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One year in, Schlissel says diversity plan moves ahead
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First-year Law student Shirin Makhkamova sets out candles over the block ‘M’ on the Diag to honor lives lost and in peril in the Syrian refugee crisis on Tuesday.
Student groups organize vigil for Syrian refugees Speakers focus on humanizing those affected by the crisis By TANYA MADHANI Daily Staff Reporter
University students and Ann Arbor residents gathered on the Diag on Tuesday at a vigil for
Syrian refugees. The University’s Muslim Graduate Students Association and Muslim Law Students Association held the vigil to honor Syrian refugees who lost their lives and those who are still struggling to reach a safety. The flood of Syrian refugees into Europe has sparked debate in recent weeks as world leaders struggle with how to handle the influx of people fleeing unrest in their home country.
Third-year law student Omar El-Halwagi, co-president of MLSA, said he and the president of MGSA decided to hold the vigil to call attention to issues impacting Muslims globally. “There is no greater human rights crisis right now than the Syrian refugee (crisis) and we’re all watching it unfold,” El-Halwagi said. “We’ve been watching it unfold for years. We finally felt there was enough momentum to get something
By TANYA MADHANI Daily Staff Reporter
In the fall of 1993, then-LSA freshman Dimitri Nakassis was flipping through a course pack to decide which classes he wanted to take when he stumbled upon two courses that piqued his interest: Introduction to Field Archeology, and Intro to Greek Art and Architecture. Twenty-two years later, Nakassis’ research on Mycenaean Greek society — which represents the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece — and the relationship between its nobility and working class earned him the 2015 MacArthur Fellowship. He is one of 24 individuals to receive the fellowship, a stipend of $625,000 that is often referred to as the “genius grant.” This year’s
Daily Staff Reporter
University President Mark Schlissel and his administration have spent the last academic year working to roll out new policy initiatives regarding several campus issues — most notably athletics, diversity, alcohol abuse and Greek life. This week, The Michigan Daily reviews the events that got the ball rolling. Today, we consider Schlissel’s work to address campus diversity, namely through the gradual unveiling of his administration’s strategic campus plan to be released by the
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‘U’ alum given MacArthur for research about ancient Greece winners also include Atlantic correspondent Ta Nehisi-Coates and playwright and actor Lin Manuel Miranda. “It’s part of a bigger project of trying to understand Mycenae society, not just by looking at the people in the palace and not just looking at the palace, but also by looking at what’s happening outside the palace,” he said. “So, if you wanted to understand Ann Arbor, you couldn’t just look at the University campus, right?” Much of Nakassis’s study is dedicated to researching ancient Greek linear tablets, which are scripts that recorded the earliest form of the Greek language. The tablets are administrative palatial documents that note the events at the palace and the individuals present. “Like a lot of students, I wasn’t really sure what to major in,” Nakassis said. “Initially my plan was to double major or have a double concentration in history or economics. I was in my room at Markley and I was See GENIUS, Page 3A
By EMMA KINERY
done.” El-Halwagi said he hopes students become better informed on the issue so that it will be more likely they will take action in the future. “We have the next generation of leaders attending this school and they need to be able to be aware of what’s going on,” he said. “I also think college campuses are really ripe for activism and advocacy. By being able to put on See VIGIL, Page 3A
ACADEMICS
Dimitri Nakassis wins $650,000 to pursue study focused on classics
President slated to roll out strategic initiative on inclusion by spring 2016
end of this year. The overview: Diversity has long been a battle-tested issue at the University. Currently, minority enrollment lies at 11.53 percent — and in recent years, students have continually lobbied the University to make the campus more welcoming to minority students, both in terms of social climate and admissions. The changes: University President Mark Schlissel has worked to address the school’s apparent lack of diversity by introducing a campus-wide strategic plan, which he will unveil at the end of this school year (also the end of his second year in office). Most recently, this has included launching the HAIL Scholarship, which offers full-ride tuition for highachieving, low-income students. Initiatives through the Office of Student Life have also sought to heavily incorporate students in catalyzing culture shift at the See SCHLISSEL, Page 3A
HIGHER EDUCATION
Coleman appointed next AAU president President emerita to lead association of 62 research universities By SAM GRINGLAS Managing News Editor
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LSA senior Aubrey O’Neal scales the side of the School of Dentistry during Michigan Parkour practice on Tuesday.
RESEARCH
Small interventions shown to decrease youth drinking Study says emergency room talks could change risky behavior By LYDIA MURRAY For the Daily
The results of a recently released five-year trial from the University of Michigan Injury
Center discovered that short interventions by hospital staff or computer programs correlated with decreases in underage alcohol consumption. Patients ages 14-20 admitted to the emergency department were asked to report on their drinking behaviors, and researchers evaluated whether or not their behaviors were considered risky. Those whom researchers found to be “risky drinkers”
were then randomly assigned to receive a short intervention by means of a therapist or a computer program. Associate Psychiatry Prof. Maureen Walton, one of the study’s lead authors, outlined the research metrics: “We asked them three questions about how many drinks per week they have and how many days per week that they drink, See EMERGENCY, Page 3A
University President Emerita Mary Sue Coleman has been named president of the Association of American Universities. The appointment is effective June 1. Coleman succeeds Hunter Rawlings III, who led the organization since 2011 and announced his plans to retire from the post in May. “Hunter Rawlings has done an exceptional job as AAU president in advancing our collective impact as research institutions,” Coleman wrote in a statement. “I am eager to continue the work of elevating the American research university as essential to our nation’s prosperity, security, and well-being.” See COLEMAN, Page 3A
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Sanders visits alma mater Bernie Sanders spoke at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics on Monday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Sanders is a presidential candidate for the Democratic party. The talk was part of the IOP’s Road to 2016 series, which consists of several events relating to the upcoming presidential election and offering equal opportunities for all presidential candidates to speak. In his speech, Sanders encouraged the students to be active members of their community. “Change never takes place from the top down,” he said.
“We need the idealism and the energy and the intelligence of millions of young people to join us in the fight to make America the kind of country we know it must become.” Sanders was well received by the students in Hyde Park, where he received his undergraduate degree in 1964. “(Sanders) was electrifying,” said University of Chicago freshman Jacob Johnson. Mental health services director steps down at George Washington University Silvio Weisner, director of George Washington University’s Mental Health Services,
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was forced to step down last week after it was discovered he is not a licensed psychologist in Washington D.C., the GW Hatchet reported. After discovering his lack of credentials, Peter Konwerski, dean of student affairs, said administrators responded swiftly. “Immediate action was taken to ensure compliance,” Konwerski said. According to the District of Columbia Department of Health, Weisner’s license to practice in D.C. is awaiting reinstatement, though he is licensed to practice in Virginia. —BRIAN KUANG
WHAT: The Graduate Society of Women Engineers is holding weekly Wednesday lunches for members to socialize in a casual setting. WHO: Graduate Society of Women Engineers WHEN: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: Dow 3062
Labor economics WHAT: Economics Prof. Nicole Fortin will give a seminar on computer gaming and test scores. WHO: Department of Economics and ISRZwerdling Seminar in Labor Economics WHEN: 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. WHERE: Weill Hall 3240
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LSA sophomore Julia Pompilius scales still-life objects for her creative drawing class in the basement of East Quad on Tuesday.
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
The history of yoga
Anger and forgiveness
WHAT: A conference with the U.S. Drug Czar and people in recovery from addiction. WHO: UM Substance Abuse Research Center WHEN: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. WHERE: Rackham Amphitheatre and Assembly Hall
WHAT: Instructor Lakshminarayanan Venkat of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute will discuss the modern day evolution of yoga. WHO: Osher Lifelong Learning Institute WHEN: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. WHERE: Genesis of Ann Arbor, 2309 Packard Street
WHAT: Philosopher Myisha Cherry will discuss outrage in the black community over police brutality and her argument for the place of ‘Outraged Forgiveness.’ WHO: Department of Philosophy WHEN: 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. WHERE: Angell Hall 3222
Plurality of love Armenian
SAPAC meet and greet support group WHAT: An event for students to learn about courses and meet faculty members. WHO: Armenian Studies Program WHEN: 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. WHERE: School of Social Work Building Room 1636
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WHAT: Cuban artist Rolando Estévez will discuss his work as an independent bookmaker as well as the evolution of the arts in Cuba along with Ruth Behar, a University anthropology professor. WHO: University Library WHEN: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: Hatcher Gallery
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WHAT: A support group for those who have experienced sexual violence. WHO: SAPAC WHEN: 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. WHERE: Union 1551 l Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@ michigandaily.com.
Georgia death row inmate Kelly Renee Gissendaner’s petition for clemency was denied Tuesday, NBC reported. Gissandaner was executed early Wednesday morning.
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As 2015 rush is reaching its final stages, Managing Arts Editor Chloe Gilke explores the reasons one rushes and the consequences of not rushing. >> FOR MORE, SEE THE STATEMENT
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A new report indicated that the number of immigrants seeking to enter Europe by boat this year more than doubled from 2014 at 500,000 total, the Associated Press reported.
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At event, students learn how to tackle medical ethics dilemmas Professor discusses important issues, helps pre-meds for future interviews BY SANJAY REDDY Daily Staff Reporter
Tuesday afternoon, 30 students convened in the Student Activities Center to consider ethical questions in medicine. Hosted by the Career Center, the long-running event was originally designed to introduce undergraduate pre-medical students to the ethical issues physicians face on a daily basis. The program also provides critical exposure to the kinds of ethical questions posed in medical school admission interviews. The event featured a presentation by Emergency Medicine Prof. Andrew Barnosky, who has led the session since its
inception. Barnosky stressed the importance of exposing students to medical ethics issues early on in their careers. “(It) allows them to gain some degree of orientation and familiarity with issues that will become of growing importance as they advance in their careers,” he said. During the presentation, Barnosky discussed ethical issues currently generating intense debate in the medical field, including physician-assisted suicide, abortion and stem cell research and physician profit motives. Barnosky put these topics into the context of a medical school interview, explaining to students how best to approach controversial questions. He emphasized that there’s no one correct answer to these ethical dilemmas: No matter what you answer, he said, doctors need to convey to the interviewers that you will put patient interests
above your own and promote fair treatment for all patients. A Q&A session followed the talk. Students in the audience volunteered to read controversial medical ethics questions aloud and share their likely response if they were faced with the situation in the field. University alum Andrea Berkemeier, who said she is applying to medical school during the 2016 application cycle, said she found the event useful. “I felt that the questionanswer session at the end was very helpful,” Berkemeier said. “It was framed in a very positive, constructive way.” Berkemeier added that, as a pre-med student, opportunities to work with these issues are hard to find. “As a pre-medical student you don’t necessarily have the opportunity to address and think about these questions until you are preparing for medical school interviews,” she said.
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Business senior Kevin Ziegler, Central Student Government treasurer, discusses what University students’ tuition should be spent on at the CSG meeting in the Michigan Union on Tuesday.
CSG talks sexual assault awareness, finalizes budget Roundtables planned to discuss revisions to misconduct policy BY JACKIE CHARNIGA Daily Staff Reporter
At Tuesday’s Central Student Government meeting, CSG President Cooper Charlton, an LSA senior, announced initiatives to work with students on the issue of sexual assault. Charlton said CSG will host roundtables with students on sexual assault prevention and to gather feedback on proposed changes to the sexual misconduct policy in the next two months. Dates for the roundtables are Oct. 1, Oct. 26 and Nov. 3. “This is something we should all be fighting for, and I encourage you to show up,” Charlton said. Charlton also requested that CSG allocate $3,800 in funds to bring a production of The
Haze to campus. The play is an autobiographical one-woman show by San Francisco resident Heather Marlowe about untested rape kits. “There are over 400,000 rape victims in the United States whose rape kits have gone ignored at the hands of local law enforcement agencies,” Charlton said. “Heather’s purpose and her objective is to use theater and performance to bring this issue to the forefront.” Charlton said several students reached out to him about bringing the play to campus, and he thought the performance would spread awareness of the issue to students at a minor cost to CSG. Budget amendments CSG voted on and approved the Fall 2015 budget with a few amendments, including a 2-percent increase in the budget for the Student Organization Funding Committee. LSA senior Kevin Ziegler, CSG treasurer, said the financial committee reduced both operations and payroll by 1 per-
cent to raise SOFC’s funding to $200,000, constituting half of CSG’s Fall 2015 budget. SOFC is the CSG committee charged with allocating funding to student organizations. Ziegler said it is CSG’s duty to make sure the student fees that make up the budget are spent responsibly. “Not only just spending money, but establishing programs that benefit students for years to come — keeping that in mind in spending our money,” Ziegler said. Ziegler also discussed how CSG can properly use its money to avoid funds being left over after the budget period are allocated for ends. In Fall 2014, there was $34,000 left over in unused capital from CSG’s commission discretionary and legislative discretionary funds. Ziegler said this could be avoided by this year by the assembly if they properly apply for and utilize the money set aside for them. “All leaders on campus can use the CSG funds in different ways,” Ziegler said.
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Department of Theatre and Drama marks centennial The University was the first U.S. university to offer theater production classes for credit in 1915. The Department of Theatre and Drama is now celebrating its 100th anniversary, as well as 125 years of offering acting classes for credit. In celebration of the centennial, StarKid, a successful group of writers, directors, designers, actors and directors, formed at the University in 2009, will perform a reunion concert during Homecoming on October 8. The festivities will continue with alumni-hosted career sessions featuring Tony-winning Broadway director Jack O’Brien. Student performances of University alum and famed playwright Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” will run Oct. 8 to Oct. 18 at the Arthur Miller Theatre at the School of Music Theatre & Dance’s Walgreen Drama Center.
— Lara Moehlman
COLEMAN From Page 1A An association of more than 60 research universities in the United States and Canada, the nonprofit AAU focuses on policy studies and federalgovernment relations in areas such as research policy and research funding. For example, the AAU released the results last week from a national survey designed to study sexual assault on college campuses. The University was one of the AAU’s founding members when the association formed in 1900. “No one better understands the challenges and opportunities facing higher education than Mary Sue Coleman,” University President Mark Schlissel wrote in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. “I deeply appreciate her willingness to take on this crucial role for our nation, and I look forward to continuing to work with her.” Coleman served as the University’s 13th president until her retirement in 2014. She’s no stranger to the national stage when it comes to higher education policy. During her tenure at the University, she served as AAU chair from 2011 to 2012 and was appointed to co-chair the Obama administration’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. A biochemist by training, Coleman was also selected last fall to serve on the board of the Mayo Clinic. According to Barry Toiv, the AAU vice president for public affairs, the position will be based in Washington D.C. Toiv said the AAU president frequently interacts with the presidents and chancellors of AAU member institutions and organizes their twice-yearly meetings in Washington D.C. “The day-to-day job is mainly about coordinating and participating in the work of the AAU staff, which focuses on advocating with Congress, the Administration, and the public on such issues as support for federally funded research, federal research policy, support for federal student aid programs, and higher education policy,” Toiv wrote in an e-mail interview. Toiv said the AAU is not releasing details about Coleman’s compensation for the new position at this time. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D— Dearborn) applauded the appointment in a statement released Tuesday. “The Association of American Universities can have no better leader than Mary Sue Coleman,” she wrote. “She understands the importance of promoting equal access to education and how research universities are engines that propel our economy by supporting top talent and innovative ideas. She will be an effective advocate for students and will work tirelessly to expand the reach and capabilities of our research universities, which are vital to America’s success.”
