ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Friday, September 30, 2016
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
ANN ARBOR
120
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40
Estimated staff members Estimated undergraduates at community forum at community forum
We want Schlissel to address us… about 2017, not 2025.
40
+400
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“
Protest attendees this week
Estimated faculty at community forum
We should not have to wait until an inciting incident for us to have these dialogues.
JFS doubles numbers to meet rising demand
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30
Estimated graduate students at community forum
DESIGN BY: MICHELLE PHILLIPS/Daily
Left quote: LSA junior Lakyrra Magee. Right quote: LSA freshman Na’kia Channey. Source: Estimates from Daily reporters at each event.
Finding outlets: Students lean on selforganized events, not ‘U’, to talk diversity
Administrators grapple with addressing issues of race on campus following week of protests JACKIE CHARNIGA Daily News Editor
Though the question has been a persistent one throughout its history, over the past year the University of Michigan has focused in on how to become more diverse, more inclusive and more welcoming under a University initiative to create a campus-wide strategic plan for diversity. On Oct. 6, that answer is supposed to become clearer, when the University formally launches
its campus-wide Diversity, Equity & Inclusion plan, a year-long effort started by University President Mark Schlissel. However, after the discovery of racially charged fliers in University buildings and a controversial debate over the merits of Black Lives Matter earlier this week prompted massive student protests, new questions about issues of race on campus and tensions between the University and students have surfaced. Though both the debate and the posters have been a focus, many students have also pointed
to systemic issues of climate they said those incidents highlighted — criticizing what they described as years of University inaction and citing the strategic plan as an example. LSA freshman Na’kia Channey, who spoke at the protest Tuesday night, said there was a lack of trust between Black students and the University, echoing the sentiments of multiple other students interviewed throughout the week. “As far as I know, the only reason we’re having
discussions now is because it was stimulated by those examples of discrimination,” Channey said. “I’m not sure if the University of Michigan is really open about having discussions, but I feel like we should not have to wait until an inciting incident for us to have these dialogues. We shouldn’t feel like we have to curate our space for our voices to be heard.” This consistent discussion of larger campus issues throughout the week illuminates a different kind of question, one situated between student concerns and
Nonprofit resettles over 100 refugees
University efforts — why were two days of protests able to draw almost triple as many people total as University events themed around campus climate and the diversity plan have drawn in past weeks? Until the protests began this week, public participation in discussion about the University’s approach to diversity on campus had been limited. Last week, multiple University-sanctioned forums were held on campus around campus climate, as LSA See PROTEST, Page 3A
BRIAN KUANG
Daily Staff Reporter
Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County expects to have resettled about 163 refugees in the county by the conclusion of its fiscal year this fall, nearly doubling its previous year’s caseload, and plans to do so again in the coming year. In a March interview with the Daily, JFS administrators said their resettlement target was still in the 80-person range. However, an uptick in the number of refugees the Obama administration chose admit this year — from an initial goal of 10,000 to 12,000 — led to a surge in demand for JFS’s services around May and June. These new arrivals will primarily be from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Iran. In an interview this week, Shrina Eadeh, JFS’s director of resettlement, said her organization plans to hire two new resettlement caseworkers in addition to its three current resettlement staff to accommodate the new demand. JFS has also received additional federal funding to meet the influx of new clients, as the organization See REFUGEE, Page 3A
Event explores impact of Pulse shooting Lawmakers Tesla sues challenge on LGBTQ and Latinx communities Michigan
GOVERNMENT
BUSINESS
10-cent tax for bags
Forum discusses misrepresentations in mainstream media and societal effects
State House panel to vote on bill that would block county “eco-tax”
The University of Michigan hosted an event Thursday to discuss the lasting impact of a June 12 mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Florida where nearly 50 people were killed, on the Latino community. The event began with a moment of silence for victims, before moving to a series of speakers. Ramón Rivera-Servera, associate professor and chair of the Department of Performance Studies at Northwestern University, spoke at the forum, highlighting his personal experience as a queer Puerto Rican. Rivera-Servera said hatred toward LGBTQ, Latino individuals can be seen not only through incidents such as the shooting, but also through what he called the “whitewashing” of media narratives, or the insertion of a white perspective in news reports. He noted that his research on queer Latino
WILL FEUER
Daily Staff Reporter
A new policy to tax disposable bags in Washtenaw County may be stymied by the state legislature before it goes into effect, depending on the outcome of a vote in the state House this week. On June 1, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners voted 6-2 in favor of a law to institute a 10-cent tax for every disposable bag a consumer uses at retail grocery stores, effective April 22, 2017. The legislation was approved by a House panel on Tuesday, allowing it to move to the House for a vote. Aiming to block the “ecotax” from being passed and See BAGS, Page 3A
ALEXA ST. JOHN Daily Staff Reporter
nightlife has suggested this is an issue in that space in particular. “Latinos have always, in a way, been present in this nightlife history of the LBGTQ community, but their presence
is often being marginalized in our rendition of national history,” Rivera-Servera said. “This attack is a really extreme manifestation of the kind of violence and hate and phobias
that characterize the broader experience of risk.”
Read more online at: MichiganDaily.com
over 2014 legislation
Law blocks company from operating in the state ETHAN LEVIN For the Daily
PAUL AHNN/Daily
Dr. Ramon Rivera-Servera, chair of Performance Studies at Northwestern University, speaks about the Queer Latinidad community at Haven Hall Thursday.
Tesla Motors, Inc., an American automaker and renewable energy company, filed a lawsuit last week against Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and state lawmakers, urging them to overturn a law, passed in 2014, that banned Tesla’s direct-toconsumer sales model from being implemented in the state. The recent lawsuit is the latest in a list of grievances against the state from the all-electric Silicon Valley technology company. In a press release, Tesla officials said the law poses a threat to the economy, and urged lawmakers to reconsider it. “Unfortunately, the local auto See TESLA, Page 3A
Kenny the Kicker
A lot of pieces go into being a successful kicker, and Kenny Allen has them all, starting with his family
» Page 4B
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Vol. CXXVI, No. 1 ©2016 The Michigan Daily
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@UMich was ranked as the top public university in the United States, as announced by @WSJ. #GoBlue
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Public Policy junior Tierra Christian speaks at the Black Lives Matter protest in the Fishbowl Monday in response to racially charged posters posted earlier that day around campus.
Big shout out to the @MGoMPACT and the @careercenter for a fantastic #FallCareerExpoKickoff!
Erica @NobleErica
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Engineering senior Aaron Baumgarten watches the first presidential debate at a viewing party hosted at the Ford School of Public Policy Monday.
Even with an umbrella the 10-minute walk from East Quad to the Chem building has me soaked.
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LSA junior Jay Patrick plays basketball at the newly renovated Intramural Sports Building Wednesday.
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Clinical work with undocumented students
Office hours for media career interest
Innovation and technology lecture
Jonathan Glickman producer series
WHAT: Karina Ramos from the Counseling Center at UC-Irvine will discuss the considerations for clinicians when working with undocumented college students. WHO: Counseling and Psychological Services WHEN: 10:30 p.m. to 12 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, Anderson D
WHAT: Alum Brett Friedman of Horizon Media will hold oneon-one meetings with students interested in careers in media. Sign up on the Career Center’s website. WHO: University Career Center WHEN: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: Student Activities Building, Career Center Office
WHAT: Liz Gerber, founder of Design for America, will address challenges regarding the implementation of new innovations and the rapid growth of technology. WHO: School of Information WHEN: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. WHERE: Museum of Art, Helmut Stern Auditorium
WHAT: Kent Alterman, president of Comedy Central, will discuss his work in the development, strategies and management of a top brand in comedy. WHO: Screen Arts and Cultures WHEN: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: Angell Hall, Auditorium B
Arwa @ArwaGayar
Hashtag campaign challenges new process for designating pronouns
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Young Americans for Freedom launch campus initiative WILL FEUER
Daily Staff Reporter
n response to the University of Michigan’s new class roster pronoun policy, some students have customized their pronouns in a manner misaligned with the policy’s intent, sparking controversy on social media. The policy allows students to designate pronouns in a new Gender Identity tab within the Campus Personal Information section of Wolverine Access. Along with several set pronouns, the dropdown menu features an “enter your own” category. An email sent Tuesday to campus students and faculty from University Provost Martha E. Pollack and E. Royster Harper, the vice president for student life, said the goal of the policy was to promote inclusion. “The University of Michigan
GETTING A BULLSEYE.
is committed to fostering an environment of inclusiveness,” they wrote. “Consistent with this value, the University has created a process for students to designate pronouns with the University and have those pronouns reflected on class rosters this fall.” The email also said professors will be asked to re-check their class rosters at the end of October and use the pronouns indicated by students. However, several students on campus have changed their pronouns to a variety of titles intended to spark ridicule of the policy. LSA junior Grant Strobl, national chairman of the Young Americans for Freedom board of governors, began the criticism when he changed his pronoun to “His Majesty.” Strobl announced this undertaking Wednesday via
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Twitter, encouraging others to do the same. In an interview, Strobl said the push was Young Americans for Freedom’s new hashtag campaign. He said the University policy complicates reality and allows for an unnecessary ambiguity. “The new policy ignores reality,” he said. “The purpose of pronouns is to simplify the English language, not add more complexity. The idea that anybody can insert an ambiguous title, pronoun, that isn’t a pronoun into the University system, and then professors potentially facing sanctions is absolutely absurd.” Several others responded in support of Strobl’s challenge, changing their pronouns to titles such as ‘Her Royal Highness’. However, many others used social media to condemn the campaign. School of Information Prof. Kristin Fontichiaro sent an email to the Information School community in response to the campaign, citing it as an example of how technology is not always used in the way it was intended. “It reminds me of how complicated UMSI’s peopleinformation-technology triad can be and how difficult it can be for well-intended leaders such as our campus administration to anticipate how a well-intended system can be thwarted by folks,” Fontichiaro wrote in the email. She added, however, that she would not utilize titles as pronouns in her classroom. “One final thing ... should any #umpronounchallenge fans be on this list, please be advised that I do not plan to use ‘Your Majesty’ or ‘Professor’ as pronouns in my classroom,” she wrote. “Call me an oldfashioned former English teacher, but titles are not pronouns.”
“Black Lives Matter does not hurt race relations, racists hurt race relations” #BLM #UofM
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PROTEST From Page 1A launched its part of the diversity plan. However, though LSA Dean Andrew Martin sent out an email about the forum dates on Aug. 30 and the events have been advertised across campus, the discussions received only a modest turnout, with the exception of a forum for staff. About 40 undergraduate students attended the student forum, and in total, about 230 students, faculty and staff attended the four forums overall. Conversation at the forums also tended to focus on a lack of student, faculty and staff involvement, and general underattendance. In contrast, the protests in total over the past week have drawn more than 600. Hundreds of students, faculty and staff gathered Monday night to protest the racially charged posters. Almost 400 individuals, many of them University community members, protested the scheduled debate about the merits of the Black Lives Matter movement. Groups of students have also chalked the Diag or put up posters of their own throughout the week. The discrepancy in attendance numbers was also present between the protests and a collegesanctioned event for students to discuss the impact of this week’s events, which drew roughly 100 community members. Vikrant Garg, a School of Public Health first-year grad student, was one of the organizers for both protests. He said he did not attend the forums this September because he was not pleased with the how town hall discussions around the strategic plan last April and March were conducted. “I had gone to the ones earlier, last year before coming back to campus, and I was not pleased with one, the way that they were run, and two, with the way that
REFUGEE From Page 1A is funded per each refugee it resettles. Additionally, JFS will also no longer be the sole resettlement agency operating in the county. Samaritas — another national social service organization — announced in a September press release that it would be expanding its Ann Arbor foster care office and hiring a caseworker to handle the resettlement of 12 refugee families in the coming months. Spokesperson Lynne Golodson said Samaritas plans to partner with JFS and other community organizations to help provide essential services to new arrivals.
