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Athletics upgrades approved by regents VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily
Pussy Riot members Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alekhina speak at the Penny Stamps speaker series hosted by the Penny Stamps School of Art and Design Thursday at the Michigan Theatre .
Pussy Riot talks protests, gov’t repression in Russia Feminist activists famous for protests against Putin By RACHEL PREMACK Daily News Editor
Students and Ann Arborites lined East Liberty Street Thursday night to see two members from Pussy Riot, a Russian punk
rock protest group that’s made international headlines since their 2011 inception. Dressed in A-line skirts, tights and lace-up sneakers, Nadezhda (Nadya) Tolokonnikova and Maria (Masha) Alyokhina did not look so different from their undergraduate audience — a few of whom wore the neon balaclavas that Pussy Riot members typically don. Interarts junior Daniel Ghas-
tin was one such balaclavaed student, who said he and other performance arts students came to show solidarity for Pussy Riot. “As performers, we want to understand what they do better and a form of imitation is the greatest compliment,” Ghastin said. “I am really curious in what makes them tick and how they formulate what they do, but also I really admire the balls
IM Building, South Campus facility to receive $118.7 million investment By CLAIRE BRYAN Daily Staff Reporter
that they have.” Before entering the theater, one performance art student mimicked a Pussy Riot dance while two others filmed him. Attendees packed the 1,700seat Michigan Theater, where punk rock music played in the background as they found their seats. Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were not there to play their own music, but See PUSSYRIOT, Page 2A
From varsity rowers to intramural racquetball fanatics, student-athletes are in luck. Thursday, the University’s Board of Regents approved $18.7 million in renovations to the Intramural Sports Building and the construction of a $168 million South Campus athletics facility — one of the largest sports-focused construction projects in decades. The athletic campus proposal, called the Athletics South Competition and Performance Project, is funded in part by a $200 million gift by real estate tycoon Stephen Ross, a University alum. The $200 million was split evenly between the Athletic Department and
Ross’ namesake business school and followed his first $100 million donation to the school in 2004. Plans for the athletic facilities call for the construction of a 310,000 square-foot facility designed to serve studentathletes, including participants in men and women’s track and field, cross country, soccer, lacrosse, wrestling, tennis, gymnastics and women’s rowing teams. “What I appreciate about the proposal is the holistic approach that it takes,” University President Mark Schlissel said. “It allows us to address a number of important needs across these teams simultaneously.” According to Douglas Strong, interim executive vice president and chief financial officer, the project will construct five facilities including an indoor and outdoor track venue that will accommodate 2,000 and 1,000 students respectively and a lacrosse stadium slated to accommodate 3,000 spectators. See ATHLETICS, Page 5A
Provost announces plan to control enrollment Admissions office considers admitting fewer early applicants By SAM GRINGLAS Daily News Editor
This fall, the University enrolled 6,532 freshmen — an increase of 307 over last year — and about 500
more than University officials had intended. At Thursday’s meeting of the Board of Regents, University Provost Martha Pollack detailed several steps the Office of Admissions plans to take to reduce the size of future classes — including shifting more early applicants to a wait list. She also outlined the University’s plans to handle this larger-thanexpected freshman class.
“We have been over-enrolling every year for the past five years and we have to stop this,” Pollack said. “I’m not happy about it.” This year, the University received a record-breaking 49,731 applications for Fall 2014 admission. Though the University’s adoption of the Common Application in 2010 provided a bump in applications, the growth has conSee REGENTS, Page 5A
ABBY KIRN/Daily
University President Mark Schlissel presides over Thursday’s Board of Regents meeting at the Michigan Union.
ELECTION 2014
AG Democratic candidate aims to aid student debt Totten hopes to give women better access to contraception By BEN ATLAS Daily Staff Reporter
It has been 60 years since an incumbent attorney general in Michigan has lost a bid for reelec-
tion, but Mark Totten, Michigan State University law professor and Democratic nominee for that spot, is hoping to bring that streak to an end. Totten, 40, has both a law degree and Ph.D. in ethics from Yale University and his past experience includes stints as a staff attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice and a clerkship for a federal judge. See TOTTEN, Page 5A
Schuette’s platform supported by experience Republican incumbent hopes to keep seat for second term By SHOHAM GEVA Daily Staff Reporter
Attorney General Bill Schuette (R) will ask Michigan’s voters to elect him to a second term this November. Running on the slogan “Michigan’s voice for victims,” over the past three years, Schuette has been involved in
issues affecting a variety of constituencies, ranging from college students to Detroit pensioners. As his campaign ramps up, he’s picked up endorsements from several groups, including police officers and small businesses. His Democratic challenger is Mark Totten, a Michigan State University law professor. Gay marriage In March, a district court struck down Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage, which was approved by voters as an amendment to the state constitution in 2004. Schuette, who represented
the state in defense of the ban, filed for an appeal and an emergency stay on the decision. Both were granted, which means the change will not go into effect until the appeal is settled. Oral arguments were heard in the case this August by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. Schuette’s decision to defend the ban drew attention because many other state attorney generals, especially in the wake of a 2013 Supreme Court decision against parts of the Defense of Marriage Act, have declined to defend similar litigation. Additionally, U.S. Attorney Gen-
eral Eric Holder has stated that state attorney generals are not required to defend the bans. “In 2004 the citizens of Michigan recognized that diversity in parenting is best for kids and families because moms and dads are not interchangeable,” Schuette said in a March statement on his choice to appeal the ruling. “Michigan voters enshrined that decision in our State constitution, and their will should stand and be respected.” Rape kits Five years ago, the city of Detroit discovered more than See SCHUETTE, Page 5A
» INSIDE
Football with a smile Willie Henry has matured to join Michigan’s fierce defensive line
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A broad-winged hawk, that has survived West Nile virus and a car collision, at EarthFest Wednesday. (ALLISON FARRAND/Daily)
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CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
SPH Info Session
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There’s a bake sale in Haven
WHAT: The Schol of Public Health will tell prospective students about the application proces WHO: School of Public Health WHEN: Today from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. WHERE: Henry F. Vaughn School of Public Health
WHAT: The Michigan Journal of Race & Law is celebrating its first 20 years. WHO: Michigan Law Program in Race, Law, and History WHEN: Today from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: South Hall Room 1225
WHAT: The University Symphony Orchestra will have their first concert of the year. WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: Today at 8 p.m. WHERE: Hill Auditorium
WHAT: This women in science group is having a bake sale to raise money for their organization. WHO: Chapter of the Scientista Foundation WHEN: Today from 12 to 6 p.m. WHERE: Haven Hall
Museums and Brown Bags
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Aerospace centennial
WHAT: A presentation that is about museums and the way they’ve changed their approach to visitors in the face of changing technology. WHO: Museum Studies Program WHEN: Today from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: Museum of Art Multi-Purpose Room
Janiva Magness
WHAT: Internationally acclaimed dancer Nadja Raszewski will conduct a 30-minute technique class, and then host a 15 minute Q & A session for students’ benefit. WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: Today at 12:10 p.m. WHERE: Dance Building
WHAT: To celebrate 100 years, the Aerospace Engineering program is hosting panel discussions on the future of space. WHO: College of Engineering WHEN: Today from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union
WHAT: This blues singer has been nominated for many awards and is now playing nearby. Her low voice is said to be captivating. WHO: Michigan Union Ticket Office WHEN: Tonight at 8 p.m. WHERE: The Ark
PUSSYRIOT From Page 1A rather to discuss their work, Russian culture and Zona Prava, their recently created prisoners’ rights non-governmental organization. Pussy Riot has not released a single album. In fact, their punk rock songs consist mostly of yelling in Russian over instrumentals that are “badly recorded, based on simple riffs,” according to one Associated Press review. They have seven songs and five videos, all targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin and the poor state of women’s and LGBT rights in Russia. It’s their illegally held concerts — and their lyrics — that have caused their international fame. Their most famous protest act, which took place in a reserved space within the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow — a symbol of the Orthodox Church’s resurgence in the post-Soviet era — in February 2012 caused waves in Russia and
around the world as supporters and detractors rallied to the cause. The Russian government charged members of Pussy Riot with criminal hooliganism and handed down heavy sentences in what many saw as a politically charged trial. Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina served just over a year in Russian jails before being released under a new amnesty law in late 2013. During their imprisonment, they received sympathy from individuals and institutions around the world, including Madonna, Paul McCartney, the German Parliament and Hillary Clinton. “It touched all the wrong nerves of the Orthodox Church and of the ruling elite and offended lots of people in the general population as well,” Ronald Grigor Suny, the Charles Tilly Collegiate Professor of Social and Political History, said in an interview with The Michigan Daily. Suny added that the women challenge Russia’s growing conservative element. With the fall of the Soviet Union, ideologies like Communism, Socialism and even Liberalism are unsavory or alto-
gether non-existent in the political discourse. What’s replaced this, enhanced by Putin, is Russian nationalism. Tolokonnikova had this same observation. “Putin was really trying hard to create this mythology of this common Russian man from the Ural mountain who unconditionally believes in Putin and wants to chase critically thinking people out of the country,” Tolokonnikova said. “This is what I call Putin’s war against his own people,” she added. Back in the Michigan Theater, the audience thanked the many sponsors for hosting Pussy Riot at the University. The two women came as part of the Penny W. Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series. Sponsors included the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies, the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Michigan Radio, WUOM 91.7 FM and Arts @ Michigan. During the reading of this list, Tolokonnikova poked her green-and-brownhaired head from behind the curtains, evoking giggles and whoops from the audience. Before the two women came on stage, a video played of Pussy
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
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The Michigan women’s soccer team is riding a four-game winning streak heading into this weekend’s road trip to Maryland (Friday) and Rutgers (Sunday). >> FOR MORE, SEE SPORTS, PG. 9A
3
With the new iOS 8, Apple says the government can’t access iPhone users’ private information, because Apple will no longer be able to access the data. A new encryption prevents anyone but the phone’s user from gaining access.
