ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Friday, April 15, 2016
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Suspension of Munger head sparks questions Residents call for Greg Merritt’s return amid controversial lease changes
For Latino students, several paths to upping ‘U’ diversity Group currently represents 5.4 percent of total student enrollment
plan aimed at improving issues of diversity on campus, Latino and Latina members of the University community said in a series of interviews they feel that despite an increase of students identifying with this group on campus, there is more to be done to reach full inclusion and equity. The current makeup of Latino students on campus Hispanic students make up 5.4 percent of total student
By NISA KHAN Daily Staff Reporter
Amid a push by the University of Michigan’s administration to create a campus-widestrategic
enrollment, which breaks down to 4.9 percent of the undergraduate body and 6.6 percent of the graduate and professional body, according the University’s annual enrollment report. Total Hispanic enrollment has increased by 0.75 percent since 2011. Hispanic students have a slightly higher proportional representation in the student body than Black students, another underrepresented
minority group alongside Native Americans, Hawaiians and those of mixed race. Larry La Fountain-Stokes, director of Latina/o Studies at the University, said despite increases in Latino and Latina enrollment over the years, the group still feels marginalized on campus. He pointed to the recent growth of the Latino population in Michigan as a reason for the increase in See LATINO, Page 3
By BRANDON SUMMERSMILLER Daily Staff Reporter
Greg Merritt, senior associate director of University Housing, was indefinitely suspended from his duties at Munger Graduate Residences about a month ago and the University of Michigan has yet to release an official statement regarding the reason his suspension, despite student outcry. Merritt’s leave came after he decided to honor residents’ nine-month leases, despite the University’s announcement of its plans to change 9-month leases to 12-month leases, according to residents and staff at Munger who attended a town hall meeting for the building on the issue. This is the first year Munger Graduate Residences have been
CAMPUS LIFE
ANN ARBOR
Ann Arbor orgs join to address sexual assault Start by Believing campaign explores issues of underreporting By ISHI MORA Daily Staff Reporter
University of Michigan leaders gathered Thursday to collaboratively explain the underreporting of sexual assault — both nationally and at the University. For Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the University of Michigan Department of Public Safety and Security and the University Health System, along with six other Washtenaw County organizations, launched the Start by Believing campaign on campus, part of a national public awareness initiative created by End Violence Against Women International. Sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes in the United States. According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, 68 percent of assaults are never reported and only 2 percent of rapists ever spend time in prison. The 2015 Campus Climate Survey found that 22.5 percent of female undergraduates at the University of Michigan experienced nonconsensual touching, kissing or penetration, yet in the same year only 172 incidents were reported, according to the Office for Institutional Equity’s second
WEATHER TOMORROW
annual sexual misconduct report. EVAWI is a nonprofit founded in 2003 by Sergeant Joanne Archambault, a retired San Diego Police Department officer, to improve criminal justice and community response to genderbased violence. The organization provides training and technical assistance for law enforcement agencies investigating sexual assault and domestic violence cases. According to Detective Margie Pillsbury, head officer of the University Police’s Special Victims Unit, the discrepancy between real and reported cases can be attributed to the neurobiology behind trauma and sexual assault. Many victims of traumatic events cannot think rationally during and immediately after the event due to cellular damage in neurological circuits. The temporary damage helps the brain manage with potentially life-threatening events like rape, but it inhibits their ability to logically explain the circumstances. For this reason many people, including law enforcement officers, dismiss rape survivors’ stories as nonsensical and incomprehensible. This is secondary victimization, which discourages the victim from pursuing the issue further. Barbara Niess-May, executive director of SafeHouse Center, said misconceptions about the justice system can also influence the decision of whether to file a report or not. See CAMPAIGN, Page 3
HI: 70 LO: 39
open to students — the hall finished construction for the 20152016 academic year at a cost of $155 million. Following Merritt’s dismissal, members of the Munger community have taken several actions to express frustration about the decision, including creating a survey disseminated among the building. Results of the survey were shared with The Michigan Daily. LSA junior Elizabeth Guthrie, a staff member at Munger, wrote in the survey that she was upset with Merritt’s unexplained departure because he was a valuable member to both the Munger community and the campus at large. “As an undergraduate student who has both worked with Greg in Munger and as a first gen undergraduate who has engaged in meaningful discussions with him at first gen meetings, I feel upset believing that he may not return,” Guthrie wrote. “There is very little context given around his exit; however, I really want to support him in being re-instated.” See MUNGER, Page 3
Candidates for city exec. talk A2 ties to University Contendors for administrator position speak on former experiences By BRIAN KUANG Daily Staff Reporter
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Heben Nigatu talks with co-host Tracy Clayton at a live recording of the Buzzfeed podcast ‘Another Round’, sponsored by the School of Social Work’s People of Color Collective in the Michigan Union Thursday.
Buzzfeed journalists discuss stereotypes at live taping Humor and musical performances draw more than 300 students By ALEXA ST. JOHN Daily Staff Reporter
Music from popular artists — including Beyoncé and Rihanna — blared in the Rogel Ballroom of the Michigan Union Thursday night while more than 300 students gathered to view a live recording of BuzzFeed’s popular podcast “Another Round” with Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton.
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Nigatu and Clayton, both journalists, spoke on a wide range of social issues regarding race and gender stereotypes and social problems. The event, sponsored primarily by the School of Social Work’s People of Color Collective, blended both humor and seriousness in discussions about race, gender and culture both on campus and nationwide. Other sponsors of the event included the Office of the Vice Provost for Equity, Inclusion and Academic Affairs, the Department of Afroamerican and African American Studies, the Women’s Studies Department and the Spectrum Center. Raina LaGrand, master’s
NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM City Council to talk new high-rise at meeting MICHIGANDAILY.COM/SECTION/NEWS
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student in the School of Social Work and the School of Public Health, as well as a member of the People of Color Collective, said in opening remarks that the event provided a much-needed platform for students of color on campus to be engaged. “We want people of color to feel supported, to feel like they have a healing space, to feel like they can have a co-intentional learning space,” LaGrand said. In an interview after the event, LaGrand said the Collective believes the podcast brings a new lens to the political realm. “A lot of us are personally in love with the show — their See BUZZFEED, Page 3
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The four candidates for the position of Ann Arbor city administrator discussed their backgrounds and approaches to management — particularly the management of relationships between local communities and universities in large college towns — during a meet-andgreet event Thursday evening. The city has been seeking a replacement for Steve Powers, the previous city administrator, after he left to be city manager of Salem, Ore. last October. Tom Crawford, the city’s chief financial officer, has served as interim manager since Powers’ departure. The four finalists — Thomas Couch of Georgia, Paul Fetherston of North Carolina, Howard Lazarus of Texas and Christian Sigman of Ohio — were chosen through a nationwide search and will be publicly interviewed by City Council Saturday before a hiring decision is made. All four candidates emphasized their experience working in local government in large college communities, and said the presence of a large research university such as the University of Michigan presents See CITY, Page 3
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Amy Robbins, a research assistant at the University of Michigan, makes giant bubbles with materials provided by A2Bubbles in front of the UMMA Thursday.
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Business senior GS Suri decorates his graduation cap in front of the Union Thursday.
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
Best of UMix
Spring concert
Astronomy night
WHAT: UMix will host its
WHAT: The Women’s Glee Club’s concert will include Michigan spirit songs and pieces from Disney in honor of the group’s upcoming performance at Walt Disney World. WHO: School of Music,
WHAT: Astronomy Night will be hosted at the Detroit Observatory. There will be self-guided tours and visitations of the planetarium. WHO: Department of Astronomy WHEN: 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. WHERE: Detroit
last event of the semester. It will feature a screening “Zoolander 2,” canvas painting, laser tag and other activities. They will also have a midnight buffet featuring tacos.
WHO: Center for Campus Involvement WHEN: 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. WHERE: Michigan Union
Theatre & Dance WHEN: 8 p.m.
WHERE: Hill Auditorium
Observatory
“Mind Your Head”
Connecting the dots
Music from Andalucía
WHAT: The 2016 Stamps
WHAT: SAPAC will host a seminar to learn about sexual assault, dispel myths and practice self-care, and will be giving away free goods. WHO: Sexual Assault and
WHAT: Simon Shaheen will blend Arab music of Al-Andalus with the art of flamenco in Zafir in this instrumental and vocal performance. WHO: University Musical Society WHEN: 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Theater
Senior Show will feature work from the 92 students graduating from Stamps. It is free and open to the public.
WHO: School of Art & Design WHEN: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. WHERE: Duderstadt Video Studio
Prevention Awareness Center
WHEN: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, the Connector
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Police identified a body found on Michigan State University’s campus as an MSU student who had been missing since Saturday, as reported by the Detroit Free Press. Police found the student near the Baker Woodlot and do not suspect foul play in the death. The student, Patrick Kegan Cochrane, was last seen alive Friday afternoon.
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The Detroit Zoo is opening a new penguin exhibit on April 18, according to the Detroit Free Press. The Penguin Conservation Center cost $30 million. The center features a diving pool as deep as 25 feet, making it the world’s largest penguin facility. The center has 33,000 square feet in the exhibit.
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Florida state attorney David Aronberg is dropping charges against Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, according to CNN. The charges were for battery after Lewandowski pulled a reporter, Michelle Fields, away from Trump as she was attempting to ask him a question.
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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110. Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press.