BAGS From Page 1A implemented, the Republicancontrolled State Senate passed a bill in May that would, if passed by the House, bar local governments from passing such fees on packaging containers. This legislation represents the first attempt by any local government in Michigan to adopt such an “eco-tax;” however, it faces great uncertainty in the hands of state legislatures. The bill to prevent the passage of an “eco-tax,” was passed 25-12 along almost entirely partisan lines. Commissioner Andy LaBarre said the “eco-tax” policy is a result of efforts by the board to protect the environment and reduce costs. He estimated the county will save approximately $200,000 per year after the policy is adopted — money currently spent on repairing recycling utilities because plastic bags clog the machinery. “(The law) is designed to help minimize the amount of plastic bags you see floating about in the environment,” LaBarre said. “It is also designed to promote the reuse of plastic bags and paper bags.” However, some commissioners remain opposed. Commissioner Dan Smith, who voted against the tax, noted the law was rushed through without going through the Board of Public Works and said it would not effectively cut costs. “I’m the Board of Commissioner’s liaison to the
News
Friday, September 30, 2016 — 3A
the plan was filled out,” Garg said. “It wasn’t really listening to student voices, even though it was a town hall for students.” Garg said while he does not speak on behalf of all the organizers that planned the protests, he believes the space created at the student-organized protests was specifically for Black people and other students of color to talk about their experiences of racism and discrimination on campus, adding that those who live here feel the weight of national and local events. “Personally, I think one of the reasons we shut down the Fishbowl (during a protest) is because we often find that the University addresses the problem are extremely disingenuous,” Garg said. “I will say that individually administrators do care. But I think that as an administration, it does not show that,” Garg said. “It is not something that is translated beyond the individual, those reactions feel as if they’re saving face.” Elizabeth James, faculty advisor for the Black Student Union, wrote in an email interview that isolation is the main reason people of color may have not contributed to the diversity forums “I really value speaking your truth. However, when people of color attend events such as forums, they often find themselves in the same situations that they face in classrooms or at the workplace: being seen as the “spokesperson” for your people and representing a group, rather than yourself as an individual,” James wrote. “It’s not fair, but it’s a reality.” Similarly, Ross sophomore Kyle Trocard said Black students often also feel defeated by their circumstances at the University. “The reason [no one attended] is that it’s a tough time for us with all the things going on on this campus, all the things going on around this country,” Trocard
said. “We haven’t had time to take care of ourselves.” In an interview Wednesday, University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald pointed to the different natures of the protest and the LSA forums as reasons for the discrepancies. “I think they’re really two different events, but, say part of the LSA strategic planning process — many of the units have had specific events that were designed for either students, faculty and staff, sometimes all three, sometimes separately, things that we’re thinking about doing and getting feedback,” Fitzgerald said. However, beyond the events of this week, students said the mass attendance at the protests also illuminated broader concerns with the administration’s approach to campus diversity, with many citing doubts both about the University’s ability to make change and the sincerity of their desire to do so. Channey said she attended both the protests and the the LSA-sponsored community event, but was disappointed that administrators seemed uncertain about how to proceed during the latter. “I spoke to an administrator outside of those discussions about what they plan on doing in response to, for example, the fliers, and they say they do not know,” Channey said. This, she added, might explain why Black students feel prompted to create their own spaces on campus instead of relying on the University. But though the Universitysponsored event did not give her the experience she was hoping for, she said as a new student to campus, she still feels administration need to continue trying and they need to create more spaces for Black members of the student body to speak out. LSA freshman Asia Green echoed Channey’s sentiments,
saying she didn’t feel talking to administrators was an effective way to cause change. “There are not enough events hosted, not enough forums,” Green said. “All of the people up higher always talk about how they want to promote diversity and inclusion but nothing is being done.” Along with criticism, however, others pointed to a misunderstanding between administrators and students as the reason for a negative campus climate around diversity. LSA freshman Carlena Toombs said at Tuesday’s protest that while she appreciates the steps taken by the University thus far, she feels the response was not entirely in line with what the Black community wants. “I feel like it’s very hard for (the administration) to do what we, Black students, want them to do, but at the same time, I appreciate them allowing things like protests to go on, which I feel like is as much as they really can do, politically,” Toombs said. James also suggested that the need to speak in front of a group of strangers during the forums may be another barrier, as a particularly vulnerable experience that students of color often face. “After the posters were sighted on Monday, that evening hundreds of students gathered together in DAAS to view the Presidential debate,” James wrote. “That large number resulted not just because of the debate, but I believe it was more related to a need to feel safe after a threatening, scary moment on campus. Some of the students had never faced blatant racism before and it was reassuring, for them, as well as myself, to be together to commiserate and share time with our community.” These issues — administrator inaction and the relationship between administrators and
students — also figured heavily into specific criticisms of the plan itself, much of which has not yet been released. Garg said he believes the plan’s goals are too far reaching for the current campus climate. The plan uses the year 2021 as a benchmark, and community conversations surrounding the start of the planning process asked the community what they wanted the University to look like in 2025. “It doesn’t look at the problems today and find solutions, they are reacting in response to things that are happening they plan on doing something about this within the next five years. At the town hall, they asked “What do you want to see?” Garg said. “And people came up with concrete things that could be done immediately and they would be like okay, we can include that in our plan. We can ensure that by 2020. I’m not even going to be here in 2020.” At Monday’s protest, LSA junior Lakyrra Magee, an event organizer, also criticized the long-term focus in the diversity, equity and inclusion initiative as a solution to campus climate issues. “It’s possible to do both,” Magee said, referring to the University addressing current events and the five-year DEI plan. “But they’re not doing it. We want Schlissel to address us … about 2017, not 2025.” Nonetheless, many of the students interviewed said they’ve seen traction across the University since the protests beyond these incidents, on broader campus climate issues. Garg noted that the School of Public Health is now opening up a space for students to share their experiences, a meeting Tuesday between Angela Dillard, LSA’s new Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, and the Dean of Students and a campus-wide conversation on race recently announced by Schlissel for Sunday.
Green said the response to the protests thus far has made her optimistic. “The fact that we’ve been having so much support has really been making the situation better, and hopefully we can take it further in terms of getting it to higher executives and making sure people really do feel safe on campus,” Green said. In discussing next steps for the administration, Fitzgerald stressed a campus-wide discussion on race that is slated to occur Sunday in response to the events of this week. Schlissel announced Wednesday the University will hold a campuswide discussion on race following the events of this week on Sunday. Both Green and Garg said they were planning to attend Sunday’s event. “I just know that the event for Sunday is something I noticed the president and other senior leadership are hoping a good number, and a cross-section of the entire University community, will come together and foster that kind of hearing from each other and speaking to each other,” Fitzgerald said. James wrote that while diversity, equity and inclusion are noble goals for any campus, the small numbers of students,faculty and staff of color make it hard for them to feel comfortable, even in the best of circumstances. “I believe the U’s diversity plans are promising and have great hope that they will result in a more inclusive university,” she wrote. “Maybe we just need other ways of collecting information about how to make it all come together. Sometimes I wonder if smaller focus groups with people of similar backgrounds wouldn’t provide richer discussions where people would feel free to talk, then later bringing the groups together to discuss the similarities and differences could provide a bridge to connecting the dots.”
When refugees arrive in the Ann Arbor area, they and their families work with a case manager on a daily basis for the next 90 days with the goal of selfsufficiency, JFS case manager Nathaniel Smith told the Daily in March. Assistance includes help with registering for proper identification, school enrollment, initial medical screenings and employment services. Follow-up English language training and career services are also available for up to five years after arrival. “We address a lot of different areas of the refugees’ life, getting them set up with all the things that they need to start functioning on their own here,” Smith said in March. “For the most part, they
are close to being financially selfsufficient after 90 days.” The biggest challenge with quadrupling JFS’s intake in two years, Eadeh said this week, has been finding adequate housing for newly arrived refugees due to concerns from property owners. “(Refugees) have no background; they have very low income,” Eadeh said, adding that JFS has had several longstanding relationships with a number of property managers. “The next few months I’ll be reaching out to landlords and housing management companies to work with them and ensure that refugees who come will be able to receive housing.” To further meet the demands of its quadrupled capacity, JFS has
also expanded its partnerships with community groups, student organizations and faith-based congregations for volunteers and donations of food and furniture. More than 200 volunteers have been signed up for orientation, Eadeh said, and will play a role in sorting donations, helping new arrivals move, writing welcome letters and helping with paperwork in the JFS office. “Our local elementary, middle and high schools are trying to do what they can,” Eadeh said. “University (students) are pitching in to help, as well as synagogues, mosques and churches.” One of these student volunteer organizations — the Michigan Refugee Assistance Program — was established this semester by
LSA senior Nicole Khamis. Khamis said she reached out to JFS in late February to offer help with fundraising, off-put by negative political rhetoric surrounding refugees. During the summer, she decided to expand the scope of her organization following the surge in new arrivals. “I began thinking about doing something like this after the extremely negative rhetoric about refugees,” Khamis said. “So I started seeing we could assist locally in the biggest humanitarian crisis our generation is facing.” Khamis said she screened and selected 40 other University students to act as volunteers for JFS. The students will assist
by running errands, acting as ESL teachers and helping with appointments. While the student volunteers are still undergoing language and cultural training, Khamis said she hopes the first volunteer engagement can take place in the coming week. In addition to refugee service, Khamis said an additional aim of her organization is to raise awareness of the global refugee issue on campus through donation drives, movie screenings and panel discussions with refugees. “When you don’t meet somebody and you only hear hateful rhetoric about them, you form an opinion about them,” Khamis said. “Really I think that can only be broken by personal contact.”
“The dealers didn’t want to see Tesla expanding, and so the governor signed the legislation. It seemed to be the logical decision at the time.” Tesla’s unconventional sales model has been subject to criticism since it first started selling cars in 2008. Rather than working with third-party franchises, the company uses small storefronts and an online directory to sell its vehicles directly to consumers, bypassing the added cost of dealership fees. The majority of states have policies in place intended to prohibit the presence of standalone stores like the Tesla model, motivated by what critics cite as an inherent competitive advantage of employing the factory-to-consumer model. Tesla, however, claims that the unorthodox approach is less about cutting cost for the customers and more about educating the country about the merits of renewable energy. “We want to engage with people when they are not thinking about buying a car,” George Blankenship, Tesla’s vice president of sales and ownership experience, said in an interview with Autotrader in 2011. “Our goal is not to sell a person a car, but to educate them on what electric cars and, particularly, what Tesla electric cars can provide. At a mall, people are already relaxed and out shopping on their own. Most of them will likely never have heard of Tesla, and so we are becoming part of their daily routines.” Crane said Tesla regards the franchise dealership model as
outdated, noting it has seen almost no change in the 100 years of its existence. He added that Tesla revised its sales model to best meet the needs of consumers and eliminate areas of inefficiency in the sales chain. “Dealers traditionally make about a 4 percent margin on car sales and they make about a 25 percent margin on servicing cars, so the real money here is the servicing of the cars,” Crane said. “Electric vehicles have very little service component: They don’t have filters and they don’t have oil changes. A lot of the servicing is Tesla downloading something directly to your car to update something, just like you would an iPhone. It’s much less of a moneymaking margin than traditionally it would have been.” In recent years, the direct distribution model has been adopted in a variety of industries, such as technology, to meet regulator requirements. To satisfy both consumers and demanding state legislators, Crane said he expected Tesla to compromise its stance on direct distribution. “If you look at companies like Apple, you can go to a mall and go to the Apple Store, and all your dealings are directly with Apple,” he said. “Elon Musk — the CEO of Tesla — in the long run said maybe he could use a mixed model: sell cars both in dealerships and directly to consumers. The consumer is used to the idea that you transact business in multiple different ways. Eventually, the conversation is going to turn to whether we should be buying vehicles at all.”