Riot performing around Russia. The compilation showed reactions ranging from wizened church ladies wagging their finger to fullon police brutality; the women were horse-whipped by paramilitary Cossacks on patrol in Sochi during the 2014 Winter Olympics. “I hate everything about what Putin stands for,” LSA junior Evan Vowell said at the talk. “But Pussy Riot represents the oppressed and the silent citizen in Russia.” One clip showed Pussy Riot’s most infamous performance: “Punk Prayer: Mother of God, Drive Putin Away.” In their typical get-up of sleeveless dresses, tights and balaclavas covering all but their eyes and mouths, Pussy Riot stormed two Moscow churches and sang in protest of Putin and the Orthodox Church. “Virgin Mary, Mother of God, become a feminist, become a feminist, become a feminist,” they sang in mock-chorus. It elicited laughs from the Ann Arbor audience. Less laughter came from the church and government. Prominent members of the Russian Orthodox Church demanded that the government punish their blasphemy. Nine days after the video was published, Alyokhina, Tolokonnikova and a third member
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of Pussy Riot made international headlines in March 2012 when two members were arrested. Suny said protest is legal in Russia, but it can be trounced upon just like protests in the United States. More acceptable ways for Russian women to complain about the government, he said, are through writing newspaper columns, organizing political groups or petitioning the government. “There are ways for women to get their voices heard,” Suny said. “Whether they are listened to — that’s another thing.” “We have red lines beyond which starts the destruction of the moral foundations of our society,” Putin said in Oct. 2012. “If people cross this line they should be made responsible in line with the law.” LSA senior Hannah Crisler said their actions against the Russian government were commendable. “Because the Russian government and Putin have such power and control over their citizens, it’s so refreshing and honorable that Pussy Riot rebels against them,” Crisler said. “Even though at times they are extreme, which they are on purpose, they have created enough noise to be recognized around the world. They’re creating global awareness and push others to do something in order for change.” Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova’s entrance was received with loud applause and whoops. They were accompanied by Chrisstina Hamilton, the director of Visitors Programs at the School of Art & Design, who coordinates the Penny W. Stamps Distinguished Lecture Series and led the discussion, and a Russian to English translator. The women spoke primarily in Russian, making a few statements in English. The women’s wits survived the translation to English, and laughter was frequent. “To be honest, the art from the conservative side can sometimes also be incredibly artistic and good,” Tolokonnikova said sarcastically. “For example, when I was in prison I was incredibly inspired by an action which took place in the Russian city of St. Petersberg, a slogan that read, ‘We are against oral sex.’ ” Other effects of Russia’s conservative turn were less jovial.
Alyokhina said many of her fellow female prisoners had suffered partner abuse. They responded to the abuse with violence, and then were imprisoned for assault. “There are actually thousands of those women in Russian prisons,” Alyokhina said. “And it should be known that there is absolutely no domestic violence law in Russia.” Indeed, much of their discussion revolved around their activism for prisoners’ rights. The women were imprisoned in a corrective labor colony, where prisoners are forced to work while serving their sentence. In a Sept. 2013 letter published by The Guardian, Tolokonnikova describes working up to 17 hours a day in a sewing shop for almost seven days a week. Friday, the women will meet with two local prisoners’ rights activists: Lisa Greco, director of the Washtenaw County Children’s Services Department, and Heather Wilson, director of the Youth Arts Alliance. Both groups work to rehabilitate those in the juvenile justice system through creative arts. “These kids are writing amazing poetry,” Greco said in an interview with the Daily. “They are articulating things that we have to understand as reality, like drugs and violence. We can really hear what they’re saying. We get to see what kids are really feeling, they’re writing it, they’re drawing it, they’re singing it.” Zona Prava, Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova’s prisoners’ rights group, embraces this idea of allowing typically silenced groups to express themselves. Their group promotes freedom of expression, along with legal aid for incarcerated Russians. “I am just hoping to understand a bit more about the differences in the way that we are working on social justice in our respective communities and countries,” Greco said. “I am hoping to understand that in both directions.” Zona Prava provides prisoners with legal consultation over the phone, investigates deaths in prisons and assists in filing suits against prison administrations on behalf of wronged inmates. See PUSSYRIOT, Page 5A
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The spirit of Detroit
“N
ow the Lord is that spirit: and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” – 2 Corinthians 3:17 These words sit behind the cast bronze statue of the Spirit of Detroit; when it was first installed the statue was the largest of its kind since the Renaissance. It sits in the heart of Detroit, with a bronze sphere in its left hand and small cast of a DAVID family in its right. It sits in between cut shots of auto- HARRIS mobiles and abandoned homes in commercials. It sits adorned in an oversized Red Wings jersey year after year during playoff season in Hockeytown. It sits on stamps and in pictures, as the crest for Detroit’s minor league soccer team. North of the town sits a football field. Years ago it was an indoor field, domed by a grand, white inflatable roof. It has since been converted, unintentionally and unceremoniously, into an outdoor one. What once was the Pontiac Silverdome, home to the Detroit Lions, the Detroit Pistons and concerts of all the most famous bands, sits with its roof collapsed and the turf, with end zones still emblazoned with “Lions,” flooded. The 80,000 seats still sat there until they were auctioned off this past June, along with much of the memorabilia that was left behind. In the Silverdome’s largest event, Pope John Paul II once gave mass to over 93,000 in attendance. The striking dome that once held a holy event of the Catholic faith rests in the most unholy of conditions. In the quarter century since then, much of Detroit has followed the same pattern of decay and neglect. Pope John Paul II last visited in 1987. From 1991 to 2010 Detroit civilian unemployment nearly doubled. Between 1990 and 2010, the city lost somewhere around 300,000 residents. But what it did not lose was its hope and its faith. The Silverdome is just one example of the how the area has changed since John Paul II made his visit. So when students from Cristo Rey High School in southwest Detroit helped start a campaign to ask the current Catholic pope, Pope Francis, to visit the city, the reality of the strife of Detroit was clear to them and to the many students who wrote letters to the pontiff.
“I know what you may hear about Detroit may not be all that pleasant, but there is good here. I promise,” writes one student. Another elementary school student writes more bluntly, “You can also come to tell everybody in Detroit that they shouldn’t make more crimes.” But underneath it all is hope: “If you can inspire worldwide, you can inspire Detroit also.” On the east side of Detroit sits a grand Polish Cathedral-styled church. It has been over two decades since the nave in St. Albertus has heard an Our Father — its doors closed in 1990. But on Aug. 10 some 2,500 people have come for mass, and the halls echoed with “amens” and “peace be with you’s” as the crowd filled every seat, every space in aisles and even out the doorway. It started with just a small idea. At the first event, 150 people showed up to St. Hyacinth. Two months and two mass mobs later, 900 visitors from all over the metro area showed up to St. Joseph’s. And the numbers kept growing up to the St. Albertus mass. What began as a small movement to explore the historical churches of the city had become so much more. The Detroit Mass Mob was uniquely, for lack of a better adjective, Detroit: the grassroots efforts that started the movement; the unwillingness to let go of the culture behind the cathedrals; the embracing of the troubled past and the vision to make something out of it; and the resurgence of faith in a city where sometimes faith is all that is left. So, too, are the efforts to bring the Pope to Detroit. Yet there’s a determination behind it — a “we’re still here” attitude that persists. “There are good people, too,” wrote another student in her letter to the Pope. “People who actually care about Detroit and the people in it.” Because when it seems that Detroit truly has nothing else, the Spirit of Detroit reminds us that there will always remain hope. Pope Francis is scheduled to make his first visit to the United States in September of 2015. Philadelphia is on the list of cities he will visit. Detroit is not. But then again, Detroit wasn’t on the list for the last papal visit either. It’ll take determination in another uniquely Detroit way to pull it off. The movement to bring Pope Francis to Detroit seems small and wishful, but after all, it only takes faith as small as a mustard seed to move mountains.
It only takes faith as small as a mustard seed to move mountains.
David Harris can be reached at daharr@umich.edu.
MICHAEL PAUL | VIEWPOINT
Play to your strengths I just opened another tab on my laptop to search for the list. Yes, the list that all of campus has been talking about. The new university rankings have just come out. Most would assume that I am referencing the latest U.S. News and World Report published college rankings (with their highly questioned methodology), where the University unfortunately continues to trickle lower and lower. While more concentrated efforts must be taken to ensure that we as a university push the needle in the opposite direction, I am actually alluding to the new college football poll released this week by the Associated Press. A storied football program like Michigan should consistently be in the top 10 and not at number 13. Oh, I’m sorry, the Wolverine in me saw “Michigan” and assumed that it was us. That spot has already been taken by the green people in Lansing — our rivals, Michigan State. I continue to scroll down the page, aimlessly looking for the maize and blue, knowing damn well we’re not there. I scroll back up and go down the list again, probing for any pattern that might exist in the universities that are ahead of us that might provide us with something to emulate and provide me with an excuse to tell my friend at the University of Notre Dame, explaining why we didn’t put up a single point against them two weekends ago in South Bend. I continue to scan the page, examining what I see and come to this conclusion: The schools that make up this list don’t have tough, robust academic programs like the University of Michigan. This lame cop-out was short-lived when I went over the list again and noticed the University of Notre Dame; University of California, Los Angeles; Stanford University and the University of Southern California. These schools are ranked 16, 23, 4 and 25, respectively, in this year’s aforementioned U.S. News rankings. The University of Michigan is ranked 29. For the better part of the last decade, seeing a university known for its academic prowess in the AP Top 25 was a rarity. Now an institution like Stanford — which pumps out tech CEOs
faster than their alum Richard Sherman can open his mouth — is sitting pretty in college football paradise, consistently competing for National Championships. With Michigan also being an academic world power, what is holding us back from reclaiming our glory on the gridiron while continuing to study our tails off? It starts and ends with recruiting. Our college football program must look itself in the mirror and realize that we aren’t a stereotypical SEC school that doesn’t care about academics. At our very core, we are a research-oriented school and an authority in the world of academia. This shouldn’t be something we should run away from. We should gladly embrace this. Contrary to popular belief, strong academics will not deter quality student-athletes from attending the University. And let’s face it, Michigan’s academic standards are hard for any high school student to meet, let alone those who devote a large amount of time to athletics. Although this definitely limits the amount of talent that will be scouted, this will not necessarily limit the quality of talent. There is an article in The Wall Street Journal by Darren Everson and Jared Diamond on Stanford’s recruiting methodology. Wayne Lyons, a highly rated recruit from Florida with a 4.96 weighted GPA who was recruited by the top programs in the country but ultimately chose the Cardinal, said, “Stanford made the academics a huge priority.” Stanford University is the only school to be ranked in the top five in U.S. News rankings and the AP Top 25 concurrently. Michigan football must use the University to their advantage and find leaders in the classroom, as well as the field. Success can and will be found when this happens. The program shouldn’t try to fit in with some of the less academically inclined schools. Michigan football should try to stand out as a program where you will push yourself further than you thought you could go and you will be glad you did. Michael Paul is an LSA senior.