UMHS launches planning process to increase unit diversity, inclusion Strategies slated to include diversity, equity training for staff members
“We’re empowering everyone to get involved and help shape this process,” Schlissel said. “If we succeed, it’s not just UMHS that benefits; it’s all academic medical centers nationally. We’re creating a model diversity, equity and inclusivity initiative in health care across the U.S.” Schlissel launched a campus-wide strategic plan for diversity, equity and inclusion in September 2015, startning with events like a campus-wide forum on issues pertaining to various community members. The current step in the process includes gathering unit plans from 60 different schools and departments on the ways they can improve diversity respective to their own fields. Marschall Runge, executive vice president of medical affairs and dean of the medical school, called on the leaders in
the medical system present to involve their personal teams in creating DEI initiatives specific to their respective departments or areas of operation. “We’re strongest when we work together,” Runge said By CAITLIN REEDY in a release. “When we better Daily Staff Reporter understand our patients, we can provide far better The University of health care and a much more Michigan’s Diversity, Equity productive work environment and Inclusion strategic for faculty and staff and our plan began a new planning trainees.” process for the University of According to the release, the Michigan Health System this planning process will focus on week. The kick-off brought in six strategies to better help more than 400 leaders from leaders integrate diversity, KRISTINA PERKINS/Daily the organization to discuss equity and inclusion into their Angelo’s is open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. at its location on Catherine Street and Glen Avenue. how to create a more diverse operations. With the overall community within UMHS. hope of creating an inclusive During the kick-off Monday environment wherein all events, University President faculty, students and patients Mark Schlissel gave remarks feel valued. Strategies include focusing on the need for input an inclusive environment, from team members across DEI skill building, Sudoku Syndication http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ all levels and departments, conf lict resolution, career according to a press release. development, recruitment and Since his father, Angelo the allure of the restaurant. hiring and selection. Vangelatos, opened the restaurant “More than the restaurant David Brown, associate after coming to Ann Arbor from itself, I really like being with my vice president and Greece, Steve has carried on the family,” Day said. “It’s one of my associate dean for health tradition of serving French toast dad’s favorite restaurants. I think equity and inclusion, and homemade bread. Vangelatos the tradition, and the name, keeps EASY said in a statement said he believes these two dishes it around.” the aforementioned symbolize why customers return Vangelatos noted that the strategies are integral By BECCA SOLBERG to the restaurant. restaurant’s proximity to the for the future success of Daily Staff Reporter “The homemade bread, raisin University hospital and contributes UMHS. bread and the white bread I still to the restaurant’s popularity. LSA “These strategies are Though Angelo’s Restaurant make every day,” he said. senior Jed Johnson expressed placed at the forefront has served the same menu at the Andrea Kraus, a dual-degree similar sentiments, saying he of our planning process same location on Catherine Street graduate student in Business and thinks the young neighborhood as a way to align our and Glen Avenue for the past 60 Rackham and Angelo’s patron, drives the business. activities with overall years, their popularity among echoed Vangelatos. “It’s a really good location,” he organizational strategic students and alumni doesn’t seem “All I know is French toast,” said. “It’s in Kerrytown, so there plan,” Brown said. “They to age. she said. “People love the French are a lot of artsy people that live in are absolutely crucial to Angelo’s is a family-run toast.” that part of town.” the success of our health breakfast and lunch restaurant Vangelatos said many University Though the restaurant is familysystem.” in Ann Arbor, with an enduring of Michigan alumni make coming run, Angelo’s maintains a group backdrop of an old-fashioned diner back to the restaurant every year of dedicated employees, many of atmosphere. a tradition, such as a group of 19 whom have worked there for more WANT The owners operate their main alumni from the class of 1985 who than 10 years. Vangelatos said on MORE restaurant building every day of come back to the restaurant every most weekends, he will typically the week, as well as Angelo’s on the year, sometimes joined by their have at least four family members NEWS? Side, a counter-service and carry- children who also study at the working by his side. out coffee house. University. Steve’s son, Tony Vangelatos, is Steve Vangelatos, owner of the LSA freshman Erin Day the manager of the store. Tony said FOLLOW US AT @ restaurant, said he thinks tradition, regularly visits the restaurant with the food and traditions have kept MICHIGANDAILY © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com 70 AND SUNNY. the food and the atmosphere of her father, and said she believes the restaurant alive and growing Angelo’s residents coming back. traditions like her family’s add to over the years.
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Angelo’s stands the test of time after 60 years of business in A2 Location, tradition leads to steady influx of University patrons
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BUZZFEED From Page 1 discussion of race and gender and politics, but also this combination of mental health and self-care,” LaGrand said. “I hope that people who are of color will feel celebrated and acknowledged and the University and different partners are doing something to provide this space for them.” Throughout the show, Nigatu and Clayton encouraged audience interaction through video links to highlight both light and serious topics. The biggest portion of the evening centered on a discussion with Tunde Olaniran, a Flint, Mich. native and musical artist. Clayton asked Olaniran about growing up in Flint and the current watercrisis. “You can’t ignore these people because they don’t fit an ideal,” Olaniran said. “We need to put pressure on our legislators to really — I’m going to get technical — but we need to push for more appropriations or aid in Flint … People are often just gambling with their health.” Clayton said the extent of the crisis happening in Flint was unimaginable, asking Olaniran about the sparse availability of water many community members
CAMPAIGN From Page 1 “Some people think that if it happened 72 hours after the assault, you can’t report it. Of course you can,” she said. According to Tim Johnson, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University Health System and a women’s studies professor at the University, long-term problems for sexual assault survivors include ongoing physical and psychosocial concerns that may last a lifetime. Thus, Start by Believing aims to transform society’s negative attitude by affirming a victim’s story, accelerating rehabilitation and expediting the justice process. Niess-May said simply listening is a key step in ameliorating the situation. “Sometimes what (sexual assault survivors) say and how they say it is almost incredulous,” she said. “But in the end, you need to listen and not ask a lot of questions.” Niess-May also explained that sexual assault survivors are unlikely to remember details about the situation, like victims of car accidents. Asking too many questions to a person who just experienced trauma, she said, is counterproductive. “The survivor has been through trauma, and just like if you were in a car accident, it might be harder to remember, ‘When did the wheels squeal?’ or ‘When did the glass break?’ or ‘When did the safety (air)bag deploy?’ ” she said. “You don’t remember in what order that all happened and why it happened or what precipitated it all. And that’s the same thing for a survivor of sexual assault.” According to Niess-May, the partnership between Start by Believing and the various Washtenaw County organizations began after a SafeHouse volunteer learned about the initiative at a conference and contacted the organization’s partners, including DPSS, about it. They responded enthusiastically and spread the idea all over the county to the point that on April 6, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissionersproclaimed Washtenaw County the nation’s first “Start by Believing Survivors of Sexual Assault” county. “The University of Michigan police really ran with it,” she said. “The officers there said, ‘This is what we really need to be implementing in our community.’ ” Sexual Assault Awareness Month at the University began with SAPAC on the Diag on April 1, where SAPAC Peer Education program volunteers educated the community on consent and selfcare. On April 6, the National Start by Believing Day, the participants of the 38th annualTake Back the Night rally marched around the campus demanding an end to sexual violence. Pillsbury, also one of the guest speakers at Take Back the Night, stressed the importance of officers having a basic understanding of trauma and engaging thoughtfully with survivors. “When we’re interviewing a survivor of sexual assault, we understand that it takes a ton of
in Flint have experienced. “You just know that if the majority of the people affected were white, the response would be so different, so much faster, so much more immediate,” Clayton said. Nyshourn Price, School of Social Work Student Services admissions coordinator, said she thought it was beneficial to host the speakers to foster more discussion on topics of social justice. “I think it’s vital to the community and what’s going on in the world,” Price said. “Having conversations, being able to crossconnect with issues and have a voice particularly for, I call it Black and brown, but people of color, because there’s a lot going on.” Storee Harris, a master’s student in the School of Public Health, said she came to the event because she follows Clayton on Twitter and was curious to see what the two speakers had to say. Harris said their points of view are crucial to having an open discussion about race and inclusion, especially on a university campus. “I think Michigan is trying to become more diverse, but I think seeing this type of inclusiveness — everyone in here may be of color, but here for different reasons — this gives Michigan a way to become more inclusive,” Harris said.
courage to come forward,” she said. “We try to build a rapport with them and set their minds at ease.” She explained the role that building a rapport with the victim plays in the process of holding assailants accountable. “We try and make doing an interview with them as least intrusive or difficult as we can,” she said. “We usually find that building a rapport with people and acknowledging what they’ve been through goes a long way in just helping us get the information that we need from them … We want you to be OK, that’s the first and most important thing.” Susan Kheder, executive director of Patient and Community Engagement at St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor and Livingston hospitals, echoed the sentiment. She stressed the importance of law enforcement, hospitals and local advocates working together to help survivors. “For those that have been raped, obtaining immediate care to address any health issues, as well as to collect forensic evidence, is so important,” Kheder said. “At the same time, the sooner the individual can be connected with the local resources and advocates to assist with counseling, health management, legal advocacy and short- and long-term safety issues the sooner the recovery process can begin.” There are two hospitals that are partners of Start by Believing, the University Health System and St. Joseph Mercy Health System. According to Johnson, health care professionals play a crucial role in helping sexual assault survivors recuperate, especially Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners who carry out medical forensic care of the patient. LSA senior Laura Meyer, SAPAC volunteer co-coordinator, said because of efforts like Start by Believing, she has seen positive change in campus attitude. “There is a generally greater awareness of SAPAC and its services on campus when we are out in the community, and the volunteer coordinators have received even more outreach from community members and organizations who are eager to partner with SAPAC,” she said. Meyer also urged students to attend workshops and know their rights in order to spread sexual assault awareness even further. “Our Peer Education and Bystander Intervention and Community Engagementprograms do incredible work reaching out into the community to educate and engage students,” she said. “Additionally, I would encourage everyone to educate themselves on their rights as students by reading the revised policy and by researching at Know Your IX, an education and advocacy organization focused on Title IX.” Meyer said each of us can make a difference in preventing sexual assault cases and helping survivors. “Students should be ready to engage their communities in conversations about sexual assault and sexual violence by believing and supporting survivors, centering the voices of survivors, and respecting the agency and choices of survivors,” she said.
