CELEBRATING OUR ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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GOVERNMENT
In address, Obama calls for reduced college costs Foreign policy, middle class also prominent in State of the Union
AMANDA ALLEN /Daily
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder gives the 2015 State of the State address at the State Capitol in Lansing on Tuesday.
By JACK TURMAN, ALLANA AKHTAR AND SHOHAM GEVA Daily Staff Reporters and Daily
Snyder talks education in State of State address Governor also urges voters to pass ballot proposal to fix roads in May By EMMA KINERY Daily Staff Reporter
Staying true to his nickname, Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, the “tough nerd,” emphasized edu-
cation as one of several means to create opportunity in his State of the State address Tuesday. Using a “river of opportunity” as a metaphor for improving education and job prospects in the state, among other issues, Snyder said he will shift the state’s focus from creating new programs to addressing problems. “Quite often we’re addressing symptoms. We’re not addressing root causes. In some cases, we’re actually facilitating dependency
on government,” Snyder said. “That’s not right.” Snyder said his plan would focus on five principles: people, causes, increasing results without increasing cost, community and measuring outcomes. Though several other governors who may be potential 2016 presidential candidates discussed national policies in their addresses, Snyder primarily emphasized Michigan-centric policies. Snyder has not discussed any potential
CAMPUS LIFE
By EMILY MIILLER For the Daily
Over 40 employers and hundreds of students gathered Tuesday in the Dana Building’s Ford Commons for the University’s first campus-wide Green Career Fair. Open to all University students, the fair showcased internships and jobs centered around environmental and sustainability issues. Though the School of Natural Resources and Environment has organized similar fairs for graduate students in the past, this year’s event was open to all students. The fair was co-hosted by the student organizations Students for Clean Energy and Net Impact Undergrad, and sponsored by the environmental consulting firm Antea Group. LSA senior Jesse Selvin, president of Students for Clean
Energy, co-organized the event and said many students are concerned about sustainability, but do not know how to become involved. “We really want to make sure students know sustainability is something that’s vital both on campus and afterwards,” Selvin said. “And not only that it’s vital, but that it’s available, it’s accessible.” Selvin added that he was pleased with the diversity of participating companies. “I would say it runs the gambit from environmental consulting companies to engineering companies to nongovernmental organizations and research,” he said. Han Zhang, a representative from Dow Chemical, said it is important for students to recognize that they can apply their interest and skills in sustainability beyond college. LSA senior Michelle Dimuzio said she liked the fair’s concentration on environmental careers in contrast to larger career fairs. She attended the See GREEN, Page 3A
President Barack Obama gave his seventh State of the Union address Tuesday evening before a Senate and House controlled by the Republicans for the first time during his presidency. The president’s speech touched on several key issues from his years in office, including conflict in the Middle East and the economic recession. He expanded on proposed reforms in several areas announced by the White House in the weeks leading up to the address as well. Chief among his reforms were proposals to impact the price of paying for college as part of an overarching theme
2016 candidacy despite speculation. On education, Snyder introduced several key initiatives that, if passed, would impact Michigan students from preschool to higher education, including calling for legislative support for a statewide evaluation system for K-12 teachers and a commission to study third-grade reading scores. He also announced he will ask the legislature to include an addiSee SNYDER, Page 3A
ANN ARBOR
D E M V I E W I N G PA R T Y
Green Career Fair focuses on sustainability This year’s event open to undergraduates
News Editor
addressing “middle-class economics.” “Middle-class economics means helping working families feel more secure in a world of constant change,” Obama said. “That means helping folks afford childcare, college, health care, a home, retirement — and my budget will address each of these issues, lowering the taxes of working families and putting thousands of dollars back into their pockets each year.” In the address, Obama specifically stressed a plan announced earlier in the week to simplify and consolidate the American Opportunity Tax Credit, an 2009 initiative that gives low and middle class families tax benefits on higher education costs. Though the AOTC is set to expire by 2017 under the current tax plan, Obama said he hopes to make it a permanent feature of the tax code, with the amount of credit adjusted to keep up with inflation. The president also proposed making it easier to apply for tax credits, as well as require colleges and universities to proSee POTUS, Page 3A
Complaints lead to new homeless legislation City will engage in efforts to displace temporary camps humanely SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
LSA freshmen Anna Bauer and Maddie Rabe, members of the University’s chapter of the College Democrats, view the State of the Union at the College Democrats watch party in the Weill Building on Tuesday.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
CSG considers resolution to invest in UGLi outlets Assembly plans to transfer nearly $9,000 to library By TANAZ AHMED Daily Staff Reporter
The Central Student Government’s main focus Tuesday night was funding additional power stations in the Shap-
iro Undergraduate Library to address students’ mounting needs to charge up. The new electricity expansion proposal would place an additional 67 table-mounted power stations in the UGLi. These would include three power outlets and one USB port each. Because there were questions about the project’s total cost and the need for charging
stations to include USB ports, the resolution was ultimately referred to CSG’s finance committee and will come to a vote at next week’s meeting. Installation costs would amount to $8,772 — the resolution in place proposes that CSG cover the costs with money from its Legislative Discretionary Fund by transferring it to the UGLi’s facilities coordinaSee OUTLETS, Page 3A
By LARA MOEHLMAN Daily Staff Reporter
The heaviest topic of discussion of Tuesday’s Ann Arbor City Council meeting centered on the city’s homeless camps. The dialogue came in the wake of numerous demonstrations by public commenters supporting these camps. In recent months, Councilmember Stephen Kunselman (D-Ward 3) has been targeted by members and allies of Ann Arbor’s homeless community following statements last November that some considered offensive. These claims resulted in a petition to recall Kunselman, which was approved in the first week of January. Subsequently, the council discussed and approved a revised See HOMELESS, Page 3A
» INSIDE
the statement Walking in Glue: Mental health among college women
WEATHER TOMORROW
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NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM Fraternities damage Northern Michigan resorts MICHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS
INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 51 ©2015 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A
SUDOKU.....................2A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A T H E S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . .1 B
News
2A — Wednesday, January 21, 2015
MONDAY: This Week in History
TUESDAY: Campus Voices
MAYOR TAYLOR
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers
Ann Arbor Mayor Chris Taylor speaks during the City Council meeting at the Municipal Building Tuesday.
THURSDAY: Twitter Talk
FRIDAY: Photos of the Week
IN OTHER IVORY TOWERS
Doctor in critical condition Harvard-affiliated doctor in critical condition after shooting
BRIAN BECKWITH/Daily
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
A shooting occurred Tuesday morning at the Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. The suspected shooter is dead and the doctor who the police believe was his target is in critical condition after sustaining at least two gunshot wounds, The Harvard Crimson reported Tuesday. At a press conference Tuesday, Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans said the officers searched the facility before finding the alleged shooter inside an examining room. Evans said in this examining
room, they found the shooter dead with a weapon lying next to him. He also went on to say that the authorities suspect that this specific physician was targeted for a reason that is currently unclear. Evans commended the first responders, who “did everything they could to neutralize not only the situation but also get the care to that doctor.” Student protest shuts down San Mateo-Hayward Bridge Stanford University students and various community members shut down the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge Monday morning call for demilitariza-
tion of local law enforcement and repurposing law enforcement funds to support communitybased alternatives to incarceration, The Stanford Daily reported Monday. The demonstration included an attempt to block the westbound entrance of the bridge for 28 minutes. The demonstrators formed a line blocking traffic as they chanted slogans and displayed signs protesting police brutality. Not long after the demonstration began, California Highway Patrol officers approached the line of protestors and placed all 68 in custody at the side of the bridge. — ALEX SUGERMAN
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
Concise writing workshop WHAT: Participants will learn to write clear and correct e-mails, reports and letters for a professional setting. WHO: Human Resource Development WHEN: Today from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Administrative Services Building
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THE WIRE
Fraternities cause damage BY LINDSEY SCULLEN
Three University fraternities caused $50,000 in damages to two ski resorts in northern Michigan. Damages included broken walls and felled ceiling tiles around the hotel.
Armenian history
WHAT: A workshop aimed at reinventing how to teach Armenian history so it appeals to wider audiences. WHO: Armenian Studies Program, Center for South Asian Studies WHEN: Today from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: School of Social Work Building
Productivity workshop
Multicultural Ta-Nehisi discussion Coates lecture WHAT: Three panelists will discuss spirituality, religion and health in different cultures. WHO: Student Organization: Spirituality Religion and Health WHEN: Today at 3 p.m. WHERE: SPH II, Room M1122
WHAT: Ta-Nehisi Coates, an Atlanic senior editor and writer, will speak about the issue of race in America. WHO: Institute for Research on Women and Gender WHEN: Today at 5:10 p.m. WHERE: Rackham Graduate School Auditorium
Climate change Gemini concert WHAT: Michigan duo San litigation and Laz Slomovits will play
WHAT: In this seminar, WHAT: Raymond attendees will learn how to Ludwiszewski, partner in pinpoint the distractions that the Washington, DC, office interfere with productivity of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and learn how to increase will be speaking about productivity while reducing climate change litigation. stress WHO: Michigan Law WHO: Human Resource Environmental Law and Development Policy Program WHEN: Today from 9 a.m. WHEN: Today at 11:50 a.m. to 12 p.m. WHERE: South Hall, Room WHERE: Administration 1020 Services Building
covers, as well as their own songs and poetry set to music. WHO: Michigan Union Ticket Office WHEN: Today at 8 p.m. WHERE: The Ark, 316 S. Main l Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@ michigandaily.com.
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
1
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio visited Paris on Tuesday to pay his respects after the recent terror attacks which left 17 people dead, the New York Times reported.
2
Mental health is a major concern for college students, though it appears women may be at greater risk. This week, the Statement looks at the methods used to treat such disorders. >> FOR MORE, SEE STATEMENT
3
The AirAsia flight which crashed in the Java Sea climbed too quickly, causing the aircraft to stall, said Indonesia’s transport minister. A preliminary crash report is expected later this month, BBC News reported.
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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110. Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press.
Nutrition information readily Oil pipeline spills into water available on new dining hall app supply of Montana residents The app uses the same data as online MyNutrition tool BY IRENE PARK Daily Staff Reporter
For students with dietary restrictions, eating in University dining halls just got easier. In December, the University of Michigan application added nutrition facts for the food served at University dining halls. Now, students can access information about food allergens of individual items through the dining section of the app. Kathryn Whiteside, assistant director of Michigan Dining, said the new app function had been in development for a few years before coming to fruition. Michigan Dining had already developed an online tool called MyNutrition, which allows students to see the nutrition facts of
the dining hall food served that day, up to a week in advance. The same data used for MyNutrition were used for the Michigan app. “All the data were in our database, so it was an easy transition,” Whiteside said. According to Whiteside, the idea initially started from an effort to make nutrition information more accessible and available to the students. “We are always trying to stay ahead of the curve,” Whiteside said. “Anything to get the (nutrition) information out there for the students is good.” The dining hall nutrition facts can now also be accessed from the MyFitnessPal app, which helps its users to selfmonitor their calorie intake. Sarah Ball, senior research area specialist at the Michigan Metabolic and Obesity Center, wrote in an e-mail interview that increasing student awareness of the nutrition facts for dining hall food because the
students do not make the food themselves. “When we eat outside of our homes, we often choose items blindly, not really knowing what is in them,” Ball said. “That is okay for someone eating out a few times a week, but for the students, it is all meals, so knowing what you are eating is particularly important.” Ball also said the information will help students plan meals ahead and avoid the consequences of impulse decisions. LSA sophomore Morgan Grantner wrote in an e-mail interview that the availability of the nutrition facts is especially useful for students with dietary restrictions or food allergies. “You can see the exact ingredients in the food,” Grantner said. “Without these online menus or apps, it would be difficult to eat at dining halls because there would be no method of planning, which is usually necessary when trying to avoid allergens.” However, Grantner also said the choices for people with food allergies and dietary restrictions are sometimes sparse in the dining halls, which can lead to students opting out of meal plans. “It’s often very easy for me to go to a store and find a designated gluten-free section or go to a restaurant and ask for a gluten-free menu,” Grantner said. “However, my experience eating at the dining halls last year was not as easy. I lived at West Quad last year, and all that I would ever (attempt to) eat were the burritos with gluten-free shells. And even then, those would fall apart on contact. The meal plan was just not worth it for me.” Currently, users can only access nutrition facts on dining hall food items. Michigan Dining is working toward providing the nutrition facts for all retail venues in Michigan Dining, such as Java Blue or Mujo Café.
Official warnings come over two days after 50,000 gallons of oil leaked GLENDIVE, Mont. (AP) — Eastern Montana residents rushed to stock up on bottled water Tuesday after authorities detected a cancer-causing component of oil in public water supplies downstream of a Yellowstone River pipeline spill. Elevated levels of benzene were found in water samples from a treatment plant that serves about 6,000 people in the agricultural community of Glendive, near North Dakota. Scientists from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the benzene levels were above those recommended for long-term consumption, but did not pose a short-term health hazard. Residents were warned not to drink or cook with water from their taps. Some criticized the timing of Monday’s advisory, which came more than two days after 50,000 gallons of oil spilled from the 12-inch Poplar pipeline owned by Wyoming-based Bridger Pipeline Co. The spill occurred about 5 miles upstream from the city. Adding to the frustrations was uncertainty over how long the water warning would last. Also, company and government officials have struggled to come up with an effective way to recover the crude, most of which appears to be trapped beneath the icecovered Yellowstone River. A mechanical inspection of the damaged line Tuesday revealed the breach occurred directly beneath the river, about 50 feet from the south shore, Bridger Pipeline spokesman Bill Salvin said. The cause remained undetermined. By Tuesday, oil sheens were reported as far away as Williston,
North Dakota, below the Yellowstone’s confluence with the Missouri River, officials said. “It’s scary,” said 79-year-old Mickey Martini of Glendive. “I don’t know how they’re going to take care of this.” Martini said she first noticed a smell similar to diesel fuel coming from her tap water Monday night. Officials previously didn’t know whether the spill happened beneath the iced-over river or somewhere on the riverbank. Martini said she was unable to take her daily medicines for a thyroid condition and high cholesterol until she picked up water from a public distribution center later in the day. Representatives from the state and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency earlier said preliminary monitoring of the city’s water showed no cause for concern. The water treatment plant operated until Sunday afternoon, more than 24 hours after pipeline operator Bridger Pipeline discovered the spill, officials said. Additional tests were conducted early Monday after residents began complaining of the petroleum- or diesel-like smell from their tap water. That’s when the high benzene levels were found. Benzene in the range of 10 to 15 parts per billion was detected from the city’s water, said Paul Peronard with the EPA. Anything above 5 parts per billion is considered a long-term risk, he said. Peronard acknowledged problems in how officials addressed the city’s water supply, including not having the right testing equipment on hand right away to pick up contamination. But Peronard and others involved in the spill response said officials acted based on the best information available. “Emergencies don’t work in a streamlined fashion,” said Bob Habeck with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. “It’s a process of discovery and response.”
