CELEBRATING OUR ONE-HUNDRED TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Wednesday, December 3, 2014
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BRADY HOKE FIRED
PAUL SHERMAN/DAILY
Brady Hoke, fired on Tuesday afternoon, spent four years at Michigan, finishing this season with a 5-7 record and marking the third session in the last 30 years to miss a bowl game. He finished 1-3 against Ohio State and Michigan State in his time.
Dream job comes to end after four years first time since 1984, surrendered Managing Sports Editor the Little Brown Jug to Minnesota for the first time since 2005 After three consecutive let- and had three losses before Octodown seasons, Brady Hoke has ber for the first time ever. been fired from FOUR YEARS OF HOKE: The season his position Brady Hoke’s win-loss record ended Saturday as Michigan’s with a 42-28 W: 11 L: 2 2011 football coach. defeat to Ohio The move 2012 State, the Wol85 follows the verines’ third 76 Wolverines’ 5-7 2013 consecutive campaign this 2014 loss against the 57 fall that feaBuckeyes. With tured a bevy of historic defeats. the result, this year’s Michigan See HOKE, Page 3A Michigan was shut out for the
Hackett explains reasoning By MAX COHEN and ALEXA DETTELBACH
By ALEJANDRO ZÚÑIGA
Daily Sports Editors
When Interim Athletic Director Jim Hackett met with the media Tuesday after deciding to fire former Michigan coach Brady Hoke, he emphasized the move wasn’t an easy one. “When you make the decision to change someone’s life, you’d better take the time think about it,” Hackett said. “And, in this case, I did take the time. I was very deliberate about it.”
Hackett’s biggest issue when considering Hoke’s future was how to best reconcile what he believed were Hoke’s values off the football field and his team’s results on it. Under Hoke, the Wolverines went 12-12 in the Big Ten over the last three years while going 2-6 against Michigan State and Ohio State. “I believe the longevity of our best football coaches are tied to the intersection of the performance or measure of wins and losses with the test and expression of values that underscore
their program,” Hackett said. “Everywhere I go, there is zero question about Brady’s values. … Brady’s peers — both active and retired coaches — really respect him, and his players love playing for him. He’s done a great job of molding these young men and focusing them on success in the classroom and in the community.” In the end, Hackett didn’t think Hoke’s values were enough to merit him keeping his job for a fifth season. Hackett didn’t disclose his evaluaSee HACKETT, Page 3A
REPLACEMENTS Big names highlight candidates to replace Hoke as head coach. See Sports, Page 7A
TIMELINE It’s been four years with Hoke. The Daily looks back at his time. See Sports, Page 8A Check MichiganDaily.com for more coverage of Hoke’s firing
ADMINISTRATION
Trotter Center hosts final open forum for new facility Planners to present potential sites to regents this month By EMMA KERR Daily Staff Reporter
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Ross junior Tanner Waterstreet poses with LSA students Meryl Davis and Charlie White and their Olympic gold medal at Giving Blueday on the Diag Tuesday.
‘U’ surpasses $1M goal during Giving Blueday Donors contribute more than $3M within 24 hours By JACK TURMAN Daily Staff Reporter
While organizations across the country sought donations this ‘Giving Tuesday,’ the University
WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 32 LO: 24
launched its own initiative, ‘Giving Blueday,’ a one-day fundraising event as part of its ongoing Victors for Michigan fundraising campaign. Over 24 hours, the University aimed to bring in $1 million dollars from around 1,000 donors, a mark they reached in the first 13 hours. By midnight, the University raised $3,252,309 from 5,437
donors. “When we set that goal, we thought it was ambitious to raise a million dollars from a thousand people,” said Tom Szczepanski, assistant vice president for development. “I think it just shows once again, that Michigan donors exceed all expectations with their generosity.” For comparison, Szczepanski See GIVING, Page 3A
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After months of conversation, the fourth and final workshop of pre-planning for the new Trotter Multicultural Center was held Tuesday night.
Members of the Black Student Union, architects for the new center and University officials have hosted these workshops to better understand the needs of the community and the students. Program organizers aim to present their findings to the University’s Board of Regents in the next few weeks. The presentation will include possible site locations to either construct a new building or renovate a current facility.
The planners named the Michigan League, Michigan Union, residence halls, parking lots, unused land spaces and other locations as possible sites for the Trotter Center. However, a number of students expressed concerns about losing the individuality and identity of Trotter if it were to be placed in an existing building. LSA senior Shaina Shetty, director of the South Asian See TROTTER, Page 3A
STUDY ABROAD
Medical service programs aid students Trips aim to balance immersion, medical ethics By NABEEL CHOLLAMPAT Daily Staff Reporter
Preparing for the demands of medical school applications, pre-med students are some of the busiest on campus, but many
NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM “Geometry Wars” series moves into three dimensions MICHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS
INDEX
are still enticed by clinics abroad as a means to demonstrate interest and experience in the health care field. These trips are akin to study abroad trips, focused on overseeing medical work in a often challenging environments. However, a growing concern within these clinics is whether students are performing procedures which are illegal under the guidelines of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Vol. CXXIV, No. 35 ©2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
The AAMC guidelines state, “Students should never engage in any unsupervised activity that is considered the practice of medicine including, but not limited to: diagnosing diseases, administering narcotics, performing surgical procedures, suturing or other tasks generally reserved for the trained health professional.” LSA Pre-Health Adviser See ABROAD, Page A
NEWS......................... 2A SUDOKU..................... 3A OPINION.....................4A
ARTS........................... 5A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A T H E S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . .1 B
News
2A — Wednesday, December 3, 2014
MONDAY: This Week in History
TUESDAY: Professor Profiles
ON THE EDGE
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers
Jimmy Chin, a mountaineer, skier and National Geographic photographer, spoke about his experiences at Rackham Auditorium Tuesday.
ON THE WEB... michigandaily.com THE FILTER
Brady & Beyonce By Erika Harwood Interim Athletic Director Jim Hackett announced his decision to fire former head football coach Brady Hoke and you know what that means: another playlist courtesy of the Arts section. No matter what, Queen Bey will get you through.
THE FILTER
Geometry Wars By Kim Bachelor The sixth installment in this series was recently released for Playstation, PC and the Xboxs, but evasion is still the name of the game. Players work to navigate a small spaceship and avoid constantly-spawning enemies within the small space. New levels are unlocked with success.
THURSDAY: Alumni Profiles
FRIDAY: Photos of the Week
SOCIAL CHANGE
Twitter campaign raises awareness The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at Indiana University started a social media campaign called Shatter the Silence in response to their Interfraternity Council dedicating November to raising awareness about sexual assault in Greek Life, The Indiana Daily Student reported Sunday. The campaign included a video featuring students reciting sexual assault statistics and a Twitter campaign with tweets posted every 30 minutes from the fraternity’s twitter account @IU_Pikes.
ZACH MOORE/Daily
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Cambridge community stages die-in to protest Ferguson decision Hundreds
of
Cambridge
residents and Harvard community members blocked the streets around Harvard Square to protest a grand jury’s decision not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, The Harvard Crimson reported Monday. After speakers shared personal anecdotes with an audience of Harvard students, Law student Rebecca Chapman led the crown in a four-and-a-half minute “diein,” where they laid down silently to represent the four and a half hours that Michael Brown’s body lay in the street after he was killed. Dennis A. Benzan, vice mayor of Cambridge, joined the protest and spoke alongside Sydney
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
Polish talk WHAT: Anthropology Prof. Agnieszka Pasieka will be presenting her paper on the plights of religious and ethnic minorities. WHO: Copernicus Center for Polish Studies WHEN: Today from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. WHERE: School of Social Work Building, Room 1636
String quintet WHAT: The New Verse Chamber Ensemble will perform masterworks for quintets written by Mozart and Brahms. Musicians hail from across the state. WHO: Fair Lane Music Guild WHEN: Today from 7:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. WHERE: Henry Ford Estate on the campus of U-M Dearborn, 4901 Evergreen Road
Libraries of Dance crew China lecture performance WHAT: Dr. Mengxiong Liu will discuss the history of libraries of China, along with its current status in Chinese culture. WHO: Confucius Institute WHEN: Today from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: Michigan League, Koessler Room
WHAT: Dance crews from across campus will compete in Michigan’s Best Dance Crew Live Show 2014. WHO: Center for Campus Involvement WHEN: Today from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, Ballroom
Cultural dance Jesmyn Ward lecture workshop WHAT: This workshop will feature Amala Dance Group on West African and Caribbean dances and instruction. The group will teach students about other cultures through dancing. WHO: Center for Campus Involvement WHEN: Today from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, Anderson Ballroom
WHAT: University alum Jesmyn Ward will talk about about her latest book, “Men We Reaped.” WHO: Institute for the Humanities WHEN: Tonight at 5 p.m. WHERE: Rackham Amphitheatre CORRECTIONS l Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com.
Fisher, a senior at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin school. University of Chicago students launch dueling dating apps A team of students responsible for the Facebook page UChigago Crushes announced the release of two new apps to enhance their page. Hootie, a forum-based discussion page, started its trial run Monday, The Chicago Maroon reported Tuesday. The second app, Ohey, is set for release in late December or early January and will connect users with their crushes.
— PATRICIA BAJIS
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
1
Detroit residents suffered a power outage Tuesday that prompted early school dismissals and knocked out traffic lights, ABC News reported Tuesday. Most of the power was planned to be restored to customers that night.
2
This week, The Statement examines running culture and the “runner’s high” phenomenon through the eyes of marathoners and members of the women’s cross country team. >> FOR MORE, SEE STATEMENT, PG. 1B
3
Former Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is favored to be chosen by President Obama as the new defense secretary, CBS News reported Tuesday. Carter would replace Chuck Hagel, who resigned from the position in November.
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CSG resolution calls for on- ‘Greenies’ find community, site admissions in Detroit multi-culturalism in chorus
Practice would demonstrate commitment to diversity, some argue By TANAZ AHMED Daily Staff Reporter
At the Central Student Government meeting Tuesday night, several resolutions were proposed, including one that would support on-site admissions to the University in Detroit high schools. Additionally, a proposal to fund the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center’s marketing materials and a resolution to amend the CSG budget to allocate funds to the Student Organization Funding Commission were also discussed. A resolution proposed Nov. 28 to help fund the Golden Apple Award and the corresponding lecture was unanimously passed as well.
The admissions resolution calls for CSG to show its commitment to a diverse campus by supporting on-site admissions in Detroit high schools. The student assembly has previously stated that it believes that this form of recruitment is effective in a resolution to increase minority student enrollment, which was passed during the Winter 2014 semester. In the on-site admissions process, admissions officers travel to high schools to interview students. Often in the same day or shortly after, an admissions officer reviews a student’s application and tells them if he or she has been accepted. “It sounds like a well thought out plan,” said Education senior Michael Chrzan, a School of Education representative. Other CSG members had questions regarding why the University does not currently have an on-site admissions process. Chrzan, an author of the resolution,
cited a 2002 Michigan Daily article in which Sally Lindsey, the associate director of admissions at the time, said the University does not hold on-site admissions because it has a “very competitive” admissions process. Though the University of Michigan-Dearborn has an onsite admissions process, the Ann Arbor campus does not. Other universities such as Michigan State University, the University of Iowa and Western Michigan University practice their own variations of on-site admissions. Some assembly members wished the resolution better defined the role CSG would take in the practice’s implementation. “I just want to see some sort of a formulation of a plan of how we can actually get this policy instituted because I think it is really important,” said LSA Representative Bardia Vaseghi, an LSA senior. Engineering representative Andy Modell, an Engineering senior, referenced the disruption of last week’s meeting of the University’s Board of Regents by members of the group By Any Means Necessary and asked for the proposal to explicitly state that the resolution would be peacefully implemented. BAMN members also expressed their support of on-site admissions during the meeting. “It was just the process (onsite admissions) that made us feel as that the university did want students from my school to come there,” BAMN member Leanna Mulholland said, in regards to her own experience with on-site admissions at her Detroit high school. The legislation was referred to the resolutions committee and will be voted upon at the next CSG meeting. The other resolutions at the CSG meeting included a proposal to support SAPAC, which asked for $1,200 from CSG’s legislative discretionary account
58 Greene, founded in 1993, is the secondoldest student a cappella group
Though the University has 16 a cappella groups, 58 Greene is confident they are a little different. The group, founded in the basement of East Quad Residence Hall in 1993, was named after the room in the East Quad where the founding members began practicing together. Since then, the co-ed, multicultural group aims to use their varying backgrounds to create a unique voice. “Multiculturalism has always been what we are and also something that we strive to promote through music performance,” said 58 Greene Director Jillian Gray, an LSA senior. “That has been the main component of our legacy for the past 21 — almost 22 — years now.” While Gray acknowledges that other groups value diversity as well, she said they are the only a cappella group on campus that identifies multiculturalism as part of their brand. Gray added that their musical performances often aim to raise awareness of social justice issues. 58 Greene performs annually at the MLK Children and Youth Day program on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. But the group has quirkier traditions, too. “Part of the ritual of starting every rehearsal is slapping the
butt of the person next to you,” Gray said. “We send it around, and then we send it back around every single rehearsal.” This tradition is meant to loosen up everyone before rehearsal. “It’s funny and lightens the mood and makes you comfortable with people really quick even if you weren’t before,” Gray added The Greenies, as members call themselves, have an competitive yet informal fall audition process. The process has the typical roundup of musicality tests; among them are vocal warmups, test ranges, sight readings and a solo audition. “Auditions are definitely intimidating and a little scary,” Gray said. Grey said there is also a secret component of tryouts. “The final part of the audition is something only we do and it’s a way in which we get the personality out of people,” Grey said. “We aren’t just concerned with whether or not you can hold a tune but want to know ‘do we want to spend 10 hours a week with you in rehearsal’ and can you have fun with us.” LSA sophomore Jin Kim, 58 Greene member, said the 58 Greene community is an important aspect of her life at the University. “58 Greene is my family,” she said. “It is easy to get lost and feel lonely at such a big school, but Greenies have made me feel a part of a caring community.” Kim added that 58 Greene is diverse yet united in their passion for music. “We are such different people,” Kim said. “People of dif-
ferent race, background, gender and preferences, but we come together to create great music and more importantly because we care for each other.” LSA senior Schuyler Robinson, 58 Greene musical director, expressed similar sentiments about the a cappella group. “58 Greene is incredible because it not only supports individual voices, both in and outside the group, but also harvests unity amongst this incredible group of people,” Robinson said. The 14 Greenies perform twice a year in the fall semester concert in December and again for a spring concert in summer. Gray said they retire songs every three semesters and pick up four new songs so that each concert showcases a different set of songs. The guys and girls have a chance to compete within 58 Greene with their annual tradition of a guys-versus-girls singoff during the fall concert. “We make a little competition out of it,” Gray said. “We rehearse separately and secretly for the whole semester and then we come together a week before our concert and perform for each other. And we always try to outdo each other. We are a co-ed group so it’s fun for us to sometimes split up.” In spite of the battle of the sexes, the group is close-knit — extending beyond their years at the University. At a recent reunion, more than 50 alumni came to Ann Arbor from all over the country. “Alumni (are) a huge part of our legacy,” Gray said. “We really pride ourselves on really maintaining connections.”
to use for SAPAC advertising materials such as laptop stickers, water bottles and magnets that will be distributed at Winterfest and SAPAC events. Requests for funding also came from the SOFC resolu-
tion. The legislation asked for funds from the reserve, commission discretionary and legislative accounts to allocate up to $27,281.04 to SOFC. Due to an increased request for funding from student organiza-
tions, SOFC is predicted to be short approximately $21,000 to $27,000. Both resolutions were referred to the finance committee and will be voted on during the next CSG meeting.