CITY From Page 1 a unique set of challenges and opportunities to the surrounding community. Lazarus and Fetherston noted public universities are tax-exempt and can therefore eat into the tax base of the local city whenever they expand. “As the University grows, there’s this balance between taxable properties and nontaxable,” Lazarus said, adding he has been able to maintain a beneficial relationship between the University of Texas and the city of Austin while the city’s director for public works and interim city manager. Couch — the county administrator of Bulloch County, where Georgia Southern University is located — also noted large universities can act with significant autonomy from their local municipal government,
LATINO From Page 1 enrollment, but noted that the student body does not reflect the country in terms of diversity. Latinos make up 17.4 percent of Michigan’s population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. La Fountain-Stokes also attributed some of the changes in Latino enrollment to factors like faculty and student involvement, and outreach to communities within the state, other states and Puerto Rico. “Latinos are still very dramatically underrepresented but I think many of the efforts to recruit underrepresented students are being successful,” he said. Multiple students and faculty echoed La FountainStokes’ sentiments, saying despite an increase of students in past years, many aspects of inclusivity and equity still have significant room for improvement Business senior Stephanie Betancourt, an undergraduate student representative for the Latina/o Studies board, said she is one of three Latina women she knows of in the Ross School of Business and does not believe there are enough Latinos or people of color in general in the school. Betancourt also noted that many faculty or staff members do not share the same perspectives as Latino students in the Business School, saying diversity is important in business schools because business professionals often work with people from around the country, of various backgrounds. “If it is just one homogenous group talking to another homogenous group, then there is never going to be real progress,” she said. Members of the Latino Law Students Association — a law student organization that puts emphasis on promoting more opportunities for Latinos and Latinas in the field and at the University — echoed similar sentiments on more diversity in professional schools. First-year law student Mayté Salazar, LLSA’s Political Action Chair, said she believes the racial demographics of the Law School should reflect those of the United States. The Law School currently has 35 Hispanic students enrolled, making up just 4 percent of the student body. “We can always do more to increase Latino representation at the law schools across the country, including Michigan
MUNGER From Page 1 Guthrie wasn’t alone in her sentiments: More than 70 people also participated in the survey, most of whom proposed returning Merritt to his position, often writing “#BringGregBack.” A staff member working at Munger, who requested anonymity due to fear of losing their job, said in an interview that Munger community members are frustrated because no one has been able to reach Merritt and University Housing is instead
Friday, April 15, 2016 — 3
referencing his experience maintaining his county’s relationship with its university. “You have to develop intimate relationships with university personnel,” Couch said. He also noted that Georgia Southern has experienced tensions with its surrounding community over issues such as land development. However, despite the challenges they cited, all the candidates agreed a large university is a major asset to its local community, and meaningful relationships between all levels of local government and university administration need to be built for mutual benefit. Lazarus said cities and their local universities need to work toward their common interests rather than take an adversarial stance, which he said he’s done in his roles in Austin. “Ann Arbor prospers because it (has a) great university, and
you can’t lose sight of that,” Lazarus said. “University administration wants to have that fuzzy edge between the University and the town to be seamless. They want the kids to be safe and they want the parents to know their kids are safe. They also want a town that supports their desire to recruit and retain a topnotch faculty … great cities and great universities have a relationship where a city provides opportunities to the students and the university provides research and input for the town.” Fetherston discussed his experience as an assistant city administrator in Boulder, Colo., saying he made an effort to work with not only the top administration of the University of Colorado, but also the lower level staff and the student body. “For some time we were shooting to interface at the chancellor level, and based on
the dynamics at that time it was the wrong place to try to influence,” Fetherston said. “So we worked more with the vice-chancellor, more with the housing department.” Sigman — the county administrator of Hamilton County, Ohio and former budget director of Cincinnati and Washington D.C. — added that as city administrator he would want to build relationships with not just the University administration, but also the other largest local stakeholders. “If you don’t have a relationship when an issue comes up, it’s hard to work with the issue,” Sigman said. “Job one for the city administrator is to get to know the public stakeholders … you’ve got to develop a rapport with not just the University president, but the bank president, the editor of the newspaper, the union officials.”
Law, to mirror contemporary American demographics,” Salazar said. “We have to think about diversity initiatives at the Law School in light of the number of Latinos graduating high school and college, and the kind of resources Latino students have at their disposal as they are matriculating through high school and college.” First-year law student Melody Latino, who is also a LLSA member, said LLSA hopes to address these issues by actively engaging with Latino students. Over the past few years, this has included inviting undergraduate students to a panel featuring a successful Latina attorney, or hosting the male pageant Mr. Wolverine, which supports giving financial aid to LLSA members who work in unpaid summer internships. Latino said she believes the University has taken steps to improve racial diversity, but added it is still important to continue making improvements. “There is always room to improve, and we need to increase diversity, especially racial diversity at the Law School,” Latino said. “The need for racial diversity is not something unique to Michigan. It happens at law schools all over the country.” Sarah Zearfoss, senior assistant dean for admissions at the Law School, wrote in an e-mail interview she believes having diverse representation in the Law School can lead to a better learning environment for all students, and enhance their skill sets as lawyers. “Having well-informed participants in those exchanges enhances the development of our law and therefore, I would argue, of our culture and our country,” Zearfoss wrote. “Having a variety of perspectives involved in the classroom discussions will help our students learn how to be more effective and persuasive of people whose point of view differs from theirs, which is the essence of successful litigation.” Legal barriers to increasing numbers However, despite the recognition of the importance of increasing diversity by both students and administrators, the University is restricted in its efforts to increase Latino representation by Proposal 2, which banned the use of affirmative action in college admission in the state of Michigan in April 2014. That ban includes a prohibition on looking specifically at an applicant’s race or ethnicity in the admissions process.
Zearfoss said the admissions office has not changed its views on diversity since the ban, but has rather begun employing different practices. In light of the affirmative action ban, the Law School increased their emphasis on soliciting applications, and on increasing the number of accepted offers of admission to maintain a racially diverse class without factoring race into an application. “It is certainly true that Prop. 2 has removed our ability to take race into account as a factor in making an admissions decision, but that doesn’t mean our desire to have a racially diverse class has changed,” Zearfoss said. Both Salazar and Latino said they thought affirmative action was one ideal way to increase diversity, saying the ban stymied efforts to do so on campus. “We want to believe we don’t need these policies because we are a ‘race-blind’ society,” Salazar said. “But this ‘colorblind’ fiction is one that erases the melanin in our skin, the struggles we have endured and the stories that remain untold.” Despite benefits from affirmative action policy, however, Latino said she thought it is possible to promote diversity in other ways than just racial consideration in applications. She noted that one way to do that is focusing on the pipeline from college to law school, which she said LLSA seeks to expand by connecting law students with undergraduate and high school students. Salazar added the issue of diversity supersedes the admissions process, and emphasized that minority students also need continuous support when they get to campus. “We must then realize how the lack of resources in our communities put Latino students at an academic disadvantage,” Salazar said. “The issue is not only how many people are getting through the door and sitting at the table, but also how many people are getting to the door.” Student activism for Latino representation Echoing Salazar’s sentiments about experience when on campus, Betancourt also said she thinks activism in undergraduate students has been decreasing for Latina/o students in recent years. In particular, she said older students seem to be most involved, suggesting that potentially the younger generation either has not sought out more questions or the
inspiration for activism hasn’t been passed down to them. LSA junior Ramiro Alvarez, who participated in various activist groups on campus, said he thought the peak of Latino activism at the University was reached a long time ago, whereas Latino activism today has dwindled. That activism, he added, had noticeable ties to Latino identity on campus. “There seems to be this huge history in the Bentley Library archives of us doing really radical and important work with multiple organizations,” Alvarez said. “That’s really put me in an ambivalent place about what it means to be Latino on this campus.” Overall, Alvarez said he’s found campus to be a hostile place for people of color in recent years, citing an incident in which a faculty member asked him if he was documented. He added that while he sees value in hosting events, he’s also hoping to see activism in more radical forms as it had been done in the past. “For example, BBUM and UM Divest, there were very little Latinos who showed up for that,” he said. While Alvarez and Betancourt both said they believe the University succeeds in getting people of color into the school, they also said they think the University can do more with retention. “It’s been real. With any Latino senior you ask, we can name countless friends who are no longer here and entered with us freshmen year,” Alvarez said. “And that’s a root issue and it’s harder for the University to tackle its demons, like financial accessibility or adequate mental health support that are deterring these students,” Betancourt also cited hiring more Latino and Latina faculty members as a way the University could aid students during their time in school. Nonetheless, for the students that are there, both students and faculty said they believe they have a noticeable presence on campus. In the Law School, Salazar wrote that despite the small population, she believes the Law School’s Latinos have a strong impact on the rest of campus. “Michigan Law has a vibrant and active Latino community. As one of my friends put it, ‘Somos chiquitos pero picosos,’ ” Salazar wrote. “ ‘We are small, but spicy,’ meaning we don’t make up a large portion of the student body, but our existing community still makes a huge impact at the Law School and beyond.”
speaking on his behalf. “Greg has been the most transparent person I’ve ever met,” the staff member said. “So for him to literally leave without even a goodbye just seems to elicit the fact that this isn’t his decision and this has to do with something larger than what we know about.” University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald declined to respond to questions about Merritt and said the University does not discuss individual personnel matters. LSA freshman Jovany Flores, a staff member at Munger, said Merritt has been a mentor to him by helping Flores build his resume
and find internships. “Any time I have questions or doubts or really I’m confused about what to do I always go to him,” Flores said. Munger resident Chiedozie Okafor, a graduate student in both the Ross School of Business and the School of Education, said Munger residents are now uncertain what their living experience will entail with Merritt’s suspension. “Do I want to stay in the fellowship, do I want to live in Munger, do I want to be a part of this team now? Because I don’t have any sense of where it could
go,” Okafor said. Okafor added that though the Munger living experience has been developed as it has happened during its inaugural year, residents have felt comfortable with not knowing the exact direction because of Merritt. “With Greg, even though you weren’t sure about the exact direction we were going or we were shifting to, I think a lot of the faith resided that Greg was leading it,” he said. “There was faith in Greg, so we have faith that the intentions were always going to be good no matter where we went.”
