CELEBRATING OUR ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Tuesday, September 15, 2015
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IN TH E R ACE
Feds update timeline for student aid application READ INSIDE ROBERT DUNNE/Daily
LEFT: Washtenaw County Commissioner Yousef Rabhi makes an official announcement of his candidacy for state representative to the 53rd Michigan House District at Buhr Park Children’s Wet Meadow Project on Monday. RIGHT: Rabhi hugs Ann Arbor resident Margie Teall, a 12-year city councilmember, after his announcement.
ACADEMICS
Provost: Friday class could help stop weekday drinking SACUA meeting addresses diversity plan, excessive alcohol consumption By GENEVIEVE HUMMER Daily Staff Reporter
More classes might be offered only early Friday morning next semester — and it is no accident.
University Provost Martha Pollack presented two key issues Monday for the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs’ consideration: diversity and student drinking. One suggestion she made to SACUA members in regard to quelling campus drinking involved increasing the number of large enrollment classes on Friday mornings, in addition to encouraging faculty to give short talks about the dangers of
excessive alcohol consumption in class. On the topic of quelling excessive student drinking, Pollack said faculty involvement could play an important role. Art & Design Prof. Anne Mondro, a SACUA member, said it might be helpful if faculty suggested dry events to students in class. “Let us say, ‘Hey, here’s a whole list of other events that are happening.’ ” she said.
Greek and Latin Prof. David Potter, a SACUA member, said the solution must involve changing the school’s image and culture. “One of the difficulties is that students come here with the expectation of partying,” Potter said. “They’re told this is a fourday school.” Before classes commenced last week, the University rolled out a package of new initiatives designed to combat drinking on See PROVOST, Page 3
In Iowa speech, Obama announces initiative to adjust FAFSA deadline By EMMA KINERY Daily Staff Reporter
With the aim of helping more Americans see college as an affordable option, President Barack Obama announced a new initiative to align the Free Application for Federal Student Aid due date more closely with college applications. Obama’s plan, which he announced Monday in Iowa, would potentially move FAFSA’s application date to October — rather than its current January due date, which falls months after students have already applied to college. The changes will go into effect in the 2017-2018 fiscal year. FAFSA is a mechanism to check students’ eligibility for federal and state government scholarships,
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ADMINISTRATION
Our View: ‘Greek’ meeting fails in call for reform Administrators lack nuance to reach target audience with mass event By THE MICHIGAN DAILY Editorial Board
For the first time in University of Michigan Greek life’s 170-year history, chapter members from all four councils — Interfraternity, Panhellenic, National PanHellenic and Multicultural — were required to meet with administrators last Thursday evening to discuss party culture and how it affects perceptions of our school. With problems such as sexual assault and alcohol abuse disproportionately affecting Greek life members, it’s obvious some sort of action is required. However, administrators should not be led to believe that holding a large meeting, during which they talked at instead of with members, was a productive use of time. Instead, they should realize they failed to engage their target audience and made little, if no progress in initiating needed reforms. Each chapter was required to send at least 70 percent of its members to the meeting at Hill Auditorium or else face a semester of social probation, a letter to their national organization and a $1,000 fine. Perhaps due to this attendance requirement, the mass meeting was met with some resistance. Members of the crowd disrupted University President Mark Schlissel and other members of the administration with loud coughs
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and laughter when issues such as alcohol abuse, sexual assault and other problems pertaining to Greek life were discussed. However, this behavior did not go unreprimanded. Alex Krupiak, the 2015 IFC executive board president, ended the meeting by commenting on the disrespectful behavior as “flat-out embarrassing” for the entirety of Greek life. While only a small minority of members displayed this massive immaturity, it demonstrated stomach-churning ignorance toward the serious issues facing Greek life that must be addressed. That said, the initiative to bridge gaps between Greek life and the administration was admirable. However, the lack of awareness within the administration about the underlying roots from which alcohol abuse, property destruction and sexual assaults stem, coupled with the “not in my backyard” attitudes of some students involved in Greek life, resulted in an ineffective dialogue that sought to appeal to emotions instead of proposing real, substantive changes. During the meeting, the University called on members of Greek life to internally create a more constructive campus culture and lead progress toward upholding school values. However, administrators stated they couldn’t find short-term solutions for the cultural problems permeating campus, and didn’t give specific policy suggestions that could provide a framework for the student-led changes to occur. While members of Greek life ultimately decide how they See GREEK, Page 4
grants and loans. It is also used by higher education institutions to determine how much financial aid to allot students. Packing college acceptances with delivery of financial aid packages is something that the University has been working toward in the last year. In an interview with The Michigan Daily earlier this month, University President Mark Schlissel said these efforts could result in “modest incremental changes in the direction of diversity.” As a result, Kedra Ishop, associate vice president for enrollment management at the University, sees the announcement as positive for both higher education institutions and students. “The president’s order makes the financial aid timetable much more palatable for families and will broaden what they think is possible for themselves,” she said. “This is a win-win for both our University and our students and See FAFSA, Page 3
Regents consider bachelor’s in public health Thursday’s meeting agenda also set to include bond proposal By MICHAEL SUGERMAN Daily News Editor DELANEY RYAN/Daily
Scott Campbell, associate professor of Urban Planning and a member of the Pedestrian Safety and Access Task Force, presented objectives on making changes to protect pedestrians to the Ann Arbor City Council on Monday.
Council reviews report on pedestrian safety in A2 Task force offers proposals intended to reduce pedestrian fatalities, accidents By ISOBEL FUTTER Daily Staff Reporter
Pedestrians in Ann Arbor, many of whom are students and young people, are at risk of injury according to a recent study conducted by Ann Arbor officials. Vision Zero — an initiative endorsed by the city’s Pedestrian Safety and Task Force Committee that strives to eliminate fatalities or serious injuries to pedestrians — was presented to the Ann Arbor
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City Council Monday night in an attempt to address this issue, along with survey results reguarding pedestrian safety in Ann Arbor. The report included several policy proposals, including improved crosswalks and a ban on using hand-held devices for drivers. Though Ann Arbor crashes involving pedestrians represent only 16 percent of all crashes, pedestrians account for one-third of the fatalities and one-fourth of all serious crash-related injuries. The study states that Ann Arbor averaged 55 pedestrian crashes per year for the five-year period 2010-2014, which was a 22 percent increase from the previous fiveyear period. Council did not vote on the report on Monday, but
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will continue to consider the proposal at future meetings. After 17 months of studying Ann Arbor’s road system, pedestrian fatality and surveying the community, the Pedestrian Safety and Task Force created a 59-page document report. Linda Diane Feldt, chair of the Pedestrian Safety and Access Task Force, said the report was created in an effort to have a cohesive and effective plan for pedestrian safety. “There was disconnect between the experience of those people walking, those in cars, and of course, distracted roadway users,” Feldt said. The objectives of the report is to improve pedestrian access, improve understanding of traffic See PEDESTRIANS, Page 3
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For the most part, the agenda for Thursday’s University Board of Regents meeting is pretty standard. Pending construction projects will be up for approval, a new round of professors will likely be granted tenure and the Central Student Government president will give his first monthly report of the school year. For this month’s preview, The Michigan Daily perused the agenda and sifted out some of standout items on Thursday’s agenda. Public Health major A resolution to create a two-year major program through the School of Public Health, if passed, would allow undergraduate students to declare a public health major as of the fall 2016 semester. The program will focus on “the importance of critical thinking applied to important health problems of the 21st century,” according to an action request written by Provost Martha Pollack and Martin Philbert, dean of the See PUBLIC HEALTH, Page 3
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News
2 — Tuesday, September 15, 2015
TUESDAY: Professor Profiles Campus Profiles Voices Professor
MONDAY: This Week in History
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers
THURSDAY: Twitter Talk
Ann Arbor City Councilmember Mike Anglin in response to a proposed construction project on Main Street: “This building is trying to squeeze something into a spot that it doesnt work in.” University President Mark Schlissel on the University’s forthcoming diversity plan: “We know the process itself will be neither easy nor quick. We will disagree at times, but the structure we’ve built is designed to encourage discussion, the sharing of
successful programs and the development of new ideas.”
the Women@MHacks conference:
Maryam Arbabzadeh — a Ph.D candidate in Natural Resources and Environment, an Iranian student and a member of the Iranian Graduate Students Association — on the Iran Deal:
“Hackathons in general — and it’s sort of extension to the tech community in general — have a really serious gender gap. You know there’s a problem when schools and complanies are happy with an 18-percent female representation in technology industries.
“Iranians in the U.S. started the movement to show that they support the deal. there is a hashtag, #SupportIranDeal, because we want to show it all around the world and say that we support it.” LSA sophomore Shayna Mehta, an MHacks volunteer, on the importance of developing
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NEWS
Fresh produce BY ISOBEL FUTTER
M Farmers Market will run weekly this year, by popular demand. Held at the Michigan Union, the market offers fresh vegetables and fruits provided by a local farm. Organizers say the selection of produce is designed to give students more healthy eating options on campus.
OPINION
Tanning beds A group of University medical students are drawing attention to the dangers of tanning. In a viewpoint, the students report that at least seven of the high-rise apartment buildings near campus that primarily cater to students offer tanning beds free of charge.
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Engineering freshman Grayson Rice practices moves in a training session hosted by the Bujinkan Budo Club at the CCRB on Monday.