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A con(text)ual evolution
ost of us at Michigan spend the beginning our semester solving the problem of textbooks. They’re expensive and generally worthless after the class is over. As an English major, though, I appreciate that most of the books I need to buy are works JENNY of literature that WANG I can read again and again even after I graduate. The required texts section in the syllabus feels more like the professor sharing his or her favorite books with you than anything else. For personal and economic/corporate reasons, there is something very anti-literature about e-books, and I find myself stuck between wanting to fit in with my English major peers (who post about their favorite bookshelves) and wanting to save my money. As soon as I find the Kindle version of a book on Amazon, I turn into your average penny-pinching consumer. The e-books are cheap and instant. The books will be there, loaded on your app, ready to go. Of course, before I make any purchases, I ask about my professor’s policies on textbooks, which he or she rarely specifies in the syllabus. “What is your policy on e-readers?” And while I’m at it, “What is your policy on electronic devices in the classroom?” If possible, I never print my readings, and instead do all my analyzing and annotating with my tablet and stylus; same goes with the e-book. I, among many other consumers, quite like having all my texts stored in a single app and accessible anywhere via the cloud.
A survey back in 2013 found that 62 percent of young people (ages 16 to 24) preferred print books to e-books. I don’t find this particularly surprising, since we were alive before electronic texts, and one of the fondest memories that my age group experienced was reading the Harry Potter series in its original printed version. There is something about a physical book, people say. The smell, the feel of the pages. There’s this weightiness to it that can’t be replicated in digital texts. I think, however, a better survey will need to be conducted on the generation after ours that grew up with the Internet and everything in digital form. I may have more in common with this new generation than with my own. I grew up with a closer relationship to the screen than to the page. Everything I physically wrote down or drew or recorded, I also stored onto my computer. This summer my mother assigned me the project of scanning all of our family photos onto the computer, because we both agreed it was more “permanent” on a hard drive. I was also not a reader when I was little. My relationship with books was, for some reason or other, difficult. I actually didn’t read Harry Potter until the end of high school. And speaking of high school, I got through my English classes with Sparknotes (this is not something I’m proud of, to be clear). I know it might sound ridiculous to say, but I feel, in the same way
some people feel for physical books, this weightiness about digital media. That almost feels comedic to say. Like saying there is something about the heat of the laptop on the desk or the glow of the artificial Kindle text in my eyes. My point is that there are people — a good 38 percent of us — who approach the book business from a different angle. People who, maybe like me, have returned to literature but with a different perspective based on their upbringing. These people clearly matter; they affect the market for literature no matter how much traditional lit lovers may object. These people, whether they realize it or not, are at the forefront of what literature may become in the future. I don’t think of this as a bad thing, though I am clearly biased. All art forms change, rejecting or renewing or transforming the old ways as the newest wave of consumers sees fit. Each new generation answers for itself, “Will this form survive? How much longer can we keep this going?” From my position, I do think we can keep this alive for at least a while longer. I believe the e-reader invites an influx of new readers (such as myself ) who have found a certain accessibility with the screen that they couldn’t experience with the page.
I grew up with a closer relationship to the screen than the page.
Jenny Wang can be reached at wjenny@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Barry Belmont, 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, Mary Kate Winn, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe
Groove: making a unique ruckus
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ou’ve heard them banging during Festifall, seen them scale ladders during Artscapade and always wondered how a relatively small group of people could make such a unique ruckus. Groove has provided our SARA campus with an SHAMASKIN interesting form of entertainment by hitting drums and homemade instruments. Simply described as a “high energy percussion and performance group,” Groove has made a statement on our campus. I had the opportunity to talk with Groove treasurer John Mirandette, an LSA junior with an international studies major and sustainability minor, in order to get more insight into this group of drummers. I wanted to see the inner workings, how a member began and grew and what Groove itself is like as a whole. When John first came to Michigan, he had plans other than joining Groove. “I thought about being in marching band and drum line, but I hated marching band in high school. I had to follow instructions to the tee and be rigid; I couldn’t do what I wanted to do, I couldn’t have fun with it.” After finding Groove at Festifall during his freshman year, he could tell this was it: “It was already something I was good at, so it was easy for me to dive in.” John always found that he was uncomfortable playing in front of groups of people when it was songs about which he himself was not passionate. As opposed to the “cheesy and corny” songs that were typically reserved for high school bands, John found that he
could explore in Groove, making and performing the songs he had always wanted to during band. Just talking about these songs, I could see John getting excited, an instinctive reaction including big hand gestures, talking fast and a tiny smile that crossed his face, remembering some of his favorite pieces that he had written. I asked John about how the group has grown since its inception: “We started out as a percussion group, but over the last10 years, what it has become is a variety group. We are still drumming, at our core, but we have found avenues to utilize other people’s talents to make a more complete show.” John breaks Groove into two groups: musicians and actors. He wants his songs to be “kick-ass,” wanting the crowd to get up and feel it in their chests. If he feels that way and can project it on stage, then the audience will feel the same. The acting makes the show complete, with skits, guitar and melody songs, incorporating drumming to remind people that it is Groove at the center. But how does the mood change when John is on stage? “When it’s in front of 20 people, that’s one thing. But in front of 1,000 or 1,500 people, and you can see it across the board, the people getting so hyped for you and the group and the talents you have; it is so sick.” Even offstage, the chemistry is strong. I asked about all of the different majors, ages and experience of the other members: “It doesn’t really matter because
the common denominator is music.” Because of their love for performance, the Groove members are comfortable with themselves enough to collaborate with each other and do what they love to do. John told me about his friendships within Groove, explaining that they get together for football pregames, to family game night, to study sessions in the UGLi. “They’re my best friends; I love them all. It’s hard to see seniors leave, but it’s great to see new people coming, because you can see how it’s going to unfold in the next few years; it’s a continuous family.” This 10-year-old group has made a statement on campus, rising from a small group that only played in Angell Hall auditoriums to selling out Michigan Theater. Groove has expanded its repertoire and its presence, and the future seems promising to John. “We’re on the cusp of being a big group … as in people know who we are, being recognized without our Groove shirts. We have the talent and the fan base … now we just got to act on it.” The excitement of Groove becoming a bigger force on campus drives John to continuously work to make new songs. Anybody who has been to one of their shows can see the camaraderie on stage, the energy that persists throughout the music and the passion that these drummers possess when showing their talent on stage.
He wants his songs to be “kick-ass,” wanting the crowd to get up and feel it in their chests.
Sara Shamaskin can be reached at scsham@umich.edu.
INTERESTED IN CAMPUS ISSUES? POLITICS? SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK’N’ROLL? Check out The Michigan Daily’s editorial board meetings. Every Monday and Thursday at 6pm, the Daily’s opinion staff meets to discuss both University and national affairs and write editorials. E-mail opinioneditors@michigandaily.com to join in the debate.
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REGENTS From Page 1A tinued well beyond that change. Additionally, more admitted students are choosing to actually enroll at the University at a time when officials are actively planning to shrink the freshman class. The University admits more students than it can enroll, anticipating some of those applicants will ultimately select other schools — a standard practice in higher education admissions. The proportion of applicants admitted who actually enroll is called an institution’s “yield.” This year, the yield for freshman applicants increased by 1.3 percent for in-state students and two percent for out-of-state students. “In a sense, there’s a bit of good news, but of course, there’s bad news because this isn’t what we had planned,” Pollack said.
SCHUETTE From Page 1A 11,000 rape kits — evidence collected during investigations of alleged sexual assault — that had not been processed or tested. Schuette, along with Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, announced a $4 million state appropriation to expedite testing the kits last year. The funding came from settlement money in national and state cases litigated by Schuette in his capacity as attorney general. “Every woman who was a victim of sexual violence deserves a full and complete investigation, and these funds will begin the road to justice for those who have already waited too long,” Schuette said in a press release at the time. An additional $3 million allocation was approved in the fiscal year 2015 budget for the attorney general’s office to prosecute
Pollack said the University’s Office of Admissions would consider placing more early applicants on the wait list and offer comparatively fewer early admissions. “We’re going to set a target that is well below actual and we’re going to make very intentional use of the wait list,” she said. Pollack added that she’s working with the University’s new vice president of enrollment management, whom the regents appointed in June, to implement more advanced prediction tools for modeling enrollment figures. The target freshman enrollment number will require approval of the provost and the Office of Admissions will also have to clear any adjustments to the target with Pollack. “I feel pretty comfortable that we won’t be in this situation next year,” she said. Officials are also working with colleges and schools to
ensure the University can provide a high-quality undergraduate education for this year’s larger freshman class over their next four years. LSA added 41 class sections this fall and plans to add an additional 45 for the winter semester, mostly in popular core subject areas such as Spanish, mathematics and economics. The College of Engineering has hired new instructors to teach additional discussion sections for the college’s key first-year courses. On top of the accommodations that have already been made, Pollack said the University is increasing funding by 10 percent for the faculty expansion program included in the fiscal year 2015 budget that was designed to keep class sizes small. Those faculty will be hired this year and arrive on campus next fall. Housing was also a primary concern for administrators, since more than 97 percent of freshmen live on-campus and West
Quad Residence Hall remains closed as it undergoes a massive renovation project. To cope with a shortage of housing, the University incentivized returning students with University Housing contracts to seek off-campus accommodations. More than 330 of those students ultimately signed off-campus leases — freeing space for the larger freshman class. When West Quad reopens next fall, it will mark the first time in eight years that none of the University’s major housing facilities are closed for renovation. Despite the University’s failure to meet enrollment targets, Pollack assured the board that this year’s influx of freshmen won’t impact the student experience. In 2010, the University enrolled a similarly large freshman class without a noticeable dip in retention. “I don’t want to leave the impression that it’s more of a disaster than it is,” she said.
cases related to the kits. Healthcare Schuette announced this February that he, along with several other state attorney generals, joined a federal lawsuit against a provision in the Affordable Care Act. Schuette supported the plaintiffs in the suit, a group of individuals and small businesses. The case hinges on whether states with healthcare exchanges set up by the federal government, as is the case in Michigan and 33 other states, are eligible for federal tax credits to subsidize the cost of healthcare for individuals with financial need. The ACA includes language meant to incentivize states to set up their own exchanges by offering the tax credits specifically to state-run exchanges. The case is currently before the D.C. Court of Appeals. Without the financial support from the credits, a large number of individuals could feasibly opt out of the ACA’s individual mandate
requirement for coverage. Affirmative action In 2012, Schuette faced a legal challenge to another state ban, this one on affirmative action, approved by the voters in 2006 and prompted by a previous case against the University’s admissions practices. In Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ban earlier this year, after Schuette appealed a decision by the 6th Circuit Court to overturn it. In his original petition to the Supreme Court asking for a review of the 6th Circuit decision, Schuette cited issues of unequal treatment, which he argued affirmative action promoted. The state’s argument has received both criticism and support in the University community over the past eight years — and raised questions of voter disenfranchisement and protection of the state constitution, similar to the gay marriage ban.