SCHLISSEL From Page 1A University. An example of this recent inclusion was engaging students in discussion regarding the best place to relocate the Trotter Multicultural Center. The context: Entering into his first year as president of the University, Schlissel was quick to prioritize addressing the issue of diversity and inclusion on campus. Doing so was a pillar of his inaugural address on Sept. 7 of last year. “The University of Michigan must be a diverse and democratic community: open and accessible,” Schlissel said. “As members of this community we will always seek out, encourage and value all voices.” *** One year before Schlissel’s arrival, the Black Student Union launched its #BBUM movement on Twitter. The “Being Black at the University of Michigan” hashtag, which Black students used to share their experiences on campus, went viral and sparked similar social media reactions on other college campuses. Two months later, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2014, the BSU held protests on the steps of Hill Auditorium, where they listed seven demands they wanted the University address in seven days. The BSU asked for an increased budget, affordable housing on central campus, for the Trotter Multicultural Center to be moved to Central Campus, a Race and Ethnicity class requirement, emergency scholarships, exposure of Bentley Historical Library documents on race at the University and 10 Black enrollment. In a January interview on the anniversary of the #BBUM protests, then-Engineering senior Robert Greenfield — who was BSU’s treasurer at the time — said the movement’s momentum had slowed significantly. “University administration is made of the highest and best servants of our University, and the BSU is very appreciative of how they have collaborated with us,” he said. “However, as of now, it is the overall sentiment of the BSU that progress is not being made, and as an executive board, we’re questioning the administration’s willingness due to how fast things are progressing.” *** Arguably, the #BBUM campaign played a pivotal role in amplifying the discussion about campus diversity, providing momentum for change that continued to roll forward as Schlissel took office. In September 2014 — just
EMERGENCY From Page 1A and we asked them about binge drinking, which for youth is five or more drinks in one occasion,” she said. “Just based on the responses to those questions, we determine what’s risky drinking.” The results of the trial were overwhelmingly positive, as both outlets of intervention proved effective in reducing alcohol consumption and drinkingrelated consequences. Particularly promising was the effectiveness of the computer program, which was significantly able to reduce the frequency of alcohol-related injuries. According to the study, a brief computer intervention correlated with a decrease in the instances of driving under the influence in the 12-month followup period. “The idea that technology can be used to deliver health interventions, not just for alcohol as it can be used for other behaviors as well, is an exciting way to address health behaviors in a low-cost way,” Walton said. Medical School student Stephan Diljak, co-president
VIGIL From Page 1A something like this, we’re really able to engage with the student body.” Public Health student Amaal Haimout, president of MGSA, said she was inspired to collaborate with El-Halwagi after one of her
News weeks into Schlissel’s first semester at the University — with #BBUM and subsequent conversations in recent memory, the administration issued a “Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Report” report with 13 recommendations for how to increase diversity on campus and improve campus climate. The recommendations, generated by a committee through the Office of the Provost, included the creation of a committee to research the level of inclusion among faculty members, a plan to partner with schools to increase minority enrollment, a public campaign by the provost in support of diversity and a call for the creation of the “strategic plan for diversity.” In a September 2015 interview with the Daily, Schlissel said the fully developed plan will likely be released by the end of this school year. The final result will come from the collective feedback of individual evaluations from each of the University’s schools and colleges as well as from each administrative office. Last February, Schlissel announced several enterprises in the works focusing on diversity and inclusion on campus — many of which were recommended by University Provost Martha Pollack’s committee in September. These included partnering with predominantly underrepresented school districts, creating a task force dedicated to hiring and promoting minority staff as well as a diversity summit to take place in the fall. “The plan has to work towards the goal of making the University community look like the public it serves,” Schlissel said in February. “It sounds simplistic: There aren’t numerical quotas — that’s not either legal or desirable — there’s a shared ambition and we’re trying to release the creativity of all of our different units.” February’s announcement marked the plan’s formal introduction. Seven months later, its formal deadline was set; less than seven months from now will mark the beginning of strategy implementation that will likely influence climate, culture and general practices for years to come. “It’s not the kind of thing I’m convinced where we have a threeyear plan and then we’re done,” Schlissel said in September. “I am convinced that my successors are going to be working on this because of how far society has to go to be truly inclusive and diverse society; the kind that matches our ideals.” *** The first leg of Schlissel’s plan launched Sept. 2 when Schlissel announced the High Achieving Involved Leader Scholarship.
The scholarship program is currently being piloted for two years by the University with aims to attract academically strong students from low-income families — applying to students from urban, rural or suburban neighborhoods. The program offers four years of free tuition to the University, and is valued at $60,000. “As a public university, we want to make sure that we remain accessible and affordable to talented students in the state,” Schlissel said. “No matter where they are in the state, no matter what community they grow up in, what high school they went to, what their parents do, what their circumstances are.” The University has yet to release the demographics of the 6,269 students in the 2015 freshman class. However, enrollment data from 2015 shows 3.84 percent of the newly admitted student body was Black. This brings the total percentage of Black students enrolled at the University to 4.63 percent — slightly lower than in the previous five years. In his September interview with the Daily, Schlissel said the University would “start to see modest incremental changes in the direction of diversity now,” based on changes made to the admissions and financial aid procedures in the last year. Prior to Schlissel’s arrival, the administration had put in place the Center for Educational Outreach, which came out of a 2007 Diversity Blueprints Committee. The CEO offers more than a dozen programs aimed to both increase the University’s presence in underserved communities and offer academic aid to those students. The center aided 4,558 students in 2014 from third grade through high school in 124 schools in the state of Michigan. Schlissel’s proposed plans to increase partnerships with underrepresented schools is a start to solving the low minority enrollment numbers, as there currently is no concrete data on how well similar programs already in place — such as the CEO program — affect minority enrollment. *** So far, of the seven demands the BSU laid out for the University to address, four have been addressed. The administration has nearly doubled the BSU’s funding — from $37,000 in 2014 to $60,000 this year. BSU members have been encouraged by some of the administration’s efforts in areas such as providing emergency funds to students, as well as the revising the Race and Ethnicity requirements so that Intergroup Relations courses will count toward it.
of the University’s chapter of the American Medical Student Association, said the potential of increasing the role of technology in mitigating behavior is a “cool idea.” “It seems to me that it sounds very similar to methods that have been proven to work to get people to quit smoking,” he said. “This sort of thing has more of an effect than family or friends on getting people to quit. I definitely believe that it could be a valuable way to get people to change their behavior for the better of their health.” The results of the trial are promising, but there is still a long road ahead before any policy can be implemented, including the need for repetition of the trial. “I don’t think it will immediately change practice,” Walton said. “I think changing practice in clinical care takes time. One of the limitations of the study is that it was conducted in a single emergency department setting and before you would implement this as part of clinical care we would like to see it replicated.” Walton and her team are also currently applying for funding to attempt to replicate their findings in eight emergency
departments across the country. Medical School student Shai Madjar said broadening the study’s scope could potentially change the delivery of health interventions in the long run. “From a medical point of view, I think that it’s really hard to change people’s behavior — even risky behavior,” he said. “In the hospital, you often have so little time talk to people, so if you can show that a brief intervention like the ones discussed in the trial can have an impact that stays true over time that would be really important.” This ability for a computer intervention to have such a significant effect on behavior could have long-term effects on how patients and doctors interact. Walton added that the medical community will undoubtedly continue to look into ways to curb underage drinking — an issue the University has also grappled with in recent years. “I think there’s a real interest in medical studies, including the emergency department, in reducing injury and alcohol is a key risk factor in injury and therefore I think that a lot of hospital personnel are very committed to this issue,” Walton said.
friends told her that 200 refugee families were relocating to Grand Rapids. “Now, it’s definitely a personal issue because it’s a car ride away,” Haimout said. Haimout said many University students are unaware of the crisis, and the vigil aimed to draw attention to the cause. “I don’t want to generalize,
but there are a lot of privileged students here,” she said. “I thought it’d be a great way to empower those who are relocating to Michigan to go out of their way to help those who need help.” LSA senior Dana Basha and Muslim chaplain Mohammed Tayssir spoke at the event. Both are of Syrian descent and both have family members who fled
Wednesday, September 30, 2015 — 3A However, BSU members say there is more to be done — especially in areas such as increasing minority enrollment and moving the Trotter Center closer to campus. In response to #BBUM, Pollack promised in January 2014 to improve the building. At the time, Pollack and Harper listed the Trotter Center’s relocation among their top three priorities to be addressed immediately. The other two were improving campus climate and increasing minority enrollment. The University has agreed to ultimately move the Trotter Center closer to campus. The Office of Student Life hosted a number of student focus groups at the current location in September to discuss four potential options. E. Royster Harper, vice president for student life, said in a September interview with the Daily that wherever the new location may be, it will be finished by 2017. *** LSA senior Arnold Reed, the 2014-2015 BSU speaker, said though the BSU has not worked very closely with Schlissel, the organization has been pleased with the administration’s efforts thus far and is looking forward to increased collaboration in the future. “The gap between administration and students is narrowing over time, which I’m appreciative of,” Reed said. “I hope to continue working with them in years to come.” Robert Sellers, vice provost for equity, inclusion and academic affairs, said, overall, students are happy with the steps Schlissel has taken over the past year. Sellers served as chair of Pollack’s committee on diversity and inclusion. “The number of students that I talk to have been excited about where we are and where we’re going,” Sellers said. “The fact that he has been very public and upfront with regards to this being an important part of his presidency. Also the fact that he has laid forth a diversity strategic planning process that will engage the entire University towards thinking about and developing and recommitting to a strategy that will not only create a more diverse campus, but one that’s equitable for all students, faculty and staff and allow us to utilize the various kinds of experiences that a diverse campus brings.” A priority for Sellers and Schlissel is to improve the Diversity Matters website as a place for students to share experiences and foster discussion online. They hope the new version of the website will help connect students with pre-existing online resources while also creating new
GENIUS From Page 1A flipping through the course catalog. Archeology wasn’t ever something that I had thought of as something I could study at the University. I mean, I knew archeology was a field, but it never occurred to me to major in classical archeology.” Nakassis, who went on to major in classical archeology when he was a student, also took classes in ancient Greek. Doing so catered to both honing his academic interests and reconnecting with his family roots — his father grew up in Greece, where, he said, learning the ancient language was part of the high school curriculum. “They were just the best classes. They were so well taught and so interesting and I was pretty much hooked after that,” Nakassis said. “From there, I had a very, very clear idea of what I wanted to do … It was just sort of luck of the draw, having really great and inspiring professors.”
platforms for interaction. Moving forward: Reed said he was happy Schlissel has a plan, but said he cannot be sure of how much of an impact it will make at this point. “A plan is a great place to start, but a plan is definitely just a plan until action is put behind it,” Reed said. “I’m going to be very interested to see how that action is put behind it and how students are going to be playing a role in that narrative. I think that it’s a good thing for him to be talking about it and rallying behind it, but I just want to see what becomes of it in the years to come. We’re definitely holding administration to that plan.” Something everyone seems to agree upon is that diversity issues cannot be solved within one year’s time. Sellers is pleased with how much Schlissel has accomplished over the past year as well as his approach to addressing diversity. He said while Schlissel can lead the efforts to improve campus diversity, it’s up to members of the University community to put an effort into creating change. “It’s important for folks to understand that he has made a great deal of progress in the eight months, in terms of his commitment, both publicly and privately, more so than one could even begin to imagine,” Sellers said. “He has a serious view of this, so he doesn’t see this as a box to check off his checklist in terms of issues to address, but he sees it as a long-term commitment.” Sellers continued highlighting the importance of Schlissel’s long-term outlook. “That long-term commitment means that it’s not going to be solved in a semester. The issues that face this University, or frankly face higher education in our society, cannot be fixed in a semester,” Sellers said. “I would, quite frankly, be afraid if that was his approach. That just tells me that he’s serious about it because he sees this as a longterm effort that the University as a whole must engage in to have real transformation, and to have real, sustained achievement.” Reed also noted the ongoing process of promoting diversity as well as his confidence in Schlissel to take on the job. “There’s things that we can always improve. This is something that you can’t just work on once — it’s a continual process,” Reed said. “I’m excited to see what comes of it. He’s still pretty new at this point and he’s growing into his role. I’m just really excited to see where he can take these issues. He’s a very strategic thinker and he’s very methodical in his movements, and I think that we’ll be able to see a lot of cool things being done this upcoming year.”
One of his influential professors during his time at the University, Nakassis said, was Susan Alcock, who was a MacArthur recipient in 2000. “It feels weird to think of myself or to be in the same category with someone like her,” he said. “That’s the other weird thing about winning the MacArthur. So much attention is on you and part of me just wants to be like, ‘I’ve only been able to get here because I’ve had, like, the best professors.’ I really feel like, at Michigan, I was exposed to some of the best professors in the field.” The University is currently the only college in the state with a classics department. Michigan State University’s final classics major graduated in May 2014. “I think it is an unfortunate reality of the financial crunch that a lot of universities are feeling,” Nakassis said. “Michigan’s a shining light, for sure, in classics … it would be better for the people at Michigan if it weren’t the only one.”
125 YEARS NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD. the turmoil in Syria. Basha urged students to see the situation not as a set of statistics, but as difficult circustances facing human beings. “I refuse to make this something that’s characterized by numbers,” Basha said. “These are human beings that have been facing atrocities and torture the human mind cannot fathom.”
Medical School student Mariam Salman echoed Basha’s desire to humanize those affected by the situation in Syria. “It is really easy to just forget that they are people with their own families and their own backgrounds and memories and loved ones,” she said. “They have lives and dreams that have been shattered.”
Opinion
4A — Wednesday, September 30, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
A GDI in defense of the Mud Bowl
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.