By STEPHANIE DILWORTH Daily Staff Reporter
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
TROTTER From Page 1A Awareness Network, said she is worried that students’ input will not be heavily included in the new Trotter Center. “A constant concern is wondering if these things are going to turn into a reality,” Shetty said. “I really appreciate their transparency so far, and I really hope the administration continues to do that.” While planners said they intend to present an array of options, including additional renovations for the current Trotter Center, students favored locations closest to the Diag, libraries and other high-traffic locations
ABROAD From Page 1A David Brawn said he has spoken with some students who said they engaged in procedures that were potentially illegal. “Sometimes a small percentage of students end up in situations where they’re doing things they probably ought not to do, and that can be a big problem,” he said. “Medical schools don’t need you to demonstrate the practice to them in ways that are professionally unethical.” Medical Educational Service Opportunities and Humanity First are two of the on-campus groups that offer these trips. Both groups are primarily funded through fundraising efforts, though MESO currently partners with Princeton Review, a test preparation company. Neither MESO nor Humanity First require students to read AAMC guidelines, but Ross senior Shazia Ijaz, Humanity First president, said the rules are verbally articulated to group members during training sessions. Humanity First is also a national nonprofit. The University chapter visits Guatemala each year and sets up a primary health care clinic for a week, providing free care for people in need. According to Ijaz, her organization works with Guatemalan doctors as well as American doctors that accompany students on the trip. Students are taught to take pulses and blood pressure readings. MESO takes a similar approach, but their trip destinations vary each year. During spring break, the organization takes students to one of various countries in Central America, including the Dominican Republic, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. MESO offers trips in three
HOKE From Page 1A football team became just the third in the last 40 years of the program to not play in a bowl. “I met with coach Hoke today and informed him of my decision to make a change in the leadership of our football program,” said interim Athletic Director Jim Hackett in a statement. “This was not an easy decision given the level of respect that I have for Brady. He has done a great job of molding these young men, making them accountable to their teammates, focusing them on success in the classroom and in the community. “I wanted to make sure that Brady received adequate time to exhibit the results that would come from his effort and I believe that Brady and our coaching staff had enough time to produce those results and unfortunately they
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— even if that means renovating a building that already exists. “I think it’s really important that we have our own building that is independent,” Shetty said. Students asked about the functionality of rooms in the proposed Trotter Center, including questions about dance studio space and if incense and candles could be burned. Architects from Hanbury, Evans, Wright, Vlattas + Company, a firm from Norfolk, Virginia working with the University to build the new Center, said students have repeatedly raised concerns about practice space for dance groups. The architects said they hope to have a multipurpose room, which would accommodate for
the needs of a dance group. The proposed spaces include a wellness room, an outside porch, a living room with a fireplace, a reflection room and a ballroom or similar open space. Trotter Center planners have used a survey completed by 900 students and community members to inform their decisionmaking. Site planners have researched the locations students most frequent to determine the location of campus center and how to best reach students. Considerations for choosing a location for the new Trotter Center include expediting the occupancy date as well as finding the best, most cost-effective venue and a stand-alone building easily accessed by campus tour groups.
Planners also prefer that each floor hold at least 300 people in what will likely be a three-story facility. LSA junior Thamara Subramanian said student input has been present during every step of the process, though architects are still in the pre-planning phase and it may be years before the new Trotter Center is open. “The planning committee has been really open to all ideas, regardless of attainability and giving us background on what is attainable,” Subramanian said. “It is hard to picture things when we won’t be here for when it actually becomes a reality, but I think it’s really worth it to eventually see your input be put into action.”
branches: pre-med, pre-dentistry and pre-pharmacy. Pre-med students work in small groups with a translator to ask patients questions and come up with a preliminary diagnosis. Doctors then assess the patient and go over the course of treatment with students. Ijaz said Humanity First is careful to make sure its members stay within regulations. “Students don’t perform procedures; they shadow and they assist. We’ve been very careful about that and we’re very aware that’s completely unethical and illegal,” she said. “Our students get as close as possible, but our doctors, physicians and supervisors in Guatemala all know that students should not be performing procedures.” Engineering junior Prady Manepalli, who went on a Humanity First trip last year, said students were aware of their ethical limits. “Anything we saw out of the unusual, we referred to a doctor,” he said. “We wouldn’t take part in anything like that.” Manepalli recounted handing out medication to dentists to aid pulling out teeth, learning how to take blood pressure properly and participating in information sessions about the region. Engineering senior Lindsay Merlotti, MESO co-president, said she has heard stories of pre-dental students doing more hands-on procedures than necessary. “I know some people who did dental got worried because the dentists allow you to do a lot more than the doctors allow you to do,” she said. She specifically noted tooth extractions as a source of potential danger. According to Merlotti, who previously participated in a trip to the Dominican Republic, pre-med
students in MESO do not perform those kinds of procedures. “You don’t actually perform anything on the patients aside from listening to their breathing on a stethoscope, some patellar reflexes and some blood pressure,” she said. “I didn’t do anything that I felt was unethical or beyond my skill level. According to Brawn, medical school admissions directors strongly value intellectual curiosity and cultural understanding. “Good cultural training can enhance your ability to learn from other people,” he said. “You want to be able to the understand the situation you’re in. You go into situations making assumptions based on things that aren’t true for that population, then you’re not going to understand what you see.” Neither MESO nor Humanity First include formal cultural education in their training sessions. “What we do talk about beforehand is not specifically the culture, but more the widespread epidemics that we see, the very common illnesses they have and the reasons for that and their style of living,” Ijaz said. “A lot of (cultural training) does happen when they are on the ground.” While multiple students noted the personal benefits of participating in the trips, it is difficult to quantify the overall impact of the programs on local populations. “In the beginning of our program we were kind of asking that ourselves, because we give them primary health care, but we didn’t really know the impact that we were having,” Ijaz said. “But what has happened is that our University chapter (of Humanity First) has inspired other universities to start at their schools, so doing this camp in Guatemala has become a regular thing, so in that area, I think it’s made a huge difference.” “You try and give them advice
not only about the medicine but also about lifestyle choices, too,” Merlotti said. “Part of the hard thing, though, is that it’s just a completely different culture down there. What we take for granted here, they don’t have.” Both groups acknowledged that “resume-building” is a major motivation to join for many applicants. “They want to get that experience under their belt to use and leverage it into interviews or processes or whatever they’re applying to,” Ijaz said. “But I also think that the people who are going on these trips are the people who actually stand to benefit from it because they get there and it really grows the ‘wanting-to-helppeople’ portion of them.” Brawn said medical schools ultimately aim to gain a better understanding of the applicant. “Medical schools want a sense of the kind of healer the person is going to be: are you compassionate, things like that,” he said. “You can go on these trips and do some wonderful things and if you explain them and convey them well, then they can be very helpful.” Brawn also said serving in a clinic and gaining experience in the United States can be as rewarding as service abroad. “The point is communication with people whose health has been compromised and ideally, observation of medical processes with the end goal being a more mature and nuanced understanding of medicine,” he said. “You don’t have to go abroad for that.” In the end, Brawn said pre-med students’ passion is paramount. “Well-intentioned people see great need and want to do something about it,” he said. “The key is making sure that what one does is legal, appropriate and genuinely helpful.”
are not there. In the end, I feel that moving in a different direction is the right decision. I wish Brady and his family all the best in the future.” Because Hoke was let go before Dec. 31, his buyout is $3 million. Had he been fired on or after Jan. 1, 2015, his buyout would have dropped to $2 million. Hoke was signed to a six-year contract before the 2011 season that included a $1.5 million stay bonus this offseason. Excluding game-specific incentives, the former coach would have averaged $3.25 million per year had he fulfilled the entirety of his contract. But Michigan went just 31-20 under Hoke and never reached the Big Ten title game. “I feel very fortunate to have been an assistant and head coach at the University of Michigan,” Hoke said in a statement. “I will always support the University and this football program. This is a special place and one that
Laura, Kelly and I have enjoyed representing during our time in Ann Arbor. I want to thank all of the sons that played for our teams and appreciate the commitment that our coaches and support staff made to the program every day. “I will miss the relationships that I’ve been fortunate enough to make within this university and community. I additionally appreciate all of the support that our fans, alumni, students, administration and former players have provided our program. I leave with fond memories of my experience at Michigan. Thanks and Go Blue!” Hoke’s first season with the Wolverines was also his best. In 2011, Michigan went 11-2 with wins over Notre Dame and Ohio State and an overtime triumph against Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. The Wolverines dropped to 8-5 in 2012, 7-6 in 2013 and then 5-7
this fall, losing five of six to the Buckeyes and Michigan State in that span. Hoke entered 2014 on the hot seat, and further lost public support during the fifth week of the season, when, in the fourth quarter of a blowout defeat to Minnesota, he failed to pull Shane Morris in a timely manner despite the quarterback’s difficulty to stand following a helmet-to-helmet hit. But criticism of Hoke had generally stemmed less on that individual incident and focused more on the coach’s win-loss record, his teams that worsened from year to year and his perceived struggle to develop talent. Michigan has yet to name Hoke’s replacement, but San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh and LSU coach Les Miles have all been rumored as potential candidates for the job.
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Wednesday, December 3, 2014 — 3A
GIVING From Page 1A said the busiest day for online giving for the University is New Year’s Eve. Szczepanski said last year, the University received around $567,000 from 1,100 donors. Based on the results from Giving Blueday, Szczepanski said the event will likely continue in the future. The University asked students, alumni and friends to donate to a particular unit, department or University organization of their interest. Some private donors pledged to match student donations. Kat Walsh, director of student engagement for the Office of Development, said about 70 student groups — including Dance Marathon, the Michigan Marching Band and the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center — participated in the event and asked donors to give to their organization. Walsh emphasized the importance of student involvement in the event. “We want philanthropy to be fun and empowering for students,” Walsh said. “There are so many student organizations that are fundraising and advocating for amazing causes here at Michigan and beyond. We felt this would be a really great way for them to fundraise on this day.” Tents were set up on the Diag and at Pierpont Commons, accompanying campus activities throughout the day. Olympic ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White, both LSA students, encouraged students to participate by donating to a club or issue they are passionate about to increase their student experience. “A big part of being a student
HACKETT From Page 1A tion of Hoke’s job performance. “We should be writing about what kind of program he built based on the values, but we didn’t have the results on the field,” he said. Hackett made his decision Sunday night and briefly met with Michigan’s players at 3 p.m. Tuesday before Hoke spoke with them. The search for a new coach will begin immediately, and Hackett plans to meet with the players again for their input.
at the University of Michigan isn’t only the amazing academic opportunities, but everything else Michigan has to offer,” Davis said. “If you don’t take part in campus activities, being part of the these amazing organizations and support everything we have, you’re really missing out on a lot of the life of Michigan.” Ross graduate student Jaime Ziegler, graduate chair of the Victors for Michigan campaign’s Student Campaign Committee, said it’s understandable if students could not donate due to financial reasons. “I understand that everyone is feeling a financial squeeze and tuition is really expensive,” Ziegler said. “I absolutely respect that. I am experiencing it myself.” However, Ziegler said the cost does not outweigh the benefits of being a student at the University. “Everyone should be aware that their tuition actually doesn’t cover their cost of their experience here at Michigan,” she said. Similarly, White said the decision to donate is left to each student. “Obviously, it’s up to the students what they feel like they want to support,” he said. “This isn’t to support other’s educations. This is to support programs that are going to be helping people or giving opportunities to things that students are interested in.” Engineering freshman Ankit Shah said he would like to see money go to the College of Engineering given his current enrollment. He said this fundraising event is an opportunity for students to inform University President Mark Schlissel about issues on campus. “We need to make sure we give him feedback where we want the money to go,” he said.
Hackett said he will hire a headhunting firm to aid him in the search process, but explained he’s not going to rush the decision. “The head coach of Michigan football is one of the finest jobs in American sports today, and we will have great options,” Hackett said. “The University of Michigan remains one of the top programs in the country.” In the interim, Sports Administrator Mike DeBord will oversee day-to-day aspects of the program until a coach is hired. Hackett said DeBord is not a candidate for the fulltime job.