Pensioners Schuette filed to intervene in the deliberations on behalf of the city’s pensioners, a significant group of the city’s creditors, during the June 2013 bankruptcy settlement case in Detroit. He argued that the pensioners, who at points in the proceedings were projected to receive only 66 percent to 95.5 percent of their pensions had a right to their pensions under the state’s constitution. This position was not shared by Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr in the city’s original plans to move out of bankruptcy. For his actions to protect civil service pensions, Schuette was endorsed by the Retired Detroit Police and Fire Fighters Association Tuesday. “We endorse Bill Schuette for reelection because he fought for us, and our pensions, when no one else did,” RDPFFA President Donald Taylor said in a statement.
PUSSYRIOT From Page 2A
ATHLETICS From Page 1A
Alyokhina said having a lawyer was crucial to her sanity during her 21-month prison stay. “No other people realize what it means to have a lawyer in prison,” Alyokhina said. “It is the thin thread that is your communication to the outside world. He brought me some newspapers and I read them. Then, I realized that the past few days, there had been this weird fog around me which had been nothing but people in green uniform. There was a big world of events out there. That was always a big surprise.” Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova said their prosecution highlighted the poor status of women in Russia and the shortcomings of what they see as a broken legal system. Feminism was considered a bad word to say in the church, and the fact that the young women are mothers was emphasized. “We are bad because we do stuff like this,” Alyokhina said, “instead of sitting at home cooking soup.”
These venues will allow the University to host local, regional and national competitions. Engineering senior Amber Smith, a two-time captain of the women’s track and field team, expressed the need for a space her team can gather and build a community. “What I want for this University is to have its athletes brighten up when they see fellow students and families able to cheer them on at Michigan,” Smith said. “It will create a stronger and more committed fan base, better moral and greater alumni network.” Strong also noted the new facility will also be available to the student body at large for events and special occasions. Regent Mark Bernstein (D) and Schlissel voiced the importance of ensuring the facilities are available for every student
on campus. “I’m pleased that this proposal centers around enhancing the student experience,” Schlissel said. The regents also approved a proposal to renovate the aging Intramural Sports Building. When it opened in 1928, the iconic Intramural Sports Building was the first facility at an institution of higher education dedicated primarily to intramural sports. The $18.7 million project is one of multiple upgrades funded by the Student Life Student Fee for Facility Renewal initiate. In April 2013, the regents voted to administer a $65 perterm student fee to fund renovations of campus unions and recreational sports facilities. “The IM Building is an important center for health recognition and social interaction,” said E. Royster Harper, vice president of student life. “The building serves over one million student (visits) per year.”
The project will reconfigure existing space to create new exercise rooms, locker rooms, a larger cardio workout area, improved racquetball courts and staff offices. It will also improve mechanical, electrical and plumbing work; lighting improvement and gymnasium f loor replacement work. During the public comments portion of the meeting, LSA senior Jacob Light, chair of Building a Better Michigan, a group which spearheaded efforts to update the University’s public recreation spaces, thanked the regents for their continued support of these projects. “Students expect that their sacrifice of a large portion of gym space and financial burden born unto them will bring rewards in the future,” Light said. “We renovate these spaces to ensure that high quality facilities are open for and inviting to all students; irrespective of race, gender, ability or socioeconomic status.”
Friday, September 19, 2014 — 5A
TOTTEN From Page 1A A native Michigander and resident of Kalamazoo, Totten has been on the law faculty at Michigan State University since 2008, and for three years served concurrently as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan. Totten feels that incumbent Bill Schuette has used the office to “wage a series of extreme crusades that have left every family and every student in this state less safe.” He believes the attorney general’s role is to be “the people’s lawyer,” and has positioned himself on the issues through that lens. Here are five major issues Mark Totten wants to focus on. Violent crime Totten wants to reemphasize efforts to protect people from violent crime, whether at the hands of armed criminals or domestic abusers and sexual assailants. In addition to advocating for survivors, Totten wants to protect public education funding from further cuts and expand prisoner reentry programs as a means of crime prevention. Economic crime Aside from violent crime, Totten believes the attorney general must do a better job protecting people from economic crimes as well. Michigan was one of the states hardest-hit during the housing crisis, as many families fell victim to predatory lending schemes that often resulted in home foreclosure. In an interview with the Daily, Totten said he believes Schuette has not done enough to hold lenders accountable or assist citizens affected by the crisis. Strengthening Consumer Protection and ending drug immunity Somewhat related to economic crime protection are Michigan’s consumer protection laws, which Totten characterized as some of the weakest in the nation, as they
are filled with exemptions for businesses that would normally be compelled to comply with the regulations. In addition to tightening protections for consumers in a variety of transactional areas, Totten also wants to end Michigan’s drug immunity law. “We’re the only state in the nation that says if you are harmed or killed by a prescription drug you are helpless to do anything about it,” he said in a statement. Women’s issues If elected, Totten said he would use his office to better protect women’s interests, such as ensuring access to contraception. He has accused Schuette of being the most active Attorney General on behalf of Hobby Lobby, which argued that corporations should not be required to provide insurance policies that cover the purchase of contraceptives. Student loans Totten is concerned with the amount of debt that students accrue by the time they graduate college, and said part of the problem stems from lenders and loan servicers acting in bad faith. He said private lenders “try to steer students into products that are much more expensive when the student otherwise might have qualified for subsidized loans in the first instance.” As Attorney General, Totten said he would be active in fighting these groups in court. Though he is 40 years old, Totten said he felt this was the right time to run for this office because he was concerned with the direction the office was taking. He said the job is so important because most people — even those in the middle class — cannot afford lawyers of their own. “When there are harms that affect thousands of people across the state, they really depend upon the Attorney General who is acting as their lawyer,” he said. “I don’t think that mission is being fulfilled now.” With just under seven weeks until election day, a Detroit News poll has Schuette leading Totten 40-38 among decided voters.
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6A — Friday, September 19, 2014
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Arts
EVENT PREVIEW
GENDER & MEDIA COLUMN
RC theater to open Deutches champions experimental format By COSMO PAPPAS Daily Arts Writer
Theater, like any other artistic medium, makes an argument about representation. RC Deutches On this side of the Theater and Atlantic, a Tanz Tangente naturalistic function Open in drama Workshop – the idea Friday September that theater repro- 19, 8:00 p.m. duces the Keene Theater real world Free by virtue of an illusion of stage design, acting methods and other factors – is very often assumed. Even the device of “breaking the fourth wall” takes for granted any “walls” at all. Certain radical traditions in theater have attempted to reinvent theatrical practice by challenging these fundamental assumptions. Janet Hegman Shier, the founder and director of the Residential College’s German Theater (Deutsches Theater), counts the company as an inheritor of these rebellious traditions. The Deutsches Theater, which is entering its 30th year this season, began as a classroom experience when Shier’s students asked to perform a more “typical” play, and has since grown
into an institution known for pushing the envelope in aesthetic terms, within the University and beyond. “In his country there is a tendency, at least in theater, to do very representational — for me, very boring — theater, and it’s very different in Germany,” Shier said. “When you go to see a performance in Germany, it’s good if you don’t understand everything that’s going on, and I tell my students that it doesn’t matter what language it’s in. You’re going to get so much out of seeing it since it’s not so literal.” The Deutsches Theater champions the experimentation of the dramatic arts so well known to German audiences and so obscure to most American audiences. Thus, this Friday the doors to the Keene Theater of the Residential College will welcome German-speaking and non-German-speaking guests alike for an open workshop with Tanz Tangente, a Berlin-based dance company, that specializes in community engagement and working with amateur dance students. This event concludes the triad of events put on the past couple of weeks by the RC called “Remember Me,” which also included a concert by Professor Michael Gould, and a multimedia exhibit by Gould, featuring the poetry of RC poetry professor Ken Mikolowski. Four dancers from the company and its choreographer, Nadja Raszewski, have been working with the RC’s intensive German students in a two-week residency, which culminates on Sept. 19 with the open workshop.
There, students will be working with and “translating” into dance and movement a pair of texts by Ulrike Meinhof, German militant and journalist, and Elias Canetti, Bulgarian-born German-language writer. “What we try to do is not to bring out the text in a kind of pantomime, not describe what we just read, but to associate by movement,” Raszewski said. “It means that what you can see as a public, what you can feel, what you can experience while you see the composition – you can make up your own world. So it’s not, ‘This is what you should see.’ ” The notion that dance or theater trades in “ideas and associations,” according to Raszewski, rather than straightforward images, radically alters the representational possibilities of a performance. This dramatic practice emphasizes more than others the centrality of the body in theater. “For my students, even in German Theater, we try to get out of the situation where everyone resides 99 percent of the time between here and here (pointing to her head), since it’s so important to involve and understand the body, and ultimately to understand language,” Shier said. While it may be beyond the means of most to travel to Berlin for the express purpose of seeing plays, this workshop presents an opportunity for American students to upset many of the norms and standard practices in theater, internalized by so many, through the expert guidance of Shier and the members of Tanz Tangente.