Opinion Kardashian didn’t kill feminism
4 — Friday, April 15, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com SHOHAM GEVA EDITOR IN CHIEF
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Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
RYAN ROOSE | OP-ED
The price of minimum-wage work
T
he viral video of Jake Croman launching an onslaught of verbal assaults on a local Uber driver reminded me of my experiences working at McDonald’s. I recall my first day, when a younger, more enthusiastic version of myself was incredibly excited to start his first real job. I was completely oblivious to the experiences that lied ahead, most of which were not the positive experiences I had optimistically anticipated. I quickly learned how to use the register, and that’s where I spent most of my 15 hours each week. Though I was balancing my schoolwork with working at McDonald’s, 15 hours per week was very manageable, and actually a blessing. Though the paychecks were small, I was enjoying the relationships I was building with my coworkers, which helped me to forget the regular belittlement from customers regarding tasks that were out of my control. Customer complaints usually reached me first, as I was the first person visible to frustrated customers. The complaints generally involved food being too cold or a sandwich having toppings that the customer specifically requested be removed, and were usually followed by a sentence like this: “This is why your wages are so low!” or “You can’t even perform the most basic tasks!” or “This is absurd, can anyone here do their job right?” As the new worker and per McDonald’s policy, my mindset was always to apologize without hesitation and ask how I could help fix the problem. The customer is always right. The realization that I completely overestimated the extent to which I would enjoy working at McDonald’s came over the course of the summer, but I believe the process of said realization can be summed up in three events that made me feel inadequate, worthless and subhuman. First, corporate employees occasionally come through as customers to make sure we are meeting their standards. By the time this happened to me, I was working the drivethrough window where customers pay for their order. I read off the corporate employee’s two item order, “six-piece and a large Coke?” and she handed me her card. As I slid the card, I asked “Would you like your receipt?” She nodded and I returned her card with a receipt. Instead of driving off, she told me I was doing everything wrong. I looked at her puzzled. She informed me that I didn’t need to read the whole order to confirm the order was hers (which makes some sense for long orders, but her order was two items!) and told me to always give the customers their receipts. Internally frustrated, I remained calm and thanked her for the advice. So, I returned receipts to every customer. And, unsurprisingly, I had a lot of them crumpled up and thrown back at me as customers told me that nobody ever wants a receipt. Initially, that wasn’t a big deal to me, but the repetition of getting paper crumpled and thrown at you combined with condescending remarks becomes quite frustrating. Second, only a few days later, a woman attempted to use a coupon for a beverage that wasn’t covered by the coupon, and when I
explained to her that she couldn’t use it, she proceeded to tell me that she was in “the legal business,” and that what I was doing was “illegal.” I again explained why she couldn’t use the coupon, and she responded with a brief rant: “You need to go back to school and get educated, because you clearly don’t know much. That’s probably why you’re working this job. Go back to school and educate yourself a bit.” In this scenario, though I was furious, I was required to keep my cool and allow the woman to disparage me because “the customer is always right.” The most dehumanizing experience of working at McDonald’s was by far the worst experience of my life. Someone urinated and defecated on the floor of the men’s bathroom, and I was the lucky individual who cleaned it up. Several of my coworkers had to deal with the same problem both before and after I did, as that was not an isolated incident. While the extreme nature of Jake Croman’s comments may have been an isolated case, lowwage workers experience similar belittlement quite regularly, and often for no reason. For fast-food workers specifically (I can’t speak on behalf of other minimum-wage jobs, but I’d be willing to bet the experiences are similar), the nature of the work itself in addition to the poor treatment from customers can be dehumanizing. Working a minimum-wage job forces you to swallow your pride and essentially accept that you are going to be viewed by a large majority as inferior and insignificant. Coming to terms with this can be difficult. Personally, I think this is what prompts fast-food and low-wage workers around the country to push for higher pay. The work itself is not particularly difficult, but the persistent dehumanization that lowwage workers are forced to endure (sometimes slightly warranted, but generally unwarranted) combined with the low wages encourages workers to put forth the least effort possible. Frankly, my work ethic dropped immensely as my time at McDonald’s progressed. I think one way to alter work ethic of workers is to raise the wages. Costco pays its workers much more than fast-food companies, and the results are clear in customer satisfaction ratings, where Costco ranks among the best in the country. Many people believe that minimum-wage workers are paid low because the quality of their work is minimum. For the most part, this is a serious misconception, as the quality of the work is absolutely better than the wages we are paid. Additionally, I firmly believe that the stigma for working a low-wage job combined with the wages themselves are responsible for the “low-quality” work. Raise people’s wages and start showing respect to the minimumwage workers and I guarantee that there will be an improvement in workers’ efforts and attitudes. Continue to treat minimumwage workers as inferior while paying them poverty wages and I guarantee workers will progressively care less about the quality of their work. — Ryan Roose is an LSA freshman
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Gracie Dunn, Caitlin Heenan, Jeremy Kaplan, Ben Keller, Minsoo Kim, Payton Luokkala, Kit Maher, Madeline Nowicki, Anna Polumbo-Levy, Jason Rowland, Lauren Schandevel, Melissa Scholke, Kevin Sweitzer, Rebecca Tarnopol, Ashley Tjhung, Stephanie Trierweiler, Hunter Zhao YAZMON ECTOR
E-mail yazmon at eyazmon@umich.edu
I
can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Kim Kardashian’s naked body. That’s not to say I’m bothered by it. To me, I couldn’t care less, you do you girl. Be naked. We were all born that way. Quite recently, Kim posted a naked selfie with a OLIVIA caption about PUENTE having nothing to wear. Even more recently than that, Kim posted another selfie with Emily Ratajkowski — again she was baring all, but this time the selfie was her way of fighting back. With both of their middle fingers in the air, Kim and Emily were silently condemning the people who called out Kim the first time. The initial selfie prompted much criticism. For example, Piers Morgan went as far as to tweet a comparison of Emmeline Pankhurst and Kim to really show her that she killed feminism. He didn’t stop there because, of course, she really doesn’t understand that, according to him, her nakedness is not helping feminism progress at all. So he decided to write an entire column explaining to Kim why her body frequently being on display is becoming a joke and obviously just a cry for attention since her younger sisters are now apparently getting more attention than her. But when Amy Schumer does it she’s brave and considered an inspiration. What’s the difference between Amy and Kim? Is it because Amy isn’t overtly sexualized on a daily basis? Or is it her “plus size” physique that makes it
OK? There shouldn’t be standards for when and how women display their sexuality. Nudity does not equal bravery if you’re not stick thin, nor does it equate to sluttiness if you are One of the responses to Kim’s latest nude display was the fact that she has children now and should be embarrassed to be naked everywhere, just in case they might come across that in the future. I hate to break the news to people who have this reaction, but one of the reasons Kim is a household name is because of her sex tape. If her kids aren’t going to come across her naked selfies, they’ll definitely find her tape, which, if I remember correctly, wasn’t even released with her permission. These pictures are being taken and shown to the public at her own discretion. Is it not better for Kim to have pictures of her body she chose to put out in the world for her kids to come across? After all, she birthed them. Her body probably isn’t something they haven’t seen themselves at one point in their lives. Oh, and she’s also still allowed to be sexual. Not that she needs our permission; but obviously she does, because motherhood is completely asexualized and used as a weapon against women who choose to show their sexuality in any way after giving birth. Others argue that her nudity doesn’t set a good example for young women. I intensely beg to differ. Naked women are literally everywhere in the media. Often they are portrayed without much agency and as objects. I’m not saying we should all run out and start taking nude selfies in solidarity with Kardashian; not all of us have the luxury of working in an industry where sending out
nude selfies helps us professionally. Women deal with enough garbage regarding body positivity on a day-to-day basis — are we too fat, too skinny? We’re trained to not like our bodies regardless of what they look like. Kim Kardashian, who I would consider a very beautiful woman with a drop-dead gorgeous body, is shamed for posing naked — why? Is it because she hasn’t stopped global warming or run for Congress? Who is the ultimate decision-maker when it comes to deciding whether Kim Kardashian’s nudity is empowering or not? Is nudity only considered “empowering” if the women posing nude for cameras don’t fit typical western beauty ideals? This is the perfect opportunity to open a dialogue about loving ourselves but instead, we’ve used it as a springboard to throw Kardashian under the bus. It’s not detrimental to feminism if a woman loves her body and wants to show it off. Feminism fights for equality. A naked pair of tits is not going to revoke our right to vote. This is really just a massive case of slut shaming. Women don’t need a reason to strip down other than because that they want to. Kim Kardashian’s nudity isn’t the problem here. It’s society’s frequent freak-outs over women taking control of their sexuality and refusing to be used as objects. Love her or hate her, Kardashian has made a valid statement. She and Ye are still laughing their way to the bank to transfer millions into their joint account, regardless of whether or not you’re offended by her nudity. —Olivia Puente can be reached at opuente@umich.edu.
DAVID SCHAFER AND MICAH GRIGGS | OP-ED
T
Our year ahead
he official results were released a couple weeks ago, and we are humbled and honored to have been elected to serve as the University of Michigan’s Central Student Government president and vice president. We could not be more grateful for everyone’s support and we look forward to continuing to advocate for the voices of the student body and serving all of you in the upcoming year. We acknowledge the, at times, difficult relationship CSG has had with the student body. We ran on a platform designed to improve this connection and to make student government more inclusive, representative and productive. With the election now over, many students will be closely watching to see whether, and how much, we actualize our policy and platform ideas into a reality. From calls for greater transparency from CSG, an increased focus on diversity and inclusion, efforts to raise awareness of sexual assault and the expansion of mental health resources, we, and the other CSG candidates, made many promises during last month’s election. Thousands of students engaged in these conversations, and they ultimately exercised their right to vote and made their voices heard. Too often, however, this groundswell of support and interest in CSG significantly subsides following the election. We know that CSG
must work and connect with the incredible student organizations at Michigan not just during the campaign, but throughout the year. In the year ahead, we expect to face our fair share of challenges. There will be setbacks and false starts, but we are optimistic for a successful year. This requires us to not overlook or remain ignorant of the many areas in need of improvement at the
“In the year ahead, we expect to face our fair share of challenges... but we are optimistic for a successful year.”