Several residents interviewed by The Associated Press said they first heard about the water problems through friends and social media sites, not the official advisory. “They could have been more on top of it,” Whitney Schipman said as she picked up several cases of bottled water for her extended family from a water distribution center. “As soon as there was a spill, they should have told everybody.” Officials took initial steps Tuesday to decontaminate the water system. Glendive Mayor Jerry Jimison said it was unknown when the water treatment plant would be back in operation. Until that happens, Salvin said the company will provide 10,000 gallons of drinking water a day to Glendive. The company established a hotline for people with questions about the water supply and to report any wildlife injured by the spill: (888) 959-8351. Another pipeline spill along the Yellowstone River in Montana released 63,000 gallons of oil in July 2011. An Exxon Mobil Corp. pipeline broke during flooding, and oil washed up along an 85-mile stretch of riverbank. Exxon Mobil faces state and federal fines of up to $3.4 million from the spill. The company has said it spent $135 million on the cleanup and other work. The Poplar pipeline involved in Saturday’s spill runs from Canada to Baker, Montana, picking up crude along the way from Montana and North Dakota’s Bakken oil-producing region. The pipeline receives oil at four points in Montana: Poplar Station in Roosevelt County, Fisher and Richey stations in Richland County, and at Glendive in Dawson County. The section of pipeline that crosses the Yellowstone River was last inspected in 2012, in response to the Exxon accident, according to company officials.
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SNYDER From Page 1A tional investment of $130 million for preschool programs in his upcoming budget. “We need to raise the bar and standard on every educational institution,” he said. Though Snyder did not mention the state’s four-year public institutions of higher education, he touched on several career education programs he’s promoted throughout his tenure, namely apprenticeships. Last May, Snyder announced the Michigan Advanced Technician Training Program, an apprenticeship program. This year, in a continuation of that effort, Snyder said he aims to make Michigan the number one state for skilled trades, an idea President Barack Obama echoed during his speech at the Michigan Assembly Plant earlier this month where he discussed plans to increase apprenticeships nationally. Along with apprenticeships, Snyder also promoted alternative forms of getting credit for higher education, namely dual enrollment, a policy the governor has heavily promoted throughout his tenure in office. During the address, Snyder emphasized what he characterized as the bipartisan nature of his education initiatives, highlighting the work of state Rep. Adam Zemke (D–Ann Arbor) for his help passing education bills. Snyder also signed this year the National Guard Tuition Assistance Act, a bill that would provide tuition assistance to members of the Michigan National Guard. In an interview after the event, Zemke said while there have been some efforts on which Snyder and the Democratic caucus worked together, that wasn’t the case for every policy. “There are certain policies that we’ve worked very well in a bipartisan fashion on, working to support our teachers and teacher effectiveness, administrator effectiveness,” he said. “But there’s also been a lot of negative policies that have been put forward under this administration.” Another key point of the address was Snyder’s support for the bipartisan roads comprise passed during the lame-duck session last month. The plan has the potential to impact education funding
GREEN From Page 1A event last year as well, when it was focused on graduate students, and noted that this year there was a wider variety of employers present. According to Selvin, Students for Clean Energy and Net Impact Undergrad began organizing the fair at the beginning of the semester. They used a poll to gauge student interest, and received favorable results. Their goal was to increase student awareness of opportunities
as well, by moving funding for the state’s universities out of the School Aid Fund, which also supports K-12 schools and community colleges. “No one in Michigan likes our roads and bridges,” Snyder said. “We got that work done, but our work isn’t done. Now we need to ask our citizens to support that effort in May on the ballot.” He urged Michigan citizens to vote yes on the proposal for safety concerns, and said one out of nine bridges in Michigan is structurally deficient. As part of his pitch to voters to vote yes in May, he paralleled the safety of roads to the better schools and local governments. Overall, Snyder noted that the budget would be difficult to balance due to an unexpectedly high number of businesses cashing in tax credits from the past several years, which has resulted in an estimated $325 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year. However, he said he felt confident in “getting a budget done, five years in a row, on time, done well, and balanced.” Snyder also very briefly stated the need for a continuing dialogue on the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. Earlier this year during the lame-duck session, the Republican Party state legislative caucus was split over two different proposed changes to the act, one that suggested the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity, and one that only suggested the inclusion of sexual orientation. The state legislature did not pass either proposed amendment to the law. Though Snyder only touched on the topic, it did not go unnoticed by Democrats. During a press conference after the speech, state Rep. Tim Greimel (D–Auburn Hills), House Democratic Leader, said while he welcomed Snyder’s interest in the continuation of the conversation, he didn’t think it went far enough. “I would have liked a little more boldness from the governor,” he said. “I wish that he had gone before simply calling for a continuation of the discussion and had specifically asked for specific language in the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights act to protect both folks based on sexual orientation and gender identity, which has been a point of contention.” Zemke said he also felt encouraged by the discussion of the ELCRA, but wasn’t sure anything would come from it.
HOMELESS From Page 1A
related to the environment and sustainability. Selvin said he hopes the Green Career Fair becomes an annual event, with even more employers and opportunities available to students next year. “This year we were just sort of figuring out, testing the water, seeing if any students would be interested at all, and we had over 500 students registered,” Selvin said. “And all over campus people have heard about it, and that’s a really good, encouraging sign.”
OUTLETS From Page 1A
version of preexisting legislation, Resolution DC-1, “to support best practices in response to homeless camps in the city of Ann Arbor.” In response to complaints of homeless encampments on both private and public property, the resolution states that humane displacement of homeless camps on both private and public property is an appropriate response to private property owner and resident complaints. However, the new version of the resolution seeks consultation from Washtenaw County’s Continuum of Care Board to ensure humane displacement to better accommodate individuals not currently served by the shelter system. By contrast, the old version called exclusively for consulta-
POTUS From Page 1A vide students with information on federal student aid, like AOTC and Pell grants. The combined impact of the president’s tax benefit proposals would provide students with $2,500 in educational aid per year for up to five years, according to a White House release. Along with tax credits, the president also touched on a proposal announced earlier this month: to make two years of community college free for most students. “By the end of this decade, two in three job openings will require some higher education,” Obama said. “Two in three. And yet, we still live in a country where too many bright, striving Americans are priced out of the education they need. It’s not fair to them, and it’s not smart for our future.” Students across the political spectrum at several watch parties Tuesday evening all expressed enthusiasm for the college-related proposals. LSA sophomore Daniel Karr, president of the University’s chapter of Common Sense Action, said the discussion of higher education costs and community college affordability were key parts of Obama’s speech. “They are both policies that will make the U.S. more competi-
tor. According to finance committee chair Jacob Ruby, an LSA junior, CSG evaluated the needs of Hatcher Graduate Library and the Art, Architecture and Engineering Library as well as the UGLi before picking a final destination for the funding. The UGLi was ultimately chosen because feedback from students and library staff indicated that Shapiro had a greater need for more power outlets
come to our mass meetings
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tion with “key stakeholders” in the homeless community — a provision still included in the final legislation. The resolution also states that “it is not the practice of the City of Ann Arbor to proactively seek out homeless camps for removal, nor to broadly deploy strategies to render areas used as campsites unusable.” Approval for the resolution came after much discussion and debate on the issue from members of the council. Councilmember Sabra Briere (D-Ward 1) called for further development of policy and reforms to address Ann Arbor’s homeless issue. “This deals with the people who are camping outside,” she said. “It does not begin to address the crying need for additional alternatives — not just additional housing, but additional services.” For this reason, Kunselman
touted a more strong-armed effort, arguing that ignoring homeless camps fosters crime and ignores the greater issue of a need for permanent affordable housing for homeless people in Ann Arbor. “The way that this resolution is designed, we’re asking the police to turn a blind eye to illegal action ... and I really have a problem with that,” Kunselman said. “I think that turning a blind eye to camp sites is allowing us to ignore our homeless problem.” In response to the resolution’s non-proactive approach to abolishing homeless encampments, Councilmember Chuck Warpehoski (D-Ward 5) said camps should not be outlawed if members of the camps neither violate the law nor disturb other Ann Arbor residents. “I do not believe that this is a case where we should be on a seek out and destroy mission,”
Warpehoski said. Overall, Kunselman said in an interview that he was pleased with the approval of Resolution DC-1. “It illustrates the unity on council in dealing with a difficult topic and it was a discussion that had to happen and we did,” he said. “It (doesn’t) mean that we’ve solved anything, but that hard work is still ahead of us.” Apart from this discussion, the Council also passed an ordinance Tuesday evening allowing chickens to roam the backyards of Ann Arbor locals, provided that their owners don’t slaughter their birds at home. The adopted resolution pertaining to chickens — an amended version of chapter 107, section 9:42 of City Code — allows residents with a standard permit to keep four to six chickens, while residents with a provisional permit may keep no more than two.
tive in the global economy and will specifically help millennials,” Karr said. “One of the most important issues he addressed was reducing the debt burden that college students face.” LSA senior Trevor Dolan, president of the University’s chapter of the College Democrats, also said the policy was a big step forward for economic revitalization in the United States. LSA senior Gabe Leaf, president of the University’s chapter of College Republicans said Obama’s plan for free two-year community college is unlikely within two years, yet Obama pushed it in effort to gain public support and approval. “He can get the PR out of it without having to really work through the rest of the plan,” Leaf said. In an interview after the speech, Communications Assistant Prof. Josh Pasek said though the president attempted to find bipartisan support on issues like his community college proposal, conservatives will view the initiative as a predominantly Democratic issue. He said the GOP would instead view the proposal as a “tax burden” and therefore in direct opposition to their core values. “Right now, at a moment, there is very little that the parties are willing to have serious discussions on,” Pasek said. Obama also pushed for sev-
eral other economic measures, including paid sick days, pay equity between men and women and a raise to the minimum wage, all ideas he’s pushed for throughout his tenure. “These ideas won’t make everybody rich, or relieve every hardship,” Obama said. “That’s not the job of government… but things like child care and sick leave and equal pay; things like lower mortgage premiums and a higher minimum wage — these ideas will make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of families.That is a fact.” In an interview after the speech, Michael Heaney, assistant professor of organizational studies, said these kinds of economic issues, such as minimum wage and pay equity for women, are core Democratic principles that are often reiterated despite GOP opposition. “The Democratic agenda just always persists,” Heaney said. “Something like paid sick leave for women is something that the United States stand behind most other developed countries. So it’s the kind of thing (where) you have strong resistance to these kind of policies, but if you support them, you have to keep pushing them.” Along with economic issues, the president also called for several significant foreign policy shifts, namely a resolution from Congress to authorize force
against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a terrorist group. He also touched on recent moves his administration has made to improve diplomatic relations with Cuba, namely making it easier for Americans to travel there, and called upon Congress to fully remove the United State’s trade embargo against the country. Heaney said Obama’s decision to talk about Cuba was a political maneuver. “I think that a number of people see that as an accomplishment for the Obama administration,” he said. “He definitely wants to remind people he did that.” In response to the State of the Union address at large, Aaron Kall, the University’s director of debate and an expert on election politics, said many of Obama’s initiatives would not pass through Congress. However, he said the fact the president outlined such bold reforms would introduce the topic to legislatures and citizens for debate. “The president used the speech tonight that was roughly watched by tens of thousands of people to start this conversation and this dialogue,” Kall said. “And so if there were to be some room for compromise, things would look differently.” Katie Penrod and Jing Jing Ma contributed to this report.
and charging stations than the other libraries. Ruby said the resolution specifically mentions Moiré power stations, designed by Byrne Electrical Specialists, because these are best fit for students’ needs. “We do have other budgets based on other power outlets,” Ruby said. “We thought that these would be the best so that people wouldn’t steal them, they look good and they’re very easy to use.” The assembly also voted to fund last week’s police brutality speak out. The resolution, intro-
duced at the last CSG meeting, passed with 34 voting in favor, two against and two abstaining. The legislation requested $300 from CSG’s Legislative Discretionary account to fund the speak out. CSG, the Black Student Union and Students of Color of Rackham co-sponsored the event; the money was for the room rental, audio-visual equipment and refreshments. Additionally, new leaders were elected to the CSG Rules Committee and Ethics Committee Tuesday night. Rackham representative Jared Ferguson was selected
as the new chair for the rules committee, the CSG committee responsible for writing and reviewing resolutions related to rules and elections. Engineering representative Andy Modell, a senior, was elected as rules committee vice chair and Engineering representative Zachary Prebay, a junior, was chosen as the vice chair of the ethics committee. The committee investigates CSG ethical violations and has the ability to recommend the removal of a CSG member if ethical violations are found.