TV NOTEBOOK
‘Z Nation’ challenges typical zombie tropes By CATHERINE SULPIZIO Daily Arts Writer
When I first started “Z Nation,” SyFy’s entrance into the “Walking Dead” zombie market, I wasn’t sure if I was watching the latest version of some “Halo” game or an actual TV show. Which makes sense, seeing as it is produced by Asylum Studios, which is responsible for the unapologetically campy “Sharknado” franchise. Despite these roots and the low production value, “Z Nation” is not what Susan Sontag joyfully called thing as pure artifice. There is a lot hiding beneath the much-hyped zombie genre. Monster genre seems as if it is constantly fighting an uphill battle with viewers’ respect. And for some greater reason, the zombie genre carries more ref lexive disdain than the vampire or supernatural ones. Why is that? Part of it must be branding, and the vampire genre has managed to subvert audience expectations with shows like “True Blood” which, at least initially, changed the direction from a traditionally singular study to a social allegory. But also, the vampire is a human (a super human, really). Thus, the vampire accepts individuation, its monster-ness not subsuming its human-ness. The zombie, on the other hand, resists that individuation. Its mind— and therefore its ability for characterization—is destroyed. The fear of the zombie is rooted in its physical rather than its psychological menace. Thus the zombie mob. While vampire genre is man vs. super man, zombie genre is man vs. environment. There must also be teeming social forces that are unearthed by various iterations of horror. With the vampire genre, we see youthobsession take an immortal form that would make even the Kardashians jealous; the ugly aspects of eternal beauty symbolized by a parasitic dependence on other’s lifeblood. After all, a beautiful surface lives off the penetrating gaze of the other, if not some shard of that ref lected identity. Guy Debord described the reciprocal nature of having vs. defining
Friday, September 19, 2014 — 7A
beauty in his essay “Society of the Spectacle.” This is also why there are almost never vampire outbreak plots — the vampire
A new crop of horror programming. belongs to a dark class of celebrity amid an average world. As much as it is feared, the vampire is an aspirational figure. On the other hand, the zombie genre manifests the deepset fears of society imploding on itself. It’s similar to the primordial chill of books like “Lord of the Flies” and “Heart of Darkness,” except with the added layer of uncanny familiarity. In the zombie genre, the zombie mob isn’t some unified structure; instead it’s a barely contained throng of automatons. Three years past the Occupy Wall Street chaos (both inside and out), along with the well-documented low party identification of young people and the surge of breathless coverage following libertarianism’s newfound trendiness, one can read the zombie mob as Baby Boomer’s nightmare fantasy of Gen Y-ers. Especially since the narrative of the zombie genre always rests in the perspective of uninfected “sane.” Anytime sanity is labeled by perspective of narrative, there’s an ideological mechanism in place organizing sanity and insanity. In denying the mob perspective (save for exceptions like Isaac Marion’s genre-resisting novel “Warm Bodies”), we also miss what could be a vehicle for some fascinating pondering on a wide range of philosophical themes – things like the mindbody connection or the nature of simulacra, at the very least. But I digress, the traditional zombie plot is represented par excellence in “Z Nation,” i.e. the plot of survival in a world where reassuring social order has collapsed. Though predictable, the zombie plot is well equipped to poke at questions of the public sphere, whether
it’s aware of this fact or not. For example, in the first scene of “Z Nation,” under f lickering lights, three convicts are read a hastily-passed order that waives tester consent for testing new drugs. It’s arguably the most horrifying part of the episode and provides the halfmonster, half-human who survives the antidote without turning into a zombie (unlike the two others). He’s the unlikely savior of America’s future, abandoned by the government until his body serves some utility. Deeper analysis of the seemingly banal reveals much. Can you watch “Z Nation” for its video-game style gore and bombard of nonstop action? Sure, but it’s almost more fun to look beneath that and probe at the plight of the Living Dead.
The trouble with Olivia Wilde’s breast Have you seen it? You must have. The past few weeks the internet has been buzzing about Olivia Wilde’s radical photo shoot for Glamour magazine’s September issue, in which she is featured beastfeeding her five month old son Otis. NATALIE Olivia GADBOIS Wilde: her name will forever be synonymous with the word Goddess. Beautiful, talented, funny, smart, formerly married to an Italian prince and currently engaged to an American jester (actor and comedian Jason Sudeikis, for all you celebrity gossip virgins), Wilde is lauded in Hollywood for her grace and easygoing personality. And now this, her public celebration of motherhood, a valid attempt to cast away the mindset that women must be boxed into categories — mother vs. sex symbol, ambitious vs. nurturing — and then shamed when any of these overlap. In some ways this cover is revolutionary, much like when a very pregnant Demi Moore posed nude for Vogue in 1991. Another public disavowal of anyone who subconsciously doubts women’s complexity. This is a good thing. I kept repeating that to myself as I read more and more articles with titles like “Wilde stuns while breastfeeding son,” and “Olivia Wilde gushes over being a mom!” It’s a good thing, right? Giving a woman a spotlight for both her professional and her personal life. Removing the stigma against breastfeeding in public, and baring skin not as an act of sexuality or objectification, but motherhood and serenity. If I could sit there and acknowledge all of these positive things, then why was I inwardly so itchy, more anxious each time I saw that picture? Something was off. I spent the better part of my summer catching up on old “Parenthood” episodes with my family. (I lead a wild life). In an episode in the third season, Kristina Braverman (whose
overbearing neediness normally incurs my strongest disdain), is deeply relatable as an insecure new mom. Weeks after giving birth to her third child, she has to go to her husband’s hip recording studio opening in the Haight. She reluctantly borrows a dress from her sister-in-law, feeling out of her skin and unwieldy. At the party, her breasts begin leaking milk in front of her husband’s hot new assistant, seeping through the borrowed dress. Kristina cries from embarrassment, from exhaustion, from selfconsciousness and feelings of inadequacy. Nursing Olivia Wilde is not this. While her photo spread is a step forward to re-imagining women as multifaceted workers, caregivers, artists and lovers, all she serves is to raise the standards of perfection once again. ClickHole, a subsidiary of The Onion that satirizes sites like BuzzFeed and Gawker, worded it with blinding clarity: “Breastfeeding in Public Should No Longer be a Taboo For Mothers Who Are Conventionally Attractive.” (Shout-out to Erika Harwood, summer Onion intern and current Daily editor, who
Standards of perfection aren’t always helpful. didn’t write this article but to whom I give credit anyway). Wilde’s photo illustrates a modern Madonna – her face calm, her waist already thin, even her breasts sans stretch marks. Her baby is naked and glowing, a paragon of infant innocence and grace. What purpose does this humble-brag serve? What is the cost that one of the few public representations of new motherhood now establishes even more impossible standards for women? Imagine Kristina, exhausted and soft, still trying to regain her dignity after her body has grown and reshaped to accommodate a whole person, reading that article. Seeing
how far she misses the mark, how unsuccessful she is at being a woman. Wilde’s photos intone that a real woman can have it all, and must be it all: successful and nurturing, confident and sexy. I know what many people must be thinking. “It’s Hollywood, everything is unrealistic.” “Women can’t compare themselves to her, she’s a movie star.” And even, “She looks great, you’re just jealous and won’t admit it.” So I’ll admit it: of course I’m jealous. A woman who recently pushed a child through her vajayjay is now on a magazine cover looking better than I will ever look – jealousy is only human. And no, one Glamour photo does not change the course of history, nor does it show us anything about the way Wilde actually lives her life. She could be just as scared and insecure and confused as other new moms. But we don’t get to see that. We see perfection, the way all women could be if they tried a little bit harder, if they lost one more hour of sleep to work off the baby weight, if they miraculously regained their confidence to pose for photos. Because Wilde, in both the article and the photo, does not set herself apart as a glamorous, Hollywood enigma — no, she is like every new mom! She loves her baby so much she breastfeeds him in public and giggles with him at a diner! She is no exception, she is just like everyone else, according to her. How does that make every other new mom feel? So congrats, Olivia. Seriously, you seem happy and your baby is adorable. You were perfect before, and now your title can include “Goddess with Babe in Arms,” like a 2nd century Greek statue. Feminism is complicated and often at odds with itself, and navigating a public image as a woman is nearly impossible, so you can’t be blamed. Who knows who is to blame. I’ll just be on the couch, watching “Parenthood” and eating ice cream from the carton, in solidarity with the Kristinas of the world. Gadbois is eating ice cream out of the carton. To join her, e-mail gadbnat@umich.edu.
Arts
8A — Friday, September 19, 2014
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
The princess of pop?
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TV NOTEBOOK
TSwift has the bankable personality other stars lack By GIBSON JOHNS Daily Arts Writer
A few weeks ago, Taylor Swift finally admitted what we’ve all known for a while now — that her music has slowly but surely transformed from country to pop. No longer is Swift straddling the often-blurred line that splits country music from pop music, Miranda Lambert from Katy Perry and Jason Aldean from Bruno Mars. And for this, we should all be thankful, both because of the music she will produce in the future and the kind we’ll no longer be hearing from her. Swift’s last album, Red, showcased her lean toward entering the pop realm while still feeling the need to produce country-ish records. For every “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” on the album, there was a solid, yet safe, country track (see: “Stay Stay Stay” and “I Almost Do”). Still, Red had some memorably fresh moments like the smash (“I Knew You Were Trouble” — often noted for its use of dubstep), the perfect sing-a-long ode to your early twenties (“22”) and perhaps her best-written song yet (the Jake Gyllenhaal-inspired “All Too Well”). What all of these tracks had in common was the fact that they were gloriously and undeniably pop, despite what the genre label on iTunes said. These songs were Swift at her absolute new best, and yet, as fans, we didn’t get a full album of them because someone, somewhere was insisting that her identity still be Taylor Swift: Country Star. Let me be clear: I’m not usually (read: ever) one of those people who thinks artists should have to classify their music into a single genre. The best albums are usually those that bend genre boundaries and give us something that our ears have never heard before. But, at this point, the classification of Taylor Swift’s music as “country” is simply inaccurate. And it’s also what has limited her
BIG MACHINE
‘Hey Stephen”
growth as an artist. I can appreciate country music as much as anyone, but with her newlyannounced upcoming pop album, 1989, Swift can stop worrying about filling her country quota and expand the breadth of music that she allows herself to be influenced by, and thus, the possibilities of what her music can sound like will be endless. Say what you want about “Shake It Off,” the first single from 1989 and the only offering we’ve heard so far, but it’s hard to argue that it doesn’t bring something different to mainstream pop radio. Depending on your views of the track, it’s either gratingly or pleasantly addicting. Point being: it’s addicting. And that, coupled with the hoopla surrounding her announcement of the single and album on Yahoo demonstrate the absolute, commanding power that she holds; “Shake It Off,” predictably so, shot straight to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Everything she does is undeniably Swift, yet she remains predictably unpredictable, which is not something that can be said about a lot of other pop stars. Though she’s arguably already the biggest artist in the world this side of Beyoncé, Taylor Swift has a real chance to take control of the pop music scene with her upcoming release. Pop is full of solo female artists, yet none of the big names (again, save for Beyoncé) have produced anything that memorable in the past year or so. Katy Perry’s Prism seemed promisingly led by “Roar,” but the singles that followed were underwhelming (“Unconditionally,”
“Birthday”). Lady Gaga’s next release is a standards album with Tony Bennett, which, though a novel idea, won’t be bringing her any hit singles. Rihanna’s next album is long overdue, but there’s been no word from her about when and what we can expect. And let’s not even talk about Britney Jean. Ariana Grande may be able to churn out hits, but her lack of personality and stage presence is concerning. Meghan Trainor, whose “All About That Bass” is currently the No. 1 song in the country, has yet to prove that she’s anything but a one-hitwonder. With Beyoncé wrapping up the Beyoncé era, it seems that Swift is poised to take control of the airwaves and with her savantlike songwriting talents and her knack for giving us music that we didn’t even know we needed, this can only be a good thing. Taylor Swift is no longer just the girl with the guitar singing about her famous ex-boyfriends — she’s said that the material on 1989 covers a wider range of subjects like her friendships with other females, family and growing up — she’s now a maturing pop star capable of real growth and exploration. If 1989 ends up being the album that I and many others expect it to be, then gone will be the days of the country duds that Taylor Swift used as fillers on Red and we’ll finally be ushered into an era in which she can deliver the properly well-rounded pop album we all knew she was capable of giving us. Country music and T-Swift are never ever getting back together. Like, ever.
