ue, “Oh, you were just a child then.” But I would say that I’m still a child now, especially when I’m watching a movie. Even when Looney Tunes were at their epitome of meta postmodern expression (e.g., “Duck Amuck”), I never felt like I was really aware of the manipulative inf luence of its author — especially not while I was watching. I didn’t feel like I was “constantly reminded that (I wasn’t) watching reality” — not when I was watching Road Runner and not when I was watching “Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?” The only time viewers can be conscious of the author’s inf luence is when the f low of psychic continuity is disrupted (e.g., with analytic thought like the kind Gondry demonstrates in his inciting explication). This is to say, psychic continuity can only be disrupted when the viewer sees “the cuts.” But, like gestalt fig ure-ground drawings of faces and goblets, the viewer cannot see the cuts and maintain the f low of psychic continuity simultaneously. So, despite Gondry’s sentiments, his animation cannot subvert the coerciveness of film because animation is no exception to the principle that film must maintain psychic continuity for the viewer. Gondry’s unfulfilled goal of artistic honesty represents a greater problem of the present postmodern project. Despite many of the postmodernists’ attempts at self-exposition and self-deprecation through repeated self-reference, they often cannot escape the underlying hypocrisy of their own creative critiques. For those who worry about such problems — artists, writers, thinkers, etc. — it presents us with an opportunity for new solutions. How will this problem be solved? How will the next art and philosophy movement look? Thankfully, the answers seem to still be undecided.
SportsMonday B
The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | April 14, 2014
BACK TO BACK
Men’s gymnastics champions again Second-ranked Wolverines complete perfect season By ALEX TAYLOR Daily Sports Writer
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
The word ‘perfect’ is almost never mentioned in gymnastics, a sport that adheres countless deductions to the smallest of errors, but the Michigan men’s gymnastics team’s performance Friday night came pretty darn close. After finishing the regular season undefeated and then winning the Big Ten championship, the secondranked Wolverines wrapped up
their perfect season by winning the National Championship with a score of 445.050. Competing at home in the Crisler Center, Michigan edged out second place Oklahoma and third place Stanford to reach the pinnacle of collegiate gymnastics for a second straight year. The Wolverines earned the first repeat national championship in school history since the Trampoline program did so in 1969-1970. Friday also marked the third championship in five years for Michigan, and its sixth all time. “It just doesn’t get any better than winning it at home,” said Michigan coach Kurt Golder. “And this is my fourth one, and they are all great, but winning it in front of
a Michigan crowd in Crisler Center. And then it being a repeat, it just makes it all the sweeter. I couldn’t ask for anything more.” In addition to winning back-toback team championships, senior Sam Mikulak also took home backto-back all-around titles, with a total score of 91.10. Mikulak had the highest score in three out of the six events on the night, highlighted by his performances on parallel bars and floor exercise. His individual title, the sixth individual championship of his career, leaves him only two short of holding the most individual championships in NCAA history ahead of Saturday’s competition. See CHAMPS, Page 2B
Mikulak equals record with seventh title Senior struggles but still makes history Saturday night By CAROLYN KODIS Daily Sports Writer
After repeating as National Champions the night before, one thing hung in the air for Michigan senior Sam Mikulak: the possibility of becoming the most decorated gymnast in NCAA history. All he needed was one more individual title on Saturday to have his name in the history books next to Nebraska’s Jim
Hartung and Illinois’ Joe Giallombardo. One more first-place finish to earn seven titles. And after a long night of underwhelming routines, Mikulak finally earned his place in history. “It feels good,” Mikulak said. “That’s a great class of men to be a part of, and I’m honored to be one of those gymnasts who will forever be remembered.” Mikulak’s night started on pommel horse, but his usually tight routine fell apart at the seams with a couple of failed moves. He would finish with a 13.250 for 10th
place out of 10. With an opportunity to make up for his mistakes on floor, Mikulak couldn’t stick dismounts to earn a final score of 15.125 — good enough for fourth place, just ahead of his teammate, Stacey Ervin, who took fifth. On his next attempt, the vault,
Mikulak’s dismount doomed him once again, and he finished eighth. Even freshman Tristan Perez-Rivera finished ahead of him in seventh. So with one final event remaining, the parallel bars, Mikulak found himself in a pressure-packed situation. He had one shot for the history books, so he had to feel some anxiousness, right? “You know what they say: nope,” Mikulak said with a laugh. And perhaps there shouldn’t have been.
