ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Monday, November 30, 2015
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Suit against University ban on guns dismissed RUBY WALLAU/Daily
The Michigan defense couldn’t contain Ohio State, as quarterback J.T. Barrett rushed for three touchdowns in the Buckeyes’ 42-13 win on Saturday.
Buckeyes spoil Harbaugh’s first game in heated rivalry Ezekiel Elliott dominates Michigan in the run game By MAX BULTMAN Daily Sports Editor
In Jim Harbaugh’s first game coaching against Ohio State, it was Ezekiel Elliott who stole the show.
Elliott set the tone for the game, running for 214 yards and two touchdowns in a statement performance as the Buckeyes (7-1 Big Ten, 11-1 overall) beat No. 10 Michigan, 42-13, at Michigan Stadium on Saturday. J.T. Barrett added 113 yards passing and 139 yards on the ground, accumulating four total touchdowns, but the star of the day was Elliott. After criticizing his coaches for giving him just 12 carries in a
17-14 loss to the Michigan State last week, Elliott shouldered the workload early and often against the Wolverines (6-2, 9-3). He had 75 yards by the end of the first quarter, 66 of which came on one long rush to set up Ohio State’s first touchdown. He only got stronger from there. The Wolverines were still within striking range of the Buckeyes at halftime, trailing just 14-10, but Elliott and Barrett made quick work of them in the second
White Student Union Facebook page taken down By ALLANA AKHTAR Daily Staff Reporter
After demonstrations sprung up earlier this month calling for improved diversity and inclusion at college campuses across the country, several White Student Union Facebook pages appeared on Facebook this week, including one claiming to be affiliated with the University. University President Mark Schlissel and University Provost Martha Pollack contacted Facebook on Wednesday morning and requested the group be shut down, citing unauthorized use of the University’s trademarked seal. The page has since been taken down. As of 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, the page remained visible on Facebook and had 38 members. The page listed the LSA building as its address. The founding members
are not shown on the Facebook group, and it is unclear whether actual University students have any role in the creation of this page. “We’re a new organization for students of European descent and our allies on the University of Michigan campus, inspired by the spread of other White Student Unions nation wide,” the group states in its page description. “We provide a safe space for white students to air their feelings about our nation’s future, discuss and reflect on our glorious past, and begin programs to reclaim that lost glory. We affirm the dignity and ancestry of our proud people who given the world so much in terms of civilization and beauty and are committed to securing a future for our posterity and spirit.” In a press release, Schlissel and Pollack said the White Student Union is not a recognized student organization on campus. The New York Times reported Tuesday that over 30 White Student Union Facebook groups have been created claiming affiliation with universities. Some of these groups have already been See FACEBOOK, Page 2A
By EMMA KINERY Daily Staff Reporter
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that challenged the University’s campus ban on firearms. In a state Court of Claims ruling handed down earlier this month, Judge Cynthia Stephens agreed with the University’s defense of the ban. In particular, she drew a distinction between the University and local townships, writing that the University was not subject to state law that prohibits townships from setting gun laws, the Associated Press reported. “The state Constitution grants the university the autonomy to promulgate its own firearms regulation,” Stephens wrote. The lawsuit, initiated by Ann
‘TIS ALMOST THE SEASON
CAMPUS LIFE
Schlissel, Pollack say online group was not recognized by the University
half. The win marked Ohio State’s fourth consecutive win over Michigan, and the 11th time in the last 12 meetings that the Buckeyes have come out on top. Barrett threw his only passing touchdown of the day to Jalin Marshall on the first possession of the third quarter, and after Michigan’s next drive, Ohio State wore down the Wolverines. Barrett and Elliott led a 16-play, 84-yard drive that took 7:05 off See BUCKEYES, Page 4B
In opinion, state judge says colleges can set their own firearm regulations
Arbor resident Joshua Wade, argued that the University did not have the authority to set stricter gun-control laws for campus than those set by the state. Currently in Michigan, certain zones, including colleges, are labeled gun-free. In effect, this means that concealed carry of weapons is not allowed, but those with a concealed carry permit can carry guns openly. The University’s policy takes this ban a step further, banning firearms of all kinds except for military or law enforcement personnel or educational purposes. The University Board of Regents also has the ability to grant a waiver in “extraordinary circumstances,” according to the Regents Bylaws Article X, Section 4. Wade filed the lawsuit after the University denied his request for a waiver. Wade’s attorney, Steven Dulan, had argued in court filings that the power to establish policies about guns rested with the legislature, not with colleges, according to the Detroit Free Press. See LAWSUIT, Page 2A
ORGANIZATIONS
‘U’ ballroom dance team wins 12th national title 30 teams from colleges across the country compete in Columbus By KATIE PENROD
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Santa wishes everyone a Merry Christmas at a tree lighting at Kerrytown Market and Shops on Sunday.
ACADEMICS
Six faculty elected fellows of national science society American Assoc. for Advancement of Science promotes research, innovation By ALEXA ST. JOHN Daily Staff Reporter
Six University faculty members have been elected fellows of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science. Faculty recently elected to the society are Internal Medicine Prof. John Carethers, chair of the department; James Dalton, dean of the College of Pharmacy; William Giannobile, professor of dentistry and biomedical engineering; Peter Green, professor of materials science and engineering; Physics Prof. Timothy McKay; and Edward Stuenkel, professor of molecular
SportsMonday
and integrative physiology. The six join an overall class of 347 newly elected AAAS fellows. Last year, eight faculty members were elected. As the world’s largest general scientific society, the AAAS aims to promote research in science and engineering by increasing communication among scientists and the public, providing a scientific voice on broader societal See SCIENCE, Page 2A
Daily Staff Reporter
A few days before Michigan played Ohio State in Ann Arbor on Saturday, another University team won big in Columbus, Ohio. The University’s Ballroom Dance Team won the national championship title for the 12th consecutive year, beating out about 30 other teams from universities across the country. LSA freshman Anna Haynes said the competition consists of several rounds. Each time a dancing couple is called back to dance again, their team receives a point. “Each couple gets to choose eight dances,” she said. “There are a lot of dances, but you’re only allowed to choose your favorite eight. For me, I’m a dancing newcomer so we start out with our most basic in the first round. If you get callbacks you keep See BALLROOM, Page 2A
Michigan ended its regular season with a thud.
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News
2A — Monday, November 30, 2015
MONDAY: This Week in History
TUESDAY: Campus Voices
SLOW M AGIC
DAVID SONG/Daily
Slow Magic performs his set at Populux in Detroit on Friday.
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers
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THURSDAY: Twitter Talk
FRIDAY: Photos of the Week
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (NOV. 30, 2000)
‘U’ enrolls more diverse class The University reported enrolling a more diverse freshman class than in previous years. Of the freshman class who started college in 2000, 14.5 percent of students identified as an underrepresented minority, compared to 11.4 percent of students the year before. Even with a more diverse freshman class, the University’s overall percentage of underrepresented minorities decreased. University officials said the overall decrease in minority students was an issue that needed to be fixed, but reported that they did not have any target goals or
quotas related to race for student enrollment. There were also more students than ever who opted to not report their race on their applications, with 402 out of 5,418 students declining to indicate their race. At the time, the University was also considering whether to work toward increasing University enrollment overall. In 2015, the University enrolled the highest proportion of underrepresented minority freshmen since 2005, with 12.8 percent of the enter class identified as underrepresented minority students.
Thirty-five years ago this week (Dec. 2, 1980)
Iraq and Syria panel
WHAT: Dr. Leo Wilton will talk about the sociocultural contexts of HIV stigma and testing, particularly for minorities. WHO: Department of Psychology WHEN: Today from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: 4448 East Hall
WHAT: This panel will examine Western reactions to the Islamic State and will provide an overview of changing events in the Middle East. WHO: Department of Near Eastern Studies WHEN: Today 4:10 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. WHERE: 202 S. Thayer
FACEBOOK From Page 1A taken down after universities, such as Princeton University and Pennsylvania State University, reported them to Facebook. In the release, Schlissel and Pollack said though the University recognizes the importance of the First Amendment and the right to free expression, they wrote
that the posting “does not contribute to a thoughtful dialogue.” “The University of Michigan is striving to create a climate of inclusion, where all our students, faculty, and staff feel they belong,” Schlissel and Pollack wrote. “We want to take this moment to reaffirm our deep and abiding commitment to this goal, and to working diligently, with the entire university community, to achieve it.”
BALLROOM From Page 1A going up until finals, which is a huge deal because sometimes there will be 90 couples starting out and you make it to the top eight.” Business senior Jiaxin Zheng, the Ballroom Dance Team president, said newcomers like Haynes, coupled with a robust recruitment process, contribute heavily to the success of the team. “We have a great recruitment system,” she said. “At the beginning of the year we go out and get people to try ballroom dancing and emphasize that anyone can do it. I think we’re able to win because of the numbers and also because we’re able to emphasize that being on this team is not just learning how to dance, it’s ultimately going to the competitions.” Team members are professionally coached by Olympic-level ice-dancing coaches and national champion ballroom dancers Susan and Steve McFerran. Zheng said the McFerrans’ training gives the team an edge during competition. “Our coaches have been a key drive for our success because
Native American celebration WHAT: A concert to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. WHO: Native American Student Association WHEN: Today from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, Pendleton Room University spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon. Earlier this month, the University held a week-long summit to gather community input as the institution forms a strategic plan for improving campus climate and increasing diversity of the student body and faculty. Schlissel said the summit reflected his commitment at large to diversity on campus,
without them we wouldn’t have had a structured team where people tryout and make a team to learn from them,” she said. “A lot of collegiate ballroom clubs are just student organized, so they have a really hard time maintaining continuity from season to season. Because we have our coaches and a structured team setting, we’ve been able to maintain a longstanding presence on campus.” Engineering senior Andrew Simon said upperclassmen dancers assist in teaching newcomers and, alongside the coaches, are responsible for 150 to 200 dancers of varying ability in a given semester. Simon added that because the team is broken down into different ability levels, the amount of instruction each member receives can differ based on their section. Upper-level dancers are broken into Simon said the hard work of each section contributed to their success in Columbus. “The quality of the dancing will allow more callbacks and that will build up points for our team,” he said. “Every single person matters, and that’s why at the very beginning of recruitment we work really hard to get as many people to join the team as
An Irish Christmas WHAT: A show featuring Celtic music, song and dance to celebrate Christmas. WHO: Michigan Union Ticket Office WHEN: Today at 8 p.m. WHERE: The Ark, 316 S. Main Street
not solely in response to recent incidents at the University of Missouri and Yale University. “We didn’t launch the diversity, equity and inclusion strategic planning process in the setting of a crisis,” he said in an interview with The Michigan Daily earlier this month. “We launched it in the setting of an ongoing commitment to the public and the students that we serve and to build an inclusive community.”
possible and get them into it and build up a passion for it because it helps us a lot when it comes time for nationals.” Simon said the team’s continuous success at nationals is a reflection of the different aspects of the team that allow for consistent training and strong team membership. “If you’ve seen other dance groups on campus they’re always in Angell Hall or trying to find random places. I think we’re one of the only teams that has a dance studio which allows for consistent training. On top of that, we’re very well funded from CSG. This makes the team affordable for a lot of people.” Haynes said the team’s enthusiasm toward fostering learning and new membership allowed her as a freshman to feel like she contributed greatly to the win in Columbus. “It was so exciting,” she said. “It was great because they say that the reason we win nationals so much is that we bring so many new students and let so many people try it out every year. So it’s really exciting to know that you were a part of getting a point for your team.”