WHAT: Students can schedule an appointment to donate blood by going to redcrossblood.org and using the sponsor code “goblue” Tuesday. WHO: American Red Cross Club WHEN: 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: East Hall, Psych Atrium
WHAT: My Brothers, a monthly lunch series, will kick off its first event. Open to students, faculty and staff, the series is meant to discuss the experience of “men of color” at the Univeristy. WHO: Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives WHEN: 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, Central Student Government Chambers
WHAT: Philip Alston, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, will deliver a lecture on human rights in relation to the World Bank. WHO: International Institute WHEN: 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: School of Social Work Building, Room 1636
WHAT: MHealthy’s Beautiful Break allows students and faculty to “create through art” and seek calm through “movement and meditation.” WHO: MHealthy WHEN: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. WHERE: Robert H. Lurie Engineering Center
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Resume WHAT: The Career Center will offer its weekly “Resume 101” resume-building workshop. WHO: Career Center WHEN: 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: Career Center l Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@ michigandaily.com.
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
1
At approximately 1:30 p.m. a call was placed to emergency responders after a woman was bitten at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens on Monday, the Ann Arbor News reported. She was bitten above the ankle by an Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake.
2
Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday that a redshirt year for backup quarterback Shane Morris, who hasn’t seen game action this season, is still a consideration. >> FOR MORE, SEE SPORTS, PG. 7
3
A professor at Delta State University in Mississippi was shot and killed in his office on Monday, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported. Another faculty member, who is now dead, is considered a suspect.
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BUSINESS STAFF Hussein Hakim Finance and Operations Manager Claire Ulak Production Manager Jordan Yob Marketing Manager Matt Pfenning UAccounts Manager Chris Wang Classifieds Manager Asja Kepes Local Accounts Colin Cheesman National Accounts Anna He Special Guides and Online Manager 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.
Medical School hosts admissions chat Group of current students answer questions about admissions process By NABEEL CHOLLAMPAT Daily Staff Reporter
The University Medical School’s admissions office took to Twitter on Monday night, answering questions during an hour-long live chat with prospective students who had questions about the admissions process. Students interested in applying to the M.D. program tweeted questions and concerns to @ UMichMedAdmiss and including #GoBlueMed in their 140-character posts. Eight current Medical School students helped run the Twitter account, providing first-person
stories to help answer questions. A prevalent concern among the prospective students was the availability of research and extracurricular opportunities at Michigan. In addition, many applicants asked about student life in Ann Arbor, as well as study abroad and volunteering opportunities. “The faculty/staff here are incredibly responsive to your interests in clinical and basic science research,” the Medical School Admissions Twitter replied. “Students are happy, mentorship and support are amazing, (and there are) many strong research programs.” According to U.S. News, the University Medical School currently ranks 10th nationally in research and fifth nationally in primary care. For the class of 2014, 10.1 percent of 5,776 applicants were interviewed, and 177 were eventually admitted.
The Twitter chat also revealed an interest among prospective students in patient care in underrepresented or underserved populations. “How does learning to practice medicine in Ann Arbor contribute to one’s preparedness for serving the underserved?” one Twitter user, Meghan Schmitt, asked. “Our Doctoring and Patient Centered Care parts of the curriculum prepare us to work with the underserved,” the admissions profile wrote. “And there are opportunities to volunteer with homeless/uninsured populations in Detroit and around (Ann Arbor).” Many students, including Nicole Elmblad, Michigan Women’s Basketball guard, inquired about the student culture and sense of cooperation among M.D. candidates. “How’s the student culture?” Elmblad asked. “Is there more of
a sense of working together (versus) competing among students?” “There’s definitely a sense of huge collaboration among classmates,” the profile replied. “I’ve yet to see real competition among my classmates.” In response to a prospective student, a second-year Medical student answering questions from the account who identified herself by the hashtag “#MeghanM2” echoed the sentiment of collaboration. “My classmates are definitely the best part,” she wrote. “They bring so many different perspectives and ideas.” Medical School Admissions, in addition to pointing out the diversity of student culture and extracurricular opportunities available, noted that the Medical School offers about $10 million in aid to students each year. The next Twitter chat will be hosted on Oct. 7.
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Ann Arbor resident Harvey Pillersdorf talks with Jeff Irwin (D) of the 53rd District at Washtenaw County Commissioner Yousef Rabhi’s official announcement of his candidacy for state representative at Buhr Park Children’s Wet Meadow Project on Monday.
‘U’ alum announces candidacy for House Yousef Rabhi to run in Michigan’s 53rd district By ALLANA AKHTAR Daily Staff Reporter
Washtenaw County Commissioner Yousef Rabhi announced his candidacy for state representative to the 53rd Michigan House District in the Buhr Park Children’s Wet Meadow Project Monday afternoon. Rabhi said he chose to launch his candidacy at the park because it was the place that spurred his political career — when he was in pre-school. “This is where I realized, not only the power of the environment and nature to make good change, but the power of community to come together and make it happen,” he said. In his address to his supporters and family, he noted some of the change he brought to Washtenaw County as commissioner, including building a community dental clinic for low-income residents, passing preferred ordinances for local and environmentally-friendly businesses and extending municipal ID cards to residents without other forms of identification, such as undocumented immigrants, the
elderly and those living under the poverty line. While creating programs to spur social justice, Rabhi said he also produced a balanced municipal budget for four years and achieved a triple-A bond rating for the first time in Washtenaw County history. He said his success both socially and economically proves him a worthy contender for the race. “This shows you that you can have fiscal stability and you can have social change all in one,” he said. “One does not have to compromise the other, we can work on both and still achieve a better community.” Rabhi has resided in Ann Arbor his entire life, attending Huron High School and earning a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University in 2010. Along with being county commissioner, he works full-time at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum. City Councilmember Sabra Briere endorsed Rabhi and attended the event in support of his campaign. She said his ability to work within a local community, as well as enthusiasm and dedication to his job, made him an outstanding county commissioner. Read more at michigandaily.com
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NEWS BRIEFS
Playboy Magazine lists University as a top party school The University of Michigan was listed in 10th place in Playboy Magazine’s 2015 Top Party School list. Leading the list was Ohio University of Akron. This year is the first time the university was the top school and only the fourth time it’s been included in the list. Last year the University of Pennsylvania , which wasn’t included in the list this year, was chosen as the top party school in the country. Playboy chooses schools to make the cut based off of the school’s nightlife, concerts, and the degree of creativity involved with planning party themes.
For more content, visit us online at michigandaily.com PUBLIC HEALTH From Page 1 School of Public Health. The program will feature three concentration areas: public health sciences, global public health and community public health. These areas will “encourage study abroad.” Students would apply during their sophomore year and begin public health studies as a junior, similar to application-only undergraduate programs like the Public Policy School. Over the last 10-20 years, an increasing number of institutions have started offering undergraduate public health programs. The program calls for students to complete a focus area and complete a capstone project with a field learning experience. CSG update In his monthly report to the regents, CSG President Cooper Charlton, an LSA senior, announced that CSG has worked with Dean of Students Laura Blake Jones and Holly RiderMilkovich, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, “to develop a curriculum for student-athletes to learn about sexual assault prevention and raise awareness about this issue.” Funding campus construction Kevin Hegarty, executive vice president and chief financial officer, has submitted an action request for the University to issue general revenue bonds. If approved, proceeds are estimated not to exceed $110 million. Bonds are often issues by companies or institutions needing to raise money. How it works: Investors loan the institution, in this case the University, a specific amount of money in exchange for periodic interest payments. The loan is repaid when the bond reaches maturity. The funds brought in by these bonds would pay for recently completed and ongoing renovation projects — including the Munger Graduate Residences, Intramural Sports Building and Central Campus utility tunnel reinforcements. “The University seeks to provide long term financing for the construction cash flow requirements of authorized new projects,” the action request reads. The plan would also likely involve refinancing “commercial paper,” or money issued by corporations or institutions to help them meet short-term debt obligations — in the University’s case, this refers to money that went toward funding the collective renovation of West Quad and the Michigan Union Cambridge House. Subsequently, total proceeds from issuing bonds and refinancing “is not expected to exceed $435 million.” “These bonds, like commercial paper, will be supported by a pledge of the University’s General Revenues,” the action request reads. General Revenues refers to “revenues from students, athletics, housing” and a plethora of other University cash flows.