Just two weeks ago, Mikulak set a new NCAA record in the event. The night before, he was just .05 points away from tying it. If anything, a strong parallel bars routine was expected of him. As Mikulak released the bars to enter his dismount, Crisler Center held its breath. The crowd didn’t know what to expect after his first three routines. Mikulak stuck the dismount. The green flag — the sign for an added stick bonus — flew in the air. See MIKULAK, Page 2B
DESIGN BY AUSTIN REED
KINGS OF CRISLER
n Sam Mikulak fell, but his recovery helped the Michigan men’s gymastics team celebrate on its home mat. SportsMonday Column, Page 2B
ADAM GLANZMAN/Daily
NOT EVEN CLOSE
n The Michigan softball team swept Michigan State, outscoring the Spartans 31-1 in three mercy-rule victories. Page 4B
SportsMonday
2B — April 14, 2014
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, the night Superman fell
O
n the horizontal bar, the full-twisting double back release requires the gymnast to release both hands and perform two backflips and a 360-degree twist above the bar before regrasping the bar. All of this is to say: Gymnastics is unlike almost any other sport on campus in that you or I could never execute any of the skills involved. Any of them. You can throw a javelin. Not far — but you can throw a ZACH javelin. You HELFAND can catch a football. You can make a jump shot. You can swim and run and kick and swing. You cannot do a full-twisting double back release. I couldn’t even do a swing around the bar. And that is precisely what has made Sam Mikulak the best athlete on campus for the past four years. He has the individual titles: seven of them now, tied for the most in NCAA men’s gymnastics history. He has won three all-around titles. He has been a part of two team national titles. This alone makes him one of the most successful Michigan athletes of all time. But it’s the way he has done all of this — in skills that most others can’t even dream of performing — that is most impressive. And his command of these skills is unmatched in college gymnastics. The full-twisting double back release isn’t Mikulak’s alone or even his trademark skill. There is now a skill on the pommel horse officially called the “Mikulak.” This skill isn’t like that. But it’s Mikulak’s mastery of it — of all his skills, really — that sets him apart.
Golder called the “domino effect.” “One guy goes up and misses, and then the next guy misses,” Golder said. “It’s really hard to get turned around sometimes.” And then Michigan had its lowest score of the night on the horizontal bar, and Mikulak was up to turn it around as he always does, and then he dropped his feet down too low and held onto the bar too long, and he missed the bar and disaster struck. ***
ALLISON FARRAND (LEFT) AND ADAM GLANZMAN (RIGHT)/Daily
Senior gymnast Sam Mikulak, star of the Michigan men’s gymnastics team, fell to the mat Friday, but he recovered and the Wolverines took the title the next night.
After the national championship meet on Friday, a meet that would determine the team champion and the all-around champion, Mikulak estimated that he had gone two months without missing that trick. And that was why it was such a shock to everyone at a raucous Crisler Center Friday when Sam Mikulak — star of collegiate gymnastics, defier of gravity, master of the full-twisting double back — released the bar and performed two backflips and a 360-degree twist and then missed the bar and fell to the mat. *** For Michigan, repeat national championships are rarer than positive rushing plays in a football game. The men’s gymnastics team
entered Friday with a chance to become the school’s first repeat champion in any sport since the trampoline team (seriously) in 1969-70. So how did Michigan reach this point? “Our first two years went horribly,” Mikulak said, referring to the 2011 and 2012 seasons. “We lost too many times.” In two years, they recognized, the team would be loaded with upperclassmen — 19 of 25 gymnasts on the roster this season are juniors or seniors. So they regrouped, and they started a mantra, “MGymDynasty,” which they plastered all over social media. This wasn’t just a struggling team’s plan to improve. This was a strategy for dominance. Michigan wanted multiple championships. “We let every single team out
MEN’S LACROSSE
Michigan loses to Buckeyes By MINH DOAN Daily Sports Writer
Coming out of the locker room at halftime of Ohio State’s annual “Showdown at the Shoe,” which took place 6 MICHIGAN OHIO STATE 15 before the Buckeyes’ spring football game Saturday, the Michigan men’s lacrosse team found itself tied with Ohio State, 6-6. But with 1:40 gone in the second half, Buckeye attacker Carter Brown rifled a shot into the back of the net. And then Ohio State scored again. And again. And again. And the Wolverines (1-3 Eastern College Athletic Conference, 4-9 overall) were unable to answer. The Buckeyes (2-0, 5-6) scored nine unanswered goals in the second half en route to a dominant 15-6 victory. Ohio State’s second-half offensive outpour wiped away what was a good first half for Michigan. The nine-goal run by the Buckeyes was highlighted by attacker Jesse King’s 23rd and 24th goals of the season, leading the team in scoring. King is 10th in points nationally, and
showed exactly why, tallying six on the day. “Our mistakes defensively usually come from inexperience,” Paul said. “Where one guy is out of position and we don’t communicate with each other.” While the second half was a train wreck for the Wolverines, the first went much better. The game started with the teams trading pairs of goals, including one from freshman attacker Ian King, his teamleading 24th of the year. Michigan then raced out to a 5-2 lead with goals from sophomore Kyle Jackson, sophomore midfielder Riley Kennedy and redshirt freshman David Joseph. Joseph, especially, showed off his speed as he carried the ball down the field, outran his defender and beat the goalie with a bounce shot. But Ohio State came back with a three-goal run of its own, tying the score, before freshman midfielder Mikie Schlosser rounded out the Wolverine scoring with a rifle from the point. “We were just playing pretty good lacrosse in the first half,” Paul said. “We were varying our shots, and we were clearing very well.”