LAWSUIT From Page 1A “The Michigan Constitution vests the power to legislate with the state legislature, not with the state universities,” Dulan wrote. “It is clear that the Board of Regents is powerful within the governance of the University itself, but it has no authority to attempt to usurp the legislature’s constitutionally-delegated role in the state government.” Dulan told media outlets he intended to appeal the decision. A similar court case, filed by Michigan Gun Owners against the Ann Arbor Public Schools, was thrown out in September. However, in response to a third lawsuit about the ability of individual units of governance to step beyond state gun law, a Genesee County judge ruled differently, finding that school districts couldn’t ban individuals from carrying in schools. Both in court and in the legislature, the University has
Editor in Chief 734-418-4115 ext. 1251 jcalfas@michigandaily.com
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
1
About 100 people were detained in Paris during a protest prior to the UN climate conference, the AP reported. They were arrested for violating the state of emergency in France which currently bans public protests.
2
Ohio State routed Michigan, 42-13, in the final game of the regular season. The Wolverines will finish their season in a bowl game to be announced at a later date. >>SEE SPORTS, PG. 1B
3
The National Security Agency ended its mass collection of American phone records Sunday, Reuters reported. They will replace it with more targeted surveillance. This is their largest scale down since 9/11 and the agency’s expansion.
SCIENCE From Page 1A issues and fostering education in science and technology. In an interview Saturday, Green, who works on research projects focusing on polymers — large molecules characterized by their chain-like structure — said an election to the society aims to recognize an individual’s contributions to science. Green said applications of his own work include organic solar cells, membranes and sensors. “If you look around you, you see a lot of application involving polymers,” he said. “The big technological drive nowadays is you want to make things smaller and smarter. What it means then, is that you’re now processing and producing materials at very, very small dimensions.” Dalton wrote in an e-mail interview that he has been a general member of the AAAS for more than 25 years and was honored to be elected as a fellow. “Fellows are elected based on their scientific accomplishments to advance the science in their field,” Dalton said. “It’s rewarding
defended its policies about gunfree zones. In an October interview with The Michigan Daily, Cynthia Wilbanks, vice president of government relations, said the University intended to stand firm in its decision to ban guns on campus, noting legislative attempts to modify the definition of gun-free zones. Wilbanks said the current policy on campus banning guns is an important one, particularly in light of a bill currently in the state legislature seeking to change the way the gun-free zones work in the state. “It’s true that years ago when the gun statutes were modified, we did work hard to get gunfree zones,” Wilbanks said. “The regents have an ordinance that is very clear: On the University of Michigan campus, there shall be no guns … Right now we will rely on our regents’ ordinance to be enforced.” Other universities in the state have taken similar stances,
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The LSA student government installed students Sue Porter and Margaret Talmers as the new president and vice president, respectively. With 16 percent of LSA students voting, it was the highest turnout ever for student government elections, and nearly four times the amount of votes cast in the previous year. Both Porter and Talmers were members of a student political party called Student Alliance for Institutional Development. —EMMA PERPICH
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for my work and efforts to be recognized by my peers.” Dalton said he has published about 160 peer-reviewed scientific papers in the areas of drug discovery and development, pharmacology, endocrinology and cancer, and is also listed as a co-inventor on more than 200 U.S. and international patents. McKay, another elected fellow, wrote in an e-mail interview that he hoped to increase his involvement in the society going forward. “I have always looked to the AAAS for leadership in science education, policy, and exchange, and look forward to taking my involvement with the AAAS to a higher level as a new fellow,” he wrote. At the University, McKay is a data scientist with experience drawing inferences from large data sets in astrophysics. He also works on education research to understand and improve classroom outcomes for students in higher education. Carethers oversees the Department of Internal Medicine, the largest department at the University. Within the department, he operates a
National Institutes of Health research laboratory in the Medical School where faculty and students perform experiments to benefit colorectal cancer patients. “I think I was a good nominee for the honor because of the success of my research and research funding along with its national and international recognition among peers,” Carethers wrote. “This is through my publications, as well as national and international presentations regarding the field of my research, and my reputation for high quality data. I also think my role in managing a very large department of 760 faculty paid an additional role while maintaining a research program.” Overall, McKay said academic honors like the fellowship are a way to support scholarly work. “Faculty members often give their ideas away, sharing openly what they learn to advance human knowledge,” McKay wrote. “The main rewards for this work are impact — we might hope to change the world — and reputation — we all hope to be recognized for what we do. Being selected for fellowship in the AAAS is exactly the kind of reputational reward that keeps scholars working away.”
with several universities in Michigan, such as Lake Superior State University, banning guns on campus. Others are more permissive, allowing them in certain campus areas. Wilbanks noted that she believed this is the best way to handle the situation — allowing each institution to set its own policies. “All universities have a stake in this,” Wilbanks said. “Having said that, there are universities who have a slightly different approach to guns on campus. Some permit concealed weapons in the trunks of cars. Others permit students who are interested in hunting or shooting at the range to register their guns and they are provided a safe lockup for their guns while they’re on campus so that there’s a safe place for them to go. Every campus may have a slightly different approach. Ours is pretty clear. Others are clear in a slightly different way, but that actually supports our view
that every campus ought to think about the ways in which the laws work best for them.” However, open-carry activists have expressed disagreement with that position. In an August interview with the Daily, Phillip Hofmeister, a legislative assistant for Michigan Open Carry Inc., an organization promoting lawful open carry of a holstered handgun, said he supported Wade’s position because he felt gun-free zones ultimately lead to a more dangerous environment. “We feel that places where guns are banned (by state statute or private property policy) create a criminal empowerment zone,” Hofmeister wrote in an e-mail. “These are places where criminals carry guns and can use them to harm others (as by their nature, criminals don’t care about the law or private property rights), but law abiding citizens are not given the opportunity to protect themselves with their own arms.”
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Monday, November 30, 2015 — 3A
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Scenes from
THE GAME
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Photo captions: (1) Members of the Michigan Marching Band sign the walls of the tunnel into the Big House, a tradition done during the last home game of the season. (2) Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh high-fives fans as he runs through the tunnel before pregame warm-ups. (3) A coaching staff assistant attempts to hold back Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott as he breaks away from his team and coach as the Buckeyes take the field before the game. Elliott criticized Ohio State’s coaching staff after the team lost to Michigan State last week and announced his plan to leave for the NFL Draft. (4) The ball slips through the fingers of redshirt junior wide receiver Jehu Chesson in the second half of Michigan’s 42-13 loss to Ohio State. (5) Ohio State fans cheer as the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines on Saturday in the Big House. (6) Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott dances into the endzone for his second touchdown of the game. Elliott carried the ball for 214 yards as the Buckeyes took down the Wolverines on Saturday.
See more photos from The Game in today’s SportsMonday insert and online at michigandaily.com
Opinion
4A — Monday, November 30, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
I choose to believe I am loved
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Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
An editorial from November 22, 1974
I
think it’s safe to say that at one point or another, we have all struggled to ignore the “haters” — those faceless, largely imagined enemies who are determined to bring us down. Aside from the truly famous, most of us only have one or two regular critics, but sometimes ANNIE we exaggerate HUMPHREY their negative comments in our minds until it feels like the whole world is against us. According to a 2012 column in the New York Times, focusing on the negative is common because negative emotions require more processing than positive ones, causing us to ruminate about them more frequently. I have often found myself ruminating about comments people have made about me, letting the words circle endlessly in my mind until I can no longer think straight. Ceasing to concern myself with how others see me has been difficult, but definitely worth the effort. I spent most of the first two decades of my life letting my perception of how others perceived me drag me down. I already had low self-esteem, and I used every negative comment as proof that I was, in fact, unloved. By the time I entered college, my confirmation bias had reached such an extreme that I no longer needed to hear negative comments to feel that others disliked me — I simply assumed they did.