University. When a student does not have equal access to mental health resources, that matters to all of us, even if it’s not us or someone we know. In the same spirit, when a student is targeted or made to feel unsafe because of their identity, that matters to all of us, even if it’s not us or someone we know who is excluded. This ideal has become increasingly relevant. Over the last two weeks, horrific messages,
including “#StopIslam,” have been chalked and then re-chalked on the Diag. This demands action and opposition from all students. We must not use free speech as an excuse to stand idly by when fellow members of our Michigan community are harmed. Nor can we properly call ourselves allies if our activism starts and ends with the sharing of a Facebook post. Only when we begin to look at our Michigan experience as inextricably bound to those of every other student here can we truly step up and fully serve all of the University. With this in mind, especially over the next year as we begin the year-long celebration of the University’s 200th birthday, we challenge and call on you to be involved on campus. Embrace the role of student leader and work to advance the opportunities and enhance the experiences of your fellow Wolverines. We hope you will never hesitate to challenge us or call us out when necessary. Please stop us on the Diag or reach out to us via e-mail or social media about any concern or suggestions you might have. This election was about you, and so is the year ahead. You were our voice during the election, and thus we promise to always listen to yours in the year ahead. Thank you, and forever go blue! —David Schafer is an LSA junior and CSG president. Micah Griggs is an LSA Junior and CSG vice president
UNIVERSITY FACULTY | OP-ED
An anti-intolerance statement
Dear members of the University Michigan community, We stand with our friends, students, colleagues and with the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs and Central Student Government, and the Senate Assembly in condemning the recent anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and anti-activist chalkings on the Diag. Whatever the political motivations of those engaged in such acts, their expressions of disrespect for members of our community can have nothing but a chilling effect on the social and intellectual life of this campus. We want to underscore that
Muslim students and colleagues are integral members of this campus community and make important contributions to the life of the institution. We thus endorse SACUA’s December resolution “to unequivocally oppose and condemn all attempts to discriminate against, marginalize, or denigrate students, faculty or staff on the basis of religious faith, national origin or ethnic belonging.” And we call on all members of the community — students, faculty, staff and administrators — to join in support of the right of everyone, as CSG put it, “to be free from
discrimination, persecution, and to be treated with dignity and respect by the University and the campus community.” Finally, we want to emphasize the urgency of the situation. We call on the University administration to join with us to find more effective means of helping ensure that the objectives of establishing an inclusive and diverse campus are realized. Sincerely, University faculty — To view the full list of signees, visit michigandaily.com
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Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
COMMUNITY CULTURE COLUMN
I
The versatility of passion and art
f you search for one song on YouTube, you will find hundreds of covers for it. It’s amazing. From solos to duets to group versions, there are so many different ways people adapt a song to create something new and different. One original BAILEY piece of art KADIAN creates an array of new products — if you search for a play or musical, you might discover years of revivals following its original premiere. Art is so complex, and so are people. There are endless possibilites to create products that are both passionate and creative, and therein lies the versatility of art. You can listen to a song and love different things about it every time you play. Someone looks at the score of that song and plays it his or her own way. Then someone sings it his or her own way. Hence the never-ending and unbelievably engaging way in which art proves its versatility. There is a lot of debate surrounding this idea of whether or not an original song or piece of art should be changed hundreds or even thousands of different ways. Some think these adaptations take away from the original song or artist. However, some of the best talent I’ve ever seen comes from younger artists finding inspiration from other established artists and creating something original from it. Shows like “The Voice” or “American Idol” are prime examples of these artistic projects. Singers hear a song, and they can make it sound like something new by adding their
own talent and skills. Versatility, in its simplest terms, is the ability for something to be adapted into a different form or changed. Art that looks or sounds one way can be turned into something different. Versatility could also be defined as the ability to serve many uses. This seems, on one level, a bit strange considering most of us mutually appreciate art for its ability to grant pleasure and entertainment. It’s amazing that it can serve a purpose beyond solely entertaining an audience. We have different reasons for choosing certain art — different needs, different expectations. One person might go see a show on a Saturday night because they are exhausted from their week and want to relax. Others might go because they adore the lead and have seen every show that actor has starred in. Or, one might see the show because 15 years ago they saw its opening and they want to see how it has changed. Hence the brilliance of it — layered versatility. Art serves people differently and it is constantly evolving. I find the versatility of art to be an incredible topic to explore because it illuminates what a privilege it is to engage in so many different types of art and witness what artists produce. It is clear to me that this idea extends far beyond artists and their craft. How do we gain versatility as students, leaders and influencers? There are ways we can add more dimension and knowledge to what we already invest our time into, we just need to be willing to find them. The emerging challenge while creating and innovating is fighting the tendencies that threaten our ability to be versatile. We often fall into a rhythm of what we’re good at. We find ourselves stuck in
a safe niche, allowing us to encourage our strengths in our given talent, while avoiding our weaknesses. All of us fight versatility by simply remaining within the confines of what works best for us. We don’t always try something new or explore new possibilities because it is easier to see success from what we know we can do well. Many activities we are involved with here on campus or even in years to come require collaboration, which drives us toward creativity, because all of us have our own strengths to contribute. Often the best concepts or ideas come from people offering what they know best and allowing others to support what they lack. It’s beneficial for others if we apply our own strengths towards our work. But by exploring other things outside of our realm of comfort, we can discover aspects of ourselves that complement our existing strengths. If you’re a skilled leader and find yourself in some sort of leadership position, you can probably learn the most about how to serve in that role better by observing someone else’s leadership. By putting yourself in an environment where you don’t lead, but are rather being led, you may just realize you have something different to offer and find room for new creativity and growth. Perhaps the best thing we could do for ourselves is further explore the concept of versatility by acquiring more skills and passion towards what we already love. Just like the covers of popular songs or revivals of well-known plays, you’ll probably find there are hundreds, or even thousands, of ways to achieve that. Kadian is exhausted from studying and needs to relax at a show. To score tickets, email her at bkadian@umich.edu
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
Friday, April 15, 2016 — 5
ALBUM REVIEW
STAX
That’s a nice Urban Sombrero you got there.
Ben Harper’s ‘Call It’ is eclectic dad rock By JOEY SCHUMAN Daily Arts Writer
Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals’s latest studio album, Call It What It Is, kicks off with a major dad quote: “I B remember when sex Call It was dirty / What It Is and the air was clean / Ben Harper & and every- The Innocent thing worth Criminals knowing / was in a Stax magazine.” The whole dad quote thing makes sense, considering Harper has been putting out music for over 20 years and is an actual middleaged dad presumably living a middle-aged dad life. More specifically, though, this line seems to be Harper acknowledging and embracing this senior status — using his veteran savvy to set the tone for an album so in line with who he is, and what his career has been — and everything feels right. “When Sex Was Dirty,” the aforementioned opening track,
has its aggressive guitar riffs and prominent cowbell followed up with a potpourri of style on other songs that, while not consistent, is no doubt entertaining. There’s cause for confusion when Harper, just two tracks after the lighthearted opener, rolls out a line like “They shot him in the back / now it’s a crime to be Black / so don’t act surprised / when it gets vandalized” on “Call It What It Is.” But maybe, just maybe, that’s Harper’s thing. Maybe making the title track a bluesy, condemning political statement for the masses is Harper’s ultimate “I Don’t Give a Fuck, I’ll Do What I Want, I’ve Done My Time In This Game” moment. This is an artist who has made cuddly ballads about stealing kisses, reggae jams about making peace on earth and seemingly everything in between. And now it’s time for one of music’s most versatile renaissance men to do what he wants. Ironically enough, one of the better tracks on the album is one that perhaps most lacks a defining identity. “Shine,” the fifth track, vibes. On it, Harper sings, “We shine like a new tattoo / scarred on skin bright as day / across my
heart / there is no other way.” Set over a fun, percussion-heavy beat, the production isn’t anything distinct, but there’s bona fide flavor in Harper’s vocals, and it makes for an enjoyable listen. Quite honestly, some of Harper’s stuff sounds destined to be covered by the local Potbelly cover musician, which isn’t an indictment of his sound as much as an acceptance of it. For those looking for a departure from this type of rock, however, Call It What It Is still has its moments. “Bones” showcases Harper’s rangy vocals while also revealing an appropriate amount of vulnerability: “Every now and then I get so tired / I rest my bones / sitting alone with my desires / in my bones.” The song’s general feel is in line with the agitated tone Harper conveys in other places on the album. It fits right in, at least as much as anything can on a Ben Harper album. Cohesiveness has never really been Harper’s thing, and that holds true on Call It What It Is. It’s eclectic — controlled mishmash at its finest, a rollercoaster all the way through. It’s all over the place, but it should still manage to please.
“Scream,” whose first season was met with divided critical response and an opening viewership of 1.03 million against “Murder House” ’s 3.18 million. This discrepancy could be a result of MTV’s lack of originality in their series because they’re attempting a revival, but regardless, what might have been considered passable in the first season will certainly not survive a second season. Shows of the supernatural and horror genre are especially at risk of extinction over other genres of television, and the race to remain relevant is a high-stakes challenge. These series fight for the audience’s attention through elaborate and well-established plotlines, which is why “Horror Story” is likely so popular. Changing the theme stirs up audience attention, oftentimes allowing for a clean slate if interest is too easily lost. This theory is not a relatively new one, as successful television shows often follow a different established path during each of their seasons. For example, during its successful early years, “Supernatural” followed the pattern of a punctuated theme followed by resolution at the end of the season. Other shows of this genre follow this same pattern of repetition without repetition. “Once Upon a Time” establishes its new direction during the season finales; “Orphan Black” deploys clever plot twists to keep the viewer engaged. The point is,
they never do the same thing twice, which is why MTV’s “Scream” is ultimately headed towards senseless repetition. Unoriginal plot and repetition has not only led horror revivals such as MTV’s “Scream” to an early grave, but technology has ultimately played a hand in their demises, too. The digital age has essentially demolished the foundations of the horror genre, a fact punctuated by scenes such as Ariana Grande’s futile attempts to send a tweet at the time of her demise in FOX’s satire series “Scream Queens.” The original “Scream” is famous for the deadly phone calls that were used as a tool to propagate fear and paranoia for both the characters and audience, a tool that does not transpose into a decade where “Find My iPhone” exists. Intimate landline calls added into the suspense and thrill of horror flicks in the ’80s and ’90s alongside Hitchcockian scores and well-developed characters. Unfortunately for MTV’s revival of “Scream,” we live in a decade of sleek screens, electronically produced music and a cast whose flat affect lacks conviction. With the rise of the gothic genre that characterizes shows such as “American Horror Story” and “Bates Motel,” the scarce shows of the horror variety are slowly creeping towards extinction, and probably for good. As for those involved in the production of television horror, I’d recommend keeping a day job.