While there weren’t many Wolverines who could say they had a good game, freshman goaltender Robbie Zonino was phenomenal in the cage. Zonino had 15 saves, many of them acrobatic, even though Ohio State dominated most of the offensive posessions. “Robbie played great,” Paul said. “He had a couple clearing mistakes, but he saved us a lot of times, which is what a good goalie should do.” One of the biggest themes of Michigan’s season has been inconsistency. After playing one good half and one bad half last week against Fairfield, the Wolverines repeated that same performance this week. With the four-team ECAC Tournament looming, Michigan will have to curb the inconsistency if it wants a chance to win the conference title. “Last year, at this time, we lose a game and we had nothing to play for other than pride,” Paul said. “This year is different, and anything can happen in the ECAC.
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there know that this is what we’re going for,” said Syque Caesar, a graduate student and the first Michigan athlete to win three national championships. “Sure, other teams might laugh at it, but it was a tangible element.” Michigan’s secret is its depth, a product of its experienced roster. In postseason team competition, five gymnasts must compete in each of the six disciplines. All five scores count. One low score can tank the meet. The Wolverines went 30-0 this season because little separates their best gymnasts from their worst. Mark Williams, the coach of Michigan’s top challenger, Oklahoma, said he knew his gymnasts would have to hit on all 30 of their routines Friday to have a shot at Michigan and the championship. The Sooners, though, were
CHAMPS From Page 1B Though starting the competition on one of the hardest events — pommel horse — the Wolverines took the early lead and never looked back. Mikulak paced Michigan with a score of 15.600 in the event – good enough to tie for first. Michigan also got a pair of 14.950s from junior Nick Hunter and senior Matt Freeman on its way to a total score of 75.100. “Pommel horse is the most difficult event to perform on,” Golder said. “But I have a lot of confidence in this team. That’s actually our most consistent event, and that’s very rare. So if you go out and start on pommel horse and hit like we did, it takes the pressure off.” Added Mikulak: “We have a very confident pommel horse team, and we wanted to get that
less than perfect on the parallel bars, and Michigan was nearly flawless on the pommel horse, the trickiest of the six disciplines. One rotation in, Michigan just needed to hold on. Mikulak went last in all the rotations. Each time, his presence either added an exclamation point to a successful rotation or stopped the bad momentum before it spread. He stuck his pommel horse landing. He had a solid routine on rings. When Michigan showed its first cracks on the vault, Mikulak stuck the landing. Michigan coach Kurt Golder, usually reserved, gave a big fist pump. On the parallel bars, no one had stuck a double pike to that point. Mikulak did, of course. He scored a 16.050 — tied (with himself) for the highest score of the night. The only worry was what
Crisler filled with deafening sound. He had done it. He had gone down in history. “It was really special for Sam to finish last night with a stuck dismount for the team and to win the NCAA Championship,” said Michigan gymnastics coach Kurt Golder. “And then he finished the individual final with a
Helfand can be reached at zhelfand@umich.edu or on Twitter @zhelfand.
one out of the way, and we did it with a bang. And that’s just the way you want to start the National Championship.” On its third rotation of the night, vault, Michigan made uncharacteristic errors that seemingly opened the door for competitors to get back into contention. But the Wolverines slammed that door shut on the next rotation, parallel bars. Mikulak once again led Michigan with a score of 16.050 – only .050 less than the NCAA record, set by Mikulak himself two weeks ago at the Big Ten Championships. Graduate student Syque Caesar and Hunter, with scores of 15.200 and 15.050, respectively, also contributed to the overall score of 75.95 – the highest of any team competing. “You know you’re going to have adversity, and we talked about this quite a bit, and you just have to handle everything,”
Golder said. “We had that fall on vault and the rest of the guys stepped up and we moved to the next event (parallel bars), and we hit a grand slam and a homerun.” The Wolverines sealed the championship with perhaps their best performance of the night in the sixth and final rotation on floor exercise. Junior Hub Humphrey, participating in his first event of the night, set the tone for Michigan with a score of 15.15. Junior Stacey Ervin, competing despite a torn bicep, topped Humphrey’s routine with a score of 15.30. But Ervin, too, was upstaged, as Mikulak’s 16.05 was the highest on the night on floor exercise by .50 points. “We are very consistent on floor and once we got three hits out of the way, our two big guys, Stacey and Sam, finishing off the meet, we knew it,” Caesar said. “Once Stacey hit, we knew we had it. “It just made it all that much better when Sam stuck the dismount, and we all went ballistic.”
stuck dismount and a National Championship, it’s like you couldn’t have written the script any better.” But across the gym, a whole other plotline played out for graduate student Syque Caesar. The walkon-turnedcaptain went into his two events — high bar and parallel bars — just hoping to hit his routines. On the parallel bars, Caesar stuck his dismount and earned a
15.385. He finished third in the event. He was then rushed to the high bar, where he had no time to put on his protective grips. It didn’t seem to faze him. He received a 14.975 for his strong routine and an almost-stuck dismount, good enough for fifth place. Michigan’s four gymnasts, who competed on Saturday had endured three tough days of competition, a repeated title, little to no sleep and still managed to take home more hardware and seven All-American certificates. The night ended with the two standing together on the podium: the David and Goliath of collegiate gymnastics.
