ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Peppers’ progress
The Statement
Perhaps the most indispensable player on the Michigan football team, Jabrill Peppers is happy in Don Brown’s defense
How students on campus navigate social life without Facebook
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disconnected
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ACADEMICS
‘U’ finishes transition to Canvas after long process E. Royster Harper, vice president for student life, addresses the students of the Central Student Government about her wishes for the coming school year at the CSG meeting in the Michigan Union Tuesday.
CSG pushes for Regents bylaws to include student input in decisions Body president says more work is needed , but the resolution is a step forward JACKIE CHARNIGA Daily News Editor
Central Student Government President David Schafer, an LSA senior, spoke to the body about issues ranging from diversity to mental health support on campus
ANN ARBOR
Developer considering new South U. high-rise
at their first meeting of the semester on Tuesday, Schafer specifically highlighted the need to increase the number of staff members in Counseling and Psychological Services, noting that four more full-time members have already been added after discussions between CSG
and University Provost Martha Pollack. “Last year the ratio stood 1 to 14,000 and now it should be down to about 1 to 1,150 to 1 to 1,200,” Schafer said. “Obviously there’s still work to be done but this is a really positive development and this is a strong foundation
on which additional work and advocacy in the area of student mental health and well-being can be built.” The body also discussed new directives to focus on during the year. Schafer said six new directives were considered as See CSG, Page 3A
Students and faculty express mixed feelings about the switch JENNIFER MEER Daily Staff Reporter
Starting at the beginning of classes Tuesday, the University of Michigan’s two-year-long transition to Canvas was complete — drawing mixed reactions from faculty over the process and implementation, and overall positive impressions from students. Canvas is an online learning management system that includes features such as assignments, grades and discussion boards. Moving forward, it will be the class platform for all University
classes, replacing CTools. The switch is one part of the University’s NextGen plan — a strategy for investing in the next generation of technology and creating shared infrastructure across campus. The University piloted Canvas in the 2014-2015 school year with lukewarm responses from faculty and students, using it in 130 courses and engaging more than 10,000 students and 150 instructors. The decision to move forward with the transition was motivated by a decided need to, once the transition had begun, reduce See CANVAS, Page 3A
City residents express environmental University concerns about proposed building site top public ADMINISTRATION
Council debates Woodbury Club project during Tuesday meeting
10-story complex would offer 4, 5 and 6-person bedrooms to students RHEA CHEETI
Daily Staff Reporter
The South University Avenue business district is preparing to undergo a 10-story change. Hughes Properties is working with Hobbs + Black Architects to construct a new student housing building near the intersection of the Diag and South University. The building will offer a combination of four-, five- and six-person bedrooms to appeal to a wide range of students, and it will include commercial spaces on the ground floor. It will replace a few buildings along the north side of South University between Church Street and East University Avenue, though Espresso Royale and TCF Bank will remain standing. Over the past years, highrises such as these have been controversial, with students pointing to them as one of many examples of unaffordable rent downtown. The cost to rent in the South U. building has not been disclosed. However, rent at Landmark — another See APARTMENTS, Page 3A
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BRIAN KUANG
Daily Staff Reporter
At their meeting Tuesday, City Council voted 8-3 to approve the proposed and long-delayed Woodbury Club Apartment project three years after it was first brought before the council for approval. The Woodbury project, slated to be built on the southeast corner of Nixon Road and M-14 near North Campus, was introduced in 2013. However, approval has been consistently delayed due to pushback from neighboring residents concerned about the potential ecological damage to nearby wetlands and increased flooding risk. Dozens of city residents living in neighborhoods adjacent to the proposed development attended Tuesday’s City Council meeting to advocate against the project — a regular occurrence whenever a vote to approve the project has been brought before the council for debate in the past. Along with ecological concerns, opponents to the project expressed frustration with a perceived lack of effort by the project’s developer in engaging neighboring residents and the potential for overcrowding schools. They also pointed to a lack of accessibility to public transportation from the
proposed apartments, which they said could lead to increased traffic congestion. Ann Arbor resident Jane Kingston reiterated concerns expressed by many of her neighbors, saying the proposed project will damage the nearby wetlands and increase the risk
of flooding. “I’m really sad, and kind of mad and kind of frustrated that I’m here again to try and argue the case for this issue,” Kingston said. “We’ve been told by consultants and the people in the area that the parkland that’s there, as well
as the properties nearby will be negatively damaged in a manner that is dramatic and severe. We’re not talking about just a little bit of development impact, we’re talking about damage in a manner that is not reversible.” See COUNCIL, Page 3A
college in new report
UM ranked among 700 other top global schools in international study LYDIA MURRAY Daily Staff Reporter
CAROLYN GEARIG/Daily
Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor listens to community concerns at the Ann Arbor City Council meeting at City Hall Tuesday.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 129 ©2016 The Michigan Daily
The University of Michigan is the world’s number one public college, according to a recent report. Last year, the University ranked 30th on the QS World University Rankings, behind the public University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Los Angeles. The ranking, determined by global education company Quacquarelli Symonds, included top public and private institutions from North America, Europe and Asia. The University ranked 23rd overall among both public and private colleges. It followed several Ivy League institutions and elite universities from China, Australia, Switzerland, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The list ranked more than 700 universities, using a system analyzing academic quality, student-to-faculty ratio, employer reputation, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio and international See RANKING, Page 3A
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A CLASSIFIEDS..............6A
SUDOKU.....................2A ARTS.........................5A S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A
News
2A — Wednesday, September 7, 2016
ON THE DAILY As students returned for their first day of classes, The Michigan Daily stopped by the Diag to gather some of their thoughts on what they’re excited for in the new school year. LSA Freshman Luis Orozco said his first few days on campus have been exciting because of all the different opportunities here at the University of Michigan. “As a freshman, I’m looking to find my place on campus, you know, find my own part within the Michigan community,” Orozco said. Orozco’s first impressions of campus have been positive, he added, but he said there has been a lot for him to take in. “A lot of people, a lot of things to do, a lot of events going on all the time. It’s kind of overwhelming, but it’s also manageable, there’s a lot of helpful people here,” he said. Sitting in his hammock between trees on the Diag, LSA junior Christopher Kulwik said he
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appreciated the opportunity to be challenges this year. Spanish from scratch this year,” returning to the University. “I’m excited to start learning she said. “I’m glad to be back a new language — I’m starting — Caleb Chadwell hammocking in the Diag,” Kulwik said. “It’s really fun.” Other benefits to being back on campus, he added: food. “I also like finding free food on campus, because I like free food,” Kulwik said. LSA sophomore Phoebe Hopp said she’s glad to be back at the University and especially looks forward to football Saturdays. “I love football gamedays, seeing all the maize and blue and just the atmosphere that comes along with that,” Hopp said. In addition, Hopp said she was ready to get back to the grind and explore new course material and classes this year. “I’m excited for a lot of the production and screenwriting classes I get to take this year,” Hopp said. CLAIRE ABDO/Daily Engineering sophomore Marshall Cherry and LSA senior Tyler Read wait for LSA sophomore Anna DeVeaux School of Music, Theatre & Dance performers to start the installement of the echoed her sentiment and said “Nights at the Museum” series in front of the UMMA Tuesday. she was ready to undertake new
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CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Night at the Museum: Penny W. Stamps WHAT: Presentation of short films created by students and faculty of the Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design. WHO: University of Michigan Museum of Art WHEN: 8:30-10:30pm WHERE: University of Michigan Museum of Art
Baklava Fundraiser WHAT: Fundraiser for the Lebanese Student Association featuring everyone’s favorite pastry: baklava. WHO: Lebanese Student Association WHEN: 10:00am-3:00pm WHERE: Haven Hall
Center for Entrepreneurship Welcome Event WHAT: Opportunity for students to interact with the Center for Entrepreneurship and learn about programs and course offerings. WHO: Center for Entrepreneurship WHEN: 9:00am-5:00pm WHERE: Duderstadt Center, Connector Hall
Panhellenic Mass Meetings WHAT: Meeting for anyone interested in learning about the Panhellenic Formal Recruitment process. WHO: Office of Greek Life WHEN: 5-6:30pm, 7-8pm, 9-10:30pm WHERE: Michan Union Ballroom
Grant Floto @11GFlo
Parkinson’s Disease Research Symposium
JPMorgan Chase Networking Event
WHAT: Discussion of the latest in Parkinson’s disease research, featuring talks by University researchers and a lecture by Jeffrey M. Hausdorff, Ph.D., from Tel Aviv University. WHO: University Career Center WHEN: 9:00am-12:00pm WHERE: Frankel Cardiovascular Center, Danto Auditorium
WHAT: Networking opportunity and information session for students to learn more about commercial banking and interact with business representatives. WHO: University Career Center WHEN: 6:00-8:00pm WHERE: Palmer Commons, Great Lakes Room
First day of class at The University of Michigan!
Ross Meet the Clubs
Kinesiology Welcome Event
Chloe
WHAT: Showcase of student organizations within the School of Kinesiology. WHO: Maize Pages Student Organizations WHEN: 12:30pm-2:30pm WHERE: Central Campus Recreation Building Lawn
Turn up for my first day of classes as a SENIOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN *hairflip*
WHAT: An opporunity for students to explore clubs affiliated with the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. WHO: Maize Pages Student Organizations WHEN: 4:30-6:30pm WHERE: Ross School of Business Winter Garden
Summer 16 program works with ‘U’ to give young people job experience
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Washtenaw County youth ages 14-20 given jobs with local orgs KEVIN LINDER
Daily Staff Reporter
As the summer has come to an end, so has a new pilot youth employment program called Summer 16, which placed young people in Washtenaw County in jobs meant to give them work experience. Forty-six young people aged 16 to 24 were placed at various community businesses, including the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, the Ypsilanti Food Co-op and the University of Michigan. Shamar Herron, the workforce development manager for Washtenaw County, said the program was highly successful in finding long-term career opportunities for those participating. The program was initially designed for young people who have distressed or
disadvantaged backgrounds, but Herron said the program has attracted a diverse array of participants over time. The summer work placement program is a collaborative project between Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, the Michigan Works! Association and the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber of Commerce. Herron said his goal was to place the participants in fields such as research and IT, among others, to give them practical skills that could be applicable to future careers. “Whether you were working in areas such as information technology, government or non-profit industries, you were able to learn some tangible hard skills,” Herron said. He noted that, given that the program was a pilot, there
are several areas he hopes to improve on next year, including better preparing for a high level of interest in the program and ensuring all young people complete their jobs. “Realistically, there were some bumps in the road,” Herron said. “It was a pilot, and we didn’t do everything perfectly, but we did get business and youth connected.” Patricia Walker, the chief operating officer at the AAACF, said she had positive experiences with Summer 16. Youth were placed in a variety of positions, such as one with the AAACF, which included customer service work, communication with donors and key constituents, coordination of database updates and additional research. Walker said that if the youth employment program is renewed next summer, the AAACF will certainly participate. Next year during the planning process, the Michigan Works! Association will assist participating businesses plan the employment of an intern into their budgeting process, primarily to help alleviate the costs that were transferred to it during this year’s pilot program. “There are partnerships that we missed out on that we want to make sure that we explore,” Herron said.