The assassination of Tidal by Apple Music The slow, repetitive decline of TV horror TV NOTEBOOK
By HARRY KRINSKY Daily Arts Writer
A few weeks ago, Samsung silenced the rumors that it would be buying the music streaming service Tidal from rapper Jay Z. Samsung’s withdrawal from the deal with Tidal is likely the nail in the music streaming service’s coffin. Tidal’s resume includes accidentally releasing Rihanna’s ANTI a few days early, charging people for The Life of Pablo before it was available, ousting a set of top executives, attempting to sue Tidal’s previous owner for misrepresenting its subscription numbers and accumulating only a tenth of the amount of users Spotify has. Plus, if you are like me and you purchased the 30-day subscription to Tidal exclusively to stream Kanye’s TLOP, then you already experienced the clunky user interface of a product that was rolled out too early. Tidal isn’t terrible. It’s just not as good as Spotify and Apple Music — the two other applications that provide the same service. It’s hard to search for the music you want, it doesn’t seem to have as good of playlists and it sometimes quits randomly. It might just be that I’m used to Apple Music, but I can confidently say I had no urge to jump ship from Apple Music to Tidal (especially with Views From The 6 right around the corner). The Tidal saga is somewhere in between a sad story about a failing business and a giant, expensive joke about Jay Z’s hubris. Soon, Tidal will not exist. Jay Z will be out some
hefty chunk of money, and the people at Spotify and Apple Music will maybe have a little “our competition just combusted under the weight of itself” party before returning to duke it out over T-Swift streaming deals and OVO Radio drops. Largely, the music industry will move on. But Tidal’s death will come as a serious missed opportunity for musicians, especially those who are up and coming in the new digital music age. Prior to the digital music revolution sparked by Napster, record labels snagged artists in exploitive record deals and profited off the backs of their talent. Digital music technology shook the music industry to its core, cutting profits for all parties involved. In spite of plummeting profits, there was hope that after the dust settled, the artist might be able to gain a bit more control over their music. The hope was that as it became easier and easier for artists to promote their own sound, the big, bad labels would have less leverage. To some extent, that has happened, and is happening; artists from Radiohead to Lil Yachty are finding Internet-based self-promotion as more than enough to reach their fans. But as Apple Music and Spotify get bigger and bigger, it’s possible that artists’ temporarily-seized power will slip from them. Apple Music has already offered exclusive streaming deals with artists, where a given album is released on Apple Music before its made available publicly. While it may mean labels have less control, it’s possible the control has just
shifted to a different group of old people in suits with only bottom lines on the mind. Where does Tidal fit into all this? Let’s pretend Tidal grows to command a significant chunk of the music streaming industry (let’s call it 12 million subscribers and rising with the industry trend). Jay Z (who, in this case, is both a businessman and a business, man) becomes the owner of one of the most successful streaming services in the world. An artist who came up through the innovation-induced earthquake that was Napster and the MP3 would now be at the helm of a service that appears to be the foreseeable future of music distribution. Tidal’s claims to be an “artist owned coalition,” and its revenue streaming royalty numbers back it up; Tidal gives a little less than seven times more money in royalties per play to its artists than Apple Music or Spotify. Tidal also offers a high-fidelity streaming option, which streams the music as close to the quality the artists intended when they recorded it as possible. In an ideal world, Tidal is the foil, or at least one ingredient in the antidote, to profit-driven labels controlling the distribution of music. In all likelihood, Tidal is not going to survive, because it’s just a really bad business. But a world where it did (and where we wouldn’t need to watch Taylor Swift’s rendition of Drake’s rendition of Atlanta rap music on Apple ads) would be better for the music industry.
By MEGAN MITCHELL Daily Arts Writer
The hook of season one for MTV’s reboot of “Scream” built off the suspense of what a slasher flick could offer to the small screen. While movies must reach resolution by their 120-minute time allotment, TV series carry the ability to drag out the suspense over multiple weeks. However, MTV’s revival, in keeping a story arc similar to that of its namesake, has ultimately set up its second season for failure. The horror genre, though effective in film, doesn’t translate well into a television show (with the notable exception of FX’s “American Horror Story”). Where MTV’s “Scream” follows Wes Craven’s original tetralogy, “Horror Story” begins each season with specific theme in mind, such as last season’s “Hotel” premise. These new approaches could be responsible for the upward trend in ratings that the season premieres have pulled in since its first season, “Murder House,” whose average 3.18 million views were succeeded by 3.85 million from “Asylum,” 5.54 million from “Coven” and 6.13 million from “Freakshow.” With the exception of “Hotel”’s slightly lower numbers in viewership of 5.81 million, the series is ultimately responsible for bringing in consistently high ratings for FX since 2011. These numbers sharply juxtapose MTV’s
Arts
6 — Friday, April 15, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
EVENT PREVIEW
EVENT PREVIEW
Michigan dance Snider’s ‘Something for the Dark’ at DSO groups help Flint By DAYTON HARE
Performance aims to bring long-term awareness and aid to city By ALLIE SCHOLTEN Daily Arts Writer
As efforts to aid Flint residents after the city’s water crisis continue statewide, University of Michigan students are band- Tap Water ing together for Flint to raise funds by showcas- Sunday, Apr. ing the work of 17 at 6 p.m. dance groups Lydia Mendelswithin the sohn Theatre Southeastern Michigan com- Students: $8 munity while Adults: $12 also drawing attention to Flint. The event, a show called “Tap Water for Flint,” on Saturday will also host various yoga, zumba and fitness classes leading up to the dance performance. “After hearing about everything that was going on with the Flint water crisis, I was kind of shocked to hear that there was nothing that was really being done throughout Michigan, let alone on Michigan’s campus,” said University alum Meredith Njus, one of the organizers of the event, said. Performers
Daily Arts Writer
include groups from Ann Arbor, Detroit and Flint, including Flint’s Tapology Youth Ensemble, as well as the University’s own RhythM Tap Ensemble, Groove and UM Slam Poetry. “We want to kind of build an alliance, a relationship between our communities and a sense that we belong to each other,” said Christine Convery, School of Public Health graduate student. “And hopefully … support the efforts there to treat the effects of the Flint water crisis, but also the causes of it, the underlying poverty that’s really endemic to that area.” The event intends to unite Southeastern Michigan communities, as well as students on campus, in efforts to continue aiding the Flint community beyond initial relief efforts of sending water, and to uplift the image of Flint in the media, Dan Bator said. “There’s a lot of bad imagery associated with the Flint water crisis now, and so the reputation of Flint is kind of up to be decided by people looking in on the state,” Bator said. “We wanted to shine more light on the resiliency and the joy that is going on and the passion people have for their town and for their region.” By highlighting performers within the Flint region, “Tap Water for Flint” intends to bring the community to the stage by allowing them to rep-
resent themselves, to uplift the outlook for the city and to unite the efforts of various groups. “I think it’s a reminder to both our campus community and to the local communities just saying, ‘we’re all still here for Flint,’” Njus said. “It’s important to know that we keep supporting Flint.” “Tap Water for Flint” organizers said they have received great support from the performers as well as from local Ann Arbor businesses that are volunteering their efforts for the event. Proceeds will go to the Flint Child Health and Development Fund, in efforts to aid neurological and developmental issues that may occur down the line in Flint children.
The event aims to support Flint beyond initial relief efforts. “All these Michigan groups are showing their love for movement and their passion for the community of Flint,” Bator said. “The crisis will come and go, but the love and support for the community is something that we hope to continue to share.”
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Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Not as available 8 Red herring, to a cop 15 Athens eatery 16 Where to view “Duck Dynasty” 17 Oath sworn in a kosher kitchen? 19 Hightailed it 20 Le Mans law 21 Great Plains tribe 22 9-Down opener 23 ’50s pres. candidate 25 Long of “Third Watch” 26 New Year’s Eve get-togethers? 27 Double-dealing in Delhi? 30 “A symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal”: Steinbeck 31 Old knives 32 Cutthroat entrepreneur? 36 Pool option 37 Six-time ’70s Dodger All-Star 38 Demand from a Stooge fan? 40 Unyielding 45 Lobbying gp. 46 Neighbor of Turk. 47 Place to play 48 Riches 51 Deg. for drillers 53 Unyielding 54 “Stir-frying is an option, too”? 57 Nervous __ 58 No-win situation 59 Doesn’t back away 60 Gold rush figure
8 Word with able or full 9 Munich : Jahr :: Madrid : __ 10 “Hawaii Five-O” nickname 11 Landlocked Asian nation 12 Heightened 13 Slow movements 14 Insult 18 Some bank files 24 1980 Oscar winner who portrayed Loretta 27 Actor McKellen 28 Mandela’s org. 29 Exhibition funding gp. 30 Trickery 32 Cabbage family member 33 Detroit labor org. 34 Letters in personal columns 35 Get 36 First poet interred in Westminster Abbey’s Poets’ Corner
38 Immobilize, in a way 39 Something to eat in a Western? 40 Miss America contestants’ array 41 Salsa brand 42 Room to maneuver 43 Where to emulate the natives
44 More unpleasantly moist 49 Dominate 50 Some Ivy Leaguers 52 Words with limit or trap 55 Agnus __ 56 It’s in many poems
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If you look at any genre of music, you are almost certain to find that it has been informed and influenced by at Detroit least one other genre. When Symphony musicians find Orchestra a sound which is attractive presents to them, they Sarah imitate and adapt it into Kirkland their own Snider’s work, a natu“Someral step in the creative pro- thing for cess. Classi- the Dark” cal music is no exception Apr. 15 to this trend, 10:45am, Apr. and compos- 16 8:00pm ers have been (16 also with pulling from a live stream) outside genres for genera- Max M. & Marjotions, from rie S. Fisher Music Bartók’s use Center, Detroit of folk song $15-$100 to Gershwin’s synthesis of jazz to Piazzolla’s jazzy tango infusion. In the present day, borders between genres seem to be breaking down ever more quickly. One of the most exciting genre-blending compositional voices at work today is that of Sarah Kirkland Snider, whose piece, “Something for the Dark,” premiered Thursday night with the Detroit Sympho-
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ny Orchestra, and will again be performed on Friday and Saturday. “As a kid, I was very interested in music,” Snider said in an interview with The Michigan Daily. “I came from a nonmusical family — we didn’t have any instruments at home or anything, so I would go around the neighborhood in Princeton, which is where I grew up, and knock on the doors of neighbors and play their pianos by ear.” Eventually Snider’s grandparents provided her family with a piano, and she began to study piano, cello, voice and a little bit of classical guitar. A few years later, around the age of ten, she also began to compose, a path which has led her to become a prominent composer in what some have termed indie-classical music. “I had always made stuff up, but I had never written it down,” Snider said. “But I didn’t show the music to anyone until my senior year of high school, when my guidance counselor said I needed to do that for college applications.” Though she used her music as part of her college application process — which ultimately led to her receiving an undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University — Snider didn’t formally study composition until much later. “I didn’t actually receive my first composition lesson until I was 25,” Snider said. “It took me a few years after college to realize that I needed to do composition full time in order to really be happy.” Snider further pursued her musical studies at Yale University, where she received her master’s degree and an artist’s diploma. “Something for the Dark” originates from a competition hosted by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Elaine Lebenbom Memorial Award for Female Composers. “I kind of applied for it on a whim. It was, like, the day before the deadline,” Snider said. “I didn’t think that anything would come of it, so it was a wonderful surprise to have this opportunity.” Snider began writing the piece with a specific emotional idea in mind, though the work ultimately changed direction during the compositional process. “I decided early on, when I was thinking about writing this piece, that I would try to have it somehow loosely musing on the idea of hope,” Snider said. “I usually need to start with some sort of emotional impetus when I’m thinking about writing a piece.” Snider also wanted “Something for the Dark” to pertain in some way to the city of Detroit, because the commision was for the city’s resident orchestra. “It sounds sort of cliché when you’re talking about Detroit, but it’s hard not to think about all the struggle,” she said. “A good friend of mine, Shara Worden — the singer who I’d worked with on ‘Penelope,’ the song cycle I wrote — had moved to Detroit a few years prior, and had told
me a lot about it … and so I was thinking about hope, and I had this motific idea that felt very optimistic, and I was trying to figure out what to do with it.” The hopeful conception of the piece gradually began to take a darker turn, however, and Snider explored several areas into which she had not anticipated venturing. “As I started to write the piece, it started to go in a darker direction than I intended,” Snider said. “I realized that this was just the way the piece needed to go, and that perhaps a narrative that begins with this idea of optimism but then explores some darker areas is not necessarily a hopeless narrative. Maybe it’s actually a good narrative, because it’s more realistic and embodies the realities of existence.” For Snider, composition is often based on narrative, she said. “I think of myself as a narrative composer, and I try not to think in terms of aesthetics,” Snider said. “I feel like when I catch myself thinking about aesthetics that gets me into trouble because it gets me into conversations that have more to do with dogmatic ideological points I was taught in school that have more to do with the teachers who taught them to me … I try to concentrate on telling the most compelling musical story I can tell.”