“Once Stacey hit, we knew we had it.”
MIKULAK From Page 1B
Now, everything was in question. “He never misses,” Golder said of Mikulak. But Mikulak had just missed. Oklahoma was now within striking distance of Michigan’s team score. Stanford’s excellent freshman Akash Modi was now .100 off Mikulak’s once unassailable all-around lead. The Wolverines watched Mikulak’s routine from yards away. When he fell, some put their hands over their heads. Some turned away. Remember that depth? Next up: Hub Humphrey, a junior from Kalamazoo, Mich. who only competed on the floor. He was coming in cold. The dominoes were falling. Could Humphrey stop gravity? He hit his routine. The dominoes stopped. Then Tristian Perez-Rivera hit too, and so did Syque Caesar, and so did Stacey Ervin, who was competing with a torn bicep. All that was left was Mikulak, and it was all over then for Oklahoma and for Modi and for anyone else. Sam Mikulak had fallen. And now it was over because he got back up.
“You couldn’t have written the script any better.”
DO YOU KNOW HOW SAM MIKULAK’S HAIR LOOKS SO GOOD?
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
April 14, 2014 — 3B
Wolverines down Cal, earn second victory By AZALEA HINOJOSA Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women’s lacrosse team’s second-ever win came in an all-too-familiar fashion. Saturday afternoon at the Big House, the young team rallied past California, CALIFORNIA 12 MICHIGAN 13 thanks to a triumphant double-overtime performance. This victory marks the second time the Wolverines have snagged a game in double overtime, the first coming against UC Davis with an identical 13-12 final score, but Saturday marked the first time they outshot their opponent, a 35-30 advantage. Freshman attacker Tess Korten tallied four points, garnering her third career hat trick. She scored the game’s first goal less than four minutes into the match. With just 1:03 remaining in double overtime, freshman attacker Jess Angerman found herself open in the middle of the eight-meter arc and with a quick pass from Korten, she lashed the ball straight to the bottom corner of the net. “To have two home games that we’ve won in overtime, in a dramatic fashion, says a lot about their character and strength,” said Michigan coach Jennifer Ulehla. The first half saw a lot of backand-forth exchanges of points. When California scored the next two goals following Korten’s, the Wolverines answered with a pair of their own, by freshman midfielder Anna Schueler and Angerman, respectively. The Golden Bears notched four more goals and Michigan drilled in an additional two, one by freshman midfielder Madeline Dion and the second of Schueler’s four goals. The Wolverines faced a 6-5 deficit by the end of the first half, but Ulehla knew that her team had more fight in them. “Initially, I wasn’t very happy with our performance,” Ulehla
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Freshman Jess Angerman scored the game-winning goal with just 1:03 left in the second overtime, giving the Michigan women’s lacrosse team its second-ever win.
said. “We didn’t come out the way I knew we could come out against this team. At halftime, I said to them ‘The bad news is that we just played a very bad 30 minutes. The good news is we’re only down one goal. We’re going to make some adjustments.’ ” The halftime talk proved to be beneficial when freshman attacker Kelly Schlansker scored her first career goal one minute into the second half. The Wolverines indeed adjusted and executed a new game plan. Freshman goaltender Allison Silber was noticeably farther out from the goal than usual in an effort to create more pressure on the Golden Bears’ offense. Silber joined her defense at times and succeeded in creating crucial turnovers. By the end of regulation play, the score was knotted 11-11 and the teams prepared for overtime, which consisted of two threeminute halves. Overtime began on a negative
note for the Wolverines. Within the minute, California scored and maintained control of the ball for the majority of the first overtime half. But after switching nets, Michigan was hungry for a tying goal. As the fight for ground balls intensified and collisions became a common occurrence, Korten found Angerman for a gametying goal with a little less than two minutes left. Double overtime called for an even bigger fight, though, as it was now sudden death. When Schueler’s penalty shot was disqualified by an early whistle, the fans voiced their outrage. Her second chance at the eight-meter mark wasn’t successful, bouncing off the opposing goaltender. But the Wolverines responded to adversity and secured a victory. “They’re just growing every single day and that’s our goal,” Ulehla said.
Offensive trio paces Wolverines By MITCH BECKMAN Daily Sports Writer
As the second overtime continued in the Michigan women’s lacrosse team’s game against California, the Wolverines ran a play that looked familiar to everyone who had been watching. Freshman attackman Tess Korten took the ball from behind the net, curled around the crease while the rest of the offense cleared away to the other side of the field, leaving Korten one-on-one with her defender. California had watched
Korten score three times from the same move already, and this time it was prepared, bringing a quick double team to quash Korten’s move to the goal. Freshman midfielder Jess Angerman anticipated the slide, and slipped open in front of the net. Korten found her, Angerman scored, and the Wolverines won their second game of the season Saturday, 13-12, in overtime once again. Of the Wolverines’ 13 goals, nine were assisted, meaning the team notched a total of 22 individual points. Of those 22, 17 were accumulated by Angerman, Korten and freshman midfielder Anna Schueler. “We call them our triple threat,” said Michigan coach Jennifer Ulehla. “We’ve got Tess
“We all work together.”