FAFSA From Page 1 families.” FAFSA has already changed dramatically under the Obama administration. Last January, the president announced significant cuts to the application’s length, shaving the process down by approximately 20 minutes to make applying easier and faster. University alum Cecilia Muñoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, and Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, further explained the new initiative in a media phone conference Monday afternoon. Muñoz said the administration decided to change FAFSA’s due date because the current January deadline falls during a time where filing taxes for most families
PEDESTRIANS From Page 1 laws, improve the physical conditions of the roadway, address the safety and access for all users and reduce distractions. The task force said their goal is zero traffic fatalities. The task force surveyed more than 1,000 members of the Ann Arbor community, as well as consulted experts in the field. “The Task Force wants these recommendations to become reality and hopes that you will work to implement them through creation of a formal Pedestrian Safety Plan that recognizes pedestrian safety and access as an important component of City policy, and practice and one that deserves a level of funding commensurate with its importance to the City and its residents,” Feldt wrote in an opening letter to the Council. After addressing the statistics, the report then goes on to outline the five underlying issues that Council and the city of Ann Arbor needs to address. These issues include the unavailability of comfortable and convenient sidewalks, as well as unfamiliarity with traffic laws, a disconnect between roadway user expectations and conditions, failure to consider the perspective of all transportation system users and distracted roadway users. Members of the Ann Arbor community identified a variety of potential causes, including situations where motorists fail to yield for pedestrians, as well as snow and ice accumulation on sidewalks and speeding in residential neighborhoods. To conclude the report, detailed descriptions of how the city could address these issues. Each solution or recommendation was related back to an objective aforementioned in the document. Scott Campbell, a task force member, presented said Council should consider different ways to address crosswalks on busy roads. “One of the biggest issues that we’ve seen is the danger of multi-lane traffic in each direction,” Campbell said. “One thing recommended is to have
News coincides with FAFSA deadlines and the release of college decisions. “These changes will essentially eliminate the largest roadblocks to FAFSA completion, as well as this truncated time period during which people — students and their families — are making what could be the most important financial decision of their lives,” Muñoz said. “So this administrative effort is going to mean an easier, and earlier, FAFSA.” Currently FAFSA uses a tax retrieval tool to fill-in financial information, which is only available to families after they have filed their taxes. Fourmillion students currently file their FAFSA information prior to their taxes. Now, family income information will be evaluated
advanced stop bars, which give a good distance between the stopped car and the crosswalk.” Anthony Pinnell, another task force member, discussed speeding and distracted driving. “One idea is implementing local ordinance banning handheld (devices) and even handsfree devices,” Pinnell said. “More and more states have statewide bans and it’s mostly becoming a topic because using devices is overtaking alcohol accidents.” Councilmember Jane Lumm (D–Ward 2) raised questions regarding police enforcement of pedestrian laws. “My sense is that there is no magic and there aren’t officers sitting around doing nothing,” Lumm said. “Additional enforcement would require more officers, or more overtime, therefore some parts of policing may be sacrificed.” Councilmember Stephen Kunselman (D–Ward 3) wanted to know how the task force addressed jaywalking, an element that he felt was missing from the report. “We have a lot of young pedestrians in the downtown,” Kunselman said. “It seems like they are the ones that need enforcement, not the drivers that are trying to dodge them.” Feldt responded to Kunselman’s question by noting that pedestrians are similar in behavior to deer. She said that one of the best solutions to addressing pedestrian safety is for motorists to slow down as they would for deer. After discussing general pedestrian safety, the task force then addressed snow and ice removal in the city. “Everyone is demanding higher standards when it comes to snow and ice removal,” Pinnell said. “The current ordinance and its enforcement are inadequate.” The solution to inadequate snow removal included defining an exact ordinance with standards that are easy to follow and fulfill. The task force also recommended low and no-cost solutions for community members that need assistance. The task force also empathized to the Council the significant effect of inadequate snow removal on the elderly and disabled citizens of Ann Arbor as another issue the proposal would address.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015 — 3
from each of the two years prior to a student’s college application — or “prior-prior year data” — to determine if income has changed significantly over that period of time. The change will make it easier for families to record their financial data. Mark Kantrowitz, senior vice president and publisher of edvisors.com, is an expert on student financial aid and said the shift to using prior-prior year data will have a serious impact on students’ financial aid and graduation rate. “Prior-prior year will also yield an improvement in college graduation rates,” Kantrowitz said. “Currently, about 2 million low income students don’t file the FAFSA, even though they would qualify for a Federal Pell Grant. Some don’t do it because of the complexity of the form.
Some don’t do it because they are enrolled at low-cost colleges and think they can work their way through college. But people who work a full-time job are half as likely to graduate as students who work 12 hours or less a week. Some don’t do it because they think they aren’t eligible for grants, just for loans. So, making the process easier will encourage more students to file the FAFSA. If these students then use the financial aid to reduce their work hours, they will be more likely to graduate.” Duncan said he believes the changes will help students and families make more informed decisions earlier. “We think this small step to make students’ lives easier could have a huge impact over time,” Duncan said. “We’re estimating that over the next several years,
literally hundreds of thousands of additional students will actually gain access to critical student aid each year because more students and their families will find it easier to apply for that aid. That’s financial aid that students absolutely need and deserve, and that historically, sadly, they were leaving on the table.” Pamela W. Fowler, executive director of the University’s Office of Financial Aid, said the University is eager to get started with the new changes. “Those of us in the highereducation field have advocated for this change for some time,” Fowler said. “This is a positive move for our students and families and will allow our prospective families to assess their financial situation earlier in the decision-making process.”
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Martha Pollack, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, discusses the new HAIL scholarship for highachieving, low-income students at a SACUA meeting in the Fleming Administration Building on Monday. The new scholarship program will pay full tuition and fees for four years and make the admissions process more accessible.
PROVOST From Page 1 campus. Central to that effort is a plan to alert the parents of firstyear students who incur a second violation of the University’s alcohol policies. The University’s Division of Public Safety and Security also plans to increase engagement efforts in off-campus neighborhoods. Citing current work to develop a campus-wide diversity
initiative, Pollack asked members of SACUA to consider how the faculty governance could be involved with the ongoing planning process. Last week, University President Mark Schlissel said the University would finalize a campus-wide strategic diversity plan by the end of the school year. For now, Schlissel said individual University units and departments would play a role in suggesting policy changes or new initiatives designed to improve equity and inclusion at the University — a
FOUND CAT: Feline was found outside of 420 Maynard at 10:00 p.m. Monday night. Email jcalfas@michigandaily.com if you have details on this cat’s owner.
process in which faculty are expected to play a key role. Kinesiology Prof. Stefan Szymanski, a SACUA member, suggested the University improve its outreach efforts in Detroit. “Walking down Woodward Avenue there’s a wonderful building with MSU slogans everywhere and big bold letters everywhere, and then we have a little building with little block ‘M’s and it just seemed very striking,” he said. While Pollack acknowledged that the University needs to continue to expand its presence in Detroit, she also noted the University programs already in place with that aim. She said a recent survey indicated the University has more than 300 research, outreach and service initiatives active in Detroit. Among them is the University’s Detroit Center, which assists local students in completing college application and FAFSA forms. SACUA member Angela Fagerlin, associate professor of internal medicine, questioned how the University was planning to help students from underresourced high schools adjust to the University’s level of rigor. “(They) don’t know how to interact with the system as well so they get lost here among the other 40,000 kids,” Fagerlin said. While Pollack said the University is continuing to develop initiatives to address this issue, she pointed to the University’s high graduation rate as evidence that many students are successful here no matter their background. The next SACUA meeting will take place Sept. 21.
Opinion
4 — Tuesday, September 15, 2015
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.
represent themselves, these organizations are also University-sanctioned and operate under the University’s jurisdiction. Administrators have the power and the responsibility to facilitate cultural shifts by establishing concrete guidelines and engaging in collaborative efforts with student organizations. The meeting identified negative aspects of Greek life, but ultimately failed to offer genuine policy solutions. The structure and emphasis of the meeting were also problematic. E. Royster Harper, vice president for student life, remarked in an interview with the Michigan Daily that the meeting was intended to emphasize the University’s concern for students’ health and wellness, not to scold them. However, Harper made clear at the meeting that others often perceive Greek life as racist, homophobic, sexist and unsafe. Further, the consensus after the meeting reflected disapproval of the event.
MICHIGAN From Page 1
Ultimately, the administration came off as punitive, putting many students on the defensive and risking creating a rift that could damage future efforts to effectively enact policy. Given that the administration highlighted more problems than it provided solutions, and that no actual progress is likely to come of it, the meeting comes off as a publicity stunt that wasn’t meant to cause any tangible change. Rather than condemn the entirety of Greek life, the University should seek to acknowledge the positive contributions individual chapters make to campus and the community at large. Reforms are needed, but generalizing the collective behavior of the students within these organizations will not bring forth any substantial solutions. The problematic actions of individuals, or even specific chapters, should not overshadow Greek life members who are instituting reforms and portraying the University in a positive light. To remedy these issues, the University needs to modify its approach in order to establish an open dialogue and a more cooperative relationship with these groups.