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Friday, September 19, 2014
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
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#EightMonthsPregnant
Diverse programming carries network TV By CHLOE GILKE Daily TV/New Media Editor
At 10 years old, there was no feeling that could rival the excitement of seeing Jack Bauer’s scowling face in my mailbox. I’d sneak my contraband issue of TV Guide magazine back to my room, grab a colored marker from my backpack and pore over my TV nerd’s Bible. The pages sticky with hot September air, I’d put a green star next to everything I wanted to watch. (“Lost,” “House,” “Veronica Mars,” anything on the WB network.) Obviously, most of what I circled wasn’t appropriate viewing for a kid, but that didn’t matter. It wouldn’t stop me from sitting on the floor in the upstairs hallway, watching “Desperate Housewives” from the open crack of my parents’ door. It wouldn’t keep me from participating in the joy of network TV pilot season. With the popularization of cable television, pilot season seems endearingly quaint. The nostalgia of seeing the TV Guide perched on the newsstand at Kroger is like going home for the weekend and remembering that your dad still likes those Friday night family dinners at the same
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Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis ACROSS 1 Caesar in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” for one 6 Road __ 9 Long-legged wader 14 Halos 15 Bold alternative 16 Really ticked 17 Start of a riddle 18 “Shirt Front and Fork” artist 19 Well-mannered fellows 20 Summertime woe 23 “__ Shorty”: Elmore Leonard novel 24 Sumptuous meals 27 Some microbrews 29 Rm. coolers 30 Riddle, part two 32 Big piece 34 Kazakhstan, once: Abbr. 35 Polite gesture 39 Chevrolet SUV 41 Mystery guest moniker 43 Highs and lows, perhaps 44 Suppress 46 KOA visitors 48 Mice, to owls 49 Riddle, part three 52 Buddy 53 Monkey wrench wielder? 56 Catch in a web 58 Many a lap dog 59 Coat closet locale, often 61 Dropped the ball 63 Sellout sign, briefly 64 End of the riddle 68 Lagoon border 69 Goad, with “on” 70 Heroic stories 71 Like a string bean 72 Burnt __ crisp 73 Unauthorized disclosures
DOWN 1 Farm field cry 2 “That’s a surprise” 3 Lyricist Gershwin 4 British subject? 5 Currency replaced by the euro 6 Beef, e.g. 7 Answer to the riddle 8 Melonlike fruit 9 Headlight setting 10 “Let us part, __ the season of passion forget us”: Yeats 11 Singer’s asset 12 River mammal 13 Makes a home 21 Egyptian snakes 22 Actor Green of “Robot Chicken” 24 Doesn’t take anything in 25 Fanfare 26 Tokyo-based brewery 28 Bar, in law 31 Suffix with Mao 33 Smashing, at the box office 36 Singer with the Mel-Tones
37 A muse may inspire them 38 “Fooled you!” 40 With joy 42 Louis __, eponym of the Kentucky city 45 All square 47 Lose sleep (over) 50 Square one 51 Tooth covering 53 Pinch
54 Cardiologist’s concern 55 Lakers coach __ Scott 57 Nearsighted one 60 Activity on a mat 62 Image on the Michigan state flag 65 Through 66 “Gross!” 67 Small opening?
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HAPPY WEDNESDAY!
pizza place. Oh, yeah, they’re still doing that. Though cable has more street cred (and cursing, beheadings and boobs), network TV is still important. Not only are its ratings consistently higher than those of its cable counterparts, but network series are constantly adapting to new business strategies and finding ways to stay relevant in the Twitter age. Proclaiming that art and entertainment can only be found on channels is incredibly narrow-minded, and overlooks the collection of diverse programming found on traditional networks. It’s impossible to talk about 21st century network television without first mentioning the behemoth of Shondaland. Shonda Rhimes’ production company has been an ABC staple since 2005, when Chloe’s Green Star List alum “Grey’s Anatomy” premiered. With “Grey’s Anatomy,” Rhimes essentially changed the face of TV. Where before evening TV was programmed for men to enjoy after work, “Grey’s” popularized the female-centric primetime soap. “Grey’s” shamelessly featured the plot twists and steamy sexual tension of a daytime soap opera, but it reached an unprecedented audience. It won critical acclaim, Emmy awards and ridiculously high ratings — not just among females, but the hyper-masculine boys in my sixth grade drama class. The series is entering its eleventh season, and shows no sign of slowing down. “Grey’s Anatomy” is still one of the most-watched series on television. Along with other shows of its era, “Grey’s Anatomy” proved that a top procedural series didn’t have to be set in a police precinct or feature gruff, gun-toting men. Female friendships, a diverse and talented cast and whirlwind romance were enough to draw in viewers. “Grey’s” paved the way for other female-centric network TV shows, like “The Good Wife,” “Revenge” and “Nashville.” This new generation of primetime soaps blends entertainment and drama to create unique and compelling television, no matter the gender of its viewers. Shonda Rhimes has followed up on her “Grey’s” success with “Scandal” and the upcoming “How to Get Away with Murder.” The series star award-winning actresses Kerry Washington (“Django Unchained”) and Viola Davis (“The Help”), respectively. The draw of working with Rhimes might be enough to bring these fantastic actresses to television, but there has to be something else at play. Network television offers an unprecedented variety of great roles for women of color. While cable counterparts continue to order shows about angsty white men, ABC is kicking off a trend of providing more diverse programming. Representation pays off in higher ratings — not surprisingly, Black viewers are likely to tune into shows in which Black characters play central roles. “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” are especially popular in Black households, and some of the other top series for this demographic include well-known Black actresses as main characters (Taraji P. Henson in “Person of Interest,” Nicole Beharie in “Sleepy
Hollow”). Like “Grey’s Anatomy,” these series aren’t just popular in this specific demographic. “Scandal” and “Sleepy Hollow” have top ratings nationwide. Other networks are beginning to follow ABC’s successful business model. Since TV series that feature all-white casts tend to be the lowest-rated, networks are ordering more shows with diverse leads. CBS’s summer hit “Extant” stars Oscar winner Halle Berry as an independent astronaut, and Fox premiered the third season of the raucously funny “The Mindy Project.” “Mindy” is not only the first American sitcom centered on an Indian-American woman but is also led by the only Indian-American showrunner in Hollywood right now. Diverse casting has made significant progress since “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Lost,” and on network TV, you can now find a materialistic Indian goofball, a gay Latina cheerleader and a Black leading lady detective on primetime. Though stereotyping isn’t completely gone, the variety of personalities associated with characters of color is becoming much more realistic. This isn’t your grandmother’s network television. While cable lags behind, network TV is making great strides in acknowledging its diverse viewers. Barring any more discussion of race and gender, a lot of network TV shows are just damn good. “Hannibal” features such stunning visuals and subtle acting that it’s practically unrecognizable as a “typical network show.” There’s plenty of violence, more gut-wrenching than anything I’ve seen on “Game of Thrones” — if you’re whining about how broadcast networks censor gore, get back to me once you’ve seen Mason Verger feed his own face to a dog. There’s sex, too, but restrictions on nudity eliminate the male gaze that pervades most steamy scenes on cable. “Hannibal” aired a threesome sex scene last season, and it was actually creatively filmed and edited (as opposed to consecutive close-ups of Emilia Clarke’s boobs, which is how we all know the same scene would have been handled on “Game of Thrones”). Many critics, (including this one), list “Hannibal” near the top of their favorite programs on television, right up there with shows like “True Detective” and “Breaking Bad.” It doesn’t deserve that spot just because it’s good “for network.” It’s fucking great television — comparable to anything on cable, if not even better. Network television isn’t dead. It’s alive and thriving, though its face is no longer recognizably white or male, nor is its programming comparable to whatever was airing ten years ago. TV is an evolving creature, and as cable and streaming have added new challenges, network TV has adapted to its new environment. As I pick up the newest copy of TV Guide from my mailbox (yes, I am a college student with magazine subscriptions) and decorate the pages with green stars, I don’t shy away from making dates for network shows. So many series, on countless networks and platforms, are available to viewers, but that doesn’t mean the traditional ones are worth abandoning. Don’t count network television out — she might just surprise you.
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, September 19, 2014 — 9A
Coon leads sophomore class No. 1 Wolverines WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
prep for Big Ten
By BEN FIDELMAN Daily Sports Writer
Adam Coon, like he has all season, dominated the competition this summer. Only this time, he traded in his maize and blue singlet for one with “USA” on the chest. The sophomore was selected to compete for Team USA in the FILA World Championships in Croatia, and was the only wrestler to enter both the Greco-Roman and freestyle tournaments. He took home bronze medals in both. Michigan wrestling coach Joe McFarland wants his team to learn from all competitions, and Coon believes he has learned from last year’s postseason and this summer’s international events. Coon said watching many of the competing nations, including Iranians, Georgians and Russians, allowed him to see what it was like to have flawless technique and be extra aggressive — something he’s now focusing on back in Ann Arbor. “If I can combine both of those,” Coon said. “I will be absolutely unstoppable. Perfect technique with the aggression to go with it — that’s your perfect recipe.” Coon’s performance was impressive not only because of the end result — two medals — but also how he won them. In the 10 total matches over the course of both tournaments, Coon went 8-2 with two technical falls and five pins. “Those numbers are nothing less than impressive,” McFarland. “The way he made the teams and how he competed in both the Greco and Freestyle, which is virtually unheard of, really says a lot about his character and the kind of competitor he is.” After he spent most of his
By CHRIS CROWDER For the Daily
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Adam Coon hopes a successful summer with Team USA at the FILA World Championships will help him this winter.
freshman season as the No. 1 wrestler in the heavyweight division, many expected big things from him heading into the Big Ten and NCAA Championships. To his admission, the results of those tournaments were lackluster. “I was a lot more driven (this summer) because I had such a bad Big Ten and NCAA Tournament,” Coon said. “It fueled my fire. I went after it even harder and gave it the best that I could. Would I say that I wrestled better than I did (in the college postseason)? No. Did
I wrestle with more aggression and more to lose? Yeah.” Coon, along with Dominic Abounader and Brian Murphy — members of the 2013 recruiting class — had an immediate impact for the Wolverines last season. Coon led the group with a 32-5 record, Murphy at 18-9 and Abounader at 16-11. Abounader and Murphy finished third and fourth, respectively, at the Big Ten Championships. It’s not uncommon for wrestlers to redshirt their sophomore year if they’re
“I will be absolutely unstoppable.”
coming off a stellar start to their college career, but all three of the Michigan sophomores are coming back in full force for this 2014 campaign. “We are going to put our best team on the mat,” McFarland said. “All three of those guys learned an awful lot, as most student-athletes do, in their first year of competition. You learn where the bar is. The grind of that first year turns you into a man.” Coon believes the Wolverines are going to be a powerhouse this year. Crediting tenacity in the practice room and a great group of freshmen, he maintains that the team is going to finish better than it has recently.