working in a way where she’s creating off the crease, we’ve got Jess who’s trying to get open in the middle, then we’ve got Anna who’s a threat from the top.” The trio has been troubling defenses all season, and it was apparent more than ever against the Golden Bears. Angerman scored four goals and had two assists, Korten had a career-high seven points — four goals and three assists — and Schueler notched three goals and one assist. “We’re at the point in the season where everyone’s working well together,” Angerman said. The improved chemistry is evident on the field. Schueler and Angerman found room running isolation plays from the midfield, which forced California to bring quick double teams, leaving room on the crease for Korten and other attackmen. Korten’s dodging from behind the net forced double teams as well and led to the Wolverines’ winning goal. Though the trio has been carrying the team statistically, they insist that their teammates deserve as much credit, particularly after freshman attackman Amanda Sutor earned her first career assist and freshman attackman Kelly Schlansker scored her first goal of the season. “We work well because we communicate well, but it’s not just the three of us,” Korten said. “All the attackers and midfielders work and communicate well, so even if other people don’t have the points, they are the ones getting us open — we all work together.” This late in the season, it has become clear who Michigan is trying to get the ball to as the game winds down. “Especially toward the end of the game, those are the individuals we’re gonna look toward,” Ulehla said. “During the game and in the beginning of the game we look to whoever is in a position to attack, but they’re definitely our go-to players.”
‘M’ remains unbeaten in Big Ten Wagner, Romero SOFTBALL
NPoY candidates
By JOHN KOPKO Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women’s tennis team entered the season’s final homestand needing to win three out of its last four MINNESOTA 0 7 MICHIGAN matches to clinch its 1 WISCONSIN fifth con6 MICHIGAN secutive Big Ten title. Strong play in both singles and doubles helped the Wolverines beat Minnesota, 7-0, and Wisconsin, 6-1, to get within one match of that goal. Saturday, Michigan (7-0 Big Ten, 15-3 overall) played on the outdoor courts for just the third time this season, and both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles pairings got off to a hot start. At the top spot, junior Emina Bektas and senior Brooke Bolender broke Minnesota’s serve early to get up 3-1, and then put it in cruise control. Bektas and Bolender eliminated their opponents with ease, 8-2. Sophomore Amy Zhu and junior Sarah Lee followed suit with an 8-2 win of their own to give Michigan the doubles point. Following the intermission, the wind began to pick up, sending serves and volleys astray. “(The wind) was definitely going in one direction, so one side was trickier,” said Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein. “The ball kind of stops short on the court. “We just haven’t been outside enough, so it was definitely very beneficial to get another outdoor match.” Bolender earned the Wolverines the first singles point of the day after an easy 6-1, 6-0 win. Lee followed moments
By MAX BULTMAN Daily Sports Writer
TRACY KO/Daily
Senior Brooke Bolender led the Michigan women’s tennis team to two wins in the final home matches of her career.
later with a 6-1, 6-2 win at the No. 4 spot. Bektas, Michigan’s anchor, looked good early, but the wind began to lead to frustration. After taking the first set, 6-3, Bektas struggled to break her opponent’s serve. The set bounced back and forth and eventually went into a tiebreak, 6-6. Bektas finally found an answer to the service game of the Gophers’ Tereza Brichacova and won the match, 6-3, 7-6, after taking the tiebreak, 7-4. Junior Kristen Dodge, Zhu and sophomore Ronit Yurovsky won the rest of the matches
“We were super aggressive and moving forward. We did a good job there.”
to help to Wolverines shut out Minnesota, 7-0. Sunday, Michigan moved back indoors to take on Wisconsin (2-5 Big Ten, 7-8 overall). In honor of Senior Day, players sported No. 8 Bolender jerseys to honor the team’s lone senior. Both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and the No. 3 team started with a 2-0 lead. Playing in her final home doubles match, Bolender paired with Bektas and won the first match, 8-2. Zhu and Lee continued to play well and won a few minutes later, 8-1. “The doubles looked the best we have in a long time,” Bernstein said. “We were super aggressive and moving forward. We did a good job there.” The Badgers’ singles lineup was no match for Michigan thereafter. Dodge was first off the court with a 6-0, 6-1 win. Bektas
ended her match shortly after with a powerful ace to win, 6-2, 6-2. Bolender and Zhu finished next, dropping just three games between them. At No. 3, Lee got the final win of the day for the Wolverines, 6-2, 6-4. Yurovsky was the only Michigan player to drop a match, falling 6-0, 5-7, 0-1 (7-10), despite cruising through her first set. “Singles was pretty good,” Bernstein said. “Ronit sort of had a hiccup, but overall, I’m really happy with the day.” The Wolverines need just one more win to clinch a Big Ten title, and are confident moving forward. “I think we’re in good shape,” Bernstein said. “We haven’t lost yet in the Big Ten and that’s our goal. Next weekend is going to be tough, but we’re trying to get everyone feeling confident as we move forward.”