Board of Public Works and there were several members that were rather perturbed that they hadn’t even had an opportunity to weigh in on this,” Smith said. “There was lots of talk made at the time and I saw a recent news article about the thing that’s cost Washtenaw County money. Well, it doesn’t cost Washtenaw County any money because we don’t own any recycling facilities.” Smith also charged that the board does not have the authority to enact such a law. “The mechanism that we came up with is convoluted at best,” he said. “There is actually two different attorney general opinions that call into question our ability to do this type of thing without explicit state authorization.” Republicans and affected businesses have also argued that local taxes like this one create “patchwork legislation” that make it costlier for big, multinational franchises to adhere to all laws in every county. “Any time you start to see a patchwork approach … it creates another level of complexity that we just don’t necessarily think is the government’s responsibility to be doing,” said Robert O’Meara, vice president of government affairs for the Michigan Restaurant Association, in a press release. In response to the criticisms, LaBarre said he thought such small policy changes were impactful on these issues. “This is a good policy and the policies (Republicans)
advocate for are largely bad, and so I’d rather have a patchwork good policy doing some good in some areas than a blanket awful policy. So they’re entitled to their opinion; they’re just wrong,” LaBarre said. A number of Democrats on the board have also argued that the Republican effort to block the law is simply aimed attacking Michigan Democrats, and goes against the fundamental Republican principle of devolving power to states. “It is showing that their advocacy of the principle of strong local government is really a bit of a charade, and I think they are for strong local governments until they are not,” LaBarre said. “I think they’re just being intellectually dishonest.” However, Ken Kollman, director of the University’s Center for Political Studies, said while many people view the GOP as a devolution-friendly party, Republicans and Democrats alike tend to use devolution as a purely pragmatic tool. “I wouldn’t take people’s positions on decentralization at face value,” Kollman said. “Very few people in politics are truly principled about devolution, decentralization and centralization. They tend to want to centralize policies when they have control on the central government and tend to want to decentralize policies when they have control of local governments that are different in partisanship from the central government.”
TESLA From Page 1A dealers and local manufacturers have made clear that they oppose any law that would allow Tesla to operate in Michigan,” the statement said. “As one leading legislator told Tesla: ‘the local auto dealers do not want you here. The local manufacturers do not want you here. So you’re not going to be here.’ Tesla will continue to take steps to defend the rights of Michigan consumers.” Tesla did not respond to three requests for comment to its corporate headquarters. In an interview with the Detroit News, Gisgie Dávilia Gendreau, director of communications at the Michigan Department of Human Services, said Tesla’s business model is not aligned with state law as the company does not have a contract with an auto manufacturer. “The license was denied because state law explicitly requires a dealer to have a bona fide contract with an auto manufacturer to sell its vehicles,” Gendreau wrote in the email. “Tesla has told the department it does not have one, and cannot comply with that requirement.” Law School Prof. Daniel Crane noted that the law in question arrived on Gov. Snyder’s desk two weeks before his reelection in November 2014, saying the degree of influence held by Michigan automakers and dealerships made vetoing it a near impossibility. “The dealers are powerful in the state — particularly relevant are GM and Ford,” Crane said.
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Friday, September 30, 2016
KEVIN SWEITZER | COLUMN
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FROM THE DAILY
I
From the Daily: Don’t give up
n fall 2015, University President Mark Schlissel introduced plans to create a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategic Plan for campus. This initiative specifies that by Oct. 6, the University will release a campuswide plan, composed of plans from each unit within the University, on localized strategies for improvement in diversity, equity and inclusion. Over the past two weeks, the College of LSA hosted four forums, one of which was advertised as being focused on undergraduates, to release its part of the plan. All of the forums, including the one focused on undergraduates, had very low attendance rates. Conversely, this week, more than 300 students spoke out against racist posters that were posted in Angell and Mason Halls. At these protests, students voiced concerns that the DEI initiatives weren’t doing enough to help students now. While the University — in the most tangible way it has in years — attempts to answer students’ calls for greater diversity, equity and inclusion on campus, students are still left unsatisfied. For the most part, undergraduates aren’t attending Universitysponsored forums, and though they may acknowledge the changes the University has initiated, they are disappointed with any change to campus climate. Though the DEI plan urges colleges to implement strategies to produce both tangible initiatives and more abstract future plans, most changes will not make a major impact right now on campus. Some examples of potential changes can be seen in the LSA DEI draft, which students can review online. The draft outlines plans to expand the laptop loan program, improve the Race and Ethnicity requirement within the LSA curriculum and allocate funding for learning communities specifically dedicated to creating a mixture of diverse cultures. While some of these programs will likely, in a small way, help to make students in marginalized groups feel more included now — namely the laptop loan program — most are geared toward change that will only become noticeable over time. Students want change now, not in 2025. We acknowledge the difference between acting directly in response to actions like the posting of this week’s posters, which threaten
student safety on campus, and advocating for a general change in campus climate. We acknowledge students do not feel safe or comfortable even speaking up at opportunties like the LSA forums because of the hostile environment on our campus. We acknowledge that this is problematic and urge adminstrators to act immediately to attempt relieve students of this pain. But we also acknowledge that change is a two-way street. Students should not let the University’s past inaction surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion stop them from persevering — continuing to voice their concerns now and into the future. The onus must be on both students and University administrators and faculty. If we are going to see a cultural shift at the University, students need to take advantage of opportunities the University is providing, and the University needs to listen when students speak up, and then continue implementing progressive policies and programs. While the LSA plan states that students should not be expected to solve campus climate problems, it also emphasizes the importance of student involvement in the process. Not only does the University need to listen to the student voice, but students must also make an effort to attend events, like the LSA forums. Students are tired of feeling like they are not heard, but staying silent is not an option. It is worth recognizing that
much of the work to be done will be selfless work. Campus climate shifts aren’t going to happen overnight, and much of the work that we, as students and administrators and faculty, need to put in now may not be directly beneficial to us, but will hopefully benefit a freshman walking onto campus in five or 10 years. The University needs to recognize the efforts students are taking to both protect themselves and their peers today, as well as alter campus climate for the future. Faculty and administrators need to listen to what students say when they speak out and then cultivate this kind of energy in Universitysponsored events. Forums geared toward more specific issues would help accomplish this: Instead of focusing on diversity very broadly, the University could host forums about Islamophobia, prejudice against Latino students or specific events on campus, like the recent community gathering hosted by LSA in response to the recently posted racist flyers. Tangible changes that affect our community both now and years down the line start with students bringing the same energy they are bringing to protests and student-organized gatherings to the events that administrators are creating. Only through continuous and sustained collaborating with — not against — the administration can we change our campus, both now and in the years into the future.
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS | OP-ED
A
Engineers in solidarity
s students from the College of Engineering, we would like to express our solidarity with our fellow African-American engineers and other engineers of color during this time of hate on Central Campus, which affects our community on North Campus as well. While we understand that this is an election year and that activism
and protest are important aspects of the democratic process, there is no excuse for patently offensive material posted on the walls of this University. We will encourage dialogue, but demand civility. We will challenge ideas, but not slander our fellow human beings. We will foster collaboration to solve our problems and not resort to the tactics of bigotry.
We stand as engineers who are dedicated to defeating social injustice, not just through words but also through actions in our daily lives. Today we stand with our fellow engineers and the University community as a whole. For a complete list of over 60 student organization signees, visit michigandaily. com.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and op-eds. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while op-eds should be 550 to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.
Vote yes on the RTA plan
O
ver the last decade, a stranded in another city after dark. major issue in Detroit Keeping all of this in mind, I politics has been rapid decided to give the bus system a population loss that has plagued try. What I found was more than the city. While it can be easy to alarming. To get to my destination look at the decreasing numbers on the east side of Detroit, I had to as a sign of despair, I look at the take three buses, and the trip took population numbers in a positive more than an hour. Additionally, light. According to the the buses were late, 2010 census, there are leaving me stranded KEVIN more than 700,000 in a neighborhood residents in Detroit, SWEITZER I didn’t know. If making it the 18th largest city students at the University of in America, by population. But Michigan had to ride Detroit the greater Detroit metropolitan Department of Transportation area, which includes Detroit buses to class, they would and the surrounding suburbs, certainly protest until the blue has approximately 4,292,060 bus system returned. people, making it the 13th The problems with Detroit’s largest metropolitan area in transit system aren’t easily America. categorized into one specific I’m not claiming that being the problem. The city’s layout itself, 13th largest metro area in America spanning more than 140 square entitles us to be treated the same miles, is a contributing factor. It way as the greater New York City is so big that the combined land is treated. However, metro Detroit mass of San Francisco, Boston lacks countless features that and Manhattan could fit into allow other metropolitan areas to Detroit, and there would still be operate smoothly. Detroit has the a sizeable amount of room left. worst public and regional transit Additionally, metro Detroit area system in America, due largely transit providers are more than to the city and suburbs failing to fractured. For example, Suburban work together on transit goals. Mobility Authority for Regional Because of America’s car- Transportation buses — buses that centric culture, the transit systems serve the suburbs of Detroit — are in any given American city lack the prohibited from picking up riders funding and infrastructure needed inside Detroit city limits, often to compete with big European or leaving riders stranded. Asian cities. However, Detroit’s Regardless of the reason, one transit system pales in comparison thing is certain: Detroit’s transit to other American cities. In system is a mess. Only 3 percent Detroit, a trip from any given of jobs in the area can be reached home in the city to the suburbs, within 60 minutes on public where grocery stores, malls and transit, and housing inequality low-income jobs are located, can prevents many people from living take more than an hour in each near their workplace. Bus service direction. Additionally, bus service is infrequent, unreliable and ends is unreliable, and many services too early in the night to service don’t run late at night, meaning workers of all jobs. However, a trip to the store can leave one there is a solution: The Regional
“
Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan has proposed a master plan that would overhaul Detroit’s transit system. The main initiatives of the proposal include Bus Rapid Transit systems on the major streets in Detroit and an increase in 24-hour routes to serve more people in suburban areas. Additionally, there will be a commuter train service established between Ann Arbor and Detroit, and a BRT bus will run along Washtenaw Avenue connecting downtown Ann Arbor and downtown Ypsilanti. The benefits of the proposal are sweeping and will help many people in metro Detroit have better access to their jobs and services across southeastern Michigan. However, the proposal will not go forward without an approval from voters on Nov. 8. This proposal will levy a tax of 1.2 mills — $1.20 per $1000 of property value — on all residents of Wayne, Washtenaw, Oakland and Macomb counties to finance the plan. This plan is crucial to the development of the region, and without it, the economic growth of the region will not happen. Many University students are registered to vote in Ann Arbor, and many are also registered to vote in their hometowns in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. A small increase in property taxes isn’t a huge burden to many homeowners in southeastern Michigan, but it can have a world of a difference for Detroit residents and any of us visiting Detroit. Detroit’s transit woes are great, but this election, suburban voters need to Kevin Sweitzer can be reached at ksweitz@umich.edu
You cannot trivialize my experience as a Black person by debating it ... I am not saying I’m better than you or that only Black lives matter or that my life matters more than yours, but I’m saying that Black lives do matter. — Protest organizer and Social Work student Lawrielle West at Tuesday night’s protest of the planned debate on the merit of Black Lives Matter, which was sponsored by the Michigan Political Union.