Believing I was unloved became exhausting, but it seemed like a safer bet than the alternative. What if I were to convince myself that everyone cared about me, only to find out one day that they didn’t? Such a realization would be heartbreaking. I might as well come to terms with “reality” before I got hurt. I began to question my need for a realistic self-image after taking a social psychology class my sophomore year. We learned about the theory of depressive realism, which states that people with depression have a far more realistic perception of their skills and abilities compared to non-depressed people. I realized that maintaining a realistic perception of my relationships was pointless if it led to unhappiness. Either I could continue to be sad and focus on all the signs indicating that people didn’t enjoy my company, or I could put on the same rose-colored glasses as everyone else and tell myself that I was loved. Adjusting my attitude proved difficult because I had spent so many years thinking negatively. It wasn’t until I fell into an actual depression last winter that I knew I needed to change. A lot of things in my life spiraled out of control that semester, but I realized the one factor I could control was how I responded. Since I yearned for authentic connections with other people, I decided to stop worrying about what others thought of me and spend time with people whose company I enjoyed. Instead of facing disdain from others, I experienced an outpouring of love. This semester alone, I have formed more genuine friendships than I did
in all three previous years of college combined. Though I’m still aware that I could get hurt if these connections dissolve, I no longer actively think about this possibility. For one thing, now that I’m less paranoid about people leaving me, I’m less inclined to accidentally push them away. For another, if people are hell-bent on walking out of my life, they’ll do it regardless of whether I see it coming. I might as well enjoy the connections while they last and move on when the time comes. After all, if one friendship expires, there are 7 billion more people in the world with whom I can connect. Now that I have a healthier perception of how others see me, the faceless “haters” have all but disappeared in my mind. David Foster Wallace once said, “You will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do.” I’ve noticed recently that people are so caught up in their own problems that they hardly have time to scrutinize me. The truth is that everyone from my past who I assumed disliked me probably felt indifferent toward me. Now that the imaginary haters have vanished, I have space in my heart to let in the love from those who truly care. Yes, I’ll always have one or two critics who will hold grudges against me no matter what. But I have control over how I perceive everyone else’s perceptions of me. I choose to believe that I am loved. — Annie Humphrey can be reached at annieah@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Ben Keller, Payton Luokkala, Aarica Marsh, Anna Polumbo-Levy, Jason Rowland, Lauren Schandevel, Melissa Scholke, Rebecca Tarnopol, Ashley Tjhung, Stephanie Trierweiler, Mary Kate Winn, Derek Wolfe SINDHU SREEDHAR | MICHIGAN IN COLOR
CSG continues silencing minority voices
JOE IOVINO
E-mail joe at jiovino@umich.edu
This past Sunday, I, along with the other 10 members of the Campus Inclusion Commission under the Central Student Government, resigned. The original goal of the commission was to provide a space within the student government where students with marginalized identities would feel safe voicing their concerns. However we, as a commission, came to the conclusion that CSG’s efforts to make campus more inclusive weren’t entirely genuine and we felt that working with them wasn’t in our best interests. We left, not because the chair of our commission was fired, but because of what we believe are the reasons why he was fired — for making noise, for demanding justice after I personally faced discrimination within CSG, for questioning CSG’s homogeneity and for advocating for minority voices. In other words, for doing his job. As a woman of color, I often feel as though I have limited influence in spaces. Because of that, I often let problematic things go unchecked and don’t say anything for fear of retaliation. The firing of the CIC chair will not be one of them. Here’s my story. This past September, an executive committee member of CSG met with me to inform me of a significant change within student government structure — three separate commissions would be merged into one larger Campus Inclusion Commission. As the executive chair of the LGBTQ Issues Commission, that decision would significantly impact my role. However, before I could say anything, he said that if the commission didn’t comply with the new structure, we could leave CSG, and they would find people to replace us. The preemptive threat caught me off guard and I felt pressured to go along with what he was saying, simply because of the power dynamic. He is a white man in a higher position than me, and had just implied that that I was dispensable. I’m a woman of color with seemingly no real authority in that space. Whose voice really matters here? I felt as though the LGBTQ community that I was advocating for had suddenly lost any voice that it may have ever had in CSG. That meeting set the tone for the rest of my involvement in CSG. However, despite that encounter, I still tried to be open to the idea of working with the student govern-
ment because of the credibility they have under the administration and the reach they have with students. I continued to brush that event and my skepticism aside in order to do what I came to do — create a more inclusive campus. Things moved quickly from there, as they do in CSG. A chair was appointed to be the head of what we now called the Campus Inclusion Commission, or CIC. The new commission first met in mid-October, and by the middle of November we had three large projects in process and the members of our new team began to get closer. Feeling decently comfortable with them, I offhandedly mentioned the unsettling interaction I’d had with the CSG executive committee member. Our chair immediately suggested that we report the microaggression to the rest of the executive committee, and after a day of thinking over it, I decided it should be addressed. Though I didn’t want to cause trouble or ill-will within CSG, I believed that discussing the comment and its impact could begin to create a more inclusive campus, one person at a time. Especially given that doing so aligned with the mission of the inclusion committee that student government had just created, I’d believed we would have their support. I was very wrong. After the CIC chair and I reported the incident to the rest of the executive committee, we attempted several methods of restorative justice. We tried implementing an ally training for all members of the assembly. We tried getting the executive committee member who’d made the comment to go to an ally training. We tried creating a new position on the executive committee to hold them all accountable to using inclusive language and taking the needs of marginalized students into consideration. Many of these initiatives either never happened, or were dismissed as “miscommunications,” an issue that has arisen in the majority of my dealings with CSG. Finally, I met with the CSG adviser and president last week to talk about the original microaggression that I had faced, now, two months ago. I explained it yet again, thinking that this would be my final dealing with this issue. Instead of simply listening to what had happened and helping me find the solution I’d wanted, they began probing me about the commission chair — the
person who’d helped me report in the first place. They asked me how I felt that our commission chair had taken charge in dealing with the issue and making sure I was treated fairly. Though I didn’t fully understand why I was being asked about our commission chair, I was honest with them in saying that he only took charge in dealing with the issue when I had asked him to. At the time, I’d believed they were just trying to support me, but I now see that they had been trying to ambush me into providing the executive committee with an excuse to fire him. I realized this last Friday, when I saw an e-mail in my inbox from the executive committee. It said, very bluntly and without explanation, that our commission chair had been fired. In their words, the position “was vacated.” The reasons the commission chair was fired were laid out in a letter that he shared with me. For example, one of the fireable offenses CSG states was the miscommunication concerning who would be facilitating a training given to the assembly. However, given the amount of miscommunication I’d experienced throughout my time on CSG and the fact that no one else had been visibly disciplined for it, this is at best selective enforcement. Only our commission chair was faulted for it. Another one of the reasons the commission chair was fired was for an interaction that very closely mirrored the incident in which I faced a microaggression by a member of the executive committee. The executive committee member was made aware of his actions and received ally training afterward, but he was not at all punished for the issue that happened months before. He was also on the panel that voted to fire our commission chair. While I am not defending this particular action, the fact remains that the CIC chair was fired for an issue that didn’t warrant punishment in the past. Though I will always be invested in advocating for a more inclusive campus, I (and the rest of the former CIC members) have realized that student government is not the place to do it. From the unchecked comments to the subtle power plays to the unjust firing of our commission chair, CSG is no longer an organization I trust or am willing to work for. Sindhu Sreedhar is a Michigan in Color contributor.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM REVIEW
MUSIC COLUMN
I
Wanting to be Brian Wilson
used to think the Beach Boys’s story ended after 1967, when Brian Wilson suffered a mental breakdown while trying to complete a follow-up to Pet Sounds. I thought the ’70s were a black hole for the band, a period of time when none of its members did much of anything ADAM until they THEISEN somehow reemerged on the oldies circuit in the ’80s. The ’80s and beyond being the time when The Beach Boys were Reagan’s favorite band, released “Kokomo” and played ridiculously huge shows on the National Mall on the fourth of July — the time when they nearly destroyed all their artistic credibility. So I used to think the recording sessions of what was supposed to be Smile were the last gasp of a great band before they became symbolic and sad, and that made the products of those sessions tantalizingly exciting. There’s a point in the piano ballad “Surf’s Up” where Brian Wilson sings his impressionistic lyrics faster and faster, shoving words together as he goes, “The glass was raised, the fired-roast / The fullness of the wine, the dim last toasting,” in his highpitched voice. Then, much more slowly, Wilson sings, “A choke of grief heart hardened I / Beyond belief a broken man too tough to cry” with all the weight of this project on his vocal chords, all the terrifying pressures and wonderful ambitions of trying to make tangible the sounds he hears in his head, of attempting to create the greatest album of all time. That moment was like sand running through my fingers — less than 30 seconds of absolute beautiful perfection that never really came to full fruition. But as it turns out, the ’70s weren’t really the dark ages for the quintessential American band. I don’t have to imagine what it would’ve been like had Brian Wilson continued to make music with the Beach Boys, because there’s a run of relatively littleknown, commercially not very successful records that the band did in the decade after Pet Sounds. A lot of it is terrible — like the lazy, drugged-out covers of old standards on 1976’s 15 Big Ones — some of it has strong critical standing — like 1971’s Surf ’s Up, which actually does include a version of its brilliant title track — but to me, the most fascinating Beach Boys recording of this entire decade is 1977’s Love You. Love You is an alternately hilarious, horrifying and thrilling journey through whatever Brian Wilson was thinking at the time. From the very beginning, just five seconds into “Let Us Go On This Way,” it already feels like somebody forgot to add more to the backing track, with Carl Wilson seemingly abandoned by the drums and organ, left out to dry with just the bass of a synthesizer. But somehow, it works — by the time all the
other Beach Boys come in on vocals, “Let Us Go On This Way” has transformed into a stellar lead-off number, an energizing joy. I have no idea how Brian Wilson got the other Beach Boys to go along with this record. I almost imagine him with a devious grin on his face in the recording studio as he watches Mike Love — notorious for resisting many of Brian’s groundbreaking ideas in the ’60s — lay down the vocal track for “Johnny Carson,” with lines like “he speaks in such a manly tone.” Then there’s Brian’s slipshod “Solar System,” which isn’t so much a song as it is what you would get if you took a six-year-old who liked planets and plopped him in front of a piano. But Love You also has “Love is a Woman,” a touching, tender, last call song, “Roller Skating Child,” a throwback to the early ’60s Beach Boys singles, and “Good Time,” this complexly arranged, deceptively catchy track with faux horns augmenting its choppy chorus. Love You is awesome because it dares you to hate it while knowing you’re going to keep coming back for more.