L
Remembering how to write by hand
ast fall, I enrolled in Classic Civilization 101 to fulfill my first-year writing requirement, knowing full well that it would require a heavy workload of both reading and writing. Drafting papers was still somewhat new to me, especially ones built around such specific topics or given prompts, like those I knew I would encounter in this class. In order to tackle the SUSAN challenge of first-draft LAMOREAUX composition, I started by getting out a stack of notecards and writing my way through lists of bullet points. But even with those cards set out in front of me, the white page of my word processor stubbornly refused to fill with text. So instead of staring at the screen, I armed myself with a mechanical pencil and one of my well-worn yellow legal pads, decided how many pages I needed to fill to meet my word-count goal and got started scribbling words. When workshopping the early drafts of our papers in class, I mentioned that my neatly typed pages of text had started out as handwriting, and drew incredulous stares from my peers. None of them had written their papers by hand, and all took a moment to think about how that might work. We were writing fairly long papers, aiming for 1,600 words — about eight double-spaced pages, which, for me, meant seven or eight pages, handwritten. In filling those pages, much of what I wrote was mediocre, and the content wasn’t incredibly cohesive, but I got something down to meet my word- and page-count goals. It was in transcribing those 1,600 words that something changed. In so closely going back over what I had written, I gave myself a chance to edit while still in a stage of initial composition. Instead of trying to find connections between my ideas, the material and how to transcribe them, I was putting down a lot of raw material and watching with satisfaction as it filled up the pages of my blank piece of paper. By not starting on the computer, I came back to what I had written with a more organized idea of where I wanted the writing to take me, and now I had a quantity of text already written, from which I could begin to more thoroughly develop my ideas. As a matter of fact, we use different neurological pathways when we write out words by hand versus when we type — so I’ve been told by fellow writers, and as has been confirmed by a variety of studies, including a 2012 study conducted by researchers Karin James and Laura Engelhardt at Indiana University. Through imaging
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children’s brains, the researchers found that handwriting activates different regions than typing, and with greater overall stimulus. The study also addressed the variety found in handwriting, and how, when writing on paper, creative and personal expression can come into play. Everyone’s handwriting, even their styles of shaping letters, are incredibly diverse. It’s by practicing shaping those letters that children can come to better understand what each one means. Compositions on paper can also be easier to navigate than ones on the computer; there’s complete freedom to write notes in margins, box off parts of a page, or to circle, underline or highlight passages of text. And then there’s the content that’s generated — not just an abstract, virtual document made of megabytes, but something more solid and real. Even while in the process of composing words, the time it takes to write them out and later to type them up allows a deeper reflection on the ideas being presented, as well as on the composition and cadence of sentences. While it may seem like a daunting task to write a paper longhand before a single word makes it into your blank document, I believe it saves time in the long run. Writing a composition before typing it grants space that’s needed for ideas to sink in and form more fully. Having a break between modes also leaves breathing space for an author to see his or her text with fresh eyes, and to more easily pinpoint spelling errors, grammar mistakes and breaks in continuity. While keyboards must play a role at some point — and while I only deem my papers complete after careful refinement on the computer — typing on the computer isn’t the only way to transcribe a first draft or to do writing that’s academic and serious in nature. Even these words, though they have undergone changes after I transcribed them onto a screen, were drafted first by hand. And in future writing exercises, I fully intend to continue using a mix of analog and digital in generating and refining my ideas. Though it may require I invest more time in the process, I know the effort I put in will result in me building a more complete understanding of the ideas I’m ultimately trying to put forth. Besides, who needs to spend all those hours staring at a computer screen when a pad of paper is so much easier on the eyes? This fall, I plan to once again fill my yellow legal pads with ideas written out in hasty graphite scratches, knowing with full confidence that I’ll be able to turn those scribbles into polished, word-processed text by the time my paper’s due. — Susan LaMoreaux can be reached at susanpl@umich.edu.
A same kind of different
realized that I no longer belonged to the church as I made my way up to the altar, arms crossed tightly across my chest. I glanced nervously around, noticing some heads turned MEGAN and stares directed my way. MITCHELL I imagined a door straight to Hell itself opening the second my feet touched the front of the church, but was met instead by a kind, smiling priest who laid his hand on my shoulder to give me a thoughtful blessing. On the way back, I didn’t even notice the eyes that were glued to my back. Religion is not my thing. And this past April, I attended mass for the first time in quite a long time. Although Catholic, I have admittedly lacked a presence at church for the last nine years — unless, of course, you count watching “The Ten Commandments” on ABC every Easter. In 2013, the daily news revolved around the reelection of a new pope. I watched as my deeply religious high school friends raved and frequently asked, “Who are they going to choose to lead the Church?” as if a “Dancing with the Stars” finale was approaching. Most days, after listening intently until I became lost, I went back to my turkey sandwich, uninterested and not willing to spark up yet another debate about religion. At the time, I considered myself a “bad Catholic” for not being present at church on Sundays and for believing in things not condoned by the Church. Soon, I began to identify as a “nonaffiliate” and saw all church-goers as that one guy who stands at the corner with a megaphone screaming that we must all repent our sins or risk winding up in Hell.
I lost touch with religion because it was easy — easier than trying to explain that I was a “Catholic that is totally OK with (insert) and (insert) and (insert).” I never looked back too much on religion and began to enjoy my churchfree, cartoon-filled Sunday mornings. That is, until recently, when I heard that Pope Francis would make a historic visit to the United States. I tried to think back — Who was Pope Francis? All I had heard about our new pope over the past two years was that he was quite progressive. Not horribly, but enough to make me turn my eyes to the head of a Church I had all but abandoned. So, I decided to find the answers to my questions. Along the way, my friend forwarded me an article from CatholicVote.org, which immediately caught my attention. It focused on the pope’s papal visit to bless AIDS victims and, because the most at-risk groups are homosexuals, I was preparing myself to find a harsh response in the text. What I read was surprisingly open and heartfelt, especially since it was coming from what my mind viewed as the most conservative person on the globe. “God loves you all, without distinction, without limit,” he said. “He loves those of you who are sick, those who are suffering from AIDS and AIDS-Related Complex … He loves all with an unconditional and everlasting love.” The pope’s further comments continued to provide support and blessing for all who have suffered greatly, welcoming those individuals into the heart of the Church. I could feel my illusion of the Church cracking and shattering from its very foun-
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hoever is responsible for the phrase “no press is bad press” couldn’t have foreseen the flurry of news stories, social media posts and general nonsense that has swirled around Greek life at the University these past few months. Fraternities and BRETT sororities have GRAHAM been told by administration that they’re partly responsible for a devaluation of degrees, resulting from Michigan’s “party culture.” Similar comments made by Dean of Students Laura Blake Jones referenced a “work-hard, playhard mentality” and “downward spiral.” Suffice it to say the Greek life community has been taking a beating for the past few rounds and needs to get off the ropes. With the Mud Bowl, they might just have their opportunity. For the past eight decades, the gentlemen of Sigma Alpha Epsilon have preserved this tradition on their front lawn, combining muck, adrenaline and the sheer beauty that is two-hand touch football. To put this into perspective, the original Mud Bowl game was played in 1933, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in his first year as president and World War II was just peeking over the horizon. Since then, the contest has become a staple of Greek life, as fraternities vie each year in a tournament for the privilege of playing SAE. The game, usually held during homecoming weekend, has raised more than $100,000 for Mott Children’s Hospital in the last five years alone. However, this year is different. The SAE chapter has been operating off campus for four years now, following their suspension in 2011 due to allegations of hazing, and this summer had its charter revoked by the national organization. Combined with the administration’s recently tense attitude toward Greek life, the responses to this year’s game have been unusual and complicated. Devin
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Berghorst, an assistant director of the Office of Greek Life, has discussed sanctions for fraternities seeking to enter this year’s tournament, based on the Interfraternity Council’s policy against attending events hosted by non-sanctioned groups. The University hasn’t outright forbidden fraternities from entering the tournament, but instead threatens punishment for participation. This is unprecedented, considering the guarantee in the IFC constitution of self-governance. I would like to stop for a minute and recognize the fact that I am, in fact, a GDI*, unaffiliated with any fraternity and by no means an authority on the inner workings of the IFC or the event. However, I am a third-party observer with the added bonus of freedom from bias and agenda. That being said, with all the diplomacy and finesse of a dump truck, the choice of the administration to insert itself into this conflict is emblematic of the misguided, short-sighted nature of the new campaign to corral Greek life. The University’s approach is reminiscent of a substitute teacher attempting to settle down a horde of rowdy schoolchildren. The Mud Bowl exemplifies some of the best aspects of Greek life — charity, a deep love for tradition and the ability for a community to come together for a common goal (thousands of dollars to a children’s hospital). So why pick this fight? Students have entered as individuals, completely unaffiliated with their fraternities and national organizations, yet the University’s overly watchful eye remains. The University should disabuse itself of the notion that attempts like this, meant to preserve order, will do any more good than unnecessarily provoking and victimizing nearly 20 percent of the undergraduate population. Party culture and Greek life are not synonymous; speaking as someone who isn’t in a fraternity, I can guarantee that if that fifth of the population were all to drop out tomorrow, there would still be parties at Michigan. Students would still tailgate on Saturdays and underage drinking would continue to occur. Events like the Mud Bowl exemplify the organiza-
tion and responsibility that Greeks often bring to this sometimes overly criticized “party culture.” Despite concerns about safety from the Office of Greek Life, former SAE president Brett Mizzi has confirmed that students have hired security, purchased event insurance and formulated risk management plans for the 2015 Mud Bowl. Philanthropic organizations such as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Service for Sight and Camp Kesem are consistent beneficiaries of the efforts of college students who will be playing and spectating at Mudbowl LXXXII. On-campus groups such as Dance Marathon field several teams every year from Greek life. Their contributions to the community are immense, but what kind of message does the University administration send when it lets such a staunch position against Greek life stop students from doing something as lighthearted and altruistic as the annual Mud Bowl game? If September’s events are any indication, the relationship between University administration and the Greek life community this academic year will be nothing short of ridiculous. Only the University and administrators like Berghorst can steer clear of this. How? Treat fraternities and sororities with respect, instead of like misbehaving children. Accept that the work-hard-play-hard mentality is something that draws a lot of highly motivated students to apply to the University in the first place. Be willing to recognize the positive contribution that community makes to our school. Is Greek life perfect? Absolutely not. But the Mud Bowl is about healthy tradition, raising money for charity and a group of college guys pushing each other around in the mud. It’s fun, it serves a cause and it’s relatively innocent. So can we please start treating it that way? *Editor’s note: GDI stands for god damn independent. — Brett Graham can be reached at btgraham@umich.edu.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
The latest smear campaign is based on efforts by our opponents to entrap our doctors and clinicians into breaking the law — and once again, our opponents failed.” — Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards on Tuesday, September 30, in testimony before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Ben Keller, Payton Luokkala, Aarica Marsh, Adam Morton, Victoria Noble, Anna Polumbo-Levy, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Stephanie Trierweiler,
Mary Kate Winn, Derek Wolfe
dations. Was all that I had thought about religion for the past couple years a lie? A new pope, one who could see the entire community, demonstrated an inclusiveness that the Church was always supposed to provide. Contemplating this big question, I returned from the excerpt only to find the shocking revelation that this description was not of Pope Francis, but Pope John Paul II. In the 1980s. People think they understand what the Catholic Church is teaching, but when we see something we disagree with, it’s easier to back away than try to understand and search for answers. The Church is inclusive, and the pope embodies the unity of a congregation of people, all different yet viewed the same in the eyes of God. I had judged an entire religion based on my experience in one small church, in one small town; I had based my thoughts about the inclusion of all
different kinds of people on matters I thought all Catholics believed in. I didn’t want to be a part of a church that seemed to close its doors to the differences found in all people. In my search for answers and clarification, I found beautiful words and acts of kindness from Pope Francis himself during his trip to our country, most of which were not so different from those before him. Sure, Pope Francis might have what the the author Stephen White affectionately states a “family resemblance” to his predecessors, yet he takes on his teachings with an off-the-cuff air of lightheartedness filled with wisdom and humor. After arriving on American soil for the first time, he stopped to bless a young boy with cerebral palsy. And while reinforcing the virtues of family, he added in a light “I won’t speak of mother-in-laws” riff before launching into the teaching, capturing both attention and laughter.
I believe, though, that Pope Francis will gain a recent and large following not only through his compassionate and inclusive nature, but also through his ability to inspire people to dream higher and live the lives we were meant to live. His teachings and words of wisdom can apply to all people, whether devoutly religious, completely nonreligious, simply on a break from church or anywhere in between. If wise and compassionate words are ever needed, look to to Pope Francis and his desire to motivate and give hope to every person on this planet. “Sure, a person sometimes dreams of things that are never going to happen,” Francis said in a recent speech in Cuba. “But dream them. Desire them. Open yourselves to great things.” — Megan Mitchell can be reached umeg@umich.edu.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
5A — Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Evolution of A2 Nothing new in dull craft breweries ‘Grinder’ premiere
TV REVIEW
By DREW MARON
Ann Arbor breweries thrive since mid-’90s
Daily Arts Writer
By KAREN HUA Daily TV/New Media Editor
It was a Thirsty Thursday. I headed deeper downtown, against a campus crowd flowing the opposite direction for the night. East Washington became submerged in a golden sunset, hues of amber and red from pale to dark. Arbor Brewing Company’s monthly beer-tasting event had a “Michigan-made” theme that night. Ochre ambiance and a hearty aroma greeted me at the door. I shuffled between two dozen varieties all brewed in-state, from porters to pales to “Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout.” I mingled among retired men indulging flavor from mason jars with the utmost precision — a drastic difference from conventional University drinking culture. According to the Brewers Association, Michigan alone produced more than 825,000 barrels of craft beer last year across 159 craft breweries — a quantity that’s nearly quadrupled over just the past decade. During the recession in 2008, while the cost of germinated barley soared 25-to-40 percent and hops prices tripled, craft beer production continued to rise steadily in the state. A historically German immigration town, Ann Arbor opened its first commercial brewery in 1838, during a century when the U.S. brewery count was at an all-time high of about 4,100. The numbers majorly dipped during Prohibition and the Great Depression, but by current day, we have almost recovered the historically high counts — just shy of 3,500 at the end of 2014. Though beer was nationally re-legalized in 1933, no company brewed commercially in Ann Arbor for 46 years following the end of prohibition until Matt and Rene Greff opened Arbor Brewing Company in the summer of 1995, with Grizzly Peak emerging three weeks later, two blocks down. An influx of short-lived brewery openings cluttered the mid ’90s, led by a series of closes and financial struggles that made locals wonder if craft brew would just be a fad. However, those that prevailed are some of the most successful businesses today. Jon Carlson and partners would go on to invest in the local development firm Mission Management, which is responsible for successful Ann Arbor breweries like Grizzly Peak, Blue Tractor and Jolly Pumpkin. David Bardallis has documented the city’s entire brewing history in his book, “Ann Arbor Beer: A Hoppy History of Tree Town Brewing,” published in 2013. He graduated from the University’s Dearborn campus in ’94; as he came of legal drinking age, the craft beer boom took off. He is now a home brewer and connoisseur of local product — the man even has the word “bar” in his name. Rene and Matt Greff wrote the foreword to Bardallis’s book, and they have hosted a beer-tasting series every month since 1997. “It’s partly flavor, it’s partly quality — but I think even more importantly is the local aspect: Being engaged with and knowing the people who make your beer. There’s a whole community feel,” Rene said. A veteran in the brewing industry now, she believes passion for beer can stem from college. By partnering with a University graduate from India, the Greffs recently began operations on their first overseas brewery in Bangalore. In the following two weeks, I worked my way backward in time, filling in the details from management firms to Peanut
VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily
Bartender and server Maureen Terrill pours a glass of beer at the Jolly Pumpkin.