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CANVAS From Page 1A to a minimum the amount of time students were required to move back and forth between the two platforms. By the summer of 2016, 89 percent of courses used Canvas. Sean DeMonner, ITS executive director of teaching and learning, was responsible for the internal team tasked with implementing the system. He said the switch to Canvas allows the University to move forward on a more efficient version of features like gradebook, assignment submission capabilities and a discussion board. Two thousand universities, school districts and institutions worldwide use Canvas, according to the Canvas website. CTools was the University’s own system. “The ultimate goal is to take the resources, the dollars, that were going into the development of those capabilities in CTools and reinvest in next generation academic technologies,” DeMonner said. He added that the transition is also the University’s response to new data analytic possibilities. “We’re starting to see new things come into play like learning analytics — this idea that we can capture data from various places, analyze it and apply it to different kinds of support activities for students,” he said. DeMonner said the University hasn’t been able to invest in these new support mechanisms to drive students’ success at the level that they’d like because they’ve been working with CTools. Among faculty over the past week, opinions on the switch were mixed, with several expressing concerns. Initially, some faculty had discussed prolonging the transition process for another year to allow for a longer adjustment period.
CSG From Page 1A a focus for the body’s future goals. These directives include an increase of student input on University decision-making, fostering a more inclusive campus environment, an expanding student access to resources, conducting more sustained CSG outreach, enhancing student opportunities and promoting greater collaboration among students and student organizations. As well, the body will commission a demographic report of the organization for the first time to be more transparent about the diversity on the assembly. A Michigan
APARTMENTS From Page 1A off-campus student housing building near South University — is $1,200 per person per month for a four-bedroom. Rent is $2,100 per month for a twobedroom at University Towers, which is also located in the area. Chang Yang, an LSA sophomore, said she supports the expansion of students’ living options, but emphasized the inaccessibility of safe, affordable housing for students close to campus. She added that she worries students are expected to sacrifice safety, security and convenience when searching for apartments. “More student housing in this area is good, especially because most concerns about housing involve safety,” Yang said. “It’s good that the
RANKINGS From Page 1A student ratio. Some categories impacted the rankings more than others, with academics being most influential quality. The University has improved its ranking on this list from
However, the Digital Ecosystem Subcommittee of the Digital Innovation Advisory Group encouraged the provost to expedite the process. The faculty subcommittee no longer exists. School of Public Health Prof. David Mendez, the former chair of the subcommittee, said it was important for students to not have to go back and forth between the platforms. “What we recommended was a transition that could happen as fast as possible, but without rushing students or faculty,” he said.
News
Senate Assembly Chair Bill Schultz, an engineering professor, said though some faculty and students prefer the system, he is still adjusting. “I find it is not as intuitive as I thought it would be,” Schultz said. “I think this might be better for students, and might take some transition time for faculty.” American Culture Prof. Lisa Nakamura started using Canvas in winter of 2016. She said she would like to be able to make project sites through Canvas, such as for smaller reading groups within a class or clubs, and be able to make collaborative sites for students to make study guides on their own. Overall, however, Nakamura said she likes Canvas better than CTools due to better interface and quickness. “There are some annoying
things about it, but I think those were also true of CTools,” she said. Students also expressed a range of opinions about Canvas, but several said they were happy just to not need to switch back and forth between platforms. LSA sophomore Clare Shafer said it was an inconvenience using both sites when she just wanted to double check something for a class. “I had one class on CTools last semester and it was really annoying because I was constantly having to log in and then log back out,” she said. “I just wanted to be able to quickly access my classes and see if I had homework.” Shafer also said she preferred Canvas because of its layout. “I think how they have the grade tab and the calendar tab is more efficient than it was on CTools,” she said. “Canvas seems more modern.” LSA junior Tad Conrado had a similar perspective. He said he preferred the style on Canvas and liked having to only access one platform. LSA senior Evan David said he preferred CTools because it had a more obvious user interface, but is fine using Canvas. “Personally, I liked CTools better in general,” he said. “I thought it was more streamlined and I thought the user interface was easier.” In spite of the big adjustment, DeMonner said the support that Canvas has received has been very important for its integration at the University. “A change like this, even though it has happened over a period of two years, is hugely impactful for campus,” he said. “It touches pretty much every student, all the faculty, with very few exceptions. We have received a lot of support in partnership from different constituencies around campus. I appreciate that, and I thank folks for going with us on the journey.”
Daily report conducted last March found a trend in hegemonic practices after the presidential slot was filled by a man for the seventh consecutive year. In a comparison of CSG presidential and vice presidential representation to the student population, disparities were discovered across the board in almost all categories but white students. “We are all really committed to ensuring that CSG is more inclusive, diverse and representative in the year ahead,” Schafer said. “I think it’s not only going to hold us more accountable as an organization to improve our diversity in the long term, but it’s also going to allow us to possibly set objectives and measures going forward and benchmarks that we
can apply for our future now and in the long term.” After the data is collected, Schafer said a report about the findings will be published. In accordance with the directives, Schafer also discussed the launch of an executive order calling for an internal improvement taskforce within the body to improve its demographics and address their diversity as an organization, such as looking into methods of guaranteeing first-year student representation on the body. The taskforce would be staffed by the newly elected Student General Counsel as well as the Chief Justice and Student Judiciary, a member of the CSG Rules Committee and another member of the body.
apartments will be so close to the Diag and Central Campus, but, on the other hand, places in these areas charge a lot for housing. This is frustrating because it implies that safety comes only with wealth.” LSA sophomore Tara Jayaram echoed Yang’s sentiment. “It depends on the price,” she said. “If it’s affordable offcampus housing, then I’d be really happy about it. But if it’s something like Zaragon Place, I just feel like it wouldn’t be worth living there.” However LSA sophomore Jessica Bleiweis, a current Landmark resident, said she believes the cost of rent at high-rises like hers reflects the quality and convenience of her experience. She added that she appreciates the amenities provided by the complex, which offer her a more comfortable living arrangement than that in
dorms. “I feel like (the new building) would be a really good idea,” Bleiweis said. “I know that there are people who are struggling with finding housing, and, if it’s as nice as Landmark, I’m sure they’ll get a bunch of people who want to live there.” Ron Hughes, a developer at Hughes Properties, declined to comment about future development plans and the completion date when contacted by The Michigan Daily Tuesday. However, to move forward, the project will first need to be reviewed by the city’s Design Review Board and the city’s Planning Commission, and then approved by City Council, a process which usually takes at least several months. Specific dates for design review board or planning commission meetings that would include a review of the project were not available Tuesday.
the 2015-2016 year in which it placed 30th. This year, it is the only public university to rank in the top 25. In the past five years, the University has ranked in the top 25 four times. The University has also steadily improved in national and international rankings lists from other publications. In July
2016, the University jumped 16 spots in Money Magazine’s list of best value universities to the number two spot. However, the University’s standing has fallen slightly in U.S. News rankings in the past few years. Currently it ranks the University at 29th, but was ranked 26th in 2009 and 24th in 2006.
The ultimate goal is to take the resources, the dollars, that were going into the development of those capabilities in CTools and reinvest in next generation academic technologies.
COUNCIL From Page 1A As council discussed the issue for the final time, City Councilmembers Jack Eaton (D–Ward 4), Jane Lumm (I– Ward 2) and Sumi Kailasapathy (D–Ward 1) — who typically dissent against the approval of large construction projects — all made clear they would vote in opposition to approving the Woodbury project. Eaton argued the fundamental environmental and infrastructural issues surrounding the project have not been adequately addressed in explaining his vote in opposition. “We can pretend this development isn’t going to impact traffic on the roads,” Eaton said. “We can pretend this project isn’t going to impact flooding in the surrounding areas, we can pretend this project isn’t going to impact nearby natural features. I don’t believe we should rezone this property and I don’t believe we should approve the site plan.” Eaton’s sentiments were echoed by Lumm, who also made clear she believes the project would fundamentally hurt surrounding residents and the environment. “In the city’s desire to add density citywide, we allow these projects to proceed without their own infrastructure support,” Lumm said. “Both these projects will exacerbate traffic problems in already problematic areas … our job is to accept that reality.” Kailasapathy was also outspoken against approving the project. She argued the Woodbury apartment project is emblematic of a broader issue
Wednesday, September 7, 2016 — 3A
of City Council pushing for development projects without adequate concern for existing residents. “I like to face facts, I prefer
I don’t believe we should rezone this property and I don’t believe we should approve the site plan. to live in reality … a couple of weeks ago after rain we got photographs from neighbors (of flooding),” Kailasapathy said. “This project is going to add 500 parking spaces — imagine the runoff; there’s a big disconnect
between the projects we’re approving and the people who are living there.” Despite the opposition, all eight remaining members of the council — including Mayor Christopher Taylor — voted in favor of rezoning the Nixon Road land parcel to residential and approving the Woodbury construction plan. City Councilmember Zachary Ackerman (D–Ward 3) — who voted in favor of the project — argued the development is necessary to increase the local housing supply to meet growing demand. Ackerman’s points were echoed by the other council members voting in favor. “This piece of land is fewer than two miles from (North Campus Research Complex) and Googleplex,” Ackerman said, referring to the site of the proposed apartments. “We are in need of more diverse housing in more diverse locations.”
Opinion
4A — Wednesday, September 7, 2016
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PRESIDENT MARK SCHLISSEL | OP-ED
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.
M
Embrace the struggle
y first two years at the University of Michigan were incredibly difficult — not necessarily academically (at first), but on a personal level. I was struggling socially. I felt somewhat lost in 300-person, introlevel lecture halls where reading the slides and binging on textbooks the night before a blue book exam was enough to secure a top grade. I was insecure around the people who, with such ease, seemed to have so much fun going out to fraternity parties and bars reg ularly — something that made me extremely uncomfortable and often landed me alone in my dorm room, armed with my computer and my family’s Netf lix login. It didn’t help that our football team sucked. There were, of course, bright moments. I drank for the first time and came to terms with the fact that it’s OK to do that (and even like it) every so often, provided that it’s calculated and not out of control. I befriended one of my psych professors, who likely doesn’t know the extent to which her kindness and eagerness to help me succeed buoyed me. I slowly solidified concrete friendships with people on this newspaper, in my classes and even some who I’d met by chance during the first weeks of school. It wasn’t all bad — far from it, actually. But it sometimes felt like the bad outweighed the good. By sophomore year, though I didn’t admit it to myself, I was struggling with depression. It was hard to get out of bed some mornings and easier to sleep all day. I felt homesick. I considered transferring schools at one point. It was a culmination of feeling isolated in a place with so many people. I know that all of this doesn’t really feed the widespread enthusiasm that returning to one of the most glorious schools on the planet usually entails — so here’s the upside. I certainly found that I was not alone in even my darkest struggles, and I want you to know that you won’t be either. Don’t be afraid or ashamed if college isn’t what you expect it to be. Embrace it. Of course, recognize and celebrate what goes well; but, if there is suckiness along the way, know that it’s completely normal — and rest assured that it will get better. If you feel alone, lost, unsure of your future, existentially confused, angsty, depressed, exhausted … well, join the club. Know that it’s a big group with an infinite alumni base. Struggling feels awful while it’s happening, but it makes you appreciate the light at the end of the tunnel so much more. Looking back, Michigan is a place that forced me to get out of my comfort zone. Its size made my drive to find smaller, engaging communities that much more
important. I couldn’t have made it through without the Daily, without the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program and the Ford School. I was determined to feed my interests with smart people who challenged me and broadened my worldview, and the people I’ve met through those communities have gone above and beyond. It is a place that gave me a platform to simultaneously enjoy an immersive liberal arts education and pursue my professional interests during the year. For example, interning for “60 Minutes” in Washing ton D.C. through the University’s Michigan in Washing ton program was a unique and life-changing opportunity that I wouldn’t trade for the world. It is a place that built upon my understanding of diversity and inclusive lang uage, and my ability to engage others in dialog ue by truly listening before I respond, not just pushing my own agenda. It is a place that humbled me by exposing me to students who dazzle with their intelligence and high potential to change this world for the better ( yes, folks, the “Michigan Difference” is a real thing out there). This is certainly not a place to rest on one’s laurels. Freshmen (and even sophomores), I am in no position to tell you that all four years of college will be the best of your lives. They might not be. But I can tell you that it’s going to be OK. All of this positivity is borne of, and streng thened in contrast to, the initial struggle to find and understand myself. That struggle persists (a fact of life to which any senior can attest), but I am undoubtedly better for it and grateful for the perspective it has given me. You will be, too. This is the beginning of the end. You blink an eye, and suddenly you’re having conversations over drinks with friends about job prospects, rent, the economy, politics, etc. Sure, it’s just cheap sangria, but you start to have these out-of-body experiences in which you hear yourself talking and realize that you sound like an adult. As that happens, you understand that college is where you really grow up and come into your own. The ensuing contentedness makes the struggle so worth it. I guess the lesson here is, before you know it, you’ll blink, and it’ll be more bittersweet than you ever could’ve imagined. Maybe you don’t realize how much fun you’ve had until you’re nearly done having it — but that just means there’s always something to look forward to. Welcome back.