Opinion
4A — Wednesday, January 21, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
A more expansive diversity
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com JENNIFER CALFAS EDITOR IN CHIEF
AARICA MARSH and DEREK WOLFE EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
LEV FACHER MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
FROM THE DAILY
State of the State
Snyder addresses improvements and plans for Michigan’s future
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epublican Gov. Rick Snyder gave his State of the State address Tuesday evening, emphasizing state and local growth over the past four years, community-based reforms and the “river of opportunity.” While Snyder’s speech was commendable in its recognition of previous achievements and idealistic goals, he neglected to expand on the substantial steps needed to create a better future for the state of Michigan. During the past four years, the state has made significant improvements as outlined by Snyder. Housing values have increased by 25 percent compared to the national average of 16 percent; out-of-state tourism has increased by over $2 million in the past four years; the agricultural industry has hit an unprecedented benchmark of more than $100 billion in economic activity; unemployment has decreased to 6.7 percent; and over 300,000 private-sector jobs have been created in the last four years. Snyder similarly praised efforts to improve transportation with a special focus on Michigan’s roads, pointing out that many create conditions that are hazardous for driving. Of course, improvements to Michigan’s roads are severely needed according to Snyder, with one in nine bridges in the state being structurally deficient. However, Snyder made no mention of how the legislature would go about actually making these improvements. Furthermore, the governor neglected to address the controversial M-1 rail, currently under construction in Detroit, with an estimated cost of $137 million. In his speech, Snyder also highlighted that since 2010, there has been a 48 percent increase in automotive production. While the state is currently enjoying the benefits of the revived industry, it is important to note that it’s unreasonable to rely on the automotive industry for economic prosperity. Michigan saw the consequences of such dependence in the 2008 automotive industry crisis. To pivot itself for an economically successful future, the state should look to invest in other industries, such as science and technology fields. Snyder’s State of the State included, in a large part, the presentation of his “river of opportunity” plan, intended to increase the ability of Michigan residents to achieve multi-faceted opportunities, including educational attainment and economic stability. While laying out this plan for the state, Snyder harped on increasing the efficiency of government and its respective programs, many of which he deemed to be unnecessary, ineffective and not focusing on the “real people” that they are targeting. In addition to this critique of inefficiency, Snyder stated that communities play a much larger role in aiding the issues within communities, forming a “village of support” with the government fading into the background. Snyder stated that the creation of 145 new programs since the 1940s has not targeted “real people” and has simply created inefficiencies within the government that aren’t helping the citizens they intended to serve. It’s improbable that the majority of people would disagree with the statement that the government is currently bloated, with
bureaucratic red tape serving as an impediment to progress, but the government can do things that a community simply cannot. While governmental involvement is an issue that should be dealt with, the government can’t stick to the sidelines when dealing with issues such as food availability and access to education, especially in regions and communities where resources are scarce. Detroit, for example, is a food desert, with access to quality food just now making its way into parts of the city with the construction of new grocery stores. Public subsidies and tax breaks were used to make these stores, such as Whole Foods, viable, bringing down the cost to build locations in Detroit. Creating a “village of support” in a community such as urban Detroit, one stricken with poverty and violence, and expecting government to fade into the background while that community fixes its own food availability crisis is a completely untenable plan. Increasing government efficiency should not reduce the ability of citizens to get the kind of assistance and aid they so badly need in order to make it to the “mainstream” of the “river of opportunity.” Snyder’s only mention of higher education was in his discussion on middle colleges — a high-school program that allows for students to affordably attain a high-school diploma and community college degree from the same school. His failure to discuss college affordability as a whole is neglectful to a significant issue facing the state of Michigan and country. According to a study by youth advocacy group Young Invincibles, Michigan ranks as the third-worst state nationwide in higher education investment. While Snyder’s administration has slowly increased higher education funding after it was cut by 15 percent in 2011, this ranking reveals deep concerns regarding his commitment to fostering an educated citizenry. His no-comment during the State of the State perpetuates this perception. Similarly, Snyder’s discussion of energy issues lacked the direction it required. Snyder mentioned he wanted to eliminate energy waste, exploit the state’s natural gas resources and focus on renewable energy solutions. To do this, he intends to create a state energy agency in order to consolidate the effort on creating viable energy policy for the future. However, he failed to answer key questions such as what his plans are for natural gas. Whether the plan is to export natural gas or invest the resources within the state, it’s disappointing Snyder did not outline the groundwork for Michigan’s energy future appropriately. The lack of details in the State of the State address only serve to heighten the expectations for Snyder’s special message on energy in March.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Edvinas Berzanskis, Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Devin Eggert, David Harris, Rachel John, Jordyn Kay, Aarica Marsh, Victoria Noble, Michael Paul, Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Linh Vu, Mary Kate Winn, Jenny Wang, Derek Wolfe
WILLIAM ROYSTER | MICHIGAN IN COLOR
Black Hoodies
The first time I saw my birth certificate it said, “Statistically Insignificant,” When I asked the doctor why, he said it was because I had a high likelihood of ending up in a place like the hood, wearing a hoodie, facing a silver cocked barrel, That is my burial, He says my mind reacts to irrationality and that I act explosively given a brain incapable of flight They call that a “land mine,” Reasons to step over me, Yes I was born a domestic terrorist, given a knife instead of a brain that is sharp enough to cut into society’s veins, Yes I am that black sludge bloodshed that shares the complexion of HIV, Since you do not understand me, you label me a disease, So you are right Lil Wayne, You are sick, ill, Another one of this nation’s many illegitimate children,
Taught young to shoot for the stars only to reach Jim Crow ceilings, But I guess on the other side of town they taught just to shoot, Shoot for security, Shoot for protection, But now I hear ice cracking ‘cause ice tea doesn’t seem so threatening, But fuck it, If we’re going to shoot let’s shoot for skittles too because everyone knows… The color black will never exist in the rainbow… No black ain’t beautiful until it’s red, Bloody, Rename CNN, “Red is the new Black” My 15 minutes of fame always seems to end, Too soon 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.
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ith all the focus regarding diversity around campus, little attention has been paid to what people actually mean when they say they want “increased diversity.” For the most part, the focus of the debate has been on getting more people of color enrolled ERIC at the University. KUKIELKA Unfortunately, this narrow definition leaves out many other diversity options, ones that are necessary for today’s modern education. As a 35-year-old undergrad, I am no stranger to discrimination via lack of diversity on campus. It’s mostly benign things, like students sitting next to the professor before they’ll sit next to the “creepy old guy.” Sometimes, it’s that cute girl at Bert’s giving me a weird look when I assure her, yes, I am a student (or maybe it’s the creepy old guy thing). Usually I just shrug it off and continue, but occasionally I recall that while we’re peers, I have more in common with my professors than I do other students. I’m not the only student experiencing this. Before long, your parents won’t just be your ride to school, but your lab partners, too. With the continued shift from a labor economy to a service economy, the average age of a college undergrad should continue to go up for the foreseeable future. With the increased age comes increased responsibilities, and the University is not adequately equipped to handle them. Older-student support at the University is commendable in spirit and condemnable in practice. In all fairness, the University has traditionally served a very young demographic. As older students, we have responsibilities far surpassing those of normal undergrads — spouses, children, houses and businesses, to name a few. This is reflected in the wait list at campus daycare facilities and the lack of affordable married housing options. This isn’t mere discomfort, either. Housing scams are rampant in the area (just call any realtor and ask
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about local scams), and young parents are being forced to choose between putting their children or themselves through school. It’s past time for the University to act. They should look no further than our local community colleges for ideas to help increase the range of services available for older students. Instead of focusing on finding “America’s Next Top Football Coach,” the school should have been looking into funding for additional childcare services on campus, increased flexibility in class scheduling (including more evening and online classes) and more married housing options. Unless we do something soon, we are going to miss out on the unique life knowledge that older students bring with them. They will be forced to go to campuses that recognize the changing times and are quicker to adjust services. Indeed, one could make the argument that the reason forprofit colleges are reeling in huge numbers of students is precisely because they cater their services toward nontraditional students. Campus diversity needs expansion in more traditional areas. Another example of this is the lack of inclusion of “none” in discussions about religious diversity. According to a Pew Research Center poll from May 2014, more people would be less likely to cast a presidential ballot for an atheist (53 percent) than an adulterer (35 percent), a septuagenarian (36 percent) or someone who has never held public office (52 percent). Worldwide, there are record amounts of people who identify as “non-theist” or “atheist.” In places that used to be dominated by religion, old icons are being pushed away and a wave of secularism is coursing through the general public. As many as 40 percent of the French do not believe there is “any sort of spirit, God or life force.” On campus, the numbers tell a much different story.
A search on Maize Pages for the word “atheist” in a club returns exactly one group, the Secular Student Alliance. A similar search for “Muslim” returns 10 clubs while a search for “Christian” returns 26. You know who else only has one club on campus? Pokemon aficionados (Pokemon Maize and Blue). Then again, I would hate to cast Pokemon lovers in the same light as atheists, because they probably get enough flack as it is without that additional baggage. Besides, they probably poll better among future presidential candidates. All jokes aside, there’s no rational explanation for this lack of nonreligious students. Atheists and agnostics bring a uniquely humanist approach to the table, free from the obligations of religion. Humanists are a diverse group, with people of virtually all nationalities and sexual orientations comprising their ranks. I would love to see more free-thought and secular activities on campus. It could be something as simple as a food drive for the homeless, or as complex as a support system for helping people overcome substance abuse without invoking the name of God. The key is taking the meaning of diversity away from the narrow definition groups like BAMN get us to focus on. Diversity on campus isn’t an issue going away anytime soon. The quicker we go for true diversity of thought and away from the notion of diversity as skin color, the better off we all are. The University has a responsibility to its students outside of the classroom to provide access to cultures and ideas not found at our local high schools. Increased diversity, beyond just geography and skin color, is one way to help accomplish this. Until we focus on a more broad definition of diversity, we are forever going to be living in the shadows of our own past.
We are going to miss out on the unique life knowledge older students bring with them.
— Eric Kukielka can be reached at ekuk@umich.edu.
A memorial for Mrs. B
n my way home to Florida this past summer, while stopped in Atlanta, I tried to get ahold of WILLIE Mrs. B. I had Mrs. B for FILKOWSKI social studies in eighth grade, and I somehow got her to be my friend during high school and college. She was petite, and she kept her gray hair short. She had light blue eyes, which is where her smile started. She was always very crisp: bright but modest solids, cool floral patterns — a very classic sort of South Florida prep that we’ll never see again. Her voice was soft and carried with it the slightest and most dignified Southern drawl. In conversation, she was curious, genuinely. Nobody was more interested than Mrs. B. I thought of her as my own personal Terry Gross. But better dressed. (No offense to Ms. Gross, who I love and who I’m sure dresses quite wonderfully.) I’d heard that maybe Mrs. B wasn’t doing so well. I’ve visited her while she was dealing with some sort of cancer. She hadn’t said a word beforehand, when we made plans over the phone. But once during one of our usually long summer talks, she casually dropped it. (We of course covered the basics first: “How are your grades?” “How is your family?” “Don’t you just love Jon Stewart?”) Then eventually, “I’ve got cancer.” And, “But Willie, I’m doing fine.” Of course I believed her. Because it was true. She licked it. But after a while of being in the clear, some blood came back and announced a second round with something more vicious. In the airport, I folded up in a corner near the outpost of The Varsity, an Atlanta standby: the “world’s largest drive-in” where a No. 2 combo gets you a chili cheese dog and a chili cheese burger, fries or onion rings and a regular sized drink for $9.44. They greet you at the counter with a loud, “What’ll ya have?” I called Mrs. B to let her know I’d be in town. WHADDAYAHAVE? “Oh, hello Willie,” Mr. B answers. WHADDAYAHAVE? “Is Mrs. B Around?”
WHADDAYAHAVE? “I wanted to let her know I’m headed home today.” WHADDAYAHAVE? “I’d love to see her.” WHADDAYAHAVE? “Well, Willie. She can’t come to the phone right now.” WHADDAYAHAVE? “But I’ll let her know you called.” WHADDAYAHAVE? “Thanks. See you soon.” Mrs. B helped civilize me. In middle school I was a monster. I had my ear pierced with a little silver ball. I wore an Andy Warhol messenger bag, so I knew a thing or two about art. (But I had no idea who the Velvet Underground was.) Sometimes I would turn the lights off in my room and listen to The Postal Service and cry. I think I called a girl fat on the Internet once. I got C’s and D’s and F’s. Because of this, on the night of my best friend Jack’s bar mitzvah, I brought my dress pants to my mother and asked her to iron them. But she had just logged on to ParentLink to check my grades and told me there was no way in hell I was going to Jack’s bar mitzvah. I cried, I screamed, I cried more: a wide-mouth weeping, running-outof-breath, chubby-cheeked-me pale and reddish with baby fat and a bad attitude, a screaming, sobbing heap of ugly. One day Mrs. B started class by handing out information about a new school policy. Because of severe budget cuts, students now had to pay for printing. The piece of paper that Mrs. B handed out stated that from now on, copies would cost each of us 10 cents per page. This fee applied to handouts, exercises and even quizzes and tests. Because we all sat in groups at tables, it took a minute for it to catch on. But someone finally asked, “We have to pay you to take tests?!” Mrs. B. told us, “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do. I don’t think it’s fair either.” “But Mrs. Broughton, what about
students who might not be able to afford this?” A very mature question asked by my friend Jack — someone who was already a man by this time. And then I had a quiet realization: We’re about to learn about the Boston Tea Party. She’s taxing us without representation! I gasped and put my hand straight up in the air — ready to ruin the whole lesson. But when she looked over at me, she grinned and then she winked, acknowledging that I knew what she knew. Back then I was even more of a shit-ass know-it-all than I am now. But that smile, that wink. Mrs. B silently kept my stupid, big mouth closed — and she let me feel so grown-up about it. In that moment, I learned that you don’t always have to know loudly. Sometimes you can know quietly, and you might even be doing all of us a favor. So I smiled back. I put my hand down and decided, instead, to help my class incite a revolution. Over the summer I got to see Mrs. B just before she died. She was there and her blue eyes were there and her family was there. We covered the bases (grades are fine; family is fine; I still love Jon Stewart). And I re-told the stories like the Boston Tea Party, and the History Fair (my friend Madison and I wrote a play: we were John Lennon and Yoko Ono in a hotel bed. We went all the way to Tallahassee in bathrobes, carrying an inflatable mattress and a tambourine), and we sort of smiled. And then Mrs. B got tired and wanted to rest. So I let go of her hand and gave her a kiss on the cheek. And she said, “Willie, I am just so tickled for you.” And, “You keep me posted.”
Sometimes you can know quietly, and you might even be doing all of us a favor.
— Willie Filkowski can be reached at willjose@umich.edu.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 — 5A
EVENT REVIEW
FILM REVIEW
Turnley reflects on inspirational career By FRANCESCA KIELB Daily Arts Writer
P ARAMOUNT PICTURES
Bad things happen when acronyms fight.
Important story in flawed ‘Selma’ Historical drama doesn’t add much to the history books By ZAK WITUS Daily Arts Writer
In “Selma,” writer and director Ava DuVernay (“This is the Life”) lifts a page from your high school history textbook, breathing life into a single episode that Selma tells a larger Rave, State story. The film Theater and chronicles the Quality 16 events from Dr. Martin Paramount Luther King, Pictures Jr.’s life, from his acceptance of the Noble Peace Prize in 1964 to his speech at the steps of the Alabama State Capitol, which led to the five-day Civil Rights march from Selma to Montgomery. “Selma” presents this inspirational man as a representative of the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. However, despite its social and political value, “Selma” is not a great film. While some people might learn something new about history from this film, the story doesn’t extend much beyond the history one might find in the pages of a high school history textbook. The film does a fine job representing what will probably be familiar material for most of us. What’s more, “Selma” does, at least to some to some extent, subvert the outmoded “great man theory” of history that we saw in Steven Speilberg’s “Lincoln.” Though the film focuses primarily on King and his influence, it also gives credit to what in the “great man theory” are considered negligible sideshow characters. “Selma” emphasizes
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the importance of the people who we’re accustomed to seeing as just “faces in the crowd.” The film recognizes the fact that though leaders like King are important, it’s ultimately what we call “ordinary people” who form the basis of popular movements. Critics who call out “Selma” for historical revisionism have aimed their attacks at the film’s Oscar aspirations. But many wonder why it’s even a contender in the first place — except for the fact that Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt produced it. “Selma” is not a bad film; it’s just mediocre. The violence in the film — the police brutality in particular — hits hard, provoking disgust and anger that galvanizes the activist within us. David Oyelowo reproduces King’s resounding rhetoric and sandpiper suave magnificently. We’d have to be more callous than Michael Jordan’s feet to not feel the film’s triumphant glory resonating from our toes on up. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t expand much on the familiar historical material (perhaps its greatest shortcoming). For example, the film tells us that Dr. King and Coretta Scott King suffered from marital strife, but it doesn’t show exactly why, and only vaguely alludes to it (perhaps to preserve the respectability of the film’s protagonist). What’s more, much of the dialogue feels inconsequential, as if we already knew what the characters were going to say. Granted, this is a historical film, so anybody who read their high school history textbook would obviously know what the characters were going to say. But that only prompts us to see the film go beyond the elementary version of this historical moment. Every movie, whether historical or not, falsifies to some extent; that’s part of what it is to be art.
The question is: What kind of falsification and how much of it are we willing to abide? In a recent op-ed in The Washington Post, Joseph A. Califano Jr., one of President Lyndon Johnson’s top assistants for domestic affairs, wrote, “The film falsely portrays President Lyndon B. Johnson as being at odds with Martin Luther King Jr. and even using the FBI to discredit him, as only reluctantly behind the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and as opposed to the Selma march itself.” It’s clear from Califano’s evidence (which can be found in his piece and in the transcript of the phone conversation between King and Johnson) that “Selma” exaggerates the extent to which Johnson and King were at odds with one another. Listen to the phone conversation or read the transcript and try to deny that Johnson sounds like he’s enthusiastically supportive of a Voting Rights Act. Understandably, the film would lack a major antagonism without the conflict between Johnson and King, but this is, of course, no ground for historical revisionism. People who support the film’s social and political message probably want to say it’s a better film than it really is, and people who oppose its message will probably want to hyper-focus on the misrepresentation of Johnson to say it’s a worse film than it really is. As Califano wrote in his criticism, “Selma” didn’t need to falsify history as it did to create a great film. By that same token, we can still enjoy the film despite its historical inaccuracies. The misrepresentation of Johnson should deter no one from seeing the film because “Selma” is nonetheless a provocative representation of a well-known and centrally important event from the Civil Rights Movement that deserves to be remembered.