Though it’s just the second race of the year, the Michigan women’s cross country team will be thinking of a Big Ten title on Saturday. Saturday’s Big Ten Preview will be held in Iowa City, Iowa, the site of the Big Ten Championships in November. After finishing second in the Big Ten behind Michigan State last year, the Wolverines are hungry. “The most important thing is winning a Big Ten title,” said senior Alex Leptich. “It brings excitement to the team unlike anything else we can achieve.” Their No. 1 ranking hasn’t gotten in the way, though, as Leptich keeps the team on track. “The No. 1 ranking is really cool, but it gets pushed back until after a Big Ten meet,” Leptich said. Michigan returns all seven of its varsity runners who finished first in their regional and fourth nationally last year. Coach Mike McGuire has been very pleased with his team’s effort in the offseason. He said the No. 1 ranking is a combination of where they finished last year and progress that several individuals made during track season. The Big Ten Preview will be an early measuring stick for the Wolverines as they face Big Ten foes Iowa and Wisconsin. It’s their first race against opposing
schools this year. Last month’s Michigan Open was a 5K intrasquad race. Saturday’s race will be the first 6K competition of the year for the Wolverines. Junior Shannon Osika, sophomore Erin Finn and senior co-captain Brook Handler are expected to lead the pack for Michigan. “We’re interested to run against different-colored shirts,” McGuire said. “Wisconsin has vastly improved over last year, and we anticipate they’ll run three people up front with our people. We want to see how we’ll stack up against them.” The Badgers are ranked No. 16 in the nation and will give Michigan a chance to live up to its top ranking. The Wolverines look good on paper, but they have their sights on the course and simply competing. “We have set objectives going in, but we’re more excited to lace ‘em up and run for a team score,” McGuire said. The Wolverines will look to continue to motivate and push each other to win a Big Ten championship for the second time in three years. But Saturday’s meet won’t just be a stepping stone toward a Big Ten championship. It could be on the way to a national title.
“We’re more excited to lace ‘em up and run for a team score.”
For weekend sports scores Check MichiganDaily.com and follow @theblockm on Twitter
Men’s soccer looks to rebound Confident ‘M’ journeys East WOMEN’S SOCCER
By SYED FAHD AHSAN For the Daily
By ISAIAH ZEAVIN-MOSS For the Daily
The Michigan women’s soccer team is hoping to buck an early- Michigan at season trend Maryland, as it heads Rutgers East for a pair of matches Matchup: Michigan 6-2; against Maryland and Maryland 3-21; Rutgers 4-1 Rutgers. After a When: Friday weekend of 4 P.M., Monday 1 P.M. two thrilling, TV: BTN quality results — a (Monday) 2-1 overtime victory over Minnesota and a last-second 2-1 triumph over No. 9 Wisconsin — the Wolverines will try to extend their current fourmatch win streak. But it won’t be so easy. The games are on the road, where Michigan is 0-2 this year, having suffered a pair of shutouts in California at the beginning of the season. Freshman forward Ani Sarkisian said she thinks that those gloomy days are far in the past. “It was our effort that was lacking in San Diego,” Sarkisian said. “Maybe we were enjoying ourselves too much in California. Now we know that this is the Big Ten season, it’s not preseason games. We need to take everything seriously from here on.” While the Wolverines’ starting lineup is usually comprised of mostly new, inexperienced freshmen, the team is coming together. There
is a newfound confidence among the group. Sarkisian, whose heroic, lastminute goal provided plenty of drama Sunday night, said that last weekend’s victories boosted Michigan’s confidence. “It gets everyone amped up,” she said. “It makes us feel a lot more comfortable with ourselves, knowing that we can play at the top level and that we can beat teams that are ranked in the top 10.” Even coach Greg Ryan, who, before last weekend spoke almost entirely of his team’s youth and inexperience, senses an increased, newfound maturity and confidence from his team. “They’re doing a great job of keeping their eyes on the job at hand, taking it one day at a time,” he said. In many ways, for a young team like the Wolverines, the matches immediately following great success are the most challenging. Ryan sees this and has been telling his team in practice to focus on its next game and not to concern themselves with the success of last weekend. “I think they are adopting that (gutsy) attitude,” Ryan said. Added senior defender Keyana Thompson-Shaw: “We like to look at ourselves as the underdogs. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.” Michigan is brimming with confidence as they head out on this East Coast road trip. “We can go out there and we can beat these teams,” Thompson-Shaw said. With a smile, she added, “Why not us?”
“We know that this is the Big Ten season, its not preseason.”
What has been a roller coaster of a season for the Michigan men’s soccer team shows no Michigan at signs of slowing down as the N’western Wolverines Matchup: visit Evanston Michigan 1-3to play 1; N’Western 3-1-2 Northwestern this Sunday in When: Sunday what promises 5 P.M. to be a grueling Where: game. Evanston, Ill. Michigan (1-3-1) comes into the fixture winless in its last three games. Northwestern (3-1-2) would’ve entered in similar circumstances were it not for Wednesday’s 1-0 win against Valparaiso, before which they had one loss and two draws since the start of the month. Both teams have yet to register a win in the Big Ten and will need one in hopes of gaining ground on current leaders Penn State, Ohio State and Rutgers, all of which won their opening matches. The Wolverines, although a point above Northwestern courtesy of a draw against No. 12 Maryland, will be hungrier for the win, having not won since the end of August. Michigan’s positive outings this season were a 3-0 win against Southern Methodist and last weekend’s draw to Maryland. However, Michigan’s most dominant showing was arguably last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Bowling Green, when the Wolverines controlled the game for most of the 90 minutes and dominated every statistic other than the allimportant final score. The defense was fairly solid and was only occasionally
MCKENZIE BEREZIN/Daily
Michigan men’s soccer coach Chaka Daley has reformed the Wolverines’ strategy this year with mixed results.
exposed when both fullbacks would provide attacking support. The midfield looked composed and pressed the Bowling Green midfield if it ever lost the ball; in the end, it was just an inability to follow through in front of goal that let the team down. For all their possession and all the chances they created, one decisive counter attack by the Falcons decided the game. Michigan coach Chaka Daley didn’t downplay the importance of Sunday’s fixture. “There’s no substitute for this game, and it plays a part in the long season ahead. It’s just the start of the season and it’s special to play against such a historically great team,” Daley said. This season, though, marks the beginning of Daley’s ambitious
project of trying to develop a specific possession-oriented style of play for the team. “We’ve got a talented batch of young players, and it takes time adjusting to a new style of play. It’s a long season ahead, and this is a long project,” he said. The Wildcats blew open their first two games of the season in spectacular fashion, winning 2-0 and then 3-0, before going three games without a win in September. But if Wednesday’s game proved anything, it’s that they are over their rough patch and are looking like the team they once did. They had five shots on target by the end of the first half and remained calm defensively after scoring the game’s only goal. Add to this Northwestern’s
highly composed defensive 5-3-2 formation primed for quick counter-attacks and the quality of forward Joey Calistri — the Big Ten’s leading scorer last season — who has already racked up three goals, and the Wolverines have no easy task on their hands. Michigan can line up in a number of different ways with fifth-year senior keeper Adam Grinwis competing with budding freshman Evan Louro. At the other end of the pitch, it could be junior Colin McAtee or freshman Ahinga Selemani leading the attack. The game could potentially be decided by the tiniest of details, and with both teams looking for no less than a win, Sunday’s game promises to be a cracker.
NO MATTER WHAT YOU SEE ON SATURDAY, BE GLAD IT’S NOT 2008.
10A — Friday, September 19, 2014
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Free Willie: Henry still smiling By MAX COHEN Daily Sports Editor
When Ted Ginn Sr. first saw Willie Henry, he saw the makings of a football player. He saw a defensive lineman dripping with potential, capable of busting through opposing offensive lines and sacking the quarterback. He saw a young man who, if he utilized his physical talents, would be good enough to earn a scholarship playing college football. Henry was a sophomore transfer to Ginn Academy, Ginn’s school where he focuses on educating the male youth of Cleveland. The school doesn’t have athletic teams, so Henry would play at Glenville High School, where Ginn coaches. It seemed like the ideal situation for Henry. The coach produces numerous college football players in each class at Glenville and has sent a handful of players to the National Football League. But in football, success,
especially for a defensive lineman, is measured as much by determination as physical strength. It’s about how badly the player wants to hit the man on the other side of the line of scrimmage, the intimidating look on his face when he would do anything to make the tackle. But for Henry, his first instinct wasn’t natural aggression. It was to smile. No matter what he’s doing, the Michigan redshirt sophomore is always smiling. From the first time Ginn met Henry to the last time he walked off his field, Henry always had a big grin on his face. “Even when he’s serious, he looks like he’s playing all the time,” Ginn said. In the testosterone-soaked world of football where coaches demand constant aggression and meanness from their big men in the trenches, the feature that most defines Henry is often misconstrued as a lack of care. It didn’t matter if he was
“He could be a guy that plays in the NFL for 10 years.”
ALLISON FARRAND (TOP) AND PAUL SHERMAN/Daily Henry has appeared in 15 games, making nine starts. He was one of Michigan’s bright spots in the blowout at Notre Dame, recording three tackles and a quarterback hurry in helping to limit the Irish’s rush offense.