“Looking back, Michigan is a place that forced me to get out of my comfort zone.”
JOE IOVINO
— Michael Sugerman can be reached at mrsugs@umich.edu.
Email Joe at jiovino@umich.edu
T
An inalienable forum
he beginning of a new semester here at the University of Michigan provides a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the amazing educational environment we share, surrounded by outstanding faculty members, expert staff and extraordinarily talented students. Thanks to you, every moment at the University provides a precious opportunity to learn. Learning takes place in our classrooms, labs, performance halls and libraries. It takes place when we discuss ideas and issues in residence halls, over meals and while socializing. Learning at the University is enriched by the intellectual breadth and diversity of our university community. The University is fortunate to include such a wonderful range of individual perceptions, scholarly viewpoints and people from every U.S. state and more than 120 countries around the world. In a place with so many diverse perspectives, however, disagreement is often inevitable. But it can also be invaluable. The conf lict of discordant ideas and opinions — even when it makes us uncomfortable — is an essential feature of an academic community. At the University, we are at our best
when our discourse is inclusive and welcoming to conf licting ideas and diverse voices. It challenges our way of thinking. It helps us grow. It teaches us how to work through problems in groups and express ourselves in ways that bring about positive change. It allows us to take advantage of the full breadth and benefits of a UM education. Our ability to learn together is g uided by core values of the University, including respect, civility and equality. These values are also essential to our educational environment. Speech that is hateful or threatening diminishes learning by inhibiting discussion, and it does not lift up our community. For the last decade, our “Expect Respect” campaign has focused on these issues in a campus-wide partnership that emphasizes the value we derive from our similarities and our differences. Expect Respect states, “Together, we can create and maintain a respectful and inclusive environment that provides the support and opportunity necessary for each member of our community to prosper and achieve.” The ability to respectfully and honestly engage with people of
differing worldviews is one of the most essential skills we can learn — and teach. As part of our ongoing efforts to engage many views, we will continue to have conversations across campus about the complex intersection of free speech and respect. We do this not just as educators and students on a campus, but as members of society who aspire to lead in the larger world. These are lessons that apply to the coming months and years, to this election cycle and beyond, as well as to all who pursue knowledge in service of the public good. For nearly two centuries, we have drawn tremendous intellectual streng th from the breadth and diversity of our community. I hope that the University community will always be an inalienable forum for discovery, debate and discussion, a place where respect and disagreement are complementary, where each makes the other stronger and where we all advocate for and learn from their conf luence. It is my honor to learn beside you, the members of the University community. — Mark Schlissel is the president of the University.
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, Rebecca Tarnopol, Ashley Tjhung, Stephanie Trierweiler
DO YOU LIKE DISCUSSING CAMPUS ISSUES? STATE AND LOCAL POLICIES? MAYBE EVEN THE ELECTION? JOIN OUR EDITORIAL BOARD. The Daily’s Editorial Board meets Mondays and Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the newsroom at 420 Maynard St.
D
They’re both lying
onald Trump’s entrance into the presidential election has brought a couple of policy issues to the forefront — and one of those is trade. Trump has yelled at the top of his lungs against trade agreements like the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, while Clinton quietly tries to pivot away from the fact NAFTA was signed while she lived in the White House. While they both try to push their anti-trade rhetoric, history shows that they’re lying, and all in an attempt to woo the Midwest and the Rust Belt. First, the facts on NAFTA and the TPP: NAFTA, signed by Bill Clinton, is a trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada to eliminate barriers to trade and investment between North American countries. Supporters like the organization Council on Foreign Relations arg ue that “some fourteen million jobs rely on trade with Canada and Mexico,” while the opposition arg ues that the added competition from low-wage countries has caused increased unemployment and wage stagnation. Both sides have their merits: Free trade and globalization can lead to wage stagnation, but these things also promote higher-paying and better quality jobs. In reality, the net effect was financially positive, but the advantages are widespread while the negatives are concentrated in one area — manufacturing. In addition, trade agreements in general facilitate improved relationships between countries. The TPP aims to do something similar: increase trade in order to create jobs. But in addition it seeks to act as a stopper on China’s rising power in Asia. By promoting trade and becoming more involved in the area, the United States hopes to exercise
its inf luence to fight back against China’s rising inf luence. While economically the same pros and cons exist, the check on China is a big advantage that supporters, including President Barack Obama, really hope to implement. Now, onto the candidates. Trump has repeatedly said that he plans to “rip up” trade agreements. The candidate, through his rhetoric, purposefully creates the impression that he is against any trade agreement, but this is not true. Trump claims not to be against free trade, but for “fair trade.” His proposed solution is to re-negotiate NAFTA, stop the TPP and impose a tariff on imported goods from China. He says he believes the world is taking advantage of us, and we need to be stricter with our trade agreements and be willing to walk away from them — in order to protect American jobs. In reality, while Trump does believe these trade deals are hurting us, he is (most likely) practical and aware of his limitations in doing so as president. In his 2008 book, “Never Give Up,” Trump wrote: “The important thing to consider is that more and more there is an interdependence of world economies. No one can afford to be isolationist any more. Keep your focus global. Globalization has torn down the barriers that have formerly separated the national from the international markets.” Trump is a manipulator — he uses his rhetoric to portray himself as the defender of the American worker, but he knows he can’t do it, and by slipping in the idea of “fair trade,” which does not mean anything ( he can claim anything he negotiates is fair), he keeps the window open for him to f lip on the issue come the time he sits in the Oval Office. Clinton sat in the White
House in 1993 when her husband signed NAFTA into law, and she has praised the bill in the past. As secretary of state, she sat by Obama’s side as he negotiated and attempted to fast-track the TPP agreement. In spite of all of this, she stands in front of her crowds and claims she is against these agreements. Terry McAuliffe, arg uably one of the Clinton’s closest confidants for years, slipped and admitted that Clinton has said she supports the TPP during recess. It’s hard to believe someone who fought for free trade for so long, who helped negotiate the TPP and said back in 2012 that it “sets the gold standard in trade agreements” all of a sudden thinks it to be unworthy. So this brings us to the question of why. Why are they lying? Well, in an election where Trump’s path to 270 electoral votes is as slim as ever, he needs to win the Rust Belt, which includes Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio. Trump’s game plan is to target white, working-class voters — the ones most affected by trade — and to claim that these trade agreements brought down the fall of the auto industry and the manufacturing Rust Belt. He hopes to win mostly white Western Pennsylvania to counter Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to take the state, and to target the fears of those in manufacturing Ohio and Michigan. If he could win those three states, he could win the presidency. Clinton knows this, too: If all she needs to do to win these three states is to lie about her thoughts on trade, she’ll do it. We don’t know how they’ll act once one of them sits in the Oval Office, but both are playing smart politics on trade. In other words: They’re lying. — CJ Mayer can be reached at mayercj@umich.edu.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
BOOK REVIEW
‘Choice’ parodies modern testing By KARL WILLIAMS Daily Arts Writer
Chilean writer Alejandro Zambra’s latest book is a novelty — it’s a novel written in the form of a multiple Multiple choice exam. The premise Choice sounds like a Alejandro Zambra joke and seems to resign the Penguin Books book to failure at first look. One wonders can he pull it off? Can he sustain the conceit for an entire book?
Few books can do so much with so little. The short answer is that he does. And brilliantly so. “Multiple Choice,” the fifth of Zambra’s books to be translated into English, is a strikingly original, funny and moving novel. At a little over 100 pages, a characteristic length for Zambra, it’s a firework of a book in the mode of Nabokov’s “Pale Fire” and Cortazar’s “Hopscotch.” The book is an act of remembrance, a formal experiment, metafictional rift on education and Chilean society, a comic game of literary interpretation, a political critique and a parody of standardized testing — all in one. Few books can do so much with so little. The book repurposes the college entrance exam under
Pinochet — the Academic Aptitude Exam — becoming not just formally innovative but politically charged. It’s based on the test from 1993, the year Zambra, who loves to play with the ambiguities between fiction and life, took it. He recycles a piece of dreaded bureaucratic material and transforms it into a magnificent parody of the inadequacy of standardized testing. As a teacher says to his former students near the end of the book, “you weren’t educated, you were trained.” Zambra’s book is an exercise in this miseducation. “Multiple Choice” is a series of vignettes of life in Chile under the Pinochet regime. Zambra tells the stories of everyday citizens during the dictatorship in the strangest forms. The book is divided into five tests: Excluded Term, Sentence Order, Sentence Completion, Sentence Elimination and Reading Comprehension. Zambra makes great use out of the narrative possibilities that these forms bring.
He recycles a piece of dreaded bureaucracy. Zambra’s novel risks being merely clever but overcomes it. Because of its brevity (could anyone read a 500-page book in the same form?) and Zambra’s ability to realize characters almost immediately upon entrance, the book works well
Zambra makes great use out of the narrative possibilities.
It wasn’t even intentional. It wasn’t a cleanse or a detox or a challenge. It just sort of happened. I wasn’t supposed to learn anything. I went three months without watching a movie. The last movie I watched was “The Lobster.” So, bonus points for a hard-to-hold indie, double bonus points for seeing it in theaters, triple bonus points for seeing it by myself (if you’re
into that sort of thing). That was in early June, and I haven’t been in a theater since. I haven’t even watched anything on Netflix. No DVDs (throwback!), no pay-per-view, no off-brand Blockbuster that is somehow still all over small-town New Hampshire. Nothing. I was working as a counselor at a summer camp in Vermont, I had limited access to my phone and even more limited access to larger screens. The Wi-Fi was too slow to stream
DISNEY
You’re a wizard, androgynous child.
Well-rounded ‘Pete’ By SYDNEY COHEN For The Daily
In Reading Comprehension, which consists of three different reading tests and is the finest section of the book, we get the stories of the Covarrubias, who cheat on the college entrance exam so that both can get into the best college; of a recently married couple in Chile, where divorce was illegal until 2004; and of a father who writes a letter to his son in which he expresses regret that his son was ever born. These are all good stories on their own, and when reading, one forgets they’re part of a test. In the second section, about the married couple, for example, Zambra shows his acerbic wit. The fourth question reads: “According to the text, at the beginning of the twentyfirst century the nation of Chile was: A) Conservative in its morality and liberal in its economy. B) Conservative in its inebriety and artificial in all things holy. C) Innovative in its levity and literal in its tragedy. D) Aggressive in its religiosity and conjugal in its wizardry. E) Exhaustive in its chicanery and indecisive in its celerity.” It’s a 90-question test, but somehow they’re almost all this good.