Seven automakers participate in recall Japanese supplier defers decison to individual companies DETROIT (AP) — Japan’s Takata Corp. refused to comply with a U.S. government demand for an expanded recall of its air bags that can explode and shoot out shrapnel, and instead passed along the crucial decision to automakers. The response, which the U.S. immediately criticized as inadequate, sets the stage for a showdown between the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the company, when they appear before U.S. Congress on Wednesday. So far, 14 million vehicles worldwide have been recalled due to the air bag problem, including 8 million in the U.S. Takata has yet to pinpoint a cause, even though the recalls started a decade ago. The U.S. government wants Takata and automakers to add millions of cars across the U.S. to recalls now limited to areas with high humidity. The automakers indicated Tuesday that they want to do their own testing, in addition to tests underway at Takata. The deadline had been set for midnight Tuesday for Takata to send a response to NHTSA, which was demanding a national recall of driver-side air bags or face civil fines and legal action. In Tokyo, Takata spokesman Hideyuki Matsumoto said the
company’s response to NHTSA was “neither a yes nor a no.” Takata agreed to cooperate with the automakers on whatever they decide, he said. NHTSA was not satisfied with Takata’s reply, calling it “disappointing,” adding that it was reviewing the response to determine the next steps. “Takata shares responsibility for keeping drivers safe and we believe anything short of a national recall does not live up to that responsibility,” it said. On Wednesday, Takata and some of the automakers are set to appear at a U.S. House subcommittee hearing on the matter. Takata on Tuesday said it had formed a panel to investigate its inflator manufacturing process. Takata also said it’s working with top scientists who specialize in propellants, inflators, and air bag systems to evaluate its inflators. The company said it would “produce additional replacement units to support any further recalls that may be announced by our customers.” Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. have been calling for an industrywide investigation, but they did not have an immediate comment on the Takata response. Honda said in Tokyo its previous position that it was “seriously considering” a nationwide recall was unchanged. Toshitake Inoshita, a Nissan Motor Co. spokesman in Yokohama headquarters, also had no comment, stressing the problems were still under investigation.
Opinion
Page 4A — Wednesday, December 3, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Final words: To myself, the ‘U’ and my resilient peers Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com PETER SHAHIN EDITOR IN CHIEF
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Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
A new age of audio
I
t’s gotten to that point in the semester where I will literally find any excuse not to do the work I need to be doing. I desire to be distracted. I know this must be true for many, dare I say most, college students. We’ve been bogged down by the grind of the semester; Thanksgiving break was approaching and has now passed, so it’s a little challenging to get back into the DEREK school routine once again. WOLFE To make a long story short, those factors explain how I jumped into the world of the podcast — for the uninformed, podcasts are essentially prerecorded radio shows that cover just about everything and can be directly downloaded to your phone or computer. Before mid-November, I had really only known podcasts as that app on my iPhone that I don’t use and a recording option on Garageband, which I have also never used. And yet, even with the limited experience I’ve had over the past couple of weeks, I’m not sure I ever want to leave this brave, new world. Because even though there are so many great TV shows out there, there’s something special about excellent, educational and informative audio. It started with a tweet from one of my followers about “Serial,” the hit real-life murder mystery show hosted by Sarah Koenig, a producer of “This American Life.” With nine episodes to this point, “Serial” chronicles a murder that took place in the Baltimore area in 1999. Koenig has spent the last year or so researching the case to try to determine if Adnan Syed, the ex-boyfriend of Hae Min Lee, was the one who killed her and is releasing an episode week-by-week. I’m sure that description does not do it justice. I became a hooked listener instantly, so upon hearing at the end of the ninth episode that the show would be taking a two-week hiatus for Thanksgiving, I was kind of devastated. It’s that good. As of now, it isn’t clear what the end result will be for Syed and I don’t want to spoil it, but it’s truly fascinating and I recommend that everyone take a listen. I’m counting down until Thursday. But “Serial” hasn’t been the only podcast show that has piqued my interest. “Startup,” a show about Alex Blumberg, a former NPR staffer, beginning his startup company, Gimlet Media, has been impossible to put down — or turn off, I guess. He even admits
to the title and premise being “meta.” He’s right about that. I also believe Blumberg might be right about his big gamble in producing this show and what he really believes in, that the podcasting world is going to explode. He told TechCrunch, “We’re on the dawn of a second golden age of audio.” That’s an enormous bet — something Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, would probably say. But in order to get there, the rest of the podcasting content has to be top notch. “Startup” is professional, well edited, but also quirky and deeply personal. Blumberg connects with the listener and tells a story that has been underreported — the emotional side of starting a business. Gimlet Media’s other and newer show, “Reply All,” has done the same so far and has been successful with its shows relating to the Internet. But that’s enough of reviewing shows. I’ll leave that to our Arts section. What I want to continue with is that there has been a lot of debate on the Internet as to whether shows like “Serial” and “Startup” have changed the game in the podcasting universe. Some say yes, some say no. After having invested several hours into listening to these shows and then reading the articles, I’m ready to have some skin in the game — from an opinion standpoint, that is. I find myself leaning toward yes. Although it has been around for years, I find the podcast to be a new, fresh way to educate myself on important, and even not so important, issues. It has a different vibe than radio and there clearly is a demand for it. “Serial” broke the iTunes podcast download record with over five million by Nov. 18. In an episode of “Startup,” Blumberg made a call for investments to complete his goal of raising $1.5 million. He raised $200,000 in a couple of hours. There’s clearly a market for this highquality content. And if these two shows continue to be successful, then that will certainly drive others to make great shows, too, to get a piece of the multi-million dollar pie. So far, it’s an untapped market. There’s some basic economics for you. This is a future I want to be a part of. Recently, I’ve begun to crave well-done storytelling. The podcast is a premiere medium for that. Besides, watching TV is overrated anyway. Well, at least until “Better Call Saul” premieres. — Derek Wolfe can be reached at dewolfe@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Edvinas Berzanskis, Devin Eggert, David Harris, Rachel John, Jordyn Kay, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Victoria Noble, Michael Paul, Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Mary Kate Winn, Jenny Wang, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe SIMON RIVERS | MICHIGAN IN COLOR
I am Michael Brown I am tired. I am weak. I am crying. I am angry. I am dissatisfied. I am enraged. I am livid. But most importantly, I am Michael Brown. I am the young Black man, the system is treacherous. I am the young Black man, unarmed and dangerous. I am the young Black man being profiled walking down the street. I am the young man, shot to death by the police. I am the young Black man, sick and tired of being sick and tired. I am the young Black man, twelve shots the officer fired. I am the young Black man, strangled by the flag you salute. I am the young Black man, hands up, don’t shoot. I am Michael Brown. Every young Black man is Michael Brown. I am the young Black man, lying in the
middle of the street for 4.5 hours while the police try to cover up my murder. I am the young Black man whose character has been assassinated by the media. I am the young Black man whose life is worth less than it costs to operate a courtroom. I am the young Black man whose mother and father will have to live with the heartache knowing that their child was killed. I am the young Black man whose life will create a revolution. I am the young Black man whose death will not be in vain. I am Michael Brown. I am Michael Brown, hear our declaration. I am Michael Brown, let the system break with our frustration I am Michael Brown, your words will not deter my motivation. I am Michael Brown, let us mobilize a nation. Michigan in Color is the Daily’s opinion section designated as a space for and by students of color at the University of Michigan. To contribute your voice or find out more about MiC, e-mail michiganincolor@umich.edu.
T
his is my last column for The Michigan Daily. These are my parting words for myself, for this University and for the people who never cease to amaze me. To Myself: Maja, you must do something. MAJA Graduation is looming very TOSIC closely, but all I can focus on is how much this University has tried to break me. I cannot say that I am leaving as someone who’s happy and pleased. I am leaving the University angered, hurt and disheartened. Within these walls, I have seen the true workings of our education system. Despite how broken I am to see University administrators not take action where action is due, what breaks me the most is that I need this University more than it needs me. This institution has snared me so strongly that I rely upon this problematic system. To them, I am just another dollar sign that is easily replaced, but to me they are my key, my voice, my respect. Without this institution, I would not have this stage from which to be heard. I would not have the same doors opening before me. I would not be as respected and listened to. Ironically, as much as I despise aspects of this University, it has also advanced my privilege. I cannot lie to myself and say that I am not grateful. But, I also cannot lie to myself and say that I am pardoned
from the responsibility of challenging this institution even when I am far gone. I am forever tied to this place; therefore, I am forever tied to the silence I must break. Maja, you cannot let future generations become just as angered, hurt and disheartened as they too graduate from the University of Michigan. You must do something. To the University: It’s not you, University of Michigan. Your conception was pure, but it’s these people who sit highly in your buildings that have tarnished you. They have poisoned your integrity with greed for more green. They have ruined your value of education when they overlooked the way racism and sexism enter the classroom. Perhaps you have never lived up to your true intentions, because you were never free of these people. I hope that one day you find yourself ablaze in flames and fury. I wish all your walls come crashing down, because it was not you that built them. They were built by the wrong people. They were built as shields to protect privilege and power and not as hosts of multidimensional growth and liberation. In the midst of your ashes, I hope that all the voices who value the true possibility of education will rebuild your containers stronger than before. Then, your spirit will finally flow freely without oppression and injustice keeping you down. I dream that you become what you are meant to be. To My Resilient Peers: I will not paint this column completely in sorrow. My radical act is to pour what compassion and love is left within me and to extend it to you. Despite the hatred we are
taught to have for ourselves and neighbors, I will not comply. There are beautiful souls at this University that wake up each morning with a purpose. Some of them go to class and some skip class. Some study from their textbooks and some refuse to buy intellectualized and racist histories. Some learn through professors and some learn through the narratives that surround them. They are all different in the ways they navigate and survive at this University. But, none of them lay still as this institution tries to bury them. Their words and actions regardless of size are acts of resistance. Their joy and compassion are testaments to their strength in face of an institution that fears them. I have had the honor of meeting several people that do not put their heads down when they are told to. That do not remain silent when they are silenced. That do not spread hatred when they are washed within it. I have grown with some of these folks and have admired many more from a distance. Sadly, I know that there are many hearts that beat to this same tune that I will never meet. For you, I write this. I hope that you will continue to find your source of darkness no matter what light surrounds you. Because, light can be blinding and it takes a pocket of darkness to readjust views. I hope you find something that shakes your core and moves you to act. I hope that you live life intentionally and never lose sight of your passions. I hope that you are happy and loved. Forever. — Maja Tosic can be reached at tosimaj@umich.edu.
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ZAK WITUS | VIEWPOINT
Student athletes of the world, unite! On Nov. 10, University President Mark Schlissel delivered an honest and therefore controversial assessment of the University’s Athletic Department to the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs. Schlissel noted, among other things, the historic academic underperformance of University athletes, especially high-profile ones like football players, and the continuing obstacles to their academic success. In a follow-up interview with The Michigan Daily the next day, Schlissel “clarified” (i.e. recanted) some of his previous remarks — but the follow-up interview and ensuing article failed to address the message hidden in Schlissel’s initial comments. I’d like to revisit the line of argument Schlissel began to articulate on that Monday and follow it to its logical and therefore probably controversial conclusion — namely, that the pairing of university-level academics and high-profile college athletics, like Division I NCAA football, doesn’t make sense anymore, especially not for highly exploited, highprofile student-athletes. Speaking to SACUA, Schlissel made important insights into the economics of college athletics. The Daily reported that Schlissel “addressed the motivations for athletic departments to value performance over academic integrity.” He said, “The incentives are really strong for (athletic departments) to be as successful on the field as possible, and some of those are in dollars and others are in performance.” SACUA member Robert Ziff, an engineering professor, corroborated Schlissel’s argument. The Daily reported that Ziff “believes student-athletes have an ‘extreme amount of demands placed on them’ as a result of their status, and that they’re often made to feel that the ‘$100 million Athletic Program is riding on them,’ which could contribute to decreased performance in the classroom and elsewhere.” When one considers the economic incentives at play for high-profile student-athletes, the supposedly problematic result of football players shirking their schoolwork should surprise no one. What Schlissel and Ziff are saying is that these student-athletes have been incentivized to focus on success on the field above and beyond success in the classroom, and they’re correct. Not only does their athletic performance influence their individual chances to play profes-
sionally, but it also influences the profitability of Michigan football. Blaming Michigan football coach Brady Hoke — who, by the way, has actually improved the football program’s academic performance — and the football players for getting bad grades (which it turns out they actually aren’t) ignores the real economic incentives motivating their actions. High-profile student-athletes, like the University’s own football and basketball players, would be idiots not to react to such great incentives. They’re not idiots, I claim, and so they quite rationally choose to focus less on academic performance and more on their athletic performance. How, then, should we understand the University’s academic standards for student-athletes as well as the NCAA guidelines (e.g. capping the number of hours student-athletes can practice and compete)? In short, they’re an absurd hindrance to athletic development. These standards and guidelines try to create incentives to compete with the more powerful, already existing ones. A coach telling his player to study is not as powerful an incentive as, say, Stephen M. Ross’s $100 million investment in the University Athletic Department, nor as powerful as a professional athlete’s starting salary. Furthermore, these artificial, reactionary incentives and the rules and regulations that embody them conceal the fact that the term “student-athlete” is, for many highprofile student-athletes, a gross misnomer. Their first and foremost reason for college enrollment is to play sports. I suspect — and indeed there’s evidence that suggests — that many have little genuine interest in earning college degrees, and that’s fine, just as I have little interest in playing college-level sports. So although I maintain that these high-profile athletes aren’t idiots when it comes to recognizing and responding to economic incentives, they are indeed fools. They are fools because they believe that they must abide by these rules and regulations at all, and maintain a certain GPA or practice for a certain number of hours. But more so they are fools because they believe that they must accept scholarships instead of genuine salaries. The institution of college athletics, headed by the NCAA and its constituent colleges, has foisted a false consciousness onto its workers (the student-athletes), making student-athletes believe that there is no alternative to their
current work-for-scholarship business arrangement. But the truth is that the student-athletes, particularly the high-profile ones, decide whether or not the University and the NCAA, along with their rules and regulations, have power or not. In other words, the college athletic establishment’s power depends on the high-profile student-athletes agreeing and consenting to the establishment’s power. Once these student-athletes realize this fundamental fact, their own agency will be illuminated and they will have a choice to make. Do they choose to consent to the NCAA and the University’s rules and regulations? Do student-athletes consent to caps on how long they can practice and compete? Do they consent to being paid with scholarships instead of genuine salaries? Why the fuck would they? When people discuss the problem of high-profile athletes’ academic underperformance, people seldom ask the question of why these athletes are students anyway. Do they want to be, or would they rather just play sports? People often don’t consider that this problem is one that we can simply eliminate by no longer demanding high-profile athletes to perform academically; or, conversely, by high-profile athletes refusing to perform academically and demanding fair wages for their work. Why are colleges in the sports business anyway? Whose interests does this system serve? Highprofile student-athletes may want to consider why they’re stuck eating in dining halls while the Board of Regents eats at The Chop House. I propose we fully partition academics and high-profile, currently “pre-professional” athletics. Indeed, the partition already partially exists, and our University president realizes it. Student-athletes should not expect that the benefactors of the current institution of college athletics (the universities, the NCAA, media corporations, etc.) will voluntarily relinquish their power and in turn fairly compensate student-athletes for their work. The high-profile student-athletes should seize the power themselves, and they can do so effortlessly by simply refusing to continue to acknowledge the pretentious authority of the University and the NCAA. Studentathletes of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your meal plans and your textbooks. Zak Witus is an LSA junior.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM NOTEBOOK
Wednesday, December 3, 2014 — 5A
TV REVIEW
UNIVERSAL
One of Spike Lee’s earliest film proves its timelessness.