TV REVIEW
‘Parks’ prepares to close on a high note By DREW MARON Daily Arts Writer
With last season’s incredible, series finale-worthy ending “Moving Up,” it would be easy for showrunners Dan Goor and Michael Schur Parks and (“Brooklyn Recreation Nine-Nine”) to play it safe Season 7 for the final Premiere season. But that’s not what Tuesdays makes “Parks at 8 p.m. and RecreNBC ation” one of the greatest television comedies of the last 20 years. The joy of watching “Parks and Rec” doesn’t come from the humor alone, but from seeing people who love one another help each other reach their goals. Season seven begins by taking all of that love and
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putting it through the grinder. It has been three years since the promotion of Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler, “Saturday Night Live”) to Midwest Regional Director of the National Parks Service, and Pawnee has changed a great deal. The Newport family — antagonists throughout the series — are selling a huge plot of land, and Leslie hopes to convince them to turn it into a National Park. Unfortunately, there’s someone standing in her way whom she hates so much as to not even mention his name: Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman, “22 Jump Street”). After an unexplained event ominously referred to as “Morningstar,” Swanson has left the Parks Department and created a new company named Very Good Building and Development. His client is tech startup company Gryzzl, that plans on using the land to build
the “Gryzzl Campus.” Seeing the hearing where Leslie turns around to see Ron Swanson greet her with a cold, “Hello, Ms. Knope,” felt like a stab in the heart. Their different stances on government have always been a source of tension but it’s never gotten in the way of their friendship. With season seven, Goor and Schur make the viewer feel what it’s like for politics to divide a family. The tension is amplified by the fact that we understand the principles that have led both Ron and Leslie to this point in time. For such a surprising twist, the Ron and Leslie faceoff feels almost inevitable as the underlying question of the show: What is the role of government? It’s almost absurd that such a pressing question is more intelligently posed by a sitcom than journalists, Nancy Grace and politicians. How-
A girl behind me loudly whispers, “This guy is like … a huge deal.” David Turnley, a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer, is a name often heard throughout the halls of the University’s Penny Stamps School of Art & Design. I heard whispers from students in his class on his eccentric genius, his passion, his expertise and even his anger. Rumors of students fleeing his class in tears from harsh critiques created mixed associations of fear and awe. I welcomed covering the Penny Stamps Lecture as a chance to see for myself what made him tick, hoping to see the man beneath the layers of mystique. Turnley is a storyteller. While his medium is photography, he is also incredibly eloquent. His stories flow seamlessly from one unbelievable destination to the next. He does not spare any details when speaking about his accomplishments, yet any hubris feels justified for a man who has accomplished so much. It doesn’t seem physically possible for a man to witness so much, much less capture it on film. Turnley starts his story in Johannesburg in 1990, where he was covering the Apartheid for the Detroit Free Press. He then gets a call from the Free Press’s Director of Photography, telling him that Sadam Hussein invaded Kuwait and asking him to fly to Baghdad to cover the impending war with America. There’s just one problem: no American photographers were to be granted visas. While photographers stayed close to the airports awaiting permission, Turnley found another way in. He bought a ticket for a flight with journalists who were granted visas, and snuck through security amid the chaos. Once on the plane, however, the officer went around collecting passports and checking credentials. He was questioned by the officer, expecting to be kicked off the plane. However, when the photographer explained that he was working out of Detroit, the officer perked up. The officer had family in Dearborn and allowed Turnley to enter. He was the first photographer to arrive in Baghdad since the beginning of the war. Once there, he faced yet another obstacle. American photographers had to be escorted by Public
DAVID TURNLEY
But first he took a selfie.
Affairs Officers, who attempted to control what the media exposed regarding the war. No images of violence or suffering were permitted. Turnley was not one to play by the rules, though. He sought out an elite mash unit of the American Medical Corps and asked if he could join them to document the war. This unit did not have a Public Affairs Officer, but he convinced them to let him join regardless. This freedom gave him the ability to take pictures of the war that ended up on the cover of every major publication nationwide. To the crowd, Turnley explained, “to allow for serendipity you can’t force things to happen, you have to have the stamina to really be in people’s lives in a full immersion.” He was later awarded a Pulitzer Prize for a series of 19 photographs at Check Point Charlie as the Berlin Wall fell. He explained how he had hired a motorcyclist to weave between traffic to get him to the point in time. Again and again, a combination of fate and his pragmatic approach put him in direct contact with moments that defined the 20th and 21st centuries. “I have never felt comfortable with the notion of calling myself a journalist. I have never felt myself to be objective. I see through my eyes, my heart and my life experience. It is a priority to try to be fair, which is why I’m trying to touch your hearts with the common threads of humanity,” Turnley said. So, who is David Turnley? David Turnley is: -The first American photographer to arrive in Baghdad to
cover the first Gulf War. -The only American photographer in Iraq traveling without a Public Affairs Officer — allowing him to document the tragedy without governmental restrictions. -One of the first western journalists to receive visas to 13 countries in the Soviet Union. -A witness to the Rwandan genocide in the mid-’90s. -A witness to the fall of the Berlin Wall. -A witness to 9/11, documenting the Twin Towers’ fall from a block-and-a-half away. -A family friend and companion of the Mandela family for over 20 years. But much of his talk was not spent on his coverage of memorable events, rather, on his experiences with people all around the world, both witnessing and joining their walks of life. From a homeless man to an aging farming couple and professional dancers, Turnley stresses the importance of building relationships with a diverse swath of people. He summarizes the mantra of his life and work by saying simply, “It’s not a job assignment or a vocation. It’s a way of life, a camaraderie, a sense of heritage — seeing what you can do with your camera to make a difference.” As the event drew to a close, the lights dimmed and he concluded with a slideshow of his photographs. The veil had been lifted, he had been humanized. Yet my feelings of fear and awe not only remained — they were amplified.
WHAT’S NEW ON
ever, “Parks and Recreation” isn’t a soapbox, and showrunners Goor and Schur open this final season with gusto and wit. Guest stars Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”) and Werner Herzog (“On Death Row”) make great use of their small roles and real-life personalities. Recurring characters like Joan Callamezzo (Mo Collins, “MAD TV”), Tammy Two (Megan Mullally, “Will and Grace”) and Councilman Jamm (University alum Jon Glaser, “Delocated”) are also excellent, with the latter two’s new relationship taking center stage for the second episode “Ron and Jammy.” Mullally, Glaser, and Collins have provided some of the series’ most memorable laughs and it’s great seeing them get a last minute spotlight as we enter the home stretch. “Parks and Recreation” has provided some of the funniest and most human moments of television of any genre in the last 20 years. It has made us laugh and cry — often at the same time — and it will be hard to say goodbye later this year. However, it’s also comforting to know that the beginning of the end was just as special as all that came before.
NBC
Just close your eyes and think about breakfast.
Arts
6A — Wednesday, January 21, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ALBUM REVIEW
FILM NOTEBOOK
Ekko’s ‘Time’ is 2015 set to be a big a dynamic debut year for blockbusters By BRIAN BURLAGE
Mikky Ekko steps out of Rihanna’s shadow on ‘Time’
Daily Arts Writer
By GIBSON JOHNS Daily Arts Writer
Mikky Ekko has a complicated relationship with time. On the one hand, he prefers to tread lightly and take his time professionally — it’s Time been over two years since Mikky Ekko he broke out RCA Records as the featured artist on Rihanna’s slow-burning Top 40 smash, “Stay,” and he’s only just now releasing his debut album. On the other hand, when it comes to his rocky relationship with love, he’s impatient with time, as evidenced by his dark musings throughout his debut. It’s clear that with Time, Ekko wanted to establish a dynamic sound for himself that both solidified the one we would have previously expected from him — the tender, emotional voice that worked in perfect harmony with the R&B leanings of “Stay” — and brought forth newer, less genre-specific settings for his voice to explore. Though this approach occasionally pays off, more often than not Ekko exudes a desire to prove he doesn’t fit into one Rihanna-established mold. This unfortunately gets in the way of what he does remarkably well, which is to croon hurtfully about love, time and heartache on soaring, midtempo, slightly left-of-center pop. On the title track, “Time,” Ekko does just that — over an orchestral backing, he uses his beautiful falsetto to prove his dedication to a rocky relationship. “Time doesn’t love you anymore / But I’m still knock-
B
RCA RECORDS
“I want you to stay, I want you to stay, I want you to stayyyyyy.”
ing at your door,” he sings on the song’s bridge. It’s lyrics like these that exemplify his standing on the twisted affair between time and love. He doesn’t believe in waiting for a love that has become stagnant because he sees waiting as harmful to the future of romance.
A complicated relationship with time. However, he also recognizes the sometimes inescapable nature of waiting on “U,” another standout track. Over a simultaneously ethereal and pulsating beat, Ekko acknowledges that there is a “long, long road to love” and sounds almost as though he’s channeling Ne-Yo. “Mourning Doves,” another dark midtempo track, continues this strong, selfassured sound but sees Ekko start to experiment a bit. Rusty screeching is littered throughout the verses, which foreshadows the change in sound coming in the album’s second half. “Riot” is a call to arms against the pressures time places on love that strays a little bit
too far into the realm of poprock. “Loner” is a bland, rocktinged track that fails to take off about (you guessed it) being a loner. “Watch Me Rise,” though a better attempt at capturing a more effective rock sound, feels too much like a OneRepublic B-side and, thus, is out of place on Time. Ekko’s affinity for experimentation occasionally pays off, though — like on the static, distorted “Pressure Pills” and the twinkling, confident “Made Of Light” — and the album’s preoccupation with time and love provides it with a muchneeded string of continuity. It’s clear that Ekko’s struggle to accept that waiting for love is a necessary evil is one that took him a long time — two years, to be sure — and for a chunk of Time, his struggle is one we want to listen to him sing about. Mikky Ekko has a clear wheelhouse that he excels in. It’s one that comes in the form of a midtempo ballad with a dark place, and it’s the same one that we heard the first time he sang with Rihanna. What’s also clear, though, is that Ekko is searching to expand upon that wheelhouse. Has he found a way to successfully do that? Not quite, and I’m not really sure he needs to. Only time will tell if he keeps looking.
Film in 2014 seemed to be largely about the human drama, as movies like “Boyhood,” “Selma” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (all Oscar favorites) told stories in a wholly new honest and human way. Many of the most critically acclaimed films relied on little CGI animation, instead opting for a more straightforward approach to cinematic grace. 2015, however, seems to promise a different set of riches. Many of this year’s heavyweights exist now as big-budget, big-stick blockbusters waiting to rake in the millions (billions likely) — poised to smash box office records and ticket sales and reduce last year’s film pool into a puddle of rainwater. While this is, of course, not a bad thing, I predict that 2015 will be a year of computerized movie magic – but one of the strongest yet. “The Peanuts Movie” Though Bill Melendez, creator of the original “Peanuts” TV film series, passed away in 2008, his legacy will thrive in 2015. Melendez’s paramount voice work as Snoopy and Woodstock will be revived, as director Steve Martino (“Ice Age: Continental Drift”) plans to integrate archival recordings of the voices. Produced by Paul Feig (“Bridesmaids”), written by Charles M. Schulz’s sons Craig and Bryan and scored by Christophe Beck (“Frozen”), “The Peanuts Movie” will deliver all the charm and sentimentality of the original cartoon with the wit and animation effects of the modern age. “In the Heart of the Sea” Nathaniel Philbrick’s 2000 eponymous nonfiction book sets something astir in the mind of director Ron Howard, something like confidence. The story’s been told and retold a hundred times (most notably in Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby-Dick) but never with the technological capabilities of today. “In the Heart of the Sea” is a nautical tragedy, one that speaks to the fear all sailors
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
WARNER BROS. PICTURES
I miss my Thor hair.