Butter Stout. To my surprise, Jolly Pumpkin’s history extends only six years, but the roots of its owners intertwine deeply. Maggie Long, managing partner and executive chef at Jolly Pumpkin Café and Brewery on South Main, was raised around Detroit and completed her graduate degree at the University. The restaurant’s old-world tropical décor transported us to a colonial South America. Before we started, she interjected, “Hold on, I just gotta text my six farmers back.” Her commitment to localness doesn’t just stop with food. Jolly Pumpkin’s liquor license only allows them to distribute to themselves, so they sell exactly what they brew in Dexter, Mich. Long began as executive chef at Grizzly Peak, where she met Ron Jeffries — head brewer at the time — a University graduate and local brewing legend. In 2004, Jeffries started the first Jolly Pumpkin in Dexter, where he became one of the first people in the country to brew sour beers. Long’s desire to make a local impact followed him there.
Commitment to localness doesn’t just stop with food. “Six years ago, sours were still on the obscure end, so we wanted to make this a really comfortable, approachable place,” Long said. Now, Jolly Pumpkin is most known for their two entrylevel sours, Bam Biére and Bam Noir. Long strove to make their beers as versatile as possible, suitable to pair with anything on the menu, eliminating the need for expertise. In doing so, she has encouraged a humble community of drinkers, not exclusive or pretentious with ale epistemology. “Beer’s such a great world, especially in Ann Arbor. Everybody kind of does different things, so they all have their own niches,” Long said. “If somebody doesn’t like one style, they can go somewhere else and have another style.” Jolly Pumpkin is now a 70,000-square-foot facility for brewing and bottling. Back during first year of business, its Oro de Calabaza golden beer won a Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival. The company has won national and international accolades almost every year since, including the most recent at the seventh annual Hong Kong International Beer Awards, where they took home more first-place prizes than any other brewery. Later in the week, I headed over to Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewery, which also only brews and sells on the premises. Steve Barnes, formerly general manager of Grizzly Peak, moved over to manage Blue Tractor three years ago. An Ann Arbor native, he echoed Long’s sentiments about Jeffries. “There are chefs and there are cooks. The cooks just take
the recipes and put it together and here it is. But the chef creates something new,” he says. “Whereas Ron, he was sort of like a chef-brewer. He could create new things and start things from scratch and have these ideas and they turned out great.” Barnes then led me right around the corner, simply a wall separating what we just drank from what was currently being produced. From a sweaty sauna to a refrigerator-cold room, he detailed the complex procedure of the two-week process from grain to glass. “I give (my head brewer) free reign to do whatever he wants to do,” Barnes says. “That’s what I did with Ron. Not everything works, but that’s how you learn.” Later that day, down the street, Grizzly Peak Brewing Company reflected the same sentiment — a fearlessness to push the envelope and make mistakes with brewing. “Beer has been able to sustain itself through any of the fads because of the fact that people started doing new and interesting things, as opposed to the same lager over and over again,” said Stacy Baird, Grizzly Peak’s general manager. Baird was hired only six months ago, but she has already revamped the menu and modernized the space to invite younger, chicer customers into her usual mix. Both she and Duncan Williams, the head brewer, were born and raised in southeastern Michigan. Williams came under Jeffries as an assistant in 2001, but took over as head brewer when Jeffries left to open Jolly Pumpkin. On his job, the brewpub and the entire Ann Arbor craft brewing scene, Williams explained, “It’s a mixture of innovation and tradition.”
Millenials are willing to expand their palates. For rookies or the adventurous, Grizzly Peak offers a sampler of five-ounce selections of beers, sorted from lightest to darkest, or less hoppy to more hoppy, to encourage drinkers to try new items side by side. Just as Baird and Barnes are relatively new faces of management in the industry, new faces arrive from around the world in Ann Arbor each fall. Just as Baird and Barnes are willing to try new things with brewing, more millennials are also willing to expand their palates to appreciate quality brews. “A lot of younger people are a big part of the reason (the craft brewing industry is so successful). The millennials and the like are fuelling a lot of that. If it wasn’t for them, it couldn’t sustain itself.” Baird said. Ultimately, all four brewing companies share the same goal of growing appreciation for their craft and their product — not only to the University’s college crowd,
In “The Grinder,” Rob Lowe (“Parks and Recreation”) stars as Dean Sanderson, a fictional television actor Bknown for his role as a The Grinder dashing lawSeries yer on the Premiere eponymous Tuesdays at show-within8:30 p.m. a show. At the FOX beginning of the episode, Dean watches the series finale with his brother Stewart (Fred Savage, “The Wonder Years”), his brother’s family and his father Dean Sr. (William Devane, “24”). Brother Stewart works as a reallife attorney in their suburban hometown with his wife Debbie (Mary Elizabeth Ellis, “New Girl”) and their two kids. When Dean shows up, Stewart begins to feel like a secondary character in his own life, thanks to Dean’s fame and success acting as Stewart’s real-life job. While struggling with an eviction case, however, the endlessly charismatic Dean helps Stewart by deciding to become a real lawyer. This plan is met with obvious skepticism by his brother Stewart, who is reasonably offended by how cavalier Dean acts about pursuing a career as a lawyer. Unfortunately
NBC
“This sitcom literally sucks.”
for the show’s credibility, Dean’s decision is met with enthusiasm from everyone except Stewart. The concept of “The Grinder” sets it miles apart from the cookiecutter comedies and sitcoms plaguing fall pilots, and the show has the potential to be both biting satire and trippy meta-humor in the future. However, the first episode doesn’t quite deliver the funny insight into fact versus fiction promised by its premise. Along with its responsibility, the show must also deliver a solid, albeit somewhat conventional, family comedy with great chemistry between its leads and some well-placed jabs at Hollywood legal dramas. Neither Savage nor Lowe fall into the trap of being the unfunny straight man. The consequence,
however, is that the series doesn’t use its talented supporting cast. The notable exception is newcomer Colin Kalopsis who plays Stewart’s 13-year-old son Ethan. Kalopsis is given some of the best lines in the show, and it wouldn’t be surprising if we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the future. On the other hand, Ellis’s role as Debbie is relegated to the stereotypical wife-character — ironic, given the show’s aims at exposing television clichés, and a shame given Ellis’s talent. Rarely does a show’s pilot reveal exactly what its makers have up their sleeves, and it’s likely that the pilot of “The Grinder,” though an entertaining half hour of comedy, has yet to show the true potential of what the series can be.
COMMUNITY CULTURE NOTEBOOK
Homeopathic meds for a hypochondriac By CAROLINE FILIPS
There are few things I loathe more than my sinuses. As unpredictable as Michigan weather and as capricious as my spending habits, my nasal chambers are likewise among my tragic flaws — that along with being the offspring of a hypochondriac and a practicing physician (read: I’m a de facto over-informed nervous wreck when it comes to all things disease). When the congestion struck last week, I shied away from my rote scanning of WebMD’s symptom checker and turned to the Daily Arts desk for medicinal advice — yeah, I was that desperate. Among the run-of-the-mill suggestions of my counterparts (“Get lots of rest! Drink fluids! Call your mom!”), a voice of homeopathic reason surfaced. This ally of a Senior Arts Editrix seemed under an uncharacteristically maternal trance as she spent a full eight minutes focused on my impending wellness trajectory. She recommended I visit the People’s Food Co-op in Kerrytown — the alleged Ann Arbor health oasis. She jotted down her homeopathic musings and fully ignored my skepticism. She rattled off various herbal supplements, micro and macrobiotic rich foods, and teas she swore by. She rapidly questioned my health history and eating habits as I pondered her lack of a medical degree. She applauded my consumption of
ginger and seaweed salads, but she shuddered at my gluten and dairyladen diet with a rhetorical health ultimatum, only to inquire, “Do you want to get better?” I let her ramble and listen to herself for a hot second, but then, unsuspectingly, something about her outlook appealed to me. Though I often approach my illnesses with a routine pragmatism — doctor, prescription, repeat — I was tempted to abandon my trusted methods. In my head, my fleeting teenage status seemed sufficient rationale. And yet, the more I listened to her blasphemy, the more tokens of wisdom I vowed to cash out at the co-op. This alternative means of healing had its own brand of practicality. Turning to nature made sense, and though I had no intentions of acclimating to a full-on Emersonian lifestyle, an unrefined, non-commercial means of healing seemed a more feasible rebellion than getting tatted up. And besides, I trusted her strong jawline — a result of admirable discipline and devotion to facial yoga. So to be spontaneous and carefree in the hopes of it radiating some allure, I did the characteristically uncharacteristic thing: I decided not to pick up my prescriptions and rather follow the advice of my temporary healer. Toting my list of all things natural, I approached the co-op threshold with a slight hesitation, but then I kept hearing those words: “Do you want to get better?
Do you want to get better? Do you want to get better, Caroline?” Though I suspected the market to be a combination of hole-inthe-wall fruit stands and spice emporiums, I was pleasantly surprised by its normalcy — a standard grocery store layout and an above average produce selection with the enticing additions of a hot food bar and adjunct café. Sure, I was taken aback at the organic cat food, but the remaining selection was positively intriguing. It was an easy feat as I perused the aisles, finding my editorendorsed products in a matter of minutes. As I strolled home, still resonating with the voice of perpetual doubt in my head, I silently swore not to gauge my health progress for at least a week. Within days, I saw the light, the one I assumed mentally obstructed my Editrix and others whom I’d assumed fell victim to that naturalistic shit … sorry, phooey. As I popped supplements of concentrated garlic, brewed green tea around the clock, simmered and sipped miso soup, munched on nori and irrigated my nasal passages as necessary, my sinuses cleared along with my mind. Less than a week into my homeopathic practices, I was left with nothing more than a lingering sniffle. Though I won’t advise skipping a doctor’s appointment in times of serious somatic setbacks, for seasonal bouts of colds and coughs, I’ll continue to trust my off-beat Editrix and head to the People’s Food Co-op when I want to get better.
but to the entire city of Ann Arbor. “The community just gives us the ability to bring more people into the area, and because we’re so close in proximity, they don’t have to walk far. We gently feed off each other,” Long said. “There’s been this amazing camaraderie right from the very time we opened,” Rene said. “We know that we’re competitors, but we feel like there’s enough business to go around, and we’re really more like all in this together.” Long added, “The explosion of the brewery in the area and throughout the state has created jobs outside of brewing, like
hop farms. So when you create the demand on a relatively small scale, there are offshoots that come of it.” Long’s sentiment has basis in fact, as Michigan’s craft brewing businesses contributed almost $1.9 billion to the U.S. economy last year — 3.4 percent of the $55.7 billion contributed by craft breweries nationally. National breweries have also created more than 424,000 jobs related to breweries and brewpubs. From two breweries down the street two decades ago to three brewpubs and nine microbreweries to date, it’s clear the craft-brew
boom is infectious. Over on the east side of town, down Packard Street, Pointless Brewery & Theatre is set to open next year, which will serve improvisational theater with in-house brews. This spring, more than 500 people raised almost $53,000 on Kickstarter for the new business, proving the local dedication to craft brewing. On the other side of town on West Liberty Street, Glasshouse Brewing is just set to open its doors later this summer. The Payeur family hones their focus on what will strictly be a brew house and beer bar.
Daily Arts Writer
Arts
6A — Wednesday, September 30, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
TV REVIEW
‘Grandfathered’ ages John Stamos Little potential for FOX comedy past its premise By BENJAMIN ROSENSTOCK Daily Arts Writer
“Grandfathered” might be a single-camera comedy on FOX, but it has the feel of a CBS sitcom without the live studio C+ audience. There Grandfathered are broad jokes occa- Tuesdays at 8 p.m. sionally based on FOX race and sex, with simplistic characterizations and saccharine bonding moments. Based on the series premiere, it’s difficult to tell whether the show will go the way of “How I Met Your Mother” or “The McCarthys.” There are some promising elements, like the focus on family and age, but it’s also hard to see where the show can go past its pilot.
Will viewers watch past the uninspired first episode? John Stamos (“Full House”) stars as Jimmy Martino, a restaurant owner who discovers that his ex-wife Sara (Paget Brewster, “Criminal Minds”) had a child years ago and never told him. Her son, Gerald (Josh Peck, “Drake and Josh”), visits Jimmy at work and introduces him to his own daughter. Not only is Jimmy suddenly a father, but he’s a grandfather. The pilot proceeds exactly as you’d expect. Jimmy’s world is rocked by the sudden realization that he has a family. He’s reluctant
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Jackets that would make ‘The Matrix’ jealous.
FOX
Where’s the damn Oikos, John?!?!
to get involved until he spends time with them, and then deciding to dedicate himself to his new family. His actions are completely predictable — from Jimmy’s initial hesitation to his eventual change of heart — but it’s cute in a fluffy heartwarming sitcom way. There’s nothing really complex about it, but it’s reliable for an “awww” or two. Though the show has some charming moments, it’s low on laughs. The cast attempts nobly to succed in remedying this, especially Brewster, who showed her comedic chops on the last season of “Community” earlier this year. Her delivery is sharp, and her lines are reliably funny, like when she mentions that she accidentally burned her baby with a seatbelt and “I swear, he looked right at me and gave me the finger.” Stamos, to his credit, commits himself entirely to the role of Jimmy, playing his character as if Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark was suddenly given a new family. Stamos is suave, confident and vain, but the nuances in the writing just aren’t there beyond Jimmy’s predictable heart of gold. He’s like Barney Stinson of “How I Met Your Mother” without any of the fun character quirks. The rest of the cast is similarly underdeveloped. Peck plays Gerald as an overeager man-child, thrilled to finally meet his dad and
receive relationship advice from him, but any shades of resentment he might have are toned down in favor of their immediate bonding. Christina Milian (“Baggage Claim”) plays blank slate Vanessa, the mother of Gerald’s baby and the woman he hopes will be more than a friend. Kelly Jenrette (“Frisky Dingo”) and Ravi Patel (“Past Life”) play two employees at Jimmy’s restaurant who mostly just exist to make jokes about Jimmy as a womanizer, though there’s a fun aside where Jenrette’s character makes friends with Sara. Most of the jokes in “Grandfathered” fail to elicit more than a vague smile, and every character’s role can be summed up in a sentence or less. Arguably the most important flaw to address, though, is how “Grandfathered” can continue past its pilot. Will it be possible to sustain a whole series of television based on its simple premise? Will the show find a comfortable groove as a hangout comedy like “New Girl,” or will it fall back on obvious subplots like a re-coupling of Jimmy and Sara? With its cast and its heart, “Grandfathered” could join the other high-concept sitcoms whose audiences have grown over the years. The real question is whether viewers will be willing to watch past the uninspired first episode.