I’m trying to stretch the limits of what’s possible. What’s especially amazing about Love You, though, is its prescience. It totally anticipates new wave experiments, arty bands like Talking Heads and synth-pop in general years before they hit the mainstream. Love You is the work of musicians who just have too much talent to make anything bad. It’s a Nobel-Prize winning physicist drunkenly stumbling out of a bar at 2 a.m., still able to solve equations you could never hope to understand. It’s enthralling madness, frustrating as hell because there’s so much junk and yet so much transcendence. And Love You is actually my second huge, mindblowing discovery of Beach Boys material. The typical progression of understanding for most music lovers initially marks the Beach Boys as the guys who did “Surfin’ USA” and “California Girls” — great bubblegum pop singles — but then you listen to Pet Sounds in its entirety or you hear “Good Vibrations” and realize they’re truly one of the all-time greats. And now, their story has become even more interesting to me as I try to navigate the part-trainwreck, part-gloriousepiphany period that is their ’70s. But you might be wondering why the Beach Boys story is even relevant in 2015, and that’s fair — songs about taking pretty girls out on the California beach might not mean a lot to a large group of people. Hell, they don’t even mean much to me. But, for myself and many others, the Beach Boys are the band that most reflects old-school America and its culture, and to
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Monday, November 30, 2015 — 5A
‘Mockingjay’ offers satisfying conclusion
get under the surface of their work and uncover as much as we can is to discover more about ourselves and the lives we live. The Beach Boys are one of the best bands for constant relistening because what’s going on beyond the music is always wild. There’s almost-painful nostalgia and idealism in the early work, incomprehensible genius in the middle period, a mental breakdown, then an uncomfortable, uneven burnout and now, unfulfilling comfort. And as self-absorbed as this sounds, I see myself in all of this. No, I have no fucking clue how Carl Wilson pulled off that heart-bursting vocal on “God Only Knows.” I can’t even begin to explain how something like “Fun, Fun, Fun” or “Help Me, Rhonda” works. But as I’m writing, and even just as I’m living my everyday life, I want to be Brian Wilson. I want to think up impossibly huge ideas and break my brain while I’m trying to stretch the limits of what’s possible to make them reality. But I hope I’m not quite there yet. I’d like to think that I’m slowly making my way toward Pet Sounds, some piece of work that I help create that leaves a lasting mark on people, that does some sort of positive good for the world. I’m listening to and studying the Beach Boys so much right now because the mystery and brilliance of what they did deserves obsessive attention — needs it, even, if I want to figure out its secret. And if I do follow that path, whatever it is that I do, I just have to hold out hope that the people I love will still indulge me enough when I crash and start to flail around wildly so that I can somehow hit upon Love You. Theisen is lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did. To praise BnL for their very accurate lyrics, e-mail ajtheis@umich.edu.
By RACHEL RICHARDSON For The Daily
Though my “Hunger Games”crazed friends can spend hours debating whether Peeta or Gale is Katniss’s true soulmate, they Acan all agree that “MockThe Hunger ingjay” is by far the most Games: disappointing Mockingjay novel of the series. Despite Part 2 the novel’s Rave & failure to Quality 16 deliver the conclusion read- Lionsgate Where’s Bradley Cooper? ers desired, the film adapWhile Director Francis Lawtation turns this rather subpar rence (“Water for Elephants”) is material into a powerful and able to hold viewers’ attention impactful ending to the fran- with the rapid succession of shots chise. taken from a variety of angles, Picking up where the first these quick transitions make it “Mockingjay” film left off, impossible to think about what “Mockingjay — Part 2” details could possibly happen next when Katniss’s (Jennifer Lawrence, you’re still processing what just “X-Men: Days of Future Past”) happened two seconds ago. His journey as she transitions from use of shadows also effectively being a pawn in villain Presi- enhances the suspenseful mood dent Snow’s (Donald Sutherland, by making it impossible to dis“Forsaken”) game to playing by cern what is going to attack the her own rules, leading a military team next, and when. revolt against the Capital. This Authors can write effectively daunting task is both emotionally enough that readers can form and physically grueling. The root a deep connection with one, or of her emotional stress is Peeta’s many characters, but nothing (Josh Hutcherson, “Red Dawn”) compares to seeing real people’s mental instability, Gale’s (Liam interactions and expressions Hemsworth, “The Dressmaker”) of emotion. In the novel, Peeta questionable motivations and just seems like a whiny guy with actions and, of course, the taunts some mental issues. In his best of President Snow. Always the “Hunger Games” performance epitome of a strong female pro- yet, Hutchinson showcases the tagonist, Katniss runs, jumps true struggle Peeta goes through and roundhouse kicks her way to as he slowly transitions from his the Capital. With her resurgence drugged delusion and enters of inner strength, determination the real world. He is often seen and the help of her mostly loyal gripping his head in frustration, friends, the odds, for once, are and is obsessed with asking his strongly in her favor. comrades whether certain facts Among all the reasons fans or memories are “real” or “not complain about “Mockingjay,” real.” Peeta’s audible discomthe one they most passionately fort along with the close-up rage about is its predictability. shots revealing his pained facial Collins’s choice of words fails expressions allow us to feel the to deliver the much needed sus- same sense of vexation and conpense to keep readers intrigued. fusion he does.
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Monday, November 30, 2015
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Of course, it’s impossible to review any “Hunger Games” film without discussing about Katniss. With words more significant than the threat of a bullet, she’s able to effectively change the minds of the brainwashed opposition, and, even more impressively, her foil Peeta. Indeed, Katniss has what many girls want — two very attractive men fighting for her love — but (unlike a certain other popular young adult franchises) choosing between them is the least of her worries. By placing her focus on destroying the notorious President Snow and improving the overall quality of life for everyone in Panem, she helps the film pass the Bechdel test with flying colors. Further enhancing this film’s emphasis on the feminist ideology is the fact that the three most powerful leaders are all female — Katniss, self proclaimed “president” of the rebels Coin (Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”) and Commander Paylor (Patina Miller, “Madame Secretary”). While Tributes (an oddly dark name for the series’ obsessed fans) are often overjoyed when their eyes finally glance over the last word of “Mockingjay,” they may be heartbroken as the end credits appear on screen, signifying the conclusion of a woman’s quest to change the world.
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DOWN 1 Scot’s swimming spot 2 “Dies __”: hymn 3 Nerve: Pref. 4 Wounds from an aggressive pooch 5 Silvery gray 6 Godfather portrayer 7 Muscle twitches 8 Self-image 9 “You’ve got mail” company 10 Elizabeth Bennet’s suitor in “Pride and Prejudice” 11 In the year of the Lord, in dates 12 Farm building 13 Layered haircut 18 Walked 23 “Not so great” 25 According to 26 Kiss from Carlos 27 “Do it yesterday!” on memos 28 Pack in cartons 29 Wombs 30 Like earthquake damage 31 Inept waiter’s comeuppance 32 Foot-operated lever
33 “Peachy!” 38 Gradually vanish 39 Tater 40 Nursery furniture with bars 42 Bother 43 Animation frame 45 Seoul-based Soul maker 46 Minimum age for a U.S. senator 47 Jewish wedding dance 50 Tennis divisions
51 Give notice 52 Animosity spanning decades 54 Change the decor of 55 __-friendly 56 State, in France 59 Wedding page word 60 Corp. alias letters 61 Pretoria’s land: Abbr.
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6A — Monday, November 30, 2015
Arts
FILM REVIEW
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM REVIEW
‘Creed’ a knockout Giggly ‘Night Before’ By JAMIE BIRCOLL Senior Arts Editor
JACOB RICH Daily Film Editor
One of the biggest criticisms of our generation (the “Milennials,” read that with an appropriately derogatory snarl) is that our art is derivative. Blockbusters, some would posit, are becoming less original and are too reliant on repackaging old stories, characters and franchises and selling them as new. We’ve heard someone call A our generation the “remix” Creed generation: Rave & We’re just try- Quality 16 ing to recapture the magic Warner Bros. of “Star Wars,” / MGM Marvel comics and ’80s action pictures, stuff our current filmmakers liked when they were kids. And yet, “Creed” is something special, something different. Rather than churn out another soulless franchise reboot like this year’s actual horseshit “Terminator Genisys” and “Fantastic Four,” young director Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station”) and his crew created the best kind of sequel, one that understands exactly what made the original series so popular but has something completely original to say. It’s both literally and metaphorically about standing in the shadow of something great and finding your own identity in acknowledging the past. “Creed” stands as a shining example of how to iterate with power, passion and originality. “Creed” is the story of Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan, “Fantastic Four”), the illegitimate son of deceased “Rocky” champion Apollo Creed. We begin with a brief, but powerful vignette that says more with imagery than words: a young Adonis (Alex Hen-
derson, “Empire”) is adopted from juvenile detention by Apollo’s widow (Phylicia Rashad, “Good Deeds”) into a life of luxury. The rags-to-riches narrative of the original “Rocky” is abandoned here — it’s not about that anymore. In its place is a narrative about a man caught between two worlds: He can coast through life in luxury, or strive for something greater but risk his name overshadowing his skill and his worth. This is a thoroughly Millenial narrative. We follow Adonis as he strives to create his own legacy as a boxer. Michael B. Jordan is astounding here, turning in a performance that’s visceral and emotional. He’s paired perfectly with Tessa Thompson (“Dear White People”) as love interest and musician Bianca (she produced her own music for the film), whose own struggle with degenerative hearing loss, a war against human deterioration and the ticking clock, parallels a boxer’s perfectly. And Sylvester Stallone (“The Expendables 3”) turns in his best performance since the first “Rocky.” He understands the mythological Rocky character as a human so deeply, and deftly meshes the character’s hardship and grief with his own aging visage. Rocky has been beaten in the ring, sure, but life has knocked him down, too, taking his wife Adrian and friend Paulie. He ritually visits their graves and reads them the paper. He lives modestly and honestly, but he seems to have accepted that his glory days are behind him, as he awaits the day he might join his loved ones in the ground. Gone is the man who once said, “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” It is only the youthful injection from Adonis that gives Rocky the spark to keep going. Stallone, so restrained and contemplative, gives one of the year’s finest performances. But excellent humanistic acting from all per-
formers drives the emotional core of “Creed” — MBJ, Thompson and Stallone should all be nominated for awards for this film. And that’s to say nothing about the boxing itself. The midpoint of “Creed” features the single most impressively filmed boxing match the movies have ever seen, a one-shot masterpiece in visceral choreography that is pure cinematic magic (meaning we have no idea how they did it). Cinematographer Maryse Alberti (“The Wrestler”) also manages to nail the sportscast-like mise-en-scene of the original “Rocky” ’s fights in the climactic bout of “Creed,” a fight so exciting it repeatedly elicited guttural squeals and “oh-mygods” from the filmgoers sitting in the audience. The moment of catharsis in this film is a sequence of rousing excitement to the level we have not felt in the cinema in years. Initially, it parallels the famous hoodie-sporting run through the streets of Philadelphia in the original “Rocky.” Then, in a cacophony of roaring minibike engines, Childish Gambino and Vince Staples, it blazes its own trail. You have to witness this. Early in the film, Adonis sits in his mother’s mansion and plays old clips of the Balboa-Creed fights on YouTube through a projector. He rises, approaches the screen and assumes a fighter’s stance, and then he shadowboxes his father. “Creed” strings together two hours and 15 minutes of images like these: powerful, emotional, human. There is not a second of this film that is wasted. Every shot is beautiful. Every line is meaningful. It’s romantic. It’s brutal. It’s honest. “Creed” is a film about purpose that justifies itself. Against insurmountable odds, Adonis and Coogler make names for themselves. And just consider this: “Creed” is so good that it took two writers to review it.