The power of a popculture sabbatical Daily Film Columnist
FILM REVIEW
both as a series of revelations about Chilean life and as a comic enactment of the standardized test.
FILM COLUMN
By MADELEINE GAUDIN
Wednesday, September 7, 2016 — 5A
anything and the nearest theater was a half hour away. So, I was forced to completely unplug from my favorite strain of pop culture for three months. And it was sort of incredible. I’m behind — I’m what’s-thename-of-that-new-Adele-song level behind. Part of me is happy that “Harambe” means nothing to me and that I don’t know what Donald Trump said last week. I am, however, a little upset that I didn’t get the chance to watch all the
Right on cue, the Disney movie mill has churned out another highquality film with a big-name cast, this time in the form of simple B+ and frothy children’s film Pete’s “Pete’s Dragon.” While the film Dragon is not altogether Rave & Qualremarkable, it ity 16 stands to argue that sometimes Disney meeting expectations of mediocrity can be pleasing in its own right. With its own set of high and low moments, “Pete’s Dragon” boasts of childhood whimsy in the classic Disney fashion. The film follows the story of its titular character, a young boy named Pete (Oakes Fegley, “Boardwalk Empire”) who is orphaned and stranded in the woods after his parents die in a sudden car accident. After wandering around the forest alone and afraid, Pete is rescued by a friendly and impressively animated furry green dragon, whom he dubs Elliot. Fast forward six years, and cue a classic Tarzan-esque scene of Pete, longhaired and loin-clothed, tromping through the forest with Elliot, carefree and uninhibited. How
wonderful and horrible and wonderfully horrible movies that came out this summer. Yes, I know, I can always watch these movies (the power of the internet!). I didn’t wake up from a coma in an alternate reality where all popular culture had been reset. But, it felt overwhelming looking at this long list of movies I hadn’t seen and trying to find a place to start. Should I go chronologically or from best to worst reviews or vice versa? Things got more complicated as I began to include other films into the running movies from the long list I call “Movies I’ve Never Watched and Sometimes Pretend To Have Seen So People Will Stop Telling Me to Watch Them.” Maybe now would be the best time to watch “Star Wars”? Do I have to watch the original “Ghostbusters” before seeing the new one?
he’s survived for six years in the forest with no adult supervision is unimportant — the film offers a heartwarming picture of two lost boys who have created a home for themselves in the wilderness. Pete’s status quo is interrupted by the introduction of a cast of human characters, including Natalie (Oona Laurence, “Southpaw”), the curious young girl; Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard, “The Help”), the maternal forest ranger; and Meacham (Robert Redford, “A Walk in the Woods”), the folkloric grandfather. Pete is discovered and reluctantly taken to the nearby town, and struggles to adjust to the civilized world in a stressful scene of sensory overload. As he begins to settle in with Grace and her family, Pete struggles to negotiate between his sense of belonging and his sense of home. The largest blemish on an otherwise pleasant story is the film’s overarching conflict; Karl Urban (“Star Trek”) plays the antagonist with a disturbingly bloodthirsty quality that seems starkly out of place in a children’s movie. Urban’s character hunts, shoots, chains and keeps captive the harmless green dragon with admittedly zero motivation other than to prove he’s capable of doing it. The result is equally traumatizing and comical as Urban’s unmotivated violence serves no purpose other than to
I care about being able to hold my own in pop culture conversations. It’s easy to roll my eyes at boys in my film classes who cannot believe I haven’t seen “The Godfather.” But watching the value of my thoughts decrease (even in the eyes of a very eye-roll-worthy film boy) is hard. I know I have something to say about movies, no matter what I’ve seen. If the pop culture reset I got this summer has taught me anything, it’s that it doesn’t matter. I’m not an expert. I’m not the most well-versed film buff at this school. But that doesn’t matter to me anymore. My film knowledge can’t be measured by what I haven’t seen, rather by what I have. So, that’s why I’m still here. That’s why I can still be here (despite what film boy has to say), writing about something that I don’t know everything
further the plot. Disney insists on creating a human villain with violent tendencies rather than delving deeper into internal psychological conflicts such as culture shock and what it means to belong. For the most part, “Pete’s Dragon” is a charming adaption of its namesake children’s story, wrought with fantastical storybook charm. The score by Daniel Hart (“Comet”) is whimsical and infectious, and the gratuitous landscape shots of the north pacific forest are gorgeous. Furthermore, the film’s most prominent gold nugget is the ease with which the characters in the film accept the existence of the mythical creature. There is no conflict with what constitutes reality; for example, Pete’s crayon drawing of Elliot is not met with skepticism by Grace, but with curiosity. The film ultimately retains the theme that childhood belief in something that doesn’t seem plausible shouldn’t be ignored or downgraded, but instead explored and praised. The film stands out from other members of the children’s fantasy genre as it subtly subverts the traditional development of skepticism to understanding, instead offering trust in the unbelievable. Simple and predictable, “Pete’s Dragon” isn’t the worst thing to be pumped out of Disney, nor is it the best; it simply gets the job done.
about. And as I begin to take residence in this weird little space called the Daily Arts Film Column, it is important for me to justify (mostly to myself ) why I’m here. I’m not an expert and I never will be. I’m here because I like stories and I like art and I like to look at things and listen to things, and if you pour all that into one cup, it makes a mixed drink called cinema and that is something I really love. Despite the sky clearing and the choir of angels singing, the queue on my Netflix still made my head hurt. So instead, I chose what I wanted to watch. And I rewatched “Heathers.” And it was so very, and in my humble (yet very valid) opinion, much better than “Star Wars.” Still hung up on “The Lobster”? Take a breather and e-mail mgaudin@umich.edu
Arts
6A — Wednesday, September 7, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
lives of women, it’s ultimately a film set in a male-dominated world (for example, Mathilde can only practice medicine as a doctor when in an environment absent of men). This calls into question the necessity of a male role in a film about the female experience: Is it necessary because it’s historically accurate, or does it undermine its feminist nature? In regards to cinematography, the movie is dark, disturbing and raw. Director Anne Fontaine (“Adore”) makes brilliant aesthetic decisions; the shots are cold and dark,
FILM REVIEW
oscillating between barren winter landscapes and empty stone corridors. Devoid of color or comfort, the design enhances the emotional impact of the movie. In terms of its conflicts, the film deals with the issues of rape and unwanted pregnancy with austerity. One scene, in which Mathilde is almost raped herself by Russian soldiers, is bone-chilling and traumatizing, emphasizing the powerlessness of herself, the convent and women in general. Later, we see the Abbess leaving a newborn to die of exposure and the baby’s mother committing suicide soon
after, highlighting questions of whether good intentions justify morally ambiguous acts. Religion works as a central motif, as the women’s faith in Christianity, and even humanity, is continually tested. “The Innocents” is a movie about the female experience, the hardships endured by marginalized women of a desolate war-torn country, and the love and support they gave each other. While it rips you to shreds for two hours, the film ends on a satisfying, if fragile, note of hope. It is an important lesson on history and humanity.
TV NOTEBOOK
MUSIC BOX FILMS
FW16 never looked so chaste.
Piety disrupted in WWII drama By SYDNEY COHEN For The Daily
World War II cinema often focuses on classic perpetratorvictim tropes, with the same classes of people occupying the A same roles. Yet “The The Innocents Innocents” Michigan focuses in on Theater the fringes of Poland, Music Box Films spotlighting the story of the marginalized, the forgotten and the abused. “The Innocents,” set in immediate post-World War II Poland, tells the story of Mathilde (Lou de Laâge, “The Wait”), a French nurse volunteering with the Red Cross, who discovers and aids a convent of nuns dealing with multiple pregnancies caused by rape at the hands of invading Russian soldiers. The film focuses on the impact of the Russian invasion — a widely
overlooked and forgotten section of history — specifically the innocent bystanders in Poland who suffered their own atrocities during World War II. Even more so, the film offers a view into a realm rarely discussed — it is a piece exclusively centered around the female experience. A cast of female characters allows us multiple perspectives on the situation of unwanted pregnancy in a chaste community, with complex emotions and questions of morality being discussed through characterization. De Laâge’s Mathilde is the skilled, determined and compassionate nurse who transitions from the invasive foreigner to the trusted savior through her tireless determination to help the nuns. Her altruism is only muddled by a perpetual mask of stoicism, which works to add complexity to her character. Agata Buzek (“Redemption”) plays Maria, the woman who enlisted Mathilde’s help and tries to hold together the
Classifieds
falling pieces of the nuns’ lives. Maria embodies strength and perseverance, with an added layer of intrigue accorded to her with hints at a promiscuous former life. Finally, Agata Kulesza (“Ida”) plays the Abbess, a woman struggling to do what she believes is best for her convent while sacrificing herself in the process. The brilliance of the characterization is that no woman is one-dimensional in her motivations or actions; instead, each woman is individual and compelling. The acting is genuine and convincing, as each woman portrays her own fear in nuanced yet powerful ways. The film is not entirely without men. The male voice is Samuel (Vincent Macaigne, “Sunday Lunch”), the head doctor at the Red Cross. While he helps deliver some of the babies, his male perspective seems superfluous, and he doesn’t do much besides mimic Mathilde’s work and try to get her into bed. As a film portraying the 1940s, it is important to keep in mind that while it focuses on the
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RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
FOR RENT
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
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33 Actor Baldwin 34 Screen door material 36 Russia-China border river 37 X-rated stuff 39 Explorer Hernando de __ 40 Conceptualizes 41 Permit 42 Post-shower display 44 Mail-in incentive
45 They’re off-limits 46 Recipe amts. 47 “Yippee!” 50 Gets an “I’m sorry” from Alex Trebek, say 51 Entr’__ 52 Short agenda? 53 Iwo Jima troop carriers: Abbr. 56 Tint 57 Blackjack component
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HBO
Pass the self-loathing.
What is TV without HBO’s stronghold? By ALEX INTNER Daily Arts Writer
We’re used to hearing about HBO as being the standardbearer of television. For years now, it’s the network that has been the most Emmy nominated (mainly because of the variety and quality of content it produces). It’s the network that the likes of Netflix, Showtime and Starz try to emulate in their everyday programming decisions. Yet, HBO finds itself in a precarious position for the first time in several years. While there’s no denying the massive success of “Game of Thrones,” the drama will only have two more seasons on the air. Outside of “Thrones,” the network has very few other established dramas. “The Leftovers” is its only other drama existing past its first season, and that will end with its third airing in 2017. Their last big attempt at a drama hit, “Vinyl,” was unceremoniously unrenewed after it realized the dramatic retooling the show’s second season would require wasn’t worth the investment. They’re even considering reviving the “True Detective” franchise after its critically panned second season without showrunner Nic Pizzolatto. That means that, if nothing else succeeds, HBO will find itself with zero established
dramas on the network. To combat this, they’re going to be putting a heavy emphasis on new programming. This starts this fall with the launch of “Westworld.” The network has invested substantial time and money into the series. A pilot was first ordered back in 2013, and in 2014 it was picked up to series with a targeted 2015 premiere date. However, production stoppages and other delays forced the show off that date, and it finally makes its debut in October. The network also has upcoming shows from familiar creators already picked up to series. David Simon (“The Wire”) will be making a series about the porn industry in New York City in the ’70s called “The Deuce” and Alan Ball (“True Blood”) will be returning to his roots in family drama, though the show does not yet have a title. Still, none of these shows are guaranteed surefire hits. A development process as tumultuous as “Westworld” ’s does not usually inspire confidence. And, though Simon has created what are considered to be two of the network’s most acclaimed series in “The Wire” and “Treme,” they never had huge audiences at the level of a “The Sopranos” or a “Game of Thrones.” All these problems are compounded by the recent regime change at the network.