LSA STUDENT GOVERNMENT DIVERSITY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE | OP-ED
”
Equality and justice are fundamental rights
M
onday morning was met with racist flyers spread around campus endorsing principles of white supremacy and blatant hateful sentiment. As painful and regrettable as this situation is, it serves to highlight the paradox underlying experiences of Black (and other minority) students on campus: On one side, they are met with faculty members and administrators drafting and designing extensive plans to address matters of diversity, and on the other side, down the halls of our buildings, they are met with posters
attacking their very identity. We become so caught up in elaborate discourses regarding freedom of speech that we lose sight of the simple truth that human dignity and respect for others is not debatable. As students are drafting statements ( just like this one), creating safe spaces and hosting teach-ins, quality and justice cannot be empty words. Quality and justice must be fundamental, inalienable human rights. We must endeavor not to treat “diversity, equity and inclusion” as a flowery slogan, but rather we
IN CHAN LEE | CONTACT IN CHAN LEE AT TOKG@UMICH.EDU
need to foster an accepting climate for all students. Though we do not have the power to control all prejudice and racial discrimination, we can stand in solidarity with those targeted and in unwavering rejection of those who disseminate hatred. With solidarity, LSA Student Government If any student organizations have an interest in discussing ways to improve campus climate in collaboration with LSA Student Government, please reach out to Ibtihal Makki at iimakki@umich.edu.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
CLASSICAL MUSIC COLUMN
Mass murder, music and morality in art
I
n August of 2001, something rather unusual happened in the state of Israel. There was a concert in Tel Aviv, which was entirely ordinary, and the famed Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim led the orchestra, which was also ordinary. But DAYTON when Barenboim gave HARE the downbeat for his encore, something completely out of the ordinary happened — he played Wagner. The encore had been preceded by 30 minutes of intense debate among conductor and audience after Barenboim had asked them if he could play Wagner. Shouts of “fascist” were heard, people stormed out and audience members in neighboring seats heatedly argued about what was to come. But by the end of the evening, the music of Richard Wagner had been played live in Israel for nearly the first time in the nation’s 50-year history. It was not the first Wagnerrelated controversy in Israel. Barenboim himself had tried to program some of the composer’s works nearly a decade earlier, but had cancelled following protests. In 1981, the Israel Philharmonic attempted to perform Wagner, but was interrupted by a Holocaust survivor leaping onto the stage, removing his shirt and brandishing his concentration camp scars. It’s not difficult to see why this is a topic wherein passions run very high. If you were to ask the average person to tell you about Wagner, you would probably hear about his penchant for bombast (see, for instance, the use of “Ride of the Valkyries” in the famous helicopter attack scene in “Apocalypse Now”) and how he was Hitler’s favorite composer, the latter bit unsurprisingly being the point of contention. Hitler’s idolization of Wagner bled into the public sphere during his dictatorship, with the composer’s music appearing at state events, on propaganda broadcasts and more — all of which built a powerful web of negative connotations for those unfortunate enough to suffer under Nazism.
Can we exorcise Wagner? Wagner himself did much to straighten his candidacy for most-favored composer of the Third Reich. In his personal life, Wagner was notoriously antisemitic, a trait which revealed its noxious presence whenever he picked up his pen to do some prose writing, which was really rather often. One particularly sickening article that comes to mind is “Jewishness in Music,” about which the title really paints as much a picture as is needed. Some even suspect that Wagner’s operas — specifically “Parsifal” — contain Jewish caricatures. But aside from all
the reasons why Wagner was a horrible human being (and there are many more in addition to his anti-semitism — see his bulbous ego, elopement with Cosima Liszt and general dickishness — yes, Richard Wagner, I know), there is still an impassable obstacle to dismissing him entirely: He wrote really excellent music. “We need one day to liberate Wagner of all this weight,” Barenboim is quoted as saying in a Haaretz article published some years after the encore incident. And maybe he’s right. Or maybe he’s wrong. I’m not really sure. Either way, the whole issue raises some fascinating questions about the morality of experiencing art produced by bad people or that has been used in gruesome contexts. However hard we try to forget him, Wagner’s musical influence is inexorable, and uncomfortably often it’s for the better. Perhaps more than anyone in the mid-to-late 19th century, Wagner developed the harmonic language that led to some of the most radical and exciting innovations of 20th century music. His “Tristan” chord is perhaps the most famous example of this, but everywhere in his music there is a powerful confluence of chromatic harmony and expressivity. Perhaps this is why his music is so affecting — even the most phlegmatic of individuals have been known to be stirred by Wagner.
How much does art’s motivation contribute to its value? But much of Wagner’s influence is felt in his antecedence to other masterful minds. Ironically, some of the most fertile musical followers of Wagner were Jewish, notably Gustav Mahler — who forged gargantuan symphonies of Wagnerian dramatic scope — and Arnold Schoenberg, who carried Wagner’s daring harmonic ideas to their logical apex in his development of atonality. Even those who opposed Wagner lived in his shadow and had to reconcile with that fact. For instance, the French composer Claude Debussy, who is credited with creating musical Impressionism (though he detested the term), had a youthful infatuation with Wagner. Only later did he recant, breaking away from Wagner and German music and all that came with it, creating his own sonic language. Of Wagner he remarked, “A beautiful sunset that was mistaken for a dawn.” But he first had to gaze at the sun. Is it possible then to exorcise Wagner from the Western Canon? The obvious answer seems to be no. Even if we stopped listening to his music (which probably isn’t ideal — I’m listening to the Prelude from “Parsifal” presently, and it’s really quite moving),
his fingerprints are all over everything following him. Simply put, he is here to stay. But the more interesting question is whether or not, from a moral standpoint, we should try. How much does the intention or motivation of the artist contribute to the ultimate value of the art? If Wagner intended to portray Jewish stereotypes in his operas, does that diminish the worth of the music? Or by contrast, how much does an audience’s reaction to a piece affect its value? If a large number of people (e.g. the people of Israel) are revolted by the art for one reason or another, does that mean that it is somehow less? It’s difficult to say. Placing either the creator or the receiver of art in the position of the ultimate arbiter of value seems to be fraught with peril. Again, I don’t have the answers to these questions — if we’re being honest, probably nobody does (which I realize isn’t very helpful to you). I’ve had many circular conversations about this, all without reaching a satisfactory conclusion. But it’s worth thinking about. And it’s worth pointing out that this problem isn’t exclusive to Wagner. This whole article has ended up being far more Wagnerian than I had intended, but there are others in this same camp. For instance, Stravinsky was profoundly influenced by the Italian Renaissance composer Carlo Gesualdo, who wrote beautiful vocal music, innovated more in chromatic harmony than anyone until Wagner, but murdered three people, including his wife and infant child. Some of the more apocryphal details are rather horrifying. Thoroughly nauseating stuff. There’s an interesting Werner Herzog film about it if Germanic cynicism is your sort of thing. Regardless, Gesualdo helped create Stravinsky — who even wrote the foreword to a Gesualdo biography by the University’s own Glenn Watkins — and I love his music despite his murderous nature.
Maybe it’s better to just let the music be music. One of the challenges in this question arises from the cult of personality mentality that is found in classical music. Perhaps more than any other genre except hip hop there is an obsession with the artist. Just think about how much you’ve heard about Mozart’s demigodlike childhood accomplishments, or Beethoven’s tragic deafness. Feature films abound. It’s all about the composer. But maybe it shouldn’t be. Maybe, as might be the case with Wagner, it would be better if we all just let it go. Maybe it’s better to just let the music be music. Hare went to Mani last night with his dad. You can email him at haredayt@umich.edu.
MICHIGAN DAILY ARTS: A SECTION THAT WON’T POST YOUR NUMBER ON TWITTER (LIKE ROB DID) Email ajtheis@umich.edu and katjacqu@umich edu for information on applying to Daily Arts.
Friday, September 30, 2016 — 5A
MUSIC NOTEBOOK ALBUM REVIEW
POLYVINYL RECORDS
Raise your hand if your hormones are raging,
Beach Slang revives high school feels, heartache but falls flat on new album ‘A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings’ is exactly what it sounds like. album. For example, “Spin The Dial” is mellower than “Future Daily Arts Writer Mixtape For The Art Kids,” yet Beach Slang’s newest release, it holds the same appealing qualA Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings, ity: a cluttered arrangement of is exactly what the title suggests. unabashed truth. “Art Damage,” Think back to high “Punks In a Disco school (dreary halls, Bar,” “Wasted Daze squeaky lockers, Of Youth,” “The overbearing adolesPerfect High”— cent angst and desbasically almost A Loud Bash Of peration) and you every song in this Teenage Feelings will have captured album comes Beach Slang the very essence of together to create this album: somewhat seems to be Polyvinyl Records thing a little bit the purpose of A cluttered, a little bit Loud Bash Of Teenmessy, but mostly really just a loud age Feelings: an anthem for the fucking bash of chaotic teenage strange endearment of troubled feelings, both good and bad. youth. May we always remember “Play it loud / play it fast / play them. me something that will always last” However, like every confused is how the opening track, “Future kid on the brink of adulthood, this Mixtape For The Art Kids” com- album has its problems. Considermences. Raw vocals layered over ing the album in its entirety, the heavy guitar riffs, this track sets songs generally repeat a similar the mood for the entire rest of the sound and do not vary into the road album and captures attention with less traveled. It’s a good sound, and its imperfect yet strangely pleas- one that Beach Slang has perfected ing composition. “Future Mixtape into a well-oiled machine. HowevFor The Art Kids” does not try to er, music that recurs over and over smooth over its wild hodgepodge again makes even the best of meloof screaming background music, dies boring and unforgettable. The expressive vocals and choppy feed- indistinguishable qualities of “Art back. It’s a kind of honesty that is Damage” and “Wasted Daze Of refreshing and perhaps the reason Youth” or “The Perfect High” and why Beach Slang’s music is able “Punks In A Disco Bar” degrade to resonate with a multitude of the specifics of each song into a people, not just a select handful of muddled blur. A Loud Bash Of emotional preteens. Teenage Feelings has a good sound This candidness continues in a and a well-developed theme but majority of the other songs on the isn’t varied enough, which causes SHIMA SADAGHYANI
C
Classifieds
the album to fall into irrelevancy and vagueness. Even compared to their last album, The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us, Beach Slang doesn’t seem to have made any strides to grow as a band. The song “Throwaways” parallels “Hot Tramps,” while “Young Hearts” may as well be a continuation of “I Break Guitars.” There does not seem to be any exploration of other types of sound, within the album or from one album to the next. As authentic and engaging as A Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings initially is, after listening to many of the songs in succession, it flatlines and fades into a forgettable tune. A Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings is not terrible, but it’s not noteworthy either. It hangs awkwardly in a limbo of standardized songs brought to half-life with dynamic talent. Beach Slang gets by, but they don’t stand out; this band needs to try something new and completely spontaneous that may work or may not, but at least it will be something novel. Still, Beach Slang is a relatively young band, having debuted their EP just two years ago. Perhaps these first two albums are what they needed to find their footing in the punk rock world. Hopefully, future albums will be filled with amazing songs that push boundaries and dare to be diverse. However, in the meantime, thnks fr th mmrz, Beach Slang, but it’s time to put high school behind.
Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
RELEASE DATE– Friday, September 30, 2016
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
HELP WANTED
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
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40 Discounted, perhaps 41 Four-fifths of a pop band? 42 Adopt-__.com: humane online gp. 47 Songs for singles 49 Chevy named for a star 50 Pops up 51 Steamed 52 Law office workers
53 Contest 54 Contest lure 58 Car sticker letters 59 Prime minister before Rabin 60 “Whoever you are, find whatever you’re into” website 62 Iowa campus 63 T. __ 64 Pic taker 65 Jun. gown wearers
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09/30/16
Arts
6A — Friday, September 30, 2016
ALBUM REVIEW TV REVIEW
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
TV REVIEW TV REVIEW
FOX.
So hot she must be from hell.