By BEN ROSENSTOCK Daily Arts Writer
Seth Rogen and his writing partner, Evan Goldberg, have had such a great track record with raunchy comedy movies that by B+ now, it seems difficult to The Night know where to go next. In Before many ways, Rave & 2013’s “This Quality 16 is the End,” in which Rogen Columbia Pictures and his frequent costars like Jonah Hill played fictionalized versions of themselves during the apocalypse, was the gloriously over-thetop culmination of Rogen’s steady growth to comedic fame. Viewers watched Jonah Hill get raped by a “Rosemary’s Baby”-esque demon, and shortly after, the massive crimson penis of a CGI-rendered Satan got sliced in half by a beam transporting Rogen to Heaven. Where do you go from there? Judging by his acclaimed work in “Steve Jobs,” Rogen is following in Hill’s footsteps and moving into more dramatic roles. In their new film “The Night Before,” though, Rogen and Goldberg thankfully show that they still have an abundance of heart to lend to raunchy comedies, even if their well of gutbusting jokes isn’t as deep as it used to be. Primarily scripted by Goldberg and director Jonathan Levine, who worked with Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in “50/50,” “The Night Before” tells the story of three best friends who have celebrated Christmas together every year since Ethan’s (Gordon-Levitt, “The Walk”) parents died. This year, Ethan finds tickets to the legendary Nutcracker Ball, a mysterious Christmas party the friends have been seeking for years, and the film takes place over the course
of one night as they try to find the party. All three leads are given their own individual character arcs. Ethan pines after his ex-girlfriend Diana (Lizzy Caplan, “The Interview”), who broke up with him because he refused to commit and meet her parents. Isaac (Rogen), whose wife (Jillian Bell, “22 Jump Street”) is expecting a child, struggles to cope with his impending fatherhood. Chris (Anthony Mackie, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”), a steroid-using football player, enjoys his newfound fame, though Ethan secretly resents his shameless self-promotion. Toward the end of the film, Ethan becomes furious that his friends have split up to selfishly deal with their own problems and toss aside their Christmas-fueled camaraderie. Isaac looks for Sarah (Mindy Kaling, “The Mindy Project”), who has the phone where Isaac recorded his deepest fatherly insecurities while under the influence. Chris searches for a crazed fan who stole from him. Ethan’s stubborn attempts to secure the bond that the three friends have had since high school is a poignant character motivation, especially considering Ethan’s dissatisfaction with his professional and romantic life. Like Levine’s “50/50,” and like Rogen and Goldberg’s other films, “The Night Before” locates its heart in lasting male friendships, and the threat of those friendships disintegrating provides the conflict for the movie. However, “The Night Before” struggles a bit because of that same insistence on splitting up the friends. The screenwriters’ dedication to giving them individual arcs necessitates hitting a number of required beats in each character’s progression. None of these arcs are particularly novel; Ethan’s struggle to grow up and commit and Isaac’s qualms about fatherhood are both characteristic of practically every Rogen character since “Knocked
Up.” One can’t help but imagine an alternate version of the movie in which simplistic character motives are thrown out in favor of a simple scavenger hunt-style search for the Nutcracker Ball. The movie is low on the huge belly laughs that filled movies like “This is the End” and “Neighbors.” Still, it’s consistently giggle-worthy, especially thanks to countless funny supporting roles, from comedians like Caplan, Kaling and Ilana Glazer (“Broad City”) to surprising standouts Michael Shannon (“Man of Steel”) and Miley Cyrus. Movies like this can often feel lazy, like they’re just an excuse for a bunch of comedian friends to hang out — but when the friends are this funny, it’s hard to protest. Aside from heart, what keeps the comparatively low laugh caliber from being distracting is the movie’s wicked fast pace. Comedies don’t get a lot of praise for their structure and pacing, but “The Night Before” is plotted ruthlessly. Ethan, Isaac and Chris’s arcs are woven together well, and small lines from early on pay off with big punchlines later in the movie (especially with a particular character nicknamed the “Messiah”). The three main appearances of Mr. Green (Shannon) especially showcase this eye for structure. He evolves from a creepy drug dealer in a conversation with Chris to an agent of hallucination for Isaac, ending as a surprising source of insight for Ethan. There’s a relentless momentum to the film as it builds towards its inevitable climax at the Nutcracker Ball, and viewers remain engaged throughout. “The Night Before” isn’t a flawless comedy film, and it never really shocks or challenges audience perceptions of what a Seth Rogen movie can be. Still, not every comedy needs to feature satanic nudity and apocalyptic drug trips. Sometimes, Joseph Gordon-Levitt singing “Wrecking Ball” with Miley Cyrus is enough.
SportsMonday B
The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | November 30, 2015
ZEKE HAVOC Ohio State 42 Michigan 13
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
SportsMonday
2B — November 30, 2015
Five Things We Learned By MAX COHEN
By the end of Saturday’s game, most of the remaining fans in the Big House wore red, and their voices were louder than those of the Michigan fans. The game, a 42-13 victory by Ohio State, was nothing short of a beatdown. And with that, the Wolverines’ surprising season ended with a thud. Here are five things we learned from Saturday’s blowout: 1. Michigan still has ground to gain on its rivals.
2. Ohio State is still very good. Reports
T
of
the
Buckeyes’
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
Ohio State proved its superiority with another dominant win over Michigan.
demise after their loss to Michigan State last weekend were debunked by their performance Saturday. Ohio State looked like a very good football team, not one that was riddled by turmoil in the locker room and dissatisfaction with the coaching staff. The Buckeyes closed out Michigan easily in the second half, outscoring the Wolverines, 28-3. If any Michigan fans were hoping Ohio State was on the decline, they were disappointed Saturday. 3. The injuries to Michigan’s defensive line were too much to overcome. The Wolverines lost three players on their defensive line to season-ending injuries during the course of the 2015 campaign. First came sophomore defensive tackle Bryan Mone, who broke his ankle during fall camp.
Then came senior defensive end Mario Ojemudia, who suffered an Achilles injury against Maryland. Redshirt junior defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow rounded out the trio by suffering a pectoral injury in Michigan’s blowout victory against Rutgers. At first, the injuries were manageable. The Wolverines recorded three straight shutouts earlier in the season, and the front seven played a large role. But after Glasgow’s injury, the depth in the front seven started to wear thin. Michigan allowed more than 300 yards on the ground in two of the last three games of the regular season. The Wolverines capitalized on Indiana’s porous defense on the first occasion, but that wasn’t the case against Ohio State. Michigan couldn’t score frequently enough to keep the game close. Injuries to the front seven made their mark.
Rudock didn’t deserve the fate that befell him in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game. His shoulder injury, courtesy of a crushing blow from high school teammate Joey Bosa, ended his regular-season career at Michigan. For the last month or so, Rudock had carried the Wolverines. When the running game wasn’t working and the defense struggled, Rudock was sharp. He surpassed 250 passing yards for the fourth straight week Saturday, marking a sharp turn from the beginning of the season when his frequent interceptions hurt Michigan. Rudock isn’t unfamiliar with sad endings. He ended his career at Iowa on the bench, choosing to transfer instead of being the backup. On a day that started off with his family receiving more cheers than any other on Senior Day, the end wasn’t what Rudock had hoped for. 5. Bold prediction: Michigan will win in either Columbus or East Lansing next season. The Wolverines face a daunting schedule next season. They will travel to Columbus, East Lansing and Iowa City to face teams currently ranked in the top 10. If Michigan loses all three of those contests, as might be expected, the Wolverines’ record would not reflect any improvement from this season’s. But Michigan showed that it had a knack for hanging close in road games this season. Even at Utah, the lone road game the Wolverines lost, Michigan’s margin of defeat was just seven. The team did not lose a single Big Ten road game and, more impressively, persevered in close road contests.
A punch in the gut
hey unfurled the sign in the middle of the fourth quarter, with Ohio State leading Michigan, 42-13. Generally, signs are harmless pieces of paper that can be ripped to shreds by the human hand in a matter of seconds. But if a MAX sign could ever punch COHEN someone in the gut and knock an entire fan base to the ground, it was this one. In the middle of the Buckeye fan section in the upper half of the south end zone, an Ohio State fan named Rocky showed off the sign. Its background was scarlet, the writing on top white. “WELCOME HOME COACH HARBAUGH.” Around the sign, Ohio State fans chanted “OH-IO” and revealed that, no, they still do not give a damn about the whole state of Michigan. But that sign. Ones with