Michael Lombardo recently left his position as president of the network and was replaced by one of his key deputies Casey Bloys to replace him. Usually it takes a new leader a few years to establish their presence at the network and develop shows in their own voice, but HBO doesn’t have time to lose. It needs to work on developing hits fast. HBO’s development process is notoriously slow, as exhibited by “Westworld.” They don’t have the years it takes to slowly nurture something out of the gate right now. They need to get a hit drama on the air in the next year, or they risk being without one at all. However, HBO has been in this position before. “The Sopranos” went off the air in 2007 and was immediately followed up by the flop “John from Cincinnati” and “Tell Me You Love Me,” which was renewed for a second season and cancelled several months later when they couldn’t figure out what a second season would be. Still, a year later, “True Blood” premiered. The vampire drama quickly grew into the network’s biggest hit since the famous mob drama, giving them a building block they could used to sure up their schedule. It meant they could maintain their reputation as the home for quality, buzzworthy TV. After all, what’s the TV landscape without a strong HBO?
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09/07/16
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Sports
Wednesday, September 7, 2016 — 7A
Atuahene, Sahlool spark ‘M’ Kastroll recovers WOMEN’S SOCCER
By BRANDON CARNEY Daily Sports Writer
Through its first three games, the Michigan men’s soccer team had developed a clear problem. The Wolverines were still evaluating their options for where their next goal was going to come from. They had been shut out in two of their first three matches as they couldn’t figure out who was the best fit to lead their attacking line. But two moments of brilliance just two minutes apart in the second half may have shined the light on the solution for the Wolverines. Sophomore midfielder Francis Atuahene scored a low screamer off a corner just before senior forward Yamann Sahlool worked his way through the Yale defense to find a second, helping Michigan earn a 2-2 draw on Monday. After falling a goal behind, Michigan coach Chaka Daley made the call to introduce Atuahene, who had missed the prior two matches while nursing an injury, and pair him with Sahlool to lead the attacking line. As Atuahene subbed in, the Wolverine offense sparked to life after looking futile for the opening 60 minutes. His power and confidence were exactly what Michigan was missing not only in the first half of Monday’s match, but through the prior three matches of the season. “I thought the person who changed the game was when (Atuahene) came on,” Daley said. (Atuahene and Sahlool) have the license to interchange and go from one spot to another within the front three. They did a good job with their movement to make
things exciting.” Daley has experimented with several different combinations at the head of the Wolverines’ attack. On Friday against Columbia, Daley chose to start sophomore defender Marcello Borges at striker. Borges’ footwork allows him to make a difference wherever he’s positioned, but as he showed over the weekend with 10 missed shots, finishing is still an area he needs some work in to be considered a regular option as Michigan’s number nine. On Sunday, Michigan started redshirt sophomore midfielder Michael Kapitula at striker against the Bulldogs, but he looked uncomfortable from the start, lasting just 33 minutes at the spot. “(Kapitula and Borges) are capable and dangerous players,” Daley said. “I think their movement is good and they create chances. Certainly as we go we don’t look against anybody. Every team is a little different.” Kapitula and Borges both lacked the physicality to get past Yale’s central defenders, which forced Daley to make the two changes that would make the difference against Yale. Sahlool came on and began holding the ball up for wingers like Borges to make runs. The Wolverines’ attack looked more lively and dangerous with the senior forward on the field, but still lacked the finishing ability in the final third to find a breakthrough. Sahlool looked comfortable in his role and that carried over to his quality of play. “I feel like playing center forward is really good for me,” Sahlool said. “I’m a guy who likes to make short runs in behind
“I feel like playing center forward is really good for me.”
from early injury By BRAD WHIPPLE Daily Sports Editor
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Francis Atuahene scored a crucial goal in his return from injury on Monday.
the defense just to be dangerous or get in the box and just get as many shots off as I can. I think the number nine is my best position. I like to shoot and score when I can. It’s what I’ve been doing since I was a little boy.” Once Michigan had fallen behind, Daley knew he was going to have to make a risky substitution by bringing on an unfit Atuahene, but holding out on the change for so long may have made the difference. The sophomore midfielder was a constant menace for the defenders marking him and put on a convincing display on why he should be the Wolverines’ go-to scorer once fully healthy. “I think Francis is a top player
and he’s capable of playing five or six spots within the team,” Daley said. “We’ll continue to find his niche because he’s becoming more and more of a mark man. They put a man on him and man marked him the entire time he was on.” After this weekend’s performance, Daley has a strong case for Sahlool and Atuahene leading the attack heading into conference play. “We know Sahlool can hold up the ball real well and Atuahene can go score goals up top with his speed,” Borges said. “I think they are our goal scorers on the team, and we know if we can find them in the right places, they’ll score their goals.”
At one point during the Michigan women’s soccer team’s 2-0 win against Ole Miss on Friday night, Abby Kastroll stopped moving, put her hands above her head and tried to catch her breath. The sophomore midfielder had been all over the pitch — beating out any counterattack, heading balls and sliding for loose passes to clear the ball. Kastroll appeared unstoppable, but even she needed a substitute and came out of the game in the 30th minute. After the halftime break concluded, Kastroll took the field again for the next 45 minutes. As the Rebels began an offensive onslaught in an attempt to rebound from a two-goal deficit, the Wolverines couldn’t afford to have her off the field, and Kastroll remained steadfast on defense for the rest of the match. Kastroll’s exhaustion wasn’t a matter of her needing to improve her stamina. Rather, it was a sign of how strong of a player she is becoming — one who will give 100 percent for any minute she is on the pitch. The 76 minutes she played against Ole Miss were no different, and they earned her praise from Michigan coach Greg Ryan after the game when Ryan approached Kastroll and said, “This was a breakout night for you.” “She hasn’t had that night yet this year, where she just imposes her will on the game from an attacking and a defending standpoint,” Ryan said. “I thought she dominated every matchup she went into tonight.” Kastroll’s stellar performance Friday is not an outlier when
compared to how instrumental she has been in the team’s success thus far, though. On Aug. 28 against then-No. 12 Notre Dame, she put Michigan on the scoreboard first with a header in the 64th minute. After redshirt junior forward Ani Sarkisian headed a slow ball toward the net, Notre Dame goalkeeper Ginny McGowan was primed to make the save. Kastroll, though, was positioned right in front of the net, and with no more than a split-second to react, she threw her head up and backward to head the ball just past McGowan. Three days before that matchup, Kastroll also assisted on half of the Wolverines’ four goals against Marshall. Kastroll has had an impressive showing of late, all of which came after she was injured during the preseason. Since Michigan began training on Aug. 3, the team hasn’t had much time off. “We haven’t been able to rest her, so she just had to plow through it,” Ryan said after Friday’s win. “But I think she’s finally feeling really recovered from that injury. She looked really strong tonight.” Luckily for Kastroll and the rest of the Wolverines, they were rewarded with a two-day rest period after their game Friday — a rarity in college soccer. “They’re tired,” Ryan said. “This is huge rest for us. Then it’s just getting ready to come out and compete like we competed tonight against UC Riverside and then into the Big Ten season.” So far, Kastroll’s success has come without an extra day of rest, so there’s no telling what kind of show she and the Wolverines could put on this Friday at U-M Soccer Stadium.
Sports
8A — Wednesday, September 7, 2016 T E A M
S T A T S MICH 63.0 26.0 306 7.8 4 206 85.0 10.3 3 1 59 512 100.0% 0-0 4.0 10.0 14.0 0.0 0-0 0/0 33.0 27:55
Points/Game First Downs/Game Rush Yards/Game Yards/Rush Rushing TDs Passing Yards/Game Completion % Yards/Pass Passing TDs Interceptions Offensive Plays/Game Total Offense 3rd-down Conversions 4th-down Conversions Sacks/Game Kick return average Punt return average Punting average Field Goals-Attempts Fumbles/Lost Penalty Yards/Game Time of Poss
OPP 3.0 16.0 81 2.2 0 151 52.2 6.6 0 2 60 232 9.1% 1-2 0.0 20.5 0.0 42.7 1-1 2/0 60.0 32:05
I N D I V I D U A L S PASSING Player Speight Morris O’Korn TOTALS
Cmp 10 4 3 17
RUSHING Player C. Evans Isaac Higdon McDoom Smith, D. Davis Morris Chesson Hill Beneducci Hewlett TOTALS RECEIVING Player Chesson Darboh McDoom McKeon Ways Butt Crawford Hirsch Perry Hill Poggi TOTALS
Att 13 4 3 20
Yds 145 45 16 206
TD 3 0 0 3
INT 1 0 0 1
Att 8 9 6 2 6 2 1 2 1 1 1 39
Yds Avg 112 14.0 52 5.8 35 5.8 34 17.0 27 4.5 17 8.5 14 14.0 11 5.5 4 4.0 1 1.0 -1 -1.0 306 7.8
Lg 43 12 19 19 14 10 14 15 4 1 0 43
TD 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4
No. 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 17
Yds 43 42 15 10 22 19 18 15 12 7 3 206
Avg 14.3 14.0 7.5 5.0 22.0 19.0 18.0 15.0 12.0 7.0 3.0 12.1
Lg 21 31 8 5 22 19 18 15 12 7 3 31
TD 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 3
PUNT RETURNS Player No. Peppers 2 TOTALS 2
Yds 28 28
Avg. Long 14.0 14 14.0 14
TD 0 0
INTERCEPTIONS Player Stribling Hill, D. TOTALS
Yds Avg. Long 51 51.0 51 27 27.0 27 78 39.0 51
TD 1 1 2
Yds 15 5 20
TD 0 0 0
No. 1 1 2
KICKOFF RETURNS Player No. Henderson 1 Hill, K. 1 TOTALS 2 KICKOFFS Player Allen Foug TOTALS DEFENSE Player McCray Peppers Gedeon Winovich Thomas Watson Kinnel Gary Wroblewski Dwumfour Glasgow, J. Marshall Glasgow, R. Bush Stribling Miller Hill, D. Godin Smith, D. Charlton Clark Allen Hudson Hill, L. TOTALS
A P
No. 6 4 10
Avg. Long 15.0 15 5.0 5 10.0 15
Yds 388 250 638
Avg. 64.7 62.5 63.8
Solo Ast Tot TFL 6 3 9 3.5 7 1 8 2.0 3 4 7 2.5 2 4 6 3 2 5 2 2 4 2 1 3 1 2 3 3 3 2 2 1.0 2 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1.0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 40 28 68 10.0
T O P
2 5
TB 3 1 4
SK PBU 2.0 1.0 1.0 1 1 1 4.0 3
P O L L
1. Alabama (1-0) 14. Oklahoma (0-1) 2. Clemson (1-0) 15. TCU (1-0) 3. Florida State (1-0) 16. Iowa (1-0) 4. Ohio State (1-0) 17. Tennessee (1-0) 5. Michigan (1-0) 18. Notre Dame (0-1) 6. Houston (1-0) 19. Ole Miss (0-1) 7. Stanford (1-0) 20. Texas A&M (1-0) 8. Washington (1-0) 21. LSU (0-1) 9. Georgia (1-0) 22. Oklahoma St. (1-0) 10. Wisconsin (1-0) 23. Baylor (1-0) 11. Texas (1-0) 24. Oregon (1-0) 12. Michigan State (1-0) 25. Miami (1-0) 13. Louisville (1-0)
2016 SCHEDULE
9/3
HAWAII (0-2)
9/10
UCF (1-0)
9/17
COLORADO (1-0)
9/24
PENN ST. (1-0)
10/1
WISCONSIN (1-0)
10/8
at RUTGERS (0-1)
10/22
ILLINOIS (1-0)
10/29
at MICH. ST. (1-0)
11/5
MARYLAND (1-0)
11/12
at IOWA (1-0)
11/19
INDIANA (1-0)
11/26
at OHIO ST. (1-0)
W, 63-3 (1-0)
12 p.m., Michigan Stadium, ABC
3:30 p.m., Michigan Stadium, BTN
Michigan Stadium
Michigan Stadium
7 or 8 p.m., Piscataway, N.J.