NONESUCH RECORDS
Natalie Portman must really love beards,
More love and less weird from Devendra Banhart ‘Ape in Pink Marble’ is like a lover you’ve always cared about. produced, but this album feels particularly sparse. That’s why the sometimes-bizarre nature Devendra Banhart’s new of the vocals can create a jarring album, Ape in Pink Marble, is an contrast between the simplistic easy, luscious ride. The album production and strange lyridrifts seamcism. Banhart sings lessly from one on the final lines track to another, of “Fancy Man,” with little sty“Sometimes I get to listic variation. think / Is this fancy Ape In Pink Marble The vibrato in thing / Is this a Devendra Banhart Banhart’s voice fancy thought?” makes hazy the As the words Nonesuch Records line between tumble out of Banreality and fanhart’s lips, the listasy. This is the intended effect tener is transferred to Banhart’s of the LP, as Ape in Pink Marble semi-sarcastic conscious. The comes across like a dream that next track is the disco-inspired you slipped into. “Fig in Leather.” Banhart singBanhart is an enigmatic fig- speaks over the beat like a charure. He’s of Venezuelan descent acter from Alice in Wonderland and sings some songs in Span- who just invited you to his tea ish, and his bilingualism adds a party. “Hello is that you / Come layer of mystique to his persona. right in, have a seat / Remove Yet this is just a small detail in your shoes, enjoy some fruits his charismatic public image. As / Did I mention, ‘have a seat.’ ” a major figure in the freak-folk Following the distinct absurdity scene, his music is approachable, of these two tracks, Banhart yet retains a dash of the psyche- brings us right back to his comdelic. This cocktail makes for fortable, lucid soundscape. relaxing yet eccentric sounds. This album, like many other Banhart’s music is not over-the- of Banhart’s, is built around top experimental, but has just love. There are no blazon decenough weird shit in it to qualify larations or cascading harmoas interesting. nies of romance. Rather, it feels Ape in Pink Marble is Devendra lived in — like when you remind Banhart’s ninth studio album. someone you’ve known forever Unlike his previous works, no that you still really care about songs are sung in Spanish. It is them. On “Lucky,” Banhart genalso instrumentally minimalis- tly reminds his paramour, “Ooh, tic. Now, no one would have ever what I want to say to you / But accused Banhart of being over- I’m so very, very lucky.” Banhart ZACH GREEN
Daily Arts Writer
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later sings on “Theme for a Taiwanese Woman in Lime Green,” “There’s no one in the world that I love / And that no one is you.” Rather than build up his romantic counterpart, Banhart offers little to no information on her distinct qualities. This inherently creates a far more intimate foundation for their relationship. Only Banhart knows the details, we’re just along for the ride. Ape in Pink Marble thematically varies from his previous 2013 release, Mala. On Mala, Banhart exhibited a soft yearning for love. This is evidenced in “Won’t You Come Over” which seems pretty selfexplanatory. Banhart, it seems, is now singing from a state of emotional satisfaction. His weird-in-a-good-way artistic expressionism is still present, as he reflects on his incognito nature on “Good Time Charlie,” (Ann Arbor shout-out? Is Devendra Banhart a Michigan fan in secret, is this the hidden connection in all of his albums? Maybe we’ll return to this later.) “Mostly been a bathroom stall / A night or work blow-up doll.” Yet on Ape In Pink Marble, there is a steady and relaxing charm throughout. The same charm that you experience when you find a desk chair with really good lumbar support. The album’s a lovely and safe dream, with Banhart being our reserved navigator.
FOX’s revival of ‘The Exorcist’ needs work to live up to classic namesake There’s potential and nostalgia in new horror series, but it lacks edge. religion and reintroduced the world to the word “scary” in a time Daily Arts Writer post-“Rosemary’s Baby.” In other Since the concept of fear and the words, “The Exorcist” was a tertransfiguration of fear into films rifying movie for its time. Since such as “Nosferatu,” it has become then, horror masters such as Wes well-known that Craven and Stephen horror movies draw King emerged into on the inherent, the spotlight of natural fears that horror cinema and “The Exorcist” are already preshave succeeded in ent in the minds of reproducing the Series Premiere its viewers. Howsame type of scary FOX ever, it’s not only that Friedkin’s film the adrenaline brought to the table. Fridays at 9 p.m. rush that draws us In Fox’s newest to watch a spooky series, “The Exorflick, but also the anticipation of cist,” a worried mother, Angela a final endgame — a conclusion to (Geena Davis, “Grey’s Anatomy”), satiate viewers, more or less. Any- captures the attention of local Revthing appearing on screen is set to erend Tomas Ortega (Alfonso Herreach a resolution in 90 minutes, rera, “Sense8”) when her home which is also why horror movies begins to show signs of a demonic such as these burn bright and fast. possession. And, much like in its However, a sudden resurgence film predecessor, Angela’s daughof classic cult flicks in the form of ter begins to act strangely. inspired television series has startSo far, the pilot does a medioed taking over primetime. And cre job of conveying true emowhile series like “Stranger Things” tion. Sure, the gloomy mood and have gained a following for their the character personas match, ability to prolong suspense over but there really isn’t any romance eight episodes, shows like “Sleepy to the act. The degree of separaHollow” fell from the spotlight tion that exists between the 1973 after only one season. Theoretical- “Exorcist” and the revamped ly, and if a horror-centered show series may serve to take away from plays its cards right, the multiple- the golden standard of horror cinepisode nature of TV gives more ema produced between the ’50s time to draw out suspense, as and ’80s. For example, though one well as add in details, that a movie of the benefits of a horror series is would often overlook for time to elaborate on details oftentimes purposes. However, there’s a thin skimmed over in movies, the pilot line between effectively managing episode of “The Exorcist” leaves these concepts and losing viewers both specificity and direction alike faster than drawing them in. to chance. In 1973, William Friedkin’s As a pilot episode, there is too revolutionary film “The Exor- much packed into the 60-minute cist” debuted in cinemas around allotment. The sequence of events, the world. Considered to be one as a result, becomes hard to follow of the greatest horror films of all under the stress of the conflicttime, “The Exorcist” left its view- ing storylines. While the presers with profound questions of ent moves toward the beginning MEGAN MITCHELL
B
sequence of the original “Exorcist,” the past is often referenced in haunting flashbacks experienced in a dream state by Reverend Ortega. Though it’s easy to differentiate between the dream world and the present, the initial sequence is difficult to follow. Hopefully, if the series continues past its pilot episode, this awkwardness will smooth out and appear only sporadically throughout the remainder of the season. For devout followers of “The Exorcist,” the series’ pilot episode certainly brings a sense of nostalgia at the playing of the iconic score, especially as the carpetbagwielding priest’s silhouette is seen walking toward the famous exorcism. However, though the series obviously pays homage to the original, it’s important to note that it isn’t taking the same direct approach as the original film. For example, there are multiple exorcism cases discussed in this series, which opens the door for a broader discussion of demonic possession and the church’s actions toward such events. This also leaves the conversation open for a discussion on religion, which was heavily referenced in the series’ namesake, but not often elaborated on due to obvious time constraints. On this same note, if the writers do wish to take the series past its current status as another extended horror movie, then they’re clearly taking steps in the right direction, so long as they can keep up with their own pace. And though the majority of this new series is jam-packed with easily forgettable character introductions and dream states, the last couple of minutes shows progress toward the creepy edge that pushed “The Exorcist” into cinematic horror history.
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
ALBUM REVIEW
How to Dress Well satisfies and frustrates equally on unique ‘Care’ JOEY SCHUMAN
the jumpiest track, provides the Daily Arts Writer first of many infectious hooks. It’s gutsy to sing. It’s even “Wanna lay you down and take gutsier to sing in a really high you right there / Take you right range. Gutsiest, perhaps, is doing there / Can’t you tell?” It is here all of that with an that Krell showalmost surprising cases potentially array of electronhis greatest (and ics as accompanimost unique) ment. skill — a seamless Care Tom Krell, also blend of intimacy How to Dress Well known as How To and experimentaDress Well, does tion. An organized Weird World all of this, and jumble of echodoes it with relaing background tive ease. He did it particularly vocals and serene synths are well in 2010 on Love Remains, proper compliments of the vulhis debut album, and maybe nerable lyricism. even better four years later, with This momentum carries What Is This Heart? through the first few tracks. On Care, released Sept. 23, fol- “Salt Song,” a cheeky whistle lows accordingly. While the parlays into an appropriately entire project should be prefaced straining outro. Immediately with a warning of its polarizing after, “What’s Up” features (if not all-encompassing) nature somewhat tropical production — Krell’s nasally vocals can grow (“If you make a mess of me, I tiresome and simply aren’t to the wouldn’t change one thing”) tastes of some, and a distaste that works with lovey-dovey of his vocal style pretty much declaration. definitively means a distaste or Krell is so eager, so willing to the entire album — the end prod- play with the melodies behind uct is certainly rewarding. In his voice and it feels refreshing. this sense, it can simultaneously Concurrently, however, the most be satisfactory and/or frustrat- glaring problem of the album ingly unapologetic. arises: remaining genuine for the That being said, it’s mostly entire duration of it. Occasionsatisfactory. And the highest ally, lines feel manufactured. note of the entire album is also In “Time Was Meant To Stay,” the first. Krell pleads “But I know when “Can’t You Tell,” arguably the night is long you feel like you
B+
can’t go / On with the charade, the day to day gets bleak / Watch the bodies all around you fall like snow / But I’m standing here today babe, yeah you know that you gotta stay.” This love letter of a hook plays, to be sure, but it’s just kind of tired. We’ve heard it — or something that sounds a lot like it — before. It’s also difficult at times to keep from discounting How To Dress Well’s style as being, well, outdated. Counter to that idea, however, is the discomfort of a package so developed in such a heavily ethereal manner. Hence the aforementioned polarizing nature of the sound, which is, really more than anything else, proof of a dynamic listening experience. This progressiveness makes up for Care’s sometimes repetitive nature. It picks up the continuity of the album when energy drops off. “I Was Terrible,” dancey as it is, arrives just in time behind the relatively sleepy “Burning Up.” Such is emblematic of the project, a sort of yin-yang in both concept and probable reception. Distilled down, Care is something new, something a listener can explore with legitimate intrigue. Ultimately defined by its idiosyncrasies (both good and bad), it proves to be an easy tradeoff — one in which the “good” quirks win out.