face when confronted by one of nature’s most eminent forces: the sperm whale. The tragedy of the whaleship Essex is, as the trailer states, a story about men. And a demon. “Mad Max: Fury Road” It takes two full plays of the trailer to fully grasp everything that’s happening in director George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road,” the fourth installment in the Mad Max franchise. Specially engineered cars tear across the Australian desert as music from the previous century illustrates the terror of their flight. Men with facial deformities yell things like, “What a lovely day!” as they make chemical weapons out of gasoline and oil. Explosions, storms and strangeness abound in this fantastical flick. Prepare for anarchy. “Jurassic World” While Steven Spielberg’s original “Jurassic Park” film observed a variety of dinosaur species and focused mainly on the Tyrannosaurus Rex, “Jurassic World” will look at a few dinosaur species and focus mainly on the Velociraptor. Chris Pratt (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) stars as Owen, a member of the theme park’s on-site staff who conducts behavioral research on the vicious Velociraptor species, and who seems to be able to control them in some way. “Jurassic
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Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis ACROSS 1 Band aid 4 “Lohengrin” soprano 8 High-priced 13 Saint-Tropez sea 14 Chicken (out) 15 Wildly impulsive 17 Well-worn, as comfy shoes 19 “Finito!” 20 Stretches on the road 21 Inventor Nikola 23 Director who sued Spike TV for using his name 24 British prep school 25 University of North Carolina city 27 Fives and tens 29 Clueless 30 Lennon’s love 32 Door fasteners 35 TV radio station 39 Firehouse crews 43 Rural road sign silhouette 44 Shellac ingredient 45 Insect egg 46 Not a pretty fruit 49 Surprise for the taste buds 51 Relaxing soak 56 Almost closed 59 Pee Wee Reese’s number 60 “Chasing Pavements” singer 61 English class lesson 62 Like a plum tomato 64 Lead singer, and a hint to the beginning of 17-, 25-, 39- and 51Across 66 Royal residence 67 Apple product 68 Gift-wrapping time, often 69 Hinged entrances 70 Beantown hockey great 71 Do needlework DOWN 1 Carefree pace 2 Reason for a raise 3 Virtual coupon, briefly
53 “Twilight” 40 Shellac 4 Farm ladies heroine 41 Nitty-gritty 5 Civil Rights 54 Michael Caine 42 “Wheel of Memorial role Fortune” architect 55 U. of Maryland purchase 6 Will of “I Am team 47 Carom Legend” 57 Tequila source 48 Ibex resting 7 Sleep lab study 58 Make one’s places 8 Looks pleased Fortune last 9 Wrapped cantina 50 Political longer? cartoonist food 61 Counterclockwise Thomas 10 Baseball Hall of arrow function 51 Cartoon flapper Famer Roush 63 Cereal grass 52 Put away, as 11 Bad bacteria 65 “Alley __” groceries 12 Science fair judges, e.g. ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 16 Orange coat 18 Hawaii’s __ Coast 22 Some jerks 25 Burn a bit 26 Gibson’s “Bird on a Wire” co-star 28 “__ Will Be Loved”: Maroon 5 hit 30 Word with country or world 31 “You wish, laddie!” 33 Writer on scrolls 34 Usher’s creator 36 Nickname for LeBron 37 Outdoor gear brand 38 L.A. clock setting xwordeditor@aol.com 01/21/15
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World” will add a more jarring and horrific element to the franchise’s already thrilling story. “St. James Place” Directed by Steven Spielberg (“Lincoln”), written by the Coen brothers (“No Country for Old Men”), starring Tom Hanks (“Captain Phillips”), shot by Janusz Kaminski and edited by Michael Kahn (the team that brought you the unforgettable reality of “Saving Private Ryan”). “St. James Place” is a spy thriller based on the 1960 U-2 Incident. Be ready. Be excited. “The Revenant” Alejandro González Iñárritu, who directed last year’s comedydrama sensation “Birdman,” will return this year with “The Revenant,” a story about the life of American frontiersman Hugh Glass. Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio, “Wolf of Wall Street”) was a fur trapper and adventurer renowned for his exploits in the American West throughout the 19th century. The film will focus mainly on his expedition with Ashley’s Hundred (a band of 100 people), in which Glass was mauled by a grizzly bear, crawled more than 200 miles to Fort Kiowa, recovered and sought the revenge of those who left him behind. “Avengers: Age of Ultron” Big budget, big sequel, big characters, big action, big stakes. “Sisters” Though this film’s premise seems to draw a bit (or a lot) from the 2008 comedy hit “Step Brothers,” it certainly promises its fair share of laughs, gags and memorable lines. Director Jason Moore has made a career on Broadway and directed his debut film in 2012 with “Pitch Perfect,” a combination of music, fun performances and wild theatrics. “Sisters” stars Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph, a trio of Saturday Night Live comedians so funny and so right for each other, this film is bound to be a home run. “Ricki and the Flash” If the writer of “Juno” (Diablo Cody), the director of “The Silence of the Lambs” (Jonathan Demme) and Meryl Streep announced that they had a movie in the works, would you believe them? What would you imagine? “Ricki and the Flash” answers both of those questions. Streep (“Into the Woods”) is set to play Ricki, an aging rock star who abandoned her family to become a famous musician. Ricki’s life takes an even greater dramatic turn when her ex-husband Pete (Kevin Kline, “The Conspirator”) asks her to visit Chicago in order to help their estranged, divorced daughter Julie (Mamie Gummer, “Cake”) through a difficult time. “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens” You’d think they could come up with a better title. J. J. Abrams (“Star Trek”), Lawrence Kasdan (“Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark”), Adam Driver (“Frances Ha”), Oscar Isaac (“Inside Llewyn Davis”), Andy Serkis (“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”), the entire main cast of the original films, John Williams, George Lucas and practically all the forces of a galaxy far, far away, and they come up with, “The Force Awakens.” Well, personal qualms aside, this film seems to reinvigorate all the themes and tropes that made the original trilogy so popular. I just hope Kasdan and Abrams bring back Jar Jar Binks.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 — 7A
‘M’ changes venue for week Michigan isn’t WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
By JASON RUBINSTEIN
like most teams S
Daily Sports Editor
For multiple Michigan hockey players, Tuesday’s practice was nostalgic. They weren’t reminiscing about old memories at Yost Ice Arena, NOTEBOOK but rather practicing at their old stomping grounds: the Ann Arbor Ice Cube, home of the United States National Team Development Program. “It brings back old memories,” said junior forward Andrew Copp. “I spent a lot of time here in my life. It’s pretty cool to come back and see the people who helped me get here. It’s always good to be back in your home rink.” Added sophomore forward JT Compher: “It’s fun to be back. I got to see my old coaches. It was a similar drive over from school, so it brings back some memories.” The Wolverines practiced at the Cube on Tuesday and will again on Wednesday to help themselves adapt to a larger ice surface, which they will see this weekend at Wisconsin. The surface caused problems a year ago, when Michigan lost all four Big Ten road games on larger ice surfaces. Yost Ice Arena’s ice surface is 200 feet by 85 feet, while Wisconsin’s Kohl Center — where the Wolverines will play a two-game series this weekend — is 200 feet by 97 feet. Last season, the larger ice surfaces proved to be too much of a challenge. Michigan lost two games at the Kohl Center, 5-2 and 3-1 respectively, while also losing
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Junior forward Andrew Copp will practice in the same rink he played in as part of the U.S. National Development Team.
two games at Minnesota on an Olympic ice sheet. To change the trend, the coaching staff decided to use the Cube — which has three Olympicsize ice sheets — to its advantage and get the team acclimated to the intricacies that come with playing on larger rinks. “It’s a really big (advantage),” said associate head coach Billy Powers. “Our goaltenders and our defense will probably tell you that this is going to come in handy. Come Friday night, there’s going to be less of an adjustment and it’ll be a nice comfort level.” Added sophomore netminder Zach Nagelvoort: “I don’t think that it’s that much tougher. The biggest difference is on the power play. The team can exploit the fact that they can go that much farther on the outside. That’s the
“It’s always good to be back in your home rink.”
biggest difference I’ve noticed. It’s figuring out the different angles.” Due to the bigger rink, one line that may be poised for a big weekend is that of Compher, junior forward Boo Nieves and sophomore forward Max Shuart. Nieves and Shuart are two of Michigan’s fastest players and will certainly use the extra space to their advantage. “With the big ice, they can use their speed,” Compher said of his linemates. “I think if we can use that speed and get to the net, we’ll have a good weekend.” NAGELVOORT FEELING “AMAZING”: Nagelvoort hasn’t started a game since Michigan’s 5-1 defeat at Boston College on Dec. 13. However, despite not starting, the netminder’s morale isn’t low. “It’s really good,” Nagelvoort said of his current state of mind. “I couldn’t be happier. I have had a lot of good weeks of practice. Everyone wants to play every night, but the team is doing well, right? (Junior goalie Steve
Racine) has been playing well, so that’s great.” Still, no starter is set in stone, and the coaching staff has yet to make a decision on who will play between the pipes in Madison. “Terrific, terrific,” Powers said of Nagelvoort’s recent play. “I can tell you, in these last two weeks, I’ve seen a dramatic change. All I can tell you is that both goaltenders have looked really good in practice, and Zach has looked really good.” SINELLI ON DEFENSE?: After playing forward up until this week, senior Andrew Sinelli practiced as a defenseman Tuesday due to multiple injuries on the blue line. Freshman Cutler Martin didn’t play last Friday against Ohio State due to an upper-body injury, and senior Mike Chiasson is also out with an undisclosed injury. “He’s been (a defenseman) in the past,” Powers said. “We wanted to see how he looked, and he needs to get some reps there in case we need him there.”
Wolverines prep for rapidly approaching Opening Day Michigan picked fifth in Big Ten preseason poll By BEN FIDELMAN Daily Sports Writer
In its 2014 campaign, the Michigan baseball team finished 30-29-1. But 11 of its 29 losses were by just one run, with many of them coming early in the season. Compounding the issue was the fact that much of the team’s success rested on the shoulders of underclassmen, who were unfamiliar with playing at the collegiate level. Encouragingly, had it won all of those one-run games, the team’s final record would have been 48-18-1 — on pace with reigning conference champion Indiana. Even if it had won around half of them, the team would have rested at a solid 36-29-1. The team has trended upward in each of its three seasons under coach Erik Bakich, and some believe this is the year
that the growth will show the most on the field. But one of the earliest conference rankings of the year, from b1gbaseball. com, projects the Wolverines to finish fifth in the Big Ten — one spot lower than their fourthplace finish last season. “I honestly don’t care if we’re first or fifth (in the preseason poll),” Bakich said. “I told the guys that rankings are something we can’t control, so we’re not going to pay attention to it when we’re not receiving votes, just like we’re not going to pay attention to it when we’re in the top 25 later this season.” Last year, those one-run losses were billed as learning experiences, but now it’s time to see what actually stuck. With much of the leadership weight up for grabs, the underclassmen will be called on to step up as a whole. The experience and leadership will be key, as the Wolverines will also have to contend with a much different landscape than in recent years. This is prompted by the
addition of two solid programs in Maryland and Rutgers, along with increased parity among traditional conference powerhouses, like Indiana, that are projected to finish somewhere other than at the top of the standings. Michigan doesn’t have much time to figure out what its winning formula will be this year. The team’s first three weekends of conference play feature matchups against the projected first, second and fourth-place teams: Maryland, Nebraska and Indiana, respectively. Another major challenge the team is facing is the amount of time it’s able to spend working as a group. NCAA regulations have kept players and coaches from doing much training together since midDecember, meaning a good chunk of the winter has seen players doing more self-policed individual workouts. On Jan. 23, the allowed time expands to 20 hours of organized team training per week, with coaches being able to work on more
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Michigan coach Erik Bakich’s team heads into 2015 looking to improve on a fourth-place Big Ten finish in 2014.
group-based concepts and traditional practice. “(The amount of time for team practices before opening day) is much shorter than Major League Baseball’s spring training, so the onus is on individual players to have a training regimen over holiday break,” Bakich said. “Our guys are self-motivated, and really strive to improve. They’ll be able to come back and hit their stride very quickly.” Working on both individual and team skills is especially important for players like sophomores Jackson Lamb and Hector Gutierrez, who will specialize in one position rather than play multiple, as they did during their freshman seasons. Lamb started in the outfield for the Wolverines 29 times in 2014, but he will exclusively be a pitcher in 2015, according to Bakich. Coming out of high school, Lamb was clocked in the upper 90s from the mound, but he wasn’t able to pitch often last season due to a back injury. He figures to be a key component of the Wolverines’ bullpen this year. In a similar situation, Gutierrez was listed as both a pitcher and infielder last season, but he will only play in the field this year. This change is much more cosmetic, as he only pitched in two games while playing more frequently in the infield. Whether it’s because of the team’s winter workout habits or simply having another year of experience under some of the young players’ belts, the coaching staff is looking for the on-field product to come together rapidly for the Wolverines this month. Opening day is quickly approaching, and with the team being put to the test right away on the road for seven straight weeks to open the season, it will have to hit the ground running.
aturday, freshman guard Katelynn Flaherty entered the locker room at halftime scoreless. For most squads, a top-scorer not producing for a full half would spell out defeat. But the Michigan women’s basketball team isn’t like most KELLY teams. HALL The Wolverines don’t have one standout player to lean on, but that’s OK, because a different star emerges seemingly every game. Saturday against Northwestern, that star was sophomore guard Siera Thompson. While Flaherty floundered during a high-pressure away game, Thompson shot 5-of-9 from long range, scoring 20 points to compensate for the freshman’s uncharacteristically low eight points. “Siera is a tremendous shooter,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico told WKTA Radio on Tuesday. “But she’s kind of been a little bit quieter this year and people haven’t talked much about her, because Katelynn came in and is really picking up some scoring. Both of them, I think, have made over 40 threes on the season. “Siera does so much, but a lot of times, it’s quiet, and that’s just her personality as well.” With Thompson’s heroics, the Wolverines (4-2 Big Ten, 12-5 overall) picked up their first road win of the season. That’s not to say that no one else contributed, though. Senior guard Shannon Smith and senior forward Cyesha Goree scored 20 and 18 points, respectively. Flaherty, Thompson, Goree and Smith average more than 10 points per game, with Goree leading the way, with 14.7. But in the last three games, Smith has averaged 24 points. Smith stepped up in a big way against Ohio State on Jan. 17, wowing the crowd at Crisler Center with a 36-point performance to lead her team to a 100-94 overtime win. She scored those 36 points against a team that had previously upset a ranked Rutgers squad by 17 points. “(Smith) is really focused and really determined to have a tremendous senior season,” Barnes Arico said. “She brings the team with her. Her energy and her enthusiasm just brings the team along, and she was incredible once again and kind of willed us to victory.” Michigan also restrained Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell, the nation’s leading scorer at 24.9 points per game, to just 13, thanks to Goree’s stellar defensive play.
Despite the Wolverines’ recent string of success, you won’t find a Michigan player atop any statistical leaderboards. But they do have Goree, who averages a double-double. They have Thompson, who shoots over 40 percent from beyond the arc. They have Flaherty, who takes gutsy step-back treys without hesitation. They have Smith, who will drop a careerhigh 36 points and say “It really doesn’t matter if I (had had zero points), I’m just happy we got the victory.” Because the Wolverines aren’t like most teams. If Mitchell were to get injured today, Ohio State would have to completely alter its game plan. But for Michigan, there isn’t a single setback that would completely spoil the team’s chances at a tournament run. Sure, if one of the leading scorers had a season-ending injury, there would be drawbacks, but nothing the Wolverines couldn’t combat. Someone else would be there to step up. If Goree was injured, there would certainly be a drop-off in rebounds, but scrappy senior forward Nicole Elmblad would still be able to grab boards. Even the 5-foot-7 Smith has averaged 4.6 rebounds per game. And when it comes to scoring points, Michigan definitely doesn’t have a problem. Most games, four Wolverines end up in the box score with more than 10 points. But the fear of not producing drives Michigan, too. “When we see that other kids are really improving, we want to reward them and give them the opportunity for pushing themselves and doing the things that we ask,” Barnes Arico said Dec. 19. “If somebody else becomes complacent, we’re going to switch it up, just so they know that there’s always that chance; it keeps everybody hungry.” With that attitude, it’s no surprise that there are plenty of worthy players on the bench who haven’t seen much playing time. Freshman forward Jillian Dunston could step in for Elmblad, or junior guard Madison Ristovski could effectively play in place of sophomore guard Danielle Williams. As of late, Michigan has been benefiting from its deep roster. The Wolverines have beaten rivals Ohio State and Michigan State at home, and of their five losses, three came against against ranked teams. But the Wolverines have moved past those losses. They’ve realized they’re not like most teams.
“Her energy and her enthusiasm just brings the team along.”
Kelly Hall can be reached by email at hallkl@umich.edu and on Twitter @KellyHall20.
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Sports
8A — Wednesday, January 21, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
GOOD KNIGHT By LEV FACHER Managing Editor
MICHIGAN 54, RUTGERS 50
WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
Henry bonds ‘M’ after home meet By BRANDON CARNEY
It didn’t matter that the message was obvious, a bit cliché, maybe even overdone in the days leading up to the Michigan men’s basketball team’s first game following junior guard Caris LeVert’s season-ending foot injury. Aubrey Dawkins was listening. In his first career start, the freshman guard answered his coaches’ call for a “next man up,” and then some. Dawkins scored 11 points, one shy of tying the team high, on 4-for8 field-goal shooting Tuesday night to propel the Wolverines to a 54-50 victory at Rutgers. Among Dawkins’ contributions was a crucial, lategame 3-pointer from the corner to cut the Scarlet Knights’ lead to three before Michigan topped off the comeback with a 20-10 run in the game’s final eight minutes. His on-the-mark shooting notwithstanding, one of Dawkins’ more impressive plays was his decision to pass up an open look at a 3-pointer following a missed trey attempt from senior guard Spike Albrecht. Dawkins wisely opted to leave the ball for Albrecht near mid-court. Albrecht then ran the shot clock down and found senior forward Max Bielfeldt for his own open look at a 3-pointer. Bielfeldt converted, giving Michigan a six-point lead with just three minutes remaining. “It was a close game,” Dawkins said. “I didn’t want to rush into another 3, especially because I had missed a long one previously.” Plagued by health issues in recent weeks, the Wolverines struggled through a first half in which sophomore forward
Daily Sports Writer
MEL EVANS/AP
Senior forward Max Bielfeldt totaled eight points and eight rebounds as Michigan knocked off Rutgers on the road.