MTV
‘I don’t know how to say this, but this glass is literally stuck to my face.’
Still learning to ‘Do ‘Faking It’ midseason the Right Thing’ finale forgoes subtlety Spike Lee classic revisited in wake of Ferguson decision By ZAK WITUS Daily Arts Writer
We now possess more evidence regarding Michael Brown’s death, and so one would think we’d have a better collective understanding of the situation. Unfortunately, it appears we’re still having trouble even beginning to comprehend what happened to Brown, what’s happening between police and People of Color across America and what is still happening in the microcosmic city of Ferguson, Missouri. As a film reviewer, my capacity for commenting on current events is usually pretty limited, but sometimes film avails itself for the task, shining light into the darkness of our present issues. Art, especially film, has the power to examine the world in a way that takes the confusing and makes it understandable — as is the case with Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” and the killing of Michael Brown. “Do the Right Thing” shows us life on a hot summer Sunday in the Bedford-Stuyvesant district of Brooklyn, New York. Sal Fragione opens his pizzeria just as he’s done every day for the past 25 years. In that time he’s seen the neighborhood shift demographics to a more Black and Hispanic community. Sal accepts this fact without resentment: He sees himself and his restaurant as a part of the community. His elder son Pino, on the other hand, hates it there and hates the customers who are primarily Black. Pino wants Sal to move the restaurant to their own neighborhood. What begins with a Black patron somewhat belligerently complaining about the lack of Black people on the restaurant’s wall of fame devolves into violence and ends with the murder of a large, unarmed Black man (Radio Raheem) at the hands
By SOPHIA KAUFMAN
of a white police officer. The film explores racial and ethnic relations, the factors that drive conflict and the challenge to do the right thing. The present controversy surrounding Michael Brown’s death can be understood largely as one that resulted from poor storytelling. How far back does the story begin — when Brown stole a pack of cigarillos, to Officer Wilson’s childhood, to the Civil Rights Era, to slavery? Who instigated the conflict between Brown and Wilson? What were the personal antecedents in both Brown and Wilson’s lives? What situational factors influenced the event? Films like “Do the Right Thing” offer us a narrative framework to help us answer these sorts of questions and, in turn, more deeply understand the issue. The police killing in “Do the Right Thing” is eerily similar to the killing of Michael Brown, and the film does not offer any simple moral explanations for this type of violence; the film asserts that Radio Raheem is not entirely innocent. Indeed, he did instigate the conflict by provoking Sal with his boombox and then assaulting him. But why did Raheem provoke Sal? Because Radio Raheem believed that he had the right to play his boom box as loudly as he wanted wherever he wanted, including in the White Man’s pizzeria, where Sal did not want Raheem playing his boom-box. The fundamental point here is that any particular conflict between African and WhiteAmericans exists within a much larger framework of race relations that goes back through the Civil Rights Era, slavery and beyond. The contingencies that lead to the particular conflict between Sal and Radio Raheem (the hot day, the poverty in the community) were produced by an economic system and a history much larger than the particular “actors” immediately before us. Social psychologists often talk about what’s called the fundamental attribution error, as Wikipedia defines:
“people’s tendency to place an undue emphasis on internal characteristics to explain someone else’s behavior in a given situation, rather than considering external factors.” The first lesson I draw from “Do the Right Thing” is this: Ranging from the current sociological factors that maintain our respective statuses as well as the historical factors that have led us all to our current places in the world, appreciating and accepting the complexities of one another’s identities and how these identities interact to produce a community is imperative for resolving interpersonal and intergroup conflict when it arises. Broadening our minds in this manner can prevent us from committing the fundamental attribution error, which too often fosters hate, violence and destruction, and instead can lead us to understanding, love and creation. The rioting in the film and in Ferguson pains me personally for many reasons, not least of which is its thoughtlessness. In “Do the Right Thing,” one line by the owner of the market across from Sal’s speaks to the absurdity of the often selfdestructive nature of rioting. When the mob has finished destroying the pizzeria, they turn on the Korean-owned market across the street. The Korean owner waves his broom side-to-side in vain, trying to deter the mob, and he says to the mob in broken English: “I Black. You, me: the same.” Despite what might be the more salient differences between the groups in the community (skin color, accents, etc.), they are all more or less the same, as we all are. Looting local businesses only perpetuates the shared economic deprivation of the community. The end goal, it seems to me, should be creative local initiatives to address the community’s issues. This approach will lead to more constructive and overall better solutions. But what do I know? I’m just a film writer.
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Daily Arts Writer
MTV’s “Faking It” continued its pattern of jaw-dropping cliffhangers in its mid-season finale, B which premiered on Nov. 25. The Midseason show has Finale solidified Tuesdays at its voice 10:30 p.m. MTV throughout the second season, and it shows in the finale, “Busted”; the writers are fleshing out the characters’ backstories, and the actors are learning that subtlety isn’t their strong suit, so they aren’t even trying anymore — which actually works. “Faking It” has found the balance between being ironically dramatic, and just real enough to keep people interested. In “Busted,” Amy (Rita Volk, “The Hungover Games”) is desperately trying to get Karma (Katie Stevens, “American Idol”) to stand still long enough for her to apologize for sleeping with Liam (Gregg Sulkin, “Avalon High”), Karma’s boyfriend. The following scenes fraught with friendship drama have a comical backdrop of a holding cell as Karma’s parents get themselves (and Karma) thrown in jail for selling “special brownies.” Amy punches a cop to get herself thrown in jail too, determined to get a chance to apologize. Their argument reaches a climax as she histrionically dangles half of a “best friends” heart necklace
Faking It
over a prison toilet, asking Karma if she’s going to literally flush their friendship away. Karma tearfully stops her, and the two begin to slowly repair their relationship. While this did seem abrupt, the writers ensure the audience knows it won’t be an easy return to the friendship the two had before. The cliffhanger unfolds with three quick shots of Amy hooking up with her current girlfriend, Karma and then Liam — only to be revealed as a dream. The ending is confusing, as it at first seems like it’s Amy who is dreaming, but it nonetheless gets the point across: Karma doesn’t have any better control over her feelings than Amy has. Fans rooting for “Karmy” — the official couple name for the two of them — may still have hope.
‘Faking It’ works by exploring fluid aspects of teen sexuality. While Amy and Karma’s relationship dynamic has stayed more or less predictable throughout the season, as the audience knew Karma’s discovery of Amy’s betrayal was inevitable, the secondary characters are becoming more adept at stealing the spotlight. The show is explores in depth the concept and consequences of “outing” people, as Shane (Michael J. Willett,
“G.B.F.”) purposefully outs his secret boyfriend as gay and Lauren (Bailey de Young, “Bunheads”) accidentally outs herself as intersex to the whole school. The latter is especially interesting, as it’s a concept that has yet to be explored as thoroughly on television shows. Lauren never meant for the whole school to know her secret, and she is surprised when she receives an outpouring of support for her campaign for class president. Yet she goes along with it, despite the fact she hasn’t fully accepted that part of herself. This saga sets up an interesting story arc for the second half of the season, perhaps the most engaging subplot of the series. As a show with multiple LGBTQIA characters, “Faking It” has the potential to offend, and some of the jokes are admittedly less tasteful than others. But despite some hackneyed themes and throwaway one-liners, “Faking It” simply works by exploring the more fluid aspects of teenage sexuality in a slightly more pronounced way than that of popular shows in the past (“Degrassi,” “Glee,” “Skins,” etc.). The directorial choices in “Faking It” are sometimes questionable, and the only actor with any measure of subtlety at all is Volk; but for a half hour MTV series, it has enough legitimate social commentary thrown in among the hit-or-miss jokes and cheap one-liners to work, and keep people invested in the only slightly farcical lives of “Karmy” and co.
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Arts
6A — Wednesday, December 3, 2014
TV REVIEW
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
VIDEO GAME REVIEW
‘Ruby and Sapphire’ still evokes childhood By JACOB RICH Daily Arts Writer
WARNER BROS.
He’s watching that Bruno Mars video. Let’s be real.
‘The Good Wife’ has teary midseason Cary breaks hearts in CBS drama before season break By ALEX INTNER Daily Arts Writer
“The Good Wife” is a great show. It takes risks with serialization rarely seen on CBS (and on B+ broadcast television in general). However, great Midseason series are Finale susceptible Sundays at to missteps, 9:00 p.m. especially CBS when they have been on the air a long time. This season the show has done a lot right, but one key storyline has been a miscalculation so far, so much so that it brought down what was otherwise a great midseason finale. The first half of season six of “The Good Wife” focused primarily on two arcs. In one, Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies, “ER”) is running for the position of State’s Attorney in Illinois in order to unseat the corrupt James Castro (played by Michael Cerveris,
The Good Wife
“Fringe”). In the other, Cary Agos (Matt Czuchry, “Gilmore Girls”), arrested under charges of helping associates of drug dealer Lemond Bishop (Mike Colter, “Ringer”) break the law, fights to avoid being convicted. Over the course of the season, the show has mined some strong material from Alicia’s campaign, most of it involving her interactions with Frank Prady (David Hyde Pierce, “Frasier”); however, the main campaign storyline in this episode serves as an example of why the arc has been weak overall. The mid-season finale has Alicia dealing with controversy surrounding a note where she jokingly threatened to kill one of her daughter’s teachers. While the reference was funny the first time, it lost quite a bit of its humor when repeated throughout the episode. The overall plot has contained many silly and ridiculous moments like this, which is why the campaign story never clicked. Thankfully the show was able to rely on Cary’s thrilling arc, reinvigorating what would otherwise be a pretty flimsy episode. After a dramatic launch of this exciting arc in the premiere, the series has taken a slow build to develop
the story, allowing the tension to layer, and it all pays off beautifully in this episode. The show has gotten a lot from the Lemon Bishop character this season and it all built marvelously to the scene with Cary and Bishop in his kitchen, wrought with suspense and featuring fantastic acting by Czuchry and Colter. “The Good Wife” ’s cast has been its saving grace this season; no matter how terrible the stories involving the campaign are, there is always that cast. Given how well the show uses the New York City pool of actors, it’s like watching a Broadway play each week. By bringing in people like Pierce, Taye Diggs (“Private Practice”) and Steven Pasquale (“Do No Harm”), the casting directors have built a supporting repertory bursting with talent, increasing the potency of even the writers’ worst ideas. Ultimately, that’s going to be the thing that saves this show from completely collapsing. Even when there are misfires, the series will always have something to make it worth watching. With the depth of its ensemble and the quality of stories past, it should be able to move on from its problematic political storyline into something better.