The Michigan lineup wasn’t broken, but coach Carol Hutchins still wanted to fix it. Hutchins had moved NOTEBOOK sophomore left fielder Sierra Lawrence to the cleanup slot for games on Wednesday and Friday to fill in for slumping senior first baseman Caitlin Blanchard. But with Blanchard returning to form Friday and Lawrence looking what Hutchins described as “uncomfortable,” the sophomore was back in her usual place for the final two games of the series against Michigan State. “I like to extend the order,” Hutchins said. “Sometimes getting moved around gets you going.” That was exactly the result for both Lawrence and Blanchard. Lawrence hit a three-run homer over the scoreboard in left-center field in the third inning Sunday and followed it up with two more RBI and two runs in a booming seventh inning. The Wolverines piled up 10 runs in that inning, including a pinch-hit grand slam by junior right-hander Sara Driesenga, finishing off a 14-0 win. TURNING TWO: Driesenga was bailed out in each of the first three innings Saturday by timely double plays from her defense. Freshman second baseman Abby Ramirez caught a sharp liner and relayed a throw to Blanchard in the first inning after Driesenga gave up a leadoff single, starting a series of twin killings. Blanchard recorded one unassisted in the second, and freshman third baseman Lindsay Montemarano got
Driesenga out of a bases-loaded jam in the third, showing off her reflexes. Montemarano fielded a wellhit grounder, then threw home to junior catcher Lauren Sweet, who pegged the batter in the back, getting her out by way of runner interference. Driesenga, who hasn’t allowed a run since March 21, was able to recover from her early jams and settle back in to complete an 8-0 run-rule victory in five innings. “(Being bailed out by the defense) was huge for my confidence, and huge for the team,” Driesenga said. “It keeps the momentum going our way.” MAKING THE CUT: Wednesday, junior left-hander Haylie Wagner and sophomore shortstop Sierra Romero were named among the top 25 finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. Romero is third in the nation in batting average (.511), eighth in slugging percentage (.879) and leads the country with an on-base percentage of .636. Wagner gave up one run in five innings in a 9-1 victory Friday and closed out the seventh inning Sunday to lower her earned-run average to 0.95 and bump her record to 19-0 this season. The two should be co-favorites for the Big Ten Player of the Year, but the national honor may be out of reach at this point in the season because of the Wolverines’ weak schedule within the conference. Florida State’s Maddie O’Brien, who leads the nation in home runs (16) and slugging percentage (.959), and Lacey Waldrop, who boasts a 0.70 ERA and 195 strikeouts, look like the frontrunners.
SportsMonday
4B — April 14, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
19 and counting: ‘M’ sweeps Freshmen make SOFTBALL
splash in rivalry
By JAKE LOURIM Daily Sports Writer
EAST LANSING — All weekend, it seemed the Michigan softball team had held back. Two runs in one inning, one run the next. The result was two mercy victories, but the runs never poured on. Until the seventh inning of the final game — the last chance to erase all doubt. In that frame, the Wolverines (12-0 Big Ten, 33-6 MICHIGAN ST. 1 overall) 9 MICHIGAN scored 10 runs and MICHIGAN ST. 0 8 hit three MICHIGAN home runs, MICHIGAN ST. 0 finishing MICHIGAN 14 off a 14-0 victory at Michigan State (2-12, 9-28) for their 19th straight win. The bats had been fairly sluggish in the first six innings Sunday, managing just three runs on six hits. Sophomore shortstop Sierra Romero went 1-for-3, and sophomore outfielder Sierra Lawrence’s three-run homer in the third inning represented the team’s only earned runs. Four innings later, it was Lawrence who got the ball rolling once again, and it didn’t stop rolling until Michigan State had nothing left. “Our hits were feeding off each other, we were feeding off each other’s energy,” Lawrence said. “It was a lot of fun.” After Lawrence’s RBI single, junior catcher Lauren Sweet and freshman third baseman Lindsay Montemarano hit backto-back home runs. Romero followed four batters later with a two-run single. Then, with the bases loaded and the game long since decided, junior right-handed pitcher Sara Driesenga stepped up for her 21st at-bat of the season. She drilled a grand slam to right-center field, adding
By KELLY HALL Daily Sports Writer
“We brought you here to help us win.”
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Sophomore Sierra Lawrence blasted a three-run shot Sunday as the Michigan softball team dominated the Spartans.