Zak Irvin was confined to the bench by two personal fouls. Freshman forward Ricky Doyle also removed himself from the game due to illness. As a result, Michigan coach John Beilein used a slew of rarely seen players in the first period. Sophomore forward Sean Lonergan entered the game with 13:33 remaining in the first half, recording two points and a defensive rebound in 13 minutes. In a surprise move, sophomore guard Andrew Dakich checked in with 12 minutes to play in the first period. Dakich had yet to appear in a game this season, and Beilein had previously announced he would redshirt. “(Dakich) had told me a couple weeks ago about burning
the redshirt, because he thought he could help the team,” Beilein said. “We double checked and we double checked and we double checked, and he wanted to do it.” Even sophomore guard Derrick Walton Jr. was limited by a nagging toe injury on his right foot, but he still led the Wolverines in scoring with 12 points on 2-for-8 shooting for the field. Both field goals were 3-pointers, and the rest of Walton’s points came on 6-for-6 shooting from the free-throw line. “I thought he was shooting not to miss instead of shooting to make,” Beilein said. “He had a look-off of a play and we directed him to shoot it. Then next time he hit a shot.” While Walton has shown
“He thought he could help the team.”
signs of being Michigan’s defensive keystone in recent weeks, he wasn’t able to control the flow of the Rutgers offense singlehandedly, and man-toman defensive coverage wasn’t always an option. Beilein often opted for a 2-3 zone look on defense, a departure from Michigan’s more typical man-to-man and 1-3-1 alignments, to compensate for his shorthanded squad’s lack of size and experience. “I think we just go with whatever matches up best with the opposing team’s offense,” Dawkins said. “If it’s not a great-shooting team, it’s a good option for us.” Rutgers converted on just 19 of its 53 field-goal attempts, a shade under 36 percent for the game. The Scarlet Knights struggled from the line, too. Free-throw shooting accounted for more than the difference in the final score — Michigan shot 12-for-14 from the line while Rutgers went 7-for-14.
Michigan coach James Henry brings out the best in his athletes when they are familiar with their surroundings. During his postmeet team talk Saturday at the Simmons-Harvey Invitational, Henry made every athlete with parents in attendance stand up and introduce them to the team. “I try to make all the studentathletes on the team inclusive,” Henry said. “I try to get everybody in, the parents in, because that’s what makes everybody comfortable. If the kids feel comfortable about each other, they’ll feel the same about their performances.” Track and field is a highly individualized sport. When athletes step onto the track, they set goals around personal records and individual accomplishments. Henry wants to change that definition. He wants his athletes to be comfortable on and off the track, and that starts with making the individualized sport a team one. “Individual and team growth is success,” Henry said. “If you define success as winning, everyone is going to lose except one person.” Henry’s mentality has already reaped its benefits early in the season. Michigan won five events and had 13 athletes post personal records Saturday. Henry doesn’t want those personal achievements to go unnoticed. He asks his team after every meet if it has any
“shout-ins,” an opportunity for team members to share their best moment of the day. “You gotta say where you’re at,” Henry said. “You got to be willing to say ‘I did a good job,’ or you got to say ‘I did a crappy job.’ You got to internally know where you’re at and be willing to share, because that’s what life is.” Just like any family, Henry says his team has to be constructive with one another. Following ‘shout-ins,’ he asks the team if it has any “shoutouts” about the athletes’ performance, positive or negative. Saturday, teammates recognized one another for their personal records, but there was some criticism of the Wolverines’ lack of enthusiasm on the sidelines. Henry said the team needs to improve on having energy off the track, and believes the “shoutouts” are the best reminder for the team to try and fix these problems constructively. “Having individual growth is something you need,” Henry said. “But it also helps if someone’s saying something nice about you or knows what’s going on with you, and to me that’s just as important.” While his athletes still may focus on developing their individual times, distances and heights, Henry always makes sure there is always a focus on growing as a team. If there’s anyone who’s as proud of the athletes on the track as the parents, it’s the coach who guides them everyday.
“You gotta say where you’re at ... because that’s what life is.”
MEN’S TENNIS
Hua, Steinberg bring fresh faces Freshman Hua wins at No. 4 singles in coach Steinberg’s debut By KEVIN SANTO Daily Sports Writer
One impacts the game with a racquet. The other impacts the game with a clipboard. But one thing is clear: Both are changing the Michigan men’s tennis team in their own way. Coming off a fall season in which he posted a teambest 6-3 record, freshman Leo Hua drew high expectations from first-year coach Adam Steinberg. As the Wolverines faced off against Western Michigan Tuesday night, Hua didn’t disappoint. Hua defeated Broncos junior Ruben Greiner at the No. 4 singles position, easily taking the first set, 6-1. The second set proved to be more of a challenge, as Hua found himself in a 0-3 hole. But the freshman bounced back, exhibiting an effective combination of both power and precision to win the second set 6-4. “(In the first set) I thought I had to be consistent,” Hua said. “I started taking time away, and he was just missing. I broke him really quick, went up 3-1 and ran away with the first set. “In the start of the second set, I got broken. I was less aggressive, and when I’m defending I’m not as good of a player.” Ultimately, Hua found
his stroke and became the aggressor, helping contribute to Michigan’s 6-1 win over Western Michigan. Though the Wolverines’ performance was impressive even on paper, one thing didn’t make it into the box score: the team’s camaraderie, something that lacked last season. In his first year at the helm, Steinberg knew that had to change. And it showed. Throughout the meet, exclamations of encouragement rang through the Varsity Tennis Center, and cries of “Let’s Go Blue!” drifted up to the rafters, urging the Wolverines onto victory— exactly what Steinberg wanted to see. “My philosophy for 26 years is that college tennis is about playing for each other, is about making your teammates better,” Steinberg said. “Team first, yourself second. That’s what we work on every single day in practice.” Steinberg stressed that a team mentality is vital to move the program in the right direction. Specifically, he expressed his desire to put Michigan on the national tennis scene and to capture Big Ten championships. Though the Wolverines have a young team, highlighted by individuals like Hua, Steinberg revealed that the team still has great potential. “I want them to become great team players,” Steinberg said. “We play for the University of Michigan. It’s not about you, it’s about playing for this great university. Once they (learn that), our program will go through the roof.”
“I started taking time away, and he was just missing.”
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Senior Alex Petrone won his singles match, 7-6, 6-3, and his doubles match in Michigan’s dual-match debut against Western Michigan.
Michigan rolls WMU in opener Petrone paces Wolverines to easy home win By SYED FAHD AHSAN Daily Sports Writer
If Tuesday’s meet is any indication, the Michigan men’s tennis team has a lot to smile about. In W. MICHIGAN 1 their first MICHIGAN 6 meet of the dualmatch season, the Wolverines took on Western Michigan. Michigan won, 6-1, to claim its 13th straight season-opening win. Sophomore duo Tyler Gardiner and Kevin Wong, taking on the Broncos’ Stephen Payne and Matt Hamilton, made quick work in their match in doubles play, going up 4-0 early on and taking the set 6-2. Seniors Alex Petrone and Michael Zhu had similar
success, winning their set 6-3 and breaking the Broncos twice along the way. Petrone and Zhu’s win sealed the doubles point, leaving the third doubles match contested by freshmen Runhao Hua and Carter Lin incomplete. “Me and Michael, we’ve been playing together for four years,” Petrone said. “We know how to play together, and I love playing with him. We feed off each other, and we played really well.” Despite not being able to finish his doubles match, Lin got things going for the Wolverines early in singles play. Lin took the first set 6-4, and easily won the second set, 6-2. Michigan went up 3-0 when Hua proved too much to handle for Bronco Greiner. Hua won the first set 6-1, but the second proved to be more complicated.
Greiner went up 3-0 early on, but despite the setback, Hua ended the match in two sets and won 6-4. Western Michigan’s lone point came courtesy of Matt Hamilton, who beat Wong in straight sets. Hamilton broke Wong early on in the first set and went on to win it 6-4. The second set proved more interesting, with both players trading breaks. Wong recovered from a 4-1 deficit to even the set at 5-5, only to lose 7-5. At the No. 3 spot, redshirt freshman Alex Knight won his first set 6-4, and sealed the match in a second-set tiebreaker. “I wasn’t playing too well,” Knight said. “But I knew if I stayed composed, and kept playing my game, I’d come out on top. He held a lot of deuce points, and I had a few too. But,
“We feed off each other.”
we were both serving well. It was tough to break, so the score was pretty close.” Knight’s success in a contested match is rare for a player in his first college game. His match showed why he is Michigan’s lone ranked player. “Highest-ranked, but definitely not the best,” Knight said. “That distinction goes to Alex Petrone. I don’t know why he’s not ranked, but just wait two weeks and he’ll definitely be top 50.” Petrone’s first set proved to be a long ordeal, but he came out on top courtesy of a 9-7 tiebreaker. He won the second set overwhelmingly, 6-3. “I just played every point the best that I could,” Petrone said. “His serve was really strong, and I just had to get a return back to try and control the game. It’s interesting with deuce scoring because you never know what to expect — it’s a sudden-death point. But the second set was easier because I got a rhythm going and knew what to expect.”
in
statement THE MICHIGAN DAILY
JAN UARY 21 , 2015
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Wednesday, January 21, 2015 // The Statement
Footnotes: Lessons of New Year’s Resolutions BY IAN DILLINGHAM January is the month for resolutions. For many Americans, this means renewing gym memberships, ordering a new pair of sneakers, and dusting off the basement treadmill. In my effort, I turn to the Nike running app on my phone, which has been dormant during the first half of winter, in hopes of getting in shape for the Ann Arbor Half Marathon in March. Weight loss is perhaps the primary motivating factor for individuals getting back into running, but running also promotes strong bones, muscles and cardiovascular health. Those who have made the commitment to bettering themselves in this new year are working against a wave of growing health concerns in our country. Currently, more than one-third of U.S. adults and one-fifth of U.S. youths are considered clinically obese. Half do not meet the professional recommendations for aerobic exercise or physical activity. About one-in-five smokes cigarettes. And the Centers for Disease Control reports that over 9 percent of the U.S. population suffers from
diabetes. All told, about 117 million Americans have a chronic health condition, according to the CDC. With such staggering health concerns, it’s hard to understand why the majority of well-intentioned New Year’s resolutions seem to fail so tragically by the third week of January. As in many aspects of American life, our priorities tend not to align with our best interests. But let me put it into another perspective. Every time an American is diagnosed with diabetes, or cardiovascular disease, or asthma, or cancer, it costs money. If those individuals happen to be covered via government programs such as Medicare or Medicaid, then the taxpayer is fronting at least part of the bill. Recently, reforms have kicked in to try and combat the rising costs. Some physicians and health care companies can now receive reimbursements from health insurers if they are able to maintain a registry of healthy patients. This prospect should make fundamental sense to physicians and health providers. Instead of being
paid to fix the problem, they receive payment for preventing the problem from occurring in the first place. But that couldn’t be further from the case. The average clinic visit for a healthy patient — a 20-minute affair — nets the hospital a couple hundred dollars. However, cardiac surgeries can easily fetch $200,000. This disparity is reflected in medical training. While a family practice physician might expect to earn about $180,000 by midcareer, a general surgeon can earn $350,000. So when federal reforms seek to provide incentives for reducing costs, it seems they neglect some of the blatant financial disparities present in the current system — doctors get paid to treat sick patients, not healthy ones. And many, such as Public Health Prof. Richard Hirth, have noted that these reforms leave out one critical element: the patient. In fact, our current system provides a notable lack of incentives for patients to stay healthy. As we approach the last week of
THE LIST B U Z Z F E E D , B U T B E T T E R
January, many Americans will have already fallen away from their New Year’s Resolutions and reentered the socio-economic quagmire of junk food and idle lifestyle promoted in our country. But for those that remain motivated and committed to daily exer-
cise and good nutrition, they are doing the country a financial service by staying at arms length from our health care system — free of charge. Let’s all make a resolution to be supportive.
ILLUSTRATION BY MAGGIE MILLER
THE THOUGHT BUBBLE
5 WAYS TO DESTRESS THIS WINTER We get it. Winter in Michigan sucks. Here are a few simple ways to improve your mood this winter.
1. GO SCREENLESS
We know, we know, it seems nearly impossible. But taking your eyes off the LCD for just an hour, whether to take a walk or read a book, gives your brain a break and might even help grant you some greater perspective.
2. ESCAPE FOR A MOMENT
On the flipside, when you are stressed escapism can be a good thing. “Friends” episodes are only 23 minutes long and accessible on Netflix — take a few minutes to laugh a little and forget about your stress.
3 . D E E P B R E AT H I N G E X E R C I S E S
Yes, that eyes-closed/“ohm”/free-your-mind kind of stuff. It may sound New Age-y, but spending a minute or two willfully avoiding the outer world can calm your mind and body.
4. CUT ONE THING OUT
Take a look at your week. Figure out which plans and responsibilties matter to you and which can wait. Cut just one thing out of your schedule. It will help you organize your thoughts, and de-clutter your life.
5 . K N OW T H AT I T ’ S H A R D
Sometimes stress is stress. Shit is scary and life is hard. Embrace it. Laugh at yourself, screw up if you have to. Recognize that things aren’t perfect, and then take a minute to write down all the things that are good in your life. It might just help.