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
I’ll never forget the way my old “Pokémon Ruby” cartridge glinted in the sunlight as I accidentally dropped it on Aa Medford, Mass. Pokemon sidewalk. Omega Ruby The spring of 2003 was and Alpha the last one Sapphire I would spend taking Game Freak Nintendo day-trips to Boston and Pokemon with my Compan y parents, and to me, eight-year-old Jacob, that translucent “Pokémon Ruby” cartridge may as well have been worth as much as the precious jewel in its namesake. I remember hurriedly sticking the cartridge back in my purple Game Boy Advance and scurrying into my mom’s Mercury Tracer — eager as ever to lose myself in the world of Pokémon. 11 years later, we’re graced with remakes of these classic “Ruby” and “Sapphire” games: Game Freak’s “Pokémon Omega Ruby” and “Alpha Sapphire.” It’s been quite the treat to step back into the world of Hoenn and relive these masterful roleplaying experiences. For the most part, “Omega Ruby” and “Alpha Sapphire”are excellent remakes that update the visuals and peripheral features of their predecessors while faithfully maintaining
DOWN 1 Music boosters 2 Brief legal plea 3 Rating symbol
4 Place offering 33 Farmers’ market 50 Promiser’s caveat two-ounce 53 Inner workings veggie servings 54 Tommy Hilfiger 38 River to the 5 December 24, rival Caspian e.g. 55 Works on a sub 39 What we have 6 Send an 57 Quizmaster, e.g. here amended 1040, 58 Get in on the deal 40 Singer Braxton say 59 Like purple hair 43 Pub hardware 7 Swampy spots 62 Child expert 46 Plants with 8 Calcutta Tech LeShan stinging hairs grad on “The 48 “Time After Time” 63 Something in the Simpsons” air, perhaps singer 9 Respectful title 64 Laudatory work 49 Take it easy 10 “That’s yours now” ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 11 Eccentricity 12 Memo leadoff 13 Cameron of “Bad Teacher” 18 Much-admired one 23 Significant stretches 25 Not fooled by 26 “Fine by me” 27 Hosp. diagnostics 28 Rides during chukkers 29 Cringe 30 Parents’ selection 31 Polish partner 32 Wing measurement 12/03/14 xwordeditor@aol.com
Allure of small venues By SOPHIA KAUFMAN Daily Arts Writer
There are few greater joys in life than discovering cheap concert tickets for
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is faithful to the the original game’s classic soundtrack while providing more complex and interesting instrumentation than the original’s simplistic retro sound and over-reliance on trumpet MIDI. Like the original “Ruby and Sapphire” games, there are minor differences between the two versions. As with every set of Pokémon releases, you’ll need to collaborate with someone who has the other version to be able to capture each variety of Pokémon. The central villain is also different in each version, but the story remains largely unchanged between the two. Without giving spoilers, the late-game and post-game have received some brandnew features, including a very cool new method of travel and a couple-hour long post-game quest that’s one of the most interesting storylines “Pokémon” has come up with in a long time. These are both rather tangential to the core experience, but were fun, inoffensive diversions to the already excellent core game. These new endgame additions may not be enough to justify the purchase for those already overly familiar with “Ruby and Sapphire,” but for those looking to relive excellent childhood memories with a fresh coat of paint, picking up “Omega Ruby” or “Alpha Sapphire” is a no-brainer. “Pokémon Omega Ruby” and “Alpha Sapphire” were reviewed using post-launch digital download copies provided by Nintendo.
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Quizmaster’s request 7 Enjoy the sun 11 Four times a day, in an Rx 14 Whodunit plot element 15 Aunt Bee’s grandnephew 16 Verse starter? 17 Geometry subject 19 Portfolio holding, briefly 20 Upset 21 Cards with pics 22 Cuban bandleader __ Prado, “King of the Mambo” 24 Western tie 26 Haughty look 28 Vertical window dressings 32 LPGA garment 34 “Do it, __ will!” 35 Lose one’s cool 36 Bud 37 Where many pioneers headed 41 U.K. record label 42 More than enough 44 Scoreboard letters 45 Initial stage 47 Carrier based in Kathmandu 51 Autumn stones 52 “What __?” 53 “Never needs sharpening” brand 55 Certain Ivy Leaguer 56 Senator Cochran of Mississippi 60 Special forces weapon 61 Place for some exiled prisoners 65 Sneaker part 66 Work on film 67 Carol opening 68 ’60s antiwar org. 69 Knocks 70 Stacked like Tupperware
their core gameplay. “OR/AS” uses the same game engine as 2013’s “Pokémon X and Y,” and has many of the same positive and negative visual and gameplay features that those games did. Like in “X and Y,” the game’s overworld, as well as each Pokémon battle, are now rendered with 3D visuals as opposed to 2D sprites. However, the framerate still chugs noticeably during battle sequences. “X and Y” ’s bottom screen mini-games “PokémonAmie” and “Super Training” are also carried over, and they’re just as forgettable here. Player movement, though, has improved from “X and Y,” replacing the slippery roller skates found in the updated installments with an updated version of the much more manageable running shoes from “Ruby and Sapphire.” I had forgotten how clever some of the writing is in these games. “OR/AS” allowed me to relive some of my favorite dialogue moments in Nintendo history, like speaking to the overly philosophical little kid staring into his reflection in the water in Petalburg City, and the opportunity you’re given to convince a house full of trendfollowers in Dewford Town that a random item from your inventory is the “hot new thing.” (I convinced them that “Zinc Parties” were what all the cool kids were doing). The entirely rearranged soundtrack is decidedly the best of the three “Pokémon” remakes so far. Each new arrangement
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your favorite artist. A rush of emotions washes over you — excitement, obviously; fear that the tickets have already sold out and slight confusion as to how all your musical dreams could come true for just a little more than what you spent on your last late night trip to Pizza House. You look up the location, finding that, as per usual, with cheaper tickets come smaller venues. This may deter some show-goers, but not me. There is something far more interesting about being cramped into a space that feels like the size of a dorm room than attending an arena show where binoculars are usually needed to even catch a glimpse of the performer’s elbow. Last year, I saw Kanye West perform at the Palace of Auburn Hills on his Yeezus tour. While being in the presence of a “god” was incredible, the ticket price was not. Paying nearly $200 for concert tickets seems outrageous. Though my seats were floor level and close enough to the stage to see every ridiculous detail, it still was not as powerful had the venue not been so large. After this experience, I decided to lay off the arena tours for a while. Sorry, Yeezy. My adventures in this change in scenery comes a different concert experience, though some things remain unchanged. Some would think that in venues fit for smaller audiences, people would not be as eager to push towards the stage or cluster together — they are wrong. Just because the furthest away you can possibly be from the stage is a whopping 15 feet does not mean that people, myself included, will not try to slowly inch their way to the front. Most don’t see this eagerness as overly aggressive or obnoxious; everyone just wants an up close experience. The ability to see musicians, and artists of any kind really, up close makes the performance seem so much more honest. They become real people in our eyes, rather than just a voice or an album cover you have seen and heard hundreds of times. The
performers present themselves just as they are, without using distance to cloud or deceive audiences. The quainter the setting, the more you are able to notice little quirks and even flaws — hey, the guitarist is sweating! I sweat, too! I bet you would never be able to see Beyoncé sweating at one of her shows. With a smaller crowd comes an expectation of audience decorum. More lowkey shows are not the place to make your most killer fashion statement or to try violently elbowing your way to the front of the crowd. It’s best to wear something comfy-casual, go with the flow. I have found that these “rules” are followed most of the time — but not always. I had the unfortunate experience of attending a Man Overboard show with about 50 other people, only to be pressed up against a tall girl wearing an oversized, fuzzy wool coat and heels for the majority of the main act. Don’t be that girl. Please.
Up close performances are more honest. But for the most part, these shows create a sense of community among audience members. There is something to be said for a group of strangers making the trek to a slightly sketchy club/bar/ basement for the exact same reason — to hear some great music. Though arenas house thousands of people, it is much easier to connect with those around you when with a smaller group of people. Even little things like singing along to the same song create bonds we aren’t even aware of. Arenas are impressive, but small venues leave impressions. It is undeniably impactful to be in an intimate space surrounded by those who also appreciate the art that you love, all the while only feet away from favorite artists.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, December 3, 2014 — 7A
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Wolverines edge ‘Cuse By SIMON KAUFMAN Daily Sports Writer
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Athletic Director Jim Hackett said he has created “swim lanes” to find Michigan’s next coach, but did not reveal names.
Big names highlight ‘M’s replacement for Hoke By GREG GARNO Managing Sports Editor
After Brady Hoke was fired Tuesday, Michigan Athletic Director Jim Hackett now turns to the task of finding his replacement. He has a later start than schools such as Florida and Nebraska, who fired Will Muschamp and Bo Pelini, respectively. Muschamp was fired nearly two weeks ago, and Pelini was released of his head coaching duties Sunday. But what Hackett doesn’t have in time, he has in talent. Michigan’s brand and prestige don’t have the same luster it did before Rich Rodriguez was hired, though. How Hackett goes about his search will, in part, depend on those willing to take on the challenge. The Daily breaks down potential candidates to become the Wolverines’ next head coach, in no particular order or rank. Dan Mullen, head coach, Mississippi State: Background: Mullen has led the Bulldogs to a 10-2 record this season, having lost only to Alabama and Ole Miss. He’s 46-29 at Mississippi State and has developed a team that once sat at the bottom of the SEC West into a top-10 team nationally, including a brief stay atop the polls. Prior to Mississippi State, Mullen was the offensive coordinator under Urban Meyer at Florida and served as a quarterbacks coach at BGSU and Utah. Pros and cons: Mullen is young and he has experience against big-name programs and in the postseason. His track record at turning around a program is noteworthy, but his record in the Southeastern Conference isn’t nearly as good. Could it happen? Mullen will certainly be pursued, but it will be tough to convince him to leave an already successful program and go back to rebuilding. Craig Bohl, head coach, Wyoming: Background: You probably haven’t heard of Bohl, but perhaps you heard about the powerhouse at North Dakota State. Bohl, who finished 4-8 this season, is in his first year with the Cowboys. But he built the Bison into a formidable program in 10 years, winning three consecutive Division I national championships in his final three seasons. Pros and cons: Bohl has built a program before and knows how to make the most of lessheralded players. He’d be more than willing to take over a big program and could handle the transition process well. But he has never regularly faced a Big Ten-caliber schedule or played against other Power 5 opponents. Could it happen? Michigan shied away from bringing in a popular name last time, so it could do so again if things don’t work out with the bigger names. But the Wolverines will seek out
a proven name this time before turning to a backup option. If Bohl had a couple more years at Wyoming to find success it would seem more plausible. Les Miles, head coach, LSU: Background: You might remember Les Miles as the original choice to replace Rich Rodriguez in 2010 before Brady Hoke was hired. Miles is 13149 at LSU and Oklahoma State, holding a 7-5 record in bowl games. He won the National Championship in 2007 with LSU. Pros and cons: Miles played under Bo Schembechler and has the experience at a big name program that fans clamor for. He has beaten top teams in the SEC and would bring his strong recruiting prowess to Ann Arbor. Miles is 61, though, and he wouldn’t necessarily be a longterm option for a program that looks to restore its consistent success. Could it happen? Miles is also in a secure position since LSU is a safe bet to finish with nine or 10 wins every season. But he’s long been tied to Michigan and could wrap up his coaching career at the place he started playing. Tom Herman, offensive coordinator, Ohio State: Background: Herman doesn’t have any experience as a head coach, but he spent the past nine years as an offensive coordinator at Ohio State, Iowa State, Rice and Texas State. He’s found success at each school, most recently coaching some of the Big Ten’s best offenses at Ohio State. He turned freshman J.T. Barrett into the conference’s best quarterback in just one year. Pros and cons: Herman could be an answer to Michigan’s offensive woes this season and would be able to develop sophomore quarterback Shane Morris into all that he was projected to be. But leaving Ohio State for its biggest rival might not be feasible. And most importantly, he still lacks head coaching experience. Could it happen? It’s not likely that Michigan would turn to a coordinator, though it wouldn’t be unprecedented. Still, there are bigger names out there before the Wolverines turn to Herman.
poaching him would be tough. Could it happen? His ties to Stanford are likely too strong, but a sizeable paycheck could change that. And the thought that he would need to rebuild a program would likely deter him. Butch Jones, head coach, Tennessee: Background: Jones isn’t having the most successful year in Knoxville, where the Volunteers are currently 6-6. But he took over both Central Michigan and Cincinnati from Brian Kelly and built those teams up even further. He holds a 61-40 record in his eight years as a head coach. Pros and cons: Jones has experience taking over programs and can recruit well. He’s also a Michigan native and has enough experience against top teams in the SEC. But he’s not fared well enough at a big program to prove he can handle Michigan. Could it happen? After two years, Jones is likely to stay put at Tennessee for now. But he’s a good balance of a big name and comes from small beginnings. If he is willing to move, then he could be a good candidate.
All night long, sophomore guard Spike Albrecht made a sold-out SYRACUSE 65 Crisler MICHIGAN 68 Center come to its feet with crisp passes. But it wasn’t until he knocked down a deep 3-pointer with 31 seconds left in the game that the crowd was cheering its loudest as he helped Michigan edge Syracuse, 68-65. Three times prior in the second half, Albrecht put the crowd on its feet — and he didn’t even have to score. Early in the frame, Albrecht drove to his right and dished a crisp behind-the-back pass to forward Ricky Doyle. The freshman brushed off contact and finished with a dunk then knocked down a free throw to complete the and-1 play, giving the Wolverines (6-1) the lead. Nine minutes later, with 7:49 left on the clock, Albrecht found Doyle again. This time, the junior guard pushed a bounce pass to him and the 6-foot-9 forward finished with another dunk, bringing the Wolverines’ lead to seven points. Then, with just under two minutes left and the shot clock expiring, Albrecht took the ball from the top of the arc, drove toward the paint and dished to the left block where Doyle was waiting for him again. Doyle missed the first shot he put up but tipped in a second-chance opportunity. After the game, Michigan coach John Beilein said he tells Albrecht, “ ‘Spike, shoot when you’re open. Pass it when you’re not.’ It’s pretty simple.” Nine times, Albrecht passed the ball to someone else in a maize and blue jersey who finished with a basket, and eight times he opted to shoot — knocking down four of those
attempts attempts and three beyond the arc. “Spike is really good attacking the zone, he sees behind the zone,” Beilein said. “He makes that entry pass into the highpost area better than anybody, so that’s why we had him out there so much.” Doyle, after having a breakout game against Oregon during the Progressive Legends Classic, and putting up 15 points on Saturday against Nicholls State, finished with another strong stat line, recording 12 points and six boards. Syracuse tied the game with 56 seconds left, and cut Michigan’s lead to only one after Albrecht’s late three, but the Orange (5-2) were forced to foul, sending Michigan to the line. The Wolverines did everything they could to give away the game, but Syracuse couldn’t take advantage. Sophomore guard Derrick Walton Jr. missed on a 1-and-1 attempt, but the Orange were unable to regain possession, throwing a rebound out of bounds. Six seconds later, junior guard Caris LeVert went to the line to try and ice the game, but he too missed a 1-and-1 attempt. This time Syracuse brought the ball down the court but it couldn’t hold on to it, losing control as the ball slipped out of bounds. Following another Syracuse foul, LeVert went to the line for a second 1-and-1 attempt and knocked down two free throws to put Michigan up three points — this time for good. A 3-point attempt from Syracuse fell short at the buzzer to give Michigan its first marquee win of the season. Albrecht might have captured most of the attention at the point guard position, but Walton started the game after being called a game-time decision on Monday due to a left toe injury. Beilein said Walton told him he
was OK to play just 10 minutes before tip-off and he wanted to start Walton when he was stretched out as opposed to starting Albrecht and bringing Walton in off the bench. The two guards shared minutes throughout the game, but neither could get the offense going in the first half, as it shot 13-of-36 in the first frame. In the first 20 minutes, Michigan and Syracuse battled back and forth with neither team able to get shots to go. The Wolverines started the game 0-for-7 from the field, struggling to get shots to fall over the Orange’s 2-3 zone defense. But Syracuse’s shooting woes kept them from running away with it early. Save for forward Rakeem Christmas, who shot 5-for-6 from the field in the half, the Orange went just 6-for-19 in the frame. Sophomore forward Zak Irvin kept Michigan in the game throughout the first half, knocking down two 3-pointers and scoring 12 points. In the second stanza, Irvin helped the Wolverines push the lead to 10 — their largest lead of the game — with just over seven minutes to go to give it some breathing room. He finished with a gamehigh 18 points. Michigan’s ability to get shots to fall in the second half and to start attacking the rim allowed them to break down Syracuse’s defense. “We were more aggressive in the second half,” LeVert said. “In the first half we were kind of conservative. We weren’t really penetrating to get in the middle of it. In the second half, (the ability to penetrate) opened it up and we knocked down some shots.” The Orange didn’t hold back at the end, and it used a couple of late jumpers to cut the lead and tie it, but sloppy play at the end ultimately cost them an opportunity to get ahead.