An appreciation of Kim Gordon, Sonic Youth’s punk revolutionary CARLY SNIDER Daily Arts Writer
When you think about punk rock, what do you see? It may be a young, shirtless Iggy Pop thrashing about on stage. Or a snarling Sid Vicious picking away at his bass guitar. Or maybe it’s something more recent — Protomartyr or Wavves. Though all fantastic and important in the development of the genre, there is a pernicious undercurrent beneath all of these images — none of them include women. It’s no secret that punk, and rock more generally, has a history of being fronted and run almost exclusively by men. Whether consciously or not, women have been seen as groupies, mere objects for the male gaze and rarely beings with their own talent, agency or ideas. This characterization is not to undermine the importance of the women of punk rock, but to highlight the gusto of those who broke down barriers. Kim Gordon is one such maverick. Most known for her role in Sonic Youth, Gordon has slowly but surely dismembered the patriarchal domination of punk rock for the past three decades. Called to action by the no wave genre, Gordon dove head-first into the music scene. Tackling no wave was like taking on everything dominant gender ideology tells women not to be — disso-
nant, avant-garde and nihilistic. And she did so with aggressive grace. The unfiltered, raw nature of no wave, which sprung from a rejection of commercialized new wave, attracted Gordon with its performative artistry, as well as its accessibility. Like punk, anyone can do it. It’s a genre built on a paradox; the artists don’t care, but they care enough to create. This kind of indifferent, brash attitude is especially jarring when carried out by a woman. And that just makes it all the better. Women are told they are built to be caring, to dote and be soft. Through no wave and punk, Gordon breaks down the mutual exclusivity of rock and the female experience. Though not the prolific frontman (Gordon was a bassist and occasional vocalist), her hand was ever-present in Sonic Youth’s work and performative style. Plucking her thumping, throbbing bass, she was no sideshow to the main, male act of Sonic Youth. Gordon, both in Sonic Youth and in side projects like Free Kitten, was and is integral to the act. She views music holistically — as something that is meant to be seen as well as heard. Music, especially live music, is meant to be an immersive sensory experience. With the help of husband and fellow bandmate Thurston Moore, Gordon and Sonic Youth pounded and rocked their way into new DIY, noise rock territory. In making this kind of creative decision,
along with the help of her bandmates, Gordon is a true artist. She didn’t, and still doesn’t, fit any definable mold. Further distancing herself from any distinguishable pattern, Gordon aimed to rid herself of her pretty, middle class shell. She wanted to be uglier, to be cool. She was once asked by a photographer, “Do you want to be cool or do you want to look attractive?” This convoluted universe in which beauty and coolness are mutually exclusive is the one in which a female musician must reside, especially in punk. Dealing with this question, Gordon chose to embrace the edge rather than bend to the power of commercialized beauty. Years ago, Gordon was photographed wearing a shirt proclaiming, “Girls invented punk rock, not England.” And that pretty much sums her up. Women in punk must face obstacles that men cannot imagine; the scrutinization of every facet of their being hardens them. In rejecting a society that puts so much pressure on them to conform — in their demeanor, looks, intimate relationships — women of punk rock challenge problematic ideologies many of their male counterparts have never had to face and likely never will. Gordon, who is vocal about challenging these societal prescriptions, epitomizes the punk persona: she identifies what she is told to be and then proceeds to do the exact opposite.
October 1, 2016: Wisconsin
2016 Schedule
Michigan has now played four straight games at the Big House and hardly struggled with any of them. This one could be different. The eighth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers come to town for the first time since 2010, when they rolled to a 48-28 victory. This year, both teams come in 4-0, and both should be ready for a hard-nosed game that will be pivotal in the Big Ten race.
Max Bultman, Jacob Gase, Kelly Hall and Jake Lourim
TABLE OF CONTENTS
3 4 7
The clashes of style are over. Both teams will put physicality at the forefront Saturday. College kickers need several assets to be successful, and Kenny Allen has all of them — including the support of his family. Both defenses have advantages in what should be a close game Saturday.
Hawaii (Sept. 3): Alohahahahaha.
Illinois (Oct. 22): No matter what happens on the field, both teams will (hopefully) take Champaign showers.
Central Florida (Sept. 10): Is that what it looks like to get outhit?
Michigan State (Oct. 29): It’s setting up to be the most exciting Michigan-Michigan State game in years.
Colorado (Sept. 17): Colorado figured scoring 28 would be plenty.
Maryland (Nov. 5): Congratulations, DJ Khaled Durkin, you played yourself.
Penn State (Sept. 24): Might need to rename Happy Valley soon.
Iowa (Nov. 12): With a win, Kirk Ferentz receives ANOTHER contract extension with a special clause that names him lifetime governor of Iowa.
Wisconsin (Oct. 1): We were going to try and be funny, but the dumplings in Madison are no joke.
Indiana (Nov. 19): We’re here for the chaos. We’re always here for the chaos.
Rutgers (Oct. 8): The Ahmir Mitchell Bowl.
Ohio State (Nov. 26): Who schedules a game two days after Thanksgiving? No one’s gonna go to that.
Cover photo by Sam Mousigian
STAFF PICKS The Daily football writers pick against the spread to predict scores for the top 25 and Big Ten in the 2016 football season.
Kelly Hall
Jacob Gase
Max Bultman
Emma and Demario,
Jake Lourim
Best Friends
No. 4 Michigan (-10) vs. No. 8 Wisconsin
Michigan
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Michigan
No. 1 Alabama (-35.5) vs. Kentucky
Alabama
Alabama
Alabama
Alabama
Alabama
No. 2 Ohio State (-38) vs. Rutgers
Ohio State
Ohio State
Ohio State
Ohio State
Rutgers
No. 3 Louisville (-2) at No. 5 Clemson
Louisville
Clemson
Clemson
Clemson
Clemson
No. 6 Houston (-27.5) vs. Connecticut
Houston
Houston
Houston
Houston
Houston
No. 7 Stanford (+3.5) at No. 10 Washington
Stanford
Stanford
Stanford
Stanford
Stanford
No. 9 Texas A&M (-18) at South Carolina
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
No. 11 Tennessee (-3.5) at No. 25 Georgia
Georgia
Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee
Georgia
No. 12 Florida State (-10) vs. North Carolina
Florida State
Florida State
Florida State
Florida State
Florida State
No. 13 Baylor (-16.5) at Iowa State
Baylor
Baylor
Baylor
Baylor
Iowa State
No. 14 Miami (-7.5) at Georgia Tech
Miami
Miami
Miami
Miami
Georgia Tech
No. 15 Nebraska (-20) vs. Illinois
Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska
No. 16 Ole Miss (-14.5) vs. Memphis
Ole Miss
Ole Miss
Ole Miss
Ole Miss
Ole Miss
No. 17 Michigan State (-6.5) at Indiana
Michigan State
Michigan State
Michigan State
Michigan State
Michigan State
No. 18 Utah (+2) at California
Utah
Utah
Utah
Utah
California
No. 19 San Diego St. (-19.5) at South Alabama
San Diego State
San Diego State
San Diego State
San Diego State
San Diego State
No. 20 Arkansas vs. Alcorn State
Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas
No. 21 TCU (+3.5) vs. Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
TCU
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
No. 22 Texas (+2.5) at Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State
Texas
Texas
Texas
Oklahoma State
No. 23 Florida (-10) at Vanderbilt
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
No. 24 Boise State (-21) vs. Utah State
Boise State
Boise State
Boise State
Boise State
Boise State
Northwestern (+13.5) at Iowa
Iowa
Iowa
Iowa
Iowa
Iowa
Purdue (+10.5) at Maryland
Maryland
Maryland
Maryland
Maryland
Maryland
2
Minnesota (+2) at Penn State
Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota
W. Michigan (-3.5) at C. Michigan
Western Michigan
Western Michigan
Western Michigan
Western Michigan
Western Michigan
Last week
14-10
14-10
13-11
10-14
13-11
Overall
46-36
46-36
47-35
46-36
N/A
FootballSaturday, October 1, 2016
Wisconsin arrives for Big Ten showdown Badgers and Wolverines boast physical rushing attacks, top-ranked defenses and undefeated records JAKE LOURIM
Managing Sports Editor
The non-conference season is over, and so are most of the up-tempo spread attacks. The Michigan football team’s Wisconsin game against No. 8 Wisconsin at Michigan on Saturday will Matchup: feature lots of Wisconsin rushing, lots of 4-0; Michigan physicality and 4-0 When: lots of huddles. Saturday The 3:30 P.M. Wolverines haven’t played Where: the Badgers since Michigan 2010, but their Stadium opponent hasn’t TV/Radio: changed much ABC since then (except for two head coaching switches). Wisconsin is still a big, bruising team focused on the power rushing game and stout defense. “Smashmouth — that’s just about the one word I could use to describe them and the problems that they bring,” said Michigan redshirt sophomore defensive end Chase Winovich. “They’re physical. I think they have like five tight ends that are over (250) pounds. They got some beef, so we got our hands full.” Michigan coasted through the first four weeks of its seasonopening five-week homestand. The fourth-ranked Wolverines crushed Hawaii, flew past Central Florida, upended Colorado and steamrolled Penn State. The latter three teams each attempted to outrun Michigan with no-huddle offenses, but the Wolverines caught up to each at one point or another. The Badgers present an entirely different challenge, and it will be the toughest Michigan has faced this season. They match the Wolverines pound for pound up front. “I’m wondering if the field’s going to be wide enough,” said Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. “They play extremely hard — run, effort. I had the pressure of coaching (former Wisconsin star) Chris Borland a few years back (with the San Francisco 49ers), and it’s a team of Chris Borlands. High, high energy, tough guys that can run and (a) big, physical team.” With each of Michigan’s first three opponents, though, the Wolverines could say the visiting team had
not seen a team of their caliber, at least this season. For Wisconsin, that is not the case. The Badgers have conquered one of the toughest schedules in the country this season. They stifled then-No. 5 Louisiana State, 16-14, in the season opener at Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers. Last week, they routed then-No. 8 Michigan State in East Lansing, 30-6, and took the Spartans’ spot in the poll. As if that weren’t enough, they will host No. 2 Ohio State after a bye next week. Considering that gauntlet, some didn’t circle this weekend’s game on Michigan’s schedule, four weeks before the Wolverines open a five-game stretch that includes showdowns against Michigan State, Iowa and Ohio State. But the early success of both teams has made this game crucial. The winner will stay in good position to make the College Football Playoff, and the loser will have some work to do to reach the Big Ten Championship. And while the Wolverines refused to place extra value on this game, as usual, they did say the challenge of a top10 team excites them. “They present stuff that we either need to do better with or prove ourselves with, and we’re excited for it. I can’t wait,” Winovich said. “As a defense, I’m sure everyone’s gonna be buzzing around this week to study for this opportunity. This is the first real shot to get to prove ourselves against another top-10 team.” As many good teams as both schools have fielded this century, this will be their first matchup with both squads ranked in the top 10. The Wolverines are 49-14-1 in the series and 4-1 when both teams are ranked, though Wisconsin has won four of the past six meetings. In 2009 and 2010, the Badgers averaged 46.5 points and 293 rushing yards with their physical rushing attack, winning both games by double digits. In 2008, the Wolverines had to rally from a 19-0 halftime deficit to win a 27-25 stunner. In each of those three games, Wisconsin unleashed a pairing of potent running backs: P.J. Hill and John Clay in 2008, Clay and Montee Ball in 2009, Ball and James White in 2010. This year, Corey Clement heads the Badgers’ ground game, rushing for 251 yards and five touchdowns in three games while missing one with an injury.
The key to this year’s game should be whether Clement can move the ball on first and second down against Michigan’s defense. Typical of many Wisconsin teams, the Badgers boast a consistent offense, ranking third in the country in time of possession at 37 minutes per game. The more they can string together long drives, the more success they should have. But if the Wolverines are as strong on first and second down as they have been all season, they’ll have a chance to unleash their blitz on third down, when they have allowed their opponents to convert just six of 50 chances (12 percent). The battle in the trenches will be the difference. “Whenever you’re playing a very physical opponent and a very good opponent, then yeah, there’s an opportunity to show what you can do out there as a football player,” Harbaugh said. “I’ve always believed that. Good football players, it’s kind of why they get together for games — good football players going against each other to show who the best is.” It should surprise no one what Harbaugh said next: “That’s the best thing about football, that competition.”
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Offensive linemen Mason Cole and Ben Braden (top) and defensive end Chase Winovich (bottom) lead Michigan into what should be a physical game up front.
TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com
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Kelly Hall, Daily Sports Editor Sitting in the stands just before Michigan kicked off its 2015 season and ushered in the Jim Harbaugh era, Joe Allen was frantically trying to get a hold of his wife. He was in Utah for the beginning of his son’s redshirt junior season, and he could tell from the way Kenny was warming up that he would be starting for the first time. Joe’s phone had just broken that morning, so there was no way to warn his wife Stacey — who had to stay home in Michigan for work — that it would be the biggest game yet of Kenny’s career. Allen’s hometown of Fenton, and its 12,000 inhabitants, is just 40 miles north of Ann Arbor. That night, Stacey and about 40 family friends packed a Buffalo Wild Wings there, convincing the restaurant to put the game on every single screen. It had been a long journey already for the 21-year-old, and if Kenny saw
the field, they weren’t going to miss any angle of it. It had been a long four years since Allen committed to Michigan as a preferred walk-on, and now he was about to take the field to open the game in Salt Lake City. Though she couldn’t read names or numbers on the distant screens, Stacey knew her son when she saw him. As soon as the camera zoomed in enough for everyone else to see “Allen” on the back of his jersey, the Buffalo Wild Wings exploded in cheers. At the very least, Kenny would be doing kickoffs. It may not seem like a lot, even to the most serious of college football fans, but that night in Fenton, he was the hometown hero. When he lined up to kick a 29-yard field goal in the second quarter, his mom and grandma started crying. It was the culmination of years of hard work, from practicing on snowcovered fields to travelling to camps
to work on his craft, all the while receiving an endless supply of family support. “If you told me five years ago I was going to be kicking field goals at U of M, I would’ve thought you were crazy,” Kenny said. In order to be successful as a kicker, everything else needed to fall into place perfectly. The kicker role is unlike any other in football, the most visible pass-or-fail position by far. In order to climb from youth club soccer to high school varsity football to walking on to a Division I team and earning a scholarship, Kenny Allen had to put the pieces together. *** Over a year later, Stacey and Joe are preparing for their fourth straight home game of the season. It’s 10 a.m. on a 60-degree fall day, and they’re set up with the other
Michigan moms and dads, each one bringing the full spread of sandwiches and chips and wings that define a tailgate. It’s an idyllic day, perfectly designed for football, and the parents of the players are the happiest people outside of Michigan Stadium. They’re the lucky ones in a crowd of 110,000 who can actually point out their kid on the sidelines. Most of the parents bring a crew of family and friends with them, and the Allens are no different. Kenny’s older brother, Jimmy, will join them shortly, and before the game starts, so will his 80-year-old grandparents. This is the family’s fifth year of tailgating, but this season has been a little different. It could be Kenny’s last year of football, and he’s started each game this season. So far, he’s carried the load of all three kicking duties: field goals, punts and kickoffs. As a freshman, Kenny was a preferred walk-on who specialized in punting. Despite being both the placekicker and the punter in high school, punting is what he excelled at, earning a scholarship to Oregon State. At 6-foot-4, he had the long and lean build for it. Despite the allure of a scholarship, when Michigan came knocking with promises of suiting up in maize and blue, it was hard to consider anywhere else, especially since Stacey earned two degrees from the University. After seeing the Big House in action for the first time during the Wolverines’ 2011 “Under the Lights” matchup with Notre Dame during his senior year visit, it was a done deal. With the proximity of Fenton to Ann Arbor, Allen always has a big crowd of family at games, regardless of his starting status. That’s the advantage of being a local kid at a Big Ten school. Faced with the option to move out to Oregon on scholarship, Allen decided that his family outweighed free tuition. “They’re very supportive,” Allen said. “My parents, my grandparents, my brother and sister, they’re at every game, always here, tailgating. … It’s meant everything because, you
know, if there’s a bad day, I know they believe in me, even if I sometimes don’t believe in myself. There’s always someone I can fall back on, someone I can talk to, knowing that they’re always there. “I guess my family, their support and love, was the reason I was able to do everything I was able to do. Being a kicker is not that cool, especially in high school. But they never said that, they just told me to do my best. I think if it wasn’t for them, I definitely wouldn’t have stuck with it.” One of Allen’s longtime kicking coaches, Chris Sailer, explained it like this: “I remember his father being at every single camp. I remember him asking questions at every camp, as far as both of his boys’ development and what he could do to help them be better kickers, first of all, and then also, get to the next level. It was supportive in the right way; it was never overbearing or over-demanding. … I think having that support behind a young athlete is huge.” On top of working with his dad, Kenny competes with his brother. Jimmy Allen, who is two years Kenny’s senior, was the first one in the family to start kicking. Kenny grew up with a love for soccer, something that seemed inevitable considering his dad played the sport collegiately at Oakland University. That love evolved into kicking footballs. Jimmy still kicks too, playing in the Indoor Football League for the Iowa Barnstormers and holding his own kicking camps. According to Stacey, their relationship is “very loving, but highly competitive” and always has been.
“There’s always someone I can fall back on, someone I can talk to.”
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Fifth-year senior Kenny Allen was once an unknown walk-on from Fenton, Mich., but he has earned Michigan’s starting kicking job.
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FootballSaturday, October 1, 2016
*** As long as it was a clear day, Kenny and Jimmy would go outside to practice kicking. In the winter, that meant bringing a shovel along with their football equipment in order to clear off a patch on the 30-yard line. Sure, they’d lose a few balls in the
snow now and then, but it was worth it to keep up with their obsession. On the days they couldn’t quite make it outside, they still found a way. “We had an indoor net in the basement,” Joe said. “I think our ceiling was about eight or nine feet, and every time they kicked, it would hit the ceiling tile. It was like nonstop.” Part of the football infatuation may have evolved from the lack of things to do in a small Michigan town, too. “There wasn’t really much to do in Fenton,” Kenny said. “There’s a lot of lakes, a football field and some places to eat. But yeah, there’s not much to do. “I spent most of my time kicking.” When his brother graduated in 2010, Kenny took over the starting kicker role and quit soccer for good. Then, the practicing grew even more incessant. “People used to joke, every time they drove by the high school in Fenton, they would see balls flying through the air,” Stacey said. “He was there every day, non-stop, practicing. He was just so focused and dedicated. For me, maybe (I’m) just being Mom, but all he needed was an opportunity, and he would get what he was looking for.” Allen finally ended up with his opportunity last season, but it wasn’t the one anyone was expecting. Australian punter Blake O’Neill showed up on campus as a graduate transfer, and if Allen wanted to get on the field that season, he would have to find another way. “It’s bad enough that someone new came in to punt and he was a male model,” Kenny said. “I’m just like sitting behind this great punter who’s also super good-looking. But Blake is one of my best friends, he’s an awesome guy. “It kind of sucked, but that’s what they wanted and I’m not going to argue with them.” Watching from the stands, there wasn’t much that Stacey and Joe could do. “He expected, you know, Big Ten football, you’re going to wait your turn,” Stacey said. “And he had waited his turn, and then he had to wait a little longer. I mean that’s just part of it. He’s so happy to be a part of this team. I mean, really, for him, it was just a little glitch. Just a glitch. He was so happy just to be here.” Still, Allen’s competitive fire pushed him. After three years of letting placekicking duties fall to the wayside, he decided that they would have to be his ticket to starting. It
RYAN MCLAUGHLIN/Daily
Allen now performs all three duties in special teams for the Wolverines — kickoffs (above), punting and field goals. He earned a scholarship early last season.
took him the first week of fall camp to “knock the rust off,” but he was able to work his way into the competition. With a new coach who places a premium on competition, Allen knew he would have to prove he was good enough to play. In between the Utah game and the Wolverines’ home opener against Oregon State, Kenny earned a scholarship. Fittingly, the news came just before he was to face the only team that had offered him a full ride out of high school. That Saturday, he went 2-for2 on field goal attempts.
“There wasn’t really much to do. ... I spent most of my time kicking.”
*** Allen is now comfortable in his role for the Wolverines, not allowing much to bother him. Those years of practice in the Fenton snow have solidified that mindset. Not even his parents, as close as they are to Kenny, talk football with him anymore. “We’re just parents,” Joe said.
“Football, he does, and we want to be there as a backup support, but we don’t wanna talk about — I think I did enough when we talk about actual kicking, when we go out kicking together — but we want to leave the football and everything else he does alone. We don’t ask him any questions about who the starters are or anything else. We just let it go.” The kicking role is just as mental as it is physical. During games, you can watch Allen walk up and down the sidelines by himself, sometimes sitting on the bench far away from the other players. He needs to stay locked in and focused for nearly four hours at a time. While every kicker deals with the pressure differently, it seems Allen deals with it by taking a step back. “It’s a unique position,” Sailer said. “You’re not the quarterback. You’re not the wide receiver who gets a ton of the glory. You’re someone who’s counted on in certain situations and expected to perform. If you perform, it’s a great deal and you’re the hero for the week. If you don’t perform, unfortunately, you’re really the goat of the week, and they’ll put all of the blame of the loss on you sometimes.” Kenny doesn’t often feel anxious See ALLEN, Page 6B
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ALLEN From Page 5B about his duties as kicker. The only time he said he was only worried about kicking a field goal was his very first attempt as a starter at Utah. Last season, his level-headed approach showed on the field when he made 18 of his 22 field goal attempts and completed 100 percent of his extra point attempts. According to Sailer, kickers need to enjoy being in the spotlight while learning to take credit for the success as well as the defeat. That’s a tall order for most burgeoning players, and it takes a unique personality to want to be in those situations. Though he’ll admit that football takes up most of his time, he nonchalantly plays off how much time he actually spends at Schembechler Hall. He says that he’ll watch movies, and take naps, especially with his border-collie lab, Charlie. Sometimes, he has enough time to take Charlie on two walks a day. He talks about how his parents met while they were his age, 22, and how that doesn’t give him much hope for the future (“That’s why I have a dog,” he joked.) He’s not afraid to poke fun at himself. “You don’t become a starting kicker for Michigan and earn a scholarship and have interviews like this one if you don’t have that demeanor,” Sailer said. “You can’t be too high on yourself and be over-boastful and too confident.
It’s more about staying humble, understanding it’s continued hard work, but also keeping that confidence up. That personality is very common (in kickers). I think if you talk to the majority of the top college kickers, you talk to NFL players, they’re going to have a very nonchalant yet confident attitude and always expect to be successful.” He plays off his life like he is ordinary, and that’s what sets him apart. His easygoing approach, coupled with his work ethic, breeds his success. In order to stay unflappable in the face of adversity, Kenny has to be Kenny. *** Sometimes, Allen will send his parents pictures of himself with former Wolverines greats such as Tom Brady or Charles Woodson. He didn’t quite get his own photo with basketball legend Michael Jordan, but snuck into the back of one and tweeted it out, calling it the “best photo bomb ever.” It’s no surprise when they get these kinds of pictures anymore. “Oh, nice day to be Kenny,” Stacey will laugh. These opportunities all come with being a Wolverine, and Kenny has wanted to be one since he was a child. Not for the pictures with
celebrities or the perks of being a student-athlete, but because his family instilled a love for Michigan at a young age. “I just admired everything about this place and watching the Michigan-Ohio State games, Michigan-Michigan State games, like that was the craziest thing I had ever seen,” Kenny said. “I wanted to be a part of it, but as a little kid, you have these dreams and aspirations of doing that and then you get to high school and reality kind of hits you in the face. Like, ‘Yeah right, I’m never going to do that.’ “And then, the more I kept working, the closer that became reality and it was almost there. I just kept working, my family kept encouraging me and like telling me these steps to take and going to these coaches, spending my time going to the fields when everyone else was doing God knows what. I just think working hard and never giving up and having the support of my family, that’s why I chose football.” Back at the tailgate, all of the reasons for his success gathered under the tent. Kenny’s parents gave him the unconditional support, his brother gave him the fire to compete and Michigan gave him a chance. Now, Kenny Allen has put it all together, and the picture looks pretty good.
“I just admired everything about this place.”
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Allen had the chance to kick in the Citrus Bowl as a redshirt junior last year, his first season as the starter for Michigan.