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FootballSaturday, September 19, 2014
running drills, in a meeting or even getting yelled at by a coach, Henry’s facial expression was the same. He never stopped smiling and laughing with his teammates. “He’s a joker,” Ginn said. “He’s just a good kid. He’s playing around so much, he’s joking around so much. And I think in the beginning it kind of hurt him.” During practice at Glenville, that joking was constant, which irked Ginn. He felt as though Henry’s jesting prevented him from making all of the plays he could’ve. Ginn said Henry’s joviality was a combination of being just a happy-go-lucky guy and a little bit of immaturity. “You could be talking to him about something serious and he’ll look at you and laugh,” Ginn said. “And it will frustrate you.” In order to fulfill his potential as a college football player, Henry had to shed some of that playful mentality. And that was a process. Before his senior year, Ginn began to see some changes in Henry. The smile was still there, but he began to show some of the fire and maturity Ginn was looking for. Glenville was short on depth on the offensive line and Henry said he’d play both ways. He started on offense and defense that year, beginning a trend of leadership from Henry. When it was needed, he spoke up for the good of the team. Ginn said the recruiting process brought out the seriousness in Henry, but it wasn’t immediate. During one recruiting visit, Henry goofed around the entire time. Then, he really heard it from Ginn. “I got on him real tough,” Ginn said. “And that’s the time that I saw he looked real serious, because he knew I wasn’t playing with him. “I cut that smile off his face.” Ginn knew Henry could play in college from the first time they met, and he wasn’t going to let him risk anything. Henry was serious about recruiting from that moment on. Still, he wasn’t considered a can’t-miss prospect. His offer sheet was composed primarily of schools from the Mid-American Conference and the Big East before Michigan offered. “It was the greatest day of my life when I got the offer, they told me that I had the offer from Michigan,” Henry said last week. “I cherished that moment, put it in a jar, Coach Hoke would say, sealed it up.” He didn’t wait long to commit,
giving his pledge soon after he was offered in late January 2012. Like he did with Michigan senior defensive end Frank Clark, another unheralded recruit from Glenville, Ginn told the Wolverines’ coaching staff about the potential he saw in Henry. Michigan asked him what he saw in his own players, whereas many college coaches don’t make similar efforts in the recruiting process, relying on scouting rankings and film instead. Because of their faith in Ginn, the Wolverines found two of their starters on the defensive line. But once he was in Ann Arbor, his easygoing demeanor prevailed again. He was still joking around, but this time the stakes were higher. “It’s a good thing more so than it’s a bad thing,” Ginn said of Henry’s attitude. “It’s a bad thing because if you don’t really understand him, you’re going to misread him.” Ginn thinks this negative side of his playfulness caught up to Henry a little bit in his first two years at Michigan. After redshirting his first year, Henry frequently found himself on the bench early in his second season. When he was on the field, the coaches noticed Henry didn’t run to the ball on every play and he wasn’t serious enough for their liking. Once again, coaches felt as though the effort wasn’t fully there. He needed to mature. “They don’t have time for that,” Ginn said. This season, Henry has become more serious once again, starting all three games and playing a major role in the Wolverines’ stout run defense. Hoke says the 6-foot-2, 293-pounder may be the strongest player on the team. Last week, Michigan’s coaches noted Henry’s increased desire and maturity. For the first time, his effort is a constant. “You’ll see (him) running to the football in times of the game where he wouldn’t have before,” said defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. As with most of his young players, Hoke thought hearing Tom Brady and Elvis Grbac speak to the team — as well as watching a video of Richard Sherman talking about preparation — helped Henry understand the responsibility that comes with playing college football. In practice in the offseason, defensive line coach Mark Smith and Hoke pushed Henry every day. They too didn’t want to see his potential go to waste.
To Henry, it felt differently than it did when his coaches previously demanded more. “When you were immature, you feel like they’re picking on you, but as you grow you see that they just want the best for me,” Henry said. This newfound maturity brought out the best in Henry. Instead of resting after drills or going to the locker room early, he did extra pushups and wind sprints to become a better player. The smile hasn’t disappeared, though. When he speaks with the media, he flashes a toothy grin, revealing his braces. But because of Henry’s newfound dedication, Ginn envisions a new future for his former player, one that goes beyond playing in college. “He could be a guy that plays in the NFL for 10 years,” Ginn said. That would give Henry yet another reason to smile. This time, his coaches would join right in.
FILE PHOTO/Daily Henry made the All-Big Ten Freshman Team last year after redshirting in 2012.
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily At 6-foot-2, 293 pounds, Henry may be the strongest player on the team, according to Michigan football coach Brady Hoke.
FILE PHOTO/Daily Ted Ginn Sr. urged the Wolverines to recruit Henry and Frank Clark when they played for him at Glenville High School.
The Michigan Daily, www.michigandaily.com
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Preview: Tempo a test By ALEJANDRO ZÚÑIGA Managing Sports Editor
Will Utah really threaten the Michigan football team Saturday afternoon at the Big House? If you believe the betting lines, yes. The Utes (2-0) are just 4.5-point underdogs after averaging nearly a point a minute in a pair of blowouts to start the season. Travis Wilson, in his third season at quarterback, boasts the second-highest passer efficiency rating in the country and hasn’t thrown an interception. Receiver Dres Anderson, who averaged nearly 19 yards per catch last year, has gotten off to a similarly explosive start in his senior season. Two of his three receptions against Fresno State were for touchdowns, and he has already accumulated 195 yards. Because of an early bye week, Wilson and Anderson had extra time to prepare to face a Wolverine secondary that coach Brady Hoke admitted was “embarrassed” two weeks ago in a 31-0 drubbing
against Notre Dame. And Utah has a precedent of winning at Michigan Stadium, taking down the Wolverines in 2008. The Utes run a spread offense, which Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison compared to Indiana’s because of its high-speed tempo. And last year, the Hoosiers burned the Wolverines for 572 yards and 47 points, frequently snapping the ball before the defense could get fully set. But don’t necessarily expect the Utes to roll over Michigan. As MGoBlog’s Ace Anbender noted, despite Utah’s frequent four- and five-receiver sets, it utilizes a spread-to-run attack, meaning it relies on the rush to set up the pass. In that aspect, the Wolverines are well-suited; they have allowed fewer than 100 yards on the ground in their last two games combined. Of the defensive linemen, senior end Frank Clark could be Michigan’s most effective player Saturday. He has just two tackles
for loss this season but has become the Wolverines’ most consistent threat at shedding his blocker and disrupting a play. And if Michigan’s coaches have their way, they’ll avoid a track meet between the two offenses Saturday. “We’ve got so much that we want to accomplish on defense, and this is the next game,” Mattison said Monday. Another reason for optimism for the Wolverines comes in the quality of the Utes’ opponents, or lack thereof. Fresno State and Idaho State have only one combined win — the Bengals beat Division II Chadron State by five — and despite Michigan’s struggles, it’ll easily be the most talented team Utah has faced. But the Utes are no cupcake, and the Wolverines will have their hands full come Saturday. NOTE: Before the game, a 15-aircraft flyover will commemorate the centennial anniversary of the University’s aerospace engineering program. ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Q&A: Utes beat writer Ryan Miller By GREG GARNO Managing Sports Editor
The Michigan football team last met Utah in 2008 — a 25-23 loss — when the Utes were a part of the Mountain West Conference. Now, Utah is finding its place in the Pac-12. The Daily spoke with the Utah Daily Chronicle’s Ryan Miller, an assistant sports editor, to take a look at the Wolverines’ next opponent. The Michigan Daily: There’s a lot of hype surrounding Utah quarterback Travis Wilson. What does he do so well that has allowed him to carry the Utes? Ryan Miller: Really, he’s playing in a safer passing game. The new offense put in by (offensive coordinator) Dave Christensen has been all about limiting turnovers. Wilson, last year, was known to air it out. If it’s an interception, it’s an interception. He’d have sixinterception games. This year, he hasn’t had one because he’s just making safer throws. The offense is designed where there’s always a check-
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down guy, always an easy slant route. There’s a throw to be made, often for a few yards if anything else. He’s making those decisions rather than think ‘I gotta go 40 yards.’ I think it’s the better decision making and better offense that’d helped. TMD: I know it has been just two games, but has anyone shown signs of slowing down Utah’s offense? RM: Right now, it seems like no one can, but that’s really more of the opponent than anything. They could have put up even more against Fresno State. I don’t really think they’ve revealed everything, either. But they’re finally facing a team that has the athletes to stop an offense like this. It’ll be interesting to see what Michigan does. TMD: Utah’s defense is a bit overlooked by its potent offense. Where do its strengths lie? RM: Well, at first against Idaho State, the defense didn’t look good. But against Fresno State, they shut them down. The defensive line, has been, and always will be, the strength under (head coach) Kyle Wittingham.
FootballSaturday, September 19, 2014
I’d be more concerned about the secondary. I think they’ll be able to withstand the Michigan run defense, which will be really important. If they can hold the rushing attack then I think they have a pretty good chance in this game. TMD: The Utes enter off a bye week early in the season. Will that help them come Saturday or is that not much of a factor? RM: Aside from last season, Wittingham actually had a great record coming off a bye. But I really think what will help is coming off of injuries. They were pretty banged up after Fresno State. We know Jason Wittingham won’t be playing the linebacker, but they hope to have Gionni Paul coming back for his first game. Michigan has the same policy, where Utah just won’t talk about them at all. TMD: What’s your prediction for Saturday? RM: I’ve been going back and forth on this all week. I actually think this will be the coming-out party of Travis Wilson. I’ll say a 27-20 victory for Utah.
Michigan’s offense will have to keep pace with Utah’s quick-strike attack Saturday.
‘D’ faces challenge By ALEXA DETTELBACH Daily Sports Editor
Michigan pass offense vs. Utah pass defense Against Fresno State two weeks ago, Utah sacked the quarterback seven times. Defensive end Nate Orchard anchors a Utes’ defense that leads the nation in sacks (5.5) and tackles for loss (10.5) per game. On the bright side, the Wolverines should be getting junior wide receiver Devin Funchess back, and it will significantly open up the offense for quarterback Devin Gardner. And the Utes have only intercepted one pass over their last nine games. Edge: Michigan Michigan rush offense vs. Utah rush defense Utah’s rush defense allowed just 55 yards against Fresno State. The strong performance came after the defensive line was called “soft” by Idaho State’s coach, following the Utes’ week one performance. The defense also racked up 13 tackles for loss. Edge: Utah
Utah pass offense vs. Michigan pass defense Senior receiver Dres Anderson is a big playmaker and averages over 16 yards per catch over his career, so the Michigan secondary will have its hands full. But Utah’s offense will meet its first big test against the Wolverines’ seventh-ranked defense. Mattison’s unit is holding opponents to 252.7 yards per game and 4.12 yards per play. Edge: Utah Utah rush offense vs. Michigan rush defense Utah’s offense goes beyond its passing attack — it has three running backs averaging five yards per carry. Combine that with Wilson’s dual-threat abilities, and the Michigan linebackers will be on their toes all afternoon. But the Wolverine defensive line is arguably the team’s deepest unit and has held opposing offenses to an average of 80 rushing yards per game. Edge: Michigan Prediction: Utah 38, U-M 31