“It will mean something different to every person.” She noted that the creation of this narrative, however, doesn’t come without challenges “Composition, for me, always involves a lot of hair-pulling and anxiety, and sweat and blood and staying up all night fretting,” Snider said. “But that’s just the way I think it will always be for me. It’s just my personality type.” When asked if there was anything she would like her listeners to know about “Something for the Dark,” Snider offered a word of caution about adhering to a composer’s extra-musical ideas for a piece. “Music is so abstract … I feel like if I’ve done my job well, it will mean something different to every person who hears it,” Snider said. “So I’m always resistant to projecting too much on to either a program note or the description of the piece … I get nervous about revealing that, because I don’t want to guide a listener too much in what to think or feel.” She later noted in an e-mail that a listener might find it helpful to know of the origin of the piece’s title, a poem called “For Fran,” by Detroit-based poet Philip Levine, which can be read online at the Poetry Foundation.
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Sports
Friday, April 15, 2016 — 7
Karas has found the perfect home By LANEY BYLER Daily Sports Writer
At the tender age of 2 years old, Olivia Karas used to flip off her family’s couch. In an attempt to channel their child’s energy in a more controlled, less dangerous way, Karas’ parents enrolled her in “mommy and me” gymnastics classes. At first glance, the building where the classes were held was just a run-down warehouse in Chicago. But for Karas, it’s where she began her life’s journey as one of the most accomplished athletes in college gymnastics. Four years later at that same warehouse, one of the gymnastics coaches asked Olivia to try out for a team. Karas had a charismatic attitude and undeniable talent even at that age, and she officially made the team at the age of 6. But after about a month, she decided she hated it and quit. Now, as a member of the Michigan women’s gymnastics team 12 years later, Karas has garnered a long list of honors and awards, including All Big-Ten first team, Big Ten Freshman of the Year and three-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week. With that impressive haul, it seems unbelievable that Karas almost didn’t become a gymnast at all. After initially quitting gymnastics, Karas returned to her energetic self, so much so that her parents told her she had to do something — anything — to settle down. “I was a crazy kid,” Karas said. “Eight months after I quit, nothing changed and I was still crazy because I had so much energy. My mom told me, ‘You have to go back, you have to do something.’ I told her, ‘I kind of want to try gymnastics again,’ so I went back and I’ve loved it ever since.” And so she began her path toward becoming a successful
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Freshman Olivia Karas briefly stopped doing gymnastics at age 6, but she has stuck with it since then and earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors this season.
college gymnast. After Karas made a trip to the national meet as an eighth-grader, she received a recruitment letter from Michigan. At the time, she felt it was too soon to be thinking about college, so Karas and her family stuck the letter in a box and left it alone. During her sophomore year of high school, though, Karas realized she was almost late to the recruitment process. She was injured her freshman year and remained uncommitted. Gymnasts all around her were already committed, and she had almost no idea where she wanted to go. Almost. As it turns out, that letter in a box was never forgotten. “This was always my dream
place,” Karas said. “I always wanted to come to Michigan. My friends and I, we would always watch Michigan. We never watched anyone else compete. From then on, I told myself, ‘If I go to college for gymnastics, I’m going to Michigan.’ “My parents tried to get me to branch out, but I wouldn’t have it. This was the place. I knew from the start, as soon as I walked in those doors on my first visit, this was the place. I had no interest in going anywhere else. This is perfect for me.” Karas committed to Michigan just before her junior year and stepped on campus this past fall ready to do what she had always done since the age of 2. Coming off of a successful
high school gymnastics career, where she competed with IK Gymnastics, Karas was prepared for collegiate athletics. Competing in events like the Nastia Liukin Cup and winning vault two years in a row at the J.O. National Championships, Karas was clearly a good recruitment choice for the Wolverines. One thing Karas didn’t anticipate was how welcoming the team would be. For her, the team has been one of the driving factors that keeps her relaxed on the floor. Karas was one of two freshmen to join the team for the 2015-16 season, along with Emma McLean. The two immediately bonded together — at meets, they give pep talks to each other. At practice, they’re
keeping each other loose. And while she doesn’t necessarily dive off her family’s couches anymore, Karas still has that energetic attitude that got her started in gymnastics in the first place, according to McLean. “Outside of the gym, she’s just like she is in the gym,” McLean said. “She’s full of energy, very spunky. She’s like the Energizer Bunny in the commercials. She never stops.” Some freshmen struggle to adjust in college, particularly to the demanding nature of athletics. Karas, however, apparently hasn’t had that problem. Serving multiple times as an anchor, she has been a consistent name and reliable presence in the lineup all season long.
The energy Karas had as a kid has followed her out of the warehouse in Chicago and into the gym at Michigan. As a freshman, Karas has already made her mark on Michigan gymnastics — she finished the season ranked among the top-10 gymnasts nationally in three events: she tied for second on beam, seventh on floor and 10th in the all-around. Karas has been a force in the all-around, winning the event four times in the past season. She also has 12 individual titles, eight of which were on vault. It’s clear that Karas’ strong suit is vault. She made her college debut at the Cancun Classic, where she won vault with a 9.925. She also received a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships with the same score. Her career best is a 9.950, and in a meet against Eastern Michigan and Maryland, one judge even awarded Karas a 10.0 for the event. However, one can’t be an allaround winner just by performing well on the vault. Known for her energetic floor routines, Karas has also racked up three individual floor titles this year. “Seeing her in competition and seeing how charismatic she is, you just can’t miss her,” said Michigan coach Bev Plocki. “You sit in a gym and you have all of this stuff going on around you, but no matter where she is in the gym, your attention will just be drawn to her because of how charismatic and dynamic she is.” There’s no doubt about it, Karas is charismatic. She’s still the energetic gymnast she was in that run-down warehouse in Chicago. Karas may only be a freshman, but she’s a freshman who has been consistently leading the pack all year. With her accomplishments and personality, it’s clear that the little girl who used to flip off couches has exceeded all expectations.
Reviewing Michigan’s season Michigan battles SOFTBALL
By TED JANES
The Michigan women’s basketball team was up, down, up, down and up again this year. What started as a record-tying undefeated streak turned into a forgettable stretch of losses, followed by a predictable Big Ten season, a setback in the conference tournament and a late postseason run. Yet at the end of it all, the season finished as many would have expected. On the brink of the NCAA Tournament, the Wolverines’ (9-9 Big Ten, 21-14 overall) hopes were cut short, but they stepped up in the WNIT for a second consecutive year. The Daily recaps the highlights and lowlights of the 2015-16 season. Best game: Temple 76
Michigan
Buckeyes for first
Eagles ran out the clock to stun the Wolverines.
Daily Sports Writer
77,
The best game of the year arrived late. Michigan battled Temple in the quarterfinal of the WNIT for a Final Four berth, which both teams had achieved the year before. Temple led by 15 early on, but the Wolverines rallied in the second half to close the gap. Down to the wire, the game witnessed 12 lead changes in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines trailed by only one, and the game’s final scoring chance came for Michigan. The team executed to come out on top — more on that later. Worst game: Eastern Michigan 64, Michigan 63 For their final game before tipping off Big Ten season, the Wolverines traveled down the road to Eastern Michigan for what was supposed to be an easy win. Last season, Michigan won by 29, but on Dec. 23, the Wolverines lost all momentum before conference play. Missed free throws were the difference maker. With the chance to tie or take the lead, freshman center Hallie Thome blanked on back-to-back attempts from the line, and the
Best individual performance: Madison Ristovski in the WNIT
By BETELHEM ASHAME While sophomore guard Katelynn Flaherty was usually the one putting up points, senior guard Madison Ristovski had perhaps the best performance by any player during a four-game stretch in the WNIT. Ristovski scored 19 points with nine rebounds in the quarterfinal against Temple, and she played a crucial role in leading the Wolverines as far as they went. Ristovski’s career at Michigan ended in a semifinal loss at Florida Gulf Coast, and despite three straight years in the WNIT, Ristovski did get a taste of the NCAA Tournament her freshman year. In the opening round of the Big Dance, she played nine minutes against then-No. 1 Stanford. Her role grew over the years, and she went out on a high note, having been named to the WNIT AllTournament team.
Daily Sports Writer
DELANEY RYAN/Daily
Junior Danielle Williams will return for one final season at Michigan next year.
Most important game: Iowa 97, Michigan 85
go-ahead, game-clinching basket to advance them to the semifinals.
The Wolverines had a chance to advance past the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament and possibly boost their NCAA Tournament chances against Iowa, a team with which they split the season series. After Thome and Michigan clobbered the Hawkeyes in the paint early, a few defensive adjustments by Iowa shut Thome down after the first quarter, and the Hawkeyes stuffed the Wolverines’ hopes of making the Big Dance.