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
4. Jake Rudock can’t have a happy ending.
Managing Sports Editor
Entering Saturday’s game, the gap between Ohio State and Michigan, at least in the College Football Playoff rankings, was razor-thin. The Wolverines were ranked 10th in the country, and the Buckeyes were ranked eighth. Ohio State’s superiority, it appears, is actually quite large. The Buckeyes bested Michigan in nearly every facet of the game Saturday. They rushed for 369 yards, running the ball mercilessly through the middle of the Wolverines’ defense. Michigan didn’t have a prayer. The gap between the Wolverines and their other chief rival, Michigan State, was smaller when they played last month. The Spartans won the game on the infamous botched punt, a play that wouldn’t have happened again if they simulated the game a thousand more times. But Michigan State has surged ever since that near defeat. The Spartans will play for a Big Ten championship next weekend in Indianapolis, a chance Michigan hasn’t had since the league championship game was created five years ago. The Wolverines still have a long way to go.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
similar messages have appeared all over Ann Arbor this fall, on ATM machines, barber shops and restaurants. Michigan was back, baby. And it was all because of Harbaugh, the savior who grabbed the Wolverines from the fiery depths of a 5-7 season and lifted them to 9-3. This sign, though, was different. It was an open mocking of Michigan fans in their weakest moment. Much of the last year had been like a dream. First, Harbaugh came to Ann Arbor last December, defying logic and turning away NFL money to follow his heart. Then, the Wolverines started to put things together on the football field in ways nobody imagined, shutting out three consecutive opponents on their way to a 5-1 record heading into a matchup with Michigan State. That game, particularly its ending, was no dream. But like the rest of the season, it wasn’t rooted in reality. It was a nightmare. Saturday was no dream, either. It was a dose of reality, a bucket of water to the face. The sign
hanging proudly in Michigan Stadium was the final blow. Michigan, for the first time this season, looked completely out of sync in most facets of the game. The rush defense, among the best in the country, could not have stopped a 5-year old from getting into Rick’s. The rush offense couldn’t do much of anything, either. Players not named Jabrill Peppers rushed for 28 yards on 18 carries. Urban Meyer, the coach Harbaugh was supposed to battle in close games for the foreseeable future — like Bo Schembechler did with Woody Hayes decades ago — won the first battle decisively. His team pounded the ball down the middle of Michigan’s defense, beating Harbaugh at his own game. Across from Meyer, on the other sideline, was Jake Rudock — the guy who has improbably taken his place beside Harbaugh as the second-most beloved Wolverine. He finished the final regular-season game of his college career on the bench. He was smacked by his former high school teammate Joey Bosa and suffered a shoulder injury.
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Michigan received a strict wake-up call, ending a promising season with a 42-13 loss to Ohio State on Saturday.
Transfer quarterback John O’Korn, another St. Thomas Aquinas alum and possibly Michigan’s next quarterback, stayed with Rudock while he was on the training table. Shane Morris spent some time consoling Rudock, too. Graham Glasgow and Ben Braden came over for hugs and words of encouragement, and Patrick Kugler gave him a pat on the head. But all Rudock could do was watch, his left arm seemingly immobile, as his team continued to collapse. Bosa struck again, tipping a pass from backup quarterback Wilton Speight and intercepting it. He rumbled to Michigan’s nine-yard line. The outcome had already been decided. Harbaugh, the man whose every move has been followed since his hire, didn’t say much after the game. Like he has every week, he said the team’s focus remains on getting better and improving next time. The ground between Michigan and its rivals has gotten smaller, he said. The outcome wasn’t one the Wolverines expected at the half. Then, in what seems like a lifetime ago, Michigan trailed by just four. The Wolverines’ offense matched the Buckeyes’, and Michigan’s defense stopped Ohio State on occasion. “We felt like we could win it,” Harbaugh said. Few things could have put a damper on the Wolverines’ season. As Chris Wormley said after the game, nobody believed in Michigan going into the season, except for the players and coaches on the team. But somehow, the Wolverines gave their fans hope and a top-10 ranking entering the final week of the regular season. Then came a 29-point loss to their most bitter rival. Welcome home, Coach Harbaugh. There’s still work to be done. Cohen can be reached at maxac@umich.edu and on Twitter @MaxACohen.
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Jim Harbaugh faces a tough task to get his team back atop the Big Ten.
The state of the rivalry
Y
ears have now passed since Lloyd Carr and Jim Tressel led the Michigan and Ohio State football teams, respectively. One fall Saturday during those days, I asked my dad a JAKE question: “Dad, LOURIM when does Michigan play Ohio State?” “The last game of the season,” he said. “Always the last game of the season, because it’s for the Big Ten championship.” It has rarely been that way since 2007. Every single year during the “Ten Year War” from 1969 to 1978, Michigan and Ohio State played in the last game of the season for the Big Ten championship — meaning each could clinch at least a share of the title with a win. For 15 of Bo Schembechler’s 21 years leading the Wolverines — and six of Lloyd Carr’s 12 — the stakes were the same. That was the way they wanted it. “The only way to go in the (Big Ten) is to come down to Michigan-Ohio State,” Schembechler said after his team beat the Buckeyes to win the Big Ten in 1986. “Anytime you play this game, there are so many things hanging in the balance. I just hope it stays like that.” Eight years, five head coaches and one national championship (between both teams) after Carr left, it hasn’t happened again. This weekend, Michigan and Ohio State fans anticipated a return to their old tradition: the annual, smashmouth, Bo-versusWoody slugfest to decide the Big Ten championship, which they haven’t played for since 2007. Instead, there were a couple of wrinkles when the Wolverines and Buckeyes battled Saturday at Michigan Stadium. First, the game wasn’t much of a slugfest — Ohio State rolled, 42-13, in the most lopsided matchup not involving Rich Rodriguez since 1968. Second, there was more to the story: The winner didn’t win the Big Ten title, or even the East division. The winner had to turn on the TV and root for Penn State to upset Michigan State in East Lansing. The Nittany Lions didn’t, so Michigan and Ohio State will be sitting at home Saturday watching the Spartans play Iowa for the conference championship. This is the new reality for these teams. As much as they long for a second coming of the “Ten Year War,” the Big Ten doesn’t work that way anymore. Even if the cards align, a win in “The Game” gets you only the right to play in the Big Ten Championship Game. It’s clear by now that Mark Dantonio’s Michigan State team
isn’t going anywhere. The jury is still out on James Franklin at Penn State. Other teams could play spoiler every so often, too. Michigan’s struggles under Rodriguez and Brady Hoke, as well as Ohio State’s NCAA sanctions, have shaken things up over the past decade. This year, both were near their top form, coming into their matchup both ranked in the top 10 for the first time since the “Game of the Century” in 2006. Even in spite of that success, the Spartans stole the spotlight. They, too, will finish ahead of Michigan in the standings. In each of the five years the Big Ten Championship Game has existed, the Wolverines have sat at home and watched. To make matters worse, at least one of their rivals has been in four of those games. This year, two roadblocks stood between Michigan and its first Big Ten title since 2004. After Saturday, one seemed tougher than the other. Michigan competed with Michigan State this season before losing, of course, on a fluke play at the end. For all the hype surrounding Harbaugh and Meyer throughout the past year, the Spartans emerged at the end, knocking off both on the final plays of both games. Then there are the Buckeyes, who showed Saturday they’re still further ahead of the Wolverines. Ohio State rolled over Michigan for 376 rushing yards at 6.8 per carry, scoring 42 points for the third straight year. The Wolverines knew “The Game” would be a measuring stick at the end of the season, whether they came in 0-11, 11-0 or 9-2. They have made more progress this season than they showed Saturday, but with that comes a letdown from the high expectations they set. “Very proud of the team, the way they’ve worked, the way they’ve progressed,” Harbaugh said Saturday. “We’ll just stay at that. Closed quite a bit of ground. Still more ground to close on, but knowing our team, they’ll stay with it.” They’ll have to, because winning the Big Ten has never been tougher. The football world tried all year to boil the conference down to Harbaugh vs. Meyer, but the rest of the league will have something to say about that. It won’t be that easy, as it was with Bo vs. Woody, or even as easy as it was 10 years ago. I didn’t realize my dad was overstating it when he told me Michigan played Ohio State in the last game of the season for the Big Ten championship. It really did happen that way, pretty much every year. But those days are long gone, and there’s a long way to go for the two rivals to recapture them. Lourim can be reached at jlourim@umich.edu and on Twitter @jakelourim.
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
November 30, 2015 — 3B
A journey from A ticket to paradise for fans boys to men By SIMON KAUFMAN Daily Sports Editor
John Beilein, having just watched his team suffer a 16-point loss on its home floor, offered a fairly damning assessment of the reason for the opponent’s superiority Nov. 20. LEV “They FACHER looked like men out there,” Beilein said, referring to the Xavier squad that sent fans packing early from Crisler Center with a dominant, 86-70 victory. “Their bodies are strong. They’re quick. They went right at us.” If Xavier looked like a group of men — calm, collected, physical, confident — Michigan looked like anything but. The Wolverines knew what was coming that night but couldn’t stop Musketeer big men Jalen Reynolds and James Farr. Those two might as well have walked the crowd through a PowerPoint presentation detailing the multitude of reasons Michigan wasn’t ready to compete down low. Their performance ended up being even more demonstrative. The Wolverines’ bigs — a motley crew of Ricky Doyle, Moritz Wagner, D.J. Wilson and Mark Donnal — are “trying to learn to play hard and smart,” Beilein said. Against Xavier, they were neither. None of the four has more than a year’s experience in college basketball, and it showed. Michigan was outrebounded, 47-29. Farr and Reynolds combined for 23 points. Donnal and Doyle were plagued by foul trouble throughout. The same was true Wednesday against No. 18 Connecticut, a team that relies less on scoring in the paint but proved just as capable of outmuscling the Wolverines. In its 74-60 loss, Michigan was outrebounded, 42-31. The Wolverines were already in the Bahamas for that game, the first round of a remarkably competitive Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. As it turned out, all they needed to right the ship was a few more days in paradise. Maybe it was a few rounds on the water slides, an afternoon by the pool or a hearty Thanksgiving meal, but by Thursday night, the Wolverines had shaken off the loss. They played like men Thursday, taking Charlotte to task in a 102-47 laugher. No, Charlotte isn’t close to the caliber of opposition provided by Connecticut or Xavier. But Michigan survived on the boards and maintained its composure against a physical, talented Texas team the next night, too, and telltale signs of the growth Beilein discusses so often appeared left and right. For a 6-foot-10 athlete, Wagner looks young — younger, if it’s possible for someone his size, than his 18 years. But his boyishness disappeared against Charlotte. The German freshman scored 19 points on
Thursday, and added seven more the next night against Texas. More importantly, he made progress on the glass, pulling down four rebounds in the first season he’s ever spent actually thinking about rebounding. “Europeans, all they do is teach everybody to play like a guard,” Beilein said. “He’s got such great intuitions for the game that he should be able to figure out where some of the basketballs are coming off. Four rebounds today is big for him. As he grows, we need him to keep doing that.” It won’t be until after the coming offseason — when Wagner has time to focus on bolstering his slender 225pound frame — that he’ll be able to match up physically with Big Ten forwards. Until then, Wagner can continue to use his creative, energetic style in the paint to provide a change of pace that, if nothing else, will make it tougher for opponents to adjust to Doyle when he checks back in. Doyle, of course, is plenty big. He’s 25 pounds heavier than Wagner, all of it muscle. He needs to learn how to be physical on defense without fouling, and to play longer stretches in which he makes a bigger impact on the boards. He’s ahead of Wagner in terms of physicality, but Wagner has already surpassed him in terms of craftiness in the paint. It’s easy to envision the pair growing into a lethal one-two punch at center for Michigan. Wagner’s speed and enthusiasm, combined with Doyle’s size, provide enough of a stylistic difference to make the forward play unpredictable. Even Wilson, a redshirt freshman, caught his coach’s eye Thursday with a step-across dunk that Beilein said typically gets blocked. Add him for a few minutes per game, and the Wolverines’ play becomes three-deep and threedimensional. Doyle spent the 2014-15 season proving that he could be more productive than Donnal at the ‘5’ spot. Why Donnal, and not Doyle, started the season’s first three games is something of a mystery. Beilein used the word “overmatched” to describe Donnal’s performance against Xavier. There’s not much else to say, but Donnal and Michigan learned an early lesson. Beilein doesn’t seem to mind too much. Among his preferred sayings is this: “If you’re gonna lose, lose early.” The Wolverines are taking the recommendation to heart, as they did in 2013-14. They started 4-4 that season and came seconds away from an Elite Eight win over Kentucky. Michigan has plenty of work to do before it reaches that team’s level, or comes anywhere close. Being a team that “looks like men” is an obvious first step. The Wolverines aren’t a team that looks like men — yet. But they’re farther down the road than they were a week ago. Even in paradise, there’s no better motivator than getting beaten up. Facher can be reached at lfacher@umich.edu and on Twitter @levfacher.