CLAIRE BRYAN | VIEWPOINT
Apathy toward accountability Last Thursday, I sat in Hill Auditorium along with thousands of other Greek life members listening to the University’s top administrators. I sat next to my best friends and role models, whom I love and respect, but when my gaze wandered past the faces around me, I was ashamed to be a member of the entire Greek life population. At this point, I know I’m not alone in lacking Greek life pride. Interfraternity Council President Alex Krupiak said it at the conclusion of the meeting. Students interviewed by the Daily said it afterward. My own sorority’s former head of recruitment said it a few days later. And I’m certain if most members of Greek life sat down to write their own ideas into some concrete form, they would also say it. This lack of pride isn’t just because of this past January’s ski trip, or just because the campus climate survey on sexual misconduct results told us that Greek life members are 2.5 times more at risk to be sexually assaulted than non-Greek students, or just because of any of the negative headlines that were screened in the PowerPoint as we all took our seats. In my experience, Greek life members often critique the system (and by system I mean both the chapters and the recruitment process) as being weird, enormous and bizarre, but it has “introduced me to my very best friends so I couldn’t imagine not being a part of it.” I heard those words when rushing during my freshman year, I’ve texted those very words to high school students who have asked me advice on whether to rush or not rush, and I believe those words are accurate and fair. In an entirely unnatural and fun way, you can efficiently be exposed to mass amounts of people. That in itself is simultaneously exhilarating and comforting for certain people, especially when entering a very large undergraduate population. But these accurate, fair and seemingly harmless words are exactly what’s so detrimental to our Greek life system. It’s easy, in fact natural, to identify and be proud to stand with the individuals who surround you: your friends and the people you look up to. The values those individuals stand for are what you stand for, and if you and these individuals make up the group — your chapter — then you are proud of your chapter. But when it comes to the larger picture — 32 Interfraternity Council fraternities, 16 PanHellenic Association sororities, 12 multicultural organizations and nine National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations — you do not know the values of members in every single one of these chapters, and therefore it becomes a lot harder to know if you’re proud of the community as a whole. In 1913, French engineer Maximilien Ringelmann coined this fundamental idea in social psychology: as a group becomes larger, each individual member of the group becomes less productive. That Greek life’s size is negatively contributing to productivity is an argument I wish I could be making. But size isn’t really the crux of the issue. Yes, many members of Greek Life are strangers to each other, but so are thousands of other University students. The problem with the Ringelmann effect lies in identifying group goals. When it comes to joining Greek life, it feels like there’s a lack of a concrete, common and unifying end goal. In fact, some of the best advice I have received when wondering why I’m a part of an organization like my sorority is to not take it too seriously. When I get disheartened that an initiative doesn’t launch or not enough girls show up to the events I plan, I remind myself that I joined this organization for fun. It isn’t a job that will help further me along my career path. It isn’t a class that will transfer to a letter grade on my transcript. I’m choosing to learn from it: conversational skills, time-management skills, networking skills. It’s a positive experience in my life but it isn’t my entire life or a portion of my life
that I’m dedicated to more than other organizations or jobs I have on campus. I’m not saying this is true for everyone; there are some leaders who are working really hard, but for the majority of members I believe it is. As part of the very large institution that is the University, your goals are to grow as a leader, student, person, what have you. As part of my sorority, my goals are to grow as a leader and organizer, understand myself through getting to know different people and provide a community for younger girls. As a part of the community of Greek life my goals are to … what? Answering that third question is a lot harder than answering the previous two. This blank is the reason for the disrespect, the lack of change and the apathy I saw in my fellow Greek members on Thursday. The newest idea that came out of Thursday’s meeting was Schlissel’s call to action: to save the University’s reputation, because if we do not, it will devalue our own reputation as Michigan graduates, as well as that of those who came before and will come after us. The call to action feels like the closest thing Greek life has ever come to in terms of a collective goal. It’s troubling considering the Office of Greek life has done a ton of work to answer my question. They have outlined strategic goals of what Greek life should be accomplishing: unity, safety, public service and tradition, to name a few, and outlined plans of how these goals will be accomplished. These goals and detailed plans aren’t really focused on when freshmen are deciding to rush or not rush, when bid-day pictures are posted or when weekly chapter meetings are held. Schlissel ironically pointed to the fact that leadership and change must come from our student leaders: the presidents of each of the four councils. Something Greek life does pride itself on is being a student-governed organization, and it’s pretty impressive when you think about it. Hundreds of young adults dedicate hundreds of hours a week to systematically categorizing themselves (even using complex coding systems to do it) into social groups, creating rules to be followed and a police force to enforce these rules. But this leadership and organization that students are motivated to participate in is just a sliver of pride that needs to be utilized more. Though I know council presidents have been working hard to generate change, it does feel as if the Office of Greek life has done the planning for us and that administrators are overseeing us. That combination inspires no member of Greek life. I believe the common reasons for joining Greek life — please hear me when I say are not at all the wrong reasons — are to meet new people, attend events that get you out of your dorm room freshman year and give back to the community through service and philathropy. But very rarely do these initial reasons evolve into the highly important goals of bright, driven University of Michigan students. Very rarely do students take on sorority or fraternity leadership positions with the same sincerity that they take their summer internships or their job recruiting. The people sitting in Hill Auditorium Thursday evening are not apathetic people, but they do not prioritize their chapter in a professional way. Neither do I. I care about it in a way where I take the good relationships it has given to me, but I look at it as a social institution, just one part of me, not my entire life and learning environment. I know I can escape it if I don’t want to tailgate one Saturday morning, so it doesn’t force me to look it in the eye and work for policies that promote safer tailgating. That’s the heartbreaking thing about Krupiak’s final statement, because though his chapter means the world to him, it just doesn’t
N
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Bullets over Ann Arbor
ews has been pouring out of Ann Arbor all summer. No matter how far away you were from hoMe, whether you were studying abroad in Barcelona, interning on Wall Street, waiting tables on Main Street or simply soaking up the sun on the shores of Lake Michigan, no Wolverine could bear four long months without checking in on their beloved campus. Between the dawning of the Harbaugh Era, the opening of Mcity and the renovations on North Campus, the summer of 2015 was by no means uneventful. One Ann Arbor resident, Joshua Wade, has been particularly busy. In June, Wade filed a lawsuit against the University (which by itself is not entirely rare). This case, however, has nothing to do with affirmative action or sexual misconduct. This case is about gun control. Wade’s charge is simple: University policy states that no weapons can be carried on University campuses by anyone other than law enforcement or the military. To Wade, this policy violates the rights he finds in both the United States and Michigan constitutions. He carries weapons for the defense of himself and his loved ones and “just want(s) U-M to come into compliance with state law,” because “police unfortunately can’t be everywhere … they can’t protect everyone, as evidenced by the fact that crime happens.” University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald issued a statement shortly thereafter announcing that the administration will “vigorously defend” their policy as a matter of safety. Most observers of this case will be able to see the merits of each side of the argument, the complex conflict of interest between Mr. Wade’s Second Amendment rights and the University’s desire to ensure the safety of its students. But in this case, there
are not two sides. Contrary to popular opinion and the agenda perpetuated by thousands of gun advocates in America today, this case should be a no-contest, easy win for the University. Because when it comes to his rights, Mr. Wade is absolutely and without a doubt dead wrong. Let’s break down the argument in this case. The University cannot ban the possession of weapons on campus because the Second Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms, right? Wrong, and for more than one reason. If Joshua Wade read the exact phrasing of keystone of his legal argument, he would see that the amendment begins: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State…” To the founders, the right to bear arms was exercised at Lexington and Concord, not by Mr. Wade at the corner of Liberty and State streets. Not until 2008 did the Supreme Court recognize the right to bear arms as one belonging to the individual. Not 1908, but 2008 — the year Rich Rodriguez came to Michigan, President Barack Obama was elected and the No. 1 song on the charts was “Low” by Flo Rida. Up until then, in Washington D.C. and in school zones around the country, there were local bans on owning a firearm until cases like D.C. v. Heller and United States v. Lopez at the Supreme Court changed this (though dissent remains). Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of conservatives on the issue of guns is the heinous and widespread oversimplification of what the Second Amendment says. Americans like Mr. Wade tend to adopt summarized views of the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment gives me the right to free speech, the Second Amendment says I can bear arms, etc. Reading opinions from the Supreme Court,
however, this is hardly the case. “The Gun Lobby’s interpretation of the Second Amendment is one of the greatest pieces of fraud … on the American People … that I have ever seen in my lifetime. The real purpose of the Second Amendment was to ensure that state armies — the militia — would be maintained for the defense of the state. The very language of the Second Amendment refutes any argument that it was intended to guarantee every citizen an unfettered right to any kind of weapon he or she desires.” And this wasn’t one of your run-ofthe-mill liberal justices. This came from Warren Burger, stalwart conservative from the Midwest. Even if the Second Amendment read as simply as most people imagine it does, they would still have a problem. As star-spangled awesome as Americans see themselves, no right is absolute. Look no further than the conservative champion and author of the opinion in the District of Columbia v. Heller decision, Justice Antonin Scalia. “Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.” Misconceptions have made guns an integral part of our Constitution, and this delusion has gone too far for too long. Why Wade cannot see how a community that is often plagued by sexual assault, depression and inebriated college kids would have a vested interest in decreasing the number of guns on campus is beyond me. Read the amendment for yourself, free from prejudice or preconceived notion. And know that gun control is not a liberal fantasy, but a modern imperative. — Brett Graham can be reached at btgraham@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Ben Keller, Payton Luokkala, Aarica Marsh, Victoria Noble, Anna Polumbo-Levy, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Mary Kate Winn, Derek Wolfe JAMIE BIRCOLL | VIEWPOINT
Dear Joe, please run Dear Mr. Vice President, As I write this, I am watching your interview with Stephen Colbert. You crack jokes; you are pensive and reflective. You are at times incredibly sad, and then you are smiling again. I see you, the real you. It’s the same Joe Biden who I’ve seen on MSNBC and CNN, who sat behind President Barack Obama at the State of the Union and cheered his accomplishments and his goals. You do not put on the political game face, switching personas with each new interview or address or fundraiser. You are always Joe Biden. Watching this interview, I feel like I know you, have known you. And not in the “I’d grab a drink with that guy” sense with which we so often measure our politicians. You feel real, human. I see it in the way you stare at the ground when Colbert brings up your late son, Beau. I see it in the enthusiasm with which you talk about your son. It feels genuine and loving, as a father should talk about his son. I see your strength, your ability to withstand tragedy, to take it in stride and say, “but I’m not yet finished with my work.” You honor your loved ones’ memories by doing what you love, by devoting yourself to the service of others. And that is why, Mr. Vice President, you need to run for the Office of the President. When I look out at the field of candidates throughout the political spectrum I don’t see people. I see slogans, sound bites, names. These candidates represent ideologies, with or without the party. But you are human, you are real. You represent beliefs, beliefs that, when combined, create a mantra that says, “this is me, this is Joe Biden.” And those beliefs are good, honest beliefs. You don’t fight for the votes. You fight because it’s the right thing to do. You are a practicing Catholic, but you support both abortion (with restrictions) and gay marriage because you know that your views should not restrict the rights of others. You fight for middle and working class America because you’ve seen their plight, you know firsthand what
mean enough for so many members. University students are doing a lot and, frankly, their social organization isn’t going to keep them up late at night thinking of ways to innovate (though it might keep them up for
others can only read about. Donald Trump thinks we need to “make America great again,” but we need to make Americans great again. At some point, we Americans started to accept that the First Amendment was to be brandished like a sword to cut down our neighbors, rather than a shield to defend against oppression. We became complacent. Those in power looked out and saw all that they had created at the expense of others, at the rights ignored, at the lives lost. And in biblical fashion they said “and it was good.” We have accepted the status quo. But you, Mr. Vice President, push onward. You continue to draft and push for policy even as the administration enters its final 16 months. You are progressive, but not so much as to alienate those who fear the word “socialist.” You are progressive in the sense that you are not content with the status quo; you recognize that in our modern political culture, “conservative” has come to mean to look backwards rather than forwards. But you know better. As John F. Kennedy said in 1963, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” We need someone who represents those aspirations to lead us. So that when we look to him, we can say that he not only represents our beliefs, our values, but the very fabric of being upon which this nation was founded. You’re a career politician but you do it not for the status or the power, but because you want to help people. And all that time in office has given you more experience than any other candidate in the field. You have demonstrated an acute understanding of foreign affairs with more experience in this field than Hillary Clinton and John Kerry combined; perhaps had we listened to you back in 2006 and broken down Iraq into specific regions for the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, we would not find ourselves in this most splendid quagmire we now face. And on your own personal quagmires, those gaffes that the media
other reasons). It isn’t a student organization or an internship or a class that they are passionate about. It isn’t creating enough collective good for the masses to take enough pride in it to change it.