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
FOR RENT
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Wild hogs 6 Wild animal 11 Bird in a cage, often 14 Pinhead 15 Off-the-cuff 16 Hot feeling 17 Blanket containers 19 Sign word often seen before “next exit” 20 Matzo meal 21 Some RSVPs 22 Punch source 23 “Born to Die” singer Lana Del __ 24 Caspian Sea land 26 Diamond figure 29 Burrowing beach denizens 34 Smart guys? 35 Spanish tourist city 36 Knock on Yelp 37 Mall bag 38 Given (to) 39 Responded to reveille 40 Former Energy secretary Steven 41 No-frills 42 Hog lover 43 Lollipops, e.g. 45 On the ball 46 Like reporters, by trade 47 Brief letters? 48 Artist’s pad 50 Arranged locks 53 Strips on a sandwich 56 Frazier foe 57 Where much classical music is heard 60 Spoil 61 “Too rich for me” 62 Castle in the 1914 musical “Watch Your Step” 63 “Ciao!” 64 1975 Pulitzer winner for criticism 65 Put two and two together DOWN 1 Media Clic Ice maker 2 Often emotional works
39 One of two 48 Moussaka meat 3 Help on the Hill baseball playoff 49 Facial cosmetics 4 Rolex 24 at teams brand Daytona, e.g. determined next 51 Clarinet cousin 5 Parade venues week by a “play- 52 Disparaging 6 “That’s in” game in each comment hogwash!” major league, 54 Pigged out (on), 7 Big name in and a hint to this briefly organic foods puzzle’s circles 55 Ted Williams’ 8 Furthermore 41 Lenovo products number 9 Isn’t active, as 42 Munich’s state 57 Chart shape equipment 44 Small point 58 Addams family 10 “King of the 47 English channel, cousin Nerds” airer briefly 59 Heavy ref. 11 Sight-unseen buy ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 12 Stretches of history 13 Lab work 18 React to a kitchen bulb, maybe 22 Word after go or so 25 Miley Cyrus label 26 Hidden problem 27 Hawaiian Airlines greeting 28 Shoot back 29 Leftovers preserver 30 Dodge 31 Doofus 32 One creating enticing aromas 33 Hägar’s dog 38 Feign ignorance xwordeditor@aol.com 09/30/15
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New doc shines light on Black Panthers By SOPHIA KAUFMAN
a story — stories that are often neglected, forgotten or whitewashed in tellings of the Civil “The Black Panthers: Van- Rights Movement today. “The guard of the Revolution,” Black Panthers” deconstructs directed by Stanley Nelson, is the popular conception of the the first feaParty as the trigger-happy ture-length radical alternative to civil disAdocumentary obedience, and it paints a vivid to tell the The Black portrait of the Party’s charisBlack Panther matic leaders. Party’s story Panthers: The documentary also covers from begin- Vanguard much more than the timeline ning to end. It of events that led to the Party’s of the is mesmerizeventual split, capturing how ing the entire Revolution the Black Panthers shocked way through, and fascinated the nation. He Stanley Nelson not only devotes a significant amount of painting a Detroit Film Theatre time to how the Black Panthers three-dimenrepresented a different kind sional picture of pride, a new kind of fashion of the Party, but lending itself to iconography and an obvious comparisons to the present day sex appeal that attracted young without once explicitly calling people. Former Panthers talk “today” into focus. about how the majority of the Nelson never inserts his voice Party was in their late teens and into “The Black Panthers”; for- early twenties, and the youthful mer and current Panthers speak vibrancy radiated when they for themselves, as do journal- marched down the street. Some ists, FBI informants and police who joined later on discussed officers who were involved. how the Panthers represented a Each tells his or her own side of new kind of image that they could aspire to as younger children. It’s unfortunate that the chauvinist sexist aspects of the Party, while addressed, only take up a few of the 116 minutes Call: #734-418-4115 in the documentary. However, Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com the strength and resilience of the many black women in the Panther Party break through. Women describe answering the phones with one hand while bouncing their crying children in the other or asking to carry guns along with the men. One describes how a woman volunRACKETBALL PICK‑UP game teered to be the first person to CCRB @ noon on M, W & F. All skill levels, male and female welcome walk out of a house unarmed, waving a white flag in the midTHESIS EDITING, LANGUAGE, dle of a bloody shootout with organization, format. All Disciplines. police officers. 734/996‑0566 or writeon@iserv.net Overall, the documentary deserved a better ending, artistically and technically. It ends with a “where are they now” epilogue, focusing on only some of the Panther’s more famous leaders, ending the dynamic story on a softer note. This concluding tactic also fails to add the element of cohesion to tie it all together. While Daily Arts Writer
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this is unfortunate, it doesn’t detract too much from the overall work. A documentary is only ever as good as its story, and this story is electric. It’s impossible to avert one’s eyes from the stunning black-and-white photographs and the video footage, grainy as they may be. This story is one of anguish and heartbreak, of a collective response and rally in the face of police brutality and societal pressure to back off and back down. It is a story of the passion for change found in youth, but also of the dangers faced by movements that become too big too quickly. It is a story of hope and relentless refusal to give up the fight for justice, quiet victories and bloody defeats and unapologetic pride. In short, it’s a similar story, more or less, of the Black Lives Matter movement today. Nelson chooses not to make any explicit comparisons to the civil rights struggle that occurs today, but the comparisons are blindingly obvious. They represent a different kind of pride in being black in the face of bigotry and hatred, heard loud and clear in their chant “Black is Beautiful.” Across social media, trends like the #melanin tag and organized events like #Blackout have taken off, especially on photofriendly platforms like Twitter and Instagram. There are photographs of the Panthers standing in the middle of the street handing out their newspaper to people in cars, subtly highlighting the group’s recognition of the media’s impact. This makes for another comparison with the Black Lives Matter movement, which largely stems from social media. Perhaps most obviously, one of the focuses of the Panthers was police brutality, an issue that has become a focal one in the movement today. Nelson’s unflinching gaze at police brutality stripped bare doesn’t feel understated or overemphasized; it just feels like the truth. It feels familiar. This may be why the documentary hits home — it reflects it.
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09/30/15
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Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, September 30, 2015 — 7A
Haidar enjoying breakout senior season Even when she comes off the bench, Haidar makes an impact for Michigan By BETELHEM ASHAME Daily Sports Writer
With five minutes left on the game clock, nerves began to run high on the sideline and in the crowd. The score was deadlocked at 0-0, and time was running out for the Michigan women’s soccer team. The Wolverines had dominated the game against Iowa, controlling possession and dictating the run of play on their way to manufacturing the majority of the scoring opportunities in the match. They held a 12-1 advantage in corner kicks and produced 27 shots while allowing just three, but the potential for victory seemed to be drifting further and further out of reach as the game clock wound down to four minutes, then three minutes, then two. Michigan threw players into the attack. Senior defender Christina Murillo scrambled down the left flank, dribbling through scores of defenders, and launched a cross into the middle of the box filled with Wolverines and Hawkeyes awaiting the delivery, either to slam the ball in the direction of the goal or punt it far away from the penalty box. All the eyes in the U-M Soccer Stadium looked up, and one head soared above the rest. Michigan senior forward Lulu Haidar buried the ball in the back of the net, unleashing the home crowd and team into a joyous frenzy. It was the 88th minute, and Michigan finally found its gamewinner. And its hero. Though an underrated player on the team, Haidar has the ability to take control of a game and
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Senior forward Lulu Haidar has tallied five goals and one assist in Michigan’s first 10 games this season. Haidar has made the impact despite starting just three of the Wolverines’ games.
impact the final score, according to Michigan coach Greg Ryan. “Lulu is the kind of kid that’s very confident when she gets around the goal,” Ryan said. “She’s not tall by any means, but she has great timing, she reads the flight well, and she can head the ball better than most of our players. The confidence she has in the attacking part of her game helps her keep at it and keep going, knowing if she gets that chance, she’s going to score.” But that climactic finish only tells part of the story of a player who knows how to make the most of her opportunities. To start the season, Haidar has tallied five goals and one assist while playing in eight of 10 matches and starting just three. The results haven’t always come in
the past — Haidar has more goals than in her first three seasons combined — but now she’s a spark plug whenever she enters the game. “Lulu’s one of the best soccer players on our team in terms of her attacking ability,” Ryan said. “She’s got great skill, she can shoot from anywhere and has a very powerful shot, and she sees the field well and is able to make great passes to give her other teammates chances to score, so she’s got all the great qualities of an attacking player.” Her position on the team as a non-starter but a key role player affords her the opportunity to come into a game and dramatically affect the outcome. Part of the explanation for her strong start may be related to her summer job. Haidar spent the
summer playing on Motor City FC – a Women’s Professional Soccer League U-20 team. There, her team captured the league championship, and she won Golden Boot and Tournament MVP awards. “It was a great experience for me, and it had a great effect on me as of now,” Haidar said. “It was a good opportunity to play other teams and to challenge myself as a player, and it helped me stay in the game and stay in shape in addition to working out and practicing on my own.”
Ryan believes that her productive offseason is paying dividends both for her and for the team as a whole. “Just like Christina Murillo playing for Mexico in the World Cup, when your kids play at a high level over the summer, it helps tremendously because they come back already ready to go,” Ryan said. “I think Lulu came back in great shape because she played a lot, so she was really ready to put her best foot forward, and she has. Some of our players that didn’t
“She’s got all of the great qualities of an attacking player.”
play much this summer, it has showed in their ability to impact the team.” Sharing Ryan’s belief, Murillo thinks the team has responded well to the example Haidar has set in the early stages of the season. “It’s really amazing to see a player like Lulu who’s not always starting but who goes into the game and makes a difference,” Murillo said. “That’s inspired other players to think ‘I’m getting 90 minutes, so I need to be making more of a difference in the game.’ ” Making the most of her opportunities, Haidar serves as a reminder of the importance of each member of a team through her perseverance, dedication and passion for the game. For a senior’s final hurrah, she’s making quite a statement.
Man coverage keys success Johnson again looking to of Wolverines’ elite defense FOOTBALL
rebound from ACL tear The running back did not allow time for sadness during his recovery By MAX BULTMAN Daily Sports Editor
Drake Johnson gave himself one hour for pity. The day he found out he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament for the second time, Michigan’s then-redshirt sophomore running back needed to get his feelings out. He drove around, listening to Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey, wallowing in the raw emotion of being told he had reinjured his ACL. But just for an hour. “After that … I had to get back,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t have any more negative emotions if I wanted to play (again), so it was like, ‘It’s time to get going.’ ” Johnson, who grew up in Ann Arbor and came to Michigan from Pioneer High School, made immense strides at the end of the 2014 season. He rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns in a breakout game against Indiana, and by the time the Ohio State game rolled around, he was verging on being the go-to back. But in the third quarter against the Buckeyes, Johnson injured his knee as he scored a touchdown. He didn’t return to the game, and it was later revealed he had torn the same ACL he had injured his redshirt freshman season, in 2013. It could have been a devastating blow to his confidence and to his career. But Johnson didn’t let his second torn ACL keep him down
long. Today, Johnson exudes optimism even when talking about one of the most difficult injuries an athlete can face. He worked himself back to health in time for camp, a nine-month process for the same injury that took him six the first time around. “I was in a wheelchair for a few weeks,” Johnson said. “Luckily it was over winter break, so I kind of, like, wheel-chaired around my house. I got really bored, so I tried to do tricks on it, do wheelies on it and stuff, entertain myself. I got really good, actually.” After getting out of the wheelchair, Johnson began the rehab process and expected to be ready for full contact by the first day of fall camp. But when he saw the speed at which his teammates were playing, he realized he wouldn’t be able to jump back in as quickly as he initially wanted. And when he finally got the green light to return in August, he had to play catch-up to an even deeper stable of running backs than the Wolverines had last season. But according to Johnson, there hasn’t been any envy or hostility between him, redshirt junior De’Veon Smith, junior Derrick Green and redshirt sophomore Ty Isaac. Instead, he says the competition has helped the backs learn from each other. “I watch De’Veon, I watch Derrick and Ty all practice, and they do good things. They
“I couldn’t have any more negative emotions.”
do dope things,” Johnson said. “You’re like, ‘Wow, that was dope.’ They make cuts, they make blocks, they make all these plays and you’re like, ‘I should do that!’ “That’s the kind of environment we have. I’ll pop off a long run, and I’ll look back, and they’ll be like, ‘Hey Drake, how’d you do that?’ Or, I’ll come back and I’ll watch them pop off a long run: ‘Hey, how’d you do that?’ ” And so far, that growth is showing on the field. Through four games, Michigan is averaging 202 rushing yards per game. Johnson has gotten just 11 carries for 57 yards, but right now, he’s focused on being part of a unit that amasses large totals together. After two torn ACLs, he’s not taking any role for granted, even if that means standing on the sideline, watching Smith carry the load. He isn’t content to warm the bench, but at the same time, he roots for his fellow backs, his friends, to succeed. “We aren’t having to have this pissing contest to see who can kick the other in the shins harder,” Johnson said. But Johnson is getting closer to being able to take back part of the load, adding burst and agility to a backfield that is mostly built for power. “Obviously, like I said, everyone wants to be the starter,” Johnson said. “But I’m happy with wherever they’ll play me. I just want to be effective for the team, essentially. If that’s being a third-down back, if that’s goalline back, if that’s second-string back. Whatever it is, I just want to help the team in a positive manner.” The time for pity has long since passed. Now, Johnson just wants to play football.
“I’m happy with wherever they’ll play me.”
By ZACH SHAW Daily Sports Editor
With a new set of coaches in spring practice, Michigan’s secondary knew there were going to be changes in 2015. The unit wasn’t sure what those changes entailed, though, until it got onto the field. Suddenly, the cornerbacks were in the faces of wide receivers, running backs and linemen. Rather than standing five yards back and waiting for the play to reveal itself, the Wolverines were on top of the offense right at the snap. That only intensified come August, when the Michigan football coaching staff increased man coverage in the secondary. The cornerbacks were exhausted, but, aside from a few miscues, they were thriving — recording 90 turnovers in three weeks of training camp practices. With eight returning starters and over a dozen key contributors back from last season, much of the Wolverines’ development into the nation’s second-best defense this fall can be attributed to simply growing up. But in recording a shutout over then-No. 22 Brigham Young, the secondary made it loud and clear what the key to their success was — they were manning up more than many had in their entire careers. “We noticed all the way through camp we were doing man, that’s all we practice really,” said redshirt junior cornerback Jeremy Clark. “We were really prepared for a season of it. We were all on board with it.” Like any football decision, increasing man coverage in the secondary comes with pros and cons. It’s more physical, risky and challenging, but can equate to more turnovers, fewer big plays and — most importantly for Michigan — a smash-mouth identity that sends chills down opposing offenses’ spines. “It’s a compliment to me that (Michigan defensive coordinator
D.J. Durkin) thinks we can play like that in man coverage,” said senior cornerback Jeremy Clark. “It’s tiring, but as Coach Durkin says, we want to play aggressive, and to do that we’ve got to play man coverage. We love it.” On Saturday, the Wolverines stood tall against the Cougars’ four 6-foot-4 or taller receivers, holding quarterback Tanner Mangum to just 12 completions on 28 attempts. In four games this season, Michigan has held opposing quarterbacks to a 93.93 quarterback rating, 43.4 points below those quarterbacks’ season averages. That, too, can be attributed to the man coverage. “I really like it — it allows them to be aggressive with the receivers and take control,” said senior safety Jarrod Wilson. “I know it’s tiresome for them, but it makes my job easier so I can just focus on the quarterback and get my reads off the quarterback and make some plays.” Having to track the receivers from the opening snap tires
cornerbacks out over the course of the game, and corner may be one of Michigan’s thinnest positions. But the Wolverines feel more than ready to continue meeting that challenge. “If you tell a corner they can’t sit back on their heels, they have to be aggressive and go after the receiver, they’re not going to hesitate,” Wilson said. “(Playing man’s) got them excited now, and they’re rising to that challenge.” Though Michigan has just three interceptions in four games, the entire defense has felt the effect of the man coverage. In addition to being second in the nation in yards allowed, the Wolverines are fourth in points allowed, 10th in pass defense and 17th in tackles tackles for loss per game with eight, all thanks to the secondary. “Every time we get a sack, we know it’s because our secondary made sure nothing was open,” said senior defensive tackle Mario Ojemudia. “I definitely tip my hat to the secondary — they’re playing great.”