insult to injury. “They were all loosened up and swinging well,” Hutchins said. “It’s good to see we know the game is seven innings, not five. “We weren’t in it the whole game — early in the game, I didn’t think we were.” In one inning, the series finale had gone from competitive pitcher’s duel to blowout. The Wolverines won the series by a total score of 31-1 — and it wasn’t their most lopsided Big Ten series of the season. After the game, Hutchins was pleased with the seventh-inning outburst because Michigan played a complete game, which hasn’t happened much in the past month. While the bats took time to get going, freshman righthander Megan Betsa kept the lead comfortable with a six-
BASEBALL
Bottom of order provides impact By BEN FIDELMAN Daily Sports Writer
CHAMPAIGN — Michigan baseball coach Erik Bakich likes players who are on a hot streak. It has been a consistent theme to this 2014 campaign: No matter if it’s a hitter or pitcher, if a player’s numbers are trending up, Bakich doesn’t bat an eye at throwing him in the lineup. This weekend followed suit, as the Wolverines replaced the bottom two hitters in the lineup Saturday after the 7-8-9 slots put up an abysmal .154 batting average over the last few weeks. Junior second baseman Eric Jacobson, freshman right fielder Jackson Lamb and freshman catcher Harrison Wenson had all seen much of the time in those spots as of late. But when the team was shut out last Friday, 1-0, in the opening game of the Illinois series, the coaches made a change — and it paid off. Bakich moved two freshmen, third baseman Hector Gutierrez and right fielder Johnny Slater, into the lineup for the final two games of the series. The two newcomers to the lineup fit right in during Saturday’s 26-run contest, going 6-for-12 and contributing to the bottom three spots in the lineup, driving in six runs. “We’ve been looking for a spark, and they provided just that,” Bakich said. “They’ve both been working really hard on their swing and have been patient. Both haven’t gotten as much playing time as they both would have hoped, nor have they gotten the results that they would have hoped for early in the year. They both got opportunities to start
EAST LANSING — What the Michigan softball freshmen lack in experience, they make up for in impact. All four freshmen had a part in the combined 31-1 clobbering of Michigan State this past weekend. Michigan coach Carol Hutchins has expected them to contribute from the start, and they have. “I tell them, we don’t bring you here to be a freshman, we brought you here to help us win,” Hutchins said. “That’s been my motto every year. You can choose to be a freshman or you can choose to help us win. It’s a decision you make.” Against the Spartans, freshman third baseman Lindsay Montemarano hit two solo home runs. Saturday, she started off the fifth inning with a long fly ball. The home run sparked more hitting by her teammates that allowed fellow freshman second baseman Abby Ramirez to score and finish off the game with the eighth run in a mercy-rule victory. “Us freshman have a pretty small class, so we’re really close and all the older girls from sophomores to seniors have really taken us under their wings and showed us the way,” Montemarano said. Montemarano isn’t the only freshman who can hit. Ramirez got on base four times throughout the weekend. Saturday, she singled in the fifth inning and was able to cross home plate with the eighth and final run when freshman first
baseman Kelly Christner singled to center field. Christner also doubled to right-center field to start off the final frame on Sunday and scored when sophomore outfielder Sierra Lawrence doubled. It wasn’t just Ramirez’s impressive at-bats that stood out against Michigan State. In the first inning of Saturday’s game, Ramirez caught a line drive and doubled a Spartan runner off first to help take the pressure off junior righthander Sara Driesenga. Freshman right-hander Megan Betsa credited Hutchins’ tough practices. One drill that Michigan practices repeatedly puts the pitcher in a pressure situation with the bases loaded and a full count. Betsa also points to the psychological practice as a reason for her confidence with runners on base. On top of that and her drive to come in and throw even when practice isn’t being held, it’s no surprise that she allowed just four hits on Sunday — all of them singles — through six innings. She still wasn’t completely happy with her performance. “I don’t think I had my best performance today but it’s giving the best of what I have and that’s what I did,” Betsa said. Betsa and Ramirez were backto-back Big Ten Freshmen of the Week in February, and it’s been obvious why since then. Double that with the more active roles Montemarano and Christner have been growing into, and Michigan has a class of players that will not only make an impact late this season, but for the next three to come.
and took advantage of it.” Sunday, the duo put together multiple quality at-bats, which is something the previous starters couldn’t do. Jacobson came through in the top of the ninth with a single in the seven spot and came around to score an insurance run with two outs to secure the 4-2 victory. “(The bottom of the lineup) is critical,” Bakich said. “We’ve gotten consistent production from the top four guys, and that was the challenge from the team Friday night. The top four hitters in the lineup had way more quality at-bats than the rest of the lineup, and we needed more consistency in all spots, one through nine. “When you can have an entire lineup that produces, then you have a chance to be dangerous offensively. That’s what we saw yesterday when everybody was having quality at-bats.” Many of the players that have been shuffled in and out of the lineup this year have been freshmen. In the second year under Bakich’s lead, the team is heavy with freshmen and sophomores eager to earn their way into the lineup. One of those freshmen that took advantage of this “hot-bat” mindset was third baseman Trey Miller. The freshman had a go-ahead two-RBI hit in the eighth inning of a game in the Iowa series, and shortly thereafter was selected to replace starting third baseman Ramsey Romano, who suffered a broken wrist. Though he struggled after that hit — hitting just .067 through four starts — it only reinforced the notion that this is Bakich’s plan, and he’s sticking to it.