craves, that the public loves to devour, I think you slip up because you are friendly. You see everybody as a good friend and there are few boundaries between good friends. And even so, those gaffes make you authentic — you make a mistake and you learn from it, as is human to do. We need someone authentic to enter the fray, difficult as that may be for you. We need someone who feels no entitlement to the presidency, by name or by wealth or by outsider status. We need someone who has held more than one term in office, someone who hides no secrets, someone who can run a sustainable campaign for a mainstream, moderate American people. We need someone real, someone good. You wrote this in your book, “Promises to Keep,” “For the world to follow, we must do more than rattle our sabers and demand allegiance to our vision simply because we believe we are right. We must provide a reason for others to aspire to that vision. And that reason must come with more than the repetition of a bumper-sticker phrase about freedom and democracy. It must come with more than the restatement of failed policy. It must come with the wisdom to admit when we are wrong and resolve to change course and get it right.” That sounds real and good to me. And if I cannot convince you, then at least let me praise you for your interview on “The Late Show.” You said, “Nobody has a right, in my view, to seek that office unless they’re willing to give it 110 percent of who they are … but I find myself … it just sometimes overwhelms you.” This country was founded on the idea of personal success, on a goget-‘em attitude. To admit that you are not prepared, that you might not have the fire, takes incredible courage and principle. I understand why you don’t want to run, but it’s the exact reason you should. Sincerely, A cynic who has found his faith restored. Jamie Bircoll is an LSA senior and a Daily arts editor.
Claire Bryan is an LSA junior, a senior editorial page editor, and vice president of membership programming at Alpha Chi Omega sorority.
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Arts
ALBUM REVIEW
Tuesday, September 15, 2015 — 5
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
Petite Noir is unique ‘Black Sheep’ beats but still frustrating its own damn drum “Noirwave” artist restructures electronic music in debut By DANIEL SAFFRON Daily Arts Writer
Yannick Ilunga, under the stagename Petite Noir, releases his B first full-length album Le Vie La Vie Est Belle // Life Est Belle Is Beautiful // Life is through Domino Beautiful Records. Ilunga labels the music Petite Noir “Noirwave,” Domino a subgenre derivative of Records Inc. the New Wave movement of the ’80s. The album offers Ilunga’s interesting interpretation and restructuring of electronic music and pushes the ears of its listeners to accept rhythmic and harmonic patterns seldom explored by the larger genre’s “popular” counterparts. The first track of the album, “Intro Noirwave,” does as it promises. It softly and surreptitiously introduces the album’s unique approaches and emphases. While easily glossed over as a soft start to the later, replay-friendlier tracks, there’s a lot more going on than one might think. “Intro Noirwave” is structured on two different sections, the differentiating characteristic of which being the two different polyrhythmic and strongly syncopated structures on which the relatively static harmonic padding is buttressed. From here things get slightly more involved. The song’s principal phrase length is 16 bars, and it is from these 16 bar cycles that the music derives all of its overarching pulses and
transitions. The sections, call them A and B respectively, are introduced as 16-bar sections. Each section then further reworks the 16 bars. The A section is based on a repeating two-bar rhythmic phrase; the B section is based on a four-bar phrase, broken into repeating two-bar phrases. The harmonic padding in the B section changes in 8 bar phrases, while in the A section the harmonic rhythm is a little more obscured. It is also broken into eight-bar phrases, however there is motion in the second pulse of the first phrase then again on the downbeat of the second phrase. This involved interpretation illustrates that hiding within the apparent simplicity of Petite Noir’s music is a nuanced complexity, a look at which helps to understand where the music is coming from — a place where rhythm and structure are monarchical over harmony and melody. These rhythmic processes are integral to Petite Noir’s sound and it’s their emphasis that allows Petite Noir to free himself from the strictures of more mainstream music — the trend for which has been an overwhelming reliance on harmony and melody for structure — only using rhythm for groove and feel. With one notable exception — “Seventeen (Stay)” — the album struggles with its song’s endings, which are too similar between tracks and don’t feel very complimentary to each track’s groove; the songs feel like they end because they need to end, leaving an organic ending longed for. “Seventeen (Stay),” however, grows into itself rather nicely. It is always appreciated when an artist attempts a longform composition. The song showcases Ilunga’s ability to work with and maintain a dynamic energy throughout a seven-minute track. Proving with this track the ability to
allow a song to take its course, it is a shame that the other songs on the album are cut short. The album is a very successful miscegenation of electronic sounds, acoustic instruments and Ilunga’s distinct voice, whose peaty, girthsome timbre is smoky-sweet in the low registers and horn-like at the top of its range. “Best” and “Colour” are upbeat and danceable, while the title track and “Chess” are slower, sultry and seductive. “Le Vie Est Belle // Life Is Beautiful (feat. Baloji)” boasts one of the album’s highlights, when the hearty inertial drive of the track is minced and tossed up by a French verse from Baloji, a Congolese, Belgium-based rapper. Le Vie Est Belle // Life is Beautiful also finds issues with its song placement. There is no real sense of narrative structure emerging from the track listing. There is nothing wrong or bad about any track placement, but I struggle to locate any intraalbum dialectic between songs. Furthermore, the sandwiching of the penultimate song between “Chess” and “Down,” tracks released months prior to the album release, don’t serve the album well. Having listened to these two tracks many times outside of the context of this particular album – in the case of “Chess” within the context of a different album, The King of Anxiety EP – I was pulled out of the album’s vibe right at its end, an album’s most sensitive moment. The tracks released on Le Vie Est Belle are good, and some have a secure spot on my playlists for the foreseeable future. Its utilization of rhythmic phrasing and reinterpretation of the electronic sound make it good, but its many shortcomings put it shy of being a great album. I do, however, suspect a positive trajectory for Petite Noir and look forward to his next full length release.
ALBUM REVIEW
Libertines comeback By MELINA GLUSAC Daily Arts Writer
If you don’t know who The Libertines are, don’t feel bad. It’s not every day you find a ’90s-bred college student Bfluent in the early 2000s Anthems Brit-garagefor rock revival. While we were Doomed watching “Dora Youth the Explorer,” The Libertines Libertines frontman Pete Doherty was Virgin EMI injecting illegal substances, courting Kate Moss and singing about the “Boys in the Band.” But hey, here we are — and here The Libertines are with a brand new release, just 11 years after their last album. No big deal. A more proper biopic: Four strapping chaps from the mean streets of London banded together around 1997, at the prompting of Doherty and co-founder/guitarist Carl Barât, to form the group some of us — particularly Brits — now know and love. They put out two incredible albums in 2002 and 2004 (Up the Bracket and The Libertines, respectively), but underwent an ugly breakup in 2004 that stemmed from Doherty’s profound romance with crack, cocaine and heroin. Ahem. Forgive me, Your Majesty. So what’s the point, you ask? Why are we bothering with these sloppy, short-lived hooligans who obviously can’t seem to get their shit together? Well, to start, The Libertines’s music is nothing short of consistently brilliant (see: “Can’t Stand Me Now,” “Time for Heroes” and “The Good Old
Days”). And though they have lost a smidgen of their edge now, it seems, Anthems for Doomed Youth is a valiant comeback for these resilient Redcoats. The aptly titled “Barbarians” begins the punk-throwback journey, and here The Libertines rest in familiar territory. Catchy tempo changes, rebellious lyrics, clanging guitars — it’s all good stuff, even if Doherty sounds the tiniest bit soggier than before (sobriety’s a bitch). “Belly of the Beast” is similar in its nostalgic allure, and “Glasgow Coma Scale Blues” adds some chutzpah to the Libertinian formula with its nifty stop-start riffs and great rock feel. Whatever it means, “Fury of the Chonburi” works just as well. It brings the group’s coolest defining characteristic back to the forefront: messy choruses that are the sonic equivalent of a train-wreck bar fight too fascinating to look away from. “Gunga Din” is also stellar — a ska-esque, Californian ditty with chords that aim to please. Easy, breezy, beautiful. Libertines. The band starts to fall off the bracket, though, with the slow songs. Yes, balance and diversity is the key to any proportional, successful compilation, but Anthems for Doomed Youth overestimates the temporary charm of a yawn. “You’re My Waterloo” is lovely but underwhelming, and then “Iceman” starts, along with the listener’s desire to doze off. By the time “The Milkman’s Horse” comes around, the stretchy argot of Doherty’s lyrics and sleepy background drums have the listener itching to abuse the fast-forward button. Here’s the problem: The Libertines have proven they can do truly
inventive slow stuff (“Music When The Lights Go Out”) in the past. As a result, these new, yet trite tracks sound studioized and lackluster at best. If anything, the closing “Dead for Love” is effective because of its deep lyrical content detailing the passing of one of Doherty’s druggie friends. “Fame and Fortune” completely misses the mark, as it mostly sounds like a creepy musical number the Artful Dodger would sing to little punk rockers in training. The album hits the nail on the head, though, at precisely two locations. “Heart of the Matter” is a gritty triumph, showcasing The Libertines in their most perfect, traditional form. No resting, no slowing down, just pure, unadulterated garage. And what’s that I hear? Ever-soslight synths in the background? Score one for Team Doherty. “Anthem for Doomed Youth,” the titular track, is perhaps the biggest accomplishment. “Was it Cromwell or Orwell who first led you to the stairwell, which leads only forever to kingdom come? Rushed along by guiding hands, whispers of the promised land . They wished you luck and handed you a gun,” Doherty philosophizes against desperate acoustic guitars. This is where “lackluster” can work in favor of the band — when the theme of the tune is that of the simultaneous beauty and ennui of youth. The music then conveys the longing, the aimlessness of feeling the world at your fingertips. The Libertines know what it’s like to muck up that potential. But maybe there’s something to mucking it up and getting it right — bloody right — in the end.