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Jeremy Clark has picked off two passes for Michigan this season.
Sports
8A — Wednesday, September 30, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Hackett discusses athletics in chat Michigan’s interim athletic director met with students Tuesday evening By JAKE LOURIM Managing Sports Editor
Around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Michigan interim Athletic Director Jim Hackett was sitting in an armchair in the Pond Room at the Michigan Union when his phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the number. “This is Coach (Jim) Harbaugh,” Hackett said, drawing awe from the crowd. “But I’m going to call him later.” Hackett had other business to tend to. Tuesday night, he held a town hall meeting with about 30 students to exchange ideas about the student experience in Michigan sports. Topics ranged from the school’s new Nike apparel contract, to the Maize Rage seating policies, to football scheduling. Hackett’s appearance — and his postponement of business with his famous football coach — came as part of the Athletic Department’s mission to interact more with the students than the previous regime did in an effort to gain their support. Five senior associate athletic directors accompanied Hackett to help convey the department’s vision. “I brought help because the way I run athletics is, really, I don’t make every decision,” Hackett said. “I believe in empowering others with great talent — I should say better than I am in lots of aspects of our business — to hear with me what you’re talking about.” In the 11 months he has been in office, Hackett has worked with his team on fairly comprehensive changes throughout the department. He has reunited the Michigan fan base and revived morale, an effort punctuated by two key accomplishments: the hiring of Harbaugh and the new apparel contract with Nike worth $169 million over 15 years. The latter of those was the first topic of discussion at the meeting Tuesday. A student first asked about the impact the Nike deal will have on campus. For instance, the contract dictates that the company must hire four Michigan students as corporate interns each year. The Athletic Department is still working on the process of selecting those interns, but the new deal nonetheless promises wideranging benefits. “It turns out the financial rewards, which are extensive, isn’t the whole reason we picked
them,” Hackett said. “We kind of assumed Michigan would get its due. It’s a really powerful brand. So we went after thinking about, which one aligns with our notion of, we want to be kind of the smart Athletic Department.” To shift the conversation with the apparel companies away from money and product and toward the University took some convincing. Now, the discussion centers around the campus: Besides the student internships, the Athletic Department and Nike are attempting to plan community events or teaching exercises. Those aspects and the product combined to make Nike a more popular choice in the decision than Adidas or Under Armour. Tuesday, Hackett took a poll of how many students preferred each brand in the spring — the last time he held a similar fireside chat — and the answer was overwhelmingly Nike. At the same time, another student followed up, wanting to make sure that the tradition of Michigan was being upheld, which Hackett said was a priority, though Nike does dictate most of the conversation. “This is college,” Hackett said. “This isn’t pro. This isn’t Las Vegas. It’s not trying to be super flashy. It’s not trying to be a fashion statement. It’s a statement of a college. It’s Michigan.” Of course, much of the apparel news at Michigan has centered around the football uniforms carrying the Jordan brand’s jumpman logo. Hackett said former Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson first advised him of the possibility of working with Jordan’s brand. Hackett, in turn, took the idea to his football coach. “The minute I took this to Coach Harbaugh,” Hackett said, “he said, ‘Sweet.’ ” The conversation soon shifted to basketball, where most of the discussion regarding the student experience has revolved around the Maize Rage. In recent years, students have called for their section to take up more of the lower bowl in an effort to create a more exciting environment. Hackett faced this question at his last town hall meeting in April, when he answered that the Athletic Department was working on a solution. When a student brought the issue back up on Tuesday, Hackett and his team said expansion was still a goal, but it also poses a conflict to season
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
The hiring of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has been one of the two biggest highlights of interim Athletic Director Jim Hackett’s tenure so far.
ticket holders. Putting more student seats in the lower bowl could move dedicated season ticket holders higher up. “It is a challenge, and there’s no promises on what we can do because of that tension between those two groups, but we’re open to having this conversation,” said Rob Rademacher, one of Hackett’s aides and the Athletic Department’s chief operating officer. The basketball talk included another popular point of debate, the idea of putting two Final Four banners from the Fab Five teams back in the rafters at Crisler Center. The University took down the 1992 and 1993 national finalist banners in 2002 as part of the NCAA sanctions. The 10-year period of dissociation between four former players and the University ended in 2013. A Maize Rage member on Tuesday advocated for the banners being replaced, citing popular opinion from the group at a meeting Monday night. Much like the expansion of the student section, that issue has broader consequences, though. Elizabeth Heinrich, the chief student development and compliance officer, noted that the NCAA has vacated Michigan’s wins from those Final Four seasons. As a result, the tournament runs did not
“I believe in empowering others with great talent.”
technically happen, per the NCAA’s definition. Hackett and his team said they would be open to commemorating those teams in some other way, but reinstating vacated banners might prove to be too great of a challenge. Most of the rest of the discussion centered around football, including opponents and the Michigan Stadium experience. One student asked about the scheduling quirk that resulted in the Michigan State and Ohio State games now being in Ann Arbor in the same season and away from home every other season. That was a concession the Wolverines were forced to make when the Big Ten added Maryland and Rutgers, expanded to 14 teams and divided into East and West divisions. Other Big Ten opponents, as well as marquee non-conference opponents, could remedy that effect, with one standing out in particular: Notre Dame, which ended its series with Michigan last season. The rivalry has reentered the conversation in the media over the past couple of weeks, with Hackett, Harbaugh and Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly all coming out in support of a renewal. “There’s not a negative force,” Hackett said Tuesday. “I’m really open to it, and I believe in it. I think it’s a destiny kind of game, with two programs — one is the No. 1 in total number of wins, the other is the No. 1 in percentage of victories.
They should be playing, and I wanted to send a signal to the whole world that Michigan’s not sitting there mad because they were the ones that exited the last time. We have to get over that.” Hackett was unavailable for further comment after the fireside chat, but Chrissi Rawak (one of Hackett’s aides who handles external relations) and Kurt Svoboda, the department’s associate athletic director for media relations, confirmed no phone calls have been made. Michigan does not have an open date on its schedule until 2018. In the present, the students were focused on their experience at Michigan Stadium. A graduate student inquired about creating a separate section for graduate students, to help improve attendance. Another asked about finding a way to group people together to make the experience more enjoyable and avoid making students sit alone at the top of the stadium. A third brought up the idea of allowing students on the field before the game as a promotion. The Athletic Department does not have plans in the works on any of those fronts, but accepted the feedback. Hackett and his team’s main goal Tuesday was to
move closer to the students after a tumultuous era under former Athletic Director Dave Brandon. Before the meeting, the engagement team went over its goals for both the department and the students using a number of charts and lists taped on the wall. Phase one, as they called it, focused on the present, with phases two and three on the near and distant future, respectively. In the near future, the department vowed to “confront emotional issues” such as lack of trust and lack of voice. The session before the meeting included surveys from students, including “tension wires,” the results of which were skewed heavily toward feeling like a customer over family and feeling muted over having a strong voice. In the distant future, the Athletic Department wanted students to build a foundation of support at what Hackett went on to call an elite university — with one caveat, he said. “We don’t want to be an arrogant place,” he told students. “We want to be humble. We want to win and be humble about it and have the pride that this is the best place. But if you go around talking about it, then it’s arrogance. I hope that comes through that we’re not trying to be an arrogant group of people.”
“We want to win and be humble about it.”
ZACH MOORE/Daily
Interim Athletic Director Jim Hackett met with students in the Michigan Union on Tuesday night to discuss athletics and his goals for his department in the present and the future.
statement THE MICHIGAN DAILY
SE P TEM B E R 30, 2015
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Wednesday, September 30, 2015 // The Statement
WHAT ’S NE W
ON THE RECORD
Another Thing: I devalued my education last night BY ALEX BERNARD
“The words “Michigan Daily” by themselves aren’t anything; it’s just a name. What’s meaningful is what they stand for — thousands of students who have devoted countless hours to produce the best journalism.” –THE MICHIGAN DAILY EDITOR IN CHIEF JEN CALFAS, during a speech at a dinner celebrating the paper’s 125th anniversary.
B U Z Z F E E D, B U T B E T T E R
THE LIST
GET YOUR JAM ON IN A 2 What is fall if not the chance to pull out your edgiest leather jacket and hit up some local music venues? Here are a few upcoming Ann Arbor music events — we promise, we’ve got something for everyone.
1 2 3 4 5
THE VERVE PIPE The Ark, October 17th
M I L K C A R TO N K I D S The Ark, October 29th
T H E AV E T T B R OT H E R S Hill Auditorium, November 6th.
C O L I N H AY
The Ark, November 8th
VA N E S S A C A R LTO N Blind Pig, November 13th
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irst, a joke: University President Mark Schlissel, if by “party culture” you mean sitting alone in your room, listening to a Pete Holmes podcast and thinking about masturbating, then I am definitely devaluing my education. Thank you. Spoiler Alert: This ends at 3:30 a.m. with a couch, a movie and my Someone Special. Gush, nay? Here goes: I flirted with a woman. Yes, me, the leaser of a Murphy bed/owner of a Squirrel puppet. Most of my bumblings with women become fodder for my I’ll-Show-Them-WhenI’m-Famous book, but this one was different. No, wait, not different. Worse. She’s where my night began. (Wide shot of a crowded college street. “Baba O’Reilly” plays.) At the Greenwood Block Party — a massive devaluation of our education — while my good buddy Graham was using these girls’ apartmentbathroom, a beautiful sophomore (for anonymity’s sake, let’s call her “Richard Nixon”) asked me about my apartment. “Yeah, it’s a pretty sweet deal,” said I, all seductive and such. “Got a Murphy bed, it folds out of the wall. Got a red couch, which is, you know, different, which I like. Love it! (cough) Oh, and I have my own room — yeah! — I put up these really cool posters like...” Oh how we plummet when we can’t grow wings! We asked Beth (Oops. Richard Nixon.) to join us at another party. She waved goodbye. Guess Nixon didn’t want to hear about my “Raiders of the Lost Ark” poster or my bagel supply or my stuffed meerkat Jerome. Ricky-Nix, if you’re reading this: Sorry for going on about
my posters, and sorry Graham was so weird. He’s just a lonely guy who really needed your bathroom. And Graham: Don’t worry about that last paragraph. Just playing the game, ya dig? Coffee later? I like your sweater, bud! That wool? The evening wore on. Graham and I ended up at a bar: Mash, where our education further decreased in value. We whittled away the hours waiting for girls to talk to us first, a strategy that’s worked zero percent of the time, if you’re not counting that one day my female doctor told me I had a “weird ear canal.” Once or twice, I peeked at the dance floor, imagining some attainable-looking woman holding a sign that said, “Hey, Alex Bernard! I’m not at all turned off by your weird, tiny wrists. Let’s do mindblowing oral sex!” (Note to self: Look up definition of “oral.”) Or maybe a woman giving me The Look, the one that said, “Yes. You. You’re what I had in mind.” But I’m never that Somebody In Mind for anyone. I think when people are attracted to me, they’re proud of themselves for being so open-minded. Which is fine, really. I’m proud of them too. The dance floor was empty though, just a puddle of mansweat and a pounding in my head that was either the Queen cover band or that medical condition my doctor keeps calling, “Sadness.” Explanation: I’d just broken up with somebody, which — in the words of my great-greatgrandfather — sucked major dick. They always do, breakups, or at least, they should. This one did — for reasons too intimate to disclose to my dozens of readers (Hi, Mom). It sucked. So how I felt in Mash that
night was … fine. Exactly fine. Rejected, foolish, uncomfortable. But fine. God, it was — is — terrible to be so Just OK. The night wore on and on again and again, like it wanted to wear on. Eventually, I went to the bar alone and ordered my third free Coke. On TV, football was starting or ending. It was 1:30 a.m. A girl slid next to me. She was blonde. Attractive too, which is my type. She: “Personal question: Are you single?” I was. “Look over my shoulder.” – Shit. – “See my friend?” I did. “She’s also single and thinks you’re attractive. Can I set you guys up?” I said I was flattered but fine, with my friends, didn’t want to do anything tonight, had cholesterol and chlorophyll and yada-yada-yada. It goes on. But why? Why say no, you lonely man? I don’t know. Back off, Sharon. Maybe, I just didn’t think she was attractive. Maybe I just wanted to hang out with Graham. Maybe I hadn’t had enough Cokes to say “yes.” Ha. Graham came up to me, gave me a look that said, “Whatever it is, me too,” and murmured our code word: “Scott-Pilgrim.” Which means, “Let’s go watch ‘Scott Pilgrim.’” So we did, the first half. And then, at 3:30 a.m., I rose from his couch, high-fived my Special Someone, left Graham’s apartment and dragged myself home, where I sat in my chair for a while. Then, after that while, I sighed, opened my computer, clicked a Pete Holmes podcast and devalued my education. At 4:30 a.m., I went to bed. If you have a crush on Alex, email him at adbnard@umich. edu. He won’t know otherwise.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015 // The Statement 3B
My Cultural Currency: Aunties
THE
B Y TA N YA M A D H A N I
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t is a truth, universally acknowledged, that every Indian woman over the age of 40 must be referred to as “Auntie,” regardless of blood relation. Aunties™ are a permanent fixture at every temple celebration, birthday, engagement, and, of course, wedding. She is, at once, indiscreet and inconspicuous, extroverted and passiveaggressive, all-knowing and ignorant. The Auntie is the most formidable creature in Indian society — whether it is in the diaspora or the motherland itself — and an entire group of Aunties are a force to be reckoned with. Every Indian woman you know will either be or is already an Auntie and, before becoming full-fledged Aunties, we all manage to develop Auntie tendencies early in life. The Aunties have three true purposes and, when the dormant Auntie gene is activated in an Indian woman, it becomes her life’s mission to achieve those three goals. First, Aunties must be in touch with all of society’s gossip. An Auntie will not leave a room of people before finding out exactly whose son had “an affair” with whose daughter. They know which Uncle — a topic for another day — got in a fight with whom over temple donations, which Auntie wore fake jewelry to which event and whose kid got into what trouble at which school. If you’re ever having a
statement
Magazine Editor: conversation with an older Indian woman and you feel like she’s looking at you funny — like she’s peering straight into your soul — you’re not going crazy. That’s exactly what she’s doing. Whether or not you want her to know your business is irrelevant. Second, an Auntie must always come out on top of the food chain. In the Game of Thrones, as everyone is well aware, you either
win or you die. Indian society is basically Game of Thrones, but with lower stakes. And finally, an Auntie’s ultimate goal — her Mount Everest — is to get every eligible bachelor and bachelorette married off. There you are at the temple dining area, waiting in line to get a second helping of pakora. The line in front of you is thinning out and you’re almost there, the pakoras are almost on your plate. The
tongs are in your hand; you think you’re going to make it scot-free when suddenly someone grabs your hand and says, “So how are you beta? How is school? What is your major? Where are you working? You have boyfriend?” Aunties are walking, talking Shaadi.com profiles. They’re always eager to tell you about Mr. Patel’s son who is working as an engineer in San Francisco. If you’re in medical school, you’re basically catnip to them. That being said, there are, of course, anomalies, the black sheep, the outliers: Vodka Aunties. These are the Aunties that are too forwardthinking, don’t keep their children on a leash and ask kids, “Please, don’t call me Auntie, OK? Just call me Dolly.” Vodka Aunties are lone wolves — unprotected against the wrath of the alpha Auntie pack. Their every action, every outfit and every conversation is measured and judged to filth by the alpha Aunties. The other day, my roommates and I were sitting on our couch one late Sunday night, all of us tired from a long day of studying. We were nursing cups of chai and gossiping about the South Asian student groups and dance teams on campus. That’s when it hit me. We were on our way developing Auntie tendencies and it’s only a matter of time before we become full-fledged Aunties.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHERYLL VICTUELLES