“We needed more consistency in all the spots.”
inning, four-hit shutout. “I don’t think I had my best performance today, but it’s giving the best that I have, and that’s what I did,” Betsa said. “My defense was there to work behind me.” For the second straight weekend, the freshman got the nod in the series finale. She scattered seven baserunners over six shutout innings, lowering her season earned-run average to 1.89. Betsa did, however, struggle early for the third straight weekend. After retiring the first two batters, she gave up a single to Michigan State third baseman Sara Gutknecht and walked designated player Stephanie Sanders to bring Hutchins out to the circle. “She looks like she tries too hard, or maybe she gets nervous that the hitter is going to hit it,
I don’t know,” Hutchins said. “But it’s not sharp. Her changeup is her best pitch, and it bounces in too often for me.” But after that, she struck out catcher Lindsey Besson and retired nine of the next 10 as well, finishing with a six-pitch, 1-2-3 fourth inning. Betsa negated Michigan State’s strong defense and pitching early in the game. Senior outfielder Nicole Sappingfield was thrown out at home in the first, and senior designated player Taylor Hasselbach was robbed of a home run at the right-field wall in the second. The Wolverines let Michigan State hang around and play all seven innings for the first time of the weekend. But in the seventh, the Wolverines kept piling on, leaving no doubt.
Michigan takes series over Illinois By JASON RUBINSTEIN Daily Sports Writer
CHAMPAIGN — Cole Martin had struggled at the plate nearly all season. But his slump ended this weekend, as the senior captain knocked in the go-ahead run in the eighth 1 ILLINOIS inning 0 MICHIGAN Sunday to close out 9 ILLINOIS MICHIGAN 17 a series victory 2 ILLINOIS over 4 MICHIGAN Illinois. Led by Martin’s two hits Sunday, the Michigan baseball team beat Illinois, 4-2, to win the weekend series, 2-1. Martin’s timely hitting, both Saturday and Sunday, spelled doom for the Fighting Illini. Before the weekend, Martin was hitting .205, but he upped his average to .252 after tallying six hits. “(Martin) played like a senior and a leader,” said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. “This was his coming-out party offensively. He was swinging the bat well in practice and the hits weren’t falling for him earlier in the year.” Illinois (6-3 Big Ten, 18-13 overall) wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, when David Kerian ripped a line drive to center field, scoring Will Krug. The center fielder hit a frozen rope to right field on the game’s first pitch and used his speed to advance to third on a fielder’s choice. Michigan, though, kept an aggressive approach at the plate. Sophomore shortstop Travis Maezes lined a double to deep left field and scored on junior outfielder Jackson Glines’ sacrifice fly. Michigan (6-6, 16-19-1) took its momentum to the fifth inning, when Maezes reached base on a fielder’s choice before stealing second and third. Junior first baseman Kyle Jusick knocked Maezes home on a sacrifice fly to take the lead, 2-1. Fifth-year senior Logan McAnallen took the mound for the Wolverines, making his first
Big Ten start. The left-hander pitched to contact early, and he benefited from the strong defensive play behind him. McAnallen threw five innings and allowed only one run. “We weren’t sure in the early part of the game because he was getting behind in counts,” Bakich said. “But he battled back and competed. He’s one of our tough guys, and we needed to him to pitch tough — and he pitched tough.” McAnallen also used a steady pickoff move to keep the Illini grounded on the base path. In the fourth inning, the southpaw picked off Reid Roper for the first out of the inning. McAnallen wasn’t the only Wolverine having success picking off runners. In the seventh inning, freshman left-hander Brett Adcock picked off the go-ahead runner, and in the eighth, sophomore right-hander Jacob Cronenworth added a pickoff of his own to end the frame. Cronenworth’s snipe was Michigan’s sixth of the series.
Prior to the weekend, Illinois had only been picked off once. Junior second baseman Eric Jacob rounded out the Wolverines’ scoring when Maezes doubled to left. Cronenworth found his rhythm early on the hill and closed out the game, earning his seventh save. “We took advantage of some mistakes, which, in a close game, are magnified,” Bakich said. “We showed some toughness in a lot of spots. “When we needed our guys to come through in big spots, our guys came through in big spots — in all facets of the game.” What happened Friday: After losing the series to Minnesota last weekend and falling to Notre Dame on Wednesday, Michigan needed any spark it could get. But the Wolverines couldn’t find their footing, losing to Illinois, 1-0. Sophomore lefthander Evan Hill surrendered only one run but was tagged with the loss.
Hill, who had tossed 12.2 consecutive scoreless innings before Friday, found his rhythm early, throwing seven strong innings. It wasn’t enough, though, as he got no run support. What happened Saturday: Michigan came out as a completely different ball club on Saturday in Champaign. Rallying behind Cronenworth’s two home runs, and a seasonhigh 23 hits, to dismantle the Fighting Illini, 17-9. Michigan saw production from multiple hitters. Freshman outfielder Johnny Slater went 4-for-6, while tallying 2 RBI, by far his most offensive production this season. Freshman designated hitter Carmen Benedetti matched Slater, also going 4-for-6, while also garnering three doubles. Freshman Jackson Lamb finished out the game for Michigan on the mound, striking out one and sealing the victory. It was the first time Lamb pitched this season.
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Senior catcher Cole Martin had been out since April 2 with tightness in his elbow, but he went 2-for-4 on Sunday.