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/DAILY
“I want people to understand that Black lives matter, first and foremost, but also to appreciate the cultural product that come out from the Black experience — I think that’s really crucial — and then appreciating the full range of humanity that’s incorporated in that Black experience. Seeing value and appreciating that in all it’s complexity is very important.” – RACKHAM STUDENT DAVID HUTCHINSON
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 // The Statement 3B
My Cultural Currency: Superstitions are in my genes B Y TA N YA M A D H A N I I have a confession to make: I’m a little superstitious. I check my horoscope every week on the Seventeen Magazine website and trust the failing teen publication’s judgment a bit too much. The people you’ll be getting close to will be pals. Blindly trusting the wisdom of some editorial intern, I prepare to become friends with certain individuals I’ve been talking to lately. I sound insane, I know. But believe me, it doesn’t stop there. My watch is my comfort object and, if I don’t have it, my life is completely out of order. It’s not a fancy watch by any means. It’s dark and round-faced with a thin band — unnoticeable and insignificant at first glance. Every morning, before leaving
home, it is the last thing I put on. In my mind, the only way I’m physically able to walk out the door is if it’s on my wrist. Leaving for class or work without it just feels wrong. The second-hand stopped working about a year ago and the minute hand lags by three minutes, so it’s not in the best of conditions. But this watch brings me good fortune. I’ve worn it to every ACT test I took in high school and it was permanently attached to my wrist when I was writing my application to the University. I believe the fact that I’m writing this column for The Michigan Daily is proof — kind of — that this watch works. As a 21st century college student, it’s a bit humiliating to admit that I’m willing to suspend some dis-
belief when it comes to horoscopes and good-luck charms. But I guess it’s genetic. My grandparents regularly consult a “professional” astrologist themselves. He visits their home once a month, debriefing them on what course their lives, their childrens’ lives and their grand-childrens’ lives will take. Now I’m not completely crazy, I’m not willing to put misguided faith onto the alignment of the Universe. I, the astrologer told me five years ago when I last visited my grandparents, will become a scholar. Now, I don’t know if the stars weren’t aligned in a perfect semicircle or Venus was blocking Mercury’s shadow, but there is a possibility that the astrologer’s calculations
Becoming a Townie: An afternoon in the Arb BY EMMA KERR I’m sure all true Ann Arborites cherish as much as I do — it is a invigorating departure from the rest of the city. The tranquil Peony Garden and rushing Huron River may immediately come to mind when you hear about the Arb. But the hills made clear and barren by winter’s harsh hands and the canvas of falling ILLUSTRATION BY MEGAN MULHOLLAND snow is something from a 12-year-old’s dream. Into the woods, into the woods. Recently, I joined a group comStanding on the Diag, surround- prised of (almost) 20-somethings ed by the chaos of the college envi- to venture out amid single-digit ronment, some students might be temperatures in exploration of the surprised to learn that not far from great outdoors. We each representthe hustle and bustle of our con- ed fields of study so varied that we crete campus they have the ability might have been a group of Univerto experience acres of preserved sity orientation leaders. forests and waterways. I found it a curious feeling to The Nichols Arboretum is a walk out of a class on the ArabUniversity-controlled park, offer- Israeli conflict to feel the prickling ing wide-open space where stu- wind stinging my cheeks and a sendents and Ann Arbor residents can sation of flight and everything the run free — free to be you and me. world once seemed to be: open and Just like in the ‘70s TV special — a wild, forgiving and terrifyingly Marlo Thomas-Michael Jackson- vast — yet unknowingly narrow — Gloria Steinem collaboration that all at the same time.
As so many before us had, we slid down hills on recycled boxes, dining hall trays, and $5 sleds. We rustled through paths and wore borrowed snowshoes that still held the dust of the attics from which they were retrieved. We heard and felt silence. The buzz from someone’s new Tinder match was masked by the thick snow apparel we had donned, and our laptops were nestled in their cases at home. While rumor has it that a few lucky graduate students get to live buried away within the Arb’s grounds, the mystery house wasn’t found on this particular adventure, but there is always next time. And there will be a next time, though I hope to be wearing shorts instead of three pairs of leggings. Only a select few make it to the Arb this time of year. Maybe the townies know better than to leave their toasty abodes this time of year, but remembering that the Arb does indeed exist and experiencing it in all seasons is a great way to remind yourself that a world beyond Ann Arbor — and beyond the Diag — exists too.
were incorrect; I barely passed Calculus last semester. Now my grandparents aren’t fools. Their astrological consultations are rooted not in a deeply held belief of the occult, but in a faith. “Good omens are important,” I remember my grandmother saying to me. “They show you the right way and help guide you.” Sure, I didn’t end being a scholar, but I still think about the astrologer’s prediction and in some way it wills me work harder on my schooling. My tendency to take Seventeen’s cautions into consideration is not only because of my grandparent’s influence. By keeping track of my horoscope and wearing my watch I feel like I’m a bit more in-control of my life.
If I can foresee the challenges I may face and — thanks to the assistance of Seventeen — if they do turn out to be true, I’m comforted by the fact that I’m ready to face them.
ILLUSTRATION BY MAGGIE MILLER
O N T H E S TAT E O F T H E U N I O N : R E C O R D B R I N G I N G B A M A B AC K
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/DAILY
“We still live in a country where too many bright, striving Americans are priced out of the education they need. It’s not fair to them, and it’s not smart for our future.” – President BARACK OBAMA at the State of the Union address Tuesday night
THE
statement
Magazine Editor: Ian Dillingham Deputy Editor: Natalie Gadbois Editor in Chief: Jen Calfas
Photo Editor: Luna Anna Archey Design Editor: Jake Wellins Illustrators: Megan Mulholland Maggie Miller
COVER BY LUNA ANNA ARCHEY
Managing Editor: Lev Facher Copy Editors: Laura Schinagle Hannah Bates Emma Sutherland
4B
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 // The Statement
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 // The Statement
Walking in Glue:
Some instances of clinical depression stand out to Gilbert. These patients’ stories seem rehearsed, as if Gilbert has recalled them repeatedly. One story is of a Michigan State University student who took a semester off, in part due to her depression. Every morning, she would run herself a hot bath, and stay in the bathtub for hours. She couldn’t convince herself to get out. “The longer she stayed in the tub, the harder it was to get out and face the day,” Gilbert says. sion line based on two factors: intenThe next story is of a man who sity and duration. compared living his life to “walking “How bad is it, and how long have in glue.” you been struggling with this?” she She pauses and takes a slow breath: asks her patients. “When someone says that to you, Questions of intensity and dura- you get a pretty good image of how hard it is to get through each day.” Raina sits across from me in one of the study rooms in my apartment building. She usually LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/DAILY texts me tion get at the larger question — is every morning, but she didn’t answer your depression so powerful that my texts for three days leading up to you can’t function? Inherent in this her interview. She’s dressed up to her criterion is the idea that humans are usual hipster standard — a red-plaid, supposed to be sad sometimes. It sleeveless collared shirt buttoned up wouldn’t be natural if we were never to her chin, dark-wash blue jeans and anxious, angry, or upset. black combat boots with silver studs “A good case of the blues, and on them. She kicks the boots off and dealing with loss and life changes is they rest, homeless, under the table. The room is entirely white. White walls, white table, white chairs — the blank, empty kind of white that is almost reflecLUNA ANNA ARCHEY/DAILY tive in part of being alive,” Gilbert says. its uniformity. It’s the color of the If your mental illness is not harm- Elmer’s glue kids use for their preing your life in any tangible way, it’s school art projects. The door of the not a mental illness. It’s a feeling. small, square room is closed, and it’s
Mental health among college women and the role of prescription medication By Amabel Karoub, Daily News Editor Editor’s Note: Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals mentioned in the article.
M
aria is sitting on her bed, telling me about her medication. She is lying on her side with her head propped onto her right arm and her hand immersed in her long black hair. She has a freshly poured bowl of Fruit Loops in front of her. She apologizes in advance for eating while she talks, but she doesn’t want the cereal to get soggy. She isn’t wearing pants, just underwear, and I can see her hipbone jutting out. When she was at rehab for two weeks over the summer, staff members had to follow her into the bathroom to ensure she wasn’t bulimic. “This is my natural body weight,” she says. I believe her, but when I wrap my arms around her I worry she might break. Maria’s room is a Candyland of designer clothes and scattered furniture. Two months into the school year, she is still in the move-in process, and shelves, dressers and boxes all line the floor of her bedroom helter-skelter. On a newly-built shelf adjacent to Maria’s bed rests a twofoot-tall bong. Next to this, Maria manages her own private pharmacy. Bottles of Klonopin, Seroquel, Lomictal and Vyvanse lie in a row. The Seroquel is new. She opens the lid and turns the bottle upside down, letting the pink, shockingly tiny pills fall into the cap. “It’s smaller than my birth control,” she notes. Maria is not the only American with a hefty collection of medications. Roughly 7 in 10 Americans are taking a prescription drug. A sizable portion of these drugs treats mental illness, the two most prevalent of which are depression and anxiety. Anxiety is the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million Americans, or 18 percent of the population. Depression is a close second — 19 million Americans have depression in a given year, and the lifetime risk of becoming depressed is 17 percent,
according to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America. Where there is illness in America, there is medication. Data shows 1 in 10 Americans take an antidepressant, a drug used to treat both depression and anxiety. For women, this number is closer to 1 in 4. Maria is playing with a twiddler — a worm-like green necklace she bought at a drugstore. She has trichotillomania, meaning she obsessively pulls out her hair. Her bald part-line is twice the thickness it should be, because that’s where she prefers to uproot the black strands of keratin from their homes. She does this because she suffers from severe anxiety. “I try and wear a hat all the time, but I also try and have something in my hands.” As we talk, Maria repeatedly forgets about the twiddler and absentmindedly sticks her fingers into her hair. Whenever she does this, I silently hand her the twiddler. Maria had good reason to see a psychiatrist. She has been arrested twice — both times for assaulting a cop. Both while blackout. Her second arrest is what got her sent to rehab for drug and alcohol abuse. Since then, Maria has been diagnosed with Bipolar II Disor-
der. This is much less scary than it sounds, as Maria makes sure to inform me. “I’ve never had a state of mania like a real bipolar person would,” she says. “Other than when I’m blackout
longer seems necessary now that she has been prescribed Seroquel. “We don’t know what would happen if I got off it,” she says. “It’s not doing anything bad.” Over the last decade, it has become more and more common for college-aged women to be on the types of medication that Maria takes. The chance of a major depressive episode in 18 to 29-yearolds is three times highLUNA ANNA ARCHEY/DAILY er than in individuals drunk. That’s mania.” 60 years or older, according to the Given her past, Maria’s diagno- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of sis seems neither surprising nor Mental Disorders. inaccurate. Still, the pill bottles on Most of these episodes occur her shelves draw my curiosity. The in females. A quarter of American Klonopin treats her anxiety. The women take a drug for a mental Lomictal and Seroquel act as mood health disorder, compared to 15 perstabilizers. The Vyvanse helps her cent of men. The ratio of women to focus. men on anti-anxiety meds is 2 to 1. For many of my female friends, it began with anxiety. They went to a psychiatrist because they were too anxious to function normally, and were ultimately prescribed either an antidepressant or an LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/DAILY anti-anxiety She refers to herself and her psy- medication. From there, most were chiatrist in the collective when she eventually labeled with a term like discusses why she takes all of these bipolar or clinically depressed. pills. In particular, the Lomictal no “It’s important to not let the labels
bother you,” Maria tells me, taking a bite of Fruit Loops. “All it is is a label for your symptoms.” I ask Maria if she always knew she had a mental illness. The short answer is yes. “I was really an angry kid, I did not have a great childhood.” She sticks her fingers in her hair. “It looked picture-perfect, but a picture-perfect family is usually not a close family.” In my mind, I contrast my own experience with Maria’s. I grew up in an extraordinarily tight-knit family. My father and mother spoiled me endlessly, and my three best friends — my sisters — were never more than a bedroom away. Every day of my childhood, my father took my sisters and me on different adventures, like the movie theatre or the arcade or the park. He called these outings “secret missions.” There was even a secret mission song (which I have now discovered, to my disappointment, is actually the James Bond movie theme). When we got home, my mom would brush our hair and take our coats off for us, then heat something up for dinner (she is an awful cook). Growing up, I went to the same private school for eight years, but when I walked out of those heavy iron doors for good, I had made few close friends. My sisters and my parents were my best friends. When I started my freshman year of college, I left my family members behind. My older sister didn’t go away to college. I was the first one, and I had no idea what I was in for. At school, I felt completely alone. My family was only 45 minutes away, but it might as well have been lightyears. I had no one close to me, and no idea how to let someone get close to me. I missed my family terribly. All I could think about was how my life would never be the same again, how it would never be good again. I stopped eating. I stopped sleeping. I thought about death and dying constantly, and I cried all the time.