Jim Harbaugh, Head coach (NFL), San Francisco 49ers:
David Shaw, head coach, Stanford:
Background: The name everyone has called for, Jim Harbaugh, is a former quarterback under Schembechler and now working in the NFL. He holds a 43-161 record with the 49ers, but is having his worst season with the team, currently sitting at 7-5. He coached at Stanford before that, taking over a lowly program and finishing with an 11-1 record after the 2010 season. Pros and cons: Harbaugh developed a strong offense at Stanford and knows how to develop talent even better. He is a proven winner in college and in the NFL, known for his terse demeanor. But Harbaugh is very controlling and does not always get along with his players. Could it happen? No matter how hard you wish, it’s not likely. He’s rumored to be leaving San Francisco, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter has said he’s not likely to return to Ann Arbor. But if Hackett were able to swing the deal, it could be the beginning of a turnaround.
Background: At 7-5, Shaw may be having a down year, but his track record has otherwise turned him into a solid candidate. In his first three seasons at Stanford, Shaw led his teams to the Fiesta Bowl and consecutive Rose Bowls. He coached for four years under current San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. Pros and cons: Shaw is a winner, and he’s proven capable of developing talented quarterbacks such as Andrew Luck and Kevin Hogan. But he’s also settling into a program that he played and coached for, so
Other options: Michigan will have plenty of options beyond those mentioned above. Here are some other options that could be in the mix. Greg Schiano, unemployed, previously at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Rutgers. Mike Gundy, head coach, Oklahoma State. Pat Narduzzi, defensive coordinator, Michigan State. Scott Frost, offensive coordinator, Oregon. Rich Rodriguez, head coach, Arizona, 2014 Pac 12 Coach of the Year (Just kidding. Wanted to see if you were still reading).
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Sophomore forward Zak Irvin scored 12 points on Tuesday, but his two three pointers helped swing momentum.
FOOTBALL
Jackson surprised by Hoke firing, uncertain on future By GREG GARNO Managing Sports Editor
Even amidst the speculation surrounding Brady Hoke’s job status, running backs coach Fred Jackson was still surprised by Tuesday’s announcement that Hoke had been fired. Jackson said he had heard of Hoke’s firing through the news, and not from Hoke himself on Tuesday afternoon outside Schembechler Hall. “I didn’t really expect it,” Jackson said upon arriving. “I know we didn’t play as well as people would like to see us play, but I also understand it’s all about winning and losing and we didn’t win enough games.” Monday, the Wolverines’ running backs coach for the past 23 years had been on the road recruiting for Hoke, talking
to recruits about next year’s situation and “how good (the running backs) can be.” But one day later, he was left wondering about his own job. “I’m going to coach football somewhere,” he said. “It might not be here.” And he could do it again, as interim Athletic Director Jim Hackett said assistant coaches would be meeting about their futures. It should be noted that Jackson has survived several head coach changes before, including Rich Rodriguez in 2010. He worked under Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr, coaching backs such as Chris Perry, Mike Hart and Anthony Thomas. “One of the messages we’re going to give them is that we’d like to have our new coach have the right to interview them,” Hackett said. “I don’t want
them to have to go through two disappointments.” And after going through coaching changes, Hackett has seen how each coach has left the program. But he wasn’t prepared to say whether Hoke had a fair shot to finish coaching. “I don’t know how to answer that question,” Jackson said. “I feel the administration makes decisions based on when they need a timetable made but I’m not 100-percent sure what’s right or wrong in that situation. “It’s a situation now where I feel uncomfortable that these kids are put in this position where they’re not knowing everything was going to happen so fast.”
How did players react? Check MichiganDaily.com for players’ reponse to Hoke’s firing
Sports
8A — Wednesday, December 3, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Brady Hoke's fouryear tenure, fall from grace at Michigan
By Alejandro Zúñiga and Max Cohen
2011
A timeline of Brady Hoke's four-year tenure as Michigan's head football coach. Hoke was fired today, according to Sam Webb of scout.com.
Jan. 11, 2011: Brady Hoke introduced as Michigan’s coach: Former University Athletic Director Dave Brandon named Hoke the 19th coach in the program’s 131-year history. “He is a terrific coach and will be a great ambassador and leader for our football program,” Brandon said in a statement. “We look forward to having him build a championship program on the field and in the classroom.”
Jan. 12, 2011: Hoke’s introductory press conference: “This is an elite job and will continue to be an elite job,” he said. “This is Michigan, for God’s sakes.” Sept. 10, 2011: Under the Lights: Before a then-record crowd of 114,804, the Wolverines scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to beat Notre Dame, 35-31, in the first official night game at Michigan Stadium. “It’s a great win for Michigan,” Hoke said after the win. “We have so many great players who have played here, played in this rivalry. It’s just a lot of fun.”
James Coller/DAILY
2012
Nov. 26, 2011: Michigan beats ‘Ohio’: The Wolverines topped Ohio State for the first time in eight years, riding a balanced performance by Denard Robinson to win, 40-34. The result made Hoke the first Michigan coach since Fielding H. Yost to win 10 games in his first season. Jan. 3, 2012: Wolverines win the Sugar Bowl: Junior Hemingway snagged a pair of touchdown passes, and Michigan caught a break on an overturned Hokies touchdown catch in overtime. Placekicker Brendan Gibbons connected on a 37-yard field goal to give the Wolverines their first BCS bowl win since 2000.
Sept. 1, 2012: Disaster in Dallas: Alabama 41, Michigan 14: National championship aspirations deflated before they ever really began. The Crimson Tide scored 21 first-quarter points and never looked back. Nov. 24, 2012: Ohio State 26, Michigan 21: After jumping out to a 21-20 halftime lead, the Wolverines stagnated and were shut out in the second half in the first meeting between Hoke and Ohio State’s Urban Meyer.
2013
Nov. 30, 2013: Ohio State 42, Michigan 41: The Wolverines were expected to not have a chance against the undefeated Buckeyes, but the game came down to the final moments. Michigan scored with 32 seconds left to bring the score to within one. Hoke then consulted the team’s seniors, who decided to go for a two-point conversion. The attempt failed, and the Wolverines couldn’t recover the ensuing onside kick.
Amanda Allen/DAILY
Jim Hackett: ‘I want to get rid of the word Michigan Man’
The loss capped a 2-5 skid to end the regular season.
2014
Dec. 20, 2013: Gibbons ‘permanently separated’ from the University: According to documents obtained by The Michigan Daily, Gibbons was “permanently separated” from the University for violating the University’s Student Sexual Misconduct Policy. The kicker missed the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl for what Hoke called a “family matter.”
By ALEJANDRO ZÚÑIGA Managing Sports Editor
Sept. 6, 2014: Michigan shut out by Notre Dame: The Wolverines lost to the Fighting Irish, 31-0, in South Bend. The loss snapped Michigan’s NCAA record streak of having gone 365 games without being blanked. The previous time the Wolverines had been shut out was Oct. 20, 1984, when Michigan fell to Iowa, 26-0.
Interim Athletic Director Jim Hackett is a University alum, played football under Bo Schembechler and has had connections to Michigan for more than four decades. But there’s a popular phrase Hackett doesn’t like, and he’s hoping to eradicate it in the coming months. “I want to get rid of the word ‘Michigan Man,’ ” Hackett said at his press conference Tuesday afternoon, when he announced the firing of Michigan football coach Brady Hoke. “There’s three reasons: “One is we live in a world where no business or anything we talk about has just men in it. So that’s first. “Second, the guy who said that, Bo Schembechler — one of my mentors and heroes — was being challenged about a coach
Sept. 27, 2014: Shane Morris controversy: Hoke failed to remove sophomore Shane Morris from Michigan’s game against Minnesota despite the quarterback wobbling on the field following a helmet-tohelmet hit. Hoke sent a statement the following day saying Morris had sustained only a leg injury. On Tuesday morning at 12:52 a.m., Brandon issued a statement saying Morris had been diagnosed with a “probable, mild concussion.” Oct. 31, 2014: Dave Brandon resigns: Amidst public pressure from students, alumni and donors, Brandon stepped down from his position as athletic director. The decision came days after MGoBlog. com published a series of e-mail exchanges between Brandon and supporters that came across as insensitive. University President Mark Schlissel named Jim Hackett interim athletic director. Nov. 29, 2014: Hoke’s last stand: Michigan lost, 42-28, to Ohio State in Hoke’s final game as coach. The Wolverines fell to 5-7 with the loss, sealing their fate as the third Michigan team in 40 years to not make a bowl game. Dec. 2, 2014: Hoke is fired: Hoke was fired as Michigan’s football coach after meeting with Interim Athletic Director Jim Hackett, per media reports.
Paul Sherman/DAILY
being recruited somewhere else, and he meant he wanted the person at Michigan to be the coach. “The third thing, though, if you let it stand for what it’s supposed to mean, here’s what it means: If you cut open the soul of the people that are ‘Michigan Men,’ so to speak, you find first selflessness. This was a point about how we stand for the team first. “The second tyhing is the ability to win, be competitive. The competitive spirit in my lifetime and with others that you see around here that played, we knew that we had to work really hard. It wasn’t arrogance; it was about being competitive. “The third thing is we want to continue the legacy of what has been great from a value standpoint. This place does not need to cut corners to win. You’ve got a lot of pride in the fact that you come here, you know you’re signing up to be the best in the world without any shenanigans going on.”
Paul Sherman/DAILY
Ruby Wallau/DAILY
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Wednesday, December 3, 2014 // The Statement
T H E L I S T B U Z Z F E E D, B U T B E T T E R FIVE RE A SONS WHY CALORIE COUNTS WILL HELP YOU The FDA has issued new regulations ordering restaurant chains to list calories on their menus. Here’s why we think this is great.
1 . TA K E C O N T R O L O F YO U R H E A LT H
Freshman 15 isn’t the most flattering, so the new FDA regulations might just help keep your health goals in check.
2 . T H E D O R M S A L R E A DY D O I T
University Housing is already one step ahead of the game, labeling most of their food products with nutrition information.
3 . K N OW L E D G E I S P OW E R
For once, American fast food chains will be forced to come clean about what exactly goes into our meals, helping diners know what they’re eating.
4. IT’S THOROUGH
From movie theaters to vending machines, you’ll see calorie counts accompany a large chunk of the food you buy on a daily basis.
5. BECOMING THE NORM
It’ll be odd to see that one store without a calorie count plastered on its menu board.
SO IT’S GONNA BE ON TWITTER,
from the pews: born to believe? B Y C L A I R E B R YA N
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ooking around the oak dining room table at every holiday family dinner, you’ll find one empty seat as we all grab hands, tilt heads and listen to my Uncle Steve recite a prayer. My Grandfather Albert — a man who refused to surrender to the nickname of Grandpa or Pops — would be in the kitchen pacing. You’d find him snacking on parts of the turkey, muttering under his breath and refusing to listen or take part in any prayer. Albert grew up in Kosice, Slovakia in the confines of a strict Catholic family. He was taught that the Holy Spirit guided his life, that a child would go to hell if not baptized and that he must only marry a woman who was Catholic. He had little in the way of exposure to other brands of Christianity, and yet, from an unusually early age, he rejected this faith entirely. My Grandfather Albert is an atheist. He rejected religious doctrine as unnatural, as if science created him this way, as if he were born totally unable to believe in any form of faith. Despite his culture, background, family and environment — all factors influencing one’s spirituality — Albert could not attach any part of his life to ideas he viewed as “whimsical.”
OR IT’S GONNA GO DOWN IN FLAMES.