SIMON KAUFMAN/Daily
Ricky Doyle and the Michigan big men improved over three games last week.
PARADISE ISLAND, The Bahamas — For a handful of Michigan fans, Thanksgiving turkey was served with a side of college hoops this year. Andy and Chrissy Schoonover — both of whom graduated from the University in 2005 — have been attending the Michigan men’s basketball team’s tropical Thanksgiving-time tournaments since 2011, when they went to the Maui Invitational in Hawaii. The couple went to watch the Wolverines play in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament in San Juan two years ago, and in April of this year made plans to catch Michigan play in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas. There was only one problem: Shortly after making arrangements at the resort, Chrissy found out she was expecting. “We didn’t book a flight until Thursday — this past Thursday,” Andy said. “Because we didn’t think our doctor would let us come.” Chrissy’s due date is Dec. 30, but even the couple’s first child wasn’t going to stop them from supporting their first love: the Wolverines. “(Our doctor) wouldn’t give us her blessing,” Chrissy said. “But she said that I was healthy and so was the baby, so that meant we got a flight.” So, bags packed, the couple left from their home in Lansing and headed to warmer weather accompanied by Chrissy’s mom and aunt. Chrissy’s mom was sure to remind her that “Grandma was going to be here,” just in case there was an early delivery. With Michigan’s first two games of the tournament tipping off at 9:30 p.m., the family had the opportunity to relax by the pool during the day and even ran into a few Wolverines around the
LEV FACHER/Daily
The Bahamas hosted several dozen Michigan fans who spent Thanksgiving watching the Wolverines in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
resort. “(Andy) got a picture with Spike (Albrecht),” Chrissy said. “And I got a picture with (Moritz Wagner) on the beach. … He looked like he was more surprised to get a picture with me than I was with him. It was so cute.” Basketball in the Bahamas was just part of a week of Michigan sports the Schoonovers had planned. The couple hoped Michigan would win its first game and play in the winner’s bracket — guaranteeing an early game Friday, meaning they could watch all three games. They booked their return for Friday night so that they could be back for the Michigan-Ohio State football game on Saturday. But Michigan lost to Connecticut on Wednesday, and after a Thursday win against Charlotte, it was slated for a 7 p.m. tip off on Friday. So the couple caught just the first two games, and took off Friday night to make it back for the football game. They said they loved the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, but their trip to Maui was tough
to top. “Maui was better,” Andy said. “We did a Nebraska football game on Saturday, left Sunday to go to Maui, had basketball Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, left Thanksgiving night to get back for the Ohio State game Saturday — won four of the five games, so that’s ultimate.” Not every Michigan fan had the foresight to get back in time for the football game on Saturday. When Jay Clothier was planning his family’s trip to the Battle 4 Atlantis, he didn’t think to check the football schedule, so they flew back Saturday during the Michigan-Ohio State game. “We got so excited and blinded by this, I didn’t even realize it was the same weekend,” Clothier said. Clothier, who graduated from the University in 1990, was part of a group that traveled from Michigan to the Bahamas for the tournament. The trip was originally his nephew’s idea. Carson Butterfield, 14, thought up the vacation when he was watching the Battle 4 Atlantis last year. When the field was announced
for this year and Michigan was included, Carson went to his grandmother Gaye Butterfield and suggested the trip. Gaye, a 1965 University graduate, was on board. So were her sons, Mike and Dave, who graduated from the University in 1989 and 1991, respectively. The trip quickly turned into a family vacation with 24 aunts, uncles and cousins in total. Mike Butterfield, Carson’s dad, was a student manager for the 1988-89 NCAA championship team and occasionally traveled with the Wolverines, mostly to other Big Ten cities, so getting to watch Michigan in the Bahamas was a special treat. “This is a heck of lot better,” he said. “Let me tell you.” With two nightcap games, the family had plenty of time to hang out by the pool, ride the water slides and spend a little time in the casino. For Gaye, it was the perfect mix of family time and watching her alma mater. “I don’t get all excited about whether they win or lose,” she said. “It’s just nice to be there.”
Wolverines beat Oral Roberts Michigan’s offense fails to ignite but still wins sixth straight game By BRANDON CARNEY Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women’s basketball team scored 119 points with ease last Monday, but that same team struggled to put up just 61 on Sunday. The Wolverines put up their lowest first-half scoring output of the 44 ORU season MICHIGAN 61 with 31 points, but still managed to notch a 61-44 victory over Oral Roberts (3-3). Michigan’s starting guards — junior Siera Thompson, sophomore Katelynn Flaherty and senior Madison Ristovski — had trouble finding any success from the field early. The trio combined to shoot 2-for-14 in the first half. The starting trio’s scoring began to pick up in the second half, as they looked to drive to the basket rather than strictly taking outside shots. Flaherty, Thompson and Ristovski scored 10 points from layups after the half, and 26 of the Wolverines’ 30 second-half points came in the paint. “We’re not just shooters,” Thompson said. “We can go to the basket as well. We thought if the shots aren’t falling, we’ll get points in a different way.” Thompson did score points from the free-throw line in the opening half for Michigan (6-0). The guard challenged the Golden Eagles’ guard Bria Pitts defensively, forcing Oral Roberts’ leading scorer to the bench when she picked up her third personal foul with 6:30 remaining in the second quarter. Thompson ended the half leading all guards with seven points, four of which were at the line. With Pitts off the floor, the Wolverines held the Golden
RITA MORRIS/Daily
Junior guard Siera Thompson led Michigan with 16 points against Oral Roberts.
Eagles to just six points in the second quarter — forcing them to go scoreless for more than four minutes. “It was a different game than what we normally see from our team,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “Even though we weren’t scoring and making shots that we normally make, the way that we defended, hung together and stayed together (was impressive). It looked more like a regular basketball team where they’ve missed some shots than what they looked like in the first five games.” Despite the low first-half scoring mark, the Wolverines did find some initial success going through the low post to freshman Hallie Thome. The
6-foot-5 center scored six of Michigan’s first eight points. Thome’s inside presence, combined with stifling defense, boosted the Wolverines to a 19-14 advantage in the first quarter. Michigan forced Oral Roberts sophomore guard Kaylan Mayberry into committing three turnovers in the opening quarter, and sophomore forward Jillian Dunston and freshman guard Boogie Brozoski were diving for loose balls and making plays that initiated fast-break opportunities on the other end. Thome was the Wolverines’ most consistent source of offense Sunday, finishing with 14 points while shooting 7-for11 from the field. The freshman also grabbed eight rebounds,
“We’re not just shooters. We can go to the basket as well.”
one behind Dunston’s total, which led the team. Despite the slow start, Thompson finished with a team-high 16 points and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the freethrow line. Flaherty had her worst shooting game of the season, converting just 25 percent of her shots from the field. She failed to score any of her five 3-point attempts in a sevenpoint performance — her lowest scoring output of the season. The Wolverines now head into the most difficult stretch of their non-conference schedule, with a matchup against a quality Pittsburgh squad and a road trip to face a fringe-top 25 program in Princeton in the next week. Shooting 46 percent and making only one 3-point shot will not be enough to challenge its upcoming opponents, and those will be the primary problems Michigan will have to address in the coming week. “It’s not just about scoring,” Barnes Arico said. “Sometimes you’ve got to be able to defend, and tonight I was really happy with the way that we defended. We’re talking about how we only scored 61 points, but we held the other team to 44 points, so I think we need to take the positives out of that.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Michigan Women’s Basketball
1
3-pointer made out of 15 attempts Sunday vs. Oral Roberts
44
Season-low point total allowed by the Wolverines on Sunday
68.8
Percentage of Michigan’s points Sunday scored in the paint
2011-12
The last time Michigan started 6-0, as it has this season
SportsMonday
4B — November 30, 2015
ICE HOCKEY
Late goal boosts Michigan Calderone scores in third period, Wolverines win shootout, 1-0 By KEVIN SANTO Daily Sports Writer
The referee exited the replay box and pointed to center ice. The goal was good. Cheers and applause erupted from the crowd at DARTMOUTH 1 MICHIGAN 1 Yost Ice Arena like steam out of a boiling teapot. The excitement had built up inside of them for 48 minutes, and it began to seem impossible that the Michigan hockey team would ever light the lamp. But finally, sophomore forward Tony Calderone delivered. After senior forward Boo Nieves drove toward the net, the puck hung up for grabs just shy of the goal line. With a defender in his way, Calderone muscled his way into position and got his stick on it to equalize the game at one. “(Nieves) made a nice play cutting to the middle,” Calderone said. “I was able to hit it in. It wasn’t pretty, but hey, it counts.” Calderone’s gritty goal proved to be a momentum swing, as the No. 12 Michigan hockey team went on to beat Dartmouth in a shootout — though the result is officially recorded as a tie. On Friday, the Wolverines (7-2-2) sent a message to the Big Green, piling on seven goals. The Wolverines allowed none on their own end, and they were lethal on
the power play. But after that trouncing of the Big Green (2-5-1), and prior to Calderone’s finish, the rematch couldn’t have started much worse for Michigan. “We knew it would be a tougher game,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “We played a pretty good game, but we couldn’t capitalize on our chances. We got isolated chances and so did they. The way the game unwound, we were lucky to hang on and get a tie.” Thirty-eight seconds into the game, sophomore defenseman Zach Werenski went to the penalty box for tripping. And though the Wolverines’ penaltykill unit handled the same situation coolly Friday, this time it paid the price for the mistake. Just as the penalty expired, Dartmouth forward Jack Barre fed forward Carl Hesler in front of the net. Before senior goaltender Steve Racine could react, the puck was through his legs as it deflected off of Hesler’s skate. From that point, things went from bad to worse. Coming off a 33-save shutout performance against the Big Green, Racine suffered a lower-body injury with six minutes left in the first period that sent him to the locker room for the remainder of the contest — leaving him to be replaced by junior netminder Zach Nagelvoort.