By CLAIRE WOOD Daily Arts Writer
I’m three shots down when I hear it. “Ohhhhhhhhhh.” Silence. “Ohhhhhhhhhh.” Not choir Ohs. Nothing delicate or dainty. These Ohs rumble, thick and thunderous, the kind you’d hear while engaging in some zealous tribal ritual around a bonfire. Drums pound. Tambourines tremble. Piano cascades beneath a robust, arpeggiated voice line that sucks you under like a waterfall. “Everybody’s doing it, so why the hell should I?” Vocals cut the chaos. It’s Gin Wigmore singing “Black Sheep” from her 2013 album Gravel and Wine. Her words ring with raspy soul, and you wonder if she downed a shot of Jack Daniels before hitting the studio. It’s the kind of voice that wears a leather jacket, and those shiny black boots with the spurs on the side. Confident and contagious. Potent and
powerful. “I wasn’t born a beauty queen, but I’m OK with that,” she sings. “Radio won’t mind if I sing a little f lat.” The lyrics are honest and open, and I’m taken by surprise. I hear healthy standards for body image; I hear a realistic response to flaws. It’s selfacceptance — and it’s refreshing. “I’m a black sheep,” Wigmore announces. “I’m a black sheep.” Black Sheep. The phrase catches me off guard. The only “black sheep” I knew was “Baa Baa” — the one my grandmother used to ask for wool, back in my nursery-rhyme years. Yes Sir, Yes Sir, Three Bags Full. But the phrase has more definitions. Enter: Urban Dictionary — Black Sheep: “Someone who doesn’t follow mainstream ways. Someone who doesn’t care what is in or out.” And over a soul-quaking, earth-shaking ensemble of drums and piano, Gin Wigmore screams this. Her words tingle with ballsy confidence — an
irresistible invincibility that drags me in. She says, I am who I am. I beat my own drum. Bite me. So I’m sitting here, three shots down, my back pressed against the bottom half of a red sofa stained with God-knowswhat on the apartment floor of God-knows-who. And I’m hooked — completely hooked. Not just because the drums pound, and the piano thunders. Not just because the vocals soar. I’m hooked because Gin Wigmore is right. “Black Sheep” is a song about self-acceptance. It’s a song about loving yourself for who you are, what you are, and what you stand for. It’s about going to medical school, because that’s your passion. It’s about dying your hair orange, because that’s your color. It’s about moving to the city, because that’s your dream. Or rocking medical school, dying your hair orange, and then hitting the Big Apple because that’s who you are, and hey — why not? We all have our own drums. Hell, let’s pound them.
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Arts
6 — Tuesday, September 15, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
GENDER AND MEDIA COLUMN
TV REVIEW
The media’s trouble with girlfriends INT. CROWDED NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY – MORNING t’s an unbearably hot, humid July day. One sweaty, solitairy 20-year-old girl stands against the center pole. Her NATALIE appearance GADBOIS is marked by heels she obviously is not handling well, a University of Michigan umbrella that negates any pretense of style and white headphones resting innocently in her ears. She laughs uncontrollably. *** Obviously, that perspiring loser was me. I spent my summer riding New York subways, and to pass the time I became enamored with podcasts. (Yes, I’m a Millennial, come at me.) I’ll admit, I had never really understood the podcast game, as a lifelong reader myself. But my much more cultured friend gave me a list of ones she thought I would like, and my summer became marked with having strangers’ voices constantly in my ear. Now back at school, one of those podcasts is still a weekly touchpoint for me — “Call Your Girlfriend,” a podcast primarily about two long distance best friends catching up every week. Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow — both warm, accomplished and well-read women in their late 20s — spend an hour each week talking about a range of topics, all squarely within my wheelhouse: Feminism, politics, Beyoncé, menstrual cramps and “The Good Wife.” Ann and Aminatou are the long-distance besties that I hope my close female friends and I to be someday. But they also are one of the few external expressions of close female friendship I’ve felt connected to in a long time. Barring 2005’s seminal “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” film and
I E!
“Can my hat BE any bigger?”
‘Cait’ marks the end of Jenner’s renewal By CHRISTIAN KENNEDY Daily Arts Writer
Over the 42-minute finale of E!’s docu-series, “I Am Cait,” the first chapter of a long, groundbreaking journey came to a close. Cait and Kris Jenner reunited. Cait met A the pastor who would officiate I Am Cait her name-change Season finale ceremony. And, finally, Bruce E! Jenner officially became Caitlyn Jenner — her authentic self — and struck the chord of a new beginning. Caitlyn Jenner’s marriage to Kris seemed as if it was only a dream at this point, but for the Kardashian/Jenner clan, it was the glue that held their antics together. Like most imminent sit-down discussions, this began tense: Curt hellos, “Where should we sit?” and “OK, let’s get to it.” But in contrary to E! culture, there wasn’t a cat fight; there were minimal tears and a sensible Kris Kardashian. Over the course of “I Am Cait” ’s first season, the Kardashian side had often felt like guest stars as opposed to Caitlyn’s new group of girlfriends, which is fine — the show wasn’t about the Kardashians, it was
about Caitlyn’s journey into the transgender community — but it’s hard to ignore Kris’s feelings of being left behind. Conversely, it’s hard to ignore Caitlyn’s hurt feelings over how the marriage ended and Kris’s lack of support. Nonetheless, the women and audience settled on the notion that from now on it will be better. *Scene closes with a selfie.* Ultimately, this episode and the entire season led into Caitlyn’s official transition into herself. She hosted a gorgeous ceremony in her newly-redecorated Malibu home complete with her girl squad, Boy George and a gay men’s choir. Shandi read different meanings of the name “Caitlyn” inviting smiles; Jennifer read a touching E.E. Cummings poem; and finally, Candis sang “Amazing Grace.” Everyone dressed flawlessly in white. ’Twas an occasion that would give any Kardashian wedding a run for its money. Next, Cait and her friends discussed the role of religion in the transgender community over lunch. The conversation covered many bases: A man shouldn’t dress like a woman. You shouldn’t touch a pig. Yes, those are both biblical verses discussed, and yes they do not hold much weight in today’s society. No, that doesn’t make anyone godless. It’s a
poignant scene that touches on the presence of spirituality in the trans community while concurrently acknowledging the fact that many are pushed away from religion as they move toward their true selves.
‘Cait’ shows the best in its cast. Ultimately, Caitlyn Jenner bid her first-season audience farewell make-up-less from her bedroom webcam: “We’ve got a long way to go, but at least we’ve got a really really good beginning. And that makes my heart feel good.” Before “I Am Cait” aired, E! got a lot of side eye for the term “docu-series.” And as the series premiered, progressed and finished, the show itself has been judged based on the merits of reality television as opposed to the documentary it aimed to be. “I Am Cait” can pride itself on showing the best in its cast as opposed to capitalizing on the less-than-desirable parts of human nature.
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RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
FOR RENT
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis DOWN 1 Riviera resort San __ 2 CoverGirl competitor 3 Jazzy jargon 4 Et __: and others 5 Went for a burger, say 6 Unhittable serve 7 Pre-grilling spice mixtures 8 Blow one’s stack 9 Lascivious deities 10 *1990s Reform Party candidate 11 Hall’s pop music partner 12 Holey layer 13 Nourishes 18 Site of Napoleon’s exile 24 Pilgrim Standish 26 Corn serving 27 Sporty car roof 28 State whose straw poll was discontinued in 2015 29 Banjo ridge 30 *Boneless seafood option 31 Tapes up tightly
35 Like a test answer with an “x” next to it 37 Norse mischiefmaker 38 Love, to Ovid 39 Oxen harness 42 Black-and-white, e.g. 45 “No seats” letters 49 Traditional sayings 51 Gestation location
52 Shrimp relative 53 Spooky 54 Brings in 55 Fender guitar model, briefly 59 White House no 61 Slim swimmers 62 Bleak 63 Prefix with dynamic 64 Guys-only 67 Punk rock offshoot
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don’t know. But I can count on one hand the number of friendships I have seen in pop culture that reflect my own, and I don’t like that. Enter: USA’s “Playing House.” I’ll admit, I’m way behind the times with this show, now deep into it’s second season. “House,” a half-hour sitcom written by and starring real-life best friends Lennon Parnam and Jessica St. Clair, follows two adult women at crossroads in their lives. Maggie is eight months pregnant when she discovers her husband is cheating on her, and Emma quits her high-powered job to come home and help her raise the baby. It’s the perfect domestic partnership my best friends and I dream of having, if sexual preference wasn’t an issue. But really, this show gets it. Maggie and Emma are comfortable with one another in ways only female friends can be. They fight, but it’s never overblown or disastrous. They understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses deeply, and feed into one another’s insecurities only when feeling insecure themselves. They have fun together. They laugh often. They talk about boys and sex and careers with equal measure. As a show, “Playing House” isn’t perfect — the humor is risk-free and the plot points are never particularly strong. But like “Call Your Girlfriend,” it’s a comforting and rarely seen expression of female friendship. I see myself and my friends in Maggie and Emma, and I’m grateful that their relationship is never belittled. I know I am lucky in the female friendships I have had, to hold such a high standard within pop culture. But in a world infatuated with bromances, I’d love a little more representation. As I sit here on my porch, drinking a beer with my best friends — all smart and kind and interesting and funny — I can’t help but think: Why hasn’t anyone made a show about us? Hollywood, please get to work. Gadbois needs new deoderant. To recommend a brand, email gadbnat@umich.edu.