Most valuable player: Katelynn Flaherty
Play of the year: Thome’s game-winner against Temple Late in the game against Temple, Michigan was down, 76-75. With under a minute left, the Wolverines bounced four shots off the rim and grabbed each offensive rebound. On their fifth and final attempt, Thome grabbed her own board and scored the
This one is easy. Flaherty, a sophomore guard, was an honorable mention All-American and first team All-Big Ten. Among the nation’s top-10 scorers, she lived up to — and often exceeded — the hype surrounding her second campaign. Flaherty’s 22.1 points per game earned her the all-time single-season scoring record for Michigan women’s basketball. Flaherty stepped into the spotlight this season after three key seniors — who accounted for more than 50 percent of the scoring and rebounds — graduated and moved on. Flaherty rarely staggered, though, and had one of the best individual seasons, if not the best season, of any Wolverine in school history. Up next: Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico begins her
fifth season at the helm in 201617, which means her impact is starting to take shape. Barnes Arico will have fully recruited each player on the roster next year, and if the success of the current underclassmen is any indicator, things are looking up. Players like Thome and Flaherty made immediate contributions, but many underclassmen with smaller roles stepped up as well. Freshman guards Boogie Brozoski and Nicole Munger each had special moments, and sophomore forward Jillian Dunston also fought for key minutes. Each class continues to bring more talent than the previous one. Joining the roster next year from Benton Harbor, Mich., is guard Kysre Gondrezick, who shattered the Michigan high school scoring record this year in a 72-point outing that included 10 3-pointers on 27-for-54 shooting. The class is ranked No. 13 by Prospects Nation and No. 20 by HoopGurlz. Regardless, there will be new talent in Ann Arbor next fall.
Michigan versus Ohio State. As supporters of both schools know, it doesn’t get any bigger than that. The connotation is understood, Ohio State and the at Michigan ensuing battle is expected to Matchup: Ohio State 25-8-1; be fierce and Michigan 30-4 relentless. While any When: Friday 6 P.M., Saturday series between 2 P.M., Sunday the Wolverines 1 P.M. and Buckeyes Where: carries Alumni Field an added TV/Radio: significance, when it shifts BTN Plus/BTN to the softball diamond this weekend, this one carries even more meaning than a heated rivalry could muster alone. No. 2 Michigan (8-2 Big Ten, 30-4 overall) is set to take on No. 23 Ohio State (9-1-1, 25-8-1) in a battle for first place in the Big Ten. Both teams are equipped with potent offenses that have powered their successful seasons. The Wolverines rank second nationally in scoring average, third in on-base percentage and fourth in slugging percentage and home runs per game. The Buckeyes rank near the top of the conference in multiple offensive categories as well, staking claim to a .322 batting average, 292 runs scored, 48 home runs and a .424 on-base percentage. But Michigan’s bats have cooled off lately. The Wolverines scored just 13 runs against Nebraska last weekend after posting more than double that amount with 31 against Indiana the weekend before. The offense will need to rediscover its earlier form, especially since Ohio State boasts a stingy pitching staff. Buckeye
pitcher Shelby Hursh has a 2.09 ERA with 109 strikeouts in 90.1 innings pitched, and pitcher Lena Springer has a 2.73 ERA in 43.2 innings pitched. If Michigan needed a practice run to prepare for the type of challenge the Buckeyes present, its 3-0 win over Michigan State Wednesday could serve as an important lesson. The Wolverines gained valuable experience scraping together a victory in a close contest despite early struggles at the plate. As junior third baseman Lindsay Montemarano pointed out, the Wolverines need games like the one against the Spartans to prove they are capable of sticking together to pull out a narrow win even if their offense doesn’t score in the manner it is accustomed to. “We do a really good job of, no matter what type of game we’re in, we try to keep the same process and try not to put too much pressure (on ourselves) even if it’s a close game or we’re ahead by a lot,” Montemarano said. “(Michigan coach Carol Hutchins) always says, ‘Don’t give at-bats away, because you don’t know how many at-bats you’re going to have left in the season.’ ” After motivating her team to victory over Michigan State with a particularly impassioned huddle before the Wolverines’ fifth-inning rally, Hutchins knows it will be up to the players to decide the outcome of the series against Ohio State. “We’re really capable of taking on the challenge, but we have to be excited about the challenge and not afraid of it,” Hutchins said. “They’re coming here to beat us, so I hope we go on the field to beat them. It’s a battle. … You have to attack the challenge.” It’s Michigan versus Ohio State in a battle for first place in the Big Ten. The Wolverines shouldn’t need any more motivation than that.
Sports
8 — Friday, April 15, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Thomason’s impact continues to grow Senior captain continues to lead Wolverines in pool and in classroom By JORDAN HERBSTMAN Daily Sports Writer
It’s not often that a water polo player is compared to seventime Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis. But for Michigan coach Marcelo Leonardi, it was the perfect comparison for senior Ali Thomason. Thomason has put together a strong campaign for the No. 6 Michigan women’s water polo team. She leads the team in goals scored and ranks second on the team in assists. But what’s more impressive is her ability to consistently improve during her time as a Wolverine. In each of her four years, Thomason has broken her previous season’s goal count, and this season, she is just 15 goals away from tying the school record of 84. As a second-year captain, Thomason’s job is to be a leader, and to do so she has to set an example in all that she does. She has to be the best attacker. She has to be the best student. She has to be the role model for the rest of the team. Thomason’s water polo career at Michigan took a turn after her sophomore season, when the Wolverines hired Leonardi. Prior to his arrival, Thomason was primarily a defensive player and had scored just 57 goals in her first two years combined. In her first season with Leonardi, she scored 58. After he saw her play, he knew immediately that she needed to be part of the offense, not just the defense. He found a way to incorporate her on both sides of the pool, which allowed her to elevate her goal-scoring
ability while maintaining a high number of steals. It takes an impressive skill set to score as many goals as she does, but Thomason also uses her keen athleticism in the pool. This season, she has won 90 percent of her sprints, often putting her in prime position to score. “She has a very unique style of play,” said fellow senior captain Kelly Martin. “No matter if one person is guarding her or three people are guarding her, she is always able to get a shot off.” This brings it back to the Darrelle Revis comparison, which Leonardi made as a testament to her athleticism. At first, it might seem like a stretch to compare the two. One plays on a grass field, the other plays in a pool. One plays defense and the other is an attacker. But they are similar in how they both require so much attention from the other team, providing their own team with more opportunities. “You put her (in one area of the pool) and we don’t need help,” Leonardi said. “On the opposite spectrum, the other team has to help because she is that good. She can cover so much water and put so much pressure on both sides of the pool because of her athleticism.” But Thomason wants her impact to transcend her play in the pool. She is not afraid to do the little things to make a team run smoothly. From motivating before a tough practice to laying lane lines after practice, she has become a role model for others on the team. When Leonardi took over, he introduced three pillars for the team: culture, teamwork
and leadership. When he presented the team with the new philosophy, Thomason was one of the first to buy in. “Change is always difficult,” Thomason said. “It’s a whole new system. From the beginning I believed in what Marcelo was doing and I bought into it and really tried to get other girls who weren’t as sure to buy into it. I think that’s a big thing that has led to our success, especially this year.” Leonardi’s second task as the new coach was to name captains. The team had a tradition of naming captains for the following season at the end of the current season; however, he felt this was too early. So he waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, a couple weeks prior to the start of the season, he named seniors Danielle Robinson and Elizabeth Williams, along with Thomason, as captains. Though she was a junior, he felt she was a perfect fit for the role, both for the upcoming season as well as heading into the future. “Knowing I only had those seniors for very little time, I felt I need to develop a captain in training, and Ali would have been the perfect fit,” Leonardi said. But as a junior captain, Thomason initially was hesitant in finding her place as a team leader. “I wasn’t the most confident leader and (the seniors) were showing me the ropes of how to truly run a team, how to deal with conflict, how to communicate best,” Thomason said. “By being a leader last year, everything they taught me and
“You put her (in one area of the pool) and we don’t need help.”
everything Marcelo taught me has crossed over to me helping the other captains this year.” Her ability to be a leader through teaching others plays a significant role on the team, as the rest of the team looks to emulate her actions both in and out of the pool. Though her confidence has grown in her second year as captain, it is not to be mistaken for arrogance. Leonardi is continuously impressed by her humble nature. Thomason does not have her eyes set on her own personal records or accomplishments. To her, those feats are just ways to help the team reach its ultimate goal of winning games and being the best it can be. “She is the perfect combination of the best player on the team with a big slice of humble pie,” Leonardi said. When Thomason is outside of Canham Natatorium, her life as a student is just as important to her as her life as a college athlete. She is studying neuroscience with a minor in writing. Though her NCAA eligibility expires after this season, she still has another semester before graduating and will be conducting research this summer. It is no secret that being a student-athlete is difficult, especially at Michigan. Though it can be tough to balance sports and academics, she never questioned her choice to become a Wolverine. To Thomason, Michigan provided her with the perfect combination of athletics and academics. “You won’t see anything at any other schools like Michigan,” Thomason said. “We have absolutely amazing athletic facilities, and we also have absolutely amazing academic facilities and athletes are held to such high academic standards.” Thomason has taken what
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Senior Ali Thomason has had an illustrious career at Michigan in all areas.
she has learned from being a leader in the pool and used it in the classroom. Just as she is dependable for her teammates, she is dependable for her classmates as well. Thomason works with two other students in a writing workshop, and her professor Cody Walker said she was dependent and always someone he knew he could expect to be ready when needed. Much like Leonardi, Walker was also impressed by her humble character and willingness to help others. He sees her leadership skills play out in the classroom, just as they might in the pool.
“You would never know she is a star of the team,” Walker said. “She doesn’t carry herself that way. She is going to let that work do the talking and she is not going to talk about herself. She’s a really good citizen within the workshop.” Though she takes her schooling seriously, she is still determined to finish the season strong for the Wolverines. She wants to prove that Michigan is a powerhouse in water polo, and hopes to bring a championship back to Michigan, something the Wolverines have never done. Perhaps, then, it would be apparent just how important Thomason’s leadership has been.
DELANEY RYAN/Daily
Thomason has taken her game to the next level this year with 69 goals, just 15 shy of the single-season school record.