Despite ending the period on a power play and outshooting Dartmouth 10-7, Michigan came away with nothing to show for it — an uncomfortable situation after taking a three-goal lead into the second period Friday. Throughout the game, Dartmouth’s penalty-kill unit was a well-oiled machine. After allowing Michigan to score four goals on the power play in the previous matchup, the Big Green turned away the Wolverines’ man-advantage attacks repeatedly. “They did their homework,” Berenson said. “We couldn’t get our shots (or) passes through. It was a different penalty kill than we faced last night, so it was one of those things where we couldn’t make the adjustment.” Dartmouth’s most notable penalty kill came at the opening of the second frame after defenseman Ryan Bullock was sent to the penalty box for tripping — giving Michigan another shot at equalizing. But even with a manadvantage for two minutes, after just testing the Big Green on the power play to end the first period, the Wolverines failed to light the lamp and tie the game. After faltering on the power play, the period remained quiet on both sides until 10:19 remained in the second period. At that point, Michigan’s best opportunity
“The way the game unwound, we were lucky to hang on.”
BUCKEYES From Page 1A the clock. Ohio State converted three third downs and a fourth down on the drive, demoralizing the Michigan defense. Three of those conversions belonged to Elliott. “I don’t lobby or anything, but (I think) he should be in New York. He’s one of the best players in America. He should be a Heisman (finalist),” said Ohio State coach Urban Meyer. “I don’t know if he should win it, I don’t know the other players … He’s one of the best players I’ve ever been around.” The Wolverines simply had no answers for Ohio State’s star running back, especially carrying the emotions of his comments last week with him. Meyer said after the game that Elliott apologized 37 or 38 times for his comments last week — he lost count — and Elliott certainly played like a man fighting for his reputation on Saturday. He averaged 7.1 yards per carry and said after the game it felt like he could do whatever he wanted
came off the stick of freshman forward Cooper Marody. Marody carried the puck from the right circle around the net, and an open-net wraparound opportunity was his for the taking. The freshman sent the puck towards the twine, but goaltender Devin Buffalo lunged with his stick to save what appeared to be a certain equalizer. Behind Buffalo’s strong 37-save effort, the Big Green entered the third period leading by a goal with no signs of conceding. Yet with the combined efforts of Nieves and Calderone, the Wolverines found a way to salvage a goal and send the game into overtime. Michigan ended the first overtime period with a 5-3 shot advantage, but its more impressive feat was killing a fouron-three power play to open the extra period. Neither side could put the puck in the back of the net, and the Wolverines were forced into a shootout — where they captured the unofficial victory with a 1-0 advantage. During his 14 minutes in net, Racine allowed the game’s only goal but also notched five saves. And when Nagelvoort was forced to replace Racine in between the pipes, he put forth an impressive effort — allowing no goals, saving two shots in the shootout and tallying 30 saves. Like Calderone’s goal, Michigan’s entire game wasn’t pretty. But the Wolverines emerged unscathed with a victory and tie this weekend. And to them, that’s what counts.
to a Wolverine defense that hasn’t been the same since it pitched three straight shutouts earlier this season. “To come in here and get a win like we did today just means the world to this whole team,” Elliott said. “We came in here into the Big House and we dominated. We dominated (on) the offensive line, and the run game was very effective. “I think it’s something we should do every week, honestly.” Even when it was Barrett running the ball, Michigan simply didn’t have an answer for the Buckeyes on the ground. Ohio State totaled 369 yards rushing on Saturday, more than any of the Wolverines’ opponents all year. Barrett scored three rushing touchdowns, taking advantage of the constant attention Elliott demanded to break off big chunks of yardage. Early in the game, Michigan appeared capable of hanging with the Buckeyes. The Wolverines forced a stop on Ohio State’s first possession, and appeared to have forced a three-and-out on the Buckeyes’ second drive as well. But on fourth down, freshman safety Tyree Kinnel was flagged for roughing the punter, allowing Ohio State to extend its drive. The Buckeyes eventually scored on the drive, and they did not punt again until there were five minutes left in the fourth quarter, when the game was well in hand. Michigan’s only touchdown came near the end of the first half, when fifth-year senior quarterback Jake Rudock hit Jehu Chesson for a six-yard score. It made the score 14-10, the closest the Wolverines would come the rest of the game. Rudock had to exit the game early in the fourth quarter after injuring his left shoulder, but by then, the Buckeyes already lead 35-13. Redshirt freshman Wilton Speight relieved him, quarterbacking the offense as the clock ticked down on the loss. “We got beat,” Harbaugh said. “Didn’t play well enough in the game to win it, but we’ll regroup, come back with the same drive and aspirations that we’ve had — win the next game.” On Saturday, in his first game against the Buckeyes, he was far from center stage. That distinction belonged to Elliott, and Harbaugh made sure he knew it. “He played really good,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a heck of a player. (I) congratulated him on a good game.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ICE HOCKEY
‘M’ turns in gritty effort, salvages tie By JUSTIN MEYER Daily Sports Writer
Down a goal in front of a raucous Saturday night crowd, the Michigan hockey team’s hopes of salvaging a weekend series rested on the stick of Boo Nieves. The senior forward careened toward the net from the corner, and sophomore forward Tony Calderone dove after the rebound with abandon. Dartmouth goaltender Devin Buffalo made 37 saves on the night, but this puck slid untouched, almost serenely, across the line amid the tangle of bodies in front. “It wasn’t pretty,” Calderone said. “But hey, it counts.” Calderone is right. The 2-1 shootout win, officially a tie, wasn’t pretty in a classic sense — but it was beautiful in its own way. The Wolverines (7-2-2) opened the 2015 season with the tricky task of navigating a soft nonconference schedule. Hockey, more than most other sports, is a game that either contestant can win on any given night. Michigan’s 26th-ranked strength of schedule, out of 60 teams, makes any misstep more costly. The first game of the weekend was a cakewalk. The Wolverines converted 27 percent of their shots into goals in a 7-0 drubbing of the Big Green. But the best results of a season are often earned when the bounces are falling the wrong way. Saturday, for the first time this season, Michigan showed an ability to will the puck to the back of the net. The biggest challenge was overcoming Dartmouth’s stellar goaltending. In his second game of the season, Buffalo earned what should be a permanent starting role. In a small sample size of 100 minutes this fall, the sophomore has faced 52 shots,
recording a save percentage of .942 and a goals against average of 1.92. That mark would be good enough for sixth in the NCAA. The Big Green’s other two goaltenders rank last and second to last, respectively. Buffalo slammed the door shut on several close-range attempts with remarkable pad speed behind an inspired defensive effort. The result was frustration for Michigan’s highoctane offense. But instead of settling for chances around the fringe of the offensive zone, as the team has been prone to do in underwhelming performances this year, the Wolverines crashed the net hard. The strategy finally paid dividends with Calderone’s goal. In college hockey, an ability to survive tightly contested games night in and night out is necessary to build a sufficient resume for the postseason. In this sense, grit can be more important to winning championships than elite defense and goaltending. In fact, the last 10 teams to win the national championship ranked, on average, just 12th and 17th in goals-against and save percentage. Friday’s win was almost effortless. On Saturday, pretty much everything that could have gone wrong did. An early goal was scored on a deflection from a bad angle, Michigan required two goaltenders after senior Steve Racine left with a lowerbody injury and Buffalo posted a career performance. It was the kind of game that is easy to lose, but Michigan didn’t. Calderone is right — the Wolverines’ play wasn’t pretty. But walking away with a tie might be the most impressive result yet this season.
THE MICHIGAN DAILY TOP-10 POLL Each week, Daily sports staffers fill out ballots, with first-place votes receiving 10 points, second-place votes receiving nine and so on.
1. CLEMSON: Dab(o) on them folks.
2. ALABAMA: Derrick Henry broke the Tide’s single-season rushing record, previously held by Forrest Gump.
3. OKLAHOMA: Quick poll: Should “Perine” be pronounced “Pair-in” or “Pee-rhine”?
4. IOWA: Word of advice for Saturday’s game against Michigan State: If you drop the snap on a punt, just fall on it.
5. MICHIGAN STATE: Mark Dantonio hasn’t smiled like that since the last time ESPN spelled his name correctly. So never.
6. OHIO STATE: Zeke Out!
7. STANFORD: Hogan knew best as the Cardinal beat Notre Dame.
8. NORTH CAROLINA: We honestly didn’t know the Tar Heels had a football program. Is Marcus Paige a good quarterback?
9. FLORIDA STATE: It’s hard not to root for a team like the Seminoles.
10. NOTRE DAME: Does anybody kind of miss Baylor?