3:30 p.m., Michigan Stadium
East Lansing, Mich.
Michigan Stadium
8 p.m., Iowa City, Iowa
Michigan Stadium
Columbus, Ohio
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Peppers happy in Brown’s defense Michigan’s most versatile player happy with results after first game By MAX BULTMAN Managing Sports Editor
Jabrill Peppers says he tries to lay low going to classes. He doesn’t wear football gear, hoping it will help him avoid attention. On a football field, though, laying low is impossible. No. 5 is everywhere on Michigan’s defense and special teams, and presumably, he’ll see time on offense at some point as well. He plays in the box, in the secondary, on the line and perhaps in the nightmares of various coaches around the Big Ten. He opened 2016 with a tackle for loss on the first play from scrimmage, and logic suggests there will be more tone-setting plays to come. That’s because, under new defensive coordinator Don Brown, aggressive play calling is the new normal. “He’s a very aggressive defensive caller, so we just make him look good, try to make him as right as possible with anything he calls, even if it puts us at a disadvantage,” Peppers said. “We just try to make them look good, man. Because he trusts us, he lets us go out there and play, and that’s the least we could do.” When Brown came to Michigan from Boston College, he showed Peppers film of Matt Milano, the Eagles’ version of Peppers from last season. He wanted to show the versatile defensive back how he would be used in his defense. And one game into the season, Peppers seems sufficiently impressed with his new coach. “Once we all really got the defense, and started adding our own swagger and our own
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Redshirt sophomore Jabrill Peppers is the most versatile player in Don Brown’s new defense, and early results from him in his new position were positive.
attitude to it, man, it was just clicking,” Peppers said. Peppers, of course, is the linchpin. If he was not already the most indispensable, he likely is now after his backup, Noah Furbush, went down with an undisclosed injury. There are players behind Peppers, but none can alter the game in nearly as many ways. He said much of his job is similar — though he plays in the box much more — but Peppers now said he considers himself savvier than a year ago. “Like down and distance situations, reading the quarterback’s drops, reading the receivers’ releases,” he said. “Now I’m in the box, reading the guard pull, reading the down block. Just things like that. And I just feel as though, like a lot of us
do, we’ve just been here before. We know what we’ve gotta do, so let’s just go out there and do it.” That manifested as a strong day against Hawaii. Peppers had eight tackles, two for loss and one sack as part of a unit that held the Rainbow Warriors to just three points. The Wolverines scored on two interceptions returned for touchdowns, and they forced another fumble. It was as strong a defensive day as Michigan fans could have hoped for. But even though Hawaii put together only one long drive in the
first half — with mostly starters in the game for the Wolverines — Peppers wasn’t entirely content. When the Rainbow Warriors made their field goal, it curtailed his hope of a season-opening shutout. “We wanted to shut those guys out,” he said. “We wanted to just come out and make a statement. We’ve seen a lot of teams struggle in week one. We feel as though we had the hardest camp. We feel as though we’ve got the best head guy. So we just want to go out there and make a statement no matter who
“We wanted to just come out and make a statement.”
we play.” On that drive, Peppers said Hawaii simply called good plays to match up against Michigan’s scheme. He said the Rainbow Warriors exploited Michigan’s gaps, leaving room for quarterback Ikaika Woolsey to scramble and complete passes. He was willing to concede that some success was expected (“You know they’re gonna make plays, this is Division I football,” he said,) but he also wants them to keep contain better and “gap integrity.” Still, what Michigan did against Hawaii worked. And Peppers knows it. “If they don’t score, and you keep taking the ball over and putting points on the board,” Peppers said, “you should like your chances.”
Onwenu contributing on both sides True freshman 375-pounder making his mark in more ways than one By JACOB GASE Daily Sports Editor
Weighing in at 375 pounds — and looking like every bit of it up close — freshman offensive lineman Michael Onwenu is the biggest player on the Michigan football team, and not by a small margin. But what does a player like him eat to build that hulking, muscle-bound frame? “I don’t know, I like grapes,” Onwenu said with a straight face. “I like fruit, so, I just eat a lot of fruit. I swear, I don’t even eat as much as people think I do. … I don’t eat a lot of junk food, just whatever I feel like eating.” Whether you believe his dietary habits or not, Onwenu has already been given a chance to put his impressive size to good use early in his first season with the Wolverines. Saturday, he was one of a team-record 17 true freshmen to make his collegiate debut for Michigan in a 63-3 win over Hawaii. Onwenu may be part of a loaded recruiting class, but since enrolling in classes over the summer, the Detroit Cass Tech product stood out enough for coach Jim Harbaugh to grant him the opportunity to practice on both the offensive and defensive lines — and play both in his first game as well. When he took the field at Michigan Stadium for the first time as an offensive lineman, Onwenu said “it didn’t feel real.” Little did he know that, due in part to the defensive line dealing with numerous injuries Saturday, he ended up playing both ways right off the bat. Onwenu had been a two-way player all through high school — offense more than defense — but he says he has no preference for which way he lines up, as
long as it gets him on the field. “I’ve always played both, so I really don’t have a favorite,” Onwenu said. “Even going into the future, I feel like I could play both. … I’ve always played offense more than defense, but I feel like I can be better at defense. I just have to get consistent with my technique. When I get consistent, I feel like I’ll be dominant.” It’s a unique position to be in for a young lineman — Onwenu said that ever since Harbaugh
first started recruiting him, the prospect of playing both ways has always been on the table. When Onwenu went to camps with other top recruits from around the country, he said even players ranked higher than him didn’t have such an opportunity from their coaches. Part of the reason for that is his natural speed, which seems counterintuitive given his stature. “I’ve never been little, but I
“I’ve never been little, but I always had a little quickness.”
always had a little quickness,” Onwenu said. “Even when I played little league, I was always kind of the fastest big guy. Now I’ve gained more pounds, so — I mean, I still try to be as fast as I was, but I just try.” Natural talents aside, Onwenu also has a high-quality training staff and nutritionist at his disposal to maintain his imposing form. Neither he nor the coaching staff has a set weight in mind, but Director of Performance Fergus Connolly has been a helpful guide. “I’ve got Fergus — that’s my man,” Onwenu said. “Even in the summer, when I was trying to figure out how to lose pounds and gain more muscle, he was
just telling me tricks and tips, what I can do. Not so much losing weight, just like trying to fix what I’m eating — eat more healthy stuff or make better choices.” Whatever choices Onwenu is making seem to be the right ones. As a freshman once touted “my favorite guy right now” by Harbaugh earlier in camp, he figures to see more playing time in the coming weeks as the defensive line continues to heal and the Wolverines take on more lowlevel competition. His weight may jump out on paper, but the fruit-fueled lineman with deceptive speed has more to offer his new team on both sides of the ball.
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Freshman lineman Michael Onwenu earned the chance to play on the offensive and defensive lines, and Jim Harbaugh earlier called him one of his favorite players.
statement TH E MICHIGAN DAILY | SE P TE M B E R 7, 2016
disconnected
2B
Wednesday, September 7, 2016 / The Statement
t h e s t at e m e n t
the tangent
Magazine Editor: Karl Williams
Photo Editor: Zoey Holmstrom
Managing Editor: Laura Schinagle
Deputy Editors: Nabeel Chollampat Lara Moehlman
Creative Director: Emilie Farrugia
Copy Editors: Emily Campbell Alexis Nowicki Taylor Grandinetti
Design Editor: Shane Achenbach
Editor in Chief: Shoham Geva
Life Is A Mixtape: Summer Sweat BY MELINA GLUSAC
I
’m alive, and therefore I sweat. At a young age I learned to merge those two gross activities into an ipso-facto literary equation à la Descartes. I don’t fancy myself a philosopher, though, unless of course Descartes sweat. Which he probably did, because he was alive. Then, ipso facto, I am a philosopher. See how that works? Regardless, there’s something about summer that turns me into a deep, perspiring thinker. Maybe it’s the freedom I have to mentally romp. In college, we’re bestowed an almost-four-month hiatus when it starts to get warm outside, during which we swap five-page papers for glossy internships or charming little mundane jobs or traveling. And in all of this, there is luxury; there is time.
Time Is On My Side — The Rolling Stones The original frenemy, free time lends to both progressive and toxic thoughts. My marvelous mind can choose to be productive one day in, say, the thick of June — but it can spiral into existential wah-wah when August rolls around and the looming promise of school hangs in the air like an upcoming date with a really hot guy. Once you’re on the date, it’s great, but the car ride to the restaurant is sticky, sticky agony.
Wah-Wah — George Harrison So how do we stop this sun-induced cacophony? George Harrison hated the way “Wah-Wah” turned out. Producer Phil Spector did his job and produced the shit out of it, and the result reeks of endless tinkering and mixing and adding. But there’s an inherent beauty to the song’s raw chord progression. The way it falls then picks up, kind of telling us to do the same. So when we shake off all the chachkis — the bad thoughts, the uncertainty, the tinkering — things sound pretty OK. I get a little bit of bass added to my song when a
EMILIE FARRUGIA / Daily
stranger compliments my necklace and I let him. And the drums come when I tell him to have a great day. A groove starts when I inhale mango gelato with some high school friends, and we laugh at freshman-year roommates and Melania Trump’s marshmallow dress. The summer sweat goes away here, and I don’t miss a drop of it. But some summers — some lucky, muggy, unsuspecting summers — you get a guitar solo. It happens at a music festival. You meet a guy (we’ll call mine Detroit Denzel) who also loves the Pixies and understands the beauty and essentiality of Mark Rothko. And you kiss him, to M83, possibly the most underwhelming indiepop band of all time. But what the hell.
Do It, Try It — M83 Kissing Detroit Denzel felt like a symphony, like every silly problem of mine melted away and all that was left was colors. After the festival, we kept seeing each other, and the city was ours to peel. There was so much to uncover: What makes Detroit tick? What made us tick? What was his favorite movie, his dog’s name, his biggest fear?
Are You That Somebody — Aaliyah Everything was fresh. I knew it might end, like summer might end, but I didn’t care because the thought of having even a moment with him was endlessly more delicious than the comfort of inaction. And I think it was love, but that might be those simmering nights in the passenger seat of his car talking. So maybe it’s good to leave it all there, simmering, living.
Age of Consent — New Order One scorching day, DD and I were at a concert. The sun aggressively streamed into my eyes as I blabbered about my dreams and the future, diving into that summer-existential abyss again, and DD patiently listened. I solidified, unwittingly, the nature of our fling when I blurted out that I wanted to move to New York next summer, and possibly for the rest of my life. I expected him to freak, or to get mopey and shut down completely. Instead, he looked me dead in the eye, his brown ones tiny and steady as the fact of knowing that the seasons change, and he opened his bearded mouth: “I dare you.” And I started to sweat, and it felt great.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016 / The Statement
3B
on the record: colin kaepernick “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. ”
“I am disgusted with the way he has been treated and the fans and hatred he has receives in all of this. It is overtly racist ‘Stay in your place, black man.’ We need a more substantive conversation around race relations and the way people.”
“Colin Kaepernick — he’s not Black. He can not understand what I face and what Black people face, or people of color face, on a every single day basis. I think his heart is in the right place, I just think he was going about it in the wrong way.”