FOLLOW US. @michigandaily
THE
statement
Magazine Editor: Carlina Duan Deputy Editors: Max Radwin Amrutha Sivakumar Design Editor:
Photo Editor: Ruby Wallau Illustrator: Megan Mulholland Editor in Chief:
Managing Editor: Katie Burke Copy Editors: Mark Ossolinski Meaghan Thompson
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Amy Mackens
COVER BY RUBY WALLAU AND AMY MACKENS
So why, out of generations of Catholics, does my grandfather stand alone in his family by rejecting these beliefs? Are the feelings of his discomfort when questioning faith linked to a biologi-
cal, genetic, tangible difference debunk spirituality as complex, between him and the rest of the distinct phenomenon that is crefamily? ated by an individual’s heavy and Putting religion up against sci- lengthy cultural background. But ence, Molecular Geneticist Dr. Dean Hamer would say yes. He argues that genes can predispose humans to be more susceptible to believe in spirituality. Psychologist Robert Cloninger quantified the tendency toward spirituality through one’s level of self-transcendence. Selftranscendence is the interest ILLUSTRATIONS BY MEGAN MULHOLLAND people have in searching for something greater in this world, beyond their a small part of accepting this enviown personal experience. This ronmentally molded spirituality can be viewed as a desire for many that is taught to you may be affectthings like compassion, art, cre- ed by the way you were born and ativity, expression, spirituality. the genes you have. Just as each Hamer analyzed over 1,000 of us is born with a unique gene individuals on Cloninger’s self- sequence, Albert’s might have had transcendence scale and observed a variation that changed his abilthat the gene VMAT2 played a ity to become someone his family primary role in individual’s accep- believed he should have been. tance of spirituSome may argue Albert’s indiality and drive to viduality was linked to how his find something family presented Catholicism to greater than him. Too strict, too oppressive, the tangible too defined, so that it caused him world. The gene to reject it and accept the oppoVMAT2 controls site — a spirituality free lifestyle. mood-regulatOr, if you find Hamer and Cloning chemicals inger’s line of thinking attractive, called mono- Albert, and every one of us, is born amines in the on a spectrum of susceptibility to brain. These accepting a religion, taught to us chemicals or not. include seroReligion is complicated. And tonin, which is that complexity is intensified often considered when religious beliefs commingle a contributor to with scientific findings. But as human happi- I grapple with the truth behind ness or wellbeing what religion to grasp or reject in level, dopamine, life, I pause and linger over Hamer which is consid- and Cloninger’s claim. I can be at ered to affect reward-motivated peace while contemplating that behavior, and norepinephrine, the concept of “being religious” which is a neurotransmitter may not be in my control entirely. released from the heart involving It may be the biological science of sympathetic hormones. my body and beyond some of my The research doesn’t aim to own means.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014 // The Statement 3B
famous by association: butt really
O N T H E R E C O R D SAY GOODBYE, BR ADY “This was not an easy decision given the level of respect that I have for Brady. He has done a great job of molding these young men, making them accountable to their teammates, focusing them on success in the classroom and in the community.” — Interim Athletic Director JIM HACKETT, on firing former Michigan Coach Brady Hoke, Tuesday afternoon
THE THOUGHT BUBBLE RUBY WALLAU/Daily
Jeremy: “My favorite memory of her was in high school… She went to go buy me lunch. She was wearing a summer dress. She did this turn, and the look on her face — it made my heart drop. It was so beautiful.” Emily: “And I think he’s silly.” Jeremy: “I’m very silly.” –EMILY LASKE, LSA JUNIOR, AND JEREMY SCHIEL, BUSINESS JUNIOR
BY MARIAM SHEIKH
K
im Kardashian’s #Break- butt, tiny waist — it’s not exactly the theinternet campaign is just easiest body type to obtain. It doesn’t the latest evidence of soci- matter how many X-rays Mrs. West ety’s serious obsession with big butts. sits on, there is no way her butt I mean, don’t act like you haven’t is real, and I’m calling bullshit on noticed. It’s funny to think that just a the champagne glass balancing few years act she had ago, size going on in 00 was Paper. Nicki what Minaj, Iggy was conAzalea — it sidered seems like a beaumandate for tiful, every “real” healthy and “hot” and woman is desirto have an able. extra 20 lbs And here of fat on their we are back-ends. now, in JLo, I under2014, and stand that the idea you are the ILLUSTRATION BY MAGGIE MILLER of a fulloriginal er female body is back. Think about Jenny from the block, but you are it, there are TV shows like “The 42 years old and the “Booty” action Mindy Project” and “Fargo” featur- you had going on in your latest video ing leading ladies like Mindy Kaling was unnecessary. and Allison Tolman who embody the So why the obsession all of the idea of a real woman in more ways sudden? Society is holding women than one. Singer Meghan Trainor is up to artificial and unfair standards. trying to bring “booty back” with her Be a size 0 if you want, be a size 12 if song, “All About That Bass.” Today, you want, but don’t for a second think across runways “plus-size” models the “correct” way to look includes a are making a statement, not to men- butt the size of a Thanksgiving turtion brands like Dove are featuring key. Ah, 2014, a year of such progreal women in their commercials ress — the iPhone 6, a baby Gosling, and marketing campaigns. So, all in Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt finally all, it would appear that society is married — but also such regression, heading in the right direction, right? the year of the butt, the overwhelmBut is it really? Big boobs, big ing obsession with a woman’s ass.
PRINTS:
BY ANDREW FULLER
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Wednesday, December 3, 2014 // The Statement
Wednesday, December 3, 2014 // The Statement
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
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HOW CAMPUS FOSTER S RUNNING COMMUNITIES B Y J E N N I F E R C A L FA S , M A N A G I N G NE WS EDITOR
SA junior Taylor Manett isn’t 300 pounds of muscle or covered in tattoos. She doesn’t talk trash or throw punches on the field. She doesn’t have 25,000 Twitter followers like former Michigan offensive tackle Taylor Lewan. But she has one thing that all big-time athletes need: the drive to succeed. Motivated athletically, academically and mentally, she competes on the national scale with the Michigan women’s cross country team. Between traveling each weekend to different meets — this season, they competed in Boston, Indiana and Iowa, among other places — she majors in Neuroscience and hopes to go to medical school. But according to Manett, her ability to balance a rigorous academic schedule with running competitively is natural for most runners. “It’s definitely hard,” she said. “You have to manage your time very well.” Before racing during championship season in November, Manett had goals of earning All Big Ten, All-Regionals and All American titles — that’s top 14, 25 and 40 in each race, respectively. Though Manett did not achieve this feat, it’s hard to believe running is a mechanism for maintaining sanity. As a Division I athlete with high expectations to meet, Manett’s commitment to the sport would expectedly cause more stress rather than reduce it. “For me, I really enjoy the physical act of running,” she explained with a grin. “Whenever I’m getting stressed out, or thinking about goals or races in the future, I usually come back to my teammates and that’s usually how I think about it.” The runner’s high
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
On a brisk October morning, thousands of exhausted runners crossed the finish line of the 2014 Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon. As they limped through the recovery area spanning West Fort Street in downtown Detroit, each entrant had the same expression that encapsulated simultaneous elation, exhaustion and happiness. Crying and falling into the arms of loved ones, the runners felt something those cheering on the sidelines did not: the runner’s high. Runner’s high is a sense of euphoria, peace and relaxation experienced after running or working out. And the runner’s high is no myth. Dr. Henning Boecker of the University of Bonn in Germany measured endorphin levels in 10 long distance runners’ brains to see if they were different before and after they completed long runs. The research found there was a noticeable increase of opioids — chemicals that are associated with the suppression of pain and euphoria — after their two-hour long runs. While the Detroit Marathon runners
were exhausted, the feeling of accomplishment only amplified their runner’s high. Just after crossing the marathon finish line, Detroit resident Randall Brown immediately melted into tears. Catching his breath, Brown said he chose to run the marathon in honor of his close friend who passed away earlier this year. While Brown didn’t consider himself a competitive runner before training for the Detroit Marathon, his finish time rang in at 3:27:29 — significantly lower than the 4:16:00 average finish time for men across all 2013 marathons. But for Brown, the marathon was not about the finishing time; it was about honoring his friend. “It’s worth it,” he said as his friends and family surrounded him minutes after he finished. Though his hands were pressed against his knees leaning forward and tears were flowing down his cheeks, his smile overcame any other emotion he felt. The runner’s high had enveloped him. At 66, Brighton, Mich. resident Tom Claflin began running marathons eight years ago to challenge his sons who consistently compete in the Boston Marathon each year. After running 20 marathons, Claflin is drawn to Detroit each year by the race’s unique course. Each year, thousands of marathoners funnel through a starting line on W. Fort Street, travel over the Ambassador Bridge, into Canada, through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, through Mexicantown, Corktown, Greektown, Indian Village and Belle Isle. With this tour of a city under such intense criticism throughout the U.S., Claflin noticed its beauty. More specifically, Claflin pointed to the beginning of the race. With a 7 a.m. start time, runners approach mile three and glide across the Ambassador Bridge as the sun rises. “It’s terrific,” he said at the finish line. “Over the bridge with the sunrise and back through the tunnel, it’s much better than anybody who would go through with a car would know.” It’s simple. Runners go places. Both physically and mentally, runners attain new heights, and for University alum Zach Ornelas, who ran on the men’s cross country team as a student, running certainly has taken him far. Beyond traveling with the varsity team in college, he competed for the United States in the Mountain Running World Championships in Poland, finished several ultra marathons — ranging from 50 to 100 mile courses — and won the 2013 Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon (He was edged out to finish second this year by 14 seconds in the final quarter mile of the race). Before the marathon on Oct. 19, Ornelas described how his relationship with
running has changed. Moving from a hyper-competitive atmosphere with a very specific training regimen to coaching himself as he trains for these endurance-based races, he still makes running a priority. As an alum of the University’s School of Education undergraduate program, he works from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Detroit at the Jalen Rosen Leadership Academy — a teaching job he said he earned with the help of the story he told about his 2013 Detroit Marathon win. And when he gets home, the first thing he does is put on his running shoes. “I can’t miss a run,” he said. With a competitive background and impressive 2:20:11 marathon time, Ornelas is, of course, not your average runner. But despite his nearly elite status, he said running is a national phenomenon. At the end of the Detroit Marathon, racers run miles 22 through 24 along the Detroit Riverwalk, and they only emulate the kind of running done throughout the whole year. “Detroit is a city that understands running and understands it’s a hard thing anyone can do,” Ornelas said with a smile as his vocal pace quickened. Injured for several months after his marathon debut last year, Ornelas felt a need to get back to running — just like Manett, just like Brown and just like Chaflin. “Once I didn’t have it I realized what a big part of my life it is,” he said. “It gets rid of my stress. No matter how late it is, I can’t skip my run. It’s the one thing I do completely by choice.” High stakes, low stress When Ornelas was on the University of Michigan’s cross country team, the amount of time or distance he would run each day was certainly not an individual choice. With training schedules issued to the team each week, each member works in a coordinated, focused and driven fashion, with respect for the team dynamic of the sport. At the Big Ten Championships in Iowa City on Nov. 2, the women’s cross country team did not do as well as they anticipated. Ranked as the first place team nationally early in the season, the team was expected to finish either first or second, with their biggest rival being Michigan State. Due to an injury keeping their LSA sophomore Erin Finn, their top runner, out of the race and sub-par performances from the rest of the runners, the team placed third — which, to them, wasn’t quite satisfactory. The disappointment continued as the team placed third and 18th in NCAA regionals and championships, respectively. With high hopes at the beginning of the season, the team had hoped to beat their 2013 performance of fourth place. But See RACE, Page 8B
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Wednesday, December 3, 2014 // The Statement FILE PHOTO/Daily
Raising the bar: CCRB looks to improve its facilities by Zach Shaw
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elcome to Michigan. A maize banner hung next to the entrance of the Central Campus Recreation Building for the final week of August with these words written in blue letters — a small act designed to help returning and incoming students feel welcomed in one of the school’s most-visited buildings. But once inside, welcoming probably isn’t the right word to convey the building’s atmosphere. On the first floor, dozens of students can be found waiting in line for pick-up games of basketball and volleyball, while above them two friends cut their run short due to the uneven track. Further down the hall, patrons are disappointed to learn of the pool’s early closure because there is a shortage of lifeguards. Downstairs, the weight room features 64 men, zero women and one window. Welcome to Michigan. Every day, the recreational sports department at the University does what they can to address crowds, outdated equipment and comfortable environments, but sometimes the facts pile up just a little too high. It’s a fact that when the CCRB was built in 1977, enrollment was 26,673. Today it sits at 43,625 — a 63.5-percent increase — but the University’s primary fitness facility has yet to undergo any expansionary construction. It’s a fact that the average age of equipment at the CCRB is cited by its directors as nine years old and features a track and pool that haven’t been updated in more than two decades. The University — one of the founding fathers of intramural and recreational sports — has fallen behind other schools, small and large, in the quality of its fitness facilities, and must raise the bar in order to keep up. Welcome to Michigan. As a freshman, you were undoubtedly told of what recreational sports had to offer. With three major fitness centers, all equipped with weights, gymnasiums, cardio equipment and pools, there’s plenty of great options to exercise year-round for no additional charge. Engineering freshman Melinda Kothbauer remembers how excited she was when she heard about the opportunities that would be before her when she finally made it to campus. “It’s easy to forget how nice it is to have multiple gyms within walking distance that don’t cost anything extra,” Kothbauer said. “Other schools do it too I guess, but it’s still really nice.” Kothbauer said she has enjoyed the CCRB in her first semester, so much so that she bought a U-Move season pass, giving her access to a variety of fitness classes. But her appreciation didn’t come without some early lessons. “I remember walking into the weight room,