ALBUM REVIEW
Classifieds ACROSS 1 High-ranking Indian 5 Jack rabbits, e.g. 10 Mr. Ed’s foot 14 Like Bond foes 15 RLX automaker 16 Bring down with a big ball 17 *“The Color Purple,” for Oprah Winfrey 19 Great Plains tribe 20 Soccer game tie, often 21 Infiltrator 22 Email command 23 Hitch, as a ride 25 Long locks 27 Retailer known for little blue boxes 32 Maple output 33 Singer Amos 34 Bottom corner of a square sail 36 Pass along 40 Is obliged to pay 41 Valentine symbol ... or, when read as two words, what you can’t do when the answers to starred clues are spoken 43 Dallas quarterback Tony 44 Hiking trails 46 Word before cook or burn 47 “Yeah, yeah, I get it” 48 Monk’s title 50 Winter traction aid 52 Game divisions 56 Car in a ’60s song 57 Stagger 58 Off-road transp. 60 Horseshoeshaped letters 65 Inland Asian sea 66 *Special Forces soldier 68 Dry with a towel 69 Words on a Wonderland cake 70 Turkish currency 71 Egg container 72 Got off one’s duff 73 Mexico City problem
Monica and Rachel’s relationship on “Friends,” pop culture has a dearth of accurately represented girl best friends. Other than my close family members and few friends of the male inclination, I can say pretty much exclusively that the most important people in my life have been my female friends, and I want to see more of that in the media I so reverently consume. There are shows and movies that stab at it: “Gilmore Girls,” one of the most feminist shows of all time, is a celebratory homage to strong and intelligent women. And yes, Lorelai and Rory each have a best friend: positive, supportive, slightly dependent figures in both their lives. But on a show that is so female-focused it barely passes the reverse Bechdel test, there are few Gilmore female relationships beyond these singular best friends during the seven-season course of the show. In contrast, “Girls” doesn’t lack a variety of friendships, but the show spends more time engaging with the selfish, destructive side of friendship, never building up the warmth and connection that can and should be present. On the other hand, “Friday Night Lights” never pretended to be an expert on female friendship. It was a show about a small-town football coach and his luminous wife. But since its debut in 2006, “FNL” has been rightfully heralded as a show that thrives in its relationships — the spectrum of intimacy is palpable between all the different types of characters that exist in Dillon, Texas. But while we see Coach and his players connect, young teens fall in love, fathers and sons crumble and one marriage stay blessedly strong throughout, “FNL” never gives us the relationship that I find most relatable: The close female friendship. Why do some of the best writers of our time struggle with this relationship? Is it that writing is still a man’s game in Hollywood? Or that executives can’t imagine a female relationship that isn’t sexualized in some form? I really
09/15/15
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Gary Clark returns By REGAN DETWILER Daily Arts Writer
I’m a hard fightin’ soldier, and I’m on the battlefield I’ll keep bringing soul to Jesus by the service – the service. B+ That I bring. The service The Story ... is hard. So sings an of Sonny old Bible song; Boy Slim the voice of some essential Gary Clark, Jr. elder. Enter Gary Clark, Jr. Warner Bros. on the electric Records guitar, soon to be followed by a gospel choir for the opening track, “The Healing,” of Clark’s second studio release, The Story of Sonny Boy Slim. This track, like most of the album, is spiritual, it’s personal and it’s powerful — it’s blues, it’s rock and, at times, it’s funk. Clark’s sound is warm and empowering, charged with a relaxing undercurrent of momentum. His voice evokes John Legend and his verging-on-psychedelic guitar solos evoke remembrances of Jimi Hendrix. These evocations make up the skeleton of Clark’s full-bodied musical aesthetic, nuanced and completely unique. And it’s this muscular, multifaceted sound that over the years has earned him collabs with artists like Foo Fighters, Alicia Keys and Sheryl Crow. The longest track on The Story of Sonny Boy Slim, “Down to Ride” has a promising title, but reaches only 7:52 in length, and the time that would have been occupied with an awesomely intense guitar solo instead was met with a mellow but repetitive
WARNER BROS. RECORDS
“Could I BE any more pensive right now?”
synth beat and much less guitar; it comes off as stingy, almost lazy in comparison to Blak and Blu’s “Third Stone from the Sun/ If You Love Me Like You Say,” which opens with that burning solo we were aching for, followed by heavy drums fortified with integrity. What’s worse is that “Down to Ride” is the last song on Sonny Boy Slim; Clark bids his audience farewell with a circling electronic beat (really?). Clark’s first studio album, Blak and Blu, back in 2012, was much grittier than Sonny Boy Slim, with songs over nine minutes long as he seamlessly filled the timespace with those incredible Hendrixian solos. I’m making it sound like I hate the album, but The Story of Sonny Boy Slim is strong in many ways: most notably, it has more variety than Blak and Blu. “Church” is an easy acoustic ballad that uses a harmonica and gospel-like background vocals. Songs like “Hold On” and “BYOB” use jaunty electric guitar, horns and bass in
ways that give this album much more of a funk undertone than we have seen Clark use in the past; instead of focusing on long and intense guitar solos (which some fans may miss), this album covers more ground. And he manages to do this without sounding forced, which is a testament to Clark’s versatility and musical fluency. This kind of variety also gives the album potential to garner more widespread appeal than Blak and Blu, and luckily Clark has enough talent to pull off a slightly more popularized release. Less grit may make him easier to listen to for people who found his first album a little too intense, but the Austin native is best when he’s at his most soulful, grinding on the guitar and chiming in with his honey-toned voice only every now and then. Sonny Boy Slim will make you feel cool, calm, collected and ready to take anything as it comes, because as he sings to you like velvet, “Everywhere you go, just know that you’re a star.”
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, September 15, 2015 — 7
FOOTBALL
Morris redshirt a ‘consideration’ By ZACH SHAW Daily Sports Editor
After a hotly contested quarterback battle between junior Shane Morris and fifthyear senior Jake Rudock NOTEBOOK ended with Rudock as the victor, it was assumed those two would take all the snaps under center for Michigan unless the season took a severe turn for the worse. So when sophomore Wilton Speight trotted out on the field instead of Morris to close out a game where everything had gone right for the Wolverines, confusion and speculation filled Michigan Stadium. Following the 35-7 win, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh cited respect for the veteran Morris as the reason for using Speight in meaningless minutes. But when addressing the media Monday, the coach addressed the rumors that the decision was to keep Morris eligible for a redshirt. “That’s a possibility. That’s a consideration,” Harbaugh said. “You don’t know how it’s going to play out. You don’t have a crystal ball. We’re all seeing this exactly the way it is taking place.” Though Morris has recorded just two starts in his career, he has never earned a redshirt. He was still listed as the No. 2 quarterback in the Wolverines’ updated depth chart Monday, but has yet to see the field this season, keeping him in line, for now, for the added year of eligibility. “We’re in control of it,” Harbaugh said. “He is the No. 2 quarterback, but not the No. 2 guy going in to take two kneel-
downs at the end of the game.” BUMPS AND BRUISES: With two games under Michigan’s belt, the team has avoided devastating injuries so far. More fortunately for the Wolverines, senior running back Drake Johnson and sophomore receiver Freddy Canteen — both of whom were expected to contribute to the offense this fall — appear to be rounding into form. Both played sparingly Saturday, but got their feet wet in game action. “I had a feeling that, when you haven’t played in a while because of an injury, your nervous system can put your body in a position that it can’t recover from if you’re not careful,” Harbaugh said. “It’s almost like an iron fist. Your nervous system does that to your body. You want to get acclimated to the feelings and emotions of playing a game. … I think we’ll be better for that this week and next.” On the other side of the coin, junior cornerback Jourdan Lewis has yet to be cleared to play against UNLV. Though still listed as the starting cornerback on the latest depth chart, Harbaugh is letting his team’s medical staff make the call on a timetable for Lewis’ return. “I’ve never really gotten into the business of predicting, when it comes to concussions,” Harbaugh said. “I’m not into predicting. It’s not my area.” Senior fullback Joe Kerridge,
junior running back Wyatt Shallman, junior linebacker Mike McCray, sophomore tight end Chase Winovich and freshman tight end Tyrone Wheatley Jr. are also questionable for the week ahead with unspecified injuries. TECHNIQUE THE KEY FOR OFFENSIVE LINE: It’s been well documented that Michigan’s offensive line showed night-andday improvement in Week Two compared to Week One. That was especially true in the run game, where yards per carry increased from 2.6 against Utah to 4.7. Though it seemed to happen overnight, the Wolverines insist it wasn’t that easy. “(Offensive line coach Tim Drevno) really stressed the practice and technique and fundamentals and practicing the way you’re going to play in the game on Saturday,” Harbaugh said. “So it wasn’t simple. It was a lot of hard work during the week. We’re striving for that again this week.” Despite the growth, the improvement comes with the fact that Oregon State has a belowaverage defensive front, while Utah had one of the nation’s best last season. Regardless of the opponent, the unit is trying to implement a simpler approach. “We have to do it every play,” Magnuson said. “It gets hard focusing on a big goal, which is to become an offensive line, so play in and play out was out focus in practice, and it paid off in the game.”