— COLIN KAEPERNICK, San Francisco 49ers quarterback, who has decided to protest the national anthem by kneeling when it is played.
—BRONSON KOENIG, University of Wisconsin guard, after hitting a gamewinning three-pointer against Xavier University in the second round.
—RODNEY HARRISON, NBC analyst and retired NFL player, who criticized Kaepernick’s methods.
All Around the World: Getting to Know Grenoble BY ISOBEL FUT TER
T
his summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to study abroad in Grenoble, France, for six weeks, take classes in French and live with a French family. Considering my prospects for internships after my sophomore year were low, I thought it would be something to do. I spent the last three summers working in a restaurant in my hometown, and I knew I couldn’t do that for another summer. This seemed like a compromise: Yeah, I’d have to take classes, but at least I wouldn’t be home for the whole summer, and — as an added bonus — I’d be in France. Little did I know how much this “compromise” would change my life. Upon arriving in Grenoble, the transition felt shocking. Born in Belgium, and as a citizen of the United Kingdom, I grew up moving around the world. I was used to being a foreigner and addressing home as somewhere far away. However, being completely alone in a foreign place seemed odd and out of place. I hadn’t slept very well on the plane and hadn’t had a proper meal in more than 12 hours. Fatigue was setting in and now I was required to speak to a family I’d never met before in a language I hadn’t spoken since fall semester. The first few weeks went by, and the language started to settle in more naturally. Rather than thinking and rehearsing everything I was going to say beforehand, the words started to roll off my tongue and my comprehension of everyday language rose dramatically. Instead of feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed about every social interaction, I started to become at ease. I was learning every day, and watching my own progress was inspiring; I knew I had to be brave, initiate conversation and accept the fact that sometimes I would mess up. With this realization,
and some practice under my belt, I began to fall in love with the French culture. A cheese plate every day after dinner? Sign me up. The six weeks flew by, and the program ended before I was ready for it to be over. After taking classes in French, I was ready for a break from homework and studying. However, leaving France and returning to Michigan left me feeling sad. This great adventure I embarked on had
ILLUSTRATION BY EMILIE FARRUGIA
gone by so quickly. I was learning so much every day, and now that was over and I’d be returning to my normal life. I love my life in Ann Arbor, but closing one chapter and starting another made me feel a small and tugging sense of grief. As I sit here writing in Ann Arbor, I’m aware of how constantly I think of the differences in culture, the things I learned, and I notice the ways that I’ve changed. Grenoble surprised me, as I found myself outside of my comfort zone in a really cool way. Going abroad not only allowed me to gain insight on a new way of life, but it also gave me a lens through which I could observe my own culture. I am appreciating things about Michigan that I never noticed before. For example, we will strike up a conversation in any setting with any person. In the grocery store and picking up a certain brand of orange juice? Some nice lady next to you will probably tell you that’s her favorite too. We like to connect and communicate, which is something unique to American culture I never really noticed before. If you have the opportunity to study abroad, do it. No questions asked — just do it. It’s expensive and difficult to squeeze in, but find a way to make it work. In our busy lives, we rarely take the moments to expand our understanding of the world and experience it in a different way. We are so focused on school, working, getting good grades, staying active, eating healthy, socializing, maintaining acceptable levels of social media presence — all while trying to stay sane. Studying abroad is scary, and that’s awesome. It gives you the chance to put your routine on pause and see how you can cope in a foreign setting. And finding out that you can is powerful and motivating. As I move on to my junior year after Grenoble, I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity to grow and learn more about the person I strive to be.
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Wednesday, September 7, 2016 // The Statement
Wednesday, September 7, 2016 // The Statement
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dis con nec ted By Emma Kinery, Daily News Editor
hen Will Jermyn was in seventh grade, he did what many 2007 middle schoolers did — he set up a Facebook account. But unlike most other 7th-graders, the Facebook Jermyn created was for his mom, not himself. Jermyn, a Public Policy junior, used his email to make it. He didn’t know many others on the site at the time and thought it would be too much effort to create a new email. Jermyn has cycled through several new email accounts in the nine years since then, but he still hasn’t found a reason to create a Facebook. As the popularity of the social network grew and more of his classmates used the site to organize events after school or created groups for clubs, he considered making one but found he was always fine without it. He said he has realized at times that his life would be easier with an account, but the extra work that came with not having one — like having to go out of his way to make sure he knew about events happening — didn’t outweigh his feeling that it wasn’t essential. “I just never really decided to get one,” he said. “There were definitely a lot of instances where I was like, I should have one with different clubs and stuff and different teams. Using Facebook was kind of like a big way that everyone communicated.” Jermyn is outgoing, but prefers to stay in. He has a good group of core friends, whom he says he relies on to hear about things going on on campus — whether they be events or the daily doings of one’s friends. The ubiquity of Facebook as a tool for communication is something Information Prof. Nichole Ellison studies at the University of Michigan. She said its popularity and utility have made it a “common language,” but also come with the drawbacks of the having a life online: how much time it takes. “Facebook is kind of one-stop shopping,” Ellison said. “For many people, that’s where all their friends are. So you have the cell phone numbers of some of your friends, but not all, or you’re on Snapchat with some of them, but not all, but Facebook is kind of like a common language. Facebook does of course have these coordination features, like planning events, that kind of lower the barrier to that kind of work.” I had the opposite experience of Jermyn: In seventh grade, my mom set up my account. Today, the way I utilize Facebook has shifted — as I’m sure it has for most users as the site has moved to expand. It’s gone from a place where my double-digit amount of classmates posted gawky photos and messaged after school before I had a phone, to what is now essentially a database of everyone I know. The ability to “unfollow” users makes it more personable, but the experience is less genuine. Though there’s nothing which particularly attracts me to the site, it’s hard to imagine life without it. I am
not a fan of memes or 30-second cooking tutorials, nor do I enjoy flipping through tagged photos of people from my middle school. Day to day, Facebook for me is often banal. Log on, see the same active users, hear about an event, check my notifications, close browser. It’s not an activity I want to do, need to do, or look forward to doing, it’s something I just do. It’s normal. Even the activity of keeping up with 1,200 Facebook “friends” can be exhausting, with the exhausting yet ultimately appealing voyeurism that is Facebook stalking. There is also the issue of fretting about one’s own appearance — the fundamentally fruitless concerns over how many “likes” a new profile picture or status receives. These are social anxieties that, regardless of Facebook, we all experience, but are amplified on the site. Jermyn has never had to deal with that. His friends are actually his friends, and he’s not pretending to have a four-digit amount of them. “One aversion to Facebook that I’ve had is it is very easy to connect with people and the idea of having thousands and thousands of friends or something — I don’t know if I ever really liked that kind of idea,” Jermyn said. “For me, I’m more about having a few close friends that you text with and that you hang out with on a regular basis instead of having this large, expansive network that’s maybe people that you aren’t as willing to hang out with frequently, maybe you see them like once every now and then, but not on a regular basis.” He added that if a club or a job required him to make one, he would, but for personal use, probably not. He’s content with the friends he has in real life, and doesn’t understand the appeal of having lots of “friends” online. Yet Facebook seems critical; for many, it’s hard to imagine a world without it. Whenever a new social media app is created, it seems Facebook ends up buying it — take how Facebook Live emulated Periscope, or how moving Messenger to a separate app put it at odds with other popular messaging applications like Whatsapp. The site bought out picture-sharing app Instagram in 2012 and recently launched “Instagram stories,” mimicking the operatives of Snapchat. According to a Pew survey conducted in September 2014, Facebook is the most used social media site. That ubiquity has made lives like LSA junior Hiro Christoph’s difficult, even in minor ways. I was surprised he didn’t have a Facebook — he’s an RA, known for being personable and kind. Christoph seems like the kind of person who would get hundreds of likes on his profile picture. Influenced by his parents, who were always adamantly against him having a Facebook, he never logged on. He noted that he has faced some difficulties not having one, such as being unable to make
accounts for certain sites that ask for a Facebook login, rather than providing the opportunity to make your own or use a Google login. But these difficulties are not enough to force him to join the website with 1.7 billion users. The distaste for online relationships, Ellison said, is one of three reasons cited for people who do not have Facebook accounts. Ellison’s work focuses on the benefits of the social network, but she pointed to other research being done to specifically note why some people choose not to have Facebook accounts. “We’re at the point now where on a college campus if you’re not on Facebook, it’s probably because you have some reason,” Ellison said. “It’s not just that you haven’t heard about it.” The other two reasons cited by those without accounts include fearing productivity concerns and privacy issues — as Ellison puts it: “what one particular company is doing with my data once it’s out there.” LSA senior Katrina Rayment’s reasons have shifted from adolescence to young adulthood. At first, she struggled socially in middle and high school, meaning “I did not want to advertise how few friends I had.” Now Rayment has plenty of pictures she could be tagged in. It’s just that she sees Facebook as a waste of time. “Other people have told me how much time they spend on this one thing and that just seems, like, really unappealing,” Rayment said. “I already spend so much time wasted browsing the Internet; I don’t need to add, like, another distraction.” The average person spends 50 minutes every day on Facebook, according to The New York Times. That’s more time than the average American spends on educational activities, grooming themselves, house care and real-life face-to-face communication, according to the widely cited Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Time Use Survey. Of all leisure activities, only television takes up more of our time. For college students in particular, this can manifest into a larger problem of procrastination. It’s a real issue — writing this article alone, I frequently find myself opening up a new tab of the site almost unconsciously. Facebook’s distracting qualities are so prevalent that researchers Adrian Meier, Leonard Reinecke and Christine Meltzer at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany came up with aname for it: Facebocrastination. Public Policy senior Graham Steffens said Facebook began to “go out of style” when he was a senior in high school. He hasn’t looked back since deleting his in 2013. “I definitely have more time,” Steffens said. “The amount of time spent scrolling through your newsfeed is incredible. You don’t realize how much time it takes until you delete it.” If students like Jermyn and Steffens are fine without it, what keeps others logged on? Ninety percent of those aged 18 to 29 use social
media, according to Pew. On college campuses, the primary way to hear about parties and other campus events happening is through Facebook invites. In my own experience, Facebook Events and Facebook Groups seem essential for campus life. Unsurprisingly, that’s the major drawback for Steffens and those who are Facebook-free. “I wouldn’t get invited to events where other people would,” Steffens said. “It just took extra effort to kind of go out of my way to make sure I heard about those, or make plans with people if you actually want to hang out instead of just having like a third party to initiate that.” Jermyn says to get invited to events he either has to go out of his way to get the information or depend on his friends for an invite. “Even just social things, like if people would be having parties or something they would create a Facebook event, say: ‘I’ll invite you on Facebook,’ and I would say: ‘Well, I don’t have a Facebook,’ ” he said. “I probably missed out on some social interactions because I didn’t have a Facebook and I kind of just rely on other people to text me if there was something going on.”
It’s not an activity I want to do, need to do, or look forward to doing, it’s something I just do. It’s normal.