This went on for months. Despite some of my peers’ concerns, I never sought professional help. I was sure if I told a therapist what I was going through, he or she would try and convince me to take medication. The concept of taking a pill to make me happy made me uncomfortable. It reminded me of all the books I’ve read where the main character gets brainwashed, and suddenly she’s lost all her individual thoughts. She becomes the minion of some generic Disney-type villain who has an odd hairstyle and gives long monologues about his evil plans. I used to tear through these types of books. Experiencing my favorite character lose the ability to think for herself gave me a sick sort of pleasure. It would almost be freeing, I thought, to have someone else controlling you, thinking for you. I didn’t want to be prescribed antidepressants because I wasn’t sure I could resist. I wasn’t sure I could stop myself from taking one of those tiny pink pills that would wipe my sadness blank. When Marilyn Gilbert returned my phone call, she was elated for the chance to get to know me. She left me a voicemail: “I have seen your photo in your dad’s office, so I have kind of already met you.” A patient in my dad’s internal medicine practice, Gilbert, who holds a doctorate in psychology, verifies the rumor that doctors need doctors too. Over the phone, her voice sounds like a character from Sesame Street. It maintains a softness, like she is teaching a child, but it is comforting rather than condescending. As she talks, she continually uses examples drawn from tennis. I smile, realizing she knows I’ve played the sport my whole life. Gilbert says she believes antidepressants are overprescribed, particularly to teenagers. As a psychologist, Gilbert does not have the ability to prescribe the medication herself. What she can do is help to wean her young patients off antidepressants when she finds them unnecessary. “It becomes a real problem for a lot of the college-age kids that are on
them,” she tells me. “They’re embarrassed. They don’t want people to know, and they begin to worry it’s interfering with other functions.” In place of drugs, Gilbert prefers to trigger our body’s natural medication — endorphins. Endorphins are endogenous opioid neuropeptides. Essentially, they’re our body’s built-in drug pathways meant to induce pleasure and relieve pain. There are multitudes of healthy ways to trigger a spike in endorphins: eating a good meal, exercising, getting enough sleep. Even seemingly superficial pleasures like eating dark chocolate or getting a massage will increase endorphins. High endorphin levels make people happier, reducing the need for antidepressants. In some cases, though, drugs are necessary to treat depression, namely when the depression is defined as “clinical.” But the line between clinical and non-clinical can be fuzzy. You can’t take a blood sample and tell if someone is depressed or not — you have to have a conversation. Gilbert draws the clinical depres-
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so quiet that I can hear Raina’s slow breaths echo off of the erased walls. Raina is on Zoloft, an SSRI or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor. SSRI’s are by far the most common type of antidepressant. They work by increasing your brain’s levels of Serotonin, a mood-elevating neurotransmitter. At the beginning of her sophomore year, Raina decided she wanted medication for her anxiety. She had tried regular talk therapy, and she says it didn’t work for her. From a psychologist’s point of view, Raina was a textbook candidate for medication: her anxiety was interfering with her everyday life. “It was happening all the time,” she tells me. “I would feel awkward participating in class … Random stuff like that.” Raina’s dark brown hair is pulled back, a typical style for her, and she plays with her ponytail as she talks. I watch her cleave the hair that is trapped in her hair tie into two strands with her fingers, then pull in opposite directions, tightening the ponytail. “I was unhappy for no reason.” I watch her loosen her ponytail and bring her hair over one shoulder. “There would be fun things going on and I would still be overly emotional about everything and overreact to things.” When Raina first began to feel anxious, she turned to the University’s resources for students with mental health concerns. She went to Counseling and Psychological Services, which provides University students free mental health care, for individual therapy sessions to psychiatry appointments. Outside of the door of its third floor Michigan Union office, there is a wooden board with block letters that say “Stop Student Suicide.” There are about 20 hooks nailed into the board with handwritten notes hanging from them. I don’t stop to read the notes as I walk in. There is a rumor at the University that, if your roommate commits suicide, you get straight As for the semester. The rumor has such dark implications that I can’t fathom how it continues to seep through college freshmen like water spreading on a dry paper towel. Maybe it’s because everyone imagines it’s just a rumor — that no one’s roommate will ever actually commit suicide. But they do, I think to myself as I stare at those words. Stop Student Suicide. Suddenly, I am 16 years old again. It’s morning, and my parents are talking in hushed whispers outside See GLUE, Page 8B
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Wednesday, January 21, 2015 // The Statement
Personal Statement: My elusive savior by Chloe Gilke, Managing Arts Editor
ILLUSTRATION BY MEGAN MULHOLLAND
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onfidence is an elusive savior. It comes when you’re most vulnerable, when you’re staring at the underside of a black velvet curtain waiting for it to part, as you’re praying the lights will be bright enough to distract you from the hundreds of eyes staring right back at you. It tiptoes into your consciousness and assuages your doubts with a comforting whisper. Hey, you’re gonna be really good at this. The voice quiets just as the lights blast your face. You’re alone, but not really. The performance was a blur, because all you can remember is the feeling of all those eyes watching you. They paid attention. They witnessed your greatness and your genius themselves. Yes, genius. You’re not exaggerating. You fucking killed it. You’re pretty sure somebody called you the next Kate Winslet, and you’re not at all concerned that maybe you kinda made this up. You’re awaiting a call from the Darien Doings, because you know the small-town newspaper is definitely gonna do a profile on their hometown hero/star. Can you convince your parents to let you move to Hollywood? Is this how Kate Winslet got started? That little voice never shuts up, and it tells you to chase more, more, more opportunities to stand with those lights on you and force everyone to listen. I’ve known since I was a kid that I wanted to be an actress. Check my fifth-grade yearbook, and under the picture of my chubby, bespectacled little self, you can find a caption saying that I wanted to be a “dolphin trainer and a movie star” when I grew up. But that yearbook is a dumb liar, because I didn’t just want to be an actress. I wanted to be an actress, with every fiber of my heart and soul and being. But I mostly kept quiet about those ambitions, bottling up all my schemes in my head like some diabolical movie villain. I auditioned for smaller roles in elementary school plays, choosing to let my star dim and allow the lesser beings to showcase whatever lame talent they had to offer. I was biding my time, waiting for my big breakout role to come along. But that little voice always crept around, whispering that I was better than all these fools and deserved to
be the one in the sparkliest costume. My childhood best friend was a natural onstage, her singing talent carrying over into charismatic acting. Where I had the precise and methodical brilliance of a Winslet, she was a bright and charming Julia Roberts, lighting up every stage she walked on. She didn’t actively seek out leading roles, but they always happened upon her. She rarely had to audition, and people approached her to star like she was the only natural choice. Cleopatra in our fifth-grade ancient Egypt pageant. Rosie in “Bye Bye Birdie.” Mary in our church’s Christmas play. Meanwhile, I stood in the background, a seething Christmas Angel plotting her revenge. See, I knew I was never going to play Mary. I was kinda intense and not a particularly smiley or maternal 12-yearold. Objectively speaking, even though I had far more talent than my competition, casting me as Mary would be a mistake. But then I got to thinking. What Christmas role is perfect for a stoic and flat-chested kid? I was sick of being an angel, singing in a chorus with two other girls who picked their noses and didn’t read for fun. I was sick of being lumped together with losers when I should be the one with the lights on her face, the one the whole audience stared at. I was cast as Joseph, father of Jesus Christ. (Also, none of the boys were interested, but I like to think I’d have gotten the part anyway.) In my biblical headdress and cloth robes, you could hardly tell that the father of the Lord and Savior was being played by a vaguely Jewish little girl. I practiced diligently with my best friend, who was — surprise, surprise — Mary again. We really listened to one another, bouncing back flawless performances as a realistic husband and wife. In my free time, I taught myself to cry on cue, because even though nobody in the audience would be able to see the minutiae of my facial performance, I couldn’t realistically act out the birth of my son without shedding a hard-earned tear. When the time came to actually perform, I did so without abandon or embarrassment. I was an amazing Joseph, and as I let go of
that practiced single tear, I knew the audience was weeping at the vastness of my raw talent, and could care less that I was a girl. Some friends and family may tell you that this performance was the highlight of my career. They’re probably right. After I hung up my Joseph robes at age 15 (when even the loosest garments couldn’t hide the fact that I was definitely a lady), I mostly retired from the stage. I liked to think that inherent desire to be in the spotlight was a silly childhood dream, akin to my yearbook wish of being a dolphin trainer. But I missed it. I tried to channel the same confidence I had onstage to other areas of public performance and failed every time. As I’d walk up to the podium at a Model UN conference to address the general assembly about the importance of nuclear power development in Kazakhstan, I’d look out again at those hundred eyes staring right back. There was no drama, no curtain pulling back, no bright lights. Here, people cared only about the words I said, not how I said them. I couldn’t be great. With my heart pounding and voice cracking, I addressed the assembly and wished I had the comfort of everything being pretend. I had to get that feeling back. Confidence, or maybe something greater. Maybe the feeling of being truly great at something. It strikes you when you need it most. Sitting at a desk behind another black curtain, dressed in a blazer and heels. You know there are probably 200 people sitting in the audience, but you’re not nervous. You let the energy feed you, fill you with light and squash your nerves until they’re imperceptible. The feeling is indescribable, but you can only compare it to leaving your own body. You aren’t yourself anymore. You could be anyone, everyone. You become like one of those stage lights, a shining object that grows brighter with each smile and each laugh. This might not be where you belong, but it’s where you need to be. Somebody might tell you you’re the Next Tina Fey. The little voice in your head tells you anything is possible.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 // The Statement
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Personal Statement: Owning my feminism by Christian Kennedy, Daily Arts Writer
ILLUSTRATION BY MEGAN MULHOLLAND
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here are only a few memories I can recollect vividly from elementary school. One particular incident has stuck with me since second grade. My best friend Lauren and I were sitting at a table during indoor recess, and a boy in my class walked up to us and called me a girl. There were a few things about this event 8-year-old me couldn’t quite comprehend. First, I had short hair and wore boy clothes (not to mention had a penis), so the only thing making me “a girl” by his standards was that I hung out with them. If he hangs out with his dog does that make him a golden retriever? And what about being a girl was supposed to crush my spirit so badly? My best friend was a girl and she seemed to be doing OK. His “insult” really bothered me. Not because I was offended, but because I didn’t understand why that was the best he could come up with. If I had the extensive vocabulary I had now, I would have turned to Lauren and said, “Who cares what that misogynistic ass thinks?” Looking back, I think of it as the day I became a feminist. Clearly, I was not walking around Switzer Elementary burning bras, but the attitude was certainly there. It is true that girls mature faster than boys; for that reason, my friends were predominantly girls. My male peers were interested in sports, video games, and naked women. I played soccer, but didn’t live for it. Wii was fun for a while — N64 still slays. I could appreciate the beauty of women, but I didn’t sit around drooling over them. I should point out that not all boys were like this, but it seemed like the majority were either obsessed with boobs or books. Don’t get me wrong; boobs and books are cool and all, but I felt many of the boys at school needed to broaden
their horizons. It took until high school to find boys who I really enjoyed hanging out with. Even before then, I wasn’t yearning for dude friends; I was happy with who I chose to surround myself with. I wasn’t hanging out with girls for who they were physically. I was hanging out with female friends because we had nice conversations and laughed together all the time. The conversation one table over about who got a hand job in seventh grade didn’t interest me. There simply just weren’t a lot of people who I found stimulating, so I stuck with the friends I had. But even though I was happy, other people in school found me hard to understand. The “girl” comments were continually sprinkled through elementary school, and then in middle school those were upped to my all-time favorite: “Are you gay?” No, slackers of suburbia. I was not gay when you asked last week, and if you ask tomorrow I still won’t be. Despite the confidence I had in who I was, comments from others built up feelings of frustration inside of me throughout middle school and the beginning of high school. It took a friend adding me into a Facebook group discussing gender issues to really help me form my own feelings into beliefs: I was/am a feminist. I had always shared articles on social issues on social media and my friend thought I would fit in well with that community. It turns out I did. We share articles and thoughts and opinions. It is welcoming. It is interesting. It is intelligent. All along I had one of the first steps down: I didn’t get caught up with boys vs. girls in the way much of today’s youth does (and can we blame them with most activities,
toys and interests being labeled with a specific gender?). I have an amazing group of people surrounding me. I’m not concerned with whether someone identifies as a boy or a girl. I’m concerned with what they bring to the table: loyalty, empathy, humor, and insight. As I got out of the hell that is middle school, everyone else started to catch up. I know what I stand for and myself better than ever. I will throw my thoughts into a conversation or share an article, anything to share the freedom I feel with knowledge. A small mind is only captive to its owner. But, even now in college, not everyone gets it. I am still posed with stupid remarks and questions. “Oh, you took that one Women’s Studies class, now you’re a feminist.” Nope, not how it works. “Are you a feminist because you listen to Beyonce?” No. *eye roll* She is the queen and I agree with much of what she stands for, but no, she did not turn me into a feminist. I am a feminist. Everyone should be a feminist. It’s not simply about women; it is about everyone. It is about power, intelligence and opportunity. It is about making a world that is great for everyone. A man doesn’t surrender his masculinity by declaring himself a feminist. I wish I could meet second-grade-me, mess up my hair and say, “It’s OK, everyone else will get it eventually.” I have friends that are girls and friends that are guys, but that is not what matters. What matters is that they are all great human beings with their own unique talents, senses of humor and endless other qualities that make me so grateful to have them in my life. It’s the realization that those standards apply to all people, regardless of gender, that makes me a feminist.
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Wednesday, January 21, 2015 // The Statement
GLUE From Page 5B my bedroom. Anna, my older sister, is 18. She drives me to school and seems unashamed of the white hospital bracelet that clings to one of her sticky, taped up wrists. No one will tell me what is going on but I find out anyway because the blood is all over the place. She cut too hard this time. When I approach the woman working at the CAPS front desk and tell her I am there to interview Dr. Lindsey Mortenson, she tells me to have a seat. I imagine she is about to schedule me an appointment with a therapist. You’re here as a reporter, I keep repeating to myself, but I’m not convincing anybody. Heat begins to seep through my skin and crawl into my soul like a worm eats its way through an apple. It’s so hot that I worry my sweat will flood the room, lifting all the chairs off the rug and making them float down the hallway like ghosts. The room is completely windowless, and every surface is covered with its own sickening shade of purple. The walls are lilac, the seats magenta, and the carpet violet. None of the other students seem to mind, though. Everyone is well dressed and complacent. We could be waiting to board a cruise. Just as I am beginning to get seasick sitting in purgatory, Dr. Mortenson comes to my rescue. Dr. Mortenson is a psychiatrist, meaning she is licensed to prescribe medication. Four floors up from the Union basement’s Subway restaurant, her office perpetually smells like $5 Foot Longs. Like the rest of CAPS, Mortenson’s small workplace lacks a window. She gestures to a mirror on the back wall. “That’s my window,” she jokes, sadly. Impressive degrees line the walls, including a medical degree from Columbia University. We make small talk for a second, and then she asks me to have a seat in one of two squishy gray chairs, positioned across from one another. Sitting, I can’t shake the feeling that I am a patient and Mortenson is about to prescribe me medication. We speak in soft, intimate voices, and my questions sound almost like guilty confessions. When I ask, “What are the criteria you use to prescribe medication?” I could be admitting, “I’m having trouble sleeping.” Usually, patients come to
Mortenson because they’re already considering the option of medication. By the time a patients are sitting across from Mortenson in one
based on a checklist. When I ask Mortenson if she ever tries to talk her clients out of taking medication, she says no. The
College is a huge stress inducer. “It’s a tough time in life,” Marilyn Gilbert, the psychologist, had told me. “There’s a lot of pressure to
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of those comfy gray chairs, many have already tried other approaches, like going to talk therapy, eating better and working out more. “Usually by the time I see them those changes have not been working and they are pretty symptomatic,” Mortenson says. Mortenson’s job is to diagnose the patient with a disorder and then decide what medication would be most appropriate for that particular patient. I ask her whether this process is difficult. “Not really,” she says, shaking her short blonde hair from side to side. The DSM-V — Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders — lists specific criteria for every type of mental illness. Mortenson makes her diagnosis
way she sees it, that is not her job. Her job is to help people. “If you have a medicine or procedure to help somebody, you do it.” she says, her blue eyes shining like morphine stars. “What would that mean to withhold treatment that we know works for a lot of people?” I try to see Mortenson as a villain for prescribing drugs so freely, but I can’t. I think about my father. When I call him with an ear infection or a headache or a sore throat, he brings me medicine. He never tells me that drugs are not the answer or that I should try other methods first. He just treats the illness. In the 2013-2014 academic year, CAPS had 20,000 mental health care appointments. It’s no coincidence that University therapy centers like CAPS see so much action.
succeed and be academically present and to get a job and see what your life situation is.” For the most part, students beginning college are also away from their normal social support system — friends, families, doctors — for the first time. This loss is extremely challenging for many students and can act as a trigger, especially for those who have already been struggling with their own mental health. Additionally, there is much, much higher substance use during college years compared to other periods of life. Binge use of alcohol, weed and other drugs is standard practice on college campuses. It is easy for a student to turn to substances when they are feeling down. And it’s also extremely dangerous.
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“Alcohol is a depressant,” Gilbert said. “It’s tempting because it takes away the bad feelings, but it really adds to the depression.” Playing into all of these factors are the raging hormones associated with one’s late teens and early twenties. “It’s a time when your body is developing, and there are a lot of hormonal issues that come into play,” Gilbert said. Young women have much higher levels of sex hormones than young men, causing their moods and feelings to be much more affected by hormonal changes. This is partly why a much greater number of young women struggle with mental health disorders than men. At the University, Maria drinks more alcohol and smokes more weed — the size of the bong in her room attests to this fact — than she did in high school. All of her manic episodes have occurred while she was extremely drunk, and these episodes ultimately led to her diagnosis with bipolar disorder. In contrast, Raina was affected more by the lack of social ties she experienced when she first came to college. As a freshman, she was going to Michigan State practically every weekend to visit her high school boyfriend. She went to CAPS initially due to loneliness. “I was having trouble making friends because I was gone all the time,” she told me. I think of my own sadness at the start of college, how unbearable it was. I can’t blame Raina for wanting medication when the feeling remained strong a year later. For me, the depression had ebbed over time. At least a little bit. It’s 2 a.m., and I’m lying in bed trying to sleep, but I can’t stop worrying about Maria. When I stopped by her room after tennis practice, she was clearly under the influence. Whether it was from her hefty stash of weed, her meds or something else, I can’t say, but she told me the Klonopin was making her all wobbly (“I just like, wobble. I don’t fall”). She was going through a hard break-up, which was partially why I visited her. While we had been talking, she stuck her right arm out toward me with her palm facing up, like a child sticks out her tongue after just finishing a lollipop. Slashed across her wrist like ink were three bright red, lateral slits.
Read the rest of this article online at MichiganDaily.com