Ian DIllingham Deputy Editor:
Jake Wellins
Luna Anna Archey Creative Director:
Natalie Gadbois Design Editor:
Photo Editor:
Cheryll Victuelles Editor in Chief: Jennifer Calfas
Managing Editor: Lev Facher Copy Editors: Hannah Bates Laura Schinagle Emma Sutherland
THOUGHT BUBBLE
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/DAILY
“The Bridge program got me into the swing of things here, maybe more so than other freshmen that didn’t do the program. Us Bridge people stick together.” – LSA freshman LADI OLANIRAN
“We’ve had the whole summer to get to know each other. No one was here during the summer, all we saw was each other. It was easier to make friends. Now everyone is going in different directions and it’s difficult to meet people. Everybody is doing their own thing now. But when you see a familiar face it’s a cool thing” – LSA freshman DAIJAH HILLS
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Wednesday, September 30 , 2015 // The Statement
Wednesday, September 30, 2015 // The Statement
5B
MORALLY BANKRUPT: The Greek life crisis
21.43 percent of ‘U’ undergrads are involved in Greek life
E
verything is immaculately organized. The Panhellenic Association’s recruitment mass meeting will convene in the Michigan League’s Ballroom from 5 to 8 p.m. There will be 17 tables, one for each chapter in Panhel and each table will be decorated with posters, paper cutouts and smiling girls in skirts and T-shirts. I double-check the time written in my pink Moleskine before I step out the door — 6:00 isn’t too late, unless this thing was supposed to actually be a three-hour commitment. But that doesn’t make sense. Would our sisters actually keep us tied to chairs in the League for three hours, testing our dedication before the rush process even begins? I’m freaking out. And I’m not even rushing. Greek life is a powerful social system on campus — powerful enough to make a seasoned journalist sweat through three layers of BareMinerals powder and powerful enough to draw a crowd of hundreds to a standard Thursday evening mass meeting. At the beginning of my freshman year, I considered joining a sorority. I ended up making some friends in my hall and getting really busy with my film classes, and I chose not to rush. But sometimes I think about how my college experience would have been different if I’d stood in the League Ballroom three years ago, and found my family of sisters who made me miss home and Chicago a little less. Even as a senior, that’s an appealing prospect. But I’m not writing this to justify my own decision to tough it out and carve out my friend group the old-fashioned way. I’m not writing this to put down anyone who joined Greek Life and loves it, and I’m not trying to capitalize on the stories of those who tried it and decided it wasn’t for them. I’m writing this article for my Ballroom-mates who chose not to hide behind a pink Moleskine and a prestigious editorial position at the campus newspaper. I’m writing this for all those orphans, floating by the intricately decorated tables, plastering on a smile and waiting to find their family. *** According to data compiled by the University in winter 2015, 21.43 percent of the undergraduate population is involved in Greek life. Students
Members of Greek life are 2.5 times more likely to experience sexual assault By Chloe Gilke, Managing Arts Editor
who would like to join Greek Life are presented with several options: 28 official fraternities in the Interfraternity Council, 17 sororities in the Panhellenic Association and 12 sororities and fraternities in the Multicultural Greek Council. The recruitment process and other aspects of Greek life are formally governed by these student-led groups. The Panhellenic Association (referred to as ‘“Panhel” by many members of the Greek community) mandates that Potential New Members (PNMs) participate in a formal September recruitment process. After the mass meetings, each PNM participates in a series of mixers and parties, briefly meeting women from every sorority before the second and third set events, where their choices are narrowed down through a mutual selection process. By October, sororities make bids on their top PNMs, each woman selects her favorite of the bids and pledges to the corresponding sorority. The University’s Interfraternity Council website labels its recruitment system as “open” and “informal,” which means that the experience of rushing a frat differs a lot from house to house. But in general, young men who rush fraternities do not have to attend events and meetand-greets at every fraternity; most guys pick between one and three frats to rush. Events are focused on evaluating the potential for a guy to join as one of the brothers, and male PNMs spend more time at an individual house during the rush process than their female equivalents. After weeks of parties, events and brotherly bonding, a fraternity will choose whether or not to make a bid on a guy, and if he is lucky enough to be accepted to more than one fraternity, the young pledge picks his favorite of the bunch. When interviewed, many members of the Greek community for this story were tightlipped about what goes on behind closed doors during those recruitment events. This is no surprise, considering that the IFC and Panhel are notoriously watchful during regular recruitment months, and are especially so in the recent firestorm of Greek controversy. On Thursday, Sept. 10 (coincidentally, the same night as the Panhellenic Association’s mass meeting), members of every Greek chapter attended a mandatory discussion with Universi-
ty President Mark Schlissel and other members of University administration. Schlissel talked openly about his frustration with Greek life’s party culture, perpetuated through viral videos like “I’m Shmacked” and evidenced through incidents like Sigma Alpha Mu’s destruction of the Treetops Resort this past January. And party culture has consequences vastly worse than a night in the emergency room: A recent University-wide survey cited that members of Greek life are 2.5 times more likely to experience sexual assault than their non-Greek peers. LSA sophomore Julia Baer, a Delta Delta Delta sister, recalled her rush experience as being “a blur,” but was quick to point out that she never experienced any of the darker, newsheadline-worthy aspects of Greek life. “I feel like this reputation that exists because of a few people, and that’s really a shame, because it’s not representative of the community at all,” Baer said. *** LSA senior Jessica* recalled picking out her outfit before the first mixer of recruitment season freshman year. Her Rho Omega — an upperclassman sorority member in charge of overseeing groups of PNMs — called Jessica with a few helpful tips and reminders. “She said that some of the houses I was gonna go to were going to have cheese and cracker plates out, and that it was actually a test,” Jessica said. “If I actually ate the cheese and crackers in the houses, I would never get in.” For Jessica, this was the moment where she decided that she wouldn’t continue rushing. “That’s just so not me. Obviously, I was going to eat the cheese and crackers. I love cheese and crackers! It became this symbolic thing, like I can’t join an organization that wouldn’t accept me because I eat cheese.” Jessica said she was ostracized by some of her friends after she decided not to rush. She had already talked to a few older girls in one of the sororities, and one friend had even approached the president of a chapter and promoted Jessica to her. Since she’d asked for favors and other girls had gone out of their way to comply, Jessica’s Greek friends felt slighted. “That was actually the hardest thing to say no to. Once I felt like I was already being
accepted by this group, to refuse that, it actually tarnished my friendship with those people,” Jessica said. This subtle not-hazing, low-grade emotional warfare is a typical experience of rush for many girls. With the Panhel mandate of visiting every sorority and making connections in every room comes the inevitability of getting cut and facing rejection from many of the houses. Baer remembered adoring Tri Delta so much that she thought of “suiciding” it — choosing Tri Delta as her only preference, meaning that if she weren’t accepted she would not be a part of Greek life. But Baer weighed her options and decided that she’d rather join a less-preferred sorority than spend all that time and effort in recruitment for nothing. “I would not go through (recruitment) again. It’s emotional torture. It’s awful. But I was like, ‘I’m just gonna put everything down, and whatever house I get in, I’ll be in. I’ll make great friends no matter what,’ ” Baer said. Not everyone sees Greek life in such an egalitarian way. Many rushees refer to a website called GreekRank, which allows users to anonymously rate chapters based on qualities like “looks,” “classiness,” and “social life.” Comments on the site perpetuate “tiers” and other reductive stereotypes of particular chapters, but the data on the site is irresistible, and influences many girls’ rush preferences. Baer, who hails from New York, believes that many in-state girls, who hear rumors about the tendencies of chapters, allow all the labels to influence their decisions in rush. “A lot of people coming from Michigan come into rush with the idea that they have to be in ‘XYZ’ or they won’t do it,” Baer said. “For me, being in Tri Delt hasn’t been about rank at all. That’s not what I wanted, that’s not what it is. I have a great group of friends, my best friends, and it’s not a status thing at all.” Baer doesn’t sugar-coat the exhausting weeks of rush and the stress that comes with choosing houses to preference, but she insists upon the merits of the end result — philanthropy, friendship, sisterhood, and a home away from home. “I think, in general, girls go through this thing that’s like, mentally draining and emo-
tionally draining. But from there on, it’s smooth sailing.” *** When LSA senior Michael* rushed a non-IFC frat, he expected a good time. The Interfraternity Council (or, as one source affectionately dubbed them, the “frat police”) is in many ways the laid-back brother of overachieving Panhel. They oversee the twoweek periods of fraternity rush in the fall and winter, help with coordinating events and set recruitment deadlines and other rules that keep fraternities in line with University standards. Without the IFC to organize mass meetings and promote their chapters, non-IFC frats are on their own for recruitment — but they also have leeway in extending the rush and pledge periods … and the freedom to bend a few rules. “The first event I went to, they gave us some free pizza, free beer and free weed, so that’s fine, I’m down with that,” Michael recalled. Having older male friends in fraternities is a large part of why many guys rush fraternities. Though Michael was a self-professed “straightedge dude” during his freshman year, as he became more entrenched in Ann Arbor culture he made more friends involved in alternative Greek Life, so he decided to rush during his junior year. “Partially, I would say, it was a peer-pressure thing. (My friends) invited me to check out the house, and I was like, ‘Why not?’ And this particular frat had the reputation of being a notstandard frat, and (a standard frat) is something I knew I wouldn’t be into,” Michael said. Despite the fact that he was rushing a nonIFC frat, Michael recognized some of the same dynamics from his uncles’ playful hazing stories of eating goldfish (yes, the swimming kind) and being locked in basements with kegs. “I do believe they do hazing, but it’s not like they’re going to beat your ass with a paddle or anything like that,” Michael said. Michael started to have his doubts about recruitment when he saw how long it went on — from free pizza in early October until the middle of January, when PNMs finally graduated to pledges. In his three months of rushing, Michael had to memorize facts, songs and perform in front of
the brothers. He had to clean bathrooms, wear a sweatpants uniform, give up his phone and stay locked in a room until one of the brothers granted him permission to leave. Toward the end, every minute he wasn’t in class, he was supposed to spend at the frat. Finally, he decided he couldn’t take it anymore. “Their justification for making you go through all of this is that, when you’re done, you get to be part of this awesome social group and live in this cool house, and you have brothers forever, and it’s gonna be great. I didn’t doubt that these guys were going to be friendly afterwards, but I didn’t agree with their condition that to be a part of this group, you have to accept the emotional abuse.” The week before recruitment ended, Michael notified the brothers that he was dropping out. They begged him to stay, offered to change and to cut the bullshit and start treating him better. In Michael’s words, both sides behaved like a couple in an “abusive relationship,” where one cannot control the horrors it inflicts and the other can’t resist the desire to be loved and accepted. Despite the bartering (the frat offered to let him back in without completing the last week of “events”), Michael broke it off. Michael remains good friends with a lot of the guys in the frat, and made sure to tell me several times that his experience “wasn’t the worst thing ever in the world” and that the frat he rushed is generally one of the gentler, more “forward-thinking” ones on campus. He sees the appeal in joining a fraternity, especially as a means to community-building. “They welcome you with open arms. They say, ‘We’ll give you all the weed and all the girls you want,’ not telling you up-front what you have to do to actually get to the end. It isn’t sold as the intense kind of experience that it actually is.” *** Several of the young women interviewed for this story referred to rush as “a blur,” a rigid and exhausting three weeks that one has to endure get to the wonderful part of Greek life — the sisterhood and the house and the luxury of participating in recruitment from the other side. For fraternity members, however, the lack of rigid governing structure means that the hard
part can bleed over into the months following recruitment, the pledge period and the whole first year. According to one study, women who rushed sororities were more likely to self-report feelings of low self-esteem than before they rushed. A Northwestern University study cited sorority rush as a catalyst for self-objectification and poor body image in college-aged women. For example, curvier women are more likely to experience feelings of low self-worth after judgment from their peers. According to the study, for every additional point in a woman’s Body Mass Index — a standardized calculation of weight in reference to height — she is 44 percent more likely to drop out of rush. Even after rush, women in sororities are more likely to maintain dysfunctional and harmful eating patterns than their non-Greek peers. For fraternity members, hazing has lasting impact self-esteem and self-worth. A 2005 study reported that “striving to belong to a particular group, especially during ritualized initiations, may result in the justification of that effort, thereby inoculating individuals against any dissonant cognition they may harbor concerning the consequences of group membership.” The desire to be a part of the group can desensitize members to harmful group practices like objectification of women, alcohol and drug abuse and other destructive behaviors. How do these tragedies happen in organization that’s built on principles of friendship and philanthropy? The members of Greek life interviewed for this article point out the difficulty of rebuilding the foundation of Greek life, making it more fair and inclusive. The University’s Greek community is celebrating its 170th anniversary this year, and there’s no denying that campus has undergone significant political and social changes since the 19th century. Greek life, in its great size and prominence, is just a little slower in getting with the times. The Multicultural Greek Council offers Greek opportunities for students who want to join a group of other philanthropy-minded students in their ethnic community, but Baer wishes that Panhel’s homogenous reputation would break down and encourage more diverse
recruitment. “Something that has really bothered me is hearing the way people talk, even within the Panhellenic system, there being sororities that are, like known as being, ‘Jewish’ and ‘not Jewish.’ That creates the issue of someone feeling like the outsider in such a tight-knit community. But this is college, and we’re so integrated and always interacting with such amazing and diverse people … I do wish there was that kind of diversity in Greek life,” Baer said. While leadership in Panhel and the IFC did not respond to requests for a comment, sorority and fraternity members claim that Greek leadership is trying to change the system. But it isn’t easy. “The guys, after I left (the fraternity), told me that they were in the process of trying to fix everything. But they were running up against opposition from alumni who were expecting (the frat) to continue with the same traditions that they were a part of,” Michael said. Baer echoed the frustration of trying to reshape an institution that has had 170 years to calcify its traditions. “I wish I knew how to fix it.” *** At the Panhel mass meeting, I stand toward the back of the ballroom. I’m always a wallflower, but today, I’m also an old, sweaty upperclassman who doesn’t want to block the fresh recruits from the view of a table that might have info about their future home and their future sisters. I can’t see exactly what’s written on the posters and am only gleaning bits of what the older girls are saying to the mass meeting attendees. (I hear something about grilled cheese for charity, which sounds amazing from every angle.) If any of these girls took a look at my bangedup Moleskine or heard the tinny of some Neutral Milk Hotel song playing from the earbuds dangling around my neck, they’d know I definitely don’t belong in this room right now. Maybe I never belonged. But I’m here now, so I might as well grab a pamphlet and listen. Editor’s Note: Some names have been changed to protect the identities of several sources, denoted with an asterisk.