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FootballSaturday, October 1, 2016
Behind Enemy Lines: CB Sojourn Shelton Senior looking forward to first trip to Ann Arbor for eighth-ranked, unbeaten Badgers JACOB GASE
Daily Sports Editor
When the No. 4 Michigan football team hosts No. 8 Wisconsin on Saturday, it knows it will be in for a physical battle. The Badgers have allowed just 3.2 yards per carry and one rushing touchdown through four games, but that’s not the only way they have been beating opponents. Cornerbacks Sojourn Shelton and Derrick Tindal each have five pass breakups on the season, making them one of the most statistically productive secondaries in the nation. Both picked off Spartan quarterback Tyler O’Connor last week in a 30-6 victory in East Lansing, the Badgers’ most impressive victory to date. The Wolverines’ wide receivers, especially fifth-year seniors Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh, should be targeted often, given Wisconsin’s success at stopping the run, but Shelton and Tindal have made throwing the ball against the Badgers difficult so far this season. The Daily sat down with Shelton at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago in July to talk about the top cornerbacks in the conference, playing in Ann Arbor and facing tough early competition. The Michigan Daily: Because of a weird scheduling quirk, Wisconsin hasn’t played Michigan since 2010. Are you looking forward to heading to Ann Arbor? Sojourn Shelton: Of course. It’s just one of those teams that you just can’t shy away from, especially the atmosphere. I’m hearing from people that I know that played at Michigan, I hear it’s a crazy atmosphere. And they’re a good, solid team. They have a lot of good, solid players. Of course, everybody will pick them to be this and that, but at the same time, when game time comes around, all the teams have got to put it together. I expect Michigan to be a solid team, as usual. TMD: The classic Big Ten was known as a kind of “ground and pound” kind of league, but now the conference has plenty of talented
receivers and cornerbacks like yourself, Iowa’s Desmond King, Michigan’s Jourdan Lewis. How do you feel about the changing landscape of the Big Ten, and do you compare yourself to those other guys? SS: Of course, those guys are truly elite. You look at Desmond King, you look at Jourdan Lewis — those guys are playing extremely well at football. Whenever I can get a chance to look at their game and kind of take something from their game, I’ll be the first to tell you that I do it. Everybody as corners, we’re all different. We all do something well, and you can’t be afraid to just watch film on them to see how things are turning out and how their defense is ran. Saying that the Big Ten is a “ground and pound” conference — I mean, traditionally it is, but when you watch the games nowadays and the football being played in the Big Ten, you can see it’s a lot of teams throwing the ball around. Look at Indiana — they throw it around a lot. Ohio State, they throw it around a lot. These teams still run the ball a lot, but they’ve added the passing game to their games and their game plans. TMD: For the third straight year, you’re starting off facing an SEC team (Louisiana in 2016 and 2014, Alabama in 2015). Do you like starting off facing the top competition right away? SS: I do. It’s really fun. Those are some games that I’ll take with me and remember for the rest of my life. I remember going to Houston the first time and being excited, playing against LSU. To me, those are the teams that were dominant growing up. Talking about LSU being, in my era, growing up, being one of the best teams in the nation. And then last year, playing Alabama, which we all know how Alabama is every year, in and out. What other way to start off the season to see if you’re ready? We know, just control what we can and start as fast and strong as possible, and just play hard.
“When game times comes around, all the teams have got to put it together.”
Breakdown: Michigan vs. Wisconsin Wolverines, Badgers should have advantages with stout defenses, but special teams could make difference JACOB GASE
Daily Sports Editor
After four weeks of having a clear advantage over its opponents in nearly every phase of the game, the No. 4 Michigan football team will finally face a challenge this weekend when No. 8 Wisconsin comes to Ann Arbor. Not much was expected from the Badgers before the season — especially considering their current stretch features four straight games against the four best teams in the Big Ten last season, with three of those on the road. But Wisconsin surprised everyone by jumping out to a 4-0 start, knocking off then-No. 5 Louisiana State at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisc., and then-No. 8 Michigan State in East Lansing and setting up a top-10 showdown with the Wolverines this weekend. The Daily breaks down what should be the biggest game played at Michigan Stadium this season. Michigan rush offense Wisconsin rush defense
vs.
The Wolverines’ running backs had their best game of the season last week against Penn State, picking up 326 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Michigan’s stable of four running backs, led by senior De’Veon Smith, all found the end zone, making running back coach Tyrone Wheatley’s distribution of carries look ingenious. Wisconsin has the pieces to stuff that run game, though, and it probably won’t need to pack the box to do so like Central Florida did three weeks ago. The Badgers have allowed just 3.2 yards per carry and only one rushing touchdown. They kept LSU’s Leonard Fournette out of the end zone and held the Spartans to just two field goals last week.
Edge: Wisconsin Wisconsin rush offense Michigan rush defense
vs.
On paper, fifth-year senior wide receivers Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh look to have an advantage against Wisconsin’s secondary. Both stand over 6 feet tall — and senior tight end Jake Butt checks in at 6-foot-6 — while Badgers
vs.
Wisconsin’s Corey Clement is a very talented running back, but Michigan’s defense is on another level than most other teams in the country right now. The Wolverines lead the nation in tackles for loss with 44 — redshirt sophomore linebacker Jabrill Peppers has 9.5 by himself — and haven’t allowed many backs to get the best of them, save for a few big plays. Case in point: running back Saquon Barkley was essentially the only functioning part of the Nittany Lions’ offense last week, both out of the backfield and as a pass catcher, and Michigan still limited him to 136 total yards and no touchdowns. The Wolverines may even be more dangerous now that they are fully healthy — senior defensive end Taco Charlton (ankle) was back in the lineup last weekend, and redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Bryan Mone (undisclosed leg injury) practiced this week and could make his return Saturday.
freshmen David Long and Lavert Hill, but Michigan’s starting lineup remains strong. Lewis’ counterpart, senior Channing Stribling, was ranked as the best corner in the Big Ten by Pro Football Focus College Football before Lewis’ return. The Wolverines will have to contend with wide receivers Jazz Peavy and Robert Wheelwright, both of whom have already eclipsed 200 receiving yards this season. And for the first time all season, they’ll also have to deal with a passcatching tight end, Troy Fumagalli, who has 14 catches for 169 yards. New Badgers quarterback Alex Hornibrook has been very steady for a redshirt freshman, especially against Michigan State last week, but Lewis and Stribling present a difficult obstacle.
a reputation as one of the best punt returners in the country, racking up an FBS-best 227 return yards and a touchdown. He very nearly took another punt to the house last week, but he stumbled in the red zone and had the play brought back because of sideline interference. Additionally, Michigan and Texas are the only two teams in the country to have blocked three kicks or punts. On the opposing side, Wisconsin kicker Rafael Gaglianone is out for the season with a back injury after starting 7-for-8 on field goals (4-for-4 on kicks longer than 40 yards) and 10-for-10 on extra points. The Badgers rank in the middle of the pack in ESPN’s special teams efficiency (58th in the FBS), while the Wolverines rank second.
Edge: Michigan
Edge: Michigan
Special teams
Intangibles
in Ann Arbor since Michigan knocked off Ohio State in 2003, and the excitement among the Wolverines’ fan base has reached a fever pitch. Even though the team hasn’t faced a real challenge yet, Michigan is a Big Ten and national championship hopeful in the eyes of its fans and players alike. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has said that the team is treating every opponent like a top-10 team, but now it has a chance to beat a real one. The Wolverines haven’t faced Wisconsin since 2010, and it’s the first time that the two teams have ever met while both were ranked in the top 10. The Wolverines will need some quality wins to state their case for the playoff, so Saturday is a great time to start. Edge: Michigan
Peppers is quickly establishing
This is the first top-10 matchup
Prediction: Wisconsin 17
Michigan
24,
Edge: Michigan Wisconsin pass offense Michigan pass defense
Edge: Wisconsin Michigan pass offense Wisconsin pass defense
cornerbacks Sojourn Shelton and Derrick Tindal are 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-11, respectively. But size hasn’t hurt the Wisconsin duo so far, as they have combined for ten pass breakups this season, tied for the second-most by any teammates in the country. And with the Wolverines having won so many blowout games so far this season, redshirt sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight hasn’t had to throw the deep ball too often yet. Michigan certainly has the talent to win this matchup, but it won’t be easy.
vs.
The Wolverines’ secondary suffered a huge loss last week when fifth-year senior cornerback Jeremy Clark tore his anterior cruciate ligament, but it also welcomed back an All-American in senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis. Replacing Clark will take a concerted effort from redshirt sophomore Brandon Watson and
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Redshirt sophomore Jabrill Peppers could affect Saturday’s game in multiple phases, including offense.
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What to Watch For: Wisconsin Wolverines could use big contributions from Speight, Peppers and defensive line to win top-10 clash MAX BULTMAN
Managing Sports Editor
When the Wisconsin football team knocked off then-No. 5 Louisiana State to open the 2016 season, it was only natural to start looking ahead toward its Week 5 visit to Ann Arbor. And after the Badgers routed Michigan State in East Lansing last week, that game is now here, and it could be Michigan’s first game of Big Ten play with major conference title implications. Here’s what to watch for when No. 4 Michigan and No. 8 Wisconsin take the field on Saturday: 1. Just how many Borlands are there?
Chris
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh likened the Badgers to a team of Chris Borlands, a reference to the former All-American Badger and Harbaugh’s former linebacker with
the San Francisco 49ers. And while we’re dubious about Borland’s potential as a cover corner, Harbaugh’s point stands. Wisconsin’s defense is ranked 12th nationally (right behind Michigan) in total defense and seventh nationally in scoring defense. Leading the way is their 10th-ranked rush defense, and for a Michigan team that is coming off a 326-yard performance against a porous Penn State team, that could be a wake-up call. Linebacker T.J. Watt, brother of J.J. Watt, is tied for eighth nationally in sacks, which should be enough to put a scare in Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight. The Wolverines’ offensive line has made visible strides since 2013 and 2014, but the Badgers should put them to a very real test. What happens in the trenches when Michigan is on offense should go a long way toward deciding this game.
2. How, and how much, will Michigan use Jabrill Peppers? Last season, Peppers didn’t play on offense until the Wolverines played Michigan State. This year, with the secret out, Michigan hasn’t had to keep his offensive abilities under wraps until its first big game. So far this year, Peppers has just two rushes for 24 yards. But he has also been used as a decoy on a sweep and even split out as a receiver. His speed is at least as good as any of the Woverines’ running backs, and his playmaking ability is unmatched. Against Wisconsin, it makes sense that Michigan could need him to contribute heavily in all three phases. He has already taken one punt to the house against Colorado, and he nearly did it again last week, so how often the Badgers even decide to kick to him will be worth watching. Then when you factor in
his role as a hybrid linebacker on the Wolverines’ defense, it stands to reason that he could see his most snaps of the year if the game is close. 3. How often will Speight throw deep? Last week, Speight’s longest completion of the season went for 25 yards to senior tight end Jake Butt, a significant departure from his willingness to throw deep against Central Florida. Part of that could be based on need — why chuck it deep in a blowout? But this week, Michigan could find itself in a close contest, where throwing it deep is a necessity. If that is the case, the Wolverines’ top downfield threat will need to re-emerge. Fifth-year senior receiver Jehu Chesson has had just one catch for 18 yards combined in the past two games.
4. Will Michigan’s D-line be back to full strength? One week after the Wolverines got senior defensive end Taco Charlton and senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis back from injury, the defense could get another boost against Wisconsin. Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Bryan Mone left the opener with an undisclosed injury, but both Harbaugh and defensive line coach Greg Mattison mentioned his return as a possibility for Saturday. Mattison said Mone has been practicing this week, and if he does indeed return, it would mark the first time this year that the Wolverines have their full rotation on the line. Mone has routinely been praised for his impact in practices, but has seen limited game action due to injuries thus far in his career. In a game that is expected to be decided in the trenches, his return couldn’t be more timely for Michigan.
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Fifth-year senior receiver Jehu Chesson has been limited to just one catch and 18 yards in Michigan’s past two games, but the Wolverines could need him to produce when they host No. 8 Wisconsin on Saturday.
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FootballSaturday, October 1, 2016