“You don’t know how it’s going to play out.”
MEN’S GOLF
Michigan ties for 11th at Gopher Invitational Five golfers earn spot in lineup after coach holds qualifying matches By CHRIS CROWDER Daily Sports Writer
There are eight golfers on the Michigan men’s golf team, but just five spots were available for the Gopher Invitational. So before traveling to Minnesota, Michigan coach Chris Whitten held qualifying matches to determine who would compete in the weekend tournament. The Gopher Kings of the Pool Invitational Michigan Scores was the first event of 1. Swanson, 218 the season 2. O’Neill, 223 for the 3. Mueller, 226 Wolverines, 4. Carlson, 228 and for 5. Hrynewich, 239 those who competed, it was the first chance to maintain their spot in the lineup. In a sport where an outcome can be uncertain and frustrating, the top five golfers had to be precise and consistent. Sophomore Kyle Mueller, freshman Nick Carlson, junior Tom Swanson, senior Chris O’Neill and junior Reed Hrynewich made the cut from the qualifiers for their right to play three rounds at the Windsong Farm Golf Club. Their next round of competition was against 15 other teams, which included No. 14 Oklahoma and No. 21 Baylor and a field of 76 other golfers in a crowded invitational, which ran from Sunday through Monday afternoon. The five combined for a score of 895, good for an 11th-place tie in the tournament. Michigan ended the first
two rounds on Sunday near the bottom of the team standings. With a combined score of 604, the Wolverines finished 13th out of 16 teams. Weather and darkness delayed and postponed play for parts of Sunday, hindering golfers from posting their best scores. The standing was no disappointment, though, as Michigan was within five strokes of five teams ahead of it. Swanson and O’Neill both tied for 16th place individually, poised to lead the Wolverines out of the bottom of the standings toward a higher finish. “(After the first round), we got back to playing normal golf,” Whitten said. “The first round was the atypical round. I don’t know if there’s really a good explanation other than being in the wrong spot, and the wind blowing really hard. But it played the same for everybody.” Four of the five golfers made improvements from their first rounds to their second time on the course. Hyrnewich had the highest score, but also the biggest difference in score between the first two rounds, shooting eight strokes better in his later round on Sunday. Carlson, making his collegiate debut, also made significant headway, shooting a 75 after posting an 81 in his first round as a Michigan golfer. At the end of the first round, he racked up nine strokes on the 18th hole, but made a quick turnaround to make his weekend memorable. “He ran into some really bad luck and compounded that with a bad shot or two (on the 18th hole),” Whitten said. “But he got right back to playing steady golf for us for the rest of the way. …
He started his college career on one of the tougher courses we’ll play, and he handled it great.” The Wolverines entered Monday’s final round with momentum and a familiarity of the course. Those two factors contributed to their success, as Michigan vied to make its way up the standings. The Wolverines only climbed one spot, finishing 12th, held back by a first round that prevented them from placing in the top 10. Michigan shot significantly better in the last two rounds, but the effort wasn’t enough to overshadow the first round. “After being behind by so much after the first round,” Whitten said, “the guys had to dig deep a little bit, toughen up and play better golf after that.” Swanson shot a stroke lower compared to his last outing on Sunday, earning an even-par 71. Swanson — the only Wolverine to post a score that wasn’t over par — finished a team and careerhigh tie for sixth place. Mueller and Carlson both shot three strokes better, each posting 72 on the scorecard. Hrynewich remained steady with a 77, and O’Neill dropped two strokes to finish the weekend with a 76. Without an abnormal first round, Michigan would have had a more impressive outing. But the challenge was another sort of qualifying round after the one the Wolverines had before the tournament. The lineup may change as the season matures, but for those who competed at the Gopher Invitational, the experience already gives them a leg up on the rest.
“(After the first round), we got back to playing normal golf.”
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Fifth-year senior punter Blake O’Neill grew up playing Australian-rules football and uses the same technique for Michigan.
Michigan punter O’Neill an Australian Zoolander By MAX COHEN Managing Sports Editor
Before Michigan punter Blake O’Neill ever considered playing American football, he was a fashion model in Melbourne, Australia. “I was a little budding Zoolander,” O’Neill said Monday. His modeling in fashion magazines and other publications provided a way to make some extra money while he completed his undergraduate degree in his native country. At no point during his modeling career did O’Neill ever expect that he’d one day punt for the Michigan football team. As many football careers begin, O’Neill first became familiar with the sport when he was a little kid, playing with his dad. But O’Neill and his father played Australian rules football. O’Neill’s father had played the sport locally, so naturally, O’Neill did too. Describing Australian rules football in simple terms that an American would understand, with its many kicks and nearconstant action, is difficult even for a seasoned player. “If you were to combine rugby and soccer, and then you pass with your feet, maybe that’s getting close,” O’Neill said. In Australian rules football, O’Neill’s role was different from what it is in American football. Because the ball is moved with
kicks and not through passing, O’Neill played a position called halfback, which entailed attempting to spread the defense and creating misdirection to give his teammates an advantage. His decision to pursue American football came after he finished his undergraduate degree and decided it would be a good way to see the U.S. and add on to his education. He decided to attend ProKick Australia, an academy that helps Australian football players transform into American football punters in the hopes of earning college scholarships. O’Neill estimated that it normally takes about six months to make the transition for a punter from Australian rules football to American football. O’Neill believes the Australian style of punting has its advantages. He kicks the ball at an angle, making adjustments depending on the situation, as opposed to the typical American punter who dropkicks the ball in a repetitive motion every single kick. “Traditional punting, as great as it is, it really is one thing,
and it’s high and long and then you have to cover down there,” O’Neill said. “Where if you can change the launch point, you can change the block point, you can change where your guys are covering, it really makes it tough to scheme for another team.” The advantages were appealing to Weber State coach Jay Hill, who had success as Utah’s special teams coordinator with Utes punter Tom Hackett. Hill recruited O’Neill to Weber State out of ProKick Australia, and the move paid off. In his one season with the Wildcats, O’Neill finished sixth in the Football Championship Subdivision in punting. This offseason, O’Neill jumped at the chance to complete his second year as a graduate student at Michigan. At times, he is in awe of the impact of college football in the United States, especially when he saw the magnitude of 109,651 people in Michigan Stadium on Saturday. He is not alone in his journey. The Wolverines’ schedule is fraught with opponents who have Australian punters who attended See O’NEILL, Page 8A
“Traditional punting, as great as it is, it really is one thing.”
Sports
8 — Tuesday, September 15, 2015
FOOTBALL
Aide job draws 408 applicants Head coach’s communications director becomes popular position By MAX COHEN Managing Sports Editor
For most Michigan fans, opportunities to see Jim Harbaugh in person had been fleeting before his first game coaching in Michigan Stadium on Saturday. Throughout the eight months before his coaching debut, Harbaugh spent much of his time hunkered down in Schembechler Hall preparing for the upcoming season or traveling the country and the world.
So when the University posted a job opening on June 16 to be the director of internal communications and operations for the head football coach, people jumped at the chance to apply and work with Harbaugh. According to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Daily, 408 people applied for the position in the week the job was posted. The selected applicant was Zach Eisendrath, who had previously been an assistant director of public and media relations in the Athletic Department, working with the football and men’s tennis teams. Eisendrath declined comment for this story through an Athletic Department spokesman. The job posting summarized Eisendrath’s role as:
“The Director of Internal Communications assists the football coach in all areas, including day-to-day operations, communications, office management and administration. He/she works directly with the U-M administrators, coaches and student-athletes to promote and maintain a positive brand image for the Michigan football program. This individual is also responsible for working with all related departments to ensure that the football program is providing a collaborative message that integrates with the athletic department initiatives.” According to the original job posting, the role is 80 percent operations and 20 percent communications. The operations
part of the job involves tasks such as maintaining the coach’s personal and professional contacts and assisting the head coach with personal appearances and off-season engagement. And yes, the communications portion of the job description does mention helping out with the coach’s personal Twitter account, though Harbaugh has said that his famous Twitter account contains only his own thoughts. So what does Harbaugh think about Eisendrath? On Eisendrath’s birthday, four days before the job was posted, Harbaugh tweeted: “Happy Birthday to Zach Eisendrath! He’s a quick study! Moved swiftly from obscurity to Known Friend & Trusted Agent!”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
O’NEILL From Page 7A ProKick and worked with O’Neill. Utah, Oregon State, Rutgers, Penn State and Ohio State all have Australian punters who O’Neill is familiar with. “We’re all good mates,” he said. The exception among Australian college football special teamers, O’Neill noted, is Maryland kicker Brad Craddock, last year’s Lou Groza Award winner for college football’s top kicker. Craddock did not train at ProKick, and O’Neill and Craddock have never met. The bond between the Australian punters has been apparent on the field during the first two games of Michigan’s season. O’Neill was the last Wolverine on the field after the season opener at Utah, delayed as he greeted Hackett after the game. This week, O’Neill said he felt for his friend and Oregon State punter Nick Porebski as
he took the roughing the kicker penalty that Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh vehemently argued. (O’Neill agreed with Harbaugh that the penalty should not have been called and that Porebski was out of the pocket.) For now, O’Neill is enjoying his final year of his college football career. Sure, his teammates occasionally have pictures of his modeling career in the locker room, but he doesn’t seem to mind. O’Neill has punted six times in Michigan’s first two games for an average of 42.8 yards. Two of his punts have pinned the Wolverines’ opponent inside its own 20-yard line. O’Neill is working toward his master’s degree in sport management, and said he would love to punt in the NFL, though he acknowledges there are just 32 jobs. If worst comes to worst, he can always take a page out of Zoolander’s book. “The Blake O’Neill School for Kids Who Can’t Punt Good” has a certain ring to it.