6B
Wednesday, September 30, 2015 // The Statement
an Ann Arbor etymology by Catherine Sulpizio, Senior Arts Editor
I
t’s a Game Day in late September, and hoards of maize and blue-tinged students are streaming down State Street to the sounds of The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face.” But just as the University cements its place on Playboy’s annual list of top party schools, it’s equally the stomping grounds of the hipster — so much so that the town garnered the dubious distinction of being the 15th most hipster city in America. So where is the hipster in Ann Arbor? Probably in a restaurant. Nothing better encapsulates taste, that elusive hipster currency, better than Ann Arbor restaurants. Freed from its functional properties, the cuisine of a trendy smallplates spot is a formalistic delight for the hipster. At once appealing to sensual faculties, restaurants, which Ann Arbor is abundant in (as well as cocktail bars, cafes and gourmet grocery stores) also fulfill the intellectual desire to know how the ingredients work, to observe ingredients perform as they should, stripped from the corporate magic of chemicals and preservatives. Restaurants are where the Ann Arbor hipsters are. Transparency is the name of the game in Ann Arbor’s foodie culture. In Ann Arbor, you can buy juice from Babo with just six or seven ingredients, all of which are organic fruits and vegetables. At the farmer’s market, sellers move their local, pesticide-free goods straight into the reusable cotton totes of local Ann Arborites. On the menu at Mani Osteria, a popular Italian small plates restaurant, the dishes are named by ingredient, followed by a small description of further ingredients. “Cauliflower Fritti: shallots, pickled chile, bacon jam” is the antithesis of “Big Mac,” which reveals nothing of its origins or its parts. In Ann Arbor, you can eat ice cream that was made in front of you at Blank Slate or check Lab’s tumblr to see where their cold brew coffee is from. Of course, transparency comes with a hefty price tag, and seems marketed to its own (predominantly white) demographic. And more so, authenticity and transparency can become their own fetishes: Whole Foods sold Asparagus Water’ (ingredients: asparagus, water) for $6 at a store in Brentwood, California and a small bowl of bone broth (ingredients: bones, water) can be purchased at Brodo in Manhattan for $9. But this story of authenticity and transparency dates back to times well before most of Ann Arbor’s present day hipsters were born. Where is the hipster from? The term “hipster” first bubbled to the cultural surface in the late 1930s, when jazz gained popularity in Harlem. Musicians, artists and followers alike were dubbed “hepcat” and their identity accrued the effortless aura of cool. In 1939, the language of this identity was transcribed in the satirical book, “The Hepster’s Dictionary of Jive” by Cab Calloway (who, incidentally, became the first African-American to publish a dictionary). The book is full of jazz world jargon,
conversational entries about munchies, women and music: “peppermint candy (n): sweets following a reefer session (use of weed creates a craving for sugar)”; “v-8 (n): a chick who spurns company, is independent, is not amenable”; and “armstrongs (n): musical notes in the upper register, high trumpet notes.” Much like “The Hipster Handbook” published in 2003, Calloway’s guide does the curious job of thickening simple slang into argot, withholding even as it discloses. Because the crux of the book, its uninscribed entry, is that only a real “square” would read a book to understand “jive” — how to be a real one is the aporia of the text. All Calloway will write is that a hepcat is “a guy who knows all the answers, understands jive.” How the hipster became white This dictionary encapsulated the contradictions of being a hepcat. After all, the hepcat was necessarily on the uncodified fringes of the world, rejecting the old style of swing for the bold new genre of jazz. Yet a nihilistic set of postwar politics and literary intellectuals, who included Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, would soon create conditions amenable to canonizing this subculture, and culling it from its racial roots. But in order for this term to reach a new level of prominence, the aesthetic hold of the hepcat-cum-hipster needed to be expanded, transforming the Black musician into a mythic figure who had taste for not only jazz and chicks, but all of culture. This strategy is most famously articulated by Norman Mailer’s 1957 article “The White Negro.” In it, Mailer argues that the political threat of death — its paranoid clamp on the Black psyche — inspired the violent and visceral experience of jazz, an art that short-circuited the “sophisticated inhibitions of civilization” for the “obligatory pleasures of the body,” writing that “in (the Black man’s) music he gave voice to the character and quality of his existence, to his rage and the infinite variations of joy, lust, languor, growl, cramp, pinch, scream, and despair of his orgasm.” In 2015, it’s impossible to overstate the discomfort of reading an article like this, of watching Mailer organize the aesthetics of jazz by his racist assumptions of Black psychology, of seeing him brand the stereotype of primitive Blackness under a guise of progressiveness. Yet it remains important because it spells out how a section of Whites co-opted the moral paradigm of the Black hepcat to navigate their own postwar existentialist nightmare: “The hipster had absorbed the existentialist synapses of the Negro, and for practical purposes could be considered a white Negro.” Within this moral paradigm, the hipster is an individualist warrior: “Hip morality is to do what one feels whenever and wherever it is possible, and — this is how the war of the Hip and the Square begins.” Even Ann Arbor registered this breaking down of mores. As Alan Glenn notes in an essay about the history
of counterculture in Ann Arbor, a School of Public Health professor wrote to The Michigan Daily in 1960 to complain about the “‘bearded, long-haired, sloppy, unsanitary-looking students, who appear to be a refugees from some beatnik cave.’ He wondered “just what kind of future citizens they will make if they are unwilling or too lazy to present a clean appearance at this early stage of their lives.” A few years later the Daily’s fashion supplement announced (with more than a little sarcasm) that ‘the rigid tradition that had girls wearing dresses and boys wearing pants has been broken.’” The hipster today This all set the stage for our current hipster stock, behind whose music preferences lurk certain philosophical stakes, a reflexive cynicism for the mainstream, and a bottomless appetite for authenticity. This authenticity is of a taste let loose on a whole new swath of cultural material. In this current conception, mainstream art has effectively been plumbed of its merits, its spiritual and intellectual flesh picked off the bones by a capitalist machine. The “mainstream” product is designed to assuage our sensitivities and pleasure centers with unrelenting precision. In the age of algorithms and predictive analytics, hipsters instinctively know that the cultural goods floating down the mainstream have been sent down the river by a corporation and their business plan. Think of Nathaniel Rich, writing in this October issue of The Atlantic about the handful of songwriters behind a disproportionate number of Top 40 hits, “Ruthless digitization, outsourcing, focus-group brand testing, bruteforce marketing...have been applied with tremendous success in pop, creating such profitable multinationals as Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Taylor Swift.” Or think of the 2005 screenwriting book by Blake Snyder that breaks down the blockbuster into a 15-beat structure and whose reverberations still echo in summer mega-hits, or maybe the patent Amazon filed for “anticipatory shipping,” a method to deliver packages before shoppers even purchase it. Together, these revelations confirm what hipsters always felt in their bones: that cultural popularity is not a form of American meritocracy so much as it is the result of an aggressive business strategy. This is why the hipster is attracted to the elusive substance of authenticity as an acid to cut through the gunk of consumer waste. Authenticity is a way of showing things for how they really are. No longer caught in the morass of consumerism, but also without the moral compass of mainstream, hipsters find a new way of determining value, and that way is taste. Taste is written into the secret language Calloway transcribed, taste is the dog whistle that only the enlightened can sense, taste is the result of a finely developed palate, a palate that registers not in moral terms of good and evil, but well or poorly executed. Taste cares about form, not function. But against this optimistic reading of taste as pure
Wednesday, September 30, 2015 // The Statement
choice, Colin Gunckel, assistant professor of american culture and screen arts and cultures, sees taste as a mode of class distinction — much like what sociologist Pierre Bordieu elaborated on in “Distinction: A Social Critique in the Judgement of Taste.” Like Bordieu, Gunkel believes these preferences are generated arbitrarily, and are empty signifiers of status. He noted in an e-mail, “The category (of hipster) is associated with having a superficial relationship to consumption. Going to the ‘hot’ new restaurant or bar that everyone is talking about, going to the art show you read about on the cover of the weekly, listening to whatever they read about on whatever website, dressing like your friends,
living in the right neighborhood — people are suddenly into paying $20 for the privilege of eating artisanal toast, because that’s what’s trending. In other words, people associate hipsters with having no kind of original, meaningful or personal relationship to culture.” Indeed, to Gunckel, as well as a set of left-leaning intellectuals, the mythic aura of authenticity surrounding the hipster masks the real damage: “I think the close association of the hipster with the creative economy obscures the detrimental economic shifts that gentrification is having in certain cities. Equating this demographic with ‘hipness’ is a way of foregrounding that supposed dimension
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of the category, without owning up to their privilege and the role many of us — hipster or otherwise — may have in gentrification.” Abandoning the territory of mainstream consumerism, hipsters are free to wander wherever they please, led only by a cultivated taste, a deep wallet, and, yes, the rigid norms of a class structure. Perhaps our Ann Arbor hipster is really just our existentialist tastemaker, choosing to choose in the daunting face of late-capitalist society. Sartre condemned man to freedom, but for the hipster set loose in the culinary garden of Ann Arbor, this is a delightful possibility.
Personal Statement: Being average by Michael Flynn, Daily Arts Writer
ILLUSTRATION BY CHERYLL VICTUELLES
I
am average. The Oxford English Dictionary definition of average as an adjective is thus: “Of the usual or ordinary standard, level or quantity.” That doesn’t seem like a terrible thing to be. But for so many people in this generation (and in any generation), that is a dirty word. “Average” is the one thing most people dread to be. People want to be exceptional. People want to make the most money, make the biggest difference and be the best friend, partner, student and citizen they can possibly be. This aversion to average-ness is not innate, except in some particularly narcissistic cases, but rather the product of external forces. Parents tell their children that their abilities are exceptional, and all but guarantee that they will do great things with their lives. The University of Michigan continues this rhetoric, telling tens of thousands of young people that they are the “leaders and best,” that they will go on to change the world and be successful. After all, if they got into U of M, they can’t possibly be average, right? For a long time, I thought that was I. I thought I was a person of exceptional ability, that I was guaranteed a bright, successful future. I like to think I’m a reasonably grounded individual, but I went through a large chunk of my life with an inflated sense of my own contribution to society, without much objective proof of that belief. I went to Campolindo High School, a public school in California with a reputation for sending its students to elite colleges. I spent my four years there as a high-functioning slacker, in academics and in life. I took AP classes, but didn’t put an exceptional amount of effort into them. I played
sports, but didn’t stick with any of them for very long and never made varsity. I played guitar, but never joined the school band, and didn’t stay in any of the bands I joined for much longer than a year. I graduated from Campolindo with a solid but unexceptional GPA and an extracurricular resume that didn’t show any focus. Somehow, this (and probably also legacy status, thanks Dad) got me into the University of Michigan. I wasn’t a harder worker than many of my peers in high school, but somehow I got into an elite university. The illusion of my own exceptional ability and drive carried on. When I finally arrived at Michigan, I began to realize that I wasn’t prepared for the workload that an elite university requires. I continued to procrastinate. I continued to cram for tests and write papers the night before they were due. The same strategies that had worked for me in high school were beginning to crack. And I let them continue to crack. I was not galvanized into action. I was complacent. Looking back on it, I could have easily done something about it, but I had no intrinsic desire to do so. I never had any real intrinsic desire to succeed academically. The reason I worked reasonably hard in school was out of fear of disappointing my parents. My father, in particular, placed a great deal of weight on academic success. It wasn’t until sophomore year that I had a moment of clarity. I was procrastinating on homework by Googling recent Class of ’14 graduates that I knew to see what they were up to. One of them had a website with a link to her resume, and as I looked through it, I realized that this was a truly exceptional student, with a near-perfect GPA, leadership
positions in student organizations and work experience. The realization of how far removed I was to that level of commitment and success hit me like a brick. The illusion of my own exceptional ability was shattered. From that simple realization came a feeling I hadn’t felt before: a strong desire to work hard, not for anyone else but myself. I felt that I could do so much better than I had done, and I resolved to do so. I resolved to leave average behind and begin the journey to becoming excellent. Since then, I’ve made some progress toward that goal, though not as much as I would have liked. I’ve raised my GPA, if only marginally. I’ve volunteered and pursued extracurricular activities, even achieving leadership positions in some of them. I haven’t stopped faltering and making mistakes, but I’ve become better at recognizing those mistakes and keeping myself from making them again. Perhaps the most significant effect of my epiphany is my newfound feeling that, while it’s not how I’d like to remain, being average at the time of life that I’m in isn’t a terrible thing. Barring the unforeseen, I have many more years to learn, to grow, to find areas I excel in. And what better place to be young and average than the University of Michigan? Just by virtue of attending this University, I am exposed to new perspectives and accrue meaningful experiences. I will take interesting classes and pursue activities that I love. I will gather skills that will help me survive in the real world, regardless of how well I do academically. I hope to continue improve as a human, and I hope to truly excel in something someday. But for now, I am average. And for the time of life that I’m in, average is quite all right.
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Wednesday, September 30, 2015 // The Statement
Marcus Mumford brings out the electric guitar for “Snake Eyes”.
This past summer I was lucky enough to receive photo passes to a handful concerts around Ann Arbor. Never did I think I would be so fortunate to photograph Mumford & Sons, a band I have loved since their first album. For some of the concerts I’ve photographed I’m a fan of the band, while others I might just know a couple songs. With Mumford & Sons, I knew every lyric to every song they played.
Michiganders swarm DTE Energy Music Theater in Clarkston, 40 miles away from downtown Detroit.
V I S UA L S TAT E M E N T:
PHOTOGRAPHING MY FAVO RITE BAN D
When the band first came out, I was enthralled. Here was a group that I had loved for years, standing no more than a few feet from me. After the initial excitement subsided, I kicked into photographer mode, because I’m not just there to enjoy the concert but to make something of it too. This is where the allure of photographing your favorite band begins to fade. Because while I remember singing along to the chorus of “Snake Eyes” as I took the last of my photos, I can hardly remember what it was like listening to the two songs they played previously. When you’re a part of the audience, you can simply enjoy the show. When you photograph a concert, you are constantly on watch for the opportunity to take that perfect shot. It’s like you’re in a state of zen, where you block out everything happening around you and solely focus on what coming through your lens. This is encouraged by the “three song rule” which limits photographers to only shoot the first three songs the band plays, adding even more pressure to take great photos. So after Mumford & Sons play “Lovers’ Eyes,” “I Will Wait,” and “Snake Eyes,” I am escorted out of the photo pit and I make my way to the back of the venue to watch the rest of the show.
Photo Story by Zach Moore
A crowd member sways with a lighter during Mumford and Son’s first appearance in Michigan.
During the band’s opener, “Lover’s Eyes”, Ben Lovett strums the banjo.