and just seeing all these huge guys around,” Kothbauer said. “It was really intimidating, especially since I’m not a weightlifter or anything. “It’s kind of like that everywhere (in the building). You can tell the majority of the people who use the CCRB work out all the time, so you definitely feel self-conscious and avoid peak hours if that isn’t you.” Kothbauer said she grew accustomed to the CCRB, but her past experiences with gyms left the CCRB with more to be desired. “They sound like really small things, but I’ve worked out at gyms in the past that had windows, high ceilings, natural lighting, places to set your stuff and just more space,” Kothbauer said. “It all seems small, but it adds up to the overall experience.” She’s not alone. When the CCRB opened in 1977, Rocky Balboa had just started downing raw eggs and punching meat carcasses in gray sweatsuits, giving fitness a very distinct brand. To say working out has changed since then is an understatement. Mike Widen, the director of Recreational Sports at the University, is well aware of these expanded boundaries. Since arriving to Ann Arbor from the University of Iowa last September, Widen has pushed for major overhauls in all three facilities. The initiative could be realized thanks to a $65 per-student fee enacted last year, and has already brought forth new turf and lighting systems at Mitchell Field. As of right now, the Intramural Sports Building will begin renovations in May, the North Campus Recreation Building will begin in 2016 and — provided the Kinesiology research facilities and classrooms currently located throughout can be vacated to new buildings — the CCRB will begin construction in 2020. The reasons for these renovations, Widen said, are obvious. Recreation has changed a lot since the facilities were built in 1928 and 1976. Wilden said today, there is more group exercising, cardio and need for multipurpose rooms. The University’s facilities, he said, simply don’t match up. “Our students deserve to have modern and enjoyable exercise opportunities as part of their experience here on campus,” he said. “We hadn’t really invested a lot in the past few decades in that idea. Now we have the opportunity to get our facilities upgraded so they’re worthy of the Michigan brand and the Michigan standard.” Rec Sport’s struggle to keep up with students’ interests is especially surprising given the University’s storied history of recreational sports. In 1913, the University was first in the nation to create a formal department for recreation on a college campus. Fifteen years later, it
built the IMSB, the first dedicated intramural facility in the country. Then-Athletic Director Fielding Yost stressed the importance of access to athletics for all, using the mantra “sound mind, sound body.” The mantra isn’t located on any mission statements today, but still rings true in the offices of recreational sports. Constant efforts are made by the department to engage, encourage and build excitement around fitness, exercise and wellness in the student body. “We’re changing,” Widen said. “We’re adding new programs. The programs that we have are very popular, more than ever here at Michigan, so there’s a lot of good energy going on. But that means the bar’s being raised by our students.” In 2014, many feel that the bar simply isn’t being met. In many senses of the word, the University’s Recreational Sports is out of shape. While nine Big Ten schools made Men’s Fitness’ most recent “Top 25 fittest colleges” list (including Michigan State University ranked at third and The Ohio State University ranked first), the University hasn’t made the cut in the four years that data has been collected. A look at Ohio State’s facilities provides a glimpse into what the University can be. The campus features five fitness buildings within the confines of campus, with its central location amassing more than 500,000 square feet (compared to the CCRB’s 145,000) and has been cited by numerous publications as one of the nation’s best. All facilities feature lounges and leisure activities to help students relax and de-stress while improving their physical health. Additionally, Ohio State has dedicated itself to providing for its students — from free fitness tests to an open forum for voicing comments about the facilities. This all came to be in recent years not from long battles with the University’s Board of Regents or tuition increases like Wilden and his department are facing, but from dozens of donors and sponsors who saw the benefits of sound mind, sound body. “Right now, a lot of the newer recreation buildings in the Big Ten and across the country have formed into this social opportunity on campus,” Widen said. “It’s not just a place to work out anymore. Looking at our three facilities, we don’t really have that. We have a few couches, but that’s not very welcoming. “We want health and wellness and fitness to be a part of students’ lives, so we need our centers to be comfortable, welcoming and a place where people want to go, not just a destination people only go to for working out.” The spectacle down in Columbus is still largely a pipe dream for University students. New facilities are two years away, and the ren-
ovations of the NCRB and CCRB have yet to be officially designed, budgeted or approved. University students likely won’t make the four-hour commute to Columbus to work out anytime soon, but does Michigan need to worry about competition? According to Kothbauer, they should. “I’ve definitely considered other gyms and would consider other ones too,” Kothbauer said. “I don’t have a car, so the CCRB is still my best option, but a lot of these gyms are just nicer to work out in.” Transportation has prevented Kothbauer from going elsewhere, but some have made the switch. The Och Fitness Center, located in the basement of the Ross School of Business, offers memberships to students, limited guests, faculty and staff of Michigan’s business and law schools for $30 a month. It’s not for everyone, but Och sees plenty of business from students despite the fee. “A lot of my friends use it too, it’s pretty common as far as I can tell,” said Business junior Ian Forman, who’s had a membership since he was a pre-admit. “Part of it is for convenience since your classes are in the same building, but it’s also really nice and well taken care of. In my experience it’s well worth the money.” Widen said he hates to see his facilities not providing for its students, but he also can’t blame them for leaving. “A lot of what causes that is facilities and equipment,” Widen said. “We have not kept our equipment up to the national standard or even to the area standard. The way things are now if you want the top-of-the-line treadmills you have to go somewhere else.” The CCRB is still nearly six years away from renovations, but efforts are being made to keep up now. New equipment will arrive to the CCRB in the winter semester, extended hours and social media presence are hoping to engage students to work out and new group exercise classes have begun this fall. It’s no cure-all, but their hope is the little things and dedication can eventually save the day. “If you look at recreational sports across the country, we may have been the last school to start a group exercise program, which you never want to say when you’re at Michigan,” Widen said. “But we wanted to give students that experience and we’re continuing to try things out and catch up.” Other options are sprouting up, and the students Rec Sports have spent nearly a century catering to are slowly walking away. The migration is slow for now, but can the CCRB keep up? “The bar’s been raised,” Widen said. “We can’t just sit back and let things be what they’ve always been. We’ve got to do our part to meet that bar and those raised expectations.”
Wednesday, December 3, 2014 // The Statement
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Personal Statement: Cool like ‘Kill Bill’ by Alec Stern
ILLUSTRATION BY MEGAN MULHOLLAND
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have always made decisions based on what other people will think. I know it’s wrong, and outwardly I’m not self-conscious or paranoid. But it’s always been there. That tick. That nagging voice in my head. An incessant impulse to be something I assume other people want me to be. To be like everybody else. To be normal. To be cool. I can appreciate it now, but growing up I always felt different. Not quite an outcast, but just deeply different from everyone else around me. My mom would tell me it was a good thing — that I was her artistic son; the creative one. But if there was one thing I knew to be true, it was that 10-year-old boys don’t want to be “creative.” At least, I certainly didn’t. I wished I had that aggressive streak like most other boys in my class. A part of me wished I cared about which team won the Yankees game the night before but above all, I wished nobody would care that I didn’t care at all. But that’s the measure of boyhood. So as not to disappoint my peers (read: subject myself to the ridicule I thought I’d become the target of ), I just blended in. Let me be very clear, I hated sports — it was the amalgama-
tion of everything that didn’t come easy to me. I didn’t have the natural ability to throw a spiral like my brother. I couldn’t run as far or as fast as my friends. I certainly didn’t enjoy it as much as my classmates. To me, “creative” might as well have been a synonym for “uncoordinated.” My relationship with organized sports is even more haunting. In my mind, it was a series of neverending practices, impossible exercises and embarrassing tantrums. In Little League, upon finally attaining the coveted “pitcher’s helper” position, I was swiftly replaced; in the car ride home I told my parents it was because “I sucked.” In roller hockey, I was relegated to the bench on a team my own family member was the coach of. In high school, I closely monitored the number of kids trying out for the lacrosse team because I knew if there were cuts, I wouldn’t make it. The worst part of all this is that I could have stopped at any time. Everyday I told myself to just give up. I could have forgotten about everything and done exactly what I wanted to do; it’s my life, after all. But it was easier said than done. Instead, in my unfailing desire to be like any other kid — to not stick out in the crowd — I
forced myself to keep trying, just rotating between sports until maybe something stuck. Nothing ever did. But away from school, when the voices of everyone else in my head subsided and I would finally hear my own, I could just be me; the artistic son my mom seemed to appreciate so much. Unbeknownst to anybody at school, I took acting classes. I painted. I saved up money to buy a video camera and taught myself how to edit my own clips together. And in 2004, at the very ripe age of 10 years old, I saw a movie that totally changed my perception of myself. I was instantly enamored with “Kill Bill” — an almost cartoonishly-quick, magnetically powerful attraction, as if every movie I had seen up to that point no longer mattered, and any movie I would see in the future would undoubtedly pale in comparison. It was stylistic. It was interesting. It was uniquely itself and wholly unapologetic. “Kill Bill” was the first time movies were cool; not traditional or acclaimed or widely popular, but just cool in a way I never thought any expression of creativity could be. And I latched onto it. The movie became my iden-
tity; it was my thing, my signifier. I thought the more I engaged with it, the more “Kill Bill” ’s cool would rub off on me, and I would be cool in the way I wanted to be — not just in the way I thought I needed to be. As the years went on, it was easier to embrace the different sides of myself because of how “Kill Bill” became a part of who I was. I wasn’t embarrassed by it in the way I was embarrassed about other artistic things. I was embarrassed to take acting classes. I was embarrassed that I would rather film a lacrosse game than actually play in one. But “Kill Bill” was different. I might not be able to explain it, but for the first time in my life I felt better about being me. It didn’t matter if I were at school or at home or at a practice for whichever sport-of-the-season I chose. Because of “Kill Bill,” I knew I could grow up and grow into myself in a way that would ease all of the harsh feelings I had harbored over the years. One day, I would make something as cool as “Kill Bill” — something that was mine, and I’d no longer struggle with uncertainty over my identity or dependency on someone else’s. When I came to Michigan four years ago, that conquest for traditional normalcy didn’t subside. If anything, it was almost like
it started all over again — new friends to make, new people to win over and new opportunities to use as a disguise. But that’s not how I look at it now, three years later. With each year, I no longer see my college experience as a new chance to fail, but rather as a new opportunity to introduce myself, truthfully. Each year, I get better at being me, and most importantly, I rely less and less on fiction to do so. Now I’m at a turning point; it’s the first true crossroads in my life, and I can see both paths ahead of me. It’s fitting — poetic, even — that Michigan is right in the middle of where I’ve been and where I want to go. One road leads back home. East. My family is there. My friends are there. I could go back to living my life as if it’s a reflection of everyone else. The other road is more daunting. I would be in a place I’ve never been before. I would be totally on my own. I would finally be forced to think only about myself. What do I want? Who do I want to be? I know I have no choice but to go West, otherwise all of this — my childhood, my struggles, my growth — would have been for nothing. I owe it to myself, and I’m terrified. But at least now I know that I’m doing it for me.
8B
Wednesday, December 3, 2014 // The Statement
RACE From Page 5B Each team’s score is the sum of the finishing places of its first five runners and the lowest score wins. A team’s sixth and seventh finishers work as support or tiebreakers. In the NCAA Championships for the women’s cross country team, the women’s team placed 18th, with their runners coming in at 68, 82, 95, 104 and 125 — totaling to 424 points. Michigan State University’s women’s cross country team won with 85 points. Because of the importance of placement — which oftentimes is so close that a few seconds in a race could mean a 30 point difRUBY WALLAU/Daily ference — coaches, including Manett’s, encourage athletes to run in packs. McGuire said this as he watched five of the nine championship team girls run circles around the track on a brisk November afternoon several days after the Big Ten Championships. These top runners were doing their first track workout after the Big Ten meet, and it was a hard one. Separated into different segments, they ran at “tempo” pace — moderately difficult pace — for 10 minutes, six minutes, four minutes and another four minutes, with a minute break between each set. The tempo was progressive: each set had to be faster than the first. “It’s to see if you can eat an elephant one bite at a time,” McGuire said, preparing his stopwatch. The track was busy that day, but with the sun shining directly on it, the ambiance was calm. The five girls were separated into packs of two and three depending on their speed. RUBY WALLAU/Daily
a championship remained elusive as LSA junior Shannon Osika, another top runner, joined Finn with an injury. After NCAA Championships on Nov. 23, Michigan coach Mike McGuire recognized the injuries, noting he would’ve hoped for a healthier season for his student-athletes. However, he said the team still pushed through. “I think that the seven that were out there showed a lot of resiliency,” McGuire said.
“We could’ve folded our cards and finished 25th or 26th.” In varsity college cross country races, men and women run 8Ks and 6Ks, respectively, with seven athletes in for each team. These seven runners score points for their team based on his or her finishing place. This means if the first runner for the team finishes fifth, he or she scores five points and that number will be added to the total score of the team.
Manett, one of the two in the faster pack, is typically the third fastest runner on the team. In the final meets of the season, however, Manett ranked sixth or seventh on the team. Despite this, McGuire urged her to keep pushing. Their intensity and determination on the track was palpable. The sun settled as the runners picked up their pace, looping the track. “Just go; don’t care anymore,” McGuire yelled as they ran by. Manett was trailing behind the pack. “Just go.” For Manett, the pack mentality is crucial. Even while running in practice, the team works off of each other; having another person to run with is not only motivating, but also gives each runner a person to talk to. Even Manett, enthralled in this hyper-competitive sport, finds practice to be relaxing and a social time to talk to her friends. As the team circled, Manett exchanged brief back-and-forths with her teammate Kinesiology senior Megan Weschler: “Keep going,” or “Push.” Though Manett trailed behind Weschler every few laps, she pushed harder while McGuire yelled, “Stay with the pack” as they curved around the track for the last time. Manett said her commitment to running — and to her team — does not add to her stress. With a busy academic schedule as Neuroscience major, Manett depends on her teammates for help. After all, they all are going through the same stress as they work to reach the same goal. “Having teammates help you means you can shoulder that weight together — the expectations and pressure of what you have to do as a team,” she said. For Ornelas, running serves the same purpose. Even though he is no longer on a formal team, he tries his best to ensure that he can have a running partner each day. It keeps him motivated. “At any level, someone to run with keeps you in check,” he said. “If it’s just you, you can make up excuses for yourself. Running should be a social thing.” Other runners agree. Why would over 200 students sign up for MRun, the University’s running club? Presumably, they want to run with someone else. Runners need these partners not only to have someone to talk to on those lonely 20 mile training runs, but also to push them when necessary. Keeping fellow runners close is part of the dynamic of the sport as well. With barely any fan base, the women’s cross country team depends on each other for support, Manett said. Soon, running no longer becomes an obligation or task for the day, but a necessary time for both self-determination and selfreflection. And this feeling may be only relevant for runners who understand the mental effects of the sport. With so much emotion involved, it’s difficult to see why the fans don’t show up.