However, not seeing events or social interactions via Facebook isn’t all negative. Steffens said he realized after leaving Facebook the effect staring at photos of parties he wasn’t invited to or vacations he didn’t go on has on users. “I have an overall positive experience without it,” Steffens said. “The lack of FOMO — that’s a big thing. People can get really stressed out constantly looking at other people’s lives and compare their own lives to it. Removing that aspect, I think makes a happier person.” Facebook’s inherent voyeurism, and the jealousy that can result from it, is often lamented. However, Ellison, the social scientist, noted that as a perk. “Facebook is a window to staying connected with friends in kind of a lightweight manner so that they’re able to see what others are doing and feel that there’s a connection even when
they’re not co-located,” Ellison said. As interesting as that can be, Ellison notes in the short term the feature can also aid in building connections in real life. While nonusers like Christoph may not know what their friends have been up to recently, Ellison says users have conversation starters when they see them in person. “One of the ways that we talk about that in our work is by making an argument that Facebook serves as a social lubricant, and the idea there is essentially the information that you see on Facebook can then be used to kind of make conversation happen more fluidly when you do communicate through some other channel,” she said. Maybe a user sees a friend post about getting a puppy or visiting a new restaurant; the next time the user sees their Facebook friend in person these are starting topics of conversation. This aspect makes Christoph understand the appeal of Facebook; he said he never knows what people are up to unless he sees them day to day or makes an effort to reach out to them. “My relationships are more stuck in the timeframe that I’ve seen the person,” Christoph said. “A lot of the people that I haven’t seen in a long time I have no idea what they’ve done in the last year or so, which is unfortunate. The thing with Facebook is that with Snapchat you can see what’s going on if you’re checking it, but with Facebook you can see what’s going on today and look back three weeks ago and check out everything up until when they created it in middle school.” Yet Steffens’ feelings of FOMO associated with the barrage of information still aren’t unfounded. Psychology Prof. Ethan Kross published a study in 2013 linking avid Facebook users to higher rates of depression. His researchers found the more people utilized the social network throughout the day, the more their mood declined. “We find that the more users use Facebook passively — i.e., browsing the site without adding content — the worse they subsequently feel,” Kross said. “We also have some data indicating that one potential explanation for this relationship has to do with jealousy — browsing the site passively is associated with higher feelings of jealousy, which in turn predict people feeling worse over time. Some researchers have speculated that this is because people curate the way they appear online.” Keeping in mind the curation factor Kross referred to, the constant sharing can also be too much. Christoph said hearing about this stress from his Facebook-using friends was a reason he never joined. “I feel a little less cluttered,” Christoph said. “I hear people complaining that Facebook is boring and they don’t know why they use it. I know people that get worried about putting their vacation photos on Facebook and making
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sure to share all their study abroad photos and stuff, so it’s kind of like people feel obligated to update it and keep their presence online fresh and update everyone. For me I don’t really worry about posting photos or Facebook drama that’s happening. It’s one less thing to check. I don’t have to look for Facebook messages.” Here the benefits of Facebook become one of its disadvantages — this rings true for college students passively Facebocrastinating to avoid studying. A study done by Sven Laumer, an assistant professor at Otto-Friedrich University in Germany, validated my annoyance with Facebook’s constant, banal notifications: Many users see Facebook as a place of demands rather than a space for interesting content to be shared. Users complained of feeling social overload when on the site because of its social demands and obligations, such as wishing “friends” a happy birthday, promote or share content produced by other “friends,” contribute to their fundraisers or react to their statuses. Jermyn currently doesn’t suffer from this stress, nor does he foresee ever having to. “I find that without having a Facebook, I’m able to keep in touch with the people I really want to keep in touch with,” Jermyn said. “The other people who maybe I wasn’t as good of friends with or whatever in high school, if I really want to get in touch with them, I can get in touch with them, but I don’t think that I really need a Facebook to make sure that I can do that.” Sure, Jermyn will be the only classmate at his high school reunion shocked at how his classmates have aged. He may miss seeing where his acquaintances went over Spring Break, or hearing about so-and-so’s new job, but he’s content. The Facebook-less are fine without it; despite being disconnected online, they’d still pass on an online interaction to one face-to-face.
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Wednesday, September 7, 2016 // The Statement
Allowing Myself Grande Ballrooms
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By Melina Glusac, Senior Arts Editor
PHOTO COURTESY OF NATALIE GADBOIS
EMILIE FARRUGIA / Daily
e’re always told that this is the prime of our life, this college thing. I believe the elusive, omnipotent “they” who dictate generalizations similar to the one above — They always say ignorance is bliss! — are right. This is a prime. OK, thanks for reading. Goodbye. Kidding, of course, because what in the name of Jim Harbaugh’s dad bod is a “prime?” A sexual prime may differ from, say, an artistic prime in a thematic sense, but at their core the “eras” are the same: periods of heightened success and gusto and freedom to flourish. And the flourishing happens, without abandon. Currently, I am a sponge — a confident albeit quasi-existential junior in college who loves music and talking to other humans, who realizes she still has a lot to soak in, interpret and squeeze out in practice. A sexy sponge. This absorbent female feels she is ready to begin living with abandon, as one would in their prime — but she hasn’t been lately. The combo platter of a brand new year, a new apartment, new impending classes, etc. is thrilling, yet my already messy mind has been on overdrive, swimming in selfdoubt. I have been forgetting to let go and breathe, to stop and smell my surroundings, to kick out the jams. I am having fun, as the kids say, but I don’t think I am in my prime right now. So to feel sponge-ier I like to think about cool people in their prime. When I wrote “kick out the jams” a few precious words ago, my unathletic self was referring to the 1969 song by Detroit punk-rockers MC5 (whom I’ve blabbered about before). These five hungry gentlemen would smash a Detroit venue called the Grande Ballroom every week in the late ‘60s. The concert hall’s ornate Art Deco interior and sweeping wooden dance floor — now derelict — housed hundreds of countercultural young guns back in the day. They swayed, sweated, loved and drugged as MC5 wailed, rambled and rocked. And then the next Friday night would roll around, and they’d do it all over again. I pine for ’69 and a Grande prime. The rest of MC5’s discography, post-debut album (recorded live at the Grande), is underwhelming for a band with such a ferocious start. In this case, “prime” is synonymous with “peak” — and that duo’s very nature insinuates an artistic high point can only be hit once. And though the zenith is sweet and gnarly and sonic, it is deafeningly singular.
But can prime be plural? Can we have more than one Grande Ballroom in this life? The problem is I’ve had a few primes already, and I know I want more. I hit a prime at the end of freshman year, when everything about Ann Arbor became familiar. My adoration for this city transitioned from a fresh crush to a candle-lit love — my writing seemed to pour out of me, and my fellow students felt like fellow concert-goers. The noises of these streets sounded like an MC5 song. Nowadays, it’s a little harder to write, for whatever reason. I fell out of the Ballroom a few months ago and became a bit of a realist. College ends in a little less than two years — what will I do? Who will I be? Where will I be? I’ll be moving away from my hometown of Detroit, in the hopes of broadening my horizons and finding work in journalism: This much I know. I’ll be away from the actual location of the Grande Ballroom. And I’ll be moving away from Ann Arbor, inevitably — the location of my second Grande Ballroom. Where the next Ballroom is, I’m not quite sure. It could be in New York, where inspiration pops out of skyscrapers by the droves, or Los Angeles, where Charles Bukowski changed the definition of prime living (read: sloppy booze and sleazy women and delicious poems). Location has the power to inspire such eras, obviously. Yet, that’s just the thing: What is Ann Arbor to my own mind, locationwise? Maybe I am the person, place and thing who ignites my primes, and has all along. Maybe I have the power to build a Grande Ballroom whenever and wherever I want — construct my own wooden dance floor and summon a band of characters to fill it with lovely dissonance. Maybe I’m the lead singer of MC5, and maybe it’s time for me to stop worrying and start giving myself the freedom to flourish, without abandon. Maybe I will right now. I recognize that sometimes the latter choice will give me a full-on Ballroom, and sometimes it will not. But as I sit steps away from The Ark at dusk, with these words coming out a little easier than before, my heart is bubbling — this I can’t deny. Whether that’s a fabulous prime coming, or a fabulous nothing on its way, I’ll be here, allowing myself many great songs to play on my own steady, steady stage.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016 // The Statement
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Photo courtesy of Brandon Summers-Miller
Straight Expectations By Brandon Summers-Miller, Daily Staff Reporter
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or the longest time, I let myself love a life I was never meant to live. I’m a cradle Catholic and regularly attended Mass at the church my family has gone to for more than 50 years. I received sacraments throughout childhood. I wanted my marriage to be recognized by God in the church. But recently, I’ve let all of these expectations go because I’ve finally accepted the fact that I’m gay. All my life, I’ve grown up listening to homophobic slurs, jokes, television shows, music, propaganda, opinions, essays, ideologies, hate groups, religions, businesses — and eventually I just got tired of it. Even as a little kid, I was exposed to the world’s intolerance: When I lived in Illinois in the third grade, one of my new classmates told everyone I was gay, and I ate lunch alone for the following three weeks. I remember hearing a classmate in middle school jokingly talk about forming a hate group to kill gay people. While debating social issues and LGBTQ rights in high school, my classmates were adamant that homosexuality is a chosen
“lifestyle,” and that no one is born that way and that it is a disgusting, unnatural, perverted existence. Though I’ve known for the longest time — and have been in denial — I never had the courage to give up the life that was so easily laid out for me. I wanted to be married in the same church my parents and grandparents were married in. I wanted to easily have kids of my own. I wanted to live a life without fear.
I wanted my marriage to be recognized by God in the church. I’ve only recently found the strength to accept who I am. This spring, I had the privilege of going into the woods of New Hampshire with a University of Michigan program called NELP,
the New England Literature Program. It’s an intentional community, a space built to foster teamwork and cooperation. Everyone, including the instructors, works together to sustain our little community in the forest for 45 days. Without easy access to the rest of the world, everyone tends to be present. At the beginning of my stay in New Hampshire, I was asked why I came to the woods, and it’s been something I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. I went into the woods with no clear objective. It is now easy for me to see I needed the time away, the space to think, the silence to hear, the capacity to listen and the opportunity to be kind. The woods offered me the first time to personally know gay people who were out, successful and happy. For the first time, I met gay people who were both professionally and socially thriving in the real world. I finally found an accurate representation of the life I’d been avoiding out of the fear of letting go of the one I’d let myself idealize for too long. And while those woods will always be a special place for me, the idea at the end of the program is to return. In my case, coming back and returning were two very different things. I came back from the woods on June 17, but I finally returned sometime in August.
Returning meant living a more deliberate life, being more self-reliant and letting go of the expectations I set for myself for as long as I can remember. Living a lie did no one any good. No one I knew really knew who I was,
For the first time, I met gay people who were both professionally and socially thriving in the real world. and it was incredibly lonely. It’s only after having seen other strong queer people that I’ve come to terms with my faith, my lack of representation in the church, the way I’ll be marginalized in society and the people who will choose to be left behind. Letting go sucks. It’s taken me forever to realize this, but the expectations of the ideal life I’d created in my mind were unhealthy. There are people in this world who will always be angered and disappointed by the fact that I’m gay. I don’t have to be one of them.
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Wednesday, September 7, 2016 // The Statement
V I S UA L S TAT E M E N T:
The photographer’s sister looks at art at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City on a family vacation.
SUMMER TR AVELS
MAZIE HYAMS/ Daily
GRANT HARDY/Daily
A woman looks at the mountains surrounding Lake Brienz in Interlaken, Switzerland.
EMILIE FARRUGIA/ Daily A lobster boat returns to port after a day of fishing in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/ Daily
On January 20, 2016, LSA and business senior Haider Malik vocalizes frustration over the Bacha Khan University killings in Pakistan An afternoon in Central at the Diag. Park on a quintessential New York summer’s day.
ZACH MOORE/ Daily
HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily A night view of the Bund waterfront in Shanghai, China.
ELIZABETH XIONG/ Daily
Lead vocalist Tyler Joseph performs “Holding On To You.”
Members of the Ann Arbor Alliance for Black Lives lead a walk in the memory of Aura Rosser from the League to the pedestrian bridge over Washtenaw Ave on January 20, 2016.